I sincerely pray that I become a devout person
who faithfully keeps the Lord’s commandments.
“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—(as it is written in the Lord’s Law, ‘Every firstborn male shall be called holy to the Lord’)—and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the Lord’s Law: ‘a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons’” (Luke 2:22–24).
I want to receive the lessons given while meditating on this passage:
(1) When I meditate on this passage, the phrases “according to the Law of Moses” (Lk. 2:22), “as it is written in the Lord’s Law” (v. 23), and “according to what is said in the Lord’s Law” (v. 24) caught my eye and drew my interest. That is probably because of the words “law” (v. 22) and “the Law” (vv. 23–24). When I think of these three words, I may also glimpse a connection with Luke 2:21, which I meditated on Monday morning yesterday: “When the eight days for his circumcision were completed…” (v. 21).
(a) The connection is that the “circumcision ceremony on the eighth day after the baby Jesus was born” (v. 21) is the same as “the day of the purification ritual performed for the baby (Jesus) according to the Law of Moses” (v. 22).
(i) The “purification ritual” spoken of here (v. 22) refers to the mother’s purification. According to Moses’ law, after a woman gave birth she was regarded as ceremonially unclean for a set period, and on the day of purification she was to go to the priest, present a sin offering to remove the uncleanness, and thereby restore her ritual purity. The mother was also to offer a burnt offering, which was given as an expression of thanksgiving and dedication for the birth (Ref.: Internet, Hoekma.)
(2) Thus Luke 2:23 in today’s passage says: “(This was) in accordance with what is written in the Lord’s Law: ‘Every firstborn male shall be called holy to the Lord’—so they presented the child to the Lord.”
(a) An interesting point here is that Luke, the author of Luke’s Gospel, records “the Law of Moses” (v. 22) as “the Lord’s Law” (v. 23).
(i) “The Law of Moses” here refers to the law God gave to the people of Israel through Moses. But since this law was ultimately given by God (the Lord) through Moses, by calling it “the Lord’s Law” the author emphasizes that the ultimate source of the law is God (the Lord) (Ref.: Internet).
(b) The “Lord’s Law” mentioned in “(as it is written in the Lord’s Law) ‘Every firstborn male shall be holy to the Lord’ …” (v. 23) is the law requiring the dedication of the firstborn to God, as set out in Exodus 13:2 (“Consecrate to me every firstborn . . .”) and Numbers 3:13 (that all firstborn belong to the Lord). On the basis of this law, firstborn sons were to be set apart and presented to God.
(i) On the basis of this law, Jesus, as firstborn, was likewise presented and dedicated to God as holy (Hoekma).
(ii) Under this law the offerings for purification were a burnt offering of a lamb and a sin offering of a dove, but if the family was poor, they could substitute two turtledoves or two young pigeons—one for the burnt offering and one for the sin offering (Lev. 12:1–8). The priest would accept the two birds and offer one as a burnt offering and the other as a sin offering; by the priest’s making atonement the mother would be purified (v. 8) (Hoekma).
· This provision shows careful consideration and concern for the poor, but it also implies that whether rich or poor, male or female, young or old, everyone must worship God and present offerings to Him. (Hokma.)
(3) Therefore, when we read that Jesus’ parents (Lk. 2:22), Joseph (v. 4) and “Mary, to whom Joseph was pledged” (v. 5), “went up to Jerusalem to present the child to the Lord and to offer a sacrifice” (v. 24), we see that they were devout people who faithfully observed the Lord’s Law, and it is also clear that they belonged to the very poor (Ref.: Hoekma).
(a) In fact, Matthew records that Mary’s husband Joseph “was a righteous man” (Mt. 1:19), meaning that Joseph was a person who tried to live according to the Lord’s Law and Word and who practiced faithful action (Internet). And Luke records that Mary was “a woman who believed that what the Lord had spoken to her would be fulfilled” (Lk. 1:45), meaning that Mary trusted and obeyed the promise she had heard from the angel Gabriel concerning the conception of Jesus the Messiah (Ref.: Internet).
(i) In this way, Joseph and Mary—Jesus’ parents—were righteous and faithful people who faithfully kept the Lord’s Law.
(4) The lesson this passage gives us is that we, too, should follow the example of Jesus’ parents Joseph and Mary and become righteous and faithful people who keep the Lord’s commandments.
(a) John 14:21 says: “Whoever has my commandments and keeps them is the one who loves me. And the one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and reveal myself to him” [See also: “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (v. 15)].
(i) This passage teaches that the clearest proof that a person loves the Lord is that they obey the Lord’s commandments (Internet). Therefore, if we truly love the Lord, we should now be devoted to striving to keep the Lord’s commandments.
· When I meditate on the Lord’s commandments, I am reminded of Jesus’ twofold commandment: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind,” and “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Mt. 22:37, 39).
- These two commandments—love of God and love of neighbor—are a single commandment in Jesus’ teaching, and they differ from the Pharisees’ view. The Pharisees thought that if one fulfilled obligations to God according to human traditions, in some cases one need not fulfill duties to one’s neighbor or even care for one’s parents (15:1–9). Moreover, they hated enemies and pursued conditional love, despising sinners (5:43–47). But Jesus perfected the Law by excluding human traditions and connecting the two commandments with the word “love,” making them one. The apostle John explains this in 1 John 4:20–21: “If someone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar. For the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. And we have this commandment from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.”
n With our lips we may say we love God, but if we do not love our visible brothers and sisters, then claiming to love the invisible God is a lie. A genuine Christian truly loves the invisible God and also loves his visible brother. That is, one who truly loves God also loves his brother; one who does not love his brother is not a person who loves God.
n The lyrics of the hymn, “Lord, I want to be a Christian,” verse 2 come to mind: “Lord, I want to be more loving in my heart, in my heart, Lord, I want to be more loving in my heart, in my heart. In my heart, in my heart, Lord, I want to be more loving in my heart, in my heart.” As I sing this hymn to God, I make it my prayer to love with perfect love (free from hatred or mixed motives), to love the Lord sincerely, and to love my neighbor with the Lord’s love. I pray in earnest that by sincerely loving God with perfect love we may become people who love our neighbors with the Lord’s love; and I pray that by sincerely loving our neighbors we may become people who love God.