Certain biblical passages are so familiar to us that we do not recognize how strange they actually are.
For example, isn't it amazing that Joseph's brothers became so resentful of him that they considered killing him, and as it was ended up selling him into slavery (Gen 37:20-28)?
And isn't it strange that Jesus, at age 12. remained behind in Jerusalem after the Passover week celebration without telling his parents what he intended to do, and then seemed surprised when they were worried about him (Luke 2:41-52)?
In a sermon at Church of the Messiah on Nov 28, 2020, Kyle Kettering reflected on these two accounts, noting that people often behave in strange ways toward members of their families. Even so, families are a blessing, and we grow in character through all the weird things that other family members do.
In discussing Luke 2, Kyle mentioned an interesting reading of Luke 2:49 that is different from the one we most often hear. In that verse, Jesus says to his parents, "Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father's business?" (NKJV)
Usually we assume that Jesus was referring in v 49 to God, who was indeed his Father. (That is what the NKJV assumes by capitalizing the "F" in "Father".) But it is also possible that Jesus was referring to his legal human father Joseph, who is called Jesus' father in the previous verse. (Steven Notley favors this reading.) We know that Jesus' family was notably pious, as evidenced by their frequent pilgrimages to Jerusalem and careful observance of the Torah in general (vv 22-24, 41). So it could be that while Joseph was a carpenter, his real love was the Word of God, a love that he passed along to his son. Jesus was honoring Joseph by pursuing that love, which was Joseph's real "business."
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