Wednesday Evening Bible Study
June 14, 2000
Introduction
We’ve seen:
Birth of John the Baptist
Birth of Jesus / His dedication at the temple
Simeon’s witness of Jesus.
:36-39 Anna the prophetess
:36 And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the
tribe of Aser: she was of a great age, and had lived with an husband seven
years from her virginity;
prophetess – prophetis –
a prophetess
great age – probaino –
to go forwards, go on. Literally, “she had
gone on many days”
seven years – this means that if she was fifteen years old when she
married, she was married for seven years before her husband died.
:37 And she was a widow of about fourscore and four years, which departed
not from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day.
widow of about fourscore and four years –
Married at fifteen, married for seven years, widowed for 84 years, this
makes her about 106 years old!
departed – aphistemi –
to make stand off, cause to withdraw, to
remove
served – latreuo –
to serve for hire; in the NT, to render
religious service or homage, to worship; to perform sacred services, to offer
gifts, to worship God in the observance of the rites instituted for his
worship; of priests, to officiate, to discharge the sacred office.
This was the way that she gave worship to God, through fasting and prayers.
fastings – nesteia –
a fasting, fast
prayers – deesis –
need, indigence, want, privation, penury; a
seeking, asking, entreating, entreaty to God or to man
Lesson
Fasting
Fasting is usually done by denying yourself food. It may be a single meal,
it may be for several days.
But the whole point behind fasting is that it is a denial of the flesh. It
is aimed at making your flesh less powerful over you, and giving God a chance
to have more control over you.
It can also be done improperly.
If we do it to pat ourselves on the back or as a way to impress others with
our spirituality, we’re wasting our time.
(Mat 6:16-18 KJV) Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the
hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may
appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. {17}
But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; {18} That
thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and
thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.
If done properly, fasting may be a way to help you grow more serious about
the Lord.
When the disciples were unable to cast a demon out of a child, Jesus
rebuked them for their lack of faith and said,
(Mat 17:21 KJV) Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and
fasting.
:38 And she coming in that instant gave thanks likewise unto the Lord, and
spake of him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem.
instant – hora – a certain definite time or season fixed by
natural law and returning with the revolving year; hour; any definite time,
point of time, moment
Just like Simeon, Anna just happened
to be in that part of the temple when Joseph and Mary walked by with baby
Jesus.
gave thanks – anthomologeomai
– to reply by professing or by
confessing; to agree mutually (in turn), to make a compact; to acknowledge in
the presence of; to give thanks
looked for – prosdechomai –
to receive to one’s self; to expect: the
fulfillment of promises
There was apparently at least a small
group of people in Jerusalem who were anxiously waiting for the Messiah to show
up.
redemption – lutrosis –
a ransoming, redemption; deliverance, esp.
from the penalty of sin
These people were looking for a Savior in Jerusalem.
Jesus would save us from our sins.
Lesson
Double witness
Simeon had said something about the baby, and now Anna says something about
the child.
God will usually use “two” or more witnesses to establish something.
(2
Cor 13:1 KJV) This is the third time I am coming to you. In the mouth of two
or three witnesses shall every word be established.
:39 And when they had performed all things according to the law of the
Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own city Nazareth.
performed – teleo –
to bring to a close, to finish, to end; to
perform, execute, complete, fulfil, (so that the thing done corresponds to what
has been said, the order, command etc.)
Luke does not record the incident of the visit of the wise men, nor of
Herod’s resulting fear and slaughter of babies, nor does he record Joseph and
Mary’s flight to Egypt (Mat. 2).
