Jesus Early Years August 5, 2017
What do we know about Jesus early life? Do we understand how a Jewish family would
handle their children? This is what
Jesus went through in His life. Let’s
review Jesus early life.
Birth of
Jesus Foretold, Virgin Mary is told she will give birth
Luke 1:26-27 Now in the sixth
month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth,
(27) to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of
David. The virgin's name was Mary.
The Birth
of Jesus Christ, born in the town of Bethlehem
Luke 2:4-6 Joseph also went
up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David,
which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David,
(5) to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child. (6) So
it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be
delivered.
The Visit
of the Wise Men, Infant Jesus and parents escape to Egypt
Matthew 2:1-2 Now after Jesus was born
in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the
East came to Jerusalem, (2) saying, "Where is He who has been born King of
the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him."
Matthew 2:11 And when they (wise men) had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and
fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they
presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
Matthew 2:13 Now when they had
departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying,
"Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there
until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him."
Herod Kills
the Children
Matthew 2:16 Then Herod, when
he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry; and he sent
forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all
its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had
determined from the wise men.
Jesus is
taken back to Israel, to the town of Nazareth
Matthew 2:19-23 Now when Herod
was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt,
(20) saying, "Arise, take the young Child and His mother, and go to the
land of Israel, for those who sought the young Child's life are dead."
(21) Then he arose, took the young Child and His mother, and came into the land
of Israel.
(22) But when he
heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea instead of his father Herod, he
was afraid to go there. And being warned by God in a dream, he turned aside
into the region of Galilee. (23) And he came and dwelt in a city called
Nazareth, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, "He
shall be called a Nazarene."
Jesus
Presented at the Temple
Luke 2:22 Now when the days
of her purification according to the law of Moses were completed, they brought
Him to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord
The Return
to Nazareth
Luke 2:39-40 So when they had
performed all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned to
Galilee, to their own city, Nazareth. (40) And the Child grew and became strong
in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him.
This is the summary of a young Jewish boy
would go through while growing up. I
have come up with, looking at many sources.
This is what Jesus would have gone through as a typical Jewish boy.
It was the custom
of the Galilean Jews for the mother to bear the responsibility for a child’s
training until the fifth birthday, and then, if the child were a boy, to hold
the father responsible for the lad’s education from that time on. This is when the
mother would formally turned her son over to the father for further
instruction. Mary would continue the
education for the girls.
Though the father
was now assuming the direct responsibility for the son training and religious
education, the mother was still interested herself in his home training. She would
teach him to care for vines, flowers and garden, take care of animals, to cook,
to weave and mold clay on the potter’s wheel; and any other thing to help
around the house and help take care of the younger children. Learn to become self-reliance.
This is our hope for
our children.
She would also
provide on the roof of the house (the summer bedroom) shallow boxes of sand in
which the children worked out maps and did much of his early practice at writing
Aramaic, Greek, and later on, Hebrew, for in time the children would learned to
read, write, and speak, fluently, all three languages. Remember, readings in the synagogue were in Hebrew.
I am sure, Joseph and
Mary would discuss that it would be unwise to spread the word among their
Galilean friends and relatives that Jesus was a child of promise. They agreed
to refrain from all mention of these matters to anyone. And they were both very
faithful in keeping this promise.
Around age 6: A Jewish child would have mastered the
Galilean dialect of the Aramaic tongue; and now his father began teaching him
Greek. The mother would speak a little Greek, but the father would be a fluent
speaker of both Aramaic and Greek. The textbook for the study of the Greek
language was the copy of the Hebrew Scriptures — a complete version of the law
and the prophets, including the Psalms.
Around the age of seven
years old, the age when Jewish children were supposed to begin their formal
education in the synagogue schools year they entered upon their school life at
Nazareth.
Already the
children would be a fluent reader, writer, and speaker of two languages,
Aramaic and Greek. The children were now to be required with the task of
learning to read, write, and speak the Hebrew language. And they were truly
eager for the new school life which was ahead of them. (this includes the
disciples)
For three years —
until they was ten — they attended the elementary school of the Nazareth
synagogue. For these three years they studied the Book of the Law as it was
recorded in the Hebrew tongue. For the next three years they would studied in
the advanced school and committed to memory, by the method of repeating aloud,
the deeper teachings of the sacred law.
