Jesus was born after he went to the temple, after he went to Egypt, and now as he goes back to Nazareth. So Luke chapter 2, and we're going to read verses 39 through 52. And in particular, I would encourage you to note, we're working from the ESV this morning, but I want you to note in verse 48, as your father, and then in verse 49, how Jesus refers to my father. Who's the dad? That's the issue that we're addressing today. Luke 2, we begin in verse 49. And when they, that is the parents, had performed everything according to the law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. And the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom, and the favor of the Lord was upon him. Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year And when he was twelve years old, they went off according to custom. And when the feast was ended, as they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents did not know it, but supposing him to be in the group, they went a day's journey. But then they began to search for him among their relatives and acquaintances. And when they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem, searching for him. And after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard Him were amazed at His understanding and His answers. And when His parents saw Him, they were astonished. And His mother said to Him, Son, why have you treated us your father and I have been searching for you in great distress. And he said to them, why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my father's house? And they did not understand the saying that he spoke to them. Then he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them. And his mother treasured up all these things increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor of God and man. This is the Word of the Lord. Well, I've selected this passage as our final study of the year. It's after Christmas. I hope that you had exposure to many different passages. I hope you know that there are many different passages, both in the New Testament and in the Old Testament, relating directly to this mystery of the Incarnation. It's when we allow Scripture to interpret Scripture that we begin to realize that while there are big claims, supernatural claims, about the origin of Christ, There are also so many ways in which the Bible is anticipating and then reporting on that, that we really do have a lot of data to work with as we think about, how is it that God, continuing to be God, becomes man? And how does the God-man live in this world? What's He doing here? What's His message to us? How should we be different in our lives, in our priorities, in our passions as a result of His being on the earth? Today we see a Gospel snapshot of Jesus as a preteen. I was trying to think. Maybe I'm missing something. Are there any 12-year-olds in our church right now? I don't think so, but I may be missing someone. But I want you to just be pondering. We've got some 14-year-olds. We've got some 10-year-olds. I know we're kind of in this general place. But Jesus is not a kid anymore. boy is he growing and I've thought of several children in our church who in my mind are still about this tall until I see them and then I'm looking up at them and I'm shocked at how they've grown physically and then I begin to listen and I think about how they've grown spiritually these different ways and this is the season of life that Jesus is in in this time In this season of life, Jesus had to work out His relationship as Son, notice the capital S, of My Father. That's what He calls Yahweh in verse 49. I didn't include this verse, but if you look back at chapter 2 verse 33, depending on what translation you're using here, the ESV translates this, his father and his mother. Well, this is not talking about God and Mary, this is talking about Joseph and Mary. Marvel at what was said about him. Now, if you have King James or New King James, a place where there's a where there's a mainstream variant and so if you follow the Texas Receptus it says and Joseph and his that is Jesus's mother marveled but then we have this phrase used in verse 41 his parents again this is not talking about God and Mary this is talking about Joseph and went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover. Now in verse 43, it says, as they were returning, his parents did not know it, but supposing him to be in the group, they went today's journey. And then again in verse 48, it says, it speaks of your father and I, Mary's speaking here, your father and I, And as I began to think about this text, I began to think, you know, this really is a good text in that it is rooted in the Incarnation. But really, this passage is laying before us both submissives. Mary wasn't right in saying, your father and I. But there's a spiritual perspective that Jesus is maintaining. even in the midst of the misunderstanding, it says numerous times they did not understand. And so as we think about this Sunday being the last Lord's Day of 2024, as we look forward, and those of you who know me know I like to look forward and try to maintain a big-picture perspective on life, I want us to think As we look back on 2024 and forward to 2025, be reminded and inspired by Jesus' growth. By Jesus' growth. Whether you're 12 like Jesus or 90, commit yourself to the moral example of Jesus and do God's will. call the devotion of Jesus, the visible love for Christ, for God, that enemy in Christ, and that we should see ourselves as those who need to grow in the same ways that Jesus grew. And so, point number one this morning, I want you to see where I think this whole passage revolves around is verse 29. This is a passage that's been much reflected on down through church history. He said to them, why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my father's house? Well, very new. And probably they had to get back, to get back to the family business. They had carpentry work to do, they had stone work to do, whatever it was. And in the Russian crush of life, Mary messed up. I'm sure she told Jesus, He didn't sin. I believe that. The Bible teaches that. But I wonder how verse 49 went down. Why were you looking for me? Don't you know? Come on, Mom! Not disrespectful, but maybe a little dismissive. Did you not know that