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LET EARTH RECEIVE HER KING
ICEBREAKER
For an icebreaker to this week’s lesson, I suggest that you bring in some Christmas decorations to place around the room. Maybe a mini-Christmas tree at the front, a big sign on the board that says Merry Christmas, and perhaps have some Christmas music playing in the background as they come in. And then, most importantly, if you have one available, a nativity set, displayed at the front of the room. Because what you’re trying to do is create the ambiance of Christmas—to get them into the Christmas spirit, so to speak. And as your class enters, they may begin to question you. “Uhhh, wait a minute Brother Wilcox, did you know that Christmas ended three weeks ago? Why are we still celebrating it? I mean, New Year’s has come and gone. What gives?” And I just kind of smile and say, “Just hang on. You’ll see.” And then, as we begin the lesson, I ask if anyone has figured out why I have all the Christmas decorations set up? And more than likely someone’s bound to figure it out. It’s because we’re studying the birth of Christ today. In January and not December. And I think that’s appropriate for a number of reasons. One, because as members of the Christ’s latter-day Church with the benefit of latter-day scripture, know that Christ wasn’t actually born on December 25th. In fact, does anybody know what day he was really born on? I might even offer a small treat to the person who can tell me first. If they need a little help, you can send them to Doctrine and Covenants 20:1. And what’s the day? April 6th. So there’s nothing wrong with studying and celebrating the birth of the Savior in a month other than December. Second, I believe it’s also appropriate to study it now, because worshipping and pondering and receiving Christ is something we should be doing every day of the year. It’s daily discipleship from us that God wants. Not just a yearly discipleship, once a year at Christmas, or even weekly one, just on Sundays. So in that spirit, let’s celebrate and study the birth of our Lord and Savior today! And every other day of the year for that matter.
TRANSITION
The vast majority of the four gospels are dedicated to the last three or so years of Christ’s life. What we would term “the ministry of Jesus Christ.” But his birth and youth are extremely compelling and instructive too! Even with the little that we have. Really, just Matthew 2, and Luke 2. Neither Mark nor John talk about the nativity. And one of my favorite ways to approach a study of Christ’s birth is to look at all the different ways in which the people surrounding Jesus at his birth reacted to Him. The lesson is in their response.
SEARCH
So we’re going to examine all the different ways in which the baby Jesus was received by the people of his day. With the following handout, we’ll compare and contrast them and then ask ourselves which of the responses most mirror our own. Study the assigned references and fill in the boxes with a description of how they “received” Christ. As you do that, you may also want to ponder how people CONTINUE to respond to Christ in that way today.
Herod: Matthew 2:1-8, 12-18
The innkeepers of Bethlehem: Luke 2:7
The shepherds: Luke 2:8-20
The wise men: Matthew 2:1-12
Mary: Luke 2:19
Simeon: Luke 2:25-35
Anna: Luke 2:36-38
Us: Luke 2?
HEROD
I’ve decided we should start with the negative ones here so that we can end on a more positive note. So we’ll begin with Herod. That would be Herod the Great. Although, that’s a bit of misnomer, because he was actually an incredibly wicked man. He was not a popular leader amongst the Jews, although he did have the temple rebuilt. Perhaps the one bright spot in an otherwise horrendous administration. His leadership was marked by many atrocities committed against his own people, the Jews, and his own family. I mean, he has his own wife and some of his sons executed just out of suspicion. Well, how did he receive the news of Christ’s birth? According to Matthew 2:3, he was “troubled” by the news of the birth of the Savior. He was afraid of the power of this prophesied Messiah. Maybe it was unfortunate that the wisemen referred to Christ as the King of the Jews because Herod considered HIMSELF to be the King of the Jews. Who was this potential political rival out there to his leadership? Now if he had truly understood the mission of the Savior, he would have realized that he had nothing to worry about—that Christ wasn’t coming to free his people from political or military oppression, but from sin—that he would be a different kind of King. But he didn’t get that. He didn’t want Christ to come. He saw him as a threat to his own self-interests. So we might say that he received him with a troubled spirit, jealousy, and suspicion.
Do people nowadays react in the same way to Christ? Do people view his existence as a threat to their own self-interest? As someone who is going to come and take something away from them? “I‘m not sure I want Christ’s leadership in my life,” they say, “I’ll lose my freedom. I’ll lose the pleasures of my lifestyle.” Just like Herod though, I believe that troubling and fear come because they don’t understand the true mission of Christ. If they did, THEY would realize that they have nothing to worry about. That Christ can only bring good to their lives. Or do we sometimes find ourselves “troubled” at the invitations of Christ and his gospel? How do we feel when it’s time to go to church, say our prayers, study our scriptures, listen to general conference? Do we get troubled? Do we see these things as a threat to our own self-interests? “Oh, I’d much rather be doing something else.”
Herod took this to another level though. He actually seeks to destroy the Christ child. I mean, what kind of a grown man feels threatened by a baby. But, in verse 16 he commits the especially heinous act of killing all the children that are two years old and younger in the Bethlehem area. Insane! I guess he figured he’d just cover all his bases and eliminate “the threat” before it could ever mature. Of course, God wasn’t going to let that happen and he steps in to warn Mary and Joseph and the wise men of Herod’s intentions. But you still feel for all those poor mothers and fathers who lose their babies to Herod’s wickedness. It’s unthinkable. But do some today, in a symbolic manner seek to do the same. To eliminate the influence of Christ from their lives. To try to put a stop to it before it can even begin. To slam the door in the face of those who seek to bring Him or dismiss his power and his message with a wave of their hands. Hopefully, none of us here would seek to receive Christ as Herod did.
