Luke 2:52 - Jesus Increased in Wisdom

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

The purpose of this post is to briefly examine what it means for Jesus to increase in wisdom. Did Jesus lack any wisdom or knowledge? In His divinity, certainly not. He was fully God. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us (John 1). In His humanity, certainly yes.

Jesus grew from an infant and learned all sorts of things. He learned how to walk, to speak, to interact with siblings, to eat his vegetables, and on and on. He displayed such astounding humility simply just to be a human and develop as a human (Phil. 1). So how did He increase in wisdom?

First, 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 wisdom. The word carries a sense of striving as if to remove obstacles to obtain a goal or arrive at a destination.

Second, the word "wisdom" is σοφία (sophia) which is the broad term for "the varied knowledge of things human and divine, acquired by acuteness and experience" (Strong's). Jesus progressed in His own intellectual development and the acquisition of human knowledge - and He did so by experience. He grew in this area of wisdom to live skillfully and fully.

We too can progress and advance in our own sophia as we experience life and grow into maturity. We can learn from others, from books, and from experiences as we increase in this area of our own lives. May we follow the example of Jesus and advance as use newfound knowledge and wisdom to live skillfully and further honor and glorify God and use that wisdom to serve others as God gives strength.