"The Young Jesus"
"The Young Jesus"
How Things Work – Consideration #131 (Book II Science & Religion)
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Tuesday April 16, 2024
“And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was on him.”
– Luke 2:40
PREFACE
Welcome Everybody!
After the birth of John, Luke relates a birth narrative about Jesus that fills in what we traditionally think of as the “Christmas Story.” It begins with Joseph and Mary traveling to Bethlehem because of a census dictated by Caesar Augustus. All inhabitants of the Roman World were required to return home to the city of their birth in order to register. Luke identifies Bethlehem as the “City of David,” further connecting Joseph and Jesus to the lineage of Abraham and King David.
Upon arriving in Bethlehem, Mary gives birth to Jesus in a manger, because there was no “guest room” available for them. Shepherds, in nearby fields, are visited by an angel of the Lord who proclaims the good news.
“Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
“Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”
When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”
Luke 2:11-15
When we add Luke’s account of Jesus’ birth to Matthew’s, we have the “complete” Christmas story. However, Luke has two additional stories regarding the young Jesus.
CONSIDERATION #131 – The Young Jesus
The first story involves a righteous man named Simeon. When Joseph and Mary bring Jesus to the temple for purification rites, Simeon recognizes the child as the Messiah; who he was promised, by the Holy Spirit, he would see before his death. He makes a prophecy that although Jesus is the Messiah of Israel, he will also be a light unto the Gentiles.
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 on him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. 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 may now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all nations: a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of 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 1:25-35
According to Simeon, Jesus would be a strong, influential, yet controversial, leader who reveals the hearts of many. However, for Mary, his mother, the ultimate price of his mission would pierce her soul.
The second story in Luke is the only account in the canonical Gospels of Jesus as a young boy. He is depicted as spiritually wise, even to the point of astounding the rabbis at the temple. It also serves as another opportunity to establish Jesus as the Son of God by establishing he is there to do his “Father’s” business.
Every year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the Festival of the Passover. When he was twelve years old, they went up to the festival, according to the custom. After the festival was over, while his parents were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in 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 to him, “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 with God and man.
Luke 1:41-52
POSTSCRIPT
In many stories and parables, Luke essentially tells the same story as Matthew and Mark. However, Luke meticulously documents who everyone is and how they fit into the story. This is the kind of information you would want if you were researching this time period yourself. It anchors the story into a real history that is documented.
In addition, he greatly expands John’s role as a prophet in his own right. He begins with a concise synopsis of what is happening in the local area at the time.
In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar—when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herodtetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene – during the high-priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
Luke 3:1-3
In Luke, John not only prepares the way for Jesus, but he also foreshadows his teachings.
“What should we do then?” the crowd asked.
John answered, “Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same.”
Even tax collectors came to be baptized. “Teacher,” they asked, “what should we do?”
“Don’t collect any more than you are required to,” he told them.
Then some soldiers asked him, “And what should we do?”
He replied, “Don’t extort money and don’t accuse people falsely—be content with your pay.”
Luke 3:10-14
John’s teaching in Luke does not sound like the wrathful reprimanding of a mad prophet living on wild honey and locusts in the wilderness. Instead, John comes across as promoting simple, rational, and practical solutions for those coming to him for help.
“When soldiers ask him what they should do, he tells them not to use their power unjustly…”
When the crowd asks what they should do, John essentially tells them to share what they have when they have more than they need. When the despised tax collectors ask what they should do, John responds they should be fair in collecting taxes. When soldiers ask him what they should do, he tells them not to use their power unjustly by extorting money or lying to get someone into trouble, and to be content with what they are paid. None of these things sound extremely radical in any way.
However, John’s wrath seems quite apparent when dealing with the hypocritical leaders of Israel, such as the new “King Herod.”
But when John rebuked Herod the tetrarch because of his marriage to Herodias, his brother’s wife, and all the other evil things he had done, Herod added this to them all: He locked John up in prison.
Luke 3:19-20
As in the other synoptic Gospels, Jesus’ ministry begins after being baptized by John. However, Luke shares Jesus’ age at the time:
Now Jesus himself was about thirty years old when he began his ministry. He was the son, so it was thought, of Joseph…”
Luke 3:23
The gospel of Luke is unique in its expansion of John’s role in the ministry of Jesus, focusing on Jesus’ divine nature as the Son of God, and its meticulously detailed account of Jesus’ life.
Next week we will conclude our consideration of Luke’s gospel with two parables not found in the other gospels; The Good Samaritan and The Prodigal Son…
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