Of the four Gospel records, only Luke’s tells us about the days between the birth and infancy of Jesus and the inauguration of his public ministry when he was 30 years old. In just 4 verse (Luke 2:39-42), 12 years have passed from the birth of the Savior. The only things that we know about Jesus in this 12 years span is that he “grew, became strong, was filled with wisdom; and, the favor of God was upon him” (Luke 2:40, 52) and that he went with his parents to the Temple every year at the time of the passover (Luke 2:41-42) and that he was submissive to his parents (Luke 2:51). That’s it!

During the Christmas season, we rightly focus our attention on the marvel of the incarnation of the eternal Son of God; then, we lag into the final days of the year with regrets about the many ways we failed to be the kind of person we set out to be at the beginning of the year. We reformulate certain goals and desires that we will have for ourselves as we enter a new year, and we repeat this cycle that we have adopted for the better part of our adult lives. Perhaps this year, we could continue focusing our attention on the incarnate Son of God–especially with respect to what the Scriptures tell us about his growth from an infant to a boy to an adult in his work as the Redeemer.

Of the four Gospel records, only Luke’s tells us about the days between the birth and infancy of Jesus and the inauguration of his public ministry when he was 30 years old. In just 4 verse (Luke 2:39-42), 12 years have passed from the birth of the Savior. The only things that we know about Jesus in this 12 years span is that he “grew, became strong, was filled with wisdom; and, the favor of God was upon him” (Luke 2:40, 52) and that he went with his parents to the Temple every year at the time of the passover (Luke 2:41-42) and that he was submissive to his parents (Luke 2:51). That’s it! We don’t hear about any miracles that he did as a boy (almost certainly because he did none until he started his public ministry). We don’t hear about his interaction with his brothers and sisters (though he would have had many interactions). The thing that Luke, by the Holy Spirit, teaches us is that the eternal Son of God experienced sinless growth and development as a real human being.

In his excellent article “The Human Development of Jesus,” B.B. Warfield explained:

“There are no human traits lacking to the picture that is drawn of him: he was open to temptation; he was conscious of dependence on God; he was a man of prayer; he knew a “will” within him that might conceivably be opposed to the will of God; he exercised faith; he learned obedience by the things that he suffered. It was not merely the mind of a man that was in him, but the heart of a man as well, and the spirit of a man. In a word, he was all that a man — a man without error and sin — is, and must be conceived to have grown, as it is proper for a man to grow, not only during his youth, but continuously through life, not alone in knowledge, but in wisdom, and not alone in wisdom, but “in reverence and charity” — in moral strength and in beauty of holiness alike. Indeed, we find it insufficient to say, as the writer whom we have just quoted’ says, St. Luke places no limit to the statement that he increased in wisdom; and it seems, therefore, to be allowable to believe “that it continued until the great ‘It is finished’ on the cross.” Of course; and even beyond that “It is finished”: and that not only with reference to his wisdom, but also with reference to all the traits of his blessed humanity. For Christ, just because he is the risen Christ, is man and true man — all that man is, with all that is involved in being man — through all the ages and into the eternity of the eternities.”

Warfield was, of course, building on Irenaeus of Lyons’ teaching on anakephalaiosis (i.e. recapitulation). Irenaeus explained this in the following way:

“Jesus came to save all by means of himself-all, I say, who through him are born again unto God — infants, and children and boys and youths and old men. He therefore passed through every age, becoming an infant for infants, thus sanctifying infants; a child for children, thus sanctifying those who are of this age, being at the same time made to them an example of piety, righteousness and submission; a youth for youths, becoming an example to youths, and thus sanctifying them for the Lord.” (Against Heresies book. 2.22.4)

Again Warfield explained that-with regard to His humanity-Jesus had sinless limitations. He wrote:

“Everywhere the man Christ Jesus is kept before our eyes, and every characteristic that belongs to a complete and perfect manhood is exhibited in his life as dramatized in the gospel story. All the limitations of humanity, therefore, remained his throughout. One fresh from reading the gospel narrative will certainly fail to understand the attitude of those, who we are told exist, who for example, “admit his growth in knowledge during childhood,” “yet deny as intolerable the hypothesis of a limitation of his knowledge during his ministry.” Surely Jesus himself has told us that he was ignorant of the time of the day of judgment (Mark xiii. 32); he repeatedly is represented as seeking knowledge through questions, which undoubtedly were not asked only to give the appearance of a dependence on information from without that was not real with him: he is made to express surprise; and to make trial of new circumstances; and the like.”

Read More