December 8, 2024
Luke 2:40-52
“Turning Point”
Let’s think about what it was like for early Christians to hear and learn about Biblical truth. You wanted to learn and understand the truth. With primitive printing and communication tools, your options were limited. There was word-of-mouth. There were pastors and itinerant preachers. Even still, getting your facts straight was a challenge. Phonies and fakeries were always a possibility. We think fake news is a new thing? Think again, Edward R. Murrow. There was all kinds of fake news 2,000 years ago.
As we’re going to see in today’s extraordinary passage, there was a knowledge gap from Jesus’ birth to the beginning of his public ministry. Luke only gives us a little bit. But as we’ll see, it’s the most important little bit he can give. It is brilliantly communicated. As I like to say about so many things…fresh, simple, and honest.
Here’s the funny thing that happened. Not funny, “ha ha,” but funny, “strangely interesting.”
Into the information vacuum of Jesus’ childhood there leaped the “Infancy Gospel of Thomas.” It dates to the mid-late second century. It describes the life of Jesus from age five to twelve. It describes how he learns to use his powers for good. One episode involves him making clay birds and then bringing them to life. In another, Jesus curses a boy who teases him. The boy’s body proceeds to wither into a corpse. In another, Jesus kills a child who accidentally bumps into him.
Jesus is learning to manage his divine powers. When Mary and Joseph complain about something he has done, he strikes them blind. After being rebuked by a teacher for doing bad things, Jesus undoes his previous cruelties. He even heals a friend who cut his foot with an axe. For good measure, the author throws in how Jesus brings life to dried fish.
The ”Infancy Gospel of Thomas” ends with our passage from Luke 2.
Here, now, is the most important information to know:
And the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom. And the favor of God was upon him. Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover. And when he was twelve years old, they went up according to custom. And when the feast was ended, as they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents did not know it, but supposing him to be in the group they went a day's journey, but then they began to search for him among their relatives and acquaintances, and when they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem, searching for him. After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. And when his parents saw him, they were astonished. And his mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us so? Behold, your father and I have been searching for you in great distress.” And he said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?” And they did not understand the saying that he spoke to them. And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them. And his mother treasured up all these things in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.
Luke 2:40-52
Let’s set the stage.
As we’ve seen, Jesus is the central person throughout Luke’s gospel. He is Savior, King, Lord. He is the Son of God. He became a man. He lived a sinless life, to die in the place of sinners, fully paying our debt for our sin. He rose from the dead. He ascended into heaven where he now reigns, interceding for those whom he has called to follow him. One day, he shall return to establish his kingdom on earth.
And that, Charlie Brown, is what Christmas is all about.
The New Testament, especially, tells us how God saves sinners from eternal hell. Our salvation is through the work of Jesus Christ. And it makes crystal clear that salvation is through Christ and Christ alone. There is no salvation apart from Jesus Christ.
And that is what Christmas is all about.
In Jesus Christ…when you answer his call to believe in him and follow him…that is the heart of salvation. Nothing else matters. Nothing else even comes close to mattering. In Christ, as we read in Revelation 4:6-11:
And around the throne, on each side of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind: the first living creature like a lion, the second living creature like an ox, the third living creature with the face of a man, and the fourth living creature like an eagle in flight. And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say,
“Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!”
And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne, saying,
“Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power,for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.”
In Jesus Christ, that is our reality. That is what Christmas leads to.
Luke tells the story of who Jesus is and what he does for us. All of the important pieces are there. And when you put them together, here is the final picture they paint. This is one of the most beautiful passages of Scripture:
And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song, saying,
“Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals,for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation,and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.”
Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice,
“Worthy is the Lamb who was slain,to receive power and wealth and wisdom and mightand honor and glory and blessing!”
And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying,
“To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb
be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!”
And the four living creatures said, “Amen!” and the elders fell down and worshiped.
