Luke 2:51, 52 And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject to them: but his mother kept all these sayings in her heart.… The growth of Jesus Christ his subjection to his parents teach us some things respecting him, and they suggest some things for our own guidance. I. THE GROWTH OF JESUS CHRIST. 1. The fullness of his condescension. We find this in his stooping so far as (1) to make it becoming that he should "be subject to" his parents, and (2) to make it possible that he should grow. How the Infinite One could so bereave himself of his infinitude as to be able to increase in wisdom, we cannot understand. But we cannot understand infinitude at all, and we act wisely when we do not draw hard-and-fast deductions from it. We stand on far firmer ground when we take the statement of the historian in its natural sense, and open our mind to the fact that Jesus Christ, "our Lord and our God," did stoop so far that it was possible for him to increase in knowledge and in favor with God and with man. We do not question the reality of his growth in body; why should we doubt, or receive with any reserve, the affirmation that he grew also in mind? 2. The harmoniousness of his growth. He grew (1) in bodily stature, and, of course, in all bodily strength and skill; (2) in mental equipment - in technical knowledge, or in the "education" of his time, in appreciation of nature, in knowledge of mankind, in apprehension of Divine truth, in general intellectual enlargement; (3) in spiritual beauty and nobility - "in favor with God and man." Not that he was at any time faulty or lacking in any excellency which it behoved him at that time to show, but that, as his faculties expanded and his opportunities of manifesting character were multiplied, he developed all that was admirable in the sight of man and of God. There is a far greater possibility of spiritual beauty and nobility in a young man with matured faculty and widening relationships than in the very little child, restricted, as he must be, in powers and in surroundings. So, as Jesus increased in years and grew in wisdom, there was in him an unfolding of moral and spiritual worth which attracted the eyes of men and which satisfied the Spirit of the Holy One himself. II. OUR HUMAN GROWTH. 1. Unlike our Lord, there is no element of condescension implied in our growth. We did not stoop to infancy; our course had then its commencement; and in the youngest child, with all its helplessness, but with all its latent capacities, there is a great gift from the hand of God. Whatever it means, in its humiliations and in its practical illimitableness, it is so much more than we could claim. 2. As with our Lord, our growth should be harmonious. All the three elements in our compound nature should undergo simultaneous and proportionate development. This is at first a parental question, but subsequently it is one that affects every one capable of growth. (1) Training of the body; its nurture and culture, so that it shall be continually advancing in strength and skill and symmetry. (2) Discipline of the mind; its instruction and exercise, so that it will be ever increasing in knowledge and enlarging in faculty. (3) Culture of the character; its guidance and formation, so that there shall be (a) attractiveness in the sight of man, and (b) worthiness in the judgment of God. It is, indeed, true that we may not give pleasure to men in proportion as we grow in moral and spiritual worth, for, as with our Master, our purity and devotion may be an offense unto them. It is also to be remembered that we may gain God's distinct approval long before we have reached the point of irreproachableness; for that which he delights to see in his children is an earnest effort after, and a constant growth towards, that which is true and pure and generous. - C. Parallel Verses KJV: And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them: but his mother kept all these sayings in her heart. |
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