Holy Boldness

Chapter 5 T he C hallenge of R aising J esus

Jesus grew up in the context of the fear of the Lord. His parents taught Him by example. As we have just seen, His parents were models of Godly, humble servants who were willing to do whatever it took to accommodate the purposes of God. God’s sovereign activity was part of their early home life. How might someone know how to relate to a child with pro phetic words spoken over His lifelike Jesus’ was? Manoah, the father of Samson, wisely prayed for help to raise His son. Then Manoah entreated the Lord and said, “O Lord, please let the man of God whom You have sent come to us again that he may teach us what to do for the boy who is to be born.” (Judges 13:8) Perhaps all parents should pray such a prayer because all children have exceptional potential. But Jesus was in a league of His own. Have you ever been around a particularly precocious child? It can be pretty challenging and his or her presence can be disruptive. Jesus parents’ however were not wowed by their son. They simply walked in the wisdom of God which the native culture offered them. Jesus, as a Jewish boy born in Israel, would naturally have been introduced to the scriptures. He would have been taught the amazing stories of the Old Testament from the earliest days. Part of the heritage of the Jewish nation was a long history of divine intervention. The Jewish traditions, the yearly feasts, the weekly observance of the sabbath, the daily reading of the scriptures, created a framework for divine activity by The Scriptures, Tradition and the Supernatural

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