Luke Chapter 2 Second Continued

Luke 2:40 “And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him.”

Mary and Joseph brought Jesus back to Nazareth to live until He grew to manhood. He was to be called a Nazarene (Matthew 2:23). In (Isaiah 11:2), we read about the abundance of His Spirit.

Isaiah 11:2 “And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD;”

You see, Jesus has all of these to the utmost; the grace of God.

Colossians 2:9 “For in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.”

Jesus Christ is the fullness of God on the earth.

Luke 2:41 “Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the passover.”

“Feast of the Passover”: Passover was a one-day feast, followed immediately by the week-long Feast of Unleavened Bread.

It was a requirement to go to Jerusalem on the feast of the Passover each year. Mary and Joseph tried to keep the Mosaic Law, and they went each year 3 times to worship at the temple (feast of Passover, feast of Pentecost, and feast of Tabernacles).

Verse 41 doesn’t mean that Joseph was Jesus’ father, but rather that is what everyone thought. The men were the only ones required to go, but in this case, the whole family went.

Luke 2:42 “And when he was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the feast.”

I personally believe that Jesus came to the temple at 12 to show that this is about the time when we are old enough to make the decision to follow the Lord. This particular time is very important in the life of Jewish young men. They begin to worship with the men at this age.

Luke 2:43 “And when they had fulfilled the days, as they returned, the child Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem; and Joseph and his mother knew not [of it].”

“Jesus tarried behind”: In stark contrast to the apocryphal gospels’ spurious takes of youthful miracles and supernatural exploits, this lone biblical insight into the youth of Jesus portrays Him as a typical boy in a typical family. His lingering was neither mischievous nor disobedient; it was owing to a simple mistaken presumption of His parents’ part (verse 44), that He was left behind.

The feast of Passover and Unleavened Bread are really covered together. The Passover meal was on the 14th of Nisan and Unleavened Bread extended for 7 days after. After this time was fulfilled, Mary and Joseph started back to Nazareth. They were not aware that Jesus had not come with them, but stayed behind.

Luke 2:44 “But they, supposing him to have been in the company, went a day’s journey; and they sought him among [their] kinsfolk and acquaintance.”

“In the company”: Obviously, Joseph and Mary were traveling with a large caravan of friends and relatives from Nazareth. No doubt hundreds of people from their community went together to the feast. Men and woman in such a group might have been separated by some distance, and it appears each parent thought He was with the other.

Hebrews were required to go to Jerusalem, so this was indeed a large group. Mary and Joseph began to look for Jesus when they noticed He wasn’t with them.

Luke 2:45 “And when they found him not, they turned back again to Jerusalem, seeking him.”

Perhaps, He had lived such a normal childhood that His mother had forgotten who Jesus really was.

Luke 2:46 “And it came to pass, that after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions.”

“Three days”: This probably does not mean they searched Jerusalem for 3 days. They apparently realized He was missing at the end of a full day’s travel. That required another full day’s journey back to Jerusalem, and the better part of another day was spent seeking Him.

“Hearing them, and asking them questions”: The boy Jesus was utterly respectful, taking the role of the student. But even at that young age, His questions showed a wisdom that put the teachers to shame.

Had they remembered that Jesus was the very Son of God, they would have gone to the temple immediately. As it was, it took them 3 days to find Him. These doctors were doctors of theology. We know that Jesus’ style was to ask them questions. Even when He was questioned later, He answered with questions that they could not answer.

Luke 2:47 “And all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers.”

Here was a 12 year old boy, who had not been trained in the temple, who knew the Word more than those who had studied all of their lives. How could this be? This young man they were talking to was the Word of God. In John the 1st chapter, He is called just that.

Luke 2:48 “And when they saw him, they were amazed: and his mother said unto him, Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing.”

“Why hast thou thus dealt with us?”: Mary’s words convey a tone of exasperation and rebuke, normal for any mother under such circumstance, but misplaced in this case. Jesus was not hiding from them or defying their authority.

In fact, He had done precisely what any child should do under such circumstance (being left by His parents), He went to a safe, public place, in the presence of trusted adults, where His parents could be expected to come looking for Him (verse 49).

“Thy father”: I.e., Joseph, who was legally His father.

As we said earlier, His childhood was probably fairly normal. His mother had perhaps forgotten why Jesus had come to the earth, and she felt that He, as other children were, was obligated to tell her before He disappeared. Of course, after three days of looking without finding Him, they feared the worst.

Luke 2:49 “And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father’s business?”

