After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers. – Luke 2:46-47

Today’s Scripture Reading (September 10, 2017): Luke 2

Novelist Thomas Berger commented that “The art and science of asking questions is the source of all knowledge.” Wisdom is never gained by expressing our opinions; rather wisdom is gained through the art and science of listening. There are too many examples in Christendom that concentrate on Christians expressing their views without ever asking any of the important questions. Frequently statements of belief cross my desk that seems to have been formed in a vacuum rather than in a discussion. It seems to me that there should be room within our orthodoxy for us to have healthy discussions on relevant topics. But it increasingly appears that that is not the case.

But then there is Jesus. One of the enduring questions about Jesus is how much did Jesus know, and when did he know it. One of our most cherished Christmas Carols, “Away in a Manger,” makes the pronouncement that the baby Jesus didn’t cry. The line “no crying he makes” has always made me bristle as a Christian because crying is part of being a healthy baby. The line of the song seems to reflect an Islamic belief rather than a Christian one. According to the Qur’an, Jesus emerged from the womb able to speak comfort to his mother. Nowhere in the Gospels do we encounter such a story. We can infer from this that the knowledge and wisdom of the ages were already present in the Islamic version of the baby Jesus. But is that true? It might be an easier conclusion to arrive at for our Muslim friend’s because they do not believe in a crucifixion. But we do. So when exactly did Jesus realize that he would die for our sins? It’s a hard question to answer. The easy answer is the Muslim one, Jesus was born with all knowledge. A more compassionate answer is that this is knowledge into which Jesus grew.

Jesus experience at Temple at the tender age of twelve might indicate that the latter is true. Jesus didn’t come into this world spouting answers; rather, he came asking questions. The image that we have here is of a Jesus whose maturity was beyond his young age. A Jesus who entered into the presence of some of the wisest men in Jerusalem and asked questions – maybe even better phrased, Jesus asked the right questions. And in the discussion that followed, he showed that he had an understanding of issues that was rarely seen among someone so young.

When did Jesus know he would die for our sins? We don’t really know, but my guess is that that was also knowledge into which Jesus grew. He may not have known that he would die for our sins until after his ministry began. Maybe the knowledge surprised him. But when the way his life would end became apparent, he also understood there was a reason his life had to end on a cross. There was no other way to allow us to truly live.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: John 1