Page 28 - Life of Christ w videos

descendant of Heli. Joseph’s name is mentioned in Luke according to common practice, but he is clearly
portrayed as the “supposed” father of Jesus, but the Holy Spirit is the actual father.

The purposes of the two genealogies are to demonstrate that Jesus was the descendant of King David in
both. Through his foster father (whose genealogy is presented in Matthew) Jesus inherited by law the
royal line. Through His mother He was a flesh and blood descendant of King David through David’s son
Nathan. Thus, Jesus had all the proper credentials to be the promised Messiah, the Son of David and
rightful heir of his throne.

The Childhood of Jesus (Luke 2:40-52)

Luke provided the only narrative of Jesus’ youth in the Gospel record. This was probably the first visit to
Jerusalem before the bar mitzvah of young Jesus. It was customary for Jewish parents to take their son
to the temple one or two years before he turned 13. Thus, Jesus’ visit to the temple at this age is
consistent with normal Jewish practice. It was also the practice for young Jewish boys to ask questions
of the teachers of the Law while visiting at the temple.

Jesus remained in the temple discussing Scripture even when his parents departed to return to
Nazareth. In those days, large groups of families traveled together to provide protection in caravans. It
was unnoticed that Jesus was not with the departing group. It is likely that Joseph and Mary had arrived
in Jericho before they noticed Jesus’ absence. They had to leave the protection of the caravan and
make the difficult climb back up to Jerusalem through the Judean wilderness. It would have been
normal for them to be quite upset by the time they made it back up the hill to Jerusalem, another day’s
journey.

By this time, Jesus knew who He was and why He was to earth. He knew He was the Messiah.
Surprising his parents, He asked why they sought Him. He reminded them that He was to be about His
Father’s business. In a sense, He reminded them who He was and why He had come. Somehow, his
parents had forgotten that He was God with us. Even after this incident, the Scriptures say that they did
not understand the statement which He spoke to them. The lesson is that Jesus’ childhood was
sufficiently normal, without miracles, and that he grew up as all the other children in the family, yet
without sin.

Jesus being fully human, set aside many Godly attributes such as omniscience and omnipotence so that
He could become 100% human. He had to learn as all other young boys did. It was the practice of
young boys to sit under the tutelage of the learned men of the synagogue during their early years.
Young boys were taught to read and write, and they memorized great portions of the Torah. Evidently
Jesus worked diligently to learn all He could, for while at the temple, the teachers of the law were
“astonished” at His understanding and answers.

Sepphoris – Zippori

This small city is located 3 ½ miles north-northwest of Nazareth. After the death of Herod the Great, a
rebel named Judas, attacked the garrison there and stole the treasury and weapons to arm a revolt
against Herodian rule. In response, the Roman governor of Syria burnt the city down and sold its
inhabitants into slavery.

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