Jesus’ Journey: Two Passovers, One Mission

What does “Jesus’ Journey: Two Passovers, One Mission” mean?

It refers to the spiritual and physical development of Jesus from His early visit to the temple at age twelve to His final Passover before the crucifixion. Between these two Passovers, we see His growth in wisdom, obedience, and divine purpose—a mission that would lead to the salvation of the world.

We focus so much on the fact that Jesus is God we almost forget that He was also human. Luke 2:40 explains this about His childhood: "And the Child grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him." Like our own children, if we raise them knowing the Lord, He grew stronger in spirit, and His wisdom increased.

God's grace was upon Him, not to forgive sin, because there was no sin in Him, but God's blessings and love were upon Him. As He grew in grace, His daily life mirrored the traditions of His people.

Jesus’ Journey Through Jewish Life

Growing up as an obedient Jew, He would go up each year with His family to Jerusalem for the Passover celebration. This religious celebration was to remember when the death angel passed over the homes of the Jews and did not touch their firstborn, unlike the Egyptians, whose firstborn died that night so many years before.

Jesus' Journey: Two Passovers, One Mission

Passover wasn't just a celebration of freedom from slavery—it was a constant reminder of hope and renewal of faith for the Jewish people. Jesus’ presence at Passover takes on even greater meaning. His family's trips to the temple at Jerusalem during Passover show a life lived in traditional Jewish faith, while His final Passover would be His sacrifice for the world.

A Boy Teaching in the Temple

That year, Jesus was 12. By Jewish standards of the time He was almost a grown man. In Luke 2:41-50, we read about His families visit to the temple during Passover. On the way home from the festival, His parents discovered that Jesus was not with their group. They went back to Jerusalem to find Him and after three days discovered Him in the temple. There He was in the midst of teachers asking questions and listening.

Reflections on Learning

As a former teacher, these are two of the things I valued greatly in a student. Were they listeners? And did they ask questions about things they didn't understand? Jesus' teachers surely valued this as well. But perhaps Jesus was questioning these teachers to see if they really understood what they were teaching. He was obviously fully engaged with the subject. He was learning from the Torah—the books of Moses, and also from the Prophets.

Do we try to engage with the Bible today as intently as Jesus did with the Torah?

It wasn’t long before those around Him took notice.

Foundations for His Ministry

They were "astonished at His understanding and His answers." He was so young, and yet He already had the understanding of a gifted teacher. This was prophesied in Deuteronomy 18:18. In this verse, the Lord says a Prophet will be raised up like Moses, in whose mouth God's words will be placed.

He told His parents when they found Him, "Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?” (Luke 2:49) He was about the business of God. What Jesus did as a child laid the groundwork for how He would speak to people as an adult.

Later on in His ministry He would ask many questions to make people think and go deeper in their understanding. His early lessons laid the foundation for His use of parables when teaching. These were simple stories used to illustrate a sometimes difficult spiritual truth. He learned this teaching style from Jewish teachers and rabbis of the time. Teaching was a very important part of Jesus's ministry. The book of Mark talks about Jesus teaching twenty times.

Jesus Grows in Wisdom and Favor

And in Luke 2:50, we read, "And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men." As parents, don't we all want to say this about our children? For ourselves isn't our longing to increase in wisdom and in favor with God and men? As a human, Jesus grew gradually in the knowledge of the teachings of God. Wisdom is the fear of the Lord and in this He also grew.

Why Jesus Needed to Learn

If Jesus, in his humanity, needed to learn God's word and understand wisdom, how much more do we? What are we actively doing to make this happen? Do we think that Jesus came from the womb and just magically knew all about the Torah? Don't you imagine that Mary and Joseph both taught Him from the youngest age about His Heavenly Father? In the same way, we should teach our children.

Baptism: A New Beginning

We know little about His childhood, but we know that by the age of 30, He knew what His mission was. He came to John the Baptist to be baptized. Jewish people had always practiced a type of baptism. It was preferably done in flowing water and was meant to symbolize purification and a rededication to God's laws.

John the Baptist, however, was preparing the hearts of the people for the coming Messiah. His baptism was for the remission of sins (Mark 1:4). When Jesus came to John the Baptist, John protested that it was Jesus who should be baptizing John. John knew who Jesus was. In Matthew 3:15, Jesus explains this needed to happen to "fulfill all righteousness".

Jesus' baptism fulfilled prophecy that John was the forerunner to the Messiah. It also announced to the world that Jesus was that Messiah that was prophesied. At His baptism, we see and hear the Trinity: Jesus as the Son experiencing ritual cleansing, the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove descending from Heaven, and the voice of God proclaiming that He was His Son. This was the beginning of His journey.

After the death and resurrection of Jesus years later, baptism would carry a deeper meaning. In it, we are dying and rising with Christ to our new life. We die to our old sin nature and rise to a life filled with the Holy Spirit. All of this because of the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross.

Led by the Spirit into the Wilderness

From here, Jesus, led by the Holy Spirit, goes out into the wilderness and is tempted by the Devil. Fasting during this time puts all of His focus on the will of His Father. The Devil, seeing Him physically weakened, tempts Him three times. Each time, the Devil retreats when Jesus quotes Scripture. In the end, filled with the power of the Holy Spirit, He begins to teach in the synagogues, where He is "glorified by all" (Luke 4:15).

The Holy Spirit Empowers Us Too

From His baptism, where the Holy Spirit descended like a dove, to His time in the wilderness, where Scripture became His shield, Jesus shows us how to live the will of God. The Holy Spirit power that Jesus walked in is the same power given to everyone who wants to grow in wisdom and live out their God-given purpose.

Spiritual Growth in Every Season

When we think about these milestones in Jesus' life, we are reminded that we must also grow in wisdom and knowledge. Like Jesus, our encounters with God, whether in good times or bad, shape us into the people we are meant to be. The call is clear: embrace growth, trust God's timing, and allow His Holy Spirit to lead you from one season of life to the next. In this Jesus is our role model.

From Admired to Rejected

From the age of 12, when teachers in the Temple were astonished, to the age of 30, where He was glorified for His teachings, the Lord grew in the power of the Holy Spirit and in knowledge. Mark 1:22 describes Jesus as teaching with authority, not like the scribes who commonly relied on other teacher's authority who came before them. Jesus relied on His own authority. As we know, He wasn't glorified for very long. Almost immediately, the people in His hometown of Nazareth ran Him out of town and tried to kill Him.

One Final Passover, One Mission Fulfilled

Just three years later, Jesus would go to Jerusalem one last time for the Passover festival. This Passover was only 21 years after that young boy left His teachers in awe. He arrived knowing what would happen. Here He would be welcomed with shouts of Hosanna and Glory to God, but only a few days later, these same people would be shouting for His death.

He Rose—and So Can You

Hung on a cross on a hill called Golgotha, or place of the skull, He would die. But like when He was a boy who taught for three days in the Jewish Temple, He would only stay in the grave for three days. Between these two Passovers, we witness Jesus’ journey—two Passovers, one mission from the Father. Rising to life, He has opened a way for us, His brothers and sisters, to call God our Father, just as He did in the temple as a child. Christ is our Passover as He takes us from death to life.

Call on Him now. Find a new life in Christ. As Ephesians 2:6 tells us, "For He raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus." (NLT) Seek Him and His will and grow in Christ.

People Also Ask

What is the difference between a synagogue and the temple? A synagogue is a place where people of the Jewish faith gather to learn, pray and worship. The temple refers historically to the ancient central place of worship in Jerusalem. It was here that sacrifices were offered.