Luke 2:39

LUKE 2:39

The Bible says concerning the early years of the child Jesus in Luke 2:39-40, "And when they had performed all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own city Nazareth. And the child grew and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him." We are not told anything else in all the Bible about the childhood of Jesus before He turned 12 years. But the few things that we are told in these two Bible verses are very important things for us to know.

First, we are told once again that everything in the life of Jesus was done "according to the law." We must never forget that Jesus is the only one who perfectly kept the law. Everyone else who has been born into the world has sinned somewhere along the line. Some of us have sinned greatly. Therefore, we are all dependent upon the mercy of God. We are all in need of a Savior. As Isaiah said 500 years before Christ was born, "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone to His own way, and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all."

We know that Jesus is both our Savior and our example. He is especially our example when we look at His adult life. The things that Jesus taught about living are the greatest teachings ever given to man. The compassion and kindness that Jesus showed to those who were suffering and to those who needed someone has never been equaled. In every situation Jesus did the right thing and said the right thing at the right time. We must draw on every resource including prayer and assistance from God just to be a little bit like Him once in a while. It’s so easy for us to be selfish or to lose our focus or to forget to put into practice what we know Jesus would have wanted us to do. If we want to serve God, then the adult life of Jesus is forever our supreme example.

People would be more able to follow the example of Jesus in their adult life if they had also followed the example of His childhood. We are told about the childhood of Jesus that he grew and waxed strong in spirit. The way that life should be is that a person would grow stronger in spirit as well as body. The proper kind of life for a human should be made up of both body and spirit. Even as a child, if one’s spiritual life is not being developed, then things are out of sync, and the example of Jesus has not been followed. It’s amazing to think that somehow Jesus left the throne in glory and emptied Himself and took upon Himself the form of a human being. Even Christ started His life on earth as a baby and then grew in both body and spirit. He also grew in wisdom. Education will do you no lasting good unless you also acquire wisdom. Proverbs 1:7 says that "the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction."

Jesus showed us how life ought to be lived. He showed what a human being could become if that human lived life the way that life was meant to be lived. In some way He emptied Himself of His divine prerogatives, and He came to the earth through the medium of the virgin birth. As the baby Jesus grew, He grew in both body and spirit, and He grew in wisdom. Older means wiser. One of the most important means that God has provided for children to acquire wisdom is from their parents. One of the responsibilities of a parent is to attempt to share with the child wisdom and knowledge about life and God and truth. That’s what it means in Ephesians 6:4 when it tells parents to bring up their children "in the nurture and admonition of the Lord."

It’s possible for a child to grow in spirit and wisdom as well as in body from its earliest youth upward. That’s the way it was in the life of Jesus. One of the requirements for this to happen is that the child must live in subjection and obedience and honor under his parents. The parents might be the best parents in the world, but if the child chooses to rebel there may be no solution but for the child to reap the consequences of his or her rebellion. Adam and Eve had two sons. Both were given the same information and opportunity by the parents. As far as we know from the Bible they were treated equally, but one of the sons became a murderer. It can happen because human nature is fallen and sinful. It can happen because if the child does not choose to live in subjection and obedience under the parents, the child will not learn wisdom from them.

But Jesus did live in the right way in the household of Joseph and Mary until He was thirty years old. We are told one very interesting incident about the youth of Christ. Luke 2:41-52 says, "Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the Passover. And when he was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the feast. And when they had fulfilled the days, as they returned, the child Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem; and Joseph and his mother knew not of it. But they, supposing him to have been in the company, went a day’s journey; and they sought him among their kinsfolk and acquaintance. And when they found him not, they turned back again to Jerusalem, seeking him. And it came to pass, that after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions. And all that heard him were astounded at his understanding and answers. And when they saw him, they were amazed; and his mother said unto him, Son, why have you thus dealt with us? Behold, your father and I have sought you sorrowing. And he said unto them, How is it that you sought me? Know you not that I must be about my father’s business? And they understood not the saying which he spoke unto them. And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them: but his mother kept all these sayings in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man."

We would expect that the Son of God who came to the earth in the form of a human would be different than other humans. But the only difference that we are told about concerning His childhood is the great wisdom that He had. He was so wise and full of understanding that the aged doctors of the law were astounded at His understanding. Perhaps we are told about the wisdom of Christ when He was twelve years old in order to remind us of the importance of wisdom. Wisdom is the principal thing. If you have wisdom, you will know the right thing to do in each situation. Solomon had a lot to say about wisdom in the book of Proverbs. Proverbs 2:1-6 says, "My son, if you will receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee; so that you incline your ear unto wisdom, and apply your heart to understanding; Yea, if you cry after knowledge, and lift up your voice for understanding; If you seek her as silver, and search for her as for hid treasures; Then you shall understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom: out of his mouth comes knowledge and understanding."

