Scripture
We are studying the life of Jesus in the Gospel of Luke in a sermon series I am calling, “To Seek and To Save the Lost.”
We have looked at Luke’s description of the birth of Jesus. Last time we examined the shepherd’s visit to Jesus in Bethlehem on the night of his birth. Today I want to look at how Joseph and Mary took care of their infant son, Jesus.
Let’s read about Joseph and Mary and Jesus in Luke 2:21-24:
21 And at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.
22 And when the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord 23 (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”) 24 and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the Law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.” (Luke 2:21-24)
Introduction
Most parents are very excited about the arrival of their newborn babies. Months before the birth, the parents prepare for the arrival of the baby. They buy clothes and furniture and car seats and strollers and toys. They pick out a name, and dream about life with this precious gift.
But the most important things that parents do for their children are spiritual. Good parents pray daily for their children, asking for God’s blessing on every aspect of their children’s lives, especially their spiritual lives. When the children arrive, they regularly read the Scriptures to them. They teach them to sing the Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs of our faith. They take them to worship with God’s people every Lord’s Day. And they present their children to God, giving them the sacrament of the covenant, which is a sign of God’s promise and a seal of his grace.
Joseph and Mary did all of this for their firstborn son, Jesus. They were godly parents who wanted to do what God required. Luke tells us that on five occasions in chapter 2 (in verses 22, 23, 24, 27, and 39) Joseph and Mary did something for Jesus in accordance with God’s law.
Their obedience to God is remarkable. So many of us in the church today are prone to be casual in the way in which we approach obedience to God and his law. For many of us, God’s word is merely a suggestion. We can take it or leave it.
That is why it is so important for us to examine the account of Joseph and Mary and Jesus in Luke 2:21-24.
Lesson
An analysis of the account of Joseph and Mary and Jesus will demonstrate the obedience of Joseph and Mary. In Luke 2:21-24 we learn that Joseph and Mary were obedient regarding:
1. Jesus’ Circumcision (2:21a)
2. Jesus’ Naming (2:21b)
3. Mary’s Purification (2:22a, 24)
4. Jesus’ Consecration (2:22b-23)
I. Jesus’ Circumcision (2:21a)
First, Joseph and Mary were obedient regarding Jesus’ circumcision.
Luke tells us in verse 21 that at the end of eight days, Jesus was circumcised.
Joseph and Mary knew God’s word. They knew that God’s law required their newborn son to be circumcised on the eighth day.
When God introduced the sign of the covenant to Abraham, he said to him in Genesis 17:9-14:
“As for you, you shall keep my covenant, you and your offspring after you throughout their generations. This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your offspring after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised. You shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you. He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised. Every male throughout your generations, whether born in your house or bought with your money from any foreigner who is not of your offspring, both he who is born in your house and he who is bought with your money, shall surely be circumcised. So shall my covenant be in your flesh an everlasting covenant. Any uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin shall be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.” (See also Leviticus 12:3.)
God gave circumcision to Abraham as a sign and a seal. First, circumcision was a sign of God’s promise of salvation. God promised in Genesis 17:5b, “For I have made you the father of a multitude of nations,” and in Genesis 12:3, “And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” Of course, the true descendants of Abraham are spiritual, not physical.
And second, circumcision was a seal of God’s grace. Abraham did nothing to earn or deserve God’s favor. He was no-name pagan born in Ur, a powerful city in southern Babylonia. His father, Terah, took Abraham and several family members from Ur and wanted to settle in the land of Canaan, but decided to settle in Haran, which is hundreds of miles north of Canaan (see Genesis 11:27-31). Nevertheless, one day God simply called Abraham to himself, when he said to him in Genesis 12:1-3, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” God’s grace is his unmerited favor to the undeserving, and circumcision is a testimony to that truth glorious gospel truth.
There is a fascinating but little-known account in Exodus regarding the time the Lord wanted to kill Moses. Moses had had his “burning bush” encounter with God. God called him to go back to Egypt in order to lead the people of God out of Egypt. After trying to get out of being called up for duty, Moses finally relented and started out for Egypt, along with his wife Zipporah and his sons. Then we read this fascinating account in Exodus 4:24-26, “At a lodging place on the way the Lord met him and sought to put him to death. Then Zipporah took a flint and cut off her son’s foreskin and touched Moses’ feet with it and said, ‘Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me!’ So he let him alone. It was then that she said, ‘A bridegroom of blood,’ because of the circumcision.”
