The Business of Jesus, Part 2

Thank you choir that was great. Let's pray together lord. We are once again thankful for this wonderful glorious day A day that once again, we can open the pages of scripture and understand the greatness Of your son jesus christ our lord At the same time understand his great and wonderful mission That was accomplished in great perfection so that we could obtain salvation through jesus christ our lord Today lord help us to understand that mission And may we as the children of god learn to follow in the footsteps Of our lord and savior jesus christ we pray in your name amen We are in luke chapter 2 We have this week and next week in luke chapter 2 and then we will embark on chapter 3 In our study of luke and I promise to be a little faster as we move through this great gospel We've had to set some groundwork and understand what is happening and as we close out chapter 2 We are seeing how the son of god the son of man.

Jesus christ our lord testifies To who he is and why he came this becomes a pivotal point of scripture for us to grasp the identity and ministry of jesus christ our lord and sometimes when we go through the text I I love to camp out on a text to Be able to to to drain from it all that we possibly can in order to to grasp the the rich truth. That's there I sometimes I do more on some chapters than others But this one seems to be of great importance to you and me As we begin to understand the identity and ministry of jesus christ our lord.

He had a mission. He had a purpose It was all about doing his father's business And I am utterly convinced that one of the problems that you and I have today is we are distracted We get sidetracked. We are not excited about our lives because our lives are not following the business of jesus when you begin to understand your mission in life when you begin to understand that the the the son Who fulfilled his father's mission? And filled it fulfilled it completely when you understand that mission And realize that your mission in life is to emulate Your god then you begin to realize the greatness Of living on this earth and it comes from doing the business of jesus Now some texts say well you had to be in my father's house.

Others text say well, I had to be about my father's business Both are true Because jesus had a mission in life It was to fulfill the business that his father gave him to do And it just so happens it had to be accomplished in his father's house And so we have been studying luke chapter 2 to understand that jesus christ our lord Had a mission And our mission must follow his mission And we covered point number one last week where we told you that the business of jesus was rooted in his spiritual and physical development That as a child he grew he became strong He increased in wisdom and in favor with god and we talked about the fact that as The incarnate son of god In his humanness, he would grow And at this point in the text, he's 12 years of age And by the time he's 12 years of age.

He has come to realize Why? He is there The mind of god in the mind of man is to the point where jesus christ the son Knows not only his identity But his ministry and mission in life and that's what makes this section so pivotal to understanding the son of god And therefore we talked about last week that as he began to grow we learned in hebrews chapter 5 Verses 8 and verses 9 that he learned obedience to the things that he suffered. It wasn't that he went from imperfection to perfection Okay Because we grow from our imperfections to christlikeness Jesus wasn't imperfect He was always perfect He was sinless.

We told you last week. He's a hundred percent man. He's a hundred percent god He is 200 of something it isn't the fact that he came together as the god man is a hundred percent god man No, because whenever you bring two things together and make them a hundred percent you dilute one or dilute the other He is still a hundred percent god. He is still a hundred percent man He is 200 of something we cannot comprehend that so as as god He has the great nature of holiness and sinlessness And that also was in his human nature.

I told you before that jesus is this not a better brand of us He is completely different than us And we need to come to grips with that And people say to me they say well, you know if if jesus Was a man 100 man 100 god the question comes in could jesus Could jesus Have sinned Now i'm going to talk about this in great detail in luke chapter four. So it's a couple of weeks away lord willing Okay, but just to let you know That people ask the question could jesus have sinned. Well, the answer to that is no No How do we know that?

Well, can god sin? Answer no is jesus god. Yes. So therefore jesus could not sin Well as soon as you say that here's the next question. Okay, here it comes. You know what it is Well, if jesus could not have sinned then his temptation Could not have been real It could not have been significant. I mean if he can't see in what goods is temptation. He's not gonna fall into sin anyway Right But that just goes to show you how dumb we really are Okay, if I was to take a little child And bring this child up on stage Instead i'm right here on step number one and I wanted to push this child off the stage All I would have to do is just barely move my hand and he'd be flat on his face If I was to bring an adult up here, it'd be a little bit more difficult, wouldn't it?

