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But Samuel was ministering before the Lord—a boy wearing a linen ephod. Each year his mother made him a little robe and took it to him when she went up with her husband to offer the annual sacrifice. Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife, saying, “May the Lord give you children by this woman to take the place of the one she prayed for and gave to the Lord.” Then they would go home. …  And the boy Samuel continued to grow in stature and in favor with the Lord and with people. …  I will raise up for myself a faithful priest, who will do according to what is in my heart and mind. I will firmly establish his priestly house, and they will minister before my anointed one always. (1 Samuel 2:18-20, 26, 35)

When Luke writes his gospel, he opens with stories about Jesus’s birth and adolescence.  Particularly, Luke tells us that Jesus “grew in stature and favor with the Lord and with people.”  It’s a direct quote from this story.  What does Luke mean by it?  Well, he means the same thing that’s meant here in the story of Samuel.  Namely, that Jesus matured.  As Samuel did.  Not just growing old and getting big, but also growing mature in the kind of character and competence that builds trust and community with God and people.

As Samuel grew in stature, the priesthood grew with him—from a shrunken farse of a shell under Eli and his immature, rebellious boys—to a full-embodiment of faithfulness.  The annual gift Samuel receives from his mother of a custom-tailored priestly robe is a sign of this continual growth-into-maturity as a priest and as a man of God.  By the close of chapter 3, Samuel has become an adult who has become known throughout all of Israel as a mature man of God who hears and speaks the Word of God for the people. 

It is this growth to maturity, not just in stature—which is easy to do—but also in favour with God and people which is much harder to do, that Luke attributes from Samuel to Jesus and implicitly invites us into as well.  Of course, this invitation grinds against one of the most significant undercurrents of our culture that tells us never to grow up and to pursue our youthful whims and desires above all else and unto whatever end.  But if we are to follow Jesus, there is no other way but then to grow up.

We are invited to grow up in terms of character: a willingness to commit, submit, and apprentice oneself to Jesus and to obedience to him.  It is a growing up in terms of the fruit of the Spirit: like love, patience, and self-control.  It is the ability to keep boundaries and rhythms of faithfulness, like Sabbath, marriage vows, even one’s word in the more day-to-day run of life.  It is the willingness to confess and to forgive.  It is putting our anger aside to show what may be an uncommon and underserved love and compassion, instead.  These are marks of maturity that we see in the life of Samuel and of Jesus and that also mark out our growing more deeply into the image of God.   

Many scholars scratch their heads as to why Luke included stories of the young Jesus at all.  But I think this is the reason.  Luke wanted to show how important it was that Jesus grew up to maturity so that we would know the pattern to follow as we too, seek to grow up into Christ.  Even more importantly, Luke wanted to show how Jesus, like Samuel before him, would be a fulfillment of that word of God to Eli about a faithful priest that God himself would “raise up” to maturity and establish forever.