BiblicalMastery Buddy's bible blog

Lesson 5

Into Manhood

Luke 2:41-52

Ever since I was a young person, I have had a sense of need to be in Church. There have been times when it was not possible to attend somewhere, because of circumstances beyond my control.  Two of my favorite Scriptures that speak to the importance of being in God’s house are found in Psalm 84:10 and Hebrews 10:24-25. The Psalmist tells us that, “A day in Your (God’s) courts is better than a thousand outside.  I would rather stand at the threshold of the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness” (the world). Over in Hebrews we are told, “Let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembly together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.  To me it means that I am to give top priority to being in the place where I can find joy, fellowship and understanding of God’s purpose for my life.  It saddens me to see the lackadaisical attitude that so many of us take toward gathering together and hearing God’s word.

Jesus gave the church the command, “Go, (As you are going) therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and he Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you.” (Matt, 28:19-20) The advice Paul gave to Timothy truly applies to the whole church.  We are to know that, “That all Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.” (2 Tim. 3:16)

We must understand that none of the above will take place without committed followers of Christ.  It is so important that we who have been in the church for a while set the example for those who come after us.  The church will not prevail against the gates of hell with men and women of deep convictions.  Jesus set the example for us as we shall see in today’s lesson.

Luke 2:41-42

It had been the practice of Jesus’ parents to go up to the Feast of the Passover every year. The words of Luke again showed that Joseph and Mary were devout believers who kept the Law of Moses. Jesus would follow in the tradition of His people.

 There were two other feasts that all the men of Israel were required to attend.  They were the Feast of Weeks celebrated beginning the fiftieth day after Passover for one week.  This corresponds to the Feast of Pentecost in the book of Acts. (Acts 2:1)  The other was held at the end of the harvest season in the fall as was named the Feast of Booths.  For each of these feasts sacrifices and offerings had to be made.  The only place that animals could be sacrificed was at the Temple.

Just as a refresher the Feast of the Passover had been established in the time of Moses. On the last night the Israelites were in Egypt, they put the blood of a lamb on around the door of their houses.  When the angel of death saw the blood he passed over those houses leaving the first born son alive.  Of course the Egyptians had not received that command and the first born in every family, including the animals, died.  Pharaoh then ordered Moses and all of the Israelites to leave. Since they had to leave in haste they did not have time to have bread rise and so they ate unleavened bread.  The Feast of the unleavened bread was then celebrated for the week following the Passover.

Evidently Jesus had not attended the feast with his parents before or been to Jerusalem since He was an infant.  When He turned twelve He made his first trip to Jerusalem.  At that age a young boy entered into manhood and would begin taking on the responsibilities of learning a trade.  Even the rabbis in the time of Christ would have a trade, for example Paul was a tentmaker. Although every Jewish boy learned the Old Testament early in his life, between the ages of ten and fifteen he would also be taught the Mishna or oral traditions of his people. When he reached the age of fifteen he would continue his education under the guidance of the rabbis in the synagogue school. Some of the brightest students might even be selected to become rabbis.  Today young Jewish boys participate in the ceremony of Bar-Mitzvah at the age of twelve.  Bar-Mitzvah means son of the law.  This would have been the same for Jesus as a Son of the law which He came to fulfill.

1. Why did Joseph and Mary go up to Jerusalem every year?
2. What would have been other occasions for them to go?
3. What does this tell us about their faith?
4. What happened on the night of the Passover?
5. Why had Jesus not gone up to Jerusalem before this time? (He was not yet considered a man which would take place when He was twelve?
6. What does the word Bar-Mitzvah mean? 
7. How did they apply to Jesus?  (He was born under the Law that He might fulfill the requirements of the Law.)

Luke 2:43-44

When the seven days of the feast were completed, the Mary and Joseph set out for the trip home.  They did not realize that Jesus had stayed behind in Jerusalem. Until the first day was coming to a close did they did not have any reason to worry.  Since the men and women travelled separately during the day each may have thought that Jesus was with the other parent or with all the other young people His age.  At the end of the day they began looking for Him. 

1. How long did the feast last?
2. Why would they have missed Jesus?
3. Why were they not together? (The women travelled slower and set out first.)
4. What has been your reaction if you have ever lost someone in a store or other places?
5. Why would they have not worried about His absence during the day?  (He would have been with people returning to Nazareth who He would know.)

Luke 2:45-47

Not finding Him among the caravan of relatives and acquaintances they travelled back to Jerusalem.  They would probably have waited until the following morning to make the trip because of the danger along the way. (See the story of the Good Samaritan. Luke 10:30-37) It took a day to get back to the city.  On the third day they found Him sitting among the teachers in Temple listening and asking questions. Those who heard Him were amazed at the wisdom of such a young man.  Since this is the only time that this incident was written about there is no way to know exactly what Jesus wanted to know.

