WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.080 We hope that you enjoy this teaching from Christ Church. 00:00:05.719 --> 00:00:11.599 This material is copyrighted and no unauthorized duplication, redistribution, or any other 00:00:11.599 --> 00:00:15.280 use of any part is permitted without prior consent from Christ Church. 00:00:15.640 --> 00:00:22.620 Please consider donating to this work in the San Francisco Bay Area online at ChristChurchEastBay.org. 00:00:28.199 --> 00:00:29.179 Good morning. 00:00:29.179 --> 00:00:30.359 I'm Denise Yon. 00:00:30.559 --> 00:00:35.320 I'm part of the San Francisco Community Group, as well as Women Reading Women. 00:00:36.259 --> 00:00:42.600 Today's scripture reading is from the Gospel of Luke, chapter 2, verses 39 to 52, as printed 00:00:42.600 --> 00:00:43.619 in your liturgy. 00:00:44.880 --> 00:00:47.359 A reading from the Gospel according to Luke. 00:00:48.560 --> 00:00:53.659 When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee 00:00:53.659 --> 00:00:55.379 to their own town of Nazareth. 00:00:55.920 --> 00:00:58.159 And the child grew and became strong. 00:00:58.159 --> 00:01:01.979 He was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was on him. 00:01:02.739 --> 00:01:06.659 Every year, Jesus' parents went to Jerusalem for the festival of the Passover. 00:01:07.359 --> 00:01:11.259 When he was 12 years old, he went up to the festival according to the custom. 00:01:12.299 --> 00:01:17.179 After the festival was over, while his parents were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind 00:01:17.179 --> 00:01:19.780 in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it. 00:01:20.519 --> 00:01:23.599 Thinking he was in their company, they traveled on for a day. 00:01:23.599 --> 00:01:26.959 Then they began looking for him among their relatives and friends. 00:01:27.459 --> 00:01:31.019 When they did not find him, they went back to Jerusalem to look for him. 00:01:32.019 --> 00:01:36.619 After three days, they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening 00:01:36.619 --> 00:01:38.239 to them and asking them questions. 00:01:39.000 --> 00:01:42.599 Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers. 00:01:43.379 --> 00:01:45.919 When his parents saw him, they were astonished. 00:01:45.920 --> 00:01:50.159 His mother said to him, Son, why have you treated us like this? 00:01:50.460 --> 00:01:53.180 Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you. 00:01:54.280 --> 00:01:56.019 Why were you searching for me? 00:01:56.099 --> 00:01:56.579 He asked. 00:01:57.040 --> 00:01:59.960 Didn't you know I had to be in my father's house? 00:02:00.680 --> 00:02:03.079 But they did not understand what he was saying to them. 00:02:03.079 --> 00:02:08.060 Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. 00:02:08.500 --> 00:02:10.840 But his mother treasured all these things in her heart. 00:02:11.379 --> 00:02:16.740 And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man. 00:02:17.560 --> 00:02:19.159 This is the gospel of the Lord. 00:02:19.840 --> 00:02:21.360 Praise to you, O Christ. 00:02:22.780 --> 00:02:23.819 Thank you, Denise. 00:02:24.020 --> 00:02:25.020 Merry Christmas, everyone. 00:02:25.780 --> 00:02:28.759 Let's go to the Lord in prayer as we open up his word. 00:02:28.759 --> 00:02:33.139 Father, we want to hear from you. 00:02:34.259 --> 00:02:37.179 We want to remember your son. 00:02:37.840 --> 00:02:38.799 We want to see him. 00:02:38.899 --> 00:02:41.439 We want to behold him high and lifted up. 00:02:42.000 --> 00:02:47.439 Even as the 12-year-old boy that you have revealed himself to be to us in this passage, 00:02:47.579 --> 00:02:52.459 would we behold in him the son of God, slain for the sins of the world. 00:02:53.659 --> 00:02:55.659 All glory be to Christ, we pray in his name. 00:02:56.239 --> 00:02:56.519 Amen. 00:02:56.519 --> 00:02:56.579 Amen. 00:02:56.580 --> 00:02:57.060 Amen. 00:02:57.600 --> 00:02:58.200 All right. 00:02:58.280 --> 00:03:04.360 So I'm excited to open up this passage with you today because it's a super intriguing passage. 00:03:04.580 --> 00:03:07.380 It's a super intriguing episode in Jesus' life. 00:03:07.540 --> 00:03:13.520 It's literally the only account, right, about him in the whole Bible where he's not either 00:03:13.520 --> 00:03:16.100 a helpless baby or a grown man. 00:03:16.660 --> 00:03:21.920 What you just heard Denise read is all we get in the whole Bible, just 12 verses, about 00:03:21.920 --> 00:03:26.400 Jesus between infancy and the beginning of his ministry at age 30. 00:03:26.580 --> 00:03:29.060 12 verses about 12-year-old Jesus. 00:03:29.280 --> 00:03:29.820 Think about that. 00:03:29.880 --> 00:03:31.480 12-year-old Jesus. 00:03:31.880 --> 00:03:32.840 He's not a baby anymore. 00:03:32.940 --> 00:03:33.480 He's 12. 00:03:33.580 --> 00:03:34.380 He's able to converse. 00:03:34.500 --> 00:03:38.920 He's able to run around with his friends without parental supervision all the time. 00:03:39.320 --> 00:03:43.560 He's clearly able to make some decisions on his own independently from his parents, but 00:03:43.560 --> 00:03:46.140 he's also still not a grown man either, right? 00:03:46.260 --> 00:03:50.200 In Jewish society, you were seen as an adult at the age 13. 00:03:50.199 --> 00:03:51.339 So he had one more year to go. 00:03:51.439 --> 00:03:52.439 He hasn't begun his ministry. 00:03:52.579 --> 00:03:54.219 He's not a carpenter yet. 00:03:54.619 --> 00:03:59.439 He's still got almost 20 more years to grow up into the 30-year-old Jesus that we're all 00:03:59.439 --> 00:04:00.899 mostly familiar with. 00:04:01.439 --> 00:04:05.419 So again, this is a super unique window into the life of Jesus compared to everything else 00:04:05.419 --> 00:04:07.780 we read about him in the rest of the Scriptures. 00:04:07.780 --> 00:04:13.240 And so the question we should be asking as we examine this super unique episode is, why 00:04:13.240 --> 00:04:16.319 is this story included here in Luke's Gospel? 00:04:16.560 --> 00:04:20.339 This little one-off story about 12-year-old Jesus. 00:04:21.279 --> 00:04:25.839 And like, why aren't there other stories about Jesus from this, you know, this pretty long 00:04:25.839 --> 00:04:28.220 formative chapter in Jesus' life? 00:04:28.279 --> 00:04:32.720 Like, from infancy all the way to adulthood, that's a long time to not know what happened 00:04:32.720 --> 00:04:33.560 in this guy's life. 00:04:33.560 --> 00:04:34.959 And this is all we get. 00:04:35.139 --> 00:04:38.379 Why don't we have stories about, you know, potty training Jesus as a toddler? 00:04:39.019 --> 00:04:40.800 Or adventurous adolescent Jesus? 00:04:41.459 --> 00:04:43.339 Or teenage boy Jesus going through puberty? 00:04:43.920 --> 00:04:49.220 Or maybe Jesus as a 20-year-old young apprentice, carpenter's apprentice? 00:04:50.079 --> 00:04:55.660 Why just this tiny little snippet, this really kind of unremarkable story about a boy staying 00:04:55.660 --> 00:04:58.860 behind at the temple and worrying his parents? 00:04:59.800 --> 00:05:03.540 You know, in ancient Greco-Roman literature, man, if you were going to tell the story, 00:05:03.560 --> 00:05:08.720 the story of your greatest hero of all time, you'd most definitely tell the stories of 00:05:08.720 --> 00:05:10.220 their childhood and of their youth. 00:05:10.319 --> 00:05:11.579 Think of Hercules, right? 00:05:11.639 --> 00:05:12.639 Who was supposed to be known for what? 00:05:12.699 --> 00:05:13.639 His strength. 00:05:14.459 --> 00:05:18.060 Greek mythology is full of stories about his strength, even from childhood. 00:05:18.220 --> 00:05:21.139 This is a guy who killed a lion with his bare hands, right? 00:05:21.199 --> 00:05:26.079 Even as a baby, when two snakes were sent into his cradle to strangle him, he strangled those 00:05:26.079 --> 00:05:26.939 snakes, right? 00:05:27.420 --> 00:05:31.540 And then as a youth, when he was reprimanded by his music teacher, he didn't know his own 00:05:31.540 --> 00:05:35.660 strength and he whacked his music teacher with his lyre and killed him, all right? 00:05:35.700 --> 00:05:37.680 All stories about his strength. 