Jesus Increased in Stature

By Paul Earnhart

Luke 2:52 tells us that in the years before Jesus was 12-years old, He increased in stature.  This tells us something about both Jesus and His mother, Mary.

To say that Jesus increased in stature is to say that he grew normally, that he was healthy and strong in body. We know well what is required for such growth. It requires good wholesome food, exercise, proper rest and clean habits.

Many young people want a good strong body for appearance or for success in sports.  But Jesus had a greater reason for taking care of His body.  His body was given to Him by God, and it was God 's intention that He should use it for the years that He was on earth.  So, Jesus cared for it and did what was necessary to increase in strength.

All of us can say that our bodies are a gift of God. They are to be used for His service.  This gives us special reason to care for them, to observe the rules of good health and to avoid tobacco, intoxicating drinks and other drugs that weaken our bodies, scramble our brains, and shorten our lives.

Mary is also to be praised for her part in the physical growth of Jesus.  Doubtless she was the one who prepared his good meals, encouraged him in exercise and taught him good habits of cleanliness. Mothers have a special responsibility along these lines.  It is sad to see Mothers today who are too busy or too occupied with social affairs or pleasure to take proper care of their children.  Solomon said, "A chiId left to himself is the shame of his mother" (Proverbs 29:15).  That is still true.  If you are a mother reading this message, what kind of mother are you?  Are you the kind in whose hands God would have entrusted His Son? He has entrusted a child or children to your care.  Be sure you help them grow in stature as Jesus did.

Jesus Lost

By Paul Earnhart

When Jesus was twelve years old, His parents took him to Jerusalem for the Passover Feast.  These journeys to Jerusalem must have been festive occasions.  All devout Jews made the journey.  A large company would set out from each village - friends, acquaintances and families travelling together, walking along the road visiting as they went.  It is easy to imagine older people walking together while the younger folks and children walked with those their own age.

After spending perhaps a week in Jerusalem, the people began the long walk back to Nazareth.  Historians tell us that it was common for worshipers as they were leaving Jerusalem to make one more visit to the temple.  And it is likely that the 12-year-old Jesus became so deeply interested in what was going on there that He did not even know when His parents left.  Luke 2:43 tells us that the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but his parents were unaware of it.  And verse 44 tells us that they did not even miss Him until nightfall.  When they finally found Jesus back in Jerusalem three days later, they asked, "Son, why have You treated us this way?" (Luke 2:48)  But the problem was not with Jesus, it was with them.

Why was Jesus lost?  It was not that He was rebellious; it was not that His parents were wicked or selfish.  Rather, they were careless; Luke 2:44 tells us that they supposed He was with their relatives and friends.

Millions of children are being lost today - spiritually.  It is not that they are rebellious, or necessarily that their parents are wicked or selfish.  It is just that parents are careless about the religious training of their children.  Perhaps they think that someone else is taking care of that - maybe friends or acquaintances.  But that responsibility is placed directly on parents, and they cannot escape it.  Eph 6:4 says to parents: “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.”

The Parents of Jesus Went to Worship

By Paul Earnhart

Jesus was the Son of God, but He was entrusted to earthly parents when he came to live on the earth.  Parents can learn much by observing Joseph and Mary, the two individuals with whom God entrusted his Son.

Luke 2:41 tells us that His parents used to go to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover.  Going to Jerusalem each year was not easy for them. It involved a journey of 50 miles or more each way, a journey which they most likely made on foot. This meant that they had to abandon their occupation and lose the income for more than a week. Then they had to go to the extra expense of spending a week or two away from home. The Law required it, so they did it.

And that was only one of three feasts which the Law required them to observe in Jerusalem. We may be sure that if the parents of Jesus went for one, they went for all.  Such obedience was a good example for Jesus.  But they were not content simply to give Jesus a good example.  They took Jesus with them.  In Luke 2:42-52, we read about one of those journeys which they made when Jesus was 12 years old.

Some parents do not involve their children in religious activities.  They say, "We will just wait until our children are old enough to decide for themselves what they want to do about religion." Such parents do not let the children decide what they will do about going to school or about coming home at night, but they want to let them decide about religion. God did not entrust His son to parents who reasoned that way.  Joseph and Mary took Jesus with them.  And in Jerusalem he demonstrated a knowledge of the scriptures which indicated that those parents had had Him in weekly synagogue worship and had taught Him God’s word even at home.

Are you that kind of parent? Do you take your children to worship faithfully?  Do you teach them God's word in your home?

The Waiting World

By Paul Earnhart

Galatians 4:4 says that “When the fulness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman."  In many ways, the world was ready for the coming of Jesus.  The wickedness of the Gentile world had reached the ultimate.  Without a law from God, they had sunk lower and lower into sin and violence.  Intelligent people realized that their gods were no gods and that there was no influence in the world that could rescue mankind from its hopeless condition.

The Jews had a law from God, but they had not kept it.  They had substituted their own traditions for the law of God and substituted tradition keeping for true morality and piety.  It was at this point that God sent His son into the world.  Poor Jewish shepherds were informed of His birth and came to see Him the night He was born.  An aged man by the name of Simeon had been looking for the coming Messiah and had been promised by the Holy Spirit that he would not die until he had seen the hope of Israel.  He was filled with joy when Mary brought the baby Jesus to Jerusalem where Simeon lived.  Though King Herod tried to kill him, there were other Jews who rejoiced in His coming.  And Gentiles were also represented.  The wise men who came from the East were Gentiles.  They saw His star in the East and came to worship Him.

Within a few years the influence of that infant child had been felt throughout the world and millions had been converted from sinners to saints. 

Once again, sin reigns in our world.  We have probably not declined so far as the Gentiles had in the ancient world.  But we are fast moving in that direction.  Even religion has deteriorated into a mere formality wlth many people.  There is little genuine heart and life involvement.

Jesus is still the answer – the hope of the world.  Regardless of the direction others may take, we can worship Jesus as did the shepherds and wise men of ancient times.  He is the way for us to escape sin and its consequences.

Born To Be King

By Paul Earnhart

Jesus was born to be King.  He was of royal blood, a direct descendant of David. This is the point being made in that long list of names you will find in the first chapter of Matthew and in the third chapter of Luke.

When the angel appeared to Mary, and foretold the birth of Jesus, he added: "He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David: and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever; and His kingdom will have no end" (Luke 1:32,33).

When the wise men came seeking Him, they asked for Him who was born king of the Jews. They must have expected Him to be a political king reigning over an earthIy kingdom, for they made the inquiry in Jerusalem, the political center of Judaism. But Jesus was not there.

Herod, who was reigning as a Roman king, was greatly disturbed by the thought of one being born to be king of the Jews. He wanted no rival for his throne, and he began immediately to seek for Jesus to kill Him. When he did not find Him, he ordered the death of all baby boys in the area of Bethlehem.

Both the wise men and Herod were mistaken about the kind of King that Jesus would be. In fact, most of the Jewish nation were mistaken about that. Jesus spent much of His ministry trying to convince the people that He did not come to overthrow the Roman government and set up an earthly throne in Jerusalem. He came to be a spiritual king, reigning over spiritual Israel.

Jesus is reigning today over spiritual Israel. After His resurrection He boldly declared: " All authority has been given unto me in heaven and on earth" (Mt 28:19) . One who has all authority is a king. In Col. 1:13, speaking for all Christians, Paul writes that God delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son."

Don't make the mistake of Herod. Don't walt for Jesus to come back to set up an earthly kingdom. Accept His authority now and leave the domain of darkness to be a citizen of the kingdom of God’s dear Son.