Jesus, God's Son

  • David Fairchild
  • Dec 16, 2007
  • Series: Topical

TEXT 

Luke 2:41-52: "Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover. 42 And when he was twelve years old, they went up according to custom.  43 And when the feast was ended, as they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents did not know it,  44 but supposing him to be in the group they went a day's journey, but then they began to search for him among their relatives and acquaintances,  45 and when they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem, searching for him.  46 After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions.  47 And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers.  48 And when his parents saw him, they were astonished. And his mother said to him, ‘Son, why have you treated us so? Behold, your father and I have been searching for you in great distress.'  49 And he said to them, ‘Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?'  50 And they did not understand the saying that he spoke to them.  51 And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them. And his mother treasured up all these things in her heart.  52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man." 

Luke 3:21-23: "Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heavens were opened,  22 and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form, like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.'  23 Jesus, when he began his ministry, was about thirty years of age, being the son (as was supposed) of Joseph, the son of Heli"

INTRODUCTION 

A couple of weeks ago we began a study of the life of Jesus.  We're building a biography as we examine Him at a time of year when the Church has traditionally taken a few weeks to look straight at Jesus and consider who He is.

As we mentioned before, Luke writes this letter to "most excellent Theophilus" to give to him an account of Jesus by gathering the eye witnesses and compiling a narrative from the facts about Jesus. 

This is written not only for Theophilus, but for us as well.  Luke claims these things to be true, which is why they're recorded as they are.  But Luke is not simply interested in acting as a journalist; his desire is that those who read his account would have a relationship with God through Jesus.  Everything he writes is true and is for us to encounter and meet Jesus. 

What we're looking at this morning in these two passages have a common thread.  Luke is showing to us the true identity of Jesus. 

I.  The True Identity of Jesus 

In these stories we read the account of Jesus at 12 years old in the Temple and then we read about Jesus being baptized at 30. 

The problem with most Christmas texts is that they're recited so often that they lose their impact on us.  Our senses become dull.  I lived in Tacoma, Washington for a couple of years and it is notorious for its smell.  It's actually called the armpit of Washington and when you drive through it you get the Tacoma aroma.  There was a paper mill on the bay and the smell that came from it was simply awful.

When I moved there I remember telling my mom that I'd never get used to the stink.  Well, within a couple of days of living there, I no longer noticed the smell and after a few weeks, it would only be when friends came over and would ask, "what is that stink?" that would remind me.  My sense of smell had become numbed because of familiarity.  Is that happening to you at this time of year?  Have your senses become dulled because you've heard these stories so many times?

I'm hoping we recover some of the wonder of these stories, so we need to examine them a little bit and think about them with a refreshed sense.  We have to ask again why they are here.  Why did God think it was significant to teach us about Jesus' sonship?  What does it have to do with us? 

Jesus' Sonship as a Boy

In the first story in chapter 2 (vv. 41-52), we see the amazing Sonship of Jesus as a boy.  

At this point, Jesus had probably traveled to Jerusalem for the Passover Feast many times since it was customary to do so.  But Luke highlights this particular occasion, and it is a special time for Jesus to come to Jerusalem because on this trip Jesus was 12. 

Why does this matter?  At the age of 13 a young man would be expected to take on adult responsibilities.  This means that at 12 a young man would enter into an intense relationship with his father who would take him under his wing and would apprentice him in his calling as an adult.  Joseph would have begun to apprentice Jesus as a carpenter.  But the training wouldn't stop there; he would have trained Jesus on the Torah and taught Him about his faith to teach Him about God.  Joseph would have taken this opportunity at the Passover to explain and teach Jesus how significant Passover was, it's meaning and purpose. 

Of all years, this year would have been special for Joseph and Jesus.  Yet as Jesus' parents are walking home from Jerusalem, they're a day into their journey when they realize that Jesus is not with them.  We know from the story that Jesus had stayed behind so that He could sit at the Temple and converse with the teachers. 

Now, in this time, an entire town would travel down from the countryside to Jerusalem which would have included friends, neighbors and relatives.  The men would walk the men, the women would walk and talk with the women and the kids would be together traveling and playing along the way.  It was easy to assume that Jesus was with Joseph or with Mary or even with the kids, so you wouldn't worry about them since they all traveled together. 

So back they travel to Jerusalem and Mary finds Jesus in the Temple.  I'm sure through tears and relief mixed with fear and astonishment she sort of rebukes Jesus in v. 48 and says, "Son, why have you treated us so? Behold, your father and I have been searching for you in great distress."

This is pretty normal for moms to throw in the father's role when they're speaking to their sons because it's intended to make the son realize that dad knows and isn't happy.  

