The Childhood
of Jesus
[Luke chapter
2, verses 25-52]
Last week
when we ended the first half of our analysis of Luke chapter 2, we
ended at verse 24, where Joseph and Mary presented Jesus to the Lord
at the Temple in Jerusalem as their firstborn son. Today as we begin
at verse 25, we find ourselves being introduced to a gentleman named
Simeon, who announces the destiny of Jesus to his astonished parents
and everyone else who was there. So let's start right there to begin
today's conclusion to Luke chapter two.
“Now
there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and
devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy
Spirit was upon him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit
that he would not die before seeing the Lord's Christ. Moved by the
Spirit, he went into the Temple courts. When the parents brought in
the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the law required,
Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying, 'Sovereign Lord
as you have promised, you now dismiss your servant in peace. For my
eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight
of all people, a light of revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to
your people Israel.' The child's father and mother marveled at what
was said about him. Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his
mother: 'This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of
many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that
the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce
your own soul, too.'” (Luke 2, verses 25-35)
Luke
is the only gospel writer that records Simeon's saying what he said
about Jesus, so we can see that this was significant for Mary,
Joseph, and the baby Jesus. Up until John the Baptist's coming, the
word and the rule of God had been proclaimed through the Law and the
prophets, but now with the arrival of Jesus the King and his
forerunner John the Baptist, the word and rule of God is proclaimed
and encountered in a new way. Jesus is
the Word; Jesus is
the King; the long awaited kingdom has now arrived (at least
partially). For those who believe in Jesus, a tremendous shift
occurs: no longer do we live merely in the era of promise
with the Law and the prophets awaiting the consolation of Israel.
This is the very thing the prophets of the Old Testament wrote about.
Now we live in the era of fulfillment when the kingdom of God is
preached as present and powerful. But, it is not yet consummated,
because Jesus has yet to return for his Bride, which is his church.
That's us, people, so your waiting for His return will not be in
vain, you can be sure of that!
Then
Simeon says, “...my eyes have seen
your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all
people...”
It is notable here that Simeon knew exactly who the baby was that he
was holding. Notice that he received no prompting from either Mary or
Joseph as far as what the visiting angels had told them just over 9
months previous to this. The Bible says in this passage that Simeon
was “moved by the Holy Spirit”, and the fact that Simeon knew the
destiny of Jesus before his parents knew constitutes written proof of
this. Then Simeon calls the baby Jesus, “a
light of revelation to the Gentiles”.
As you recall from our studies of the writings of the apostle Paul,
it was Paul who ultimately took the Gospel to the Gentiles, after his
former compatriots the Pharisees forced Paul out of their ranks after
his conversion on the road to Damascus (see Acts chapter 9). In the
very next sentence of Luke chapter 2, it says, “The
child's father and mother marveled at what was said about him”.
To put this in modern English, Mary and Joseph were awestruck and
totally blown away by what Simeon was saying about their infant Son.
And, rightfully so, as it would turn out.
Finishing
out this portion of today's text, Simeon prophesy's further when he
says to Mary, “This child is destined
to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign
that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will
be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul, too.”
The “rising and falling of many” is referring to the salvation
that the baby Jesus would bring to the world. Some will rise to
eternal glory, others will fall to eternal shame and condemnation.
Dictators will fall into the latter category, and so will many
politicians. That's not just here in America, but globally! Jesus,
Simeon prophesied, will be “a sign that will be spoken against”.
Jesus' very name is hated by many, many people around the world. That
includes those who profess to love him, and yet routinely disobey his
commandments. That's what Simeon meant by “the thoughts of many
hearts will be revealed”. Luke mentions this again, although
indirectly, later in this gospel when he quotes Jesus' response to
the Pharisees, the religious leadership of that time: “He
said to them, 'You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of
men, but God knows your hearts. What is highly valued among men is
detestable in God's sight'.” (Luke 16; 15)
And that, my dear readers, says a whole lot! So now let's move on to
the next part of today's lesson.
“There
was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of
Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years
after her marriage, and then was a widow until the age of 84. She
never left the Temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and
praying. Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to
God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the
redemption of Jerusalem. When Joseph and Mary had done everything
required of them by the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own
town of Nazareth. And the child grew and became strong; he was filled
with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him.” (Luke 2, verses
36-40)
So
here we are witnesses to another person coming on the scene in the
form of Anna, an elderly woman like Simeon, who is confirming what
the visiting angels and Simeon had told Mary and Joseph about the
ultimate destiny of their newborn child. Anna, even though she had
just walked up on the conversation, also confirmed the identity of
the child that Simeon was probably still holding, calling him the
Christ, or anointed One, “to all who
were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem”.
The birth of our Savior was the first part of Jerusalem's redemption,
the second part was Christ's death and resurrection, and the third
part did not occur until May of 1948, when Israel once again became a
nation after waiting for nearly 2,000 years. The fourth and final
part, His 2nd
coming, has yet to be fulfilled, but it is likely we will seen this
occur in our lifetimes. In fact, we may not have long to wait at all,
so live your lives accordingly! Last but not least, the apostle Luke
tells us that the young Jesus “was filled with wisdom”. Jesus was
evidently considered to be what we would call a 'child prodigy'
today. Is it any wonder, considering that he was in fact the Son of
God? In point of fact, this wisdom was a family trait both then and
now. One of Jesus' ancestors, King Solomon son of David, when asked
by God what his one wish would be if he could make one, replied to
the Lord that he wanted great wisdom. After all, if you already have
maximum brain power, getting everything else one could want becomes
so much easier. Because of this, God was delighted with Solomon's
choice and granted his request. God wants to do the same for you as
well, so why not go ahead and ask him? When you're finished with that
prayer, let's conclude today's lesson beginning at verse 41.
“Every
year his parents went to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover.
When he was 12 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 at 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, '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?' 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 of God and men.” (Luke 2, verses 41-52)
As
I wrote earlier in this lesson, once again the apostle Luke depicts
Mary and Joseph as being devout Jews following the Law to the very
best of their ability. But more than that, Luke shows that the
parents of Jesus were consistent with their faith and their giving
year after year. We would do well to do the same. But then something
unexpected happens. We have what appears to be a case of disobedience
on the part of the boy Jesus. But that's not what occurred at all, as
we see just a couple of verses later when Jesus answered his parents
with, “'Didn't you know I had to be
in my Father's house?' But they did not understand what he was saying
to them.”
The most likely scenario here is that, although Mary and Joseph did
not fully comprehend what the young Jesus was trying to tell them at
the time, I'm sure that hours or maybe days later they each
remembered what the visiting angels had told them back before Jesus
was born. Let's not forget that 12 years and nine months had
transpired from that time until the present. So Jesus was talking
about his heavenly Father, not his earthly one. He was talking about
the One from whom he was conceived.
The
other thing that I feel is noteworthy here is the tremendous patience
shown by Joseph when he and Mary had found Jesus after a 3-day search
on foot. Imagine yourself in such a position! What if you lost a
child for three days? Wouldn't you be besides yourself with worry as
well as impatience? I probably would have, although I don't have any
kids at home so I can't say for sure. Plus, as I wrote above, Jesus'
parents were completely stumped by the answer he gave them. They
likely didn't figure out what Jesus meant by his response until some
time later. “And Jesus grew in wisdom
and stature, and in favor of God and men.”
The Bible doesn't really say much else about Jesus' early years.
Presumably this information has been covered over by the sands of
time. That's all I have for chapter two, so next week we'll be
covering Luke chapter 3. Until then, have an excellent week in the
Lord!
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