IMMERSIONS Of The YOUNG MESSIAH-I—Luke 2:41-52
Attention:
There is a TV show highlighting the lives of the Duggar family.
They are a family of Conservative Baptists who live in Arkansas.
They live debt-free.
Jim Bob(father) is a former state legislator who served in the Arkansas House of Representatives from 1999 to 2002. He is now a real estate agent.
Their household is a model of organization.
It must be because there are 19! of them by one husband & wife(Michelle).
None are adopted, none from previous marriages!
They all live out a daily commitment to one another.
The children all have jobs/chores appropriate to their ages.
The older children help care for the younger ones.
You might say, Jim Bob & Michelle Duggar are IMMERSED in & PREOCCUPIED with family!
Need:
What were Jesus’ chief concerns as a tween-ager?
Luke revealed the boy Jesus as Messiah thru His chief concerns.
Luke revealed the boy Jesus as Messiah thru showcasing His preoccupation/immersion in God’s affairs.
The boy Jesus immersed Himself in God’s affairs.
Those sent by God immerse themselves in God’s affairs.
*How do those sent by God immerse themselves in God’s affairs?
6 substantiations of an immersion in the affairs of God.
1— Immersion in God’s affairs is substantiated thru...
One’s Corporate WORSHIP(:41)
Explanation: (:41) Commitment
:41—“His parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover.”
Jesus’ parents—Joseph & Mary—made a tradition/habit/custom of going to “Jerusalem” at least once every year to celebrate the “Passover” “Feast.” This was the outworking of their dedication to the Law. Seeing that the whole family went this time, gives insight as to their personal & individual commitments.
They traveled to Jerusalem because that is the location of the temple, where the actual sacrifices would be made. They would either take their living sacrificial animals or buy them from vendors in the city.
This Feast—along with that of Firstfruits, Weeks, Trumpets, Day of Atonement, & Tabernacles— was specified per the law of Moses(Lev. 23). Three of these were “main’ feasts—Passover, Weeks & Tabernacles in which the men were required to participate.
Ex. 23:14-17—““Three times you shall keep a feast to Me in the year: You shall keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread (you shall eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded you, at the time appointed in the month of Abib, for in it you came out of Egypt; none shall appear before Me empty); & the Feast of Harvest, the firstfruits of your labors which you have sown in the field; & the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you have gathered in the fruit of your labors from the field. Three times in the year all your males shall appear before the Lord GOD.”
“Passover” was a one-day celebration, immediately followed by the 7-day Feast of Unleavened Bread. Both of these feasts were celebrated together & considered “Passover.”
Passover was a celebration of the momentous release of the children of Israel from Egyptian bondage. This took place as YaHWeH literally Passed-Over the houses of the faithful(The lamb’s blood marking the lintel of each obedient family’s house), so that their first-born would remain alive. The first-born of every household of those who were not faithful to Him would die.
The events that take place in the following verses(:40-52) took place when Jesus was 12 yrs. old.
“It’s not an easy trip, 80 miles, three to four days, probably four days if children were in the entourage that went because they had to go from Nazareth & go around Samaria because of the attitude between the Jews & the Samaritans. So it’s an 80 mile trip & it takes three or four days if they can go 20 to 25 miles a day.”—John MacArthur
Why would the family make the trip to Jerusalem yearly? 1)Legal Obligation, 2)Social Interaction, 3)Love(for God, & family), 4)All three!
Argumentation:
Ps. 27:4 -6—“One thing I have desired of the LORD, That will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the LORD All the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the LORD, And to inquire in His temple. For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion; In the secret place of His tabernacle He shall hide me; He shall set me high upon a rock. And now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies all around me; Therefore I will offer sacrifices of joy in His tabernacle; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the LORD.”
Josh. 23:11-13—““Therefore take careful heed to yourselves, that you love the LORD your God. Or else, if indeed you do go back, & cling to the remnant of these nations--these that remain among you--& make marriages with them, & go in to them & they to you, know for certain that the LORD your God will no longer drive out these nations from before you. But they shall be snares & traps to you, & scourges on your sides & thorns in your eyes, until you perish from this good land which the LORD your God has given you.”
1Chron. 16:23-29(Ps. 96)—David stated—“Sing to the LORD, all the earth; Proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day. Declare His glory among the nations, His wonders among all peoples. For the LORD is great and greatly to be praised; He is also to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the peoples are idols, But the LORD made the heavens. Honor and majesty are before Him; Strength and gladness are in His place. Give to the LORD, O families of the peoples, Give to the LORD glory and strength. Give to the LORD the glory due His name; Bring an offering, and come before Him. Oh, worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness!”
Mat. 18:18 -20—““Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, & whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.””
