Gods Great Love Among Us - Part 2 of 6

Continuing in our exploration of Gods great love for us, we are now focusing on the Son of God’s infant earthly presence with Mary and Joseph, onto His teenage and young adult years.

(2) Gods only Son grows in wisdom and stature, the God-man.

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Sometimes it’s easy to take for granted that the raising and providing for Jesus by His parents wasn’t extraordinary. Nothing could be further from the truth. Much of the Bible is about Jesus Christ, but only a small portion of the New Testament discusses Joseph, His step-father, and Mary, His mother. Yet the New Testament details about their lives help enhance our understanding of these two honored parents and their love and dedication to the future Savior of mankind. An incredible responsibility we will attempt to explore.

Please note that some of the content contained within the Reflection Moments depicted here is not recorded in the scriptures. They are merely human attempts to relate and ask some questions of certain aspects of the Son of God, which may help you see the Savior’s human side of His divine life on earth.

Short of a scene of the 12 year old Jesus with Joseph (Luke 2:42), there is no mention or clue how Jesus lived and interacted with His parents and or local playmates. Did Joseph teach the young Jesus any games kids enjoyed at that time? Or did he just watch and listen to Jesus conversations, His reciting of the Law of Moses with perfection. Maybe he just stood on the sidelines in awe and wonderment. Did Joseph and Mary worship the young Jesus and how did the boy take it? I like to think Joseph's love and dedication for his divine step-son taught Him to be a much better man, father and husband. And ultimately, a favored servant of God entrusted with His only Son.

Something I would like to point out. God in all of His workings for mankind from the beginning in the Genesis account, to the future last day in Revelation when the seven trumpets begin to sound (Rev 8:7), everything is known by God before, during and after. Some things He specifically has His hand in the details, others He allows to unfold within His providential influence. In short for our purposes, Joseph and Mary's entrance onto the scene of Gods plan was no accident. The parents of the Son of God on earth were chosen by God to fulfill His purposes (Luke 1:28). If you are a parent reading this, try and put yourself in either position as the God-boy's stepfather or mother if that is even possible. In some respects I don’t believe it was all that different from their contemporaries, but it was all very unique and special more than any other parent-child relationship on earth! Shall we peek into the emotions, fears, joys and wonderment's Joseph and Mary may have experienced as God wove His plan?

Nazareth to Bethlehem

Nazareth is the hometown of Mary and Joseph. In 5 B.C., just before the birth of Christ, the Romans require them to travel to Joseph's ancestral home of Bethlehem.(he and Mary was of the lineage of King David back to Abraham, fulfilling the prophesies that the Messiah would be a descendant of Abraham - Gen 12:3, Gal 3:16, and David 2 Sam 7:12-13). The couple travels the roughly 80 miles (about 129 kilometers) to the city, where Christ will be ultimately born in a manger outside of a nearby Inn that had no vacancy (Luke 2:1-20). His birth fulfills the prophecy found in Micah 5:2 and in many other places. On the eighth day after he is born he is circumcised according to the law of God (Luke 2:21).

Reflection Moment

“This isn’t the way I planned it God. Not at all. My child being born in a stable? This isn’t the way I thought it would be. A cave with sheep and donkeys, hay and straw? My wife giving birth with only the stars to hear her pain? This isn’t at all that I imagined. No, I imagined family. I imagined grandmothers. I imagined neighbors clustered outside the door and friends standing at my side. I imagined the house erupting with the first cry of the infant. Slaps on the back. Loud Laughter. Jubilation. That’s how I thought it would be.

The midwife would hand me my child and all the people would applaud. Mary would rest and we would celebrate. All of Nazareth would celebrate. But now. Now look. Nazareth is five days journey away. And here we are in a … a sheep pasture. Who will celebrate with us? The sheep? The shepherds? The stars?  This doesn’t seem right. What kind of husband am I? I provide no midwife to aid my wife. No bed to rest her back. Her pillow is a blanket from my donkey. My house for her is a shed of hay and straw. The smell is bad, the animals are loud. Why, I even smell like a shepherd myself. Did I miss something? Did I, God? When you sent the angel and spoke of the Son being born – this isn’t what I pictured. I envisioned Jerusalem, the temple, the priests and the people gathered to watch. A pageant perhaps. A parade. A banquet at least. I mean, this is the Messiah! Or, if not born in Jerusalem, how about Nazareth? Wouldn’t Nazareth have been better? At least I have there my house and my business. Out here, what do I have? A weary mule, a stack of firewood, and a pot of warm water. This is not the way I wanted it to be! This is not the way I wanted my son.        M.L. 2004

