As we look at today’s Scripture Lessons we should be reminded that:
(John 20:31) Everything in the Bible is written “so that you may believe that Jesus
is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His
name.”          The key to the whole of Scripture is Christ Jesus Himself.

Our Gospel lesson takes place immediately following the miraculous feeding
of 5,000 men plus women and children with five barley loaves and two fishes and
provides us with a powerful picture of the life of true discipleship in Christ Jesus.
We can be certain that Jesus’ disciples never forgot that night on the sea of Galilee.
It must have been permanently etched in their minds and its lessons of faith
eternally impressed upon their hearts, as it should be upon our hearts.

Charles Stanley said, “Don’t ever underestimate what God can do in your life
when you surrender all you are and all you have to Him.”

There is most likely some aspect of your life in which the Lord is calling you to
walk with Him, and when you say yes to His calling, God sets in motion a divine
dynamic that will take you places you could have never imagined going.

God’s calling may have to do with your work, a gifting that you should develop,
resources you could put to Kingdom work, or a relationship that could be at risk.
Saying yes to God’s calling will probably involve you having to face some of your
deepest fears, but saying yes to that calling will certainly get to the core of who
you are and what you do in your walk with Christ!

Our saying yes to the Lord’s calling, our getting out of the boat like Peter did, is us,                                                                   doing with God’s help, what we could never do by our own strength.

Open your Bibles to Matthew 14:22-33 and you may find it helpful to have a finger in                                                                the other gospel accounts of this same event – Mark 6:45-52 and John 6:16-21.

Matthew tells us in verses 22-23 that Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and                                                             go ahead of Him to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, while He dismissed the crowds                                                             and went up on the mountain to pray.

In verses 24-26 we read, “Meanwhile, the boat was already some distance from
land, battered by the waves, because the wind was against them.  Jesus came                                                             toward them walking on the sea very early in the morning.” At the brink of exhaustion
the disciples saw a figure, an apparition, a phantasma coming toward them, walking on                                                      the water! They were terrified and cried out in fear!

Jesus immediately calls out to them, “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.” (Matthew 14:27)

The Greek New Testament renders this verse as, “Take courage, I Am, do not be
afraid”. It’s two words in the Greek language, ego eimi, which is translated “I Am”.

 

 

 

 

1 PETER 4.12-19

 

12 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.

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13 But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.

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14 If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.

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15 But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler.

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16 Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name.

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17 For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?

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18 And “If the righteous is scarcely saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?”

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19 Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.

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EZEKIEL 39.21-29

 

21 “And I will set my glory among the nations, and all the nations shall see my judgment that I have executed, and my hand that I have laid on them.

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22 The house of Israel shall know that I am the Lord their God, from that day forward.

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23 And the nations shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity, because they dealt so treacherously with me that I hid my face from them and gave them into the hand of their adversaries, and they all fell by the sword.

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24 I dealt with them according to their uncleanness and their transgressions, and hid my face from them.

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25 “Therefore thus says the Lord God: Now I will restore the fortunes of Jacob and have mercy on the whole house of Israel, and I will be jealous for my holy name.

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26 They shall forget their shame and all the treachery they have practiced against me, when they dwell securely in their land with none to make them afraid,

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27 when I have brought them back from the peoples and gathered them from their enemies’ lands, and through them have vindicated my holiness in the sight of many nations.

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28 Then they shall know that I am the Lord their God, because I sent them into exile among the nations and then assembled them into their own land. I will leave none of them remaining among the nations anymore.

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29 And I will not hide my face anymore from them, when I pour out my Spirit upon the house of Israel, declares the Lord God.”

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JOHN 17.1-11

 

17 When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you,

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2 since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him.

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3 And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.

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4 I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do.

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5 And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.

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6 “I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word.

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7 Now they know that everything that you have given me is from you.

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8 For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me.

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9 I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours.

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10 All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them.

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11 And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one.

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In St. johns Gospel, Jesus proclaims what has become one of the most controversial statements ever made.

