Open your Bibles, if you would,
to Luke chapter 2. I had Brother Brian read that
chapter for us, that verses 41 to 52, because that's where I'll
be preaching from. And so if you would, turn there.
And this is a portion which last week I was, after our study in
John chapter 17, I was looking through the scriptures and I
came upon this portion. I thought, oh, Lord, I need to
preach that. I never preached that before. And so today, I'll
attempt to preach on Luke chapter 41, or Luke chapter 41, Luke chapter
two, verses 41 and 52. And our Lord and Savior, knew exactly why he came to this
earth. He was no mere man. He was both
God and man. Called the God-man. 100% man and 100% God. And in him all the fullness of
the Godhead dwelt bodily. And here we see him in this section
at 12 years old. 12 years old. And what is he doing? Well, he's
about the father's business. You know why he came here? To
save his people from their sins, right? And we've been reading
John 17, and it talks about all that the Father gave him, that
he's gonna finish the work to save those people that the Father
gave him from eternity. He came to redeem those who the
Father gave him in eternity past. And we see in verse 41 here that
Joseph and Mary were faithful to that which the Lord commanded
each year, for the Jews to do, which was to go to Jerusalem
for the Feast of the Passover. It says, now his parents went
to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover. So they
did faithfully what God commanded. Turn, if you would, to Deuteronomy,
just a small portion here, Deuteronomy chapter 16. And we see that Joseph,
as well as all the males in Israel, were to go to Jerusalem three
times a year. They were obligated at least
three times a year to go to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover,
the Feast of the Pentecost, and the Feast of the Tabernacles.
Deuteronomy 16 verses 16 and 17. Look what it says here. It's
very clear. And so this is what Joseph and
Mary are doing. Three times in the year shall
all thy males appear before the Lord thy God in the place which
he shall choose. In the Feast of the Unleavened
Bread, and in the Feast of Weeks, and in the Feast of Tabernacles,
they shall not appear before the Lord empty, so that they
bring their sacrifice. Every man shall give as he is
able, according to the blessing of the Lord thy God, which he
hath given thee. So we see there three feasts
mentioned in Deuteronomy 16, 16, in which all the males were
to be present at. One is the Feast of the Unleavened
Bread, the other one is the Feast of Weeks, and the other one is
the Feast of Tabernacles. Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread
is known as the Passover. That's the Passover. The Feast
of Weeks is Pentecost. And the Feast of Tabernacles
is just what it says, it's the Feast of the Tabernacles. Now
Mary was not obligated to go. As we see in Deuteronomy 16,
16, it's the men who have to appear. So Mary wasn't obligated
to go. But Mary delighted to be with
the Lord's people, just like all his people delight to be.
Delighted to be with the Lord's people. So on this occasion,
she's accompanying her husband at the Passover. And we see that
it says now his parents, verse 41, went to Jerusalem every year
at the Feast of Passover. So it looks like they both went
together quite often. And again, Nazareth was distant
from Jerusalem. It wasn't a couple hours away,
it was three days away. Three days away, three days journey. And isn't it refreshing to behold
how God's people will travel a long way to be with God's people? It's incredible. And the Passover
was figurative of the gospel mercies in Christ, who is God's
Passover lamb. Christ is the lamb of God, right?
He's the Passover lamb provided by God the Father for the redemption
of his people. And the Holy Spirit would make
this evident to God's elect, which who were accompanying the
service with the sweet savor of christ even the old testament
saints they look to christ in the they look to the coming messiah
who christ was we look back to the cross where christ our redeemer
the messiah died in our room in place saved us from our souls
now let's read verse forty two and when he was twelve years
old they went up to jerusalem after the custom of the feast
so they're going according to the custom of the feast. And
we see here that the Lord Jesus Christ is 12 years old, and he's
accompanying his mother and Joseph to the feast of the Passover,
just as is the custom of the feast. Let's read verses 43 to
45. And when they had fulfilled the
days as they returned, the child Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem,
and Joseph and his mother knew not of it. So they all get together, all
the relatives, because they would travel together in a caravan,
right? Meaning there's strength in numbers. Thieves and marauders
are less likely to strike a caravan than a couple people walking
down the road. So for protection-wise, they would get together and they
would travel together to the place that they had to go to.
