FAST FORWARD

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth. And the child grew and became strong; He was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was on Him.

Luke 2:39-40

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Here we are near the end of January, nearly a month since we celebrated the Christmas season. Look to any nativity scene and you’ll usually see Joseph, Mary, and Jesus, along with animals who may have been there with them in the stable. Some scenes also add the three wise men but in doing so, they take the same slant as Matthew in telling the events of the Christmas story. That slant fast forwards ahead of several other significant events in Jesus’ early months.

This is why studying the Gospels in tandem with one other is so critical. For if one does, they will realize that Jesus went through a circumcision and naming event on His eighth day of life and a dedication ceremony on day 40. We have covered both of these occurrences in devotions over the past two days and it’s important to note that they happened well before the Magi came on the scene to worship and bring gifts to Jesus as they found their long sought King of the Jews, the Messiah who had been predicted by the prophets.

Yes, Matthew hit the fast forward button and blew past Jesus’ circumcision, naming, and dedication but as we see in today’s devotion, Luke had the same problem in his coverage of Jesus’ life. Look at where he goes after the dedication ceremony:

When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth. And the child grew and became strong; He was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was on Him.  Luke 2:39-40

Now one might believe that this happened immediately after Joseph and Mary took Jesus to God’s temple, dedicated Him in accordance with the Law of the Lord, and encountered Simeon and Anna, but that’s not the way things happened. You would have to revert back to the Gospel of Matthew to pick up with the journey and eventual visit of the Magi, King Herod’s desire to find and kill Jesus, Herod’s order to kill all boys age two and under in Bethlehem after being snubbed by the Magi, and Joseph taking Mary and Jesus to Egypt to escape Herod’s murderous plot. It wasn’t until Herod passed, that Joseph, Mary, and Jesus returned to Galilee and their hometown of Nazareth. Simply studying Luke alone would find you missing all this.

Once Joseph and Mary had obediently done everything required by the Law of the Lord and followed the Lord’s guidance in avoiding the danger posed by Herod, they returned to Galilee and Nazareth, a point that Matthew and Luke hold in agreement. Once there, we learn that Jesus “grew and became strong” as He was “filled with wisdom.” Through this development, the scriptures remind us that the “grace of God was on Him.”

Now we don’t know Jesus’ exact age when Joseph and Mary brought Him back to Nazareth but we can estimate that He was either just before or after two years of age. Of interest, there is no more coverage of Jesus’ life from that point until He reaches the age of 12 and goes about His Father’s business during a visit to Jerusalem,

In other words, Luke fast forwards through Jesus’ earliest elementary years, not revealing any specific details of things the boy would have done until He would become a teenager. We’ll look at that Jerusalem visit at the age of 12 in tomorrow’s devotion.

Until then, be blessed.

In Christ,

Mark

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