In Exodus 23, and verse 17, and also in Deuteronomy 16:16, the Jews were commanded to go to Jerusalem three times a year for three commemorative festivals. One was the Feast of Weeks [also called Pentecost]. One was the Feast of Unleavened Bread, commonly known as Passover. And the last was the Feast of Booths. This is sometimes called the Feast of Tabernacles. This is when all the families, with their children, lived in tents, and it was reminiscent of the time when the Israelites were coming out of Egypt, and they camped in the desert for 40 years. So all these feast days had a Scriptural significance for the children of Israel.
Of course, Jerusalem is going to be the City of David, the city of the king, and the Israelites will finally take it during the time of David. Solomon, his son, will build the Temple there. And so in this latter part of the history of the children of Israel, Jerusalem is the center. And it was the center in the time of our Lord.
Now, I mentioned in our class this morning that we’d be interested in knowing what our Lord did while He was a teenager—while He was a young man. We don’t know anything about this section of His life except one passage, and it’s found in Luke, the second chapter, and begins with verse 41 and continues through verse 52. I’ll read it for us: “Every year His parents went to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover. When He was twelve years old, they went up to the Feast, according to the custom. After the Feast was over, while His parents were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it. Thinking He was in their company, they traveled on for a day. Then they began looking for Him among their relatives and friends. When they did not find Him, they went back to Jerusalem to look for Him. After three days they found Him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. Everyone who heard Him was amazed at His understanding and His answers. When His parents saw Him, they were astonished. His mother said to Him, ‘Son, why have You treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for You.’
“‘Why were you searching for Me?’ He asked. ‘Didn’t you know I had to be in My Father’s house?’…” (Older translations say, “[I had to be] about My Father’s business.” It really carries with it the same idea.) “…But they did not understand what He was saying to them.
“Then He went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But His mother treasured all these things in her heart. And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.”
[End of reading.]
Dr. Luke starts this Gospel by saying that he took in hand to go back and to talk to people who were eye witnesses of the life of Jesus, and to record diligently what they said about the Lord. Well, it means to us that Luke was NOT an eye witness. He comes on the scene late. But he is a “chosen vessel,” and he’s inspired also to write. None of the rest of the Gospel writers told in any detail about the birth, nor anything else about the early life of our Lord. But this one incident is listed in the synoptics as well.
A lot of pictures have been drawn of Jesus in the Temple. A lot of little colored cards…I can remember the little cards that we got in Bible class. And it was one of the favorite subjects for a Bible class of small children especially.
There are a lot of lessons in what these few words describe for us. First of all, I see that Joseph and Mary were devout parents. Isn’t that interesting that God chose this young woman—a virgin, who was engaged to be married to this man? We sometimes have the idea that maybe Joseph was a little older than Mary because he died early in life. And the indication is, I think, that Jesus probably was head of the family for some time after the death of Joseph. He’s the oldest of the children. And there are four brothers that we know of…and sisters. The word “sisters” is just pluralized, indicating more than one—no names are given for the sisters. [See Matthew 13:55-56; Mark 6:3.]
So Jesus grew up learning the trade of a carpenter, probably at the side of His supposed father [Joseph], who was His earthly father. His real Father was God, and His real mother was Mary.
Now Luke will record what Mary said when the angel appeared to her, [Luke 1:46-55]. It is called “The Magnificat.” And that word comes from a Latin version of the Bible, and it [the Latin version of the Bible] put headings at these various places as a guide to the contents of the verses under those headings. “Magnificat” was the Latin word for “magnificent”. She [Mary] is talking about how great and magnificent God is to choose her, a noble person, to be the mother of His Son. Boy, that is beautiful!
Luke also records Mary’s visit to her cousin Elizabeth, [Luke 1:39-56], who also is “with child of the Holy Spirit,” and that child is John the Baptist. John also is a special vessel of the Lord. He would be a cousin of Jesus. And, of course, he’s the forerunner—he introduces all the people to Jesus. How he loved our Lord! When he first sees Jesus coming, he says, “Behold the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world,” [John 1:29]. John put the word “sin” in singular number. ALL the sin of the world—not “sins” of the world, but all the SIN of the world is lumped together, and Jesus will take it away! All the way back to Adam, and all the way as long as this world shall last, JESUS is our sin bearer! Before the cross and after the cross.
