The Early Years (Luke 2:40)
As we have stressed already, we know very little about Christ's early years. We hear about His birth and very early years, including the visit to the temple at age twelve (see Luke 2). But that is all, until His baptism by John at the start of His public ministry, when He was "about thirty" (NIV; see Luke 3:21-23).
Nevertheless, it is possible to look at His life, as we know it, and draw certain reasonable conclusions in respect to the spiritual foundation that gave it support. If we assume from our own experience that the stability and strength we see in Jesus during His public ministry did not materialize overnight, nor arise from shallowness and superficiality, then we are bound to conclude, again from our own experience, that they sprang from an intense walk with God.
Read again the story of Jesus at the temple (Luke 2:39-52). What things are found there that help us understand the spiritual foundation upon which the young Jesus grew? Also, what role did His parents play in His growth?
Incredibly, these passages (apart from the birth narratives) are all we have on the first thirty years of Jesus' life. Furthermore, biblical scholars estimate that the vast majority of the Gospel materials center on the final week of Jesus' life, making them (as has often been said) "Passion narratives," not biographies, as such. They were produced, evidently, for the well-defined purpose of shining the spotlight on the two critical events of the Christian faith: the mystery of Jesus' birth (the Incarnation) and the significance of His death and resurrection. Between these two events we see His unselfish life of service and sacrifice. And we correctly may assume that the focus and dedication we see in His public ministry represent the flowering of a relationship with God that was consistent, deeply personal, and intense.
| What principles can we take from this story that we, in our own context, can apply to ourselves and our own spiritual life? |
| MONDAY | May 19 |
At the Start of His Ministry (Matt. 4:4)
Following His baptism, Jesus goes out into the Judean desert for 40 days, to pray, to reflect upon His mission. Perhaps none of us studying this lesson has had any personal knowledge of what that means. Here we come face to face with an intensity we can hardly grasp, a spiritual concentration much beyond our usual experience, a pursuit of intimate closeness with God that leaves our mouths wide open.
But the explicit reason for this wilderness foray was for testing (Matt. 4:1; cf. Luke 4:2), and the tempter was on hand to take advantage of the opportunity. Using the Savior's extreme hunger as his tool, he desperately tried to drive a wedge between Jesus and His Father, to wrench Jesus' firm grasp on God, to break the intensity of His walk with Him, to intrude upon the intimate closeness.
How does Jesus' response, as revealed in the following texts, show the intensity of His walk with God? What can we learn from this that we can apply to ourselves? (Matt. 4:3-10, Luke 4:3-12).
To understand what is going on here, we need to keep in mind Jesus' unique status in the whole scheme of salvation. He was the spotless Son of God. Coming into the world in human nature, He had to live completely above the sinful sphere, not just for a day, but for His entire time with us. He was to struggle as we do, to be tempted as we are, yet He had to remain immaculate. We might compare it to going through thirty-three years with your computer, writing articles, doing homework, answering letters, and never making a single mistake, never needing to use the delete key or the undo feature; or like going through a course in algebra or physics, and getting every problem right; or playing the piano for thirty-three years without ever hitting a wrong note.
That was Jesus' lot. He came not just to set an example in selfless living, but to die as the sinless One, and thereby bring salvation to the planet. Hence His total concentration, the utter intensity of His walk with God; nothing could be taken for granted, nothing left to chance. A single misstep, and the game was over.
Imagine what it must have been to have never sinned, not even in thought, during His whole life. That is what righteousness is all about. Dwell on what you owe to Jesus, Who offers you what you could never attain yourself.
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