The Jesus Response, building from the The Adorning Bride-to continue:

Here we go!!!!!!!

How Jesus was being prepared for Ministry:(Powerpoints through Proclaim)

Do you ever wonder what Jesus was doing from birth to the great commissioning of, “ This is my son with whom I am well pleased.?

From today’s passage we can consider many messages that reveal the beginning of ministry for Jesus, and we will look at this from time to time over the year as we begin, the Vision and the Jesus Response:

I didn’t jump into Luke 2, although I will touch on some of the early days of Jesus from there. I’m hoping to save those beautiful narratives for advent-Our Christmas Season....so we are beginning with John the Baptist, and continue with John after anniversary Sunday.

John the Baptist had been commissioned and called to PREPARE THE WAY FOR JESUS…John had a very interesting ministry.

CONSIDER THE INFLUENCE OF JOHN THE BAPTIST…..PREACHING IN THE WILDERNESS-REPENT FOR THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN HAS COME NEAR! this is a very powerful and a new revelation…He cites Isaiah…and consider the influence: People came to him from Jerusalem and all Judea, and the whole region, of the Jordan….of course this drew a keen interest or curiosity from the pharisees…..

Touching on this lightly this morning, we can say that God had sent John to begin the everlasting journey: We remember the leaping in the wound when the girls met. Mary and Elizabeth together for a family get together. John was excited over Jesus before He was born.

Could our FIRST Jesus Response look like this…Whatever your mission, your calling in life, “It might be a prompting for us that following Christ in life’s journey, we could pray or look to the support of the church family to help us, direct us, help each other in whatever gifting God has given us.”

Have you ever had someone say, “You are really good at that! You are so welcoming…you are a good teacher....I enjoyed your devotion…you handle the children so well....the music was so moving this morning....I WOULD SAY, ‘TAKE NOTE.’ It just might be a hint, or a full on calling....Listening to wise counsel who direct us can be a CALLING!

I would call this discipleship, at a grassroot level-So much more to build on there, but again, today…. The Son of God?! We don’t hear much until He walks toward the Jordan River. We know of His birth and much of that story….we know He was speaking in the temple at a young age…as a pre-teen or teen. ….Then there is a silence….

Our Lord was crucified at the young age of 33 and didn’t begin His ordained ministry until 30….There had to be a life prep…did He really know who He was in those young years….????

WE can learn a great deal if we look around.... Jesus had a public ministry and certainly was NOT timid about His mission. HIs quiet time would the moutaintop escapes and events where He consulted in early morning prayer with the Father, or teaching the disciples away from the crowds…..

What would the Son of God being doing? Did He have to do anything? Well, yes He did, as we know His heavenly Father, and earthly mother and father would expect activity: learning, work and worship.

I felt the vision of the Bride of Christ-His Church was vital as we begin looking closely at Jesus! Matthew’s Gospel discusses the Kingdom. The first time the Kingdom of God was mentioned forefront!

We will touch on the passage read by Cheryl this morning as it’s concrete and helpful, yet our beginning vision must be considered, as it seems to be the ministry prep for Jesus!

The bride of Christ, His Church…THE IMAGE OF FAMILY IS SO VITAL. OUR HOMES AND OUR CHURCH FAMILY. LOVE IS AT THE CORE OF ALL, AND HOPE LAST WEEKS MESSAGE HELPED US THAT.

I know so many of us come from different kinds of families, difficult situations, sometimes tragic, yet, LOVE remains the bedrock of our growth as a Christian, and as a church. Love will continue to bring this church body ALIVE-bring mission alive outside the building.

(Pause) Just to keep us on our toes…a jump backwards right to the Old Testament.

Teaching on exegesis and hermenetics often reverted to this. I have mentioned this before.... Biblical students, if we don’t have a good read and an understanding of the purpose of Leviticus, we can short change ourselves on a fuller understanding the Cross and our glorious Saviour. To appreciate Jesus, Leviticus is an amazing book in the Pentateuch to help you. I would enjoy hearing how you made out if you get to it.....

The Gospels tell the story of our Lord’s earthly life from largely the same perspective. But the Synoptic Gospels do not teach us a great deal about our Lord’s childhood.