And here they left, and little did they know, The Lord Jesus
is tarrying in Jerusalem. I call him the Lord Jesus even
when he's 12, because he was Lord at his birth, wasn't he?
He was Lord before he came here, the word of God. He's Lord at
his birth, and he's Lord right now. He's never stopped being
Lord. So I'm gonna call him the Lord
Jesus Christ, even though he's 12 years old, I don't care. That's
what he was, and that's what he is right now, the Lord Jesus
Christ. And it says, they returned, and
the child Jesus carried behind in Jerusalem. And Joseph and
his mother knew not of it. They didn't have a clue. They
left Jerusalem. And here's Jesus. He's back in
Jerusalem. And they don't have any idea.
Why? Because they supposed him to be in the company when a day's
journey, and they saw them among their kinsfolk, which is relatives
in the Greek, and acquaintance. And when they found him not,
they turned back again to Jerusalem. So they stopped for the night,
probably set up camp. And they're supposing that the
Lord was with one of their relatives and he'd come over for supper,
right? But no Jesus, no Jesus. So they start to go and they
go and inquire to their other relatives, is Jesus with you?
No. You don't have him? No. You don't
have him? No. And then they start to panic. They start to get anxious. We
know that because later on, the sorrowful there is anxious. Mary
was very anxious about where Jesus was. Just like any of us. If our child went missing, we'd
be anxious, wouldn't we? We sure would be, and we'd be
tearing back off to Jerusalem, wouldn't we? Well, look what
they did. They turned back again to Jerusalem,
seeking Him. I love that, seeking Him. God's people seek Him, don't
they? We seek Him. So the Passover was finished
and Joseph and Mary and their kinsfolk, they got together,
they headed back home. They traveled in the company
again for safety from thieves and marauders. Mary and Joseph
headed home with their kinsfolk. Verse 23, they left not knowing
the Lord Jesus Christ had tarried behind. Or verse 43, they traveled a third of the
way home. A third of the way home they traveled. because it was three days journey
and they traveled for a whole day before they noticed that he was
not with them. And we see in verse 45 that they turned around
and they headed right back to Jerusalem, didn't they? And there was no doubt they were
panicked. Would you be panicked? Be awful anxious, wouldn't we?
Let's just be honest. We'd be awful anxious. If our
little 12-year-old wasn't with us and he's in this huge city
of Jerusalem, boy, we'd be thinking all kinds of things happened
to him. But say they forgot who he was. They forgot who he was. And we're going to see that as we look at what was told to
Joseph and Mary before Christ was born. And there's no doubt that they
were panicked and that they were anxious. Because look at verse
48, it says, Son, why hast thou dealt with us? Behold, thy father
and I have sought thee sorrowing. That's anxious in the Greek.
They were anxiously seeking him. Where is he? Where is he? Just like any parent would do.
Thinking the worst, probably. Because our minds always go to
the worst, doesn't it? Oh my, and they were sorrowful,
they were anxious. Can you imagine how we would
have felt if this had been our child? We'd be freaking out, wouldn't
we? Crying, diligently looking for him. praying that we would find him.
It took three days for them to find him. Three days! Oh my, where, where are we to
seek Jesus but among his people? Song of Solomon says this. Tell
me, O thou whom my soul loveth, where thou feedest, where thou
makest thy flock to rest at noon? For why should I be as one that
turneth aside by the flocks of thy companions? If thou know
not, O thou fairest among women, go thy way forth by the footsteps
of the flock and feed thy kids beside the shepherds' tents.
