There are many mythical stories about the
childhood of Jesus that sometimes border on the ridiculous. There are stories of Him using his miraculous
powers as a child to heal or hurt friends or to meet some need in His personal
life or that of His family. The Bible
has no such record. The first miracle is
recorded in John 2. But we do have one
story from Jesus’ childhood and it has to do with an annual visit to the temple
when He was 12 years of age.
Note the context of the story. Growing up in Nazareth Jesus was certainly exceptional
(v40) growing strong in spirit, filled with wisdom and with God’s grace upon
Him. The details behind these words are not filled in. In one sense these words might be said of
other children on occasion. Note what
was said of John the Baptist as a child (Lk. 1:80). What we see in Christ is that He grew as a
normal human child, while yet giving evidence of His unique calling in life.
In the days after His 12th birthday,
we again see that His childhood was what it should be of any child (v51-52). He was subject to His parents, though His
mother knew something was special. He
was remarkable in that He grew in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and
man. But that does not make Him “the Son
of God;” it is something that we might always pray for our children. It is true that He would not be the Son of
God if these things were not said of Him.
Jesus’ childhood was normal in His maturing
physically, mentally, socially and spiritually.
But at the same time Jesus Himself was aware of His unique mission in
life. That we know from the story in
today’s passage.
The story itself does not involve what we would
call a miracle. Jesus knew the Scriptures well enough to discuss
and debate with the religious scholars of the day. This is not evidence of His divine nature. It is evidence of having been a student of
Scripture as a child. When I was 15 I
remember carrying on a rather spirited and intelligent debate with a Jehovah’s
Witness. As anyone who knows me can
affirm, I am not the Son of God. But I
did have a great love for Scripture as a young person. Jesus had the same, undoubtedly more so.
What are we saying? Jesus did not “cheat,” so to speak, in His
growing up. He did not pull out a
miracle every now and then to help pass a test in school or to deal with some
friend or enemy. He never did that, not
even in His years of ministry. He grew
up and lived as we must. He was tempted
like us. What He did have was a sense of
His Father’s calling, and even more, faith that His Father would perform His
word. As a child, He saw the truth. He understood even then that the Scriptures
spoke of Him; He knew His Father’s business.
It is our hope after considering these passages
concerning the birth of Christ that you will have a clearer understanding of
the truth. And that “beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord” throughout
the Scriptures, you will be transformed into His likeness (2 Cor. 3:18).
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