How is it how did this work exactly? The holy and infinite, unlimited God became this limited, finite human being. And we we struggle to wrap our minds around it. It’s it’s meant to cause us to move to awe and wonder. Not necessarily that we can resolve all these questions, but it makes us stop and think about Jesus really did become one of us in every way.

And we see this in our passage in chapter 2 of Luke. Luke gives us our first glimpse into this reality of how the incarnate God worked out in history. What did this look like? It’s interesting that this is the only window we get in all of scripture into Jesus’s growing up years, his childhood. The other three gospels don’t touch on these years in particular.

And that’s one reason I love Dr. Luke. He I think he had this inquisitive mind. He he wanted to investigate things and ask questions. He in interviewed eyewitnesses and and I think he went to people like Mary and he asked questions like, “What was that like to have Jesus grow up in your home?

He shed light on a lot of things that would have otherwise remained in the dark. And I’m thankful the spirit of God led him to do that. But rather than giving some kind of esoteric idea about this this mystery of the incarnation and laying all all these philosophical explanations, instead he just gives us this event. He talks about what happened when the incarnate God lived as this pre-adolescent boy. This passage also gives us a glimpse of the kind of home Jesus grew up in.

What were his family traditions? What kind of things did his family focus on? What did they prioritize? How did they raise Jesus? We’re going to see some of that in this passage.

And the big idea this morning is Jesus modeled for us that our calling is first to love God, then family, and then others. If you would please stand for the reading of God’s holy and perfect word from Luke chapter 2, beginning in verse 39. And as we stand we’re coming under the authority of God’s word knowing this is from him. This is his revelation for us and it’s has the authority to convict, correct, encourage and comfort us. Here’s what he says in Luke 2:39.

And when they had performed everything according to the law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee to their own town of Nazareth. 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 12 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 3 days, they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions.

And all who heard 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.

Thank you. May be seated. This would have been an exciting time for Jesus. At 12 years old, Jesus was one year away from being called a son of the commandment or what would be considered a full-fledged member of the synagogue. See, in Jewish culture, once you turn 13, you’re considered a man.

And so, Jesus already is on the verge of that at 12 years old. Now, in our culture, we’re a bit more ambiguous about this transition from childhood to adulthood. We do have that legal number 18. I mean, that’s when you get the, you know, rights and responsibilities of being an adult legally, but we don’t always clarify for our our people or for our kids what exactly this looks like to become a man, to become an adult. And so because of that, the Jewish people said, you know what, we’re going to make it 13.

When you’re 13, now you’re a man. A and you get all the the all the access to the things that adults have access to. You get the participation. You get to participate in all the things that adults get to participate in. But with those privileges comes certain responsibilities.

Now, you’re expected to live like a man. You’re expected to conduct yourself in a distinguished in a way that is fitting of a son of the commandment. In other words, you obey the law of the Lord and you will take responsibility for your decisions. That was the mindset once you turn 13. And Jesus here is 12.

And so he’s just one year away from that big step. And that ceremony today, we call it the bar mitzvah. But that same idea is in place for Jewish people even today. Verse 40 says, “And the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom, and the favor of God was upon him.” This is significant because it’s a simple statement, but it’s saying Jesus grew and developed and learned just like every human child.

There were no steps that he got to skip simply because he was the incarnate God. He had to learn. He had to grow just like you and me. And I want to point out something in your notes. Jesus’s full humanity dignifies the body.

It dignifies the body. The New Living Translation says Jesus grew up healthy and strong. So this is talking about Jesus’s physical growth. And there’s an important application even from this because Jesus didn’t neglect the care of his body. He grew and developed.

In other words, he was nurtured. He he had to take care of his body. It’s not as though he just starved his body and focused only on spiritual things. He he took care of himself. And he gave us an example for how to steward the body God gives you.

