Scripture referenced 4 passages
The passage this message was preached from, in full, with every other passage it reached for.
-
Luke 1 Mary's song quoted at the opening of the service
1 Since many have undertaken to set in order a narrative concerning those matters which have been fulfilled among us,
2 even as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word delivered them to us,
3 it seemed good to me also, having traced the course of all things accurately from the first, to write to you in order, most excellent Theophilus;
4 that you might know the certainty concerning the things in which you were instructed.
5 There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the priestly division of Abijah. He had a wife of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.
6 They were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord.
7 But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they both were well advanced in years.
8 Now while he executed the priest’s office before God in the order of his division,
9 according to the custom of the priest’s office, his lot was to enter into the temple of the Lord and burn incense.
10 The whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense.
11 An angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing on the right side of the altar of incense.
12 Zacharias was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him.
13 But the angel said to him, “Don’t be afraid, Zacharias, because your request has been heard, and your wife, Elizabeth, will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John.
14 You will have joy and gladness; and many will rejoice at his birth.
15 For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and he will drink no wine nor strong drink. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb.
16 He will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord, their God.
17 He will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, ‘to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,’ and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to prepare a people prepared for the Lord.”
18 Zacharias said to the angel, “How can I be sure of this? For I am an old man, and my wife is well advanced in years.”
19 The angel answered him, “I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God. I was sent to speak to you, and to bring you this good news.
20 Behold, you will be silent and not able to speak, until the day that these things will happen, because you didn’t believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their proper time.”
21 The people were waiting for Zacharias, and they marveled that he delayed in the temple.
22 When he came out, he could not speak to them, and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple. He continued making signs to them, and remained mute.
23 When the days of his service were fulfilled, he departed to his house.
24 After these days Elizabeth, his wife, conceived, and she hid herself five months, saying,
25 “Thus has the Lord done to me in the days in which he looked at me, to take away my reproach among men.”
26 Now in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee, named Nazareth,
27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man whose name was Joseph, of David’s house. The virgin’s name was Mary.
28 Having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, you highly favored one! The Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women!”
29 But when she saw him, she was greatly troubled at the saying, and considered what kind of salutation this might be.
30 The angel said to her, “Don’t be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.
31 Behold, you will conceive in your womb, and give birth to a son, and will call his name ‘Jesus.’
32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father, David,
33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever. There will be no end to his Kingdom.”
34 Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, seeing I am a virgin?”
35 The angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore also the holy one who is born from you will be called the Son of God.
36 Behold, Elizabeth, your relative, also has conceived a son in her old age; and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren.
37 For nothing spoken by God is impossible.”
38 Mary said, “Behold, the servant of the Lord; let it be done to me according to your word.” The angel departed from her.
39 Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Judah,
40 and entered into the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth.
41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.
42 She called out with a loud voice, and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!
43 Why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
44 For behold, when the voice of your greeting came into my ears, the baby leaped in my womb for joy!
45 Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of the things which have been spoken to her from the Lord!”
46 Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord.
47 My spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior,
48 for he has looked at the humble state of his servant. For behold, from now on, all generations will call me blessed.
49 For he who is mighty has done great things for me. Holy is his name.
50 His mercy is for generations of generations on those who fear him.
51 He has shown strength with his arm. He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
52 He has put down princes from their thrones. And has exalted the lowly.
53 He has filled the hungry with good things. He has sent the rich away empty.
54 He has given help to Israel, his servant, that he might remember mercy,
55 As he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and his offspring forever.”
56 Mary stayed with her about three months, and then returned to her house.
57 Now the time that Elizabeth should give birth was fulfilled, and she gave birth to a son.…
World English Bible · Read it in another translation
Keep this verse
Luke 2
Simeon's words about seeing God's salvation quoted during the offering
1 Now in those days, a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be enrolled.
2 This was the first enrollment made when Quirinius was governor of Syria.
3 All went to enroll themselves, everyone to his own city.
4 Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to David’s city, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David;
5 to enroll himself with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him as wife, being pregnant.
