This Child

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered at Pilgrim Reformed Church on Sunday morning, the 28th of December, and the last Sunday of 2025.  A recording of our service may be available on our YouTube streaming channel: 

https://www.youtube.com/@pilgrimreformedchurch1992/streams for the older services or https://www.youtube.com/@pilgrimreformedchurch3115/streams for later services.]

I doubt any of us remember our days as a little baby.  My earliest memory is of a time when I was around four and my parents put me on stage at our family reunion and had me sing “I’m A Little Teapot”.  At one time much later in life, I did see an old photo of me – looking a lot like Anson’s twin, with a head full of curly yellow hair – with a cigar in my mouth and my great-uncle holding a lighter ready to fire me up.  I couldn’t have been much older than two, and I have absolutely no memory of the event.

All of this is just to say that while we might not have many memories of our early childhood, we were all babies at one time, and most of us had babies of our own in our younger adult years.  So I believe we would all agree that a baby is one of the greatest miracles in life.  And it can be a load of fun watching that child grow and see what it becomes.

In our current day and age, the internet allows us to chart, record, and report on the birth and growth of a child over the years.  For a lot of us here, our early years were only recorded by hand in the family bible, a tradition that goes back hundreds of years.  Before that, any record of a person’s childhood would have been a rarity.

Which is why we know so very little about the child named Jesus.  We know about the manner of His conception, the days before His birth, His birthplace and first visitors, and that His parents took Him and all fled to Egypt to escape death from a cruel tyrant.  But that’s about it.  We’re not told of His first steps, of His early schooling, of how He reacted when He was no longer the only child in the family.  We have no stories of the adventures and squabbles He must have had with His half-brothers growing up.  We don’t even know what happened to His father, Joseph.

But there is one brief account of an occurrence shortly after His birth.  Please listen and follow along as the Apostle Luke shares with us this part of what little we know of Jesus as a little baby, in verses 21 through 40 of the 2nd chapter of his Gospel account, and I’ll be reading from the New King James Version of our Holy Bible this morning…

21 And when eight days were completed for the circumcision of the Child, His name was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb.

22 Now when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were completed, they brought Him to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord 23 (as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every male who opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”), 24 and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the law of the Lord, “A pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.”

25 And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was just and devout, waiting for the Consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 26 And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. 27 So he came by the Spirit into the temple. And when the parents brought in the Child Jesus, to do for Him according to the custom of the law, 28 he took Him up in his arms and blessed God and said:

29 “Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace,

According to Your word;

30 For my eyes have seen Your salvation

31 Which You have prepared before the face of all peoples,

32 A light to bring revelation to the Gentiles,

And the glory of Your people Israel.”

33 And Joseph and His mother marveled at those things which were spoken of Him. 34 Then Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary His mother, “Behold, this Child is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which will be spoken against 35 (yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”

36 Now there was one, Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, and had lived with a husband seven years from her virginity; 37 and this woman was a widow of about eighty-four years, who did not depart from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day. 38 And coming in that instant she gave thanks to the Lord, and spoke of Him to all those who looked for redemption in Jerusalem.

39 So when they had performed all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own city, Nazareth. 40 And the Child grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him.

--Luke 2:21-40 (NKJV)

Let us pray…  Father God, thank You for sending Your Son to us in the same way that we enter this world – as a vulnerable little baby.  He came quietly, with a very few invited to His birth.  And we know He grew into an adult, but we have so few details of those first 30 years.  Maybe that’s for the best, because knowing His ministry is what truly matters to us, and His sacrifice is His most important gift for us.  Thank You for planning all this for our sake, our salvation.  And thank You for giving us the Light to guide our steps.  We who follow Jesus try our best to live by His example.  But too often we struggle loving as He loved, loving as He commands.  Father, we know how our failures to properly serve You displeases You.  We need You to help us live in a manner that is more righteous in Your sight.  Please forgive us those times we disappoint You and help us be more obedient to Your and Your Son, more loving, more caring, more compassionate, showing Your love to others so that they too might find salvation through Jesus.

Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit within us and better grasp the message You have for us this day.  This we pray in the precious name of Your Son, Christ Jesus our Lord.   Amen.

Robert Fulghum once wrote in the Kansas City Times, “Most of what I really need to know about how to live, and what to do, and how to be, I learned in kindergarten.  Wisdom was not at the top of the graduate school mountain, but there in the sandbox at nursery school.

“These are the things I learned:  Share everything.  Play fair.  Don't hit people.  Put things back where you found them.  Clean up your own mess.  Don't take things that aren't yours.  Say you're sorry when you hurt somebody.  When you go out into the world, watch for traffic, hold hands, and stick together.”

The newspaper article noted that “this writer has captured the basic part of what Jesus meant when He said, ‘Unless you become like little children, you won't enter the kingdom of heaven.’”

The things Mr. Fulghum learned in kindergarten really revolve around loving one another.  When we truly love others, we don't try to hurt them or cheat them, we share with them, we try to help them and watch out for them.  Jesus wants us to love others - He commands us to love others.  He wants us to be like little children in our outlook on the world.  So let's remember what we learned in kindergarten.

