I grew up with the Cosby’s,
the Tanners, and the Brady bunch. My kids are growing up with the Dunphys, the
Whites, and the Wild Thornberrys. These popular TV shows give us a look into
what it’s like to be raised in the dysfunctionality of a modern/postmodern
family. Unfortunately, there were no camera’s present during Jesus’ upbringing.
However, I can assure you, just like Mike Seaver (Kirk Cameron), he experienced
growing pains.
In
fact, with the exception of Luke 2:41-52, the Bible does not contain any
information regarding Jesus’ childhood. However, there are certain things that
can be drawn from the families pilgrimage to Jerusalem that will help us better
understand the early stages of Jesus’ life.
First,
his parents were devout in their religious practices. As required by their Jewish
faith, Joseph and Mary made yearly trips to Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of
the Passover (i.e. a festival commemorating
the liberation of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt). This time they’d
brought along their 12-year-old son in preparation for his bar mitzvah, a
ceremony signifying the boy’s passage from childhood into adult life. As is customary,
Jesus, like all other 13-year-old Jewish boys, would’ve been considered a man at
this point in his young life and capable of assuming responsibility for his own
actions and obliged to perform and fulfill good deeds (mitzvah).
Here we see a typical Jewish
boy in a typical Jewish family doing typical Jewish things. And just like other
children, Jesus was taught what to
believe. Through both written (Torah) and oral (Mishna) teaching, Jesus
learned the law, religion, history and ethics, and that each one was inseparable
from the others.
Jesus’ education would have
started around the age of 5, in a level of study called Bet Sefer, which means “House of the Book”. Over the next few
years, he would learn how to read and write. Around the age of 10, Jesus would begin
learning the Jewish law and would’ve already memorized most, if not all of the
first five books of the Bible (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and
Deuteronomy), hoping to qualify for the next level of education called Bet Talmud or “House of Learning”, which
lasted until around the age of fourteen. At the end of Bet Talmud, the best students would apply to a well-known rabbi in
hopes of becoming that rabbi’s disciple. If a student decided not to continue
his studies, or wasn’t qualified, he would dedicate his time and energy to learning
the family trade, which in Jesus’ case would have been carpentry.
Jesus grew up in the farming village of Nazareth, were life was patterned after
traditions, roles, and rituals passed down from many generations beforehand.
Jesus grew up in a very strict moral, social, and religious setting.
Jesus grew up being taught to believe in one God (monotheism).
Jesus grew up believing that God would one day send a “Messiah” who would bring
spiritual renewal and political freedom from centuries of foreign oppression (Egypt,
Syria, Babylon, Persia, Greek, Roman, etc.).
Jesus grew up believing that the world was divided into two types of people: Jews and
Gentiles (non-Jews). Early in his life Jesus, like other Jews, would’ve worked
hard to disassociate himself from the Gentiles.
Jesus grew up being taught multiple languages and probably was able to speak Greek (most
common language of the Roman Empire), Hebrew, Aramaic, and Latin. Jesus’
everyday language would have been Aramaic.
Jesus grew up eating only certain kinds of foods (cheese, wine, vegetables, fruits,
fish, chicken or fowl, and occasionally red meat) and was taught that pork and
crustaceans were absolutely forbidden.
Here’s the point, if you haven’t already figured it out. Jesus grew. The Boy grew into youth,
and the young man into adulthood. In fact, scripture tells us, “Jesus grew in
wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man” (Luke 2:52). The purpose of
this brief statement is clear. Jesus’ bodily development proceeded in the same
orderly fashion as it does with other people. While his wisdom and knowledge -
deepening with the years – increased like other human beings, by the ordinary
channels of instruction, study, and thought.