“I am the way, and the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6)   

The New Testament insists that the One true and living God, the Creator, is the God of Israel; and that He has acted decisively within history to bring Israel’s story to its proper goal, and through that, address and rescue, the world.

Jesus, in embracing Israel’s entire history of deliverance is preparing the disciples to see Him as the One destined to lead mankind from the power of sin, the devil and evil, into the Holy Presence of God.

Jesus said, “Let not your hearts be troubled.  Believe in God; believe also in Me.” (John 14:1) 

Knowing the depth of the disciples’ faith in the God of Israel, Jesus asks them to believe in Him as well.

The proper approach to the question of personal destiny, is faith in a personal God. 

Any hope of immortality must be founded upon a personal relationship with a living God.

Jesus tells His disciples that His Father’s house has many rooms and that goes to prepare a place for them                   and that He, “will come again and will take you to Myself, that where I am you may be also” (John14:3).  

Jesus, who is our destination, is also our forerunner, our escort, and the way we must go!

Thomas speaks for the disciples when he expresses uncertainty. “‘Lord, we do not know where you are going.                 How can we know the way?’  Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way and the truth, and the life.                                                       No one comes to the Father except through me.’” (John 14:5-6)

Jesus, God incarnate, has come to recover and restore fallen humanity, mind by mind, heart by heart, and                     spirit by spirit starting with His disciples.  The Way is for the heart.  The Truth is for the mind.  The Life is for the spirit.

The Way is the only means of reaching the Father – Jesus is the mediator between humanity and the Father –                He alone is the path to salvation.

The Truth defined the righteous standards of the Way – Jesus is the ultimate revelation of God –                                         the Word made flesh is the full expression of God’s truth.

The Life provides the living example of a person rightly related to the Father – Jesus is the source of  all life –                   the life He offers is not merely physical but spiritual and eternal, fulfilling the promise of abundant life.

Thomas a` Kempis wrote of Jesus’ claim, “Without the way there is no going; without the truth there is no knowing; without the life there is no living.   I am the way which thou must follow; the truth which thou must believe;                    the life for which thou must hope.  If thou remain in my way thou shalt know the truth, and the truth shall make thee free, and thou shalt lay hold on eternal life.”    (The Imitation of Christ)

Jesus says that anyone who has faith in Him will do what He has been doing and not only that, he will go do even greater works than these because He is going to the Father. The works the disciples would do were not more miraculous; but they were greater in extent. 

Jesus preached to crowds throughout Palestine but His disciples spread the Gospel throughout the known world.      Jesus mostly dealt with the Jewish people but His disciples dealt with Jews and Gentiles.                                                          The Book of Acts begins with a few dozen disciples but by the Second chapter of Acts 3,000 new disciples are added to the church.                                                                                                                                                                                                               Jesus raised the dead to life, but the disciples were able to witness the spiritually dead come to life in greater numbers than they could have ever imagined!

The work Jesus began in Israel was carried on by His disciples and has been passed on to us that we may,             through the power of the Holy Spirit, proclaim the good news for all the world to hear.

Jesus says He will do whatever we ask in His name so that He can give glory to the Father.                                                       Our Lord goes so far as to say, “If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.” (John 14:14)

Hudson Taylor, 19th Century missionary to China once said, “I used to ask God to help me.  Then, I asked God if I       might help Him.  Finally, I ended up asking God to do His work in me and through me, If He would be so pleased.”

Jesus promised that as we discover the will of God and align our prayers to fulfill His purposes, our prayers will become as powerful as His own.

Our Gospel lesson is full of wonderful promises Jesus made to His disciples that are still true today.

Jesus promises us a future home in eternity, He promises us a way to that future home, and He promises us divine  power to do the work He has given us to do.

All of these promises are preceded by a single command that is at the same time a stipulation for receiving their benefits – Believe In God, Believe Also In Me!

We need not rely on ourselves – For Jesus is the Way

We need not live in uncertainty – For Jesus is the Truth

We need not fear death – For Jesus is the Life

 

 

1 Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council.

