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152 lines
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<h2><a onclick="return mV('Luk',2,'all');">Luk 2</a> - Jesus' Birth and Boyhood</h2>
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<p class="c4">a. The world Jesus was born into.</p>
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<p class="c1">1. (<a onclick="return mV('Luk',2,1);">1</a>) A decree from Rome reaches the whole Mediterranean world.</p>
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<p class="c2">And it came to pass in those days <i>that</i> a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered.</p>
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<p class="c4">a. <span class="c8">It came to pass in those days</span>: We must always remind ourselves that the Bible records <i>actual history</i> and <i>real events</i>. This is not 'once upon a time.' This is not fanciful stories of Zeus and Apollo on Mount Olympus. This is <i>real</i>.</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <span class="c8">A decree went out from Caesar Augustus</span>: The story of Jesus' birth began during the reign of one of the most remarkable men of ancient history.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. He was born with the name Octavian, named after his father. His grandmother was the sister of Julius Caesar, and being a talented young man, Octavian came to the attention of his great uncle. Julius Caesar came to adopt Octavian as his son, and he was made his official heir in 45 b.c. With a year Caesar was murdered, and Octavian joined with two others – Mark Antony and Lepidus in splitting the domination of Rome three ways. For decades, the whole Mediterranean world was filled with wars and violence; now, under the Triumverate, it became far worse. There were years of bloody, brutal fighting for power and money in Rome and the provinces.</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. Octavian and Antony soon pushed Lepidus out of the picture. Even though his sister married Antony, for thirteen years Octavian and Antony existed together as rivals, until 31 b.c. For a year, the huge armies of Octavian and Antony assembled and positioned themselves. Antony, with the help of Cleopatra, brought 500 warships, 100,000 foot soldiers, and 12,000 cavalry. Octavian answered with 400 warships, 80,000 infantry and 12,000 horsemen. But Octavian had the better strategy and the more mobile ships, and he defeated the combined forces of Antony and Queen Cleopatra of Egypt at the battle of Actium. Now Octavius was the sole ruler of the Roman world.</p>
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<p class="c4">c. For decades, the <span class="c8">world</span> Augustus lived in and Jesus would be born into, the world of the Mediterranean basin, was wracked by wars, destruction, brutality, and immorality.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. 'The lusty peninsula was worn out with twenty years of civil war. Its farms had been neglected, its towns had been sacked or besieged, much of its wealth had been stolen or destroyed. Administration and protection had broken down; robbers made every street unsafe at night; highwaymen roamed the roads, kidnapped travelers, and sold them into slavery. Trade diminished, investment stood still, interest rates soared, property values fell. Morals, which had been loosened by riches and luxury, had not been improved by destitution and chaos, for few conditions are more demoralizing than poverty that comes after wealth. Rome was full of men who had lost their economic footing and then their moral stability: soldiers who had tasted adventure and had learned to kill; citizens who had seen their savings consumed in the taxes and inflation of war and waited vacuously for some returning tide to life them back to affluence; women dizzy with freedom, multiplying divorces, abortions, and adulteries.' (Durant)</p>
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<p class="c4">d. <span class="c8">Caesar Augustus</span> changed that in a dramatic way. He brought three things that turned the tide miraculously. First, he brought peace because he had defeated all his rivals. Second, he brought political and administrative skill, perhaps even brilliance. Third, he brought a truckload of money from Egypt to pay all the soldiers and pump up the Roman economy.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. 'Jesus was born in the reign of Augustus. After a long period of wars which had racked the Mediterranean and its shores, political unity had been achieved and the Roman Empire had become roughly coterminous with the Mediterranean Basin. Here and there it was soon to spread beyond it. Augustus was the first Emperor. Building on the foundations laid by his uncle, Julius Caesar, he brought peace and under the guise of the chief citizen of a restored republic ruled the realm which for several generations Rome had been building. The internal peace and order which Augustus achieved endured, with occasional interruptions, for about two centuries. Never before had all the shores of the Mediterranean been under one rule and never had they enjoyed such prosperity. The <i>pax Romana</i> made for the spread of ideas and religions over the area where it prevailed.' (Latourette)</p>
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<p class="c4">e. But as great a man as <span class="c8">Caesar Augustus</span> was, he was only a man. And the man who brought the answers also took a dear price. He demanded absolute power over the Roman Empire.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. For hundreds and hundreds of years, Rome prided itself on being a <i>republic</i> – a nation governed by laws, not by any man. The idea that no man was above the law, and the Roman Senate and the army and various political leaders lived together in a sometimes difficult arrangement. Now, Octavius would change all that. In 27 b.c. he arranged for the Roman Senate to give him the title <i>Augustus</i>, which means 'exalted' and 'sacred.' Now Rome wasn't a <i>republic</i>, governed by laws; it was an <i>empire</i> governed by an <i>emperor</i>. The first Emperor of Rome was this same <span class="c8">Caesar Augustus</span>.</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. Durant on the title <i>Augustus</i>: 'Hitherto the word had been applied only to holy objects and places, and to certain creative or augmenting divinities; applied to Octavian it clothed him with a halo of sanctity, and the protection of religion and the gods.'</p>