00:05:37.740 --> 00:05:42.360 It was quite typical for ancient texts to tell such tales about their heroes in their 00:05:42.360 --> 00:05:46.879 youth, to highlight these heroes' unique abilities and to show how special they were 00:05:46.879 --> 00:05:48.820 even from a super young age. 00:05:48.879 --> 00:05:52.379 But what we find here in Luke's gospel, it's quite different, right? 00:05:52.780 --> 00:05:55.320 Quite different from all these mythical, fanciful tales. 00:05:55.319 --> 00:06:00.420 Really, the only accounts you can find about Jesus that resemble such ancient Greco-Roman 00:06:00.420 --> 00:06:03.060 hero myths are outside of the scriptures. 00:06:03.279 --> 00:06:08.319 We call these the apocryphal texts, these texts that are not inspired by God, these texts 00:06:08.319 --> 00:06:14.360 that have often very shaky historical reliability, and texts that often read way more like myth 00:06:14.360 --> 00:06:16.439 and legend than like history. 00:06:16.620 --> 00:06:20.500 For example, there's this text called the Infancy Gospel of Thomas. 00:06:20.659 --> 00:06:21.879 I just read it this past week. 00:06:22.240 --> 00:06:23.899 It was written much later than our scriptures. 00:06:23.899 --> 00:06:29.000 All of our scriptures were written within the lifetime of the apostles, but the Infancy 00:06:29.000 --> 00:06:32.159 Gospel of Thomas was written 200 years later. 00:06:32.759 --> 00:06:37.179 And it's almost like it was written to fill in the blanks that scripture left behind, blanks 00:06:37.179 --> 00:06:40.579 like, yeah, what was five-year-old Jesus like? 00:06:41.359 --> 00:06:46.399 Well, according to the Infancy Gospel, Jesus was this little magical boy who couldn't submit 00:06:46.399 --> 00:06:50.979 to anyone because he was way more powerful, way smarter, way wiser than everyone else, and 00:06:50.980 --> 00:06:56.060 he both dazzled his community, and he struck the fear of God into his community because 00:06:56.060 --> 00:06:56.840 of all his powers. 00:06:57.140 --> 00:07:01.439 Like, according to the Infancy Gospel, it says that one little boy, you know, Jesus was playing 00:07:01.439 --> 00:07:06.640 as a five-year-old with some water in a brook, and he was gathering some pools with the water, 00:07:06.700 --> 00:07:09.240 and it says that another little boy came and he messed up the pool. 00:07:10.080 --> 00:07:12.640 And Jesus said, you shall wither like a tree. 00:07:12.639 --> 00:07:15.079 And that little boy died, all right? 00:07:16.159 --> 00:07:20.219 Another story goes, like, there's another little boy, he's running and he actually bumps 00:07:20.219 --> 00:07:23.759 into Jesus, and Jesus says, what does he say? 00:07:23.860 --> 00:07:24.339 What does he say? 00:07:25.399 --> 00:07:28.360 You shall not finish your course, is what Jesus says. 00:07:28.879 --> 00:07:31.860 And that boy also dies, okay? 00:07:32.539 --> 00:07:36.939 On some other occasions, Jesus is, you know, he's constantly outsmarting his teachers, all 00:07:36.939 --> 00:07:38.439 these guys who are trying to disciple him. 00:07:38.439 --> 00:07:43.459 He's constantly embarrassing his teachers, and one teacher gets so frustrated with Jesus, 00:07:43.660 --> 00:07:48.100 he hits Jesus on the head because he feels disrespected by this little smarty pants, all 00:07:48.100 --> 00:07:48.279 right? 00:07:48.939 --> 00:07:53.879 And then Jesus curses his teacher, and his teacher falls flat on his face, and he faints, 00:07:54.180 --> 00:07:54.480 all right? 00:07:54.620 --> 00:07:58.980 And people are terrified at this little five-year-old Jesus in this narrative. 00:08:00.019 --> 00:08:04.420 And then one day, this is probably my favorite story in this account, Jesus and another boy, 00:08:04.500 --> 00:08:05.779 they're playing on a roof, all right? 00:08:05.779 --> 00:08:10.159 They're playing on a roof, and then the boy that Jesus is playing with, he falls off the 00:08:10.159 --> 00:08:11.319 roof and dies. 00:08:11.979 --> 00:08:13.899 And people are quick to blame Jesus. 00:08:14.059 --> 00:08:17.500 Of course, that Jesus, that troublemaker, throwing this kid off the roof, but Jesus is 00:08:17.500 --> 00:08:19.699 like, no, I didn't throw him off the roof. 00:08:20.379 --> 00:08:21.879 And you know what Jesus does in this story? 00:08:22.659 --> 00:08:24.359 He leaps down from the roof, right? 00:08:24.399 --> 00:08:29.639 To the boy who just died from falling from that same height, he leaps down there, and this 00:08:29.639 --> 00:08:31.119 is how he brings the boy back to life. 00:08:31.120 --> 00:08:37.480 He says, he yells out loud, Zeno, arise and tell me, did I throw you off the roof? 00:08:39.960 --> 00:08:41.620 Does that sound like Jesus to you? 00:08:42.539 --> 00:08:44.539 Does that sound like a story inspired by the Holy Spirit? 00:08:45.500 --> 00:08:50.379 A few days later, there's a man who accidentally cuts his foot with an axe, and he starts to 00:08:50.379 --> 00:08:50.659 bleed out. 00:08:50.700 --> 00:08:51.379 He's about to die. 00:08:52.159 --> 00:08:54.679 And Jesus is depicted like this Marvel superhero. 00:08:54.940 --> 00:08:56.620 He goes and he sees this panicked crowd. 00:08:56.879 --> 00:08:57.680 He rushes through. 00:08:57.919 --> 00:08:59.899 He forcefully pushes himself through the crowds. 00:08:59.899 --> 00:09:00.919 He puts his hand on the foot. 00:09:01.179 --> 00:09:01.740 He heals it. 00:09:01.799 --> 00:09:02.980 He saves this guy's life. 00:09:03.480 --> 00:09:09.220 And then like a gangster, five-year-old Jesus says to this man, arise now, cut the wood, 00:09:09.639 --> 00:09:10.539 and remember me. 00:09:12.480 --> 00:09:14.259 This is the infancy gospel of Thomas. 00:09:14.379 --> 00:09:16.740 Sounds more like it's written by Will Ferrell than the Holy Spirit. 00:09:17.740 --> 00:09:18.519 It's hilarious, right? 00:09:18.919 --> 00:09:22.679 Some pretty wild stuff in this infancy gospel. 00:09:22.860 --> 00:09:24.879 And you can totally tell how artificial it is, right? 00:09:24.879 --> 00:09:30.139 And that there's a super clear agenda behind all these childhood Jesus stories. 00:09:30.259 --> 00:09:32.100 They're trying to establish his power, right? 00:09:32.419 --> 00:09:34.139 His authority and his uniqueness. 00:09:35.200 --> 00:09:39.779 And you know, it's not untrue that Jesus, even as a baby, he did have all the power and 00:09:39.779 --> 00:09:40.279 all the authority. 00:09:40.340 --> 00:09:43.279 And he was the most unique, the most special child in all of history. 00:09:43.379 --> 00:09:48.600 But again, the gospel accounts, particularly our passage today, are nothing like these ancient 00:09:48.600 --> 00:09:52.259 Greco-Roman stories of heroes in their youth. 00:09:53.120 --> 00:09:53.519 Why? 00:09:54.659 --> 00:09:55.120 Why? 00:09:56.080 --> 00:10:00.779 What is Luke trying to communicate to us in this account of Jesus' youth, if not the power 00:10:00.779 --> 00:10:05.040 and the authority that existed within this special boy from a young age? 00:10:06.180 --> 00:10:09.960 Well, we've said this many times before, but you know, Matthew's gospel likes to emphasize 00:10:09.960 --> 00:10:11.700 Jesus as the promised Messiah. 00:10:12.080 --> 00:10:14.800 And Mark's gospel emphasizes Jesus as the servant king. 00:10:15.100 --> 00:10:17.840 John's gospel emphasizes Jesus as the divine son of God. 00:10:17.840 --> 00:10:23.160 But Luke's gospel, Luke, while agreeing with all the other accounts, Luke is keen to emphasize 00:10:23.160 --> 00:10:24.680 Jesus as a human. 00:10:25.580 --> 00:10:30.080 Jesus as someone who is like us in every way, yet without sin. 00:10:30.740 --> 00:10:35.460 And that's what comes through here in our text, in this unique window into the life of 12-year-old 00:10:35.460 --> 00:10:38.420 Jesus between infancy and adulthood. 00:10:39.120 --> 00:10:43.720 Luke is showing us not primarily the divine power of Christ, but the humanity of Christ. 00:10:43.720 --> 00:10:49.500 And this is important because if we only understand Christ as the divine son of God, then we'll 00:10:49.500 --> 00:10:50.980 never be able to relate to him. 00:10:51.360 --> 00:10:54.040 We'll never be able to believe that he gets us. 00:10:54.519 --> 00:11:00.519 And we'll tend to see his way of life as unattainable, not really for us to humanly imitate or pursue. 