  • As a Pharisee, Nicodemus belonged to the strict religious sect of Judaism in contrast to the Sadducees, who were less rigid in their beliefs, and were more politically minded (Tenney 46).
  • The “ruling council” here is known as the “Sanhedrin.”a

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2 He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.”

  • Nicodemus uses the pronoun, “we,” which begs the question: where/who are the other Pharisees that believe that Jesus is a teacher who has come from God?
  • Apparently both Nicodemus and the others don’t spread the word, because in John 7 (45-52), Nicodemus half-heartedly defends Jesus, and the response from another Pharisee was, “Are you from Galilee, too?”
  • In John 19 (38-42), Nicodemus is recorded as bringing myrrh and aloes to wrap Jesus’ body with.

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3 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”

  • The word anothen can be translated as “again” or “from above.” Both meanings are likely in play.
  • The word see, here implies discernment or perception of meaning rather than simply registering a visual image (Tenney 49).
    • Without spiritual rebirth, a person cannot discern the Kingdom of God
  • “above” was a Jewish circumlocution for God

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4 “How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!”

  • Nicodemus is confused, by Jesus’ saying.
  • Tenney allows Nicodemus two possible meanings in his response to Jesus: the first is the impossibility of second physical birth; the second in terms of spiritual change, that is to say, “How can a man whose habits and ways of thinking have been fixed b y age expect to change radically?”

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5 Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit.

  • There are two ways that one can see “water and the Spirit” that are not in conflict with each other:
    • A hendiadys (two words that refer to the same thing) that is common in Hebrew poetry, particularly the Psalms, for which “water” and “Spirit” are the same reference point (c.f. John 7.37-39), or
    • a reference to the ministry of John the Baptizer, wherein John baptized the people for repentance, and where we see the water and the Spirit paired (c.f. John 1.31-33).
    • He may also be drawing a connection to God’s promise to “put a new spirit in you” and “put [His] Spirit in you (c.f. Ezekiel 36.25-28).
    • The rabbis connected the concept of baptism with the ceremonial purification of complete immersion… it was not merely for the purpose of expiating special transgressions… but was the first step in a practice of holy living and a preparation for the attainment of a closer communion with God. (Tenney 49)
    • For the Essenes, a Jewish sect around at that time, the bathing in water constituted a rebirth and made him a “new creature” (Tenney 49).

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6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.

  • Jesus reaffirms that spiritual birth is a work that is done by the Spirit, not legalism, not a particular race or culture,

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7 You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”

  • “Wind” here is a play on words that works in both the Hebrew (ruach) and Greek (pneuma) in that both could be translated as “spirit” or “wind.”

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9 “How can this be?” Nicodemus asked.

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10 “You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things?

  • In the Greek, the definite article is used for the word teacher. In other words, the phrase can be translated, “Are you the teacher of Israel?”

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11 Very truly I tell you, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony.

  • Who is the “we” that Jesus refers to here? The Trinity? He and the disciples? The prophets of Israel (He being the greatest, of course)?

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12 I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things?

  • Parables

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13 No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man.

  • Son of Man was Jesus’ favourite designation for Himself (c.f. Daniel 7).

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14 Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15 that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.”

  • c.f. Numbers 21.4-9
  • Tenney notes that there are several applicable aspects to this reference:
    • The ancient Israelites were guklty of disobedience and a grumbling and unthankful spirit
    • They were under the condembnation of God and were being punished for their sins
    • The object elevated before them was the emblem of their judgment.
    • They were unable to rescue theselves
    • The poinson of the serpents was deadly, and there was no antidote for it
    • They were urged to look at the serpent in order to received life.
  • Jesus said that “the Son of Man must be lifted up,” a word used in John 8.28 and John 12.32-34 for crucifixion.
    • Also word used for “exalted”
    • The Greek could have been translated from the Aramaic word, Zəqiḇā, which could mean either “to elevate” or “to execute on a gibbet” (a gibbet is a 17th-19th century upright structure, similar to a gallows, used to display the bodies of executed criminals in chains or cages as a public warning. It also refers to the act of hanging someone or exposing them to public scorn).
  • Isaiah 52.13 – the Suffering Servant would be lifted up

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16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

  • You could read the “so” here as “how much”… but you can also read it “in this way”… so it reads more like, “This is how God loved the world…”
  • “only begotten” means “special,” “beloved”

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This week I made the mistake of writing some of my notes for you all directly into the Notes app, and of course, it asked me to log in, and promptly erased those notes once I did. If you have any questions about references or any deeper dives into the Scriptural context, please feel free to ask. 

