Luke

This is such an interesting and somewhat confusing passage. As a parent, I don’t like what Jesus did at all. It seems to me to me disrespectful, thoughtless and cruel to his parents. However, I know Jesus was without any sin from birth to death, so there must be more to the story. 

Okay, now that I’ve said what most of you are thinking, let’s figure this out.

I checked out some of the cross-referenced scriptures for this passage found in the middle column of my study Bible. (Note: my blog is not about me dispensing my pre-set knowledge. Rather a journey of discovery). As I reviewed the cross-referenced verses, my first thought went to the need for Jesus to fulfill Old Testament references/prophecies about Him.

 

Here’s Some Important Context

What influenced the radical change of the fearful disciples before the resurrection to the bold and courageous disciples after the resurrection? One influence was the Spirit-led opening of their minds? The awakening or epiphany that the disciples had post-resurrection was the realization that Jesus had fulfilled ALL the Old Testament scriptures that had been written about Him.

 

Luke 24:44-45 says “Now He said to them, ‘These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled. Then He opened their minds to understand the scripture.” 

 

Back To The 12-Year-Old

The 12-year-old Jesus said to His parents, Did you not know that I had to be in My Father’s house?

I don’t take this the same way that I’ve heard my kids use the phrase, ‘I had to...’.

For example, when your teenage daughter sneaks out of the house at night, is caught and says, ‘I just had to see him.’ Or, ‘we just had to be at the party. Everyone is going to be there.’ This is not how Jesus used the phrase.

When Jesus said, I had to be in My Father’s house, I believe He meant He had to…He had to in order to obey His Heavenly Father and fulfill scripture.

 

Did You Not Know?

The other side of it is that Jesus tells his parents that they should’ve known. This statement infers that, well, they should’ve known. But how??? 

It was written in the prophets. 

In Jesus’ adulthood, He was known for scolding the disciples for not understanding the scriptures, (Matt 26:54), and condemning the Pharisees for not believing the scriptures, (John 5:38-47). Perhaps Jesus simply meant, ‘parents, you should have known because it is written in the scriptures’.

The 12-year-old Jesus was obeying His Father in heaven and fulfilling scripture when He visited the temple. His visit made quite an impression on the priests. The word spread, I’m sure. Jesus’ impact of three days in the temple at only 12 years old was part of the plan. 

 

How Did He Fulfill Scripture?

Micah prophesied Jesus would be born in Bethlehem, (5:2) and it happened. Malachi speaks of the appearing of the Lord in the Temple, and it happened. I believe this Malachi prophecy is initially fulfilled by the 12-years-old Jesus as a foreshadowing of its ultimate fulfillment when He comes again at His second coming.

Malachi 3:1 reads “Behold, I am going to send My messenger and he will clear the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple; and the messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight, behold, He is coming, says the Lord of hosts.”

 

Father, what can we learn from this passage about the 12-year-old Jesus? Perhaps You are simply teaching us the importance of obedience; perhaps the importance of knowing and obeying You Word. Your Word is full and expansive but Your application for us is always simply. May we love You more, obey You more, serve You more and live an abundant life indeed! Amen.

Luke 24:32, 44-45, 53

They said to one another, ‘Were not our hearts burning within us while He was speaking to us on the road, while He was explaining the Scriptures to us?’

Now He said to them, ‘These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled. Then He opened their minds to understand the scripture. 

And they (now understanding Jesus throughout all of scripture), after worshiping Him, returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple praising God. 

 

Patterns

Do you see a pattern for joy and wonderment here? 

• Jesus teaches the scriptures (we now have the complete Bible). 
• The disciples understand the scriptures and they see Jesus in the Law, the Prophets and the Psalms. (we now have the full Old Testament and New Testament). 
• Now that they see and understand, they are filled with joy, praise and worship. 

 

When it comes to pursuing Jesus, are you only pursuing a sugar high? Let me give you an example for you to consider.  

Have you been to a worship service or worship concert that enlightened your heart and caused your soul to soar? I absolutely have and I love it. Corporate worship with brothers and sisters in Christ is a great blessing. It is a preview of our future in heaven. 

The slippery slope is when we seek a ‘high’ from the experience of worship. The ‘meat and potatoes’ of our wonderment is the knowledge of Jesus throughout scripture – like Jesus said, from the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled, Luke 24.44. 

