“I Bring You Good News of Great Joy”

Luke Chapter 2

LUKE 2:1-20

Luke 2:1-20

Jesus’ Birth in Bethlehem

[2:1] Now in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken of all *the inhabited earth. [2] This was the first census taken while *Quirinius was governor of Syria. [3] And everyone was on his way to register for the census, each to his own city. [4] Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, [5] in order to register along with Mary, who was engaged to him, and was with child.

[8] In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night. [9] And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. [10] But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; [11] for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is *Christ the Lord. [12] “This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” [13] And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

[14] “Glory to God in the highest,

And on earth peace among men *with whom He is pleased.”

[15] When the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another, “Let us go straight to Bethlehem then, and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us.” [16] So they came in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as He lay in the manger. [17] When they had seen this, they made known the statement which had been told them about this Child. [18] And all who heard it wondered at the things which were told them by the shepherds. [19] But Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart. [20] The shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as had been told them.

LUKE 2:1-5

[2:1] Now in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken of all *the inhabited earth. [2] This was the first census taken while *Quirinius was governor of Syria. [3] And everyone was on his way to register for the census, each to his own city. [4] Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, [5] in order to register along with Mary, who was engaged to him, and was with child.

A decree went out from Caesar Augustus

All things happen in God’s perfect timing – even when they don’t seem that way!

That is the first significant lesson of Luke’s birth account of Jesus. Repeatedly, in this opening story of Jesus’ earthly life, we see hardships thrust upon the holy family that seem not only unfair, but even as if God had completely abandoned them (that is, if we examined the scene from a purely human perspective). Still, let us look from another viewpoint that considers a loving God turning the sin of humanity into the promise of peace. That is the viewpoint which pervades this entire recounting of the miraculous Christmas.

Seven hundred years before the birth of Jesus, Micah prophesies that the Messiah will come from Bethlehem.

Micah 5:2

(5:2) “But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel.”

This is the village where David was born and scripture prophesied that the Messiah would also come from the House of David [1 Sam 16, 17:12, 20:6].

Did Joseph and Mary have these scriptures in mind as they were forced to journey the 80 miles from Nazareth to Bethlehem? We don’t know for we are not privy to their conversations as they made that trek. Most likely they felt the same way that many of the other Palestinians at the time. Oppressed and harassed by their Roman occupiers and the distant decrees of Caesar Augustus.

Emperor Augustus was actually an exceptional ruler who ended Rome’s years of civil war and ruled wisely from 27 B.C. to A.D. 14. He brought peace and prosperity to the empire and was fastidious about finances (which is why he called a census across the whole of the empire). The uprooting march of Mary and Joseph was also occurring across most of the known world at that time – not just for the holy family. Still, this would be of little comfort to Joseph, with his wife in her third trimester, as they ventured across dangerous roads far from the homes of their relatives.

However, even as we say this, we must realize Mary did not have to make this trip (women were not counted in the census). In fact, it is quite unusual Mary made this trip. Joseph could have made the trip to Bethlehem, registering for the census and returning in about ten days to two weeks. Bringing Mary with him on this trip would have greatly slowed down Joseph. It both increased the risk of robbery and endangered the baby in Mary’s womb. For some reason unknown to us, Joseph must have thought it was less dangerous for Mary to be with him than to stay with her family in Nazareth. So who was Mary fleeing?

Obviously Mary didn’t flee from the Romans, she was fleeing her own people. The concern would have been that the religious of her town would have made an example out of her and killed her – and the baby – as an abomination because she was pregnant out of wedlock.

Joseph had to go to his family’s birthplace because of Rome’s occupation. Mary had to go because of the religious intolerance in her own community. Would Mary and Joseph have recognized God’s hand in all of this?

Would I?

Therein is the first important lesson of the Christmas miracle. Do I recognize the presence of God in what may seem inconvenience, harassment or unfairness around me?

The truth is my faith is not that strong yet. How about yours? I know I need to plead with God to remind me through this Christmas story that his ways, the world’s ways, and my ways don’t often corroborate with each other. I will not be able to understand God’s ways through the eyes of this world. But with the eyes of faith, I might be able to say with Paul; “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose [Rom 8:28].”

LUKE 2:6-7

[6] While they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth. [7] And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

Because there was no room for them in the inn

We have before us Luke’s translation of this story, but I wonder how it might have sounded when told directly to the Gospel writer by Mary. Were it not for Luke, we would not have a women’s view of the Gospels. Only this Greek Physician was unstilted by the Jewish/Middle Eastern chauvinism that still exists in many cultures, geographic areas and religions.

Think not only of how much we would have missed without Luke, but also how much we still miss because of contemporary prejudice and chauvinism.

Luke, in his writings, gives us little more information about this event than “there was no room at the inn.”

Yet within that sentence so much of the world’s unfairness is laid bare. I know that this Christmas there will be certain people in my own hometown for whom there is “no room.” However I will not be because there isn’t any space available. Rather it will be because the space that is available is too expensive or exclusive. It is not a shortage of rooms that locks people out of housing in my town; it is a shortage of will power and compassion. This shortage cuts to the heart of God’s call to those who profess to follow him:

Exodus 23:9

(23:9) “You shall not oppress a stranger, since you yourselves know the feelings of a stranger, for you also were strangers in the land of Egypt.”

Bethlehem would have been packed, but there would always have been enough room – if someone just moved over. Rosa Parks was not asked to stand on the bus because it was 110 percent full. She was told to stand and move to the back because a white person did not want her in the front of the bus.

There are two excuses why there is “no room at our inns.” The first is the easiest answer to identify, a lack of resources, including money or transportation. The greatest poverty will always be a lack of healthy relationships; the lack of connections or advocates when you are seeking a job or need a reference.

In working with the incarcerated, I see daily how the lack of healthy relationships is the principal source of crime in our nation. This is not just looking at the issue from a prevention or restoration standpoint. Many people in our juvenile facilities and correctional centers simply would not be there if they had decent representation. If someone has a court-appointed attorney I can pretty much guarantee they will plead guilty and be incarcerated regardless of their culpability. If someone can afford a good – read expensive – attorney... chances of walking away free or with a highly reduced sentence are drastically higher.

Yet healthy relationships can do so much more than an advocate within the legal system. For over a decade we have used relationships in our mentoring outreaches to teach values to young people. At the heart of our work is the belief that “we learn what we value by who values us.” And the ultimate indication of being valued is when a person gives us their most valued commodity: Time.