 

 

Sanctity of life comes from the Latin sanctitatem, which means “holiness” or “sacredness.” For a thing to be “sacred,” it must be connected to God. Life, of course, is intimately connected to God, as He is the source of all life. Therefore, any discussion about life must start with this as the basis. To start anywhere else would be to do the conversation a disservice.

 

Life is sacred because:

 

21 Then Moses called all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Go and select lambs for yourselves according to your clans, and kill the Passover lamb.

  • Every morning and evening, a lamb was sacrificed in the temple for the sins of the people (Ex. 29.38-42).
  • The Lamb of God reflects the sacrificial character of Christ’s mission.
  • The word here translated “Lamb” (amnos) appears in only four places in the NT; twice in this chapter (vv. 29 and 36, once in Acts 8, and again in 1 Peter 1). In 1 Peter it is an allusion to Isaiah 53.7 – “He was led like a Lamb to the slaughter
    • Isaiah prophesied that the Messiah, God’s servant, would be led to the slaughter like a lamb. To pay the penalty for sin, a life had to be given – and God chose to provide the sacrifice himself. The sins of the world were removed when Jesus dies as the perfect sacrifice.
    • You can receive forgiveness by confessing your sin to him and asking for his forgiveness.

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22 Take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and touch the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood that is in the basin. None of you shall go out of the door of his house until the morning.

  • Hyssop is a common shrub used in purification rites.

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23 For the Lord will pass through to strike the Egyptians, and when he sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the Lord will pass over the door and will not allow the destroyer to enter your houses to strike you.

  • God is both judge and protector.

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24 You shall observe this rite as a statute for you and for your sons forever. 25 And when you come to the land that the Lord will give you, as he has promised, you shall keep this service.

  • In Scripture, the LORD is constantly reminding us to remember. Why? Because we often forget!! This is why He set up feasts and fasts, to help us remember, and increase our holiness unto Him.

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26 And when your children say to you, ‘What do you mean by this service?’

  • For the second time in a row, the readings that I have been assigned deal with instruction to children. This should be a helpful REMINDER to all of us that we are expected to teach our (collective) children the ways of God.

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27 you shall say, ‘It is the sacrifice of the Lord’s Passover, for he passed over the houses of the people of Israel in Egypt, when he struck the Egyptians but spared our houses.’” And the people bowed their heads and worshipped.

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28 Then the people of Israel went and did so; as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did.

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The Gospel according to St. Luke, Chapter 2

 

41 Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover.

  • There is a gap to the reader in Jesus’ timeline. When He is presented at the Temple, he is 40 days old. In our story, we pick up where Jesus is 12 years old.
  • Religious household doing what faithful Israelites do.
  • Extraordinary moments are borne from ordinary obedience.
  • All male Jews were required to attend temple three times a year, at Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles (Exodus 23.14-17). The Mishnah (the earliest commentaries) exempts women from the obligation. Attendance at all three festivals was difficult with Jews scattered all over the Roman world, and beyond, but many made the effort once a year. It was Joseph and Mary’s custom to go up at Passover, the feat that commemorated the deliverance of the nation from Egypt (Exodus 12).

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42 And when he was twelve years old, they went up according to custom.

