The Boy Jesus full of wisdom and God’s grace

Luke 2:40-52

Key Verse: 2:40

“And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him.”

 Today we are going to learn about Jesus who was filled with wisdom and lived by God’s grace from his young age. Let us pray that we may learn the boy Jesus’ life of faith and grow and become strong like the boy Jesus.  In this message, I am going to focus heavily on Part 1 which covers verse 40 only.  And we go through the rest briefly.

 Part.1 Wisdom and the Grace of God (40)

 Look at verse 40. “And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him.” As far as I know, Min-sung and Hee-sung grew very much and became strong in many ways. When I saw them first in 2003, they were like a cute little boy and girl. But now Min-sung is the best soccer player of all in NJ UBF with powerful soccer skills and energetic body check. How about Hee-sung? She is the prettiest girl of all in NJ UBF with fascinating ear rings, basic, but enough make-up, stylish hairstyle, and fashionable clothes. Just like them in the form of humanity, Jesus also grew and became strong, and yet through his childhood we see two very important things.  Those are God’s message of today for parents and children, especially perfect for JBF members who in process of growing and gaining strength.  What are they?

 First, the child Jesus was filled with wisdom. Nowadays not many children are filled with wisdom, but they are filled with something they can buy with money or something negative Satan gives.  My first daughter Gloria in her age of 5 seems to be filled with Barbie, DVDs, and PBS kids internet games and movies. Whenever she sees Barbie or Barbie-like princess dolls at the shopping mall, she starts nagging, “I want this, I want this…” If Gloria asks me for some books for better understanding of language, math and life, I would be very glad and happy to buy them for her. But Gloria is better than I was. When I was a little boy, I was filled with fear, obsession, a sense of failure and inferiority, and curiosity of the opposite sex. And all that negative thoughts and sinful desires hindered me from growing and becoming strong.  I got weaker and weaker and became a timid, useless loser.  What am I saying here? What I am saying is that we should be filled with wisdom as God’s children as the child Jesus was. In this crooked and sin-sickened world, we could be easily influenced by materialism and Satan’s temptation and become useless sinners. We should not be filled with materialism. We should not be filled with sinful desires or negative thoughts.  Let’s drive all the unnecessary things out of ourselves in the name of Jesus and be filled with wisdom alone.

 Now, let’s think about wisdom. What is wisdom?  Does it sound for the old or boring?  In fact, wisdom is all over the place. For example we can learn wisdom from ants and grasshopper story that we have to work hard for the near future when you are able to work in a good time. Dictionary says first wisdom is the ability to use your experience and knowledge in order to make sensible decisions or judgments and second the store of knowledge that a society or culture has collected over a long period of time. So we can say when we have wisdom we can make right decisions or judgments in life with the store of knowledge of our society or culture. Before you came here, you had to decide whether or not you would come. Because of your decision to come here, the path of your life has been somewhat or totally changed in many ways such as the language you use, food you eat, people you meet on a daily basis.  Likewise, as we have all known, our lives are continuation of decisions and judgments, therefore it is very important for us to have wisdom to make right decisions and judgments for a better life.

 In the Bible, the word wisdom is shown 196 times if you count it from cover to cover.  Especially we see some benefits of wisdom in the book of Ecclesiastes. “Wisdom, like an inheritance, is a good thing and benefits those who see the sun (7:11). Wisdom is a shelter as money is a shelter, but the advantage of knowledge is this: that wisdom preserves the life of its possessor (7:12). Wisdom makes one wise man more powerful than ten rulers in a city (7:19).”  There is a famous story in the Chinese novel entitled Romance of the three kingdoms.  Yu-bi (Ryu-Bbei) tried hard to get some help from Je-Gal-Ryang (Ju-Qual-Ryang) by visiting his house three times. It’s because Je-Gal-Ryangwas filled with wisdom that Yu-bi wanted him to help establish his own kingdom as a wise counselor. Even though Yu-bi was 47 years old, whereas Je-Gal-Rayng was 27, he begged him for his help because Yu-bi knew that one wise man with wisdom is more powerful than ten ruler in a city.

 Now, let’s think about how we can get wisdom. Palm 111:10a and Proverbs 9:10a says in common “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom;” and James 1: 5 says “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.” It is very simple to get wise. What is that? Just fear God and ask him.  If you have some trouble in your school study because of your limited ability, then just fear and ask God!!! Maybe you know this person named Kim, Dong-Whan if you are really interested in how to study well.  He is the author of Daniel Study Method.  He was an assistant minister when he wrote the book. And now he is a pastor. He graduated in 2000 from Seoul National University as a valedictorian with an average grade of 99.26 out of 100 for his four academic years. Actually when he was little, he was in poor health condition, so he was called general hospital.  At that time his wish was to study 50 minutes without feeling any pain in his body. But after he made a decision to study by faith for the glory of God like Daniel’s faith in the Bible when he was in the middle school, he went to bed at 10 pm and woke up at 4:30 everyday. After he woke up, he prayed for 5 minutes, mediated on God’s words for 5 minutes, planned on his study for 5 minutes, and controlled his heart and mind for 5 minutes.  He basically decided to live a God-centered, God-feared, prayerful life.  To make a long story short, this is how he became smart and wise when he studied.  We can also get God’s wisdom by fearing the Lord our God through early Morning Prayer, daily bread and testimony writing and sharing. But someone might ask me, “M. Joseph, I did everything you said. I prayed, wrote testimony and shared it and asked God for wisdom. But nothing happened to me. What’s wrong?” The answer is James 4:3 “When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.” Because of wrong motive such as self-glory seeking, nothing could happen to us. Or you must keep praying to God without giving up until you receive what you ask, because the time might have not come yet for you.  I pray that all our JBF members may get wisdom by fearing and asking God and reveal God’s glory through their lives at school and at center. 

