Luke 2:21-40

Baby Jesus Is Taken To The Temple By Joseph And Mary

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The Christmas Story

2:21 And when eight days had passed, before His circumcision, His name was then called Jesus, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb.

22 And when the days for their purification according to the law of Moses were completed, they brought Him up to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord

23 (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, "EVERY firstborn MALE THAT OPENS THE WOMB SHALL BE CALLED HOLY TO THE LORD"),

24 and to offer a sacrifice according to what was said in the Law of the Lord, "A PAIR OF TURTLEDOVES OR TWO YOUNG PIGEONS."

25 And there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; and this man was righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel; and the Holy Spirit was upon him.

26 And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ.

27 And he came in the Spirit into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to carry out for Him the custom of the Law,

28 then he took Him into his arms, and blessed God, and said,

29 "Now Lord, You are releasing Your bond-servant to depart in peace, According to Your word; 30 For my eyes have seen Your salvation, 31Which 32 A LIGHT OF REVELATION TO THE GENTILES, And the glory of Your people Israel."

33 And His father and mother were amazed at the things which were being said about Him.

34 And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary His mother, "Behold, this Child is appointed for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and for a sign to be opposed--

35 and a sword will pierce even your own soul--to the end that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed."

36 And there was a prophetess, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher She was advanced in years and had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage,

37 and then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple, serving night and day with fastings and prayers.

38 At that very moment she came up and began giving thanks to God, and continued to speak of Him to all those who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.

39 When they had performed everything according to the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own city of Nazareth.

40 The Child continued to grow and become strong, increasing in wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him.

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This is the Word of the Lord ... It is meant to change the way that we think, and the way that we live.

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Commentary by Bob Pardue

The Presentation Of Baby Jesus

Something that most of us don't think about is; Jesus was Jewish! His customs were Jewish, He was a Jew in every aspect of life including going to the temple, worshiping as a Jew, obeying the laws of Moses and yes, making sacrifices to God.

So, we can forget about the pictures we see of the fair skinned, blue eyed Jesus or the black Jesus for the African American culture, or any other conception of what we believe he looked like. He was Jewish.

With that said, Jesus was taken on the eighth day to follow the Jewish ceremonies including being named and circumcised which sets aside Jews from the Gentiles.

Jesus was also treated as any other firstborn and presented to God at the age of one month redeeming or buying the child back from God by giving an offering.

There were several other events from Jewish tradition mentioned in which Jesus and His "family" would have participated. The main point is that Christ came to live among us, as one of us -- To live, feel joy, feel pain, and to die just as we do.

Mary and Joseph carried out these traditions according to Jewish law even though Jesus was God's Son.

Being the Son of God, why would it be necessary for Jesus' earthly parents to present Him in the way of an ordinary human?

There is but one answer -- The reason Jesus was born was to fulfill the law, not to live above it. And He did it without flaw.

It's interesting to note that Simeon and Anna both knew exactly who Jesus was and what He would do.

Simeon called Jesus God's "salvation" and had never given up on seeing the Christ before he died.

Will you see the Christ before you die? Go to this page to find out.

 

 

Love in Christ

- Bob

This article about the Christmas story and the presentation of baby Jesus may be freely reprinted or distributed in its entirety in any e-zine, newsletter, blog, or website. The author's name, bio, and website links must remain intact and be included with every reproduction of this report.

Bob

Comments are welcome. Please email me with any questions or comments you may have.