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Bro. Bill Nichols
Okay, you think it's working now? Okay. Let's go ahead and get started.
I don't know how many people are going to be here. Maybe this is it, but it's plenty. Let's pray.
Most gracious Heavenly Father, thank you for giving us this time and this place to come together and worship you and to study your
Holy Word. Thank you for sending your Son, both as a baby and on the cross, to provide salvation for us.
Thank you for the Holy Spirit that you've given us to guide us, to lead us, and to make us understand the message that you want each of us to hear.
Go through all the services today. Bless us and keep us. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. So we're going to actually spend most of our time around the middle of chapter 2 of Luke.
But I want to start with verse 6. Read a couple of verses and then skip down.
And so it was that while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. It's talking about Mary.
And she brought forth her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling clothes and lay him in a manger because there was no room for him in the inn.
Now skip down to 21. The previous verses deal with the shepherds and we dealt with that last
Sunday. Now we're going to be eight days later. So even before he was conceived he was named.
And he was named by an angel. We're going to go to Matthew and read the section where Joseph is informed by the angel that his wife is going to bear a son and that the son is going to be a special son.
So let's just go to verse chapter 1, verse 19. Chapter 1 of Matthew.
Matthew 1, 19. Then Joseph, her husband being a just man and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privately.
But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying,
Joseph, thy son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife. For that which is conceived in her is of the
Holy Ghost. Now that I focused on a little bit last week as I prepared for this.
It says the angel of the Holy the angel of the Lord. And a lot of times the angel of the
Lord is a pre -incarnate visitation by the
Lord Jesus himself. And I thought, wouldn't it be ironic if it is
Jesus announcing the birth of Jesus? I don't know that that's the case. And when
I researched it, I found a whole lot of the angel of the
Lord. I thought I had it. I thought we had a definite article. The angel of the Lord. That's the one as opposed to an angel of the
Lord. But I didn't get satisfaction for that. So I still don't know.
But I think it would be ironic if it was Jesus that was announcing the birth of Jesus.
In any case, it could be Jesus or it could just be another angel. It could have been Gabriel. Who knows?
But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying,
Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the
Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins.
Now, I know I told you guys last week that in the Gospels the word
Savior was only mentioned twice. And that's the case. But here is an example of Jesus being referred to as the
Savior without being called the Savior. So I think that was misleading. And it misled
Dr. MacArthur too. Or at least he just wanted to emphasize the fact that this is a the word
Savior was a special designation. Now throughout the rest of the New Testament in Paul's writings,
Jesus is referred to as the Savior more than a hundred times. So, you've got that.
She shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins.
Now we're going to go back to verse 22 of Luke. And when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were accomplished, they brought him to Jerusalem to present him to the
Lord. That's Jesus that they brought. As it was written in the law of the Lord, every male that openeth the womb shall be called holy unto
God. That's every firstborn male was said to be holy, set apart for God.
Now, like I am the firstborn male in my family, but I have an older sister.
And because I had an older sister, I would not have been the firstborn male to open the womb.
That would have been my sister. So, neither one of us would have been set aside as Jesus is going to be set aside.
As several other people were set aside. Samson was set aside. Samuel was set aside.
John the Baptist was set aside. All of these were the firstborn male of their family.
So they're a little bit special. And there is something important about the presentation of the separateness of the firstborn male.
It puts you in a position that you should be more responsive to the workings of the
Lord. And of course, Jesus was the most responsive of all. Every firstborn male was said to be holy.
That is to say, set aside, set apart for God. And to offer a sacrifice according to that which is said in the law.
A pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons. Now what did Mary and Joseph present as their sacrifice?
I don't know. But it was either a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.
There was an alternative. There was... You could present a lamb without blemish.
Well, the fact that they did not present a lamb for the sacrifice indicates that Joseph was a poor man.
He was too poor to be able to afford to purchase a lamb from the markets of the priest which were sold at an exorbitantly high price, which the
Lord Christ himself showed anger to in person later on. But they were unable to afford to purchase the price of the lamb for the sacrifice.
So they either offered a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons. And then we come to the first man that I want to talk about this morning.
Simeon. And behold there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was
Simeon. The same was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel.
I highlighted three words here. Just, devout, and the consolation of Israel.
