Knowing The Word in Luke 2:22-24

Jesus Presented at the Temple

2:22 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.”

Comments

Today’s narrative is forty days after the birth of Jesus. According to the law, a woman had to wait forty days after the birth of a son—or eighty days for a daughter—before she could take her child to the temple and offer the sacrifice for purification. According to the law, a male who first opens the womb, meaning a firstborn son, had to be redeemed through a sacrifice. In the case of Joseph and Mary, that the sacrifice is a pair of birds, means they gave the offering of the poor.

To understand better what the law says in regard to the requirements of these three verses, see the passages below from Exodus 13:1-2, 11-15; Leviticus 12, and Numbers 18:15-18. I have included comments in brackets within the text to explain the meaning.

Exodus 13 1The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Consecrate [give over as holy] 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.” [God desires that the Israelites recognize his right to ownership of their first and best, as in the case of the spoils of war. This is tied into the Passover. Why? First, most animal young were born this time of year. Second, fathers and firstborn children carried special responsibilities for family leadership that included keeping other family members well-informed about keeping the terms of the covenant. The firstborn son has a position of honor at the Passover dinner table.]

11 “When the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites [making the wilderness years an exception], as he swore to you and your fathers, and shall give it to you, 12 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. 13 Every firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a [non-firstborn] lamb, or if you will not redeem it you shall break its neck. [Killing the animal because it was not needed, allowed for individuals to alleviate the priests from ritual sacrifices. The animal was to be killed because every firstborn not dedicated to the Lord was to be destroyed.] Every firstborn of man among your sons you shall redeem. 14 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. 15 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 ultimate purpose of these instructions was to prepare the Israelites for the death of Christ on their behalf. Though most generations could anticipate the Christ-event only vaguely, they certainly could grasp the basic concepts: if a life is to be restored, it must be redeemed by a payment. That payment is often the substitutionary death of something for something else. When Paul writes, “You were bought at a price,” he follows the OT logic of the redemption system that foreshadows the redemption price paid by Christ with his own blood.]

Leviticus 12 1 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “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. 3 And on the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised. 4 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. 5 But if she bears a female child, then she shall be unclean two weeks, as in her menstruation. And she shall continue in the blood of her purifying for sixty-six days.

6 “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, 7 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. 8 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.”

Numbers 18 15 Everything that opens the womb of all flesh, whether man or beast, which they offer to the Lord, shall be yours[“yours” being for the priests and Levites, the descendants of Aaron]. Nevertheless, the firstborn of man you shall redeem, and the firstborn of unclean animals you shall redeem. 16 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. 17 But the firstborn of a cow, or the firstborn of a sheep, or the firstborn of a goat, you shall not redeem; they are holy. You shall sprinkle their blood on the altar and shall burn their fat as a food offering, with a pleasing aroma to the Lord. 18 But their flesh shall be yours, as the breast that is waved and as the right thigh are yours.

Application

Sometimes the law seems very puzzling. What was God thinking when he gave the Old Testament law for sacrifices? What the Israelites learned through the sacrificial system is that forgiveness and restoration come at a price. There is a cost to them in the purchase of sacrificial animals, yet the higher cost is the giving of the animal’s life. All of this points forward to the highest cost: that of the life of Jesus, who atoned for our sins as our substitute. In your life, where do you see the benefits of the sacrifice of Jesus? How has his sacrifice made a difference in your life?

Prayer

Jesus, from the beginning of the world, you knew you would give your life for me. I am eternally grateful. Help me through your Spirit to be grateful at all times, in all places, and in all situations.