“After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions.” – Luke 2:46

In my profession of journalism and communication, the skills of listening and asking questions are invaluable.

Yet, we live in an age of instant ‘know-it-all’ experts.

A few minutes scrolling online, and suddenly someone thinks he’s an authority on the Bible, politics, medicine, and everything in between!

We’ve become quick to speak and slow to listen, rushing to broadcast our opinions before we’ve even understood the question.

But Jesus shows us a different path, as our meditation today shows.

Notice what Luke emphasizes: Jesus was listening first.

The incarnate Word of God, sitting among the (unsaved) temple scholars, not lecturing, but listening.                                                                                                                                           

Not pontificating, but asking questions.

If ever there was someone who had the right to skip the learning process, it was Him.

Yet, there He sat for three days, demonstrating a truth we desperately need today: true wisdom begins with a teachable spirit.

Even when the religious leaders were astounded at His understanding, the text makes it clear that understanding came through engaged listening and thoughtful questioning.

He didn’t arrive with all the answers already formulated.

He sat among the elderly and experienced teachers, honoring the learning process that God had established.

This challenges us profoundly.

Jesus’ example is clear: if the Son of God valued listening and asking questions as the pathway to wisdom, how much more do we need this humble approach?

If the Son of God chose to listen to the people He came to save, who are you to think you’ve outgrown teachability?

The Book of James reminds us to be “quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.”

King Solomon warns us in Proverbs that “to answer before listening—that is folly and shame.”

Yet, how often do we interrupt, formulate responses while others have barely started talking, or assume we already know what they will say?

True active listening requires humility.

It means setting aside our need to be right long enough to genuinely hear what the other person has to say.

After His resurrection, Jesus walked with two grieving disciples on the road to Emmaus.

Of course, they could not recognize Him.

He knew exactly what had happened, yet He asked them questions and listened patiently for hours while they poured out their pain and confusion.

He gave them space to voice their struggle before offering truth. He walked with them.

This is the model for growing in wisdom and in service to others.

Wisdom isn’t gained through mere passive exposure or uttering opinionated assertions.

It comes through developing active listening skills, reflection, and inquiry.

It flourishes in community where we’re willing to ask genuine questions, sit with uncertainty, and learn from others – even when we think we already know or are at a higher level than them.

Consider your own spiritual life.

When did you last attend a church service or fellowship, Bible study or TV broadcast or read a book prepared to really listen and learn rather than contribute or challenge?

When did you last ask your pastor or elder or parent or boss a question, genuinely seeking their insight?

The temple courts and synagogues were Jesus’s classroom.

Today, our local church gatherings/fellowship serve the same purpose.

But we must come with open hearts and closed mouths, ready to receive what God wants to teach us through His Word and His servants.

Though only a little boy, Jesus spent three days in Jerusalem – away from His family and relatives, prioritizing wisdom over convenience and schedule.

His example is clear: if the Son of God valued listening and asking questions as the pathway to wisdom, how much more do we need this humble approach?

Let us learn to listen well, ask well, and never assume we’ve arrived.

That’s how we grow in wisdom.

That’s how we’re transformed to become more like Christ.