He said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Didn’t you know that I must be in my Father’s house?”
Parallel translations
- KJV And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father’s business?
- BSB “Why were you looking for Me?” He asked. “Did you not know that I had to be in My Father’s house?”
- ESV And he said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?”
- NKJV And He said to them, “Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?”
- NASB And He said to them, “Why is it that you were looking for Me? Did you not know that I had to be in My Father’s house?”
- NLT “But why did you need to search?” he asked. “Didn’t you know that I must be in my Father’s house?”
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Jesus asks why they searched, saying He must be in His Father's house. It matters because it is His first recorded word, revealing His awareness of His divine sonship.
Overview
Jesus responds that they should have known He must be about His Father's affairs, or in His Father's house. At only twelve, He expresses a unique consciousness of God as His Father and of His God-given mission. This first recorded saying reveals the heart of His identity and purpose.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- John 6:38For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me.
- John 8:29He who sent me is with me. The Father hasn’t left me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to him.”
- Ps 40:8I delight to do your will, my God. Yes, your law is within my heart.”
- Mal 3:1“Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me; and the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, behold, he comes!” says Yahweh of Armies.
- John 4:34Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me, and to accomplish his work.
- Luke 2:48When they saw him, they were astonished, and his mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us this way? Behold, your father and I were anxiously looking for you.”
- John 5:17But Jesus answered them, “My Father is still working, so I am working, too.”
- Matt 21:12Jesus entered into the temple of God, and drove out all of those who sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the money changers’ tables and the seats of those who sold the doves.
- John 9:4I must work the works of him who sent me, while it is day. The night is coming, when no one can work.
- John 2:16–17To those who sold the doves, he said, “Take these things out of here! Don’t make my Father’s house a marketplace!”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Luke shows Jesus the Savior for all — outsiders, the poor, the nations — the one who, on the Emmaus road, opened all the Scriptures to show they were about himself.
How Luke 2:49 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.