The story of Jesus in the temple is the one account in the NT that presents Jesus as a young boy; and for that reason alone perhaps it ought to stand out as a particularly important piece. The fact that this story is paired with an uncannily similar OT story of the young Samuel in the temple is not accidental. Moreover, the fact that the concluding sentences in the accounts of the young Samuel in the temple and of the young Jesus in the temple are virtually identical is hardly a coincidence and thus is something to which we need to pay special attention. Obiously, by drawing such a strong parallel between Jesus and Samuel, Luke means to say something terribly important about Jesus. What is it, then, about Samuel that throws light on the person and significance of Jesus?

Samuel is described as a man who had been associated with the temple from his youth, and was destined to be Israel’s true priest. He succeeds to this office through the revelation of the word of God, and is God’s particular choice to represent him in this service. But Samuel is not only Israel’s divinely-designated priest, he is also God’s prophet sent to deliver God’s word to Israel. And not only is Samuel Israel’s priest and God’s hand-picked prophet, but Samuel also later would function as a political leader, like one of Israel’s judges prior to the establishment of the monarchy. This king-like connection is solidified and given added weight in that it is also Samuel who annoints and thus establishes Israel’s greatest and ideal king, David. This connection to David is particularly important, for as Israel’s greatest king, and in light of a disasterous history of the monarchy, David would be linked to Israel’s hope for the future, i.e., in connection with Israel’s hopes for a Messiah. Thus Samuel personifies and prefigures the three offices of the Christ who is to come, namely prophet, priest, and king; and by annointing David, sets the stage for Jesus’ role as Messiah, who according to the prophetic word would come from the house and lineage of David.

Therefore, the story of Jesus in the temple is meant to recall the story of Samuel, and is thus an early sign of the role and siginificance of the grown-up Jesus, who in his person will be the embodiment and fulfillment of all Israel’s history, institutions and hopes. This is confirmed throughout the NT where many claims are made about Jesus: that he is the fulfillment of the law (“You have heard it said, but now I say to you”); that he is the culmination and object of the prophet’s words; that he is the true, final, and perfect high priest, who alone can enter the holy of holies and thus shares a special relationship with God, and who, as the book of Hebrews tells us, offers himself as the perfect, once-and-for-all sacrifice. Jesus further describes himself, his body, as the true temple of Israel that will be built in three days; and Jesus also presents himself, and is presented by all the NT writers, as Israel’s hoped-for future ideal king, who will establish absolute righteousness and will judge Israel and all the nations together, putting all things under his feet, and, having ascended to the right hand of the Father, will rule over Israel and the nations and indeed over all creation, dealing wisely and justly and compassionately with all God’s people while ruling over all creation.

But at this point we need to stop and ask ourselves: Why is this strong connection between Jesus and Israel so pervasive and important? It is important because this connection is among the fundamental bases of the entire NT and the gospel message it contains. The relationship between Jesus and Israel is also central to the church’s confession of the God we worship as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

However, the connection between Jesus and a particular people with a unique history is something people usually have found to be problematic or even offensive. It was offensive to the Nazis, who made every effort to drive a wedge between Jesus and his people and their history. Their reaction was extreme and their motivation vile, but their interpretation was not sufficiently challenged. There has been a persistent tendency in the church to de-Judaize Jesus, though not in such extreme ways nor for such nepharious purposes. It’s still there. However, we cannot, and dare not, separate Jesus from Israel and think that we are still talking about the same God the Bible proclaims. Jesus, who was crucified for claiming to be King of the Jews, is one with his people before he is one with us. In fact, he cannot be with us unless he is first with his people.

We tend to spiritualize Jesus, disconnecting him from the specifics of time, place, and history. We can’t do this and remain faithful to Scripture and tradition. We cannot give God a wax nose. In reality we can only know God, i.e., who God really is for us, through Jesus, and that is, only through God’s dealings with Israel for whom Jesus is the Messiah. It is through Israel and Israel’s Christ that God is known, and it is through Israel and Israel’s Christ that God gives life, love, peace and salvation to the world. Still we persist in wanting to think about God in broad, general terms, the broader and the more general the better. We like to think of God, not as the God of Israel, but as the Great Whatever; and we do that because then we can keep God at arm’s length, turn God into a harmless great and gentle spirit that can’t interfere with our lives, who never asks anything of us nor poses embarassing questions to us nor provokes unwanted crises in our lives nor demands that we give him an account, a god, that is to say, that we can shape, manipulate and work to suit our basest interests, desires, and passions. You know the god I’m referring to, it’s the god politicians love to invoke.

What makes the Bible unique is that the God it describes and proclaims is about as far the Great Whatever as you can get. The God of the Bible is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God who offensively and unexpectedly enters into human history, who speaks and issues commands, who gave Israel the law, who called Samuel to be his chosen priest, prophet, and king. It is the same God who became incarnate in the man Jesus and raised him from the dead. That God identifies himself thoroughly and completely and eternally with his chosen people is a fundamental message of the Bible. Jesus is the embodiment and supreme, most specific, intimate and ultimate example of that identification. God’s very self, as Luther said—and here I repeat a point I made Christmas Eve—is so wrapped up in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus that there can be no God or Godhead apart from that particular man. God so identifies himself with his people and with their longed-for Messiah, that he cannot be truly known as God apart from them. To know Jesus is to know Israel is to know God.

Why is all that so important? The question is not just about God; it is about whether our lives have any ultimte meaning or purpose. The questions about God and about meaning actually are the same question. This means that there are no atheists. All human beings need a reason to exist. No matter who or what it may be, where you pin your heart, Luther said, that is your God. Will you pin your heart on some Great Whatever to give you what you want and never put you on the spot? Will you pin your heart on an Aryan Jesus, who ended up blessing nothing but mayhem, corruption, inhumanity, godlessness, holocaust, death, and destruction? Will you place your faith in material resources, your personal happiness, wealth, reputation, family and health, all of which will be taken away? Or will you place your faith in Israel’s and the world true prophet, priest, and king, who fed all who came to him hungry and openhanded, who healed the sick and raised the dead, who judged the unjust and took compassion on the poor, who sacrificed himself for the lost, the forsaken, and the damned so that they would see their reconciliation, forgiveness, and life restored? Is there really a choice? Not if what the pslam says is true: “The spendor of the Lord is over heaven and earth. The Lord has raised up strength for the people and praise for all faithful servants, the children of Israel, a people who are near the Lord. Halleluja! The splendor of the Lord is over heaven and earth.”

-Amen-