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Young Jesus · Bible in a Year with Jack Graham

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  Speaker 1: And the child grew and waxed strong in the Spirit,
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  Speaker 1: filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him.
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  Speaker 1: Luke 2.40 As I continue to grow, I thank you
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  Speaker 1: that I am increasing in wisdom and understanding like Jesus.
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  Speaker 1: Even when others don't understand the magnitude of my calling,
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  Speaker 1: I will remain true to what you've placed inside of me, Lord.
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  Speaker 1: I choose to understand that sometimes the people closest to
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  Speaker 1: me won't understand my anointing, and that's okay. Nevertheless, I
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  Speaker 1: will not shrink or play small when it comes to
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  Speaker 1: walking in my divine identity. With Jesus as my focus,
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  Speaker 1: I will learn to walk and talk in confidence as
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  Speaker 1: He did. I am ready to live my fullest life
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  Speaker 1: and be involved with my Heavenly Father's business. In Jesus' name. Amen.
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  Speaker 1: Thank you for making prayer a priority in your day.
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  Speaker 1: To learn more about the Bible, stay tuned for today's story.
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  Speaker 2: Young Jesus. In our last story, the baby Jesus was
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  Speaker 2: visited by three wise men. They were prominent scholars and astronomers,
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  Speaker 2: yet they worshipped Jesus as king. Herod, the evil king
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  Speaker 2: of the Jews, got word that there was a new
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  Speaker 2: child born by prophecy. Seeing Jesus as a threat to
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  Speaker 2: his power, he had every child under the age of
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  Speaker 2: two killed, yet Joseph had his family flee just in time.
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  Speaker 2: Now we get a glimpse into the childhood of Jesus.
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  Speaker 2: His wisdom and purpose remained a mystery to Mary and Joseph.
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  Speaker 2: Inspired by the Gospels.
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  Speaker 3: Hello, I'm Jack Graham with today's episode of the Bible
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  Speaker 3: in a Year podcast. But before we begin, I want
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  Speaker 3: to let you know about a unique e-book that's yours
• 2:14
  Speaker 3: to download absolutely free today. It's called Breaking Free from Stress.
• 2:19
  Speaker 3: And my prayer is that it will help you conquer
• 2:22
  Speaker 3: the daily tasks and pressures and burdens that bring stress
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  Speaker 3: in your life. Download your free copy of Breaking Free
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  Speaker 3: from Stress today by visiting jackgram.org slash stress. That's jackgram.org
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  Speaker 3: slash stress. In yesterday's episode, we learned of the visit
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  Speaker 3: of the wise men who came from the east to
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  Speaker 3: worship the Messiah. They brought lavish gifts that symbolized the royalty, divinity,
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  Speaker 3: and ultimately, even the death of Christ. Even as a baby,
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  Speaker 3: Jesus represented a threat to the established power structure, and
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  Speaker 3: as we learned, King Herod sought to kill him. But
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  Speaker 3: God protected Joseph, Mary, and Jesus, and they escaped into
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  Speaker 3: Egypt until Herod died. Today, we'll hear about the life
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  Speaker 3: of a young Jesus before the beginning of his earthly ministry.
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  Speaker 3: We'll see how even as a child, he was in
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  Speaker 3: fellowship with the Father, and his wisdom and insight drew
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  Speaker 3: others to him. And as they journey to Jerusalem for Passover,
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  Speaker 3: Joseph and Mary will get a glimpse of just how
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  Speaker 3: special Jesus really is. Let's hear now the reading of
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  Speaker 3: God's Word.
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  Speaker 2: The crowds pushed and shoved as Mary and Joseph tried
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  Speaker 2: to make their way from the temple. For the past
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  Speaker 2: 12 years, the small family had made their way to
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  Speaker 2: Jerusalem for Passover. Mary and Joseph had watched as Jesus
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  Speaker 2: grew up and became strong. The boy was filled with
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  Speaker 2: wisdom and carried the favor of God wherever he went.
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  Speaker 2: Joseph did his best to guide his wife through the
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  Speaker 2: busy crowd. Millions of people flocked the holy city during Passover.
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  Speaker 2: So many, in fact, that Mary and Joseph had completely
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  Speaker 2: lost track of Jesus. He was nowhere to be seen.
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  Speaker 2: The sea of faces rolled like a rising tide, and
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  Speaker 2: not one of them resembled the twelve-year-old boy. Frantic, Mary
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  Speaker 2: scoured the city for three days in search of her child.
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  Speaker 2: Jesus was not the type to wander off. He was considerate, obedient,
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  Speaker 2: and wise beyond his years. He would not have gotten lost.
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  Speaker 2: That's when Mary realized where he must be. The two
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  Speaker 2: parents ran back to the temple courtyard. Thousands of people
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  Speaker 2: rushed in and out of the gates, but Mary knew
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  Speaker 2: Jesus must be within its walls. As the worried parents
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  Speaker 2: entered the temple doors, they saw their son sitting in
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  Speaker 2: front of priests and teachers. The boy asked deep and
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  Speaker 2: profound questions. He was also filled with answers beyond their comprehension.
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  Speaker 2: The priests and teachers hung on every word the boy said,
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  Speaker 2: gleaning deep truths from his words. Mary did not want
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  Speaker 2: to make a scene in front of the priests, so
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  Speaker 2: she waited for a lull in their conversation, and then
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  Speaker 2: grabbed Jesus away and scolded him. Why have you done
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  Speaker 2: this to us? she said. Your father and I have
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  Speaker 2: been searching day and night for you. The young boy
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  Speaker 2: looked up at his mother. His face was not confused,
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  Speaker 2: but concerned. Why would you look for days? he asked.
