Hi, welcome to Redeem the Commute. I’m Ryan, your host for the Daily Challenges. Yesterday we read the story of Jesus as a child, travelling to Jerusalem with his family for a festival.  His parents lost track of him, and found him at the temple debating religious scholars.

It’s clear from the story he’s human – he grew up, and gave his parents a hard time.  Sounds about right.

But it also gives an indication he’s more than human – at a young age he’s already showing himself to be exceptional.  He’s debating religious experts, and they’re astonished at his wisdom.  He is not just asking good questions, he’s actually providing answers that astound people.

In a fascinating little conclusion, it says his mother remembered all these things and treasured them in her heart.  Remember, he’s about 12 years old, and must have lived a fairly unremarkable life until he was about thirty years old and ready to go public with his true identity.

This is the answer to the song you’ve probably been hearing for a month – Mary Did You Know?  Yes, she did!

For the bulk of his life, people knew him as a human, not as the Son of God.  But Mary knew.  She’d been told by an angel that her son would be the Messiah, the promised anointed one to redeem Israel.

This story tells of one little reminder she had, twelve years later, of God’s promise.  Imagine the encouragement it would have given her – the angel wasn’t a dream or a mistake – God had introduced her to a plan unfolding before her eyes.

And for the next 18 years, all we know is that he increased in wisdom and stature, with God and with man or humanity.

Question: What do you think it meant for Mary to treasure these things in her heart?  What else do you think she might have seen or heard that reminded her of Jesus’ true identity?