Luke 2:21-24 A Dedication of Great Value 1/9/2005 ßà
#1 Jesus Had to Be Circumcised (Luke 2:21,11, Gen 17:9-14, John 3:7, Eph 2:9)
#2. Jesus Had to Be Presented to the Lord (Luke 2:22-24, Lev 12:1-8)
#3. Present Your Bodies a Living Sacrifice (Rom 12:1-2)
Please open your Bibles to the Prophecy of Gen 3:15 (2X). We are continuing the story of the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ as it was written down for us by God the Holy Spirit through the pen of Dr Luke in Luke chapters 1 and 2. The sermon of today is titled, “A Dedication of Great Value” (2X). However, it is so easy to get lost in the forest of information here in the first two chapters of Luke. And that is why I wanted you to turn first to Gen 3:15, because we may not forget the Big Story.
What is the Big Story that we should not loose out of sight? It is the promise, which God began to lay down in Gen 3:15. This was when God cursed Satan and God promised a deliverer from Satan.
Ge 3:15 And I will put enmity between thee and the
woman, and between thy seed and her seed; He (your Bible says “it”,
but the Heb word is “He”) shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise
his heel.
Paraphrased God
said, “I will cause perpetual enmity between
thee, Satan, and the woman. There will be a continual war between you, Satan,
and the woman”. The tenses indicate that this enmity is an unfinished action
that is still going on today. Who does the woman represent? Eve thought that
she was the woman God was speaking about. But this cannot be true. Because Eve
had a finite lifespan, and when she died, her war against the devil also
ceased. Some theologians believe that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was that
woman. But this cannot be true either because Mary had a finite lifespan. The
woman cannot represent all mankind, because not all mankind is at war
against Satan. If we want to be consistent with the rest of the Bible we have
to say that the woman represents the Body of Believers whom God elected
out of the sea of mankind. This woman, also called the Bride of Christ,
is that group of people who are continually at war against Satan, throughout
time, because God has put in their heart the conviction that they are in the
army of Christ, and are fighting the army of Satan.
And then God goes on to say in Gen 3:15, “and
between thy seed and her seed”. It means enmity between Satan’s seed, which
is a large group of people of whom Jesus said, “you are of your father the
Devil”, and the Seed of the woman, which now refers to only one Person,
“the Lord Jesus Christ”. How does this harmonize with the first part of this
verse? When we belong to the Bride of Christ, and we do battle against Satan,
we are actually no match for him. Satan is more powerful that all the rest of
mankind combined. Therefore Christ is doing our battles in our place. That is
why God says in Phil 2:13, “For it is God which worketh in you both
to will and to do of his good pleasure”. On the surface we are doing
battle with Satan, when he tempts us, but in reality it is Christ in us who is
fighting all our battles. Therefore, it is only by grace that we can be
faithful. Christ is our deliverer, promised in Gen 3.
And then God said in Gen 3:15, “He shall
bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel”. It means that Christ
shall bruise the head of Satan, who is represented by the serpent. And bruising
the head of a serpent means that the serpent is going to die, which means spiritually
that he will be cast into Hell. And Satan will be bruising the heel of Christ. This
is the picture of a serpent biting the heel of Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ is
fully God and fully man. If Satan is only able to bite the heel of Christ it
means that he can only hurt Him in His humanity. But the atonement of
the Lord Jesus on the cross is altogether spiritual. Christ’s substitution
for us was not seen outwardly, but can only be seen by faith. Therefore, it was
not Satan who nailed the Lord Jesus to the cross, but this was altogether God’s
doing. God arranged all these things. It means that God orchestrated the
atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross. Satan was watching his
defeat from a distance. Please turn now to Luke 2:21.
And so, when we read about the events in Luke
chapters 1 and 2 it is so easy to get lost in the particular details, but we
need to keep in mind what God has said in Gen 3:15. That is the Big Picture,
and all these details in Luke 1 and 2 must be seen within that framework that
God gave us in Gen 3:15. Last time we have seen how the shepherds glorified God
by personally getting to know the Lord Jesus lying in The Manger.
And this was a picture of how WE need to get to know the Lord Jesus personally
by searching for Him on the pages of the Bible. And then we read in Luke
2:20-24,
Lu 2:20 And the
shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they
had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.
Lu 2:21 ¶ And when
eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was
called JESUS, which was so named of the angel before he was conceived in the
womb.
Lu 2:22 And when the
days of her purification according to the law of Moses were accomplished, they
brought him to
Lu 2:23-24 (As it is
written in the law of the Lord, Every male that openeth the womb shall be
called holy to the Lord;) And to offer a
sacrifice according to that which is said in the law of the Lord, A pair of
turtledoves, or two young pigeons.
