Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1924-07-10
Golden Test: "And Jesus increased
in wisdom, and in stature, and in
favor with God and man." Luke 2:52

III WASUUIu, anu III StdbuiC, "itu III
favor with God and man." Luke 2:52
Did it ever occur to you to ask
why the silence of thirty years of
Jesus life was broken only once?
how often have you wondered what
He said as q boy, whether He was
sick, what He enjoyed most in play
what His school days brought, and
how and where He spent His holi-
days? If you are or were a boy, or
If you have a boy. have you often
thought of Him as q model boy
leading a model life, and wondered
why there was no such record of it
so that boys today land girls too
might know just how He lived and
now they should live?
Well, there is no such record. OF
course, from contemporaneous lit
erature we can get some idea of how
Jewish boys lived at that time, and
presume that He lived the same
Way-i. e., studied the same books,
in the same schools, lived according
to the same customs, andt grew up
with the same advantages. But we
must remember that all of this il
merely presumption. He may not
have lived that way at all. There
are some things that we may fairly
infer, however. He knew tie Old
Testament Scriptures so well that
HIS must have studied and been
taught them very carefully He
was such a lover of nature and used
so many illustrations from nature
that He must have spent much time
YIN the woods and by the WATERSHEDS,
or dow ln -, Of In Nv
And we know that although He was
tempted in all points like we are,
sin apart, He must have had some
experiences as a boy that were ex-
ceedingly trying, but which He bore
without shining. Other than this
we have but one record of these
visit to the temple at u years of
age.
Why? All, here's the reason! Je-
sns did not come to live a model
life, but to die an unique death. And
so the record hurries on to the most
important thing in His whole life.
Only a few verses are given to the
first thirty years of His life; a few
more are given to the three years
of His ministry, while by far the
i1A SSSI PAL = 10 given " TIC ldoI
week, particularly the last day Of
His life, because it was also the day
OF His death. We might get con-
fused in trying to- model our lives
after His life, if we had the record
of it as a boy; but there is no posi-
BILE way to get confused about His
death. We may not model our lives
after His life, but we may share
a xyip CT n
| in His death. So, therefore, we will
not peer into the silence which the
Holy Spirit has drawn over these
years, but simply study wh9t He
has given us in the one incident re-
corded-His visit to the temple at
II years; and then see what He has
told us of the boyhood of Jesus n
few well chosen words. the words
of our Golden Text.
Of Age
There is an interesting sidelight
which has just been thrown on this
+ incident. We are fair in assuming
that Jesus had gone to Jerusalem
with His mother and Joseph each
Iyear, for that was always a family
gathering, and every member of
Ievery family went who was able to
| go. This particular one is recorded
because it marked the time when
HE became of age and was thence
forth a ''son of the law" And here
lis the sidelight: A Jewish boy be-
|came of age at 10 years old under
ordinary circumstances; but if either
parent was not living, this took place
lone year earlier. The fact that Jesus
was recognized as a son Of the law
when He was only IL years old is a
recognition of the fact that He hal
Ionly one human parent alive, and II
quiet acknowledgement on the part
Iof Joseph mat he was not the parent
| f this boy. OF course the Divine
|Fatherhool OF Jesus does not rest on
this incident alone but if this was
a Jewish custom al that time. il may
/ have had some bearing on the rea-
son for the silence of the thirty years
being broken.
Much more significant, however. to
| me are the words in which the Holy
Spirit has chosen to record this in
cident. For example. when Luke re-
cords that "the child Jesus" went
ALSO on this occasion, he uses the
Greek word "pais" for child" Now
this was not the ordinary word used.
% IT comes from a root meaning 't0
strike" and is therefore zone srit-
ten" as servants were, and some
times children In II out Of 90
places in the Bible in which it is
used it is translated servant" And,
Therefore. it is most significant that
. the Spirit records that "the serv@nt
Jesus" also went with them Him
who was the servant of Jehovah
When they lose Him and then find
F4im. and ask why He had done So
Vie replies Gas the Servant OF Jeho-
ah would reply), Did you not know
that T must Of nece Ssity be In the
affairs Of my Father?'
Tt is interesting to note frs; oc
currences of words and phrases in the
Bible. There is usually immense sig.
nificance to be attached to men.
Well. this is the very first utteraace
OF Jesus of which We have any rec
ord: aNC significantly enough it gives
us tire kew to His whole life. His
first bought, His entire THOUGHT NJ
ways. was only the affairs OF His