There may have been no room at the inn for Mary and Joseph on that day two millenniums ago, there may be no room in our towns and cities today. But there will always be room at the table if we build relationships with the "least of these." It is our prejudice that closes the door to the stranger and churches often reinforce prejudice rather than tear it down. To follow Christ means that we must do more than just “accept” those who make it past the hurdles and into our congregations. It means we must seek out the “Josephs and Mary’s” of our world and invite them into the warmth of our hearth. We do not reprimand them about the clothes they wear or tell them to, “think ahead next time you travel to Bethlehem.”  Neither do we covertly seek to convert them through our “kindness.” Our role is simply to warm them and offer friendship.

Scripture defines evil, and even “stupid,” as the rejection of the stranger, widowed, and orphaned.

Psalm 94:6-8

6 They slay the widow and the stranger and murder the orphans. 7 They have said, “The LORD does not see, Nor does the God of Jacob pay heed.”

8 Pay heed, you senseless among the people; and when will you understand, stupid ones?

All of this became part of the framework that molded the social consciousness of our Lord, Jesus. No doubt that is why the poor were central to his mission [Luke 4:18-19] and the standard by which he judged those who claimed to follow him [Matthew 25:31-46].

Is this the standard by which we set the direction of our day, week and life? Are we seeking to welcome the holy family in their true form this Christmas? Do we look for more than just a manger scene awash with soft lighting and plastic livestock? Do we seek the Christ family in our town, who is perhaps bereft of relationships – who find little room in our hearts or homes?  Will we discover the miracle of this Christmas by extending the warmth of Christ to the stranger, the indigent or the forgotten?

LUKE 2:8-12

[8] In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night. [9] And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. [10] But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; [11] for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is *Christ the Lord. [12] “This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

“I bring you good news of great joy”

What could be more confusing and yet resplendent for these shepherds than this announcement by heavenly messengers? Why confusing? Well, aside from the fact that these shepherds were seeing and hearing angelic beings croon, it was also their own status as sheepherders among the religious of their time. Like migrant workers today, these shepherds were often viewed as a lower class. Their labor was essential to the economy and especially these particular shepherds outside of Bethlehem, for their sheep were raised to be the sacrifices at the holy temple itself. However because these shepherds were often in the field and rarely able to attend to religious minutiae, the very people for whom they labored despised them.

How ironic those least likely to be welcomed in worship would be the first to hear the great news from God’s own heralds.

Just as confusing to these laborers would have been the place where the shepherds were sent to pay homage to the Expected One’s arrival – to an infant in one of Bethlehem’s many livestock caves!

Why would this be such a shock to them? Three reasons:

1.      An infant?

Who expected the Messiah would have to “grow up?” Who expected him to be defenseless and vulnerable? Why didn’t God just send him as a conquering king and the angels as his ravaging army? Certainly that is what mankind deserved. Yet to understand Jesus, we must understand the traits of defenselessness and vulnerability were critical to Christ’s character AND we must also learn to adopt them and live them out – just as he did.

2.      In Bethlehem?

Yes, the prophets had foretold the Messiah would come from Bethlehem, but even the greatest religious minds of Jerusalem didn’t figure that out until after the magi had arrived from the east.

We don’t expect “big things” to come by unassuming and humble circumstances. Yet that is another antecedent to understanding the Messiah’s intrinsic character.

3.      In a manger?

Defenseless and vulnerable, unassuming and humble, do we see why we often miss the “Real Jesus” not just at Christmas but throughout our entire lives? To this list of puzzling traits in a consumer culture, we must also add persecuted and impoverished, without political or financial means.

All of these traits would be part of the “formation” of Jesus. These qualities were the roots from which the seed of Jesse would spring.

This was probably not what the shepherds were expecting to find, but it is what we should expect to find as we seek to follow Christ’s path of humility, gratitude, simplicity and service. Are we increasingly aligning ourselves with the unassuming nature of Bethlehem’s most famous infant? Or -- this Christmas -- will we prefer a porcelain Messiah from a manufactured manger scene?

To hear the angel’s message we must place ourselves in the shepherd’s situation. Will we be close enough, humble enough, and attuned enough to hear the infant cry of Jesus in the alleys of our town this Christmas? Where would I find the most unpretentious place for the real Jesus to enter my city?

LUKE 2:13-14

[13] And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

[14] “Glory to God in the highest,

And on earth peace among men *with whom He is pleased.”

“On earth peace among men with whom He is pleased”

Living in a consumer culture, I have to admit it is very hard to grasp this offer of peace and this expression of God’s pleasure to all humanity. When I think of peace it is difficult for me to realize that my understanding of this term is fundamentally at odds with God’s meaning.  Even my understanding of who “pleases” God carries a deep cultural bias.

First let’s examine this term for peace translated from Luke’s writings. Our cultural understanding of peace generally implies the absence of chaos. Yet Jesus had deep, abiding peace and his life was anything but lacking in chaos. Rather than the absence of trials, this term for peace [G1515 eirene] is akin to the word serenity and is rooted in the word [eiro], which means “to join.” Indeed, a peacemaker [G1518] was one who could bring together broken communities or families. In the Beatitudes, these peacemakers are called the “children of God (Matthew 5:9).”

Here is the Great News of Christmas. In this birth account of Christ, the Messengers of God declared that through the birth of Christ, God and humanity would be united again. The other facet of this announcement is whom it was intended to reach. The angels declared; “Peace among men with whom He is pleased.” The term, pleased [G2107, eudokia], means, “in whom God takes delight.”

Some Jews (and many Christians) would have taken that to mean that God is only offering his peace to those who delight him. However that is not the case. Given God’s unconditional love (John 3:16), it would be much more accurate to interpret this message of great news as being offered to all people and that the responsibility of imparting the joy of this message moved from his “angelic messengers” to his “evangelical messengers” (the term literally translates into “angels of the street”).

We are now the ones sent to tell the world the good news:

Matthew 22:9-10

(22:9) “Go therefore to the main highways, and as many as you find there, invite to the wedding feast.” (22:10) Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered together all they found, both evil and good; and the wedding hall was filled with dinner guests.

Are we asked to make our invitations exclusive? By no means! This is a feast to which all are invited to "join in peace [eirene]" with the Heavenly King. If God was not exclusive, what rationale could we possibly use to judge others?

So what is the Christmas message?

“Invite as many as you can to the wedding feast. The King has given us this great invitation in order to restore peace with all his people.”

Where in my community are people who have not experienced that open invitation? That’s where the true Christmas spirit must lead me.

LUKE 2:15-18

[15] When the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another, “Let us go straight to Bethlehem then, and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us.” [16] So they came in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as He lay in the manger. [17] When they had seen this, they made known the statement, which had been told them about this Child.

When they had seen this, they made known the statement...

