LOC 009 Life of Christ: The Childhood
of Jesus
In Luke 2, we have the childhood of Jesus placed before us. It isn’t all of the details of every aspect
of his life. It is only the parts that
tell the Story of the Lord Jesus Christ as they fit Luke’s purpose.
These events show us the real humanity of the Messiah. He really came into the world through a
virgin birth. He was really attended by
shepherds, he really grew and developed as a child, yet without sin. At the same time, he was really God. This is a great mystery of the
incarnation--how God could become man and how the human and divine could reside
within one body and soul. It is a
marvellous thing.
Touching Jesus human nature, he really needed to develop and grow
through the nurtuting of his parents. He really learned things, he had real
temptations that come at all the different ages, and he really submitted
himself to his parents, their customs and God’s Law.
This morning we want to look at a lengthy section of Luke Chapter
two to get an idea of the natural human development of the boy Jesus. Luke is our only source of this
information. As I said last week, based
on these details, one commentator called this passage the woman’s version of
the story. Turn to Luke 2.
Last week we ended where the Shepherds came to the manger praising
God. Look at the effect the experience
of seeing Jesus had upon them.
LUKE 2:17 Now when
they had seen Him, they made widely
known the saying which was told them concerning this Child.
What saying? Back to verses
10-12.
LUKE 2:10-12 Then the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid,
for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people.
11 "For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who
is Christ the Lord. 12 "And this will be the sign to you: You will find a
Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger."
The Shepherds went about preaching the good news. They delivered the message that the Saviour,
Christ the Lord was born. But we also
see the effect that the Shepherds had on others. Look at verse 18:
LUKE 2:18 And all
those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the
shepherds.
People were amazed at what they heard. The time was right, the sceptre was passing
out of Judah, there had been 400 years without a word from God. Judaism had develoved into idol worship and
will-worship following the sayings of men rather than the word of God. No wonder there was so much marvelling and
wonder. There should have been a sense
of great relief in the minds and hearts of the faithful in Israel. Emmanuel, God is with us once again. What a
glorious time with Glorious events. Is
it no wonder that Luke adds.
LUK 2:19 But Mary kept
all these things and pondered them in her heart.
She mulled over all of the blessings she had witnessed and
observed.
Then Luke adds a statement as he finishes with the shepherds.
LUK 2:20 Then the
shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they
had heard and seen, as it was told them.
The despised in Israel, mere shepherds, returned to their fields
to tend the sheep, looking to God in order to make him known for all that they
had seem and heard.
Jesus was no ordinary baby sitting in a cattle trough. He was the son of God, saviour and Messiah
God had sent to save his people.
Jesus was Jewish. He would
have had all of the physical charachteristics of a Middle Eastern Jew: dark
eyes, dark complexion, dark hair. He was
a normal human who did not necessarily stand out for his looks, even as a
baby. Whenever Europeans paint pictures
of Jesus either as a baby pr as an adult, they tend to make him to be a
white-skinned, blue-eyed European with handsome chiselled features. He was none of that. Speaking of the Messiah to come, Isaiah prophecied,
ISA 53:2 For He shall
grow up before Him as a tender plant, And as a root out of dry ground. He has
no form or comeliness; And when we see Him, There
is no beauty that we should desire Him.
All this ti say that Jesus was ordinary touching his humanity, yet
extraordinary touching his divinity. As
an ordinary Jewish child he was brought up in the culture of Judaism with the
added blessing of two godly parents.
Luke records the significant events:
1. Obedience to God 21-24
2. Effectual call of a Godly
man 25-32
3. The Reaction of Mary and
Joseph 33
4. The Blessing of Simeon
34-35
5. The Thanks of a Godly Woman
36-38
6. A Summary and Transition to
other matters. 39-40
1. Obedience to God
Luke 2:21 And when
eight days were completed for the circumcision of the Child, His name was
called JESUS, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb.
22 Now when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were
completed, they brought Him to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord 23 (as it
is written in the law of the Lord, "Every male who opens the womb shall be
called holy to the LORD"), 24 and to offer a sacrifice according to what
is said in the law of the Lord, "A pair of turtledoves or two young
pigeons."
Effectual call of a Godly man
25 And behold, there
was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was just and devout,
waiting for the Consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 26 And
it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death
before he had seen the Lord's Christ. 27 So he came by the Spirit into the
temple. And when the parents brought in the Child Jesus, to do for Him
according to the custom of the law, 28 he took Him up in his arms and blessed
God and said: 29 "Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace,
According to Your word; 30 For my eyes have seen Your salvation 31 Which You
have prepared before the face of all peoples, 32 A light to bring revelation to
the Gentiles, And the glory of Your people Israel."
The Reaction of Mary and
Joseph
33 And Joseph and His
mother marveled at those things which were spoken of Him.
