Pastor Timothy Patoka 1 Sunday After Christmas: December 30, 2018 Jesus Does His F/father’s Will Luke 2:41-52 st
1) The Will of God, his Father in Heaven 2) The Will of Joseph, his father on Earth Everyone has stories about themselves when they were kids, stories that can interesting to listen to for many different reasons. Sometimes those stories are fun to hear because they show what goofballs we used to be. Other times they can be enlightening as they show us who we used to be and where we’ve come from. Perhaps best of all is when those stories serve as a precursor, foretelling what kind of people we’re going to be as adults. I was thinking about sharing with you a story of my childhood, but given that my parents are visiting me and here with us this morning, I think they would be best equipped to share those stories with you after our worship service. But 1 childhood story that we get to hear about is that of our Savior Jesus. As we look at our verses for this morning from the Gospel of Luke chapter 2, we come across one of the few accounts we have of Jesus’ childhood when he was 12 years old. Not do we get a rare glimpse into the life of our Savior while a child, but also a precursor of what our Savior would do for the rest of his life on Earth. For Jesus does his F/father’s will, the will of God, his Father in heaven, and the will of Joseph, his father on Earth. 1) The Will of God, his Father in Heaven Joseph and Mary actively lived their faith according. It’s because of that they went down to Jerusalem every year for the Passover Festival according to Old Testament law (Exodus 34:23; Deuteronomy 16:16). With Jesus being 12 and now considered an adult male in the Jewish religious world (the Jewish practice of bar mitzvah is the modern equivalent of this. In WELS circles, it is similar to confirmation. After a child is confirmed, they are a communicant member of the church and considered an adult in many respects), he joined his parents on their yearly pilgrimage to Jerusalem. After the weeklong Passover festival was over, it was time for everyone to go back home. So Joseph, Mary, and who knows how many other people, all gather and leave Jerusalem together so that they may have company on their 4-day journey. But there’s a problem – Jesus isn’t with them. So Joseph and Mary go back to Jerusalem and spend the 3rd day looking for their 12 year old boy. Eventually they go to the temple where the Passover Festival took place. And what do they find? Jesus, sitting among the religious teachers, asking and answering questions with them. Mary, in a mixture of relief and frustration and stress says to the boy Jesus, “Son, why have you treated us this way? See, your father and I have been anxiously looking for you.” (Luke 2:48b) And Jesus, in a respectful rebuke to remind Joseph and Mary that he is no 1
Pastor Timothy Patoka 1 Sunday After Christmas: December 30, 2018 ordinary child, says to them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be taking care of my Father’s business?” (Luke 2:49) Or to say in another way, “Didn’t you know that the first place you should have looked was here in the temple? This is where the things of my Father are after all!” st
Joseph and Mary didn’t understand what Jesus was telling them in the moment. Perhaps it was because they had just spent 3 days without him and were simply overwhelmed with happiness to find him again. Perhaps it was because they had a different definition of who Jesus’ F/father was. Mary was referring to Joseph, his father on Earth. Jesus was referring to God, his Father in heaven. Or perhaps Joseph and Mary momentarily forgot that Jesus is the Son of God and not just another 12 year old boy. But can you blame Joseph and Mary for not fully understanding what Jesus meant when he referred to the reason why he came to Earth – to do the will of his Father in heaven? There are often times that we too need a reminder. When we think of Jesus, we often think of him as a divine source of help to get us through the rough patches of life. How often is it that when we pray to God, we’re directing his attention according to our selfish will? How often do we only ask for help instead of also thanking him for all the ways he helps us? When we relegate Jesus to fixing our problems, are not we holding Jesus back from he what he came to do – to save us instead of to serve us? That’s why the Son of God became flesh in Bethlehem – to do the will of his Father in heaven and save us from our sins. I find it interesting that this rare glimpse into Jesus’ childhood takes place around Joseph, Mary, and Jesus’ trip to Jerusalem for the Passover Festival. Out of all the accounts to preserve, it’s this one about the Passover. It’s a great precursor of what Jesus would do when he grew up. The Passover Festival commemorated how God brought his people out of Egypt by persuading Pharaoh that it was better to lose his large Hebrew workforce than to lose additional Egyptian citizens (see the last plague in Exodus 11 and following). A big part of this festival was a sacrifice of the Passover lamb. This lamb had to be spotless and free from any defect to be accepted as a sacrifice for sin. Yet in ~20 years, Jesus would come back to Jerusalem as an adult to give his life on the cross during the Passover so as to be the perfect Passover Lamb. As the yearly Passover lambs had to be free from any defects, so also is Jesus free from any defect of sin. As the Passover lamb died in sacrifice for the sins of people, so as Jesus died in sacrifice for the sins of all people. And as a result, we have nothing to fear about death because it is simply the beginning of our eternal lives in heaven (thinking of the illustration of the angel of death who visited Egypt on the first Passover, we can be sure that this angel of eternal death will certainly pass over us because our sins have been forgiven). If you’re looking for a way that Jesus can serve you, look to this. It’s only by his sacrificial death that we have the forgiveness of sins. It’s only 2