  • It notes that Jesus is 12 years old. The Bible mentions Ishmael at 13 when circumcised, linking the age to a covenant moment (Genesis 17:25). While no ceremony is described, the Bible possibly implies the transfer of responsibility, with men becoming accountable for God’s laws as they age.
  • It was at 13 years of age that a Jewish boy could become a ‘son of the commandment’ or full member of the synagogue. He would then assume all the responsibilities implied in his circumcision. The Mishnah says that a boy should be taken to the observance a year or two before he turned thirteen so that he might be prepared, and there may have been something of this on the present occasion.
  • Deuteronomy 6.4-9
  • Provers 22.6
  • Ephesians 6.4
  • Psalm 78.2-7 could be thought of in the same vein, but the context of this Psalm centers primarily on the work of the Messiah, and not generally instructions on parenting.
  • If you’d like some ideas about discipling your child or teen (or even adult child), please see either Dawn Batchelor or fr. Christopher and they would be happy to help you to find (and instruct you in using) resources.

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43 And when the feast was ended, as they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents did not know it, 44 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,

  • In a large caravan, parents might well not know where a child was. The women and small children went ahead and the men followed with the bigger boys. Joseph and Mary may each have thought that Jesus was with the other.
  • “Boy” is a status marker, not just an age label
    • Luke uses the Greek pais, a flexible term that can mean child, servant, or dependent. At twelve, Jesus is in an in-between social space:
    • no longer a small child; not yet a full adult; still legally and socially subordinate; Luke wants you to feel that liminality. Jesus is not presented as a miniature adult or a divine superhero in disguise. He is genuinely embedded in the vulnerability and limits of youth.
  • The phrase sharpens Mary and Joseph’s misunderstanding
    • Luke names Jesus as “the boy” precisely when Mary and Joseph fail to understand Him.
    • From their perspective:
      • He is their child
      • He should be where children belong
      • His behavior feels irresponsible
    • Luke’s language mirrors their assumptions—the boy—while the narrative undermines them. The tension between who Jesus is and how He is perceived is already fully active.
    • This sets up a recurring pattern in the Gospel of Luke: Jesus is persistently misclassified—teacher when He is Lord, prophet when He is Son, criminal when He is Savior.
  • God’s decisive self-revelation does not arrive with adult authority, institutional permission, or social power. It shows up early, quietly, and in forms easy to misjudge.
  • Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. (1 Timothy 4.12)

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45 and when they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem, searching for him. 46 After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions.

  • The Resurrection is in view
    • Mary and Joseph lose
      They search in distress.
      After three days, He is found alive in the place most associated with God’s presence.
    • This anticipates what will happen at the end of Gospel of Luke:

Jesus is lost to death
His followers search in grief
After three days, He is found—alive, about His Father’s purposes

  • Some interpreters emphasize location rather than just time.
    • Jesus is found in the Temple, the symbolic center of God’s dwelling with Israel. Later, after His resurrection, Luke will show Jesus redefining God’s dwelling—no longer bound to a building, but centered on Himself.
    • So the three days link:
      • Temple presence (Luke 2)
      • Absence and misunderstanding
      • Restored presence with deeper meaning (Luke 24)
    • In other words, Jesus is not merely lost and found—He is revealed. Each three-day cycle moves people from shallow assumptions about Him to deeper, unsettling truth.

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47 And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers.

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48 And when his parents 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.”

  • Mary uses the word odynomenoi to describe her and Joseph’s feelings as they hunted for him. The word is unusually strong, often indicating pain or suffering.

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49 And he said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?”

  • Jesus doesn’t say “our Father’s business,” He says “MY Father’s business”
    • 46 While he was still speaking to the people, behold, his mother and his brothers stood outside, asking to speak to him. 48 But he replied to the man who told him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” 49 And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! 50 For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.” (Matthew 12.46-50)
  • There is no parallel to be cited in Jewish literature; they added ‘in heaven’ or use ‘our Father’ or the like. The first recorded words of the Messiah are then a recognition of his unique relationship to God and of the necessity of his being the Father’s house or being about the Father’s business.
  • The δεῖ tells us that Jesus did not, indeed could not, do otherwise and therefore is bound to the will of God. This is the good news for us that Jesus is the will of God for us and our yes to God in the face of our no. (Richard Simpson)
  • Couldn’t another option be “with those of my father,” (K. Harrison)
  • Jesus was ‘among the ones of my Father’ rather than ‘among their relatives and friends’. He is among the ones of his Father as he spends time in his Father’s house discussing his Father’s business with teachers of the word The consequence of this might be that in the end it allows us to have our cake and eat it by having a both-and approach with “house” and “business”! (D.W. Thompson)
  • I am not sure “house” is legitimate because τοῖς is plural (but Bock argues it is an idiom). “My Father’s people” would imply Joseph and Mary were not God’s people. “Affairs” has such strong sexual overtones that I would not go with that word either. (Bill Mounce)
  • God’s purposes outranks even the most sacred human bonds
  • Jesus knows who He is, and He willingly lives under ordinary authority.
  • Jesus practices obedience in obscurity for nearly two decades before preaching a single sermon
  • See Bill Mounce’s (a noted Greek scholar) explication of this: https://www.billmounce.com/monday-with-mounce/father%E2%80%99s-%E2%80%9Chouse%E2%80%9D-or-%E2%80%9Cbusiness%E2%80%9D-luke-2-49