If I was to put this whole structure on this stage, I could not move it could I But in order for me to move the adult i'd have to expend more energy than I would to move the child In order to move the whole structure i'd have to expend all my energy and even more if I could to move it Even though I couldn't move it, right? When satan tempts you he's you're just like a little child. He just flicks over and you're done But when it comes to the son of god He couldn't just flick him. He had to unleash everything on him He still couldn't move him See, there's a difference there see Now you bear with me and you stick with me in matthew Not not matthew 4 but luke 4 and all that will come to light for you when we look at the temptation of jesus In those first 11 verses of luke chapter 4 to help you understand the significance of those temptations But you need to understand That he learned obedience through the things that he suffered He knew obedience because he's omniscient But he experienced obedience in his humanness And as a result of that moving from perfection to perfection to perfection Moving in learning by experience what it means to obey his father in heaven Because of that experience and that experience was the a complete experience It was the completion of that perfection That made him hebrews 5 9 the source of your eternal salvation It was the completion of the perfection the completion of learning obedience throughout his entire life That made him and qualified him to be the source of your eternal salvation That's why jesus christ came to live then die.

It didn't just come down for the weekend to die and rise again So that you could obtain his life the perfect life Of christ and so we told you because the business of jesus was rooted in his spiritual and physical development Then we must number one obtain the mind of christ We must obtain the mind of christ And that comes because god himself saves our soul We know in first corinthians 2 that paul says that we have the mind of christ who has the mind of christ the believer He has that mind And that mind needs to develop spiritually it needs to grow spiritually day in and day out Week in week out month in month out year in year out.

We need to continue to progress in our our walk with christ And so therefore we as we obtain the mind of christ because of our salvation with our lord and savior jesus christ Then we must continually focus that mind on things above That mind must be fueled By the spirit of god that mind must be fed By the word of god that mind must be fixed on god above that mind must remain faithful to the to the mandates of god That mind must learn to fear god because that mind has been forgiven by god Because that mind has been favored by god And so therefore we understand the business of jesus when we obtain the mind of christ when we understand that through Through the salvation of god in the life of an individual a mind that was once dark Once defiled once dead once depraved was made alive by the spirit of almighty god And once made alive quickened it so that it would follow our lord and savior jesus christ Okay, that's point number one.

That's last week point number two not only Was the business of jesus rooted in his spiritual and physical development, but it was realized in his practical duties at passover It was realized in his practical duties at passover We're going to pick up the narrative in verse number 41 And his parents used to go to jerusalem every year at the feast of the passover now stop right there for a second This is important Because you see the woman wasn't required to go But the man was required to go In luke, he interweaves throughout the uh, the the whole text the the commitment and devotion of mary and joseph That they were godly people Who wanted to fulfill the law of god every chance they had And so they would go together mary and joseph now every man Every man according to the book of exodus chapter 32 chapter 34 deuteronomy chapter 16 had to go to passover had to attend Pentecost and had to attend the feast of tabernacles Okay Every man according to jewish law had to attend those three feasts and over time Pentecost and tabernacles sort of went by the wayside, but passover Passover was the significant one.

It was the main one And it helped us understand or the jews to understand their redeemer their deliverer The one who would rescue them And you know the story about the passover back in exodus chapter 12 that 10th plague that came upon Uh egypt and and israel But israel was spared because they put the blood of the lamb on their doorpost and the death angel would pass over them And the their firstborn son would would remain alive and it was the plague that would launch the exodus and god said in the book of exodus that this was to be a memorial from generation to generation and so passover was set up to be Um observed every single year This becomes very significant Because here is our lord at the age of 12 going to jerusalem to observe passover Jewish historians tell us That when the child two years before their bar mitzvah They were required to take their oldest son Take them to jerusalem for the passover to instruct them In the ways of god why?