There it is, the angels turn their commission over to mere shepherds. These are the first evangelicals of the Good News. These shepherds – with no religious training – innately take the intentional action many of us  “in the religious trade” neglect (or prefer to forget).

First they were invited to observe an amazing event and they “made haste” [G spuedõ] to witness it.

This term “to make haste” doesn’t just mean to hurry, it also means “to desire earnestly.” Can I say that I am making haste and desiring earnestly to heed the original message of the humbly-born Messiah? Or have I become more cynical and dulled with the message of Christmas as the years have waned?

Then, when they saw the child, they “made known the statement,” [G diorgnõrizõ] which is to say they “published it broadly,” or “made it known thoroughly.”

There was no theology attached to their message (they had none). No exegesis of supportive scripture (their testimony was first-hand). There was no power point presentation or Hollywood praise band (the angels had already left the building). No, these shepherds personally saw the miraculous Christmas and “made it known thoroughly” to every ear that would listen.

Finally, (jumping ahead a few verses to 20), the shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, just as it had been told them.

This event changed the lives of these shepherds completely and eternally. The result of this event didn’t change their careers, but it changed the way they viewed life forever. Who knows how they approached each day prior to the arrival of Jesus Christ into the community, but from that moment forward they lived life glorifying and praising God.

That’s the kind of Christmas to desire. Let’s seek a life-altering Christmas! This is not a present that someone gives to us; it is a presence that we give to others. To whom will I give the presence of Christ this Christmas?

How close is my “evangelization” to this simple, unadulterated sharing of the raw and original gospel? Even more, how miraculous are my Christmases? Will I be “out there” where the poor and the vulnerable gather to experience the inclusive Christmas message of God’s “peace to all people” in all of its untainted simplicity?

All who heard it wondered…

What was the people’s response to such an unadorned message? “All who heard it wondered.” The word for “wondered” does not mean they questioned the shepherd’s sanity. The word means they were stunned and amazed [G2296 thumazõ], they were filled with awe.

This is how the gospel is received in its raw telling. You can argue points-of-view and perspectives, but you can’t argue personal experience – especially from multiple witnesses. Here were multiple witnesses, not steeped in scripture or trained in preaching and they could hardly be considered as “religious.” Yet their story was personal and their enthusiasm was boundless; “On this day, we saw a miracle.”

We too can have a personal encounter with the God who longs to join in peace with all people on this miraculous day. God, in fact, longs for it. Most of God’s miracles take place in the context of communal salvation and communal restoration. Christmas is ultimately not about what I received on that day, it is about how I -- within my sphere of influence -- united people in justice and compassion.

These shepherds didn’t run out and tell others they were saved because God spoke to them. They went out of their way to tell everyone about the “good news of great joy for all people.”

Will my Christmas message be focused on me? What I found under the tree or what I engorged myself upon in my Christmas dinner? Or will my message be about the peace God allowed me to share with the most common people in the most forgotten places?

Will there be anyone among the immigrant, homeless or forgotten in my town that will say they experienced the wonder of this Christmas because I visited them?

LUKE 2:19-20

[19] But Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart. [20] The shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as had been told them.

Mary treasured all these things…

Think of all the “things” Mary had to treasure and ponder in the single year since the Angel of God announced her special appointment.

·       The visit by the angel Gabriel

·       Gabriel’s announcement of Mary’s pregnancy

·       The risk she faced when she revealed her pregnancy, out of wedlock, to her parents and Joseph

·       The visit to Elizabeth and how John leapt in Elizabeth’s womb

·       The hurried trip to Bethlehem in her last trimester, and finally

·       The arrival of the shepherds with their great and amazing news.

These were only the beginning of the memories that would eventually fill the treasure chest of Mary’s heart. Still to come would be the Magi, the flight from Bethlehem to Egypt, the desperate search for Jesus on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. All of these things about the child Jesus were yet to occur.

All these things were treasured by Mary, or, as the Greek translates, kept hidden [G4933 suntêrõ] in her heart and that is where they would have remained had not Luke been compelled by the Holy Spirit to move beyond the boundaries of the local culture’s disdain for women. It took a Greek to give us these stories that Mary had locked in her heart.

It makes me wonder how many stories go untold in our communities because of cultural bias or our disregard for others. We are indebted to Luke for asking Mary to reveal the treasures of her heart. Think how close we were to never hearing this story because of the chauvinism of that culture!

Christmas is an ideal time to learn about the stories of people from other traditions and cultures. It would behoove us to go where we are not comfortable and seek the “treasures of the heart” in those places. We might find ourselves in a rest home, a homeless shelter, a jail or a juvenile center. We might even find ourselves on the streets of a foreign city. 

Wherever we spend Christmas, let’s push ourselves beyond our comfort zones and beyond our “own stories” to hear the miraculous announcement that the shepherds found when they hastened to hear God’s call.

“I bring you good news of great joy.”

There is an emptiness and feeling of rejection, of being worthless or unimportant to others when they are too busy with their lives to give of themselves to people that love, need and care for them. “We learn what we value by who values us.” And the ultimate indication of being valued is when a person gives us their most valued commodity: Time.

Recently, there was a program about California; the richest people and the poorest people in the United State live there.  Our economy depends on the migrant workers and still we barely pay them enough to support their families, which live in absolute poverty. Pretty sickening to realize our own Country has so little regard for our own. Like migrant workers today, these shepherds were often viewed as a lower class. Their labor was essential to the economy,

Until, reading your account of this passage, I never realized the full impact of the angels message “in whom God takes delight. ”Here is the Great News of Christmas. In this birth account of Christ, the Messengers of God declared that through the birth of Christ, God and humanity would be united again. The other facet of this announcement is whom it was intended to reach. The angels declared; “Peace among men with whom He is pleased.” The term, pleased [G2107, eudokia], means, “in whom God takes delight.”

The greatest news ever told by the least in social standards. This is a great “angelic messengers” “angels of the street” that the responsibility of imparting the joy of this message moved from his “angelic messengers” to his “evangelical messengers” (the term literally translates into “angels of the street”).

The ecclesia “called out one” not only those in the churches; but each of us, called by God to be His messengers. There it is, the angels turn their commission over to mere shepherds. These are the first evangelicals of the Good News. These shepherds – with no religious training – innately take the intentional action many of us “in the religious trade” neglect (or prefer to forget).

Thank you for this: is not a present; it is a presence that we give to others. That’s the kind of Christmas to desire. Let’s seek a life-altering Christmas! This is not a present that someone gives to us; it is a presence that we give to others. To whom will I give the presence of Christ this Christmas?

