Time with Jesus - 31
Aug 2013
Hi all,
This has been mentioned in the past so there is no need to dwell on it.
Sufficient to say, numbers in the Bible have a special meaning. 
The eighth is a new first; hence the octave in music;
colour and days of the week. For Christians it is the number which has to do
with the Lord, Who rose on the eighth, or new "first-day". This is,
therefore, the Dominical number. (Relating to Jesus Christ as the Lord) (Courtesy Google)
Eight represents new birth and new beginnings. Thus the
infant has a new beginning. He becomes a member of the greater Jewish family (descendent
of Abraham) and is in covenant with God identified and established through
circumcision. 
The details are spelled out in Genesis 17. 10 This is the covenant that you and your descendants must
keep: Each male among you must be circumcised.
11 You must cut off the flesh of your
foreskin as a sign of the covenant between Me and you. 12 From
generation to generation, every male child must
be circumcised on the eighth day after his birth.
This applies not only to members of your family but also to the servants born in
your household and the foreign-born servants whom you have purchased. Gen 17:10-12 NLT |
| Jesus Talking with the Officials in the Temple The Temple was His Father's House |
It follows that Jesus was circumcised on the eight day.
This was essential or he could not have been a Jew or a Rabbi. There was no
need to take Jesus to the temple in Jerusalem for His circumcision. It could
have been carried out by a priest in Bethlehem. On the other hand, the distance
between Bethlehem and Jerusalem was such that Mary and Joseph could have taken
him to the Temple for this purpose.
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| Mary & Joseph "find" Jesus in the Temple |
The reason is, Jesus was Mary’s first-born son. After
bearing a child, the mother was regarded as ceremonially unclean and required ritual
purification. This took place 41 days after the birth of a boy and 81 days
after the birth of a girl. That’s why Joseph and Mary took Jesus to Jerusalem.
It was so that He (Jesus) could be dedicated to the Lord and Mary could be
ritually “cleansed” after her delivery. (See Leviticus 12 for the details)
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| It would be Unusual to Walk Together |
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| Reading from the Scrolls Right of Passage from Boyhood to Manhood |
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Matt 10:8
Freely you received, Freely give |
Time with Jesus – 31 Aug 2013
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Matt 10:8
Freely you received, Freely give |
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©
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These
devotionals are the intellectual property of Jim Strickland and copyright
protected. You are welcome to copy and distribute them to anyone provided it
is for non-commercial Christian purposes
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©
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INTRODUCTION
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DAILY
LIGHT EVENING SCRIPTURES
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MY FATHER’S BUSINESS
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Apart
from His birth in Bethlehem, we know almost nothing about Jesus as a child
and growing up. The one incident we know was the trip to Jerusalem He took
with Mary and Joseph. The occasion was, for His Bar Mitzvah. After this ceremony a
boy was considered a man. The man would automatically become a part of his
father’s business. I can think of no other reason why they would all have
gone from Nazareth to Jerusalem. Which means Jesus was ±12 years old and was
about to become a man!
It was a long journey of about 150km; about 3 or 4
days on foot. In those days, the custom was for the women and children to
leave first. They would get to the place where they would spend the night.
There, the women would pitch the tents and get everything ready for the
evening meal. The men would arrive in time for supper with them all. Until
His Bar Mitzvah, Jesus would have been regarded as a child and would have
travelled with the women. After His
Bar mitzvah the same thing would be repeated on the return to Nazareth.