Forty days after Jesus is born, fulfilling the purification requirement of Leviticus 12, Mary and family travel to Jerusalem's temple to present him before God. The trip is only 6 miles (9.6 kilometers) long. His parents make an offering to the temple of two turtledoves or two young pigeons. It is during their visit that a priest named Simeon prophesied about Jesus' mission in life and blessed his parents (Luke 2:22-35).

Before Mary and Joseph leave the temple to return home an elderly woman of 84 years named Anna, a widowed prophetess who lived in the house of God, blesses them as well (Luke 2:36-38).

Reflection Moment

And the Lords ministry begins to the surprise of Joseph and Mary and others (Luke 2:33). What you say? He's just an infant Simeon and Anna just blessed. Yes, they did and in front of witnesses in the synagogue, and as the bible says, "all those looking for redemption in Jerusalem." The word is out that the Christ is among man ministering by the mere fact of His holy infant physical presence - God Is Among Us!

Jesus is just over a month old embodied with all the attentions and daily needs an infant requires. “Did the sinless baby Jesus cry? What did Mary do when she saw the Son of God tear up when he was hungry? Did he ever get sick?" Life was tough for Mary and Joseph in the rough and unforgiving surroundings of their ancient life. They walked for miles everywhere day and night. Did she reach for a handy partially soiled cloth to dry His perfect tears, or was she overwhelmed she couldn’t produce a perfectly clean towel worthy of the Son of God’s care? How about the anxious and worried Joseph, did he freely embrace the baby to relieve his teenage wife as she melted and sunk into occasional periods of despair? But this is the Son of God, their earthly son for a while for which they may have worshiped and gave thanks for in ways you and I can only faintly know when we for the first time meet and worship Jesus through obeying the gospel.

Bethlehem to Egypt

It is in Bethlehem, more than a year after Jesus' birth, that the wise men (Magi) from the East arrive to worship the King of Kings with Mary in attendance (Matthew 2:11). And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: Gold (for kings), Frankincense (for priests), and Myrrh (for burial). The wise men proclaimed Jesus in worship with their gifts as King, Priest and Sacrifice. Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod (Matthew 2:12), they departed for their own country another way. The wise men’s lives were changed upon meeting the Savior! Knowing the Christ child was really upon them as the prophets and psalms of old detailed in the scriptures, they must have realized, they couldn’t divulge Jesus location to Herod, and if they did return to Herod, they would be put to the sword for concealing the Saviors location. This demonstrates a love of the wise men for Jesus the infant God. Even more, the love Joseph and Mary had for their young King of Kings! After the wise men leave, an angel tells Joseph, in a dream, to flee to Egypt (Matthew 2:13). This is because Herod the Great issued a command that all male children two years old and younger, in and around Bethlehem, are to be put to death (Matthew 2:16). Herod's cruel actions fulfill a prophecy regarding the slaughter of innocent children.

“Thus says the LORD, "A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation and bitter weeping; Rachel (buried near Bethlehem, she was one of Jacob's wives) weeping for her children; she refuses to be comforted for her children because they are not" (Jeremiah 5:15)

Their journey from Bethlehem to what is Egyptian-controlled territory (outside the jurisdiction of Herod) was at least 65 kilometers (40 miles).

So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven that the shepherds said to one another, “Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.” And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger. Now when they had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child. And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told them. (Luke 2:15-20)

Reflection Moment

This is the first glimpse in scripture we have of Mary to whom I believe realizes with stark clarity the need to keep the baby Jesus location protected. She kept these things in her heart. The normal verbal joy and celebration we have with our newborns could not be advertised for fear of Him being killed before he could embark on His ministry to redeem mankind. She must have been trembling every waking moment, praying to God for their protection and any number of issues only the divine Son’s birth mother would suffer. Could she keep him nourished before he cried for sustenance giving their location away in the middle of the night? When going about the daily chores keeping camp organized and stocked with supplies, would Joseph succumb to inquiry of the babies location by the soldiers that may have passed by in their search? How often did Joseph and Mary break camp to evade soldiers to protect the completely vulnerable Son of God? If you or I were in this situation, how would we go about making sure the future King of Kings would be protected from imminent danger at this moment of His life?

