Epaggelia

Jesus had Scriptures to access from the local Synagogue and he indeed would have had Scriptures at home, maybe not complete scrolls, but surely large portions, Luke 4:16. As Jesus grew in learning how to read, he would naturally have insight with both Mary & Joseph praying and studying with Jesus as a boy. Every Jewish child in His day learnt their alphabet using the Psalms. Since God’s Spirit was the author of the Scriptures and the apostle Paul taught that it is God’s will for us to pray for the spirit of wisdom and revelation to help us grow in understanding His will, Eph. 1:17-18, we should find it easy to accept that Jesus would grow naturally with the best interest and insight in His education of the Scriptures. The Scriptures certainly were the central focus for education in every Jewish child’s life. This became glaringly obvious when Jesus lost all track of time in his discussions with the Rabbis & Priests in the Temple at age 12. This means for all of us, mere mortals, that we are not at a disadvantage, as He learnt in the same manner we learn, with no supernatural powers. His only advantage were his godly parents who were blessed with the Spirit’s presence and much prayer.

The motivation of Joseph & Mary to educate Him was different than ours, but still, they had only the same basic tool, God’s word & Spirit. Luke 2: 40 & 52 shows Jesus grew naturally in three areas: 

 “Wisdom”;  To the Jews, wisdom meant knowledge of facts and how to apply them correctly in your lifestyle, 1Kg. 4:33-34.  Godly wisdom is the ability to recognize spiritual truths in physical facts and then apply them to your lifestyle. Paul understood this concept of wisdom, 1Cor.1:17-25. When Jesus grew strong in wisdom, this included learning skill in carpentry. Actually the word used for “Carpenter” in reference to Jesus is generic, used to describe all kinds of fabricators, but most usually denoted woodworking. In His day, the biggest need and interest for woodworkers lay in developing trusses for roofs, Mk. 6:3, Mt. 13:55. A wise roof builder learnt the importance of getting the foundation right, Mt. 7:24-27. Joseph must have taught Jesus this. His wisdom would have been in math, labor and Scriptures. Jesus taught his disciples to trust His Spirit’s work on their heart in order to share this wisdom, Luke 21:15.

 “Stature”; The physical appearance of Jesus isn’t important, (Lk 19:3 & Jn. 9:23), but the fact of his maturity is a fundamental issue for our faith in a Savior that can empathize with our weaknesses, Heb.4:15. Jesus was a man with all the emotions and problems of any man. He remained celibate because of His conviction that He was not only the Messianic Son of David, but also the Son of God, establishing an eternal priesthood on earth, needing no successor to inherit His role & position, Heb. 7:1-3. Today, All Christians live to work out a priesthood, headed by Christ in the Heavens, 1Pt. 2:9. Jesus sees this and explains it in Matthew 25:31-46. Our charitable sacrifices benefit His Kingdom.

“Grace” with God & “Grace” with humanity. Growing in grace is something every Christian should want to do, 2Tim. 2:1, 2Pt. 3:18. These texts are instructing us to grow to trust more in God’s nature as full of forgiveness and generosity. Luke 2:35 states Mary will have a sword pierce through her heart and it’s seen in at least two ways. Firstly, Jn. 2:1-5, Jesus draws a public line of distance and difference between his Sonship and Lordship with Mary, yet Mary very graciously and immediately accepts submission to her own Son. Secondly, Mk. 3:33-35 must have been hurtful, but she still supported Him, even when His brothers considered Him insane, Mk. 3:21, and of course she was at the cross, where her pain must have been unbearable, but graciously endured all His rejection. Mary’s gracious character must have helped Jesus as a boy in learning how to be gracious. Grace is the most important word in the Bible.