The Rising of the Son Luke 2:39-52

Transcription

1 The Rising of the Son Luke 2:39-52 Introduction: Raising children in any culture is always difficult. its staggering to think through all the variables: our sin nature, the sin nature of our children, expectations, pressures, temptations, personalities, schooling, relatives, and a world system that is hostile. Parenting requires the ultimate trust that God has control of our lives and loves our kids even more than we do since there is a limit to what we can protect, train, and care for our kids. On top of all of this, the irony of parenting is that we put all of our blood, sweat, and tears into our children's lives with the hope that they will pursue the Lord, meaning they will move out of our house and into their own adult lives, being equipped to make decisions, contribute in culture, and possibly have their own families. Along the way in parenting this means that our relationship with our kids begins to change. This does not happen overnight (although it seems like it does), but as our kids grow up, they begin to do things on their own. It starts with the ability to eat, put on shoes, and ride bikes, and culminates in driving, schooling, work, and even living on their own. This process of progressively training our kids and letting them live independent lives is simultaneously joyful and difficult. We want them to mature, but that maturity changes the relationship. Often when parents want their kids to mature without letting the relationship change they find themselves in a frustrating quandary, both for themselves and their progeny. I've shared before that one of the best things my father did for me as a son was to release me into manhood. When I was 18 and leaving for college, he challenged me to live for Christ and uphold the Bakker name, and it all at once showed me respect and empowered me to live apart from him. By living as a man, I honor him, even though it meant we see each other considerably less than we did before. As we come to this next section in Luke, we find the only passage that covers Jesus life between infancy and His 30th year of life. It is a brief yet pivotal look at how the baby Jesus grew into a boy, culminating in mature manhood. These were years of preparation, and Jesus lived these as a man, a real human being. He was not Superman pretending to be Clark Kent (because let's be honest, everyone knew Clark was just Superman with glasses - c'mon man!). Jesus was raised by parents, in a culture, and faced every pressure and temptation that our kids face (see Hebrews 4:15), yet He did it without sin. This section clearly shows that by the time Jesus was 12, He knew who He was, what His purpose was, and how He handled that knowledge. We will look at implications of His humanity as well as His deity, and glean principles for our own lives as a result. I. The expected maturation of a Son Luke 2:39-40; 52 And when they had performed everything according to the Law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. 40 And the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom. And the favor of God was upon him.and Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man. A. Maturity takes the proper tools Luke deftly brackets this passage with a similar summary. The focus on these summaries is how Jesus, in His humanity, grew physically, in wisdom, and in favor with God and man. Jesus is God very God, and never gave up deity, yet in His humility He entered into creation fully as a man. This meant that he submitted Himself to the same natural laws of growth that we each go through. He had to function as an infant, learn to walk, talk, and read. Though He was not bound by sin, meaning His thinking was not corrupted by a depraved mind, He still needed to learn how to reason, He learned the OT stories as a 1

2 child (even though He was there), and had to eat properly as He learned how to swing a hammer and build a table like Joseph. Though He was still God, He had to grow and learn with tools at His disposal. The beauty is that He had the same tools that each of us possess: the Word of God and the Holy Spirit. Jesus never gave up deity, but He gave up the independent control of His use of His divine prerogatives to the Holy Spirit, who mediated between His deity and humanity. In other words, there will be time in Jesus life that He exercises His divine prerogatives (knowledge, miracles, power over nature, etc), but only when in agreement with the Holy Spirit. When Jesus was cold, He did not just conjure up a heating pad or a sweater. When He was hungry, He was really hungry and waited for dinner like everyone else. He was empowered by the Holy Spirit, and nourished on the Word, especially when tempted. God's Word was His source of nourishment, His place of authority, and how He stood in the face of Satan's direct onslaught. He also had the grace of God upon Him, which meant that God's favor rested on Him, allowing Him to grow tall, strong, and as He grew in understanding of God's Word, He grew in wisdom as He put every command of God to practice. Now, this is very important to understand in our maturation process. None of us is God (though some of us think we are sometimes) yet we have all these things at our disposal to grow up. We have God's Word as our source of Spiritual milk (1 Pet 2:1-3), we have the Holy Spirit to guide, direct, convict, and empower, and we have God's grace that is active in us. We have the tools at our disposal to faithfully stand in the face of temptation, to grow in wisdom, and to have character before God and man. This includes our young people, who have the ability with these tools to excel, risk, influence, and impact the world around them because they are mature, convinced, and have character to match. B. Maturity takes the appropriate time Often what works against us in this growth and maturation is time. We want to be all grown up NOW. In verse 52 it says that Jesus increased in these areas, which means "to progress" or "to advance". God chose to have Jesus live 30 years BEFORE He entered His public ministry! This meant that in order to increase in wisdom and reputation, time had to take place. This was the same for great leaders like Moses and Paul, who were given time between call and actuation to develop character. Jesus' public ministry lasted just over 3 years, which meant a MAJORITY of His life was lived in obscurity, but not in mediocrity. He was being prepared for something great. This is important for all of us to remember, but especially our young people and parents/grandparents of young people. We do not go from immaturity to true excellence overnight, but steadily grow in wisdom, stature, and reputation. There is a reason that the elders we commissioned last week were NOT young men, because we could look at the pattern of their life and see consistency across the board. There is a movement today that says churches must hand off leadership to the younger to survive. This is only partially true (like so many false ideas). We should challenge young people to aspire to leadership, but should do so by modeling, mentoring, and discipling them, not abdicating. This allows a progression and perpetuation of leadership rather than the proverbial drop the mike walk off (Done my thing - I'm out!). If we want to see healthy families, growing leaders, and folks sent out to risk everything for the sake of the gospel, it must start by being faithful and grow in the ways and areas that God has given us everyday. This is how Jesus lived His life, and it is what Jesus would do (since it was what He did). II. The surprising submission of a Son Luke 2:41-48; 51 Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover. 42 And when he was twelve years old, they went up according to custom. 43 And when the feast was ended, as 2