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<p class="c5">iii. One of his early titles was <i>imperator</i>, the commander in chief of all the armed forces of the state. But he came to make the title mean <i>emperor</i>.</p>
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<p class="c4">f. This says something important about the world Jesus was born into. It was a world hungry for a savior, and a world that was living in the reign of a <i>political</i> savior – <span class="c8">Caesar Augustus</span> – but that wasn't enough.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. 'In the century before Christ was born the evidences of disintegration were so palpable in wars, in the passing of the old order, and in moral corruption, that the thoughtful feared early collapse. From this disaster the Mediterranean Basin was saved by Julius Caesar and Augustus Caesar...[but] we must note that the principate devised by Augustus did not cure but only temporarily halted the course of the disease from which Graeco-Roman culture was suffering.' (Latourette)</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. 'Augustus and his successors had not solved the basic problems of the Mediterranean world. They had obscured them. For what appeared to be a failure in government they had substituted more government, and government was not the answer.' (Latourette)</p>
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<p class="c1">2. (<a onclick="return mV('Luk',2,2);">2</a>) The governor of the Roman administrative region near Galilee.</p>
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<p class="c2">This census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria.</p>
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<p class="c4">a. <span class="c8">While Quirinius was governing Syria</span> is another historical 'anchor.' This isn't make-believe, but real, accurate history.</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <span class="c8">This census</span>: The 'registration' and <span class="c8">census</span> described wasn't for simple record-keeping or statistics. It was to efficiently and effectively tax everyone in the Roman Empire.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. Justin Martyr, writing in the middle of the second century, said that in his own day, more than a hundred years after the time of Jesus, you could look up the registers of the same census Luke mentions.</p>
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<p class="c4">c. <span class="c8">First took place</span>: The idea in the original language is that this was 'the first enrollment.' Using a census for taxation was common in ancient Rome, so Luke calls this one 'the first enrollment' to distinguish it from the well-known enrollment in 6 a.d. that he later mentions in <a onclick="return mV('Act',5,37);">Act 5:37</a>.</p>
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<p class="c1">3. (<a onclick="return mV('Luk',2,3);">3</a>) The world responds to the command of Caesar Augustus.</p>
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<p class="c2">So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city.</p>
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<p class="c4">a. <span class="c8">So all went to be registered</span>: Amazing! One man, in the ivory palaces of Rome, gives a command – and the whole world responds! It may well be that up to that point, there had never been a man with power over more lives than Caesar Augustus.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. Overall, Caesar Augustus was a good ruler. He expanded the territory of the Roman Empire and he did much for his people. The greatest sorrows of his life came from his home, because he had an out-of-control daughter, no son, and all of his nephews, grandsons, and his favorite stepson died young. But like most every man of such ambition and authority, he thought a lot of himself. We can just imagine how invincible he felt when he made a <i>decree...that all the world should be registered</i> for taxation. It's pretty heady to think, 'I make the command and the whole Roman world has to obey it!'</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. But Augustus wasn't really powerful at all. In <a onclick="return mV('Jhn',19,'10-11');">Jhn 19:10-11</a>, Jesus confronted another Roman who believed he was powerful. <i>Then Pilate said to Him, 'Are You not speaking to me? Do You not know that I have power to crucify You, and power to release You?' Jesus answered, 'You could have no power at all against Me unless it had been given you from above.'</i> The same principle applies towards Caesar Augustus. </p>
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<p class="c5">iii. As he sat in his palace and made his decree, he thought it was the supreme exercise of his will, the ultimate flexing of his muscle. But he was just a tool in God's hand. God had promised that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem (<a onclick="return mV('Mic',5,2);">Mic 5:2</a>), and that promised would be fulfilled. So how do you get a young couple from Nazareth down to Bethlehem when they might not be inclined to travel? Simple. Just work through the <i>political</i> 'savior of the world,' and use him as a pawn in your plan.</p>
