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Jesus Grew in
God's Favour
INTRODUCTION The entire matter of the humanity of Jesus has given rise to a great deal of speculation. It is understandable that man would have great difficulty, in understanding exactly how God could become man; it is also quite clear, that much of the explanation will have to await our glorification and the complete fulfillment of the Kingdom of God. As we will see, the parents of Jesus, though they were immersed in the teachings of Judaism, had conversed with angels about the birth of Jesus, and had opportunity to ask questions, also had some great difficulty in grasping many issues connected with the birth of Jesus, and some of his behaviour as he grew up. A proper understanding however, of the complete humanity of Jesus, as well as his Deity, will create a mindset which will make some of these issues about Jesus, more easily understood. Many have been the speculations about events that happened after Jesus returned from Egypt and settled in Nazareth. There are many fanciful stories about what Jesus did, and what his family did, during the years of adolescence. It is to be noted, that the many apocryphal tales about Jesus childhood, present him as a child that was not fully in control of his strange powers, and who was often vindictive toward those who offended him. The Gospel writers did not focus on the childhood of Jesus, but focused on his birth, the few short years of ministry fulfilling the things that the prophets had stated that the Messiah would do, and then spent the overwhelming percentage of their writings, talking about the crucifixion. As we study this lesson therefore let us come to understand more and more that Jesus was made like unto his brethren. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit, something that we cannot claim. He was born like us, and had a body which experienced the feelings that we experience. He was made with a human nature, but was holy, and therefore he could be and was tempted in all points like we, yet without sin. He grew up, as we grow up, and at all points his consciousness, and his physical and mental progress was perfect, for a perfect person, so that God the Father would declare that he was well pleased with him, when he was ready to begin his ministry. His development and his progress in all spheres, was flawless. All human beings grow, and therefore Jesus, since he was made like the seed of Abraham, grew. All human beings advance in knowledge and understanding, and under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, move toward maturity. Jesus, being completely filled with the Spirit more than any other man, was the epitome of human perfection. Jesus grew and learned obedience as a perfect Son. God expects that men will grow and mature along the path and at the pace that he has established, and, if we do so, he will be fully pleased with us. He expects that his children will submit to the work of the Holy Spirit, in the same way that Jesus submitted to the leading of the Holy Spirit in his earthly ministry. When we do so, whether at age ten, twelve, sixteen, thirty or at any other age, we will amaze the world with the wisdom that we have, having been taught by God. The difference will show. The light of God will shine through at all ages. Note the importance of wisdom, which increases as age increases. Note too that as the years go by, strength increases. Note too, the importance of the grace of God. This grace, divine favour, which rested fully on Jesus, ensured that he would grow as God intended. We cannot use the excuse that the grace of God, the divine favour of God, does not rest on us and on our children. God, the Holy Spirit is with us, and wants to make us grow in wisdom, and increase our strength. We should look carefully at what we are doing with ourselves and with the rearing of our children, to maximize the effect of the grace of God on us, and on our children. Of course, parents must, as Joseph and Mary did, provide the proper environment for the growth of our children. They need instruction, a good example, and protection.
THE TEXTVerse 40. The Child referred to was Jesus. As Jesus grew older, he matured mentally and physically. Jesus grew in the spirit. More to the point, the power of the Godhead showed more and more in him. Jesus mental development was matched by the growth of his body. His divine nature always existed, and began to manifest itself, as he grew older. The description given, clearly indicated that Jesus, though fully God with the accompanying powerful spiritual manifestations, was also flesh and blood. This very real body required time to mature to adulthood like every other person. There would be no supernatural aging. In both body and soul Jesus grew greater each day. It is true to say that with each passing day, he grew stronger and stronger, or closer to God the Father. His understanding, his judgment, his memory, will and desires all increasing, moving to the point where He would be in a position to do good works and to accomplish the will of God.