I must be in you? And I think that was the cause. Maybe he turned and he pointed at the temple behind him, this ancient building that was the centerpiece of the worship of Israel. Mom, who is my dad? His name is Yahweh and I am right where I belong. Have you ever been rebuked by the devoted faithful? I'm concerned we don't have as many children as we used to on average. I'm concerned that our children are being trained by the world, not by the church. I'm concerned that our children need to be challenged and reminded of how important it is to be devout. to be sold out to Jesus, that the only thing that really matters is walking with Christ. The Bible says, let no one despise your youth, Timothy, but set the believer as an example in your speech, in your conduct, in your love, to holiness goes out to people of all ages. And those who are young have a particular capacity to hear it with new ears and to say, wow, God is real. And He would have me walk with Him. He would have me be The point number one this morning is that Jesus needed to be in His Father's house. Again, verse 12. Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house? The great word here means it is necessary to be in my Father's house. I've got to be here. You only bring me here once a year. I want more of my Father. By the way, this is the guy who then turns around and says, this is how you should grow, our Father. Now we need to think this through carefully. There's a sense in which only Jesus is the Son of the Father. He is, in His essence, in His divinity, the Eternal Son of the Eternal Father. There is no change. There is no addition. Indeed, I and my Father are one, says Jesus. We need to grapple with the infinite and unchangeable character of the only Divine Son. But then we need to understand that in being united to Christ, His Father, who because we're united to Christ is now our Father. Not in theory. Not in some pious fiction. But that He is our Father. He is the Creator, the Source of our being. More than my dad is my dad. God. Yahweh. is my, if you will, adopted father. God is Jesus' true father and Joseph is his guardian, if you will, his adopted or his earthly father. So did Jesus need to be in Nazareth or in Jerusalem? He couldn't be in two places at the same time, not in his humanity. He needed to be in the place where his father had commanded him to be. And again, I think if Mary had been in the right headspace, I think that she might have understood verse 51, the end of the verse, it says, and his mother treasured up all these things in her heart. This is the second time now that Luke has said this. He also said it back in verse 19, but Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. I think Luke is giving us very clear attributes at least identify two sources of a piece of information. It couldn't go into the newspaper. It's interesting to think about. Luke is telling us where he got this information. Luke was not there, but Luke is naming his sources. Mary didn't understand verse 15. But then somewhere along the line, the end of verse 51, when she had time to reflect on the things she'd lighten up, Jesus is exactly right. That was the whole point of the angel showing up to me at the well. This was the whole idea of Jesus coming into my life before I was married into a family. Do you see that this whole thing is flipped for Jesus? Jesus had to be in his father's house because his true father was God. And then he had an adoptive father. But friends, in our world, Are you taking your child's loyalty ultimately to yourself? You are the dad. You are the fount of all blessing. Family is the most important thing. I've heard that so many times recently. Now, if by that we mean spiritual family, then I'm all on board. But do you believe that blood is thicker than water? Do you believe that at the end of the day, well, the Church is just kind of a group that gets together for what really matters is family? I'm afraid that in our culture we have made the nuclear family the be-all and end-all of reality. We need to remember that we are part of the true family of God. And then, in fact, fathers, one of the most important functions you play in communicating the faith, the intergenerational transfer of the orthodox Christian faith, is on your shoulders to say, you know, I am your biological father, son or daughter. But I didn't originate you. This is why we call it procreation. That which was created before now came into physical existence with your biological conception. Son, daughter, you have an immortal human soul that will last forever. How do you know that your soul will last forever? Because the Bible tells you so. Because God took from the ground and He formed the body, and then He breathed into the nostrils of our first Father. The breath of life in man became a living creature. Friends, do you see how this works? It is true that Joseph is Jesus' provider. Yes, Joseph did bear numerous other children with Mary. You might even be able to say that Joseph But Jesus was intent on knowing, and indeed developing a relationship with His True Father. That ultimately, the Father in Heaven is the One from Whom we come. We have been separated from Him because of sin, but we can be reunited with Him through the work of His own Son. But as we move into 2025, I want to take this in a little different direction. I want you to look down at verse 52, and I want you to see how verse 52 and verse 40 have some real significant parallels. Verse 52, very well-known verse, and Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man. This verse will be the sort of backbone for the rest And the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom, and the favor of God was upon him. I want you to see that the Bible tells us that the child grew. Now of course the child grows, but particularly verse 52 begins to then sketch out how this child grew. He was known for becoming strong. He was known for his penetrating wisdom. I know some of you moms and dads out there would be like, not for being a picky eater or for teething or whatever is going on in your family right now. But I want you to see in these last four points today, this flow right out of verse 52. I want you to see, number one, that Jesus grew intellectually. Jesus grew in his I don't