Southern Christian Advocate

BIBLE STUDY.

Childhood and Youth of Jesus,

Lesson for February 9. Luke, ii, 40-52. Time:

About twelve years after last Lesson.

Place: One of the porches or rooms adjoining

the Temple in Jerusalem.

BY PRESIDENT JAMES H. CARLISLE.

"And the child grew and waxed

strong in spirit, filled with wisdom :

and the grace of God was upon Him."

These few words are all that we know.

about twelve years, in the earthly life

of Jesus. The growth of a common

child. in body, mind, and soul, is sur-

rounded with mystery. Much more

is the growth of Jesus, and His con-

stantly being filled with wisdom, be-

yond our understanding. We can, at

least. try to picture a model child,

perfect in all childlike graces. That

nine-tenths of the earthly life of

Jesus should be passed in obscurity

is a wonderful object lesson. It can-

not be accidental or incidental. It

must have lessons of patience. unsel-

fishness and humility for all who can

learn them. Younger classes in our

Sundav schools will listen attentively

while the teacher speaks tenderly and

wisely about the childhood and early

boyhoodof Jesus.

"Now His parents went to Jerusa-

lem every year." We are not good

judges beforehand as to what the

Son of God should do in many cases.

But we cannot think of Him as choos-

ing for His earthly home a house

where religion was neglected. We

expect His mother to be devout. The

home which He blessed for so many

years was one where the religious cere-

monies of that day were observed.

For one week in the Spring of each

year the carpenter closed his shop

and went with his household up to

the Holy City, where the tribes as-

sembled. The men were expected to

attend the solemn Passover rites.

Women. when their health and duties

allowed. frequently went also. About

the critical age of twelve boys were

first taken to Jerusalem. It must

have been an era in the life of any

boy to visit the Temple for the first

time. Much of the table talk. and

fireside talk, which he had heard from

childhood was about the city of their

fathers. sc beautiful for situation.

On each yearly return from the Pass-

over the pious father would have new

stories to tell of the great national

sacrifices and feast. In the case of

this boy of twelve years all these rea-

sons were greatly intensified. Even

our wisest men to-day cannot fully

sympathize with the hungering and

thirsting, the Divine aspirations and

enjoyments with which the son of

Mary passed through the march to

the city and the week of religious

worship. All this is passed over in

silence by the historian. What Jesus

saw, what He said, what questions He

asked. what notice was paid to Him.

we do not know. The week closed.

and the worshipers started to their

homes. All tbe families from Naza-

reth and its neighborhood, probably,

went in company, the children group-

ing together, so that those of several

families would be found under the

care of friends of their parents. In

the East chilaren mature earlier than

with us, so that greater indulgence is

given them. And we may very well

suppose that Mary had often noticed

the unusual prudence. wisdom and

maturity of her wonderful child, so

that she had naturally learned to put

all possible confidence in Him. She

had" found that He could be trusted.

so that she was not readily alarmed

at His absence. At night, however,

it was expected that each family group

should gather where its fire was

lighted or its tent was spread. Then,

for the first time. the absence of Jesus

was noticed with concern. Going

back to the city. after some search,

the anxious parents found Him in one

of the porches or adjoining rooms of

the Temple. He was with the wise

religious teachers who were consid-

ered able to teach the young. He

was listening to them as they talked.

He was asking them questions in a

very proper spirit and manner. His

questions and His answers were such

as to astonish these aged men. They

were not such questions and answers

as they had heard from boys. Even

mothers, sometimes, seeing their chil-

dren every dav, are slow to appreciate

their growth and their passing over

the critical stages of youth.

It is touching to read that Mary

spoke to Jesusin the common words

which other mothers used. "Son""

To that tender name Jesus had often

answered at His Nazareth home. She

who can address a boy or man, of any

age, by that name has a special claim

on his ready answer and his prompt

obedience. In answer to her moth-

erly question and mild rebuke we

have the first recorded words of Jesus:

"How is it that ye sought me? Wist

ye not that I must be about my

Father's business ?" It is not an easy

experience for a mother, when she

finds the individuality of her child

more completely separating his life

from her own. Education and busi-

ness make their unwelcome demands,

and the boy must yield to them against

the struggling instinctsof the parents,

especially of the mother. The time

had come when Jesus could intimate

to His mother that other claims. su-

perior even to hers. were to be made

upon His time and energies. The

mother did not fully understand Him.

