The Life & Times of Jesus Christ

Jesus Visits Temple as a Lad

By Dr Bob Swanger

And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature,

and in favor with God and men. Luke 2:52

(NASB95)

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Luke 2:40–52 (NASB95) The Child continued to grow and become strong, increasing in wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him.

41 Now His parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover. 42 And when He became twelve, they went up there according to the custom of the Feast;

43 and as they were returning, after spending the full number of days, the

boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. But His parents were unaware of it, 44 but supposed Him to be in the caravan, and went a day’s journey; and they began looking for Him among their relatives and acquaintances. 45 When they did not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem looking for Him.

46 Then, after three days they found Him in the temple,

sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and

asking them questions. 47 And all who heard Him were

amazed at His understanding and His answers.

Asking = to ask for, usually with the implication of an underlying question. Inquiring into, discovering the underlying reason and thought Amazed = to be so astonished as to almost fail to comprehend what one has experienced House = Doing the things of the Father Increase = to change one’s state for the better by advancing and making progress— to advance, to progress, to change for the better, advancement

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48 When they saw Him, they were astonished; and His mother said to Him, “Son, why have You treated us this way? Behold, Your father and I have been anxiously looking for You.”

49 And He said to them, “Why is it that you were looking for Me? Did you

not know that I had to be in My Father’s house?”

50 But they did not understand the statement which He had made to them. 51 And He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and He continued in subjection to them; and His mother treasured all these things in her heart.

52 And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature,

and in favor with God and men.

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Colossians 3:14–17 (NASB95) 14 Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. 15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with

thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17 Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.

James 3:17 (NASB95) 17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy.

Shalom = symphony of life, everything working together to make a beautiful song

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Matthew 13:55 (NASB95) 55 “Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary, and His brothers, James and Joseph and Simon and Judas?

Luke 2:52 (NASB95) 52 And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.

John 6:42 (NASB95) 42 They were saying, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does He now say, ‘I have come down out of heaven’?”

Isaiah 11:1–3 (NASB95) 1 Then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse, And a branch from his

roots will bear fruit. 2 The Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him, The spirit of wisdom and understanding, The spirit of

counsel and strength, The spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD. 3 And He will delight in the fear of the LORD, And He will not judge by what His eyes see, Nor make a decision by what His ears hear;

Savvy = the intersection of wisdom and understanding

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The Father’s Business Romans 8:5–8 (NASB95) 5 For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.

6 For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the

Spirit is life and peace, 7 because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, 8 and those who are in the flesh cannot please God. Romans 12:1–2 (NASB95) 1 Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. Luke 10:25–28 (NASB95) 25 And a lawyer stood up and put Him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 And He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How does it read to you?” 27 And he answered, “YOU

SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH

ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH, AND WITH ALL

YOUR MIND; AND YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.” 28 And He said to him, “You have answered correctly; DO THIS AND YOU WILL LIVE.”

Lawyer = an expert in the Mosaic Law (Law revealed to Moses)

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In a number of significant teachings, the Pharisees espoused views that were later incorporated into the rabbinic tradition. Primary among these were beliefs in the immortality of the soul, reward and punishment after death, and angels, as well as the idea of divine providence. The Sadducees rejected all of these ideas. Unlike the Sadducees, who totally denied the notion of divine interference in human affairs, the Pharisees believed that God could play a role there. To the Sadducees, free will was complete and inviolable; to the Pharisees, it was circumscribed. The Essenes, in contrast, maintained a belief in predestination, as did the Dead Sea sect.1

The Revell Bible Dictionary (1990) summarizes what is known of

their theology. “The Sadducees denied the possibility of life after death and scoffed at the common belief in resurrection (Mark 12:18).

1 Schiffman, L. H., & Potok, C. (1994). Reclaiming the Dead Sea scrolls: the history of Judaism, the background of Christianity, the lost library of Qumran (p. 78). New Haven; London: Yale University Press.

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They also rejected the existence of angels or spirits (Acts 23:8). The Sadducees believed in the total freedom of the human will, uninfluenced by fate or God’s providence. The Sadducees held that only the five books of Moses were authoritative and rejected the traditional interpretations of the Law so dear to the Pharisees.”

