If you can only make Christmas exciting with material things, how will the children get a thirst for God? Bend the efforts of your imagination to make the wonder of the King’s arrival visible for the children.” Piper

Luke 2:41–50

41 And his parents went every year to Jerusalem at the feast of the Passover. 42 And when he was twelve years old, they went up after the custom of the feast; 43 and when they had fulfilled the days, as they were returning, the boy Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem: and his parents knew it not; 44 but supposing him to be in the company, they went a day’s journey; and they sought for him among their kinsfolk and acquaintance: 45 and when they found him not, they returned to Jerusalem, seeking for him. 46 And it came to pass, after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both hearing them, and asking them questions: 47 and all that heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. 48And when they saw him, they were astonished; and his mother said unto him, Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? behold, thy father and I sought thee sorrowing. 49 And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? knew ye not that I must be in my Father’s house?

The annual pilgrimage to Jerusalem was customary for many who lived outside the city. The law commanded three pilgrimages for the men each year: for Passover, Pentecost, and the Feast of Tabernacles (Ex. 23:14–17; Deut. 16:16). By the first century, most Jewish men made annual pilgrimages to Jerusalem because of the distance many had to travel due to the dispersion of the Israelites across Asia Minor.

Unfortunately, rather than Christmas drawing people closer to Christ, there’s a very real sense in which people are drawn away from the Lord Jesus in the midst of the celebration. Their focus is on parties and gifts, and many times there’s a letdown in church attendance; there is a pause in prayer life; there is a cut back in giving for the gospel sake.

It seems like in the very midst of the celebration of Christmas, we lose Christ.

Nothing is recorded that indicates the early church celebrated  Christmas, as such. The wise men came, and paid homage to the child, the shepherds came to the  cave where Jesus was born, and worshipped Him. But the church did not worship Him, as such. The closest thing to what we call Christmas is Passover. Passover and Christmas are not the same, they are alike in that they both are a celebration.

Throughout the narrative (vv. 40, 49, 52), Jesus is presented as a boy of unusual wisdom and nearness to God, whose spiritual endowments and understanding are similar to those of Simeon (v. 25) and Anna (vv. 36–37). He displays remarkable understanding of Torah, but his spiritual understanding exceeds both Torah and temple. In response to Mary’s reprimand for causing anguish to “your father” (v. 48), Jesus testifies to a prior and higher obedience to “my Father” (v. 49).

Introducing a twelve-year-old boy to the Passover in Jerusalem was associated with the obligation of a father to teach his son Torah. The rabbinic tradition was generally agreed that a son should begin learning Torah no later than age twelve. The Passover celebration required a full week of observance in Jerusalem.

They had lost Jesus in the midst of the celebration, Passover, which was all about Jesus.

If it can happen to them, as close as they were to Jesus, we can be sure that it can happen to us.

In What Way Can We Lose Jesus?

In what sense may we lose Jesus? Well, Mary and Joseph were related to Jesus, so how did they lose Jesus?

They did not lose Jesus in the sense of relationship (salvation). Mary was still His mother; Joseph still His earthly father. It was not in the sense of relationship that they lost Jesus; it was in the sense of fellowship that they lost the Lord Jesus Christ.

Now if you’re truly born again, if you have committed your life to Christ, and you are trusting in Him alone for your salvation, you can never lose that relationship with Jesus. I don’t believe  the scripture teaches that one can lose their salvation, the real problem is,  a person says their saved, with never having seen any change in their life, in reality, they might really never have been saved.

John 10:28 and I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, and no one shall snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who hath given them unto me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.

So there can be a loss of fellowship, not a loss of relationship. In this passage, Mary and Joseph said, “We sought you sorrowfully.” Their hearts were filled with sorrow.

If you are out of fellowship with Jesus, there is no chance that there can be any true joy in your life.  You might have happiness; you may have fun; but you don’t have joy. Probably, the most miserable person in the world is a saved person out of fellowship with Jesus, far more miserable than an unsaved person.