know if he was bright or not. I don't know if he was intellectual or not, but I know that he grew intellectually. The Bible says, Proverbs 1 verse 7, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. Fools despise wisdom and instruction. If you don't have the fear of the Lord, then you can't have bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of correction drives it far from them. Children need to be instructed in the ways of God. Proverbs 4 verse 7 is, this is always one that boggles my mind, the beginning of wisdom is this, get wisdom. What is it I need to have? That thing you need to have. Search it out. I can't tell you everything. Figure it out. Get wisdom, and whatever you get, get insight. The Bible is teaching us that our first principles are self-referential, no matter what worldview we wind up embracing. That wisdom is the foundation, and wisdom for the believer is the fear of the Lord. beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight. So I wonder what you mean when you refer to someone as smart, or as insightful, or as wise. Jesus grew, and you also ought to grow intellectually. Point number three. It says that Jesus grew in stature. Now, I don't know where you are. I know that 12-year-olds or 10-year-olds in our midst are going to be growing physically. Point number three, Jesus grew physically. I know you're going to grow physically. There are some really immature people running around and really growing I know I have. Alright? Don't be one of those. Children, you need to grow up on the inside even as God built you to grow up on the outside. We need to see that part of Jesus becoming the man that God created Him to be was His growing in His physical strength. In His coordination. in the use of his tongue and his mouth to speak wisely. He knew what it was to sweat and to get scraped up and to have blisters. He was a construction worker. Don't ever look down on people who do manual jobs. I've learned that lesson in my life. Some of the most important lessons I learned about being a man of God were learned on the back of a backhoe or down in a ditch. those of you who do these kinds of physical jobs, how important they are. Jesus grew physically and he was a good worker. It says he increased in stature. Verse 40 says the child grew and became strong. We need to build and grow strong human beings who aren't just putting their finger out in the wind, saying, well, what's most popular today? Are we Democrats or Republicans today? Everything, friends, is politicized in our world. That makes for lazy people. That makes for rumpy people. That makes for stressed out people. That makes for depressed people. God has designed us to stand firm on His word. to be His servants, working hard in the world. Jesus grew intellectually, but Jesus also grew physically. Now, come to the third one here, and in favor. Notice how this is said, by the way this is the same I don't have this in the notes, but Luke 1, 28, the angel appears to Mary and says, O favored one, here Jesus grew in favor with God. How do you think He did that? What was it that made the favor of Jesus in the sight of His Father go up? Two things. He believed God and he obeyed God. By the way, Jesus had to do both those things right alongside of us. He became, the author of Hebrews says, that he became obedient through the things that he saw. Jesus did not have some kind of quaint, postcard-type childhood. took on some kind of role in supporting the family. I wonder if some of what was collected from Jesus' ministry went home to support his mother, his widowed mother, and his young siblings. Think about that. How did Jesus increase in favor with God? It's the same thing, friend. You need to increase in favor with God in 2025. You need to trust God more, and you need to be more pious. You need to be more careful to let God's Word shape your world. To do what He tells you to do, and to not do the things He tells you not to do. Why do we live like the world? If you love the world, the love of the Father is not in you. Are you walking with Christ? Think about the last 12 months. Have you walked with Christ, or have you been distracted? Is your heart united in the fear of the Lord, or is your heart split? When I'm over here, in my mind, and in my affections, then I love Jesus, and I put on nice clothes, and I act good, and I don't curse. But when I'm over here, watch out, because I am indistinguishable from the world. Children, do you talk like the people around you, or do you Do you use your mouth for God's purposes? Do you have a dirty mouth? Jesus grew spiritually. Instead of telling lies to his mom and dad, guess what he did? He told the truth. Instead of getting angry at his sister, because you know he had at least two, maybe as many as three sisters, He showed the love of God to them. Do you see how this works? Jesus grew in His intellect, He grew in His body, but He grew in His soul. He became more justified, that is, He was in right relationship with God through faith, and He grew more sanctified. doing the will of God from the heart. And then finally, and this is an important one, and I think that Luke wants to lay this before us, it also says Jesus increased in favor with man. Point number five, Jesus grew socially. I want you to think about how is it that you grow in favor with other human beings? the Creator, the Creator and the creatures. Because after all, Jesus was living in the real world. He wasn't living in some manufactured bubble. I had a friend that was very close to me. He went to a college across the river from where I lived. And when he was a senior, I sat and talked with him one day. He said, Brad, I think that I have been deeply affected by, and he called it, and I'll mention the college just because I think it's so funny, the Butler Bowl. Now, my mom's maiden name is Butler, absolutely no relation, but Butler University was right across the river from where I lived. And I said, oh, my friend, more than you know, you have been affected by the Butler Bowl. You're a senior, you're going to come out and you're going to live in the real world. A world where you've got to punch a clock, a world where you've got to get up and work on your car, the real world where your bills are due and debt collectors don't care that