GETTING DOWN TO BUSINESS
Luke 2:41-52
S: Celebrate Jesus
Th: Priority
Pr: JESUS WAS ABOUT GOD’S BUSINESS.
?: How? How did he do it?
KW: Concerns
TS: We will find in our study of Luke 2:41-52 three concerns of Jesus that show us how to be about God’s business.
The _____ concern of Jesus that shows us how to be about God’s business is…
I. TEACHING
II. TOGETHERNESS
III. TRUST
RMBC 1/9/00 AM
INTRODUCTION:
1. How well do you do when communicating your priorities?
ILL #1095
Among the classified ads in the Quay County Sun was this ad: “Farmer with 160 irrigated acres wants marriage-minded woman with tractor. When replying, please show picture of tractor.”
I guess he clearly showed what his priority was, didn’t he?
Well…
2. What is really important to you?
Do you have priorities in your life?
What motivates you?
What keeps you going?
What are your premier concerns that command your attention and time?
TRANSITION:
1. In two weeks, we officially begin our 50-Day Adventure called “Celebrate Jesus: Discover What Makes Him Attractive to So Many People!”
We are literally joining with hundreds of churches all across America who are participating in this same adventure this year.
In fact, we are one of several churches in western New York and Buffalo area.
I have heard that churches in Pembroke, Leroy, and Buffalo (including Caz) are participating.
We are all participating because of Jesus!
2. The person of Jesus is the very cornerstone of what we believe.
He is the very center of what we believe.
And what we believe about Him is so essential, that our faith literally stands or falls on what He has done and what He has said.
So understanding Jesus and His uniqueness is an absolute essential for us.
3. Last month, we spent a great deal of time celebrating the entrance of Jesus (in the form of humanity) into this world.
We celebrate Christmas, don’t we?
I always look forward to Christmas.
I enjoy the traditions—food, family, and of course, the gifts.
But what I enjoy even more intensely during the season is the worship.
I particularly enjoy it when Christmas falls on Sunday.
I know that you may not (and we miss it this coming year because of leap year), but to me, there is something fundamentally important about God’s people gathering together and celebrating the entrance of Jesus in human form into the world.
As much as we enjoy on that day the matters of family, what is lost is the fundamental essence that is to fill us with wonder and awe.
God has blessed us with His own Presence.
He came to us as a baby.
This should make us pause.
For God “humiliated” Himself to come to us in the way He did.
But He did not stop and remain a baby.
No, He followed the natural course of events for a child.
He went from a baby to a toddler, from a toddler to a young child, from a young child to an older child.
And this is where we find him today…
4. In today’s study, we find the only description of Jesus “growing up” (Luke 2:41-52).
The Bible does not tell us much about Jesus’ childhood.
This event stands alone.
But the early church had a lot of curiosity about Jesus’ exploits as a child.
So they spent a great deal of time writing fictional tales about how they supposed Jesus to be…
ILL
From the Infancy Gospel of Thomas (2nd century):
"When this boy Jesus was five years old he was playing at the ford of a brook, and he gathered together into pools the water that flowed by, and made it at once clean, and commanded it by his word alone. But the son of Annas the scribe was standing there with Joseph; and he took a branch of a willow and (with it) dispersed the water which Jesus had gathered together. When Jesus saw what he had done he was enraged and said to him: ’You insolent godless dunderhead, what harm did the pools and the water do to you? See, now you also shall wither like a tree and shall bear neither leaves nor root nor fruit.’ And immediately that lad withered up completely; and Jesus departed and went into Joseph’s house. But the parents of him that was withered took him away, bewailing his youth, and brought him to Joseph and reproached him: ’What a child you have who does such things.’ After this again he went through the village, and a lad ran and knocked against his shoulder. Jesus was exasperated and said to him: ’You shall not go further on your way,’ and the child immediately fell down and died. But some, who saw what took place, said: "From where does this child spring, since every word is an accomplished deed?"’