Where is he found? With his people, in his father's
house. in his father's house. Let's
read verses 46 to 48 now. They went back to Jerusalem and
they looked for him for three days. Three days they looked
for him. And on the third day they found him. Look at verse
46. And it came to pass that after
three days, three days of searching for him, they found him in the temple. He wasn't lost at all. He's sitting
in the temple, beloved. Sitting in the temple, look at
this, in the midst of the doctors both hearing them and asking
them questions. And all that heard him were astonished
at his understanding and answers. They were astonished at the questions
that he was asking them. This little 12 year old. And
then they were astonished at the answers that he was giving
them. And no doubt they were talking about scriptures. And
they were absolutely astonished. And then when Mary and Joseph
saw him, they were amazed, and his mother said unto him, Son,
why hast thou dealt with us? Behold, thy father and I have
sought thee sorrowing. So not only were the scribes
and the other, the rabbis, they were astonished at what he said,
but even Joseph and Mary, they were astonished at what he was
saying. at the questions he was asking,
at the answers that he was giving. They were astonished. So let us picture ourselves in
the state of his mother's mind during these three weary days.
Three days, they searched for him. They went all the way back
to Jerusalem. And then in Jerusalem, when they
had returned to the city, they searched for him. And note how their steps were
directed. We know that God orders, the steps of a good man are ordered
by the Lord, right? The Lord doesn't let them, he
doesn't leave them hanging. Say, I'm gonna wait for you to
find them for two, three weeks. The Lord's not like that. The steps, God's people's steps
are ordained, beloved. They were ordained. Dave and
I have been talking about the things we went through as we
were younger, and the same with all of us. Everything we went through
in our past has made us who we are, and it brings us to the
point we're at now. Good and bad. Good and bad. And for the believer, it's all
for our good, even though we don't see it. But it's all for
our good. And some of those times define
us, too. Some help. Some hurt, but they
all make us who we are today. It's absolutely incredible. So
for three days, the Lord has them look, and then he directs
their steps, the Father directs their steps right to Christ. He directs their steps to what? to where the Word of God incarnate
is. And remember that, Jesus Christ
is the Word of God incarnate. He's not a mere man. He's God
incarnate in the flesh. So God the Father directs their
steps to where God, the Word of God incarnate is. And he's
at the temple. He's at the temple. And remember,
who's speaking to these scribes and rabbis is none other than
the one who gave the book. He's none other than the one
who gave the law to Moses. And then he's 12 years old here. He knows why he's here. He knows
why he came to this world, and that's to save his people from
their sins. He knows that. He knows it. And the reason we
know that he knows it is because he says, I'm here about my father's
business. My, oh, my. I once met someone
a long time ago, and they took the last verse of this chapter,
and they said, see, the Lord didn't know why he came. He had
to learn why he came. You know, that never sat with
me, right? I said, no, that's wrong. He knew exactly why he
was here. He's God. He's God. And we're going to
find out at the end of the study what that passage means there
at the end. See, because he's God and man,
right? And as God, he can't learn anything, can he? He already
knows everything. As God, he already knows everything.
He can't learn anything below. But as man, he can grow in stature,
which is height, in wisdom, in favor with God
and man. But that's his humanity, not
his Godhead. Because in him, all the fullness of the Godhead
dwelt bodily. See, this is the great mystery of the Godman.
He's not like you and I. He's bone of our bone and flesh
of our flesh, and yet he's God incarnate in the flesh. My, oh my. So God, in his mercy,
directs Joseph and Mary's steps to find the Lord Jesus Christ. And there he is. Where did they
finally find him? Well, they found him in the temple,
sitting amongst the doctors and the rabbis, both hearing them
and asking them questions. Now, in the temple, there were
several halls or classrooms where the rabbis met and instructed
their students. No doubt he's probably in one
of those rooms. And there's rabbis around, and
there's students around, and there's others around. And we see Jesus taking a seat
among the scholars. Takes a seat among the scholars.
And he proceeds to put his question to the teachers. He's got some
questions and he wants to know what their answers are. He wants
to listen to the teacher's answers, for this was the customary mode
of instruction during this time. That's what they would do. Let's
read verses 46 and 47 again. And it came to pass that after
three days, they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst
of the doctors, both hearing them and asking them questions. And all that heard him were astonished
at his understanding and his answers. they couldn't get over
that a little twelve-year-old was asking questions like he
was asking, and that he had an understanding like he had, but
little did they know that he's God incarnate in the flesh. What a remarkable scene we have
here. We are allowed to look upon this scene through the eyes
of those who were bystanders, and we are told that they were
They were filled with wonder and astonishment at His understanding
and at His answers. So look at this text with wonder,
beloved, and take note of how God has made Christ the focus
of every gaze in that room. They're focused upon Him. Amazed at what he's doing. Amazed
at how he's speaking. Amazed at the questions that
he's asking and the answers that he's giving. He's the focus. Bearded elders, rabbis, in astonishment
going, listen to what he's saying. Listen to what this 12-year-old
is saying, this little boy. The students would be in wonder.