00:11:00.860 --> 00:11:05.160 We'll only see him as the truth to believe in our heads, the eternal life to live and enjoy 00:11:05.160 --> 00:11:09.480 later, and the way to escape from the fires of hell. 00:11:09.480 --> 00:11:16.379 But if we understand that Jesus is also fully human, then we will see him not just as a ticket 00:11:16.379 --> 00:11:22.820 to heaven or as some unrelatable, unapproachable, far-off, detached God-hero that we cannot and 00:11:22.820 --> 00:11:23.980 need not imitate. 00:11:24.279 --> 00:11:28.759 If we see him for who he really is, not just fully God, but also fully human, then we will 00:11:28.759 --> 00:11:35.340 see him as the way to always walk, the truth to trust today, and the life to live in every 00:11:35.340 --> 00:11:36.840 second of our existence. 00:11:36.840 --> 00:11:43.500 When we understand the humanity of Jesus Christ, we will see him not only as God, our maker 00:11:43.500 --> 00:11:49.720 and redeemer, but also as, at the same time, Jesus has the best way to be human. 00:11:50.560 --> 00:11:54.100 That is what Luke is trying to communicate to us in the story of 12-year-old Jesus, the 00:11:54.100 --> 00:11:57.019 picture of the best way to be human. 00:11:57.780 --> 00:12:02.160 So if I could put the whole point of this text into one sentence, it'd be this, and these 00:12:02.160 --> 00:12:02.920 are our three points. 00:12:02.919 --> 00:12:08.360 It's, even Jesus grew, and not by accident, with God and men. 00:12:09.079 --> 00:12:12.639 Even Jesus grew, and not by accident, with God and men. 00:12:12.740 --> 00:12:13.639 Okay, those are our three points. 00:12:13.699 --> 00:12:14.759 So first, even Jesus grew. 00:12:14.819 --> 00:12:18.500 So picking up where we left off last week, baby Jesus has just been to the temple to be 00:12:18.500 --> 00:12:20.860 presented to the Lord by his parents. 00:12:21.259 --> 00:12:25.579 And then verse 39 says, his parents then headed back home with him up north to their hometown 00:12:25.580 --> 00:12:27.180 of Nazareth in Galilee. 00:12:27.300 --> 00:12:31.720 And verse 40 says, verse 40 pretty much covers the next 12 years of his life, and it says, 00:12:31.720 --> 00:12:35.840 and the child grew and became strong. 00:12:36.300 --> 00:12:39.360 He was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was on him. 00:12:39.379 --> 00:12:40.660 Now think about that for a second. 00:12:41.360 --> 00:12:49.700 This eternal Son of God taking on flesh and humanity, and it says, the eternal Son of God 00:12:49.700 --> 00:12:50.440 grew. 00:12:50.440 --> 00:12:52.920 The I am became. 00:12:53.200 --> 00:12:55.340 He subjected himself to a state of becoming. 00:12:55.440 --> 00:12:57.120 Again, Jesus was fully human. 00:12:57.260 --> 00:13:00.720 He was born in weakness, and he became strong. 00:13:00.820 --> 00:13:06.160 He was born with the wisdom and the knowledge of an infant, and then he became filled with 00:13:06.160 --> 00:13:07.860 wisdom as he grew. 00:13:08.840 --> 00:13:13.260 This means there's a real point in his life in which he could not speak, he could not 00:13:13.260 --> 00:13:14.680 understand, he could not feed himself. 00:13:14.840 --> 00:13:18.500 He had to learn those things, how to speak, how to read, how to eat, how to bathe himself, 00:13:18.500 --> 00:13:21.799 how to wipe himself, how to help out around the house, how to follow his parents' way 00:13:21.799 --> 00:13:23.840 of life, how to observe the Torah, right? 00:13:23.860 --> 00:13:28.019 How to follow the law of Moses, how to even get to Jerusalem once a year with his family. 00:13:28.120 --> 00:13:30.620 He had to learn all this and so much more. 00:13:30.679 --> 00:13:35.440 All the things that we take for granted about him, he had to grow up and learn and develop 00:13:35.440 --> 00:13:37.940 just like the rest of us do as humans. 00:13:39.039 --> 00:13:42.799 Like, you know that feeling that many of us who are parents, especially first-time parents 00:13:42.799 --> 00:13:46.500 have had, I remember it well, just gazing at my firstborn, newborn, Cammie, right? 00:13:46.500 --> 00:13:51.259 And thinking to myself, I can't imagine how this little girl is going to somehow start 00:13:51.259 --> 00:13:56.200 crawling and then walking and then running and then she's going to be potty trained somehow. 00:13:56.700 --> 00:13:59.379 She's going to get a job maybe one day, have children. 00:13:59.440 --> 00:14:01.440 This is wild to me, right? 00:14:02.039 --> 00:14:02.600 It's wild. 00:14:03.600 --> 00:14:05.559 But this is probably what Mary and Joseph had. 00:14:05.879 --> 00:14:09.940 These are probably the same feelings that Mary and Joseph had as well about their firstborn, 00:14:09.940 --> 00:14:13.040 Jesus, who like the rest of us, had to grow up. 00:14:13.340 --> 00:14:19.780 And probably not rapidly like some magical prodigy, but probably in a very human amount of time, 00:14:20.040 --> 00:14:21.680 at a very human pace. 00:14:22.460 --> 00:14:24.980 And this is not to say there wasn't anything special about Jesus. 00:14:25.100 --> 00:14:30.880 He clearly had a knack for the Word of God, depth of insight, hunger for God and for the things of God. 00:14:30.879 --> 00:14:34.799 But even as a religious student, even as a faithful Jewish follower of Yahweh, 00:14:34.860 --> 00:14:41.379 He was still subject to the process of inquiry and growth and understanding and learning. 00:14:41.759 --> 00:14:43.059 And that's why in verse 46 it says, 00:14:43.139 --> 00:14:47.700 He was sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. 00:14:47.840 --> 00:14:51.799 Twelve-year-old Jesus here is showing us that He, like all the rest of us, 00:14:52.320 --> 00:14:57.960 was subject to diligent study and to discovery and to all the practices of spiritual formation 00:14:57.960 --> 00:15:02.240 that would shape Him into the person He would only eventually become. 00:15:03.120 --> 00:15:05.379 As a 12-year-old, yes, He was the Son of God. 00:15:05.480 --> 00:15:06.800 Yes, He was without sin. 00:15:06.879 --> 00:15:10.440 And yes, He did have wisdom and understanding about the Scriptures beyond His years. 00:15:10.580 --> 00:15:12.460 But He also still hadn't arrived. 00:15:12.620 --> 00:15:13.700 He was being formed. 00:15:13.800 --> 00:15:14.780 He was being shaped. 00:15:14.879 --> 00:15:16.080 He had to grow. 00:15:16.800 --> 00:15:20.879 As a human, He wasn't born just, you know, having the Torah memorized, 00:15:21.400 --> 00:15:23.360 understanding all the depths of the Word of God, 00:15:23.360 --> 00:15:29.320 apart from decades of teaching and dialogue and reflection and meditation and prayer 00:15:29.320 --> 00:15:30.960 in His community of faith, 00:15:31.019 --> 00:15:36.019 the Son of God was subjected to the long process of growing as a human being 00:15:36.019 --> 00:15:38.620 and as a worshiper of Yahweh. 00:15:39.139 --> 00:15:40.259 As it says in verse 52, 00:15:40.340 --> 00:15:44.279 He grew in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man 00:15:44.279 --> 00:15:47.820 for the next 18 years of His life after this text. 00:15:49.180 --> 00:15:51.639 See, just like all the rest of us, Jesus knew Psalm 1. 00:15:51.639 --> 00:15:55.840 He knew that blessed is the man whose delight is in the law of the Lord 00:15:55.840 --> 00:15:58.480 and on that law He meditates day and night. 00:15:58.559 --> 00:16:01.919 Jesus, like all of us, He had to grow as a tree in order to bear fruit. 00:16:02.240 --> 00:16:05.639 In season, He had to grow in His understanding of God and God's heart and God's mind 00:16:05.639 --> 00:16:08.039 and in His understanding of the human heart and the human mind 00:16:08.039 --> 00:16:10.039 in order to bear fruit and flourish. 00:16:10.740 --> 00:16:12.419 And at this point in Luke chapter 2, 00:16:12.939 --> 00:16:15.059 you know, the season for the juiciest fruit in His life, 00:16:15.100 --> 00:16:16.779 it hadn't even yet arrived. 00:16:17.299 --> 00:16:18.840 So in the meantime, He waited. 