:40 Jesus grows up
:40 And the child grew, and waxed
strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him.
grew – auxano – to cause to grow, augment; to
increase, become greater
waxed strong – krataioo – to strengthen, make strong;
to be made strong, to increase in strength, to grow strong
Robertson: “a hearty vigorous little boy”
spirit – pneuma – the third person of the triune
God, the Holy Spirit, coequal, coeternal with the Father and the Son; the
spirit, i.e. the vital principal by which the body is animated; a spirit, i.e.
a simple essence, devoid of all or at least all grosser matter, and possessed
of the power of knowing, desiring, deciding, and acting; the disposition or
influence which fills and governs the soul of any one
filled – pleroo – to make full, to fill up, i.e.
to fill to the full
wisdom – sophia – wisdom, broad and full of
intelligence; used of the knowledge of very diverse matters
grace – charis – grace; that which affords joy,
pleasure, delight, sweetness, charm, loveliness: grace of speech; good will,
loving-kindness, favour
We have very little recorded about the
life of Jesus prior to the beginning of His ministry.
There are other ancient accounts that
date back to the early church, of Jesus’ early life, but the church decided a
long time ago that these were false writings. They had supposed accounts of Jesus
as a child turning rocks into birds and silly stuff like that.
:41-51 The Jerusalem trip
:41 Now his parents went to Jerusalem
every year at the feast of the passover.
Originally, every Jewish male was
supposed to go to Jerusalem three times a year:
(Deu 16:16 KJV) Three times in a year shall all thy
males appear before the LORD thy God in the place which he shall choose; in the
feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of
tabernacles: and they shall not appear before the LORD empty:
This was for the Passover (and
Unleavened Bread), Pentecost (weeks), and Tabernacles.
When the Jews were sent to Babylon,
this became impossible, and by Jesus’ day, the practice for religious Jews to
go to Jerusalem once a year for Passover.
Mary wasn’t required to go, but she did
anyway.
:42 And when he was twelve years old,
they went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the feast.
twelve – this is the age of the “bar mitzvah”, when a
young man is considered by Jewish custom to be old enough to understand and
obey God’s Law. This would be the first year that Jesus would have been
required to go to Jerusalem as a full fledged adult male Himself.
It’s not that Jesus wouldn’t have gone
to Jerusalem for the Passover before, but that this is the first year He goes
as an adult male.
:43 And when they had fulfilled the
days, as they returned, the child Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem; and Joseph
and his mother knew not of it.
tarried – hupomeno – to remain; to tarry behind;
to remain i.e. abide, not recede or flee; to endure, bear bravely and calmly:
ill treatments
This is the word that we often see in
relation to being “patient” in our trials, in “enduring”. It’s idea is to
“remain behind”.
Jesus isn’t being disobedient or
disrespectful to His parents here. He’s just “preoccupied” with the things
going on in the temple and must not have been hanging around with the rest of
the group from Nazareth so He doesn’t know that everyone’s left Him behind.
Kind of like “Home Alone”, except Jesus
isn’t “alone”.
:44 But they, supposing him to have
been in the company, went a day's journey; and they sought him among their
kinsfolk and acquaintance.
supposing – nomizo – to hold by custom or usage,
own as a custom or usage, to follow a custom or usage; it is the custom, it is
the received usage; to deem, think, suppose
Apparently it was “customary” for Jesus
to have been in the group somewhere, and they just weren’t worried about Him.
company – sunodia – a journey in company; of a
company of travelers, associates on a journey, a caravan
sought – anazeteo –
to seek out, search through, make diligent
search
A boy of twelve years old is starting
to get kind of independent. You don’t need to watch over them twenty-four
hours a day. It’s possible too that Joseph and Mary had some little ones to be
taking care of as well (since Jesus did have brothers and sisters). It was
also customary for the women to travel in the front of a caravan while the men
traveled in the back. It’s possible that for most of the first day of
traveling, that Joseph thought Jesus was with Mary, while Mary thought He was
with Joseph.
:45 And when they found him not, they
turned back again to Jerusalem, seeking him.
:46 And it came to pass, that after
three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors,
three days – one day out, one day getting back to
Jerusalem, one day looking through Jerusalem.
doctors – didaskalos – a teacher
sitting – apparently the teachers would sit on benches
and the people would sit on the ground around them in a circle or half-circle.
I wonder if any of these same teachers
were still around twenty years later to hear Jesus during His ministry.
