2022: He Grew Up

 

January 2, 2022     NOTES NOT EDITED
The Child Grew
Luke 2:40-50

SIS – If we claim we are followers of Jesus Christ, and Jesus Christ grew in His faith, we should be growing in ours.

If you live long enough, you will get older.  I remember once that a elderly gentleman received a call from one of his elderly lady friends. She said, “I just got this great new puzzle and would love for you to come over and help me put it together.”  She continued saying, “The picture on the box says the puzzle is a rooster.”  The elderly gentleman replied, “OK. I’ll be right over.  That sounds like fun.”  The gentleman arrived at his lady friend’s house and knocked on the door.  She answered and greeted him with a smile.  She led or gentleman friend to the kitchen table and said, “I poured all the pieces out on the table.”  The elderly gentleman scanned all the pieces spread out on the table.  Looking at the box the puzzle pieces came in, he said, “Margaret, no matter how hard we try, we are never going to get these pieces to look like the rooster on the box.” He gently took the hand of his elderly lady friend and continued by saying, “Let’s just relax and have a cup of tea together.  Then, we an put all these Corn Flakes back in the box.”

Every New Year we celebrate marks one more year of life.  If we continue to celebrate these New Years, will we grow “older and wiser,” or just get “older?”  That’s the real issue at stake today.

Most people never get past Christmas.  They meet Jesus in the manger, but He never grows up in their story.  He remains the vulnerable, innocent, non-threatening babe that that gives us warm fuzzy feelings.  We can manage the babe in the manger, and He doesn’t challenge the worldliness in our lives.

The Manger Scene, however, is the beginning of the story, not the end.  And, the child grew (v40).  Let’s read about the growth of Jesus, from birth to age 12, and beyond.

Luke 2:39–40 (CSB) ³⁹ When they had completed everything according to the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. ⁴⁰ The boy grew up and became strong, filled with wisdom, and God’s grace was on him.

Then, remain standing as we encounter the only mention of Jesus as a young boy.  He is 12 years old.  As was the family’s custom of devotion, they travelled each year to Jerusalem to observe the mandatory celebration of Passover.  During the journey back home with the large travelling party, it was discovered that Jesus was missing.  This was uncharacteristic of Jesus and cause for some alarm.  We pick up the story at this point:

Luke 2:44–52 (CSB)  ⁴⁴ Assuming he was in the traveling party, they went a day’s journey. Then they began looking for him among their relatives and friends. ⁴⁵ When they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem to search for him. ⁴⁶ After three days, they found him in the temple sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. ⁴⁷ And all those who heard him were astounded at his understanding and his answers. ⁴⁸ When his parents saw him, they were astonished, and his mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you.” ⁴⁹ “Why were you searching for me?” he asked them. “Didn’t you know that it was necessary for me to be in my Father’s house?” ⁵⁰ But they did not understand what he said to them. ⁵¹ Then he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was obedient to them. His mother kept all these things in her heart. ⁵² And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and with people.

For me, the most significant words in the Nativity Story are the summary word in verse 40 ^{(NIV84) 40} And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him.

Let those words sink in for a minute.  Our grammar teachers drilled into many of us that we should never start a sentence with, “and.”  Greek knows no such grammatical rule.  In fact, the little word, “and” (de in Greek), begins many, many sentences in the New Testament.  It sometimes has more significance that at other times.  Often the little word, and, introduces an event one would normally take for granted but the writer wants to show it has literary significance. The event or circumstance introduced by “de” is something someone would normally expect to follow what had been said.  In this sense you could translate Luke 2:40 as:  “And, of course, Jesus grew up.”

The natural course of life is to “grow up” and mature.  This is true both physically and spiritually.  If we apply these words to our own Christian lives after being born-again we would say, “And, of course we are growing in the Lord.”  But . . . are we REALLY GROWING IN THE LORD?  That is the question of the hour.

So often, however, in the case of far too many Christians, this is not the case.  Most Christians do NOT grow up.  They remain babies in Christ that never get past the “milk of the Word” or the “elementary principles of Christian living.”  Paul states the matter like this:

1 Corinthians 3:1–3 ^{(NIV84)  1} Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly—mere infants in Christ. ² I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. ³ You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere men?