00:16:19.279 --> 00:16:21.039 And He committed Himself to growth. 00:16:21.039 --> 00:16:25.659 And very importantly, He committed Himself to dependence upon God for that growth, 00:16:25.799 --> 00:16:28.439 like a tree planted by streams of water. 00:16:29.219 --> 00:16:29.959 Verse 40 says, 00:16:30.120 --> 00:16:33.639 The grace of God was on Him, indicating that all of Jesus' growth, 00:16:34.199 --> 00:16:36.959 He owed not to Himself or to some kind of automatic process 00:16:36.959 --> 00:16:38.759 because, hey, I'm the Son of God. 00:16:38.879 --> 00:16:40.539 No, again, like every other human being, 00:16:40.899 --> 00:16:44.360 Jesus owed all of His growth in strength and in wisdom 00:16:44.360 --> 00:16:46.679 to the gracious favor of God. 00:16:46.679 --> 00:16:53.779 But as a human, He was and had to be absolutely dependent upon God for His growth and development. 00:16:54.799 --> 00:16:57.239 And I point this out to us that even Jesus grew 00:16:57.239 --> 00:17:01.699 because I want to encourage you wherever you are in your spiritual journey. 00:17:02.399 --> 00:17:06.200 The fact that even Jesus grew teaches us that wherever you are, 00:17:06.200 --> 00:17:08.140 no, you haven't arrived. 00:17:08.880 --> 00:17:11.059 And yes, you do have room to grow. 00:17:11.819 --> 00:17:16.559 But hey, so it is 12-year-old Jesus right here, the Son of God. 00:17:17.460 --> 00:17:18.980 So don't beat yourself up about it. 00:17:19.019 --> 00:17:21.900 We like to say it's more about direction than perfection here. 00:17:21.960 --> 00:17:27.380 Here at Christ Church, we exist to lead you simply into a deeper relationship with Christ. 00:17:27.480 --> 00:17:28.920 Wherever you are on the spectrum, 00:17:28.920 --> 00:17:31.840 and trust me, we have people here all over the spectrum. 00:17:32.620 --> 00:17:35.300 Some are negative 10s, super skeptical about Jesus. 00:17:36.140 --> 00:17:37.340 Others are plus ones. 00:17:37.460 --> 00:17:39.940 They've just taken their first steps as baby Christians. 00:17:40.580 --> 00:17:41.800 There are others who are sevens. 00:17:41.920 --> 00:17:43.060 There are others who are eights. 00:17:43.220 --> 00:17:45.340 Then you have Jonathan, who's over 9,000. 00:17:48.500 --> 00:17:52.360 So if you're feeling discouraged or like you're behind 00:17:52.360 --> 00:17:55.700 or you're frustrated by your need to grow at all, 00:17:55.759 --> 00:17:57.279 why can't we just arrive immediately? 00:17:57.279 --> 00:18:01.660 What this little window into the life of 12-year-old Jesus shows us 00:18:01.660 --> 00:18:04.200 is that even Jesus grew. 00:18:04.839 --> 00:18:05.599 We're all growing. 00:18:06.200 --> 00:18:09.359 And it's not so much about where am I on the scale compared to everyone else, 00:18:09.420 --> 00:18:12.899 but what's my next step to grow as Jesus grew? 00:18:13.599 --> 00:18:14.779 And that brings me to my next point. 00:18:14.879 --> 00:18:16.420 Jesus' growth was not by accident. 00:18:16.559 --> 00:18:17.480 It was deliberate. 00:18:17.639 --> 00:18:19.980 There was a plan and a direction set out for him 00:18:19.980 --> 00:18:22.200 that he and his community had committed to. 00:18:23.039 --> 00:18:24.180 And I think for a lot of us, 00:18:24.180 --> 00:18:26.460 it can be easy for us to think of Jesus' growth 00:18:26.460 --> 00:18:28.220 as just automatic and accidental. 00:18:28.440 --> 00:18:30.059 Like it just happened because that was the plan, 00:18:30.140 --> 00:18:32.860 and how could it not happen for the messianic Son of God? 00:18:33.480 --> 00:18:36.840 And we have a very mechanical, deterministic understanding 00:18:36.840 --> 00:18:38.420 of Jesus' growth without recognizing 00:18:38.420 --> 00:18:41.360 that there was a lot of intentionality. 00:18:41.680 --> 00:18:43.960 There was a lot of structure and a process and a method 00:18:43.960 --> 00:18:46.819 that were placed around Jesus to help him grow. 00:18:46.960 --> 00:18:47.799 Read verse 39. 00:18:47.799 --> 00:18:57.480 Did you hear that? 00:18:58.619 --> 00:19:01.559 It didn't just say Jesus grew because that's what was supposed to happen. 00:19:01.639 --> 00:19:05.839 It says Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the law of the Lord. 00:19:07.019 --> 00:19:07.559 Excuse me. 00:19:07.559 --> 00:19:15.279 Jesus' growth had a lot to do with his faithful, pious, Torah-observing parents 00:19:15.279 --> 00:19:19.480 and the way of life that they committed themselves and their whole family to. 00:19:20.379 --> 00:19:21.899 They were just at the temple, right, 00:19:22.000 --> 00:19:24.919 dedicating him to the Lord according to what was required by the law, 00:19:25.099 --> 00:19:27.399 and that was their intention for the rest of their lives 00:19:27.399 --> 00:19:29.179 and for the rest of Jesus' life, 00:19:29.579 --> 00:19:33.139 to build a purposeful environment of spiritual formation, 00:19:33.140 --> 00:19:38.140 to set up a principled context in which Jesus would grow. 00:19:38.740 --> 00:19:39.780 That's how Jesus grew. 00:19:40.580 --> 00:19:41.500 The same way we do. 00:19:41.600 --> 00:19:42.840 The same way our children will grow. 00:19:42.980 --> 00:19:47.040 Jesus' family was practicing a way prescribed by God himself. 00:19:47.180 --> 00:19:50.759 A way, a law, predictable patterns, a holy habit, 00:19:50.860 --> 00:19:52.920 a rule of life with intentionality. 00:19:53.759 --> 00:19:54.540 Verse 41 says, 00:19:54.540 --> 00:19:56.440 Every year, every year, 00:19:57.680 --> 00:20:01.000 Jesus' parents went to Jerusalem for the festival of the Passover. 00:20:01.480 --> 00:20:01.940 Verse 42. 00:20:01.940 --> 00:20:03.140 When he was 12 years old, 00:20:03.380 --> 00:20:06.019 they went up to the festival according to the custom. 00:20:06.080 --> 00:20:06.620 Did you hear that? 00:20:07.039 --> 00:20:09.320 Every year and according to the custom. 00:20:09.900 --> 00:20:11.640 They never missed, rain or shine, 00:20:11.720 --> 00:20:13.460 whether business was good or bad, 00:20:13.660 --> 00:20:15.039 no matter how many children they had, 00:20:15.140 --> 00:20:17.220 no matter how old their children were, 00:20:17.279 --> 00:20:19.660 no matter how many extracurriculars their family had 00:20:19.660 --> 00:20:21.480 or how many opportunities were presented to them. 00:20:21.700 --> 00:20:22.539 Every year, 00:20:23.100 --> 00:20:26.720 Jesus' parents made it a point to observe the Passover. 00:20:26.920 --> 00:20:27.559 Every year. 00:20:28.019 --> 00:20:30.600 For those first 12 years straight in Jesus' life 00:20:30.600 --> 00:20:31.680 and probably for years to come, 00:20:31.680 --> 00:20:33.740 they committed to celebrating with their people 00:20:33.740 --> 00:20:35.779 God's greatest act of redemption, 00:20:36.560 --> 00:20:38.500 delivering them out of slavery in Egypt, 00:20:38.860 --> 00:20:41.320 sparing their firstborns by the blood of a lamb 00:20:41.320 --> 00:20:43.880 and judging their Egyptian oppressors. 00:20:44.180 --> 00:20:47.900 Jesus grew up hearing this redemptive story again and again and again. 00:20:47.900 --> 00:20:52.420 His parents looked for every kind of opportunity to present to him this redemptive story, 00:20:52.500 --> 00:20:54.519 the story of what God had done for their people. 00:20:55.400 --> 00:20:57.740 He saw it at the table that they would eat at, 00:20:58.080 --> 00:20:58.940 the roasted lamb, 00:20:59.340 --> 00:21:00.200 the unleavened bread, 00:21:00.600 --> 00:21:01.259 the bitter herbs, 00:21:01.480 --> 00:21:01.860 the wine. 00:21:01.859 --> 00:21:03.819 This was a predictable pattern, 00:21:04.299 --> 00:21:05.899 a holy habit in the life of Jesus 00:21:05.899 --> 00:21:07.459 and in the life of his family 00:21:07.459 --> 00:21:10.039 that formed him into the Passover lamb 00:21:10.039 --> 00:21:11.279 that he would one day become. 00:21:12.519 --> 00:21:14.079 And it was a holy habit that he practiced 00:21:14.079 --> 00:21:15.500 not just individually, 00:21:16.000 --> 00:21:17.500 but communally. 