Luke 2:52 - Jesus Increased in Favor with Man

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

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

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 man? 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 a man, Jesus grew in His understanding of and relationship to other human beings. This is not meant to be mysterious or complicated. Jesus, as a human being, grew in his ability to relate to other human beings as He grew and developed. He had younger siblings. He had friends. He was a teenager. He worked as a carpenter and learned how to interact with customers and suppliers. His interacted with countless other human beings and grew in favor with them.

How can we too progress in favor with man? How we can grow in our relationship with others? We can grow in our relationship with others by growing in grace χάρις (karis) in our own lives and developing increasing care for and affection for others. Jesus perfectly obeyed the Great Commandment (Mark 12) and loved God and loved others perfectly. We can follow Jesus' example by understanding how he related with others during his life on earth. He was kind. He was gracious. He was truth-telling. He was compassionate. He was everything Paul admonishes New Testament believers to be throughout his epistles. We can imitate Christ in that way as well as we week to relate to others.

May we, like Jesus, increase in favor with man and thereby glorify the Father who is in heaven.