Jesus Presented at the Temple

New King James Version:
Luke 2:21-24 NKJV And when eight days were completed for the circumcision of the Child, His name was called JESUS, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb. (22) Now when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were completed, they brought Him to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord (23) (as it is written in the law of the Lord, "Every male who 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."

Ang Bag-ong Testamento (Gihubad sa pinulongang Cebuano gikan sa Griego, by Dr. Gadiel T. Isidro):
Lukas 2:21-24 Sa pagkatapus sa ika-walo ka adlaw, ilang gipacircumcidar siya ug gitawag ang iyang ngalan Jesus, ang ngalan nga gihatag sa manolonda sa wala pa siya ipanamkon. (22) Ug sa pagkatapus sa mga adlaw sa ilang paghinlo sumala sa balaod ni Moises, ilang gidala siya sa Jerusalem aron ilang ihalad sa Ginoo, (23) Sumala sa gisulat na sa balaod sa Ginoo nga ang tanan kamagulangang anak nga lalake pagatawgon nga balaan ngadto sa Ginoo. (24) Ug nagdala sila ug halad, sumala sa gisulti sa balaod sa Ginoo: usa ka paris nga tukmo ug duha ka piso nga salampati.

Introduction

Today we’re starting a new series, but we’re still in Luke. It’s just a short series compared to our study of Luke 1. After this, I’m thinking we’ll start another one, perhaps still in Luke but much later in Jesus’ ministry, or maybe we’ll study one from the Old Testament, and if not, then definitely we’ll study one of Paul’s letters, Lord willing, that is. Please help me pray for wisdom especially in this COVID-19 challenge, on how to minister to you effectively using the pulpit.

So here we are, we jump few verses from our last study, but we’re still in the infancy narrative of Luke about Jesus. This is not just a historical account of the life of Jesus but this is also theological teaching of Jesus. Luke was careful to compile accounts regarding Jesus and he selected important events to prove that what Theophilus heard about Jesus and His disciples were certain or true (Luke 1:4).

Chapter 1 of Luke records the testimonies, arguments or proofs of Jesus’ divinity, before His birth. That is, Luke narrated the accounts and events prior to Jesus’ birth to prove that Jesus is divine and that He is the Messiah.

Luke Chapter 2 records His birth and childhood, and also proves that He is the Messiah, the Lord’s Christ, who will bring salvation not only to the Jews but also to the Gentiles. (Verses 1-7 fulfillment of OT prophecy, birth and place of birth, testifying that He is the Messiah, next verses are the testimonies of the angels to the shepherds, He is the Savior, who is Christ the Lord.)

You see, Luke is careful in compiling testimonies to prove that Jesus is indeed the Christ, the Messiah, who will save people from their sins. Luke knows the principle of two or three witnesses: by the mouth of two or three witnesses the matter shall be established. That is found in Deuteronomy 19:15 NKJV "One witness shall not rise against a man concerning any iniquity or any sin that he commits; by the mouth of two or three witnesses the matter shall be established.

So, before His birth were testimonies of Mary, Elizabeth and Zechariah including angel Gabriel. During His birth were testimonies of the fulfillment of OT prophecy regarding His birth and the place of His birth, then an angel talking to shepherds telling them the Savior is born, then a multitude of angels appeared singing, praising God.

We may know these truths already. But our purpose here is not just for our growth, our consumption, but for us to be established in this truth because there are many others who do not accept Jesus, or still doubting, and we have a mission to them. We must learn from these testimonies because after making Jesus our Lord and Savior we are now called to witness Him, to testify His truths to others, to teach others. If we come to this portion of Scripture, or see others reading this, then we can share the truth in this text to them. Like Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch.

Our text today shows us that Jesus fulfilled the requirements of the Law, so that He can righteously or fittingly redeem those who cannot completely obey or fulfill the Law. We’re talking here the Law of Moses or the Mosaic Law. During Jesus’ infancy, He and His parents obeyed the demands of the Law, particularly, circumcision, purification after child birth, and presentation of the first-born. These were Jewish ceremonies they obeyed as taught in the Mosaic Law. John MacArthur said, these ceremonies were used by the parents of Jesus to give testimony to the identity of the child as the Messiah and Savior of the world.[i] Let’s understand them and the lesson they teach.