Doatism was this heretical idea in the early centuries of Christianity that Jesus may have looked human, but he really wasn’t human. He he may have looked like he had a body, but no, he he really just appeared to have a body. That’s what this heretical idea was because they thought that having a body was just too beneath God. Like God wouldn’t stoop to such a low level. That that would be so crude if God had a physical body.

And the reason they thought this way is because there was this Greek philosophy that said the body is just a shell. That the physical material stuff it’s it’s not valuable. It you know once you die your your body can be discarded and your soul is free and then you’re finally free to be all that you’re meant to be. But the Bible never devalues the body. From the beginning in Genesis, we see that God originally designed human beings to have both a soul and a body.

That’s how he formed the man. And then he formed the woman from the man in the same kind of way. That’s why our future resurrection really matters. It’s not that we just drift away as souls offering all eternity. One day Jesus just as he was raised from the dead will raise our bodies and we will have a physical body for all eternity.

That’s important. Too often Christians can get this doetic or or sometimes gnostic idea into their heads that you know the body doesn’t really matter. It’s not all that important. What God really cares about is the soul. But listen, God gave you a body.

He gave you this amazing, wonderfully designed, remarkable body. The way that your body processes food, gives you energy, heals from injuries, the way your body allows you to interact with other people, so you can hug, you can shake hands, all these things. You can interact with the world because that’s how God designed us to live, to have a body. You are fearfully and wonderfully made, the Bible says. So don’t neglect the body.

Don’t imagine that if you don’t take care of your body, you’re somehow being more spiritual. That’s how aesthetics have thought. Just like a cavalry man who does not take care of his horse is going to be in big trouble when he finally rides into battle. In the same way, we’re called to take care of our body to to steward it well because it’s here for us. It’s it’s given to us so that we can be used in service to God.

So Jesus didn’t arrive on Christmas day as a fully formed man. He came as a baby. He had to grow and develop and learn and he trusted his heavenly father and he had to rely on his parents. He respected their authority. That’s important.

We’ll see here. And like every year, Jesus and his family made that long trek all the way to Jerusalem for the Passover feast. And then what would happen is they would go into the temple courts. Jesus being a boy that was 11 or 12. He was 12, but a boy or 11 or 12 would come into the temple courts with his father and they would go in together to sacrifice the family’s lamb.

And what would happen is the the priest would stand up and he would blow the ram’s horn loudly for all to hear. And then the head of the household, the father would take out that family lamb and slaughter it. And Jesus would watch Joseph do this in the temple courts. And as that that blood came out, the the priests would come up with their bowls of silver and gold, and they would collect the blood in these bowls. And then they would sprinkle that blood on the altar’s base.

And as Jesus watched this, he would hear the Levites off in the corner singing loudly, the hell psalms, Psalm 113 to 118. And he would watch this this little lamb, unblenmished, spotless lamb, get killed in front of his eyes. And then they would take this lamb and Joseph would skin it right there. He would sling it over his shoulder and they would take it back to the home they were staying in. And then in that home they would roast this lamb over a fire.

And then after sunset they would as a family eat this lamb together including probably other relatives with them. And Jesus being the firstborn son in the household would have been given the charge of giving this ceremonial question. He would say to his father, “Aba, why is this night different from all other nights?” And then Joseph would recount the whole dramatic story of the Exodus, telling him how the Lord delivered them from bondage in Egypt. And everybody would participate in this together.

They would sing together. They would pray together. And they would praise the Lord for rescuing our people from slavery. I want to point out that all this was done in obedience to God’s word. At this time in salvation history, this is what God commanded all his people to do.

You were one of God’s people. This is what you did. And if you were the the father, you were considered the spiritual leader who led this whole process. Look again at verse 41. Says, “Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year.”

Note that. Every year at the feast of the Passover, they never missed one. Joseph and Mary set this great example of faithful worship and obedience to the Lord. They showed their family what it looks like to follow God, to be obedient to him. They were there every year at the Passover.