THE INNKEEPERS OF BETHLEHEM
Next, we have the innkeepers of Bethlehem in Luke. How did they receive Christ and his family? Verse 7 tells us that Mary:
7 And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.
There’s a significant JST change though that we find in the footnotes. Joseph changes “Inn” singular, to “inns”, plural. There was more than one in Bethlehem. And yet, with all those “inns” there was no room for a pregnant mother and her husband to stay in? Now there’s no mention of a stable, or a barn, or animals as the setting for Christ’s birth in the scriptures, but the word “manger” suggests it. Why else would she put Jesus in a manger unless the setting was a place where animals were. A manger is a type of feeding trough for livestock. And if they aren’t staying in an inn, then a stable may have been the only other shelter they could find.
And we can look at this circumstance of there being no room in two different ways—both of which are relevant. The gospel writer makes a point of adding the words “for them” in his account. There was no room “for them” in the inns. Now I may be reading more into that phrase then is merited, but I think it’s interesting. Perhaps they were rejected because they were poor. If you’re an innkeeper, and lots of people are coming from out of town for the Roman census and space is limited, you’re probably going to reserve your rooms for those who can pay the most for them. That’s just good business, right. Supply and demand. So this poor couple from Galilee probably couldn’t afford to pay top dollar for a room at the inns. OR, maybe it was because they were Galileans, who were often despised or looked down upon by the Jews of Jerusalem. Perhaps there was some prejudice there. There was no room “for them” in the inns.
And do people today sometimes receive Christ in this way? They determine that there’s no room for him in their lives out of sense of greed or prejudice. They feel that others in the world have more to offer them. The secular, the intellectual, or the hedonistic world seems to have more to give them. Or is there prejudice in their hearts towards the religious or the faithful and they see themselves as above such things.
Or there’s another possible interpretation to this. Perhaps the innkeepers just literally had no room for them. The house was packed to the rafters, and there were just simply no more accommodations left to give this poor family. And they say “You know, I’d love to do something for you, but my hands are tied. Our rooms are full.”
Do we sometimes do the same? Are our lives too full for Christ? Have we got so much to do or worry about that we feel we just don’t have time for him and his gospel. Are we too busy for prayer, scripture study, church service, or Sabbath-day worship? If that’s the case, perhaps we could be a little more discerning, and carve out some space or remove some distractions or less important things from the inns of our lives.
THE SHEPHERDS
How about the shepherds now? How did they receive Christ? They heeded the invitation of the angels to “come and see” him. They responded to the call. And how did they come? They came “with haste” to see Jesus.
Shouldn’t we do the same when Christ calls? When the invitation to come is given by his “angels” (his missionaries, his prophets, his disciples) hopefully we can do like them and COME, with haste—speed and purpose. Then what do they do afterward? The “make it known abroad” in verse 17. They don’t keep the good news of Christ’s birth to themselves. They spread that message to all that will hear it. And with what attitude? Verse 20 says they do it with glorifying and praising. We can do the same. Spread that message far and wide and convey a glorifying, praising, and grateful attitude for the presence of Christ in our lives.
THE WISE MEN
How about the wise men now? Something I find most interesting as I study the account of the wise men is what is not said about them, rather than what is. A lot of traditions and myths have grown up around them that aren’t based in scripture. First, we don’t know how many there were. We usually picture three wise men, probably because of the three gifts that are given. But perhaps there were only two or maybe there were ten, or more. Who knows? We often picture them as being rich, and they possibly were, but maybe not. Perhaps the precious gifts they brought were the results of great sacrifice and effort. We picture them on camels, but that’s not in the scriptures either. Maybe they walked a great distance to get to the Savior. And then, we almost always picture the wise men arriving on that same night that the savior was born standing there with the shepherds and the animals at the manger. But really, our nativity scenes depict a moment that never happened. The wise men don’t arrive until a few years after Christ’s birth. Christ would have been around two years old when the wise men come.
However, on the other hand, what DO we know about the wisemen from the scriptures?
For one, we know that they were wise. And I love that we call them that. And what made them so wise? The fact that they sought the Son of God. From the time they left their gifts, they became not only wise men, but THE wise men. Well, wise men and women still seek him. Seeking out Christ is one of the wisest things you can do in life.
We know that they were willing to travel a great distance to see their Savior. They were from the East. Not all Jews lived in Jerusalem or Israel for that matter. There are Jewish communities all over the ancient world since they had been scattered all throughout the Babylonian and Persian empires. Not all communities of Jews return to Jerusalem under Nehemiah, Ezra, Zerubbabel, and Haggai. These wise men are probably coming from Persia, which lies to the East of Jerusalem. Well, our pathway to Christ also requires a great journey. There’s a straight and narrow path we’ll need to follow if we wish to arrive where He is at. Like we talked about two weeks ago. One of the steps to becoming like Christ is to WALK. “Walk in the meekness of my Spirit, and you shall have peace in me” (Doctrine and Covenants 19:23)
We know that they found the Christ child by following a star. And I think we may misrepresent this one as well in the way it’s visualize. We typically picture the star as this giant celestial spotlight shining down from the heavens directly on top of the stable. I imagine it was probably a bit more subtle than that. If it really did appear as giant spotlight, wouldn’t everybody be out there following it, talking about it, and making a big deal of it. There would have been crowds of people at the stable. But the wise men would have had their eyes to the sky, and they would have seen the newness of the star because they were already familiar with the sky. I mean, if there were a new star in the sky tonight, do you think YOU would notice it? Oh look! There’s a star over there I’ve never seen before, where did that come from? Not likely. But if you had spent a lifetime studying the heavens, poring over charts, cataloging, and mapping out the sky, you probably would. The same is true when it comes to finding Christ. If we wish to find Him, then we need to have our eyes open. We too can be guided to Him, as long as we’re willing to look heavenward.