The Consolation of Israel

LUKE 2:22-40

Christmas 1b

LUKE 2:22-40

[Lk 2:22] And when the days for their purification according to the law of Moses were completed, they brought Him up to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord [23] (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “EVERY firstborn MALE THAT OPENS THE WOMB SHALL BE CALLED HOLY TO THE LORD”), [24] and to offer a sacrifice according to what was said in the Law of the Lord, “A PAIR OF TURTLEDOVES OR TWO YOUNG PIGEONS.”

[25] And there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; and this man was righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel; and the Holy Spirit was upon him. [26] 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. [27] And he came in the Spirit into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to carry out for Him the custom of the Law, [28] then he took Him into his arms, and blessed God, and said,

[29] “Now Lord, You are releasing Your bond-servant to depart in peace, According to Your word; [30] For my eyes have seen Your salvation, [31] Which You have prepared in the presence of all peoples, [32] A LIGHT OF REVELATION TO THE GENTILES, And the glory of Your people Israel.”

[33] And His father and mother were amazed at the things which were being said about Him. [34] And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary His mother, “Behold, this Child is appointed for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and for a sign to be opposed— [35] and a sword will pierce even your own soul—to the end that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.”

[36] And there was a prophetess, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years and had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, [37] and then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple, serving night and day with fastings and prayers. [38] At that very moment she came up and began giving thanks to God, and continued to speak of Him to all those who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.

[39] When they had performed everything according to the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own city of Nazareth. [40] The Child continued to grow and become strong, increasing in wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him.

LUKE 2:22-24

[Lk 2:22] And when the days for their purification according to the law of Moses were completed, they brought Him up to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord [23] (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “EVERY firstborn MALE THAT OPENS THE WOMB SHALL BE CALLED HOLY TO THE LORD”), [24] and to offer a sacrifice according to what was said in the Law of the Lord, “A PAIR OF TURTLEDOVES OR TWO YOUNG PIGEONS.”

“Shall be called holy...”

Luke was not only a physician, he was apparently a well-read historian and some say he was an accomplished painter as well. We know for sure that Luke was very particular about details. His profession and his avocation were steeped in precision. In these three verses, Luke shows us — in typically accurate fashion — how each of the sacrificial requirements of the Jewish law were met by Christ’s parents.

Jesus is presented to the Lord to be named and circumcised,

On the eighth day after birth, every male child was to be circumcised as a sign of the Jewish covenant with their One God.

Redemption of the Firstborn

Within thirty-one days of birth, the firstborn male (the child that opens the womb) had to be purchased back from God. In the days of Abraham, every first-born male was sacrificed to the god’s of those ancient tribes. YHWH refused the death offering of Isaac but claimed the life of the firstborn as his servant [Exodus 13:2]. However, the child’s life could be purchased back from God for five shekels [Numbers 18:16], which was paid directly to the temple priests.

Mary waits through the days of purification:

Women had to live apart from others for forty days if they had a boy and eighty days if they had a girl. During this time, they were allowed to do housework, but she was forbidden from the temple or religious activities. At the end of that time, she was required to make an offering of a sheep and a pigeon. This offering was incredibly expensive and unreachable for the poor (who could rarely even eat meat). The Law [Leviticus 12:8] allowed for those who were impoverished to offer a second pigeon if they could not afford a sheep.

This is fairly indicative of how taxing the law had become for the poor. Not only was there a financial weight to meeting these laws—but these sacrifices spread out over many days and those who lived a fair distance from Jerusalem would be especially burdened to meet these requirements. The fact that Mary and Joseph offered two pigeons also reminds us of the humility of our Lord’s station. Jesus came from the poor to bring good news to the poor.

Each of these rituals was necessary for the fulfillment of Jewish law but something had gone horribly wrong. These rights of incredible passage (culminating in the Bar Mitzvah when a male became a “child of the law”) should have brought children under the wing of a nation with powerful resources. Granted, it was not the most powerful nation, but it still had a huge amount of resources at its disposal. The problem was that those resources were in the hands of a very elite group who used them towards their own ends and not towards the ends of the next generation; Israel’s future. It just so happened that one of these neglected children was also the only begotten and first male child of Israel’s God.

How ironic that the Son of the Most High God was totally neglected by the most elite of Israel’s highest court. He was just another nameless face in a long line of forgotten children for whom the social fabric had been torn asunder.

However, this is the tragedy of government after government, religion after religion and corporation after corporation. We continue to miss the face of God in our own children because we continue to not see them as our greatest treasures but instead as a faceless irritant to our system.

Eventually, this child would be tried and killed because of how he treasured children and became good news to the poor. He was killed for expediency and not for any other reason:

John 18:14

[Jn 18:14] Now Caiaphas was the one who had advised the Jews that it was expedient for one man to die on behalf of the people.

As I write this, I sit in juvenile court watching case after case—child after child—”processed.” For some of them it will be the tenth time or more that they will be in front of this judge. Somehow we don’t seem to “get it”; these children aren’t the problem. The system we keep sending them into is the problem but it is not expedient to fix the system. It is expedient to blame the victim. Jesus was that victim; he was that number in a faceless line that we missed completely.

For this reason Malachi and the angel Gabriel sent John to “turn the hearts of the fathers back to children [Mal. 4:6, Luke 1:17].”

The nation that neglects its children neglects its future. Nothing could be a greater condemnation of a leader than; “You lived in comfort while the children around you starved—whether it be for attention or food.”

“A PAIR OF TURTLEDOVES OR TWO YOUNG PIGEONS.”

Remember, the preferred offering for purification was a lamb. If that was too expensive for a family then they would offer the turtledoves or pigeons. This was obviously not even a consideration for the Holy Family. A lamb was so far beyond their economic means. Here again is the irony of ages. Jesus Christ, the sacrifice for all humanity could not even afford a proper sacrifice at his own presentation before his own Father. This is the distance that had developed between religion and salvation. That separation reflected the distance between the religious and the least of these of whom the infant Jesus was one.

The further we are from the wounded body of Jesus; the more ritualistic and religious we become. The closer we are to the least of these; the more likely we are to see the face of Jesus daily.

LUKE 2:25-26

[25] And there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; and this man was righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel; and the Holy Spirit was upon him. [26] 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.

“A man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon”

We actually know quite a bit about Simeon:

He was one of a group called The Quiet in the Land. This group committed themselves solely to praying for the coming of the Messiah and to hasten his coming by pursuing justice and devoting themselves to being a living sacrifice to God.

