Today on Growing Through Grace, Jesus grew in spirit strong filled with wisdom and I would say to you parents, God bless you for taking your gifts to church. Let them learn about the God who you love. If they'll turn out right with Jesus, they'll be right with whatever they're doing. I love growing in your grace. You are your end on me. And all that I do, love, love keep me strong. I love growing in your grace. You're listening to Growing Through Grace with Pastor Jack Abilim, a Morning Star Christian Chapel in Whittier, California. And here in our study series through the Gospel of Luke, Pastor Jack has been looking at the younger years of Jesus, found in Luke chapter 2 verses 39 to 52, where we understand that Jesus growing up in obscurity was by design. But what little information we do have is being covered in this message. Here's Pastor Jack with the conclusion of this study. So Jesus grew up under the law in a godly household. We then read in verse 42 and when he was 12 years old, they went up to Jerusalem according to the custom of the feast and when they had finished the days they returned, but the boy, Jesus, lingered behind in Jerusalem and Joseph and his mother did not know it. Most kids grow up physically and spiritually without much help. And yet it is the spiritual side that needs the most input. So we read here in verse 40 about the Lord growing in the spirit and in wisdom. I'm interested always, you know, you talk to parents and they're always interested in telling you the accomplishments of their kids. Oh, he's grown so tall. You should see how he throws a baseball. He can kick a soccer ball in mind. Great. All of those things are great, but how's he doing spiritually? And really, the greatest concern and the most interest we should take is how our kids love the Lord. One of the things we are told in verse 40 is that Jesus grew up in a household where the parents took great interest in his spiritual well-being. Great interest. You might remember Eli's sons there in first, I think it's chapter 12 of 1 Samuel, where it says that when the people came to offer their offerings to the Lord, Eli's sons would take these meat hooks and begin to take big cuts of meat from an offering that should have been just a bit of an offer to the Lord and then give them back to the families. But these guys just made them themselves wealthy, you know, and enriched themselves, but just taking what the people were bringing to the Lord and you get to verse 17 of 1 Samuel 12 and it says, "Because of that, the people hated coming." It wasn't the Lord they hated. It was the representatives, Eli's sons. And eventually, Eli's sons not put in their place by Eli would be the destruction of the high priest's role in Eli's family. They would just be set aside and no longer used by the Lord. You might remember David's son Adam Nigel. You read about him there in 1 Kings chapter 1, where it says that David never raised his voice to correct him. He never rebuked him and said, "What are you doing?" And because of that, it kind of turned out to be a pretty awful kid. It really didn't bring much honor to the family at all. So I like verse 40, because this is all we have to go on. Jesus grew in spirit, strong, filled with wisdom. And I would say to you parents, you know, God bless you for taking your kids to soccer and baseball and whatever it is that you're doing. But get them to church. Get them plugged in to the Sunday school. Let them learn about the God who you love. Because when all is said and done, that's the thing that we want them to have more than anything else. If they'll turn out right with Jesus, they'll be right with whatever they're doing. So Jesus was given that opportunity. We read there in verse 41 and verse 42 about Jesus at 12 years old, traveling with his family up to the Feast of Passover. According to the Mishnah, at 13 years old, a young man would become a full member of the synagogue. It would be much like a bar mitzvah. The word bar mitzvah just means son of the law. And so the Mishnah suggested to a father that if you had a son 11 or 12 years old, it would be good to begin to take him with you and to show him what was going on so that by the time he becomes 13, he'll be ready to go. And there's fairly a few references in the Mishnah to that. So Jesus here seems to have followed that advice if you will. Joseph took Jesus with him at 12. According to Josephus, the Jewish historian in this year, there were some 200,000 people that showed up in Jerusalem for the Feast. So this would have been an extremely busy place. Every marriage available place was rented. You might remember down the road a few years Jesus made a provision for them to have the last supper together, the Passover Feast, because it's so busy, so crowded. And so the sheep gate where all of their sacrificial lambs were being kept that you could purchase was open 24 hours a day. All of the 24 courses of the priests were on duty these holiday weeks because of so many people coming in. And Jesus would have had to watch Joseph slay the slam and the priest would pour the blood out upon the altar. They would sing those Hallel Psalm, Psalm 113 to 118. And Joseph would then dress the lamb and take it back where it would be roasted for the family to eat the Passover meal together. And then the question at Passover, why is this night like any