What Child is This?...What Are You Looking For?


[PDF]What Child is This?...

0 downloads 195 Views 724KB Size

about you. Last night I was convinced you had been killed by the Samaritan bandits. Look at Jesus first ever recorded words in verse 49. Of course it’s a question. “Why were you looking for me?” Now the obvious answer is “Why??? Your entire family left three days ago. It’s not wise to leave a 12-year-old boy alone in a huge city. We came to find you and protect you and bring you back home where you belong. What if the question implied, “what were you hoping to find in your searching for me?” Mary were you searching for someone who would fit into your plans, your dreams, your agenda? It’s good to know why you are looking for someone. Are you looking for a Jesus who will simply help you accomplish your plans and dreams? Do you want some genii who will work for you? Or are you looking for Jesus so you can join Him and what he is doing, what He about, what He is planning? Jesus asks, “why were you looking for me?” I was not lost. I was right here in my Father’s house, being about his business. When you I realized you all had left me here alone, I thought it best to stay put. Eventually you would come back and find me. I expected you would know exactly where I would be, where my interest and heart is, right here about my Father’s business. Now did you notice in the text Mary says in verse 48, “Your Father and I have been anxiously looking for you.” And Jesus replies, “I had to be about my Father’s business.” (V.49) The word “house” that is in many translations in implied. I think it could mean both house or business, but this is a place where the KJV translation is stronger here referring to business.) Verse 42 tells us that Jesus was twelve years old. This is significant as it was a special year of spiritual preparation in the life of a Jewish boy. When he turned 13 there was a special ceremony as he was introduced into full participation of religious life in the synagogue as a bar mitzvah or “son of the covenant”. During his whole 12th year, Jesus was trained by Joseph his father, as a carpenter, and also religious training including the meaning of the Passover celebration. Joseph would explain to Jesus how their fathers had been slaves in Egypt and God delivered them. Joseph taught Jesus how the Passover lamb was a picture of redemption. I wonder if at some point the human brain engaged and the lights came on for Jesus and he came to realized He would be the true Passover lamb, that He had come from heaven in order to give His life a ransom for many. Jesus is discovering who His real Father and Who He is; His identity and His mission. His deity. So when Mary said, “Your Father and I have been worried sick about you. How could you treat your father like this? You should have been

spending time with your father, listening to, learning from, observing your father. Jesus responded very respectfully. Mom. I am. This is the year my father is telling me who I am and what I am about. Mom, I am understanding my real calling. Father God is revealing to Jesus His identity and purpose with greater clarity than ever before. Jesus is sending a strong but respectful message to His parents that his devotion to God’s purposes takes precedence even over the closest of family ties. Jesus’ love for God is supreme and incomparable over even the strongest relational ties and loves we have here on earth. Verse 51 tells us that Jesus continued to be submissive and obedient to His parents, but it was clear, Jesus’ identity and mission was becoming clear and it set the stage for the adult ministry or Jesus in Luke 3. He was also fully God. What are you looking for? Do you assume Jesus will always be around? Mary and Joseph took for granted Jesus was in their caravan. They took His presence for granted, but the Immanuel was NOT with them. They assumed Jesus was following their path, their plans to go home. But Nazareth was not Jesus’ true home. (V.50) They did not understand, and maybe you don’t fully get it either, but perhaps like Mary you have begun to ponder on these things in your heart. Perhaps this is the Christmas God reveals Himself to you. Perhaps this is the Christmas you discover what you are looking for is not one to come and fulfill your agenda, but One whom you can join in His plan and pursue His presence. You may assume that His presence has been in your life caravan, but He is not. Invite Him. Search for Him and He will let you find Him. What child is this? One who is fully human and fully God, the Immanuel who has entered our world in love. Wise men and women still seek Him.

This message from the Scriptures was presented at NORTHVIEW BIBLE CHURCH, Spokane, Washington. Scripture quotations are taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE (“NASB”), © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995, 1996 by the Lockman foundation. Used by permission.

Catalog No. 351 page 4

“What Child is This?...What Are You Looking For?” Sermon Series: “What Child is This?”