00:21:17.839 --> 00:21:18.559 With his family, 00:21:18.639 --> 00:21:19.500 with the whole company of people, 00:21:19.579 --> 00:21:21.740 with the whole nation that was gathering in Jerusalem 00:21:21.740 --> 00:21:23.159 and all the people they traveled with, 00:21:23.299 --> 00:21:23.879 every year, 00:21:23.880 --> 00:21:25.440 this was a tight-knit community 00:21:25.440 --> 00:21:26.540 that looked out for each other, 00:21:26.800 --> 00:21:27.800 that did life together, 00:21:28.040 --> 00:21:29.860 a community where relatives and friends 00:21:29.860 --> 00:21:30.820 watched each other's kids 00:21:30.820 --> 00:21:31.880 and traveled together 00:21:31.880 --> 00:21:33.260 and shared the same values 00:21:33.260 --> 00:21:36.380 and worshipped the same God. 00:21:36.480 --> 00:21:37.320 Verse 44 says, 00:21:37.620 --> 00:21:38.660 Mary and Joseph just assumed 00:21:38.660 --> 00:21:39.680 he was in their company 00:21:39.680 --> 00:21:41.520 and they traveled a whole day 00:21:41.520 --> 00:21:44.580 assuming he was with their relatives and friends. 00:21:45.660 --> 00:21:47.140 And through these predictable patterns, 00:21:47.280 --> 00:21:48.220 through these holy habits, 00:21:48.520 --> 00:21:49.720 and in this whole community 00:21:49.720 --> 00:21:51.160 that was practicing this way of life 00:21:51.160 --> 00:21:53.600 that God had commended to them in his law, 00:21:53.880 --> 00:21:54.800 this way of worshiping 00:21:54.800 --> 00:21:56.020 and walking with Yahweh together, 00:21:56.320 --> 00:21:59.120 this is the context in which Jesus grew. 00:22:00.240 --> 00:22:04.020 See, it takes more than a desire in our hearts to grow. 00:22:04.200 --> 00:22:06.780 Jesus didn't just grow because he wanted to grow. 00:22:06.900 --> 00:22:07.840 It takes a plan. 00:22:08.600 --> 00:22:09.700 It takes a community. 00:22:10.440 --> 00:22:11.640 It takes a rule of life. 00:22:11.840 --> 00:22:12.780 And it takes accountability. 00:22:13.080 --> 00:22:14.940 Sure, it starts with desire in our hearts. 00:22:14.980 --> 00:22:16.840 And we definitely need to be checking our hearts 00:22:16.840 --> 00:22:18.760 as we engage in these practices 00:22:18.760 --> 00:22:21.280 so we aren't just performing religious rituals 00:22:21.280 --> 00:22:23.160 or practicing religious techniques 00:22:23.160 --> 00:22:24.980 that will help us level up spiritually 00:22:24.980 --> 00:22:28.140 or make us feel more holy and self-righteous. 00:22:29.340 --> 00:22:30.900 But desire by itself, 00:22:31.120 --> 00:22:32.540 it's not going to get us there. 00:22:33.380 --> 00:22:34.580 Jesus himself was committed 00:22:34.580 --> 00:22:36.980 to a concrete list of practices. 00:22:37.700 --> 00:22:39.700 Practices that God had ordained for him 00:22:39.700 --> 00:22:41.820 and for his community in the Scriptures. 00:22:42.560 --> 00:22:44.019 And that's what we need as well. 00:22:44.700 --> 00:22:46.160 That's why we've been focusing on this 00:22:46.160 --> 00:22:49.140 all fall and winter. 00:22:49.140 --> 00:22:53.720 And we do this not to force growth into our lives, 00:22:53.800 --> 00:22:55.620 but there's a posture that our lives can take 00:22:55.620 --> 00:22:57.660 that makes us more conducive to growth. 00:22:57.780 --> 00:23:00.180 Think of it like a boat with a sail. 00:23:00.860 --> 00:23:03.280 We can either be tossed by the waves 00:23:03.280 --> 00:23:05.840 here and there, there and here, 00:23:05.880 --> 00:23:06.740 with no rhyme or reason, 00:23:06.860 --> 00:23:09.080 ending up wherever the waves may take us, 00:23:09.580 --> 00:23:11.720 or we can put up our sails. 00:23:11.780 --> 00:23:13.800 And the sails won't get us anywhere by themselves, 00:23:13.799 --> 00:23:15.399 but if we put up our sails, 00:23:16.180 --> 00:23:18.099 that's how we'll be ready to catch the wind 00:23:18.099 --> 00:23:19.299 of the Holy Spirit, 00:23:19.500 --> 00:23:22.879 to be moved in the way God wants us to go. 00:23:23.859 --> 00:23:25.639 And maybe this is a word for some of us 00:23:25.639 --> 00:23:27.899 going into 2025 as we're thinking about 00:23:27.899 --> 00:23:29.319 our resolutions, our goals, 00:23:29.539 --> 00:23:30.720 the themes of the new year. 00:23:30.819 --> 00:23:34.579 And I want to point you to this holy habits list. 00:23:34.680 --> 00:23:35.480 You've seen this before. 00:23:35.839 --> 00:23:36.859 It's in your liturgies. 00:23:37.680 --> 00:23:39.299 Turn to this page. 00:23:39.740 --> 00:23:43.119 Practices daily, weekly, monthly, seasonally. 00:23:43.879 --> 00:23:45.699 I want to point you to these holy habits. 00:23:47.059 --> 00:23:48.179 Let's challenge ourselves. 00:23:49.159 --> 00:23:51.419 Let's be that garden of trees, right, 00:23:51.879 --> 00:23:53.500 that are planted by the stream of water. 00:23:54.059 --> 00:23:55.139 I want to challenge you to take up 00:23:55.139 --> 00:23:56.439 something on this list 00:23:56.439 --> 00:23:58.519 that you aren't already currently practicing. 00:23:58.639 --> 00:24:00.159 You can circle it right now. 00:24:01.139 --> 00:24:03.059 Or maybe something that you do practice, 00:24:03.179 --> 00:24:03.779 but you want to practice 00:24:03.779 --> 00:24:06.299 with more intentionality and consistency. 00:24:06.959 --> 00:24:08.899 Maybe for you, it's just showing up 00:24:08.899 --> 00:24:10.119 consistently on Sundays 00:24:10.119 --> 00:24:11.259 rather than once a month. 00:24:11.259 --> 00:24:12.920 Maybe it's just making sure 00:24:12.920 --> 00:24:14.720 you hear the good news preached to you 00:24:14.720 --> 00:24:15.619 once a week 00:24:15.619 --> 00:24:16.960 and that you taste and see 00:24:16.960 --> 00:24:18.460 that Jesus is good at this table 00:24:18.460 --> 00:24:19.759 once a week. 00:24:19.859 --> 00:24:20.339 Or for others, 00:24:20.420 --> 00:24:21.879 maybe it's joining a community group, 00:24:22.339 --> 00:24:23.599 joining a men's covenant group, 00:24:23.720 --> 00:24:24.759 sharing life and prayer 00:24:24.759 --> 00:24:26.660 and accountability with others 00:24:26.660 --> 00:24:27.660 to help each other 00:24:27.660 --> 00:24:29.160 keep your commitments to Christ. 00:24:29.879 --> 00:24:31.259 Maybe it's praying for people 00:24:31.259 --> 00:24:32.240 in your life 00:24:32.240 --> 00:24:34.279 who you'd love for them to meet Jesus. 00:24:35.039 --> 00:24:36.579 Or maybe it's inviting someone to Alpha 00:24:36.579 --> 00:24:38.180 to have spiritual conversations 00:24:38.180 --> 00:24:39.980 with us here in this church. 00:24:40.080 --> 00:24:41.560 Maybe it's just showing up to Alpha yourself 00:24:41.560 --> 00:24:43.460 to grow in your ability 00:24:43.460 --> 00:24:45.380 to have such conversations yourself. 00:24:45.539 --> 00:24:46.440 The bottom line is, 00:24:46.920 --> 00:24:47.920 what's your next step? 00:24:48.940 --> 00:24:50.180 Even Jesus grew. 00:24:51.120 --> 00:24:52.019 Even Jesus grew. 00:24:52.299 --> 00:24:53.500 And not accidentally. 00:24:54.259 --> 00:24:55.200 Not without steps. 00:24:55.519 --> 00:24:58.340 Not without a concrete list of practices. 00:24:59.640 --> 00:25:00.340 And now finally, 00:25:00.480 --> 00:25:01.580 what was the fruit and result 00:25:01.580 --> 00:25:02.380 of Jesus' growth? 00:25:02.380 --> 00:25:03.700 Well, it says in verse 52 00:25:03.700 --> 00:25:06.200 that Jesus grew in wisdom and stature 00:25:06.200 --> 00:25:08.420 and in favor with God and man. 00:25:08.560 --> 00:25:09.520 See, the point of growth 00:25:09.520 --> 00:25:11.060 isn't growth for growth's sake, 00:25:11.360 --> 00:25:12.600 for more spiritual badges, 00:25:12.800 --> 00:25:15.160 to satisfy our self-righteous inclinations. 00:25:15.280 --> 00:25:16.220 No, the point of growth 00:25:16.220 --> 00:25:17.440 is communion with God 00:25:17.440 --> 00:25:19.140 and our neighbors. 00:25:19.840 --> 00:25:20.980 So let's go back into the story. 00:25:21.140 --> 00:25:22.200 Verse 43 says, 00:25:22.280 --> 00:25:23.100 the festival ends 00:25:23.100 --> 00:25:24.600 and Mary and Joseph head back home, 00:25:25.060 --> 00:25:26.680 but Jesus stays behind in Jerusalem 00:25:26.680 --> 00:25:27.860 without them knowing. 00:25:28.660 --> 00:25:29.740 And verse 44 says, 00:25:29.820 --> 00:25:30.780 they don't go looking for Him 00:25:30.779 --> 00:25:32.000 until a day into their trip, 00:25:32.299 --> 00:25:33.579 which some scholars say 00:25:33.579 --> 00:25:35.160 could have been a 20-mile walk 00:25:35.160 --> 00:25:37.420 that they just walked a day through. 