A few weeks ago we celebrated Christmas, the time God became a human baby called Jesus. The New Testament doesn’t tell us a great deal about Jesus as he was growing up – it concentrates on the three years of ministry that started when he was 30. And on his death and resurrection.
Because not much seemed to happen, some people nowadays ask the question “Why did Jesus come as a baby, not a 30 year old?” We do so hate to be kept waiting, don’t we? Whatever happened to the saying that “Anything worth having is worth waiting for”? After all, the Jews of Israel waited many, many years for the birth of their Messiah, because God worked to a long-term plan for humankind.
Jesus was a gift that God gave to the world – and gifts are best enjoyed by taking time to unwrap them carefully, rather than just ripping the paper off and missing things hidden in the folds and layers. So I thought I’d have a go at unwrapping some of the early Jesus.
It’s that time of year when monarch butterflies are busy in our garden. You’ll know the main life stages of a monarch butterfly:
Egg
Caterpillar
Pupa
Adult butterfly
You can divide the human life span into stages too. People who study human development use up to 12 stages, but I think four is enough for today:
Infancy
Childhood
Youth
Adulthood.
Actually, my favourite way to think of human development is a lot less scientific, and doesn’t apply to everyone!
Stage 1: You believe in Santa
Stage 2: You don’t believe in Santa
Stage 3: You are Santa
Stage 4: You look like Santa!
Let’s go back to the idea of childhood, infancy, youth and adulthood.
No stage is more important than any other, so to be fully human, Jesus had to experience all of them. Of course, his three years of adult ministry were vital, and his death on the cross was a necessary sacrifice. But his early years living as a human were important too, preparing him for what was to come.
Like us, he was born virtually helpless, unable to walk, to talk or feed himself. Like us, Jesus would have watched and mimicked people, learnt to walk and talk and soak up what was going on around him.
When Jesus was about 40 days old, Luke 2:22-24 tells us:
The time came for Joseph and Mary to perform the ceremony of purification, as the Law of Moses commanded. So they took the child to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord, as it is written in the law of the Lord: “Every firstborn male is to be dedicated to the Lord.” They also went to offer a sacrifice of a pair of doves or two young pigeons, as required by the law of the Lord.
This tells us that the family Jesus was born into was a devout one that followed the Jewish laws and traditions. By presenting Jesus in this way, they showed that he was part of the covenant between God and Israel.
In case you were wondering, the ceremony of purification referred to Mary, who by Jewish law was considered unclean for 40 days after the birth of her son.
Something else special happened at the temple during this visit.
Luke 2:25-32 records:
At that time there was a man named Simeon living in Jerusalem. He was a good, God-fearing man and was waiting for Israel to be saved. The Holy Spirit was with him and had assured him that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s promised Messiah. Led by the Spirit, Simeon went into the Temple.
When the parents brought the child Jesus into the Temple to do for him what the Law required, Simeon took the child in his arms and gave thanks to God:
“Now, Lord, you have kept your promise,
and you may let your servant go in peace.
With my own eyes I have seen your salvation,
which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples:
A light to reveal your will to the Gentiles
and bring glory to your people Israel.”
Simeon had waited many years to welcome Jesus. He set us an example of how to welcome Jesus and to give thanks to God for his gift. He reminds us not to become tired of trusting in God, just because things are maybe taking too long. He must have believed in “Anything worth having is worth waiting for”, after all, he got to hold the baby Jesus in his arms.
Jesus’s infancy wasn’t over yet, as recorded in Matthew 2:13-23. Back in Bethlehem, wise men from the East arrived, with special gifts fit for a king. Then Mary and Joseph had to flee to Egypt to escape King Herod and his plans to kill Jesus – the infant Jesus experienced being a refugee. It would have been unsettling too, when they returned from Egypt after Herod’s threat was gone, this time settling in Nazareth.
So, like any human infant, Jesus was influenced by the events and people around him:
- His parents brought him up according to strong religious beliefs
- People around him recognised how special he was, and expected great things from him
- He was a refugee, and experienced the trauma suffered by his family
Now we come to Jesus’ childhood, which he spent in Nazareth, in Galilee. The Bible tells us of only one specific event of Jesus as a child, but we can fairly speculate on other aspects.
In Jewish families at the time, it was the responsibility of the parents to provide early education. Just about as soon as they could speak, Jewish children were taught the alphabet and some Bible verses. As he grew up, Jesus would have learnt other life skills from his parents – as well as scripture, he’d have learnt the rules of his culture and society, and how to behave in an acceptable manner. It’s good when children today do the same. The difference being that Jesus, who had to lead a completely sinless life, was presumably never naughty!
In Jesus’ time, all Jewish boys from the age of 6 or 7 were offered a free public education. This covered scripture and law, reading and writing, history and their equivalent to science and maths. This education was for boys from all backgrounds, so Jesus would have gone to school and made friends with other boys from all walks of life.
I went to school in the UK, and from the age of 5 my parents received an annual report of my progress. For some reason I have all these reports, and they make for interesting reading!
Here are few examples:
Aged 6: Neville speaks clearly and has a good mastery of words.
Aged 7: Has produced very good results in art and handwork, but prefers to keep clean!
Aged 12: He has made good progress in most subjects. Perhaps a more sustained effort would improve the overall standard of his work.