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<p class="c5">iv. We also see that Augustus, for all his accomplishments, couldn't really be the answer. God allowed Caesar Augustus to rise to unheard of human power for many reasons; in some ways, he was a 'Roman John the Baptist' preparing the way for Jesus. At the end of the story, what is important is Jesus. Who does the world know more today – Jesus or Caesar Augustus? Who has a more lasting legacy?</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <span class="c8">Everyone to his own city</span>: There is no record in secular history that Augustus decreed this census and commanded it be performed in this manner, but it was consistent with what we do know of him from history. Augustus was known to be very sensitive to the nationalistic feelings of his subjects, and so he commanded them to return to their cities of family origin for the census.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. In this way, Augustus softened the blow for many. They had to travel, they had to pay taxes – but they would also gather together with family, and see relatives that they perhaps had not seen for a long time.</p>
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<p class="c4">b. The birth of Jesus.</p>
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<p class="c1">1. (<a onclick="return mV('Luk',2,'4-7');">4-7</a>) Joseph and Mary come to Bethlehem; Jesus is born.</p>
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<p class="c2">Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child. So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.</p>
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<p class="c4">a. <span class="c8">Joseph also went up from Galilee</span>: The trip from Nazareth to Bethlehem is about 80 miles. This was not a short distance in those days. It was a significant undertaking, costing time and money.</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <span class="c8">With Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child</span>: We often think that Mary was close to delivery when they made this journey, but this may not have been the case at all. Joseph may have been anxious to get her out of Nazareth to avoid the pressure of scandal. Luke tells us that it was while they were in Bethlehem, <span class="c8">that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered</span>.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. According to the Roman law, Mary didn't have to go with Joseph for the tax census; but it made sense for her to go with Joseph, especially because she was in the latter stages of a controversial pregnancy - surely the subject of much gossip in Nazareth.</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. 'It is possible that he used the emperor's order as a means of removing Mary from possible gossip and emotional stress in her own village. He had already accepted her as his wife (<a onclick="return mV('Mat',1,24);">Mat 1:24</a>), but apparently continued in betrothal (<a onclick="return mV('Luk',2,5);">Luk 2:5</a>), pledged to be married, till after the birth.' (Liefeld)</p>
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<p class="c4">c. <span class="c8">And she brought forth her firstborn Son</span>: One of the striking things about Luke's narrative is how simple it is in contrast to how great the events are. Our modern world hypes meaningless events so much (like the Super Bowl), that it is hard for us to appreciate how simply stated this greatest of events can be.</p>
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<p class="c4">d. <span class="c8">She brought forth</span> is filled with wonder. We are not told that anyone assisted Mary in the birth, though someone may have. One way or another, this young woman was completely separated from all her family and supporting friends, who lived back in Nazareth.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. 'The narrative runs as if Mary did these things herself, whence the patristic inference of a painless birth.' (Bruce) 'That Mary wrapped the child herself points to a lonely birth.' (Morris)</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. Even Joseph must have felt strange at the time. Perhaps it was a feeling something like, 'God, I know this is something great but I don't really understand it and it makes me nervous.'</p>
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<p class="c4">e. By reading <span class="c8">firstborn son</span>, we should make the logical conclusion: Mary had other children as well, despite the Roman Catholic dogma of the perpetual virginity of Mary.</p>
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<p class="c4">f. <span class="c8">Swaddling cloths</span> are snugly wrapped strips of cloth. More remarkable than the swaddling cloths is the fact that He was laid in a <span class="c8">manger</span> - a feeding trough for animals.</p>
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<p class="c4">g. When did this happen? The date of December 25 has problems, but is not impossible; this date was first popularized in the church since the fourth century.</p>
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<p class="c4">h. Where did this happen? In 150 a.d., Justin Martyr said that the place Jesus was born was a cave in Bethlehem. Later on, in 330, Constantine the Great made a church over the cave, which many believe is still the most probable place where Jesus was born.</p>
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<p class="c1">2. (<a onclick="return mV('Luk',2,8);">8</a>) Shepherds watch over their flocks.</p>
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<p class="c2">Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night.</p>
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<p class="c4">a. <span class="c8">Now there were in the same country shepherds</span>: Bethlehem's shepherds were known to care for the temple flock. These men may have been protecting and caring for the sacrificial lambs.</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <span class="c8">Living out in the fields</span>: Many have said that a late December date is impossible, because shepherds would not have been out at night at that time of year. Nevertheless, warm winters are not unknown in Judea, which has a climate remarkably like Southern California.</p>
