Luke 2:49 And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father’s business?

Ever play hide and go seek? The seeker would cover his eyes and count to one hundred and then say “Ready or not, here I come.” Here in chapter 2 of Luke, Jesus stays behind after he is declared a man, by tradition. He knows He is ready, willing and eager to enter into the ministry of His Father’s house.

I do not know just when and how Jesus came to know His heavenly Father. Scriptures do not relate any clear text as to the behavior and relationship of our Savior in those early years. We have no idea how much time He spent in prayer, in communion, in instruction directly from the Father. It can only be seen that by His actions this day, He believed He was ready.

It would be another twenty odd years before His people would come to know who Christ was in their midst. His ministry did not begin until a wedding feast. Or did it? Those years between this day and that were also darkened from the pages of testament. We have little to view accept one comment in which it said Jesus read “as was His custom.” Jesus grew up in the church, in the Jewish synagogue.

What must have gone through the heart and mind of Jesus to know the Father and the possible yet constrain Himself until the appointed time? Was His heart any less eager to help? Did He feel any less for the suffering of His people as He stood and waited for His ministry to begin?

Compassion comes at a price.