Well, we all know that it is a time of the year where we are
invited to turn our attention on the truth of the incarnation of
the Lord Jesus Christ, and we will seek to do that together by
exploring the early years of Jesus, but in particular a part
of those early years that is often overlooked.
We know that the Gospels tell us much about the birth of the
Messiah, and we know that the Gospels have much more to say
about his ministry. But there is one particular
incident that is provided to us that grants us a portrait of
Jesus between those two significant stages of his life.
It is Luke, the Gospel writer, who is inspired by the Holy
Spirit to grant us this site that is very brief, and because
of its brevity, some people are tempted to feel as though it is
inconsequential in our understanding of God's character
and nature, or perhaps little value in terms of God's
instruction for us. But we have been here enough to
know that that is not the case. There is obviously a purpose for
what Luke records about the young Jesus of Nazareth in the
text that we're going to look at this afternoon.
So I do invite you to turn with me to Luke chapter 2 and verse
41, and we will read together until verse 52 as we consider
together the Messiah at 12 years old, Luke 241.
Here's what the Word of God reads.
Now His parents went to Jerusalem every year at the
feast of the Passover, and when he was 12 years old they went up
according to custom. And when the feast was ended, as
they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in
Jerusalem. His parents did not 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 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. And he said to them, Why were
you looking for me? Did you not know that 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 these things in her heart.
And Jesus increased in wisdom, and in stature, and in favor
with God and man. Lord, we ask in great humility,
Help us with these verses. We pray that there would be
nothing delivered in confusion or lack of clarity.
We pray that there would be precision.
We ask for power. We ask for our hearts to be
moved. Help us see Jesus only today.
And we pray these things in his name.
Amen. Luke is preparing to introduce
us to the boy Jesus. But before he does that, he
seeks to put the spotlight on the devoutness of his parents,
his earthly guardians. And he does this by telling us
that they went to Jerusalem to honor the feast of the Passover.
But he's more specific than that.
It's not that they just went to the Passover on this particular
year. Look back again at verse 41.
Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the
feast of the Passover. And so we're supposed to hear
see something about their diligence and their commitment
to the law of God. Because the Old Testament tells
us that under the Mosaic covenant, every male Israelite
was to go and honor 3 specific feast, 3 separate times of the
year. And what's interesting here is
that, yes, they are obeying, but in a way that is a little bit
unusual. And the only way for you to know
that is when you look at one of the instructions about these
pilgrimages. So look at your Old Testament
with me in Exodus and verse 17 of chapter 23.
And notice this detail that I think some people miss Exodus 23
beginning in verse 17. It says here three times in the
year shall, and this is where you want to highlight it.
All your males appear before the Lord God, all your males.
And that is echoed in Deuteronomy 1616.
We learned that it was the males who are primarily responsible
for representing their families as they came to these yearly
conferences of worship. And it's not to say that women
could not accompany them, but they were not obliged to.
And if a wife did assist and attend these journeys with their
husbands, it highlighted something about their
exceptional devotion to the Lord.
Again, it was not mandatory for them to go, but if they did go,
then it said something about their hunger.
It says something about their worship.
It says something about their devotion to God.
And why I bring that up is because Mary is highlighted in
our main passage with this background that she didn't have
to go to the feast of the Passover.
She wanted to go, and right here already we have something as a
model for parents today. Do you know why?
Because as much as the Lord Jesus Christ possessed divine
wisdom and revelation from His human perspective, He grew up in
an environment where His spiritual intellectual growth
was nurtured and fostered by the faithfulness of His earthly
parents. Now if you're hesitant to
believe that, let me show you a couple of verses in the same
chapter that we read from right before the main text.
He says this in Luke 239. And when they had performed
everything according to the law of the Lord, speaking about
Joseph and Mary, again, when they had performed everything
according to the law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee
to their own town of Nazareth. And then verse 40 And the child
grew and became strong, filled with wisdom and the favor of God
was upon him. So right after the comment of
Joseph and Mary, observing everything that was found in the
law of the Lord, we learn of Jesus growth.
And some translations don't just say that the child grew and
became strong, but add that he became strong in spirit.
Strong in spirit. Now here's what I want to say.
Parents, do not underestimate what your love for the Lord can
do for your little ones. Don't you ever doubt that.
And don't you ever, ever, ever think for a moment that there is
a greater investment that you can make in the lives of your
children than living sacrificially for the Lord.