 We are learning about two import things for our growth and strength. First one was wisdom, and second one is, grace of God.  Look at verse 40c. “…and the grace of God was upon him.” In other words, he lived by God’s grace even though he is the Son of God. Although the meaning of God’s grace is kind of broad, many great Christians describe God’s grace as something we have received from God free of charge even though we do not deserve it.  We might go further in finding deeper meanings of God’s grace. But since our focus is how to live by God’s grace, which is much beneficial to our practical life of faith, we can find deeper meaning of God’s grace some time later. Then, let us think about living by God’s grace. Sometimes in order to know about something better, it is good to come up with the opposite to the thing we want to know better.  So, to understand how to live by God’s grace, let think about how to live by humanism for instance.  

 Last month we heard very sad news that former Korean president Roh, Mu-Hyun committed a suicide by falling off the steep cliff in his home town because his family members took some bribes such money and watch. The whole country mourned for him from young to old for a week. Many people said this and that about him. Some say he was a dumb president because he had lived an upright life for his own people and killed himself for a comparably small fault made by his family members. He wanted to live a righteous life, but, in reality, what happened to him such as his family members’ taking bribes was all against his conscience. As a result, all he could do to solve the messy problem was to die as a great humanist.  From human point of view, this is really to be praised because he did his best to live up to what he said while living. He really lived by humanism.

 In contrast, we have someone here who testified last week in his message about living by God’s grace. He said he was the biggest thief, the laziest person, and the most lustful sinner he has ever known. But, unlike the former Korean president Roh, he did not commit a suicide by falling off the cliff or from his room on the second story in the center because of his unbearable sins.  Instead, he is still alive and became a servant of the word of God. How was it possible for him to overcome a sense of guilt and shame? It’s because he decided to live by God’s grace, not by humanism. In living by humanism people always think they should be able to do everything. They live by their own ability. They think that there is always something they can do by their own strength and that they should take all responsibility of their life. That is why they try to justify themselves in their behaviors and words. As a result, they sometimes feel despaired, inferior and fatalistic with sense of failure, and some other times feel so proud that they despise other people. But in living by God’s grace, we accept as we are as a sinner and ask for God’s mercy and help for salvation and everything we do. We can be thankful and hopeful and feel free even after we have made a big, irrevocable mistake or fault because we live by God’s grace.  Did you do anything for you to be born in Christian family as a second generation, or did you choose your parents who can support you to study abroad to the United States?  All we can say is nothing but it is by God’s grace.  But do not misunderstand that living by God’s grace is like just lying down on the ground and waiting for the apples to fall down into your moth from its tree.  We should do our best doing our part 2% and wait by faith for God to do the rest 98 %. This is how we live by God’s grace. 

 As for me, I always think about living by God’s grace when I prepare and speak my JBF message. If I think only about my human conditions and situations such as English skill, educational background, generation gap, and my weaknesses, I cannot proclaim God’s word even among JBF members. But by God’s grace I can do so. To be honest, I remind myself that I must live by God’s grace when I see some of your heads down and chatter to each other, not listening to the message. Sometimes I put my all efforts to prepare the message, but the mood and the response of people were terrible. The other times I was not fully prepared, but some people said your message was so powerful and killing. What do I do? My point being is that we must decide to live by God’s grace even after we make a big mistake in playing music or fail on exams and so forth.  I pray that all our JBF members may live by God’s grace and grow in spirit and body like Jesus did.

 Part 2.  Jerusalem alone (41-52)

 Do you know the movie named “Home alone?” A couple forgot to take their youngest son with them for a vacation trip. Then, they were desperate for coming back home to see if their son would be o.k. Meanwhile, the boy left at home wisely and boldly defended his house against the two thieves.  Now, it’s the time to watch a prequel of “Home alone, which is “Jerusalem alone” that shows how the boy Jesus lived his earthly life in this world.

 Look at verses 41-42 “Every year his parents went to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover. When he was twelve years old, they went up to the Feast, according to the custom.”

