[Fifty-fifth in a series of posts on Bible Stories] Encore Post: The Gospels give us only brief glimpses into the first thirty years of the life of Jesus. We have, of course, the Christmas story. They mention the circumcision of Jesus on the 8th day (we celebrate it on New Year’s Day). After forty days, Mary, his mother, and Joseph, his adoptive father, take him to the temple to redeem him and to purify Mary. There, they meet Simeon and Anna. Then sometime in the first two years, scholars from the east came to their house in Bethlehem, worshiped him, and gave him gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Warned by an angel, they moved to Egypt while Herod the Great vainly tried to kill him and instead slaughtered innocent boys. In a matter of months, they moved back to Nazareth and settled there. Then, that’s it for twelve years. We hear about Jesus among the teachers in the temple, and then silence again for sixteen years!
False teachers, psychics, and prophets of other religions could not resist. They tell stories of a self-centered child animating clay pigeons, raising a child from the dead to testify that he did not shove the child off a roof, and similar things. Some have him moving to India to learn under gurus. Islam has it that he spoke while in the cradle. None of these things happened, but are simply stories made up to fill a vacuum they believe exists.
So, what were Jesus’ first thirty years really like? We don’t know precisely, other than that it was perfectly normal. He grew up as the son of a faithful Jewish craftsman. He learned his father’s trade, living what was a kind of middle-class life. Likely, they worked to build the nearby capital of Herod Antipas, called Sepphoris. He would have studied the Torah, learned Hebrew, observed all the customs of the law, and studied under rabbis. He likely spoke Koine Greek and gained knowledge of Greek and Roman culture. He grew up so normally that no one who knew him could imagine him as God. Luke sums it up: “Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.” (Luke 2:52)
Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog
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Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana
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