Now, what is going on here? God remembered his covenant promises (see Exodus 2:24), and he expected his people to remember the conditions of the covenant as well. Moses was held responsible for the conditions of the covenant that required him to circumcise his sons (see Genesis 17:9-14). Moses had not circumcised his sons on the eighth day. Failure to obey God would lead to being “cut off from God’s people.” Moses’ failure to circumcise his sons could have led to his death, had it not been for his wife’s action. God takes noncompliance with his law very seriously.
Now Joseph and Mary knew all of that. And they knew that Jesus should be circumcised. Of course, Jesus did not need the sign and seal of circumcision in the same way that other males did. Jesus was the reality of the promise to which the sign pointed, and he was the seal of God’s grace. Nevertheless, he also came to fulfill every jot and tittle of the law. If he had not been circumcised, he would not have been regarded as a true Jew, he would have been cut off from the people of God, and the law of God would not have been fulfilled in his life.
The point is that Joseph and Mary were obedient to God’s law. They did what the law required regarding their son, Jesus.
Today, we no longer circumcise boys for religious reasons. The sign of the covenant has changed from circumcision to baptism. But the meaning of the sign has not changed. Baptism is a sign and seal. It is a sign of God’s promise of salvation. And it is a seal of God’s grace.
That is why the sign should still be applied to infants of believing parents today. Dad and Mom, do not neglect the sacrament of baptism for your infant children. God requires it, and good parents will bring their children to be baptized in obedience to God’s word.
II. Jesus’ Naming (2:21b)
Second, Joseph and Mary were obedient regarding Jesus’ naming.
In keeping with the Jewish custom of that day, on the day of his circumcision, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb (2:21b).
The name Jesus is the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew name “Joshua,” which means, “Jehovah saves.” What a fitting name for the Savior!
Luke had earlier told us about the angel visiting Mary and announcing that she would give birth to a son. He also told her in Luke 1:31, “And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.”
Jesus was conceived in a supernatural manner, and Joseph wanted to divorce Mary quietly because he thought that she was pregnant by another man. However, by the kind mercy of God, he sent an angel to explain to Joseph what was happening. And he also told Joseph in Matthew 1:21, “She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”
So, the angel told both Joseph and Mary what to name the child. Perhaps when they first got betrothed they might have suggested names to each other that they would have liked to name their children. However, now that God had instructed them via the angel, they gladly obeyed God. And they named their child Jesus, in accordance with God’s word to them.
III. Mary’s Purification (2:22a, 24)
Third, Joseph and Mary were obedient regarding Mary’s purification.
Luke tells us in verse 22a that when the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, they did so. “Their” most likely refers to Mary and Joseph. However, the purification applied only to Mary. “Their” is used loosely of the purification being a family matter, and Joseph, as head of the family, was responsible for ensuring that the purification was carried according to the Law of Moses.
But what is purification? A woman who had just given birth was considered to be unclean. The loss of blood signified that one was incomplete and, therefore, unclean. Leviticus 12:1-4 says:
The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the people of Israel, saying, If a woman conceives and bears a male child, then she shall be unclean seven days. As at the time of her menstruation, she shall be unclean. And on the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised. Then she shall continue for thirty-three days in the blood of her purifying. She shall not touch anything holy, nor come into the sanctuary, until the days of her purifying are completed.”
The mother of a male child was considered to be unclean for forty days after the birth of her child. During that time she could not enter the temple courts. When the forty days of her purification ended, she was then restored to full participation with the temple worshipers by means of offerings.
God told Moses what was required for the offerings in Leviticus 12:6-8:
“And when the days of her purifying are completed, whether for a son or for a daughter, she shall bring to the priest at the entrance of the tent of meeting a lamb a year old for a burnt offering, and a pigeon or a turtledove for a sin offering, and he shall offer it before the Lord and make atonement for her. Then she shall be clean from the flow of her blood. This is the law for her who bears a child, either male or female. And if she cannot afford a lamb, then she shall take two turtledoves or two pigeons, one for a burnt offering and the other for a sin offering. And the priest shall make atonement for her, and she shall be clean.”
Mary went up to Jerusalem to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the Law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons” (2:24).
Having made her offering, Mary was once again ceremonially clean. She was now able to enter into the temple courts.
The fact that Mary offered a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons rather than a lamb and pigeon or a turtledove indicates that Joseph and Mary were poor.