00:25:38.139 --> 00:25:39.440 So when verse 45 says 00:25:39.440 --> 00:25:40.180 they don't find Him, 00:25:40.500 --> 00:25:41.279 they now have to leave 00:25:41.279 --> 00:25:42.299 their traveling companions, 00:25:42.759 --> 00:25:44.579 go back maybe 20 miles to Jerusalem 00:25:44.579 --> 00:25:46.019 to look for this guy. 00:25:46.099 --> 00:25:47.099 And at this point, of course, 00:25:47.299 --> 00:25:47.759 they're anxious. 00:25:48.619 --> 00:25:50.019 Jesus is close to, you know, 00:25:50.079 --> 00:25:52.339 Walter and Jack and Luke's age, 00:25:52.660 --> 00:25:53.759 and He's a whole journey, 00:25:54.039 --> 00:25:55.579 a whole day's journey away. 00:25:56.420 --> 00:25:57.339 It's not just that He's 00:25:57.339 --> 00:25:58.500 a 12-year-old boy either, 00:25:58.579 --> 00:25:59.500 but maybe Mary and Joseph 00:25:59.500 --> 00:26:00.019 were also thinking, 00:26:00.019 --> 00:26:00.720 oh shoot, 00:26:01.259 --> 00:26:02.460 have we lost the Messiah? 00:26:03.319 --> 00:26:05.319 Have we lost the Son of God? 00:26:05.779 --> 00:26:07.259 This isn't just any child. 00:26:07.819 --> 00:26:08.559 What have we done? 00:26:09.180 --> 00:26:10.339 Have we failed in parenting 00:26:10.339 --> 00:26:11.240 the miracle child 00:26:11.240 --> 00:26:12.000 who all the people 00:26:12.000 --> 00:26:12.720 and all the angels 00:26:12.720 --> 00:26:14.940 have spoken great prophetic things about? 00:26:15.339 --> 00:26:16.680 How's He going to save the world now 00:26:16.680 --> 00:26:17.740 if we can't even find Him? 00:26:19.160 --> 00:26:20.339 Verse 46 says, 00:26:20.400 --> 00:26:21.639 they eventually find Him 00:26:21.639 --> 00:26:22.879 after three days. 00:26:23.299 --> 00:26:24.500 And He was in the temple court 00:26:24.500 --> 00:26:25.599 sitting among the teachers, 00:26:25.980 --> 00:26:26.660 listening to them 00:26:26.660 --> 00:26:27.819 and asking them questions. 00:26:27.819 --> 00:26:29.579 Everyone who heard Him 00:26:29.579 --> 00:26:31.159 was amazed at His understanding 00:26:31.159 --> 00:26:32.099 and His answers, 00:26:32.200 --> 00:26:32.980 and even His parents. 00:26:33.099 --> 00:26:33.559 Verse 48, 00:26:33.619 --> 00:26:34.519 when His parents saw Him, 00:26:34.579 --> 00:26:35.480 they were astonished. 00:26:36.119 --> 00:26:37.259 But that's not the only thing 00:26:37.259 --> 00:26:37.700 they felt. 00:26:37.839 --> 00:26:39.119 Mary's got something to say 00:26:39.119 --> 00:26:40.599 to her preteen, right? 00:26:40.679 --> 00:26:41.359 Verse 48, 00:26:41.359 --> 00:26:43.179 His mother said to Him, 00:26:44.139 --> 00:26:44.539 Son, 00:26:45.199 --> 00:26:47.559 why have you treated us like this? 00:26:48.240 --> 00:26:50.500 Your father and I 00:26:50.500 --> 00:26:52.819 have been anxiously searching for you. 00:26:53.639 --> 00:26:54.859 And this all sounds 00:26:54.859 --> 00:26:56.219 like a pretty typical relationship 00:26:56.219 --> 00:26:57.199 between a 12-year-old 00:26:57.199 --> 00:26:57.839 and his mother 00:26:57.839 --> 00:26:59.659 until Jesus replies 00:26:59.659 --> 00:27:01.240 with a very interesting response 00:27:01.240 --> 00:27:02.099 in verse 49, 00:27:03.099 --> 00:27:04.699 why are you searching for me? 00:27:05.659 --> 00:27:06.379 Didn't you know 00:27:06.379 --> 00:27:08.079 I had to be 00:27:08.079 --> 00:27:10.279 in my father's house? 00:27:10.279 --> 00:27:12.519 See, up to this point, 00:27:12.639 --> 00:27:13.859 while Yahweh worshipers 00:27:13.859 --> 00:27:15.379 did speak of Yahweh 00:27:15.379 --> 00:27:16.180 as a father, 00:27:16.500 --> 00:27:17.480 they never, like, 00:27:17.579 --> 00:27:18.740 personally addressed Him 00:27:18.740 --> 00:27:20.099 as my father. 00:27:21.160 --> 00:27:22.240 So as verse 50 says, 00:27:22.299 --> 00:27:23.099 they did not understand 00:27:23.099 --> 00:27:24.059 what He was saying to them. 00:27:24.119 --> 00:27:24.859 In Mary's mind, 00:27:25.039 --> 00:27:26.500 this was her 12-year-old son. 00:27:27.000 --> 00:27:28.160 In just one year, 00:27:28.220 --> 00:27:28.819 he'd be 13, 00:27:28.920 --> 00:27:30.139 he'd be considered as an adult, 00:27:30.240 --> 00:27:30.940 he'd be responsible 00:27:30.940 --> 00:27:32.240 to God for himself. 00:27:32.599 --> 00:27:33.339 He'd probably also 00:27:33.339 --> 00:27:34.500 take up the family trade 00:27:34.500 --> 00:27:35.099 and increase 00:27:35.099 --> 00:27:36.619 his family responsibilities. 00:27:37.319 --> 00:27:38.399 So in this 12th year, 00:27:38.480 --> 00:27:39.000 more than ever, 00:27:39.000 --> 00:27:39.700 in Mary's mind, 00:27:39.799 --> 00:27:40.420 Jesus was supposed 00:27:40.420 --> 00:27:41.700 to shadow and stick 00:27:41.700 --> 00:27:43.019 to Joseph as closely 00:27:43.019 --> 00:27:43.700 as possible 00:27:43.700 --> 00:27:45.059 to prepare for becoming 00:27:45.059 --> 00:27:45.720 a man, 00:27:46.119 --> 00:27:47.160 to prepare for becoming 00:27:47.160 --> 00:27:48.140 a Yahweh worshiper 00:27:48.140 --> 00:27:49.059 and a carpenter. 00:27:49.619 --> 00:27:51.319 This past Passover festival, 00:27:51.440 --> 00:27:52.880 Joseph probably more meticulously 00:27:52.880 --> 00:27:53.940 than any other year 00:27:53.940 --> 00:27:55.240 was probably explaining 00:27:55.240 --> 00:27:55.660 to Jesus 00:27:55.660 --> 00:27:56.640 all the elements 00:27:56.640 --> 00:27:57.619 of the Passover, 00:27:57.779 --> 00:27:58.920 what the lamb represented, 00:27:59.279 --> 00:28:00.559 what the bitter herbs represented, 00:28:00.799 --> 00:28:02.039 the bread and the wine. 00:28:02.839 --> 00:28:03.500 And in her mind, 00:28:03.539 --> 00:28:04.240 she's probably thinking, 00:28:04.519 --> 00:28:05.279 and here you are, 00:28:05.420 --> 00:28:05.680 Jesus, 00:28:05.940 --> 00:28:07.000 just one year away 00:28:07.000 --> 00:28:08.480 from being responsible 00:28:08.480 --> 00:28:09.619 for your own faith, 00:28:09.859 --> 00:28:10.799 and we've been trying hard 00:28:10.799 --> 00:28:11.240 to teach you 00:28:11.240 --> 00:28:12.839 how to be a faithful Jewish man, 00:28:13.359 --> 00:28:14.079 and here you are, 00:28:14.140 --> 00:28:15.819 disobeying the fifth commandment 00:28:15.819 --> 00:28:16.759 and not honoring 00:28:16.759 --> 00:28:17.539 your father 00:28:17.539 --> 00:28:18.319 and your mother, 00:28:18.440 --> 00:28:19.079 and you've made us 00:28:19.079 --> 00:28:20.380 so anxious. 00:28:21.900 --> 00:28:22.160 But see, 00:28:22.240 --> 00:28:23.359 little does Mary understand 00:28:23.359 --> 00:28:24.339 that Jesus has been 00:28:24.339 --> 00:28:24.920 paying attention 00:28:24.920 --> 00:28:25.859 to everything 00:28:25.859 --> 00:28:26.799 she and Joseph 00:28:26.799 --> 00:28:27.920 have been teaching him. 00:28:28.279 --> 00:28:29.359 And Jesus does know 00:28:29.359 --> 00:28:29.920 the importance 00:28:29.920 --> 00:28:30.440 of this year, 00:28:30.480 --> 00:28:31.579 and he is gearing up 00:28:31.579 --> 00:28:32.839 for when he turns 13 00:28:32.839 --> 00:28:34.459 and when he turns 30. 00:28:35.259 --> 00:28:36.599 And he actually 00:28:36.599 --> 00:28:37.799 has been sticking closely 00:28:37.799 --> 00:28:38.899 to his father. 00:28:39.639 --> 00:28:40.259 For while Joseph 00:28:40.259 --> 00:28:40.759 may indeed 00:28:40.759 --> 00:28:41.259 have been anxious, 00:28:41.399 --> 00:28:42.379 Jesus' true father, 00:28:42.439 --> 00:28:43.159 his ultimate father, 00:28:43.220 --> 00:28:44.459 his father in heaven, 00:28:44.839 --> 00:28:46.059 was not one bit anxious. 00:28:46.339 --> 00:28:46.699 Actually, 00:28:47.059 --> 00:28:47.699 God his father 00:28:47.699 --> 00:28:48.439 was delighting 00:28:48.439 --> 00:28:48.980 that his son 00:28:48.980 --> 00:28:50.000 lingered to stay 00:28:50.000 --> 00:28:50.720 in his house, 00:28:50.759 --> 00:28:51.419 even if it led 00:28:51.419 --> 00:28:53.259 to Mary and Joseph's anxiety. 00:28:54.179 --> 00:28:55.099 This is what Jesus 00:28:55.099 --> 00:28:55.919 is trying to communicate 00:28:55.919 --> 00:28:56.799 to his mother. 00:28:57.500 --> 00:28:57.819 Mom, 00:28:58.619 --> 00:29:00.119 I have been with my father. 