other, unlike any other? And very well, Jesus could have asked Joseph that. It is written there in the missionary as well. So then they would go out to the streets. They would be there for worship, for fellowship, for a full week of praising the Lord and then they would go home. It would be just a celebration. God delivers out of Egypt. God watched over us. He protected us. He shed the blood of the lamb to save our families. And Jesus at 12 was taken along with Joseph. And the next year he would return to make this commitment for himself. He would be the adult man that would then be recognized as such in the synagogue. So this was a year before. We read in verse 30, 43, sorry, that when those days were over, things had been finished that week had gone, they headed home, except Jesus didn't go with them. And Joseph and his mother Mary weren't aware of it. But supposing him to have been verse 44 in the company, they went a day's journey and sought him among their relatives and acquaintances. And when they didn't find him, they know how to return to Jerusalem to look for him. Joseph and Mary were not careless parents. They would have traveled from Galilee to Jerusalem in a big caravan of people. There was lots of reasons for that. Number one, it's a community. It's a family event. It is sometimes, at least historically, 200 or 300 people that might have traveled together. There are safety in numbers. They had to go through the very antagonistic Samaria or they had to go around and add lots of miles to their travel. In any event, it's just good to have some numbers with you when you're traveling through the deserts and through these roads that could be filled with robbers. And then it was kind of like a family event. You know, everybody kind of went together. Traditionally, it's not in their Bible, but traditional writings can say that the women left earlier, but the guys tended to go a little quicker, so the girls got a head start. And then in the evening, they would all be reunited at a camp that was being set up. So Jesus was 12. He wasn't with his mom. He wasn't with his dad. No one seemed to notice until they set camp for that night. Well, now you're the parent, how do you feel it? Guilty? Worried, horrified, embarrassed? Where's Jesus? I don't know. I thought he was with you. Well, I thought he was with you. And they couldn't exactly go back so quickly. They had a whole day's journey. It would have been another whole day's journey back. A sleepless night, a long trip. Verse 46 tells us that after three days they found him. So one day to go out, one day to come back, another day to look, it was a, you can imagine what the, you know, how they must have felt as they just ran. Well, how could you go that fast? What happened here? Did Jesus disobey them? No, that wouldn't be good. That would mess up all our understanding. We were told that he does not, he did not send it all. So his, his worry or causing them worry was, was certainly unknown to him. He was absorbed in the learning of the scriptures, his role. He, he certainly knew what he was in for it from what he says here to his parents to what little we know. He was well aware of what he was facing even at 12 years old. They finally found him verse 46. Now it was that after three days they found him in the temple sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions and all who heard him were astonished, astonished at his understanding and his answers. So they found him sitting outside of the temple. We know it was outside in the, in the portacos, if you will, because women were not allowed in the inner courts by law. So since they both found him as we read there, they would have been sitting outside the, the main temple proper. And here's 12 year old Jesus. I think I told you when you study narrative, the best way to learn is just put yourself in the story. It's not theological. It's just, you know, here we go and feel what the parents feel them. And look at Jesus sitting here 12 years old with a bunch of old bearded, pretty much jaded sometimes, you know, bunch of religious leader asking them questions, discussing things and Jesus was putting them all to task. They were astonished. He, he knows everything it seems, such wisdom and such zeal. He was indeed a godly young man. Paul would write to Timothy, although by that time, Timothy was a godly old man of 40, as he took over the church in, in Ephesus. And he said to him, don't let anyone despise your youth because even at 40 in religious leadership, spiritual leadership, that was young. Be an example of the believer in your word and in your conduct and in your love and in your spirit and your faith and purity. Be an example, Timothy. Overcome your, your age difference by your example. Well, here's Jesus. And he's just sitting. Oh, they've been worried about it, but he hasn't been worried. And he's been there on his own for a couple of days now. Serve the Lord. So it might have very well have been that, and it might very well could have been that these same old rabbis that Jesus is talking to here would still be around 18 years later to plan his death. But there were the ones in the council voting against him, pronouncing his judgment against him there that he would face. Well, if you're standing there by the story, verse 48, and when they saw him, they were amazed. And his mother said to