Verse 41. In order to get some background about Jesus at this time in his life, we can ask the question, why did Jesus’ parents go up to Jerusalem? What was so special about this situation? It is stated that this was the time of the Passover. As was the custom, males were required to go up to The Temple three times a year (the Feast of the Passover, the Feast of the Pentecost, and the Feast of the Tabernacles). If any could not make it to all three, then the Feast of the Passover must be kept. Women were generally not required to go up to the Temple, but those who were devout would make that journey, with their devout husbands. Joseph and Mary made the trip with Jesus to the Temple together as a family, which shows a certain level of piety and religiousness and their regard to the ordinances and appointments of God. We should ask ourselves whether or not we are diligent in attending the worship occasions advocated or required by God, and whether or not we make certain that our children go with us. It is interesting to note that the modern devout parents might go to fasting or prayer services often, but they leave their children behind.
Verse 42. At the age of twelve, males are referred to as, “a son of the commandment” or has now come under the law. Which means that he now had responsibilities to the ordinances. Now they had to start undertaking their responsibilities and actions, towards their service to God. So at this time training for simple things like fasting would take place, and other duties taught about service in the synagogue. The youths would grow up to love the Lord, and love the place of the Lord. As it was customary to go up to Jerusalem, we see that the family was very devoted to God. Their lives showed how a family should relate to each other, to their nation, and to their God. Joseph must go up to the Temple three times a year. Now that Jesus had reached the ‘age of the commandment’, he must start fasting and going up to the Temple with his father three times a year also, and also must become familiar with the religious customs required of each male. As mentioned before, Mary went with them, demonstrating her devotion to the Lord. It shows as a family that they were raising Jesus up in the fear and admonition of the Lord, just as the Scriptures instructed.
Verse 43. The Feast lasted for seven days. Some would just come to the Temple and do what was required and leave, while the more devout followers would stay the entire period. Joseph and Mary observed the Feast for the entire length, as did others. But all good things must come to an end. They had panted after the streams of living water, and having been filled, they must go back to spread the message of God to the rest of the world. At the end of the Feast, they began to make their way home again in the large companies of devout individuals heading in their direction. These large companies might include family members, individuals from their district or village, sometimes even just casual acquaintances. Jesus’ growth had taken him to the stage where he had an amazing sensitivity to the desire of his Father, and was now intrigued with the place where God had placed his name. This Temple, called Herod’s Temple, was an ostentatious edifice. The Temple was run by leaders that were corrupt. The office of the High Priest was bought and sold. Commercial interests had turned the Temple into something less than an establishment devoted to holiness. Political accommodation to pagan Rome, both in religious and national matters was the norm. Still, there were men among the leaders who were very engaged in religious matters. Even in the midst of corruption, some significant amounts of dialogue and knowledge was being aired. This does not necessarily say that the learned men were true believers, but it does say that they continued in the historic tradition of rabbinical debate. These men knew much about the prophecies of the Messiah, and could advise Herod when the ‘Wise Men’ visited, but there seemed to have been little interest in applying the truths of Scripture to their own lives. The Bible indicates that Jesus stayed behind to hear the discourse of the doctors about the Scripture, the meaning of the laws, the certain traditions, and also to converse with them. Joseph and Mary were not aware of Jesus’ plans to remain behind. It appears that He did not ask permission of his parents to stay behind; and since Joseph and Mary were not aware of where he was, they probably had been comfortable with the company, that Jesus would normally be with, and with which they traveled. It appears from even now, that Jesus’ interests and motivation had begun to deviate from those of his parents, and he was more concerned with doing the will of His Father, not doing the things that children do at his age. The text does not necessarily rule out the fact that as a young child, he might have been attracted to the bright lights of Jerusalem. It was not clear if the men traveled in close companionship with the women. If not you can see how it may lead to misunderstanding about where Jesus was, if he decided to travel with either parent. One commentary explains: “On these sacred journeys, whole villages and districts traveled in groups together, partly for protection, partly for company; and as the well-disposed would beguile the tediousness of the way by good discourse, to which the child Jesus would be no silent listener, they expect to find Him in such a group”. But it was clear at the end of the day’s journey when they were to reunite, that Jesus was not with them. Jesus in no way was being disrespectful or disobedient to his parents, he was just following the will of this Father. Clearly Joseph and Mary were accustomed to the discretions and obedience demonstrated by Jesus over the past. So they thought that he would appear shortly as in time past. Clearly they were underestimating the rapidity of Jesus’ spiritual development, and not showing their understanding as to who exactly they were dealing with.