We used to say that sins were “rolled forward.” I think that’s not a bad expression. All of the sins under the Patriarchal Age [the time period from Adam to Moses] and under the Age of Moses [the time period from the giving of the Law of Moses to the death, burial and resurrection of Christ]—they were forgiven…if the people were obedient unto the Will of God during the time that they lived. We’ll see Abraham in heaven. He’s not a believer in Jesus from the standpoint of having seen Him and heard Him—or having heard His Good News of the Gospel. He was obedient to the message they had during his time. And he’s called “The Father of the Faithful,” and we are Abraham’s children in a spiritual sense because we, too, are children of the “Father of the Faithful,” [Galatians 3:7-9].
So all of the events tie together in such a beautiful and magnificent way. And Luke is recording some of the things that none of the rest of the writers will record. And so as he records this, he gives an insight into the boy, Jesus, at twelve years of age.
Mary and Joseph provide good training. Here they are, going to Jerusalem as the custom was, [Luke 2:42], for the feast days.
Now we know that a lot of the poorer families didn’t stay in Jerusalem all this time. The poorer families could not afford to stay in Jerusalem for the full length of time between the Passover and the day of Pentecost. Seven weeks was the length of time between the Passover and the Feast of Weeks, also called Pentecost. And, of course, Passover was ahead of Pentecost. Passover, at the time of our Lord, began on a Sunday. [Passover was week-long festival held to commemorate, or remember, the Israelites’ escape, or exodus, from Egypt. It was during a Passover week that Jesus was in Jerusalem just before His death. He was in the grave on the Passover Sabbath.] And, then, on the NEXT Sunday [the Sunday right after the Passover week had ended, the day after the Passover Sabbath, or Saturday,] was the resurrection of our Lord, and that was the beginning of 50-day period of time until the Feast of Weeks, or Pentecost. [Pentecost marked the end of the grain harvest. It was a festival of joy , with mandatory and voluntary offerings being made, including the firstfruits of the wheat harvest. It was to show joy and thankfulness for the Lord’s blessing of harvest. The actual day of Pentecost was 50 days after the Passover Sabbath (Saturday), which would make it fall on a Sunday. This would have been the Sunday that the first recorded Gospel sermon was preached by Peter, about 3,000 were baptized and the Lord’s church was established. See Acts 2.]
Well, we put all of these things together, and it gives us a good idea that there were devout people under the Old Law of Moses. Mary and Joseph were that kind of people. And Jesus grows up in a home like that.
Mary and Joseph return for the boy Jesus while they are headed home. And we raise the question, “Why didn’t they know that He wasn’t with them?” Well, I think there’s a simple answer. We may be surmising, or guessing, but I think it’s a good guess. This was a happy and joyous time. Families were travelling together. Children played together. Other family members—it might be a cousin, an aunt, an uncle or somebody like that—would look out for your child. But Jesus is twelve years of age, you see. He’s old enough, now, to look out for Himself. And so they are, at the appointed time, journeying back to Nazareth. It will be several days of walking before they’ll get to Nazareth. But when they have journeyed a full day, and they camped that night, then would be the time that they would find Jesus. But He’s not there. They had gone a day’s journey, and the next day, they’ll turn around and go back into town to look for Jesus.
Now this is interesting. Can people who think they have Jesus be mistaken? Can we be mistaken in our belief that the Lord is with us when really He’s not? I’ve seen people that teach a different doctrine from this Book [Harvey is holding up the Bible]. I’ve heard people, who are not religious at all, say, “The Lord was with me through that experience or situation! I’m just thankful He was there!” This Book tells us whom the Lord is with. This Book tells us that God does watch over us and protect us—that He’s interested in our every step. And that when we keep in fellowship with God—and He tells us what that fellowship is—THEN the Lord is with us.
But Jesus was not with the group Mary and Joseph were travelling with. They SUPPOSED that He was with them. Dear friends, you can’t teach something different from this Book and have the Lord with you. This [the message of the Bible] is what He taught. I’ll just refer to one thing that’s a common mistake in our religious world today. “Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized…” and IS BAPTIZED “…shall be saved,” [Mark 16:15-16]. Baptism precedes salvation in all of the passages concerning God’s Will for us to become His children. It emerges from FAITH! And “faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God,” [Romans 10:17]. NOT by or from a council of men!! NOT by or from what our parents said it was!! It comes from God! It’s as real as it can be!