00:29:00.939 --> 00:29:02.099 At this early age 00:29:02.099 --> 00:29:02.919 in Jesus' life, 00:29:02.959 --> 00:29:03.819 it's become clear to him 00:29:03.819 --> 00:29:04.939 that there is a relationship 00:29:04.939 --> 00:29:05.939 in his life 00:29:05.939 --> 00:29:07.219 that is more important 00:29:07.219 --> 00:29:08.699 than even the most important 00:29:08.699 --> 00:29:09.939 relationships in his life. 00:29:10.419 --> 00:29:11.199 And it's a relationship 00:29:11.199 --> 00:29:12.219 with God, 00:29:12.779 --> 00:29:14.079 his personal father. 00:29:14.719 --> 00:29:16.519 And nothing will take precedence 00:29:16.519 --> 00:29:18.339 over this relationship, 00:29:18.339 --> 00:29:19.119 even if this means 00:29:19.119 --> 00:29:20.339 disappointing and confusing 00:29:20.339 --> 00:29:20.839 and scaring 00:29:20.839 --> 00:29:21.699 and breaking the hearts 00:29:21.699 --> 00:29:23.679 of the people he most loves 00:29:23.679 --> 00:29:24.419 and of the people 00:29:24.419 --> 00:29:25.639 who most love him. 00:29:26.779 --> 00:29:27.740 This is how Jesus 00:29:27.740 --> 00:29:28.359 was growing 00:29:28.359 --> 00:29:30.059 in wisdom and stature 00:29:30.059 --> 00:29:31.459 and in favor with God. 00:29:31.460 --> 00:29:31.980 He was learning 00:29:31.980 --> 00:29:32.980 to put God first 00:29:32.980 --> 00:29:34.019 above all else, 00:29:34.240 --> 00:29:35.180 even above his most 00:29:35.180 --> 00:29:36.759 precious family members. 00:29:37.079 --> 00:29:38.120 And maybe that's another word 00:29:38.120 --> 00:29:39.340 for us in 2025. 00:29:39.860 --> 00:29:40.620 How will you put 00:29:40.620 --> 00:29:41.539 your relationship 00:29:41.539 --> 00:29:42.480 with God, 00:29:42.600 --> 00:29:43.700 your father first 00:29:43.700 --> 00:29:45.059 over everything, 00:29:45.500 --> 00:29:47.059 over everyone else 00:29:47.059 --> 00:29:48.600 in this coming year? 00:29:49.299 --> 00:29:50.180 Has your relationship 00:29:50.180 --> 00:29:51.180 with God as your father 00:29:51.180 --> 00:29:52.500 informed your plans 00:29:52.500 --> 00:29:53.240 moving forward 00:29:53.240 --> 00:29:53.920 into 2025? 00:29:54.120 --> 00:29:54.799 How will you commit 00:29:54.799 --> 00:29:56.160 to growing with him 00:29:56.160 --> 00:29:57.400 in the new year? 00:29:58.440 --> 00:29:59.460 Now maybe for some of us 00:29:59.460 --> 00:30:00.440 it sounds so spiritual 00:30:00.440 --> 00:30:01.440 and unhelpful 00:30:01.440 --> 00:30:02.019 and irrelevant 00:30:02.019 --> 00:30:02.880 for day-to-day living. 00:30:02.980 --> 00:30:03.539 Like, come on! 00:30:03.860 --> 00:30:04.539 Of course the pastor 00:30:04.539 --> 00:30:05.120 is going to tell me 00:30:05.120 --> 00:30:05.620 I need to work 00:30:05.620 --> 00:30:06.519 on my relationship 00:30:06.519 --> 00:30:07.579 with God. 00:30:08.100 --> 00:30:09.120 But what good 00:30:09.120 --> 00:30:09.840 is that going to do 00:30:09.840 --> 00:30:10.340 for me 00:30:10.340 --> 00:30:11.019 or for the rest 00:30:11.019 --> 00:30:11.460 of the world? 00:30:12.640 --> 00:30:13.819 Look here in verse 52. 00:30:14.680 --> 00:30:15.460 Notice it doesn't just say 00:30:15.460 --> 00:30:16.259 Jesus grew in wisdom 00:30:16.259 --> 00:30:16.720 and stature 00:30:16.720 --> 00:30:17.799 and in favor with God, 00:30:18.160 --> 00:30:19.819 but also with men. 00:30:20.840 --> 00:30:21.860 Just as soon as Jesus 00:30:21.860 --> 00:30:22.559 tells his parents 00:30:22.559 --> 00:30:23.620 that his relationship 00:30:23.620 --> 00:30:24.500 with his father in heaven 00:30:24.500 --> 00:30:26.240 is his highest priority, 00:30:26.240 --> 00:30:28.720 verse 51 also says, 00:30:29.400 --> 00:30:30.019 Then he went down 00:30:30.019 --> 00:30:31.079 to Nazareth with them 00:30:31.079 --> 00:30:32.400 and was obedient to them. 00:30:33.180 --> 00:30:33.640 But his mother 00:30:33.640 --> 00:30:34.559 treasured all these things 00:30:34.559 --> 00:30:34.960 in her heart 00:30:34.960 --> 00:30:35.640 and Jesus grew 00:30:35.640 --> 00:30:36.620 in wisdom and stature 00:30:36.620 --> 00:30:37.559 and in favor with God 00:30:37.559 --> 00:30:39.299 and man. 00:30:40.660 --> 00:30:41.660 See, growth in favor 00:30:41.660 --> 00:30:42.099 with God 00:30:42.099 --> 00:30:43.059 does not automatically 00:30:43.059 --> 00:30:44.220 preclude our growth 00:30:44.220 --> 00:30:46.160 in favor with human beings. 00:30:46.539 --> 00:30:47.240 But actually, 00:30:47.799 --> 00:30:49.059 the two go together 00:30:49.059 --> 00:30:50.079 more than many of us 00:30:50.079 --> 00:30:50.700 might think. 00:30:50.799 --> 00:30:51.720 Like, sometimes I think 00:30:51.720 --> 00:30:52.640 some of us think 00:30:52.640 --> 00:30:53.440 that growing in favor 00:30:53.440 --> 00:30:54.579 with God means, 00:30:54.640 --> 00:30:54.900 you know, 00:30:55.059 --> 00:30:56.220 growing in animosity 00:30:56.220 --> 00:30:57.579 with our neighbors 00:30:57.579 --> 00:30:59.000 or growing in awkwardness 00:30:59.000 --> 00:30:59.779 toward others. 00:30:59.900 --> 00:31:00.319 We're just like 00:31:00.319 --> 00:31:01.640 these spiritual weirdos, 00:31:02.039 --> 00:31:02.980 these outcasts 00:31:02.980 --> 00:31:04.019 who are always misunderstood 00:31:04.019 --> 00:31:05.240 all the time 00:31:05.240 --> 00:31:06.319 and that that's proof 00:31:06.319 --> 00:31:07.579 that we are close to God. 00:31:08.160 --> 00:31:10.120 And we can get so preoccupied 00:31:10.120 --> 00:31:11.779 with God and spirituality 00:31:11.779 --> 00:31:14.000 that we just don't really care 00:31:14.000 --> 00:31:15.460 to understand the world around us. 00:31:15.559 --> 00:31:16.339 We don't care to understand 00:31:16.339 --> 00:31:17.400 the culture around us. 00:31:17.640 --> 00:31:18.680 We can't relate to others. 00:31:18.839 --> 00:31:20.079 We have a hard time 00:31:20.079 --> 00:31:20.960 having empathy 00:31:20.960 --> 00:31:21.759 or compassion 00:31:21.759 --> 00:31:23.059 or being sensitive to others. 00:31:24.160 --> 00:31:24.400 Friends, 00:31:24.460 --> 00:31:25.279 this is not the way 00:31:25.279 --> 00:31:26.039 of Jesus. 00:31:26.759 --> 00:31:27.599 If we are growing 00:31:27.599 --> 00:31:28.440 in the way of Jesus, 00:31:28.559 --> 00:31:29.940 we will draw nearer 00:31:29.940 --> 00:31:30.920 to the heart of God 00:31:30.920 --> 00:31:32.220 and also nearer 00:31:32.220 --> 00:31:32.960 to the hearts 00:31:32.960 --> 00:31:33.700 of our neighbors. 00:31:34.440 --> 00:31:35.059 We will become 00:31:35.059 --> 00:31:36.019 more human 00:31:36.019 --> 00:31:37.359 and not less. 00:31:38.099 --> 00:31:38.639 We will grow 00:31:38.639 --> 00:31:39.180 in empathy 00:31:39.180 --> 00:31:40.180 and understanding 00:31:40.180 --> 00:31:41.079 and compassion 00:31:41.079 --> 00:31:41.740 and sensitivity 00:31:41.740 --> 00:31:42.339 and humility 00:31:42.339 --> 00:31:43.019 and service 00:31:43.019 --> 00:31:43.799 toward others 00:31:43.799 --> 00:31:44.639 when we grow 00:31:44.639 --> 00:31:45.559 in our relationships 00:31:45.559 --> 00:31:46.399 with God. 00:31:46.480 --> 00:31:46.660 And sure, 00:31:46.740 --> 00:31:47.879 people do have sinful hearts 00:31:47.879 --> 00:31:48.180 and sure, 00:31:48.259 --> 00:31:49.559 we may be misunderstood 00:31:49.559 --> 00:31:51.180 by those who are far from God, 00:31:51.259 --> 00:31:51.639 but know this, 00:31:51.700 --> 00:31:52.700 when we are right with God, 00:31:52.700 --> 00:31:54.080 whether our enemies 00:31:54.080 --> 00:31:55.019 can see it or not, 00:31:55.080 --> 00:31:56.240 we have everything we need 00:31:56.240 --> 00:31:57.920 to be right with 00:31:57.920 --> 00:31:58.680 and to bless 00:31:58.680 --> 00:31:59.960 all kinds of people, 00:32:00.920 --> 00:32:01.900 any kind of person. 00:32:02.380 --> 00:32:03.180 In a real sense, 00:32:03.240 --> 00:32:04.779 we never need to choose 00:32:04.779 --> 00:32:05.840 between pleasing God 00:32:05.840 --> 00:32:06.700 and pleasing our neighbors 00:32:06.700 --> 00:32:07.580 because to please God 00:32:07.580 --> 00:32:09.120 is the best possible thing 00:32:09.120 --> 00:32:10.259 for our neighbors. 