He's asking the rabbis questions that they don't even know the
answers to. And he's giving the answers. And then we see that all that
heard him were astonished. Everyone else who was there listening,
they were astonished too. And you know what? All who looked
to Christ by faith were astonished too, aren't we? All who looked to Christ by faith
were astonished, beloved. We're astonished that God had
mercy on us through Christ, aren't we? I'm astonished at that, that
God would have mercy on a sinner like me. We're astonished that the Word
of God became incarnate. The Son of God became a man.
That's astonishing. Why? To save us from our sins.
And we see him here in this narrative at 12 years old, going about
his father's business. In his father's house. And we
who are born again by the Holy Spirit of God, we're astonished
that Christ would shed his blood for us, for a sinner like me.
to redeem my soul. I'm astonished at that, are you?
I'm absolutely astonished that Christ would do that for me. And we're astonished at the wonderful
doctrine of substitution and satisfaction. That Christ would
die in our room and place and that God would be satisfied with
that sacrifice for us. And we're astonished that Christ
died that He died the sinner's substitute. But praise God, we're also astonished
that He rose again on the third day, aren't we? To show that
we're justified in Christ. That's astonishing, beloved. That God incarnated in the flesh,
the sinless, spotless Lamb of God, sinless in thought, sinless
in word, sinless in deed, sinless from conception. to death, absolutely
sinless, sinless when he rose from the grave. The perfect spotless
lamb of God dying for a sinner like me and like you. Isn't that
amazing? That's astonishing, isn't it?
I shook my fist at God before he saved me. Oh, I'm astonished that he saved
me. Absolutely astonished. It's incredible. And now we're astonished that
he's interceding for us, isn't he? Right now. At the right hand
of the Father. Interceding for sinners such
as we. Oh, it's amazing. So this scene
before us in this text is actually remarkable. Jesus at 12 years
old, asking questions and giving answers. Astonishing the teachers
of Israel, the rabbis of Israel, astonished at him. He who is the word of God, asking
them questions about the very word of God. Oh my. And we see that even Mary and
Joseph are astonished. Look at verse 48, the first part,
And when they saw him, they were amazed. Joseph and Mary were
amazed. They were astonished at even
the words coming out of Christ and the questions that he was
asking, the answers that he was giving. And what was astonishing them
was at 12 years old, the extraordinary intelligence of this young man.
of his remarks, of his replies, his understanding of the scriptures,
his mental grasp of things, his insight into things of the scriptures. Little did they know that here
is the Messiah talking to them at 12 years old. Talking to them at 12 years old.
Now the underlying word there for astonished means to be out
of one's mind. You ever been out of your mind?
You ever been so in wonder that you're out of your mind? That's
what it means. They were out of their mind.
How can this be? It also means to be beside oneself.
You ever been beside yourself? We all have, haven't we? In wonder
and awe, they were beside themselves at this 12-year-old is asking
these questions and speaking the words that he's speaking.