Here is one more example from the Arabic Infancy Gospel:
"One day, when Jesus was running about and playing with some children, he passed by the workshop of a dyer called Salem. They had in the workshop many cloths which he had to dye. The Lord Jesus went into the dyer’s workshop, took all these cloths and put them into a cauldron full of indigo. When Salem came and saw that the cloths were spoiled, he began to cry aloud and asked the Lord Jesus, saying: ’What have you done to me, son of Mary? You have ruined my reputation in the eyes of all the people of the city; for everyone orders a suitable color for himself, but you have come and spoiled everything.’ And the Lord Jesus replied: ’I will change for you the color of any cloth which you wish to be changed; and he immediately began to take the cloths out of the cauldron, each of them dyed as the dyer wished, until he had taken them all out. When the Jews saw this miracle and wonder, they praised God."
Our text today is much different than these.
This text does not try to overplay Jesus’ uniqueness.
In fact, in an understated way, it reads very naturally and believably.
5. The setting of the event is a family trip to Jerusalem (41-42).
(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.
The tense of the verb suggests customary action, that is, Mary and Joseph did this habitually.
They were devout and law abiding, and apparently sought to do all the Mosaic law required.
If this is so, up to this time Jesus’ parents, especially his father, were teaching him the commandments of the law.
And just as it is today, it was the same then, at the end of the 12th year the child goes through a ceremony by which he formally takes on the yoke of the law and becomes a bar mitzvah or "son of the commandment."
So perhaps this was the year of the bar mitzvah, or at the very least, it was the preparation for what would come the following year.
Most presume the former.
Nevertheless, becoming a “son of the commandment” would be in the “air.”
6. The problem the family faced was a “missing” son (43-45).
(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. (45) When they did not find him, they went back to Jerusalem to look for him.
It was during this time that Jesus chose to stay behind in the temple.
Meanwhile, Mary and Joseph were heading back to Nazareth.
It probably happened easy enough.
They traveled in a caravan and the men and women did not travel together.
The women led the way and the men followed.
At this age, Jesus would have fit with either group.
He could have been found with either the women and children or with the men and older boys.
So each parent probably supposed that he was the other…until the end of the day when they discover that he is not with either of them.
So then the search begins, and they look among the company of the travelers asking relatives and friends about Jesus’ whereabouts.
The text tells us that they looked thoroughly and came up with nothing.
Parents who have suffered the trauma of a missing child know the frantic feeling that Mary and Joseph must have felt at that moment--panic, dread, and fear.
Was he safe?
What could have happened to him?
The worst is imagined.
Where could he have gone?
There is guilt and shame.
We should have kept a better eye on him.
Why didn’t we take a head count before we left?
We should have been more careful.
So the worried parents turned around and hurried back to Jerusalem.
They searched up and down the streets and alleyways of Jerusalem, calling out his name, asking people.
All day they looked, and then they found Jesus safe and sound in the temple courtyard, sitting quietly with the teachers of the temple, listening attentively and asking the kinds of questions one didn’t expect out of a twelve year old kid.
And Jesus was about to teach his parents a lesson.
7. The lesson learned was about priority (46-49).
(46) After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. (47) Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers. (48) When his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him, "Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you." (49) "Why were you searching for me?" he asked. "Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?"
The text tells us that they were in great anguish.
Their reaction was a medley of surprise, reproach and distress.
“Child!”
“Son!”
We should not forget how natural this response is.
ILL personal
I remember when I was a Youth Pastor and I would take kids hiking in the Adirondacks. Knowing that it was likely that we would be separated during the day, I taught the teens skills about staying on the path and what to do if they got lost. And then I would warn them with this statement, “Remember, after I find you alive, I am going to kill you; so don’t get lost!”
Mary and Joseph’s reaction is so real, for we recognize that we all would have reacted in the same way.
Nevertheless, Jesus is already beginning to teach His parents lessons about priorities.
For…
8. JESUS WAS ABOUT GOD’S BUSINESS.
But how did he do that?
