Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Lebanon, OR
Readings: 1 Kings 3:4–15 | Ephesians 1:3–14 | Luke 2:40–52
Text: Psalm 119:97-104
When we see the boy Jesus in the Temple at 12 years of age, it’s clear he had an acuity for Scripture. After all, He was “sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. 47 And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers.” We might be quick to chalk this up to Jesus’ divine nature. Of course He had insight into the Word of God and it came easy for Him to answer questions because He was true God. But I would argue that his ability has little to do with His divine nature, because the reading ends with Jesus submitting to His human parents and “52 And [He] increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.”
What we see in this 12-year-old boy isn’t just a prodigy who is gifted with a religious aptitude. Rather, what we see in this sinless boy is a picture of what man is meant to be, were it not for our sin.
Why does this Boy stand out so much? While you may know some people who are particularly gifted in understanding Scripture, none of them can hold a candle to this Child, because He is the example of how each and every person is made to receive the Word of God.
This is what we see in the Psalm reading for today from 119:97-104:
97 Oh how I love your law!
It is my meditation all the day.
98 Your commandment makes me wiser than my enemies,
for it is ever with me.
99 I have more understanding than all my teachers,
for your testimonies are my meditation.
100 I understand more than the aged,
for I keep your precepts.
101 I hold back my feet from every evil way,
in order to keep your word.
102 I do not turn aside from your rules,
for you have taught me.
103 How sweet are your words to my taste,
therefore I hate every false way.
sweeter than honey to my mouth!
104 Through your precepts I get understanding;
King David wrote Psalm 119 under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and all 176 verses express the desire of the regenerate man to dwell on the words of His God.
We find this difficult to accept…both in the boy Jesus and in the inspired words of David. How could someone find so much delight in God’s Law? Is this some kind of religious ego trip that he is wiser than his enemies and the aged? What kind of goodie-two-shoes does this guy think he is that he treasures the Bible more than the finest cuisine earth can offer?
But if we notice a difference between us and the Boy Jesus, or us and David, then what we’re actually seeing is what sin has done to our affections, our hunger, our will.
Man is made to meditate on God’s Word. Our picture of meditation is clouded by eastern mystics chanting “om” and rendered difficult by our fast-paced lives where it’s increasingly difficult to just be present in the moment. These things in the present are more appealing to us. They’re the things we can accomplish, the items we can check off. Buying something gives a boost, as opposed to God’s Word which can make us wiser, but our flesh would rather have immediate gratification.
Man is given understanding from God’s Word. While men run after answers of the origin of life, and fight over what gives our existence meaning and purpose, God has already spoken to us, not only in commandments but through His Son. The Commandments tell us how to love God rightly and truly love our neighbor in the proper way. If someone is looking for how to order their life, what to do with their day or their stimulus payment, God’s Word gives the clearest instruction: Love God above everything else, and love your neighbor as yourself.
Man is made to walk in what his God commands. My dad always used to tell me as a child how important it was to use the tool the way it was intended. Sure, a pair of channel locks can be used to drive a nail, but a hammer is what’s really made for the job. The same goes for human beings: we are made to walk in God’s commands: You shall have no other Gods, keep the Sabbath holy, honor your father and mother, help and support your neighbor in every physical need, do not commit adultery, and so on. These are what we are made to do, and it just works when we do it this way. Yeah, there are some creative substitutions, but ultimately they aren’t following our Maker’s instructions.
So hopefully it makes sense and speaks to your heart that “man does not live by bread alone, but by every Word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.” (Dt. 8:3) Yet, as Christians, this isn’t our only experience. We’ve got two narratives running at the same time. On the one hand, we delight in the Law of God. We know it’s right. We know we should read our Bible every day. We know we should pray without ceasing. On the other hand, we’re too tired and too busy. We’re apathetic because our prayers never get answered the way we think they should.