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50 And they did not understand the saying that he spoke to them.

  • Loss → confusion → revelation → deeper understanding.
    • The Passion Predictions (Luke 9:18–22; 9:43–45; 18:31–34)
    • The Transfiguration (Luke 9:28–36)
    • The Rich Ruler (Luke 18:18–30)
  • Why Luke Keeps Repeating This Pattern
    • Luke is doing at least three things at once:
      • Normalizing slow faith: Discipleship is not linear. Confusion is not failure; it’s the classroom.
      • Re-centering Scripture: Revelation consistently comes through Scripture.
      • Preparing post-resurrection readers: Luke knows his audience lives after the events. He’s telling them: if you’re confused, you’re in good company—and on the right path.
    • Understanding in Luke is iterative, not instant. Loss is not an interruption of faith—it’s one of its engines.
      • Luke doesn’t ask, “Do you understand yet?” He asks, “Are you willing to walk through misunderstanding without quitting?”

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51 And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them. And his mother treasured up all these things in her heart.

  • Luke wants to avoid any suggestion that Jesus’ priority to pursue his Father’s purposes resulted in a failure to submit to this earthly parents.

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52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.

  • This verse echoes 1 Samuel 2.26: And the boy Samuel continued to grow in stature and in favour with the Lord and with men. Isaiah 11.2-4 identifies the coming Messiah as one who will bear extraordinary wisdom.

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  • Identity before ministry. Jesus understands His relationship to the Father long before He performs miracles. Calling precedes platform.
  • Holy discomfort. Faithfulness to God sometimes looks like confusing or even distressing the people closest to you—not because you’re careless, but because obedience reshapes expectations.
  • Hidden years matter. Most of Jesus’ life is unrecorded because most faithfulness is unspectacular. Luke is telling you that this counts.
  • If you read it carefully, Luke 2:41–52 isn’t mainly about childhood—it’s about alignment. Whose business are you really about, and how do you live that out without fleeing your actual responsibilities?

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NOTES:

  1. One picky thing first about the NASB. “In the things of My Father” is not “literal.” It is word for word. There is no Greek “things.” And the capitalized “My Father” is interpretive. When are we going to stop thinking “literal” means word for word? Webster defines “literal” as “involving the ordinary or usual meaning of a word; giving the meaning of each individual word; completely true and accurate, not exaggerated.” “Literal” all has to do with meaning, not form. (Bill Mounce)
  2. Verse 51. This is Luke’s last reference to Joseph.

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Throughout the Scriptures God often revealed His will in unique, supernatural ways.

Hopefully our own responses to the will of God will be as immediate and complete as was Joseph and Mary’s.

Matthew 2:1-2 NLT

1Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the reign of King Herod. About that time some wise mena from eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem, asking, 2“Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star as it rose,b and we have come to worship him.”

Matthew 2:13-23 NLT

13After the wise men were gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up! Flee to Egypt with the child and his mother,” the angel said. “Stay there until I tell you to return, because Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”

14That night Joseph left for Egypt with the child and Mary, his mother, 15and they stayed there until Herod’s death. This fulfilled what the Lord had spoken through the prophet: “I called my Son out of Egypt.”

