Introduction

Good morning. Today, we will study Chapter 2 of the Gospel of Luke, which is themed Growing in Wisdom and Stature. This is the last verse of Chapter 2: And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man. Chapter 2 records the birth of Jesus Christ and His youthful growth.

How did Luke know this? Luke learned about the youthful growth of Jesus through detailed investigation and word of mouth. Whether these stories passed down orally are mere hearsay is another matter. It would seem inappropriate for Luke to write things down simply based on what others told him. In reality, Luke served God alongside the Apostle Paul, personally witnessing the power and miracles performed by Jesus Christ. Recalling the teachings of Jesus Christ and the records in the Bible, he wrote about the birth of Jesus Christ in this way.

I have titled this chapter: Growing in Wisdom and Stature! This is important for us; we need to have a concept of growth. Jesus Christ was born of the Virgin Mary through the Holy Spirit. His incarnation wasn't like Sun Wukong transforming himself with a shake. He was actually born from his mother's womb, just like us, and gradually grew from an infant to a teenager, then to his twenties. Then, at around thirty years old, Jesus Christ came out to serve God. If someone wasn't born from a mother's womb but transformed from a rock, that might not be a person.

Why did Jesus Christ come into the world as a man? Because Jesus Christ came to pave a path for us to grow in wisdom and stature. We can be like Jesus, because the Bible asks us to be like Jesus. He was a man of flesh and blood, meaning that we can overcome and grow together with Jesus Christ through all the things Jesus Christ experienced.

Recently, I've been particularly clear that understanding is very important. Wisdom and stature are inseparable from understanding. From Jesus Christ's growing experience, we can see that Jesus Christ didn't just take a USB drive from God, plug it into his brain, and copy and paste all the information. In the process of growing up, Jesus Christ, like us, loved to read God's word, and through continuous thinking and exploration, his wisdom and stature grew step by step.

Jesus became a child prodigy at the age of twelve; that came from continuous learning, not from being born that way. Many of us have some myths: we think that once we pray and are filled with the Holy Spirit, we will be full of wisdom and ability, and we no longer need to study or work. It’s as if we just copy and paste the information from a USB drive into our brains, and all we have to do is sit back with our legs crossed. Can this work? Definitely not.

The Miraculous Birth of Jesus Christ

Chapter 2 of the Gospel of Luke records the birth of Jesus Christ; this is super miraculous. Angels and prophets appeared at that time. But Jesus Christ, like us at birth, was just an infant. The most miraculous thing is that the Bible says Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem of Judah, while Mary lived in Nazareth of Galilee, which is about two hundred kilometers from Bethlehem, a two- or three-hour drive, from the northernmost to the southernmost part of Israel. Mary went to Bethlehem because the Roman Emperor Augustus had issued a decree that everyone in the Roman Empire had to be counted in a census and registered.

So Mary and Joseph had to return to Bethlehem of Judah, their hometown. If you ask me if they still had acquaintances in their hometown, I think they did. Jesus was born in Bethlehem, and this process is also very interesting. There were no rooms available in the inn that day; everyone had returned to their hometowns, and all the foreigners were crowded together. It was a complete mess. So what to do? Mary and Joseph had no choice but to find a stable temporarily, and Jesus was born in a manger, with no tables or chairs around.

But an angel appeared to the shepherds nearby and said that the savior they had been longing for had been born and was now in the manger; that was the sign. These shepherds hurried to Bethlehem and indeed found the baby Jesus lying in the manger. But even such a miraculous event cannot replace Jesus Christ's growing up from a small age, and his wisdom and stature must continue to grow.

In other words, the process of our growing up from childhood is not like Investiture of the Gods, but a real and steady growth process. Even if your birth is miraculous, it cannot replace your learning in the process of growing up, because the Bible teaches us to read the word of God carefully. So after Jesus was born, like us, he spoke at the age of one, walked at the age of three, ate at the age of four...he grew up little by little.

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favour rests.” When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, (Luke 2:8-17)

I think these shepherds were looking forward to and discussing the birth of the Savior Jesus Christ every day. In that era, the whole of Israel was spreading the news that the Savior was about to be born. Can a person's miraculous experience from childhood replace future growth? No! Even if Jesus Christ experienced miraculous things, he still needs to continue to grow. This event fulfilled what the prophets had said: He would be born in Bethlehem.

Every Firstborn Male Shall Be Consecrated to the Lord

And all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told. On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise the child, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he was conceived. When the time came for the purification rites required by the Law of Moses, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord”), and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: “a pair of doves or two young pigeons.” (Luke 2:18-24)

Once, I met a preacher from Beijing, and we sat together and chatted at night. He told me many stories. He said that China would completely turn to God because China has a one-child policy. If every family has only one child, then the firstborn must be dedicated to God. Although there are also cases of having more than one child, most of them are within the scope of the family planning policy.

