When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth. And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was on him.

–Parallel Verses
Isaiah‬ ‭11‬:‭1‬-‭5‬
A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him— the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord— and he will delight in the fear of the Lord. He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears; but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked. Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist.

We find after Jesus’ dedication at the temple, Mary and Joseph took him back home. And they began to raise him as normal parents would. In many ways, they went back to their normal, ordinary lives. But Jesus was no ordinary child, and his childhood was no ordinary process. We see in Luke that he became strong. He grew in wisdom and knowledge. This is because he was, as was prophesied, both God and man.

From the prophecy in Isaiah, we recognize that all of this was planned long ago by God. From a child, the Spirit of God was on Jesus. He had wisdom that was unlike any other child. He had knowledge that was way beyond his years and the strength and fortitude of his faith was unparalleled.

What I take away from this passage today is that Jesus came humbly into this world. But he also came in the power of God. He came as an innocent little baby, but he also came as a righteous and powerful Savior.

This Savior would go on to die a cruel death and pay the price of sin for you and me. He is Jesus Christ – the Savior of the world.

Will I worship him today as the shepherds and wiseman did? Will I give him the glory and honor and praise due his name?

Thank you, Lord for your amazing gift of Jesus Christ. We can see how your hand was in his birth, his growing up years, and his ministry.