After the birth of Jesus at Bethlehem, His parents took Him to Jerusalem to the Temple to offer the sacrifice required by the Old Testament after the birth of a baby boy. Luke wrote, “When the time came for the purification rites required by the Law of Moses, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord” (Luke 2:22, NIV). After doing everything the Law required them to do at the Temple in Jerusalem for their new baby, Joseph and Mary took Him home to Nazareth. Luke described this season of Jesus’ childhood when he wrote, “When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth. And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was on him” (Luke 2:39-40, NIV). Jesus was approximately seven weeks old when they arrived in Nazareth. When Jesus was about two years old, Wise Men from Mesopotamia came to Nazareth to the house where Joseph and Mary were living and brought expensive gifts to Jesus. Matthew wrote, “After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came…On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh” (Matthew 2:1a…11, NIV). God used these Wise Men to provide the financial resources Joseph would need for what God would tell Him to do next! After the Wise Men departed, an angel appeared to Joseph at Nazareth and warned him to take the toddler Jesus out of the country of Israel and stay in Egypt until he was given further instructions. Matthew wrote, “When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. ‘Get up,’ he said, ‘take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.’ So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, where he stayed until the death of Herod” (Matthew 2:13-15a, NIV). Sometime later, the angel appeared to Joseph again and instructed him to take Jesus back to Israel. So they returned to Nazareth. Matthew wrote, “After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, ‘Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child’s life are dead.’ So he got up, took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel…and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth” (Matthew 2:19-21…23, NIV). So after a brief stay in Egypt, Jesus spent the remainder of His childhood in Nazareth. We don’t see Him again in Scripture until He is twelve years old when He explains to Mary and Joseph that “I must be about my father’s business” (Luke 2:49b, NKJV). Let’s read the story as Luke wrote it: “His parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover. And when He was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem according to the custom of the feast. When they had finished the days, as they returned, the Boy Jesus lingered behind in Jerusalem. And Joseph and His mother did not know it; but supposing Him to have been in the company, they went a day’s journey, and sought Him among their relatives and acquaintances. So when they did not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem, seeking Him. Now so it was that after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard Him were astonished at His understanding and answers. So when they saw Him, they were amazed; and His mother said to Him, ‘Son, why have You done this to us? Look, Your father and I have sought You anxiously.’ And He said to them, ‘Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?’” (Luke 2:41-49, NKJV). The probing question that leaps from the words of this story is “What is ‘my Father’s business?’”