Study of
Jesus - Index
Sunday, April 11, 2010 am
WHO IS THIS JESUS? (4)
The Childhood of Jesus
We have begun a
study of the life of Jesus.
In our last lesson we examined the birth of Jesus and noted some lessons
from the events surrounding His birth.
Today we want to notice His childhood.
Following His birth,
we do not have much information about Jesus growing up.
In fact, scriptures record only one specific occasion during His
childhood and a few general statements.
These are recorded in Luke 2:39-52.
Today, we want to examine these verses and note some lessons to
learn from them.
a.
We know so
little about the upbringing of Jesus.
We know after Egypt, He was raised in Nazareth.
Nazareth was a village in southern Galilee.
Very little is known about the town, though Luke describes it as
a city in Luke 2:4. It was
probably an insignificant and isolated village which was not on the main
roads of the Empire. It was
located in the hill country about 16 miles from the base of the Sea of
Galilee and about 20 miles from the Mediterranean Sea.
From nearby plateaus, these seas
and other mountains of significance in the Bible could be seen. It
obviously had a considerable contingency of Jews because there was a
synagogue there, where Jesus would be rejected.
An estimate of the population during the time of Christ was
around 500. Today the area
has a population of around 60,000 with several churches.
This was the culture in which Jesus grew up.
He had a fairly normal Jewish childhood, though Luke 2:40 seems
to indicate early on He understood Who He was.
We know that He was trained as a carpenter (Mark 6:3) and
obviously received some schooling in Judaism since He knew how to read
(Luke 4:16). His parent were
devout Jews who went to Jerusalem religiously for the feasts.
b.
The ONLY
event we read of during His childhood was when Jesus at age 12 went with
his parents to Jerusalem (Lk. 2:41-50).
We are told it was the feast of the Passover and it was something
they did every year, which means Jesus had probably been to Jerusalem
before, but at age 12, He was approaching the time when Jews were
expected to accept accountability for the law themselves (at age 13)
(This is the modern day Bar Mitzvah).
The Passover feast lasted for 7 days.
As Joseph and Mary were returning home, they assumed that Jesus
was elsewhere in their entourage and traveled toward home about a day’s
journey. From Nazareth to
Jerusalem was about 65 miles or a minimum of about 3 day’s journey.
They return to Jerusalem and begin searching for Jesus.
They find Him the 3rd day in the temple.
Jesus was in the midst of the teachers, listening to them and asking
questions. Scriptures say that all who heard Him were astonished at His
understanding and answers.
While we do not know the conversation, we can observe from this that
Jesus, at this age, already had a greater than normal grasp of the
scriptures.
In fact, at that time we KNOW that He was aware of what His
responsibility was. When His parents asked, “Son,
why have You done this to us?
Look, your father and I have sought You anxiously.”
Jesus responds, “Why did you seek Me?
Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?”
(Lk. 2:48-49). Luke
also notes they did not understand what Jesus was saying there.
NOTE: This is the last time we hear of His Father.
It is supposed that Joseph died before Jesus began His ministry,
but we don’t know.
c.
The verses
before and after this account are the only other information we have on
His childhood. While Jesus
had a fairly normal childhood,
Luke 2:40 seems to indicate He understood who He was.
He
became strong and was filled with wisdom.
The NKJV and KJV both add, “in Spirit” to His becoming strong,
but it is not found in ancient texts.
This verse points out that Jesus grew up like any other boy
(though He did not sin).
We are also told, “and the grace of God was upon Him.”
d.
In
vs. 51-52 AFTER the events
of the temple at age 12, we read that Jesus went home to Nazareth and
was subject to His parents.
We read again of how Mary cherished these things.
Vs. 52 says, “And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor
with God and man.” Four
areas of development as one grows up.
We will have more to say about these as we make application.
e.
This is
ALL we know about the childhood of Jesus.
a.
The
majority of the life of Jesus on this earth was spent in relative
obscurity.
30 years of which read only a handful of days.
It was during this time, Jesus learned about being human and
developed just as you and I do.
Truly, He CAN sympathize with us –
Heb. 4:15-16, 2:17, “in
all things He had to be made like His brethren…”
One other point on the humanity of Jesus.
When we sin, we sometimes blame it on our humanity.
“I’m only human” we say.
But if we truly understand God we know He did not create us as
sinful creatures. On author
noted, when we sin we are actually behaving BENEATH humanity, since we
were created in God’s image.
“Jesus of Nazareth was the most
fully human being who has ever lived.
What we see in Him is a living example of what God had in mind
when He designed the human race.”
Gary Henry, Reaching Forward, Daily meditation for April 8th.
LEARN from the example of Jesus.
b.
The
parents of Jesus seek for Him and find Him in the temple - one commentator noted four observations about how Jesus at the temple
relates to us seeking Him.
i.
Just as Joseph and Mary assumed that
Jesus was in their company when He was not,
so many today assume that Jesus is with them when He is not.
