Latest revision as of 17:58, 23 December 2024

Luke 2:41-52 Childhood Portraits

Nathan Wakefield / General

Portraits of the King / Luke 2:41-52

Our one childhood story of Jesus demonstrates that a single-minded focus on God is a worthy pursuit.

Theological Proposition/Focus: Our one childhood story of Jesus demonstrates that a single-minded focus on God is a worthy pursuit. From a young age, Jesus exemplified an unwavering commitment to His spiritual purpose, encouraging believers to cultivate that same focus amid distractions and life’s chaos. By placing God at the center of our lives, as Jesus did from childhood, we can navigate the complexities of life with divine purpose and clarity.

Christ Focus: Jesus’ early recognition of His purpose in the temple foreshadows His later ministry and underscores the continuity of His divine mission throughout His life, ultimately leading to His sacrificial role as the Messiah.

Homiletical Proposition/Application: This sermon challenges Christians to evaluate their priorities and ensures they are focused on their relationship with God, reminding them that maintaining a single-minded pursuit of God brings clarity and purpose in everyday life.

Introduction

Image: What was your childhood obsession?

My mom always said I had a one-track mind—once I got something in my head, there was no slowing me down. Emily can confirm that this still holds true today.

When I was about 13, one of the kids in my brother's class invited everyone to the airport, where a group of pilots was offering airplane rides to any kids who wanted one. I jumped at the chance and took my first flight in a Piper Cherokee. From that moment, I was hooked. I immediately started saving every penny I could to learn how to fly.

By the time I turned 14, I began taking flying lessons. Just two days after my 16th birthday, after a routine landing, my instructor asked me to bring the plane to a complete stop on the runway. Then, to my surprise, he hopped out and told me to go do a few landings on my own.

At 17, I took the FAA test and earned my pilot's license.

As a kid, I was single-minded in my determination to become a pilot. I still love flying today, and there are times when Emily points out that my old obsession resurfaces.

Need: We need to have a single-minded focus on Christlikeness.

Preview: Today we will look at the childhood of Jesus, and we can learn a lot from Jesus' childhood if we will just humble ourselves and approach spiritual life with the faithfulness, inquiry, and submission of the boy Jesus.

Setting the Stage:

Throughout the first few chapters of Luke, several individuals reveal who Jesus is:

• Gabriel (Luke 1:26-38) proclaims that Jesus is the Son of God and the heir of David.

• Mary (Luke 1:46-56) describes Jesus as the merciful provision of God for Israel.

• Zechariah (Luke 1:67-80) declares that Jesus is the salvation of Israel.

• The angels (Luke 2:8-14) announce that Jesus is the Messiah.

• Simeon, a godly Israelite (Luke 2:25-32), reveals that Jesus is a light of revelation for the Gentiles.

Each of these voices adds depth and clarity to the identity of Jesus as presented in the Gospel of Luke.

Here in Luke 2:41-52, we will see Jesus himself tell us who he is. These are the first words spoken by Jesus in the Gospel. Let's see what the God of the universe has to say.

Text: Luke 2:41-52 read with each main point

Body

Pursuing Pulse — Rhythm matters, and there is no better rhythm to keep than that of faithfulness (41–45).

Jesus' commitment is evident even as a child—leaving his parents to seek God's presence in the temple during Passover. It encourages believers to prioritize their relationship with God above all else, reflecting the big idea of placing God at the center of our lives.

You need to have healthy rhythms (41–42).

Despite Financial Constraints Mary and Joseph made a point of attending at least one of the 3 required feasts (Ex. 23:14) every year.

Verses 41 and 42 highlight an important rhythm in Mary and Joseph's life: they traveled to Jerusalem every year to celebrate Passover. According to Old Testament Law (Exodus 23:14), adult males were required to attend three annual feasts—the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Passover), the Feast of Weeks, and the Feast of Tabernacles.

However, as is often the case in many societies, financial constraints affected travel. The poor could not always afford to make all three trips, but Mary and Joseph prioritized attending at least one feast each year.

As per verse 42, this was Jesus's age of discernment trip, at 13 he would be a man and responsible for keeping the law himself.

In verse 42, we learn that this particular trip was significant because it was Jesus’ 12-year-old trip. In Jewish culture, age 12 marked the time of discernment, while age 13 signified the transition to manhood. At 13, a boy became responsible for keeping the Law.

Here, we witness Jesus’ final journey to Jerusalem as a child. In future Passover trips, he will return as a man, fully accountable for the Law.

