Luke 2:52 Commentary and Bible Study

His love for the word of God did not end at the age of twelve. The Lord Jesus must have continued to study and to grow in knowledge throughout his life. ‘Jesus increased in wisdom and stature.’ It was not till he was about thirty that he was ready to begin his public ministry. There was communication between his divine nature and his human nature, but not everything passed from the divine to the human. Some knowledge he must obtain in the normal way, though he did so with great diligence and zeal. ‘And in favour with God and man.’ Jesus Christ lived, as much as lay in him, ‘peaceably with all men.’ His kindness and gentleness and cooperativeness made it easy for people to like him and befriend him, at least at an outward level. This makes it all the more extraordinary that early in the Galilean ministry the people thrust him out of the city and tried to throw him over the cliff. The enmity in that is in the human heart to the truth of God rose up and overcame the favour that he had earned with them. Although he had grown up in their midst, they did not really know him. But God knew him and he obtained favour with God also. That in itself is an extraordinary statement. As he grew and as his human character developed, he increased in wisdom and physical stature, and he increased in favour with God, who appreciated those graces in him.