We know that they rejoiced when they saw the star. We too, can rejoice in our efforts to seek Christ and a testimony of his gospel.
We know that they fell down and worshipped the Christ child when they found him. We too can worship him personally and publicly. And that’s not a word we really use or understand very well these days. When I hear that word “worship”, I tend to picture somebody on their knees, arms outstretched and bowing repeatedly in front of some statue, chanting. I don’t think that’s what we’re talking about. The word worship is defined as “the feeling or expression of reverence or devotion to a deity”. When we express gratitude for the gift of God’s son, we are worshipping. When we earnestly bear testimony of his divinity and grace, we’re worshipping. When we reverently partake of the sacrament, or ponder the meaning of his words, or most importantly, seek to be like Him—follow his example, we are worshipping him.
And then we know that they brought gifts to the Savior. They didn’t just come to receive but to give something as well. Their treasures. We too are asked to bring something to Christ. What can we give him? What do you get for the God that has everything? What “treasure” does he desire most from us? I like what former apostle Neal A. Maxwell suggests we give. He said:
“. . . the submission of one’s will is really the only uniquely personal thing we have to place on God’s altar. The many other things we “give,” brothers and sisters, are actually the things He has already given or loaned to us. However, when you and I finally submit ourselves, by letting our individual wills be swallowed up in God’s will, then we are really giving something to Him! It is the only possession which is truly ours to give!"
Neal A. Maxwell
(Conference Report, Oct. 1995)
Now that’s a gift worth giving. All he wants for Christmas is you! Wise men and wise women bring the gold of their will to the Lord, the frankincense of their agency, the myrrh of their hearts and humbly place it before him.
If we do these same things as these great men from the East, I think that we could also consider ourselves to be wise men and wise women.
MARY
Now what did Mary do at this sacred moment in her life? We get this one magnificent verse and description of what Mary does at this moment: “But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart”. Mary is a beautiful example of the Lord’s counsel to “treasure these things up in your hearts, and let the solemnities of eternity rest upon your minds” (Doctrine and Covenants 43:34). Exactly what Mary was thinking about and reflecting on in those moments is something only she and our Father and Heaven can know. But that verse suggests that this was a very personal and introspective time for her. There’s a wonderful little song called “Mary’s Lullaby” that I feel may capture the spirit of that moment. Mary must have had some idea of what lay in store for her and her baby in the future. There would be crowds and miracles and sermons and trials and a crown of thorns and a cup and a cross, but not yet. Those things would all come too soon, but on that night, the baby Jesus was hers. And so in the song she sings:
Away, spectered future of sorrow and plight. Away to the years that must follow tonight. The pangs of Gethsemane, let them be dim; The red drops on Calvary, not, Lord, for him!
Oh, let me enfold thee, my baby, tonight; While legions are singing in joyous delight. A new star has risen to hail thee divine, For you are a king, but tonight you are mine.
I do believe that Mary kept and treasured that moment in her heart for years to come. And I believe that the Lord wants us to do the same kind of thing—to treasure our own sacred experiences with the Savior and reflect on them frequently and rejoice in them. When we ponder on those kinds of things, when we nourish those memories through reflection and meditation, they can continue to bless and teach us all throughout our lives. Do you have some of those things of your own? Sacred experiences with the Savior that you keep and ponder in your heart? They are to be treasured.
SIMEON AND ANNA
We could receive the Christ child like Simeon and Anna did. I’ll cover those two together. The scriptures tell us that Simeon was a just and devout man who had been told by the Holy Ghost that before he died, he would behold the Messiah with his own eyes. And so when Mary and Joseph bring the baby Jesus to the temple “to present him to the Lord” and “offer a sacrifice,”, the Spirit inspires Simeon and tells him that this was the child he’d been waiting for. And so he approaches the holy family, takes the Savior into his arms, praises God and testifies of Christ’s future mission and glory. That he would be, “A light to lighten the Gentiles and the glory of thy people Israel” and that “this child is set for the fall and rising of many in Israel”.
Moments later a woman “of a great age” (she’s at least 90 years old) Anna, also rejoices in the Christ child and gives thanks to the Lord for his coming.
Simeon and Anna are shining examples of the principle of waiting upon the Lord in patience and righteousness. Simeon had been promised long before he ever saw the baby Jesus that this blessing would come into his life. But how many years had he “waited for the consolation of Israel”. Verse 29 suggests that it has been a long time. He says “NOW, lettest thy servant depart in peace”. Almost like, he’s been prepared to die, all except for this one thing. “I’m ready to go Lord, I’ve lived a long and good life, but I want this promise fulfilled first. And now that it’s finally come, I can go in peace.” Anna had been a widow for 84 years. Not an easy life for her. But what did she decide to do in the meantime? She “departed not from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day”. This wonderful single sister who had lost her husband so early in life decided that she would not sink into despair or discouragement but would dedicate her life and time to God and service. And what a blessing she received because of that. She was able to give encouragement and testimony to the young Mary and Joseph. No doubt this would have inspired and comforted the young parents. But how long did she have to wait for that amazing moment? Years.