There are so many factors the Word doesn’t reveal, but were surely present in the daily life of our ancient and very special family. Hence the next loving intervention and protection by God when He stirs Joseph up in a dream. Not only for the Son of Gods family, but I believe for us as well. Can we ever imagine the God-boy being found by Herod’s swordsmen or a spy rendering the end of Jesus’ infant life? Our loving God is so wise and so true. His plans for us will not be altered praise God!

Egypt to Judea and Nazareth

After Herod dies, Joseph has a dream where an angel tells him it is safe to return to Israel. The family's trip to and from Egypt is a fulfillment of Bible prophecy (Hosea 11:1). They soon begin their travel back to Judea and Bethlehem. However, as they approach Judea, it is discovered that Herod Archelaus, the eldest surviving son of Herod the Great, is the new ruler of the area (Matthew 2:22). Like his father, Archelaus rules with tyranny and cruelty. John Gills' Exposition of the Bible states that one time he sent his entire army into Jerusalem's temple, at Passover, in order to kill 3,000 men suspected of sedition!

Matthew 2:19-23 - Now when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the young Child’s life are dead.” Then he arose, took the young Child and His mother, and came into the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea instead of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And being warned by God in a dream, he turned aside into the region of Galilee. And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, “He shall be called a Nazarene.”

Mary and Joseph’s trip from Egyptian territory all the way north to Nazareth was a journey of at least 106 miles (170 kilometers)! Another example of amazing love and fortitude to protect the divine boy.

“Now when they had completed all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own city, Nazareth. And the little child grew and became strong in spirit, being filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him.” (Luke 2:39-40)

Jesus lives in Nazareth with his parents Mary and Joseph (which fulfills the prophecy stated in Matthew 2:23). After the death of his step-father sometime between Christ's 12th and 30th birthday, He continues to live in the city until He journeys to Capernaum to begin His public ministry.


Reflection Moment

We don’t know when Joseph died but we do know he was a carpenter during Jesus tender years. The Greek word is tekton, which was used of a versatile and skilled builder or craftsman who worked with various materials including wood and stone. Jesus, having learned the trade from Joseph, later used analogies based on His experiences at Joseph's side to explain man's relationship to God and His coming kingdom. The following scripture in the gospel of Mark is well into Jesus’ ministry after leaving home and being baptized by John the Baptist, Jesus cousin. But it shows us that Jesus was in fact a carpenter like His step father Joseph. This gives us clues to Him learning a trade before He becomes an adult for the rabbi's taught that to raise a son without one, he would be as a robber! It also opens up many possibilities of the young Jesus life we can attribute if I may.

"Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us?” (Mark 6:3)

I have done carpentry work with wood growing up helping my dad build our house board by board as a young man. I have also framed a few houses for a short while until I realized it wasn’t for me. And I can clearly remember how difficult it was getting things done correctly so the finished product looked square and true. I have also done much hobby work rebuilding and finishing wood furniture. All the sanding dust breathed into my lungs, working my fingers raw to the bone including being smashed by a stray hammer head! And the fine and perfectionistic building of model gliders with very light balsa wood that truly challenges the best hobbyist’s to get it aerodynamically right. Wood is a challenge and intimate experience but it is also very gratifying to work with as it reminds me of Jesus in the wood shop.

Can you envision our Lord growing up with His step father in the wood shop making and repairing furniture for sale or for trade? Talking with peddlers as He shows them His perfect workmanship holding the very wood he created? Or kicking up and breathing the wood dust into His divine lungs that from His glory in heaven, breathed life into mankind? Joseph watching his son must have had moments of shear wonderment seeing Jesus smash His thumb or pierce the skin from a stray sliver of wood, drawing out from within Him, the sacred blood that in a few years would save mankind! Oh how wonderfully God works and loves us.