Here's where the maps in our Bible help.
Sometimes to journey from Nazareth to Jerusalem was not a
small journey. It was a track of about 70 to 80
miles, which would take about three to four days to complete.
And yet we see these parents doing this faithfully year after
year. And in many cases, it is earthly
concerns, daily responsibilities, personal
projects, and other inconveniences that keep couples
from making worship their priority in their family.
And I want to share a promise to you from the Word of God that I
pray will stir your heart, especially if you can honestly
admit in this place that worshipping God has not been
your personal priority on an individual basis or in a
corporate level. If you look back at 2024, if you
can honestly say that's been me, the House of God has not been my
priority. Spending time with God has not
been my ultimate desire. And you might be able to list
all these different reasons. God gives a promise in the very
same book where you read that the male should appear before
the Lord 3 * a year. So I'm going to ask you to go
back to Exodus. It will be worth it because
there is a promise by way of principle that applies to us.
Look at Exodus 34 and look at verse 24 in this chapter.
God renews His covenant with Israel because they committed
idolatry by worshipping the false golden calf at the bottom
of the mountain. But notice this as He re
establishes this relationship in Exodus 3424.
He says For I will cast out nations before you and enlarge
your borders. No one shall covet your land
when you go up to appear before the Lord your God three times in
the year. Did you see the promise?
Think about it, if the males, the heads of the homes, were to
travel weeks at a time to go and stand before the Lord at the
House of God, a designated location where He was to be
worshipped, what would be one of their main concerns?
Leaving behind their families, leaving behind their properties,
not just to the threats of neighbors, but neighboring
nations and enemies who might harm their homes.
So what does the Lord say in this verse?
No one will covet your land. When you come to worship Me,
I'll take care of you. This is the lesson that when you
prioritize God and no matter what it demands of you, He will
provide for you and He will protect you better than you can
imagine and better than what you can fend for yourself.
No matter what that sacrifice looks like in your relationship
with Christ and honoring what He asked of you, it's not really a
sacrifice. It's always an investment, and
we see even a promise here. You go to Jerusalem to worship,
I'll take care of your home. I'll take care of your family.
Nothing, no one will touch you. But it's contingent upon setting
him first, living for him first, honoring him above everything
else. Mary and Joseph here are
honoring the Lord. But as faithful as they were,
they were not perfect. Someone like to think otherwise.
They were not perfect because Luke records 1 blunder made by
them in terms of their parenting at least.
So you have to understand that when Jerusalem was designated as
the place of worship and people would make pilgrimage to honor
these feasts, there was hundreds of thousands of people swarming
in those streets. And in many cases, when people
would come to Jerusalem, they would do so in large caravans,
large groups, because it just made the journey more pleasant
and made it more safe from bandits and robbers.
So as wonderful as that is, you can imagine the logistical
difficulties. Joseph and Mary came with a
group, and as they were making their way back to Nazareth, they
forgot Jesus. Now some use this reference as
an incident to try to put some kind of blame on the Lord Jesus,
and we'll get to why he stayed back in a moment.
But what I want you to focus on is what we see here in verse 43.
And when the feast was ended and as they were returning, the boy
Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem.
His parents did not know it. And what's even more staggering
is that after a full day's journey, they learned, where's
Jesus? Where's her son?
Where's the boy? A full day.
Can you imagine? And some people try to explain
this. Maybe Joseph thought that, you
know, they were separating. Mary was ahead or behind.
And she thought, OK, you thought she's he's with her or she
thought he's with him. We don't know.
A full day's journey. And even in this, we have some
practical instruction. You know why?
Because what Joseph and Mary did here physically is something
that you and I are capable of doing spiritually.
And what do you mean we too can lose focus on Jesus, can we not?
And I'm not speaking here about how we can be pulled away by the
seduction of of sin or the dazzle of worldly entertainment.
I'm speaking about how even in the midst of good things, we can
lose sight of Christ. What happened with Joseph and
Mary here? Were they on vacation when they
lost Jesus? No, no, they were honoring the
law of the Lord, and even in that pursuit they were
disconnected from Christ. I think this serves as a helpful
warning for each of us that we can become so preoccupied in
activities, even religious ones, that we become disconnected from
conscience fellowship with the Lord.
Which brings me to the next point, that we must make our
awareness of the Lord a daily habit.
