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Luke 3:1 “Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene,”

   Tetrarchs ruled the various sections of a region. They thus shared rule of a larger portion.This was a common way rule was handled in this region at the time. Tiberius was the second emperor of Rome.

Heavenly Father, You set up the earthly authorities, and You know all Your plans for this planet. May we never fail to see Your great glory! You are truly worthy of all praise! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 2:52 “And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.”

   Spiritually, socially, mentally, and physically, Jesus grew. This is one of the mysteries of the incarnation. Though infinite, Jesus was able to increase. The Godhead made this possible. It is amazing to us, but no less a fact.

Heavenly Father, thank You for Jesus’ life here on earth. It is amazing to think of all that You have done in Him. We will wonder at the mystery of it all for all of eternity. We will praise You, for You have done all things well! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 2:51 “Then He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was subject to them, but His mother kept all these things in her heart.”

   Mary was processing all of this. She began to understand what was about to transpire. But, as of yet she still had a ways to go. This part about Jesus being subject to them does not mean He was not obedient before this. This episode was unique for Jesus. But it was necessary, so as to remind His earthly parents of His identity and mission.

Heavenly Father, how can we ever understand everything? We must trust Your constant care and leading. Only You can show us the path for our feet. We need to lean on You constantly. Thank You for Christ! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 2:50 “But they did not understand the statement which He spoke to them.”

   How often does this happen? God says something to us and we miss it completely. And why? We tend to always want to understand in our natural way. We fail to take into account His infinitude. We forget His limitless nature. We dismiss His holiness.

Heavenly Father, give us ear to hear and eyes to see the wonderful things we may find in Your Word! We don’t want to miss the truth that You seek to convey to us. How can we live if we miss blessing from the mouth of God? Can we survive without Him? Can we understand anything without His truth? Lord, You are our all! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 2:49 “And He said to them, “Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?”

   This is possibly one of the most difficult verses to understand in all of Scripture. Why would Jesus expect His parents to know where He would be? Often, if you want to find a missing child, you go to the most likely place that they would go if they were unsupervised. That is the best starting point. And, had Jesus’ parents been as strong in their faith in Him as the could have been at this point, they would have known the temple would be at the top of His list. But, this question from Christ reveals that their faith was not what it could have been.

Heavenly Father, strengthen our faith! When You call, we want to listen! Your messages to us are clear, it is we who are hard of hearing. We will praise You forever for Your work in our lives. May we follow You to the ends of the Earth! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 2:48 “So when they saw Him, they were amazed; and His mother said to Him, “Son, why have You done this to us? Look, Your father and I have sought You anxiously.”

   Everything we see in this verse points to the fact that this was not usual for Jesus. He did not have a habit of wandering off. More than that, His parents were very surprised to find Him doing what He was doing. Evidently, He had not made it His pastime to quiz others upon doctrinal subjects. Joseph and Mary looked for quite a while before finding Him.

Heavenly Father, thank You for Your Son! We try to understand, but You have given us the truth we need. We can know You and understand You just as much as You want us to. Thank You for giving us You Word. May we never forget this is Your world, not ours. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 2:47 “And all who heard Him were astonished at His understanding and answers.”

   They were amazed by both His answers and His questions. It showed a level of understanding and wisdom none would expect from a child. This was true throughout the time that Jesus was here on earth. Everyone was amazed by what He had to say.

Heavenly Father, thank You for the truth that You have given us. Jesus is all of the truth we will ever need. He teaches us everything by Your Spirit. We praise You for Your wise plan. All glory is Yours! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 2:46 “Now so it was that after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions.”

   The temple was apparently the last place they expected to find him. Otherwise they would not have spent three days looking. Evidently, since Jesus was so wise, the Jews in the temple must have assumed he was the son of someone important in Jerusalem, and thus did not ask him who exactly he was.

Heavenly Father, thank You for Christ! He has all of the answers to our questions. We will spend all eternity hearing what He has to say. Your wisdom is limitless! We will praise You for all of Your mighty works. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 2:45 “So when they did not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem, seeking Him.”

   Often it is those unexpected journeys of life from which we learn the most. We may not see what is coming next, but the break from the expected reminds us of the eternal.

Heavenly Father, thank You for guiding us in all of our ways. You know what comes next, and You can guide us correctly. We will recognize our dependence on You. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 2:44 “but supposing Him to have been in the company, they went a day’s journey, and sought Him among their relatives and acquaintances.”

   At first Joseph and Mary were not very alarmed. They obviously trusted Jesus and had no inclination that He had stayed behind. We may try to berate them for not keeping better track of Jesus. But, given the circumstances, that is not necessary. Their confusion is understandable.

Heavenly Father, thank You for giving us the blessing of raising children. Help us to be thankful for all that it entails. The difficulties are so much outweighed by the blessings! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.