The question is often raised about the “lost years of Jesus.” Why are we given the infancy story and then nothing until he’s an adult? The question really is based on a misunderstanding of the infancy narratives. They are not the first chapter, chapter one of the life of Jesus, with, as it were, chapters two and three (Jesus grows up, Jesus goes to college) missing, and then the adult life of Jesus. The infancy narratives are overtures, not first acts but overtures. The function of an overture is to give you a musical medley, a thematic overview of what is to come.