When we consider how little is found in the Bible about the childhood and the pre-ministerial life of the Lord Jesus, we discover how true is the statement that God did not write Scripture to satisfy man's curiosity; He wrote it to sanctify his conduct! Though there is a lot of speculation (and a great deal of misinformation) about the years between Christ's infancy and the beginning of His public ministry "about thirty years of age" (Luke 3:23), the Bible is almost completely silent.

In this lesson, we will discuss - from the few verses of God' Word about each stage of Christ's early life (1) Jesus the Child, (2) Jesus the Adolescent, (3) Jesus the Young Man, and (4) Jesus the Carpenter.

Although Jesus was God and could have easily by-passed all normal growth processes, He willingly subjected Himself to live in a human body so as to empathize with the whole human experience. He did not simply appear in the world as an infant with an adult mind. He did not come physically as a grown man He was the very Word of God, but He had to learn to speak like we all do. His wisdom and knowledge came to Him by degrees (though greatly accelerated because of His sinless nature).

Who were Jesus' brothers? Did He have sisters? How does the fact that He had half-siblings disprove the perpetual virginity theory about Mary? When do we first know that Jesus knew His mission? What kind of father was Joseph and when did he disappear from the scene? How appropriate is it that the Creator-Carpenter of the Universe chose to be a Carpenter is His pre-ministerial life?

We note that Jesus did not fall victim to fleshly impatience by striving to obtain honor and glory on His own or for His own glory. He waited on His heavenly Father's timing as He spent 30 preparation years laboring diligently at His trade (building things) and in the Word (of which He is both Author and Finisher)! Great, very informative lesson about a lot of things Christians don't normally think about with regard to our Saviour.

Find how some additional Old Testament prophecies came to light and came to fulfillment as the young Christ Child was moved around by the divine hand of His heavenly Father. In this lesson, "Prewritten Pathways," we discuss two journeys made by Joseph and Mary during the early childhood years of Jesus. First, there was their journey from Bethlehem to Egypt (at the direction of a God through a messenger angel to escape the wrath of Herod), and then there was their journey (again at God's direction after the death of Herod) from Egypt to Nazareth.

Learn how these divinely orchestrated movements of Jesus fulfilled three Old Testament propecies: Hosea 11:1 (out of Egypt God would call His Son), Jeremiah 31:15 (Rachel would weep over a massacre of infants, which occurred with Herod's "Slaughter of the Innocents"), and Isaiah 11:1 (the coming Messiah would be called a Nazarene).

It always perplexed the Old Testament scholars how one Messiah could fulfill all three Messianic prophecies concerning His "origin"! How could He be born in Bethlehem Ephrata (Micah 5:2), be called by God "out of Egypt" (Hosea 11:1), and be called a Nazarene, meaning from Nazareth (Isaiah 11:1)? Well, in Jesus Christ all three prophecies were fulfilled! What other possible "would-be" Messianic candidate would ever be able to fulfill them? Yet, the Jews still await a messiah other than Jesus.

In this lesson, we discuss three events in the life of the Lord that took place shortly after His birth: 1. His circumcision at 8 days of age, 2. His presentation in the Temple at 40 days of age (His first visit there) for the ritual of cleansing Mary and redeeming Him, her firstborn son, from priestly service (although the Bible never says Mary and Joseph paid the five shekels to redeem Baby Jesus from the priesthood - fascinating!). 3. The third event of Jesus' Infanthood discussed in this lesson is the public recognition He was given by the lips of two extremely godly and very elderly servants of God - one a man (Simeon),the other a woman (Anna). This lesson is worth listening to just to learn about these two amazing people who were part of the small, but faithful remnant of true Israel. Out of the mouths of two witnesses, the young Jesus was proclaimed in the Temple to be "the Lord's Christ," "the Consolation of Israel," and the long awaited Messiah!