Day 246 – Jesus’ Childhood

• The story of the visit of the wise men, which I mentioned yesterday, occurs today. The order of the reading plan really helps us in this regard. Yesterday, we read about Jesus’ dedication and circumcision. Today is the visit of the wise men. This was most likely the order of things – contrary to popular belief, the wise men wouldn’t have turned up at the stable with Jesus still in the manger. It would have been months later.
• Who did the wise men meet on their way? Why would Herod have been troubled by the news they brought?
• Why do you think the wise men gave the gifts they did? Gold would have been a good choice for a king, one presumes, but what about frankincense and myrrh? Use your study bible or search online for suggestions as to what these (seemingly odd!) gifts might mean specifically for Jesus.
• How did Joseph hear about Herod’s plan to kill Jesus, along with all the other baby boys? Where did they go?
• Jesus would probably have been less than six months old at the point that he was taken to Egypt. Herod’s desire to kill all the male babies under two years would, presumably, just have been to ensure that Jesus would definitely been among the dead, had he still been there.
• Matthew says that Jesus was kept in Egypt until Herod died. We don’t know exactly when this was, but it would probably have been before Jesus was five years old. When the family eventually left Egypt, where was Jesus taken to? What was the reason for this?
• Flick to the passage in Micah 5, words that were written hundreds of years before Jesus’ birth. What are the verses here telling us? My favourite verse is verse 4. Micah is prophesying about Jesus, isn’t he? Isn’t it amazing that in Jesus we too can “dwell secure”?
• In the passage in Luke, Jesus is now twelve years old. The Bible tells us almost nothing about Jesus’ childhood except the words in this passage. Describe the event that it talks about.
• What does this passage tell you about Jesus’ growing understanding about who He was (and is)?
• Jesus’ answer to his parents in Luke 2:49 is followed by reminder that Jesus remained submissive to them in verse 51. What does this tell you about Jesus?

Luke 2:40 and 2:52 show us that Jesus grew and developed in body and mind just like you and I. We can presume that Jesus “the baby” couldn’t have understood that He was part of the Trinity. We cannot know for sure at what point Jesus “the teenager” or Jesus “the man” did understand His role, except for the clues in this passage. We do know, however, that he lived a sinless life. Do some personal research on the topic online if this concept intrigues you.

You’re all teenagers (well, Anabel, Harry and Jonah are!). Have you ever thought about Jesus being the same age as you?

What are your day to day thoughts? What excites you? What motivates you? What gets you out of bed in the morning? How do you relate to people around you? What are your hobbies? What do you struggle with?

Jesus – albeit in the culture of 2,000 years ago rather than now – was just the same. Sinless – yes – but would have been tested by the same temptations and excited by the good things of life just like you are – fun, and friendship, and laughter.

Spend some time thinking about this and praying about it. Hebrews 4 reminds us that “… we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.” That includes you in your teenage years. Remembering this may be of help to you as you come to relate to Jesus and draw closer to him.