Luke 2:48

And when they saw him, they were amazed: and his mother said unto him, Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing.

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Word by word — the Greek

Word	Greek	Strong’s	Meaning
And	καὶ kai	G2532	and · conjunction
saw	ἰδόντες idontes	G1492	used only in certain past tenses · verb — second aorist active participle, nominative plural masculine
him	αὐτὸν auton	G846	the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — accusative singular masculine
amazed	ἐξεπλάγησαν, exeplagēsan	G1605	to strike with astonishment · verb — second aorist passive indicative, 3rd person plural
and	καὶ kai	G2532	and · conjunction
his	αὐτὸν auton	G846	the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — accusative singular masculine
mother	μήτηρ mētēr	G3384	a "mother" (literally or figuratively · noun — nominative singular feminine
said	εἶπεν eipen	G2036	to speak or say (by word or writing) · verb — second aorist active indicative, 3rd person singular
unto	πρὸς pros	G4314	a preposition of direction · preposition
him	αὐτοῦ· autou	G846	the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — genitive singular masculine
Son	τέκνον, teknon	G5043	a child (as produced) · noun — vocative singular neuter
why	τί ti	G5101	an interrogative pronoun · interrogative pronoun — accusative singular neuter
thou	ἐποίησας epoiēsas	G4160	to make or do (in a very wide application · verb — aorist active indicative, 2nd person singular
thus	οὕτως; houtōs	G3779	in this way (referring to what precedes or follows) · adverb
dealt	ποιέω poiéō	G4160	to make or do (in a very wide application
us	ἡμῖν hēmîn	G2254	to (or for
behold	ἰδοὺ idou	G2400	used as imperative lo! · interjection
thy	σοῦ soû	G4675	of thee
father	πατήρ patēr	G3962	a "father" (literally or figuratively · noun — nominative singular masculine
I	κἀγώ kagṓ	G2504	so also the dative case
sought	ἐζητοῦμέν ezētoumen	G2212	to seek (literally or figuratively) · verb — imperfect active indicative, 1st person plural
thee	σέ sé	G4571	thee
sorrowing	ὀδυνώμενοι odunōmenoi	G3600	to grieve · verb — present middle participle, nominative plural masculine

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Matthew 12:46 While he yet talked to the people, behold, his mother and his brethren stood without, desiring to speak with him.
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?
Luke 3:23 And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was the son of Heli,
Luke 4:22 And all bare him witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth. And they said, Is not this Joseph’s son?

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Luke 2:41–end

We have here the only passage of story recorded concerning our blessed Saviour, from his infancy to the day of his showing to Israel at twenty-nine years old, and therefore we are concerned to make much of this, for it is in vain to wish we had more. Here is, I. Christ's going up with his parents to Jerusalem, at the feast of the passover, Luk 2:41, Luk 2:42. 1. It was their constant practice to attend there, according to the law, though it was a long journey, and they were poor, and perhaps not well able, without straitening themselves, to bear the expenses of it. Note, Public ordinances must be frequented, and we must not forsake the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Luke 2:46

hearing . . . asking--The method of question and answer was the customary form of rabbinical teaching; teacher and learner becoming by turns questioner and answerer, as may be seen from their extant works. This would give full scope for all that "astonished them in His understanding and answers." Not that He assumed the office of teaching--"His hour" for that "was not yet come," and His equipment for that was not complete; for He had yet to "increase in wisdom" as well as "stature" (Luk 2:52). In fact, the beauty of Christ's example lies very much in His never at one stage of His life anticipating the duties of another. All would be in the style and manner of a learner, "opening His mouth an…

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Adam Clarke on Luke 2:48

Why hast thou thus dealt with us? - It certainly was not his fault, but theirs. Men are very apt to lay on others the blame of their own misconduct.

John Gill on Luke 2:48

And when they saw him they were amazed,.... That is, when Joseph and Mary saw him amidst the doctors, they were astonished that he was admitted among them, and had in such esteem by them: and his mother said unto him; she being his own, and only parent, and not Joseph; and therefore he said nothing, but left it to her; who upon sight of him, at least as soon as she had a proper opportunity after he had left the doctors, began to chide, or rather to expostulate with him after this manner: son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? which was said with great tenderness of affection, and in much mildness; and may be a pattern to parents, who should not provoke their children to anger, but deal gen…

The Church Fathers

His mother certainly knew that He was not the child of Joseph, but she so speaks to avoid the suspicions of the Jews. And upon her saying, that "Thy father and I have sought Thee sorrowing," the Saviour answers...
— Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on the Gospel of Luke, Sermon V

(ubi sup.) But the ever-wonderful mother of God, moved by a mother's feelings, as it were with weeping makes her mournful enquiry, in every thing like a mother, with confidence, humility, and affection. As it follows, And his mother said unto him, Son, what hast thou done?
— Ancient Greek Expositor ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)), Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Therefore, that we too may hear him and that he may set before us questions which he himself may resolve, let us beseech him and seek him with the utmost labor and sorrow, and then we shall be able to find him whom we seek. For it is not written in vain: "I and your father have been seeking you with sorrow". He who seeks Jesus must seek not negligently, not carelessly, not in passing, as some seek and therefore cannot find him. But let us say: "with sorrow we seek you".
— Origen of Alexandria, HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF LUKE 18

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Crucifixion — A common mode of punishment among heathen nations in early times. It is not certain whether it was known among the ancient Jews; probably it was not. The modes of capital punishment according to the…
Mary — Hebrew Miriam. (1.) The wife of Joseph, the mother of Jesus, called the “Virgin Mary,” though never so designated in Scripture (Matt. 2:11; Acts 1:14). Little is known of her personal history. Her…
Jesus, The Christ · General references — General references
Mary · starts back on the return, misses Jesus, seeks and finds him in the temple area — starts back on the return, misses Jesus, seeks and finds him in the temple area
Parents · .Mary — .Mary
Passover · Jesus in the temple courtyard at the time of — Jesus in the temple courtyard at the time of

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Luke 2:48

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Luke 2:41–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Luke 2:46

Adam Clarke on Luke 2:48

John Gill on Luke 2:48

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Luke 2:48

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Luke 2:41–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Luke 2:46

Adam Clarke on Luke 2:48

John Gill on Luke 2:48

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Calvin on Luke 2:48–end

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Luke 2:47