Day 134: Luke 2:51–52

Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and with people (v. 52).

Luke 2:52 appears brief and to the point but actually broadens dramatically our concept of Christ during those years when He went from boy to mature man.

Jesus grew in wisdom. The Greek word for “wisdom” is sophia. Consider two segments of the definition: (1) Sophia is skill in the affairs of life, practical wisdom, and wise management as shown in forming the best plans and selecting the best means, including the idea of sound judgment and good sense. (2) In respect to divine things, sophia is wisdom, knowledge, insight, deep understanding. So as you seek to formulate an impression of what Christ was like in His earthly form, please view Him as both completely practical and deeply spiritual. In fact, Christ came to show us that the deeply spiritual is very practical.

I encourage you to avoid imagining Christ as so deep you’d have to dig to find Him or so spiritual His head is in the clouds. He came bringing heaven to earth. In today’s terms, He was a man who could preach an anointed sermon, then change a flat tire on the way home from church.

No wonder Christ became such a rare teacher! Believing people are starving for a wisdom that is both deeply spiritual and vastly practical. Christ embodied every dimension of wisdom in His earthly life, even before He officially began His public ministry.

Jesus grew in stature. This phrase tells us the obvious: Christ grew physically (and mentally) in the vigor and stature of a man. What is, of course, less obvious is what He grew to look like. God’s Word lets us use our permanent markers only once as we try to imagine Christ’s appearance, even though our solitary source happens to be one of my least favorite verses. God knows my heart and why I feel this way.

Isaiah 53:2 predicts about the coming Messiah: “He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.” I simply cannot imagine Christ not being beautiful, but I also believe beauty is in the eye of the beholder. All of us can think of people who are beautiful to us but whose faces might never be chosen for a magazine cover. Don’t read more into Isaiah 53:2 than is there, however. The intent of the original terms is that He didn’t have a magnificent, godlike physical appearance that attracted people to Him. The descriptions don’t necessarily imply that Christ was unattractive but that His looks were most likely ordinary.

Jesus grew in favor with God. Oh, how I love picturing the relationship Christ shared with His heavenly Father. I will limit my comments for now because I don’t want to steal the joy of discovery as we search out dimensions of their relationship in the days to come.

For now, note what the word favor means. The Greek word is charis, which is often translated “grace” in the New Testament. Charis means “grace, particularly that which causes joy, pleasure, gratification, favor, acceptance.” Jesus’ growing in favor with God basically implies that their relationship became an increasing delight to both of them. Without a doubt, the relationship between God the Father and God the Son is totally unique. Indeed Jesus is the One and Only—the only begotten of the Father. And the relationship the two of them shared while Christ was earthbound is unparalleled.

Jesus grew in favor with men. As we attempt to formulate a picture of Christ’s stature and personality, this description is extremely important. Isaiah 53:3 tells us that He was despised and rejected by men. But understand that He was not despised and rejected until He became a complete threat to the establishment. Actually, His popularity was the driving force behind Jesus’ opponents’ lust for His blood.

In Luke 2:52, God states Christ’s favor with men, but throughout the Gospels He demonstrates it. Fishermen don’t leave their nets to follow someone void of personality. People didn’t just respect Him—they liked Him. The word favor is undeniably related to the word favorite. I don’t believe we are stretching the text in the least to say that Christ was a favorite of many who knew Him.

Think for a few moments of the different characteristics of people who tend to capture your favor. Unless those characteristics are inconsistent with godliness, in all likelihood Christ possessed them. I can readily share a few of my favorite characteristics in people: godly, warm, and personable, at least somewhat demonstrative, knowledgeable in a specific area so I can learn from them, trustworthy, and funny! Although God’s Word tells us that we are not to show favoritism, all of us have favorite characteristics we enjoy in people. You can safely assume that Christ possessed many of the dimensions you would favor most.

I simply want you to be reminded that He was real. His sandals flapped when He walked down the road. His hair was misshapen when He awakened. He had to brush the bread crumbs off His beard after He ate. The muscles in His arms flexed when He lifted His little brothers and sisters. He had hair on His arms and warmth in His palms. He was the Son of God and the Son of man. Fathom the unfathomable.