Why was he just? Why was this man Simeon just? He was a believer.
That would make him devout. When we got to the word devout, I was going to say what made him devout?
Because he was a believer. What made him just? God made him just. God selected him to be just.
He's just the same reason all the rest of us are just. If we're just. Because God made us so.
And he was waiting for the consolation of Israel. That's another title for the Messiah.
That's all that is. I'm going to read that again without my interruptions. And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was
Simeon. The same was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel. And the
Holy Ghost was upon him. And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost that he should not see death before he had seen the
Lord's Christ. Now, almost every one of my comments that I've got,
I'll separate the ones that are not, are from Dr. MacArthur. Not really from me.
And this one is from Dr. MacArthur. And what he said was this. It is significant that with the
Messianic expectation running so high, and with the many Old Testament prophets, prophecies that spoke of his coming, still only a handful of people realize the significance of Christ's birth.
And most of them, including Simeon, receive some angelic message or other special revelation to make the fulfillment of the
Old Testament prophecies clear. Now, this is my part. For Simeon, it was this.
It was revealed unto him by the Holy Spirit or the Holy Ghost, that he would not see, that he would not die until he had seen the
Messiah. So, he's been promised by the
Holy Spirit that he will not die until he sees the Messiah. And now we're back to Simeon.
And he came by the Spirit unto the temple. And when the parents brought in the child
Jesus to do for him after the custom of the law. Now, Simeon was not in the temple by accident when
Jesus was brought. The Holy Spirit led him there. The Holy Spirit put him in the temple in the proper place that he would see
Jesus when he came in to the temple to be presented, to be circumcised and named.
Then he took him, that is, Simeon took Jesus in his arms and blessed God and said,
Lord, now let us thy servant depart in peace according to thy word.
So, what does he know now that he didn't know five minutes before? That is, but what he knows now is, he now knows that his promise, the promise to him has been kept.
He has now seen his salvation. So, he says, now let us thy servant live in peace.
He now knows that the promise made to him that he should see the Messiah before he dies has been kept.
So, let's go to verse 30. For mine eyes have seen thy salvation. So, he knows who this is.
That's you reading ahead. Which thou hast prepared before the face of all the people.
Now, think about that just a second and I'm going to ask a question. Mine eyes have seen thy salvation which thou has prepared before the face of all the people.
How many people saw that salvation?
One saw it anew. The shepherds saw it anew. The wise men haven't seen it.
This is eight days after his birth. The wise men are going to come two years later.
I think he's right, but I think he's right for a very special reason and we're going to see just in a second.
Mine eyes have seen thy salvation which thou has prepared before the face of all the people.
What he knows is, not only has the promise to him been kept, but an earlier promise has been kept.
You know what promise that is? That's the promise made to Abraham while he was still
Abram in the Ur of the Chaldees. And then reinforced later.
I want to read both passages. The first one is in Genesis 12 verse 1.
Abraham is still a what would you call him? An idol serving
Gentile in the land of the Chaldeans. That's what did
I say Abraham? Abram is still a Gentile.
He is a Chaldean. He is serving the gods of his people.
And the Lord selects him to be different. Now the
Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will show thee.
And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and I will make thy name great, and thou shalt be a blessing.
And I will bless them that bless thee, and I will curse them that curse thee, and in thee shall all of the families of the earth be blessed.
I'd just like to make a comment right now. I will bless thee and all those that bless thee, and I will curse all those that curse thee.
We might need to tip the toe around when we are forming our positions with regard to God's people.
And that doesn't just include God's Christian people. It includes
God's Jewish people. Because he hasn't deserted them. They've deserted him, but he didn't desert them.
Now what that really should have said, and we'll say in a second, instead of saying, in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed, what it should have said is, in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.
Not Abraham himself. Not Abraham himself. Not even Isaac, nor Jacob.
But in one of his seeds. And it's the seed we're getting to this morning. Years later, that promise is repeated.
Chapter 22 verse 15. Abraham now has a son by Sarah.
It's Sarah's only son. You could call Isaac Sarah's only begotten son.
But not Abraham's. Abraham kind of strayed.
As we all stray one way or the other. And the angel of the
Lord called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time. Now that's not the second time all together that he's talked to Abraham.
