The First Sunday after Christmas
December 27, 2015
Luke 2:41-52
“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. 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 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. 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. Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart. And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.” (NIV1984)
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
Over the course of the thirty plus years that I have been in the ministry I have learned that one of the Scriptural truths that is difficult for some people to understand is what the Christian Church has long referred to as: Original Sin or Inherited Sin. While the Scriptures clearly teach that we are all conceived and born with sin— that old sinful nature which we “inherited” from our Mom and Dad— it is understandably difficult for parents to look at their own child and recognize that in the eyes of the Almighty their child is indeed a sinner.
I can tell you from personal experience that when each of our children was born they looked so cute and so cuddly, so perfect and so innocent! As they grew older, however, they started to reveal that old sinful nature that their Mom and I had passed down to them. Even though we never taught our children how to be greedy somehow they knew how to take something away from another child and say, “Mine!” Even though we never taught our children how to be angry somehow they knew how to hit someone or bite someone when they got upset. Even though we never taught our children how to be rebellious it was quite a shock the first time they looked up at us and defiantly said, “No!” The undeniable reality of Original Sin is why we as Christian parents have our children baptized. The undeniable reality of Original Sin is why we as Christian parents strive to follow the Bible’s admonition, “Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it” (Proverbs 22:6).
Right about now you might be wondering why we are even discussing all of this. Right about now you might be wondering how any of this ties in with our sermon text for today. My reasoning is this, my friends: The undeniable reality of our old sinful nature serves as the dark background against which our text for this morning sparkles like the most brilliant of diamonds!
Our goal this morning is to look at this portion of Scripture and rejoice! Yes, we want to rejoice in the Amazing Yet Humble Obedience of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! There are two truths that I hope you will take home with you today. First, let’s rejoice as we look at Jesus’ amazing yet humble obedience to His heavenly Father’s will. Then let’s rejoice as we look at Jesus’ amazing yet humble obedience to His earthly parents.
Since this portion of Scripture is relatively familiar to us and since our goal this morning is to rejoice in the amazing yet humble obedience of our Lord we are going to concentrate our attention on verses 48-51 of our text.
Let’s begin with verses 48 and 49. Luke writes, “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 that I had to be in my Father’s house?’” Anyone who has suddenly realized that their child was missing understands what Mary and Joseph were going through here in our text. For three days they could not find Jesus! Three long days! When they finally found Him— in the Temple of the Lord— they were “astonished” or “amazed.” Like any concerned yet relieved Mom, Mary asked Jesus, Why? Why did you do this? While Mary’s question is easy to understand, Jesus’ response is amazing! Very literally Jesus’ response to His mother would go something like this: “What is this that you were searching for me? Didn’t you know that it is necessary for me to be about the things (the affairs) of my Father?”
I think we sometimes forget that Jesus always knew both who He is why He came into this world. Here at the age of twelve Jesus respectfully yet clearly reminds His mother Mary that as the eternal Son of God He has a goal, He has a mission to accomplish here on this earth. That goal, that mission, is to “be about the affairs of His Father.” That goal, that mission, is to obediently carry out His heavenly Father’s will— which is to do everything that was necessary to save us from our sins! (See Matthew 1:21)
This portion of Scripture also reveals to us, my friends, that part of Jesus’ amazing yet humble obedience to His heavenly Father’s will was to both discuss and to teach God’s holy revealed Word with others. That’s why Jesus was in the Temple, His heavenly Father’s house. That’s why Jesus was “sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions.” That’s why people were “amazed at his understanding and his answers.” Even at the age of twelve Jesus possessed the “intelligence” or the “comprehension” to take the various teachings of Scripture and put them together in such a way that everyone could understand the heavenly Father’s will!