3 they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents did not know it, 44 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, 45 and when they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem, searching for him. 46 After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. 47 And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. 48 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 went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them. And his mother treasured up all these things in her heart. A. Our struggle in submission Now, the main part of what Luke records of Jesus' life as a young man is contained in a well known story. Each year, Jewish men were called to go to Jerusalem for three main feasts of remembrance (Passover, Pentecost, & Tabernacles - see Exodus 23:17; 34:22-23; Deut. 16:16). Luke records Joseph's family travelling the 80 mile trek from Nazareth to Jerusalem for the feast of Passover (1 of 4 times the gospels record Jesus celebrating Passover). Passover was an 8 day feast, and Jerusalem swelled in population during this time to almost 3 times its normal size. This was a time to remember when God saved His people from Pharaoh in Egypt, and commemorated how they were saved by the blood of a lamb. Passover lambs were slain followed by a week celebration of Unleavened bread. The journey to Jerusalem was treacherous, and transporting a family was difficult. The way was laced with thieves and bands of robbers, so groups would go together. The text says a group made up of relatives and acquaintances would travel in a ancient caravan. Think a road trip for the whole family. This group would not only provide safety, but for a young man of 12 would provide excitement, fellowship, and freedom to move about the group. This is why Mary and Joseph were not concerned at first when they could not find Jesus (they were not the bad parents they may seem). If you've ever "lost" one of your kids, even for a moment, you will be able to relate to Mary in this story. After the first day, they realize their 12 year old son is not in the caravan, travel another day to backtrack, and search Jerusalem for another day, only to find Him in the Temple talking with the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. His parents were initially astonished, but Mary's astonishment turned to motherly indignation: Why have you treated us this way? Your father and I were worried sick and have been looking all over for you!?!?". If you've ever been on the receiving end of this emotionally charged, hurt, guilt laden conversations from a parent, you know that you are not dealing with a happy, joyful situation. It is in this moment Jesus demonstrated something truly remarkable: He submitted to His parents, even though He had done nothing wrong, and was actually in the right. Submission is as misunderstood as it is important. Submission demonstrates that we fully comprehend God's sovereignty and embrace it as an all encompassing joy. God controls all world affairs, sets up structures of leadership and oversight, and raises up kings and tears down kingdoms. When we want to play His role, we take things into our own hands and try to live in a way that circumvents His rule and places that right in our own hands. Submission is especially tested when we face the prospect of yielding to someone incompetent, sinful, or unwise. We are naturally independent and self reliant, and submitting to someone, anyone, is abhorrent to our individualism. B. Our example for submission 3