There have been all kinds of variations on this theme of changing the Word of God throughout the almost 2,000 years of the existence of Christianity upon this earth. Babies have been baptized. WHY? Some say that they inherited “original sin.” NO, there is no “original sin.” Each person is judged for the deeds done in the body, whether they be good, or whether they be evil, [2 Corinthians 5:10]. You’ll not be judged for the sin of Adam. It just happens that he opened the door for sin to enter into the human race, and sin has passed into the family of man. If you reach the “age of accountability,” the Good Book says you will sin, [Romans 3:23]. But the Bible also tells us that there’s a way of escape, [Hebrews 2:3; 1 Corinthians 10:13].
There are two forces at work—the devil and our Lord Jesus Christ. The devil has always had the majority, dear friends. Make no mistake about it. “Are there few that be saved?” someone asked the Lord, [Luke 13:23]. And our Lord, by what He said after the question was asked, agreed that there would only be a few people who would be saved. [See Luke 13:24.] “Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it,” [Matthew 7:14].
So, everybody who says, “The Lord is with us,”—He may not be! Even His own parents made that mistake!! And they went back to find Him.
Now this Word tells us where He will be. He’ll be in any good and honest heart that asks Him to come in. The Revelation letter says, “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me,” [Revelation 3:20]. We will have fellowship together around the common table. Dear friends, do you know that our Lord has fellowship with us in the Lord’s Supper? “I will not take it new until I take it with you in My Father’s kingdom,” [Matthew 26:29]. I don’t believe that means eternity. I believe that’s here today. I believe we are IN the kingdom, [Colossians 1:12], that He added us unto the family when we were baptized into Christ and our sins were washed away, [Acts 2:37-47].
The day of Pentecost was when the kingdom started. Jesus was crowned King then! Lord of lords and King of kings!! [1 Timothy 6:15; Revelation 17:14; Revelation 19:16]. You’re in the kingdom now! And you made entrance into the kingdom the same way they did on the day of Pentecost. “They, then, that gladly received his words were baptized, and there were added unto them in that day about 3,000 souls,” [Acts 2:41]. That’s the beginning of the KINGDOM!!
Now, there were kingdoms in the Old Testament. David was a good king, and Jesus is a descendant of David. Solomon had a great kingdom, and Jesus is a descendant of Solomon. “So the Lord God of Heaven would raise up One to sit on the throne of David. And of the increase of HIS kingdom there shall be no end,” [Luke 1:31-33; Isaiah 9:6-7]. His kingdom is still going. What a thought, to think, or suppose, that Jesus is with us—and He’s really NOT! And even His parents made that mistake. So this Good Book tells us how to get in fellowship with Him, and how to stay in fellowship with Him.
Now, what did the parents of Jesus do? They went back to Jerusalem. And they found Him, but they had to look for Him. They must have looked for Him quite awhile before they thought, “I know where He ought to be. He ought to be on the Temple grounds.” “In His Father’s house” is how they would say that. And the mother upbraids Him. She gets after Him! “Knowest Thou not that we sought Thee sorrowing?” [Luke 2:48]. In other words, “Why did You do this?”
But we come to His answer, and He says, “I must be about My Father’s business.” At twelve years of age, He knew who He was! He knew what His work was going to be. And what had He done? He’s talking to the teachers of the Law in the courtyard area of the Temple. But what we don’t notice is…“and He ANSWERED them…”, which means that they asked HIM questions! And all of them are amazed at His wisdom and knowledge. At twelve years of age!!
You know, a lot of us were baptized when we were 12 or 13 years of age. I don’t think that’s too young, dear friends. I think we become persons of accountability. And some people can arrive at the age of accountability even earlier than that. We come to know what life is all about. We come to know that we have a responsibility…that we’re on our own, in a sense, and that the decisions we make are far reaching in effect…for life itself. And if we make right, deep decisions, and a hard and fast commitment to those decisions, early in life, that’s a wonderful thing to do “before the evil days come and ye say, ‘I have no pleasure in them,’” [Ecclesiastes 12:1].