6 While they were there, the day had come for her to give birth.
7 She gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a feeding trough, because there was no room for them in the inn.
8 There were shepherds in the same country staying in the field, and keeping watch by night over their flock.
9 Behold, an angel of the Lord stood by them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.
10 The angel said to them, “Don’t be afraid, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be to all the people.
11 For there is born to you today, in David’s city, a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
12 This is the sign to you: you will find a baby wrapped in strips of cloth, lying in a feeding trough.”
13 Suddenly, there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly army praising God, and saying,
14 “Glory to God in the highest, on earth peace, good will toward men.”
15 When the angels went away from them into the sky, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem, now, and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.”
16 They came with haste, and found both Mary and Joseph, and the baby was lying in the feeding trough.
17 When they saw it, they publicized widely the saying which was spoken to them about this child.
18 All who heard it wondered at the things which were spoken to them by the shepherds.
19 But Mary kept all these sayings, pondering them in her heart.
20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, just as it was told them.
21 When eight days were fulfilled for the circumcision of the child, his name was called Jesus, which was given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.
22 When the days of their purification according to the law of Moses were fulfilled, they brought him up to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord
23 (as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every male who opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”),
24 and to offer a sacrifice according to that which is said in the law of the Lord, “A pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.”
25 Behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. This man was righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him.
26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he should not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.
27 He came in the Spirit into the temple. When the parents brought in the child, Jesus, that they might do concerning him according to the custom of the law,
28 then he received him into his arms, and blessed God, and said,
29 “Now you are releasing your servant, Master, according to your word, in peace;
30 for my eyes have seen your salvation,
31 which you have prepared before the face of all peoples;
32 a light for revelation to the nations, and the glory of your people Israel.”
33 Joseph and his mother were marveling at the things which were spoken concerning him,
34 and Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary, his mother, “Behold, this child is set for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which is spoken against.
35 Yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul, that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”
36 There was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher (she was of a great age, having lived with a husband seven years from her virginity,
37 and she had been a widow for about eighty-four years), who didn’t depart from the temple, worshiping with fastings and petitions night and day.
38 Coming up at that very hour, she gave thanks to the Lord, and spoke of him to all those who were looking for redemption in Jerusalem.
39 When they had accomplished all things that were according to the law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own city, Nazareth.
40 The child was growing, and was becoming strong in spirit, being filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him.
41 His parents went every year to Jerusalem at the feast of the Passover.
42 When he was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem according to the custom of the feast,
43 and when they had fulfilled the days, as they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. Joseph and his mother didn’t know it,
44 but supposing him to be in the company, they went a day’s journey, and they looked for him among their relatives and acquaintances.
45 When they didn’t find him, they returned to Jerusalem, looking for him.
46 After three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the middle of the teachers, both listening to them, and asking them questions.
47 All who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers.
48 When they saw him, they were astonished, and his mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us this way? Behold, your father and I were anxiously looking for you.”
49 He said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Didn’t you know that I must be in my Father’s house?”
50 They didn’t understand the saying which he spoke to them.
51 And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth. He was subject to them, and his mother kept all these sayings in her heart.
52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.
World English Bible · Read it in another translation
Luke 2:41-52
the main sermon text, the boy Jesus in the temple
41 His parents went every year to Jerusalem at the feast of the Passover.
42 When he was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem according to the custom of the feast,
43 and when they had fulfilled the days, as they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. Joseph and his mother didn’t know it,
44 but supposing him to be in the company, they went a day’s journey, and they looked for him among their relatives and acquaintances.
45 When they didn’t find him, they returned to Jerusalem, looking for him.
46 After three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the middle of the teachers, both listening to them, and asking them questions.
47 All who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers.
48 When they saw him, they were astonished, and his mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us this way? Behold, your father and I were anxiously looking for you.”
