INTRODUCTION
Luke 2:42-46
42 And when he was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the feast.
43 And when they had fulfilled the days, as they returned, the child Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem; and Joseph and his mother knew not of it.
44 But they, supposing him to have been in the company, went a day's journey; and they sought him among their kinsfolk and acquaintance.
45 And when they found him not, they turned back again to Jerusalem, seeking him.
46 And it came to pass, that after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions.
Blessed be the name of the Lord for it is given unto us to know the mysteries of the kingdom (Mt 3:11) hence we are not permitted to live by/ make assumptions, especially of things pertaining the Kingdom of Heaven. While not all assumptions are bad or costly, in this book, we will be addressing some costly assumptions held on to by Christians. Remember God is light and in him is no darkness (1Jhn1:5). In the KJV, the word “assumption” does not appear, however a substitute for the word is “supposing” and it appears seven times.
God is not a god of assumptions and he doesn’t want his children to be assumers. The holy scriptures clearly reveal this fact by the way it is set up. The 1st book of the bible, “Genesis” is written by Moses who was not present when the events pertaining to the beginning took place; and the last book of the bible, “Revelations” is written by John The Beloved, who also will not be present when the things written will be fulfilled. If we believe in the inerrancy of scriptures, then we cannot afford to take these things lightly by assuming, when there is a clear revelation in the Word of God.
Let us consider two places where the word “supposing” appears, before we deal with the “silent chapters” contained in our text (Luke 2: 42-46)
John 20:14-16
14 And when she had thus said, she turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus.
15 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away.
16 Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master.
In this place, our Lord Jesus Christ had just resurrected, and we see Mary Magdalene unable to recognize him, she assumed he was the gardener (and in my little typing, I observed Adam was also a gardener). However, when He spoke, she recognized him, even as the scriptures says my sheep know my voice (Jhn 10). If you followed till this point, you should know that emphasis in this book won’t be laid on the “Man” but rather on “Christ the Word”
Acts 16:27-34
27 And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled.
28 But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here.
29 Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas,
30 And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?
31 And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.
32 And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house.
33 And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway.
34 And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house.
Here, God by his special providence, had brought salvation to the house of the jailer, but we see the jailer making a costly assumption and almost took his life. But thank God for Brother Paul who prevented him. The jailer and his household all got their salvation.
In our text in Luke 2: 42 – 46, Mary and Joseph usually go up to Jerusalem annually according to the custom of the feast (vs 42). I like to quickly say here that assumptions thrive with traditions; mind you, am not saying traditions are bad as Brother Paul admonished us to hold on to certain traditions (2 Thes 2: 15), but any tradition that violate the word of God, or make you unable to recognize Christ, should be done away with, as God want all men to come to the knowledge of the Truth (Acts 17:30, 1 Tim 2:4). We even see Brother Paul forsaking traditions for the knowledge of Christ (Gal 1:14, Php 3:8).
They fulfilled the days (vs 43). How often have we gone to programs like “Shiloh”, “Holyghost Convention”, “Grace for exploits”, and even engage in 21- day, 70- day fasts, and like Mary and Joseph, fulfil the days? How often have we gone to church and fulfil the hours? But the question today is how many of us return with Jesus, for when our Lord fasted, he returned in the power of the spirit (Luke 4:14), mind you, The Lord is that Spirit (2Cor 3:17). The problem is that many return without Christ the Word implanted in their soul without even being aware of it probably because of the comedy, drama, extravagant high powered worship or some sensations associated with their programs and church events. You can speak in tongues, have some sensations and assume that Christ is with you. Was this not the case of Mary and Joseph? They supposing him to have been in the company.
They went a day’s journey (vs 44). How many of us can afford to go a “day” without Christ in this world of toil and care. Just as Christ was seen outside the church of Laodicea (Rev 3:14, 20), these end- time churches are going a “day’s” journey, supposing Christ is with them, not knowing that He is outside knocking.
After three days, they found Jesus (vs 46). Jesus resurrected on the third day. This implies that as believers or Christians, if we are not certain of Christ, then we must go back to the cross in order to understand His death and resurrection, for without the shedding of blood, there is no remission for sins( Heb 9:22). I pray you don’t have to tarry long before you find the true Jesus of the Bible, not what today preachers are parading- “a crown without a cross”.
One final point from our text is that Mary and Joseph returned to Jerusalem in order to find Jesus (vs 45). The outpouring of the Holyghost first occurred in Jerusalem (Acts 2; Luke 24:47). The witnessing of the disciples must begin from Jerusalem (Acts 1:8). This implies that after the churches must have understood the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, she must go back to Acts 2: 38 Pentecost Christianity, a restoration of the children back to the faith of their fathers (Mal 4:6).
In other chapters, we shall be looking at some costly assumptions the churches have made/taken and we will look only by the Bible not by any creeds or dogmas. Let me conclude by saying Moses was not a man of assumptions. He had been vindicated, yet he still demanded the presence of The Lord (Exo 33:15). He refused to assume that God was with him. David also in 2 Sam 5:18 – 25 showed he was not a man of assumptions. The Lord told David to go up and fight the Philistines. In verse 22, the philistines came again. I was thinking David would just go, assuming that like the former time he had victory, howbeit, he enquired of God and the directive for victory was different this time around. He truly wasn’t a man of assumptions.