them, son, why have you done this to us? Look, your father and I have sought you anxiously. I think Mary is pretty controlled in her rebuke. We have suffered some anxiety. That's the way it reads. You've made us a little nervous, son. I would think so. Have you ever lost your kids? Our kids, they love to hide in the store, like under the dress rack or just, and you're at the beach, you turn around for a minute and they're gone. And we think the worst, and when we find them, we tend to kill them if they ever do this again. I remember being a Disneyland years ago, and the announcement came over the loudspeaker, we have young Thomas, whose parents are lost. And I guess that's sometimes the way that you feel. So, Mary, I think she's pretty calm. I can't imagine this is all that she wanted to say. So these two must have, they must envision bears and robbers and going to the Jerusalem PD, or maybe checking at the morgue. He's 12. That great relief they find Jesus sitting here among men who, by the way, the rabbis didn't talk to women, and they very rarely talked to children. They're just too good for all that, such a lost group. Well, Jesus' response, verse 49, "Why do you seek me? Did you not know that I must be about my father's business?" But they didn't understand the statement which he spoke to them. His first recorded words in the Bible at 12 years old give you an insight into his understanding of why he's here. You didn't know that I had to be busy doing my father's work. His understanding of what he came to do, and I must do it. There's no choice here. He understood at 12 the year before his introduction into manhood, who he was, and what he had come to do, and Joseph and Mary went, "Yeah, I don't get what you're saying." They had to file that in that file that you probably have in your mind needing more information. I have a big file like that. I just can't wait to get to heaven and ask the Lord a million questions. Well, so Mary here, and for Joseph, this file, by the way, grows with time. And as you read through the Gospels, you'll find a lot of this. We'll have to wait and see. So Jesus' answer to her anxiety was, "Why are you looking for me? You know what I've got to do? No, we really don't." Well, we sort of know, you know, you're Jesus, you're going to save and see people from their sin, but we're not really, our heads don't really grasp onto what all of that means. Mary had a lot to go on, and now it's been 12 years since what we studied even last week. So didn't you know that I have to be about my father's business? I must be. I didn't get it. And then we read in verse 51, and so he went down with him to Nazareth back again the other day away and was subject to them while his mother kept all of these things in her heart. And Jesus grew in wisdom and in stature and in favor both with God and with man. So Jesus went home. He subjected himself to his parents. He didn't disappear again, I guess, I don't know. He grew in wisdom and in standing before the father and before man. Some Christians just get older, they don't get wiser. Jesus grew up, not a baby any longer, not like Paul said to the Corinthians. I want to talk to those spiritual people, but I just can't. You're just a bunch of babies. The Lord made progress in his spiritual well-being. And notice he continued to grow with the Lord and thus with man for the believer. You and I, we should be admired by everyone. They're not going to like your stance on faith and on the Lord. The gospel you believe in should offend people, but you shouldn't. You don't need to. So it sounds much more, it sounds like the word of Solomon to his son Rehoboam and he wrote to him there in Proverbs and he said to him, son, don't forget the law and make sure that you keep the commandments. The length of days and long life will be your reward and peace will be added to you. Let mercy and truth forsake you, bind them around your neck, write them upon the tablets of your hearts. And if you do, you'll find favor and highest theme in the sight of men and in the sight of God. So Jesus in the years that we don't see him grew in the ways of the Lord and became a man that people admired. And he obeyed his parents. You know, sometimes people say, well, you know, I just feel like the Lord's called me to do this but my parents tell me otherwise. And my answer is all with the same. Your parents are the ones you have to report to until you're on your own. Well, that doesn't seem right. Yeah, might not all right seem right to Jesus either, but he went home. And part of his preparation days was to just be faithful to his mother and to his father's wishes and he submitted himself. You know, God's will is only accomplished by God's ways, not the other. So we don't know much more about Jesus for the next 18 years other than this last verse except that he would begin his earthly public ministry at about 30 years old here in Nazareth. In fact, if you jump ahead in your Bible to verse 23 of next chapter, it says, Jesus himself began his ministry at about 30 years old being as it was supposed, the son of Joseph. And I think that that's maybe the good place to leave it at if you think about it. Jesus's preparation for three and a half years of public ministry was 30 years of seclusion and routine, the son of God going to work on the lawn, shopping for birthday presents, the ordinary, the