Expository Thoughts
Notes on 2:41-52
42. Twelve years old. This age appears to have been thought of by the Jews as a kind of turning point away from the state of childhood.
Lightfoot quotes a saying from one of the rabbinical writers: "Let a man deal gently with his son, till he comes to be twelve years old; but from that time let him descend with him into his way of living—that is, let him diligently keep him close to that way, rule, and act, by which he may get his living."
51. Was obedient. These words imply a continual habit during his stay at Nazareth, and not a single, isolated act.
52. Grew . . . in favor with God and men. A sentence from Poole's
Annotations on this subject is worth reading: "If any ask how he who was the eternal wisdom of the Father, who is the only one God, increased in wisdom, they must know that all things in Scripture which are spoken of Christ, are not spoken with respect to his entire person, but with respect to the one or other nature united in that Person. He increased in wisdom, as he did in age or stature, with respect to his human, not his divine nature. And as God daily magnified his grace and favor towards him, so God gave him favor with the unrighteous and the people of Galilee."
Luke – Chap. 3
LUKE 3:1-6