4 However, we are not left without an example in this plight. Notice that Jesus, even at 12 years old, who was perfect humanity, was willing to follow imperfect parents who did not see the situation clearly. They could not comprehend what Jesus was doing, were not ready to embrace the inevitability of what it would mean for Him to grow up and leave them, and were not fully understanding of who His real Daddy was. Jesus was submissive, even though He knew more, was more holy, and more "right". Yet all of this would have been INVALIDATED if He was not willing to follow His parents God given authority, so He left His Father's house and travelled with them. Submission, then, requires humility, selflessness, and trust that the Lord is in control, mixed with a desire to worship Him in ALL areas. Our character is not only defined by these areas of life, but is refined by them. Often when we think "what would Jesus do", we think of forgiveness, love, and compassion. But if we really wanted to follow Jesus' example, we would seek to be submissive in all areas. Submission is essential to maturity, and maturity is imperative to excellence, since true excellence has OTHERS IN MIND. III. The unmatched equality of a Son Luke 2:49 And he said to them, "Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?" 50 And they did not understand the saying that he spoke to them. A. Sonship was hard to see Its clear to see that in embracing humanity, Jesus became an example to us of maturity and submission. But there is something deeper going on in this text. Yes, Jesus was maturing as a young man into a fullfledged man. It is not by accident that Jesus was 12 when this event took place, since this was the year before a Jewish boy would be recognized as a man (today we celebrate a boys Bar Mitzvah). Jesus was transitioning from boyhood to manhood, and it was difficult for His mother and father to comprehend. But we also see that Jesus begins to embrace the reality that He is the Messiah, and by embracing this, He needed to be in His Father's house. Now, when Jesus looked at His parents and asked the rhetorical question, "did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?", it was a radical and audacious statement. No one, I mean no one, would dare claim that He was God's Son. In fact, this is the first time in Scripture that any individual claimed God as His personal father. What Jesus was claiming was not only without precedent, it was the claim that would eventually lead to the anger of the religious leaders (John 5:17; 10:36; 19:7; Matt. 27:40, 43), and was the catalyst to put Him on the cross. Why? Why was this claim at once so heinous and glorious? Because of the implications contained. In English language and western thought, being a son has to do with origin, but not necessarily nature. When I say I am John Bakker's son, you understand it to mean that I was born into His family, but I am my own person and man. However, in Jewish thought, when a boy became a man, he became a "son" in the fullest sense, meaning he became equal to or one with his father. Jesus claim to Sonship was a claim of equality with God, being one with Him, having the same nature. This is exactly what Jesus claimed in John 10:28-31, that He and the Father are one. It is what it means to be the "only begotten" or only son in John 3:16 (begotten is a misunderstood translation, and monogenes is better translated one of a kind showing His uniqueness, not the fact that He was secondary to God), and why Col. 1:18 calls Jesus the "firstborn" of creation, which means "pre-eminent", not the origin of His birth. This is what escaped the thinking of Mary and Joseph. Yes, they knew He was the Messiah, yes He was formed in her womb by the Holy Spirit, and yes He was to save His people, but the dots had not all connected that He was God, the second person of the trinity, that He was equal with God the Father 4

5 who was veiled in human flesh. This is why Mary paused again and treasured these things in her heart, as this was categorically different than anything she had been taught or thought. Jesus' greatness knew no bounds, and His glory is limitless. B. Sonship changed everything But why was Sonship so important? Why did it matter? And actually, why did Jesus have to live for 30 years anyway? Why did Jesus have to live all those years before going to the cross? Couldn't he simply have showed up and gone right to the cross? The answer to these questions is exactly why Luke included this section: Only God could save us from God - In order to be the Just and the Justifier of our faith (Rom. 3:26), God had to literally sacrifice Himself. This is what differentiates God from all other gods. He did not require us to get to him up a ladder, through self-sacrifice or good works, He provided the way by meeting His own requirement: perfection, the only one He could provide when it was an impossibility for everyone else. This is why Sonship was necessary for the Messiah: he could not be anything less than God very God. Only a human could be an acceptable substitute - But this second point answers the question of why Jesus had to live all those years as a man. In order to be a perfect substitute, He had to live a complete life that a normal person would, including being obedient to all God's commands, abstaining from temptation, and living up to the Law. This is why at His baptism He said: "Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness." Matthew 3:15 In doing this, He made Himself to be a perfect sacrifice: "For Christ suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the Spirit." 1 Peter 3:18 All of this lead Him to take our place on the cross. He not only lived the life we never could, but died the death we all deserved, so that we could all live a life we could never attain. "For our sake He made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God." 2 Cor. 5:21 This means that by faith, when God sees us, He no longer sees our sin, but sees Christ's righteousness in us, so that He can accept us. But he also gives us Christ's righteousness, so that we can now live a life of maturity, excellence, and worship. His righteousness is what empowers and motivates us. His righteousness through Sonship means that we too can be sons, adopted sons and daughters of the King (Rom 8:15). When we are adopted, all need to try to make ourselves acceptable, loveable, or worthy of God goes away and we are given rest, knowing that we are fully accepted, wholly loved, and find our worthiness in Christ. This means that we no longer serve only to be seen or feel worthy, or find our identity, or respect or acclaim from others, we simply serve to please the Lord and glorify Him. God has said to us, You are my child. I have purchased you with my own blood and made you my own. I have lived up to every standard needed, and when I look at you, I see my Son, and when you 5

6 have my Son, you too are my child, and I will never let you go. You are secure. You are loved. Now go and live for me, make much of me, and tell others about me. But know that no matter what happens, you are mine, and that will not change. This is why sonship changes everything for us. Concluding Thoughts & Questions: What are areas of your life that you need to mature in? What would maturity look like in those areas? Why do we have such a hard time waiting for things like maturity? Why do you not like submission? Who do you have a hard time submitting to? How does Jesus example change things for you? What motivates you to serve? What motivates you to do ministry? What happens when what you expected in that (thanks, acknowledgement, feeling of satisfaction) does not happen? Why is it so important to find our identity in our standing with God in Christ alone? What are the results when we find it other places? 6