They went one day without recognizing that Jesus was in
there, which I think in terms of principle, we each of us must
make it a daily habit to set the Lord always before us.
Can I give you a verse that infers that practice?
Go to the book of Hebrews chapter 3.
And I want you to look at this instruction that the Holy Spirit
gives to the church. Hebrews chapter 3, beginning in
verse 13. And it's really just this verse.
Notice what the Holy Spirit says to the believers.
Hebrews 313 But exhort one another every day, as long as it
is called today. That none of you may be hardened
by the deceitfulness of sin, Read it again.
But exhort one another every Sunday, every day, every day, as
long as it is called today. What's the insight here?
Here's what the insight is you and I need.
Not weekly, not monthly. Daily spiritual nourishment,
daily mutual encouragement. Because all it takes is one day
for your heart to become hard. 24 hours.
Have you ever been to a conference, like a church
conference, and you see people excited and filled with joy and
anticipation, and then all it takes is that midweek of the
same weekend where that conference was observed and
enjoyed, where things tend to go back the way they were?
That's not a phenomenon. That's something that the Bible
says can happen to each of us in one day.
My heart can be cold. My heart can become distracted,
deceived by sin overnight. And so there's something that
needs to happen every day. And notice what the author says.
As long as it is called today. In other words, you can't afford
to delay this. You have to implement it right
away. There's urgency here.
This needs to be honored. This is like almost emergency
protocol. And if you haven't been doing it
in this past year, begin the next year right.
Let the the the last couple of weeks of this year be this that
your heart comes into contact with the glory of Jesus.
We allow His word, His presence, to keep your heart soft where
you were intentional of encouraging others and allowing
others to encourage you. All it takes is one day for you
to lose sight of Jesus. So they go back because in verse
44 of Luke 2, they suppose that He was in the group.
They began to search for Him among the relatives and
acquaintances, and when they did not find in verse 45, they
returned to Jerusalem searching for them.
Now, Luke is not interested in providing us the intricate
movements of Christ during these three days.
We don't know where he slept during those three days.
We don't know who fed him. We don't know of all these other
potential interactions that he had with others.
But what we do know here is that there is a scene that He wants
us to look at. It's a scene that his parents
stumbled upon. After frantically looking for
him for hours, they finally decided to go to the temple and
what they saw there was absolutely astounding. 12 year
old Jesus sitting with the teachers of the law, the priest,
the scribes, asking them questions, probing and an even
receiving questions at some point and and giving answers or
clarifying their answers. Is that where you would think
you would find a 12 year old boy if you lost him for a few days?
This is the Son of God. You know Luke does something in
his gospel account that I discovered when looking at this
last night. Whenever I preach out of Luke 24
where Jesus after the resurrection walks with those
two on the road to Emmaus, I always am stirred because he
gives the most profound Old Testament Bible study about the
Messiah and where he is found in the Hebrew Scriptures.
And guess what? We don't get one insight in that
Bible study. That's at the end of the gospel,
Luke. And here we are at the beginning
of the gospel Luke, and you have 12 year old Jesus doing a Bible
study with a group of scholars. Luke doesn't tell us anything
either. Why?
Just personally venting doesn't do it in the beginning, doesn't
do it at the end. But one thing that we can say
safely as a guess is that some of these same teachers who were
amazed by this little boy would 18 years later, continue to be
confounded by him only to provoke a murderous hatred and
envy. And I believe there's something
else you to learn about Jesus for our own lives, because I've
already addressed parents. Now let me address those who are
younger in the room. And there's many of you.
I'm so glad that you're here in the main service.
And I hope that this tide doesn't intimidate you.
I hope you can hear me. And I want to speak as plainly
as possible. You see, 12 year old Jesus, yes,
the Son of God, yes, unique, yes, bestowed with a wisdom that
is unparalleled. But if we are called to follow
Jesus and what we see in the Gospels concerning his adult
life and his ministry, surely it applies here at 12 years old.
Here's what I will tell you. Don't waste your younger years.
Please don't waste your younger years.
This is a special window of time, young people, where your
minds are fresh and your energy is at its peak and you're able
to absorb and retain in a way that you won't be able to in the
years to come. Do you know what you find Jesus
doing here? Asking questions from his
humanity, Seeking to grow and learn?
Yes, confounding, but also receiving.
You know, I've talked to many people who've obviously been
saved and the common regret that I hear from people and I hope it
doesn't eat them up too much. But one of the things that I
hear over and over from people is I wish I was saved earlier.
