Subsídio em inglês para a 3ª Lição da EBD - A infância de Jesus

1. LESSON 3
April19, 2015
The Childhood of Jesus
Golden Text
“And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man”.
(Luke 2.52)
Useful Practice
Growing fully and evenly, as Jesus did, should be the goal of every
Christian.
Scripture Reading
Luke 2: 46-49; 3: 21,22
2.46 - After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the
teachers, listening to them and asking them questions.
47 - Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his
answers.
48 - When his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him,
“Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously
searching for you.”
49 - “Why were you searching for me?” he asked. “Didn’t you know I had to
be in my Father’s house?”
3. 21 - When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And
as he was praying, heaven was opened
22 - And the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a
voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well
pleased.”
General Objective
To present the childhood of Jesus Christ according to the Gospel of Luke.

2. Specific Objectives
I – TO SHOW that Jesus grew physically.
II – TO KNOW how the social growth of Jesus took place.
III – TO KNOW how the cognitive development of Jesus occured.
IV – TO LEARN how the spiritual development of Jesus happened.
Introduction
The Scriptures reveal that Jesus was fully God and fully man! By saying
that Jesus is one hundred percent God and one hundred percent man, Christian
theologians are affirming this same truth in another way. God became human
through Christ (2 Corinthians 5:19) and this is known in Christian theology as
the great mystery of Incarnation.
To know the divine Jesus is wonderful and biblical, but to know the
human Jesus also is. Here, we will learn that Jesus grew up like any human
being. He grew physically, socially, psychologically and spiritually. In each of
these dimensions, He left some rich learning to all of us.
I - JESUS GREW PHYSICALLY
1. The bodily dimension of Jesus. The Bible teaches us that Jesus was born
and grew up as any human being (Luke 2: 40.52). Jesus was like us in
everything, yet without sin (Phil 2:6,7; Heb 4:15). Like any human being, He
had a physical body that was limited by time and space. The Greek word
helikia translated into Portuguese as “estatura”, in verse 52, occurs eight times
in the Greek text of the New Testament, with the sense of “size” or “age”. It is
the same word used by Luke when referring to the short stature of Zacchaeus,
the tax collector (Luke 19:3) and also the same word used by the apostle John
to refer to the age of the blind man whom Jesus had healed (John 9:21,23) . The
Scripture does not deny the bodily and physical dimension of Jesus as heresies
do.
2. Body care. Like every human being who has a physical body, Jesus also
lived the limits of this bodily dimension. He also got tired (John 4:6). Jesus
knew how important the human body was and, therefore, did his best to take
proper care of his body. Mark reports that to renew his physical energies, for
example, He sought a necessary rest (Mark 6:31,32). The Greek word anapauo,
translated as “to take a rest”, means "to stop all movement in order to recover
the energies" If the Master paid due attention to his body, should we not do the
same?

3. II - JESUS GREW SOCIALLY
1. Jesus and the family. In ancient Israel in the time of Jesus, there was an
established family structure. Scholars observed that the Hebrew family lived by
the following social structure: It was endogamous – it allowed marriage among
relatives; it was patrilineal – father-son descent; patriarchal – the power
proceeds from the father; patrilocal - the woman goes to her husband's house;
expanded – it gathered all close relatives together in the group; and polygenous
– it is made up of many people.
The Bible speaks of Jesus' family in that context. As a perfect man, Jesus
learned to live as a family (Luke 2:51). As member of the family, He lived in
obedience to his parents. This shows that the social roles within the family need
to be respected. Only that way, can the family remain an important tool for
developing a good character.
2. Jesus and the local culture. The Bible states that "the Word became flesh
and made his dwelling among us" (John 1:14). The word “dwell” is translated
as the Greek verb skenoo and has the meaning of "to make tents". God became
human and made his “tent” or dwelling among us. As a perfect man, Jesus lived
in the culture of his time. He was part of that culture, no matther the people, the
geographical space, language and family. Jesus was raised in Nazareth of
Galilee and, as a Nazarene, He possibly reflected the culture of that place. Jesus
learned to read the Scriptures (Luke 4:16); he learned a trade (Mark 6:3) and
even learned how to talk in the same way the inhabitants of that region did(Mt
26.73. Mc 14.70). However, one fact is evident - Jesus was ready to confront
the culture when it contradicted the principles of the Word of God (Luke
11:38,39)
III - JESUS GREW PSYCHOLOGICALLY
1. The psychological dimension of Jesus. The text of Luke 2:52 lets know that
Jesus grew in "wisdom". Growing in wisdom is growing in knowledge. It is
developing intellectually and mentally. It is the development of human psyche.
As a perfect man, Jesus also had a psychological dimension. He, for example,
felt sorrow and trouble in his soul (Luke 12:50; Mt 26.37; Jn 12:27). Luke also
says that Jesus "was filled with wisdom" (Lk 2:40). This mental and intellectual
growth comes from assimilating knowledge about day-to-day human
experience. It is about a cultural buildup that is formed over the years. Like
every Jewish boy of his time, Jesus had his mind trained in the study of the
sacred Scriptures (2 Tim 3:15).
2. Jesus and emotions. Scripture shows that Jesus, as a perfect man, had full
contrl of his emotions. He did not suffer from any mental disorder, nor was he
emotionally unfit. When pressed, he would not give in to any pressure by the

4. group (John 8: 1-11). His own executioners acknowledged that he had acted
moved by his inner convictions and not by what others thought (Luke 20: 19-
26). His presence revealed serenity and peace (John 14:27; Luke 7:50). It is
evident that peace was a natural consequence of the intimate communion that
He maintained with God. Jesus spent hours in prayer, sometimes, even whole
nights praying (Luke 6:12, a clear example to all his followers.
IV. - JESUS GREW SPIRITUALLY
1. Growing in grace and strengthening the spirit. In the two biblical texts
cited by Luke to refer to the growth of Jesus Christ, the perfect man, the word
"grace" stands out (Luke 2: 40,52). The Greek word, translated as grace, is
charis. Grace is God's favor. Jesus grew in grace when he lived life as it is. He
learned to live with the limitations that a poor family used to have in first
century Palestine. Grace means to be aware that, in the midst of it all this,
someone’s vocation and call come from God. Grace is knowing that God is in
our growth while we live in community, while we worship him, meditate,
contemplate, and also when we live life, even when it turns out to be tough in
its routine.
2. Jesus and his adulthood. Luke refers to spiritual development in two other
passages of his Gospel (Luke 2:46-49). As to the situation of the Temple, Jesus
appears as someone who is already aware of their mission. He came to take care
of the business of his Father, God. On the other hand, Luke shows in the
account of the baptism of Jesus how He identifies with the people and receives
divine empowering for the exercise of his ministry (Luke 3:21-23).
Until his thirties, Jesus remained in the town of Nazareth and worked as a
carpenter. The Savior waited patiently for the time appointed by his Father to
start his ministry. We live in a short-sighted society; therefore, nowadays,
people do not want to wait for the time of God in their lives and ministry. The
timing of the Lord is perfect. We have to wait for him to act.
CONCLUSION
When writing his second letter, the apostle Peter urged Christians to desire
growth. "But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen"(2 Peter 3:18). The belie-
ver's target is growth. But this growth does not come anyway; rather, it occurs
in the spheres of the grace and the knowledge of the Lord. Growth without
knowledge, as well as growth without grace, is a deformation.