Luke is teaching us this story for a reason, not just because it's true, but because it's significant that Jesus is 12.  This makes sense that he records Mary's comment to Jesus about his father.  She says, "your father and I..."   

This is the one year that you're supposed to be doing the will of your father.  This is the one year that you should have been walking with your father.  This is the one year you should have been listening to your father.  This is the one year you should have been learning from your father and being apprenticed by your father to fulfill your calling for your father's business.  You should have been traveling with your father to his house.  

What does Jesus say in response?

Verse 49: "And he said to them, ‘Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?'" 

In other words, mom...I am. 

She says, "your father," and Jesus replies by saying, "my Father."  He's answering her.  Mary wants to know how He could be treating His father like this and Jesus shows His mother what's happening to Him.  "Mom, it's happening, I'm doing my Father's business, I'm in my Father's house."  

We have no idea how Jesus knew what was happening to Him.  It could have been through the teaching at the Temple through God's word.  It could have been a confirmation through a sense of the Father's will for Him.  It could have been the voice of God spoken to Him inwardly.  We don't know.

But what we do know is that this was the time a son was supposed to learn from, be apprenticed by, and learn his father's will and to take on his calling.  The year that a son's father is to speak to him, Jesus' true Father begins to teach him and show Him who He truly is and what He's here to do.  

Jesus is learning about His Sonship.  This is why He says to Mary, "I must be in my Father's house." 

Why in v. 50 didn't they understand what He was saying?  Why were they so astonished by what was happening? 

This is really hard for us to understand because we don't live in a tight-knit family like families were in the time of Jesus.  Familial duty was everything.  Every decision you made was in direct reflection of and concern for your family.  This is why Mary tells Jesus that He's distressed them.  She's saying that He's not done the ultimate duty which is to honor your family, your father.

But Jesus' response basically tells her that He has a relationship with God that is far deeper than His relationship with her.  Jesus has the audacity to essentially claim that He has a relationship with God that is more profound than anyone has ever had.  

Judaism rarely addressed God as a Father.  As far as we know, no one called God Father in a personal way until Jesus.  No one would dare say, "God is my Father."  They might say, "God is our Father," but not "my."  He's making this tremendous claim that He's God's Son and that God is His Father.  This is something unseen, unknown, and totally astonishing at this point. 

Yet in v. 51 we see something amazing don't we?  It says, "And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them. And his mother treasured up all these things in her heart." 

Jesus was God's only Son and yet after making this stunning claim, leaves with them and is submissive to them.  Why is this here?  What does this say about God, about Jesus?

Jesus shows both a supremacy as well as a humility, a majesty and privilege and yet a meekness.  We begin to see traits in Jesus that mark the rest of His life and show us who He is. 

Also, let's look at the next story in chapter 3.

Jesus' Sonship as a Man  

In this story we fast forward to Jesus at 30 years of age.  It's the very next event in Jesus' life.  You have Jesus at 12, then jump 18 years to Jesus at 30 and the very next scene has to do with Jesus coming into a fullness of understanding His Sonship. 

God speaks to Jesus and confirms what He began to tell Him when He was 12.  

What happens when He's baptized?  The Spirit descends upon Him.  30 years old would have been the age that a rabbi would have begun his ministry.  Jesus is going to need the empowerment of the Spirit.  He's going to be led out into the desert to face temptation from Satan himself when He's weak from fasting for 40 days.  He's going to begin His ministry that will literally kill Him.  He's going to be misunderstood, mocked, shamed, betrayed, and then tortured as this carpenter, who is God's Son, is taken to a piece of wood to which His hands and feet will be nailed for Him suffer in ways we can only imagine. 

How does the Spirit come to Him in power?  It doesn't come in some abstract way.  It doesn't come as a bolt of lightening, but as a direct communication of who He is, to His understanding.  In other words, the Spirit comes to confirm who He is as God speaks to Him about His Sonship. 

It goes deep into His soul.  He hears, "You are My beloved Son; with you I am well pleased." 

The Spirit comes as a testimony to His true identity.  That's what empowers Him.  He's shown His identity as God's Son.  

But what is God saying here?  We often skip right past this and miss it because it's so familiar.  God is quoting Scripture to Jesus!  And what He's saying is incredible.  We don't catch it because we don't know the Bible as well as Jesus would have known it or Jews would have known it.  Anyone who heard this would have understood what God was saying form the Old Testament.

God quotes two passages from the OT.  The first is Psalm 2.

God says to Jesus, "You are my...Son."   Every Jewish reader would have known where this came from. 

In Psalm 2 we're told about God sending a King that was going to come as a Savior.  This King was going to come and deal with evil.  This figure in Psalm 2 is one of incredible power and position of great authority.  In the middle of the Psalm, in v. 7, God says, "You are my Son..."  It's a public declaration of who the identity of this Son is. 