Around age 10, the
father would begin to instruct their son in the means of gaining a livelihood,
explaining the advantages of agriculture, industry and trade.
When the boy was
around 13, he would graduate from this school of the synagogue during their
thirteenth year and was turned over to his parents by the synagogue rulers as
an educated “son of the commandment” — henceforth a responsible citizen of the Nation
of Israel, all of which requires their attendance at the Passovers in
Jerusalem; This was a great and enjoyable day in the life of any Jewish family,
The son, having
now reached the threshold of young manhood and having been formally graduated
from the synagogue schools, was qualified to proceed to Jerusalem with his
parents to participate with them in the celebration of his first Passover, confirming
him to be an adult in Israel.
This is where
Jesus was first mention at age 12 after returning from Egypt.
Jesus as a
young child visits the Lord’s Temple
Luke 2:41-42 His parents went
to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover. (42) And when He was
twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem according to the custom of the
feast.
Luke 2:45-47 So when they did
not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem, seeking Him. (46) Now so it was that
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 astonished at His understanding and answers.
Luke 2:51-52 Then He went down
with them and came to Nazareth, and was subject to them, but His mother kept
all these things in her heart. (52) And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature,
and in favor with God and men
At Nazareth the
pupils sat on the floor in a semicircle, while their teacher, an officer of the
synagogue, sat facing them. Beginning with the Book of Leviticus, they passed
on to the study of the other books of the law, followed by the study of the
Prophets and the Psalms. Their teacher would say a statement while the students
would repeat it after him. When having access to the written books of the law,
the student learned his lesson by reading aloud and by constant repetition.
The Nazareth
synagogue would possessed a complete copy of the Scriptures in Hebrew. Nothing
but the Scriptures was studied prior to the twelfth year. In the summer months
the hours for school were greatly shortened and took off for a month. Look how often the disciples would quote from
the Old Testament.
Nazareth was a
caravan way station and crossroads of travel and largely gentile in population;
at the same time it was widely known as a center of liberal interpretation of
Jewish traditional law. In Galilee the Jews mingled more freely with the
gentiles than was their practice in Judea. This is where Jesus received an
education and training which prepared him to better understand the gentiles.
And of all the
cities of Galilee, the Jews of Nazareth were most liberal in their
interpretation of the social restrictions (as I said, traditions) based on the
fears of contamination as a result of contact with the gentiles. And these
conditions gave rise to the common saying in Jerusalem, “Can any good thing
come out of Nazareth?”
John 1:46 And Nathanael
said to him, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" Philip said to
him, "Come and see."
It was customary
to ask visitors, stopping over the Sabbath in Nazareth, to address the
synagogue. As Jesus grew up, he heard
many different speakers from the entire Jewish world give their views, and many
also who were hardly orthodox Jews since the synagogue of Nazareth was an
advanced and liberal center of Hebrew thought and culture.
Jesus on His 15th
birthday, He could officially occupy the synagogue pulpit on the Sabbath day.
Many times before, in the absence of speakers, Jesus had been asked to read the
Scriptures, but now the day had come when, according to law, he could conduct
the service.
Luke 4:16 So He came to
Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. (that means He would sit to teach)
Nazareth was one
of the twenty-four priest centers of the Hebrew nation. But the Galilean
priesthood was more liberal in the interpretation of the traditional laws than
were the Judean scribes and rabbis. And at Nazareth they were also more liberal
regarding the observance of the Sabbath.
It was therefore
the custom for Jews here to go for walks on Sabbath afternoons; we see this in
the Scriptures with Jesus and His disciples walking on the Sabbath. (human traditions – how far to walk).
Some historians said
Mary brothers were fishermen on the lake of Galilee and a farmer. Jesus would learn about these trades and use
in His parables and teachings. A
carpenter, did he build some of the boats.
Joseph died,
writers said by an accident, then Jesus became the man of the family. We are told that Jesus was a man of sorrows
and acquainted with grief. During His
childhood?
Isaiah 53:1-5 Who has believed our
report? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? (2) For He shall
grow up before Him as a tender plant, And as a root out of dry ground. He has
no form or comeliness; And when we see Him, There is no beauty that we should
desire Him. (3) He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and
acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was
despised, and we did not esteem Him. (4) Surely He has borne our griefs And
carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and
afflicted. (5) But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for
our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes
we are healed.