I wish I was saved when I was younger.
There's so much to know. There's there's only so much
time I have left to be able to share about Jesus, to be able to
serve Jesus in this life. This is a thought that in a good
way haunts me all the time. You know what it is that as
glorious as heaven will be, as wonderful as eternity will be?
As much as I am looking forward to a time where the even the
presence of sin will be a far memory, I only have this life to
glorify God in a unique way that I can't in heaven.
Only in this life can I say no to temptation and glorify God in
my nose, because I won't be tempted in heaven.
Only in heaven will. Only on earth will I be able to
evangelize and tell people about Christ, because there's going to
be no lost people in heaven. Only on earth will I be able to
pray prayers and see God's mighty hand intervene in my
life, in my family's life, in my city, in my nation.
Only now, because there'll be no need to pray.
Everything will be consummated at that point.
Here's Jesus, 12 years old, maximizing the opportunity while
being in Jerusalem to grow. I pray that you would be the
same. I'm not saying don't be a kid.
Be a kid, enjoy activities, enjoy hobbies, but develop a
foundation. Now.
You know, there are some preachers that I heard from who
said that what they preach in their 60s and in the latter
portions of their life are things that they learned in
their 20s and 30s because life only gets busier and more
responsibilities are added. And so I heard one man say it's,
it's, it's helpful to to gather in and create a reservoir now
and build on that as you age. If God were to give you more
life. They were amazed.
And as exhilarating as this site must have been, the maternal
instincts of Mary kicked in. Son, why have you treated us so?
Behold, your father and I have been searching for you in great
distress. Now Mary's line of questioning
should prompt us to ask our own Is Jesus wrong here for staying
behind in Jerusalem? Is he being insensitive?
Or worse, is there a streak of sinfulness in his adolescence?
Some would be brave enough to claim so.
Thankfully, you and I don't have to speculate in our defense of
the perfection of the Savior, because Luke tells us here
plainly that that is not so. And there are three points to
make about how Jesus here is perfectly righteous.
He was perfectly righteous in his 30s, and he was perfectly
righteous at his 12th year. First, Mary doesn't accuse Jesus
of being disobedient. She's merely expressing how his
actions made her and her husband feel.
So that that's just the first point.
The second one is that Luke actually goes out of his way in
the same text to tell us the posture of the boy Jesus before
and after this particular moment.
Look here at verse 52 or 51 rather of Luke of Luke chapter
2. Notice what he says.
And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was
submissive to them. He was submissive to them.
He did honor them. He did respect Him.
Lastly, and this is the most important point, Jesus response
to Mary was a profound recognition of His divine
mission and His identity as the Son of God.
So let me try to break this down as solely as possible so that
nobody misses it. Jesus had an awareness, some
would say that this is where he received the complete awareness
of who he was and His divinity. And this awareness did not
diminish his respect for those who God had chosen to be His
guardians, but it does under score his primary allegiance.
And his primary allegiance was to the Father.
In other words, Jesus staying at the temple was not an act of
carelessness. It was not an act of defiance,
but rather of obedience to the will of God, which made him
staying at the temple necessary for his preparation for the
ministry. And so when you look at this,
you realize, yes, this is a unique moment, but also
foreshadow something that we're going to see over and over in
the life of Christ, things that he will teach and things that he
will do. And what is that?
That his obedience to the will of the Father supersedes any
social expectation and any family relationship that might
seek to hinder him from doing what God called him to do.
And he gently, even at the age of 12, he gently reminds Mary of
that, saying how? Because remember she says,
behold, your father and I have been searching for you in great
distress. And look how he answers in verse
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? In other words, yes, I am
subject to you as earthly guardians, but can I remind you
that I am ultimately the Son of God?
This is profound. I am the Son of God and my
allegiance is ultimately to Him. And even if you look at this
from a cultural standpoint, the age of 12 was the pivotal point
where a Jewish boy will become a man.
That's from the cultural standpoint.
So the fact that it's happening at 12 is significant even from
that lens. But theologically, what we're
seeing here is that Jesus is preparing Mary specifically for
what's to come in a few short years, that he's going to
separate and he's going to ultimately fulfill what God had
sent him into the world to do. I must be about my father's
house, some transitions. I must be about my father's
business. And we see here that although
there is a theological answer, there is also, as I've been
doing throughout this study, a practical inspiration.