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<p class="c1">3. (<a onclick="return mV('Luk',2,'9-14');">9-14</a>) The angelic announcement.</p>
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<p class="c2">And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. Then the angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this <i>will be</i> the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.' And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: 'Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!'</p>
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<p class="c4">a. <span class="c8">An angel of the Lord stood before them</span>: Interrupting this quiet, dark night was the shining presence of angels and <span class="c8">the glory of the Lord</span>. The angels brought <span class="c8">good tidings</span> (literally it means that they preached the gospel) to these shepherds, who were regarded as social outcasts.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. 'As a class shepherds had a bad reputation...More regrettable was their habit of confusing 'mine' with 'thine' as they moved about the country. They were considered unreliable and were not allowed to give testimony in the law courts.' (Morris)</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <span class="c8">For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior</span>: They announce the birth of a <span class="c8">Savior</span>, which is exactly what mankind needs. We don't need another an advisor, a reformer, or a committee, but a <span class="c8">Savior</span>.</p>
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<p class="c4">c. <span class="c8">Suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God</span>: After the single angel's announcement, a whole group of angels appeared. This was a <span class="c8">heavenly host</span> (a band of soldiers) that proclaimed peace. The world needed then and needs now <span class="c8">peace</span>.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. Even the pagans of the first century world sensed this need for peace and a savior. Epictetus, a first century pagan writer, expressed this: 'While the emperor may give peace from war on land and sea, he is unable to give peace from passion, grief, and envy; he cannot give peace of heart, for which man yearn for more than even outward peace.'</p>
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<p class="c4">d. The contrast between the angelic glory and the humble Jesus must have seemed extreme. God loves to put His glory in unlikely packages so His glory is more clearly displayed (<a onclick="return mV('2Cr',4,7);">2Cr 4:7</a>).</p>
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<p class="c1">4. (<a onclick="return mV('Luk',2,'15-16');">15-16</a>) The shepherds come and see the child Jesus.</p>
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<p class="c2">So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, 'Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.' And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger.</p>
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<p class="c4">a. <span class="c8">Let us now go</span> shows a real urgency. They didn't hesitate at all.</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <span class="c8">And see this thing that has come to pass</span>: The angel told them to look for <i>a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger</i> (<a onclick="return mV('Luk',2,12);">Luk 2:12</a>). It wasn't an unusual <i>sign</i> to see a baby <i>wrapped in swaddling cloths</i>, but it was strange to see a baby <i>lying in a manger</i> - a feeding trough. If the angel had not told them to look for such a specific sign, they would never have believed it.</p>
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<p class="c4">c. They <span class="c8">found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger</span>. This was a strange sight! 'This was a revolting sight, and was sufficient of itself to produce an aversion to Christ. For what could be more improbable than to believe that he was the King of the whole people, who was deemed unworthy to be ranked with the lowest of the multitude?' (Calvin)</p>
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<p class="c1">5. (<a onclick="return mV('Luk',2,'17-20');">17-20</a>) The shepherds spread the news of Jesus' birth.</p>
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<p class="c2">Now when they had seen <i>Him,</i> they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child. And all those who heard <i>it</i> marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things and pondered <i>them</i> in her heart. Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told them.</p>
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<p class="c4">a. <span class="c8">Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart</span>: 'The wonder of the many was a transient emotion (aorist), this recollecting and brooding of Mary was an abiding habit (imperfect).' (Bruce)</p>
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<p class="c5">i. Mary had good reason to meditate. What had brought her to Bethlehem? An emperor's great decree from Rome, and gossiping tongues in Nazareth. God works through all kinds of people and all kinds of events to accomplish His plan.</p>
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<p class="c4">b. 'Their zeal in <i>glorifying and praising God</i> is an implied reproof of our indolence, or rather of our ingratitude. If the cradle of Christ had such an effect upon them, as to make them rise from the stable and the manger to heaven, how much more powerful ought the death and resurrection of Christ to be in raising us to God?' (Calvin)</p>
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<p class="c4">c. Jesus' presentation in the temple.</p>