Paul further clarifies what scholars now call the “juvenilization of Christianity” in Hebrews 6:1:

So let us stop going over the basic teachings about Christ again and again. Let us go on instead and become mature in our understanding.

Please know that I don’t want to be harsh with this message.  This can easily offend us if our goal in life is to “pack up baby Jesus and store Him away for another year.”  That’s exactly what too many of us have done for too long.  Most of us have fallen far, far short of where we should be at this stage in our Christian life.

This is a New Year.  It is a clean slate, so to speak.  Today is Day 1—actually 2, but that’s close enough.  We can start today “growing up in our faith” and become responsible, effective, Christian adults. 
Jesus grew up in His faith in four significant ways, and is Our Model for how we can—and MUST—grow up in faith in this New Year.

1.  He grew in the POWER of His faith (v40a,b,c)

⁴⁰ The boy grew up and became strong

Jesus was a powerful man Œ physically. I remember the vivid images of Mel Gibson’s blockbuster movie, “The Passion of the Christ.”  Particularly vivid—and bloody—is the scene where Jesus is led to the Roman courtyard to be flogged—or beaten.  The technical term is scourging.  It was often done to prisoners that were condemned to die.  Usually, the scourging was so brutal that the prisoner died before the Romans had a chance to crucify them.  Jesus did not die from the scourging that was so brutal scholars believe it exposed His internal organs.  Yet, Jesus still took the heavy crossbeam of His cross and carried it a great distance to the cross, before collapsing under its weight, when a man named, Simon the Cyrene, was commanded to carry it the rest of the way.  But, Jesus still got to His feet and walked to Golgotha.  Jesus was a powerful man physically.  He walked everywhere He went.  He spent long hours ministering to peoples’ needs.  He was a powerful man, physically.

Jesus was a powerful man  intellectually. Notice our verse again.

⁴⁰ The boy grew up and became strong, filled with wisdom

Jesus never attended college.  He never wrote a book.  He only lived to on this earth 33 years—30 of them in total obscurity—yet even people with no religious persuasion at all know His teachings.  The Sermon on the Mount is one of the highest forms of prose in any language of any time.  The Lord’s parable of the Prodigal Son is known by people in every corner of the world.  If one reads the words of Jesus, one is struck by His wisdom in the same way that the Jewish police force were struck by His speaking.  On one occasion, the teaching of Jesus had created such a public commotion that the Temple Police were dispatched to bring Jesus before the Jewish tribunal of Scribes and Pharisees.  Here’s what happened,

⁴⁵ Then the temple police came to the chief priests  and Pharisees, who asked them, “Why haven’t you brought Him?” ⁴⁶ The police answered, “No man ever spoke like this!” (Jn. 7:45-46)

The words of the Lord demonstrate a strong mind bolstered by a strong character.  Jesus grew up into an intellectually powerful man.

Jesus was a powerful man Ž spiritually.  We read on in our verse:

⁴⁰ The boy grew up and became strong, filled with wisdom,
and God’s grace was on Him.

That’s the real source of the Lord’s strength.  He was physically powerful and intellectually powerful, but most importantly, He was spiritually powerful.  His power was fueled by God’s grace and the partnership Jesus had with the Holy Spirit. As a man just like us, Jesus enjoyed the favor of God which was the source of His strength.

Jesus grew up into became a powerful Man of faith by growing strong physically, intellectually, and spiritually.

2.  He grew in the PRACTICE of His faith (39, 41)

³⁹ When they had completed everything according to the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth
…………………….
⁴¹ Every year His parents traveled to Jerusalem for the Passover Festival