:46 both hearing them, and asking them
questions.
hearing – akouo – to be endowed with the faculty
of hearing, not deaf; to hear; to hear something; to comprehend, to understand
asking them questions – eperotao – to accost one with an
enquiry, put a question to, enquiry of, ask, interrogate
I assume that Jesus didn’t need any of
these men to teach Him. Yet He still “heard” them, as well as asked questions.
:47 And all that heard him were
astonished at his understanding and answers.
astonished – existemi – to throw out of position,
displace; to amaze, to astonish, throw into wonderment
understanding – sunesis – a running together, a flowing
together with; knowledge; understanding; the understanding, i.e the mind so far
forth as it understands
answers – apokrisis – a replying, an answer
As I was thinking of this, there’s kind
of a model of good communication and understanding going on here.
Lesson
Good communication
There were four things Jesus did, and I
think the order is kind of important.
1) Listen
You need to hear what the other person
is saying.
2) Ask questions
If you aren’t getting something, ask
questions. Don’t assume you really know what they’re trying to say.
3) Understand
Put it all together.
4) Answer
Respond
I think us husbands are kind of weak in
these things at times.
(1 Pet 3:7 KJV) Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them
according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel,
and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not
hindered.
We may think we are spending enough
time “listening” to our wives, but we’re only hearing the “surface” stuff and
not really understanding where our wife’s heart is.
Sometimes us guys really don’t enjoy
taking a lot of time listening, and we think, “she’s got a problem and she
wants me to fix it, so I’ll figure out the problem and fix it for her”. That
may be true some of the time, but I’m beginning to wonder if it isn’t
correct most of the time. I find that I make a big mistake thinking that my
wife wants me to fix anything. She usually just needs me to listen to her and
begin to understand where her heart is at the moment. She knows as well as I
do that most of her problems are way bigger than I can ever fix and she mostly
wants me to listen and pray with her.
I think there are other times when
we’ve totally missed what she’s trying to say.
We get caught up in
details and facts. She’s concerned about hearts and feelings.
:48 And when they saw him, they were
amazed
When Joseph and Mary found Jesus …
amazed – ekplesso – to strike out; to be struck
with amazement, astonished, amazed
:48 and his mother said unto him, Son,
why hast thou thus dealt with us? behold, thy father and I have sought thee
sorrowing.
sorrowing – odunao – to cause intense pain; to be
in anguish, be tormented. They were worried sick about Jesus.
father – a correct thing to say, to a point. Yet in
reality, was Joseph Jesus’ father? No, God was.
:49 And he said unto them, How is it
that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business?
business - not in the Greek. Could be better “my
Father’s House”.
Note that Jesus says “my Father’s”, not
“our Father’s”.
By age twelve, Jesus understood His
unique relationship with the Father.
:50 And they understood not the saying
which he spake unto them.
understood – suniemi – to set or bring together; to
put (as it were) the perception with the thing perceived. It didn’t “click”
with His parents. They just didn’t get it.
Jesus had just called God His “Father”.
:51 And he went down with them, and
came to Nazareth
down – Jerusalem is located on a hill, when you approach
Jerusalem, you go “up”, when you leave, you go “down”.
We don’t know much about the next
eighteen years, except that Jesus grew up to be a carpenter:
Mr 6:3 Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the
brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters
here with us? And they were offended at him.
:51 and was subject unto them: but his
mother kept all these sayings in her heart.
subject – hupotasso – to arrange under, to
subordinate; to subject, put in subjection; to subject one’s self, obey; to
submit to one’s control; to yield to one’s admonition or advice; to obey, be
subject. A Greek military term meaning “to arrange [troop divisions] in a
military fashion under the command of a leader”. In non-military use, it was “a
voluntary attitude of giving in, cooperating, assuming responsibility, and
carrying a burden”.
Sometimes people will want to quote
Jesus saying , “I must be about my Father’s business” as an excuse for not
doing what they are asked to do.