When promised blessings don’t seem to be fast enough in coming, when trials and less than ideal situations confront us in the long-term, I pray we can be like Simeon and Anna. That we’ll wait patiently on him. The blessings and promises of the Lord WILL all be fulfilled, but eventually. So in the meantime, let’s be just, devout, and serve God with fastings and prayers night and day. And when those promises and blessing do come, let’s not be quiet about it either. Anna “spake of him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem”. She opened her mouth and testified of Christ to all that would listen. We too are encouraged to share our spiritual experiences with others.
US
There is one more group of people whose reaction I would like to take a look at. You know that I’m always talking about “likening the scriptures” unto ourselves and that we should put ourselves in the scriptures. And that’s typically done figuratively by using our imaginations and placing ourselves in their shoes. But every now and then, we can actually find “OURSELVES” in the scriptures, literally. WE, are a part of the story sometimes. Luke 2 just happens to be one of those places. And I’d like to challenge you with that question. Can you find yourself in Luke 2? Did you realize that YOU were a part of the Nativity? So where are you?
You’re in verse 13. It says:
13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,
14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
Now who were these multitudes? Who was this heavenly host? Wouldn’t it be the unborn premortal spirit children of our heavenly parents? I mean, who else could it be? That’s you and me! We were there on that holy night. And how did WE react back then? We praised God and rejoiced in the peace and goodness that this child would bring all mankind: past, present, and future. And I love that word “suddenly”. That suggests that it was spontaneous, unplanned, like we just couldn’t hold back our joy and so we broke out into unrehearsed rejoicing. It’s not like the choir director was up there with his baton, and we were all looking down waiting for the cue. “OKAAAAAY, NOW, Start singing!” No, it came suddenly! It was a celestial outpouring of joy and praise and delight.
Do we still feel that same way when it comes to Christ and his gospel? Can we channel that premortal exhilaration and gratitude for our Redeemer? It reminds me of Alma’s question in Alma 5:26:
“if ye have felt to sing the song of redeeming love,
(which is what I believe we were singing in that moment)
I would ask, can ye feel so now?”
I pray that we can answer that question with a resounding “YES! I still feel that way, when I consider the birth and life of our Savior.”
TRUTH
Now let’s pause and take a look at that chart. Maybe we could summarize its meaning with the following principle. Christ will bring great joy, peace, and salvation to us, if we seek him, make room for him, bring him the gift of our will, ponder his message in our heats, and wait patiently on his promises.
LIKEN THE SCRIPTURES
Which of the responses to Christ do you most relate to and how?
CONCLUSION
One thing I might do as a teacher to conclude this lesson would be to watch one of the Church’s nativity videos that they produced a few years ago and I’ll provide you with that link. I invite you to watch that now.
And as you watch it, I’d like to invite you to think back upon this most recent Christmas season and indeed the entire past year and ask yourself, in hindsight, how did I receive HIM in 2022? As far as our discipleship goes and our commitment to his gospel and commandments. Did we make room for him in the inns of our hearts? Did we seek him diligently by looking heavenward like the wisemen? Did we come in haste to find him and rejoice in his birth like the shepherds? Did we take the time to ponder his life and gospel in our hearts, like Mary? Did we wait patiently in faith and righteousness for the fulfillment of his promises, like Simeon and Anna? And most of all, did we rejoice and sing his praises like we did once before as members of that heavenly host all those years ago? And no matter how we answer those questions, what’s our plan for 2023? Because the invitation to “Come and See” Jesus is still being heralded through the scriptures every time we read and ponder Luke chapter 2. That’s one of the great messages of his birth. Remember what it was the angels said to the shepherds. We bring “good tidings of great joy which shall be to ALL people. For unto YOU is born this day, a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. Did you catch the two key words there? One, the gift of God’s son is for everyone! ALL! Sometimes as Christians, we tend to want to claim Jesus just for ourselves. He is OUR Savior—OUR God. But no, he’s the God of all! All faiths, all nations, all righteous and wicked, all generations. And the life of Jesus is going to continue to testify of that truth. We're going to watch him give his time, love, and attention, to tax collectors, fishermen, lepers, prostitutes, demoniacs, Romans, Samaritans, Greeks, Canaanites, Jews, Gentiles, Nephites, Lamanites, the rich, the poor, the young, the old, men and women. ALL. Jesus was a uniter of humanity, and his birth testified of that. But then we have that other key word in the angelic announcement. For unto YOU is born this day, a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. I have that word circled in deep dark red in my scriptures. I picture the angel looking at me, breaking the fourth wall of the scriptural scene and gazing intently into my eyes. Yes, the gift of Jesus is for everyone, but he is also a gift to YOU. The baby Jesus was a public AND private, personal gift. God gave Him to YOU as an individual. What is it that John 3:16 says:
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
So the first and greatest present of Christmas ever given wasn’t delivered by UPS or Amazon, but by a young woman by the name of Mary.
And it wasn’t wrapped in brightly colored paper and ribbons, but in swaddling clothes.
And it wasn’t laid under a Christmas tree or in a stocking, but in a manger.
And it wasn’t a toy, jewelry, or the latest gadget, but a baby, who would be the Messiah and Savior of the world.
Have YOU received him? As we sing in that glorious Christmas hymn—Joy to the World, “Let earth receive her king”, I pray that WE and YOU may receive him this year as we study the New Testament, and every year to follow.