49 He said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Didn’t you know that I must be in my Father’s house?”
50 They didn’t understand the saying which he spoke to them.
51 And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth. He was subject to them, and his mother kept all these sayings in her heart.
52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.
World English Bible · Read it in another translation
Galatians 5:25
quoted as the benediction about walking by the spirit and keeping pace with him
25 If we live by the Spirit, let’s also walk by the Spirit.
World English Bible · Read it in another translation
Recap
The message in order, in a few minutes of reading.
On the Sunday after Christmas, with a small but hardy crowd gathered in person and more watching online, the pastor walked through the one story Scripture gives us from Jesus' boyhood, Luke 2:41-52. He stayed close to the text, letting the narrative carry the weight, and the morning ended with an open conversation where people asked questions and pushed back in ways that kept the teaching going well past the planned close.
What was said
The setup matters. By the time Jesus is twelve, he has been formally handed over from his mother's primary instruction. He is now a "son of the commandment," responsible for himself before the law, the same way a bar mitzvah works today. His parents were not careless people. They were devout, faithful, festival-keeping Jews, and their assumption that Jesus was somewhere in the crowd was reasonable given his new standing. The pastor pointed out that this is exactly what makes the whole episode worth sitting with.
They walked a full day's journey before they noticed he was gone. Then they turned around. Then they searched Jerusalem for another day. They found him on the third day, in the temple courtyard, seated in the middle of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions. Not standing over them, not performing. Sitting among them, listening and asking.
The people who heard him were amazed at his understanding. The pastor stayed on that word. He said if you pay attention to Jesus as he actually appears in the Gospels, you will be amazed at how understanding he is. The Jesus people sometimes construct is a comic-book character who blasts people. The Jesus in this story is winsome, careful, and present.
Mary's response cuts against any idealized reading of the scene. She is not immediately filled with wonder. She is upset. The pastor named it plainly: if you get ahead of God and then realize he is not with you where you assumed he would be, it can feel like frustration or even anger. Mary says, "Son, why have you treated us this way?" That reaction is honest, and the text does not condemn her for it.
Jesus' answer draws a clear line between his earthly father and his heavenly Father. He says, did you not know that I had to be in my Father's house? The pastor noted the capital-F distinction and connected it to the adoption language he had been working through in the preceding weeks. Jesus is not being disrespectful. He is stating something he regards as obvious, that his path runs through his Father's business, and no other assumption should have been made.
The passage closes by saying Jesus returned with them, was subject to them, and kept increasing in wisdom, stature, and favor with God and with people. The pastor spent time on the word translated "favor," the Greek charis, grace. He described it as a leaning toward, God disposed to bless, inclined to be near, freely extending himself. Even when Mary and Joseph had walked a day's journey in the wrong direction without him, the grace of God in Jesus was still leaning toward them.
The question-and-answer conversation that followed pushed into territory the text raises but does not settle, including when Jesus knew he was God, whether he asked questions for his own growth or only rhetorically, and why the Pharisees in the temple seemed favorably amazed rather than threatened. The pastor answered where the text gives ground and said plainly when it does not. He closed with Galatians 5:25, the idea that if we say we walk by the Spirit, we should be keeping pace with him, not getting ahead and assuming he will catch up.
Doing a Bible study?
Here is a guide we have prepared for you: the passages in order, questions for the group, and room to write.
- The pastor pointed out that Mary and Joseph simply assumed Jesus was somewhere in the caravan without checking. When have you caught yourself assuming Jesus was with you in something, only to realize later you had moved ahead without him?
- The sermon described Jesus in the temple as sitting in the middle of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions. What does it look like practically to bring that same posture of listening and questioning into your own faith and relationships?
and 3 more questions in the guide
Read the full transcript 6,689 words
Topics
Boy Jesus TempleGrowing In WisdomKeeping Pace With GodListening And Asking QuestionsLosing Jesus
Share this message
Every word on these came out of the message. Download one and post it anywhere.