He's talked to Abraham many times. This is just the second time today. And said, by myself
I have sworn saith the Lord, for because thou hast done this thing, and not withheld thy son, thine only son, that in blessing
I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of heaven and as the sand which is upon the sea ashore.
And the seed shall possess the gate of his nations, and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed.
Because thou hast obeyed my voice. He didn't say some of the nations. He said all of the nations.
Verse 32 A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of the people
Israel. Now, that verse is subtle.
And if we hadn't put all that other stuff in before, you might read right over it. It's a light to lighten the
Gentiles, and the glory of Israel. Of the people Israel. Jesus was of the people
Israel. Jesus was born out of the heritage, the lineage of David, a
Jew. He was of the people of Israel. He was, in fact, their most noteworthy person.
More noteworthy than King David. More noteworthy than any other
Israelite. The most noteworthy of all of Israel. He was the glory of Israel.
But the point of this verse is to say that he is to be a light to the
Gentiles, as well as the light of Israel.
Think about that a minute. He is a light to the Gentiles, and he himself is a light.
The glory. The shanika glory of Israel. He is the light, and he is to be a light.
Not only to the Gentiles, but also to the Israelites. And Joseph and his mother marveled at these things.
That's weird. Joseph and whose mother? Jesus' mother.
That bothered me a second. I was going to say, Joseph's mother was along with them? No. This was
Joseph and his wife, the mother of Jesus, marveled at those things.
What things? That Jesus was to be the glory, the light of Israel, but also the savior of the
Gentiles. That was far afield from what any Jew thought. But Simeon is not finished.
First he blesses Jesus and his family, and then he makes two or three prophecies, depending upon how you count them.
Verse 34. Simeon blessed them, and said unto
Mary his mother, Behold, this child is set for the fall and the rising again of many in Israel, and for a sign which shall be spoken against.
For the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that shall be spoken against.
Okay. First of all, will Jesus be accepted or rejected?
He's going to be rejected by the majority of the
Israelites. He is a sign that will be spoken against. Verse 35.
Yea, a sword shall pierce through thine own soul also, that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.
Whose soul is he talking about? No. He's talking about Mary's soul.
We know that Jesus was pierced. But Simeon says you also will be pierced.
Your very soul will be pierced. John MacArthur says this.
This was undoubtedly a reference to the personal grief Mary would endure when she watched her own son die in agony.
And then that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed. What was the condition of the hearts of the
Israelites at this time? They were very unhappy.
They had the Romans ruling them, and they did not have the Lord ruling them. They had a religion that they were going through.
They had a series of things that they did. They had the rites, and the rites.
I said it twice wrong, so I'm going to try it again. They had the rituals.
I'll say it that way. They had the rituals that they went through, but they weren't really worshipping
God as God wanted to be worshipped. MacArthur says the rejection of the
Messiah would reveal the appalling truth about the apostate state of the
Jews. We're going to read that passage that relates to Jesus on the cross.
And we're going to take it out of John chapter 19, verse 25. Now there stood at the cross of Jesus his mother, that was
Mary, and his mother's sister, I don't know her name, and then there was
Mary, the wife of Cleophas, and there was Mary Magdalene. When Jesus therefore saw his mother and the disciple standing by whom he loved, that's
John himself, he saith unto his mother, woman, behold thy son. Then he said, then saith he to the disciple, behold thy mother.
And from that hour that disciple took her into his own home. After this,
Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, said,
I thirst. Now there was a vessel set, there was set a vessel full of vinegar, and they filled a sponge with vinegar and put it on his and put it to his mouth.
And when Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, it is finished. And he bowed his head and gave up the ghost.
You want to stop there and do a whole series of lessons on the hyssop and the vinegar, and it is finished, paid in full, all of our sins are taken care of, but we don't have time for that.
Brother David won't have time for his sermon. Verse 31. The Jews therefore, because it was preparation that the bodies should not remain on the cross on the
Sabbath day, for that Sabbath day was a high day. Besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, that they may be taken away.
I want to comment one more time. That Sabbath was not just a Saturday. All Saturdays were
Sabbaths, but this was a special Sabbath. It did not even have to be on Saturday.
So when we say Jesus had to die on Good Friday, it didn't have to be then.
Anyhow, for that day was a high day.
Besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, that they may be taken away. Then came the soldiers and broke the legs of the first and of the other which was crucified with him.