Because you know what the bar mitzvah is that means son of the law or son of the commandment So therefore when they turn 12, they are accountable to the law of god. They are accountable to the commandment of god And going to passover would remind them listen would remind them of their sinfulness and how they could not Meet the standards of the law of god And so that father would take his son he would take them with him He would explain to him the significance of passover and here were here were mary and joseph and and their children They were going because there were more children because we know that jesus had half brothers and half sisters So here they come with their family to jerusalem to partake of the passover and there were millions of people In jerusalem at this time It was overflowing with people There would be a quarter of a million lambs that would be slain at passover for the sins of the people blood was everywhere in the city because of the sacrifice of the sins And here was the boy jesus 12 years of age understanding the significance that he He Was the lamb of god He was the one who would be the seed that would fall to the ground and die He would want be the one that would be lifted up and if lifted up he would draw all men to himself He was the one who would be the lamb slain before the foundation of the world all that had come to his human understanding So at 12 years of age He is going to observe passover in jerusalem with his family Now they whether they stayed with relatives they stayed with close friends, you know You had to find a place to stay because you had to have the the ceremony you had to have the the meal You had to bring the lamb into your home and you had to sacrifice the lamb.

You had to celebrate passover. You had to you had to You had to understand What it was all about it would be the oldest son The oldest son who would ask the question Why is it this night is different than every other night now think about that Jesus the oldest son would be the one asking that question He would be asking of his father joseph and joseph then would would go back and he would review the history of israel He would begin to talk about passover. He would begin to talk about the exodus. He would begin to talk about the redeemer all a foreshadowing Of messiah who would come And remove their sin forever And here is jesus understanding who he is What he's about asking the question of his father which he already knows the answer to Father why is it this night is different than every other night?

That's the question that was ordained by god to be asked by the firstborn son during passover And of course jesus being the oldest son would ask that question So it says in verse number 42 and when he became 12 They went up there according to the custom of the feast and as they were returning after spending the full number of days again, that's that's important because luke interjects to us an understanding of something because after passover Which was the 15th of nisan Came the feast of unleavened bread that was followed that followed seven days afterwards.

It was an eight-day celebration And and jews usually only came for two or three days. They would make the journey to jerusalem They would celebrate the passover the next day And then they would journey back from jerusalem because I mean they had jobs He had work to do they had to get back to where they were but mary and joseph After having been there the full number of days. They were there the whole eight days They didn't want to miss out on anything And so luke interjects for us once again These people they went up according to the law of god as was the custom of the law They stayed there the entire length of time because these parents were committed to doing what god said No matter how busy they might be at home That's a good reminder for us parents, isn't it?

To make sure that we're committed to doing what god says no matter how busy we are at home And mary and joseph were were that way It says that as they were returning after spending the full number of days the boy jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem I want to talk about that for you in a moment But I want to help you understand something the business of jesus Was realized in his practical duties at passover He is the lamb of god at this point because he has increased in wisdom And in grace and favor with god The mind of god Has fully dominated the mind of a man He understands that he is that lamb Can you imagine the overwhelming emotion in his manhood As he walked the streets of jerusalem And all these people hustling and bussing around doing the things that they do He knowing that he is the lamb of god and they not knowing he's the lamb of god He knowing that in a few short years 21 basically to be exact he would be that sacrificial lamb He's knowing all this as he walks the streets of jerusalem And no one else knowing that and yet He came to do What the law prescribed That's important because you see If we're going to be like jesus, not only must we obtain the mind of christ But we also must obey the mandates of christ We must obey the mandates of christ We must do what god has said the bible says very clearly in matthew 5 verse number 48 Be ye perfect as your father in heaven is perfect 1st.

John 2 16 He who says he abides in him ought himself to walk even as he himself has walked If we are going to be about the business of jesus, we must obey the mandates of christ We must be and seek to be as obedient to the laws of god as jesus christ himself was Remember matthew 5 17. He said I didn't come to abolish the law. I came to fulfill the law I came because I am an embodiment of the law And so he did everything he was circumcised on the eighth day. He kept the feast of the passover. He was baptized He did everything because he came to be the perfect fulfillment of the law so he could become the source of your salvation and mine And therefore we come to grips with the fact that we if we're going to be about the business of jesus Must obey the mandates of christ.

We must do what god has Said And here was jesus Obeying every aspect of the law without question And therefore we as his followers Must realize as first john 5 tells us that the commands of god are not burdensome.