I’m not surprised where Jesus was. These are His first recorded words! I think that’s significant. “I must be about My Father’s work…business—His house…all that He owns. I must build it up. I must bring back His people to Him!” And, you know, everybody on earth belongs to the Lord. We’re His offspring in a physical AND a spiritual sense as we grow up. A little child is not a sinner. You don’t sin until you make a willful choice that contradicts what God wants you to do. That’s SIN! The word “transgress” means “to go across lines or borders.” And that’s one of the synonyms for “sin.” “Missed the mark” is the literal translation of the original Greek word, hamartia, which is the word for “sin.” You aimed at a mark, and you fell short—you missed the mark! [See Romans 3:23.] Friends, there’s no need for us to miss the mark! All of us as parents need to be “training up our children in the way that they should go,” [Proverbs 22:6], and when our children are old, they will not have to say as David said, “I have no pleasure in my days.”
Our Lord was fully conscious of the fact that He was the Son of God. He was fully conscious that Jerusalem was the “City of God” and that He and His family were there to celebrate that Passover. And He’s talking with the teachers of the Law, and they are AMAZED at His Words!! I like that.
Are you and I AMAZED at His Words? Have we lost that thrill? I remember while I was in college, there was a nurse who had been in the Army—she was older than some of the rest of us—and she had been baptized by some good teacher while she was in the military service. She wanted to go to Abilene Christian College. And what a student she was! She wasn’t married. Everybody liked her. She knew a lot of people. I had a number of Bible classes with her. Let me tell you, she made 100% nearly every time! She was serious about her Christianity! She’d talk about what she’d just studied, and she would speak in excited words…THRILLED about it!!
Some of us who have grown up in the church have maybe lost the idea of being thrilled about it. We have the attitude that “we’ve heard it before.” But friends, you and I, as we grow older and study the Word of the Lord, we ought to keep reading, studying, praying and meditating and not lose the thrill of studying the Bible!
It’s a thrill to think about Jesus here, and how the people were AMAZED at what He said. He said He was here to glorify the Father in all things, [John 14:13]. He knew exactly what His work was and He’s already, in a sense, beginning it right there at the age of twelve years old in the Temple among the teachers of the Law.
Now, the parents gently rebuke Him. And He says, “You should know where I would be.” I can remember on television when they would close out the evening news at 10:30 p.m. at night, and they’d say, “Parents, do you know where your children are?” Remember that? And I could always say, “I know exactly where our children are. They are someplace in the state of New Mexico!” Sam [one of the sons of Harvey and Sue Porter] is laughing back there, but he’s the one that I…
Mary and Joseph lost their son! They lost the Son of God!! They had other children. They had cousins and all of them were playing together, no doubt—walking together, being together. But when Mary and Joseph searched for Him, they should have known where He was going to be—in the house of God! Man, I love that!!
Well, had they forgotten the angel’s words? Let me read to you from chapter 1, beginning with verse 29—Luke’s Gospel, chapter 1, verse 29: “Mary was greatly troubled at his words…” This is referring to the words of the angel who said, “Greetings, you’re highly favored, the Lord is with you,” [Luke 1:28]. “Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus…’” She knew what that name meant. It was translated “Joshua” in the Old Testament—meaning “Savior! Savior!” “‘…He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High…’” She knew what that was. The Jewish people had all kinds of epithets for “God.” And they didn’t call aloud the Name “God,” which was “Elohim,” in a verbal way, but they would describe Him as “The Father” or “The Heavenly One” or, here as the angel says, “The Most High.” “‘…The Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David, and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever; His kingdom will never end,’” [Luke 1:29-33].
Hey, Mary heard that. Joseph had heard that, and there was even more that they heard! [Matthew 1:18-25]. Had she forgotten in twelve years? Or is she confused that He grows up like a normal child, and He’s a joy to be around? And so the parents gently rebuke Him, and Jesus tells them, “I will be in my Father’s house,” and His very Words are beyond His parent’s comprehension. They do not understand what this twelve-year-old is talking about. They should have understood!
Now, when the parents came to Jesus at the Temple, they said, “We’re going to take you back home” in effect, and what? He went with them voluntarily. Here’s the Son of God, and He’s already conscious of who He is, and knows what is lying before Him. And He goes back home with them and is an obedient child. This, too, was the Will of the Heavenly Father. “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right,” [Ephesians 6:1; Colossians 6:20]. So, we have that command from the Lord. Jesus was subject to them, AND He was subject to His Heavenly Father. I have written down as a note: “Parenting should always require what God requires.” Isn’t that good? What a good life you’ll have if your parents don’t require any more than what God does! But be sure that they do require what God does!
