“The Amazing Child Who Was God” (Luke 2:39-52)

 

MORNING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 4/14/2026 9:49 AM

My Worship Time                                                    Focus:  “The Amazing Child Who Was God”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                                 Reference:  Luke 2:39-52

            Message of the verses: “Return to Nazareth”

³⁹ And when His parents had completed everything in accordance with the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own city of Nazareth. ⁴⁰ Now the Child continued to grow and to become strong, ^[a]increasing in wisdom; and the favor of God was upon Him.

“Visit to Jerusalem”

^“41 His parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover. ⁴² And when He was twelve years old, they went up there according to the custom of the feast; ⁴³ and as they were returning, after spending the full number of days required, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but His parents were unaware of it. ⁴⁴ Instead, they thought that He was somewhere in the caravan, and they went a day’s journey; and then they began looking for Him among their relatives and acquaintances. ⁴⁵ And when they did not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem, looking for Him. ⁴⁶ Then, 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 amazed at His understanding and His answers. ⁴⁸ When Joseph and Mary saw Him, they were bewildered; and His mother said to Him, “Son, why have You treated us this way? Behold, Your father and I have been anxiously looking for You!” ⁴⁹ And He said to them, “Why is it that you were looking for Me? Did you not know that I had to be in My Father’s ^[b]house?” ⁵⁰ And yet they on their part did not understand the statement which He had ^[c]made to them. ⁵¹ And He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and He continued to be subject to them; and His mother treasured all these ^[d]things in her heart. ⁵² And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and ^[e]stature, and in favor with God and people.”  (NASB)

            I will now quote from the introduction to this chapter from John MacArthur’s commentary, something that I usually do when I get to a new chapter so that I know where the chapter is about.

            “History has recorded some truly amazing children, child prodigies who performed astonishing feats.  Eary in the eighteenth century Jean Louis Cardiac, known as the ‘wonder child,’ was said to have recited the alphabet at the age of three months.  By the age of four, he read Latin, Greek, and Hebrew, and translated Latin into English and French.  Christian Friedrick Heinecken, known as the ‘infant of Lubeck,’ was a contemporary of Cardiac.  He reportedly knew the major events recorded in the Bible by the time he was a year old.  At the age of three, he was familiar with world history and geography, as well as Latin and Frence.  No doubt the most famous child prodigy of the time was the composer Wolfgang Amadeu Mozart.  The young Mozart began playing the keyboard by ear at the age of three.  By the time he was six, he had begun composing his own pieces.  At that same age Mozart, along with his older sister, began touring Europe, giving both private concerts for the nobility, and also public concerts.  At eight, he composed his first symphony.

            “The noted nineteenth-century philosopher John Stuart Mill was also a child prodigy.  Under the rigorous tutelage of his father, John learned Greek at the age of three.  At the age of eight, he began learning Latin, geometry, and algebra.  Another nineteenth-century child phenomenon was Truman Henry Safford, noted for his remarkable powers of calculation.  When the ten-year-old Safford was challenged to calculate the square of 365, 365, 365, 365, 365 in his head, he did so in less than a minute.  At about that same age Safford devised a new method for calculating the moon’s rising and settings that was significantly faster than the existing one.

            “William James Sidis (1898-1944) was the son of a Harvad-trained psychologist.  He is regarded as one of the most intelligent persons who ever lived, with an IQ estimated to have been well over 200.  According to his biographer, Sidis was reading the New York Times at the age of eighteen months, and had taught himself Latin, Greek, French, Russian, German, Hebrew, Turkish, and Armenian by the time he was eight.  At eleven he entered Harvard, where he lectured the Harvard Mathematical Society on four-dimensional bodies.

            “One of the most noted contemporary child prodigies is Kim Ung-Yong, born in South Korea in 1963.  By the time he as four, he was able to read Korean, Japanese, German, and English, and at that same age solved complicated calculus problems on Japanese television.  Kim came to the United States at the age of seven at the invitation of NASA, and earned a PhD in physics before he turned sixteen.

            “But the accomplishments of these and all other child prodigies combined pale into insignificance compared to one twelve-year-old boy named Jesus.  No human genius, no IQ in excess of 200, no precocious feats of learning can compare with the infinite mind and capabilities of the child who was God incarnate.  In a dramatic and moving account of the only recorded incident of Jesus’ childhood, Luke revealed from His own words that the Child was God.

            “Luke has already presented compelling testimony that Jesus Christ was the Son of God (1:35), the One through whom God would redeem and save His people (1:68-69, 78-79; 2:10-11, 27-32, 34, 38).  But in this passage he turned from the testimony of others to the testimony of the child Himself.  Luke’s account reveals plainly that at the age of twelve, Jesus already possessed a complete understanding of His nature and mission; He was God the Son, come to do the Father’s will.

            “In this the only recorded incident from Jesus’ childhood, we have the only words He is recorded to have said before the start of His public ministry.  Luke’s inclusion of it signifies its monumental importance.  Jesus’ identity as Son of God incarnate was not something thrust upon Him by Jewish messianic expectations, or invented by His followers.  Nor was it something He assumed for Himself when He began His public ministry.  It was His true identity, which He had become aware of by the age of twelve—eighteen years before His public ministry began.

            “After presenting the testimonies of Simeon and Anna (2:25-38), Luke noted that when they (Joseph and Mary) had performed everything according to the Law of the Lord (cf. vv. 22-24) they returned to Galilee, to their own city of Nazareth.  But between verses 38 and 39 a very important part of the birth narrative took place.  It was after their encounter with Simeon and Anna in the temple and before their return to Nazareth that the wise men visited Joseph, Mary, and Jesus (Matt. 2:1-12) and they fled to Egypt to escape Herod’s murderous rage (vv. 13-15), which culminated in his brutal slaughter of the male infants in the vicinity of Bethlehem (vv. 16-18).  It was only after Herod’s death that Joseph, Mry, and Jesus returned to Nazareth (vv. 19-23).

            “This one brief passage contains everything that is known about the life of Jesus Christ from His infancy to the outset of His public ministry.  Two statements summarizing the silent years of His childhood and His adult years at Nazareth bracket the incident at Jerusalem when He was twelve, which is the main thrust of this passage.”

Spiritual Meaning for my Life Today:  I never really thought too much about this incident in the life of the Lord Jesus Christ, but the way Luke presents it and how MacArthur brings light to it, I realize the importance of it better.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Trust the Lord to oversee the upcoming tests that my wife has to undergo for a pain in her side.

4/14/2026 10:38 AM