Resolved to Follow Christ: 52 Biblical Reflections and Resolutions

We are told that the women and children were often in front, with the men at the rear.

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Each of the parents might therefore have assumed that Jesus was with the other parent. For three days they searched for the boy Jesus. Finally, almost as a last resort it would seem, the parents looked for Jesus in the temple. And there He was, sitting in the midst of the teachers, busily engaged in conversation. His role was principally that of a learner and a listener, who asked many pertinent and penetrating questions.

It is evident that He also gave some responses, for those nearby who overheard Him marveled at His answers. Imagine yourself as one of the parents of Jesus at this point. Be very honest, now. Imagine your growing sense of concern as the time passed, and as the child was not found. Consider your fears intensifying as you recalled the absolute reliability of Jesus and His wisdom.

And then when you find Him, seemingly aloof to all the consternation He has caused, discussing theology perhaps as He often had done in Nazareth in the temple. Admit it, now, you would be angry with Him, just as I would have been. His mother scolds Him, gently perhaps in front of the teachers and those looking on , but nevertheless her words are intended as a rebuke. At this moment in time, Mary may have almost entirely forgotten that Jesus was any different from any other child. One would have expected the lad to have looked downward, stung by the rebuke and His foolishness and thoughtlessness.

In response to the rebuke of His mother, there is the gentle rebuke of His own question. The incident ends with Mary along with Joseph once again perplexed at the events occurring in her life related to this child. All she could do was to place these things alongside the others she had previously experienced, waiting for that day when the meaning of all this would become clear. The matter was over as quickly as it happened.

Jesus went with them, back to Nazareth, to live with them, and in submission to their authority. Nevertheless, things would never be quite the same, I suspect. Jesus continued to grow, physically, spiritually, and socially. His sense of purpose and calling toward this destiny can be seen, even in this childhood incident.

It is tempting to look at this text casually, without struggling to grasp its meaning. There are several ways in which this story can be explained. If have already suggested that there are too many things each gospel writer could have said to think that a trivial incident would be included, if not significant to the gospel as a whole. Since Jesus was the Son of God, in whom there was no sin, then He cannot have done wrong here, even as a child.

This seems to be the view of at least one commentator. One such story is about a professor who stood at his own back door, deep in thought, knocking for some time, without realizing that he had not yet gotten outside his own house and at the door of his neighbor, where he intended to go. Another story is told of the professor who drove his car to Houston, Texas, where he spoke, only to fly home, forgetting that he had driven there. This is a bit hard to believe, however. We know that Jesus was the oldest child, among several others Matt.

Also, when that first day in the temple came to an end, it was obvious that He was separated from His parents, yet He showed no concern, made no effort to be rejoined to them, and was apparently not looking for them.

Jesus was not absent-minded here. How could they have left Jerusalem without Jesus? How could they have expected Him to assume such responsibility? If Jesus had made this trip with His parents before as I take it He did , then He must have been accustomed to the way it was done, He must have proven Himself capable on previous trips. Even if He had not succeeded in staying behind, He intended to do so, and without asking their permission or informing them of His intentions.

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The question is, why? First, Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem to learn of God. The verses which introduce and summarize this section make the growth of our Lord one of the highlights of the text:. And the Child continued to grow and become strong, increasing in wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him Luke 2: And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men Luke 2: It is much easier to believe that the Lord Jesus grew physically than it is to believe that He grew intellectually and spiritually, but the text tells us that He grew in all these ways.

Second, it appears that Jesus remained in Jerusalem to learn from the teachers at the temple those things which His parents could not teach Him. Here, however, I believe something more involved is taking place. Jesus was in Jerusalem during the observation of the Passover Luke 2: I an inclined to think that He was particularly interested in the meaning of the Passover, especially as it applied to Him.

Jesus therefore remained in Jerusalem to learn from others what He could not learn from His parents. Third, I believe that Jesus remained on in Jerusalem because He would not have been given permission to stay there.

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Think about it for a moment. What do you think Mary and Joseph would have said in response to this request: Thus, He did not ask them. Finally, and most importantly, Jesus did not ask permission to stay on in Jerusalem because He was God. On one level, the level from which Mary and Joseph saw it, Jesus was but a young boy, a boy incapable of making such critical decisions, a boy who was not old enough to stay by Himself in Jerusalem, a boy who was too young to be discussing the Scriptures with the finest teachers in Israel.

But while He was a human being, a 12 year-old boy, He was also God incarnate, just as the angel had said to Mary and Joseph years before Matt. Indeed, God is even free to do those things which cause men pain and consternation. It is only the fact that Jesus was fully God as well as fully man that explains how He could act as He did and not be wrong for so doing.