Because an entire generation in China is composed of only children, all of them should be consecrated to Jehovah God. The year my niece was born was the year the country just started the family planning policy. She was among the first batch of only children. The time when China implemented the one-child policy was exactly the same as the age of Jesus Christ on earth. Jesus Christ was on earth for 33 years, and China implemented the one-child policy for 33 years. This is a very miraculous coincidence.

Whether you and I are firstborn or not, we must be consecrated to Jehovah God. We must learn to grow in wisdom and stature together. In our pastoral system, growth is key, so I have talked a lot about understanding in the past. The matter of understanding is not easy to explain. When you talk about understanding, it is easy to lose faith; when you talk about faith, it is easy to lose understanding.

Because faith requires simply believing, people can easily fall into blind faith. Blind faith is not true faith; true faith is faith that comes from fully knowing God in understanding. Why are people deceived by demons? It is because they do not understand the word of God and do not fully know God in understanding. If you do not like to read since childhood, I encourage you to start liking reading.

Jesus Christ was the firstborn and was also dedicated to the Lord, but this cannot be an excuse for him not to grow well in understanding. The Christian faith highly values education. 3500 years ago, Moses promoted learning among the Israelites, because the Bible asks us to read the word of God, so there were no illiterates among the Jewish people.

The Jews do not blindly manage the country, but some places like to implement some policies to fool the people, thinking that it is easier to manage if the people are a little stupid. Is it easier to manage when the people are smarter or when they are stupider? Because of the Bible, the Israelites hope that every commoner becomes wise and intelligent. It just so happens that Jesus Christ is the epitome of wisdom, possessing wisdom and stature, and increasing in favour with God and man.

Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying: “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all nations: a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel.” The child’s father and mother marveled at what was said about him. (Luke 2:25-33)

Joseph and Mary both knew that Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit, so they didn't find it strange. After meeting Simeon, they became even more certain that this was a miraculous event. Simeon was a prophet who had the revelation of the Holy Spirit and knew that he would see the Christ established by God.

Jesus' Miraculous Birth Did Not Replace His Gradual Growth

Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul, too.” There was also a prophet, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem. (Luke 2:34-38)

Mary treasured all these things and pondered them in her heart, for the birth of Jesus was a miraculous event. Although these miraculous things happened to Jesus Christ, from childhood to adulthood, Jesus Christ still grew steadily, step by step. In understanding the Word of God, Jesus was definitely not a lazy person; He loved reading God's Word from a young age. In fact, everyone's birth has a story, not just Jesus' birth. For example, some people are born crying, and some are born smiling.

My mother told me that when I was young, she would wrap me in a blanket and put me on the heated brick bed, while she attended meetings nearby. I would stay quiet and not cry, and no one knew there was a child on the bed! There are five of us siblings, each different. My mother was truly blessed to have a son like me. I rarely troubled my parents as a child, and they especially liked attending my parent-teacher conferences because I did well in school.

Everyone's birth involves some experience, whether crying or making a fuss. You can see their character at three years old, and character determines the future. You might say that Jacob was unlucky, originally supposed to be the firstborn, but because he was born a step later, he became the secondborn. How could the status of the secondborn be changed? Our God is the God of Abraham, the God of Jacob. Jacob was born a step later, originally the secondborn, but why did he eventually become the firstborn? Because Jacob had a character that pleased God.

Our God delights in Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph because they all possessed a certain character, and God was with them. Would these characters be reflected in Jesus? Yes! If Jesus encountered a theological problem, He would constantly explore and study it until the problem was solved. We have come into this world with great difficulty, and although your and my birth backgrounds cannot be changed, can we change some things? We cannot choose the environment of our birth, but we can choose to have faith in God, longing to become a vessel used by God. If you have this kind of character within you, even if you are not the firstborn, you can still inherit the rights of the firstborn.

Joseph had ten older brothers, but later God raised up Joseph, and Joseph fulfilled his destiny. The key to this matter is that we need to study and grow well postnatally so that wisdom and stature grow together, pleasing God, and increasing favor with God and man. Who doesn't dislike someone who cries all day long? Jesus grew in favor with God and man.

We need to begin to understand the purpose of Luke chapter 2. Luke clearly understood how to emulate Jesus Christ and the Apostle Paul. Such teachings are written clearly in Luke's theological system. Even though Jesus Christ experienced the miraculous events of the prophets Simeon and Anna, and the shepherds of Bethlehem, it could not replace his gradual growth. The miraculous events that occur at a person's birth cannot replace a person's gradual strengthening and filling with wisdom.