But the mystery attending His words

made them more impressive, and she

hid them away in a mother's retentive

memory with many others which the

historian has handed down to us.

"I must be about my Father's bu-

siness!" or "in mv Father's house.'

Canon Farrar. in his Life of Christ.

adopted the first meaning, which is

given in our common version. The

revised version retains this meaning.

and gives the second in the margin.

Farrar has since accepted the second

meaning as more probably the true

one. In this view, the answer is

briefly this : " Why were vou seeking

me elsewhere? Did vou not know

that I must be in my Father's house?"

He went home with them. and was

"subject to His parents." These

words are a lesson to boys just enter-

ing their teens.

"And Jesus increased in wisdom

and stature, and in favor with God and

man." These words cover eighteen

years of a Divine life that was lived

in the quiet town of Nazareth ! With

proper effort on the part of teachers

this lesson mav be made especiallv in-

structive to those of twelve years of

age and upward.

Much that was said and done by

Jesus before entering upon His pub-

lic ministry was rnmored abroad, and

was handed down to the next gener-

ation by tradition. In the second

centurv some of these were embodied

in The First Gospel of the Infancy

of Jesus Christ." We learn from

this what shape these traditions took

after the necessarv and inevitable ad-

ditions and exaggerations were joined

to them. They may help us to ap-

preciate more than ever the delicacy

and reserve of the inspired historv.

For this purpose we copv from this

"Apocryphal"New Testament" the

account of the incident in our lesson:

"And when Jesus was twelve vears

old they brought Him to .Jerusalem to

the feast: and when the feast was

over they returned. But the Lord

Jesus continued behind in the Tem-

ple among the elders and learned men

of Israel, to whom He proposed several


questions of learning, and also gave

them answers.for He said to them :

Whose son is the Messiah ?" they

answered. 'the son of David.''W hy

then.' said He, 'does he, in spirit,

call him Lord? When he said :The

Lord said to my Lord sit there at my

right hand till I have made thine ene-

mies thy footstool.' Then a certain

principal Rabbi asked him: Hast

Thou read books:' Jesus answered

He had read both books and the things

which were contained in books. And

He explained to them the books of the

law, and precepts, and statutes, and

the mvsteries which are contained in

the books of the Prophets: things

which the mind of no creature could

reach. Then said the Rabbi: 'I

never vet have seen or heard of such

knowledge! What do vou think that

boy will be ?' When a certain astro-

nomer. who was present, asked the

Lord Jesus whether He had studied

astronomy, the Lord Jesus replied.

and told him the number of the

spheres and heavenly bodies, as also

their triangular, square and sextile

aspect, their progressive and retro-

grade motion, their size and several

prognostications, and other things

which the reason of man had never

discovered. There was also among

them a certain philosopher. whoasked

the Lord Jesus 'whether HIe had

studied physic and natural philoso

phy ?' He replied, and explained to

him phvsics and metaphvsics, also

those things which were above and

below the power of nature, the powers

also of the body. its humors and their
effects. also the number of its mem-

bers, and bones, veins, arteries and

nerves, the several constitutions of

body, hot and dry, cold and moist.

and the tendencies of them : how the

soul operated upon the body: what

its various sensations and faculties

were: the faculty of speaking. anger.

desire, and, lastlv. the manner of its

composition and dissolution, and

other things which the understanding

of no creature had ever reached.

Then that philosopher arose and wor:

shiped the Lord "Jesus. and said

•O Lord Jesus. from henceforth I

will be Thy disciple and servant.'"

This Apocrvphal Gospel closes with

these words : " This is He whom we

worship with all reverence because He

gave us our life and being and brought

us from our mother's womb; who for

our sakes took a human bodv, and

hath redeemed us, that so He might

embrace us with everlasting mercy.

and shew His free. large. bountiful

grace and goodness to us. To Him

be glorv. and praise, and power, and

dominion, from henceforth and for-

evermore. Amen."

Spartanburg, S. C.