How did he teach them these kinds of priorities?
Well…
9. We will find in our study three concerns of Jesus that show us how to be about God’s business.
OUR STUDY:
I. The first concern of Jesus that shows us how to be about God’s business is TEACHING.
ILL Notebook: Study (haven’t seen me study)
Margaret Cannon’s 17 year old granddaughter lived with her during her senior year at Provo High School in Utah. After the first few weeks of school, Margaret decided that she needed to talk to her granddaughter about her study habits. “Myndi,” she began, “I’m not sure you know how to study.” “Why Grandma,” Myndi replied with great indignation, “how can you say that? You’ve never even seen me study!”
Well, I guess that was the point!
Here…Jesus shows us that…
1. We are to be student of God’s Word.
The setting seems so natural to him.
What his father has taught him at home is bearing fruit.
He is taking what he already has and is building on it.
He is in the process of discovering the importance of these words.
Perhaps, the words seem strangely familiar to him.
We don’t know.
We are left only to wonder.
Nevertheless, Jesus, at twelve years old is teaching us.
He is teaching us to be a student of God’s Word and he is teaching us how to be that student.
For…
2. We are to interact with what is revealed.
The text tells us that Jesus did not only ask questions but was also questioned.
In other words, discussion was going on.
It must have been quite a scene, for we are told that the listeners are amazed.
And it was not just the questions that he asked, as good as they were.
It was also the answers that he gave.
Here he was, a boy among men, commanding the center of attention.
Yet, the text is careful.
He was a participator.
He was not the teacher…not yet.
3. How important is the teaching of Scripture to you?
Are you student of the Word?
ILL Notebook: Bible (finished yet?)
During the day, Jana Jones frequently takes time to sit down and take a few moments to unwind by reading the Bible. After seeing her do this for a while, her four-year old daughter became concerned about her reading speed. Catching her in her usual chair intently reading the Bible, her daughter popped the question, “Aren’t you ever going to get finished reading that book?”
I hope not.
And this is the challenge of our own 50 day adventure.
Are we going to be about God’s business?
Are we going to be people of His Word, just as Jesus?
II. The second concern of Jesus that shows us how to be about God’s business is TOGETHERNESS.
1. The learning process is not done alone.
ILL #199
Have you ever wondered what makes the difference between a spotlight and a laser beam? How can a medium-power laser burn through steel in a matter of seconds, while the most powerful spotlight can only make it warm? Both may have the same electrical power requirements. The difference is unity. A laser can simply be described as a medium of excited molecules with mirrors at each end. Some of the excited molecules naturally decay into a less excited state. In the decay process, they release a photon, a particle of light. It is here that the unique process of the laser begins. The photon moves along and “tickles” another molecule, inviting another molecule, inviting another photon to join him on his journey. Then these two photons “tickle” two more molecules and invite two more photons to join the parade. Soon there is a huge army of photons marching in step with each other. It is this unity that gives the laser its power. A spotlight may have just has many photons, but each is going its own independent way, occasionally interfering with other photons. As a result, much of its power is wasted and cannot be focused to do any useful work. However, the laser, because of its unity, is like an army marching in tight formation and is able to focus all its power on its objective.
The same thing is true in our study of God’s Word.
It is stronger and more effective when we do it together.
In fact, it brings life to what we do on our own when we join it to the confines of the community.
You see…
2. God has designed us for community.
Jesus finds Himself in discussion with others about the meaning of Scripture.
He is an example to us in this.
And it is a discipline that He will follow again and again.
He does not go it alone.
Christianity is not done solo.
He seeks out the companionship of disciples.
Together, they would interact on the truth of God’s revelation.
3. Are you ready to do this adventure together?
Our opportunity to grow as a church grows as each one actively participates through the entire 50 days.
As we each participate, working through the same materials, God, by His Spirit will direct our hearts so that we will be an effective, united family.
So take every opportunity to interact with others, here in the church, in your small group, in Bible school and in your family.
