“When they had performed everything according to the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own city of Nazareth” (Lk. 2:39)
Luke alone gives us any further details of Jesus birth and early childhood. We are most familiar with the story of the visit to Jerusalem when Jesus was twelve, but today I want to look back to an earlier visit to the Temple.
The circumcision and purification customs after a birth were specified by the Law and had reference to the state of sin in which human being is born. Jesus, the sinless One, undergoes these customs not for His sin but as a sign that He was voluntarily under the Law, taking upon Himself the obligation of His people, that He might provide their redemption. The actual giving of the name Jesus (Jehovah the Savior) at circumcision underlines this truth (2:21).
Verse 22 refers to the purification provisions recorded in Leviticus 12. A woman was ceremonially impure for 40 days after the birth of a son. Notice the child is involved in the impurity and thus the verse reads “their” purification. Here again we see the sinless Son of God taking upon Himself the impurity of His people that He might provide their redemption. According to the Law, a lamb had to be sacrificed as a burnt-offering and a pigeon as a sin-offering. Provisions were made to allow the poor to sacrifice a pigeon in the place of the lamb.
Apart from the sacrifices, Joseph and Mary brought Jesus to the Temple “to present Him to the Lord” (1:22). The consecration of the first born was often little more than a ritual for many Jews, but for this young couple it was a sacred commitment. As I read this part of the Christmas story, I am reminded that God chose to send His only Son to an earthly couple that was devout. When you read this section, notice how many times it refers to their obedience to do all that was written in the Law. The verse that follows (2:40) tells us that Jesus grew and developed in every dimension of life through the ministry of these earthly parents. We who are parents are reminded to see our children as a sacred gift from God.
Prayer: Thank you for exalting the family by sending Your Son to Mary and Joseph. Teach me daily how to give my children back to You. Amen.