And that would have required some time and energy. Think about that. Traveling 90 miles with a family, likely on foot. Most people didn’t have the convenience that we have today for transportation. They had to travel a lot of places on foot.

And so, they would have made that journey every year simply because God told them to. It was what they were always going to do because that’s what faithful Jewish people did. And in the same way, God desires his people to worship faithfully. He he calls his people to take responsibility. In your notes, parents, primarily fathers, are responsible to lead their family in worship of God.

See, whatever you prioritize in life sets an example for how your kids should prioritize things in life. They learn from their parents. Getting good grades in school is important, but it’s not as important as walking humbly with God. A lot of Christians love sports. I love sports.

Go Seahawks, right? They won yesterday. But you know, we can send the message in subtle and small ways that sports or other activities is more important than worship of God. And we do that simply by what we make time for. See, kids always pick up on this.

They notice what is it that mom and dad and grandpa and grandma, what is it that they make time for? What do they prioritize when it comes down to it? As followers of Jesus, the pressing question always needs to be, what does God want? Not what do I want, but what does God most want? What does God want for my life?

What does he want for my marriage, my life, my career, my family? And see, when you ask, “What does God want?” First, you’re getting our priorities right. Now, how do we know what God wants? We look at what he’s revealed in scripture.

Says in 1 Timothy 2:8, “In every place of worship, I want men to pray with holy hands lifted up to God, free from anger and controversy.” He wants us to be committed to corporate worship, prayer, proclamation of the gospel. 1 Timothy 2 says, “This is good and pleases God, our savior, who wants, what does God want? Who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth?” He wants his people to respond not just individually but corporately in obedience to him.

He wants his people to know the truth. So just as God wanted his people to celebrate the Passover together every year in the same way God calls his people today to come together as a church family to worship together to hear the word preached to take the Lord’s supper together to confess sin and to commit your life to Jesus Christ. That’s what God wants. Again, God wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth. This is what God is passionate about.

This is a question I want to keep asking myself throughout my life. What is God most passionate about? And am I passionate about the same things that God is passionate about? God’s vision is for his followers to rise up to to refuse to go along with the world and and everything the world has t taught us and simply go with the flow and instead stand out and follow Jesus. Take responsibility.

He wants dads and moms to teach their kids the great truths of the Bible. Now, many moms and dads will say, you know, I’m no Bible scholar. And that’s right. None of us need to be experts. All you got to do is you open up the word and you read it and you just talk about it.

It’s really that simple. You don’t need to be a a professional. You don’t need to go to seminary. It’s just a matter of saying this is the priority. God has spoken to us.

And there’s no replacement for that. God has actually spoken to us. And so we should treasure the word of God. And our kids need to see that we treasure it and take our orders from his word. In Ephesians 6, Paul tells children to obey their children in the Lord or to obey their parents in the Lord and to honor dad and mom.

And then he addresses the dads as the spiritual leaders in the home. And he says in 6:4, “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.” See, every parent wants their kids to be successful. No parent sets out thinking, you know, I’m going to raise a little rebel. You know, I’m going to raise a little future criminal.

That’s my goal. Nobody says that. And every Christian wants to raise a future follower of Jesus. Amen. We want our kids to go to heaven, not hell.

We want our kids to love Jesus, not worldly things. We want them to value what God values. And that doesn’t happen automatically. We have to set the example. And we have to show them that what God prioritizes, that’s what we prioritize in our household.

So from an early age, children need to see this. I remember that I learned this verse early on. Psalm 119:11, “Your word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against you.” Jesus learned the scriptures as a young boy, too. He learned the scriptures.

And and many parents would say, well, it would be amazing to have a child as obedient and loving as Jesus. And obviously that’s not going to happen. Jesus was unique. But what we can do is help to develop and train our children to become more like Jesus. And that happens through the instruction of the word.

Listen to 2 Timothy 3:16-1 17. Says, “All scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his pe his people to do every good work.” See, if you commit to reading the word a and teaching it to your children, you’re going to see the power of the word over time.

