Study inLuke’s Gospel

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Who's Teaching Who?

Chap 2v41-52Presentation 10

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IntroductionThis is the only record we have of the life of Jesus between his birth and the beginning of his public ministry. In his interview with Mary, Luke saw one incident in particular to be of significant interest. It describes Jesus’ first visit to the temple for the feast of the Passover. It contains the first recorded words of Jesus.

These verses provide a valuable insight into Jesus’ life. Joseph and Mary followed the practice of devout Jews who at this time made an annual visit to Jerusalem to keep this important religious feast. On their return journey from Jerusalem, Mary and Joseph misplace Jesus! After three days they find him back in Jerusalem in the temple courts where he was amazing the teachers of the law with his wisdom and understanding.

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Out Of Company With JesusIn those days groups of pilgrims travelled together, the woman and children at the front and the men at the rear. It would have been easy for both Mary and Joseph to assume that Jesus was with the other group. For their part, they would be enjoying the pleasant company of their fellow travellers and it was only when they arrived at the pre-arranged stopping point for their evening meal that they discovered Jesus was missing. A whole day had elapsed!

Can you imagine the anxiety that must have been theirs? Jesus lost in a strange city.

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Out Of Company With JesusIt is also easy for Christians to lose sight of Jesus. We can so easily do so when we are distracted by happy social interchange or engaged in some enterprise that absorbs all of our attention. We suddenly discover that we no longer have any sense of his presence.

The O.T. love story in the Song of Solomon describes such a discovery. The book allegorises the relationship between Christ and his church. At one point the young maiden in the story realises that she is no longer in the company of her beloved. And she sets out in frantic search constantly asking, "Have you seen the one whom my heart loves". S. of S. 3v12

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Out Of Company With JesusWe must never simply suppose that Christ is with us in all our decision making. We must never take the comfort of Christ ’s presence for granted. Those who have lost all the comfort of Christ 's presence and activity in their lives must think how and where these things were lost and go back again to the place where they lost them. The sooner we backtrack, the sooner our comforts are restored. Backtracking can be a very humbling experience.

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Out Of Company With JesusOf course Jesus is not lost to those who long for him. We know where to find him. We can go to the Father and ask why we have lost the sense of his company. Failure to take immediate action upon our discovery that Jesus comfort is missing from our lives feeds a spiritual malaise that can do us great harm.

How many there are who respond, "Oh, I feel so dull, I cannot bring myself to pray”. That is precisely the time to pray. Do not say, "I do not feel I can praise God“. That is precisely when we should be praising him. Do not say, "In this spiritual condition I do not feel I should go to church“. That is precisely the time we need to go and seek him.

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Jesus’ Consciousness Of IdentitySecondly, the passage teaches that at the age of 12 Jesus had an unshakeable consciousness of who he was. Notice that he expresses astonishment that Mary and Joseph failed to recognise, as they of all people should have, his special relationship with the Father. cf. v49 "Why were you searching for me, didn't you know I'd be in my Father's house."

Had Mary forgotten Gabriel's words and his own miraculous conception? Had she forgotten the wonderful mystery that surrounded her child? Had the familiarity of having Jesus around all the time caused her to lose sight of his identity?

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Jesus’ Consciousness Of IdentityOh you say, “Surely not!" But we also can become so familiar with Jesus that we lose sight of who he is.

Think of what happens when you come to worship or, when you read God's Word. Do you find that you have lost the sense of awe and wonder which once gripped your heart? One writer has said, "Nothing else under the sun can be as dry, flat, tedious and exhausting as religion without wonder".

Jesus the child saw clearly who he was, that he was the Son of God. The self-awareness of Jesus constantly reinforced his sense of mission.

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Jesus’ Consciousness Of IdentityThe quite unique relationship Jesus had with his Father is something that finds expression in each of the gospels and is something that Jesus jealously guarded all his life. Cf. Jn 6v37-40, 8v16-18, 10v30, 20v17.

Now, Jesus' perception of who he was challenges us to ask if we see as clearly as we ought our own identity. If we are Christians we are the adopted sons and daughters of God. But do we behave as orphans? It is surely unworthy of the Christian to nurture a low self-esteem.

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Jesus’ Consciousness Of IdentityAs adopted children we are the blood royal of heaven! Do we know what it is to live our whole lives conscious of the fact that we are God's children? Billy Bray the Methodist lay preacher did not let a day pass without reminding himself that he was a King’s son.

Now although our sonship is different from that of Christ’s it is nevertheless also vitally important to grasp that it is also our awareness of who we are that influences our own sense of mission. One of the reasons for the great fruitfulness of Billy Bray’s ministry was that he constantly reminded himself of who he was - a King’s son.