He was committed to justice and well-known for that commitment;

When the bible says that Simeon was known as a "righteous" man, the word comes from "just." He was a just man; the verb [dikaios; G 1342] means that he was equitable, indeed holy, in his dealings with others. Here we see the heart of biblical justice. Regardless of whether the world around us is fair we will be fair. To be Christian doesn’t mean weighing our actions by the legal or ethical standards of our culture. Our measurement is to treat others as Christ has treated us. Simeon was just—not legal. He lived above the law, not by it or dancing around it.

He was known for his commitment to habitual practice of God in his daily life;

Simeon was known to be a devout man [eulabes, G1342]; two words that combine to mean "a well-lived lifeo and "an amazing life'—even "an amazingly accepting / forgiving life." Piety should not be measured by church attendance and daily prayer—but whether our attendance and prayer produces the fruit of acceptance and forgiveness in our lives. Are we amazingly accepting and forgiving of others? If we are—then our habitual practices seem to be leading us to see Jesus in the cacophony of today’s world (as did Simeon and Anna). If not, perhaps our piety is in form only.

He was in that place at that time by God’s design and the Holy Spirit’s prompting;

Simeon’s life had but one purpose, to live in such a way that he would be able to see and testify to Jesus upon his earthly arrival. Simeon was not on the temple steps that day by accident—nor was Anna. They were there by design of God and by the prompting of the Holy Spirit to add their testimony to the arrival of the Anointed One. Only Luke, in his studious research finds these two who testified to the arrival of Jesus. There are a number of reasons why only Luke would print this;

i)    Only Luke was extremely concerned with the legal details of Jesus’ life;

ii)   Only Luke would consider a woman’s testimony as "fit for print." There were too many hang-ups to the Jewish, Middle Eastern mentality that did not encumber Luke. Praise God for the gentile writer with a love for the details.

Where are the “Quiet in the Land” today? Who, in your community are the simple, devoted believers who quietly work for justice while living in constant, communal prayer? Their simple devotion helps them to see Jesus. I am convinced that it is worth everything to live among such people for the reward is seeing Jesus while the masses (and the religious leaders) walked right by him. Others were seeking a Messiah to unseat Rome, some had reduced their ritual to religion, for still others; religion was simply the center of their cultural and social life. We can learn immense knowledge from these short few verses about the “Quiet of the Land”. What a joy it would be to be counted among them

This man was righteous and devout

While the religious were in the temple observing the ritual; there were two elderly people observing the crowds. They were Simeon and Anna. Scripture tells us how devout they were and goes on to tell us that Simeon was known for his righteousness.

Devout [2126 eulabes]; describes a person who is literally caught up [NT2983 lambano] with doing what God calls good [NT2095 eu]. Righteous, means to do acts of justice [NT1342 dikaios]. Can there be a better description of a person who is poised to see the Savior in any crowd?

Notice, Simeon wasn’t looking “in the church” for the Savior; he was looking “on the street.”

Where am I looking for the face of my Savior today? Do I look with expectation upon the crowd outside the church; examining every face for the Christ within? Am I poised like Simeon caught up in doing acts of kindness and justice? If I am, the face of Salvation is still among the nameless crowd who shuffles past our church’s in every city in the world. He is still there; am I poised to find him?

It had been revealed to him

Simeon has one last lesson to teach us. It is a lesson about not clinging to this world. It is so visible throughout the season of Advent to Christmas and on through Epiphany that those who were able to see Jesus were absolutely unencumbered by this world.

There is John the Baptist, the desert aesthetic who came as merely a moon to Christ’s sun;

There is Mary, the mother of Jesus, who took on the stigma of an unmarried mother to become the handmaiden of God;

There is Simeon and Anna, whose eyes had left behind all worldly wants so they could only want to see Jesus.

Each life was unconcerned about the world’s perceptions, about their image, about their personal needs. Each life was solely focused on a mission;

To herald the Lord;

To bear the Lord;

To testify to the Lord.

To them, giving up their worldly desires was nothing compared to carrying out their heavenly mission. Each of them was faithful to the end, offering a “peace that is beyond all understanding.” Simeon closes his life with praise on his lips; [Luke 2:29] “Now Lord, You are releasing Your bond-servant to depart in peace, according to Your word.”

It was as though each of them could see beyond the veil of this life and into the liberty of life in Jesus.

1 Corinthians 15:54-58

[58] But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, “Death is swallowed up in victory. [55] “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” [56] The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; [57] but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

[58] Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not {in} vain in the Lord. (NAS)

“The consolation of Israel”

This is one of the names of Jesus that we don’t often think about. He was the “Consolation of Israel.” The word “consolation” in Greek [NT3874 paraklesis] and Hebrew [OT5162 nacham] means comfort and encouragement. Here is how it is used in the Old Testament:

Isaiah 40:1-5

“Comfort, O comfort My people,” says your God. 2 “Speak kindly to Jerusalem; And call out to her, that her warfare has ended, That her iniquity has been removed, That she has received of the LORD’S hand Double for all her sins.”

3 A voice is calling, “Clear the way for the LORD in the wilderness; Make smooth in the desert a highway for our God. 4 “Let every valley be lifted up, And every mountain and hill be made low; And let the rough ground become a plain, And the rugged terrain a broad valley; 5 Then the glory of the LORD will be revealed, And all flesh will see it together; For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”

Isaiah 51:3

3 Indeed, the LORD will comfort Zion; He will comfort all her waste places. And her wilderness He will make like Eden, And her desert like the garden of the LORD; Joy and gladness will be found in her, Thanksgiving and sound of a melody.

Here in Isaiah the Consolation of Israel is heralded. “The Lord will be revealed,” proclaims Isaiah. He will be consolation in all the waste places and a garden in the desert. What greater promise could there be? Notice, however that Isaiah does not promise that there will be no “waste places,” that there will be no “deserts.” He promises comfort within those places.

That is a huge deception by many Christian preachers; that once we become believer’s our trials and suffering will disappear.  Yet, the Consolation of Israel comes to bring comfort to what would otherwise seem as wasted, useless circumstances. When we feel most deserted, our Consoler will be most present. Similarly, we become most like Jesus when we take his consolation to the most wasted deserts around us. Where are those wasted deserts in your community?

Furthermore, we can go with great confidence because Jesus has given us the eternal comforter. The Lord came to bring our salvation—to complete the promise of God. But he promised to leave us one who would be our comforter for all time and in all places:

John 14:14-18

14 “If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it. 15 “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. 16 “And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; 17 that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not behold Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you, and will be in you. 18 “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.”

That word for “Helper” is the same word as the term for Comforter and Consolation. Indeed the Consolation of God’s people has arrived. His name is Jesus, and he has given us the eternal gift of peace within chaos; strength within adversity; hope within desperation; and well-watered gardens within the wasteland.