HOW TO BE A CHRISTLIKE TEENAGER
ICEBREAKER
I really love this next portion of the lesson because I’ve spent a large portion of my life teaching the youth of the Church. So I’m so glad that we get at least one story from the life of Christ as a young man. I mean, I wish we had more information about those formative years of the Savior. We have a lot about his birth, and a lot about his ministry from age 30-33 (see Luke 3:23 for how we know that) and this large gap in between. But we do have this one story of Jesus at the temple when he was twelve, and a number of other key verses that describe those years to help us out a little. Additionally, I believe there are some other things that we can assume about his youth based on what we observe about him during his ministry. So for an icebreaker, I have a little handout activity for you. I’ve made a list of a number of scenarios or things we MIGHT have seen Jesus do in his youth. Your job is to circle the number of the ones that have scriptural support? Which one’s are scripturally accurate?
1. Healing the broken arm of a friend who had fallen while playing.
2. Working in Joseph’s carpentry shop.
3. Upon learning how to speak as a toddler, sitting his parents down and teaching them the plan of salvation.
4. Walking across the sea of Galilee to run an errand for his Mother.
5. Walking the hills around Nazareth alone and praying.
6. Playing with brothers and sisters.
7. Observing and learning things about the world around him.
8. Multiplying bread and fish for his family to eat.
9. Spending time with people.
10. Making fun of Samaritans
11. Studying the scriptures.
12. Leading his household and telling Joseph and Mary what to do.
SEARCH
And here are the answers. 2, 5, 6, 7, 9, and 11. But why did I circle those particular statements and not the others? As we go through the answers to this activity, I’m going to take you to a number of scriptures that help us to understand what Jesus was like as a child, teenager, and young adult. If I were teaching the youth, I might entitle this lesson, “How to be a Christlike teenager”. If I were teaching adults, I still might entitle it that, because characteristics of Christ know no age. Or I might just drop the “teenager” and call it “How to be more Christlike”. But either way, I’ve found this lesson to be a really powerful one for young people in particular. As we discuss these, we’ll make a list of things the youth of Jesus teaches us about becoming more Christlike.
Now first, why didn’t I include statements 1, 5 and 9? Did Jesus perform miracles in his youth? Did he have that power with him from the beginning? I don’t believe so. There’s no evidence that he did, and there is quite a bit of evidence to suggest that he didn’t. Not that he couldn’t, but that he didn’t. One reason, for that assumption is that, if Jesus had performed miracles in his youth, you would imagine the people of Nazareth would not have said what they do in Matthew 13:55-58 when Jesus begins to teach there during his ministry. They say:
55 Is not this the carpenter's son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?
56 And his sisters, are they not all with us? Whence then hath this man all these things?
57 And they were offended in him. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and in his own house.
58 And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief.
Well, they sure seem to be quite surprised by Jesus’s claims of being the Son of God and by the miracles that he has begun to perform in the region. If he’d been doing miracles all along, I doubt they would have had that incredulous reaction. They’re like, “Jesus, the Son of God??? We know this kid. I mean, yeah, he was always a good boy. But the Messiah? Come on.”
And those verses also reveal the truth behind one of the other statements. Statement 6. Would we have witnessed Jesus spending time with brothers and sisters? Or was he an only child? Those verses right there tell us that he did have brothers and sisters, or at least half brothers and sisters. So yes, Mary and Joseph did have other children after Jesus was born. You see evidence of that truth in a number of places. (Matt. 12:46; Mark 3:31–34; Mark 6:3; Luke 8:19–20; John 2:12, 7:3, 5, 10; Acts 1:14; 1 Cor. 9:5) But then, might he have done miracles amongst his own family members then? I guess we can’t be 100% sure of that, but we do learn from John 7:5 that:
5 For neither did his brethren believe in him.
So at least some of those family members didn’t believe he was the Messiah. Although I suppose there’s plenty of evidence in the scriptures of people seeing miracles and still not believing, but in my opinion, I don’t believe he worked miracles before the time of his ministry. Additionally, we have this comment from John after Jesus changes the water to wine at the marriage in Cana in John 2:11.
11 This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his glory; and his disciples believed on him.
That gives us a strong indication that the miracle of changing water to wine was his first.
What about statement #2? Is there any scriptural evidence that Jesus was a carpenter, that he followed in the footsteps of Joseph? Yes. In Mark 6:3, Jesus is referred to as:
3 Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at him.
Also, the Joseph Smith Translation gives us some additional detail about the youth of the Savior. In the JST appendix for Matthew 3:24-26 we learn that:
24 And it came to pass that Jesus grew up with his brethren, and waxed strong, and waited upon the Lord for the time of his ministry to come.
25 And he served under his father, and he spake not as other men, neither could he be taught; for he needed not that any man should teach him.
26 And after many years, the hour of his ministry drew nigh.
So we certainly would have seen Jesus working hard in Joseph’s shop sawing lumber, sanding wood, and nailing boards together. Though eventually he would leave behind the workshop and commit himself full time to building people rather than projects.