You’re going to see that this book does change lives. And it’s never too late to begin where you’re at. Joseph and Mary set the example for Jesus and the rest of the family. They prioritized what God had said. They obeyed.

They went to that Passover feast. But then Luke says something scary happened. It says that when the whole family was getting up and leaving and going back to Nazareth, Jesus stayed behind. And by the end of that first day, Joseph and Mary looked around to see if Jesus was with his friends and cousins, but he was nowhere to be found. If you’ve ever lost a child in a mall or at a theme park, you have a little bit of a sense of the anxiety that would have started welling up within Mary and Joseph.

What happened to them? What happened to to Jesus? Where where did he go? And you know, we can, I think, be a little hard on Joseph and Mary and say like, you know, how do you lose the incarnate son of God? But I think we should cut them a break.

And there’s a few reasons I think that because first of all, Jerusalem would have been packed at this time. Historians say at this time, Jerusalem during Passover week would have had over 200,000 people. So this this city was packed. Also you got to remember that people at that time traveled in large family groups. So it would have been very normal to expect Jesus just like probably when they came from Nazareth, Jesus was with his friends and cousins.

They would have expected him to be there just like before. And also just consider that Jesus was the most trustworthy 12-year-old boy ever. They they never had to wonder, is Jesus up to no good? A couple of days ago, I was talking with my parents about a time that I got in trouble. I was about 5 years old and I was using scissors after my mom told me not to.

And you know, and then I ended up cutting myself and there was crying and bleeding. And I remember hearing my parents in the other room talking about how they were going to discipline me. And I heard my mom say, “Well, I guess he’s already got that natural consequence.” And I thought, “Yes.” And then my dad said, “No, he needs to be spanked.”

I was really hoping my mom was going to win that debate, but no. No. My parents disciplined me when I disobeyed. And by the way, I am thankful that my parents disciplined me. That is an important thing.

But Jesus never needed to be disciplined. They never needed to wonder, is he out of line here? They never had to do anything to correct him because he was always walking on the straight and narrow path. Elsewhere, we learned that Jesus had siblings and they probably took a lot of the couple’s attention. You know, they were focused on little ones and there’s a lot of distractions going on.

But as soon as they realized Jesus is missing, then the alarm went off and they realized, “We have got to go back to Jerusalem.” They go back to the bustling city. It’s still crammed full. They’re looking everywhere, scanning the crowds. Where’s our boy?

They’re asking people, “Hey, have you seen a 12-year-old lost boy?” Nobody knows. Even at this point, Jesus was missing a total of three days. His parents were terrified. Can you imagine?

And meanwhile, Jesus the entire time was not worried. He was sitting in the temple. He was sitting there dialoguing with the great scholars and Bible teachers of his day. So even at age 12, Jesus teaches us something invaluable. In your notes, to love people well, you need to listen well.

To love people well, you need to listen well. And I love this description of Jesus here. After three days, they found him in the temple, verse 46, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. It doesn’t say that Jesus came in as this, you know, precocious little boy and started, you know, giving all these you know, grand theological answers and correcting all these Bible teachers of his day.

Now, it says that he was sitting in the midst of them. In other words, just to picture this scene, all these highly esteemed scholars, and there is a 12-year-old boy right in the middle of him. And it says he’s listening to them and asking them questions. I always tell people, I love hearing questions because questions tell me that your mind is engaged. The the questions say, I’m involved.

I’m invested. I want to know more. Maybe his mind was churning with questions about what he had just witnessed with that Passover lamb being sacrificed. He he was churning with questions. How does this fit together?

Maybe he had questions that his rabbi in Nazareth just couldn’t quite answer. And as a child, Jesus would have learned to read in the synagogue. He had studied the scriptures, learning about who God is, who he is, and what his mission on earth is. And the fact that Jesus was listening and asking questions also tells me that he was showing an interest in others. That’s how it always works.