But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was dead already, they broke not his legs.
But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came out blood and water.
And he that saw it bare record. And his record is true. That's John talking about himself. And my record is true.
And he knoweth that he saith true that ye might believe. For these things were done that the scripture should be fulfilled.
A bone of him shall not be broken. And then, and again another scripture saith,
They shall look upon him whom they pierced. So, two scriptures were fulfilled in that event.
No bones broken and he was pierced. Well, he was pierced more than once. He was pierced in his hands and his feet.
He was also pierced in his side. The spear that pierced
Jesus' side was the sword that pierced Mary's soul.
And now we come to another person, Anna. There was one
Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher.
She was of great age and had lived with her husband seven years from her virginity.
And she was a widow of about four score and four years. I thought that said she was 84.
But what it really said was she had been a widow for 84 years. Which puts her probably 100 or maybe 102 or 103, depending upon how old she was when she was first married.
Okay. She was a widow of about four score and four years. Which departed not from the temple, but served
God with fasting and prayers day and night. She didn't have a son to take care of her.
So she stayed in the temple. And the temple took care of her.
And she coming in at that instance, did she just come in by chance right now?
No. The Holy Spirit arranged that too. And she coming in at that instant gave thanks likewise unto the
Lord and spake of Him to all that looked for redemption in Jerusalem.
So where is she speaking? She's speaking throughout Jerusalem. But who is she speaking to?
Is she speaking to everyone? She's speaking to those that are looking for redemption.
She's speaking to the same ones the shepherds did when they went out and spoke to all who sought redemption.
She is looking for those that the Lord directed her to. And we can bear that in mind as we go through our lives.
The Lord will you know, He says two things. Don't cast your pearl before swine. They may turn and rend you.
But He also says go make disciples. So which do you do? You do both.
You make disciples of those that He tells you to make disciples of. That's all you can make disciples of anyhow.
Because no matter what you do, if the Lord didn't direct you to Him and the Lord didn't direct Him to you, you're not going to have any impact on what they believe.
We try. We try. But we will not be successful unless the
Lord is governing it all. And when they had performed all things according to the law of the
Lord, they returned into Galilee to their own city. That's a little bit misleading because this is
Jesus' eighth day. Jesus is now eight days old. And yes, they go to Nazareth, but they don't go directly to Nazareth.
Where do they go first? Well, first, they stay in Bethlehem for two years.
I don't know where they're living in Bethlehem now. Yes, they lived in Bethlehem two years.
Well, let's look at how we know that. Go to Matthew's gospel again.
Here's what I said. We know from Matthew's gospel that they remained in Bethlehem for about two years.
After which they went to Egypt and waited for Herod to die.
And then they returned to Nazareth. We'll pick it up in Matthew chapter 2 verse 13.
And when they... It's talking about the Magi. When they were departed, they left Herod and are heading down to Bethlehem.
And by the way, how were they able to find Jesus so quickly and so easily? The star led them right to Him.
Did they lead Him to the stable where He was born? No, they led Him to the place where He was.
Wherever He was, that's where they were. They weren't necessarily still in the stable. I wouldn't think they'd be there for two years, but I don't know.
And when they, the Magi, were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, that's when they departed from Bethlehem.
The angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream saying, Arise and take the young child and his mother and flee into Egypt.
And be thou there until I bring word for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him.
And when he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night and departed into Egypt and was there until the death of Herod that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the
Lord by the prophet saying, Out of Egypt I have called my son. Now, we're back to Herod.
Verse 16. Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked to the wise men, you see,
Herod says, Come back and tell me where He is and I'll go down and I'll worship Him as well. And the angel said,
No, don't go back there. Go straight home. And they did. So when
Herod, when he saw that he was mocked to the wise men was exceedingly wroth and sent forth and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem and in all the coast thereof from two years old and under.
According to the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men.
So the wise men told him, We saw the star and we came, we saw the star two years ago and now we're here.
So he's killing all the children two years old and younger to make sure that he gets the
Messiah. And I highlighted all the children. When I read that,
I thought he just killed the guys. He killed all the children.
He slew all the children that were in Bethlehem and in all the coast thereof from two years old and under.
According to the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men. Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet.
In Ramah there was a voice heard lamentation and weeping and great mourning.