What about statement 3? Would we have seen Jesus teaching his parents or others as a toddler? In other words, did he already know “everything” about the plan, and the gospel, and who he was from the beginning? Did he come pre-packaged from pre-mortality with omniscience, all understanding and wisdom and scriptural knowledge? No, he didn’t. And we know this from the scriptures. And allow me to point your attention to statement 9 as well to help you understand this. Would we have seen Jesus spending time alone in his youth. And if he did, what was he doing? I believe that there is a lot of evidence in the scriptures that Jesus would have spent a lot of time alone, in the hills surrounding Nazareth praying, meditating, and speaking with his real Father. There are plenty of instances during his ministry where he goes off to be by himself. We see that in all of the following references: Matthew 14:13, Luke 4:1-2, , Luke 5:16, Luke 6:12. And when he prays and suffers in Gethsemane, he does so apart from the apostles (Luke 22:41). But perhaps my favorite reference on this topic is Mark 1:35 where it says:
35 And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.
Can you see him doing that? Before the sun coming up. Walking away from the city “a great while before day” and sitting down on a rock somewhere, overlooking the beautiful valley of the Sea of Galilee, watching the sun rise. Alone. Although, I suppose “alone” isn’t really a good description of what took place at those times. He’s praying, conversing with his Father, preparing himself for a busy and soul exhausting day amongst the people. He must have developed that practice in his youth. Therefore, how could I become a more Christlike teenager? A Christlike teenager makes time to be alone with God. Those solitary places were the schoolroom of the Savior. That’s where he would have received his first lessons in Messiahship. That’s where his Father would have taught him. This is where he would learn how to build souls, testimony, and spiritual strength. His Heavenly Father would have shown him things, answered his prayers, and revealed truth to him line upon line.
Jesus himself hints at this in John 5:19-20
19 Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.
20 For the Father loveth the Son, and sheweth him all things that himself doeth: and he will shew him greater works than these, that ye may marvel.
And John 8:26
26 I have many things to say and to judge of you: but he that sent me is true; and I speak to the world those things which I have heard of him.
And verse 28 of the same chapter.
28 Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things.
During his ministry, Jesus continually referred to the things that his Father had taught and shown him. When else would that have taken place than in those solitary moments apart.
The New Testament isn’t the only place in scripture that we can go for details about those intervening years. Take a quick look with me at Doctrine and Covenants 93:11-14 where John the Beloved is quoted through a revelation to Joseph Smith. And John really wants us to understand something about the development and preparation of Jesus Christ. A key truth about his youth. Remember that one of the ways God emphasizes things in the scriptures, is through repetition. What truth or phrase about the of youth Jesus Christ is repeated here in these verses?
11 And I, John, bear record that I beheld his glory, as the glory of the Only Begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth, even the Spirit of truth, which came and dwelt in the flesh, and dwelt among us.
12 And I, John, saw that he received not of the fulness at the first, but received grace for grace;
13 And he received not of the fulness at first, but continued from grace to grace, until he received a fulness;
14 And thus he was called the Son of God, because he received not of the fulness at the first.
Did you catch the phrase? It’s hard to miss it, isn’t it. John really wanted us to know that Jesus did not receive of the fulness (a fulness of light, truth, power, glory, intelligence) at the first. He says it three times. Which tells us that Jesus didn’t start his life with a perfect understanding of who he was, who his Father was, or have a grasp of all wisdom and truth. Like us, he didn’t start mortality in a state of perfect spiritual maturity or remembering everything he had learned in the previous life. He started life as a baby, innocent and naïve. He had to learn. And it wasn’t that at age 8, or 12, or 30 or whatever, that God, all of a sudden just bestowed all of that intelligence, and power, and those divine attributes upon Him. There wasn’t a wave of his hand and now Jesus was “the Savior”. He had to learn. He had to work at it. He had to study. He had to develop those things. And what was that process like? Another phrase we saw more than once in that passage from the Doctrine and Covenants. He did it grace for grace. OR, it’s worded a little differently in verse 13. Grace to grace. Now maybe I’m making too much of that difference, but I think both offer insight. He received grace for grace. Which sounds like an exchange of sorts. God offers the grace of blessings, or truth, or intelligence. But then, what grace is offered back? The grace of obedience and righteousness and sacrifice. But there is also grace TO grace. Which suggests an upward climb, a progression. Christ is getting nearer and nearer to a fulness of glory, and light, and truth. Now we know that Christ wasn’t sinful in his life. He didn’t have any negatives to rid himself of, that’s why I didn’t include statement #10. But did he have a perfect measure of those divine Christlike attributes that we know him for during his ministry? I don’t think so. Christ for certain was always kind. But I imagine he was kinder at age 30 than he was at age 12. I believe he was always humble, but I imagine his meekness and humility increased and strengthened as he grew. We know, that even at a young age, age twelve, that he had a deep and profound understanding of the scriptures. But that understanding and comprehension was far deeper at age 30 than it was when he was a teenager. He developed those characteristics over time, refining them, and growing more proficient in them.
There’s a little scene from the movie Ben Hur that I love that’s set in Joseph’s carpentry shop. A friend of Joseph’s is visiting, and he notices a stack of boards in the corner that haven’t been assembled. And he says: My table is not finished. Where is your son? And Joseph says: He's walking in the hills. The neighbor, in a disapproving voice mumbles, “Mm-hm. He neglects his work, Joseph”. And Joseph responds: No. Once I reproached him with forgetting his work. He said to me, "I must be about my Father's business." Then the neighbor says: “Then why isn't he here, working?” And Joseph, smiling, responds, “He's working.” I love that. Jesus spent those intervening years learning from both his earthly and heavenly fathers. Grace for grace, and grace to grace. It took Jesus thirty years to reach that fulness before he was ready to begin his ministry. I’m sure it’s going to take us more than a lifetime to do the same, but when that time came, he WAS prepared. But it required his study, and perseverance, and work, and experience to get to that point.
So, a Christlike teenager grows and develops spiritually grace for grace—little by little. We can patient with our progress then, because even Jesus didn’t do or know it all at first. If he needed to grow, so must we.
That truth is also reiterated in a number of other key verses about the youth of the Savior. One comes from the JST for Matthew chapter 3 and two come from here in Luke 2. I feel that these verses probably best summarize those intervening years between Christ’s birth and ministry. What do they reveal about him?
