The following 10 years of Jesus’ life have been called the silent years. Very little is recorded in Scripture about him during this time. We know that he grew up, waxed strong in spirit, began to be filled with wisdom, and the Bible declared that the grace of God was on him.
God spoke to Joseph at each point of need through Gabriel the angel while he only spoke to Mary once. Joseph was instructed to take his family to Egypt where they lived for an uncertain amount of time until Herod the Great died; as prophesied. (Hosea 1:1)
After Herod died, the angel appeared again to Joseph telling him to return to Israel. However, when Joseph learned that Archelaus, the son of Herod, was ruling instead, Joseph took the initiative to bypass Jerusalem so that he could take his family to the area north in Galilee where they lived in Nazareth again as a fulfillment of prophecy. (Isaiah 11:1) This initiative on the part of Joseph teaches us a lesson. God was directly involved with the decisions that Joseph made. There are times though, that God expects us to be involved in the process of decision-making. This is not to override what God directs, but to complement what God has dictated.
We are not robots. We cannot sit around waiting for the Spirit to move us or for a voice suddenly from heaven every single time we turn a corner. It is up to us to take responsibility for our lives. In today’s world, I believe a way to know God’s leading without some miraculous intervention, we use our brains to take all matters into consideration that are ahead of us. Then before we are ready to implement our decision, it would be a good prayer to ask God to close the door if that’s not what he wants for us that we just determined. Too many times, we sit around waiting for God to give us open doors. As free will agents created by the Almighty, we must make every effort to be wise even in our daily decisions. If we are truly relying on the leading of the Holy Spirit, our request to close the door against what is not what God wants is a genuine interaction with God.
Subsequently, the family grew closer in cohesion and likely a time in which other siblings were born to Mary and Joseph. Jesus was taught the carpentry trade by Joseph which became significantly important after Joseph died and Jesus became the head of the family. During the same time his cousin John was born but he soon became an orphan because of his parents’ old age. John then went to live with a secluded group in the desert named the Essenes. They may be the ones responsible for the Dead Sea Scrolls. It was during this time that he received his call from God to be a prophet and forerunner of Jesus. His preaching was bold, demanding that the people repent of their sin and be baptized in water while prophesying that Jesus would soon come on the scene to be the anticipated Messiah.
It was also during this time that Jesus began to realize his own identity. At age 12 when he traveled with Mary and Joseph to the Temple he began to debate with the scholars there. We know this because he told them that he was about his Father’s business. Even though Mary and Joseph had all the miraculous experiences in the recent past, they still do not understand what Jesus was saying. He returned back with them to Nazareth subject to his parents while, as said before, he increased in wisdom, stature, and in favor with God and man. In the meantime, Scripture says that Mary kept all these sayings in her heart. (Luke 2)
Christian Writer 