Some think Jesus doesn't care about teenagers because very little is taught about them in the Bible. In fact, many will tell you the Bible says almost nothing about Jesus as a teenager. Nothing could be farther from the truth. In the minds of most folks, they think of Jesus in the manger and he somehow shortly began his public ministry. It had to be manger to maturity and miracles... no in between, they think. If this is what you see of Jesus, YA GOTTA SEE THE DOCTOR! You really do!
To learn all we can about Jesus Christ,
the divine Son of God, we must look at scripture; first and foremost.
You do need to know those scriptures are much like a diamond mine. In
seeking gems you must look closely and often dig a little. Our Bible
is just like that diamond mine.
The Bible is divided in two parts; the
Old Testament and the New Testament. The New Testament begins with
the birth and genealogies of Jesus Christ. The first four divisions
in the NT are called the Gospels. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
These gospels each have their own personality, but all are solidly
connected by the critical truth of salvation only in Jesus Christ.
Matthew wrote about Jesus to the Jews, Mark wrote to the Romans, Luke
to the Gentiles, and John to everyone. When God inspired the writers
about Jesus, no ethnic group was left out, yet the unity of God's
sovereignty and provision is preserved. It reminds us that teenagers
all have different personalities and character, but every one must
obtain salvation only at the foot of the Cross.
Luke was the only gospel writer that
was not Jewish. He was a gentile doctor of medicine; a physician. As
a physician, he was most interested in teaching us about the person
and purpose of Jesus in his humanity. While many places in scripture
teach us about Jesus' maturing years, we'll zero in on just one
chapter that the doctor (Luke) has provided for us.
As we begin looking at teenage Jesus, turn to Luke chapter 2 and read it more than once. Read it very slow. Remember we'll shortly begin mining for diamonds.
I can almost picture a teenage Jesus
walking to the market to buy bread and cheese. As he walks in those
quiet moments, he can still recall the stories his mother told him
many times about his strange birth, and those wonderful birthday
gifts some wise men traveled so far to bring to him. What questions
he had asked, many times of the rushed life-saving trip to Egypt, his
family made. Because Jesus was tempted in all points as we are, I'd
say it's likely he had some peers that may have bullied or befriended
him.
My grandfather heart tells me that some
truths and principles for teens are so special; so tender, they can't
really be put on paper – in spoken/written words. God has saved
those to be given directly into every teenager's heart searching for
love, truth, purpose, and provision. But for now, let's do some
diamond mining as we see the doctor; doctor Luke, that is.