mundane, right? Times of preparation that would come later, 30 years of silence, three and a half years of preparation, almost a 10 to one ratio to prepare himself summed up under one title. He's Jesus of Nazareth. He was made ready by the Lord. Some of us I think sometimes complain about how mundane life is. Maybe wondering if God's ever going to do anything with their lives. But look, in the days of anonymity and quiet, you also are proven whether you'll be faithful in the little things. God allows you to learn about being faithful, but that time is never wasted. We read in Philippians chapter 2 of Jesus that he made himself of no reputation. We read in Zachariah that we shouldn't despise the days of small things. In other words, if the Lord is just, you know, you feel like you're on hold and you've got dreams and aspirations and oh Lord, just use my life and nothing seems to be going anywhere. Look, preparation is a good time. It's an important time in your life. John the Baptist spent years in the desert, Paul spent 14 years in Arabia. Joseph spent years out with the sheep so much so that when Samuel came looking for a man to anoint, his father picked all of his boys to command and talk to the prophet except for David. He's that little runt outside that smells like the sheep. He was being prepared. David was a shepherd and then he got to graduate and become a fugitive where he ran for years from Saul. Moses spent 40 years on the backside of the desert. There's always that preparation time and Jesus was no different. For the next 18 years, Jesus would be faithful at home still caring about his father's business and still being prepared but still, you know, waiting upon the father to send him out. And by the time, like I said, we get to chapter 3, we get to jump 18 years forward in an instant to the beginning of the ministry of John the Baptist and the introduction of Jesus to the public. So I think it was Paul who wrote to the Corinthians and no, no, no, to the Colossians in chapter 3 verse 23, whatever you do, do it hardly to the Lord not to admit. And so Jesus was home, faithful, but God is at work preparing you for what he has prepared for you. And those are important years. Don't despise today. I don't know what God has prepared you for today, but what he's got planned for you tomorrow. But just be faithful in what God gives you. He went home. He was subject to them. His mother didn't understand all of these things, but these years of obscurity were years of preparation. And the result was Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature, in sight and into influence. And he had favor with God and with men. Come to me all you that are laboring and are heavy-related and I'll give you rest. Father, thank you this morning for your word to us and that we might continue to just, you know, as we push our way through this book of Luke that you would show us everything we need to know about your son, that we would come to know him better so that we will have peace. We will have rest and we'll understand when that we read those terms, Jesus of Nazareth, what really entailed that, in that title and what, where did Jesus, and what did he know? And when did he know it? And how did he approach what was coming? And we find in these years of silence, if you will, these years of obscurity that you were preparing him for the work that lie before him. Thank you, Lord, that you are working in us even today to get us ready for what you have planned for us. May you do that today, we pray. May our hearts be willing to be shaped today for the work tomorrow in Jesus' name. And may we all commit to that today. Thank you, Pastor Jack, for that closing prayer. We've been listening to a study taken from Luke chapter 2 verses 39 through 52. This has been the third part and conclusion of a three-part study taught by Pastor Jack Abeland. If you'd like to get the entire message, we do have that available for you. All you need to do to order, simply contact us and ask for study number 42 41. And when you get ahold of us, be sure to mention the call letters of the radio station that you're listening to. And as we're studying through the Gospel of Luke, sometimes it's good to be able to compare one gospel to another. So in the month of July, we'd like to offer to you, Pastor Jack studies through the Gospel of Mark. This gospel, as many scholars believe, was dictated by the Apostle Peter to Young Mark, who then wrote a detailed experience of the life and ministry of Jesus. Pastor Jack's teachings through the Gospel of Mark are available in the MP3 format on a flash drive. So if you'd like to get this resource or today's message, just dial our toll free phone number at 866-88-GRACE. That's 866-884-7223. 866-8847223. You can also order by mail, just to address your letter to Growing Through Grace, P.O. Box 1954, with your California 90609. And for your convenience, you can find this in all of our resources online at growingthroughgrace.com. Again, log on to growingthroughgrace.com. That will bring things to a close for us today. We do appreciate you tuning in. So until next time, as you daily walk with our Lord Jesus Christ, may you continue to grow in His grace. Growing Through Grace is a listener-support ministry brought to you by Morningstar Christian Chapel in Whittier, California. A Calvary Chapel Outreach.
