Today, on the verdict with Pastor John Monroe. My Father, this is what Jesus says. I must be in my father's Pose. Even as a 12-year-old boy, Jesus is conscious of his unique and intimate relationship with his Father. This is the verdict, featuring the Bible teaching of Pastor John Monroe.
At 12 years old, Jesus astonished the teachers in the temple with his wisdom and understanding. But what's even more remarkable is what he said to his parents when they found him. Today, John unpacks Jesus' first recorded words in Luke's Gospel and reveals what they teach us about his relationship with the Father. and about our own walk of faith.
Now, here's Pastor John Monroe. Last time we began to look at that remarkable Satan, When Jesus, as a boy of twelve, is in a temple in Jerusalem among the teachers. There he is asking and answering questions. And Scripture tells us that all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. Yet, in the background of this fascinating scene, there's also a glimpse of his family life as his parents come searching for him.
Today, we'll continue to reflect on Jesus' experience in the temple. and also the anxiety of his parents. While we emphasize the deity of Jesus, we may minimize his humanity.
So today, let's learn about Jesus increasing in wisdom and in stature. and in favor with God and man. Look to verse. Thirty nine. And when they had performed everything according to the law of the Lord, Uh they return into Galilee.
to their own town of Nazareth, Joseph and Mary coming. From the district of Galilee to the north and to the town of Nazareth.
So they go home. Verse forty, very important verse. And the child grew. and became strong. Filled with wisdom.
and the favor of God. was upon him.
Now, his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the Passover. And when he was twelve years old, They went up according to the custom. And when the feast was ended, as they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents didn't know it, but supposing him to be in the group, they went a day's journey, but then they began to search for him among their relatives and acquaintances. And when they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem searching for him.
After three days, They found him. In the temple. sitting among the teachers. listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding.
And his answers And when his pen saw him, they were astonished. And his mother said to him, Son, Why have you treated us so? Behold, your father and I have been searching for you in great distress. And he said to them, Why were you looking for me? Do you not know?
But I must be in my father's house. And they did not understand the saying that he spoke to them. And he went down with them. and came to Nazareth. and was submissive to them.
And his mother treasured up all of these things in her heart. And Jesus Increased in wisdom. and in stature. and in favor with God. Aren't you glad that Luke gives us This unique account Of the boyhood of Jesus.
First of all, we saw as we read, there is a lost son. There is no sense that Jesus sinned in not being with his Pens. Rather, the parents should have known where he was. And then Mary shows her anxiety, her understandable distress, by asking the question.
Son. Why have you treated us so? Behold, your father and I have been searching for you in great Distress. He was lost. And now they find term.
Now think secondly not only of a lost son, but of Mary's son. This passage tells us something of the humanity of our Lord Jesus. Did you notice verse forty? And the child grew. and became strong.
filled with wisdom. And the favor of God. was upon him.
Verse 52. And Jesus increased in wisdom. and in stature. and in favor with God and man. This humanity of Jesus.
He grew and became strong. Yes, Jesus is a real boy of flesh and blood. He is growing physically. Ah, but he's also growing intellectually. Verse 40 and verse 40, he was filled with wisdom.
Verse 52, he increased in wisdom. It's clear from the questions and answers that he's giving in the temple. That this Young man. His mind is developing. He increases in wisdom.
as the son of Mary. His intellect is advancing.
Now in verse 51 We read something very intriguing. I find it very interesting. And I'm glad Luke records it. Verse 51. But in the temple And he went down with them.
and came to Nazareth. Jesus, it's time to leave the temple. And you got to come home.
So Jesus Because with Mary and Joseph back to Nazareth. And we read, and was submissive. to them. And his mother treasured up all these things in her heart. Jesus is submissive to Mary and Joseph.
He obeyed perfectly the command, the important command, that children should honor their father and their mother. And Jesus is demonstrating his humility by submitting to those that his heavenly father had placed in authority over him. Remember, Paul is going to say regarding our Saviour, and being found in human form, he humbled himself. By becoming obedient to death, even death on the cross. Think of the humility of our Lord Jesus.
Here He is. The Lord of glory. The word becomes flesh, and he is submissive to his parents. This obedient, submissive spirit and attitude characterize our Lord Jesus. We sang.
The words. The mysterious words that our Lord said in the Garden of Gethsemane: not my will, but yours be done. Yes, he is subject to the will of his father, and now, as a boy, growing up in the little town of Nazareth, he is submissive to his parents. One of the characteristics of the authentic follower of Christ. It's humility.
Humble submission. should always characterize those who follow Jesus. Children are to be submissive to parents. We are to be submissive to those in authority. We are to put ourselves in submission to those that God has placed over us.
Whether that's a boss at work, whether it's elders in the church, that God has an order, and here in the home. There is this godly order That Jesus voluntarily, willingly, Accepts. He's submissive. to his parents. You got children, students here?
You're submissive. To your parents, you think you know better? You're submissive. To your supervisor, your bosses at work. Oh, I know you think you know more than they do, but are you submissive to them?
