Jerry L. Ross - The Teenage Years of Jesus Christ

The Teenage Years ofChrist

The Ultimate Pattern for Teenagers Today

Jerry L. Ross

P. O. Box 1099 Murfreesboro, Tennessee37133

(800) 251-4100 (615) 893-6700 FAX (615)848-6943

www.SwordoftheLord.com

Copyright 2000 by

Sword of the Lord Publishers

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All rights reserved. No part of thispublication may be used or reproduced, stored in or introduced intoa retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means(printed, written, photocopied, electronic, audio or otherwise)without prior written permission of the publisher.

All Scripture quotations are from the KingJames Bible.

To my family: my parents, Robert and DonnaRoss, who always point me to Christ; my children, Amanda, Hannahand Tabitha, who bring me great joy; and my wife, Sheryl, who aloneshares my soul.

C ONTENTS

Introduction

I NTRODUCTION

A s a Christian teenager,how many times have you thought, Wouldnt it be great if theGospels contained some record of the teenage years of Jesus? Whydidnt God lead those who penned the Scriptures to include somestories of the Lord as a teenager? What was He like? How did Hespend His time? What was important to Him?

As a youth pastor and parent, Ive asked thesequestionsand more! Perhaps the most repeated statement that I maketo the young people of our church is, The ultimate goal of theChristian life is to be like Jesus! Wouldnt it be easier for ourteens to achieve Christ-likeness if they had some idea what He waslike as a teenager?

I have good news. Its right there in theGospels in black and white. And, as you would expect from Christ,it is life-changing.

In the following pages I will present ascriptural examination of the teenage years of Jesus. I havewritten this book as if I were writing to one of my own teenagers.I will be straightforward and honest with you and, at times, maybepainfully blunt. I have found that most teens would rather hear thetruth from a preacher than have their ears tickled.

Are you ready?

The ultimate goal of the Christian life isto be like Jesus!

How about it, teenager? Are you ready for theultimate challenge?

Chapter One

L ets try something.Pick out in your mind someone who has recently graduated from highschool, preferably a Christian. Got one? Now, on a piece of paper,list the six things that were the most important to him during histeen years. The items on your list must be determined by the amountof time he spent investing in these activities. Okay? When yourefinished, read on.

Like those of the person youve selected, yourteen years will also one day be summarized with a similar list.People who know you well will be able to compile a short summary ofwhat was most important to you, based on what you spent the bulk ofyour time pursuing. They may not include any specific stories, butfrom the list, we can picture what kind of teenager you were.

For instance, imagine the type of teens thatcome to mind based on the following short lists:

Teen 1: Football, baseball, basketball,weight lifting, cross-country, track.

Teen 2: Boys, hairstyles, boys, shopping,boys and boys.

Teen 3: Mathematics, chess, science club,computers, astronomy, model planes.

Teen 4: Soul winning, school, church busroute, piano, after-school job, sewing.

Teen 5: Sports, fast food, car, girlfriend,money, TV.

Do you get the picture? No specific stories havebeen told. Yet from these simple lists we get a sense of what theseteenagers were like and how they spent their timewhat was mostimportant to them.

In Luke, chapter 2, God gives us a similar listdescribing the teenage years of Jesus Christ. We know that theitems on this list describe specifically His teenage years becausethey follow the story of Christ in the temple as a twelve-year-oldboy. Notice the content of the following passage of Scripture:

And he went down with them, and came toNazareth, and was subject unto them.

And Jesus increased in wisdom andstature, and in favour with God and man.Luke 2:51,52.

These verses give a summary of the activities ofChrist in the years following His twelfth yearHis teenage years.Consider the following summary list of the main activity and focusof Christ during His teenage years:

The teenage Christ: wisdom, maturity, favor ofGod, favor of men, subject, work.

The following list expands each of these andadds scriptural support:

1. Increased in wisdomLuke 2:52.

2. Increased in stature (maturity)Luke2:52.

3. Increased in favor with GodLuke2:52.

4. Increased in favor with menLuke2:52.

5. Remained subject to Joseph and HismotherLuke 2:51.

6. Learned a wage-earning skillMatt. 13:55;Mark 6:3.

Im not against many of the other interestslisted above for our imaginary teenagers. The purpose of this bookis not to convince you to eliminate holy interests or healthyhobbies. My intent is to challenge you to make thepriorities of your teenage years the same as those of theteenage Christ.

Chapter Two

D ont miss what I amgoing to say next. The pursuit of wisdom needs to be the principalpriority of your teenage years. Notice carefully these verses:

Get wisdom, get understanding: forget itnot; neither decline from the words of my mouth.

Forsake her not, and she shall preservethee: love her, and she shall keep thee.

Wisdom is the principal thing; thereforeget wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.Prov.4:57.

Wisdom is the principal thing! Solomon, throughthe inspiration of God, wrote to his son that of all the thingsclamoring for his time and attention, he must not neglect to getwisdom; that he must get it with all his getting.

Ive worked with teenagers for more than twentyyears. Ive met intelligent teens. Ive met many more who wereclever, talented and even gifted. I havent met many who are wise.It is not because they are incapable of becoming wise. Most just donot see the pursuit of wisdom as being important.

One of the greatest misconceptions amongteenagers is that wisdom is the result of age and experience alone.There is no doubt that a person who has lived longer has had moreopportunity to accumulate wisdom, but wisdom is available to peopleof all ages.

In Proverbs, chapter 8, Wisdom is crying out,trying to get the attention of men. Notice verse 4: Unto you, Omen, I call; and my voice is to the sons of man.

Wisdom is seeking young people. The entire bookof Proverbs is written to a young man, Solomons son. At agetwelve, it is said of Christ that He was filled with wisdom (Luke2:40).

We have pointed out that from age twelve on,Christ increased in wisdom. Young people can be wise! Teenagerscan be wise! It does not, however, happen by accident. Anyone whobecomes wise must follow the Bible formula for obtainingwisdom.

Lets start by nailing down a clear Bibledefinition for wisdom.

WHAT IS WISDOM?

All true wisdom comes from God. He isWisdom; therefore, He is the only source of wisdom. The world hasalways tried to produce a counterfeit and pawn it off as wisdom.The wisdom of this world excludes God and ignores His Word.