Early Events in Jesus' Life

Some early events in the life of Jesus, as a baby and as a young boy, marked Him as a special person who would later bring hope and peace to multitudes of people.

Forty days had flown by! Joseph and Mary had obediently circumcised Jesus eight days after he was born and named him Jesus. Now, they had to get to the temple in Jerusalem and present Jesus—their firstborn male child—to the Lord, according to Leviticus 12. The Law required a sacrifice of a lamb, a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons. The birds were one-fifth the cost of a lamb, so far from home and on a tight budget, Joseph prepared the birds while Mary got Jesus ready. Then, they headed to the temple.

Earlier, God had spoken to Simeon, a godly man living in prayerful anticipation of the Messiah. God revealed to him that he would see God’s chosen One before he died. The Spirit led him to the temple again on Jesus’ dedication day.

When Joseph and Mary arrived with 40-day-old Jesus, Simeon was waiting for them. To their amazement, Simeon took Jesus in his arms and praised God:

“Sovereign Lord, bring me home in peace, for these old eyes of mine have seen your salvation just as you promised. I see You want everyone to know that this One will be a God-revealing light for all nations as He glorifies your people, Israel.”

The couple was astonished! Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit; they already knew he was unique, but they were seeing and hearing more evidence of his uniqueness. As Simeon returned the baby and blessed them, they may have thought back to when the shepherds came looking for the Savior. They may have remembered Isaiah’s prophecy: “Those walking in darkness will see a great light; those living in a dark land will have the light shine on them.” Maybe they recalled Solomon’s dedication of the temple when he prayed that “all the peoples of the earth” would know God. As time passed, they would encounter more amazing proofs of Jesus’ uniqueness.

One day, a lavish entourage came to town, their camels loaded with treasure. The town buzzed with the news. Who were these men? What were they doing here in this forgotten corner of the world? Rich, dignified, these were respected sages from far away in the east. They came directly to Joseph and Mary’s house. They explained how a star led them first to Jerusalem and then to Bethlehem. They told how they had stopped in Jerusalem, looking for the king who had been born, and how the scribes, called in by King Herod, told them about the prophecy that God’s shepherd for Israel would be born in lowly Bethlehem. They worshiped Jesus and gave him gold, expensive perfume, and spices—kingly gifts.

The surprises continued: after the easterners left, an angel appeared to Joseph again, saying, “Get up, take the child and Mary, and run to Egypt! Stay there until I tell you because Herod is going to search for Jesus so he can kill him.”

As they headed for Egypt, they had to be astonished, not only at the amazing events they had seen these past two years but also at God’s faithful care and provision. Not too long ago they were so poor they had to offer pigeons instead of a lamb; they couldn’t move back to their hometown after the census. But now they were able to travel to Egypt because strangers from the east brought Jesus gifts.

Years later, when Jesus was 12, his parents thought they lost him on their way home from a Passover trip to Jerusalem.

Frantic, they went back to Jerusalem. Three days later, they found Jesus in the temple, conversing with the teachers. “Why did you do this to us? We’ve been looking all over for you, worried sick.”

“Why?” Jesus answered. “You didn’t realize I needed to be in my Father’s house?” They did not understand, but as they returned to Nazareth with their submissive son, Mary kept thinking about these evidences of Jesus’ uniqueness.

As he grew up, Jesus’ wisdom became more evident, and everyone liked him. More importantly, he honored God.