What was Mary's mistake here? Mary's mistake was that she
misunderstood the meaning of Jesus's actions.
Don't mind the rumbling, You'll go away in a minute.
Mary misunderstood Jesus's actions.
And if we're not careful, we too can fall into the same trap of
failing to understand what Christ is doing in times of
distress. And maybe even in your own way,
telling the Lord, why are you treating me as such?
Why are you doing this? Why are you not doing this?
You see Mary's misinterpretation as a tendency We all share in
our human frailty. What is that?
Especially when you're confronted with challenges or
unmet expectations, things that are ruffled, things that kind of
take you by surprise. Why?
When in fact, God is doing exactly what he needs to do in
perfect wisdom. So do you know how you and I can
avoid that mistake? A mistake of looking at the Lord
and, and, and putting him in a place of being questioned, which
will honestly only add more turmoil to your trials and your
test. The way you can limit that is by
being more deeply acquainted with who God is.
We're not told exactly how Mary came to this, but you can just
imagine over the years how though she was visited by angels
and she received prophetic utterances and she was visited
by these amazing characters in the Bible at the birth of this
boy. As the years went on, she
perhaps didn't fully understand the significance of his destiny.
That's why she can come to this place and say, why are you doing
this? If you want to be more confident
in God's ways, be more familiar with who he is, and there'll be
less questions and more worship. I want to look more at what
Jesus says in verse 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? Wow, your father and I have been
looking for you, but didn't you know that I would be in my
father's house? You know what makes us even more
impactful? These are the first recorded
words of the Lord Jesus Christ, the first, the first in his life
that's been given to us, and the first in the Gospel of Luke.
And what makes us even more special is when you consider the
last recorded words of Jesus before his death.
It's in the Gospel of Luke. Go to Luke 23 and look here with
me at verse 46. Then Jesus calling out with a
loud voice said, Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.
And having said this, he breathed his last.
What a glorious observation. Do you know why?
Because between the first recorded words of Jesus and his
last before his death, he emphasized his relationship with
the Father. Father, do you not know that I
must be in my Father's house? And there he is before he gives
his final sigh. Father, into your hands I commit
my spirit. I mean, this is awesome for many
reasons, but the the principle that grips me the most is that
from first to last, Jesus's life was defined by joyful obedience
to the will of God. From first to last, everything
was framed by this ultimate desire.
I want to obey, live, love the Father.
And some of you here have experienced the saving power of
the gospel and have proclaimed Jesus Christ as Lord.
This might have happened at a young age, others in the prime
of your life, and some others may be at the midpoint of your
life, whether it was 12/22 or 52.
Can I ask you something, please? Is the desire to live for God
strong today as it was when you first start walking with him?
Because here is my model. Here's my example.
Jesus at 12 said, Father, my father, and Jesus at the prime
of his life while being executed could say, Father, I hope that's
your ambition. If that ambition has been
weakened, may reawaken with a new force in this new year.
Finish strong. I I wonder how many of us in
this place have it as our goal to finish well, to finish well.
There was an old preacher who was a friend of mine who's in
heaven today, and whenever I would ask him, how can I be
praying for you? Do you know what he would say?
Pray that I would die climbing. It's a very imaginative way of
saying I want to finish. Well, it inspired me at least.
Father at the start, Father when he finished what happens?
Look at verse 50 of Luke 2 and they did not understand the
saying that he spoke to them. They didn't fully make sense.
They couldn't put the pieces together.
And here's what's so moving about this is because I can't
help but think how the Lord was misunderstood at all points of
his life in ministry. Here he is at 12 saying why are
you why are you surprised? I'm supposed to be in my
father's house and his parents didn't get it.
And and how much throughout his ministry in the Gospels do we
see people not getting it? Even those who are under his
apprenticeship, even those who were being trained to be
apostles, they didn't get so many things.
You say why you bring that? I'm bringing that up because
despite the lack of awareness and the inability to catch up,
he loves, He's committed, he's steadfast, he's so patient.
He loved Joseph and Mary even in this.
Jesus who knew more about himself than these parents,
Jesus who was more aware of God's will than these earthly
guardians. And yet he still loved them,
saying, how did he love them? Because 51 says he went down
with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them.
It's very hard for some people to submit to others whom they
believed to be more experienced or more knowledgeable, more
powerful. That was not Jesus.