1. Why did it take them so long to find Jesus? (Travel time and the size of the city.)
2. Why did they not think to go to the Temple as soon as they arrived?
3. What kind of questions do you think Jesus was asking?
4. Why did Luke not tell us what the discussion was all about? (His eyewitnesses were not privy to the conversation.  Mary and Joseph were not there to hear what was being said.)
5. Why would the teachers have been amazed? (Possibly they did not expect someone so young to have such wisdom.)

Luke 2:48

When Mary and Joseph found Him in the Temple they were also astonished.  No one would have expected to find a twelve year old having dialogue, if it may be said, on an equal basis with the learned men of His day.  Like all parents their reaction would of course be one of relief but also exasperation that they had been put through such an ordeal. Notice they had forgotten over the years all that had happened.  They got so use to Him being the perfect child and in a way just took it for granted that was what He was meant to be.

1. Why were Mary and Joseph just as astonished as the teachers? (They had forgotten in the moment the events that had occurred years earlier.
2.  What was amazing about the things that Jesus was saying to the teachers?
3. In what ways do we reach a point that we take people for granted?

Luke 2:49

The response of Jesus had two parts to it.  First, He seemed surprised that they would have to look for Him. As far as He was concerned it should have been obvious that He would be in the Temple. His answer would clear up the matter of who His true father was.  Although Joseph was the man who had raised Him and was considered by all to be His father, both Mary and Joseph should have remembered that Jesus was the Son of His Father in heaven.

Somewhere along the way, Jesus began to understand His purpose for being on earth. He was to serve Him and ultimately bring salvation to all mankind.  Simeon had made it clear to Mary what eventually would happen to her Son.  The words clearly stated that He believed that He must be in His Father’s house. It was the place where God had told Solomon His presence would be.  Naturally, Jesus would feel at home in the presence of His Father. 

In no way should it be seen that Jesus was discourteous and disrespectful to Mary and Joseph. It was not in His nature to be condescending.  He was only stating facts to them.

1. Why would Jesus say He had to be about His Father’s business? (He understood the special relationship with God and the call upon His life even at the age of twelve.)
2. Why did He address Mary and Joseph as He did? (He knew who His true Father was.)
3. Why was it important for Him to be in His Father’s house? (It was the place where God’s presence was believed to be on the earth.)
4. What did Mary and Joseph learn that day? (That in a way Jesus was no longer their little boy but had become a man with a purpose that they could not understand or of which they could have any part.)
5. Why is it important for us to be in God’s house?

Luke 2:50-51

After the events in the Temple, Jesus returned back to Nazareth with Mary and Joseph.  He continued to show respect for them.  Like all other children he obeyed them and submitted to their authority in His life for the next eighteen years.

1. How did Jesus treat Mary and Joseph after His trip to Jerusalem?
2. In what ways did He behave as all other children?
3. What does this say about Him? (He continued to live a sinless life)

Luke 2:52

Luke spoke of the life Jesus lived for the next eighteen years. Although he had displayed a great deal of wisdom in the midst of the teachers, the years that followed only added to that wisdom.  If, as it is believed, Joseph died before Jesus was grown, He would, as the first born, been called on to take over the responsibility of providing for the family.  He would have learned a great deal about people and hard work during that time.

Secondly, it said that He grew in stature.  Although He was declared a man at the feast of the Passover, over the years He grew physically into manhood.  The type of work He did would have made Him strong in body.

Finally, from what has been written and understood about His character and the way He treated people He would have been liked by one and all.  He was not at the point where He would confront the religious leaders and others that would cause men to turn against Him and ultimately send Him to the cross. More importantly, His understanding of His Father would also have increased because of the wisdom He was gaining.  God would have been laying out for Jesus piece by piece His future plans for His Son.

1. What need did the Son of God have to grow in wisdom?
2. What would have been some of the things that would have brought above the wisdom of which Luke wrote? (Facing life’s situations and learning from them will produce wisdom.)
3. What are some of the events in your life that have helped you to become wiser?
4. What qualities would Jesus have possessed that cause people to like Him when He was young?
5. What qualities do you possess that helps others to like you?
6. What can you do about any lack of those qualities?

 

• You can learn to live a better quality Christian life from the example of Jesus and His family as they took their faith seriously.
• To grow spiritually it is important to be in God’s word daily as evidenced by the knowledge Jesus had.
• Making a commitment to being presence in God’s house where Worshipping, learning, finding encouragement and fellowship are primary ingredients in transforming your life to become more Christ-like.
• Goals for you are to grow in wisdom and in favor with God and man.

Inconsistency permeates our whole society today.  Young people see that our actions do not match up with what we say we believe. On the one hand, the church maintains that God’s word is our guideline for living. Survey after survey, however tell a different story.  Their findings show that for the most part Americans are biblical illiterates. We cry out that young people are leaving the church in droves but our own attendance, for many, is sporadic with even committed attendees at the church about half to two thirds of the Sundays in the year.  The picture that we get from the early life of Jesus was the importance that God played not only in His life but also that of His parents.  He wanted answers to important questions and the place to find them were with God’s people. Hopefully, Christ’s example will once again create a fervor in us to follow His example.