Question
Dear Gramps,
When Christ was a youth, was He a tattle-tale? Since He could not “look upon sin with the least degree of allowance”, did He always turn His friends or family members in when He saw them do something wrong? Today, friends expect you to turn a “blind eye”, or cover for them when they’re doing something wrong. I can’t see Christ doing that. So did He always go and tell on people? Would this not have made Him extremely unpopular?
Robert
Answer
Dear Robert,
As you know, Christ was popular with some, as evidenced by the crowds that followed Him and the large crowd that listened to the Sermon on the Mount. However, He was unpopular enough with others that He was put to death.
You asked specifically about His childhood. On this point, James E. Talmedge in Jesus the Christ says:
“With hallowed silence do the inspired scribes honor the boyhood of their Lord; he who seeks to invent circumstances and to invest the life of Christ with fictitious additions, dishonors Him [referencing the spurious infancy gospels]. Read thoughtfully the attested truth concerning the childhood of the Christ: ‘And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him.'” (Luke 2:40)
We do know that as a youth, Jesus rebuked adults (even His parents! Luke 2:49) when warranted, and yet managed to “grow … in favor with God and man”. (Luke 2:52 ) We can perhaps better understand how Jesus achieved this balance by studying His adult life. Although “all judgment has been given to the Son” (John 5:27) He was selective in exercising it, reserving His harshest criticisms to those who created and sustained a carnal culture (Herod and the Pharisees) while at the same time showing kindness and gentleness with the woman at the well, (John 4:7-26), the woman taken in adultery (John 8:3-7) and the woman with the issue of blood (Matthew 9:20-22).
Gramps