Jesus laid claim to a special relationship with God the Father. He demonstrated an all-consuming love for the Temple (where formal business with God was done in worship and study) when, according to Saint Luke, he was twelve years old. Neither Matthew, Mark, nor John includes that account in their gospels. But Luke evidently considered the incident to be a true story that was important enough to be included in the gospel that bears his name; he was interested, as his Acts of the Apostles affirms, in telling the whole story.

This incident sets the stage for what is bound to happen after Jesus grows up and begins his compassionate yet controversial ministry; a confrontation with the leaders of the Jewish faith was inevitable. John carries this further and places such an encounter at the ver…