They were astonished. beside themselves. They just
saw a 12-year-old boy, didn't they? But little did they know that
He who was speaking to them was God in the flesh. They had no idea. And in Him, all the fullness
of the Godhead bodily. They had no idea who He was. And even Joseph and Mary coming
in and finding him, they were also amazed at the scene. Now,
they of all people shouldn't have been amazed. They of all people, we're gonna
look why. We're gonna see why. Because they had been told who
he was. Turn if you would to Matthew
chapter one. Matthew chapter one. And that
word amazed, it says, when they saw him, they were amazed. That
word amazed in the Greek, it's only used in the sense of knocking
one out of their senses. They were completely knocked
out of their senses at what Jesus was saying and doing. This was
Mary and Joseph. It means to strike with astonishment. Now, Joseph, remember, had the
angel of the Lord appear to him when he was thinking of putting
Mary away. because she was pregnant and
he probably thought she had slept with another man. That would
be the only conclusion he could come to. But the angel Lord came
to him and told him that which was conceived in her was of the
Holy Ghost. Matthew chapter one. Now again,
Mary and Joseph were told who he was. We're gonna see it right
here. And we're going to look at another
part in Luke where we see Mary is told who he is. But how soon
we forget. How soon we forget. Matthew 1
verses 18 to 23. Now the birth of Jesus Christ
was on the wise when, as his mother Mary was a spouse to Joseph
before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy
Ghost. So this child was conceived in
her by the Holy Ghost. Then Joseph, her husband, being
a just man and not willing to make her a public example, was
minded to put her away privately. But while he thought on these
things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in
a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take
unto thee Mary thy wife, for that which is conceived in her
is of the Holy Ghost." Now look at this. The angel of the Lord is even
going to tell him what to call him. They don't pick his name. God tells them what his name
is. Look at this. And she shall bring forth a son,
and thou shalt call his name what? Jesus. That's what you're
going to call him. You're not going to pick the
name. You're going to call him Jesus. For he shall save his people
from their sins. That's talking about the Messiah,
beloved. Because, and how do we know that?
Well, we're going to find out that a prophecy is tied to this little
baby who's conceived in Mary's womb of the Holy Spirit of God.
Look at that though. Here's the whole reason. Thou
shalt call his name Jesus. Why did he come? To save his people from
their sins. There's the whole reason why
Christ came. To save a sinner like me. And if you're born again,
blood washed, saint of God, to save a sinner like you. Isn't
that amazing? God left the glories of heaven
to do that. That's the whole reason he came
right there. Now all this was done that it might be fulfilled,
which was spoken by the Lord of the prophets, saying, Behold,
a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son,
and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which is what? What's
it being interpreted as? God with us. See, he was told
this. Joseph was told this, that this baby's gonna be God with
us. And here they are, filled with
wonder and astonishment. Emmanuel, what's being interpreted,
is God with us. And the angel of the Lord told
Joseph in verse 21, that he's come to save his people from
their sins, and then he's told them, he's Emmanuel, he's God
with us. How soon we forget. That's why
we need to hear the gospel all the time, eh? Because we're quick
to forget things. This is who we are. just who
we are as humans. Now turn, if you would, to Luke
chapter one. And we see why Mary should have
remembered too. Mary had the angel Gabriel appear to her. Joseph had the angel of the Lord
appear to him. Mary had the angel Gabriel appear
to her. I love this, I love these words
though. Look at verse 30, Luke chapter
1, verse 30. An angel of the Lord said unto her, what? Fear
not. The Lord says that to his people all the time, doesn't
he? Fear not. Don't be afraid. Remember Mephibosheth
before David? Fear not. Don't be afraid. Oh, my. Fear not, Mary, for thou
hast found favor with God. Do you know all God's people
have found favor with God? Now this doesn't mean that she's
being immaculately conceived. She's a sinner just like you
and I. Mary needs to be saved just like you and I. How do we
know that? She got anxious, didn't she? Yeah. She's just like you and
I. She just found favor to carry
the Lord. But she's just like you and I otherwise. She needs
a Savior just as desperately as we do. Look at this, and behold,
thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and thou
shalt call his name Jesus. Again, so Joseph was told what
to call him, and his mother Mary was told what to call him. Jesus. He shall be great, and shall
be called what? The son of the highest. The son of God. That's who he is. The son of
God. And the Lord God shall give unto
him the throne of his father David, and he shall reign over
the house of Jacob forever. Look at that. His reign is never
gonna end. You know he's king right now?
You know he was king in heaven before he came? He was king while
he was a little baby, and while he was 12 years old, he's still
king of kings and lord of lords, and right now he's king of kings
and lord of lords. His reign has never ended. And
it will never be usurped, beloved. That's why we can rest in Christ
while all these things are going on in the world. We don't have
to worry about all that stuff. Because our king reigns, beloved.
