LEARNING DAILY

 

Matthew 2:40, 52, And the Child grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him.  52, And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.

 

This season is about the birth of the Messiah, the One who was born to take our place on a cross for the sins of all who would believe. We read about the manger, the shepherds, the magi and Herod’s attempt to kill the ‘King of the Jews”.  The Bible gives us an account of the family fleeing to Egypt and later returning to Nazareth. The narrative then jumps to the family going to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover and on the way home discovering Jesus was not with them.  They find Him amazing the scholars in the temple. The question is why does the Bible not say anything about the years before Jesus began His public ministry?

 

I remember talking with friends about this long ago.  We did have some fun wondering if Jesus as a child needed to be told to clean His room or if He ever did anything to get a spanking.  What was He doing when His brothers were getting into trouble? We came to the conclusion that Jesus was without sin even while He was growing up, as He matured.  I wonder what His siblings thought about Him always doing the right thing?

 

We do know this.  As a true human child, Jesus experienced the process of growing physically and spiritually.  Notice in the verses above that “He increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men”. He continued to increase in wisdom because the grace of God was upon Him. I define wisdom as knowing what to do with or how to use the experience or knowledge a person has. “Jesus was perfect from birth in His human nature and developed perfectly as God desired” (LSSB).  The JSESB states, “Jesus did not have a sin nature, so [verse 40] means He was never sick, and neither did He sin.” Regarding His increase in wisdom, The JSESB continues, “there is every evidence that Jesus began studying the Bible from the time He learned to read.”

 

During His formative years we know that Jesus grew up in a large family and He learned the carpentry trade from His father. Joseph is only mentioned in the story of Jesus birth indication, he died before Jesus began His public ministry.  Jesus, as the eldest son, more than likely provided for the family as a carpenter.  During these formative years He grew and developed physically and spiritually according to the will of God. He was also fully aware that God was His Father.   When His family found Him when they returned to Jerusalem, He said in verse 49, “And He said to them, “Did you not know that I must be about my Father’s business/”

 

What is the takeaway from this?  Jesus as a boy growing up is not the subject of Scripture. The focus on Jesus taking the form of a human being is to reveal the Father to humanity.  His teachings while on earth are to be our focus in order for us to get on the narrow way through His death on the cross and then to live the way He commands us as we walk on it. You and I must always be growing and maturing in our spiritual walk. The alternative is to be stagnant and not growing.  We are seeing that spiritual stagnation today – but that’s for another page in the blog.

 

But it is fun to think about what He was like as a child and a teenager, isn’t it!

 

From now on DJSB will be used to note information or quotes from the David Jeremiah Study Bible and LSSB will refer to information and quotes from the Life in the Spirit Study Bible.  I have added Jimmy Swaggart’s Expositor’s Study Bible to be referred to from now on as JSESB