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<p class="c1">1. (<a onclick="return mV('Luk',2,'21-24');">21-24</a>) The circumcision and presentation of Jesus.</p>
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<p class="c2">And when eight days were completed for the circumcision of the Child, His name was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb. Now when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were completed, they brought Him to Jerusalem to present <i>Him</i> to the Lord (as it is written in the law of the Lord, 'Every male who opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord'), and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the law of the Lord, 'A pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.'</p>
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<p class="c4">a. <span class="c8">And when eight days were completed</span>: This was done so Jesus might fulfill every aspect of the law (<a onclick="return mV('Lev',12,'2-3');">Lev 12:2-3</a>). It also shows that Joseph and Mary were truly devout, obedient parents. They obeyed God's command in <a onclick="return mV('Lev',12,'all');">Lev 12</a>, so Jesus obeyed it also.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. The training of our children in the ways of the Lord means that we should be going the same way.</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <span class="c8">Circumcision...the days of her purification</span>: The circumcision and purification ceremonies were necessary as a reminder that we are all born in sin (<a onclick="return mV('Psa',51,5);">Psa 51:5</a>). Jesus <i>could</i> have been excused because He was not born in sin. Yet, we see Him even as a baby, identifying with sinners, as He did at His baptism and on the cross.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. The correct reading of <a onclick="return mV('Luk',2,22);">Luk 2:22</a> is 'now when the days of <i>their</i> purification...were completed.' Jesus was identified with sinners even as a baby</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. 'Let us now speak first of the purification. Luke makes it apply both to Mary and to Christ: for the pronoun <i>of them</i>, can have no reference whatever to Joseph.' (Calvin)</p>
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<p class="c4">c. <span class="c8">A pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons</span>: Also, their offering (two birds, not a lamb) shows that Joseph and Mary were not wealthy. <a onclick="return mV('Lev',12,8);">Lev 12:8</a> says the offering after childbirth was to be a bird and a lamb, but if the family could not afford to sacrifice a lamb, they could present two birds.</p>
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<p class="c4">d. This no doubt happened before the wise men came from the east (<a onclick="return mV('Mat',2,'1-12');">Mat 2:1-12</a>). Mary and Joseph would not have returned to Jerusalem after being warned by the angel (<a onclick="return mV('Mat',2,13);">Mat 2:13</a>), and they would not have offered only two birds after receiving the rich gifts from the wise men (<a onclick="return mV('Mat',2,11);">Mat 2:11</a>).</p>
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<p class="c5">i. We see that Mary and Joseph were poor here, but the Lord provided their needs abundantly through the gifts of the wise men. God always provides!</p>
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<p class="c1">2. (<a onclick="return mV('Luk',2,'25-32');">25-32</a>) A promise fulfilled to Simeon.</p>
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<p class="c2">And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was just and devout, waiting for the Consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ. So he came by the Spirit into the temple. And when the parents brought in the Child Jesus, to do for Him according to the custom of the law, he took Him up in his arms and blessed God and said: 'Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, according to Your word; for my eyes have seen Your salvation which You have prepared before the face of all peoples, a light to <i>bring</i> revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of Your people Israel.'</p>
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<p class="c4">a. <span class="c8">Waiting for the Consolation of Israel</span>: Simeon may have known that there were rumors of something happening regarding the coming of the Messiah. The news of John the Baptist's birth and its meaning was widely publicized (<a onclick="return mV('Luk',1,65);">Luk 1:65</a>), and the shepherds who heard the angelic announcement may have kept temple flocks, and they may have reported what happened among the people of the temple.</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <span class="c8">So he came by the Spirit into the temple</span>: It was not rumors, but the <span class="c8">Spirit</span> who led him into the temple on that day. Simeon was a man who knew how to be led by the Holy Spirit, both in hearing God's promise to him and being prompted to go to the temple at the right time.</p>
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<p class="c4">c. <span class="c8">He took Him up in his arms</span>: Simeon's prophecy is filled with love for his Savior; and he hardly knows Jesus! We who know so much more about Him should love Him even more.</p>
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<p class="c4">d. <span class="c8">According to Your word</span>: Simeon now had the peace of seeing God's promise fulfilled in his life.</p>
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<p class="c4">e. <span class="c8">You are letting Your servant depart in peace, according to Your word; for my eyes have seen Your salvation</span>: It's as if Simeon was commanded by God to keep a lonely watch through the night until he saw the sun come up; here is God's sunrise, and because Jesus has come, Simeon can be relieved of his watch.</p>
