Several believers know this story — Twelve Years Old Jesus stays back in the temple.
When Jesus was twelve years old, they attended the festival as usual. After the celebration was over, they started home to Nazareth, but Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents didn’t miss him at first, because they assumed he was among the other travelers. But when he didn’t show up that evening, they started looking for him among their relatives and friends. When they couldn’t find him, they went back to Jerusalem to search for him there. Three days later they finally discovered him in the Temple, sitting among the religious teachers, listening to them and asking questions. All who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. His parents didn’t know what to think. “Son,” his mother said to him, “why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been frantic, searching for you everywhere.” “But why did you need to search?” he asked. “Didn’t you know that I must be in my Father’s house?” But they didn’t understand what he meant. Then he returned to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. And his mother stored all these things in her heart. Jesus grew in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and all the people. — Luke 2:42 -52 (NLT)
PDams started Push buttons last week with this statement;
One of the most beautiful things you will ever observe is a powerful being demonstrating meekness and self control.
That statement helps to Segue into what I want to write about today which is verse 46 of Chapter 2 of the book of Doctor Luke.
Three days later they finally discovered him in the Temple, sitting among the religious teachers, listening to them and asking questions.
Let us explore this protocol that the Word, who was GOD made Flesh, Jesus Christ engaged while he was at the Temple. Scripture tells us that He was Sitting, Listening and Asking Questions.
- What does it mean to be Sitting? To sit means to not be in haste, to be able to wait. To not want to understand everything in a day or quickly. You are not looking for key points or Essentials. It means to be willing to go the whole nine yards. A seated person is a Stable person. He/she is not jumping from one teacher to another. You can’t be physically seated in Lagos state and be seated in Jigawa state, so a seated person is Focused. They are willing to give time to their teacher to hear them out. They have staying power and are willing to enter the journey of having a perfect understanding of all things from the very first (Luke 1:3). Seated people are planted people — they are not nomads.
Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. — Psalm 1:1
A blessed Man is known by what he doesn’t do — Truth. ✅
A blessed Man is also known by what he does — Truth. ✅
The above statements are not mutually exclusive — where a person walks, stands, and sits will determine his blessedness or not.
Jesus Sat.
2. What does it mean to Listen? Listening involves:
- Hearing: paying attention to what you hear (Mark 4:24) and how you hear (Luke 8:18).
- Attending: focusing attention on the teacher and the message that is being conveyed. Paying attention requires taking notes — one of the better ways to take notes is to write things down.
- Understanding: grasping the meaning of the words and phrases being spoken. We all have different learning rates, that said the entrance of God’s words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple (Psalm 119:130). Understanding is therefore directly proportional to the Word that has entered us.
- Remembering: Retaining the information for later use or recall.
- Evaluating: assessing the message.
- Responding: providing feedback to the Teacher to show that the message has been received and understood. One of the best ways to respond is by doing — If you Understand, you will do.
James 1:19 (NLT) admonishes believers to be quick to Listen, slow to speak and slow to get angry.
Jesus Listened
3. Asking Questions: Of this fact, we are neither ignorant nor do we assume that everyone who comes to the Church understands everything that is taught.
Random Person 1: How was the service? What did you learn?
Random Person 2: Service was powerful. It was awesome. It was amazing. It was 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Random Person 3: Humility is submitting to the will of God. As believers we must value relationships through the lens of God and excellence doesn’t need too much explanation.
Random Person 4: 😳😳 ⁉️⁉️
Concerning the Word (in the parable of the Sower, Matthew 13:3–8,18–23) we see that:
- 25% of those who heard, did not understand it — the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart.
- 25% received with joy but they had no root, so when (not if) trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away.
- 25% heard the word but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choked the word, making it unfruitful.
- Finally, it is only 25% out of 100% that are fruitful with the Word. Even amongst this 25% the harvest rate still differs — some do 30, some 60 and some 100 folds.
The questions one asks reveal the level of understanding one has. This means that most times you have to diligently process what you sat and listened to well, and then you can take note of your knowledge gap or area of ambiguity before you can ask questions or seek clarifications.
This is not a rallying call for disorderliness.
There is a way we are to conduct ourselves in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth (1 Timothy 3:15).
That is why it is a protocol; sit, listen, & ask questions. I am grateful that at the PowerPoint Tribe, there are a lot of channels/ mediums (No pun intended) available for people to ask questions or seek clarifications.
Jesus Asked Questions.
We all have areas where we are still seeking better understanding (our eyes of understanding being enlightened) and that is why it is important to sit and listen.
A few questions then:
Are you sitting?
Where are you seated?
Who & what are you listening to?
Do you understand what you are listening to?
Have you sought clarifications on your areas of ambiguity?
Who did you seek clarifications from?
The goal of a disciple is to ensure that you get to that point where others can also sit, listen, ask questions and seek clarification from you. We see that later in Jesus’ Ministry. His disciples sitting with him, listening to him, and asking him questions.
Have a Blessed Week!
Grace, Growth, and Glory.
Ayomide Arowele
Instagram / X (Twitter): @thearowele