Luke 2:41-42

Luke 2:41-42

[41] Now  his  parents  went  to  Jerusalem  every  year  at the feast  of the passover.  [42] And  when  he was  twelve  years old,  they  went up  after  the custom  of the feast. 

What does Luke 2:41-42 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

Again Luke pointed out the godly characters of Mary and Joseph. Jewish males were to go to Jerusalem three times a year, at the feasts of Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles. In Jesus" day, women usually attended with their husbands or fathers. [1] Those who could not attend all three festivals tried to attend Passover at least. Customarily Jewish parents took their young sons with them for a year or two before the boy became a "son of the covenant" usually at age13. [2] Luke called Jesus a "boy" (Gr. pais, also used of servants) here rather than a "child" (Gr. paidion), the term he used of Jesus in Luke 2:40.
"Jewish boys became responsible for their actions at thirteen (m[3]. Niddah 56; m[3]. Megillah 46). At the age of twelve the instruction of boys became more intensive in preparation of the recognition of adulthood (m[3]. "Abot 521). The Bar Mitzvah of modern times, however, postdates the time of Jesus by five hundred years..." [6]