In my doctoral studies, I have been reading through Jaroslav Pelikan's The Christian Tradition: A History of the Development of Doctrine. I am now in the middle of Volume 3, The Growth of Medieval Theology (600-1300). In the pages that I have been reading, Pelikan is assessing the theology of St. Bernard of Clairveaux, specifically his understanding of the passage in Hebrews where it says that Jesus "learned obedience through the things which he suffered." Bernard's understanding of this is that while it was impossible for the Logos of God to learn anything new, he can learn by experience things which he already knew from eternity, but which he had never before experienced personally experience, or which he had never experienced as a man.
Bernard's understanding is very near to my own, though I perhaps have not been able to articulate it as clearly. According to Pelikan, Barnard writes that what Jesus knew as God, he now experiences as man. As God, he is the healer of human infirmity; as man, he now experiences infirmity himself. Quoting Bernard, Pelikan writes, "I would not say that he is made wiser by his experiences, but he does seem to be nearer to the children of Adam." This sentence struck me; and it combined with some other of my tangential thoughts. And I found myself wondering, "What did Jesus learn about life as a kid, as he was learning obedience at the hands of his parents?"
The New Testament tells us precious little about the childhood of Jesus. Gnostic accounts are filled with fabulous stories, but I discount them, as I do not consider them Scripture. From the writers of Scripture we have far more information about his birth and his infancy that what we do about his childhood. Then we have the big leap to his ministry; it is almost as if his childhood did not exist!
Yet, we have the incident when he was 12, when he was taken to the temple by his parents. After the festivities were over, his parents start for home, "supposing him to be in the company," apparently of other people from Nazareth. But when the company stops for the night, they cannot find him; and so back to Jerusalem they go. They find Jesus in the temple, and they get after him a bit. I can hear it now, "Jesus, what on earth are you doing?" "What's up, Mom and Dad, did you not know that I would be about my [true] Father's business?"
My children struggled when their personal convictions violated mine. "Dad," they would argue, "You taught us to live by our convictions, and to do what we believe the Lord would have us to do. Why don't you let us? Why do we have to live by your [outdated] convictions? You need to give us the freedom so that we can live by our own!"
Perhaps Jesus could empathize with my children, for it appears as if Mary and Joseph did not agree with Jesus that this was the proper time for him to be able his [true] Father's business. I agree, the text does not specifically state this; however, it certainly implies it, for it says that he "went with them, and [they] came to Nazareth, and [he] was subject unto them" (Luke 2:51 KJV), I am guessing without complaint. And interestingly, the next thing that Luke tells us about is the beginning of Jesus' ministry, started at about the time he was 30. Once again by implication it appears as if it was quite some time before his parents freed him up in order to begin pursuing his ministry.
You may say, "That is really an example of learning obedience through suffering." Well, I disagree, for I suspect that to a child it is. St. Bernard of Clairveaux arguef that Jesus passed through every stage of life sinless, obedient, learning obedience through suffering. In passing through sinless, Jesus sanctified every stage of life, and he left us a pattern, so that as Peter states, we are to follow his steps. And so, even in his childhood, he sets an example that even children can follow.
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