I. Circumcision and naming

Luke 2:21 NKJV And when eight days were completed for the circumcision of the Child, His name was called JESUS, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb.

Circumcision was the sign of the covenant God made with Abraham. Circumcision symbolized the Jews’ separation from Gentiles and their unique relationship with God.[ii] We can read that in Genesis 17. That was the sign and symbol of God's covenant. Fast-forward, it was also given to Moses in Leviticus 12:3 NKJV 'And on the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised.

Circumcision was a symbol of a need for spiritual cleansing. And that's why the Bible talks about circumcise your hearts. God was showing them through this symbol that they needed to be cleansed because they passed on sin. When they had a child they got a sinner because they were sinners. Every circumcised male child then, every time that operation took place, it was a symbol of how deeply sinful people were and how greatly they needed a heart cleansing.[iii]

But why was Jesus circumcised? He was not a sinner who needed circumcision in order to enter into a covenant relationship with God. He was sinless. Last portion of Isaiah 53:9 says, even though there was no deceit found in His mouth. In 1 John 3:5 NKJV And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin. 2 Corinthians 5:21 KJV For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

The answer is, because that's what the Law of God required. Galatians 4:4 says Jesus was “born of a woman, born under the law." Whatever the law of God prescribed in the covenant at that time, He would do. He had to obey the Law's demands. The Law demanded circumcision. So, Jesus was circumcised. Without it He would not have fulfilled the law's requirements. Without it He could not have been recognized as the son of David, and the seed of Abraham.[iv]

Now we may say it was his parents who did it for Him. But Jesus, as an adult, on the river Jordan asked John the Baptist to baptize Him. Let us read Matthew 3:13-15 NKJV Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. (14) And John tried to prevent Him, saying, "I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?" (15) But Jesus answered and said to him, "Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness." Then he allowed Him. Jesus doesn't need cleansing so why the symbol of baptism? Jesus responded in Matthew 3:15, "I must fulfill all righteousness.” Whatever the law requires, Jesus did that.

Here is another reason, though related, why Jesus had to be circumcised: Genesis 17:14 NKJV "And the uncircumcised male child, who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that person shall be cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant." If he was not circumcised then all Jews will not recognize Him as one of them. He will be cut off from his people. He, then, cannot be their kinsman redeemer. In order to fulfill all that was required, not because He is a sinner for there is no sin in Him, He had to fulfill all the Law.

During His circumcision He was also named Jesus. Through this, Joseph and Mary testified and affirmed angel Gabriel’s message to them that their son is the Messiah, His name means God is salvation.

II. Purification after child birth

Luke 2:22 KJV And when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were accomplished, they brought him to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord;

Jesus’ parents are law-abiding Jews. They show up at the temple to perform sacrifices associated with the mother’s purification after birth (Lev 12:2–4, 6). Such a ceremony occurs forty days after the child’s arrival. At the same time the firstborn child is to be set aside to the Lord (Ex 13:2, 12, 16; 34:19; Num 18:15–16). Jesus’ parents bring the child along, though that is not necessary.[v] So two things had to happen in Jewish law. First of all, a mother who had born a child had to go through a purification ceremony. Secondly, any firstborn child had to be given to the Lord.[vi]

According to Leviticus 12, after the birth of a son, the mother is ceremonially unclean for 7 days until the circumcision, and then had to remain in seclusion at home for a further 33 days. If the child is a girl then the mother is ceremonially unclean for two weeks, and had to remain in seclusion for a further 66 days. The Scripture does not say the reason why it is doubled when the mother gives birth to a daughter. So, while under purification seclusion the mother shall not touch any consecrated thing, nor enter the sanctuary until the days of her purification are completed (Lev. 12:4). It’s a picture of being alienated from God because of sin or uncleanness. That’s a total of 40 days if the child is a boy, or a total of 80 days if the child is a girl. On the fortieth or eightieth day she should go to the Temple and bring to the priest a year-old lamb for a burnt offering and a young pigeon or dove for a sin offering. In case of poverty, one could skip the lamb and bring a pair of doves or two young pigeons.

