Jesus from Baby to Boy
Many people are fascinated with the life of Jesus but say there is a lack of information about his early years. I want to address that concern and show you we know more about Jesus early years than people think. What we need to remember is that the gospel writers were intent on telling us about Jesus and His ministry not about giving us an in depth autobiography that centered on his personal life. Still the bible does give us more of Jesus biography than you might realize.
We have windows in the bible that allow us to see Jesus as a baby and as a child and as an adolescent. Today I will spend some time looking into these windows in the hope that we can all see Jesus more fully.
We know that Jesus had to be circumcised on the eighth day according to Jewish law.
Luke 2:21-24, 39-40
After eight days had passed, it was time to circumcise the child; and he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb. When the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord, and they offered a sacrifice according to what is stated in the law of the Lord, a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons. . . When they had finished everything required by the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him.
Barnes Notes on the New Testament pg. 192, Kregel Publications;
After giving birth, a Jewish woman had to wait forty to eighty days before going through the process of purification. Then she would enter the temple. It was at this time that verse 22 tells us about Jesus being presented to the Lord. So the child was anywhere from one and a half to three months old at the time of his presentation. The first-born son was always dedicated to service for the Lord. In the event of the father’s death, the first-born son assumed the spiritual leadership of the family.
By Mary offering these turtledoves she showed her poverty. And our Saviour, by coming in a state of poverty, has shown that it is not dishonorable to be poor. No station is dishonorable where God places us. He knows what is best for us, and he often makes a state of poverty an occasion of the highest blessings.
This scripture passage allows us to see the baby Jesus at 8 days old and at 3 months of age. We know that the Wise Men visited Jesus around this time.
Hosea 11:1 NIV - When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son.
We know that Joseph and Mary and the baby Jesus fled to Egypt to avoid King Herod and the massacre of the innocents in Bethlehem.
Matthew 2:13-15
…an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. Get up, he said, take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him. 14 So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, 15 where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: Out of Egypt I called my son.
We know from history that Herod the Great died in 4 B.C. and that his son Archelaus took over the throne in 4 B.C. until 6 A.D. Then Herod's other son Herod Antipas took over until around 39 A.D.
So we see Jesus the toddler in Egypt until he is about 4 years of age and returns to Jerusalem. There is much speculation about what Jesus may have done in Egypt but he was after all only there until he was about four or six years of age.
That meant that Jesus learned to walk and talk in Egypt, it meant that he cut his teeth in Egypt and experienced the pain of childhood growth. He may have bit his tongue and skinned his knee or had a fever or an ear infection.
Some people think that Jesus never knew sickness or pain until the cross but that thinking is contrary to scripture.
Philippians 2:6-8
6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death-
Jesus knew what it was to be human. The vulnerability and frailty of our frame did not escape him. He could and would bleed.
The Return to Nazareth - Matthew 2:19
19 After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt 20 and said, Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child's life are dead. 21 So he got up, took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. 22 But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee, 23 and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets: He will be called a Nazarene.
Archelaus was a brother to Antipas. It is Antipas who would later take the entire territory of his father Herod the Great. Herod the Great had about 10 different wives and left more than three wills so settling his estate created big family conflict which had to be settled in Rome.
History tells us that Joseph was wise to avoid Archelaus. It was Archelaus who had some 3,000 Pharisees put to death during this time.
So we have seen Jesus through scripture at birth, eight days old and at four years old and now he has returned to Israel but lives in Nazareth and not Bethlehem.
Luke 2:40 And the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him.
This short sentence sums up Jesus life as a boy except for one other verse that tells us of the family's devotion to God.
Luke 2:41-44. 41 Every year his parents went to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover. 42 When he was twelve years old, they went up to the Feast, according to the custom. 43 After the Feast was over, while his parents were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it. 44 Thinking he was in their company, they traveled on for a day. Then they began looking for him among their relatives and friends.
This verse shows us Jesus from age 5 to age 12 traveling every year with his parents to Jerusalem for the Passover Feast.
Just like we get a school picture each year of our own children the bible does at least give us a similar snapshot of Jesus. So when people tell you there is nothing in the bible about Jesus early life you can tell them otherwise.
You have a record of Jesus from birth to death. The one who created you has a record of your life. You have a great opportunity while here on earth to learn about Jesus. He already knows you and loves you.
Take some time to learn more of Jesus, yes see him in the manger bed, see him playing on the sands of Egypt and see him under Joseph's feet in the Carpenters shop in Bethlehem. See Jesus going to Synagogue and going to Jerusalem for the Feast Days.
But know this Jesus sees you. He sees where you have traveled and knows where He would like to take you. Let us follow Him this year and see where He takes us next.