They don't weigh us down Why because his yoke is easy and his burden is light that's why And so therefore we begin to understand the business of jesus that was rooted in his spiritual and physical development It was realized in his practical duties of passover. And thirdly it was revealed in his unusual discussion in the temple It was revealed in his unusual discussion In the temple and this is where it begins to get very very interesting and what happens here You need to understand because if you miss this The rest of the chapters You're going to miss You get that If you miss what happens in luke chapter 2 at the end here You're going to miss the rest of the story Because this sets the tone for the entire story If you understand luke 2 Then you know why jesus died If you have a hard time understanding why jesus died go back to luke 2 and it tells you That's why we're going to spend some time here But the business of jesus Was revealed in his unusual discussion in the temple.

Let's read the text. It says this Verse 43 and as they were returning after spending the full number of days the boy Jesus stayed behind in jerusalem and his parents were unaware of it. Now.

Listen. Jesus wasn't rebellious Jesus wasn't disobedient He just stayed behind and the question comes How do they know that jesus? Wasn't with them How do you know your kid's not there? I mean, how do you miss a kid? you know now we We've gone on vacation several times and we've left a couple of our kids behind when we've gone places So I understand how mary and joseph might have left their their son jesus behind but you see none of my kids are perfect Okay, you wouldn't want to leave the perfect one behind you leave the imperfect ones behind see But how is it they they would just take off without him?

Look what the text says But supposed him to be in the caravan And went a day's journey and they began looking for him among their relatives and acquaintances And when they did not find him they returned to jerusalem looking for him and then it says And it came about that after three days They found him in the temple sitting in the midst of the teachers both listening to them and asking them questions Now, you know, there's a lot of things you got to fill in the blanks here I mean, come on, how is it mom and dad don't know that jesus is with them?

Well, you got to understand the caravan in the caravan all the children were in front And all the parents were in the back for two reasons pace and protection The children had to set the pace if the parents are in front. They got longer strides. They're going on down They're gonna leave the parents the kids in the way back So the kids lead the way in the caravan and they traveled in caravans. They traveled as groups For the purpose of safety and parents in the back would be there for the purpose of protection So evidently mary and joseph and their family came with the caravan of people and they would leave with the caravan of people Maybe not the same ones They came with but it does say that they would talk to their acquaintances and relatives about where jesus was So here they are after being there the full number of days they take off to go back to nazareth.

Nazareth Is a three-day journey To jerusalem Okay, so they begin Taking off at the end of that day They gather around for dinner and gather all the kids around but jesus isn't there So they begin to ask have you seen jesus? No, I haven't seen jesus. Have you seen jesus? No, I haven't seen jesus Where's jesus? I don't know what jesus is Where did he go? They don't know. So what would you do? What would you do? You got to go back But mary and joseph don't go back immediately. They spend the night To get the next day they're going to go all the way back to jerusalem So now they've been gone one day's journey, right one day's journey Can't find jesus.

So now it's gonna take them a whole day to travel about 20 to 25 miles a day They got to travel all the way back to jerusalem. That's two days Okay, two days And they find him on day three So they're probably spending the night And then the next day to get up and look for jesus So for three days they're without jesus, where is he? I don't know What's he doing? No, I don't know Where is he eating? No, I don't know We don't know anything. All we know is that mom and dad get back on the third day.

They find him They find him in the temple. They find him engaged in conversation with the Religious leaders of the day Now remember passover was a time where all the all these great Rabbis would come together to pontificate about the promises and prophecies of the coming prince of peace Did you get that? To pontificate about the promises and prophecies of the coming prince of peace. I just thought that up as I was going It's pretty good, huh? But that's what they came to do and they would sit down they would discuss about you know, this is passover This is what it's about yada yada yada And this is what rabbi so-and-so says and this is what rabbi so-and-so says about that And this is what rabbi so-and-so says about that because they never quoted scripture.

They just quote rabbis And they begin to sit around and talk and jesus is sitting in the midst of them And this is the only place in scripture where you see jesus positioned as a learner Not a teacher but as a learner He's listening And he's asking them questions So he is listening to what they're saying about people And their questions and he questions their answers Now jesus knows who he is He knows what he is about he's 12 years of age. He has grown in wisdom And therefore he understands what he's all about so you can imagine the conversation the bible says this Verse 47 and all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers That word amazed is the word of bewilderment is the word of astonishment.

