Luke 2:40 “And the Child grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him.” What does that mean? Strong is spirit means mentally and spiritually strong. Wisdom is understanding. The grace of God means that God was pleased with Him for His obedience. What the Children played with in Nazareth and Jesus Times: Children in Jesus' day played games similar to hopscotch and jacks. Whistles, rattles, toy animals on wheels, hoops, and spinning tops have been found by archaeologists. Older children and adults found time to play, too, mainly with board games. A form of checkers was popular then. A  Little about Nazareth:Nazareth was a small and insignificant village during the period of Jesus. While the site was settled during the period 600 - 900 BC it was too small to be included in the list of settlements of the tribe of Zebulon (Joshua 19:10-16) which mentions twelve towns and six villages. Nazareth is not included among the 45 cities of Galilee that were mentioned by Joseph and its name is missing from the 63 towns in Galilee mentioned in the Talmud. It seems that the words of Nathanel of Cana: Can anything good come out of Nazareth? Jesus in His childhood lived in a little mountain village called Nazereth.  Joseph his earthly father was a carpenter.  Nazereth was a small town where the people were poor, so Jesus grew up not in a rich home or palaces of kings so He understands what we must go through in life even as children. Of Jesus in His early years the Bible says, "The child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon Him." "And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man." Luke 2:40,  His mind was bright and active. He was of quick understanding, and showed a thoughtfulness and wisdom beyond His years. Yet His ways were simple and childlike, and He grew in mind and body as other children grow.  Jesus was always ready to serve others even as a child, he was patient and truthful.  Firm as a rock in standing for the right, He never failed to be gentle and courteous toward all. In His home, and wherever He might be. He was thoughtful and kind toward the aged and the poor, and He showed kindness even to the dumb animals. He would care tenderly for a little wounded bird, and every living thing was happier when He was near.  In the days of Christ even though their were no private schools the Jews gave much care to the education of their children the schools were connected with the synagogues, or places of worship, and the teachers were called rabbis, men who were supposed to be very learned. Jesus did not go to these schools, for they taught many things that were not true. Instead of God's Word, the sayings of men were studied, and often these were contrary to that which God had taught through His prophets. God Himself by His Holy Spirit instructed Mary how to bring up His Son. Mary taught Jesus from the Holy Scriptures, and He learned to read and study them for Himself.  Every year Joseph and Mary went up to Jerusalem, to the feast of the Passover. When Jesus was twelve years old, they took Him with them. This was a very long but pleasant journey. The people travelled on foot, or rode on oxen or asses, and it took several days to go. The distance from Nazareth to Jerusalem is about seventy miles. From all parts of the land, and even from other countries, the people went to this feast, and those from the same place usually travelled together, in a large company. The feast was held near the close of March or the beginning of April. This was springtime in Palestine, and the whole land was bright with flowers, and glad with the song of birds. As they travelled, parents told their children of the wonderful things that God had done for Israel in ages past. And often they sang together some of the beautiful psalms of David. In the days of Christ the people had grown cold and formal in their service to God. They thought more of their own pleasure than of His goodness to them. But it was not so with Jesus. He loved to think about God. As He came to the temple, He watched the priests in their work. He bowed with the worshipers as they knelt to pray, and His voice joined in the songs of praise. Every morning and evening a lamb was offered upon the altar. This was to represent the death of the Saviour. As the child Jesus looked upon the innocent victim, the Holy Spirit taught Him its meaning. He knew that He Himself, as the Lamb of God, must die for the sins of men.  With such thoughts in His mind, Jesus wanted to be alone. So He did not stay with His parents in the temple, and when they started for home He was not with them. In a room connected with the temple there was a school taught by the rabbis, and to this place after a while the child Jesus came. He sat with the other youth at the feet of the great teachers, and listened to their words. The Jews had many wrong ideas about the Messiah. Jesus knew this, but He did not contradict the learned men. As one who wished to be taught, He asked questions about what the prophets had written. The fifty-third chapter of Isaiah speaks of the Saviour's death, and Jesus read this chapter, and asked its meaning. The rabbis could give no answer. They began to question Jesus, and they were astonished at His knowledge of the Scriptures.  (Remember Jesus is the Son of God who gave man the scriptures) They saw that He understood the Bible far better than they did. They saw that their teaching was wrong, but they were not willing to believe anything different.  Yet Jesus was so modest and gentle that they were not angry with Him. They wanted to keep Him as a student, and teach Him to explain the Bible as they did. When Joseph and Mary left Jerusalem on their journey toward home, they did not notice that Jesus stayed behind. They thought that He was with some of their friends in the company. But on stopping to camp for the night, they missed His helpful hand. They looked for Him throughout the company, but in vain. Joseph and Mary were in great fear. They remembered how Herod  the King had tried to kill Jesus when he was a baby, and they were afraid that some evil had now befallen Him.  With sorrowful hearts they hastened back to Jerusalem; but it was not till the third day that they found Him. {SJ 33.3} Great was their joy at seeing Him again, yet Mary thought that He was to blame for leaving them. She said: "Son, why hast Thou thus dealt with us? Behold, Thy father and I have sought Thee sorrowing." "How is it that ye sought Me?" Jesus answered. "Wist ye not that I must be about My Father's business?" Luke 2:48, 49. As He spoke these words, Jesus pointed upward. On His face was a light at which they wondered. Jesus knew that He was the Son of God, and He had been doing the work for which His Father had sent Him into the world. Mary never forgot these words. In the years that followed, she better understood their wonderful meaning. Joseph and Mary loved Jesus, yet they had been careless in losing Him. They had forgotten the very work which God had given them to do. By one day's neglect they lost Jesus.  In the same way today many lose the Saviour from their company. When we do not love to think about Him, or pray to Him; when we speak idle, unkind, or evil words, we separate ourselves from Christ. Without Him, we are lonely and sad. (Sin separates us from God)  Though He knew that He was the Son of God, Jesus went home to Nazareth with Joseph and Mary. Until thirty years of age He was "subject unto them." Luke 2:51. He who had been the Commander of Heaven was on earth a loving and obedient son. The great things brought to His mind by the service of the temple were hidden in His heart. He waited until God's time to begin His appointed work. Jesus lived in the home of a peasant, a poor man. Faithfully and cheerfully He did His part in helping to support the family. As soon as He was old enough, He learned a trade, and worked in the carpenter's shop with Joseph. In the coarse dress of a common labourer He passed through the streets of the little town, going to and from His work. He did not use His divine power to make His life easier for Himself.  As Jesus worked in childhood and youth, He grew strong in body and mind. Jesus left Nazareth at age 30 to be baptized by John (Mk 1:9), and returned to Nazareth before beginning his public ministry (Matt 4:13) and was violently rejected by the people of His town, and thus He moved on to Capernaum(Lk 4:16-30). There is no mention of Him ever returning back to His home town of Nazareth, but he was always identified with it (Matt 21:11), having been called a "Nazarene" which comes from the Hebrew root meaning "branch", in accordance with the promises made to David that King Messiah would be a descendant (branch) from the royal line of King David.