Yet the second half of what God says to Jesus is a quote from Isaiah 42.  It's a quote from not only a different writer and book entirely, it's from a different strain of prophecy.  In Isaiah 42, Isaiah is speaking of a mysterious figure who is described as and called a suffering servant.  It's a totally different picture of a coming Savior. 

God is quoting Isaiah 42:1: "Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights (or can be translated "well pleased); I have put my Spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations." 

Isaiah continues on and tells us that this suffering servant will be despised and rejected, pierced for our transgressions, and that our sins will fall upon Him. 

Again we see an astonishing combination of traits that nobody thought could be describing the same person.  How can you come and triumph over all evil through suffering, torture, and death?  It sounded ridiculous to the rabbis and teachers of the Law.  They thought they had to be two different people, not one. 

God comes to assure Jesus who He is and brings together these two passages of who He is as a Son.  By way of the Spirit Jesus is empowered as He learns of His Sonship as a boy and as a man.

What does this have to do with us?  Everything. 

II. Our True Identity Because of Jesus 

What does Jesus spend the rest of His life doing as a result of His assurance?  Does He simply travel around Palestine and tell everyone of the incredible relationship He has with His Father and assure them that they don't have it and never will?  Or does He spend the rest of His days laboring until His last breath to call others to the same Sonship that He has?  He sends His Church off into the world to call men and women into a Father/child, intimate relationship. 

His Apostles knew what He was doing; they called others into this same sonship.  

Listen to Paul in Galatians:

Galatians 4:4-6: "But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law,  5 to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.  6 And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba! Father!'" 

Did you hear that?  We received the Spirit of sonship. 

Paul is saying that the power of the Spirit is available to us all.  The power of the Spirit can be experienced in your life.  But how does this happen?  It doesn't work in some abstract way as we simply sit around and wait for Him to zap us with Holy Spirit mojo.  How does it happen?  He works in us in much of the same way it worked in Jesus.  The Spirit comes down and assures us of our identity as a child of God the Father.  

It is a direct testimony of your sonship as an adopted, approved, adored, and accepted child of God.  This is how the Spirit empowers us, it brings us into a fuller understanding of our true identity. 

Why do we need this?  

Paul tells us in the following verses why we so desperately need God to be our Father and for us to know who we are as His children.

Galatians 4:7-8: "So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.  8 Formerly, when you did not know God, you were enslaved to those that by nature are not gods." 

He's telling us that the reason we so desperately need to become His children is because we are by nature slaves.  This is the same reason that as children we need to come to a fuller understanding of true identity; because when we forget our sonship we begin experience a kind of slavery to things that master us. 

We all have a center for our meaning and existence.  All of us have something that masters us and that we give ourselves to.  What is the one thing that if taken away from you would cause you to utterly fall apart?  What is the thing that you run to which bears you up when you face trials or difficulties?  What is the ultimate in your life?  

We all have it.  We all have something will live for, therefore we're all enslaved.  Because the things we worship become our master.  This is why we're told in God's Word that you can not serve God and money because you can only have one master.  You can not serve God and sex, because there is only one master.  You can not serve approval from others and God because there can only be one master.  You can't serve your house or material possessions and God because there is only one master.  Those things you pursue to give you comfort end up enslaving you.

What have you made that is more central to your identity, purpose, hope, meaning, value, and acceptability?  If it is anything but God, your identity is always in a state of melting down.  It is always unstable because circumstances can change; but God does not, He's permanent.

The only thing that will free you, according to Paul, is if you come to know that you are a son of God.  The spirit then empowers you to cry out, "abba Father." 

The only thing that can change your life from constant turmoil, to security and approval is when you hear in your soul the same words that God the Father said to His Son, "you are my beloved son, in whom my soul delights." 

When you come to a realization that God is totally satisfied with you because of what His Son has done, and that you are His sons and daughters, you will finally find the satisfaction that your soul desires.  Only when you recognize that He is well pleased, will your soul delight and be well pleased. 

You need a parental approval from God Himself to change who you are at the core of your being.  Until then you'll never have the transformed identity you so desperately need.

In Jesus we're seeing that His entire ministry was to show us that because of His true identity as the Father's beloved Son, you can have it too through Him.  Through the true Son, you can be sons and daughters too. 

Sonship means all are included-neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, but we are all sons of God through Christ

The benefits of our sonship:

We too will have a highness and humility, a power and an ability to suffer. 

Acceptance and adoration.

Acceptance

"You are My Son..."

Adored

"In whom I am well pleased"

Lastly we have access as children.

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