The reality that I want to highlight here is that we each need healthy spiritual rhythms.

Here are some examples of healthy spiritual rhythms.

• Faithfully attending church each week.
• Faithfully doing your devotions each day.
• Praying before each meal.
• Making a point of spending significant amounts of time in prayer each day.

Children are greatly impacted by the rhythms their parents choose (43–45).

The Temple clearly felt like home for Jesus.

I want you to notice something. Jesus must have been very comfortable in Jerusalem and in the temple. This is a good thing. Often, we have kids running around our building acting like they own the place. This is a good thing! We want our kids to learn to take care of the building, but we also want them to feel like they own it. We want our kids to see the rhythms of their parents and get to the point where church is a second home.

I love the story of 12-year-old Jesus being forgotten because he was doing what Mom and Dad do—participating in the study of Scripture.

Good parents are consistent parents.

God chose Mary and Joseph for a reason; they were good parents! Something I really want everyone to consider: Emily and I do not have kids, but that also gives us the opportunity to just sit back and observe parents. We also have the advantage of training in counseling and child development. You want to know what makes a good parent? What I have seen time and time again is that consistency in godly behavior, rhythms, and discipline are what make a good parent.

Image: The role of Scripture growing up

I have a huge advantage in life, a leg up on most people. My family never had much money; in fact, we spent a lot of our life below the poverty line. I also did not attend a private school. Actually, the school I attended was a very poor school that did not offer much in the way of courses. For example, I never had the opportunity to take calculus in high school because my school did not even offer precalculus, let alone calculus. We never had new cars, and we rarely went out to eat.

The reason I have an advantage in life is because my dad had a disciplined, consistent spiritual rhythm. Every day, my dad read his Bible, and it was his priority. TV, games, things like that always—and I mean always—took a backseat to reading the Bible. On vacation, my dad brought his Bible. On vacation, we attended church. I learned my entire childhood that spiritual rhythms take priority, and guess what? I have carried that knowledge with me into everything I do.

MTR: Make sure your rhythms are consistent with your beliefs.

Pursuing Perception — Inquiry matters, and there is nothing better into which we inquire than the God of the universe (46–48).

In these verses, Jesus' interaction with the teachers is significant, demonstrating his wisdom and understanding. We must engage actively with our faith, asking questions and seeking deeper knowledge, mirroring Jesus' dedication to his divine mission.

Two skills are fundamental to growth: listening and asking questions (46).

The text highlights that Mary and Joseph are separated from Jesus for three days. So, what does a 12-year-old boy do with three days of unsupervised time? Jesus spends it learning.

Learning requires an active mind.

As a former professor, I spent a significant amount of time researching how people learn. One of the most important advancements in education is the understanding that learning doesn't happen by passively listening to a stream of information. Instead, real learning occurs when we actively engage with the material.

This isn't a groundbreaking discovery—people have understood it for millennia—but it has recently regained attention. You've probably heard of learning styles like visual, auditory, and kinesthetic. Well, I hate to burst your bubble, but these have largely been debunked. Learning is less about the method of delivery and far more about active engagement with the content. Learning is fundamentally active!

So, what do we see in the text? We see Jesus fully engaged in the process of learning and growing. He isn't passively absorbing information—He's listening and asking questions.

This is a powerful example for us. We need to be active consumers of Scripture. If your spiritual nourishment consists solely of attending church on Sunday, listening to a sermon, and… well, that's it, then you're spiritually starving.

Jesus shows us a different approach. He listens, asks questions, and actively engages in learning Scripture. That's the model we should follow.

True dedication involves far more than just trying to passively consume (47).

The God of the universe is certainly capable of delivering the best answers to life's hard questions. However, there is something really special going on here. Jesus, the boy, who, according to Philippians 2:6-7, "Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness," took on human form despite its limitations, is still able to provide deep insight into Scripture.

Learning occurs when we actively engage with material. One of the best methods for actively engaging is conversation. Here is how I want to challenge you. I have seen all sorts of card decks with "conversation starters." For example, "If you could change your name to anything, what would you choose?"

Those are nice, but why don't we develop spiritual conversation starters? "If you could only read one book of the Bible over and over this year, what would it be?" True dedication to God is going to involve far more than just being passive pew warmers. So my challenge: develop a set of conversation starters with regards to spiritual matters and learn to have spiritual conversations, even in casual conversation.

It is easy to accidentally dismiss inquiry as bad timing (48).

