----- Original Message ----- 
From: "H Dorrington" <hjdinfl@...>
> So when did He become aware of who He was?

We're not told.

>Luke 2:49 shows Him already doing the will of the Father.

True.  But one can do the will of the Father without omniscience.

>Where in Scripture does it say that prior to this time He was not aware?

It doesn't.  But just as relevant to this question is "how much was he
aware?"  There's no doubt Mary and Joseph reared Christ in the "context" of
Matthew 1-2 and Luke 1-2.  At least one other family knew of these events
(Zacharias and Elizabeth... John's recoil at the Jordan is very interesting
in this regard) and most likely another (Siloam and Zebeddee).  The question
isn't whether Christ had a Messianic consciousness at age 12, but the
"source" of that consciousness and the "scope" of that consciousness.  If
the source of that consciousness was immediate, inherent, and transcendent,
Christ didn't really experience humanity as Hebrews 2-7 says he did (the
apocryphal stories surrounding his childhood adopted by the Catholic Church
are gnostic in this regard).  In fact, Luke in 2:40 and 52 is setting the
reader up for the Messianic awareness in full flower at the baptism by
suggesting that Christ's messianic awareness was one of progressive
development, just like it would have been for any other human being...
highlighting Christ's human *need* for the Holy Spirit (Luke 3:22).

There is an Old Testament Christological precursor that gives us some idea
of the Messianic consciousness, its development, and its familial
implications: Joseph.  Given the reaction of Christ's brothers to his
ministry, there's no doubt that they also were aware of their older
brother's Matthew 1-2/Luke 1-2 context and its impact on their sibling life.
If they'd had their druthers, they would've had Christ tossed into a pit.
:-)  But as Joseph wasn't quite certain what to make of his dreams in which
his family pays him homage and didn't know more fully until he was King
Joseph, Christ's messianic awareness was a progression in development.  18
years pass between Luke 2:52 and Luke 3:21.  The development has reached its
fruition with the affirmation of the Trinity.

Chad Bresson
Xenia, OH