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  Speaker 2: Didn't you know that I would be in my father's house,
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  Speaker 2: tending to his business? The full reality of who Jesus
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  Speaker 2: truly was still escaped Mary. She knew of his immaculate conception,
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  Speaker 2: and that he was a promised king. However, she could
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  Speaker 2: not fully understand the depths of who he was. She
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  Speaker 2: would soon discover who her son truly was, but for now,
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  Speaker 2: he was her little twelve-year-old Jesus. So she cared for
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  Speaker 2: him deeply. Joseph taught him the trade of carpentry and building.
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  Speaker 2: So Jesus grew in stature, strength, and wisdom daily. Nobody
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  Speaker 2: but him knew what was about to unfold.
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  Speaker 3: In today's scripture, we get a picture of young Jesus.
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  Speaker 3: The Bible doesn't say too much about the early days
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  Speaker 3: of Jesus. In fact, this is the only account between
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  Speaker 3: his flight to Egypt with his parents and the beginning
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  Speaker 3: of his ministry three decades later. But in this one account,
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  Speaker 3: We'll see so clearly a picture of how special Jesus
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  Speaker 3: really is and how in fellowship he is with the Father,
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  Speaker 3: even as a child. We'll see how he grew in wisdom, stature,
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  Speaker 3: and in favor with God and man, as the Scripture
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  Speaker 3: tells us. And so, as we heard, Jesus' family traveled
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  Speaker 3: to Jerusalem to Passover, as was their custom. Not only theirs,
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  Speaker 3: but millions of Jews traveled there each year. So the throngs,
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  Speaker 3: the multitudes of people, filled the streets. You can only
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  Speaker 3: imagine the chaos of trying to navigate yourself through Jerusalem
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  Speaker 3: at that time. As they prepared to return home after
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  Speaker 3: the feast, Jesus stayed behind in the temple. His parents
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  Speaker 3: didn't notice right away, but when they did, you can
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  Speaker 3: only imagine the panic that set in. Where is Jesus?
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  Speaker 3: What happened to Jesus? They seemed to have lost Jesus.
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  Speaker 3: They were in another town far from home among millions
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  Speaker 3: of other people crowding the streets, and Jesus was nowhere
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  Speaker 3: to be found. Mary and Joseph searched for him three days.
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  Speaker 3: Can you imagine? Three days they're looking for Jesus. Think
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  Speaker 3: about the despair that must have filled their hearts. Where
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  Speaker 3: could he be, they wondered. Friends and family had no idea.
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  Speaker 3: So finally, they entered the temple and there they saw Jesus.
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  Speaker 3: He wasn't alone or afraid looking for his mom and dad. No,
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  Speaker 3: he was very fine. As we read in Luke 2,
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  Speaker 3: verses 46 and 47, After three days, they found him
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  Speaker 3: in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them
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  Speaker 3: and asking them questions. And all who heard him were
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  Speaker 3: amazed at his understanding and his answers. This 12-year-old boy,
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  Speaker 3: the boy Jesus, was sitting among the rabbis, asking and
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  Speaker 3: answering deep questions about life and living for God. He
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  Speaker 3: was clearly unlike any other child. Did you notice that
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  Speaker 3: it says, all who heard him were amazed? Yes, they were.
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  Speaker 3: Jesus is amazing. Like any parent, Mary, when she found him,
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  Speaker 3: expressed displeasure at what Jesus had done, asking where he
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  Speaker 3: had been and why he had done this to Joseph
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  Speaker 3: and her. But Jesus gently and respectfully responded that they
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  Speaker 3: should have known he would be in the temple, his
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  Speaker 3: father's house. Throughout his life, Jesus would amaze people with
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  Speaker 3: his insight, his wisdom, and his words, just as he
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  Speaker 3: did in today's readings. Jesus was always about his Father's business. Clearly,
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  Speaker 3: Jesus lived in perfect harmony and perfect fellowship with the Father.
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  Speaker 3: And God sent him in the world to do his business.
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  Speaker 3: So Jesus grew in favor with God and man. And
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  Speaker 3: the next time we see him, God will give the
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  Speaker 3: world a sign that Jesus is indeed the Son of God.
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  Speaker 3: Dear God, we thank you for the word, your word.
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  Speaker 3: And we thank you for the story of Jesus. From
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  Speaker 3: birth to boyhood to life, death, resurrection, and ascension, we
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  Speaker 3: see the power and the presence of Jesus. We see
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  Speaker 3: him uniquely united with the Father, always and forever. Like Jesus,
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  Speaker 3: in the power of your spirit, may we always be
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  Speaker 3: about your business, Lord. Always sitting at your feet to
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  Speaker 3: listen to your ways and to learn your wisdom. In Jesus' name, amen.
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  Speaker 3: Thank you for listening to today's Bible in a Year podcast.
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  Speaker 3: Before we go, I want to let you know about
• 9:52
  Speaker 3: a unique e-book that's yours to download absolutely free today.
• 9:57
  Speaker 3: It's called Breaking Free from Stress. And my prayer is
• 10:01
  Speaker 3: that it will help you conquer the daily tasks and
• 10:03
  Speaker 3: pressures and burdens that bring stress into your life. Download
• 10:07
  Speaker 3: your free copy of Breaking Free from Stress today by
• 10:11
  Speaker 3: visiting jackgram.org slash stress. That's jackgram.org slash stress.