Jesus, Increased in Wisdom, Stature and in Favor with God and Men

By Michael K. Farrar, O.D.

© God’s Breath Publications

 

Scripture does not tell us much about the early life of Jesus. Many of us wonder about His early childhood, his teenage years and his early adult life. We know Jesus was unique because of His virgin birth and the fact that He, being divine, chose to take on human form by the will of God the Father and through the power of the Holy Spirit. In Luke chapter 2 we find some hints as to how Jesus developed at a child and young man. Possibly if we study this portion of scripture in more detail we can gain some insight into this mysterious early life of Jesus.

 

In Luke 2:21-24, Jesus is named and circumcised. Then when the days for their purification according to the Law of Moses were completed, Mary and Joseph brought Jesus up to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord. At this time they offered a sacrifice according to the Law of the Lord. Soon after this we see in Luke 25-33 the fulfillment of a promise made to the righteous and devout man Simeon by the Holy Spirit. This promise was that he would live to see the Lord’s Christ. In this portion of scripture we see Simeon bless God by declaring Jesus as the Christ. Joseph and Mary were amazed at what Simeon had shared.

 

Next in verses 39-52 we see two references to the growth and maturation of Jesus. The first is in verse 40 and the second is in verse 52. Let’s look at this portion of scripture and then analyze what it says so that possibly we can understand how Jesus grew as a young child and into a young man who would then at age 30 begin a most holy ministry that would culminate with providing salvation for mankind.

Luke 2:39-52

“39 When they had performed everything according to the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own city of Nazareth. 40 The Child continued to grow and become strong, increasing in wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him. 41 Now His parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover. 42 And when He became twelve, they went up there according to the custom of the Feast; 43 and as they were returning, after spending the full number of days, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. But His parents were unaware of it, 44 but supposed Him to be in the caravan, and went a day’s journey; and they began looking for Him among their relatives and acquaintances. 45 When they did not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem looking for Him. 46 Then, after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions. 47 And all who heard Him were amazed at His understanding and His answers. 48 When they saw Him, they were astonished; and His mother said to Him, “Son, why have You treated us this way? Behold, Your father and I have been anxiously looking for You.” 49 And He said to them, “Why is it that you were looking for Me? Did you not know that I had to be in My Father’s house?”  50 But they did not understand the statement which He had made to them. 51 And He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and He continued in subjection to them; and His mother treasured all these things in her heart. 52 And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.”

 

Verse 40 states, “ The Child continued to grow and become strong, increasing in wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him.”

 

Verse 52 states, “And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.”

 

In verse 52 describes the years between twelve and thirty. This is the period of a man’s life at which a priest would begin service in the temple (Numbers 4:46-47) and the accepted traditional age of boy becoming a man. Verse 52 is the completion of what began in verse 40.

 

In order to discern what these scriptures state about the early life of Jesus we must delve into the original language of the New Testament.

 

Verses 40 and 52 both describe Jesus’ early life before His ministry using the Greek imperfect tense. This stresses an ongoing and continual progression. But, Luke chose different Greek verbs, which gives us a “before and after” picture of Jesus’ early life. This means that Jesus as a young man ready to begin His earthly ministry is very different from the very young boy that Simeon met.

 

In verse 40, Luke uses a Greek term which means “continued to grow” which emphasizes physical growth. Basically Luke is stating He “grew bigger.” In this verse the words, “become strong” and “increasing in wisdom” are passive Greek verbs. In other words Jesus was just naturally growing both physically and mentally. Jesus was simply growing as any young man would. Biological and mental capacities were maturing along the lines of any young Jewish man.

 

But in verse 52, Luke chooses a Greek verb which means “to advance, make headway, forge ahead.” In verse 52 Luke is communicating to us that Jesus at this time in His life is actively participating in His own maturing process. After the time Jesus spends with the professors and priests in the temple, He emerges fully and completely aware of His true identity and purpose.

 

Luke is communicating to us that between the “passive” verse 40 of “become strong” and “increasing in wisdom” and the “active” verse 52 of “advancing, making headway and forging ahead,” that there was a progression in the maturity of Jesus.

 

Another interesting piece of information is that in verse 40, the Greek word for “child” is “paidion,” that describes an infant, a toddler, or a young boy, but not at teenager.

 

In verse 43 Jesus is referred to in the Greek as a “paise,” the general term for a youth who has not yet reached puberty.

 

In verse 48, Mary, His mother, addresses Him in the Greek as a “tekmon,” which is used of someone’s progeny or disciple. It is a term of rank.

 

In verse 52, Luke calls Jesus by His proper name, which is when Luke begins to tell of Jesus’ public ministry as the adult Messiah.                                                                                                                     

 

This progression of the words that Luke uses to refer to Jesus in this passage is very likely not an accident. Below is another evaluation of scriptures in this passage that illustrate Luke’s intent to describe Jesus growth and maturity as a human being.

 

In verse 21: The newborn child is given the name Jesus.

 

In verse 27: The child (paidion) “Jesus” is brought to the temple.

 

In verse 43: The young boy (pais) Jesus” remained behind in the temple.

 

In verse 52: “Jesus” (no qualifier) kept maturing.

 

Charles Swindoll states; “When the Son came to earth to become a flesh-and-bone human, He voluntarily laid aside His divine power. He exchanged omnipresence for finitude; He existed fully in one place within a finite human body. He exchanged omnipresence for fraility; He suffered the pain, weakness, hunger and fatigue that are common to all people. He exchanged omniscience for incomprehension; He “grew in wisdom” (Omniscience cannot grow!) Like all little boys, He gained weight. He had to be potty trained. He learned manners. He was taught to read. He received instruction in the synagogue and at home. And, somewhere in the process of maturity, He became fully aware of His identity as the Son of God and completely conscious of His mission as the Savior of the world.”

 

Luke’s account in this chapter of Jesus visiting the temple and interacting with the priests and professors was the day that Jesus’ realization of what His ministry was to be took place. It is true that Jesus’ demeanor, development of maturity, growth in wisdom and dedication to God was above normal, but this does not mean that He was superhuman, only that His dedication to God was complete and absolute from an early age.

 

In summary we see in this passage of scripture that as a young boy Jesus, “continued to grow and become strong, increasing in wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him.” Physically, mentally, emotionally Jesus continued to develop and grow in all areas as is normal for a boy dedicated to His Heavenly Father. He increased in wisdom, because from a young age, not only because He was chosen by God for a divine ministry, but because He was dedicated to His Heavenly Father’s wishes. We see that God’s grace was upon Jesus His whole life, because He was the son of God and this grace remained constant throughout His whole life, at His death and resurrection. God’s grace continues to be upon Jesus as He sits at His Father’s right hand in Heaven.

 

We also see in this passage that, “Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.” As Jesus grew from a boy, to a young man pursuing His ministry ordained by God, He kept on increasing in His wisdom in all areas of life. We see that the respect that others had for Him grew, as did the favor of God and men did.

 

We see here the uniqueness of Jesus; that while completely God in the flesh, He was also completely human as well. Several verses should come to our minds as we contemplate Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord as both human and divine.

Hebrews 4:15-16

“15 We do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. 16 Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

 

Philippians 2:3-9

“3 Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; 4 do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. 5 Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. 8 Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”