Becoming an Expert on Jesus

One of the captivating realities about Jesus is that He was an expert in the Scriptures. As a child and a young man, He had to learn the Scriptures just like anyone else who set out to learn them. He had to read them, memorize them, wrestle with their meaning and figure out how to apply them to everyday life.

When Jesus was 12 years old His family traveled to Jerusalem for the Passover Feast. After the Feast was over, Mary and Joseph, assuming that Jesus was with them, started the long trip home. After a day’s travel they began to look for Jesus, thinking that He had started home with them. Jesus was nowhere to be found. They turned around and headed back to Jerusalem where they found Jesus. He was in the Temple listening to the teachers and asking questions about the Scriptures.

When His parents asked Him about what He was doing, He responded that they should have known where He would be. Implication? When He was missing, He could be found among the teachers listening and asking questions. (Luke 2)

Even before He began His ministry, He taught in the synagogue. (Luke 4) The common practice in that day was to have a man, especially any rabbi that was present, to read from a scroll and give a lesson. When Jesus started his ‘official’ ministry, He was already a familiar face and voice to those in the synagogue, so they invited Him to read and to give a teaching from the scrolls. He picked the scroll of Isaiah and read from it. It was the portion of Isaiah that described what His ministry would be like. (Isaiah 61)

When Jesus was tempted in the wilderness for forty days, He withstood temptation by quoting the Scripture. Over and over He said: ‘It is written…’ and then quoted from the Scriptures.

How did Jesus become an expert in the Scriptures? The same way that you eat an elephant – one bite at a time. Jesus dug into the Scriptures regularly. He did so hour by hour, day by day, year by year. Over time, He became an expert.

You and I can become experts on Jesus! Becoming an expert on Jesus takes place ‘one bite at a time.’ Hour by hour, day by day, year by year!

Jesus, teach us about You and show Yourself to us!