He's in full control. What peace and rest that can
give us. And he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever, and
of his kingdom there shall be no end. Well, hallelujah. No
end. He's king for eternity. My. Now you would think that
they could not have forgotten those things. You think that
seeing an angel would be burned in your head. Well, he's going
to be God. He's with us. He's Emmanuel.
You think that would be burned in our head, their heads. And
for Mary, the son of the most highest, you think that would
be burned in her head, but we're forgetful, beloved. We're forgetful. Mary and Joseph were just as
amazed at his questions and answers as all the rest of them. Now
let's consider Mary's words in verse 48. And when they saw him,
they were amazed. And his mother said unto him,
Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? Behold, thy father and
I have sought thee soaring and thus anxiously. We've anxiously
sought thee. They find him in the midst of
the doctors, the rabbis, and they were astonished that he
was admitted among them. Think of that too. Here's all
these doctors and rabbis and who's who in the Israel religion,
and he's sitting right in the middle of them. He's admitted
among them. That's all God, isn't it? Our
King ordained that, beloved, for that to occur. just like
everything he does is ordained. My oh my. And there he was, admitted amongst
these so-called great men of Israel. And now Mary speaks to
him, not Joseph, because Mary is his only parent. Joseph isn't his father. Therefore he said nothing but
left it to her. Notice how she doesn't chide him, but she speaks
gently to him. Son, why has thou dealt with
us? Behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing. Notice
the father there is small F, not large. They'd been filled with grief
and anxiety, thinking that some evil had befallen him. And Mary brings forth that she
experiences all the things we experience in times of sorrow
and grief. She's just like you and I, beloved. She's a sinner, just like us,
in desperate need of a Savior. And she's unable to save herself,
and she's unable to save anybody else. Spinning beads is useless. People
spin the rosary beads. My mom used to do it. I used
to tell her, just throw them away. It's useless, mom. It's just
useless. Only Christ can save. There's
only one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus.
That's it. There's no other mediator. My. Mary brings forth the experiences
that we all have. Her words bring forth, why hast
thou dealt with us? We were anxious. Now let's look at our great king's
words. He's only 12 years old here.
Now let's look at his words here, look at this. Notice the words
to his mother and to Joseph. Verse 49, and he said unto them,
how is it that you sought me? You should have known where I
was! Oh, wist ye not that I must be
about my father's business? And they understood not. Look
at that. The saying which he spoke spake unto them. Do you
remember before the Lord saved us? We didn't understand his
words, did we? People come up and tell us about
Christ. We just think, get away from
me, you Bible thumper. I don't want to hear what you
got to say. That was my response. I just get out of here. I don't
want to even hear it. Was it so for you? Didn't want
to hear nothing. Wasn't even interested. Didn't
understand the words that they were even speaking. Telling me
I'm a, telling me I'm a sinner, what? Yeah, I found out I sure
am. I'm just a safe sinner now standing
before you, praising God for my salvation in Christ. And note here the contrast in
the calmness of the child with the astonishment of those around
him. And thinking upon this will deepen
our impression of the very meaning of the scene set before us here. He says unto them, how is it
that ye sought me, wist or know he not that I must be about my
father's business? Where should you have expected
to find Christ but in the father's house? but in the Father's house. Where
should you expect to find me but in this chosen and
beloved spot? In the Greek it's my father's
house. I like what the translators put
here because it covers the whole encompassing reason he came. My father's business. I'm here
to do the will of the Father, who sent me to save his people
from their sins. That's why I'm here. I'm on a
mission. And he knows this at 12 years
old. Brother Norman and I were talking
this week, and he brought out an amazing statement. He said,
I believe that when the Lord was milking on his mother's breast,
he knew why he was here. I said, oh, I do too, brother. He's God. He's God, beloved,
in the flesh. And they search for him in great
distress and agony. And he reminds them that he's
under the providential power and care of God the Father. Is
God the Father going to let him die before the appointed time? No. Not at all. He must go to the cross, right?
