Luke 2:39-40 39And when they had completed everything according to the Law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. 40And the child grew and became strong, being filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him.
This short passage basically summarizes the childhood of Jesus. We wish we had more information about how Jesus acted and what he did as a child, but that was not the interest of the earliest Christians. Later apocryphal writings of the second and third centuries have some traditions about Jesus’ childhood, but these are all considered fabrications and fictional.
After Joseph and Mary had fulfilled their religious duties in Jerusalem, they made the long journey back to the region of Galilee. They had been gone at least several months with their journey to Bethlehem and then on to Jerusalem. Their hometown was Nazareth, where, likely, they had family and were known. Luke does not write about the family’s journey into Egypt recorded in Matthew 2. His focus appears to be more on who Jesus was and how people responded to him. Their responses throughout Luke and Acts become a model of discipleship. The events of Matthew 2 took place at some point upon their return home. After their sojourn of Egypt, then returned to Nazareth where Jesus spent most of his life until the age of thirty.
Luke gives three descriptions of how Jesus as a boy grew. First was his strength. There is no indicator if that is spiritual or physical strength or both. The dependent adverbial participle being filled suggests that his growing and strengthening were in the area of wisdom. Jesus’ wisdom will be highlighted in the following story with the family’s return to the temple in Jerusalem. This series of words also implies Jesus’ part in his growing up. Even though he was the Son of God, he still had to grow and learn like every other human being. God the Father responded to his Son’s obedience and faithfulness by granting grace. Grace (charis) is a rich theological word that can mean favor, help, and blessing. Although Jesus was fully human, there was something special about him that set him apart. He serves as a model for every boy and girl because he sought the wisdom of God, and God responded by giving divine blessing and favor to help Jesus develop in this wisdom.
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