Matthew quotes from the Old Testament three different times in today’s Gospel lesson demonstrating how God’s work throughout the Old Testament had everything to do with the Christ child born in Bethlehem.

In quoting Hosea 11:1, Matthew is showing us that the Messiah is the true Israel in the grandest sense, He is the epitome of everything Israel was supposed to have been, but never was.

Matthew 2:13-23 NLT

16Herod was furious when he realized that the wise men had outwitted him. He sent soldiers to kill all the boys in and around Bethlehem who were two years old and under, based on the wise men’s report of the star’s first appearance.

Herod had hopes of destroying the child the wise men hailed as the “King of the Jews“.

17Herod’s brutal action fulfilled what God had spoken through the prophet Jeremiah:

18“A cry was heard in Ramah—

weeping and great mourning.

Rachel weeps for her children,

refusing to be comforted,

for they are dead.”

The Holy Spirit moved Matthew to tap into the pain and anguish of the parents who lost those children, who were their pride and joy, at the hands of a madman.

Today we pause to remember the Silent Cry of the Holy Innocents who were massacred by King Herod’s troops.      Can we even begin to imagine the horror of such an event?  When will religious persecution ever end?

Quoting Jeremiah 31:15, Matthew illustrates the deep weeping and mourning that was heard in Bethlehem by comparing it to the lamenting of mothers in Ramah, who had lost their children when they were dragged away into exile.  In the original context of Jeremiah, God was comforting His people with words of promise that He would one day “turn their mourning into joy.”

Matthew is telling us, as did Jeremiah in his day, that there is hope in the midst of despair and life in the midst of death because a new King is born.  The birth of the Christ child inaugurates the new covenant as foretold in Jeremiah 31:31-34 so that all God’s people will know, love and worship Him.

Jesus the King of kings and Lord of lords bring hope in the midst of hurt and life in the midst of death.

Matthew 2:13-23 NLT

19When Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt. 20“Get up!” the angel said. “Take the child and his mother back to the land of Israel, because those who were trying to kill the child are dead.”  21 So Joseph got up and returned to the land of Israel with Jesus and his mother.

22But when he learned that the new ruler of Judea was Herod’s son Archelaus, he was afraid to go there. Then, after being warned in a dream, he left for the region of Galilee. 23So the family went and lived in a town called Nazareth. This fulfilled what the prophets had said: “He will be called a Nazarene.”

During the early life of Jesus, we see the hand of God protecting and providing for the family of the Messiah in amazing ways.  God gave supernatural guidance just when it was needed.

As we ponder anew the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ we must remember that every detail was part of God’s plan and the promises and prophecies about Christ’s birth were made by the Lord of heaven and earth before the foundation of the world was set in place.

Christ Jesus is the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End.

Jesus is the LORD over all of history because it is His Story.

Jesus had the first word at the beginning of history and He will have the last word when all is said and done.

“Our help is in the name of the LORD, the maker of heaven and earth.”   Psalm 124   BCP 2019

We don’t like waiting very much, but Advent draws a lot of attention to our waiting.

Isaiah 35:1–10 (NLT)

1 Even the wilderness and desert will be glad in those days.

The wasteland will rejoice and blossom with spring crocuses.

2 Yes, there will be an abundance of flowers

and singing and joy!

The deserts will become as green as the mountains of Lebanon,

as lovely as Mount Carmel or the plain of Sharon.

There the Lord will display his glory,

the splendor of our God.

Revelation 21:3b-4 (NLT2)  “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. 4  He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.”

Isaiah 35:1–10 (NLT)

3 With this news, strengthen those who have tired hands,

and encourage those who have weak knees.

4 Say to those with fearful hearts,

“Be strong, and do not fear,

for your God is coming to destroy your enemies.

He is coming to save you.”

James 5:7–20 (NLT)

7 Dear brothers and sisters, be patient as you wait for the Lord’s return.Consider the farmers who patiently wait for the rains in the fall and in the spring. They eagerly look for the valuable harvest to ripen.

8 You, too, must be patient. Take courage, for the coming of the Lord is near.

One of the reasons we’re told to be patient is that when we face difficulties, those difficulties become all we can see.

