Luk 2:40 And the Child grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him.
Except that time when his mum and dad took him up to Jerusalem at the yearly Feast of Passover.
This little child now 12 years among us had been developing his spiritual life with God while living in Nazareth. In Jerusalem the extent of his spirituality first appears. The adult men who had searched the Scriptures all their lives were overwhelmed by the wisdom of Jesus’ answers.
At 12 Jesus was having a taste of the public revealing he would have to wait another 18 years to reveal. Young Jesus stayed behind in the Temple when Passover had ended and his parents did not know. When they asked him why he had hurt them with anxiety and grief here is what he said.
And he said to them, Why is it that you seek me, do you not know that [among the things of my father it is necessary for me to be]? Luke 2:49 ABP
Such was the call of God upon young Jesus that he knew he was to be among the things of his father according to who he is.
Jesus is the Word of God made flesh. That little boy is the creative word of Father….but he went back with his parents and remained in submission to them until age 30.
Every sabbath Jesus would go to the synagogue…and the years passed by without any record of Jesus saying anything out of the ordinary.
But the day came when it was his turn to read from the Scroll.
Luk 4:16 So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read.
Luk 4:17 And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written:
Luk 4:18 “THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME, BECAUSE HE HAS ANOINTED ME TO PREACH THE GOSPEL TO THE POOR; HE HAS SENT ME TO HEAL THE BROKENHEARTED, TO PROCLAIM LIBERTY TO THE CAPTIVES AND RECOVERY OF SIGHT TO THE BLIND, TO SET AT LIBERTY THOSE WHO ARE OPPRESSED;
Luk 4:19 TO PROCLAIM THE ACCEPTABLE YEAR OF THE LORD.”
Luk 4:20 Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him.
Luk 4:21 And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
Luk 4:22 So all bore witness to Him, and marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth. And they said, “Is this not Joseph’s son?”
All of those in the synagogue had known Jesus since childhood. When Jesus boldly declared that Isaiah 61 was written directly about him these men who had known Jesus only by outward appearance suddenly turned on him and wanted to kill him for uttering blasphemy.
This well known passage is about the Messiah of Israel who would come to save His people…Not some carpenters son from Nazareth!! Surely not!!
They were so outraged by this upstart in their midst that murder filled their hearts.
You know where I am heading with this don’t you?
Absolutely correct!
There are many who have been set aside by Father, hidden as it were in the womb of the world. They work alongside people in all kinds of vocations. They have long since stopped going to church because church holds no life for them. They have lost their religion…they have died to their old self made self ….they have been in the cocoon pressing their wings against the constrictions. They have been gripped with fierce determination by One whose purpose is to form Christ Jesus in their hearts and souls.
They for the most part have not known what is happening to them. They have been through lonely years of doubting everything, years of being seemingly unfruitful, of being out in the cold, suffering outside the camp. Darkness has seemed to have been their only friend. All the old outer voices that they used to hear for guidance have long ago ceased. They have been forced to look inward to find Jesus for all of the Jesus’ they see outwardly are cruel copies and hoaxes.
Fake Jesus’ running around pretending to be like Jesus. These ones know without any doubt that they can never be like Jesus, not even with the Holy Spirit’s help! They have tasted of defeat every time they thought they had accomplished some Jesus deed. They have stopped listening to the ones who encourage them to try again to be like Jesus. Such stuff is a merry-go-round of boasting and pretending and shame and defeat. They have quietly walked away from such madness choosing rather to suffer in the wilderness than to partake of the passing pleasures of Egypt with the masses.
In all the darkness and long prison term of being like Joseph in Pharoah’s prison they have learned that it is not about them at all but about God. It is not about their plan and their calling but about God birthing His Purpose in and through them. So they died in their individual cell saying, “Your will be done Father!”
And just like Joseph when he finally forgot who he was before and rested fully in who He/he is now the call will come from the Father to come forth from prison into the light of full disclosure. They have been soaking in the reality that Jesus has come fully into them to be FULLY HIMSELF IN THEM. They have come to know without any shadow of a doubt that they are ONE person…Jesus in Father in them and they in Him.
And they just rest in Him…just as He rests in them–person inside of person, inside of person.
God is getting ready to bring these ones out of obscurity into the full disclosure of the light of day…Under the full scrutiny of a Church that prefers a God far away. These shall speak and do things that shall cause many to say Emmanuel… God is with us. And yet again the self-made religious-selves shall be angry and want to kill Jesus….the Man who can do NOTHING of himself…and did nothing For God.
Meanwhile the people of the world will rejoice as Jesus heals and sets free the oppressed….while those with a view of themselves as Righteous by deeds shall gnash their teeth and cry anti christ.