Matthew 3:24-26
24 And it came to pass that Jesus grew up with his brethren, and waxed strong, and waited upon the Lord for the time of his ministry to come.
25 And he served under his father, and he spake not as other men, neither could he be taught; for he needed not that any man should teach him.
(because he had spent years being taught by his Father in heaven in those quiet moments of prayer and meditation in the hills of Nazareth)
26 And after many years, the hour of his ministry drew nigh.
Luke 2:40
40 And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him.
Luke 2:52
52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.
So in those verses we saw the words grew, waxed, and increased—more evidence of his grace-to-grace development. But what else do those verses teach us about becoming a Christlike teenager? Let’s zero in on that last verse in particular—Luke 2:52. You may already be aware that this is the verse that inspired the Church’s new worldwide youth program. This is the vision that the brethren have for all young men and young women in the world. It’s a blueprint for becoming like Christ. We tend to emphasize Jesus’s spiritual development. But that wasn’t his only focus. Jesus was what we might call a “well-rounded individual”. He had balance in his life. And in what four areas did Jesus increase and wax strong in? Wisdom-he developed himself intellectually. His mind. His capacity to learn and think. Stature—he developed physically. He would need a strong and healthy body to walk mile after mile down the dusty roads of Judea, and to stand up to the demanding schedule of teaching, and visiting various cities, and healing. Jesus took care of the temple of his body. In favor with God-he developed spiritually. He studied the scriptures. He prayed. He sought time with his Heavenly Father and learned the ways of the Spirit and how to connect with the powers of heaven. But he didn’t only seek favor with God, he also sought favor with man. He developed socially. It’s apparent from the account of his ministry that Jesus liked people. He wasn’t a hermit or a monk who secluded himself from humanity. That was John the Baptist’s approach. But not Jesus. We see him with people all the time. He goes to dinner parties, gathered twelve apostles to lead with him, teaches large groups of people, and was often at the center of giant crowds, thronging him just to catch a glimpse or hear his teaching. Mark 6:31 tells us that:
31 And he said unto them, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while: for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat.
There were always people around Jesus. So much so that it was hard for him to find time to stop and eat. But we get no indication that Jesus disliked this. Just the opposite. He sought people out. Jesus understood people and human nature better than anyone else who ever lived. He knew how to talk to them, work with them, inspire them, and make them feel better about themselves. He had developed that throughout his youth. He found favor with man. So which statements are supported by those verses? I think we could safely assume statements 7, 9, and 11. Jesus increased in wisdom, and stature, and in favor with God AND man. Christlike teenagers do the same. They seek develop themselves intellectually, physically, spiritually, and socially. They seek balance in all areas of their lives. Sometimes I’ve seen youth who focus almost all their attention on only one or two of those areas. Some that are incredibly athletic and active, but who neglect their education. Or those who are very smart, but haven’t sought to develop their social skills. Or those who are amazing in seminary, and have a deep spiritual understanding of things, but don’t reach out to serve others or take care of the temple of their bodies. Jesus sought to increase in all these areas, and so should we—whether we’re teenagers, adults, or senior citizens.
JESUS AT THE TEMPLE
Now let’s take some time to examine the story about Jesus at the temple as a twelve-year-old boy and what that teaches us about becoming more Christlike. To do that, I usually just like to read it directly to my students and stop to ask them some discussion questions as we go. The story is found in Luke 2:41-51. And I won’t take the time to read through that story verse by verse, but I invite you to and then consider the following questions:
Why do you think it took Mary and Joseph a day to figure out Jesus wasn’t with them? Is this an example of bad parenting? Were Joseph and Mary neglectful? I don’t think so. I think it says much more about Jesus’s character than Mary and Joseph’s parenting. They obviously trusted him. He had lived his life in such a way up to that point that they probably didn’t think twice about checking for him before they left. I’m sure Jesus was well beyond his years in maturity. Also, at Passover, extended families would travel in large groups together for company and safety and I’m sure they would have supposed that he was with relatives or friends of the family. Or, some Biblical scholars have suggested that these big family groups often traveled in genders. The men and the livestock at the front, and the wives and children at the back, to protect them. Perhaps Mary and Joseph weren’t traveling together, and both assumed that Jesus was with the other. And, it’s not like he was a toddler or anything. He was twelve. So what does this teach us about becoming a Christlike teenager? Christlike teenagers are trustworthy.
However, in this case, I guess you could argue that he wasn’t where they thought he was. So why would Jesus do this? Why did he tarry behind in Jerusalem. Did he intentionally try to worry his parents, or did he not care? And my answer to that is no. I don’t think he meant to cause anxiety for Mary and Joseph. You know what I think it was? I think it may just have been the result of youthful enthusiasm. Perhaps it was just too irresistible for him to talk with people who really understood the scriptures closer to his level. He probably didn’t have much of a chance to do that back in Nazareth—since it was such a small kind of backwater community in his day. There probably wouldn’t have been anyone his equal there. And the doctors there at the temple (that means, the teachers of the law, see the footnote) had studied the Torah as their profession. And I love that description of what happens there. When Mary and Joseph finally find him, he’s “sitting in the midst” of these scholars and the JST changes that next phrase to, “and they were hearing him, and asking him questions.” So here you have this twelve-year-old boy walk up and join the conversation of these grown Jewish men who have been studying the scriptures their entire lives. And then this random twelve-year-old pipes up and says: “Oh, I have a thought about that. And there’s a stunned pause in the groups. And they look back at him incredulously, and think, “Aww, that’s cute, this little boy wants to share his ideas. “Go ahead young man. What do you think? “ And then Jesus speaks. And their expression changes. And they say, “Woah. That’s actually quite profound. Huh. I’ve never thought of that way. Well, what do you mean by such and such?” And Jesus just keeps going. And they continue to enquire after his thoughts. And Jesus is just loving it as a twelve-year old. Not the attention, but the intellectual and spiritual exhilaration of it. Have you ever had that kind of experience? When you meet someone who loves what you love just as much as you do? The connection can be magical. And the hours tend to just fly by as you’re reveling in your shared zeal. And when he comes to, the sun is going down, and Mom and Dad are nowhere to be found. So he does what every good little boy and girl does when they get lost. What’s the rule? Stay where you are. Stay in one place and wait to be found. So he stays there and thinks to himself. As long as I’m here, I might as well continue to talk with these guys. Here in the temple. Probably the safest place for a young man to hang out in, in this big bustling city. So, a Christlike teenager loves to talk about the scriptures.
