And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.
Parallel translations
- WEB And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.
- BSB And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.
- NKJV And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.
- NASB And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and people.
- NLT Jesus grew in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and all the people.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Jesus grew in wisdom, stature, and favor with God and people. It matters because it affirms His true human growth alongside His perfect life.
Overview
Luke summarizes Jesus' maturing in wisdom, physical growth, and favor before God and others. This rounds out the picture of His genuine humanity, developing as a real person. The verse closes the infancy account, presenting Jesus as fully human and wholly pleasing to God.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Luke 2:40And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him.
- Prov 3:3–4Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart:
- 1 Sam 2:26And the child Samuel grew on, and was in favour both with the LORD, and also with men.
- Rom 14:18For he that in these things serveth Christ is acceptable to God, and approved of men.
- Luke 1:80And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his shewing unto Israel.
- Acts 7:9–10And the patriarchs, moved with envy, sold Joseph into Egypt: but God was with him,
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Luke shows Jesus the Savior for all — outsiders, the poor, the nations — the one who, on the Emmaus road, opened all the Scriptures to show they were about himself.
How Luke 2:52 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.