The Life of Christ

committed sin; He sincerely thought He was honoring His Heavenly Father by taking up His position in the temple.

Regardless of which view one takes, Jesus was still “advancing in wisdom.”

• We often gain wisdom by taking risks, even the ones that later prove to be mistakes.

• Jesus never repeated this behavior, showing that something valuable was learned through it all.

• Lk. 2:51 says, “He continued in subjection to them.” The aorist tense used in this phrase indicates that he was “subject from this point on.”

Lk. 2:49 And He said to them, “Why is it that you were looking for Me? Did you not know that I had to be in My Father’s house?”

These first recorded words of Jesus illustrate His passion, noting that he “had to be in His Fat her’s house.”

• His first recorded words were all about being locked into His Father’s purpose.

• He also asks us, "Why are we looking for Him?"

• His first recorded words eighteen years later to who would be His disciples were: “What do you seek?” (Jn. 1:38).

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Lk. 2:52 And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.

It is noteworthy that Jesus actually increased in favor with God.

• Up until now He hadn’t yet reached the point of having His Father’s full favor upon Him.

• The Father’s complete favor would finalize at water baptism, when His Father would say, “This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased.”

There is not much said about the 18 silent years between His initial appearance in the temple and the beginning of His ministry.

• We do know that He was a carpenter (Mt. 13:55).

• He had younger brothers and sisters (Mt. 13:56).

• He became the head of His house from age 19, the time when Joseph died according to tradition.

The greatest thing He did was to learn how to wait.

• He spent thirty years preparing for a three and a half-year ministry, whereas most spend three and a half years preparing for a thirty-year ministry.

• Isa. 49:1-2 gives us further insight into this waiting period.

“Listen, O Coastlands, to Me, and take heed, you peoples from afar! The LORD has called Me from the womb; from the matrix of My mother He has made mention of My name. And He has made My mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of His hand He has hidden Me and made Me a polished shaft; in His quiver He has hidden Me” (Isa. 49:1-2).

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