Though it was Jesus’ reason, notice
that He too was subject to His parents.
Lesson
Learn to submit.
We all have places in our lives where
we need to learn the lesson of submission. None of us are above learning
this. Even Jesus had to learn to submit.
Here He was, God in the flesh, having
to submit to these two earthly, sinful people called “parents”.
Jesus was
obedient.
(Heb 5:7-8 KJV) Who in the days of his flesh, when he
had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him
that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared; {8}
Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he
suffered;
How did Jesus learn
obedience? The hardest lessons were at the end, by obeying and going to the
cross.
His “prayers and
supplications” probably refer to the praying He did in the Garden of
Gethsemane:
(Luke 22:41-44 KJV) And he was withdrawn
from them about a stone's cast, and kneeled down, and prayed, {42} Saying,
Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will,
but thine, be done. {43} And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven,
strengthening him. {44} And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his
sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.
Jesus’ ultimate lesson
of submission was yielding to the Father’s will by going to the cross and dying
for us.
But I think it all started here, at
home.
I think there’s going
to be a relationship between learning to submit in your earthly, human
relationships, and learning to submit to God.
If you have difficulty
submitting to a person, you’re going to have trouble submitting to God.
Lesson
Wives submitting to husbands.
I know I’m entering into tough
territory here, but I think the principles that are expressed in this example
of submission will be applicable across the board in all our relationships.
(1 Pet 3:1-6 NASB) In the same way, you wives, be
submissive to your own husbands so that even if any of them are disobedient to
the word, they may be won without a word by the behavior of their wives, {2} as
they observe your chaste and respectful behavior. {3} And let not your
adornment be merely external-- braiding the hair, and wearing gold jewelry, or
putting on dresses; {4} but let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the
imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the
sight of God. {5} For in this way in former times the holy women also, who
hoped in God, used to adorn themselves, being submissive to their own husbands.
{6} Thus Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord, and you have become her
children if you do what is right without being frightened by any fear.
It is a common misunderstanding that
gals can have, thinking that they are to submit to their husbands “as long as
He loves me like Jesus loves the church!” I’m sorry, but this is wrong.
Peter says a wife is to submit to her
husband, EVEN IF HE’S WRONG.
Don’t misunderstand me
here. I know there are limits even to this. Of course you shouldn’t submit to
your husband if he is asking you to do something that is clearly against God’s
will. The problem is that I have a feeling that there are not as many things
“against God’s will” that some gals want to think there are.
I am also not
suggesting that a woman tolerate an abusive situation when her safety or the
safety of the children becomes an issue.
The act of submission is meant to be a
teaching tool.
The disobedient
husband can learn how to be a better leader if his wife lets him make
mistakes. He will learn as long as he’s not being nagged. He will learn by
your actions, not by your words.
This is true in all
our submission relationships.
The one who is making
a request that you submit to may be wrong. But they will learn if you let
them.
It may not happen
overnight. Expect it to take time. He may not want to be the leader in your
home. But every time you step in and make his decisions for him, you make it
harder for your husband to become a strong leader.
Submission doesn’t mean silence.
Sarah is the example
to follow. And Sarah often gave her husband suggestions of what do to.
Give your opinion.
Let him decide. But don’t tell him “I told you so” when he blows it. Let him
blow it. He’ll learn to value your advice.
We are all to learn
submission. Every one of us.
(Eph 5:21 KJV) Submitting yourselves one to another in
the fear of God.
These lessons aren’t just for the
women. We all need to learn these important principles.
You aren’t going to learn true
submission to God if you ignore submission in your human relationships.
:52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and
stature, and in favour with God and man.
increased – prokopto – to beat forward; to lengthen
out by hammering (as a smith forges metals); to go forward, advance, proceed;
metaph. to increase, make progress
wisdom – sophia – wisdom, broad and full of
intelligence; used of the knowledge of very diverse matters
stature – helikia – age, time of life; stature,
i.e in height and comeliness of stature
Jesus is growing up physically,
mentally, spiritually.