“And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man” (Luke 2:25).
Jesus grew…
Just think about those words! When the second person of the Holy Trinity took on human form, he, while being fully God, was at the same time, fully human.
Jesus grew…
Jesus, God himself, had to go through the same physical, mental, emotional, spiritual growth that we all need to go through.
Jesus grew. So should we.
Our text says that Jesus grew in three areas:
- in Wisdom
- in Stature
- in Favor with God and with man
Jesus grew in wisdom. This refers to Jesus’ growth in the knowledge and the fear of God. Knowledge and fear of God go hand in hand. Knowing who God is better leads to fearing, respecting, honoring, obeying God better. That’s what fearing God means. To fear God means to respect and honor God by obeying God.
Knowing God is never about knowing more information about God. Growing in the knowledge of who God is, what God has done for us, and the life that God is calling us to live is about doing our part in becoming who God created us to be. Growing in the knowledge of God leads us to obey God. It leads us to transform: we become more who God created us to be.
Secondly, Jesus grew in stature. This one is easy! Just look at my mid section…I’m excelling in growing in stature!!! That’s not quite what this means, unfortunately. To grow in stature is to grow in stewarding our health.
The Apostle Paul tells us, “Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s Temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst?” When we grow in stature, we grow in our capacity as stewards of our bodies as God’s Temple.
Finally, Jesus grew in favor with God and men. This has to do with character and reputation.
- Character is who you are when no one but God is watching. Who you are in private ought to be the same person in public. When your private and public life become more like Jesus, you grow in character.
- Reputation is about your relationship with other people. What you stand for and believe and how you act is your reputation. Your belief and actions, when they are consistent, leads to growth in your reputation with others.
Jesus, in preparation for his public ministry, grew in wisdom, stature, and in favor with God and man for eighteen more years. Only after eighteen years of preparation was Jesus ready to launch his public ministry at the age of thirty.
Be like Jesus! Grow like Jesus!
Praxis: Faith in Action 