Pastor Timothy Patoka 1 Sunday After Christmas: December 30, 2018 through that that Jesus saves us. And by saving us from our sins, he is truly serving us with what we need above all else – the assurance that our Father in heaven loves sinners such as us and eagerly waits for us to join him in heaven above. Rejoice in that and be proud to say that this Christmas season is first and foremost about Christ’s birth in Bethlehem. Because that is the birth of your Savior who would bring you sin’s forgiveness. st
2) The Will of Joseph, his father on Earth But Jesus had more to do than to serve us by saving us. As the remainder of our verses from Luke chapter 2 tell us, “[Jesus] went down with [his parents] and came to Nazareth. He was always obedient to them. And his mother treasured up all these things in her heart. Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and with people.” (Luke 2:51-52) All too quickly we read these verses and close off our rare glimpse into Jesus’ childhood. But if we look closely, there’s a lot more to them. They are a summary of what Jesus did for the next 18 years until he publicly showed himself as the Promised Savior. And for all those years, what did Jesus do for his parents? He consistently and willingly obeyed parents with the natural result of growing in favor with God and with people. And as he obeyed the will of his father on Earth, he was doing the will of his Father in heaven. As Jesus obeyed Joseph, his father on Earth, he was obeying the 4th Commandment. To refresh your memory, listen to how Martin Luther summarizes that commandment in the Small Catechism. “The 4th Commandment: Honor your father and mother, that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth. What does this mean? We should fear and love God that we do not dishonor or anger our parents and others in authority, but honor, serve, and obey them, and give them love and respect.” There is immediate application for those of us here who still live under our parent’s roof. But God is talking about more than just the relationship between children and parents. Rather, we are to honor all those in authority over us for they are God’s representatives to govern and take care of us in his place. And that includes willingly and consistently obedience to our government. We do not often have such a willing and consistent obedient attitude because our wills are at odds with them. We treat speed limits as speed suggestions. If you’re one of those early birds who file their taxes long before April 15, we are not tempted to use our country’s everconfusing tax code to misrepresent our financial picture? Other times we justify our actions that do not honor the authorities over us. We demand that our public officials need to treat others with respect before we show them respect for they have for the position they hold. We claim that God gives us an exception to consistent and willing obedience for false reasons. But when you look at them all, do you know what we see? Those are all excuses, a bunch of different ways to sin against God’s representatives. And when we sin against them, we are in effect sinning against God himself. 3
Pastor Timothy Patoka 1 Sunday After Christmas: December 30, 2018 It’s because of that larger picture of authorities as God’s representatives that Jesus consistently and willingly obeyed the authorities over him. Because by doing their will, he was doing the will of his Father in heaven (Romans 13:1-7). You see that in our closing verses for this morning (Luke 2:51). You see it with all of Jesus’ interactions with the governmental authorities as an adult (Matthew 22:15-22; John 18:28 and following). Never once did he fail to keep the 4th Commandment or the other 9. And because Jesus perfectly obeyed all the commandments, he is qualified to be that spotless Passover Lamb who was sacrificed once on the cross so that all people may have all their sins forgiven. st
If you remember from our verses, what was the natural result of Jesus’ willing and consistent obedience? “He grew in favor with God and with people.” (Luke 2:52b) That’s not just something only God’s Son can do, but something all of God’s children can do. That if we consistently and willingly obey those whom God has placed over us, we too will grow in favor with God and with people. And that’s always a good thing. Not only because it’s common sense to remain on people’s good side. But also because that increasing favor with people can help us share with them who our Jesus is. They are more likely to listen to what you have to say if you are on good terms with them. As you think of that person who is unchurched or under-churched, take into account the good favor you hopefully have with them. Perhaps you’ll find time these coming days to remind them who Christmas is all about before our country moves on to the next holiday. And I would like to remind you that as you consistently and willingly obey the authorities that God has placed over you, do so with the assurance that your salvation has already been won and given to you. Jesus died for your sins so that you will not. Jesus has given you the forgiveness of all your sins and promised you eternal life. And so, out of thanks for what’s he done and given to you, uphold the 4th Commandment and honor God by honoring his representatives. Because as you do so, you will also naturally grow in favor with God. Everyone has stories about their childhood that people enjoy hearing for one reason or another. In our verses from Luke chapter 2, we have one such glimpse into the childhood of Jesus when he was 12 years old. As Jesus would remind his parents, he came to Earth to do the will of God, his Father in heaven. He would do that by dying on the cross so that he could serve us by saving us. Jesus also did the will of Joseph, his father on Earth, by consistently and willingly obeying the authorities that God placed over him. While it may not be easy, such obedience is necessary for Christians to imitate because when we obey those over us we are obeying God himself. As we obey these authorities, we can expect to grow in favor with God and with people as a natural result. I pray that one day we may use that favor to share and remind with others who this Jesus is and why he came to Bethlehem – to do the will of his F/father. Amen. 4