III. The third concern of Jesus that shows us how to be about God’s business is TRUST.
1. We are to develop a trust in the heavenly Father.
Our text says of Jesus’ words: "Why were you searching for me? Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?"
In the familiar King James Version, Jesus says, “Wist ye not that I must be about my Father’s business?”
The fact of the matter is that neither the word “house” or “business” appears in the Greek text.
Literally, the text asks, “Did you not know that I must be about the things of my Father?”
Jesus is already establishing who He is about.
He is about God.
He trusts Him.
And He is about the things of God.
What matters to God, matters to Him.
We do not know how much |He understood about His relationship with God the Father.
I do not think He fully realizes who He is until His baptism.
But we can be certain that it is a knowledge that is growing.
Jesus’ surprise at His parents’ reaction and response was not a rebuke.
It was as if He was saying to them, "Dad, you taught me to honor my Heavenly Father and my earthly father, so now that I am a "man" I am doing exactly what you taught me.
Jesus was only doing what Mary and Joseph had taught Him all along.
ILL
When James Hewitt was a small boy growing up in Pennsylvania, his family would often visit their grandparents who lived nine miles away. One night a thick fog settled over the hilly countryside before they started home. He remembered being terrified, and asking if they shouldn’t be going even slower than they were. Mother said gently, "Don’t worry. Your father knows the way." You see, Dad had walked that road when there was no gasoline during the war. He had ridden that blacktop on his bicycle to court Mother. And for years he had made those weekly trips back to visit his own parents.
James Hewitt continues to reflect: How often when I can’t see the road of life, and have felt that familiar panic rising in my heart I have heard the echo of my mother’s voice: "Don’t worry. Your Father knows the way."
--James S. Hewett, Illustrations Unlimited (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc, 1988) p. 201.
Jesus is in the process of discovering this very thing.
His heavenly Father is worth trusting.
He knows the way.
And Jesus identifies the necessity of this trust.
For…
2. There is to be an “oughtness” about our relationship with God.
The text communicates a compulsion.
For Jesus, being about the matters and the business of God is a necessity.
He had to be.
He must be about the things of God.
Jesus, again, is an example to us as we prepare for this adventure.
3. Are you trusting God?
Is He the center of your life?
Are you about the things of God?
TRANSITION:
You know…
1. The Incarnation in a growing boy had to be both confusing and joyful (50-51).
(50) But they did not understand what he was saying to them. (51) Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart.
Mary and Joseph were unable to grasp the full implications and real intent of what Jesus was saying.
We just know they went back home and the text goes silent on what happens next.
The silence, though, indicates that Jesus grew up like any other boy growing up in Nazareth, playing with the kids in the neighborhood, helping out at home, learning his father’s carpentry business, all without the stain of sin.
And even though Mary and Joseph didn’t understand all that really happened in Jerusalem on those days…
2. (Nevertheless,) Jesus was a constant lesson about priority.
He offered continuing obedience.
He obeyed His earthly parents as He obeyed His heavenly Father.
APPLICATION:
1. Are you about God’s business?
Are the matters of God, your matters as well?
Are the things of God, your things as well?
Are the priorities of God, your priorities as well?
2. When our relationship with God is our priority we are on the right path to maturity and favor (52).
Jesus again is our example here.
For the text says:
(52) And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.
I am so looking forward to this adventure.
For it gives us the opportunity to grow together as the body of Christ.
It gives us the opportunity to obtain God’s favor.
And it gives us the opportunity to obtain the favor of men as we live as God would have us live.
So let’s be about God’s business, together.
BENEDICTION:
Be a student…take every opportunity to know God through His revealed Word; for He wants us to know Him and to grow in Him, and He has given us the tools to accomplish it;
Learn in community…God does not call us to be lonely students, but rather to learn together as His body; for what we learn together will give us the courage to work together; and,
Trust God…be about what matters to Him, for when we are, when our priorities and concerns match up with His, then others will know the blessing and favor that He has for humankind.
Now…May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word. Amen.