I’m sure you have heard the old adage, “Practice makes perfect.”  Well, like so many such aphorisms, there is as much falsehood or truth in the statement.  Practice does indeed make perfect if what you are practicing is perfect and you are perfectly practicing it.  Otherwise, it is more accurate to state the matter in this manner, “Practice makes permanent.”  Practice transforms a behavior into a natural process.  This is why athletes are able to perform as if it takes not effort at all.  The effort comes from endless hours of difficult practice that makes the skills they practice second nature—or even first nature for that matter.  They become what they do.
This applies also to spiritual growth.  Jesus grew up in the faith by practicing the disciplines of the faith.  He became a prayer warrior by praying.  He became a Scriptural scholar by studying.  He became a master evangelist by preaching. Jesus practiced the principles of His Jewish faith.  One such principle was to faithfully go to Jerusalem [worship] to observe three feasts each year as commanded in Scripture—the Feast of Tabernacles, the Feast of Passover, and the Feast of Pentecost.  Jesus never missed one of these feasts.  He was a devout son of a devout stepfather and devout mother.  Faith is not simply an idea.  Faith is a practice. The more you practice the disciplines of faith like praying, Bible study, fellowship, and evangelism, the more these disciplines become a part of your nature.

According to one sports article, a typical pro athlete trains about 5-6 hours a day 6 days a week.  They are already professional athletes.  Professional basketball players already have the skills needed to play basketball.  Professional football players already have the skills to play football.  This is true of every professional athlete in every sport.  So, why do they practice so many hours each day?  They practice so that playing is a part of their nature.  Kobe Bryant didn’t have to think about how to shoot a basketball, it is a part of who he is.  Tiger Woods doesn’t have to figure out how to hit a golf ball a gazillian yards, it’s who he is.  Practice makes something a part of our nature.

This is even more true in spiritual matters than any other endeavor.  Playing basketball or football or fooseball are human endeavors.  Praying, studying the Bible, worshipping in church, and sharing the gospel are eternal matters.  We become more and more mature as we practice the disciplines of the faith. 

3.  He grew in the PROCLAMATION of His faith (46-50)

⁴⁶ After three days, they found Him in the temple complex sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. ⁴⁷ And all those who heard Him were astounded at His understanding and His answers. ⁴⁸ When His parents saw Him, they were astonished, and His mother said to Him, “Son, why have You treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for You.”  ⁴⁹ “Why were you searching for Me?” He asked them. “Didn’t you know that I had to be in My Father’s house?”  ⁵⁰ But they did not understand what He said to them.

You will notice how Jesus was growing spiritually.  He loved learning about the things of God.  “He was listening and asking questions.”  His pursuit of knowledge paid off.  Notice that in this passage Jesus goes from a passive position to actively sharing His faith.  We are watching him mature and grew up before our eyes. Verse 47 says:

⁴⁷ And all those who heard Him were astounded at His understanding and His answers.

I have known people who have had massive amounts of Bible knowledge—many having much more knowledge of the Bible and theology than I have.  I know a man who practically has the entire Bible memorized.  This is a great and wonderful thing; however, it serves no eternal purpose whatsoever if one never shares one’s knowledge of the Lord with others—and I mean particularly, others who are not saved. 

The very people Jesus was speaking to were Jewish leaders and scholars—experts in the Scripture—but, they had no idea it was the Son of God speaking to them. 

One application I draw from this passage is that the “gospel is given to us so that we can pass it on to others.”  Jesus spent three years teaching, preaching, and ministering to the masses.  The proclamation of the gospel was a huge part of His earthly ministry.  He spent three years proclaiming the message of redemption.  His death, burial and resurrection was the culmination of three years of His preaching—and over three thousand years of God’s prophets proclaiming His coming as the Messiah.  Proclamation of the gospel is a very significant part of what it means to “grow up in our faith.”  I DON’T THINK I NEED TO REMIND US—WE NEED TO SHARE THE GOSPEL MORE!

Look at verse 50, “they did not understand what He said to them.” When we regularly share our faith, more people will fail to understand, or even misunderstand us, than will understand.  Jesus didn’t stop sharing though many opposed Him and rejected His message.  We should never stop sharing either. 

We see evidence of Jesus’ spiritual growth in the power He had physically, intellectually, and spiritually.  We see the spiritual growth of the Lord in how He practiced the disciplines of the faith.  We see Jesus growing in the proclamation of the gospel about Who He is and what He came to do.  Power, Practice, and Proclamation are all indicators of spiritual growth modeled in the life of Our Lord.  But, the most significant indicator of the Lord’s growth in His faith in the Father’s plan comes when we see

4.  The PRICE He Paid for His Faith (41)

⁴¹ Every year His parents traveled to Jerusalem for the Passover Festival

Christmas is quaint, but it is Easter makes saints.  Nobody was saved when Jesus was born in a manger in Bethlehem.  The price that was paid for our salvation happened on a cross at Calvary.