Here we see two ceremonies wherein the Lord Jesus was being dedicated to God. But actually the two ceremonies are pointing to One Dedication of the Lord Jesus Christ, and it is “A Dedication of Great Value”. Let us look now at these two ceremonies, which were two necessary ceremonies.
#1 Jesus Had to Be Circumcised (Luke 2:21,11, Gen 17:9-14, John 3:7, Eph 2:9)
Lu 2:21 ¶ And when eight days were accomplished for the
circumcising of the child, his name was called JESUS, which was so named of the
angel before he was conceived in the womb.
His name was called JESUS, which is the Greek translation of the Hebrew name Jeshua, also called Joshua, which means Jehovah is Salvation. That is why JESUS is also called Savior, which we have already seen in Luke 2:11, “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord”. But why was Jesus circumcised. Why was this ceremony necessary? Please turn again to the Prophecy of Genesis, this time to Gen 17:9 (2X). Jesus was circumcised because He was a descendant of Abraham. All the descendants of Abraham were circumcised, including the descendants of Ishmael, and of all the sons of Keturah, and of Esau, and all the Arab nations who descend from these children of Abraham through intermarriage, including the Moabites and the Ammonites. What was the reason why all these descendants of Abraham were circumcised? God commanded it to Abraham, and God commanded to keep doing it forever. Let us read this in Gen 17:9,
Ge 17:9-10 And God
said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed
after thee in their generations. This
is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed
after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised.
Ge 17:11-12 And ye
shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of
the covenant betwixt me and you. And
he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man
child in your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money
of any stranger, which is not of thy seed.
Ge 17:13 He that is
born in thy house, and he that is bought with thy money, must needs be
circumcised: and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting
covenant.
Ge 17:14 And the
uncircumcised man child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that
soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken my covenant.
You can see from verse 14 the extreme penalty for not being
circumcised, “that soul shall be cut off from his
people”, which means that this person
shall not enjoy all the benefits of being a child of God. If all the children
of God go to heaven, then this person shall go to Hell, because “he hath
broken my covenant”. And so, there was in OT time a tremendous pressure to
have all the children circumcised. God said in verse 10, “This is my covenant, which ye shall keep”, and then followed the command to circumcise every male
in Abraham’s household. Is this then the covenant? Does this mean that if we
are circumcised we have kept our part of the agreement between God and
those of mankind whom He calls “His people”? This was what many of the Jews in
Jesus’ days concluded. Well, if we take verses out of context, then this is the
conclusion we arrive at. It is no wonder then that in the first century AD the
churches of
With whom does God enter into an everlasting covenant relationship? God says in Gen 17:7,
Ge 17:7 ¶ And I will
establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in
their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy
seed after thee.
To whom was God speaking? God was speaking to Abraham. Did God
promise here that He will have a covenant relationship with all the physical
descendants of Abraham? This cannot be true. We read in Heb 3 that
the children of
But we also realize that God laid down the Law
of circumcision in Gen 17, and since the Lord Jesus Christ was a descendant of
Abraham, He had to be circumcised. Circumcision is the cutting off of flesh
from the reproductive organ, which pointed to the cutting off of sins from
those who become saved. Spiritually it pointed to the act of God, who
circumcises the foreskin of the hearts of those who become saved. But the Lord
Jesus Christ was born as a perfectly sinless person. He was made in the
likeness of sinful flesh, but He did not inherit Adam’s original sin. He was
made like unto His brethren, except for sin. So, why does He need to be
circumcised if He did not have any sin? The
first part of the answer comes from man’s perspective, and is found in
the next chapter of Galatians. We read in Gal 4:4-5, “But when the
fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made
under the law, To redeem them that were
under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons”. Christ was made under the Law, which means that He was
subject to all the requirements of the Law. This was one reason why He had to
be circumcised. But the second part
of the answer comes from God’s perspective. Remember the Big Picture from
Gen 3:15. Did God know, when He laid down the Law in Gen 17, that Jesus
also would have to be circumcised? Of course God knew that, and it seems that God’s
purpose in doing this was to indicate that the Lord Jesus was already bearing
the guilt for our sins when He was a baby. The Big Picture of Gen 3:15 was
that God would send the Lord Jesus Christ, and that He would deliver His people
from their enslavement to Sin and Satan. In order to do this, the Lord Jesus
had to pay the penalty for the sins of all His people. And thus, at some point
in His earthly life, God the Father would impute the guilt of all the sins of
all His people on the account of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. When did
this occur? Was the guilt of all our sins imputed on Christ just before He
went to the cross? There is no indication of this in the narrative gospels. But
here, in the circumcision of Christ, there is an indication that He was already
bearing the guilt of all our sins, and therefore He had to be circumcised. Ceremonially
those sins had to be cut off. And therefore this ceremony was pointing to the
ultimate sacrifice of Christ on the cross. Can you see, the Lord Jesus
Christ was presenting His own body to this ceremony, a necessary ceremony,
to show us the great value of this dedication whereby He was circumcised?