And so, Mary and Joseph went back, and they found Jesus in Jerusalem. I think about all the religions that need to “go back to Jerusalem.” Friends, we’ve got in the church of Christ today some people that are saying that we’re “out of touch” when we say that there’s a pattern, or a plan that appears in Scripture. Oh, no! We’re not out of touch. There is a pattern there. I know what they did on the Day of Pentecost to become a Christian, [see Acts 2], and I think it ought to be the same today. I know what they did in the next following few chapters to worship God, and to serve God, and to be the kingdom, and to be the church! I don’t see how it’s changed! Paul said it would NEVER change—“…one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father Who is over us all, in us all and through us all.” And Paul starts off by saying there is one body, and that’s the church! [See Ephesians 4:1-6.]
God hasn’t changed! His church hasn’t changed! We live in a world that’s changing all the time. There are some “cosmetic” changes that we might make in the form, or the structure, of our worship, but you can’t change what God said is worship! And we’ve done every bit of that worship commanded by God today. It’s very simple. You don’t even have to have a building to worship! For the Lord’s Supper, you just have to have some grape juice, which, if you leave it long enough, it ferments and becomes wine, and that’s what they had in the early church. And you just have to have some unleavened bread, which is the easiest kind of bread in all the world to make. If there’s any food that’s a staple in all of the world, it’s bread! We can sing whether we have song books, or not…and they didn’t have them in the early church. We can pray, and we can preach and teach. That’s what they did in the first century, dear friends, and all the subsequent centuries coming all the way up to this century. You can trace it, because all of them sought to do what they did in the early church.
The parents of Jesus went back to Jerusalem. I like that! We’re hearing some strange voices that our “movement” started in the 1800’s with Alexander Campbell. I never heard of Campbell or Barton W. Stone or “Raccoon” John Smith—any of those men—when I was growing up. I NEVER heard of them!! When I was baptized into Christ, I did what was here [Harvey holds up the New Testament]. That is what I heard of…what they did in Jerusalem. And I think there’s a real spiritual lesson in that.
[Luke 2, verse] 47: “Everyone who heard Him was AMAZED at His understanding and His answers.” And it’s still true. Oh, how He touches our heart!
You remember not long ago, we studied about the two men on the way to the city of Emmaus. And Jesus talked with them and answered their questions as they were walking along the way. It’s too good to be true! They can’t believe that it’s Jesus! But when Jesus does reveal Himself to them in the breaking of the bread, and He vanishes away from their sight, and they go all the way back to Jerusalem to tell the apostles and all the rest that are meeting…“He’s ALIVE! And He walked with us in the way!” Then they said, and I love this, “Did not our hearts burn within us while He opened unto us the Scriptures?” [See Luke 24:13-33]. “Our hearts burned within us.” They were excited! They were touched! They were moved! They were AMAZED!
Friends, let’s don’t lose that! And it’s EASY to think that the Bible is commonplace—“Oh, I’ve read that. I’ve done that. I’ve studied that.” Hey! Read the Old Testament again. Read the Psalms again. Read all four Gospels [Matthew, Mark, Luke and John] just as one unit. And then read Luke and Acts together! Then read the epistles of Paul. And finally, finish up with the Revelation letter that talks about HEAVEN!, and what it’s going to be like—streets of gold as transparent as glass. Doesn’t that cause you to wonder and be amazed? How could gold be as transparent as glass? But that’s a beautiful concept! Ah, man, it’s beautiful! Gates of pearl? How costly is a pearl? How big would a gate be? Well, I don’t think that’s literal, but I think the Lord’s trying to convey to us something that’s so magnificent and so wonderful that we couldn’t conceive of it unless He puts it in words that are thrilling to us, that are amazing to us, and that’s how it will be. Dear friend, I’ll guarantee you’ll not be disappointed in heaven! I think I can also say that it will be beyond our fondest dreams! We don’t want to miss heaven!
