Luke reminds us for the fifth time that Joseph and Mary had done everything for Jesus that God's law demanded (Luke 2:22-24; Luke 2:27).  Christ was not above God's law; He was born under its authority, but He was the only person who could fully keep it.  He chose to place Himself under the law in order to redeem us from the curse which the law pronounces on sinners (Galatians 3:13). As Galatians 4:4-5 says, "But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship."

Luke moves swiftly from the temple scene when the infant Jesus was presented to the Lord.  There the Holy Spirit moved Simeon and Anna to declare the truth about Jesus Christ’s identity (Luke 2:22-38).  Luke omits the visit of the Magi, the slaughter of the babies in Bethlehem and the emergency evacuation of Jesus to Egypt (Matthew 2:1-18).  After those events, the family go back to live in Nazareth (Matthew 2:19-23).  There the child Jesus grew up in a house attached to the carpenter's shop where He was to learn all about wood and nails (Mark 6:3).

We know very little about Jesus Christ’s childhood.  He grew up normally and yet was unusually 'strong in His spirit' (KJV): that does not mean He was self-willed, but rather that He was fully confident about what was true and lived by it.  He was also wise, having the ability to shape what He did with God’s truth.  Nothing He said or did was foolish.  It was clear to everybody that Jesus was enjoying all of God's favour. The writer reiterates those character qualities in Luke 2:51-52, adding that Jesus was obedient to Joseph and Mary throughout His teenage years too.

Why is this detail important?  Jesus was not just a gifted child who learned wisdom: He was Wisdom (1 Corinthians 1:30). He not only kept the law, but He perfectly fulfilled the law (Matthew 5:17).  He was not only gracious: He is still the giver of grace (2 Timothy 1:9).  In other words, Jesus was The Word of God from the beginning (John 1:1-2), and was uniquely God in Mary's womb (Luke 1:35).  He was sinless and holy - the only person fit to be the "the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).  That is why we can confidently trust Jesus to be our Saviour and announce His salvation to others.