An attitude of submission. Here we see it. Allah son, Mary Son. But of course, he's God's son. Notice what Jesus says.
When Mary asks him, what is she doing? Verse 49. Here's the first recorded words of Jesus in Luke's Gospel. Why Were you looking for me? Did you not know?
that I must be. In my father's House. Even as a 12-year-old boy, Jesus is conscious of his unique and intimate relationship with his Father. Seldom in the Old Testament scriptures does anyone ever refer to God as Father. But they never refer to him as my Father, this is what Jesus says.
Do you not know? That I must be in my Fathers House. His first recorded words. Incidentally, they're the last recorded words of Jesus in Luke's Gospel. Luke chapter 24, the last chapter.
Verse 49. Here are the closing words of Jesus as recorded by Luke. Luke 24, verse 49. And he says, Behold, I'm sending the promise of my Father. upon you.
There is this unique relationship of Jesus to his father. In a unique sense, He is the only begotten of of the father.
Now, I was brought up in the old King James, as some of you were. And King James. Says in his own quaint way. Wist ye not that I must be about my father's business. Any of you remember that?
Whisk you not. That I must be about my father's business.
Now, that's a possible translation, but. It really misses the point. Jesus could do his father's business in many places. The focus here is as a 12-year-old, he is in the temple. He's in my father's house.
He must, he says. I must be in the Father's house. This is his priority. This is. That is that his relationship with his heavenly father is all-important.
And in that way, He provides an example to us. Because Jesus is going to say, You're going to follow me, you've got to deny yourself, you've got to take up your cross and follow me. There's got to be no rivals. No human relationship must compete without relationship with God the Father. Jesus is demonstrating that.
Did he love Mary? And Joseph, of course he did. Was he submissive to them? Of course he was. He's the perfect son.
A wise son makes a glad father, Proverbs says. And this is the perfect sun.
However, His priority as he comes into time and space is to do the will of his heavenly father. And as we who are his followers, yes, we have all kinds of relationships with spouses, and parents, and children, and grandparents, and friends. And responsibilities at work, and all of that, but nothing, nothing must stand in the way. Between this Relationship which must be all-important, which must be first. Our Father.
And so here's a 12-year-old boy. In the temple, referring to God as my Father. The rabbis the theologians, the scribes, the Pharisees in the temple. must have been amazed. Who is this?
Who's this boy? that can answer our questions. Who's this boy that's asking these questions that we've never asked before? They're profound questions and now He's referring to the temple, the great temple, as my father's house. Because this passage raises, doesn't it, the intriguing question that we began our worship with.
Relates to the humanity and the deity of this unique person. The God-man, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. He's born of Mary, He's the Son of Mary. He's born of God, He's the Son of God. of God.
Now we call this doctrine, the hypostatic union and you say, what on earth does this mean? It's affirmed by the Council of Chalcedon in 451. It's this. Over Christmas, we've been celebrating the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ. What's the incarnation?
that he comes As a man, he's born as a baby, he's growing as a boy. We're seeing that he becomes an adult. flesh and blood. He is actually man. And the hypostatic union is saying that in the incarnation of Jesus Christ, A human nature is inseparably united forever to the divine nature in the one person of Jesus Christ.
Two natures. human and divine, remaining distinct. remaining whole, remaining unchanged. Not being mixed, not being confused in the one person of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. No, there's not two Christs.
There's not a human Christ and a divine Christ. It's the one person of Jesus Christ with two natures. Truly God and truly man. in my father's house. Is he born of Mary?
Lucas told us. Yes. He's born. Lay it in that little manger. Did he grow up?
Yes, he's growing up like a saying. He's emphasizing his humanity. He's a little baby.
Now he's a boy.
Now we're going to see him shortly as the adult Christ. But he's also Yeah. And I read Paul's profound words. in 1 Timothy 3. Great.
is the mystery Of godliness. God was manifested in the flesh. That's not easy for us, is it? We're walking on holy ground here, mysterious ground. Louis Birkhoff says the doctrine of the two natures in one person transcends human reason.
It is the expression of supersensible reality and of an incomprehensible. Mystery that can only be accepted by faith on the authority of the Word of God. You're saying I'm struggling with this. You're in very good company. Mary and Joseph don't understand verse 50.
They did not understand the saying that he spoke to them. And Angels had appeared to them. The shepherds had told them. Uh The message from heaven unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior who is Christ the Lord. The wise men had come to them and had worshipped this little Baby boy.
And now In the temple, as they observe him and as they listen to him, there's a sense in which they do not understand. Remember when the angel appeared to The priest Zachariah. In Luke chapter 1, he did not. Believe. Even after the resurrection of our Lord, Luke records in Luke 24, verse 35, that the Lord Jesus had to open the minds of the disciples.
Open the scriptures.
so that they could understand. There are things in the Christian life, aren't there? That we don't understand fully.