Have you ever misplaced a child? Have you ever left one at a rest stop during a family trip? Maybe you were the one that got left behind and it scarred you for life. I was the youngest of five and one Saturday in December, my mother piled us all into the family ‘54 ford coupe. There were not enough seatbelts to go around, but this was before Ralph Nader and you had to be tough back then. Mom drove us to what was billed in the late 60’s as the largest shopping mall east of the MississippiLloyd Center in Portland, Oregon. It was our big Christmas shopping trip and crowded. I stared wide -eyed at the enormous lighted Christmas tree, the ice rink, the smells of Morrows nut house, Joe Brown’s caramel corn, but what totally captivated me was the escalators. As a little guy of 4 or 5, I had never seen such a thing as moving stairs. My adventurous brain wondered if I could climb to the top of the down-moving escalators. After about 5 minutes of trying to figure it out, and a couple of failed attempts, I looked around to realize, I was all alone. I’m sure mom experienced an adrenalin spike when she counted heads in the backseat of the car and realized one of the five was missing. I remember our reunion involved me taking a ride in the back of a police car to the lost and found office, my name being announced over the PA system, and a very red-faced, but relieved mother taking me firmly by the hand out to the parking lot. Those memories rushed back this last week when I read today’s scripture. At the end of Luke 2 we read about a mom who also left her son behind on a trip to the big city during a crowded festival time. She had to be frantic because she had not just lost the youngest of five kids from an obscure place called Tigard, Oregon. She had just lost Jesus, The Messiah, the Son of God. I’m sure this experience caused her much panic, but it also served to reveal to her (and us) with more clarity as to Who this child from God really was. What child is this? This morning’s passage highlights the humanity of Jesus, and also the divinity of Jesus. I wonder how many of us have sung the Christmas carol, “Hark the Herald Angel’s Sing” without even considering the lines “veiled in flesh the Godhead see, hail the incarnate Deity.” This morning I’d like us to look at Luke 2:40-52 and see this incarnate deity, this one Jesus who came to earth as fully human and fully God. I want to explore the question, “why do I need the incarnation?” and in doing so may it serve us well in helping us discover who we really are looking for. Turn in you Bibles to Luke chapter 2 and as I read verses 40-52, notice the sandwich of verses

Catalog No. 351

Luke 2:40-52 Pastor Norm Schwab December 24, 2017

40 and 52 that bracket this story and emphasize Jesus’ very human characteristic of growing and learning and increasing intellectually, physically, spiritually and socially. And as I read, don’t miss hearing His very first recorded words in verse 49 that highlight His identity and mission. All right let’s read Luke 2:40-52. The author Luke is doing more than just telling us the only story in the Bible about Jesus’ life from infancy to ministry at age 30. Luke chose this story and does not include the wise man story for a reason. He wants to help us meet Jesus, encounter Jesus in a fresh and real way as one who is both human and deity. He wants us to see this “incarnate deity in a fuller way.” The first half of Luke 2 is the classic Christmas story complete with a census decree from Caesar Augustus, sending this family to Bethlehem in order to fulfill ancient prophesies. It tells of common shepherds and angels making announcements of good news of peace on earth that will be for “all the people”. God intentionally avoided the capital cities of Rome and Jerusalem. God avoided working through the famous and power people of the day. He went to an obscure place and used no-name people. Nazareth, shepherds, mangers. The angels who served in the courts of heaven must have been stunned at this choice to see the son of God laying in a feeding trough for animals. Several mentions of prophetic fulfillments through Simeon and Anna who were awaiting this One who would be a “light to the Gentiles” and looking for this One who would Redeem Israel. The author, Luke, stresses multiple times in this chapter that Joseph and his family were devout and keepers of the Old Testament law. Jesus wasn’t killed by the religious leaders because He was rebelling against the Jewish faith. Jesus came from a family who studied the Law of Moses and faithfully celebrated the Passover. Fully Human: Before we dive right into the main story, I want us to look at the frame surrounding this picture that highlights Jesus’ humanity, the two verses that sandwich this section verse 40 and 52. Jesus grew, became strong, increased in wisdom and God’s grace. (V.52). Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and with men. Jesus chose to come as a human and so developed, increased, grew as a human would intellectually, physically, socially and even spiritually. We tend to not think much about Jesus being fully human as we usually emphasize His Godness. It’s difficult for us to wrap our minds around the idea that Jesus can be fully God and yet still need to learn and grow. The early church struggled with this too. Luke may well have written