Almost everything we know about the childhood of Christ comes from Luke 1–2. In Luke 1:5–56

The opening chapters of Luke’s Gospel reveal nearly everything we know about our Lord’s first twelve years on earth. Luke tells us “the boy grew up and became strong, filled with wisdom, and God’s grace was on him” (v. 40), and “Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and with people” (v. 52).

Certain factors contributed to Jesus’s wisdom and stature before God and man.

LUKE 2:21–24 Naturally speaking, how did Jesus grow in wisdom and stature before God and man? How was He prepared?!

First, Jesus had righteous parents. Mary and Joseph’s obedience reflects righteousness in two ways. Mary and Joseph show their righteousness by obeying the angel’s instruction to name the baby “Jesus.” That was an act of “the obedience of faith” (Rom 1:5).

Thabati, a commentary writer states….“THE NAME JESUS! Could you imagine Mary and Joseph naming the baby with some other name? How would they teach Jesus to honor the Lord if they refused to honor God themselves? But because they obeyed God in naming Jesus, reminded them evertime they called his name, “His calling was to save the people and God’s plan.”

They believe and obey God’s Word. Verses 21–24 are rooted in the Mosaic law. Leviticus 12 gave instruction for regaining purity after the birth of a child. I don’t need to read the step by step law, but I encourage you, read Leviticus 12 as a start…..They followed the Torah and Jesus was circumcised on the 8th day as required. They present Jesus to God on the 8th day….

Jesus already belonged to God. In the exodus out of Egypt, when God spared the lives of all Israel’s firstborn children, God also laid claim to the firstborn as his own. They were “dedicated to the Lord.” Mary and Joseph make their obedience complete by offering in worship what the Lord required (v. 24).

As we continue with the life of Jesus and the parental influence, certain numbers resonate with us.......The reference to “the days of their purification,” according to Old Testament law, puts us at thirty-three days after Jesus’s birth. 33 days….33 is something we can relate to our Lord… As He lived 33 years.

Jesus at 12 years of age….He is in the temple, reading, teaching!

PETER THIS IS VITAL TO IMPLEMENT IN THE MESSAGE: The child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom’ (2:39–40). Although he was God, he developed as a child, just as we do,…He grew into manhood

He passed through all the stages of man so that he could sympathize with us in all the journeys and trials of life. ‘And the grace of God was upon him.’ Jesus knew the blessing and power of God in his life.

The Jesus Response here would be, “do we know the blessing and power of God in our life…” Every day we wake, I believe life would look so much different, if our first breath of the day acknowledged that.

As Jesus was growing from birth to manhood, Mary and Joseph ensured that Jesus was part of all things God! This included attending the major spiritual gatherings in Jerusalem….

These were Passover, Pentecost and Tabernacles (Exod. 23:14–17; Deut. 16:16). For Mary and Joseph this meant travelling the long journey to Jerusalem.... these three journeys were very costly in time and money, those living at some distance from Jerusalem normally only attended one of the three festivals—

But JESUS WOULD LEARN CERTAINLY ON THE PASSOVER JOURNEY....IT WAS FUN TO WALK AS A GROUP..

the Passover, which the most important feast of all. It celebrated the deliverance of the children of Israel from the slavery of Egypt and spoke of redemption through the blood of a lamb. Jewish families always did things together, so Jesus would have accompanied his parents to Jerusalem.

Today, when a Jewish boy reaches his thirteenth birthday, he normally has his Bar Mitzvah (a special religious ceremony which initiates him into the Jewish religion). This is an interesting term, as most of us know Bar Mitzvah…but, Through this rite he becomes a ‘son of the law’ (or a ‘son of the commandments’). He becomes an adult Jew, so far as religion is concerned, at his Bar Mitzvah, even though he may be only thirteen years old.

The growth of Jesus or the Jesus Response began with a family responsibilty or learning from those who invest in our lives from a Christ-like perspective....its’ about engaging in worship fellowship in our church family…our friends….whatever applies to your situation…..

PETER THIS IS VITAL TO IMPLEMENT IN THE MESSAGE

The child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom’ (2:39–40). Although he was God, he developed as a child, and then grew into manhood. He passed through all the stages of man so that he could sympathize with us. He dealt with the problems of life and grew, but did so sinless.

