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37. A Walk Of Obedience


Exodus 23:15 & Luke 2:41-42
Key Verse: “When He was twelve years old, they went up to the feast, according to the custom.”
Luke 2:42

The holy family is on the move again.  This time, they are not moving because of a dream or vision.   This time, they are simply moving as the result of obedience to an ordinance that the Lord gave to Moses many centuries before. 

The holy family was taking time to remember God's mercy to the people of Israel when He miraculously set them free from Egypt.  They were remembering the Passover when the death angel passed over their homes, but did not go in because of the blood of the lambs that He saw on their door frames.  They were taking the time to remember them and yet pray for God to act again on their behalf. 

Jesus is now twelve years old.  He is practically considered a man by Jewish tradition.  Now it is his turn to act out this remembrance as well.  What those around Him didn't know or understand is that Jesus not only remembered, but He had been there with Moses when this ordinance of remembrance had been given.  He was with them now and He would be acting again, on their behalf, and ours, in the very near future.  He had always been with them, but now, as a human, He was with them even more closely.  He was bearing their burdens with them.  He was walking their lives, in their lives and enduring their pain along with them.  He probably was not riding a donkey or seeking a way to be miraculously caught up from Galilee and placed at the temple.  He was experiencing fatigue.  He was part of the crowd.  He felt everything just as they did in complete humanity. 

We don't know how many times Jesus made this trip during His life.  This may have been the first time since He was approaching the recognition of His manhood, or He may have gone every year, even as a child, as a part of His family.  If He obeyed the law, then He probably went every year.  The Bible is silent on this point.  What I am more interested in thinking about for today is the crowd that walked with Him. 

I am wondering how often, we can be like those who were on the road that day with Jesus.  On that day, they had no clue who they were walking with.  Jesus was just another boy or young man to them.  There was nothing about Him that made Him stand out in the crowd even though all of God was also packed inside that twelve year old frame.  That can happen to us too, even today, us being unaware of His presence because He isn't in the form that we expect God to be.  How often does Jesus come alongside us and we don't know that it is Him. 

I have been a part of a group that asks the question, "When did you feel God's presence most closely this week."  In the history of the denomination that I am a part of, the people used to ask one another, "How goes your walk with the Lord this week?"  Those questions are usually a challenge for me.  How can I be unaware of the presence of the all-powerful creator in my life? Yet, due to my sinful nature, sadly, in truth I often have to answer quietly to myself, "I don't know."  

 More often than I care to admit, I am like the crowd walking with Jesus on this day.  He is there, quietly walking with me, but I miss Him for who He is.  Jesus Himself said that He would never leave us unto the end of the age.  (Matthew 28:20)  He is walking with you and me through everything we go through.  Turn to Him for wisdom, for strength to endure and for faith to see you through.  He is always available to you.

Forgive me Lord, for my obtuseness. 

Hymn: "Abide O Dearest Jesus" Also:
"Jesus in Disguise" by Brandon Heath &
"Amazed" by Philips Craig & Dean  (You'l probably really like this one!)

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