Luke 2:40-42 leaves us with the only account of the boy Jesus approaching His teenage years.

"And the Child grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him. And His parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover. And when He was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem according to the custom of the feast"

Then Mary and Joseph lost Him! Or should I say, Jesus lost them but not really. He was nowhere to be found, So, they traveled back to Jerusalem for three days and found Him in the synagogue with the teachers. Again, due to circumstances they must have initially been horrified and probably very upset once they found Him. In fact the bible says "Son, why have you done this to us?"

Then the first public proclamation Jesus Father is in heaven. We can understand this as we have the written bible to draw from. But Mary and Joseph and others were quite confused of Jesus reply. Joseph especially may have been  perplexed (Luke 2:49-50).

If you could ask Joseph and Mary questions about the Savior as their child, what would you ask?

1. What was it like watching him pray?

2. How did he respond when he saw other kids giggling during the service at the synagogue?

3. When he saw a rainbow, did he ever mention a flood?

4. Did you ever feel awkward teaching him how he created the world?

5. When he saw a lamb being led to the slaughter, did he act differently?

6. Did you ever ask Jesus after prayers if He heard your every word?

7. How did he act at funerals?

8. Did it occur to you that the God to whom you were praying was asleep under your own roof?

9. Did you ever try to count the stars with him….and succeed?

10. Did he ever come home with a black eye?

11. How did he act when he got his first haircut?

12. Did he have any friend by the name of Judas?

13. Did he do well in school?

14. Did you ever scold him?

15. Did he ever have to ask a question about Scripture?

16. What do you think he thought when he saw prostitutes selling themselves?

17. Did he ever get angry when someone was dishonest with him?

18. Did he ever ask you if the future Messiah prophesied in the Old Testament might be him?

19. Did he ever wake up afraid?

20. Who was his best friend?

21. When someone referred to Satan, how did he act?

22. Did you ever accidentally call him Father?

23. What did he and his cousin John talk about as kids?

24. Did his brothers and sisters understand what was happening?

25. Did you ever think, That’s God eating my soup?

We are left with no further information about the young Jesus beyond twelve years old except for this scripture:

"And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men." (Luke 2:52).

We now have come to the point of Jesus life in scripture where He is in His early 30's a fully grown man that may beg the question, "When did Jesus know He is (was) God in the flesh?

The New Testament doesn't tell us specifically when but it does inform us according to John 1:1, Jesus, as the "word," was with God in the beginning and was God. It seems a pretty clear teaching of Scripture that Jesus was aware of His divinity proportional to His age and maturity. He articulated this understanding on multiple occasions. It's interesting under the Old Testament, the Jews recognized that children could not be held personally accountable to the law of Moses. They set the arbitrary age of twelve as the year when a child assumed adult status in religious matters. Jesus affirmed His mission, knowing that He was about His Father's business (Luke 2:41-50) at age twelve!

Reflection Moment

The final day of the solitary life of Jesus at home with His parents and siblings is now imminent. For 30 years they had lovingly and sacrificially served God much to His delight. And they may have been uncertain what it meant for their son to leave. Surely Jesus had recited and explained the prophet Isaiah when he said,

"He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, And as a sheep before its shearers is silent, So He opened not His mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment, And who will declare His generation? For He was cut off from the land of the living; For the transgressions of My people He was stricken. And they made His grave with the wicked—But with the rich at His death, Because He had done no violence, Nor was any deceit in His mouth. Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand." (Isa 53:3-10)

And remember when the angel Gabriel informed Mary saying,

“Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.” (Luke 1:30-33)

I have to believe she never forgot this miraculous visit in conjunction with witnessing her son intently studying and reciting the scriptures with perfection and wisdom. And quite possibly though there is no proof, some intimate conversations between son, mother and step-father of Him connecting Himself with the painful Isaiah 53 prophecy! One has to wonder.

And Joseph, did he fully realize as to what it really meant, that his step son would be the One to "save His people from their sins" (Matt 1:21)?

We hope this presentation has enriched you in your studies and pursuit to honor God in your life to where you can say,

I am ready to give up my life in service to You today Father, in loving sacrifice like Mary and Joseph.

Next week we will speak to Jesus embarking on His ministry for His Father in heaven.

Blessings

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