Rachel weeping for her children. That's Israel. That would not be comforted because they are not.
But when Herod was dead, behold an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and saying,
Arise take the young child and his mother and go to the land of Israel for they are dead which sought the young child's life.
So now they're back in Nazareth.
Somewhere a little bit Jesus is somewhere between two and three, maybe four years old now.
And the child grew and waxed strong in spirit filled with wisdom and the grace of God was upon him.
If you want to know everything that there is written in the
Gospels about the life of Jesus between this point when they took him back to Nazareth and the next point which we're going to talk about in just a minute.
That's it. The child grew and waxed strong in spirit filled with wisdom and the grace of God was upon him.
Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the Passover. And when he was twelve years old they went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the feast.
And when they had fulfilled the days as they returned the child Jesus tarried behind in Bethlehem.
It could have been said maybe better they left him behind. And Joseph and his mother knew not of it.
But they supposing him to be in the company, he was an obedient child. He did what he was supposed to do.
They thought he was with the company. With the crowd that was leaving. They went a day's journey and they sought him among their kinfolk and acquaintances.
And when they found him not they turned back again to Jerusalem seeking him.
So they travel a day they look for him they're not worried about him because he does this is
Jesus. He does what he's supposed to do. When they look for him they can't find him.
They can't find him because they left him behind. They can't find him because he's doing what he's supposed to do.
That's correct. And he's doing what he's supposed to do, where he's supposed to do because he's not with them.
And it is all a funny story when you look at it from the perspective of Mary and Joseph and Jesus and his father.
I said that just exactly the way I meant to. It's humorous when you think about the contrast between Mary and Joseph and Jesus and his father.
So here we go. And it came to pass that after three days they found him in the temple. I wanted that to mean something.
I wanted the three days to be like that's how long Jesus was in the grave. I couldn't find anything and John McCarthy gave me no help at all.
He just said this concerning the three days. It was one day's journey before they recognized it was missing.
They turned around and took a day's journey back. Then they looked for him. Apparently they looked for him most of the day.
Which is curious as Jesus will point out in just a minute. And it came to pass that after three days they found him in the temple.
Sitting in the midst of the doctors both hearing them and asking them questions and all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and question.
His understanding and answers. So he was totally respectful.
He was taking the role of the student although he could have been the teacher. But even at that young age his questions showed wisdom beyond comprehension.
Unless you consider this. He was after all the son of God. He wasn't just an ordinary smart guy.
And when they saw him they were amazed. And his mother said unto him, Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us?
She can't believe Jesus was disobedient. Behold thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing.
Who's she talking about? Her and Joseph been looking for him all day worrying about him for a full day while they came back.
Looking for him a full day and finally at the end of the day they found him. And all this time we've been sorrowing.
Why did you deal this way with us? Mary's words this is
MacArthur. Mary's words convey a tone of exasperation and rebuke.
Normal for any mother under such circumstances but misplaced in this case.
He was not hiding from them or defying their authority. In fact he had done precisely what any child should do under those circumstances.
What circumstances? Being left behind by his parents. He went to a safe public place.
In the presence of trusted adults where his parents could be expected to come looking for him.
The first place they should have gone when they got to Jerusalem was the temple.
And this is what he told them. And he said unto them how is it that you sought me?
Wished you not? That means do you not know? Did you not know? That I must be about my father's business?
Who's he talking about now? God his father. Not Joseph his adopted father.
God his true father. It's God's business that he's got to be taking care of. Where would he be taking care of it?
In the temple. That's where you should have come right away. He didn't say that.
I said that. That's kind of insubordinate. If I'd have said it,
I would have said why would you have looked any place beside the temple? You know that's where I would be.
He didn't say that. Contrasting with Mary's thy father in verse 48, his reply was in no sense insolent, but reveals a genuine amazement that they didn't know where to look.
This also reveals that even at so young an age, he had a clear consciousness of his identity and his mission.
And this is John MacArthur again speaking. Now verse 50 is even funnier.
And they understood not the saying which he spake to him. And they understood not the saying which he spake unto them.
They didn't know what he was talking about. They should have. They were told by the angel, both of them were told.
Now, verse 51. And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was subject unto them, but his mother kept these things in her heart.
Was subject unto them. He went back home like he was supposed to and he subjected himself to them.