Michael Bently helps us in reflecting on what Jesus was up to as a boy since we only have His initiation into becoming “a son of the law or son of the commandments....We have Jesus in the temple listening, reading, asking and answering questions…there are many stories from sources that talk about Jesus healing etc., as a boy, but they are not Biblical at all, so we avoid those, but we can talk about the historical activities Jesus likely engaged in as a Hebrew boy....

SO WHY WOULD WOULD THE TEMPLE TEACHING EVENT BE INCLUDED OUT OF ALL THAT COULD BE WRITTEN ABOUT JESUS GROWING UP

this incident was to show that Jesus was twelve years old..... he was nearing that time when he would become responsible for his own religious development.

Jesus was in the correct place After the feast was over.... the people started to return home. Everyone went on foot. Those going on a journey find it is more helpful and more interesting to walk with a crowd.

Conversation helps the journey along. No doubt all the many people from Galilee moved off together in a group. When travelling in a large party the custom was that the women and children would move off first. Obviously the children were included in the first day’s walk home.... both Mary (with the women and children) and Joseph (in the group with the men) thought that Jesus was with the other group.

JESUS WASN’T IN THE GROUP, AND ONCE DISCOVERED YOU CAN IMAGINE THE PANIC OF JOSEPH AND MARY....

WHEN THEY COULDN’T FIND HIM HEY RETURNED BACK TO JERUSALEM....

SECOND DAY GETTING INTO JERUSALEM AND THIRD DAY TOURING THE CAPITAL THEY FOUND HIM....

JESUS COULD HAVE BEEN IN DEEP TROUBLE WITH HIS PARENTS, BUT THINK ON HIS ANSWER....

Jesus said, ‘Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?’ Jesus seems to be saying, ‘Why were you searching for me? Didn’t you realize that I would be in the right place, my Father’s place, the holy temple in Jerusalem?’. It was not so much the temple building which was important; it was that which the temple symbolized—his Father’s presence.

Even at the age of twelve Jesus ‘was deeply conscious of the unique relation between himself and his Father in heaven’. Although this was the first written scriptural words of Jesus that we know of, in it he spoke of his future task. He said, ‘I had to be in my Father’s house.’ Or I MUST BE IN MY FATHERS HOUSE....Hendriksen says that ‘His entire life was controlled by this divine “must”.

JESUS WAS ALREADY RELYING ON AND CONNECTING WITH HIS HEAVENLY FATHER ON EVERYTHING, SO WE CAN SAY A JESUS RESPONSE WOULD BE, “WE MUST BE RESPONSIBLE FOR OUR SPIRITUAL CONDITION…WE ACTIVELY MUST CONNECT WITH OUR HEAVENLY FATHER, THROUGH OUR INTERCESSOR JESUS…It is a priority!

WHAT ABOUT BUSINESS, HIS TRADE....HOW DID THIS DEVELOP JESUS? INTERESTING THAT WE CAN SEE IT IN HIS TEACHINGS ONCE HIS MINISTRY BEGAN.....

Although Jesus was God, He was in human flesh: he still needed to mature. He grew in wisdom. The experiences of life taught him wisdom. The example and teaching of his parents and of others helped him to develop in this way.

And the wisdom of God, his Father, grew continually within him. Jesus also grew in stature. If a child does not increase in size, in the right proportion and rate of growth.... Jesus grew in the normal way.

He increased in favour with his fellow men, as well as with God. During this period of a further eighteen years or so (until Jesus was about thirty) various family events took place. Joseph seems to have died during these years; we hear no more of him.

JESUS TAKES OVER THE FAMILY BUSINESS…THE VILLAGE CARPENTER.... And Jesus appears to have taken over the family business; he was called ‘the carpenter’ from Nazareth (Mark 6:3).

A village carpenter would have been involved in building houses, making all kinds of furniture and household requirements, and in the construction of agricultural implements like ploughs and yokes. THIS SHOULD BE A FLASHING LIGHT FOR US....WHAT DID JESUS TEACH? In his parables, ‘He spoke about houses built on sand or upon a rock; of a person who “turned his hand to plough”; of the taking up of his yoke—a yoke which is easy and thus makes the load light.....There is much MUCH MORE....’ Jesus used His life skills as an teaching examples!

