Luke 2:52 - Jesus Increased in Favor with God

Luke 2:52 states "And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man."

The purpose of the third post in this series is to explore what it means for Jesus to increase in favor with God.

As I shared in the previous post, the word "increase" is the Greek word προκόπτω (prokoptō) which means to "progress" and/or "advance." Jesus progress and advanced (in His humanity) in the development of stature. The word carries a sense of striving as if to remove obstacles to obtain a goal or arrive at a destination.

What does it mean for Jesus to progress and advance in favor with God? Wasn't He fully God in human form? Yes. He was also fully man in human flesh and as He grew in wisdom and stature (discussed in the previous two posts) as a man, he also grew in favor with God. The word "favor" is the word χάρις (karis) and is commonly translated into English as "grace." The meaning is broader and in this context carries the idea of divine goodwill (as opposed to obligation). As one commentator writes, Jesus "continued to experience increasingly the lovingkindness of his Father."

As a man, He grew in His understanding of and relationship to His heavenly Father. He learned the Torah and other Old Testament Scriptures and increased in His knowledge of God's Word. He communed with God in prayer. He saw the example of godly men and women around Him and came to know what it looks like for others to live to honor and glorify God.

How can we likewise progress in favor with God? How we can grow in our relationship with God? We too can grow in our relationship with God by delighting in His Word (Psalm 1:2) and His created world (Psalm 111:2), through communing with God in prayer like Jesus (Luke 5:15-16), and by interacting with other believers (Heb. 10:24-25). We can grow in our χάρις (karis) and affection for God as we know and delight in Him more and more.

May we, like Jesus, increase in favor with God; and in so doing, further reflect and glorify God with our lives as His Word increasingly lights our paths and gladdens our hearts.