Worship is most exhilarating as a means of expressing our knowledge of Him. True wonderment begins with the mind: to know Him with real knowledge and discernment.  

Wonderment begins in the mind and then expresses itself with our heart and emotions through worship and PRAISE.  

Please do not take what I’m saying as being critical of worship services and concerts. I am not being critical. I am simply saying that we should apply our minds deeply to a knowledge of Jesus throughout all of scripture and worship will be even sweeter and sweeter. 

If you are interested to read further on this topic, I came across a book titled, Christ from Beginning to End: How the full story of scripture reveals the full glory of Christ, by Trent Hunter & Stephen Wellum. They will provide insight into the wonder of Jesus with the following: 

1. Jesus is the Last Adam 

2. Noah: a Foretaste of judgement and salvation through Christ 

3. Jesus is testified to by ‘the law and the prophets 

4. Isaac: Jesus is the ‘seed’ of Abraham and true substitute 

5. Jesus is greater than the Law-covenant 

6. Jesus is a greater future King David 

7. A vivid portrait of our suffering servant 

 

Listen to this short clip of SM Lockridge and be amazed. I shared it a couple of years ago but am sharing it again today to provide a thrill of wonderment.

Shadrach Meshach Lockridge (1913-2000) was the Pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in San Diego, CA for forty years. He had an extensive ministry reaching hundreds of thousands. He is best-known for his message, “Do you know Him? That’s my King.”  

Luke 24:27-32

Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all he Scriptures…Then their eyes were opened and they recognized Him; and He vanished from their sight. They said to one another, ‘Were not our hearts burning within us while He was speaking to us on the road, while He was explaining the Scriptures to us?’ 

 

Studying The Four Gospels

To the novice, all four gospels seem the same. However, a closer look reveals unique features about each of the four narratives. We have been looking at the uniqueness of the gospel of Luke as he (Luke) emphasizes the aspect of wonderment and amazement produced by Jesus. 

The passage above reveals that there is an extra measurement of wonder for those who discover the connectedness of the Scripture, from Genesis to Revelation.  For the two men on the road to Emmaus, their hearts burned when the scriptures were revealed to them. 

Are you searching for wonderment? The wonderment of Jesus is the understanding of Jesus in all of scripture.

 

Pursuing Wonderment

We all want to ‘feel’ the wonderment of Jesus. It is refreshing; it is glorious; it is thrilling. Understandably, we want it and yearn for it in order to enlighten our lives, help us cope, bring us hope and lighten our way. Give us Jesus in all His wonder and splendor. We want Him! 

The yearning for the wonderment of Jesus is a blessing from God. The longing of our hearts for Jesus is a gift from him. Cherish this longing; nurture this longing; pray for this longing. 

In the passage above, Jesus opened their eyes and they recognized Him.  We all should pray, ‘open our eyes Lord to see You and understand You.’ Their hearts burned because they understood.

 

Is Wonderment in the mind or the heart? YES!

But like every good thing in life, pursuing the wonderment of Jesus does have excesses that can, in some cases, takes us down a slippery slope. There’s something we can learn from this story of the two men on the road to Emmaus. 

We learn from them that there are two aspects of wonderment: 

1. The source of wonderment (understanding scripture with our mind)
2. The expression of wonderment (praise and worship from our heart)

Paul explains the two aspects of wonderment in his prayer for the Philippian church:

Philippians 1:9-11 “And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment (real knowledge and discernment comes from scripture), so that you may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ, (knowledge from scripture helps us discern what is good and live it out), having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God, (the expression of our knowledge of God is PRAISE).”

After carefully reflecting upon this passage in Philippians, I hope you can see that abounding love and wonderment of Jesus comes from real knowledge and discernment (scripture) and expresses itself in praise to God, (Worship).

The slippery slope I referred to earlier happens when we skip the source of wonderment (knowledge and discernment from Scripture) and pursue the expression of wonderment only (emotional worship). This is similar to skipping a healthy meal and going straight for dessert. This is the pursuit of a sugar high.

More on this next time as we conclude our series on the Wonderment of Jesus.

Father, forever in heaven, we are going to praise you out of an elevated knowledge that we don’t have right now. All of our doubts and questions will be brushed aside and in perfect knowledge, our hearts will soar with wonder and praise. You are kind in that you gave us new minds when we were saved so that we can begin to understand all that Scriptures teaches about you. Greater wonder comes as we seek You in Scripture and learn about You from every book in the Bible. It’s a huge task for us but You make it easy, when we give ourselves to You one day at a time. Amen!