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<p class="c4">f. <span class="c8">A light to bring revelation to the Gentiles</span>: The amazing thing about Simeon's prophecy is that it shows that this <span class="c8">light</span> is for the Gentiles also. The salvation of Jesus began with Israel, but was always to be extended beyond Israel.</p>
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<p class="c1">3. (<a onclick="return mV('Luk',2,'33-35');">33-35</a>) A promise and a warning from Simeon.</p>
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<p class="c2">And Joseph and His mother marveled at those things which were spoken of Him. Then Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary His mother, 'Behold, this <i>Child</i> is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which will be spoken against (yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.'</p>
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<p class="c4">a. <span class="c8">Joseph and His mother marveled</span>: We can imagine their combination of joy and surprise to see how God has touched the hearts of <i>others</i> with an understanding of their Son is. No matter how well you know Jesus, there is something special about seeing someone else come to know Him.</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <span class="c8">For the fall and rising of many</span>: This is shown in the way that Peter repents, but Judas despairs; in that one thief blasphemes, the other believes. Jesus is like a magnet that is attractive to some, but others are repelled from Him.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. <span class="c8">And a sign which will be spoken against</span>: <span class="c8">Sign</span> is literally 'a target that people shoot at.' Jesus would surely be the target of much evil.</p>
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<p class="c4">c. <span class="c8">A sword will pierce through your own soul also</span>: It was important for Mary to know that mothering the Messiah would not be all sweetness and light. It was both a great privilege and a great burden.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. Possibly no other human agonized as much over Jesus' rejection and suffering as His mother did. This was not only because of the natural love of a mother, but also because His rejection was her rejection. Wonderfully, His vindication was hers also.</p>
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<p class="c1">4. (<a onclick="return mV('Luk',2,'36-38');">36-38</a>) Anna's testimony to the Redeemer.</p>
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<p class="c2">Now there was one, Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, and had lived with a husband seven years from her virginity; and this woman <i>was</i> a widow of about eighty-four years, who did not depart from the temple, but served <i>God</i> with fastings and prayers night and day. And coming in that instant she gave thanks to the Lord, and spoke of Him to all those who looked for redemption in Jerusalem.</p>
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<p class="c4">a. <span class="c8">Anna, a prophetess</span>: We don't know in what capacity Anna was a <span class="c8">prophetess</span>. Perhaps it was in the way that she brought forth this specific word about Jesus.</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <span class="c8">Who did not depart from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day</span>: This godly woman served God with total devotion. Anna's close walk with God is shown by her <i>love</i> for Jesus, and her desire to <i>tell others</i> about Jesus (<span class="c8">spoke of Him to all those who looked for redemption</span>).</p>
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<p class="c5">i. Again, Anna knew almost nothing about Jesus, compared to what we know about Him - yet see how she loved Him!</p>
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<p class="c1">5. (<a onclick="return mV('Luk',2,'39-40');">39-40</a>) The return to Nazareth.</p>
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<p class="c2">So when they had performed all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their <i>own</i> city, Nazareth. And the Child grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him.</p>
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<p class="c4">a. <span class="c8">When they had performed all things according to the law of the Lord</span>: Luke wants to emphasize that Jesus was perfectly obedient to God, even as a child.</p>
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<p class="c4">b. Jesus <span class="c8">became strong in spirit</span>. We want to raise children who are spiritually strong, strong enough to resist the pressures of this world.</p>
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<p class="c4">c. Jesus was <span class="c8">filled with wisdom</span>. We want to raise children who are wise in the things of God, who have true wisdom from God's Word.</p>
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<p class="c4">c. <span class="c8">The grace of God was upon Him</span>: We want our children to have <span class="c8">the grace of God upon</span> them. This happens as we are <i>good stewards of the manifold grace of God</i> (<a onclick="return mV('1Pe',4,10);">1Pe 4:10</a>) in our own lives, faithfully dispensing grace to our children, and as we pray with them and for them for an outpouring of God's grace in their lives.</p>
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<p class="c4">d. Jesus in His Father's house.</p>
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<p class="c1">1. (<a onclick="return mV('Luk',2,'41-45');">41-45</a>) Jesus is lost on a Passover pilgrimage.</p>
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<p class="c2">His parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover. And when He was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem according to the custom of the feast. When they had finished the days, as they returned, the Boy Jesus lingered behind in Jerusalem. And Joseph and His mother did not know <i>it;</i> but supposing Him to have been in the company, they went a day's journey, and sought Him among <i>their</i> relatives and acquaintances. So when they did not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem, seeking Him.</p>