Verse 44. Joseph and Mary came to the realization that Jesus was not with them. They looked through the company of those they traveled with to try to find Jesus. The company they traveled with was large, and so the search ended when they were a day’s journey from Jerusalem. This means they had realized Jesus was missing some time within the journey. A day’s journey around Jerusalem is Akrabba (to the north), Jordan (to the east), Elath (to the south) and Lydda (to the west).
Verse 45. After being a day’s journey from Jerusalem, Joseph and Mary decided to head back to Jerusalem to seek Jesus. To lose one’s child for any extended period of time must be nerve racking; to know that you have lost the Son of God would make Mary and Joseph quite uncomfortable. We can imagine what was going through their minds as they searched for Jesus. There must have been a great deal of sorrow and self-reproach. We at times loose sight of Jesus, and it is really not until we run into problems we decide to seek him out feverously. If we are not so devout, it takes us longer to seek Jesus out while we run through the earthly solutions. Once those are exhausted, then we seek the help of Jesus, only to find out just how far away we have removed ourselves from him.
Verse 46. Assuming that it took another day to return to Jerusalem, The Scriptures say it took Joseph and Mary three days to locate Jesus. It would be logical to surmise that Joseph and Mary, would try to find him with any relatives or close friends living in Jerusalem. I am not sure why they didn’t first search for Him at the Temple. Perhaps they were not thinking of Jesus as the Messiah, but dealing with Jesus in terms of a son. Needless to say, searching for Jesus soon led them to the Temple. They did not find Him where the priests were, but in the sanctuary where the doctors and scholars sat, teaching and discussing theology and their traditions. Their son was found seated among the doctors, rabbis, and teachers. He was found listening to them, and asking questions. Conservatively, Joseph and Mary were separated from Jesus for four days. Throughout that time, it appears as though Jesus was with the scholars and doctors for that entire period. It was not common to find children in the midst of scholars. The discussions were generally indicated to be theological. Jesus seemed to have a fairly good grasp of the ideas and was asking questions that were thought provoking. This questioning by Jesus was not all he did. He definitely was giving them answers. It seemed that he might have posed questions that they could not answer and was giving them the solutions, as he did to these learned men much later during his earthly ministry. At this time Jesus could have formally and publicly asserted His authority as Teacher, but the Scriptures indicated that he did not overstep the earthly limits He placed on Himself at this time. One could liken this situation to that of Moses (Ex. 2:10-14, Ex 3) when Moses tried to prematurely lead the Hebrews away from Pharaoh. Even though we know Moses was to lead them, it was to be done in God’s time. Likewise with Jesus in the situation, he could have started his ministry now, but it was not the time. Jesus insights were clearly unique. He was the “Word” become flesh.
Verse 47. If any passers-by had stopped to see what was going on, they without doubt would have been impressed with hearing Jesus. All that heard him, namely, the Teachers of the Law, the foremost intellectuals of the day, were astonished at his understanding and answers. Clearly Jesus demonstrated wisdom beyond that of his age. Second, the wisdom exceeded or rivalled learned men; Jesus might be likened to a child prodigy at this point in time.