One of the things that Jesus showed us is that a human being can acquire a level of very great wisdom and understanding even at a young age. To become wise in one’s youth requires several things. It requires that the child live in subjection under the parents. It requires that the child seek wisdom. Wisdom is there to be found, but it’s only found by those who seek it. To attain wisdom also requires that one seek it from God. At the age of twelve Jesus said, "Know you not that I must be about my Father’s business?" More youth would enter adulthood as very wise individuals if there were more who followed the pattern of Jesus in their youth: submission to authority, seekers of wisdom, and servants of God.

The writer of the Gospel of Luke now takes us from the time when Jesus was 12 years old all the way up to when He was in His late twenties and still living with Mary and Joseph and their other children in Nazareth. Jesus was working quietly in His earthly profession as a carpenter, taking wood and nails with His hands and making useful objects with them as carpenters do. The day would soon come when the hands of Jesus would be nailed into wood. Jesus changed from being a carpenter to being a traveling preacher and a teacher of a group of disciples. It’s good for a preacher to learn from experience what it means to work and live in society as everyone else must live, before he takes on the responsibility of being the spiritual guide to others. That’s what Jesus did. But before Jesus began His new work, someone else came on the scene: the forerunner, John the Baptist. John, as we have already been told in Luke, was six months older than Jesus and John started His preaching ministry several years before Jesus. Everything must happen according to God’s perfect timing. Serving God means waiting on God’s time.

The Bible says in Luke 3:1-4, "Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberias Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, and Herod being Tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Phillip being Tetrarch of Iturea and of the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias the tetrarch of Abilene, Annas and Caiaphas being the high priests, the word of God came unto John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness. And he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins." At the beginning of Luke chapter three we are given precise information concerning exactly who the governmental leaders were in order to accurately establish the historical context of the events in the life of Jesus of Nazareth. We have not been given stories and fables. Instead, we have been given truth that can be verified and substantiated from the standpoint of historical and geographical details. The Bible is the Word of God, and its accuracy can be established by verifying historical references that it makes.

Notice the contrast between John the Baptist and the human leaders who were mentioned. The human leaders in government and religion were successful, powerful, and rich. They lived in beautiful palaces and had access to the best of education and information in that society. But the Word of God was not revealed to any of them. Instead, the Word of God was revealed to John who was in the wilderness. It is not uncommon in the Bible for God to place His chosen vessel in the wilderness, sometimes for many years. The wilderness is where a person can nurture his relationship with God and learn from Him, and learn to follow Him without the distractions of a busy world. That’s one of the values of a Christian university or a seminary. Get away from it all for a while, and use that opportunity to concentrate on learning His Word and learning to walk closer to Him.

The Word of God came to John. The effect on John is given to us in Luke 3:3 that says, "And he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins." John did not keep the Word of God to himself. He shared it with others. One of the great purposes of life is to learn things about God, and then to find ways to communicate what you have learned to others. The message that John publicly proclaimed was "the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins."

The most important message given to the world will always have to do with the remission of sins. People are sinners. We have all sinned. Without the remission of sins we will perish in the lake of fire forever and ever. Baptism is symbolic of washing and cleansing. If Jesus cleanses your soul, you will be clean all over; and you will be given an entrance into the Kingdom of God. Since life is short, and we have all sinned, and we must all stand before God one day: nothing is more important than the message about "the baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins." Jesus said, "What shall it profit a man should he gain the whole world, but lose his own soul?"

In the phrase "the baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins" the word that is translated "for" can also mean "on the basis of." Forgiveness of sins comes first through faith in Jesus Christ. On the basis of being forgiven a person is then baptized in order to symbolize the spiritual cleansing that was already received from God. Water baptism does not result in forgiveness. It symbolizes forgiveness. No religious ceremony can give the forgiveness of sins. Jesus Christ gives the forgiveness from sins. Remember how Jesus would say to people, "Thy sins be forgiven thee." Forgiveness from sins comes before water baptism.

In the message that John had from God He emphasized repentance in the same context as the forgiveness of sins. To repent means to change one’s mind. Unless you change your mind about the way that you are going, and unless you are determined to see a change in your life for the better, there is no forgiveness. God does not forgive unless the sinner repents. Jesus said, "Except you repent, you shall all likewise perish." You cannot ask God to forgive you of your past sins, unless you are also planning to serve Him both today and in the future. To repent means to stop doing the bad things you were doing and to start doing the good things you ought to be doing. If this is your attitude when you turn to Christ, you will find Him to be a great and merciful Savior.

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