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<p class="c4">a. We know nothing of Jesus' life from the time He was one month old to the time when He was twelve, except for the general statement in <a onclick="return mV('Luk',2,40);">Luk 2:40</a>. We may be curious about the details of His childhood, but there isn't anything we <i>need</i> to know except what we are told by the Holy Spirit in the Word.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. To satisfy this curiosity, men wrote their own so-called 'Infancy Gospels.' In them, we are told of strange, spectacular and silly miracles like Jesus talking from the manger; healing a man made into a mule by a spell; bringing clay birds to life with a clap of His hands; healing people with a sprinkling with his old bath water, and so forth.</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <span class="c8">His parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover</span>: Attendance at the major feasts was commanded in <a onclick="return mV('Exd',23,17);">Exd 23:17</a> and <a onclick="return mV('Deu',16,16);">Deu 16:16</a>. It was customary for the faithful of Galilee to make these pilgrimages at feast time in large groups. It would not be difficult to lose track of a young boy with such a large group of travelers - we shouldn't accuse Joseph and Mary of child neglect. But Mary must have felt badly enough, losing the Messiah.</p>
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<p class="c1">2. (<a onclick="return mV('Luk',2,'46-50');">46-50</a>) They find Jesus teaching and learning in the temple.</p>
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<p class="c2">Now so it was <i>that</i> after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard Him were astonished at His understanding and answers. So when they saw Him, they were amazed; and His mother said to Him, 'Son, why have You done this to us? Look, Your father and I have sought You anxiously.' And He said to them, 'Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father's business?' But they did not understand the statement which He spoke to them.</p>
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<p class="c4">a. <span class="c8">Sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions</span>: For <span class="c8">three days</span>, a twelve year-old Jesus discussed God's Word and astonished His listeners with <span class="c8">His understanding and answers</span>.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. When we realize the impressive intellectual insight and analysis of Jewish Rabbis, this <i>is</i> impressive. This is sort of like a junior high school kid discussing physics with Einstein. Although, Jesus had a unique advantage, He had a special relationship with the writer of God's Word.</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <span class="c8">I must be about My Father's business</span>: In that day, there was nothing more natural than a son taking up his father's business. Jesus did follow in Joseph's footsteps as a carpenter, but His words here show that He is at least beginning to understand His unique relationship to His Father.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. It is impossible to say when, in the context of the self-imposed limitations of His humanity, Jesus realized who He was and what He was sent to do, but it was early - this is probably the not when it began, but when it was in full flower.</p>
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<p class="c4">c. Jewish teachers had determined that at twelve, a boy must begin to learn his trade - so Jesus is just being <span class="c8">about</span> His <span class="c8">Father's business</span>.</p>
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<p class="c1">3. (<a onclick="return mV('Luk',2,'51-52');">51-52</a>) The growth and development of Jesus.</p>
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<p class="c2">Then He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was subject to them, but His mother kept all these things in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.</p>
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<p class="c4">a. <span class="c8">And was subject to them</span>: The knowledge of who He was did not make Jesus proud or haughty; Jesus <span class="c8">was subject to them</span>. He already has the <i>mind which was also in Christ Jesus</i> (<a onclick="return mV('Phl',2,'5-11');">Phl 2:5-11</a>), the mind willing to put all glory into such a humble package.</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <span class="c8">His mother kept all these things in her heart</span>: Luke probably heard of all this (and of the events about John's and Jesus' births) in personal interviews with Mary as he compiled his Gospel.</p>
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<p class="c4">c. Jesus <span class="c8">increased in wisdom</span>. The development described first in <a onclick="return mV('Luk',2,40);">Luk 2:40</a> continued.</p>
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<p class="c4">d. Jesus <span class="c8">increased in...stature</span>. Not only did He become bigger physically He also became a bigger <i>person</i>.</p>
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<p class="c4">e. Jesus <span class="c8">increased in...favor with God and men</span>: He grew in a close, personal relationship with His heavenly Father, and He also grew in His human friendships and relationships.</p>
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<p class="c4">f. Jesus was not born a 'superman.' He developed as He grew. 'He passed through a natural but perfect spiritual and physical development. At every stage He was perfect for that stage.' (Geldenhuys)</p>
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