He had profound insight, and yet he understood that this is a
part of the will of God, that I will honor and respect those who
are in authority over me, and so I will submit to them and
listen. This kind of steadfast love that
Christ shows for imperfect people applies to all of us
today. Most of us are slow in learning,
including the preacher. And yet Christ loves, and he
stays, and he goes with us, and he leads us, and he nudges us,
and he protects us and He provides for us.
We would all be in trouble if we had to have consistent as in our
spiritual learning. What a powerful example this
sets for each of us as we intermingle with one another,
and especially if we have people in our lives that are over us
and we're challenged in our flesh to honor them the way that
God calls us to honor them. So both young and old here.
You might even have parents that are limited in their thinking,
limited in their ways of dealing with situations.
Look at your example in Jesus and seek him for the strength to
be able to worship God in the place of submission, mutual
respect. That might be true for our
spiritual leaders as well. Or any kind of authority, any
kind of relationship for that matter.
Christ even at 12 was far superior and he still submitted
Humility, kindness and patience. This is the master.
I I want to be like Jesus. Who knew that a 12 year old
could inspire? He's the Messiah, and not just
that. I see his patients in another
way. He was patient with his parents,
yes, but he was also patient with the will of God.
Think about it, at 12 years old, he understands I am the Son of
the Father in heaven. He's comprehending his divine
mission. He's growing into that.
The awareness is there. And yet what He waits 18 years
before he starts his public ministry?
Imagine the temptation of being a 12 year old prodigy going on
those preaching crusades and confounding these.
Oh, you would, surely you would get a bigger crowd, the 12 year
old out there preaching, doing miracles.
He didn't. Year by year he goes by and he
grows, he matures, he goes to school, he submits his parents
perfect without sin. Until God said now is the time.
The Father said now is the time. Oh, he was in step with the will
of God. How I want to be like Jesus,
patient with people, patient with God's plan for my life.
So let me end here. What is the purpose of Luke
including this story in his Gospel account?
I think there are three quick summaries that we can make.
One is to show that Jesus was truly human.
All right, so look at verse 52. And Jesus increased in wisdom
and in stature and in favor with God and man.
So he was really human, though without sin.
He grew, He was hungry, he went to bed, he experienced
temptation. He was truly human.
And we're reminded of that. And that's important for a
reason I'm going to get to. But not only was he truly human,
but he was aware at a very early stage of his life of his
divinity that he was the Son of God.
So this wasn't something that his followers later on conjured
up about his identity, nor is it something that he accepted
because of the claims of the crowd who were longing for a
Messiah and decided to just put that on him.
And that's something that he worked with.
No, Jesus knew he was the Son of God many years even before he
ministered as the Son of God. And lastly, a.
Question after the question why Luke included this?
Have you ever wondered why the plan for our salvation could
have been a much quicker ordeal? Send the sun into the world and
let the next day come by where he is crucified.
Let him shed his blood, conquer the grave, resurrect, ascend,
and purchase our salvation. If you've ever thought that.
Then I say respectfully. Then you have an incomplete
understanding of what our salvation entails.
His death is paramount. It is necessary, but so was his
life. So was his life, because what
the Bible teaches here is not that we have our debt paid by
His death, it's that also we receive His perfection because
of how He lived. So in Jesus, who lived a perfect
life even from the age of 12, by honoring the law, by submitting
to the will of God, by resisting temptation, by conquering all
these things before He conquered death.
What happens now is that when you believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ, you know what takes place.
He takes your guilt and He gives you His perfection.
His life was necessary to accumulate the righteousness
that would be ascribed unto you and placed into your account.
That is the divine exchange of the gospel.
That is the beauty of this message, that in a way God
treated Jesus, not that he sinned, but as a sin bearer.
And in turn he looks at you and treats you like Jesus as though
you have never sinned. That's where we find the
confidence in our faith and the understanding of the gospel.
You know, I wasn't planning to end this way, but allow me to.
Just before the service, there's a prayer that I like to pray
from the book of Isaiah. I don't need to share that part,
but I thought after looking at that verse to just kind of read
on because it deals with the Messiah.
And here's our final text in Isaiah 50.
Look at verse 9. This deals with.
Messiah. This deals with Jesus Christ 700
years before His entrance into the world, and there's all these
wonderful prophecies of what He would be like and what He would
do and what He would accomplish. But let's hear.