Also during these eighteen years Mary gave birth to a number of other children. This means that Jesus had several younger brothers. He would have had the responsibility of helping to bring them up, especially after the death of Joseph, when he was the eldest male in the household.

All throughout this formative period of his life Jesus matured, and his desire was to do his Father’s will.

We can learn much from this very normal life Jesus had prior to ministry. A JESUS RESPONSE WOULD BE.... We should desire to ‘grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ’ (2 Peter 3:18). And we should want to please our heavenly Father in all we do and say and think. Jesus spent 30 years living a life as the Carpenter from Nazereth. Then it began!

Before we close this week, since we have a guest speaker next week, we want to start the passage from this morning on John the Baptist…Just some info on John who PREPARED THE WAY...

3 Preparing the way

The ministry of John (3:1–20) Whenever a king announced that he was going to BEGIN a long journey, servants would be sent before him to prepare the way. They would literally mend the roads, or see that someone else repaired them. And they would make sure that those passed on the way would show some type of excitiment for the leader....even if they didn’t want to I’m quite sure....PREPARATION WAS VITAL....

CULTURE IS SO IMPORTANT....John the Baptist He was to ‘prepare the way of the Lord’. He had to prepare the people to receive the Messiah. The timing of John’s ministry-there is one Roman emperor, one Roman governor, three Roman-appointed LEADERS, and two Jewish high priests. LOTS OF IMPORTANT, POWERFUL PEOPLE, BUT THROUGH THEIR IMPORTANCE, ALL THAT IS HEAVILY EMPHASIZED IS THAT “THE WORD OF GOD CAME.

What an array of important people! Yet what does scriputure want us to notice about these superior men? He wants us to observe this.... ‘The word of God came’ (3:1). However, the word of God did not come to any of these splendid people. The word of God came to the son of an ordinary, elderly priest. It came to a man who was living out in the desert—to John, son of Zechariah. So, if our attention is to focus on John in the desert, why does scripture tell us about these other dignitaries? It is because he wants to establish at what point in history John began to preach about the coming of the Messiah.

This is the beginning of the gospel. If we look at the time when each of these ‘important’ people held office, then we can work out that John started his ministry between the years A.D. 26 and 29. Luke’s historical information tells us what the world was like when John and, shortly afterwards, Jesus began their work. Michael Bentley, Saving a Fallen World: Luke Simply Explained, Welwyn Commentary Series (Darlington, England: Evangelical Press, 1992), 37–48.

So a final Jesus response for this morning: Our life story, good and bad, can be used to help others understand our relationship with God. We need each other to help prepare a ministry, project, etc....the more that know might stamp an important period in the ministry of LBC where we can say without question, “God showed up.” We can go ahead and tell the story…others will tell the story as well, and we will shout, GLORY TO GOD IN THE HIGHEST....

BY FILLING IN SOME INFORMATION TODAY WE ARE WELL ON THE WAY TO BEGINNING THE JESUS RESPONSE. NEXT SESSION WE WILL BUILD MORE ON JOHN’S MINISTRY AND THE COMMISSIONING OF JESUS BEFORE HE IS SENT INTO THE WILDERNESS TO BE TEMPTED.

GOD BLESS YOU CHURCH!

LET’S PRAY:

Heavenly Father,

We are so grateful for your Word, and how the Word became flesh and lived among us. Thank you Jesus for everything you mean to us. How you teach us through the life you lived, perfectly, sinlessly. As we journey together learning of your life in greater detail, may your Holy Spirit work through us to go deeper in our understanding, so we can be more like Jesus everyday. If we could all respond with a focus, on you Lord, others will surely want to be part of the Jesus Response.

WE LOVE YOU! HELP US TO KEEP GROWING AS A CHURCH FAMILY…AS THAT FAMILY THAT TRAVELS TOGETHER AND SHARES IN OUR JOYS, OUR LIVES AND WHEN THE STORM CLOUDS DARKEN. Help us to make prayer a priority in our lives and may we worship you, not because of what you can do for us, but BECAUSE OF WHO YOU ARE!

IN THE NAME ABOVE ALL NAMES....IN JESUS NAME WE PRAY, AMEN.

BENEDICTION:

“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:7