Did Jesus Know Who He Was When He Was a Child?

Question of the week: Did Jesus know who he was when he was a child growing up?

My answer: Yes. He certainly knew who he was when he was twelve years of age. Luke 2:39–52 records the account of Jesus’s family celebrating the Passover when Jesus was twelve years old. While in Jerusalem, Jesus’s parents lost contact with him and spent three days searching all over Jerusalem for him. Eventually, they found Jesus in the temple posing questions to the chief rabbis. When Jesus’s parents asked why he had left their presence, he responded, “Did you not know that I must be about my Father’s business?”

There is a hint in the Bible that Jesus may have been aware of who he was much younger than twelve years of age. When Mary visited Elizabeth when she was pregnant with Jesus and Elizabeth was pregnant with John the Baptist, Elizabeth exclaimed that the fetus within her womb jumped for joy at the near presence of Jesus. If John the Baptist knew who Jesus was while they still were both in the fetal state, it follows that Jesus also knew who he was even before he exited the womb of Mary.