Mark 6:3 Is this not the carpenter, the Son of Mary, and brother of James,
Joses, Judas, and Simon? And are not His sisters here with us?" So they were offended at Him.
Son of Mary is actually an insult: in a Jewish
culture you identified a man by his father.
There is a psalm
which has hints about the silent years of Christ’s childhood and young manhood,
of which the Gospels tell us practically nothing. Psalm 69 fills in some of the details of those
early years.
We have no idea of how much he suffered in
his younger years! Those early 30 years
were not free of pain. What is the most
painful sin? Gossip
Psalms 69:4 Those who hate me
without a cause Are more than the hairs
of my head; They are mighty who would destroy me, Being my enemies
wrongfully; Though I have stolen nothing, I still must restore it.
The enemies of the Lord hated Him without a
cause; that is, there was no justification for their hatred. (think about this for a minute)
Psalms 69:7 I am being mocked because of
you. Dishonor overwhelms me.
Psalms 69:8 I am a stranger to my
brothers, a foreigner to my mother's sons.
My mother’s children: He became an stranger unto His mother’s
children—not His father’s children because Joseph was not His father. They were half-brothers and half-sisters.
This verse tells a lot we would not know otherwise. Possibly her boys, James,
Judas and Joses, said to her, “Mother, we heard somebody say that Jesus is not
really our brother. They said that nobody knows who His father is.” It must
have been interesting when they later discover who He really is! When did Mary
explain it to them.
We know Mary had
other children, which confirms the record in the Gospels. It may have been a very unhappy home. This
verse also teaches the virgin birth of Christ.
None of the half-children became a Christian until after Jesus
resurrection.
Matthew 13:55-56 Is this not the carpenter's son?
Is not His mother called Mary? And His brothers James, Joses, Simon, and Judas?
(56) And His sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this Man get all
these things?"
Psalms 69:9 Because zeal for
Your house has eaten me up, And the reproaches
of those who reproach You have fallen on me.
Psalms 69:10 When I wept and
chastened my soul with fasting, That became my reproach.
When He would fast or weep, His brothers and
others would ridicule Him for it. They would probably assume that He was just
putting on an act.
Psalms 69:11 I also made
sackcloth my garment; I became a byword to them.
Do you know what that proverb was? The word
that circulated around was that He did not have a legal father. You know what
people would call Him today.
John 8:41 You do the deeds of your
father." Then they said to Him, "We were not born of fornication; we
have one Father--God."
Psalms 69:12 Those who sit in the gate speak against me, And I
am the song of the drunkards.
Sit in the gate speak against me: These were
the rulers and leaders of Judaism. Those who are “sitting in the gate”
are the high officials of the town, the judges.
The drunkards at the local bar made up dirty little songs about
Him and His mother. He was born of fornication.
The best people in
Nazareth also spoke against Him. (You know how forgiving small towns are!) His
life in Nazareth was not nice.
We have no idea
what He endured for 30 years. This shows
the love Jesus has for us, you and me what He went through.
Hebrews 2:9 But we do see someone who was
made a little lower than the angels. He is Jesus, who is crowned with glory and
honor because he suffered death, so
that by the grace of God he might experience
death for everyone.
Hebrews 2:14 Therefore, since the children
have flesh and blood, he himself also
shared the same things, so that by his death he might destroy the one who
has the power of death (that is, the devil) (15) and might free those who were slaves all
their lives because they were terrified by death.
Hebrews 2:16 For it is clear that he did not come to help angels. No, he came to
help Abraham's descendants, (17)
thereby becoming like his brothers in every way, so that he could be a merciful
and faithful high priest in service to God and could atone for the people's
sins.
Hebrews 2:18 Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those
who are being tempted.
Jesus
was real—He felt, He spoke, He observed, worked, ate and breathed. He was both
Man and God, physical yet divine. During his 33 1/2 years of human existence,
Christ experienced life as a baby, then a toddler, boy, teenager and young
adult, into manhood.
That is our Lord
and Jesus, He suffered in His physical life, just like us.
Hebrews 4:14-16 Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has
passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our
confession. (15) For we do not have a
High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet
without sin. (16) Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we
may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