There are many in the religious world who are deluded thinking that
Christ is with them when they have not obeyed Him (Matt. 7:21-23, John
14:6 – He is the Way).
ii.
They began looking for Jesus among
their kinsfolk and neighbors.
How many today when they search for Jesus begin with the wrong sources?
They seek for Him while trying to satisfy their own desires.
Some look to their parents or friends to find Jesus.
Others look to their preacher or some popular religious or
philosophical author. Still
others look to the pursuits of this world for true meaning (like Solomon
in the book of Ecclesiastes) but He is not there.
Friends, don’t put your salvation in the hands of anyone but the
Lord Himself. Therefore,
STUDY HIS WORD and do what HE says!
iii.
Joseph and Mary turn around and return
to Jerusalem.
The truth is we will NEVER find Jesus until we return to the Old
Paths.
John 8:32 tells us it is
the truth that will make us free.
Romans 1:16 tells us it is
the gospel that is the power of God unto salvation.
iv.
They find Jesus in the temple.
The book of Hebrews describes the temple as a type of the church.
That is where we are going to find Jesus – in HIS church!
His church is described as His
body (Eph. 1:22-23). It is
through baptism that we are added to that body (1 Cor. 12:13, Acts
2:47).
c.
When
considering Jesus at the temple we find that He understood His place
– He went about His Father’s business. As Christians, the same applies
to us. We must learn to obey God in all that we do.
How much of our life is devoted to HIS business?
2 Corinthians 5:9-10 says,
“Therefore we make it our aim,
whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him.
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that
each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he
has done, whether good or bad.”
Incidentally, what is the Father’s business? Let us consider this in
light of reaching the lost!
Are we striving to teach others?
d.
A
lesson for both parents and children
– in this text (52) we find the four avenues of life where a child
develops.
i.
As
parents, we have the responsibility to help them develop.
Eph. 6:4
ii.
As
children, we have a responsibility to strive to develop ourselves in
these areas in a way that is pleasing to God.
While you are under the influence of your parents, it is still a
fact that you will answer for your own life when you stand before God.
While you are developing, NOW is the time to consider God in
every aspect of your life.
iii.
Jesus (and
our children) needed to grow in:
1.
In
Wisdom – we need to learn.
Proverbs 2:10-12 says, “When
wisdom enters your heart, and knowledge is pleasant to your soul,
discretion will preserve you; understanding will keep you, to deliver
you from the way of evil, from the man who speaks perverse things…”
It natural to become wise as we grow up.
We figure out what is acceptable and what is not.
Our senses develop and our conscience begins working.
We continually become wiser.
Is God included in our wisdom?
As parents are we training our
children?
Prov. 22:6
As children, are we including God in our wisdom?
Do we read and study our Bibles? Do we attend Bible classes and
make effort to learn as much as possible?
Do we weigh our conduct in light of God’s word?
2.
In
Stature – a description of
physical growth. Physical
growth comes natural. But in
this, I ask, are we taking care of ourselves?
As parents
are we teaching our children how to take care of themselves?
As children, are we learning to manage our physical bodies?
Do we act foolishly and dangerously?
Are we developing habits now that will be hard to break when we
get older? Are we learning
to eat properly and limit our exposure to that which wastes our time and
resources? Are we learning
to share with others? Are we
learning contentment?
1 Timothy 4:7-8, “But
reject profane and old wives’ fables, and exercise yourself toward
godliness. For bodily
exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things,
having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come.”
3.
In
Favor with God – simply
stated this means, living in a manner pleasing to God.
Obviously Jesus was pleasing to God.
He declared it so both at the beginning and end of His ministry.
As parents, we must know that there is NOTHING more important
than raising our children to love and obey God!
There is no finer day for a godly parent than the day they obey
the gospel! Any parent with
believing children will attest to this.
As children, remember the saying from a few years ago, WWJD.
Seek God now while it is easier to formulate the habits that will
draw you closer to Him and BEFORE you develop the unhealthy habits.
Remember
Ecclesiastes 12:1, “Remember
now your creator in the days of your youth, before the difficult days
come, and the years draw near when you say, ‘I have no pleasure in them.’”
4.
In
Favor with men – it is
important that we develop proper attitudes toward others and how to
behave in society. These are
best learned while we are still young.
There is such a problem in society today with lack of respect for
authority among our youth.
Also there is much selfishness.
Much of the blame lies squarely on parents who fail to instill
proper respect to their children.
But children also need to learn everything about dealing with
others. We need to live
above reproach as much as we can!
Romans 15:2,
“Let each of us pleas his neighbor for his good, leading to edification.”
Paul told Timothy, “Let no one
despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in
conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity.”
1 Tim. 4:12
When Paul described the qualifications of elders, at the top of the list
was to be blameless (1 Tim. 3:2, Titus 1:6), an expression that means
ABOVE REPROACH. While
dealing with elders, that describes how we need to live in society.
So much more could be said about living so that men have nothing of
which to accuse you.