The Glory of His Childhood

The Humility of Christ · BC 6 – AD 27

And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.

Luke 2:52

The King of Israel spent nearly thirty quiet years in weakness and obscurity before He ever revealed Himself to the world. In this unit we follow the boyhood of Christ — driven as a refugee into Egypt, raised in the despised village of Nazareth, found at twelve about His Father's business, and laboring for long years as an ordinary carpenter. Down, down, down He stepped, humbling Himself at every turn, that we might learn not to despise the day of small things.

Read: Matthew 2:13–23; Luke 2:39–52; Isaiah 9:1–2

Travels to Egypt

Envious of a rival King, Herod the Great secretly plotted murder. When the wise men, warned in a dream, departed by another way, Herod's rage boiled over and he ordered every child in and around Bethlehem two years old and younger to be killed. Satan wanted to take the life of the One who had come to give His life.

Moments before the killing began, the angel of the Lord alerted Joseph to flee — not merely the city but the country. They were told to go to Egypt, the very land that had once held the children of Abraham in bondage. For the first two years of His earthly life, Christ lived outside Israel as a refugee.

This was no accident but an ancient prophecy fulfilled. Christ was to go down into Egypt so that He could come out of Egypt, the true and better Israel of God. The Son of God did not come to enjoy the pleasures of this world but to identify Himself with the sufferings and bondage of His people.

A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be comforted, because they are no more.

Matthew 2:18

When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son.

Hosea 11:1

Travels to Nazareth

After Herod died, the angel of the Lord told Joseph in a dream that it was safe to return, and he brought Mary and their young son back to Nazareth. It was a tiny village of fewer than four hundred people, perched on a ridge above the Jezreel Valley — a place of ill repute and contempt, with no historical significance and nothing to draw people to it.

Why Nazareth, of all places, for the most important person in history to be raised? Not Jerusalem, the principal city; not Bethlehem, the city of David; but an unknown, forsaken spot where there was no pride in being called a Nazarene. Yet the Son of God chose it, content to be called Jesus of Nazareth. It was for no reason other than the humility of Christ and the grace of God — that a great light would shine in a dark and forsaken place.

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone.

Isaiah 9:2

Travels to the Temple

From an early age the Son of God submitted to His earthly father because He was submitted to His heavenly Father. From the beginning He went about His Father's business — not to be served, nor to enjoy this world's pleasures, but to be obedient, to love, to serve, and to fulfill all righteousness. Even as a young child, His life was not His own.

At the age of twelve, having gone up to Jerusalem for the Passover, Jesus lingered in the temple, asking questions of the spiritual leaders. He was a devoted student of the Old Testament Scriptures, giving Himself to understand the Word so that He might resist the temptations of Satan. When His parents, having searched three days in distress, at last found Him, the teachers were astounded at His understanding.

And he said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?”

Luke 2:49

Travels to Nazareth

In humility, Jesus returned with His parents to Nazareth and submitted to their instruction. Under Joseph's tutorage He became a carpenter — a noble and honorable trade, but not what earthly princes give their formative years to studying. Though He was born to be King, He willingly worked hard to learn a trade of the common man and did not despise the day of small things.

Because He was not focused on the pleasures of this world or on building wealth for Himself, Jesus worked to assist His parents and care for His younger siblings. He loved His family and was content with a small allotment, happy to live in obscurity as an ordinary carpenter in a small, unimportant village.

He will not cry aloud or lift up his voice, or make it heard in the street.

Isaiah 42:2

For Reflection

“Down, down, down He stepped as He continually humbled Himself.” Knowing that all humanity rested in His hands, He did not grow impatient; He stayed the course, content that His family, friends, and neighbors should view Him as merely an ordinary carpenter from the lowly village of Nazareth.