“My father’s business”: Contrasting with Mary’s “your father” (in verse 48), His reply was in no sense insolent, but reveals a genuine amazement that they did not know where to look for Him. This also reveals that even at so young an age, He had a clear consciousness of His identity and mission.

Here we see again, that Jesus answers questions with another question.

Possibly, Jesus did not like Mary referring to Joseph as his Father. Jesus’ Father was God. This moment (at 12 years of age), possibly launched Jesus into the Father’s business.

At least we know that He left a lasting impression on these scholarly men in the temple. There has been very little written about the time between Jesus’ visiting the temple at Jerusalem and when He starts His public ministry when He is 30 years old. We do know that Mary knows of His miracle ability because she tells them at the wedding to do whatever He asks.

This is an indication to me that Jesus had been performing miracles before her from the time He was 12 until then. I believe His formal ministry begins at 30, and that he had been ministering all along privately.  What was the Father’s business?  It was ministering to those less fortunate.

Luke 2:50 “And they understood not the saying which he spake unto them.”

It is pretty obvious that Jesus had not been performing miracles before He was 12, because the Scripture here says they (Mary and Joseph), understood not.

We know that Mary understood when Jesus was 30, so this fuels the idea that He ministered privately in their home between 12 and 30 years of age.

Luke 2:51 “And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them: but his mother kept all these sayings in her heart.”

“Subject unto them”: Jesus’ relationship with His Heavenly Father did not override or nullify His duty to His earthly parents. His obedience to the fifth commandment was an essential part of the perfect legal obedience He rendered on our behalf (Heb. 4:4; 5:8-9). He had to fulfill all righteousness.

After this Jerusalem experience, Jesus returned with them to the little town of Nazareth where He would grow to manhood known as a carpenter’s son. Mary remembers all of these happenings as any mother would.

Jesus was not rebellious but obeyed Mary and Joseph (was subject unto them).

Luke 2:52 “And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.”

“And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature”: Jesus did not cease being God or divest Himself of divine attributes in order to become man. Rather, He took on a human nature (or addition, not a subtraction), and submitted the use of His divine attributes to the will of the Father (John 5:19, 30; 8:28; Phil 2:5-8).

Therefore, there were times when His omniscience was on display (Matt. 9:4; John 2:24-25; 4:17-18; 11:11-14; 16:30), and other times when it was veiled by His humanity in accordance with the Father’s will (Mark 13:32).

We know that Jesus had all knowledge and wisdom. I believe the statement above means that those looking on perceived more of His wisdom as He grew older. They became more and more aware of just how wise He was.

He was totally obedient to Father God and stayed in good favor with Him, but man realized His unselfishness and attitude. They could not help but love Him and respect Him more and more as they knew Him better.

Luke Chapter 2 Second Continued Questions

1. The child grew and waxed strong in _____________.

2. What was upon Him?

3. In Matthew 2:23, we find out why He lived in Nazareth. Why was it?

4. What does Isaiah 11:2 tell us about Jesus?

5. In Colossians 2:9, “for in him dwelleth all the fullness ____ _____ __________ ________”.

6. What 3 celebrations were all males to go to the temple?

7. What specific celebration was this one?

8. How old was Jesus at this time?

9. What city was the temple in?

10. Why does the author believe this specific age of Jesus is important?

11. What is meant by fulfilling the days?

12. Why do you suppose Mary and Joseph did not know that Jesus was not with them earlier?

13. What 2 feasts or festivals overlapped here?

14. What time of year were these festivals?

15. Where did Mary and Joseph look for Him first?

16. Why didn’t Mary look at the temple first?

17. How long were they looking before they found Him?

18. Where was He found?

19. Who had He been with?

20. What had He been doing?

21. How did Jesus answer questions?

22. How did His answers affect them?

23. Where can we read about Jesus being the Word?

24. What did His mother say when they found Him?

25. How did Jesus answer her?

26. How old is Jesus when He launches His public ministry?

27. What do you believe He did between 12 and then?

28. What is the Father’s business?

29. What tells us that Jesus did not perform miracles before He was 12?

30. What makes the author believe that He did miracles privately before He was 30?

31. Who would those around them believe that Jesus was?

32. How do we know that Jesus was a good son, not rebellious?

33. Jesus increased in favor with ______ and ____________.

34. What does verse 52 really mean about Jesus growing in wisdom?

Go to Previous Section | Go to Next Section

Return to Luke Menu | Return to Top

     Other Books of the Bible (This takes you to our new 66 books of the bible menu)

Email Us : bible-studys@charter.net