Acts 2:42-47—“And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine & fellowship, in the breaking of bread, & in prayers. Then fear came upon every soul, & many wonders & signs were done through the apostles. Now all who believed were together, & had all things in common, & sold their possessions & goods, & divided them among all, as anyone had need. So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, & breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness & simplicity of heart, praising God & having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.”
*Heb. 10:23-25—“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider one another in order to stir up love & good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, & so much the more as you see the Day approaching.”
The sad thing is that those who really need to be grasp the importance of Corporate WORSHIP are not here...They are at home, the mall, on the lawnmower, on the tractor...unable to bring themselves to pencil-in a time for WORSHIP.
Why? Because they are NOT Immersed in God’s Affairs but rather they are immersed in their own.
Illustration:
Sports fans/Some very nearly Worship their favorite teams/They place them in the forefront of their lives/They buy Stickers & License plates & Decals, & Pendants & T-shirts & Neckties & Umbrellas, & drinking glasses, etc. ad infinitum/Corporate WORSHIP
My conversion/Early on, I yearned to be with God’s people/I had to fellowship & worship with other believers/Corporate WORSHIP
Application:
?Your WORSHIP substantiated by an Immersion in God’s Affairs?
?You Immersed in WORSHIP?
? You Immersed in God’s Affairs?
2— Immersion in God’s affairs is substantiated thru...
One’s STAGE(:42)
Explanation: (:42)Significant stages
:42—“And when He was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem according to the custom of the feast.”
The family, Jesus included, went to Jerusalem in His twelfth year, in the customary manner prescribed for the Passover Feast. Jesus’ age is specifically tied to His going to the Passover. 12yrs. is evidently the minimal age for a young man to be considered able to actively participate in the Feast. According to MacArthur, Jesus would have been fully accountable to the Law by His next birthday.
“At 13 Jewish boys were considered to be obligated to the law of God themselves. They passed out from under parental authority & they were accountable to the law of God themselves at 13. That is why after Jesus time, not at Jesus time, after Jesus time an official ceremony developed & that is known as bar mitzvah. It wasn’t the ceremony of Jesus time but later on it developed, but it developed out of the idea, bar mitzvah meaning son of the law, or son of the commandment, that at 13 a son was responsible to the law of God. After all, Joseph was married probably at 14. Some Jewish historians say to this then that it was the father’s duty to take his son to the Passover, particularly the two years before he reached 13 so that he would have a full understanding of the Passover & of God as His Redeemer from sin. Very important because becoming a son of the law brought you into touch with your guilt & your need for redemption. And so according to the Talmud, fathers brought their sons as they approach 13 for this kind of experience & instruction.”—John MacArthur
“According to the custom of the Feast” entails all the traditional(some biblical, some not) aspects associated with the Feast.
“Custom”—eyov—1) Custom; 2) Usage prescribed by law, institute, prescription, rite. Strong—A usage (prescribed by habit or law).
Argumentation:
Jn. 9:18-23—“But the Jews did not believe concerning him, that he had been blind & received his sight, until they called the parents of him who had received his sight. And they asked them, saying, “Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?” His parents answered them & said, “We know that this is our son, & that he was born blind; but by what means he now sees we do not know, or who opened his eyes we do not know. He is of age; ask him. He will speak for himself.” His parents said these things because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had agreed already that if anyone confessed that He was Christ, he would be put out of the synagogue. Therefore his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.””
Jn. 3:3, 5-7—“Jesus answered and said to him[Nicodemus], “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”..... Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. “Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’”
You will reach a Stage(point) in life where you will approach God personally. Where you recognize that you alone are answerable to Him.
Some interrupt/preempt this Stage preferring instead to fill that God-ordained curiosity with laziness, satisfaction with worldly things, or replacement with worldly theories.
Illustration:
Babies grow thru recognizable STAGES/Cute, sweet innocencegTerrible 2’s, Jerk-y obnoxious Middle-Schoolers, Tween-Agers, Teens, Adults/STAGE
Let’s go Beyond the Age of accountability to the age of Hunger for & Discovery of God’s desire &ways/Let’s graduate to the Stage of salvation/Then Let’s graduate from there to become truly Christ-like in every moment of our living/STAGE
Application:
?Your STAGE substantiated by an Immersion in God’s Affairs?
?You of AGE to be Immersed/Absorbed in God’s Affairs?
? You Immersed/Absorbed in God’s Affairs?
CONCLUSION:
Visualization:
The Duggar’s Immersion & preoccupation with family
Action:
Immersion in God’s affairs is substantiated thru One’s...
1. WORSHIP(:41)
2. STAGE(:42)
Presented 08/21/2011pm to:
Needmore Baptist Church
1620 Mt. Vernon Rd.
Woodleaf, NC 27054