His relationship with his heavenly father did not override or nullify his duty to his earthly parents.
One of the commandments is, the fifth commandment in fact, honor your father and your mother.
Well he has to do that. He has to be obedient to all the commandments. His obedience to the fifth commandment was an essential part of the perfect legal obedience he rendered on our behalf.
He was perfectly obedient to all of the commandments. You can read them all down and he would be perfectly obedient to every one of them.
We can read them all down and they can say, well I'm obedient to that one and most of the time I'm obedient to this one.
The rich young ruler said he was obedient to all of them and we know that's not true because there's an injunction against lying.
He had to fulfill all righteousness. Verse 52
And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man.
Jesus did not cease to be God nor divest himself of his divine attributes in order to become a man.
Rather he took on a human nature in addition, not a subtraction.
He became a man as well as God. He never became not God. And he submitted the use of his divine attributes to the will of his father sometimes.
Well, all the time. Sometimes he kept himself from knowing some things and sometimes he knew them.
There were times when his omniscience were on display.
In Matthew 9, John 2, 24 -25, John 4, 17 -18,
John 11. And in other times it was veiled by his humanity in accordance with the father's will.
Matthew, not Matthew, Mark 13 -32. If somebody would read that one.
Mark 13 -32. Just so we get it exactly right. Mark 13 -32.
Maybe I stumbled. Okay, in the
Mark citation. That surprised me when you started reading that because I was expecting that one.
Why did he know not the son, the father only? Why didn't he know?
He kept that from himself because of the father's wish. Sometimes he knew, sometimes he didn't.
He didn't know when the God, the father didn't want him to know. Does he know now?
He knows now. Christ was therefore subject to normal process of growth intellectually, physically, spiritually, and socially.
So he grows as a man throughout his life. He starts out being a baby like all babies.
He grows in stature, he grows in strength, he grows in wisdom. But he is always, well maybe he didn't grow in wisdom.
Maybe he always had wisdom. He grows in information acquired. He grows in knowledge. He learns things.
Can Jesus learn? Well he did. But do you think really?
I think a baby can. You know, we know that. And it's confusing. And it's right.
And when he was I think it's at 12 when they brought them up. That's when they became a man.
And they were given special understanding at that time.
They became a man able to do legal things at 30. That's when
Jesus began his mission. That's when John the Baptist began his mission when they were 30.
And it didn't last, either one of them, very long. But it made a great impact. Any other questions or comments?
That's it for me. He didn't give up any godness.
He added manness on top of his godness. ... Well that was
John MacArthur that said that. But it was added to.
God put off some of his godliness to consent to become a man.
No, he took on manness and that is bad enough. But he didn't take on evil manness.
He took on a man that is going to be a perfect man. Only a man could be our
Savior. ...
... It does. And I think you're totally 100 % correct. ... ...
... ... That bothered me too. And you know what it is? It's because just because you're told doesn't mean that you process it and that you understand it.
... ... ...
We're not. ... ...
... ... ... ... ...
imperfect side, and trying to do their best as parents. I can't even imagine the feelings that Mary must have had.
In that it says she was there when Jesus was crucified.
And I think the Lord gave them special,
I don't know if you'd call it favor, or I know I've heard Brother Myron talk about, you know, when you pray for that piece to pass over, he gives it in the moment that you need it.
And I think that he must have given extreme favor in those situations. I think that Simeon's prophecy to Mary helped her at that time.
Yeah. Not at the time he gave it, but at the time of the crucifixion. She knew what was going to happen.
She knew the outcome of it. Yeah, and Simeon told them, he is going to be the savior of his people.
He didn't tell them how. And had they known how, they would've probably had a hard time dealing with it.
That's, I think, why the Lord doesn't tell us everything up front, because if we did, it would overwhelm us.
Yes. I thought that was, I would've thought not 20, because she probably is 16, 17 years old when she was married.
Maybe less, you know. So if she's in her 20s, she's in her early 20s. She's about Kenner's age.
We think of Kenner as just a child. I just saw her walk in. That's why
I'm here. You're so right, we did too. Yeah. And she'll always be just a baby.
Most gracious Heavenly Father, thank you for this time that you've given us. Thank you for bringing us together and allowing us to share your holy word.
you for this place. Thank you for this time. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. Okay.