What do you think Jesus might have had on his school reports? Take a couple of minutes now to talk amongst yourselves about it.
Actually, the Bible does give us a report of sorts.
After the presentation in the Temple, Luke 2:39-40 tells us that
The child grew and became strong; he was full of wisdom, and God’s blessings were upon him.
What an example to follow!
When Jesus was 12, he went to Jerusalem with his parents for the Passover festival, as they did every year. Luke 2:41-49 tells of how, after his parents left on the long journey home, Jesus stayed behind in the Temple without telling his parents, who thought they’d lost him.
On the third day they found him in the Temple, sitting with the Jewish teachers, listening to them and asking questions. All who heard him were amazed at his intelligent answers. His parents were astonished when they saw him, and his mother said to him, “My son, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been terribly worried trying to find you.”
He answered them, “Why did you have to look for me? Didn’t you know that I had to be in my Father’s house?” But they did not understand his answer.
After this reminder that he obeyed a heavenly father, Jesus went back with his parents to Nazareth, where he was also obedient to his earthly parents. Here, from the age of 12 to 30, Luke 2:52 tells us
Jesus grew both in body and in wisdom, gaining favour with God and people.
Already, by the age of 12, Jesus was not just growing and learning, he was setting a good example. He was teaching lessons that we can learn from today. His main ministry started when he was 30, but in a sense this was really the continuation of something that had started many years before.
So what do we know about Jesus as a child?
- He obeyed God, and his parents, and pleased both
- He became physically strong
- He got to know and understand the scriptures inside out
- He learnt to listen and ask questions
- He set a good example
The Bible tells us virtually nothing about the teenage years and young adulthood of Jesus – yet it was during this period that he must have met many of the treasure store of characters who gave him an insight into the minds and lives of humans. Perhaps knowing something about where Jesus lived will help us fill in some gaps.
Modern Nazareth is a large and busy city, but archaeologists have been able to find and excavate the remains of the old Nazareth, from the time of Jesus. It seems that in those days Nazareth was a small village with a population of about 500, surrounding by many smaller agricultural settlements. Archaeologists have found artefacts associated with agriculture, glass working, cloth production, other crafts and food processing. Quarrying of limestone was also a busy local industry. Surrounding settlements had lots of roman artefacts, but despite Nazareth being quite close to an important roman city, very few roman artefacts have been found in the village. So Nazareth would have had an exclusively Jewish character, though no remains of a synagogue have been found yet.
This all suggests that in and around Nazareth, Jesus would have had the opportunity to speak with a wide range of people and observe their behaviours. His job as a carpenter or builder may well have taken him to surrounding settlements too. Men and women, young and old, poor and rich, shepherds, craftsmen, bakers, farmers, fruit and vine growers, tax collectors, widows, beggars – what an education in being human! And he certainly drew on these experiences later – he knew exactly how to communicate his teachings in the most relevant manner for different audiences.
Jesus as a youth and young adult experienced a ‘normal’ family life. His family was deeply religious, so Jesus grew up in a home centred on God’s love. He was the oldest of at least 7 children, so he was probably given some responsibilities over his younger brothers and sisters. He would have been glad to escape and hang out with others of his own age too.
So what do we know about Jesus as a teenager and young adult?
- He continued to live in a God-centred, loving home
- He knew about the ups and downs of having brothers and sisters
- He continued to study scriptures
- He probably got to know many different kinds of people, so he understood about relationships
If we add up all that we’ve heard about Jesus growing up human, we can begin to understand why it had to happen this way. He came to earth to sacrifice himself for us, but he also came to teach the truth about why that sacrifice was necessary. And to do that, he had to understand us, identify with us and sympathise with our weaknesses.
One attempt to make sense of Jesus’ early life was made by Irenaeus, who was a priest in what is now the South of France only about 150 years after the death and resurrection of Jesus. He thought that:
Jesus passed through every stage of life:
He was made an infant for infants, sanctifying infancy. That is, he declared all infants to be holy, set apart for a sacred purpose.
He was made a child for children, sanctifying childhood. That is, he declared all children to be holy, set apart for a sacred purpose. He set an example of family love, righteousness and obedience.
He was made a young man for young men, an adult for adults, sanctifying youth and adulthood. That is, he declared all youths and adults to be holy, set apart for a sacred purpose.
During his ministry, Jesus drew on all those relationships from his younger days, all those people skills, all those experiences of what makes humans tick. And he has never lost them, only added to them, so that whoever you are, he knows how to relate to you. It doesn’t matter what age you are, what sex or gender, what your background is, what your circumstances are – Jesus knows how to relate to you in a human way. And as God, he relates to you in the very personal way that only God can.
After God appeared to humans in human form, they had to wait for him to grow up before he was ready for his great ministry, his death and resurrection. But he was worth waiting for.
Jesus told his disciples, in John 14:1-3, that he will return to complete his mission of salvation for mankind:
“Do not be worried and upset,” Jesus told them. “Believe in God and believe also in me. There are many rooms in my Father’s house, and I am going to prepare a place for you. I would not tell you this if it were not so. And after I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to myself, so that you will be where I am.”
He was saying “I’m worth waiting for”.
Jesus is patiently waiting to come back, because he is giving humanity as much time as possible to choose and follow him. He wants as many people as possible to repent and return to heaven with him. He knows we are worth waiting for.
Tawa Baptist 