When Mary and Joseph arrive and see Jesus engaged in spiritual conversation, I get the idea that they mistakenly think Jesus is misbehaving. When I see Mary and Joseph's response, I can't help but think that is the same response I would have had, but I must remember, this is Jesus. This means that what Jesus was doing is right.

We need to understand and really live in a way that reminds ourselves that while there are dumb questions, genuine inquiry is a good thing, and we should foster inquiry. We should be excited when people are asking genuine questions.

Image: "The After"—Monday nights with the college students.

We host college and adult homegroups at our house on Monday nights. Bible study usually ends about 8:30, and many people, especially those with young children, are gone by 9:00. However, once they leave, we have a tradition of allowing the college students to stick around, and no question is off limits. Guess what? We all learn!

MTR: Make a point of encouraging, supporting, and participating in inquiry.

Pursuing Purpose — Submission matters, and faithful submission to those in authority will grow us in submission to God (49–52).

Jesus affirms his mission by stating that he must be in his Father's house, but then submits to a mere human in obedience to his mother. This affirmation and submission invites Christians to evaluate their own life's mission and their alignment with God's purpose. This point encapsulates Jesus' early realization of his role as the Messiah and challenges believers to embrace their God-given destiny with similar resolve.

True purpose is found in single-minded devotion to God (49–50).

The statements Jesus makes in verses 49 and 50 are fascinating. He begins with a surprising question: "Why were you searching for me?" Then he follows it with another question: "Did you not know?" Interestingly, the structure of the second question in the Greek anticipates a "yes" response.

Jesus then declares what the NIV translates as, "Didn't you know I had to be in my Father's house?" However, here's where things get particularly intriguing—the Greek text does not include the noun "house." While many traditionally interpret this as a reference to the temple, it's possible that Luke intended something broader and left it purposefully ambiguous.

Essentially, Jesus is saying, "I am about my Father's business" or "I am engaged in God's work."

The key idea here is that Jesus was exactly where he needed to be—doing God things. He understood his priority and remained focused on fulfilling the work of God.

Single-minded devotion to God will demand that you submit (51).

Just because Jesus was doing the work of God doesn't mean he had no responsibility to others. This is where things get really interesting. After explaining to his parents that he was engaged in God's work, Jesus didn't rebel or insist on his mission. Instead, he submitted to his parents and returned with them to Nazareth.

Jesus—who is the God of the universe—submitted.

Think about that for a moment. Jesus, who not only knows perfection but is perfection, chose to submit!

We've all experienced times when we thought a boss was wrong or our parents made a mistake. Yet, that doesn't change the principle of submission. In Jesus' case, it was undeniably true that his mother didn't know best—after all, Jesus is God. And yet, the text tells us that Jesus submitted to his parents.

The word translated as "was obedient" is the Greek ὑποτασσόμενος (hupotassomenos), meaning to be subject or subordinate. Imagine Mary asking God himself to take out the trash or do the dishes! And yet, Jesus—God in the flesh—obeyed his fallen, imperfect parents.

That's the profound humility and obedience of Christ. Why? Because it was the right thing to do, and Jesus was single-mindedly devoted to God the Father.

Those who submit will find themselves growing (52).

Verse 52 brings the narrative to a close: Jesus grew from a child into a man. While there's little doubt that Jesus knew who he was—after all, he spoke of being about his Father's work—it's also clear that he grew in his understanding of his role, developed mentally, and built relationships.

The mystery of Jesus being fully God and fully man is something we can't fully comprehend. I don't know exactly what he poured out in becoming human (Philippians 2:7), but I do know he was fully human. And because of that, I believe he learned and grew like any other human being.

The text tells us that he grew in wisdom, stature, and favor with God and people. The God of the universe humbled himself to experience human growth, development, and maturity.

And here's an important truth about being human: When you submit, you grow.

I get it; submission is hard, but you are not God, so submission for you should be no harder than it was for Jesus. We need to be people of submission!

Image: The professor congregant

One of my favorite theology professors told us about his church. His pastor was not a brilliant theologian. In fact, I can almost guarantee that this professor knew more than just about any pastor he would sit under. Yet, he sits under a pastor. When the pastor preaches, I am sure my professor notes things that could have been said differently, better, or more clearly. Yet, he sits.

In life, you are going to be in situations where you are smarter, better, more right, etc., than someone who is over you. Nevertheless, if you submit, you can grow even in these situations.

MTR: Determine to make submission a practice and rhythm.