Have you lost Christ in fellowship, take the test and see.

1 Peter 1:8 whom not having seen ye love; on whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice greatly with joy unspeakable and full of glory:

The Bible says, “Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice.” (Philippians 4:4) And the only way you can rejoice always is to rejoice in the Lord.

A person can lose Christ in the sense of fellowship, but not in the sense of relationship.

Who can lose Jesus?

Anyone can lose fellowship with Jesus. Some of God’s choicest of saints got out of fellowship with Him from time to time. Noah, David, Moses, Samson, Peter, all of these and others in the Bible, got out of fellowship with the Lord.

The Bible says, “Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.” (1 Corinthians 10:12) Oswald Chambers said, “An unguarded strength is a double weakness.” Do you think you’re beyond getting away from God? The great saints of the Bible have at one time or another gotten away from the Lord.  There will never be a time in your life when you’re not in danger of slipping away from the Lord.

Where will we be when we lose Jesus, where can this take place?

“Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the Passover.”

They lost Him in the midst of a religious ceremony, they lost Him at a spiritual celebration. They didn’t lose Him in a bar, or a nightclub. It was in the midst of a religious ceremony. The Passover was all about Jesus, and it was there that they lost the Lord Jesus.

Could it be this Christmas, instead of getting closer to Jesus, come New Year’s, we have to repent and draw back to the Lord, because we’ve gotten away from Him?

Remember the church at Laodice “Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked.” (Revelation 3:17)  The church had moved from its place, and did not  realize it.

Will we allow Christmas to replace Jesus?

The very Passover celebration was that which separated Mary and Joseph from Jesus.  That should be a lesson to all Christians.

How is that we actually lose Jesus?

What is the process, how does it happen?

“But they, supposing him to have been in the company, went a day’s journey.” (Luke 2:44)

They lost Him by presumption, by supposition; they just assumed He was with them, and they didn’t check up.

They didn’t lose Him by getting drunk, or by denying Him. They went a day’s journey, one step at a time. And every step they took, they were getting further from Him, supposing the whole time He was with them.

Do we just take for granted, supposing we’re right with God?

Just because you prayed a prayer one day, just because you go to church once a  year, just because you give a tenth of one percent of your money,  just because you sing or paly in the band, or just because you clean the church once a year?

Are you just supposing that Jesus is a reality in your life?” That’s easy to do.

Remember what the Old Testament said about Samson. The Bible says the Spirit of the Lord departed from Samson, and he never knew it. (Judges 16:20)

You can lose Jesus very easily, a step at a time, just simply supposing that Jesus was with you.

Are we willing this morning to look into our own heart and see if the presence of Jesus is a reality or mere supposition? Neglect is often the way to get away from Jesus, and that neglect is often based on supposition.

The danger is that I could be here today in church hearing this message supposing that Jesus is real in my heart.

If we lose Jesus, how can we find Him again?

This is not regaining your salvation, remember, we are talking about fellowship with Christ, not our relationship with Christ.

And when they found him not, they turned back again to Jerusalem, seeking him. And it came to pass, that after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions.” (Luke 2:45–46)

You can find Jesus right where you left Him. If Jesus Christ is not real to you and He was once real to you; if you do not have that conscious awareness of His presence, just go back to where you first left Him.

You say, “Well, I don’t know where that was.” If you really want to return to Him, open your heart and He will show you where it was.

“Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: and see if there be some wicked way in me.” (Psalm 139:23–24)

Have you been neglecting  Bible,  do you spend more time on face book, on X , more time at the television than in the bible?

Maybe you’ve stopped attending church, maybe you’ve gotten some bitterness, some grudge in your heart. Maybe there’s some inordinate affection. Or maybe it’s just carelessness, going on day after day without tuning your heart to know the Lord Jesus Christ. Where will you find Jesus? Right where you left Him. And you can’t plow around that  stump, you have to deal with that error. You have to deal with that if you want to be in Fellowship with Christ again.