If it were any other child, we would have sided with the parents, but since the child is the Son of God, we quickly acknowledge that He was right. Jesus, unlike any other 12 year-old in history, was God. Hopefully we can now understand why Jesus did and said what He did in the incident at the temple. The passage serves several important functions, as I currently understand it.

In Christ humanity is added to deity. One form of error e.

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Docetism tended to stress the deity of Christ, but to minimize His humanity. The other extreme e. Adoptionism stressed the humanity of Jesus, but minimized His full deity. In Luke chapter 2 Luke emphasizes both the deity and the humanity of our Lord. That Jesus was fully human is evidenced by the fact that He was born and that He was a child, who grew and developed as any normal child would, physically, intellectually, and spiritually.

Jesus stayed on at the temple to learn, not to teach 50 although His answers to questions put to Him astounded those who witnessed this event. That Jesus was God is also evident in our text. The wisdom of Jesus is contrasted in this text with the ignorance of His parents, that is their inability to grasp who He was and why He acted as He did, even with the revelation about Him which they had been previously given. The amazement of those who witnesses His wisdom, as well as that of His parents, was further testimony to His uniqueness. That He could do and say what no other 12 year-old could have done and been right in so doing is also proof of His divinity.

In His perfect humanity, our Lord grew, physically, mentally, socially, and spiritually. Jesus did not come to the earth and immediately begin to minister. We know from the gospel accounts that it Jesus would be nearly 30 years old or more before His public ministry commenced. The event at the temple occurred after 12 years of growth on the part of our Lord. His public ministry required another 18 years of growth. If it was necessary for God incarnate to grow and to mature, in preparation for His ministry, why is it that we are so interested in instant spirituality, instant maturity.

There are those who would have us think that some momentous event, some spectacular spiritual experience, is the key to instant maturity and service. If it were not true of our Lord, it is not true for us either. We may have glorious and monumental experiences, but these do not produce instant growth or maturity. Let us not expect or demand more than our Lord Himself experienced. Even God did not hurry. His sovereignty entitled Him to do that which His parents did not approve of. His sovereignty entitled Him to rebuke them for their lack of faith and understanding they should at least have understood from all they had been told that He would be in the temple.

His sovereignty also entitled Him to do that which inconvenienced them and caused them considerable distress. If Jesus was God, then He was also sovereign. If He was sovereign, then His authority was ultimate, and the parental authority of Mary and Joseph was of a much lessor type. The authority of Jesus, as God, far surpassed the authority of Mary and Joseph as parents. That is why Jesus could override and overrule parental authority. Let me hasten to add, for any child who might wish to take this in the wrong way, that only the boy Jesus could do this, for only He was God.

It is quite easy to justify the actions of Jesus in our text, and to wonder why Mary and Joseph could not have grasped what was happening. But let me suggest that you and I respond to the sovereignty of God in precisely the same way, and all too often. When God brings adversity into our lives, when He causes us agony and distress, we become angry, too. When He does things which we do not understand, we are frustrated and upset. Mary and Joseph were wrong because they forgot that as mere men I speak generically their authority was vastly outranked by the 12 year-old child God had temporarily placed in their custody.

And though there was just this one incident reported in the childhood of our Lord when the authority and identity of Jesus were asserted the text tells us that He returned with His parents and lived in submission to them after this, v. All to often we act as though God were to be in submission to our will, rather than to acknowledge that it is we who must submit to His, even if that brings pain, or inconvenience, of if we cannot understand what He is doing or why.

The doctrine of the sovereignty of God means that God may act as He chooses, without having to explain His actions to man, or to ask our permission. Job temporarily forgot this, and in the midst of his pain and suffering he began to question God. Let us do likewise. We need to be very careful in the way we apply the teaching of this passage.

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For one thing, we need to distinguish between those things which are unique to our Lord, as Immanuel, God Incarnate, and those things in which our Lord is an example to all. A little probing of this may prove helpful. Let us do so by seeking to establish some principles from what we have learned, and then exploring their implications. Only of our Lord could it be said that He was God and man, and thus able to act contrary to the permission and preferences of His parents, as He did by remaining on in Jerusalem.

North Korea, Iran, Isis, they all pose serious threats to our peace. All our spiritual knowledge is grounded in the wisdom of Jesus Christ. Here is a plan worth adopting. Jesus urged you to brush aside your fears by focusing on Him, and His power to carry you through the storms of life.

His teachings, handed down to us from the Apostles, contain a body of knowledge, which we need today. By reciting the Apostles Creed once a day, you will strengthen your faith immensely. I believe in God the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth. He descended to the dead, and on the third day He rose again.

He ascended into heaven, is seated at the right hand of the Father, and will come again to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting.

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Your decision, to recite this Creed once a day, will help you to trust the Lord in all circumstance. Your gradual transformation in Christ will bring blessings to those whom you love, and earn you a higher place in heaven. Why not trust the Lord?