This is the conflict between our sinful nature and the new us, the regenerated person who the Holy Spirit has made. “the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.” (Gal. 5:17) This is the weakness we have, and it is our sinfulness that keeps us from being what we see in the Boy Jesus. But what we see in the Boy Jesus also gives us hope, because that Boy also grew up to be our Savior, to offer His life and a ransom for us, to do what the Law demands, to shed His blood for all the ways that we fall short of the glory of God. Yet, not only is He our substitute, who did love the Law flawlessly, but He encourages us by showing what God is capable of accomplishing in a human being—if even in glimpses this side of the Resurrection.
The first hymn we sung this morning is a prayer for the Christian who longs for God’s regenerative work which He began in Baptism—“the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior” (Titus 3:5-6). Turn back to the hymn and follow along:
589 Speak, O Lord, Your Servant Listens[1]
1 Speak, O Lord, Your servant listens,
Let Your Word to me come near;
Newborn life and spirit give me,
Let each promise still my fear.
Death’s dread pow’r, its inward strife,
Wars against Your Word of life;
Fill me, Lord, with love’s strong fervor
That I cling to You forever!
Here, we acknowledge our need for God’s Word, because without it, we can’t survive: “O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.” (Ps. 63:1) But what can we do when our weak flesh, the world around us, and the devil all challenge us saying, “Where is your God?” (Ps. 42:3) So we pray the God, by His Holy Spirit, would fill us up, strengthen us in faith and keep us steadfast against all that would tear us from our Lord and Savior, Jesus!
2 Oh, what blessing to be near You
And to listen to Your voice;
Let me ever love and hear You,
Let Your Word be now my choice!
Many hardened sinners, Lord,
Flee in terror at Your Word;
But to all who feel sin’s burden
You give words of peace and pardon.
Mary, Martha’s sister gives us a beautiful illustration of that, on the day when she sat at Jesus’ feet simply desiring to listen to Him teach. Nothing else mattered, even the immediate work of receiving the Lord to their house. It all had to be set aside in order for the Sabbath rest to be truly holy. What made it holy wasn’t the mandate to stop work, but the opportunity to solely delight in the Word of God.
3 Lord, Your words are waters living
When my thirsting spirit pleads.
Lord, Your words are bread life-giving;
On Your words my spirit feeds.
Lord, Your words will be my light
Through death’s cold and dreary night;
Yes, they are my sword prevailing
And my cup of joy unfailing!
When God says that we do not live on bread alone, it flies in the face of experience and science. Experience tells us those specific things which sustain day-to-day life, and biology tells us what’s needed to preserve life. We’ve got this covered, God—whoever you are. If you drop out of the scene, we can get by somehow. I mean, don’t millions live that way, and what can be so wrong about how they live?
But what our Creator says is true: There is no life apart from His Word. From the moment He creative all there is by speaking, “Let there be…” He continues to be our source, our ground of being. And if that’s what our existence is built upon, then what is death? What are the dark times we witness? “Darkness is as light with you,” says our soul (Ps. 139:12)
4 As I pray, dear Jesus, hear me;
Let Your words in me take root.
May Your Spirit e’er be near me
That I bear abundant fruit.
May I daily sing Your praise,
From my heart glad anthems raise,
Till my highest praise is given
In the endless joy of heaven.
Given the treasure that God gives men and women in His Word—the defense against darkness, life for our death, an understanding heart—this drives us to pray to God to make us more like the boy Jesus. But know when you and I pray for this, our heavenly Father gladly answers this prayer, because this is what He is bringing us to in the world to come. But don’t use the here and now, how you’ve always done it, as an excuse. No matter how young or old you are, you are blessed by the time you spend in God’s Word. Let us pray:
Eternal God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, grant us Your Holy Spirit who writes the preached Word into our hearts so that we may receive and believe it, and be gladdened and comforted by it [for] eternity. Glorify Your Word in our hearts. Make it so bright and warm that we may find pleasure in it, and through Your inspiration think what is right. By Your power fulfill the Word, for the sake of Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord. Amen.
[1] A compilation of the hymn, “Wohl dem, der Jesum liebet” by Anna Sophia von Hessen-Darmstadt
Leave a Reply