We have come upon an amazing reality; a thread of wonderment runs through the book of Luke. It is three-fold: 

Jesus: The wonder of His announcement! The wonder of His Words! The wonder of His works! 

On our previous posts, we considered the wonder of the announcement of Jesus and the wonder of His spoken words. Today, let’s review the wonder of His works as described by Luke. 

After Jesus casts out a demon, the response was; And amazement came upon them all…and the report about Him was spreading into every locality in the surrounding districts, 4:31-37. Later, Jesus cast out another demon and they were all amazed at the greatness of God, 9:43. Later yet, He cast out another demon and the crowds were amazed, 11:14 

Early in His earthly ministry, Jesus came to Peter after fishing all night with no results. After teaching the small crowd, Jesus asked Peter to take the boat out and fish. Peter reluctantly obeyed. However, he had such success fishing that he and his partners filled the boats with fish. For amazement had seized him and all his companions because of the catch of fish which they had taken…they left everything and followed him. 5:1-11 

Jesus was with His new disciples in a boat and a fierce storm came upon them. The disciples feared for their lives. And He got up and rebuked the wind and the surging waves, and they stopped, and it became calm…They were fearful and amazed, saying to one another, ‘Who then is this, that He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey Him? 8:22-25 

After Jesus’ crucifixion, the disciples fell into despair. All the wonder of their hopes and dreams were shattered. They summed it up this way, But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. But then Sunday came and Jesus arose. Of Peter it was said, he was now marveling at what had happened, 24:12. 

In the upper room, Jesus appeared to the disciples in His post-resurrection body. But they were startled and frightened…and He said to them, ‘why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? See my hands and my feet, that it is I Myself…while they still could not believe it because of their joy and amazement, He said to them, ‘Have you anything to eat.’ 24:36-43 

How do we respond to all that Jesus has done and all that He is doing? 

• Wonderment leads to Amazement
• Amazement leads to Joy
• Joy leads to Thanksgiving

 

Below is a prayer of thanksgiving from Rosemary Jensen from her book, Praying the Attributes of God: 

 

Thank you that you have all power. 

Thank you that nothing is too hard for You (Gen. 18:14). 

Thank you that your arm is not too short to do anything that you say you will do. I will see it all come true for me (Num. 11:23). 

Thank you that you perform more wonders and miracles than I can imagine (Job 9:10). 

Thank you that you can do all things, and no plan of yours can be thwarted (Job 42:2). 

Thank you that you made the earth, all people, and all animals on the earth, and you give it to anyone you please (Jer. 27:5). 

Thank you that you can keep me from temptation and deliver me from Satan’s power (Matt 6:13). 

Thank you that with you, all things are possible (Matt. 19:26). 

Thank you that I am in error only when I don’t know your power or your Word (Matt. 22:29). 

Thank you that someday in heaven there will be a multitude praising you for your salvation and glory and power (Rev. 19:1). 

 

Source:

Praying the Attributes of God: A Guide to Personal Worship Through Prayers. Rosemary Jensen; Published by Krueger Publications.

The thread of wonderment and amazement that runs through the gospel of Luke has a basic flow to it: 

• Amazement at what was spoken and announced regarding Jesus. 
• Amazement at the spoken words of Jesus. 
• Amazement at the power of Jesus revealed through his miracles. 

Last time we considered the amazement and wonderment concerning what others announced regarding Jesus: 

And all who heard it wondered at the things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart. 

 

First, amazement at what is said about Jesus. 

It’s not about the skills of the announcers. It’s not about the earthly credibility of the announcers. It’s not about the charisma and oratory expertise of the announcers. It’s all about the content of the message: the message of Jesus, spoken by a simple person of humble means. God is the author of the wonderment and the words were spoken by simple men and women. Simple people are God’s means to producing wonderment in the minds and hearts of others. 

 

In The Beginning Was The Word 

Then, as we proceed through the book of Luke, Jesus arrives on the scene and the wonderment continues as He Himself speaks. 

