51 And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth; and he was subject unto them: and his mother kept all these 1sayings in her heart.
52 And Jesus advanced in wisdom and 2stature, and in 3favour with God and men [see 1 Sam. 2:26].
1 Or, things.
2 Or, age.
3 Or, grace.
a After the return to Nazareth, we know nothing of Jesus' life at that place beyond the general statements of Luke 2:52, with the knowledge and dispositions indicated in the narrative of [§ 18] and the fact that he was a carpenter, until he comes forth to be baptized by John, his forerunner. The social and political conditions of this period in Galilee are described by Edersheim, D. Smith, and other writers on the Life of Jesus, and briefly stated in Broadus's Commentary on Matthew, p. 30 f. Dwell on the general statement of Luke 2:52. Other passages throw light on the life in Nazareth as to habits of worship ([Luke 4:16]), the family group of brothers and sisters ([Mark 6:3 = Matt. 13:55 f.]), work as carpenter (ibid.). A helpful book on this obscure period is Ramsay's The Education of Christ.
PART V
THE BEGINNING OF THE BAPTIST'S MINISTRY
Probably six months and in A.D. 25. In the Wilderness of Judea and beside the Jordan, §§ 20-23