Revelation 5:8-14
That is what Christmas is all about. Jesus Christ is God Incarnate, Savior of the world. That’s the truth shared by Luke in these first two chapters. That’s the message of the birth narrative of Jesus Christ.
But Luke isn’t finished. It’s in the conclusion to chapter two. It’s the only recorded incident of the first thirty years of Jesus’ life.
Think of it this way:
IT IS A SIMPLE CHRONOLOGY.
Verse forty, “And the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom. And the favor of God was upon him,” covers birth to twelve. And then verse fifty-two, “And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man,” covers twelve to thirty. That’s the only chronology we need. Those are the only words about Jesus we need during his three
decades as the incarnate God living in this world.
Here's something worth writing down:
THESE TWO VERSES ARE ALL WE KNOW AND ALL WE NEED TO KNOW.
Verse forty refers to Jesus’ physical growth. “Became strong,” specifically means physical development. And then, in verse 52, “increased in wisdom” refers to spiritual development. The Greek word translated “increased in wisdom,” prokopto, literally means someone cutting his way through brushwood. In other words, it means to advance or make progress.
That’s all Luke needs to tell us about the first thirty years of Jesus’ life. No need for fantastical stories. Luke describes for us the incarnate Son of God growing in his understanding of his life and purpose.
Here’s something else you might want to write down:
JESUS KNOWS WHO HE IS AND WHY HE WAS BORN.
Those two short verses identify who Jesus is, not only for us, but also for Joseph and Mary. In this temple moment, Jesus helps his parents understand who is really in charge of his life.
Make no mistake. There’s no disrespect in that. While Mary and Joseph express understandable anguish over not knowing where their son was, Jesus reminds them of who is really in charge of his life. “Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” Not disrespectful. Not insensitive. But a statement of purpose. Obedience to his heavenly Father must come before obedience to earthly parents or earthly authorities. In this moment, Jesus indicates that a divine necessity compels his actions and words. God’s will…God’s purpose…comes first. We see that here. And then, praise God from whom all blessings flow, we’ll see that when Jesus obediently goes to the cross. He is compelled by God’s purpose for his life.
After this huge revelation, what does Jesus do? Honoring his father and mother, they return home. Why? Why is this so important for Luke to record?
Here is the profoundest of points. Returning to Nazareth, Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and men for the next eighteen years. In these two chapters, we’ve seen Jesus growing as an infant…then as a little child…then as a child…and then, in verse fifty-two, he is growing stronger physically and spiritually. He’s going to continue to triumph over temptation. He’s going to continue to exhibit spiritual and emotional and intellectual perfection.
Hebrews 4:15 tells us, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.” The process Luke lays out tells us that in all stages of his life, Jesus was tempted, yet he was without sin. He was holy, unharmed, undefiled, distinctly different from sinners. For thirty-three years.
And here’s the point. From infancy to childhood to boyhood to adulthood, Jesus lived the entire span of human life in perfection. Jesus triumphed over temptation and sin. We cannot. We could never. As Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 5:21, “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” Four turning points in Jesus’ life…infancy, childhood, boyhood, adulthood…a life perfectly lived to be credited to our account. That’s the staggering point of Luke 2. Jesus never yielded to temptation. He never sinned. He lived a perfect life. And then Jesus took your place on the cross. He died as if he lived your life. The perfect, righteous life of Jesus Christ has been credited to your account.
That is what Christmas is all about.
And now, a closing thought from Charles Spurgeon:
“HE WHO WAS BORN AT BETHLEHEM IS GOD, AND GOD WITH US. GOD – THERE LIES THE MAJESTY; GOD WITH US – THERE LIES THE MERCY. GOD – THEREIN IS GLORY; GOD WITH US, THEREIN IS GRACE. GOD ALONE MIGHT WELL STRIKE US WITH TERROR; BUT GOD WITH US INSPIRES US WITH HOPE AND CONFIDENCE.”
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