• At the age of 12 it was said about Jesus, and all who heard Him were amazed at His understanding and His answers. And when His parents saw Him, there were astonished…Luke 2:47,48. 
• When Jesus preached in His hometown of Nazareth, the initial response of the people was wonder. And all were speaking well of Him, and wondering at the gracious words which were falling from His lips... Luke 4:22 
• The goal of the religious and political elite was to trip Jesus in His words. They asked questions with the goal to catch him in some statements, 20:20. But they failed every time: And they were unable to catch Him in a saying in the presence of the people; and being amazed at His answers, they became silent, 20:26. 
• The crescendo of wonderment took place after the resurrection as Jesus spoke to two of His followers on the road to Emmaus. He initially concealed His identity. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized Him…they said to one another, ‘were not our hearts burning within us while He was speaking to us on the road, while He was explaining the scripture to us? 24:31,32. 

Jesus produced amazement in His own time with His own words. From the time He was a child until He ascended back to Heaven, Jesus amazed! He made spines tingle; He made eyes pop; He baffled and confounded His enemies: He made hearts burn with wonder! 

 

His Words? Your soul?

Is your heart numb? Is your heart cold? Is your heart longing? Is your heart warm? Is your heart burning?

In my youth, I would often listen to a Christian artist named Keith Green. Reflect upon these lyrics from his song My Eyes Are Dry. Make it your prayer. 

 

My eyes are dry; My faith is old; My heart is hard; my prayers are cold. 

And I know how I ought to be; Alive to You and dead to me. 

But what can be done; For an old heart like mine? Soften it up; With Oil and Wine. 

The oil is you, Your Spirit of love; Please wash me anew; With the wine of Your Blood. 

When they had seen this, they made known the statement (born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord) which been told them about this Child. And all who heard it wondered at the things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart. 

The Shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as had been told them.

There’s a theme that runs through the book of Luke: Wonderment! Amazement! 

And all who heard it wondered at the things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart. 

The thread of wonderment and amazement that runs through the gospel of Luke has a basic flow to it: 

• Amazement at what was spoken and announced regarding Jesus. 
• Amazement at the wisdom and spoken words of Jesus. 
• Amazement at the power of Jesus revealed through his miracles. 

First, amazement and wonderment about what others announced regarding Jesus:

The Shepherds, simply men of simple means, heard from the angels and were afraid, amazed and stunned. They investigated and found the announcement to be true. They beheld the child, Jesus. They went out praising God and speaking of what they had heard and seen. The result: And all who heard it wondered at the things which were told them by the shepherds. 

Mary and Joseph took baby Jesus to the temple to present Him to the Lord. Simeon, a righteous and devout man of God took Jesus in His arms and prophesied of His Greatness; this child is a light of revelation to the Gentiles and the glory of Your people Israel…behold, this Child is appointed for the fall and rise of many in Israel…, Luke 2:32-34. 

How did Mary and Joseph respond to the words spoken by Simeon about Jesus?

And His father and mother were amazed at the things which were being said about Him. 

 

What About You? 

What causes this Wonderment? What are the ingredients of Amazement? What stirs one’s soul? 

• When the truth about Jesus reaches the ears of a seeking soul, a sense of wonder captures their heart. 
• When words are formulated in descriptive terms that announce the gravity and significance of the person and work of Jesus; amazement grips the heart of one seeking the meaning of life. 
• When words of profound reality regarding the coming of Jesus are heard by the soul who is seeking God, an epiphany-like astonishment sends chills of enlightenment up and down the spine. 

 

The Truth of Jesus + A seeking heart = Wonderment! 

Wonderment asks; can this be true? Amazement says; is this what I’ve been searching for? Epiphany-like astonishment says; I BELIEVE! 

 

Take the Wonderment test.

Here’s a multiple-choice self-evaluation:  

When I hear the truth about God…: 

• I’m bored; ho-hum. 

• It’s a good reminder; Duly noted; this is good. 

• I’m convicted; I should probably do something. 

• I admit it’s true; I believe it to be so. 

• I am resolved; I will listen and obey 
• I am overtaken with wonder, astonishment and Joy; I PRAISE HIM; I WONDER ABOUT HIM; MY SOUL IS THRILLED!!! 

Be like Mary: But Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart. May we reflect that same wonder as Mary and never lose it. Listen to Bethel’s song Wonder to be inspired and filled with wonder.

 

Father, give me a mind and a heart that is amazed at the full scope of what who You are and what You have done! Your truth is readily available to me. But what is often missing is the attitude of my heart to hear, receive, ponder and be amazed. Grant me such a heart that I might love You as I should. Amen!