Sometimes we want to impose a theological system, sometimes we want to put everything in the little box.
Sometimes we get very upset with people who don't put the The same doctrines into the same little boxes. Yes, we are to trying to understand. But we're also tough. Humility. Perhaps we do not understand fully, but what are we to do?
We are to trust God. We're to trust the word of God. We are to search the scriptures to see these things are so. We're to be like Mary. When she heard from the shepherds in the manger, chapter 2, verse 19, we read, Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart.
Here are the shepherds going to the manger and saying, listen, we saw this heavenly host. And they said the message, and this in fact is a baby they talked about. He's wrapped in swaddling clothes. This is the very one the angels told us about. That he is The Saviour.
that he is Christ The Lord. And she treasures it. And she ponders it in her heart. And this wonderful woman, Mary, does the same at the end of verse 51 in Luke 2. His mother treasured up all these things in her heart.
That's what you must do. That's what I must do. You say, there's many things in the Christian life I don't understand. There's many things in Scripture I can't quite put together. This is one of them.
How can he be truly man and truly God? I can understand if he's truly man. I can understand he's truly God. But you're saying that it isn't a one person. Yes, that's what I'm saying.
That's what Scripture is teaching. But our Lord Jesus, this unique one, The Lord from heaven. He is truly man. He's tired. He weeps.
He's sad, he's sorrowing, but he's also truly God. Lazarus, come forth. and Lazarus comes. Fourth. And what do we do?
We ponder these things. We treasure them in our hearts. We ask God for understanding. We search the scriptures. Do you think you're going to understand all of these things right away?
There's many things in science. There's many things in this world that we don't understand. That's why we read, that's why we go to school, that's why we interact with people, we want to learn, we want to grow. And how sad it is sometimes when we, as followers of Christ, remain in the shadows. remain with a very superficial faith.
Be like Mary. Ponder these things. Meditate on them. Discuss them. Ask questions.
I'm glad I was raised in a home where my dad encouraged us. Uh to ask questions. I didn't sometimes like it because, unlike me, he wasn't argumentative, and he would say, Well, that's it. And I wanted to argue the point. No, don't argue.
It's not matter of debating. But it's a matter of asking and listening. and growing inner understanding. We are to live by faith. The very nature of the life which pleases God is a life of faith.
You understand everything that's going on in your life? I certainly don't. Do I understand all that's going on in the life of the congregation of this church? Absolutely not. Life often seems very unfair.
Life seems very unequal. I don't understand many, many things that happen in my life and in your life. Does that mean we abandon our faith? Absolutely not. We walk by faith.
Why? Because he's a good God. Because he's a wise God. Because he loves me. Because He has the best purposes for us.
And even when I don't understand whether it's a doctrine or don't understand the circumstances of my life, particularly then I'm to open my Bible, I'm to claim the promises of God that my faith is solid on the Word of God. I may not understand it, I may not be able to answer all of your questions, I certainly can't. But this I do know, I do know God. And I do know his word. And I do know that God is faithful.
To me, and God is faithful to you, and He's promised that His steadfast love endures for all generations.
So relax. Don't worry. Don't fret. And in the midst of the valley of the shadow of death, He is with us. This is the verdict with Pastor Jean Monroe, and the conclusion of a message titled The Father's House.
Don't go anywhere just yet because John will be back in a moment with his closing remarks. Today's lesson reminds us that even when we don't understand everything about God or His ways, we're called to walk by faith. But perhaps you've wondered about the certainty of your salvation. Can you know for sure that you're saved? What happens when you struggle with doubt or failure?
John addresses these crucial questions in a personal booklet called Eternal Security, Finding Certainty in a Chaotic World. This resource examines what Scripture teaches about the security of our salvation, helping you understand God's unchanging promises to those who believe. To receive your free copy of this special resource, just go to our website at theverdict.org and request the Eternal Security booklet. Before we close today's program, we invite you to join in what God is doing through these daily biblical messages by supporting us with a financial gift of any amount. Your generous contributions help bring these gospel messages to your local community and all around the world.
So partner with us today by going online to theverdict.org. And remember that you can always find these messages by subscribing to the Verdict Podcast, available on all major podcast platforms. In addition to these lessons, John has a weekly podcast exclusive called Avizandam, where he offers an insightful and biblical take on relevant topics. giving them the careful consideration Scottish law calls avizandum. Subscribe to the Verdict podcast today.
Now, here's Pastor John Monroe with closing remarks for today's program.
Well, what's your verdict? Do you struggle with the truth that Jesus is truly God and truly man?
Sometimes it's difficult for us to get our minds around this. But this passage helps us with the emphasis on the growth of our Lord Jesus. The real question, of course, is whether you know Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord. If you do, are you walking by faith and growing in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ?
Next time we'll learn more about the fascinating character of John the Baptist. Thanks for joining us today on The Verdict. I'm Michelle Davies. Today's program with Pastor John Monroe was produced and sponsored by Calvary Church in Charlotte, North Carolina.
