We were talking in a Bible study at church, concerning Jesus and the fact that He went through all the temptations we do, so He could fully understand our difficulties of life.

Of course, we generally think of Him as an adult when this happened, and the discussion came up with a new twist, when I wondered whether he had those same temptations as a child. Starting with the fact that as a baby, he had to learn to crawl, take his first steps and to say words. Then as a youth, did He suffer the jibes of other boys when He refused to steal an apple from the market? Or did they laugh at Him for obeying his parents, and not slipping of with the guys to do meanness?

As a teen-ager, was He teased for studying the Torah (the Jewish Bible at that time) instead of going fishing with the kids, and did he back off when they wanted to turn loose the camels so they could watch the owners chase after the herd, laughing at their joke?

We tend to forget the everyday life of Jesus after His birth, and until he was ready to begin His ministry, except for the time when He was 12, and went with His parents to the annual Passover Festival in Jerusalem. It was there that He was so busy talking to men about religious matters, that He got left when His parents and others left for home. They were much put out after missing him a day’s journey toward home, and a day going back, and hunting him until they found Him. And they were puzzled when He said, “Wist ye not that I must be about my Father’s business?” (Luke 2:41-52).

Surely He suffered the pains of a teen-ager so He could know the teasing, the temptations and the difficulties of obeying the rules and laws of the religion under which he lived until He began His teaching of a new and better way.

He knew then and He knows now, the problems you face daily.