Luke 2:21-24
If there was ever anyone about whom it could be said that
they were “above the Law” it was Jesus.
However, Luke is very clear to record that Mary and Joseph followed the
Law completely in regards to the rituals required after the birth of Jesus. These rituals were to be symbolic of how sin
was to be viewed by God’s people and how they were to be separated from sin
unto God. None of these rituals were
necessary for Jesus personally because He was born without sin. Since He was conceived by the Holy Spirit, He
did not inherit the sin nature that was passed from Adam to all succeeding
generations. However, Jesus came to
fulfill the Law completely in order that He might offer Himself as a sacrifice
for the sins of the world. These rituals
were performed in obedience to God’s Word and were a foreshadowing of things to
come. Jesus would suffer many things as
a man that were in no way befitting of God.
We should recognize and be grateful for His willingness to submit
Himself to the Law so that we can be set free from the penalty of death that
would hang over us according to the Law.
JESUS WAS CIRCUMCISED ACCORDING TO THE LAW: Circumcision was the removal of the foreskin
of male children as a symbol of removing sinfulness from the midst of the
people. It was meant to be an
illustration of the separation of sin from God’s children. Jesus had no sin from which to be
separated. Circumcision was not a means
of justification; it was simply an illustration of separation from sin. God’s chosen people were to be holy and keep
themselves from the sins that were so prevalent in all of the nations. It was to serve as a constant reminder that
they were separated unto God. Jesus was
holy and He was God. He did not need
this for Himself but in order to comply with the Law and purchase our freedom
from sin and the death that the Law required because of our sin; Jesus was
circumcised. It is a foretaste of the
fact that the body of Jesus would suffer because of our sin. The pain and the blood that was shed at the
circumcision of Jesus was noting in comparison to the pain and blood He would
shed on the cross. It is a reminder to
us that Jesus suffered and sacrificed Himself to save us. Mary and Joseph did exactly as they had been
told to do. On the eighth day they
circumcised their son and gave Him the name Jesus just as the angel had told
them to do.
JESUS WAS CONSECRATED ACCORDING TO THE LAW: It seems
redundant that Jesus would be consecrated to God since He was God. However, the Law instructed the children of
Israel to present all of their firstborn sons as holy unto the Lord. This was instituted as a reminder of how the
first born children of Israel were spared in Egypt at the Passover during which
all of the first born of the Egyptians were killed by the angel of death. These sons were to serve the Lord as
priests. Later on, God separated the
tribe of Levi for the priestly duties which allowed parents to redeem their
first born sons with five shekels. This
is apparently what Mary and Joseph went to the temple to do although there is
no record of them paying the redemption price.
It was clear to them that Jesus did not “belong” to them. He was God and He was God’s. When God became a man at the incarnation it
created a paradoxical situation that is difficult for us to grasp. It seems redundant for Jesus to be consecrated
to Himself. They mystery of the Trinity
is not easy for us to understand but it is illustrated by Jesus repeatedly
throughout His life and ministry. He
prays to the Father. He asks the Father
to take the cup of suffering from Him if at all possible. As a man Jesus did not want to suffer the
pain of the cross but He was submissive to the Father at every level. As parents we can learn from the example of
Mary and Joseph. None of our children
“belong” to us. God blesses us with them
and allows us to participate in their growth and discipline so that they might
serve their true Father more effectively.
We have no right to prevent “our” children from serving their heavenly
Father in any way He might call them to serve, including martyrdom.
JESUS WAS CLEANSED ACCORDING TO THE LAW: After forty days of
Mary’s purification following child birth the parents were to come to the
temple and offer a sacrifice. The
traditional sacrifice would have been a lamb and a dove but the Law permitted
that poor families could bring two doves instead. This gives us some idea of the financial
status of the earthly family into which Jesus was born. It also gives us a sobering demonstration of
the consequences of Sin. Luke and
Matthew went into great detail to demonstrate that Jesus was born into the
family of David and that from both Mary and Joseph’s lineage, Jesus was the
rightful heir of the throne of David.
When we consider the extreme wealth of David’s first successor, Solomon
it is amazing to realize that in just a few generations all of that wealth had
been lost to the point that the “royal family” could not even afford to bring a
lamb as a sacrifice. The consequences of
sinfulness are severe. Jesus did not
need to be cleansed from any sin through the sacrifice of birds. He would be
the sacrifice that was offered by God in order to cleanse the world of
sin. However, Mary and Joseph were
sinners and they needed to offer sacrifice for sin in accordance with the Law. I cannot help but wonder if they looked at Jesus
while they were offering this sacrifice and thought to themselves that He would
be the ultimate sacrifice that would truly save them from their sin. It is important for us to remember that none
of these rituals were necessary for Jesus because He had no sin. He submitted to all of these things on our
behalf just as He would eventually die on our behalf.
APPLICATION: God is holy and wants us to be holy; this
should be our constant pursuit in life.
Our lives and the lives of every member of our family must be fully
consecrated and dedicated to the Lord in whatever way that He chooses. The consequences of sin are so grave; we must
do all that we can to avoid them by living sacrificial lives of obedience to
the Lord.
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