LUKE 2:33-35

[33] And His father and mother were amazed at the things which were being said about Him. [34] And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary His mother, “Behold, this Child is appointed for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and for a sign to be opposed- [35] and a sword will pierce even your own soul—to the end that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.”

A sword will pierce even your own soul

As long as we are in this world—there will be no escaping the fact that the message of Jesus will have an edge to it. As soon as it becomes warm and fuzzy and unchallenging—it has somehow been watered down. Certainly, there is a quiet confidence in the Christ Follower knowing that Jesus has created the bridge to salvation. Yet, being comfortable in this world, means that we have either turned a blind eye to injustice or quit searching for the last door where Christ’s love has yet to be offered. According to Peter, only when every door has been knocked upon will salvation break forth: “The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance [2 Pet 3:9].”

Jesus, the Consolation of Israel, has done his part; and he placed the church into our hands to continue through the work of the Holy Spirit. We can find comfort in Jesus; but we can’t get comfortable with Jesus.

The sword of salvation is like operating with a double-edged scalpel. Remember the story of the young man who walked away from Jesus? Our Lord tells him that perfection is found in selling everything to the poor and following the Lord. Only Mark recounts the story with the full passion of Jesus’ heart: “And looking at him, Jesus felt a love for him, and said to him, “One thing you lack: go and sell all you possess, and give to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me [Mark 10:21].”

How painful it must have been for Jesus to watch him walk away. How tempted I would be to say; “No, come on back, we make exceptions for rich young rulers. You only have to give ten percent—if that is comfortable for you.”

How hard it must have been for the father to watch his prodigal child leave to indulge in the sin of the world. How hard it must have been for God to let his son come to earth. How hard it was for Jesus to accept the cup of God at Gethsemane.

A parent who loves their child knows there are times when the child will be angry at them for being corrected. A mature parent takes no comfort in rebuke. A mature Christian takes no pleasure in preaching repentance or challenging Christian infants that they are stagnant in their faith. Yet, the mature parent or Christian is willing to operate if necessary—even if the razor is double-sided; even when the pain is deep.

Simeon’s blessing was glorious. Simeon’s blessing was horrid. Yet, Simeon’s blessing was truth. As truth it still stands today. The message of Jesus divides goats and sheep. It brings a sword—even between families. It is opposed, it is piercing, it reveals hearts. Yet, it never pierces, cuts, or reveals capriciously. As Luke—the surgeon of the Lord—would know; Christ cuts to heal. Our Lord seeks to eradicate what is cancerous and leave behind wholeness.

It is the pain that heals.

LUKE 2:36-40

[36] And there was a prophetess, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years and had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, [37] and then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple, serving night and day with fastings and prayers. [38] At that very moment she came up and began giving thanks to God, and continued to speak of Him to all those who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.

[39] When they had performed everything according to the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own city of Nazareth. [40] The Child continued to grow and become strong, increasing in wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him.

“And there was a prophetess”

Anna was also one of “Quiet of the Land.” Of her father, Phanuel, and the tribe of Asher, we know very little (except that Asher—for whom the tribe was named—was one of the sons of Jacob). We can only presume that Luke uses this reference as it meant something that would increase Anna’s stature at the time of his writing. However, we do know this about Anna:

She was a widow of many years;

Luke tells us that Anna was 84 when she proclaimed Jesus. He also tells us in typical detail that she had been married seven years before becoming a widow. That would mean that Anna had been devoted to her temple ministry for nearly sixty years.

Here is a lesson in the power of prayer and faithful waiting. Anna had devoted the length of her life and extent of her energy to praying for the Messiah’s arrival. Her lifelong endeavor was to pray for and prepare to recognize the Lord upon his arrival. Waiting upon the Lord is never easy but waiting nearly sixty years seems incomprehensible in an age of nanoseconds and immediate gratification.

There are many temptations faced by those who wait upon the Lord for any amount of time:

i)    Losing interest and perhaps even losing faith that God hears or cares for you. We often become impatient and even blame God for not responding according to our timeline.

ii)   Instead of deepening in faith, we can become ritualistic attached to a method of waiting and losing any expectation of the Lord’s response. We go through the actions, recite the words, but there is no feeling behind them.

One can almost imagine Anna asking daily; “Is this the day, Lord?” That’s the type of waiting that pleases the Lord and leads to his revelation. That was the expectant waiting of John the Baptist, Elizabeth, Mary, Simeon and Anna. Has our waiting lost its urgency? Is our waiting (despite its length) still comprised of expectancy and enthusiasm?

She was a prophetess;

Being a prophet [prophetis, G4398] was a much wider expression than being someone who “foretold” the future. It also meant someone who “proclaimed” the future. Forward (pro) claiming (take possession of) is an inspirational concept to the Christian. Anna, had “forward claimed” the day that she would live to testify to the Messiah. God answered that prayer in a most amazing way. He allowed her to live to an extremely old age (the life expectancy in Judea at that time was the late forties). What if Anna had lost faith at twenty? What if she had become bitter at fifty or gave up praying at eighty-three? God did not answer Anna by immediately responding to her needs, he responded by allowing her to live another day until—after 30,660 days—her life overlapped with the presentation of Jesus.

Meanwhile, she did not lose faith. She kept on praying, “pro-claiming” and “forward-obtaining” the Lord. Showing up at the temple and asking the Holy Spirit; “Will I see him today?”

“Is this the day, Lord?”

Is there anyone that you are forward claiming? Am I proclaiming the arrival of Jesus in my community? Am I waking with Anna's passion; “Is this the day, Lord?” “Is this the day that you will come into my grandson’s heart?” “Is this the day that you will come into our jails?” “Is this the day, Lord that you will return?”

Yesterday, I had a great talk with a friend of mine who is a Pastor of a pretty comfortable church. We talked about the return of Jesus and how I was longing for that event with immediacy. He smiled and said; “All in good time.” As we talked about Christ’s Second Coming, I began to realize how different our “sheep” were from each other. There is literally no one that I see in my daily work that would lose a thing if Christ established his reign immediately. If the bars fell and they were free, if they woke up and had good health or a home. If suddenly, they had clarity of purpose, were free from depression, abuse, alcohol or drugs. None of them have an investment in this world of sorrow and brokenness.

Yet, “having everything” is nothing compared to “being anywhere” with Jesus. The Pastor and I both agreed that the more we have—the harder it is to imagine a life of total dependency upon the Lord.