Verse 48. The amazement at seeing Jesus probably lies with the fact that he was sitting with Doctors and Scholars, and that they were conversing with him. It is not out of place to say that when questioned he answered them with responses that were very surprising and satisfactory. The responses and questions asked, showed a knowledge and understanding beyond many learned men. It is hard to say, but quite possibly Jesus showed some of his glory, which he would do again later. We note that some time later, these same learned men were again to be astonished at the wisdom and erudition of the ‘unlearned’ country bumpkin Galileans, who had become disciples of Jesus. When Joseph and Mary found Jesus, Mary was the only one recorded to say something to Jesus. Why? What is the significance? Well, the Bible doesn’t record too much from Joseph, but his actions did say a lot about him. One of his greatest contributions, was passing along his birthright to Jesus. Mary seems to be the more vocal of the two parents. Jesus in times past would probably have been mindful to communicate his intensions to his parents. Mary in this case told Jesus of the worry he had caused them. Needless to say, Jesus was under the protection and guidance of the Holy Spirit at all times. The events of the past leading to this moment, should have provided them with some assurance. Then again, the blessings and curse of being a parent, means that sometimes when strange and stressful events occur regarding your children, your emotions do get the better of you. Even the most devout of us can loose track of our true objective in life. We should serve God and trust in Him completely in all matters of life.
Verse 49. Jesus’ response to his mother’s query was straightforward and clear. He seemed to imply that they had lost sight of who he was and the prophecy concerning their son, the Messiah. He was not just Jesus, son of Joseph and Mary, but the Christ. He almost started to chastise them from preventing him from performing his task. Jesus must have been surprised that Joseph and Mary would not understand what was happening. Luke tells us that they did not understand completely the implications of Jesus’ words. Note that this information would only have come from Mary herself.
Verse 50. It is clear that some things were still hidden from Joseph and Mary. As Jesus grew older, more of his divine nature would be seen. Likewise, Joseph and Mary would come to realize whom Jesus really was and what He would have to do.
Verse 51. Jesus once again put himself under the subjection of his parents and they returned to Nazareth. Jesus could have asserted his authority and made them stay or go back home without Him, but He did not. He might have said more, but this was not recorded. Jesus, with the power and knowledge at His disposal, clearly superior to them, put Himself under the subjection of his parents. Why? It could clearly be seen as a demonstration of humility and obedience to the Father. All this was done to please the Father, as all his actions were.
Verse 51-52. Jesus grew in God’s favour. He grew physically and mentally like any other person, learning the Word of God and putting himself in obedience to the Law, and his parents. This allowed more time for him to mature and grow. His divine nature required him to learn obedience as a son. He thus stands as an example to us. Clearly, he moved closer to God with each passing moment. His witness to God was seen as a witness to man, which was very pleasing.
CONCLUSIONWe must note the fact that all men should grow and have increasing consciousness of their relationship with God the Father. Jesus did, and we should follow in his steps. It cannot be expected that children will know everything, but they should be able to behave appropriate to their level of knowledge. There is a time for milk and there is a time for each and every believer to eat meat. The tragedy is that a believer can be stuck at the milk stage for a lifetime. Jesus grew, and was put into a situation where he expressed astonishment at the inability of Mary and Joseph to properly understand him and what he was sent to do. We write this off to human weakness. But note also that Jesus knew how far to go with his parents. He knew that he should honour them and respect them, and be obedient to the leading of this godly but imperfect couple. This should teach us, that those in charge of us cannot always be expected to surpass us in everything, whether it be in knowledge or understanding. But God still requires us to show respect to those placed above us in positions of authority. This of course involves humility. The overriding emphasis is however on growth. Jesus grew and we must grow and mature. He was fully man and yet fully God. We are men, but we are now the recipients of the new birth. We are now different, and we must grow. The Holy Spirit is our Teacher. The Scriptures have been given to us. We must understand that we are to be about the business of our Father, not about our own business. We do not have the right or the ability to create our own business. We are too flawed, and too much like children to do that. Some however think they are mature enough to create their own doctrines but they are wrong. Let us place ourselves under the tutelage of the Spirit, and by doing so please God, fully knowing that one day, God the Father will say of us: “This is my Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased’.
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