That was the case for John the Baptist in today’s Gospel. John’s world was shrinking to the size of his prison cell.

 

Matthew 11:2–19 (NIV84)  

2 When John heard in prison what Christ was doing, he sent his disciples 3 to ask him, “Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?”  

 

4  Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see:5  The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.”

 

Isaiah 35:5-6a (NIV)
5  Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. 6  Then will the lame leap like a deer,  

 

Isaiah 61:1a (NIV)  
1  The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners,  

 

Isaiah 26:19 (NIV)  
19  But your dead will live; their bodies will rise. You who dwell in the dust, wake up and shout for joy. Your dew is like the dew of the morning; the earth will give birth to her dead.  

 

Then, as the disciples are heading back to tell John the message, Jesus says make sure you tell him this:

 

 

6 Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me.” 

 

        11 I tell you the truth: Among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist…14 And if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come. 

 

Our circumstances lead us to draw the conclusion that God doesn’t care, or doesn’t like us. But that’s not true! 

 

Your personal circumstances  

do not necessarily coincide  

with what God thinks about you. 

 

The proof  

of what God thinks of you  

is the Cross. 

 

Even if we are still waiting right now.

 

 

 

Advent is a reminder that we live in an in-between time

·        Many of the promises of the Hebrew Scriptures have been fulfilled

·        but many promises have YET to be fulfilled:

o   the conquering of evil

o   freedom for all who are held captive by sin, addiction, or evil people and systems

o   the whole world coming together under one King

These things will come to pass when Jesus returns.

Advent reminds us of BOTH sets of promises.

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Isaiah 2:1–5 (ESV) The Mountain of the Lord

1 The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.

  2     It shall come to pass in the latter days

that the mountain of the house of the Lord

        shall be established as the highest of the mountains,

and shall be lifted up above the hills;

        and all the nations shall flow to it,

  3          and many peoples shall come, and say:

        “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,

to the house of the God of Jacob,

        that he may teach us his ways

and that we may walk in his paths.”

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For out of Zion shall go forth the law,

and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

  4     He shall judge between the nations,

and shall decide disputes for many peoples;

        and they shall beat their swords into plowshares,

and their spears into pruning hooks;

        nation shall not lift up sword against nation,

neither shall they learn war anymore.

  5     O house of Jacob,

come, let us walk

in the light of the Lord.

Night and darkness are images used throughout the whole of Scripture as synonyms for disobeying God, while light is an image for knowing God and walking in his ways.

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John 3:19b (NIV) Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.

Romans 13:8–14 (ESV) Fulfilling the Law Through Love

11 Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed.

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12 The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.

Armor can be either offensive or defensive. A shields AND a sword. The righteousness God calls us to both defends us and wages war on evil.

Romans 12:21 (ESV) Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

 

2 Corinthians 6:7 (NLT2) We faithfully preach the truth. God’s power is working in us. We use the weapons of righteousness in the right hand for attack and the left hand for defense.

Pray for: (MULTILINE REVEAL BIG)

13 Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. 14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.

Psalm 122:5–6 (NLT)

5 Here stand the thrones where judgment is given,

the thrones of the dynasty of David.

6 Pray for peace in Jerusalem.

May all who love this city prosper.

 

Matthew 24:29–44 (ESV) The Coming of the Son of Man

29 “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.

30 Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

31 And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

This is the same Trumpet spoken of in:

·        1 Thessalonians 4:16 (NLT2) For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the Christians who have died will rise from their graves.

·        And Revelation 11:15 (ESV) Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.”

The Lesson of the Fig Tree

32 “From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near.33 So also, when you see all these things, you know that he is near, at the very gates.

The Jewish understanding has always been that people ought to be able to recognize the circumstances around them if they are tuned into the Lord.

 

No One Knows That Day and Hour

36 “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.37 For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.38 For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark,39 and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.

40 Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left.41 Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one left.

42 Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.43 But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into.44 Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

 

Church – Live in the Light

·        Repent when needed.

·        Live righteously.

·        Be ready for him to come anytime.

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