Let's begin here at verse 7. Actually, just to prove it,
let's look at verse 5. Get to get the context.
So you're convinced, at least I hope, if this is foreign to you,
that this is about Messiah. Isaiah 50, verse 5.
The Lord God has opened my ear, and I was not rebellious.
I turned not backward. I gave my back to those who
strike and my cheeks to those who pull out the beard.
I hid not my face from disgrace and spitting.
That's talking about the suffering, the torture that
Christ experienced. But it doesn't end here.
He goes on. Messiah says, but the Lord God
helps me, therefore I have not been disgraced.
Therefore I have set my face like Flint, and I know that I
shall not be put to shame. He who vindicates me is near.
Who will contend with me. Let us stand up together.
Who is my adversary? Let him come near to me.
And this is the part that struck me, verse 9.
Behold, the Lord God helps me, who will declare me guilty?
Behold, all of them will wear out like a garment.
The moth will eat them up. You see what Messiah is.
Saying he's not just describing the fact that he will indeed be
tortured, he will be punished, but in his punishment is there
no indication that he was wrong, but he did anything to actually
receive that punishment justly? He voluntarily received.
Yes, God's punishment, but from a human standpoint he was free.
There was nothing that they could pin on him.
So he says here in verse 9, behold, the Lord God helps me
who will declare me guilty, and even before that, who is my
adversary? Let him come near to me.
Does does that language sound familiar to you?
On your own time. Look it up in Romans chapter 8,
where Paul makes allusions to these words where he says, who
shall condemn the elect? Who can condemn those who
belong? It is God who justifies.
So even Paul, obviously a scholar familiar with the Old
Testament, makes allusions to these words.
I believe. And here's what's so beautiful.
It began with Messiah saying, who can declare me guilty?
And then Paul borrows such words for the Christian.
Why? Because the Christian when he
puts his faith is in Christ. So when Messiah says, who can
declare me guilty because of his perfection?
Now the Christian can say, who can declare me guilty because of
his perfection? That has been imputed to you by
faith. Do you see that this is the
Christmas message that God has given us His inexpressible gift
and it is free and it is available to any person in this
room that if you realize that you are a Sinner, that you have
dishonored, violated God's law, that can all change Your status
from guilty to innocent can take place this afternoon.
Your eternal standing before God can be shifted when you
understand what the Savior has done for you.
And what does that look like? It looks like you acknowledging
that you are a Sinner and recognizing that He is your sole
Savior and that you would receive His righteousness.
I believe that apart from you, I'm damned, that I need your
perfection if I'm to stand before God with confidence.
And I need you to take care of this debt lest I pay it myself.
And Christ willingly, willingly wants to make that transaction
with you. You just have to believe it.
He extends that gift to you on December 15th of 2024.
I hope you would take it. If you've never received it, I
hope you would not reject that. I hope you would not swat his
hand away. I hope today that you would put
your hand in hand with the living Christ because the one
that I preach about, who was at one point 12 years old, is alive
today. He died, He was buried, he
raised. And as Pastor Mark opened the
service. He's coming back and he's going
to redeem those who put their faith in Him in their lifetime.
Would you do it today, believer? I hope that.
You feel a great. Confidence surging up in you
once more that it's because of what Christ has done in this
rescue mission of coming into this world on your behalf that
you should be joyful. Let's rejoice together.
Indeed, Lord, we see that. Even in this text of the boy
Jesus at 12 years old. You have provided for us A.
Banquet. Thank you for showing us.
Just a glimpse of the extent of his sacrifice of subjecting
himself to the limitations of humanity in order to redeem
humanity. Lord, today we we feel the joy
of our salvation. If it's not true for anyone
here, may they taste it for the first time.
And for those who have tasted in it, may there be a freedom in
their hearts to know that they can make a fresh commitment to
you If they have not been as zealous as they should have
been, if they have missed the mark, if they, like the story
has told us, have walked ahead of Jesus or have delayed where
Christ has went ahead. We pray that if it's been a day,
a week, a month, a year where closeness with Christ has not
been enjoyed and realized, that today would be the turning
point. Only your Spirit can do that.
So we rejoice in you, Lord, we pray that there be rejoicing in
heaven because of repentance in this house, and we give you
glory and thanks that the confidence of our salvation is
in Christ alone. In Jesus name we pray.
Amen. If the praise team can join us
and help us glorify the Son of God who became a man so that men
could become born again.