The Blessing of Simeon
34 Then Simeon
blessed them, and said to Mary His mother, "Behold, this Child is destined
for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which will be spoken
against 35 "(yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that
the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed."
The Thanks of a Godly Woman
36 Now there was one,
Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of
a great age, and had lived with a husband seven years from her virginity; 37
and this woman was a widow of about eighty-four years, who did not depart from
the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day. 38 And
coming in that instant she gave thanks to the Lord, and spoke of Him to all
those who looked for redemption in Jerusalem.
A Summary and Transition to
other matters.
39 So when they had
performed all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned to
Galilee, to their own city, Nazareth.
40 And the Child grew
and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon
Him.
1. Obedience to God 21-24
The earliest fact on record as regards the Life of Christ is his
circcumcision. As a child of Abraham,
his parents had an obligation to fulfill the covenantal obligation for their
child. The Lord Jesus Christ, even in
his infancy, was brought obediently to his heavenly Father. It was the things for faithful Jews to
do. The Law, the Torah, the first five
Books of Moses regulated Jewish life.
And, as we have read twice in this series already, Galatians 4:4-5 tells
us that he was born under the Law. He
was bound to fulfill the righteous requirements of all God had intended in his
Word. 1 John 3:5 reports after his life
that “In Him was no sin.”
He suffered continually in the presence of sinners and with his
own temptations, yet remained pure. To
suffer the greatest temptations and afflictions is always better than to sin
only once. Sin, one sin, is far worse
than the greatest and deepest suffering.
Or the obverse of that. Suffering
in this life is always better than sin.
It is never right to give into sin.
Any degree of suffering is better than the least trangression. Jesus submitted himself to God’s Law. Why?
Many have speculated as to why Jesus needed to be
circumcised. After all, in many ways he
is the blessing that would come to all nations in the promise annexed to the
Abrahamic Covenant. It appears simply as
an accomodation on the part of God to Jewish culture. In Israel, they called
the uncircumcised by two names. The
first was woman, since circumcision was exclusively for men as a sign of the
covenant. A major difficulty for
paedobaptists who argue for infant baptism via tha analogy from circumcision to
baptism. And the other term was Gentile
Dog. An uncircumcised male was considered to be less than a man, an unfaithful
person, one who could never approach God, or with whom the faithful could never
eat.
Jesus was brought for the purpose of obedience and identification
with his people enthnically and religiously.
His parents also manifest their obedience by calling their son the
name that had been commanded by the Angels.
They called him Jesus. That
special name given even before he was concieved. The name that represented the work he would
do as the Saviour of his people. Jesus’s
main purpose was to deliver men and women from sin’s oppression. That is what his
name signified. He was many things, but
primarily he was the saviour sent from God.
In what do you trust? The
money we have in our pockets says, “In God we trust.” But, do we really. Do we not trust in ourselves first and only
turn to God if things get too hard for us on our own. Is God’s appointed means for our deliverance
what we seek after and cherish? Or do you still seek to find ways to earn God’s
favour. Whom do you love? If you should be brought to heaven right now
and asked why God should let you into his heaven, what would you say? I’ve been good! BAHHHHMMMMPPP! Wrong answer. I went to church! Wrong again.
I had Christian parents, I was baptised, I went to Sunday School, I did
good works, I was more moral than others, I did more good than bad with my
life....BAHHMMMP! Wrong answers. Unless one trusts in God’s appointed saviour
of men, he will not and cannot be saved. Part of obedience to God is submitting
to his way of salvation. 1 John 3:23
And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name
of His Son Jesus Christ....
From the infancy of our spiritual life, we owe obedience to God.
But consider the great acts of God in the life of our Lord in the
2. Effectual call of a Godly
man 25-32
God knows with great certainty what will come to pass because he
is intimately involved with bringing it to pass.
In the OT there are four persons named before birth: Isaac, Gen
17:19; Josiah, I Kings 13:2; Ishmael, Gen 16:11 & Cyrus, a pagan ruler, in
Isaiah 44:28. In the NT, there are two,
John the Baptist and Jesus. God speaks
his will and creation responds. Here we
have a godly man who had been promised something beforehand. He longed with faithfulness to God to see the
fulfillment of the promise. Simeon was
brought to the special place in the temple that day by an effectual work of
God’s Spirit.
Look at the text: 27 So he
came by the Spirit into the temple. And when the parents brought in the Child
Jesus, to do for Him according to the custom of the law, 28 he took Him up in
his arms and blessed God and said: 29 "Lord, now You are letting Your
servant depart in peace, According to Your word; 30 For my eyes have seen Your
salvation 31 Which You have prepared before the face of all peoples, 32 A light
to bring revelation to the Gentiles, And the glory of Your people Israel."
Simeon doesnothave the narrow parchial perspective that so many
Jews had in those days under Roman occupation.
He blesses the child with the words of the Scriptures. He is now ready to die, he has seen the
Lord’s salvation. He describes this in
terms of a liight to bring revelation to the Gentiles and the glory of God’s
people Israel.