00:32:11.240 --> 00:32:12.080 So to bring it all back, 00:32:12.140 --> 00:32:12.880 whether baby Jesus 00:32:12.880 --> 00:32:13.920 or 12-year-old Jesus 00:32:13.920 --> 00:32:15.180 or 30-year-old Jesus, 00:32:15.480 --> 00:32:16.640 Jesus shows us 00:32:16.640 --> 00:32:18.259 the best way to be human 00:32:18.259 --> 00:32:19.180 and the way 00:32:19.180 --> 00:32:20.559 to intentionally grow 00:32:20.559 --> 00:32:21.700 in favor with God 00:32:21.700 --> 00:32:23.059 and with man. 00:32:23.140 --> 00:32:24.019 And this is good news 00:32:24.019 --> 00:32:24.779 for the world, 00:32:25.359 --> 00:32:27.019 that our growth in Christ, 00:32:27.440 --> 00:32:28.759 that our growth like Christ 00:32:28.759 --> 00:32:30.000 is for the glory of God 00:32:30.000 --> 00:32:31.500 and for the good 00:32:31.500 --> 00:32:32.299 of our neighbors. 00:32:33.039 --> 00:32:33.779 The good news 00:32:33.779 --> 00:32:34.279 of the gospel 00:32:34.279 --> 00:32:34.940 is that even though 00:32:34.940 --> 00:32:36.279 God had every reason 00:32:36.279 --> 00:32:37.379 not to pursue 00:32:37.379 --> 00:32:38.879 the good of sinful humanity, 00:32:39.339 --> 00:32:41.079 God didn't make us choose 00:32:41.079 --> 00:32:42.579 between Him 00:32:42.579 --> 00:32:43.319 and humanity. 00:32:43.460 --> 00:32:44.480 No, God doesn't call us 00:32:44.480 --> 00:32:45.140 to honor Him 00:32:45.140 --> 00:32:46.200 at our own expense 00:32:46.200 --> 00:32:47.059 or at the expense 00:32:47.059 --> 00:32:47.740 of our neighbors. 00:32:47.740 --> 00:32:48.319 the good news 00:32:48.319 --> 00:32:48.960 of the gospel 00:32:48.960 --> 00:32:49.700 is that God 00:32:49.700 --> 00:32:50.339 has made a way 00:32:50.339 --> 00:32:51.319 for us to honor Him 00:32:51.319 --> 00:32:53.000 and humanity. 00:32:54.180 --> 00:32:54.740 And it's through 00:32:54.740 --> 00:32:55.420 the selfless, 00:32:55.759 --> 00:32:57.000 sacrificial way 00:32:57.000 --> 00:32:57.759 of Jesus. 00:32:58.839 --> 00:33:00.099 The beauty of the gospel 00:33:00.099 --> 00:33:00.960 is that the very way 00:33:00.960 --> 00:33:01.960 that Jesus won favor 00:33:01.960 --> 00:33:02.480 with God 00:33:02.480 --> 00:33:03.700 is by winning favor 00:33:03.700 --> 00:33:04.259 with man. 00:33:04.579 --> 00:33:05.279 And the very way 00:33:05.279 --> 00:33:06.220 that Jesus wins favor 00:33:06.220 --> 00:33:06.640 with man 00:33:06.640 --> 00:33:08.059 is by winning favor 00:33:08.059 --> 00:33:08.519 with God 00:33:08.519 --> 00:33:10.259 all at His own expense, 00:33:10.400 --> 00:33:11.400 not by flaunting 00:33:11.400 --> 00:33:12.180 or asserting 00:33:12.180 --> 00:33:14.200 His power and dominance 00:33:14.200 --> 00:33:14.859 like Hercules 00:33:14.859 --> 00:33:16.319 or a five-year-old Jesus 00:33:16.319 --> 00:33:17.559 from the infancy gospel. 00:33:18.359 --> 00:33:19.140 Jesus doesn't come 00:33:19.140 --> 00:33:20.660 as a petulant kindergartner 00:33:20.660 --> 00:33:21.420 wielding His power 00:33:21.420 --> 00:33:22.380 to terrorize those 00:33:22.380 --> 00:33:23.319 who cross Him, 00:33:24.240 --> 00:33:25.519 but as a 12-year-old boy 00:33:25.519 --> 00:33:26.799 simply eager 00:33:26.799 --> 00:33:27.819 to learn and grow 00:33:27.819 --> 00:33:28.859 in His Father's house 00:33:28.859 --> 00:33:30.059 and happy 00:33:30.059 --> 00:33:31.000 to simply obey 00:33:31.000 --> 00:33:32.640 His godly parents. 00:33:32.740 --> 00:33:33.660 It's as simple as that 00:33:33.660 --> 00:33:34.519 in humility. 00:33:35.620 --> 00:33:36.660 And from this point on, 00:33:36.700 --> 00:33:37.480 from this story on, 00:33:37.519 --> 00:33:37.960 He prepares 00:33:37.960 --> 00:33:39.240 for 20 more years 00:33:39.240 --> 00:33:40.400 being formed 00:33:40.400 --> 00:33:41.400 in this pattern, 00:33:41.779 --> 00:33:43.039 in this holy habit, 00:33:43.279 --> 00:33:44.019 in this community. 00:33:44.019 --> 00:33:44.700 He's formed 00:33:44.700 --> 00:33:45.619 and He's on His way 00:33:45.619 --> 00:33:46.039 to becoming 00:33:46.039 --> 00:33:47.660 the real Passover Lamb 00:33:47.660 --> 00:33:48.779 who will one day 00:33:48.779 --> 00:33:49.960 pour out His own blood 00:33:49.960 --> 00:33:50.799 on a cross 00:33:50.799 --> 00:33:52.099 to finally satisfy 00:33:52.099 --> 00:33:53.379 God's demand for justice, 00:33:54.019 --> 00:33:55.180 God's desire for mercy, 00:33:55.819 --> 00:33:56.680 and to save us 00:33:56.680 --> 00:33:57.559 from ourselves. 00:33:58.779 --> 00:34:00.259 This is what 12-year-old Jesus 00:34:00.259 --> 00:34:02.079 is here to show us today. 00:34:03.079 --> 00:34:04.019 Even Jesus grew, 00:34:04.559 --> 00:34:05.500 not by accident, 00:34:06.039 --> 00:34:07.019 and He grew in favor 00:34:07.019 --> 00:34:08.239 with God and man. 00:34:08.300 --> 00:34:09.599 So let's grow in Him this year. 00:34:09.679 --> 00:34:10.559 Let's grow like Him, 00:34:10.759 --> 00:34:11.639 not by accident, 00:34:12.119 --> 00:34:13.619 and let's grow in favor 00:34:13.619 --> 00:34:15.119 with God and man. 00:34:15.259 --> 00:34:15.480 Amen? 00:34:16.480 --> 00:34:17.179 Let's pray. 00:34:20.579 --> 00:34:22.259 Lord, would You astound us 00:34:22.259 --> 00:34:23.299 with the reality 00:34:23.299 --> 00:34:25.079 that Your Son, 00:34:25.279 --> 00:34:26.239 the eternal Word, 00:34:27.880 --> 00:34:28.759 took on flesh 00:34:28.759 --> 00:34:29.980 and humbled Himself 00:34:29.980 --> 00:34:32.099 and subjected Himself 00:34:32.099 --> 00:34:34.900 to the long and often 00:34:34.900 --> 00:34:36.940 grueling process of growth? 00:34:36.940 --> 00:34:39.639 Oh God, we are 00:34:39.639 --> 00:34:40.599 an impatient people. 00:34:40.700 --> 00:34:41.579 We hate to wait. 00:34:42.880 --> 00:34:44.139 But that's how You've made us. 00:34:44.200 --> 00:34:44.940 You've made us to grow 00:34:44.940 --> 00:34:45.599 and to develop 00:34:45.599 --> 00:34:47.000 as human beings. 00:34:47.139 --> 00:34:48.420 You alone are the I Am. 00:34:49.960 --> 00:34:51.400 And You, in Your humility, 00:34:51.539 --> 00:34:53.179 have graciously come down to us 00:34:53.179 --> 00:34:53.700 and You've entered 00:34:53.700 --> 00:34:54.940 into our state of becoming. 00:34:57.079 --> 00:34:58.099 And You learned 00:34:58.099 --> 00:34:59.639 and You grew 00:34:59.639 --> 00:35:00.679 and You developed 00:35:00.679 --> 00:35:01.840 and You subjected Yourself 00:35:01.840 --> 00:35:02.519 to practices 00:35:02.519 --> 00:35:03.780 in the person of Christ. 00:35:04.539 --> 00:35:05.440 Would we do the same? 00:35:06.440 --> 00:35:07.300 And would we do the same 00:35:07.300 --> 00:35:09.159 not just to merit 00:35:09.159 --> 00:35:10.300 more spiritual badges, 00:35:10.420 --> 00:35:11.300 but would we do the same 00:35:11.300 --> 00:35:12.179 because we believe 00:35:12.179 --> 00:35:13.400 that Jesus is the best way 00:35:13.400 --> 00:35:13.960 to be human? 00:35:15.300 --> 00:35:16.340 Would we do the same 00:35:16.340 --> 00:35:17.519 because we want to grow 00:35:17.519 --> 00:35:18.400 in favor with God 00:35:18.400 --> 00:35:19.400 and with man 00:35:19.400 --> 00:35:21.340 for Your glory, O Lord, 00:35:21.920 --> 00:35:22.760 and for the good 00:35:22.760 --> 00:35:24.200 of those around us? 00:35:24.840 --> 00:35:25.440 We thank You 00:35:25.440 --> 00:35:26.360 that this is possible. 00:35:27.200 --> 00:35:27.940 Jesus has shown us 00:35:27.940 --> 00:35:28.159 the way. 00:35:28.220 --> 00:35:29.079 Help us to love Him, 00:35:29.440 --> 00:35:29.960 trust Him, 00:35:30.280 --> 00:35:30.800 obey Him, 00:35:30.860 --> 00:35:31.599 and enjoy Him. 00:35:31.780 --> 00:35:32.619 In His name we pray. 00:35:33.159 --> 00:35:33.400 Amen. 00:35:33.400 --> 00:35:33.519 Amen. 00:35:35.440 --> 00:35:36.440 Amen. 00:35:36.440 --> 00:35:36.840 . 00:35:36.880 --> 00:35:37.340 Amen. 00:35:37.440 --> 00:35:38.440 Amen. 00:35:38.639 --> 00:35:38.920 Amen. 00:35:39.059 --> 00:35:39.760 Amen. 00:35:53.920 --> 00:35:54.039 Amen. 00:35:54.039 --> 00:35:54.400 Amen. 00:35:57.820 --> 00:35:57.960 Amen. 00:35:58.240 --> 00:35:58.360 Amen. 00:35:58.400 --> 00:35:59.579 Amen. 00:35:59.920 --> 00:36:00.579 Amen. 00:36:00.720 --> 00:36:00.920 Amen. 00:36:00.960 --> 00:36:02.280 Amen. 00:36:02.980 --> 00:36:04.420 Amen.