Nevertheless, poverty was not a hindrance to obedience.
IV. Jesus’ Consecration (2:22b-23)
And fourth, Joseph and Mary were obedient regarding Jesus’ consecration.
At the end of the forty days of purification, Luke said in verse 22b that Joseph and Mary brought Jesus up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord. Though it did not have to be done in Jerusalem or at the temple, the Law of the Lord given through Moses said, “Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord” (2:23). The Lord said to Moses in Exodus 13:2, “Consecrate to me all the firstborn. Whatever is the first to open the womb among the people of Israel, both of man and of beast, is mine.” Elaborating on that command Moses said to the people of God in Exodus 13:11-15:
“When the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites, as he swore to you and your fathers, and shall give it to you, you shall set apart to the Lord all that first opens the womb. All the firstborn of your animals that are males shall be the Lord’s. Every firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb, or if you will not redeem it you shall break its neck. Every firstborn of man among your sons you shall redeem. And when in time to come your son asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ you shall say to him, ‘By a strong hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, from the house of slavery. For when Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the Lord killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man and the firstborn of animals. Therefore I sacrifice to the Lord all the males that first open the womb, but all the firstborn of my sons I redeem.’”
The consecration of the firstborn son was not for service as a priest, because priests came only from the tribe of Levi. Jesus was from the tribe of Judah (Hebrews 7:14). Joseph and Mary were therefore not presenting Jesus for service as a priest, but rather they were consecrating his life to God.
The Levites took the place of the firstborn males of the rest of the twelve tribes by being devoted to the service of God. In Numbers 3:12-13, God said to Moses:
“Behold, I have taken the Levites from among the people of Israel instead of every firstborn who opens the womb among the people of Israel. The Levites shall be mine, for all the firstborn are mine. On the day that I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I consecrated for my own all the firstborn in Israel, both of man and of beast. They shall be mine: I am the Lord.” (See vv. 41, 44-45.)
But in return for their being exempted from priestly duty, a redemption price had to be paid for the firstborn sons from the other tribes. So, in Numbers 18:15-16, God said to Aaron:
“Everything that opens the womb of all flesh, whether man or beast, which they offer to the Lord, shall be yours. Nevertheless, the firstborn of man you shall redeem, and the firstborn of unclean animals you shall redeem. And their redemption price (at a month old you shall redeem them) you shall fix at five shekels in silver, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, which is twenty gerahs.”
Israel was a theocracy, with the priests and the Levites doing much of the work of governing the country. The five shekels, which is a significant amount of money, paid by the families of the firstborn sons of the other tribes helped defray the costs of running the government.
Though it is not explicitly stated in the text, it is reasonable to assume that Joseph and Mary paid the five-shekel redemption fee for Jesus, since they did everything that was written in the Law of the Lord. The fee, coupled with the expense of traveling from Nazareth to Bethlehem, was a significant financial burden for this young couple.
Joseph and Mary wanted to obey every command of God. So they consecrated Jesus to God’s service and paid the redemption fee for Jesus. But like all people of God who are serious about their relationship with God, they found great joy in obeying the law of God (see Psalms 1:1-2; 40:8; 119:70, 77).
Conclusion
Therefore, having analyzed the account of Joseph and Mary and Jesus in Luke 2:21-24, we should obey God.
Joseph and Mary’s obedience to the law of God shines brightly in the account surrounding the birth of Jesus.
The law of God required that every firstborn male should be circumcised as a sign of God’s promise and a seal of his grace. And so Jesus was circumcised.
The angel told both Joseph and Mary to name the child Jesus, which they did without hesitation or reservation.
The law of God required purification for Mary after giving birth to Jesus. She went through the forty days of purification, most likely while staying in Bethlehem, and then brought the offering required by the law of God in order to become ceremonially clean again.
And finally, Joseph and Mary brought Jesus to Jerusalem to consecrate him to God and also to pay his redemption fee, since Jesus was their firstborn son.
Their example is an example to us. Our obedience is a sign of our love for God. Our obedience does not earn us right standing with God but, rather, is an evidence of our right standing with God.
One reason why the church in America is so weak is because professing Christians pick and choose which commandments they will obey. Brothers and sisters, this should not be! Let us make a commitment, as the blood-bought children of God, and as the adopted heirs of the kingdom of heaven, to do all within our power to obey all of God’s commands. Amen.