Jesus was a little Jewish baby, but his work would encompass the
whole world of men. To whom was Luke
writing? The Gentiles to whom Jesus
would bring revelation. This is exactly
what Luke is doing in writing is evangelistic tract. Simeon spoke it as hewas brought to the
temple that day and Luke wrote it as he was moved along by the Spirit.
3. The Reaction of Mary and
Joseph 33
What a wonderful eight days.
The angels, the shepherds, the temple, the words of Simeon. This baby was truly the saviour. Everything in his life underscored his unique
place in God’s agenda. Luke wrote: 33
And Joseph and His mother marveled at those things which were spoken of Him.
It wasn’t that they were surprised, they were simply amazed at it
all in the life of a baby. Luke goes back to Simeon as he pronounced a
Prophetic Blessing.
4. The Blessing of Simeon
34-35
Luke uses this to forshadow the work of Christ at the end of his
Gospel. Since you already know the
ending, consider the prophetic blessing of Simeon:
34b "Behold, this Child is destined for the fall and rising
of many in Israel, and for a sign which will be spoken against 35 "(yes, a
sword will pierce through your own soul also), that the thoughts of many hearts
may be revealed."
Based upon Jesus and the reaction found upon the Jews, he will be
the basis of the falling and rising of many in His Nation. What happened? Well, some received him for what he was, and
many rejected him believing that he wasn’t Gos’s promised Messiah and appointed
Savior. His greatest enemoes were from
the religious establishment. His dearest
friends from the seeming dregs of society.
Based squarely on his work some men would rise to the heights of heaven
and others, left to themselves would descend to the depths of hell. Because of him the thoughts of many hearts
would be exposed. This is what he did
continually throughout his earthly ministry, especially as it is found in
Luke. He reveals the true state of men’s
hearts and the real intents and thoughts of their minds.
Yet, notice what he says to Mary in the parenthetical
statement--yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul also. We will look at this a little more tonight as
we consider Jesus’s words to his Mother as he hung on the cross. Suffice it to say that something about the
life and death of this baby wouold bring her human grief and anguish. Prophetic
Words indeed.
We also have...
5. The Thanks of a Godly Woman
36-38
Luke gives very detailed information about this woman to give us
her identity. Perhaps she was well-known
in Jerusalem. This is Lukes description:
LUK 2:36 Now there was
one, Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She
was of a great age, and had lived with a husband seven years from her
virginity; 37 and this woman was a widow of about eighty-four years, who did
not depart from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and
day.
A dedicated and probably revered servant of God at the
Temple. She had been a widow for 84
years, she had lived with her husband for 7 before that. If she was married at 15, that would make her
106. A great age indeed. She never left the temple. She served God night and day. This woman spanned one quarter of those
silent years in Israel.
Incredible... She was cogent and
busy about God’s business.
In an instant, at the same moment, a pregnant moment when time
must have stood still, she saw Jesus and immediately gave thanks. She knew who he was and what he
represented. Luke wrote:
38 And coming in that
instant she gave thanks to the Lord, and spoke of Him to all those who looked
for redemption in Jerusalem.
She spoke of the good news to the remnant in Jerusalem who was
looking for God to act in order to bring salvation, to redeem his people, who
would bring them back to God--the Blessed Messiah of Israel. She longed for that day and know in her great
age she finds it. What a glorious thing
for all who were there.
If we add up the various Jews who believed from the narratives in
the Book of Acts, the conclusion is that about 8-10,000 Jews must have
believed. A sizable minority in
Israel. The news spread fast from his
birth until the present. You can’t
supress good news for long. Anna was
given the greatest blessing of her life at an advanced age. What grace from God to this special
woman.
6. A Summary and Transition to
other matters. 39-40
Mary, Joseph and Jesus had left Bethlehem to go to Jerusalem. The census was over, the birth came, Jesus
was dedicated in the temple and the sacrifice of thankgiving was made. Now Luke
records them taking yet another trip.
39 So when they had
performed all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned to
Galilee, to their own city, Nazareth.is 12
They went back to Mary’s family city where they would settle down
with Jesus. We don't meet him again in
Luke until Jesus is 12. Although there
is an event from his childhood in Matthew.
Luke gives us a summary of Jesus childhood in the following words:
40 And the Child grew
and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon
Him.
The Lord Jesus Christ is human to identify with the needs of those
he saves. He is the fit mediator who can
identify with both parties. In his
childhood he developed and grew. He also
was filled with wisdom and God’s favour was upon him in a special way.
I can’t imagine what it must have been like to have been his
parents. A perfect child sent by a holy
God to bring salvation to all who believe.
What a wonder it must have been to see him develop as a normal human
baby. Oh what a marvellous grace to Mary
and Joseph, to Jesus, and to us who trust in him for our soul’s salvation.
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