But why offer sacrifices at the end of purification? The sins of the guilty were placed upon the lamb or doves or pigeons and they were killed in the place of the sinner. Lev 12:7 NKJV 'Then he (the priest) shall offer it before the LORD, and make atonement for her. And she shall be clean from the flow of her blood. This is the law for her who has borne a male or a female. What does it mean for Mary? It means that the Roman Catholics are wrong in their claim that Mary is as holy, pure, and perfect as Jesus. Mary's time of purification with its sacrifice is a statement that this was not the case. Mary needed to be cleansed and purified. Also, the teaching of the immaculate conception of Mary and that Mary is sinless are contrary to what is taught in the Scriptures. Moreover, Mary cannot save people because she, herself needed a Savior, someone who will cleanse and forgive her sins.

John MacArthur beautifully said this regarding Mary’s purification ceremony, Mary came not only to bring the child and offer Him to the Lord as a firstborn, and to redeem Him, but she came necessarily because she had to offer the sacrifice for purification. At the end of the forty days she's got to come and make a sacrifice. She had forty days when she couldn't go to the temple, she couldn't touch anything sacred or holy, she was ceremonially unclean and she's facing her sinfulness. And the only way she can end that is by offering what? A sacrifice. And God was saying in another way, the only answer to your sin and your alienation from God, and what separates you from God is a sacrifice. And all of this is picturing the final sacrifice. And when the final sacrifice was offered on the cross, what happened to the veil in the temple that separated men from God? It was ripped from top to bottom and the way to God was opened because the final sacrifice was made and never again was there any such thing as ceremonial uncleanness.[vii]

III. Presenting the first-born

Look at verse 23, "As it is written in the law of the Lord," they came and brought Him to present Him to the Lord, because it's written in the law of the Lord, 'Every firstborn male that opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord.'" That's Exodus 13. In Exodus 13:2 God said, "Consecrate to Me all the firstborn, whatever opens the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and beast; it is Mine."

What does that mean? It didn't mean the priesthood because you couldn't be a priest unless you were in the tribe of Levi. Joseph and Mary came out of the tribe of Judah, David's tribe. And so, this is not presenting Him to be a priest, but rather to take this child and just devote his life to God, just give him to the Lord. That's what was done with the firstborn. The classic Old Testament illustration of that was Hannah. Hannah brought Samuel to give him to the Lord. Well, every firstborn was to be devoted to the Lord, it is saying, “This child, Lord, is Your child, whatever You want to do in this child's life I'm devoting this child to You. You do with this child whatever You will, whatever way You want this child to honor You and glorify You and serve You, I give You this child, the firstborn child. Accomplish Your will in the child's life.”

There's another interesting part of this law. There was a price that had to be paid if the child was not a Levite, five shekels. You can read about this in Numbers 18, Numbers 18 verses 15 and 16. And so every child, male child, born to Levi in the Levitical tribe became a priest. But all the rest of the tribes were freed from priestly duty. But in order to be freed from priestly duty, they had to be ransomed, or redeemed. In other words, instead of giving your son into priestly duty, you paid five shekels to support the priesthood. And it's actually called a ransom or a redeeming price.

While it is not recorded in Luke that the parents paid for the redemption price but we can read in Luke 2:39 that the parents did all things according to the law of the Lord.

Conclusion

Jesus fulfilled everything to the letter of the law. He didn't need to have a symbol on His own body of the cleansing of sin as if He were a sinner. He didn't need to be baptized by John as if He somehow needed to be cleansed. And He certainly didn't need a redeemer. He was one, but He went through all the pictures because He fulfilled the law to the letter. And He fulfilled the law that He might having fulfilled it have a fully righteous life in perfect, perfect duty, fulfilling every feature of God's Law that might be credited to your account. And that's what God does in the transaction of justification.

Think about this, Jesus went all that, fulfilled all the demands of the Law, suffered as a man like us, experience poverty, suffered unto death, so that anyone who will accept His finished and complete work of salvation will be redeemed, justified and saved. He thinks of us while He went all that. What is your response to Him? Whosoever will, may come to Him in faith. Amen.

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[i] John MacArthur. MacArthur’s New Testament Commentary

[ii] Barton, B. B., Veerman, D., Taylor, L. C., & Osborne, G. R. (1997). Luke. Life application Bible commentary (48). Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House Publishers.

[iii] John MacArthur.

[iv] J.C. Ryle. Expository Thoughts On Luke - Luke 2:21-24

[v] Bock, D. L. (1994). Luke. The IVP New Testament commentary series (Lk 2:22). Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press.

[vi] John MacArthur.

[vii] Ibid.