Because they had both... Joseph had been told that he
must save his people from their sins. My oh my. He's on a mission, beloved. And
he breaks forth. Where else would he be but in
his father's house? About his father's business.
Where else would he be? And note the profoundness of
the words before us of our great king at 12 years old. His mind
is set on doing the will of the father at 12 years old. What were we thinking of when
we were 12? I'd go out in the street and play hockey with my
buddies. I wonder if they all want to
get together and play road hockey today. Oh, I've got to go back to school
tomorrow. Right? And at 12, didn't quite think
girls were cute yet, so a little bit, you know, but that would
come later on, right? But my mind, the last thing on
my mind was God at 12 years old. But see, he's not like us, is
he? He's God incarnated in the flesh.
His mind is already set on the will of the Father. And he says,
I must be about my Father's business. There has never been another
12-year-old like the Lord Jesus Christ. There's never been another
baby like the Lord Jesus Christ. Sinless, spotless. There's never
been anyone like him. Yet he's fully man too. Bone
of our bone and flesh of our flesh. Tempted like we are, yet
without sin. My. You know what? He's on a mission to accomplish
all righteousness for us, for his people. To accomplish the
will of the Father. He's been sent down from heaven.
He's been sent down from heaven to come to this world to redeem
all whom the Father gave him in eternity. And note these words
coming from a 12-year-old's lips, whist ye know not that I must
be about my Father's business. From a 12-year-old's mouth. Christ
seems to remind them in their forgetfulness, Mary and Joseph,
of having a Father in heaven whose business he came to do
on this earth. And after what we read, they
should have remembered that, right? But all the flesh, the
flesh, the flesh. Now he's about his father's business. And if they had remembered that,
who he was, and why he came, they would have been a lot calmer,
wouldn't they? The business that Christ came
to do was to save his people from their sins, but he also
came to preach the gospel, which concerned him. That sinners who put their faith
and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ shall be saved. Believe on the
Lord Jesus Christ and thou shall be saved, Paul said. And little did they know, that this 12-year-old boy in
21 years would become a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense
to them, to some of them who spoke to him if they were still
alive when he started to preach and proclaim the gospel of the
kingdom. And he went through many dangers,
didn't he? But his business was to save his people from their
sins, preach the gospel. And he, when he was older, he
performed that with clearness, didn't he? And fullness, and with much power,
and majesty, and authority, and diligence, with much concern
for man's souls. And he took every opportunity
to do good, didn't he? healing the sick, giving sight
to the blind, hearing to the deaf, raising up the dead. He went about doing good. But
all those miracles that he did, they were proof of his deity,
beloved. They were proof of his messiahship,
of who he really was, Emmanuel, God with us. And He came to do the Father's
will, which is to work out our salvation, beloved. To work out
our salvation. The salvation for His people.
How? By fulfilling the law perfectly for them. Remember, He's sinless. So who is He fulfilling the law
for, then, if He's sinless? For me! And other sinners like
me! And He made reconciliation for us
with God, beloved, by the blood of by the blood, by His precious,
precious blood. The atonement. He made atonement
for our sins by the shedding of His blood because without
the shedding of blood, there's no remission of sins. And He obtained eternal redemption
for us. It's eternal. Eternal redemption
by the shedding of His blood and by the giving of His life
for those who the Father gave Him. This was the father's business. Angels couldn't perform this.
Man couldn't perform this. Only the God-man could do this.
Redeem his people from their sins. So he was sent to save
his people from their sins. And he became a man to do just
that. To be the everlasting mediator
between God and man. See, there's no need for people
to go to priests. There's only one mediator between God and
man, only one, and his name is the Lord Jesus Christ. It's not
no priest, it's not a preacher, it's only God, the Lord Jesus
Christ. He's the only mediator between
God and man. And he came to do this work of
redemption. That's what he came here for. He came to save His people from
their sins, to do a work that they could never do. That which
is impossible with man is possible with God, right? So God becomes
a man. God can't die, but a man can,
right? So God becomes a man, the God-man,
that He might die in the room and place of His people to save
them from their sins. And He did it perfectly. As you
said at Sunday School, it's complete, beloved. It's complete. We're
complete in Him. He brought it out, the handwriting
of ordinances that was against us, took it, nailing it to His
cross, beloved. And God remembers our sins no
more. So actually what we see here
is a prelude of the sort of entrance upon the Father's business, which
He came to do. Here he comes. Now he's going
to come out publicly at 33, isn't he? But here we see him in the
public too, right here. He already knows why he's come. And like I said, think about
this week. Think about this. It's God in the flesh who's asking
them questions about the various scriptures that the Holy Spirit
of God authored. He's asking questions about his
own book and seeing what their responses would be and then giving
them answers back. And they are filled with wonder. They are filled with wonder.