A third group of persons mentioned in Scripture is composed of “lawyers,” “teachers of the law,” or “scribes,” depending on the translation one uses. This class is made up of men who had dedicated their lives to a study of Old Testament Law and traditional interpretations of it. These were the sages, the rabbis, whose years of study under an acknowledged master had won them coveted recognition as an “expert in the Law.” Both the Sadducees and Pharisees had members who were “teachers of the law,” but membership in either of these two dominant religious groups did not automatically convey the coveted “expert” rank.2

2 Richards, L. O. (1991). The Bible reader’s companion (electronic ed., p. 592). Wheaton: Victor Books.

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Notes:

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Matthew 22 (NASB95)

1 Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying, 2 “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son. 3 “And he sent out his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding feast, and they were unwilling to come. 4 “Again he sent out other slaves saying, ‘Tell those who have been invited, “Behold, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and my fattened livestock are all butchered and everything is ready; come to the wedding feast.” ’ 5 “But they paid no attention and went their way, one to his own farm, another to his business, 6 and the rest seized his slaves and mistreated them and killed them. 7 “But the king was enraged, and he sent his armies and destroyed those murderers and set their city on fire. 8 “Then he said to his slaves, ‘The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. 9 ‘Go therefore to the main highways, and as many as you find there, invite to the wedding feast.’ 10 “Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered together all they found, both evil and good; and the wedding hall was filled with dinner guests. 11 “But when the king came in to look over the dinner guests, he saw a man there who was not dressed in wedding clothes, 12 and he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without wedding clothes?’ And the man was speechless. 13 “Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ 14 “For many are called, but few are chosen.”

15 Then the Pharisees went and plotted together how they might trap Him in what He said. 16 And they sent their disciples to Him, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that You are truthful and teach the way of God in truth, and defer to no one; for You are not partial to any. 17 “Tell us then, what do You think? Is it lawful to give a poll-tax to Caesar, or not?” 18 But Jesus perceived their malice, and said, “Why are you testing Me, you hypocrites? 19 “Show Me the coin used for the poll-tax.” And they brought Him a denarius. 20 And He said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” 21 They said to Him, “Caesar’s.” Then He said to them,

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“Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s; and to God the things that are God’s.” 22 And hearing this, they were amazed, and leaving Him, they went away.

23 On that day some Sadducees (who say there is no resurrection) came to Jesus and questioned Him, 24 asking, “Teacher, Moses said, ‘IF A MAN DIES

HAVING NO CHILDREN, HIS BROTHER AS NEXT OF KIN SHALL MARRY HIS WIFE, AND RAISE

UP CHILDREN FOR HIS BROTHER.’ 25 “Now there were seven brothers with us; and the first married and died, and having no children left his wife to his brother; 26 so also the second, and the third, down to the seventh. 27 “Last of all, the woman died. 28 “In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife of the seven will she be? For they all had married her.” 29 But Jesus answered and said to them, “You are mistaken, not understanding the Scriptures nor the power of God. 30 “For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.

31 “But regarding the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God: 32 ‘I AM THE GOD OF ABRAHAM, AND THE GOD OF

ISAAC, AND THE GOD OF JACOB’? He is not the God of the dead but of the living.” 33 When the crowds heard this, they were astonished at His teaching.

34 But when the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees,

they gathered themselves together. 35 One of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And He said to him, “ ‘YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH

ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’ 38 “This is the great and foremost commandment. 39 “The second is like it, ‘YOU SHALL

LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’ 40 “On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”

41 Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question: 42 “What do you think about the Christ, whose son is He?” They said to Him, “The son of David.” 43 He said to them, “Then how does David

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in the Spirit call Him ‘Lord,’ saying, 44 ‘THE LORD SAID TO MY LORD, “SIT AT MY

RIGHT HAND, UNTIL I PUT YOUR ENEMIES BENEATH YOUR FEET” ’? 45 “If David then calls Him ‘Lord,’ how is He his son?”

46 No one was able to answer Him a word, nor did anyone dare from that day on to ask Him another question.