Jesus Grew in Wisdom and Favor

Day 76: Luke 2:36-52

“And the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom. And the favor of God was upon him...And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.” - Luke 2:40, 52 ESV

It is wild to think about Jesus making his way through normal human development. Did Mary keep a growth chart of her firstborn as he grew from 3'11" to 4'5" and so on?

These two verses tell us that Jesus wasn't only growing physically. He was actually developing in every sense of the word. Twice Luke tells us that wisdom and favor were at work within his life.

What was it about these two words that made them worth repeating? The word Luke used for wisdom is sophia, and it is defined by Louw-Nida as "a knowledge which makes possible skillful activity or performance."

In Proverbs 3:19, we see that "By wisdom, the LORD founded the earth." Wisdom is what made Jesus so capable, and James tells us it only comes from above (James 3:17).

The word used for favor is charis and is used 154 times in the New Testament. It also appears as grace or gift. It wasn't just with His Father that Jesus had favor; He also had it with those He came into contact with as He grew and developed into the man who would die for our sins.

The application is obvious for our lives today. We would do well to drop to our knees right now and beg God for wisdom and favor. There is no way we'll be able to accomplish all God intends for us to do without these two. If Jesus needed them as He developed, so will we as we grow in the grace (charis) and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:18).