Let's read the last two verses. And he went down with them and
came to Nazareth and was subject unto them. But his mother kept
all these sayings in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom
and stature and in favor with God and man. Note in verse 51
that Jesus returned with Mary and Joseph to Nazareth and was
subject to them, just as the law demanded. Honor thy father
and thy mother. He's doing that for us. Did we honor our fathers and
mother perfectly? I sure didn't. Growing up. But Christ did it
for me. Praise God, he did it for me
as my substitute. He's the sinless, spotless substitute
fulfilling all righteousness for us. Again, he's the unblemished
lamb. He's the sinless, spotless lamb
from conception to death, and even now he's sinless. My oh my. And note in verse 52
that scripture brings forth that Jesus grew in wisdom and stature. Now this can only be looked at,
as I said earlier, in his humanity. Only in his humanity. As God,
he can't learn anything. He can't grow as God. He already
knows everything. So remember, he's God and man. He's man and deity together. Because in him all the fullness
of the Godhead dwells bodily. So then we see that Christ could
not have been a true and proper surety without his humanity.
Right? Without his humanity, he couldn't
be our surety. He couldn't be our redeemer. So he's both God and man. Some
folks say, how can you believe that? Because God says it. And
by faith, I believe that. See, God's people believe what
this book says. We don't argue with this book.
There was a time when I argued with this book. I don't argue
with this book anymore. I believe it, by God's grace. By God's
grace, I believe every word in this book. By God's grace and
mercy. My oh my. So in his human nature,
he grew in wisdom and stature and with favor with God and man. Again, of his divine nature,
there could be no increase, because God, he's God, he's one with
the Father, one with the Holy Ghost, and he's God-blessed overall. So verse 52, speaking of his
humanity, of Christ, which the Holy Spirit is bringing forth
before us, is the humanity of Christ. And right now, they are
amazed at him at 12 years old, in our text. But again, in 21
years, at 33 years old, he'll become a stumbling block to them.
in a rock of a fence when he begins to preach the
kingdom of heaven. And he says, repent, for the
kingdom of heaven is at hand. And marvel at Christ's humble
birth and his life. He goes forth as the substitute
of his people, fulfilling all righteousness for them, and then
dies in the room and place at Calvary. Here is the very Lamb
slain from before the foundation of the world. Here He is. Right
in our text. There He is. God incarnated in
the flesh. Emmanuel, God with us. And I want us to look close.
I want to close with this. I want us to look at this closely.
Look at this. All who seek Christ by the grace of God shall find
Him. They'll find Him. Are you seeking Christ? Oh, if you're seeking him, he's
making you willing. That's wonderful. Look at verse
45, 48, and 49. And when they found him not,
they turned back again to Jerusalem, seeking him. They sought Christ,
didn't they? And when they saw him, verse
48, when they saw him, they were amazed, and his mother said unto
him, Son, why hast thou dealt with us Behold, thy father and
I have sought thee." So they sought him. And then
he said, in verse 49, how is it that he sought me? Only by
the grace of God, beloved. Because he's about his father's
business. And we, as a church, we're about the father's business
too, aren't we? Out goes the gospel. That's why we're here,
for the furtherance of the gospel. Out it goes. And we rejoice,
and we praise God for the great things he's done for us, saved
our soul, redeemed us, sinners such as we, with his precious,
precious blood. And you know what? We who are
the redeemed are going to sing praises to him for all eternity.
Isn't it wonderful? All because of the grace and
mercy of God.