Eight days after Jesus was born He was circumcised according to the first covenant between God and man through Abraham.  Joseph and Mary named the infant Jesus, as the angel Gabriel had instructed them.  They took Him to the temple, following ritual custom, and there He was recognized as the Messiah, first by a man named Simeon, who had been waiting at that place for the Messiah to come, and then by the elderly prophetess Anna, who served the Lord day and night.

Now when we see a little baby, we can only wonder what he or she will become.  We may someday see how they mature, but that will take years and years.  In the case of Jesus, both Simeon and Anna instantly knew that this tiny baby, this Child, was the Savior of mankind.  I can only imagine how a passerby might have reacted upon hearing these declarations.  Yes, a baby is a miracle, but how could a baby… how could this Child possibly redeem all mankind?

There is one more instance we’re told of that happened when Jesus was a youth.  He was at that age where most of us are very confused, trying to figure out the world, thinking we know everything and nothing at the same time.  But Jesus wasn’t exactly like the rest of us, not in this regard at any rate.

Please listen as we continue Luke’s account of the young Jesus, now grown from a baby into a preteen, in verses 41 through 52 of chapter 2…

41 His parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover. 42 And when He was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem according to the custom of the feast. 43 When they had finished the days, as they returned, the Boy Jesus lingered behind in Jerusalem. And Joseph and His mother did not know it; 44 but supposing Him to have been in the company, they went a day’s journey, and sought Him among their relatives and acquaintances. 45 So when they did not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem, seeking Him. 46 Now so it was that after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions. 47 And all who heard Him were astonished at His understanding and answers. 48 So when they saw Him, they were amazed; and His mother said to Him, “Son, why have You done this to us? Look, Your father and I have sought You anxiously.”

49 And He said to them, “Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?” 50 But they did not understand the statement which He spoke to them.

51 Then He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them, but His mother kept all these things in her heart. 52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.

--Luke 2:41-52 (NKJV)

Jesus’ response to His mother carries a little preteen attitude, doesn’t it?  “Didn’t you know I would be doing what My Father told Me to do?”  I can just hear the unspoken part: “What’s wrong with you, Mother?  Have you suddenly gone stupid?”  But can you imagine a child of twelve holding forth in such a way that the learned adults are amazed at what is being said?

The thing is, though, while we may know next to nothing of the early years of Jesus' life, we can see here that even at just twelve years old, Jesus knew who He was and what He was supposed to do.  I was thirty years old and in my second year of college still trying to figure out what I was supposed to do.  And it took another 30 years for it to fully sink in.  But here was Jesus at the tender age of twelve already carrying out God’s will.  Still, He also realized He needed to wait just a bit longer, and honor His mother and earthly father as well as His heavenly Father.

This Child…

Look at this tiny baby, born in a stable, there among the cows and sheep, sleeping in a feeding trough with hay for bedding.  And they call Him a King, and not only that but the King of kings?!?

See the old man, Simeon, holding the infant in his arms, those tiny fingers clutching his.  This is the long awaited Messiah?  This is the Savior of mankind?  This baby, this child?

Yes, this Child.  For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given.  And He will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.  This Child redeemed us and reconciled us with God.  Following Him leads to salvation.

The New Year begins in four days.  A lot of folks will make resolutions of things they’ll do to better themselves in the new year, resolutions they’ll too soon break.  The new year does bring a new chance to improve ourselves and also to better the world around us.

How will we spend 2026?  Will anything change for the better?  Let’s spend it serving Jesus, the once little child who is now our King.  In that beautiful name of Christ Jesus our Redeemer.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Almighty God, thank You for loving us so much that You sent Your Son to redeem us and bring us back to You.  And You sent Him not as a conquering hero, but as an innocent, vulnerable baby.  Yet this Child changed the world!  Sadly, the world hasn’t accepted the change, because it hasn’t accepted Jesus as Lord.  For the world is Satan’s playground and he lies and deceives and offers all kinds of pretty temptations to draw us away from our Lord.  Please forgive us, Father, those times when we allow ourselves to listen to and give in to those evil urgings.  Forgive us when can’t completely turn from our sinful ways.  Please help us ignore the devil.  Help us turn away from our sin and turn fully to You.  And Father, please help us reach out and share the Gospel message with everyone we come into contact with. 

Please hear us now, Father, as we pause for just a moment to speak to You through Your Spirit within us, promising to be more obedient to Your word, and seeking Your help to do so…

Lord Jesus, Your entire life was humble, from Your birthplace to Your final breath as a mortal when You asked God to forgive those who nailed You to the cross.  Yet You were born a King, the King above all kings, the King who loved us and gave of Yourself for us.  Lord, we thank You for loving us this much.  We just ask that You now please give us the courage and the strength to carry on Your work here on earth.  Please forgive us when we struggle to do as You command and love all others.  Please help us reach out to the non-believing world, sharing the Gospel message, showing Your love through our love.

Holy Spirit, please shield our minds and our hearts from Satan’s lies and the world’s empty promises.  Guide us around all the devil’s traps and snares.  Help us see though his temptations.  Help us keep our focus on the things of heaven and the needs of others rather than on anything this world might offer.  All this we pray in the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.