Then it says in verse 51 of Luke, chapter 2: “His mother treasured all these things in her heart.” The word “treasure” is only used in two places, and they’re right here…also in this same chapter in verse 19…treasured [in the New International Version]. We didn’t know how to translate this word. It’s a word that means to hold something, and turn it around, and look at it like studying the different facets of a diamond. It’s a word that can be translated from the Greek, to tumble over so you can see the other side. What did Mary “treasure” in her heart? Well, when the angel appeared to her and told her all of these things, and she heard other things from Elizabeth, Mary went back home and kept all of these things in her heart and kept thinking about them and rolling them over, as it were, and looking at different sides. So, when Jesus said, “Don’t you know I must be about My Father’s house—or in My Father’s house—or about My Father’s business?”…don’t you know that she thought of some of those early things that were said, and she realized that the Son of God was now accountable? She realizes that He’s growing up, and that the world depends upon His growing up. Boy! What a recognition! She tumbled that in her heart.
Do you have some Scriptures that you like—that you’ve memorized—and you say them to yourself sometimes when you go to bed? Do you “tumble them in your heart” when you think about them? I like Romans 8:28. John Phillis preached on that the first Sunday Sue and I were here at this congregation. Great sermon! “For we know that to them that love the Lord, all things work together for good, to them that are called according to the Lord [according to His purpose].” Isn’t that a good passage? Don’t you like to tumble that in your mind? Now, it doesn’t say everything is good. It says He makes all things work out for good. That’s a comforting thought! Hey! You’re going to win! “For in HIM,” the Roman letter says, “we are MORE than conquerors through Him that loved us,” [Romans 8:37]. More than conquerors? We’re not losers! Hey, we don’t have a building! There are a lot of things in the physical sense we don’t have. But I’ll tell you what we do have. We have this [Harvey holds up the Bible]. And we have this [Harvey points to the table where the Lord’s Supper was left prepared earlier]. And we have worshipped today, and I pray it’s acceptable in the eyes of HIM. I pray that we go away from here refreshed…and that’s all that matters. That’s all that matters.
There are a lot of cathedrals. There are a lot of expensive houses of worship. But that doesn’t make worship. What makes worship is you and I here. We make worship. That’s you and I offering something to God! That’s being in close fellowship and communion with God. Something is passing between us and God today. I hope I’ve said something here that’s touched your heart and drawn you closer to Him—something that’s made you appreciate Jesus MORE—THRILLED you! You are AMAZED at what this great Book says!! That’s worship! Now, they [some of the congregations of the Lord’s church] have dressed it up with a few different things here and there. They might have some quartets with microphones. They might sing some songs you never heard before. But if they don’t touch the heart, if they’re not in league with the Scripture—if their worship is not done according to Scriptural command and example, then that’s not worship.
So, His mother “treasured” all of these things.
And the last verse. I think it’s a comprehensive verse. I think Luke wants us to read it and say, “Oh, that’s what happened to Him between the age of twelve and thirty,” when He next appears to be baptized by John, [Luke 2:52]. “And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.”
Proverbs 1:7 sets, I think, the pace of the whole book of Proverbs. Solomon said, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of WISDOM.” Wisdom is that ability to make the right decision. It’s a practical application to everyday life situations of what God wants us to KNOW! That’s divine, heavenly wisdom. Now, wisdom is not just book learning. It is knowing the truths and the facts of life, and being able to rightly apply them to given situations in our life experiences. That’s wisdom! Wisdom is not education. A person can be uneducated in a lot of different things, but still have wisdom and be wise. So Jesus grew up and He was wise ALL the way.
And then what? He advanced in wisdom and in stature! How big was He? Well, we don’t know. But He had a strong physical body. Was He handsome? Well, we don’t know. Isaiah said there was no physical comeliness that we should be drawn to Him, [Isaiah 53:2]. I think He was average. I think He was average.
And He grew in favor with God first, and men second. Boy, that’s our priority right there. God first. Can we grow in God’s favor? Sure! A child who obeys and lives and does what you want, they grow continually in your favor, even after they’re gone and married. Even after they’re adult! They grow in your favor, which would include your love and your feeling for them. Can we do that with God? Can we get closer to God all the time? Can God love us more and be pleased with us more and more? Well, certainly!!
Well, what about “men”? Well, that is the physical part of our relation. I know a lot of people who are hard to please, and especially if you’re trying to be holy—it makes them nervous. But, you shouldn’t care what the world thinks, because the world and all things in it are passing away, [1 Corinthians 7:31]. And we’re on a route that’s headed for eternity. We want to be pleasing to God above all. That was what Jesus did. Here’s His golden text: “Know ye not that I must be about My Father’s business?” And so must you and I. We must be about our Father’s business.