2026
Jesus asked, “Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?”
Thus says the Lord:
Thus is prescribed the Sin Offering at the Temple, the House of YHWH, the living God. In such manner is a man cleansed of the sin he commits unintentionally against the Lord’s commands, and he is forgiven before the Lord his God.
Thus says the Lord:
Thus is prescribed the Guilt Offering at the Temple, the House of YHWH, the living God. In such manner is a man cleansed of the sin he commits—the guilt removed from him—and he is made right in the sight of man and before the Lord his God.
Thus says the Lord:
Thus is prescribed the Burnt Offering at the Temple, the House of YHWH, the living God. In such manner does a man make propitiation—that is satisfaction—for any ill wrath of God, for it is an aroma pleasing to Him. In such manner does a man also consecrate the whole of him for service and adoration of YHWH, the living God.
Therein is the business of the House of YHWH, the living God: the receiving and making of offerings—sacrifices. There, in the House of YHWH, in the Tabernacle before, did God dwell among His people. There, in the House of YHWH, in the Tabernacle before, did God meet His people and forgive them.
So, there, in the House of YHWH, you hear of the boy Jesus, a mere 12 years old, as His mother and foster father found Him, having traveled a ways from Jerusalem without Him. He was in the company of the people, in their presence, dwelling among them, and instructing them—listening to them, asking them questions, answering their questions—and amazing all in His hearing with His understanding. You might think that He was catechizing them in the ways of the suffering servant from the prophecies of Isaiah. “Today, in your hearing, these words are being fulfilled,” He could have said; He certainly did so having read the Isaiah scroll at the synagogue in Nazareth some 16 or so years later.
Having spent three days in the company of the teachers in the temple courts, His mother and foster father found Him. And, as any worried parent would do—and who wouldn’t worry after having lost a 12 year-old for 3 days—they reacted with a bit of scorn: “Son, why have you treated us so? Behold, your father and I have been searching for you in great distress.” And then, He said it! “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?” Perhaps, as many know it, “Didn’t you know I had to be about my Father’s business?” Business or house, it doesn’t matter, for this holy Child is about both.
In this holy season of Christmas, the word Emmanuel is bandied about so easily. Still, presented for you today is the 12 year-old Emmanuel—God with us, God in the flesh, God dwelling among us, God pitching His fleshy tent among us, God “tabernacling” among us. There in that 12 year-old Boy is the House of God—that 12 year-old Boy is the House of God. Stop and think about that for a moment: Jesus is Emmanuel—Jesus is the House of God—be He an infant, a 12 year-old boy, or a 30 year-old man.
But, He is also presented to you in the Temple, the House of God built by human minds and hands—first Solomon, then Zerubbabel, then Herod the Great. If He is there about His Father’s business, even if the glory of the LORD had left the Temple centuries earlier, then He is there for the forgiveness of sins, to make propitiation for the people as the priests used to do (even in YHWH’s absence); He is there foreshadowing what He would do some 20-ish years later. At the tender age of 12, He was set about the task of redeeming the world. For it would be in about 20 years years that He would return to Jerusalem to be about His Father’s business of redeeming the world. There, He would be the Sin and Guilt Offering—the lamb without blemish, the spotless Lamb of God—sacrificed on the altar of the cross, shedding His blood to cleanse sinners and make the guilty right with God, and suffering the burning hell of God’s wrath and abandonment as a Burnt Offering for satisfaction—as a propitiation—an aroma pleasing to God.
That’s why He is Emmanuel—God in the flesh among us. That is why He was born and why He lived: in order that He may die for the forgiveness of all of our sins—everyone who has lived, is living, and will ever live. “Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.” (Hebrews 2:14-15) At only 12 years old, Jesus gave you a sneak peak into His business.
For a reality check, look back at what YHWH said: “If anyone sins unintentionally in any of the LORD’s commandments…If anyone of the common people sins unintentionally in doing any one of the things that by the LORD’s commandments ought not to be done…he shall bear his iniquity.” Whether you mean to or not, you sin—“All have sinned,” says St. Paul—you do, the man in the pulpit does, the person sitting next to you does. And, according to the Law of God, whether you mean to or not, you are guilty of it. Intention means nothing when it comes to committing a sin—commit a sin, intentionally or not, and you are guilty. So, this is the fact you must face: you are guilty of sinning, and a Sin or Guilt Offering is then required…maybe even a Burnt Offering.
Therefore, God in His everlasting mercy, “became flesh and dwelt among us.” (cf. John 1:14) The sacrifices of the Sin Offering, Guilt Offering, and Burnt Offering could not appease God forever. These things were but a shadow, St. Paul wrote (cf. Colossians 2:16-17; Hebrews 8:3-5), and the reality or fullness (that is, the fulfillment) is found in Christ—in Emmanuel. The author of the Hebrews confirms this when He writes, “He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he offered up himself,” (Hebrews 7:27) and…
To put it succinctly, it can be said as he wrote in another part of the letter: “Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.” (Hebrews 2:17)
By being about His Father’s business, even at 12 years of age, He was about the business of the forgiveness of sins—the forgiveness of your sins, of the sins of the man in the pulpit, of the sins of the person next to you. “Christ is the propitiation for our sins,” wrote St. John. (cf. 1 John 2:2) He has taken your sin and guilt upon Himself, as it was transferred to the sacrificial animals by the laying on of hands, and died with it on the altar of the cross, removing it from you as far as the east is from the west. You are at peace with God—Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace!
But, there was one more animal sacrifice made at the Temple.
Thus says the Lord:
Thus is prescribed the Peace Offering at the Temple, the House of YHWH, the living God. In such manner does a man thank and praise God for being at peace with him and for being in fellowship with him.
While the bloody sacrifices are over, it is still well and good to thank and praise God for the peace that you have with Him in His Son, Emmanuel. This you do when you receive His good and perfect gifts and He comes down to you to serve you with forgiveness, life, and salvation, when you pray, praise, and give thanks in words and songs, and when you give back to God that which He has given you to support this body and life—your time, talents, and treasures. You do all these things joyfully rejoicing, because Emmanuel has come, removing your sin and guilt. You can rejoice because you are forgiven for all of your sins!