At the same time, however, Jesus’ amazing yet humble obedience to His heavenly Father’s will went well beyond discussing and teaching and explaining God’s holy Word. The ultimate goal of Jesus’ amazing yet humble obedience to His heavenly Father’s will is found right there— the cross on Calvary’s hill. In Philippians chapter two the apostle Paul reveals to us that even though Jesus is “in very nature God” He “made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death— even death on a cross!” (Philippians 2:6-8).
Jesus’ amazing yet humble obedience is something that you and I desperately needed, my friends. Why? Here is where we need to go back to that old sinful nature that we were all born with! Our holy, just and perfect God demands this same kind of amazing yet humble obedience from each and every one of us. Yet, what the God of heaven sees in us is the exact opposite of what He demands. Therefore, the true Son of God came into this world as the true Son of Man— our flesh and blood Brother— so that He could not only live a perfect obedient life in our place, but also endure the punishment that we deserve for our own disobedience (pointing to the cross). When by the grace of God we trust in Jesus as our only Savior from sin His amazing yet humble obedience to the heavenly Father is “credited” to our account! How amazing is that!
Once we see and understand Jesus’ amazing yet humble obedience to His heavenly Father then we are able to appreciate even more His amazing yet humble obedience to His earthly parents. Look at the opening portion of verse 51, “Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them.” The Greek verb that is translated here in our text as “was obedient” is the exact same Greek verb which is translated elsewhere in Scripture as “submit.” (See especially Ephesians 5:21-24) Even though Jesus is “in very nature God” He was “obedient” to His earthly parents. Even though this Child was actively involved in the creation of the universe (John 1:3) He was willing to “submit” Himself to the care and control of mortal human beings. When we keep in mind the bigger picture of who Jesus is and why He came into this world how can we not be amazed at His humble obedience to His earthly parents?
The amazing yet humble obedience of Jesus now serves as both a tremendous source of comfort for us as well as a powerful source of motivation. As we already mentioned, when we believe and trust in both who Jesus is and what Jesus has done for us His obedience becomes our obedience. At the same time when we believe and trust in both who Jesus is and what He has done for us (pointing to the cross) out of joy and thankfulness we will want to strive for a similar kind of amazing yet humble obedience in our own life as a saved child of God.
Our amazing yet humble obedience will first and foremost be evident in our personal relationship with our heavenly Father. As a saved child of God we will want to follow the Lord’s example and gather together here in our heavenly Father’s home to study His Word and to bring Him our praises. As a saved child of God we will want to follow the Lord’s example and humbly live our life in obedience to our heavenly Father’s will— as that will is revealed to us right here on the pages of His holy Word.
This humble obedience to our heavenly Father will then lead to humble obedience in our relationships with each other. Whether we are a parent or a child, a husband or a wife, a pastor or a lay person we would do well to remember that the Greek word that is used here in our text in reference to Jesus— “Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them”— is the very same Greek word that is used in Ephesians 5:21, “Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.” Our humble obedience will indeed be evident in the way that we treat each other, in the way that we talk to each other and talk about each other, and in the way that we are willing to “submit” to one another as brothers and sisters in the faith. Instead of asking the question, “What’s in it for me?” instead of wanting things done “our” way we will humbly put the needs and wants of others ahead of our own needs and our own wants.
The reality of Original Sin, my friends, is quite easy to see. All too often it has a visible and powerful impact on our lives. Therefore, as we gather together on this first Sunday after Christmas let’s rejoice! Let’s rejoice in knowing that the God of Heaven loves us so much that He was willing to send His own Son into this world to live a perfectly obedient life in our place and then suffer and die on the cross to pay for our sins. Let’s rejoice in knowing that because of the gift of saving faith which God Himself has created in our hearts, Jesus’ amazing yet humble obedience is now “credited” to our account! Let’s rejoice in knowing that because of what God has done for us we now have the privilege of saying “Thank-you!” to Him by living our life in amazing yet humble obedience to our heavenly Father as well as in amazing yet humble obedience to each other as brothers and sisters in the faith! How amazing is that!
To God be the glory!
Amen