But can you imagine how Joseph and Mary must have felt when they discovered Jesus was gone? That must have been terrifying. I mean, God has put YOU in charge of raising the Messiah, the very Son of God, and you’ve lost him! They must have been absolutely frantic looking all over Jerusalem for their boy. And maybe they think to themselves, where would a twelve-year-old go in Jerusalem? Is he at the marketplace looking at all the exciting things for sale? Is he down at the Hippodrome stables admiring the racehorses? Is he over at the garrison outpost, watching the Roman soldiers. Jerusalem would have been quite an exciting place for a twelve-year-old from a small Galilean village. And he’s not there in any of these places. Three days later, near the point of full despair—maybe Mary gets an idea. What about the temple? Let’s go check there. And finally, there he is, in the middle of a crowd. And oh the relief. He’s ok. And then they say what any parent would probably say in that situation. “Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? Behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing.” How could you do this to us? We’ve been hysterical these past three days.
And that leads me to my next question. What do you make of Jesus’s answer? Which isn’t really an answer, but a question of his own. “How is it that ye sought me? Wist ye not that I must be about my Father’s business?” What do you think he meant by that?
Now I definitely don’t think he’s saying, “Why did you come looking for me?” Of course they’re going to come looking for him. They’re his parents. I don’t think Jesus just planned to stay in Jerusalem and live in the temple the rest of his youth. No, what I think that phrase means is, “Why did it take you so long to find me? Three whole days before you get the idea to come look for me here, in the temple. Isn’t this the first place you should have looked? Here, in my “FATHER’S” house, about HIS business.” And I certainly don’t think it was said with disdain, or smugness, or disrespect of any kind. With great humility and love and concern for his parents anxiety, but with a little bit of surprise in his voice, “Mom, Dad. You know what kind of boy I am. What I love, and what I’ve come to do. This probably should have been the first place you’d look.” And perhaps in that there is just a bit of a relevant lesson for us. When WE feel that we’ve lost the Savior in our own lives. When we can’t seem to find Him? Where should we go? Where can we always find Jesus? In the temple. Go to the temple. You’re sure to find him there. Christlike teenagers love to spend time in the temple.
AND, A Christlike teenager is always “about his Father’s business”. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if our parents, or our spouses, or our families weren’t sure where we were and began to wonder where to start looking. And then they could calmly and quietly say something like, “Oh, I’m sure I know where they are. I bet they’re down at the temple doing baptisms for the dead. That’s the first place we should look.” Or if that’s not very realistic, to at least be able to say to themselves, knowing what kind of person you are, “I don’t know exactly where they are at right now. But I’m sure they’re doing something good—that I would find them in a righteous environment. I know I don’t really need to worry because they must be about their Father’s business. There’s no cause for concern.” Wouldn’t it be an amazing thing if the people who love us could always say that about us.
And then I love what happens next in the story. Verse 51 is so great. What does this verse teach you about Jesus?
51 And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them: but his mother kept all these sayings in her heart.
And think that this can address statement number 12 from our activity. Would we have seen Jesus running the household, telling Joseph and Mary what to do? No. He was subject unto them. He listened to them, obeyed them, respected them. Jesus honored his father and his mother, abiding by the rule he himself gave to Moses through the thunders of Mt. Sinai. Now I don’t think I’ve ever met a teenager out there who doesn’t THINK they know more than their parents. But in Jesus’s case, it was actually true! Here was the one time in history when a child knew more than Mom and Dad. And yet, what did Jesus do? He was still subject unto them. He was humble. He was respectful. He was obedient to them. Therefore, a Christlike teenager honors their father and their mother. They’re subject to them and defer to their authority, rules, and requests. Even if they think they know better.
TRUTH
So let’s take an overall look at our list that we’ve created here. Here’s how to be a Christlike teenager.
LIKEN THE SCRIPTURES
In what areas do you need to develop more like Christ? Pick at least one. Now, what could you do this week to work on that?
CONCLUSION
Isn’t that a great story. Oh. So instructive. Every part of Jesus’s life has something to teach us. And I hope that if you’re already past your teenage years that you still gained something profound from this lesson. Because, Jesus was probably further along the straight and narrow path at age 12 than most of us will be at age 90. The youth of our Savior have lessons for all. We too, all throughout our lives are going to need to continue to develop grace for grace, spending solitary time apart from the world learning from our Heavenly Father, increasing in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man, and perhaps most of all, making sure that we are always about our Father’s business. And I believe that if we do that, then the promise assured the Savior in Luke 2:40 will also be true of us, “the grace of God” will rest upon us as well.
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