Mary must have left with the women and children,
leaving Jesus to return with Joseph. When it was time for the men to leave,
Joseph would assume that, since Jesus was not there, He must have been with
Mary! It would be late in the day before they realised He was not with either
of them! They would have to go back to Jerusalem to find Him. But where would
they look? When in Jerusalem, they hunted everywhere without success. Finally,
they went to the temple. There they found Jesus! He was talking to the
priests. The Priests would not chat with a child, so they were talking to Him
as a man. In their discussions with Jesus, they were astonished at His
knowledge. It would have been normal back then for every young boy to memorise
the Torah! (Genesis to end of Deuteronomy) So Jesus must have known far more
than that to astonish the priests. But Jesus had more or less “written” all
of it before coming to earth. So it’s not surprising He had all the answers
to their questions. The apostle Peter put it this way: 21 For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were
carried along by the Holy Spirit. 2 Peter
1:21 TNIV
The amazing part of all of this was that His parents
couldn’t find Him. After all, He was about His Father’s business! Since His
real Father was God, where else should they have been looking for Him? Note,
Jesus stated God was His Father at this young age! I’ve often wondered at
what age He knew for certain who He was. Did He know it when He was born? You
tell me!
Jim
& Phyllida
Strickland
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13
Before he left, he called together ten of his servants and divided among them
ten pounds of silver, saying, 'Invest this for me
while I am gone.'
Luke 19:13 NLT
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For every Jewish boy, before gets to
be a man,
There is a ceremony, which long ago
began.
They call it the Bar Mitzvah, where he
reads from the law.
He is the child no longer, he used to
be before.
This very special date and in a very
special place,
The youngster had to go and look his
manhood in the face.
We know when Jesus did it; we know the
place He went.
The temple in Jerusalem. We’ve heard
of the event.
They went up for this purpose. The
women went ahead,
To set up camp and pitch the tents and
make the daily bread.
Jesus went with Mary, for He was still
a kid.
The men arrived much later, as usually
they did.
There within the Temple He did what was
desired.
It was His “rite of passage” as Jewish
law required.
From this day on in history, He wasn’t
just a lad,
But working as “partner”, in the
business of His Dad!
All this was very normal, until they
left for home.
His mother with the women and children
on their own.
The menfolk followed later. Eventually
they met.
“Where’s Jesus?” Mary asked him. “Did you perhaps forget,
That He would travel with the men; I
thought He was with you?
We’ll have to go and look for Him.
It’s all that we can do.”
They set off very early and went back
to the town.
Even if they had to turn the whole
place upside down,
They had to keep on looking and
searching with their eyes.
Then in the Temple precincts, they got
a big surprise.
There was Jesus talking, with many
gathered priests,
About the Jewish Torah and of their
many feasts.
He seemed to be so young to know so
much about the Law.
They wondered how He got it and what
He got it for.
Then Joseph said to Jesus, “Tell me please my son,
Why you didn’t come with us? We’ve
both been on the run.
Both of us were worried. We thought
you’d come to harm.
But Jesus looked at both of them and
with a voice so calm,
He said, “Did you forget that I have now become a man?
I must look and see the way His “business”
has been ran.
Surely this is what My Father’s wanting
now of Me.
For in My Father’s business is where I
have to be.”
Jim Strickland
Written 31st
August 2012
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34
"The coming of the Son of Man can be illustrated
by the story of a man going on a long trip. When he left home, he gave each
of his slaves instructions about the work they were to do, and he told the
gatekeeper to watch for his return.
Mark 13:34 NLT
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15 He gave five bags of silver to one, two bags of silver
to another and one bag of silver to the last--dividing it in proportion to
their abilities. He then left on his trip.
Matthew 25:15 NLT
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4 As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who
sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work.
John 9:4 TNIV
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49
Jesus said to them, "Why were you looking for me? Didn't you realize that I had to be in my Father's
house?"
Luke 2:49 GW
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21 This
is the kind of life you've been invited into, the kind of life Christ lived. He suffered everything that came his way so you would
know that it could be done, and also know how to do it, step-by-step.
1 Peter 2:21 MSG
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2 Preach the word of God. Be prepared, whether the time
is favourable or not. Patiently correct, rebuke, and encourage your people
with good teaching.
2 Timothy 4:2 NLT
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13 But each person's work will be shown for what it is.
On judgment day it will be brought to light.
It will be put through fire. The fire will test how good everyone's work is.
1 Corinthians 3:13 NIrV
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58 So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and
immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that
nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.
1 Corinthians 15:58 NLT
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