Jesus' teaching in the temple is given in extended detail by Luke. The three other Gospel writers make no mention of it.

Luke 2:42-52
And when he was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the feast.
And when they had fulfilled the days, as they returned, the child Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem; and Joseph and his mother knew not of it.
But they, supposing him to have been in the company, went a day's journey; and they sought him among their kinsfolk and acquaintance.
And when they found him not, they turned back again to Jerusalem, seeking him.
And it came to pass, that after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions.
And all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers.
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.
And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me, wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business.
And they understood not the saying which he spake unto them. And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them; but his mother kept all these sayings in her heart.
And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.

   The law required that every male go three times each year to Jerusalem and the added requirement of the rabbis was that the women go once a year at the Feast of the Passover, the time of the Spring Equinox. At the age of twelve a boy became the son of the law and incurred his first legal obligation. A phylactery (broad band) inscribed with verses from the Bible was placed upon his brow as a reminder that he was to obey the word of God.

   Though they had risen above all outer law by becoming a law unto themselves (through following the mandate of the highest within), the Holy Family obeyed all the old Temple customs. They rendered unto Caesar the things that were Caesar's. The Festival of the Passover continued for seven days, with different ceremonies on each day. On the third day beyond the half-holiday, it was lawful to return home.

   With His insight into the wisdom of the ages, the boy Jesus realized the difference between the letter of the law and its spirit. He saw the worship of the nearby pagan temples, with their luxurious vices, sensuous music, and innumerable priests and priestesses, ceremonials marking the final degeneration of the ancient Taurean religion.

   In Jerusalem stood the magnificent temple of marble and gold, built by Herod to placate the people for his many evil deeds. Here again, form had obliterated spirit. Jesus saw the priests in their magnificent robes and costly jewels as little more than butchers, sacrificing the lives of thousands of innocent animals in a useless propitiation for sins of which man could be cleansed only by his own efforts. How far removed were these outward symbols of the worship of God from the holy radiant lives of Joseph and Mary and the other members of the Essenes whom Jesus knew so well!

   In the quiet communion with mountains and sea and stars, Jesus had learned to read the minds of men; He was able to study their auras; He had come into at-one-ment with the heartbeat of the world and realized the oneness of all life in God. This was a part of the message that He brought to the Temple in an endeavor to save the Arian worship from the crystallization and degeneracy which had come upon the fast disappearing remnants of the Taurean Age. He came, bearing the glad tidings of the New Age, proclaiming the truths of the new Christian Era, the Piscean truths of esoteric Christianity.

   In the personal parallel of the Temple episode, Jesus represents the power of the awakened spirit within, and the rabbis, the reasoning mind or purely mental faculty which fails to cognize anything beyond,the realm of the five senses. Mary, the intuitive or image-making power, not having attained to full, clear realization, must needs be admonished at times, as was the mother Mary by her Child of Wisdom.

   This can be done only through the blending in Christ which overcomes the three days' loss or lack, the dedication of all interests of spirit, soul, and body in the service of the higher, self. Every initiatory ritual contains this Temple episode. In the Egyptian rites, Isis is found wailing for the loss of Horus, who is discovered teaching the priests in the Temple of the Sun.

   The age of twelve is an important time in the life of a child, foreshadowing the birth of the desire body in the average individual, and in advanced egos, the first manifestation of the soul body. The higher life essences or ethers, accumulated in the past, are drawn about the head of a child at birth, these form the halo usually represented about the heads of Jesus, Mary, John the Baptist, Samuel, and the saints. Through love and service these ethers gradually form into the "wedding garment" which encircles the entire body. The greater the accumulated soul powers from the past, the sooner this garment of the soul is fashioned in the present life. The teachings in the temple marked the mature development of the soul body of Jesus. He realized then that the serious work of his ministry had begun: "Wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business?" Special work had to be done to refine and accelerate the vibratory power of the blood, even in a body as pure as that of Jesus, in order that it might become a fitting vehicle for the great Christ Spirit.

   Mary kept all these things in her heart, and in the full flood-tide of realization which was hers after the illumination of Pentecost, she qave them to Luke, who has recorded all with rare and tender delicacy in his Gospel.

   It was during these pilgrimages to Jerusalem that the Sorrow of Jesus for erring mankind was most apparent to His mother. As she sought to console His agony while He prayed in the Temple, she saw a light from heaven descend upon Him and heard a Voice saying: "This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased."

   The true Master always bears His own "sign" which those of similar attainment will always perceive. This was Jesus' purpose in teaching in the Temple; it offered Him an opportunity to discover if any of the Temple-priests recognized Him or had any concept of the great Cosmic Plan in which He was to play so glorious a part. In analog and parable He correlated the sciences and arts with the Mysteries as they were to be conjoined and taught in the ages to come. In many ways the high wisdom of the true Master was evidenced only to be received in resentment, anger and ignorance.

   Sadly the Master Jesus returned with His parents to their home in Nazareth and from this time the days of childhood were put behind Him. A deeper seriousness animated every action, a more pronounced purpose crowned every deed. He was now prepared and ready to be "about His Father's business."

 — Corinne Heline