this section to refute a first century heresy that denied the humanity of Christ. It was called Docetism after the Greek word Dokeo, meaning “to seem or appear or apparition.” These believed that Jesus didn’t have a real body but only seemed to have a real body. There was a common belief during that time that all things physical were badly tainted with evil and that is not something God could ever embrace, so Jesus while on earth may have looked like a real body, but was really just a Spirit. Spoiler alert: if anyone has seen the recent Star Wars movie, you will get something of the idea from what Luke Skywalker pulled off when he appeared to be in the real flesh, but wasn’t. Jesus was fully human. There was nothing in His appearance that anyone could distinguish Him from other people. He had no halo or shinning glow about Him. Jesus did not emerge from the womb knowing how to talk. His mother had to teach him the alphabet and learned to walk and talk. When he chose to come to earth as a human, He voluntarily laid aside some of His Godlike attributes of omniscience (knowing all things) and omnipotence (being all powerful). Philippians 2:6,7, “who although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking on the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men.” Only the Son became incarnate. Not the Father, not the Spirit, only God the son became incarnate, fully human and fully God. Jesus matured as any other human being and did it all without any stain of sin on His life. He had to study and learn. His human brain slowly formed in its ability to think from concrete to abstract thoughts. His mind grew ordinarily. He had human emotions. He wept at Lazarus grave. Even after His resurrection, he ate fish to prove He was still fully human. He grew physically. His bones grew incrementally. He got taller. People in the market commented on how he was getting stronger and looking more like Joseph every year. He had the same biology and anatomy and brain cells as we have. He grew in common sense and practical wisdom. He learned by observing the world as seen by the many parables from practical life He used later on in His preaching ministry. He learned God’s word and used it when tempted in the desert by the devil. He was tempted when thirsty, sad, tired and hungry and experienced the full power of that temptation, because He never gave in to it. At some point we may give in, He never did and so felt its full pressure. One might ask how could Jesus possibly grow spiritually? How could He increase in favor with God any more than He already was? Certainly, it can’t mean that Jesus was somehow morally deficient. Jesus had the full favor of Father God. But perhaps as Jesus moved in obedience to the Father in fulfilling His mission He continued to expand in His relationship with His Father. Jesus grew in His relational ability. As a

human, he needed relationships. As he grew up with his brothers and sisters, he learned social interaction and how to ask questions and connect relationally. Mark 3:14 says “he chose the twelve to be with Him.” He liked hanging around these guys. He chose them first to be with Him and them to go for Him. He even picked three guys, Peter James and John who would be with Him in the face of great challenges. He came to save us all but as a human, He liked some more than others. He made himself vulnerable in relationship. Jesus did not stay distant and aloof. Jesus came to be with us. If Jesus as a full human needed to learn, to grow, to increase intellectually, spiritually, socially and intellectually. If Jesus was teachable and curious as He asked questions and pursued growth. How much more so should we pursue growth as God works to prepare and mature us? Will we be humble and teachable as God works on us in ways that are sometimes unknown to us? Will we trust Father God works on us even through painful experiences even at times when we don’t seem to be moving forward, His silent hand is moving? Stay teachable, maturity takes time and age is no determiner of spiritual ability as we see in our story today. Just because you are older doesn’t make you automatically more spiritually strong. And just because you may be only 12 years old doesn’t mean you lack a spiritual depth of faith. I hope you capture the idea that Jesus was fully human this morning, but why is that so important to us? Jesus is human so He connects with us. He can identify with us. Last week’s sermon David preached on the lineage of Jesus revealed that Jesus has some very common and even colorful characters in His family tree. Jesus is not ashamed to include us in His family and call us brother and sister. We have the same Father so that make Jesus our Big brother. He came as full human so that He could connect with us. It’s also important that Jesus is fully human so that He could free us. Hebrews 2:14 “that through death He might render powerless the one who had the power of death, the devil.” Jesus could only disarm the devil death weapon as a human being, and disarmed the devil’s death pellet gun, by taking up the resurrection ray gun. The only way to disarm death was by way of resurrection. The only way possible to experience resurrection is to first die. Deity cannot die, only humans die. So, Jesus had to first become a human in order to die, so that He could experience resurrection and bring us life. Only in Christ can I be forgiven and enjoy the powerful force of resurrection life to begin working in my body. This could never happen unless Jesus became fully, totally human. “ In John 14:19, Jesus said, “…because I live, you shall live also.” Because Jesus is fully human He can connect us and free us and also understand us. Jesus gets it. Jesus knows exactly what you are

