Who is this Man? – Day 8

Classical children’s stories have an appeal on our imagination, especially those that end with a success story. The newspaper seller who eventually becomes the editor of an influential newspaper. The young boy from the township who becomes a member of parliament. Films and books on these kind of stories are normally bestsellers.

Have you thought about the young Jesus? In the Bible, we do not read, in any sense, a hero’s story about Him. This is strange. With our knowledge of education, we normally say that a child is formed within his or her first years. But the Bible says nothing about this regarding Jesus.

One can only fantasise over the young Jesus. What would He have been as a young boy? I see Him walking around in his father’s workshop. Was He a child who grew up as any other young child? Or did He never indulge in boyish mischief? He grew up between wood, sawdust, tools and nails – a mere elementary environment. Later in his life, He was still confronted with that simple upbringing. He played with his friends, learned to read, write and believe. The Bible skips this period. We read of his circumcision when He was eight days old and their flight to Egypt. In the subsequent part, He is already twelve years old. After that the Bible jumps to the last few years when Jesus actively ministered publicly.

Jesus was twelve years old when He, for the first time, performed in front of a bigger public audience, recalls Luke. We read of a few special things – that He became strong, was filled with wisdom and that the grace of God was on him. He, thus, became stronger and wiser and God Himself filled Him with wisdom.