When Jesus Christ started His ministry, He was 30 years of age. His public ministry only lasted three and a half years. If He came to preach the gospel and to offer salvation, why did He wait so long to begin His ministry? Why did He spend 30 years in relative obscurity when He had a major mission to accomplish?

Christ's early years were necessary to fulfill prophetic timing and to provide an opportunity to experience human existence similar to other people. The 70 weeks prophecy given to Daniel (Daniel 9:20-27), and other prophecies had to play out before He could begin His ministry (Mark 1:14-15; Isaiah 40:3; Luke 1:12-17).

Wrestling with problems and challenges that are common to us all, He became an understanding and sympathetic High Priest who knows what it is like to be human.

Jesus Christ was not a wandering vagabond without human ties or responsibilities. God made sure He had personal experience in a family environment. He had four brothers and at least two sisters. He experienced life as both the oldest son and the male leader of the family. Jesus learned firsthand the advantages and challenges of a close-knit family.

Additional experience was gained working in, and apparently eventually running, the family carpentry business in His hometown of Nazareth (Matthew 13:55; Mark 6:3). The carpentry profession at the time offered a large variety of trade and business experiences. The Greek word tekton had a far wider application than merely the term carpenter. It included much more than just the fabrication of wooden dwellings. Most of the homes were a combination of stone, mud and clay, hewn beams and lumber. Christ would have been proficient in the use of all these materials.

His stepfather Joseph would have instructed Jesus in the biblical principles of hard work and dedication to the job at hand (Ecclesiastes 9:10). Jesus made Himself of no reputation and took on the form of a servant (Philippians 2:7), providing for His family.

Through these family and business experiences, Jesus had the opportunity to apply God's way of life in the real world. These experiences became the foundation for some of His later teachings. Jesus could explain parables and principles with firsthand experience in mind. He could teach others to do as He had done, not just do what He said. He could talk about human duties and relationships in a practical way because He lived them Himself.

Today Christ is a more effective, understanding and sympathetic High Priest because of His early life experiences. "For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin" (Hebrews 4:15-16).