In the meantime, let us all pray for the Consolation of Israel to return and let’s pray most earnestly with our actions. Like Anna, let’s seek the Christ child among the crowd and continually ask: “Is this the day, Lord?”

“Didn’t you know?” 

LUKE 2:41-52

[Lk 2:41] 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. [45] When they did not find him, they went back to Jerusalem to look for him. [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?” [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. [52] And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.

LUKE 2:41-42

[Lk 2:41] 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 Feast of the Passover

There were three times every year that all Jewish males within fifteen miles of the temple were required to go to Jerusalem.  These customs were spelled out in the books of Exodus and Deuteronomy:

Exodus 23:14-17

[Ex 23:14] “Three times a year you shall celebrate a feast to Me. [15] “You shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread; for seven days you are to eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, at the appointed time in the month Abib, for in it you came out of Egypt. And none shall appear before Me empty-handed. [16] “Also you shall observe the Feast of the Harvest of the first fruits of your labors from what you sow in the field; also the Feast of the Ingathering at the end of the year when you gather in the fruit of your labors from the field. [17] “Three times a year all your males shall appear before the Lord GOD.”

Deuteronomy 16:16

[Dt 16:16] “Three times in a year all your males shall appear before the LORD your God in the place which He chooses, at the Feast of Unleavened Bread and at the Feast of Weeks and at the Feast of Booths, and they shall not appear before the LORD empty-handed.”

The particular feast that Luke describes here is the Passover (the Feast of Unleavened Bread).  The origin of this feast dates back to when God, through Moses, released His people from slavery to Pharaoh:

Exodus 12:21-36

[Ex 12:21] Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Go and take for yourselves lambs according to your families, and slay the Passover lamb. [22] “You shall take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the blood which is in the basin, and apply some of the blood that is in the basin to the lintel and the two doorposts; and none of you shall go outside the door of his house until morning.

[23] “For the LORD will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when He sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the LORD will pass over the door and will not allow the destroyer to come in to your houses to smite you. [24] “And you shall observe this event as an ordinance for you and your children forever. [25] “When you enter the land which the LORD will give you, as He has promised, you shall observe this rite. [26] “And when your children say to you, ‘What does this rite mean to you?’ [27] you shall say, ‘It is a Passover sacrifice to the LORD who passed over the houses of the sons of Israel in Egypt when He smote the Egyptians, but spared our homes.’ “ And the people bowed low and worshiped.

[28] Then the sons of Israel went and did so; just as the LORD had commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did.

[29] Now it came about at midnight that the LORD struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the captive who was in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of cattle. [30] Pharaoh arose in the night, he and all his servants and all the Egyptians, and there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was no home where there was not someone dead. [31] Then he called for Moses and Aaron at night and said, “Rise up, get out from among my people, both you and the sons of Israel; and go, worship the LORD, as you have said. [32] “Take both your flocks and your herds, as you have said, and go, and bless me also.”

[33] The Egyptians urged the people, to send them out of the land in haste, for they said, “We will all be dead.” [34] So the people took their dough before it was leavened, with their kneading bowls bound up in the clothes on their shoulders.

[35] Now the sons of Israel had done according to the word of Moses, for they had requested from the Egyptians articles of silver and articles of gold, and clothing; [36] and the LORD had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they let them have their request. Thus they plundered the Egyptians.

Jesus’ family attended the Passover feast in Jerusalem When henwas twelve.  It was a lengthy walk (app. 70 miles or 113 kilometers) and it was quite an expensive proposition to worship at the temple.  However, what Luke shows us in chapter two is a family that diligently followed the “habits of communal faith.”

Despite the costs and the tremendous commitment of time, Mary and Joseph adhered to the traditions of the faith.  There is an important, yet subtle, grace apparent here. Although Jesus was born into an obscure and working class family, he did not lack in tradition.  Perhaps one of greatest gift his earthly parents gave him was the deep sense of faithful tradition that Judaism has to offer.

Do we realize this is one of our greatest gifts to our children as well?  Long after we are gone, our children will remember our habits and traditions.  They will remember the way we celebrate Christmas and Easter . They will remember evening prayers at family meals, attending a faith-based community on Sunday and acts of service the family shares together.  Faith and traditions are two of the greatest gifts we can choose for our children and grandchildren.

Even more, the only time a parent can really pick a child’s friends is during the first eight to ten years of their lives.  The child who is raised in the arms of a compassionate church with caring adults is far less likely to slip into drugs or anti-social behavior.  In fact, a study by Case Western University under the direction of John DiAiellio, found that the three primary actions a father could take to keep his children off drugs were

1.      Eat dinner with his family

2.      Do homework with his children

3.      Take his children to church.

Jesus was raised among the most common people, but he was given the richest of traditions to start his life.

LUKE 2:43-47

[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. [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.

After three days they found him

It is not that unusual that Jesus would be lost among the crowds at the temple or overlooked among the pilgrims on the way home.  It wasn’t even unusual that a twelve-year-old would not be panicked about being left behind (this was a culture oriented towards care of the stranger and one in which children were given great responsibilities at an early age).  What was unusual was that Jesus didn’t even set out after his parents.  He was completely “at home” where he was left (or more aptly, had stayed).

In addition, Jesus was at a “tween” age, half adult/half child.  A male child could walk with the women (in the front of the group) or with the men who came last.  To deter robbers, these groups were very large and could be spread over a substantial distance.  We must remember that Jerusalem would swell by up to 300,000 people on the feast days (in particular, the Passover).

Mary and Joseph were not careless parents unconcerned with Jesus.  In fact, this tells us more about the culture in which they lived.  One in which children were not preyed upon and parents were more secure in the adults of their community.  In fact, what could be more definitive of the Hebrew concept of temple [H1005 bayith], than the picture in this story?  Prior to the term being used in reference to a building, church or temple is described as a family.  It was, in the strictest sense, a place where children could be raised in the faith and in the safety of a compassionate community.  However, even the term “place” is deceptive, for the Hebrews were formed by God as nomads under Abraham and Moses.  Family was the body of people you journeyed with under God’s direction.  Long before church was a dedicated place, it was a dedicated people.

Sitting among the teachers

This is a very contradictory verse, something we wouldn’t catch with a quick overview.  First of all, there is Jesus as the respectful student.  Jesus was, “listening to them and asking them questions.”  He was not a precocious brat who disrespected his elders. However, Jesus stood out even as a 12-year-old.  “Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers.”

What we see is the wisest of men being formed.  As a boy, Jesus was neither afraid to ask questions and listen or respectfully share his understanding.  As a result of his respectful demeanor more clarity into the “child Jesus” who was becoming the “young man Jesus.”

