Our Glorious Savior: Reflections on His Youth

Not much of Jesus’ childhood, adolescence, or even early adulthood has been revealed to us in scripture. Luke’s gospel denotes that Mary and Joseph performed all of the requirements of the Law of the Lord – this is important because Hebrews says that in Jesus all aspects of the Law were fulfilled. This fact coupled with his perfect, sinless life uniquely qualified Jesus to die in our place and fulfill the righteous requirements we all lack. Matthew’s gospel account shares that Jesus temporarily lived in Egypt to avoid Herod’s massacre of Bethlehem’s male children, later returning to Mary and Joseph’s home town of Nazareth. Concerning his character and standing with both his Father and regular folks, Luke 2:40 and 52 say, “the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom. And the favor of God was upon him…Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.”

I find it interesting that verses 40 and 52 both present two aspects of young Jesus – wisdom and physical growth. Although John’s gospel is the most prolific in describing Jesus being both fully God and fully man, I believe here we see Luke pointing to this truth. These texts indicate that Jesus received unique favor from God shown through increasing, unsurpassable wisdom. Being fully human, he also grew in physical stature as all lads do. Chapter two of Luke shares a familiar story that provides insight into Jesus’ unique intelligence and spiritual insight.

Every year Jesus’ family traveled to Jerusalem for the Passover celebration. When Jesus was twelve years old, a significant deviation to the usual return trip to Nazareth undoubtedly shook his parents. Having already traveled an entire day’s journey, Mary and Joseph realize that Jesus isn’t with them! Imagine what must have been going through their minds and hearts, “God help us - we’ve managed to lose track of the Messiah!” After a day of traveling back to Jerusalem and apparently two more days searching, they find Jesus in the temple. He was sitting amongst the teachers, listening and asking questions. In addition to humbly learning, the Bible records that all who heard Jesus were amazed at his understanding and answers.

Have you ever reflected on these verses, wondering what Jesus was asking and sharing? Beyond factual knowledge of the Old Testament, he obviously displayed astounding understanding and ability to answer their questions of him. Did Jesus present God’s redemptive plan throughout Scripture? Was Jesus citing prophetic passages that pointed to the Messiah? As Jesus frequently did during his ministry, was he exposing mistaken notions in their understanding of Scripture? Perhaps all of the above – after all, he was with them several days! I don’t know about you, but I sure would like to have seen the look on people’s faces as a twelve year baffled the leading Jewish teachers of the Law!

Luke records that Mary and Joseph were not exactly thrilled that Jesus had been engaging in theological dialogue for three days while they frantically searched for him. We know it was a respectful and innocent response to their chastisement of his decision, but Jesus seems very surprised at their concern and frustration, saying, (liberally paraphrased) “why were you looking all over town for me, didn’t you know that I must be in my Father’s house.” Interestingly, Mary and Joseph did not understand what Jesus meant by his response. To me, this is beyond baffling! Gabriel was crystal clear when he described to Mary whose child she was bearing – in fact, he used the phrases “Son of the Most High” and “Son of God.” I supposed the second reference to Jesus’ identity was for confirmation in case she was a little woozy from the initial shock. Joseph was also visited in a dream by an angel to confirm Mary’s miraculous conception from the Holy Spirit, that Jesus would was Immanuel (God with us), and he would save men from their sins!

Although purely speculative, I wonder if Mary and Joseph missing the obvious carries any spiritual connection to the fact that Jesus’ own brothers did not believe in him during his earthly ministry (Jn 7:5)? For reasons only known by God, prior to his death, was Jesus’ family temporarily and/or periodically blinded from understanding who he really was? This speculation, although amusing, does connect us to one fascinating fact – Jesus’ family never witnessed him sin! We can be sure this was indeed the case by following this progressive, logical thought:

1) The New Testament is saturated with the doctrine of Jesus’ sinless life. This truth was, and is, essential for him to truly be God’s substitutionary sacrifice on behalf of mankind. 2) Jesus’ family witnessed his conduct for 30-some years before his earthly ministry began. As we have all experienced, if you’re prone to lie, cheat, lose your temper, speak ill or unkindly, act selfishly, or commit any other degree of sin, your family will observe you doing this! This fact alone doesn’t altogether prove Jesus was sinless. We must ultimately trust the Bible’s testimony. However, it’s nonetheless an amazing that neither Jesus’ mother nor siblings ever accused him of sin! 3) Many, if not most, of Jesus’ family were still living during the writing and distribution of the New Testament amongst the early church. 4) At a minimum, we know from Scripture that Jesus’ mother Mary and half-brothers James and Jude believed in Jesus as their Savior and Lord. 5) If the New Testament writers erred by identifying and affirming that Jesus was without sin, his family surely would have corrected this error. 6) The Jewish historian Josephus chronicled that James paid the ultimate earthly price for his faith in Christ and vibrant activity in the early church. 7) Faced with imminent death, surely James would have recanted if his professed belief were a sham. Rather, James clung to his faith with intimate first-hand observation of his brother’s life, even to his demise.

God chose not to provide us with ample records of Jesus’ early life, and we should trust in his wisdom, for he alone is wise. Better still, we should thank God for providing us with a few golden nuggets from the Son’s early years that highlight the Father’s glorious redemption plan and grace in Christ!