It's used throughout the gospel of luke To help you understand That people were utterly confounded by this man jesus They began to ask questions about the answers they give about The coming messiah the reason for for passover And these great teachers of the law were absolutely Bewildered at this young boy and the questions That he asked amazed and then it says And when they saw him that's mom and dad they were astonished They weren't astonished about the discussion They weren't astonished about the questions.

He was asking Because i'm not quite so sure they they were a part of those conversations but They were astonished as to his location Where he was I mean, he wasn't in the lost and found I don't know if jerusalem had a lost and found those days, you know where kids are lost during passover They go there and you know parents go to the lost and found and pick up their kid You go to sea world today. They got lost and found you go to disneyland today They got a lost and found. Okay, you lose your kid you go there.

You probably find your kid no lost and found in jerusalem, but They know where he was. He was on the street corner someplace crying for his mom crying for his dad Where is my mom where they left me here in jerusalem? Where'd they go? They can you imagine searching the city of jerusalem? for jesus Where's he at? I don't know you see him. I don't know going around trying to find this boy I'm sure they didn't have a photograph Okay of jesus saying this is the way it looks like, you know, have you seen this boy?

And finally they find him In the temple, so it's probably the latter part of the day And there he is And they were astonished And listen to the words of of mary His mother said to him son.

Why have you treated us this way? Now you have to understand the question he is the perfect child He's never sinned He's never disobeyed He never will he's always honored mother and father He's always fulfilled the commandments perfectly So mary's a little confounded she she's a little amazed she's bewildered son, what are you doing? Why have you For all the people to treat us this way not you. Why have you treated us this way? As if to say that jesus was at fault for what he did As somehow you you've you've wronged us Listen to what jesus says Behold, she says behold your father and I have been anxiously looking for you We've been anxiously looking for you And you know, don't you?

And you're not looking for us We're looking for you, but you're not looking for us We are anxious about you, but you're not anxious for us What happened And jesus says Why is it That you were even looking for me and then he says And this is the phrase you must Come to grips with you must understand For this is the gospel message He says Did you not know that I had to be in my father's house Or maybe your translation says about my father's business Did you not know You should have known this is the first time listen the first time remember what simeon's prophecy was to mary The sword will pierce even your own soul This was the first piercing of the soul of mary jesus says You had to have known this Our relationship is only temporary It's it's it's you you must understand that what we have here It's only going to be for a short while because I have a mission in life to accomplish.

I have a purpose in life And I need to be about my father's business. I need to be in my father's house I need to be with the people of god. This is what i'm about. This is who I am And that statement right there tells us two things about jesus number one He knew who he was his identity and he knew what he was about his ministry.

He knew those things And next week i'm going to show you exactly how that unfolds throughout the gospels But he says Did you not know that this is what I had to be doing This is where I need to be now.

That's the next statement first number 50 50 And they did not Understand the statement which he had made to them It didn't say and they did not understand jesus They knew who he was They knew he was virgin conceived They knew he was virgin born They knew he was the son of the of the most high god I mean the angel gabriel told him all those things they knew that they knew he was the promised redeemer They knew he was the messiah, but they didn't get the statement it totally Caught them off guard They didn't get it.

They didn't get it People today are still trying to figure out what he said and what he meant by what he said Mary joseph his parents who knew 12 years of absolute perfection Had him in their house every single day worked alongside with them in the carpentry business. They knew who he was But they didn't get the statement It was so profound so deep so immense so rich That they didn't get it They didn't get it. This is the first number 51 and he went down with them and came to nazareth And he continued in subjection to them And his mother treasured all these things In her heart he continued in subjection.

So, you know, he wasn't rebellious, you know, he wasn't disobedient You know, he was in complete subjection to his earthly mother and father And yet What jesus says here?