You know, Jesus asked people questions so often in the gospels and he’s listening to people. That’s what happened with the woman at the well. He asked her questions and he waited to listen to what she said. He did that with the Pharisees, the scribes, the disciples. He listened well to people.

One of the greatest ways you can love someone is to lend them your ear. It. It’s so simple and yet it’s so often overlooked that people don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. And too often we get into a conversation thinking the most important thing is that I’m understood and that I’m heard. But what if we went into conversations thinking the most important thing is that I listen and understand this person?

Remember that the next time you share the gospel with someone, rather than beginning with some four-point outline, try to first listen to them. Find out where they’re at. It’s hard to give directions to people when you don’t know where they’re at. If Jesus had just come into the temple and started giving all these answers, do you really think the teachers would have taken a 12-year-old boy seriously? Jesus wisely began by first listening to them and showing respect.

And by asking questions, Jesus was modeling for us how to share the gospel. He knew that people are unique. You don’t have to give the same basic outline of the gospel to every person in a cookie cutter fashion. Proverbs 20:5 gives us a very important principle. It says, “The purpose in a man’s heart is like deep water, but a man of understanding will draw it out.”

Well, how do you draw out the purposes of someone’s heart? You ask questions, thoughtful questions, and then you listen attentively to find out where they’re at. Francis Schaefer put it this way. Give me an hour with an unbeliever and I will listen for the first 55 minutes and then in the last five minutes I’ll have something to say. Well, Jesus also had something to say after listening.

It says that they were amazed at his answers and understanding. He’s asking questions, but he’s also giving answers. And these guys were stunned by what this boy was saying. How in the world did he have this depth of insight? We’ve never seen a 12-year-old boy know this much and understand the scriptures so well.

They were blown away. He was able to do that because he had studied scripture from a young age. This shows up in Jesus’s ministry. He is always appealing to the authority of the scriptures. Jesus, the son of God, when he debated the religious leaders of his day, he always said things like, “Have you not read?”

or it is written or literally translated it stands written. It’s the authority. He’s pointing to scripture every time when people questioned him on marriage and divorce. He said he goes to Genesis chapter 1 all the way back to the beginning and he says, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning of creation made them male and female?” The reason he could resist the devil in the desert is because he had stored up all that scripture in his heart.

He had studied it and meditated on it and understood this scripture is the words of my father and I am going to speak them and that is going to be my authority. You won’t find someone with a higher view of scripture than Jesus. And these well- readad teachers were stunned by what he had to say. That’s where Jesus was when Joseph and Mary found him. Verse 48 says, “And when his parents saw him, they were astonished.

The teachers were amazed at his knowledge. His parents were amazed that he was commanding the attention of all these great teachers. And you can hear the pain in Mary’s voice here. She said,”Son, why have you treated us so? Behold, your father and I have been searching for you in great distress.”

That statement is literally translated, “Your father and I have been in great agony searching for you.” See, Mary wasn’t just chiding Jesus. She was saying, “Jesus, you have caused us extreme anguish because of what you’ve done.” Now, some people have asked, “Is this an example of Jesus sinning?” And here he’s he’s causing his parents distress.

And we think, well, how could that be? And he obviously he he kne he didn’t tell them where he went. He he knew they were leaving. So, what’s going on here? And this is where we have to remember that in every sense, Jesus was a 12-year-old boy.

And at this time, his mind was so absorbed with the Passover he just witnessed. And he’s got all these questions and how that plays into his own life and the sacrifice he is going to make. But we can be certain of one thing. Jesus never sinned, not even once. He would later ask, “Can any of you convict me of sin?”

And he would say things like, “I always do what pleases my father.” When people wonder if Jesus sinned, they aren’t really grasping who he actually was. Hebrews 4:15 says, “He was tempted as we are, yet without sin.” Peter said of Jesus, “He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth.” And then John stated clearly, “In Christ there is no sin.”