Jesus perfectly fulfilled the will of His Father because Jesus was willing to pay whatever the price was for obedience.  And . . . it was a steep price to pay.  So heavy was the price Jesus would have to pay to be faithful to His Father, that Jesus actually sweat blood over it.  We read: Being in anguish, He prayed more fervently, and His sweat became like drops of blood falling to the ground (Lk. 22:44)

Why did Jesus grow up so wonderfully to fulfill so perfectly His purpose in life?  He was a man, exactly like us in every way and with every temptation, but He “grew up” in a way that we simply do not—and are not—growing up.  Why?  Because He was willing to pay whatever price it would cost to be fully obedient to God.

Here’s the most important question you needs to answer as the New Year begins:  “Are you willing to pay whatever it costs to be obedient to God in 2022?”  This is a “yes or no” question. It will determine whether your discipleship is Christmas quaint or Easter saint!

Jesus held back nothing in His obedience.  He counted nothing in the world worthy to hold onto if it meant being disobedient—and that included even His life.  When Jesus died, He was naked and every last drop of blood was drained from His earthly body.  Jesus was completely consumed by His obedience to the point that all He had left was the favor or the Father, Who had declared at the baptism of His Son:  “this is my son in whom I am well pleased!” (Mt. 3:17)

We could be more like Jesus.  We SHOULD be more like Jesus! We could be more powerful in our faith if, we were willing to pay the PRICE that Jesus paid.  Jesus paid it all!  The Lord knew what His faith was going to cost Him.  He knows what our faith is going to cost us as His disciples.  He never painted a rosy picture of what it would mean to follow Him as His people in this world.  Jesus offered all would-be disciples full disclosure:

“If anyone wants to come with Me, he must deny himself,  take up his cross daily,  and follow Me (Lk. 9:23).

The cross was a heavy price for Our Lord—it won’t be cheap for us!

Those four words stick in my mind as the page turns on a new calendar: “and, the child grew.”  The normal process following birth is, “growth.”  Otherwise, there is something terribly wrong.

Brooke Greenberg is the size of an infant, with the mental capacity of a toddler.   She died October 24, 2013, at the age of twenty still the size of a baby.  She still had her baby teeth.  She had the body of an 11 years old and mind of 2 years old. She was never diagnosed with any known genetic syndrome or chromosomal abnormality that would help explain why.  Doctors have no explanation for why Brooke does not get older.  Constant reminders of Brooke’s failure to grow up are family pictures taken throughout the years in which everybody gets older, but Brooke.  The family loved her and her Mom once said, “We love her just the way she is.”  That is admirable and what I would expect a loving mother to say, but the fact remains, Brooke’s story is unique because, “children are expected to grow up.”

God expects His children to grow up, mature, and move beyond a juvenile expression of faith.  I wish I could tell you what you need to do, step by step, to mature in the faith.  It would take more than a sermon.  It would take a book . . . in fact, my best advice is that we start “applying what we read in God’s Book!”

I would love a “HAPPY” New Year.  More than a “happy” New Year, however, I long for a NEW year.  I don’t want to continue to practice the elementary principles of faith.  I don’t want to be controlled by the sinful nature.  I want to “grow up” in my faith, just like my Lord.

(Luke 2:40).  Isn’t it time we got serious about “growing up in our faith?”

THE HARD KNOCKS OF LIFE

EARNEST HEMINGWAY  Even though throughout his life he had many adventurous escapades, Earnest Hemingway was a very sick man, and was beat-up physically. As well as his many car and plane crashes, he survived skin cancer, anthrax, malaria, dysentery, hepatitis, anemia, high blood pressure, a ruptured kidney, a ruptured spleen, a ruptured liver, pneumonia, a crushed vertebra, and a fractured skull.  Maybe you feel like you are beginning the New Year beat up and battered by life.  You are not alone.  Many others are fighting this battle also.  Most of all, you are not alone, because the Jesus is walking alongside you--the Holy Spirit of God will guide you (John 16:5-11)