The Holy Spirit and how
he was influential in the life of Jesus as a baby and a boy when he walked the earth in human form.
The birth of Jesus:
Matt 1:18
(NLT)
This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His
mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took
place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of
the Holy Spirit.
In the above verse we are told that Mary was
impregnated by the Holy Spirit thus making God the father of Jesus. This was a
significant move of the power of God through the Holy Spirit that had never been
done before and will never be done again in any other being – God and the Word
becoming flesh in order to fully identify with man!
The verses we
have read above show us that the Holy Spirit was active in the life of Jesus
the man right from his conception in the womb of his mother Mary.
The Bible doesn’t say much about Jesus as he grew up
as a child, or as a young man until he reaches the age of 30 and begins his
ministry as a man in the power of the Holy Spirit – that is after being both
water-baptised and then immediately baptised with the Holy Spirit.
We’ve established that the birth of Jesus was the work
of the Holy Spirit, so let’s now look at the work of the Holy Spirit in the
baby Jesus and then the boy Jesus.
The Holy Spirit and the baby Jesus – Luke 2:1-40
In these verses Luke describes three significant, supernatural
encounters that occurred in the first eight days in the life of baby Jesus.
1. An angel of the Lord and
a company of the heavenly host appear to a group of shepherds in the fields to
tell them about the birth of the long-awaited Messiah – Luke 2:8-20.
2. At baby Jesus’
dedication at the temple in Jerusalem he is blessed by a man called Simeon who is
described as full of the Holy Spirit. Simeon takes Jesus in his arms (a sort of
laying on of hands and praying) and praises God for the birth of the Messiah – Luke 2:21-35.
3. At the same time there
was also a prophet named Anna at the temple who also thanked God for the
Messiah and spoke about the child to all who were
The Holy Spirit and the boy Jesus – Luke 2:41-52
The next time Jesus is
mentioned in the Bible is as a 12-year old boy. In these verses (Luke 2:41-52) we are told that Mary and
Joseph and their family (including Jesus) went to Jerusalem to attend the
Passover Festival. After the festival they leave for home, but Jesus stays
behind without his parents realising. It is only after a day’s travel that they
notice that Jesus is missing and return to Jerusalem to find him. It is three
days before they find him, and this is what he was doing, remember he is just
12 years old:
Luke 2:46-47
(NIV)
46 After three days they found him in the temple
courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them
questions.47 Everyone
who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers.
So, in the above verses we see that this 12-year-old
boy is sitting among the teachers of the day asking them questions and they
are amazed at his understanding and his answers to their questions. This is the
work of the Holy Spirit rising up in him.
After this the Bible doesn't tell us anything further in the life of Jesus the the boy except that he grew in stature and favour with both man and God.
Coming next week: The Spirit filled life of Jesus the man.
May the name of Jesus be lifted up and glorified!
An extract from my book: Fan Into Flame: Life in the Spirit available on Paperback:
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