In particular, Luke is told that when Mary and Joseph found Jesus, he was “seated among the teachers.”  That is a huge revelation about the Lord’s temperament.  For, without a doubt there were men present who had been studying the Torah for years that would long for such a privileged seat.

Teachers of the Law sat (instead of stood) when it was time to teach.  The fact that Jesus was allowed to sit among them was not a thing he could invite himself to do.  He could only be invited by others, by the teacher’s themselves, who were, “amazed at his understanding and his answers.”

To be amazed [G1839 existemi] was the same as literally saying, Knocked on your rear” or, “Stopped in your tracks.”  This was the impact of Jesus’ understanding of Scripture.

Understanding [G4907 sunesis] meant more than knowledge, it also meant, “to run things together.”  It was a term used symbolically of making two headstrong horses pulling a chariot respond as if they were but one animal.

Jesus, even as a boy on the verge of manhood, had the amazing ability to make God’s plan fit with people’s daily lives: To unite knowledge with application, wisdom with compassion, and make them run as one horse.

Do my words have the same effect?  Have I sought that gift from the Holy Spirit?  So that, no matter whom I am with, the Gospel makes simple sense in their life?

“Lord, give me that courage.  To move beyond words that are really designed to impress or even confuse others (so as to pretend to make me seem brilliant).  Help me embrace a servant’s heart so the few words I speak encourage the weary heart.”

Isaiah 50:4

[Isa 50:4] The Lord GOD has given Me the tongue of disciples, That I may know how to sustain the weary one with a word.

He awakens Me morning by morning, He awakens My ear to listen as a disciple.

LUKE 2:48-52

[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?” [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. [52] And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.

“Son, why have you treated us like this?”

It had been twelve years since our Lord’s birth.  Perhaps two years were spent in Bethlehem and another three to six more in Egypt (until the death of Herod the Great in 4BC).  So, the period in which Mary and Joseph’s had finally returned to their familial home of Nazareth was but a few years.  Still, like all of us, they seemed to have settled quickly and deeply into mundane patterns.  A few unchallenged years and they were feeling like a normal family.

However, they were not normal.  They were raising the King’s child; they bore responsibilities beyond the “normal.”  Perhaps they wanted to forget it, who could blame them after the ordeals they had already faced?  Yet, in forgetting this fact, these two parents were “astonished and anxious” when Jesus began to assert himself at twelve.  The actual words are ekplesso [G1605] and odunao [G3600], together they mean to “agonize and panic.”

I am amazed at my own weakness and how easily I “agonize with panic” when God begins a deep work in my life.  I struggle too, wanting to go back to the normal, the comfortable, and the mundane.  Like Mary and Joseph, I get comfortable with the infant Jesus and struggle when the teenage Jesus starts to assert himself in my life.  Am I really ready for Jesus to assert himself in my life?  Am I ready to move from a docile relationship with the cute baby in swaddling clothes to the Jesus who must turn the tide against sin entrenched in my life and this world?

Am I really ready for a grown-up Jesus in my life?

“Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?”

The spring of Jesus’ twelfth year would be very different, not only for Jesus but for his entire family.  On the twelfth year of any Jewish male’s life they moved from being a son of their parents to a Son of the Law (Bar Mitzvah).  It was the year when Jesus moved from being the official son of Joseph to a Son of the Law.  It was critical for Mary and Joseph to know that Jesus didn’t belong to them; he belonged to God.  Jesus puts Mary and Joseph on alert with the simple but frank statement; “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?”  It was perhaps the gentlest way that Jesus could firmly say, “I don’t belong to you.”

How many times has Jesus had to say that to me?

·       As a follower

Jesus has to continually remind me that I am most a servant when I am least in control.  I, like Mary and Joseph, may think that Jesus is lost, but he sure didn’t think so.  When I finally find him, he is exactly where he is supposed to be.  Am I where Jesus is supposed to be or where I want him to be?  I have to keep reminding myself; “He’s not the one who is lost.”

·       As a parent or leader

My children and my flock don’t really belong to me.  My role is to solely and completely point them to God, raising them with the sole intent of turning them loose.  Am I ever mindful of preparing them to be Christ-centered in a Christ-hostile world?  Am I ever mindful of John the Baptist’s statement; “He must increase, but I must decrease [John 3:30].”

Jesus was giving his parents a velvet-covered brick.  It would hurt to hear what he had to say, but it would “hurt good.”  A good parent doesn’t find joy in a child’s dependence but in watching them make tough choices and recover from tough odds.  Does that define my parenting or shepherding?

·       As a church or denomination

How easily we begin think that Jesus plays on my team and forget that we’re just one player on his.  How often we find churches like a circle of wagons shooting “in,” too parochial to see the prophetic.  It must wound Jesus to see us so at war with each other that we can’t be a witness to the world.  Jesus is not interested in my theology but my compassion.  He isn’t concerned over my denomination but by my mercy and justice.  He’s tired of me defending the faith; he wants to see me practice it.

To be Christian means to quit trying to own Jesus and let him be Lord over my heart, mind and soul.

Then he went down to Nazareth with them

This verse always amazes me.  The greatest minds in the Jewish world were in Jerusalem and Jesus was seated among them.  He could have stayed.  There were plenty of teachers who would make room for such a brilliant lad.  He would have been raised as one the greatest minds in human history, far greater than David or Solomon.  He might have even been an advisor to the family of Herod or Caiaphas.

Instead, he went back to Nazareth, back to a commoner’s life, back to an obscure family to learn about God through the struggles of a common person.  The option for elitism would have been there for Jesus, but he chose the life of the working poor.  He became like the least among us:

II Corinthians 8:9

[2Co 8:9] For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich.

Hebrews 5:9

[Heb 5:9] And having been made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation.

And Jesus didn’t go back to the obscurity of Nazareth moping.  In fact, “Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men [Luke 2:52].”

My question is will I ever be as mature as this 12-year-old boy?  Last Saturday I gave a eulogy for a woman whose parent’s wouldn’t take her to church on Sundays.  At the age of eight, she began to bundle herself up and walk to church alone.  She finally “won permission” to take her younger siblings with her.  Every Sunday morning, she would take on the role of parent, dressing all the kids up and marching them to church for worship.  Her younger brother went on to become a missionary, he would lead others souls to Christ much the same as his sister led him.  She preceded him into God’s arms, yet in my mind, I’ve no doubt he was the one who walked beside her on her last journey before the King.

Our choices often lie between pursuing the cushioned comfort of the privileged life or seeking Christ among the most common?  Let’s ask ourselves, WWJ-12-D? What Would the 12-year-old Jesus Do?

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Luke 01

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Luke 03