The key to a person's growth lies in our inner attitude. Some people say, how many Jesuses and Pauls are there? There is only one Paul, and there is only one Jesus. With this attitude, how is it possible to be like Jesus? If you think that's just how you are, you can't compete with your father's connections, you can't compete with your mother's connections, you can't compete with anything, but you can compete in laziness, that's troublesome, isn't it?

Our God allowed Jesus Christ to be born, allowing all who trust in Him to experience miraculous things, hoping that we would have the character of Joseph and Jacob. The core of this character is faith; nothing is impossible with God. We must never shirk our responsibilities and just blame our parents, blame our family background, even blame the moon and Mars, but never blame ourselves. That's troublesome, isn't it? We must love reading God's Word and constantly break through in understanding.

Longing to Do Things that Please God

Jesus Christ grew gradually, not suddenly transforming into a young man in his twenties, and then turning into a young man in his thirties after three days. That would be frightening. He grew gradually, his body gradually strengthened, and he gradually gained wisdom. Luke gives an example of Jesus discussing the Word of God with the teachers of the law in the temple. He was twelve years old that year and still needed his parents to bring him. Since He is God, why does He need people to bring Him? Some people think, if He stomped the ground, He could immediately fly from China to Canada, how great would that be! But Jesus is like us humans.

Later, his parents thought Jesus was traveling with them back to Galilee. After traveling a day's journey, they realized that Jesus was missing and returned to Jerusalem to look for Him. This was three days later. Finally, they found Jesus in the temple constantly discussing faith and the Word of God with the teachers of the law. Jesus had been constantly discussing the Word of God for three days. Did he bring money with him? No, he didn't. Actually, Jesus didn't feel anything about it, being in the temple every day. What kind of child is this? This is a child who forgets to eat and sleep in seeking truth. If you are also twelve years old, to emulate Jesus, emulate his character.

Jesus' parents were anxious when they didn't see Jesus, and when they found Jesus, they blamed Him:

His parents were astonished. “Son,” his mother said to him, “why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you.” “Why were you searching for me?” he asked. “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?” But they did not understand what he was saying to them. (Luke 2:48-50)

We must know that if a person is mindful of the things of his Father, he will surely grow in wisdom and stature. What exactly do we have inside us? If what we have inside us is buying five pairs of oxen, buying a piece of land, and buying a house, not being mindful of the things of our Father, can you be smart? Brothers and sisters, ponder this carefully. We must constantly grow in understanding, wisdom, and stature. How do we measure this growth? The degree to which we please God determines our growth, that is, what God requires of us, we all long to do.

Those chosen by God, like Jesus and John the Baptist, are not difficult children to deal with. Difficult children will turn the home upside down. Some people are over thirty years old and have achieved nothing, and their parents are worried sick. They have not grown in the past many years, lacking wisdom. They are not transparent about many things in their understanding, nor are they clear about them. It is better for a person to realize he is not clear at thirty years old than to realize it at eighty years old.

People who are thirty years old must hurry and change. The past thirty years have been wasted, learning this and learning that, obtaining many diplomas, but none of them are useful. They still want to continue getting diplomas, taking civil service exams, and taking state-owned enterprise exams. What is this doing? People just don't know to improve their inner understanding; people must have wisdom.

Those who heard Jesus Christ's discussions with the teachers of the law in the temple were amazed. They were amazed that this child in his teens had such wisdom and intelligence because Jesus loved reading God's Word from a young age. Let us begin today, constantly promoting our growth, causing wisdom, stature, and the desire to please God to grow constantly. How could the people around us not like you? We must not develop bad habits, as if the body is electrified, the hair stands on end, and you suddenly understand; but if you are not electrified, and your hair does not stand on end, and you don't have that feeling, then you won't do it? This is not what the Bible teaches.

Conclusion

We must be filled with the knowledge of God in our understanding, constantly understanding the things we face. We are not doing things blindly and confusedly, but we understand fully in our understanding, and the decisions and work we do will be very clear. If we do everything unclearly and confusedly, what will we do in the future? No matter what state we are in, Jesus is constantly growing, and we must also constantly grow.

Jesus became the lamb who redeems us, offering Himself as our sin offering, dying and being buried for us, opening up a path of resurrection for us. Jesus was able to rise from the dead and bestow the power of resurrection upon us, our wisdom, stature, pleasing God, and favor with people will also grow together. Faith without understanding is blind. Today, you and I must know the Word of God, and in knowing the things of God, no longer be lazy, no longer procrastinate, and constantly grow in understanding.

May God bless everyone!