S7: Saints, Martyrs, and Unsung Heroes

E2: Jesus, Mary, and Telling God Off!

It’s Lent and Easter is coming!

So, in my next three blogs I’m going to explore Jesus as a child, as a man, and as the resurrected man. When exploring characters like Jesus, the Bible is our main source of information. However, I want to throw out a cautionary note, or three of them to be precise. 

There are three things we must remember in looking at the childhood of Christ:

First, we must remember that the Bible is not what we want it to be. It tells us what we need to know and no more. Though the Bible was written in history, it is not comparable to the historical works like Shakespeare, Dickens, Emerson, Tolstoy, Irving, or Doyle. It is a living Word that convicts, delights, and nourishes the human soul in realm time like no other literature.

Second, we must remember that what the Gospel writers did not know, they did not write. They never speculated on anything. So, it makes sense to say the only person who lived to tell the tale about the childhood of Jesus was Mary, his mother. Nevertheless, “Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart” (Luke 2:19). The writers kept silent about many aspects of Jesus’ childhood because Mary kept silent; and moms know how to keep things private.  

Third, we must remember that recording the childhood years of a historical character from antiquity was not common. For example, there is nothing of the childhood of Moses, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, or Joseph except a few anecdotes.

With these three things in mind, I’m going to ask one simple question about the childhood of Jesus and see what the text of the Bible tells us and what we can learn from it. As a side, have you heard someone read the text of Scripture and then say, “In other words”? Well, that person has just read the words, so let’s not embellish them especially when Jesus’ mom kept silent about her boy.

Here’s the question: Did Jesus know he was the Son of God as a child?

Matthew tells us about the conception and birth of Jesus and his escape to Egypt then leaps 30 years to his baptism. Mark jumps right into Jesus’ baptism ignoring his birth and childhood completely. John takes a leap back into eternity and then leaps forward into the baptism of Jesus. Again, nothing about his birth and childhood.

We are left with Luke who was not a disciple of Jesus, but he must have sat down and talked with Mary in his investigation to write an orderly account. In that account we read about an episode in the life of Jesus when he was twelve years old (Luke 2:41-52).

 It must have been the bar mizpah of Jesus, right?

Well, in Judaism, when a boy is thirteen, he goes through bar mizpah becoming accountable for his own actions as a rite of passage into the Jewish community. Prior to this event, the parents are responsible for the child’s actions. This is why Mary said, “Son, why have you treated us like this?” The actions of a child always reflected upon the parents. But it could not have possibly been the bar mizpah of Jesus. Bar mizpah was not written into Judaism until the Middle Ages. The festival that Jesus’ parents were celebrating in Jerusalem, as Luke records, was the annual Passover.

Let’s sidestep into the world of Jewish religion during the days of Jesus.

Learning was viewed like a vineyard. That’s no surprise since Jesus said, “I am the vine, and you are the branches” (John 15:5). There were eight steps of education for Jewish children. Three significant steps included the following for Jewish boys:

• From five years old boys studied the Scriptures (what we call the Old Testament). They would learn through listening, remembering, and reciting.

• From ten years old boys specifically studied the Mishna (first five books of the Bible or what we called the Pentateuch). They would learn by listening to the older men discuss it.

• From the age of thirteen boys studied the Commandments (613 Commandments of the Old Testament) by entering the discussion with older men. This is why Luke tells us “they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions” (Luke 2:47).

Remember it was the Passover, and Jerusalem was the headquarters of Jewish religion. There must have been some highly respected teachers lingering in the temple area. Nazareth would never accommodate such a high pedigree of teachers. So, it was a moment not to be lost. Jesus was among great teachers at the age of inquiry.

The questions and answers Jesus gave caught the attention of established teachers. Jesus was not a teacher at this point, but he was the center of attention. You see, in the Greco-Roman world Jesus would know Aramaic (Hebrew) and also Greek making Palestine a very bilingual community. We know this because Jesus did not use an interpreter to speak to the Roman Centurion, the Syro-Phoenician woman, or Pilate.

We must not think of Jesus as an uneducated carpenter from Nazareth, despite the cliché of Nathanael (John 1:47). In his adult ministry Jesus would often challenge the teachers of his day saying, “Have you not read?” Apparently, Jesus did.

Now, let’s circle back to the question: Did Jesus know he was the Son of God as a child?

I think the text of Scripture tells us that Jesus must have had a deepening sense of who he was in the answer he gave to his mother. She said, “Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you” (Luke 2:48). Jesus replied, “Didn’t you know I would be in my Father’s house?” (Luke 2:49).

As a man, Jesus taught that he was sent by His Father, he was one with the Father, he could do nothing except what the Father was doing, and in his dying breath he said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit” (Luke 23:46). His understanding as a twelve-year-old boy could not have been as full as when he was a man. As a man, Jesus said, “My time has come” (John 7:6), and more precisely, “The hour has come” (John 12:23).

So, what can we learn? 

From a child’s perspective, they will know and yet not fully know what God has in store for them. So, never underestimate what God can do with your child or grandchild. Let the Word of God dwell in them richly. The Word of God will work in them. Paul said, “Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity” (1 Tim 4:12). This is what Jesus did from childhood to manhood. Though Joseph had died by the time Jesus was a man, at the baptism Jesus his Father said, “This is my son with whom I am well pleased” (Matt. 3:17). So, in the perspective, the unsung hero is always the child.

From a parent’s perspective, no matter how talented, gifted, or called by God your child is, they are subject to you as parents. Mary said, “Son, why have you treated us like this?” Even though she knew from the Archangel Gabriel that he was the Emmanuel – God with us – she was giving God the Son a right telling off! The Bible tells us that “If we spare the rod, we spoil the child” (Prov. 13:24), and that “Foolishness is in the heart of a child” (Prov. 22:15). The Bible also tells us that Jesus was tempted in every way we are, and he knows our every weakness. Can you imagine Mary giving Jesus – the Son of God – a good hiding? I bet she spanked him a few times as a child. So, in this perspective, the unsung hero is the mother.  

From the church’s perspective make sure that the Word of God is embedded in all you do with children. In a world driven mad by social media and how many virtual friends we have, repeat the words of Jesus to the children around you in the church, “I call you my friends” (John 15:15). Let the children hang out with the grown-ups. Let them serve with the grown-ups. So, the unsung hero in this perspective is the church.

I trust this has been a little insightful during Lent as we love towards Easter. In my next blog I want to explore Jesus as a man.