Defines for us his mission. That's why the business of jesus Was revealed in his unusual discussion in the temple I have to be in my father's House this speaks of the divine sonship of the messiah and this Opens to us a door of immense treasure as to the identity and ministry of jesus christ our lord And i'll cover more of that with you next week But I want you to understand something if we're going to be about the business of jesus Not only must we obtain the mind of christ and obey the minutes of christ.

Listen, we must own the message of christ We must own the message of christ Folks this is this is this is profound This is deep And we need to understand this if we're going to be about the mission and purpose and business of jesus christ our lord Turn back with me if you would to luke chapter 9 for a moment luke chapter 9 Verse 43 and they were all amazed at the greatness of god But while everyone was marveling at all that he was doing he said to his disciples Let these words sink into your ears For the son of man is going to be delivered into the hands of men But they did not understand this statement Same phraseology Mary and joseph didn't understand the statement that jesus had spoken to them.

I must be about my father's business I must I have to be in my father's house And now you have jesus saying listen, I want these words to sink deep into your heart and mind the son of man Is going to be delivered into the hands of men But they did not understand this statement and it was concealed from them So that they might not perceive it And they were afraid to ask him about this statement Why did they not understand it? Why could they not grasp it? And why is it it was concealed from them that they couldn't understand it it's because they were in no position to receive it How do we know that?

verse 46 And an argument arose among them as to which of them might be the greatest But jesus knowing what they were thinking In their heart took a child And stood him by his side You see jesus knew what they were thinking they were in no way ready to receive the fact the son of man must Be delivered he must die He must suffer They didn't want to ask that question because the last time they asked that question Peter asked it peter rebuked the lord Because he talked about how the son of man must suffer how he must be delivered over to the hands of the enemy He must die and rise again and peter took him aside and began to rebuke him saying lord.

This is not so This is not true And jesus said to him get thee behind me satan for you don't have in mind the things of god See he wasn't thinking god's way he was thinking man's way He wasn't ready to own the message To own the message of christ it must embody our lives. It must be about everything we are That's why jesus said earlier in luke chapter 9 these words The son of man must suffer many things verse 22 and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes And be killed and raised on the third day And he was saying to them all if anyone wishes to come after me let him deny himself and take up his cross daily And follow me for whoever wishes to save his life shall lose it But whoever loses his life for my sake he is the one who will save it You see the to embody the message is to understand Self-denial self-sacrifice Is to understand what it means to bear the cross of christ.

Simon the cyrene was one who owned the message Remember he was the man compelled out of the crowd to carry the cross of christ And he was to be the one having carried that cross behind our lord was the perfect model of the message If any man come after me let him take up his cross and follow me That was the last message christ gave on earth and it was a message of illustration As he went to calvary's cross That was the message if we're going to be like christ we must own that message It must be a part of our lives We must deny ourselves daily.

We must take up our cross and follow after him We must understand what it means to to give our life away that we might obtain his life We must understand what it means not to seek after keeping our own life, but to freely give it away So we can obtain what he asked because christ would go on and say for what? Is a man profited if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? What is the profit of man if he gains the whole world yet? It loses his own soul It's all about self-denial it's all about self-sacrifice you see the business of jesus Is a mission of the cross of christ And yes, it speaks of his humanity.

Yes It speaks of his deity But it also speaks of the victory of the cross of christ and the brutality of that cross And the centrality of that cross in his life because that's what he came to do And this passage of scripture in luke 2 tells us What that mission was and what he says here Is what ultimately will kill him 21 years later How he identifies himself here as he helps his parents to understand who he is and what he's about is the impetus That moves him toward his death Because what he says here is what ultimately will kill him And that we'll talk about next week as we understand the riches of his discussion And how he understood his mission and purpose in life.

Let's pray together father We thank you for this day and the opportunity we have to study the scriptures and to realize lord the immense depth That's there When it comes to understanding the words of christ And my prayer today lord is that we would understand galatians 2 20 that we are crucified with christ And nevertheless we live not ourselves but christ living in us As paul would say later in galatians that he was crucified to the world He died to the things of the world That's what it means to own the message To make it a part of our life that yes, we will follow jesus christ even till death Because that's our mission to be like him And may we understand the significance of your death Open the door for our eternal life In jesus name.

Amen