Every year Joseph and Mary went to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover. As you know, the Passover is the day of celebration for the destructive plague’s passing over the Israelites when God stroke Egypt. They put the blood of a lamb on the door frame. This was a sign for salvation of the Israelites. Since then, for the generations to come they should celebrate it as a festival to the LORD. During the Feast of the Passover they eat bread made without yeast for seven days (Ex 12:13-15).  Jesus’ parents Joseph and Mary demonstrated a good example from which the boy Jesus might have learned about being obedient to God’s commands.  Following his parents’ step, Jesus also went to Jerusalem to participate in the Feast when he turned 12 year old according to the custom.  I personally think all of JBF members are so blessed that they have faithful God’s law-obeying parents. Do you think so? People usually act and say according to what they see and hear from other people.  Therefore, since you have grown, seeing your parents living for God and obeying his words, it is a high chance for you to do the same things like your parents. Every year our JBF members’ parents go to some other places for the domestic Bible conferences or the international Bible conferences to celebrate God’s salvation work all around the world. So do JBF members simply because their parents do. For JBF members who is above 12 years old it is now the time to go up to the Feast of European Summer Bible conference. Through the conference, as an independent being, JBF members should commemorate God’s salvation work among each of their own family and themselves. I pray that all JBF members may take the steps of their parents’ obedience to God’s commands through joining European Summer Bible conference or our own Summer Bible conference.

 Look at verses 43-45. “After the Feast was over, while his parents were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it. Thinking he was in their company, they traveled on for a day. Then they began looking for him among their relatives and friends. When they did not find him, they went back to Jerusalem to look for him.”  After I read these verses, I wondered one thing. “How on earth could his parents lose the boy Jesus?”  I imagine that Jesus was right with his parents and wonder how they could return home without the boy Jesus.  But I realized it could happen through one event. Last month CBF kids went to strawberry farm. They were very happy with picking strawberry and had lots of fun over there. I have never seen them so focused on something like that.  By the way, since we had many children to take care of with a small number of adults, we just confirmed each other that all the kids were accounted for without checking every single one of them before we left.  “M. Ruth Chong, is Esther with you?” “What? I thought she was with you?” “Yes, she was with us until lunch time.” “We have lost her. Where is she?” This might have happen if we had had more kids than we were able to handle.  Back to Jesus’ story, since the journey to the Feast was a travel in large caravans and the whole Feast would take as much as two weeks time, it was highly possible for them to lose the track of Jesus’ whereabouts.  Meanwhile, when Joseph and Mary noticed that the boy Jesus was not with them, they were so desperate to look for him that they went back to Jerusalem. 

 Look at verses 46-47. “After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers.” Finally they found the boy Jesus in the temple courts after three days.  The Bible focused on what Jesus was doing first, not what his parents were like when they found him.  What was Jesus up to? Jesus was with the Bible teachers joining the Bible Forum or the Spring Bible conference. Jesus studied the Bible in depth by listening and asking. Personally I wonder how and where the boy Jesus managed to eat and sleep for three days. I guess the Bible teachers shared food and a place to sleep with the boy Jesus. Anyways, we see 12 year-old boy Jesus was eager to study the Bible even without telling his parents that he would go to the temple courts for the Bible study. He personally found the Bible teachers and shared his testimony based on the Bible passage with deep understanding. Even though the boy Jesus was 12 years old, he loved God’s word so deeply. I pray that we may resemble the boy Jesus who loves God’s words deeply from our young age.

 Look at verses 48-50. “When his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him, "Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you." "Why were you searching for me?" he asked. "Didn't you know I had to be in my Father's house?" But they did not understand what he was saying to them.” I do not remember when this happened exactly, but not so long ago I went to Toy R us store with Gloria to buy her some toys.  We together looked around here and there, but soon after I discovered Gloria was not with me.  I thought she was following me behind and kept looking around, but at a certain point I lost her unbelievably. I got crazy looking for her here and there for a while with desperation and I was frightened and anxious when I thought about kidnapping. Not long before, when one of sales persons saw me who looked so desperate for looking for someone, she told me where Gloria was.  Thankfully I found her at the registry and she got back safely into my arms. At that time I was really anxiously searching for her like Mary and Joseph. When Joseph and Mary found the boy Jesus, they must be very thankful like I was. And they might expected Jesus to tell them, “Mommy and Daddy, I am sorry I didn’t tell you,” in order to comfort them.  But Jesus’ response was totally different than they thought and we think. “Why were you searching for me? Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?”  Jesus did not intend to hurt his parents. He wasn't rebellious to Mary. His question implies that Jesus expected they should know where he was, and what he was doing. He thought they were on the same page with him. He was so engrossed in Bible study, he forgot all about leaving, and maybe even eating and sleeping too. From what Jesus said, I was thinking all JBF members should say boldly, “Why were you searching for me? Didn’t you know I had to be in God’s house?” when their parents or shepherds look for them, not saying, “I had to be in the party” or “I had to be in the Karaoke Bang” or  “I had to be in dating with boy friend.”  I pray that we may all in God’s house when our Lord Jesus looks for us to do his work and live a God-centered life.

 Look at verses 51-52. “Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.” After his first Jerusalem Bible Conference with many teachers of the law, Jesus came to his mission field Nazareth and became more faithful and sincere by being obedient to his parents. Again, the Bible mentions here the Boy Jesus grew in wisdom and even stature. Most of all he was in favor with God and other people around him.

 Today we learn we should be filled with wisdom and live by God’s grace and love God and his words all the more through Jesus’ childhood. May God bless you to be prepared well as a spiritual leader for the next the generation.