“And the Child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon Him.... And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and its favor with God and man”— Luke 2:40, 52.
OUR Lord as a Child was not a precocious, impulsive lad, whose behavior suggested self-will. He grew up as a normal person, developing naturally as a perfect human being. But He was the only child who ever lived on earth who did not need to be born again, for He was not born of the flesh, but of the Spirit. As He grew He increased in wisdom. There is a great mystery here, but it is the mystery of the incarnation itself, and we need to remember our Lord’s own words, “No man knoweth the Son, but the Father” (Matt. 11:27). That the Eternal Wisdom of God (1 Cor. 1:24) should so veil His glory in our humanity as to grow daily in wisdom as He increased in stature, is beyond our comprehension, but it emphasizes for us the reality of His Manhood, who had become in all things like unto His brethren, apart from sin (Heb. 2:17). As He thus grew before the Lord, the divine favor rested upon Him, and those of the home circle noted with approval the loveliness of His unfolding life.
“Art Thou Him whom little children
Knew long years ago,
When a little child amongst them
Thou didst come and go?
Holy, true and tender, doing
All Thy Father’s will;
If men loved, or if they hated,
Loving, serving still.
See Thee who a child becamest
In a cottage poor.
That I might in Thy fair palace
Dwell for evermore.”