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Jesus’ Consciousness Of IdentityConscious of who he was it seemed the most natural thing in the world to Jesus that he should be found in the temple. Why look elsewhere? The temple was where God made himself known to an unusual degree. Jesus was at home there. As he came into the temple did Jesus experienced a sense that during the twelve years of his life he had never really been at home till now? Who better than he would have appreciated the significance of the sacrifices that were offered? Can you imagine how his heart must have leapt at the singing of the Psalms? It was here in the Temple that his Father's work went on and where his Father's truth was proclaimed.

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Jesus’ Consciousness Of IdentityJesus was at home in his Father’s house. Where is our true home? Do we feel most truly at home when we gather together with God's people? Do we long for that? Is it important to us to be where God is worshipped and where his word is expounded? Do we crave fellowship with God? Do we have such an appetite for God that when we come to his house we must speak to him? Do we feel we must hear his voice? If we are God's adopted children then these things should be true of us.

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Jesus’ Consciousness Of His WorkThirdly, the passage suggests that already had begun to realise that he had a great work to do. And it was clear to the boy Jesus that his great life's work was not to be accomplished at the carpenter's bench. He was to serve his Father in a far wider sphere. The AV translates Jesus reply in v49 as "I must be about my Father's business."

The great life work that his Father had for him was the redemption of his people. And although it would be another eigtheen years before he entered his public ministry he was already preparing himself for his high calling. Which would end on the cross.

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Jesus’ Consciousness Of His WorkYes at 12 years of age! How clear a picture do we have of what God wants us to do? God tells his people, "I have plans for you“, Jer 29v11. Do we tell our children that? Do we believe it to be true of our own lives? How do we discover what those plans are? Surely by listening to God's voice. As we begin to grasp that God has some task that is tailor made for we too are able to say, "I must be about our Fathers business”. Paul had such a clear grasp of this and was eager to communicate this truth to others, “For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do”, Eph.2.v10.

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Jesus’ Consciousness Of His WorkJesus’ preparation took the form of learning and enquiring. His time in Jerusalem was not spent playing in the streets but sitting with the teachers. He already had a great grasp of spiritual truth but he wanted more. He had a thirst for the things of God.

In speaking of Jesus in this way we are of course referring to the development of his humanity. This development is referred to in v52 "Jesus grew in wisdom and stature". There was a desire to increase his knowledge of God!

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Jesus’ Consciousness Of His WorkIt is good when young people want to help and serve in the church, teach in the Sunday School and Bible Class. But there is a greater priority and that is to recognise their own need of instruction. You cannot teach what you do not rightly know. When we are learning , absorbing God's truth and allowing it to shape our lives, that is preparation for service.

It is what we are that influences the quality of what we do – think of life of Jesus. Jesus waited 30 years before embarking upon his public ministry. What an example he is to folk who can hardly wait 30 minutes before wanting to be up to their ears in Christian service.

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Jesus’ Consciousness Of His WorkNote too that divine constraint shaped the life of Jesus. "Didn't you know I HAD to be in my Father's house/ business?" Throughout the gospels we find this constraint hemmed in Jesus. He refused to be side-tracked from his high calling. Again we ask, does the same constraint lie in our hearts? Do we see service for God as required or optional?

Racehorses wear blinkers to keep their attention on the job before them. To prevent them from being unduly distracted by all that is going on around them. Our Christian lives should be like that? The hymn-writer speaks of "one holy passion". Do we need to ask God for a pair of blinkers in order that we might serve him without distraction?

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The Obedience Of JesusA heightened awareness of his identity and mission end in his doing what? "Jesus returned to Nazareth with Mary and Joseph and was obedient to them" v51. The eternal Son of God, conscious of his special relationship with the Father and feeling very much at home in the temple, and with a growing awareness of his unique mission, nevertheless submitted himself in unquestioning obedience to Mary and Joseph with all their weaknesses and lack of understanding. Amazing!

Jesus allowed a veil to be drawn over who he was and the purpose of his mission, biding God's time for his revelation to all Israel. Jesus knew how to preserve his soul in patience.

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ConclusionJesus amazing understanding in this passage is set over against Mary’s lack of it. She was baffled and astonished, she blamed Jesus for getting lost rather than accepting any blame for losing him. And what exactly did he mean about being about his Father’s business?

Luke tells us that she treasured up all that had happened in Jerusalem in her heart cf. v51. Although she did not fully understand she filed this incident away, and in days to come she would meditate upon it and try to grasp its significance. Those things in God's Word which at first seem dark and difficult to understand may afterwards become clear.

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ConclusionLuke was concerned that his readers would also spend time to reflect upon the person and mission of Jesus. And we too should be eager to do precisely that.

Don't discard those things in God's Word that you do not presently understand. Store them up for future reference. Take them out of the ‘filing cabinet’ again and again and ponder over them, ask God’s Spirit to help you digest them and as you do so their meaning will become increasingly clear.