1 John 3:5. In order for Jesus to be that sufficient sacrifice for our sins, he had to have no sin of his own. He had to be free of sin completely to pay for the sins of others. See, if you are going to take away the sinlessness of Jesus, you undermine the whole gospel. It all falls apart because he had to be in order to be that atoning sacrifice.

He had to be spotless, unblenmished, just as those lambs symbolized. I believe that Jesus in his humanity was unknowingly causing his parents distress. See, he he limited himself. He laid aside his glory and divine prerogatives. He unknowingly caused them distress because just like an adult is going to be less socially aware than a 12-year-old, Jesus in his innocence was simply so absorbed with Passover, focused on that that he thought his parents would know where he was.

And we know that because of what he asks. He says in verse 49, “Why were you looking for me?” He genuinely is surprised here. Did you not know that I must be in my father’s house? See, these are the earliest words recorded of Jesus.

And and notice it’s about his relationship with his father. From the very beginning, Jesus as a boy knew that he stood in this unique relationship with God. Now, it it’s interesting. And I want to emphasize just how radical this self-standing was because in all of the Old Testament there are only 14 references to God as father. But in those times God is referred to as the father in in the sense of kind of a metaphorical sense father of the nation of Israel.

In other words, nobody not Abraham, not David, nobody referred to God as my father. And yet here is Jesus at 12 already doing that. And he would continue to do that. In fact, Jesus was always talking about God as my father. In all the four gospels, we have more than 60 references where Jesus calls God his father.

And the fact that he was in the temple when he says this is significant because here is the center of Jewish faith. This is where you meet with God. This is where the lambs get slaughtered, the atoning sacrifice symbolizing sin being paid for by a substitute. And this is where the holy of holies stood. And here is where Jesus is found.

And he says, “Didn’t you know? I thought you knew. Didn’t you know that I would be in my father’s house?” It seems so obvious to him. And yet, for the most part, Jesus’s identity would continue to be concealed for another 18 years.

Notice that Jesus statement didn’t make sense to Mary and Joseph. They didn’t know what to make of it. Even after everything they’ve been to, they’re still scratching their heads because this is just so profound. This is something that it was over their heads in the ultimate sense. How could their son, the one they’ve raised and fed and cared for, how could he be talking about God as his father in this way?

It didn’t it didn’t come together yet. She didn’t know what it meant. And she knew later, though. It all made sense later. And she recalled these words and she wanted Dr.

Luke to record this for us. Verse 51 says, “And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them.” Very important point here. Even the son of God in your notes, even the son of God submitted to his parents’ authority as a youth. And this is a good reminder, not just for young kids, but for youth living with their parents, that Jesus, the perfect sinless son of God, the one who knew he was the Messiah, knew he was divine, he didn’t, you know, he didn’t roll his eyes and say, “Oh, my parents, they can’t teach me anything.”

No, he respected their authority. He submitted to them. It’s astounding that the This is God’s humility on display here. Jesus honored his parents. He didn’t look down on them.

He didn’t think, you know what, I’m God, so they’re unqualified to be my parents. No, he completely submitted to them. He obeyed Joseph and Mary. Verse 52 says, “Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.” And that might be the most surprising statement so far in Luke when you think about it.

How is it that the sinless son of God increased in favor with God? We would tend to think, well, surely he had all that already. And yet the point is by submitting to his parents, by doing something that is all too uncommon. And yet he did it perfectly. He submitted to his parents, submitted to their authority, and he trusted his heavenly father’s plan.

In doing that, God was pleased. God was delighted. He looked at that, and he saw that’s the perfect example. That is what children are to do. They’re to respect their parents’ authority.

God was pleased and so were men. And that’s how it often goes. If you’re living first for God, loving him first, making him first on the priority, then you’re inevitably going to love others. You’re going to love your family and those beyond that. And it’s a good question to ask as we begin the year 2026.

How are my priorities? Am I putt

Transcript machine-generated from the sermon audio, so it may contain errors. 5,946 words.