you have unique circumstances. Friends, are you drawing in favor with your fellow human beings? Are you known for your diligent work Are you keeping the promises that you've made? And really, if you think about it, the essence of society, the essence of what makes Western civilization work, is that we make promises to each other and then we keep them. If you promise to buy your house and then you default on your mortgage, hundreds of billions of dollars that suddenly the Congress, back in, I forget what year that was, but the big breakup of some of the mortgage companies, its promises made. And then the keeping of those promises. Jesus grew socially, and I wonder what that looked like. Here we have a snapshot of him at age 12, and then we have the next snapshot John chapter 3 is, the first part is all about John. We're actually going to come back to this tonight in the evening service. And then if you look at John 3 verse 23, when Jesus began His ministry, He was about 30 years of age. And then it proceeds to lay out Jesus' genealogy. But between 12 and 30, about 30, I wonder if Jesus quickly or easily made promises. I don't think he did. I think his word was as good as his law. That a handshake was the equivalent of a contract. That he didn't make promises he couldn't keep. and his mother, his earthly father, and his mother relied upon him perhaps for family and business. That he was, he took care of, and thought about, and loved his younger siblings. Again, Jesus was growing in faith, socially. That's something that's very necessary today. It's easy, young people, it's easy to wind up living separated from the real world, that where people are getting up and going to work, you don't really have any bills. You don't really have any responsibilities. It's easy to just kind of be what some commentators call perpetual adolescents. I think that's a problem in our country today. Are you ready to take on So I'll just conclude here today that these various ways Jesus had to be in His Father's house. He needed to know His Father. It was time for Him to ask questions that His Father or His Mother couldn't answer. It was time for Him to step up. and become a preacher of righteousness, to do what God had commanded him to do in Scripture. It was time for him to grow in his faith, to wrestle with the big ideas, with, if you want to call them, philosophical concepts, that were going to be necessary were he to live the rest of his life Father's house. Then these four things, Jesus grew intellectually, Jesus grew physically, Jesus grew spiritually, and Jesus grew socially, or another word that we could use here, Jesus grew in relationships. I want you to think about, what are the relationships that are guiding your life? over the long term? Relationships with your parents? Relationships with your boss? Relationships with your teachers and professors? Relationships with the elders of your church? Are you tight? Are you close? Do they know what's going on in your life? Have you learned how to go to them when you have intellectual questions? Have you learned to go to them when you're struggling in your faith? Are you engaged with the elders of the Church? We pray this morning, Lord, allow us to shepherd the flock of God that is entrusted to our care. The shepherds have a duty, but the sheep also have a duty. The sheep need to be shepherdable. The shepherds need to have a heart for the sheep. How are you doing in your exercise? In your eating? How are you relating to your spouse? Are you rolling? Or are you stagnant? Aim at nothing and you'll hit it every time. Aim for the stars. The stars of difficulty. You might at least make it to the top of your house. I don't know where you are. time in His amazing glory. Let's pray. Lord our God, how we thank You that Jesus needed to be in His Father's house. But because of the amazing things at the beginning of Luke chapter 2, that Jesus actually needed to and did correct His mother. It's not my earthly father. My father has a house, it's the temple in Jerusalem. I pray Lord that you would help us to see and to marvel at what you were doing in sending your only begotten son into the world. I pray that Lord you would help us to be like Jesus, those who delight to call you Father. I pray that Lord there would be highest children in this church who are sold out to Jesus, and pray to Him every day, and read Bibles, and talk about the Bible stories with their parents. I pray that more parents would train up their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, and more that our society would be filled with those who have been trained in the ways of God and are now ready to put their hand to the clock and to be servants of the world. Lord, the world makes it all about our feelings. I pray that you would help us to see that we have, in reality, duties to discharge and opportunities to take advantage of. Lord, that we are in places that we are with people that no one else would be able to touch. I pray that, Lord, even now you would be stirring our hearts. That, Lord, this next year could be a productive and fruitful year. That, Lord, we as a church could be a little louder and more intentional in our evangelism. That, Lord, we could be a little more careful with those that you bring into our midst. That, Lord, this could be a little outpost Pray that Lord you remind us that we're not the only thing going. That Lord you have many faithful witnesses throughout this city. And Lord that we could see and engage in the remarkable things that you're doing in our city. I pray that Lord you would give us eyes to see in our nation and indeed in the world the ways that your kingdom is coming and your will is being done on earth as it is in heaven in new ways by new generations of believers in many places. Lord, help us to not live on the fumes of the past, but to live with the hope of the future. That, Lord, we would press toward the prize of the upper-called God in Christ Jesus. That you would renew us. That you would restore us again. That you would grant us the grace of repentance to stop doing the same thing expecting different results. Lord that we would turn away from sin and walk in ways of righteousness. Thank you Lord for all that you have done for us. We worship you in Jesus' name. Amen.