Catalog No. 351 page 2

going through right now. He knows your pain, isolation, betrayal and rejection because He too has experienced those same things. You can’t stiff arm Jesus this season by telling yourself, Jesus can’t relate to me. He’s God. He’s too far above to ever understand. If you have blown it and are ashamed and that is the reason you’ve been pulling away… you are actually denying the humanity of Jesus. He has been here, He understands. That’s what makes Him such a wonderful counselor. If you are mad at God in your loss and pain, you are denying the humanity of Jesus thinking wrongly He doesn’t care, hasn’t been here, can’t relate. But He has been here. He does care. If you struggle with your identity, you really are denying Jesus’ humanity who came into humanity so He could save us and pour His identity into us and call us sister, brother friend. Jesus provides no basis for any sort of detached, isolated, removed, non-relational Christianity. Jesus didn’t live in a sanitized spiritual environment that was cloistered away high up on a mountain. No. He moved in with us. He lived in the middle of sin, brokenness and darkness. He entered our suffering. That is where Jesus came as a human. Jesus’ incarnational mission was to engage humanity, to pursue and go into the world where people are. What child is this? He is fully human. Ok, so now that we’ve looked at the frame of Jesus’ humanity, let’s now jump into the main story that highlights Jesus’ deity as fully God. Think with me from the perspective of Jesus’ mother Mary. Mary was the mother of a human boy who was moving towards manhood at warp speed. Can't you imagine her thinking, "It seems that just yesterday I was changing his diaper and rocking Him to sleep. He is growing up so quickly. What will this child become when he grows up? He's a responsible and obedient boy, trustworthy and handy with tools. He is such a big help out in the shop. He loves the feel the wood as he makes tables with Joseph. He has an eye for fine craftsmanship. You can see it in the smooth way he strokes the plane. He will make an excellent partner with Joseph someday. Can you picture it? Joseph and Son: Nazareth's finest furniture shop. He and his wife would come over for Sabbath and I, yes I, would hold the babies all afternoon long. Ah! What a grand day that will be. This is it. I am truly blessed...” Having Jesus close to home, enjoying life with children, taking over the family business were certainly good things and perhaps Mary’s dream for her son, but was this to be Jesus' purpose life? What was to be his identity and purpose? In our story, Mary, Joseph and Jesus and the whole family had journeyed down to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover. They looked forward to it every year, but now it was time to go back home to Nazareth. Mary, Joseph and their extended family and friends had decided to get up real early the next morning. They wanted to get a good start on

their journey home and beat the rush of the crowds that would be leaving Jerusalem. Repacking for the trip home proved to be controlled chaos, as it always is. Caring for the infants. Not wanting to forget anything. In the confusion of leaving, somehow Jesus is left behind. Mary and Joseph must have assumed that Jesus is with their caravan. Mary must have thought he was with Joseph and Joseph must have thought Jesus was with Mary. Maybe they thought he was trailing behind with the boys, or helping some of those in the group who were getting older and moved more slowly. He was always helping people. I'm sure they thought it's nice to have such a responsible boy. Mary could walk along with the other women and Joseph could discuss business and theology with the men. At noon, the caravan stopped for a light snack. Joseph spent most of his time at the well cooling his parched throat and resting in the grove of olive trees. Mary hadn't seen Jesus all day, and it disturbed her. Mary asked a few folks if they had seen Jesus. One had thought he had seen him still back on the road talking with a crippled boy. That assured Mary, he was becoming a man, she thought, I must not be too protective of him. In late afternoon, the sun began to dip lower in the sky. It was time to have dinner and set up camp for the night. Joseph is a little annoyed at Jesus for not being around to help him with setup. Mary began to get worried when he was not with the last group of stragglers. She kept asking others on the road "have you seen a boy about this this high with brown curly hair? They search all over for Jesus. He is not to be found. Where is He? Mary is convinced of foul play. While Mary is crying, Joseph tries to comfort her. Maybe he is still on the road helping someone. It is too late tonight. Tomorrow we will go back to Jerusalem. All the next day they searched for him. Everyone on the road was interrogated. Have you seen Jesus? Searching, searching. They reached the inn where they had stayed in Jerusalem. No one had seen Jesus. The next morning, they searched the city. They looked at the wood tool shops, the exotic pet shops, they asked the magicians and jugglers in the square if they had seen Jesus. It seemed he was nowhere to be found. Finally, towards the end of the third day, they went to ask if anyone at the synagogue has seen Jesus. And there He is, sitting on the floor among a group of rabbis and he’s the one asking questions. Jesus is totally engrossed in the conversation oblivious of the alarm he is causing. Some of the nation’s top rabbis are standing behind the group nodding their heads and stroking their beards. One look at Mary's face and you can see her searching desperation turn to a flush of anger. She strides over to where he is seated, firmly grabs his shoulder and draws him to the side. Who do you think you are young man? Do you have any idea what you have put us through? Why, your Father and I were worried sick

Catalog No. 351 page 3