Luke 2:40 And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was on him. I. "The Child grew." Two pregnant facts, lie was a child, and a child that grew in heart, in intellect, in size, in grace, in favour with God. Not a man in child's years. No hotbed precocity marked the holiest of infancies. The Son of Man grew up in the quiet valley of existence — in shadow, not in sunshine, not forced. II. This growth took place in three particulars — 1. In spiritual strength. I instance one single evidence of strength in the early years of Jesus: I find it in that calm, long waiting of thirty years before He began His work. 2. In wisdom. Distinguish wisdom from(1) information, (2) talent. Love is required for wisdom — the love which opens the heart and makes it generous. Speaking humanly, the steps by which the wisdom of Jesus was acquired were two — (a) The habit of inquiry. (b) The collision of mind with mind. Both these we find in this anecdote: His parents found Him with the doctors in the Temple, both hearing and asking them questions. 3. In grace. And this in three points — (1) The exchange of an earthly for a heavenly home. "My Father's business," "My Father's house."(2) Of an earthly for a heavenly parent. (3) The reconciliation of domestic duties (ver. 51). (F. W. Robertson, M. A.) Parallel Verses KJV: And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him. |
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