And as this circumcision of Christ was pointing to His atoning work on the
cross, so His circumcision was also pointing to our circumcision of the
heart that would be guaranteed when Christ suffered and died for us on the
cross. That is why God wrote in
#2. Jesus Had to Be Presented to the Lord (Luke 2:22-24, Lev 12:1-8)
Lu 2:22-24 And when
the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were accomplished,
they brought him to
according
to that which is said in the law of the Lord, A pair of turtledoves, or two
young pigeons.
This speaks of a ceremony of purification of Mary 40 days after giving birth, and simultaneously a ceremony of dedication of Jesus when He was 40 days old. Where did these ceremonies come from? Please turn to the Prophecy of Leviticus 12:1 (2X). You find Leviticus right after Gen and Ex. Here in Lev 12 God spoke about the purification of the woman. After giving birth the woman was declared unclean. Yes, God stated here in Luke 2:22 that Mary was ceremonially unclean for 40 days. In that sense Mary was not different from other women. The state of uncleanness has to do with defilement by sin. A person who is unclean is not fit to stand before the throne of Almighty God. This is not a passage in favor with people who believe in Mary as the Immaculate Conception. But we read in Lev 12:1,
Le 12:1 ¶ And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
Le 12:2 Speak unto
the children of
Le 12:3 And in the
eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised.
Le 12:4 And she
shall then continue in the blood of her purifying three and thirty days;
she shall touch no hallowed thing, nor come into the sanctuary, until the days
of her purifying be fulfilled.
Le 12:5 But if she
bear a maid child, then she shall be unclean two weeks, as in her separation:
and she shall continue in the blood of her purifying threescore and six days.
Le 12:6 ¶ And when
the days of her purifying are fulfilled, for a son, or for a daughter, she
shall bring a lamb of the first year for a burnt offering, and a
young pigeon, or a turtledove, for a sin offering, unto the door of the
tabernacle of the congregation, unto the priest:
Le 12:7 Who shall
offer it before the LORD, and make an atonement for her; and she shall be
cleansed from the issue of her blood. This is the law for her that hath
born a male or a female.
Le 12:8 And if she
be not able to bring a lamb, then she shall bring two turtles (= two
turtledoves), or two young pigeons; the one for the burnt offering, and
the other for a sin offering: and the priest shall make an atonement for her,
and she shall be clean.
This describes the uncleanness of Mary, who was declared unclean for 40 days. The sacrifice for her cleansing was determined to be one lamb for a burnt offering and one young pigeon for a sin offering. But since Joseph and Mary were very poor they were allowed to substitute another young pigeon for the lamb. So they offered two young pigeons. Now we come to the dedication of the Lord Jesus, which also took place 40 days after His birth. The Lord Jesus Christ was made under the Law and thus He had to submit to the Dedication of the Firstborn, according to the Law given to Moses. Please turn a few pages back to the Prophecy of Exodus 13:2 (2X).
In Ex 13 God speaks about the Law of the Firstborn. God declared this Law
right after the children of
Ex
13:2, Sanctify unto me all the firstborn, whatsoever
openeth the womb among the children of
Sanctify means “set apart”. Paraphrased God said, “Set apart for Me
all the firstborn, both of man and of beast, for they are mine”. This was
the command to dedicate the firstborn. And HOW must they dedicate their
firstborn? They had to do it in two ways: First, in the following 8
verses God indicated that they had to remember the day of Passover, and their
Exodus out of
Ex 13:11 ¶ And it
shall be when the LORD shall bring thee into the land of the Canaanites, as he
sware unto thee and to thy fathers, and shall give it thee,
Ex 13:12 That thou
shalt set apart unto the LORD all that openeth the matrix, and every firstling
that cometh of a beast which thou hast; the males shall be the LORD’S.
Ex 13:13-14 And
every firstling of an ass thou shalt redeem with a lamb; and if thou
wilt not redeem it, then thou shalt break his neck: and all the firstborn of
man among thy children shalt thou redeem. And it shall be when thy son asketh
thee in time to come, saying, What is this? that thou shalt say unto
him, By strength of hand the LORD brought us out from
Ex 13:15 And it came
to pass, when Pharaoh would hardly let us go, that the LORD slew all the
firstborn in the
To sum it up, all the firstborn from the animals were sacrificed
to the Lord, except the firstborn of donkeys and all the firstborn of man were
redeemed with the sacrifice of a lamb. This was the second part of the
dedication of the firstborn, to commemorate that the Lord killed all the
firstborn in
Lu 2:22-24 And when
the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were accomplished,
they brought him to
according
to that which is said in the law of the Lord, A pair of turtledoves, or two
young pigeons.
We do not know what actually happened historically. But God wrote it in
the Bible in this way to let us remember that the Lord Jesus Christ Himself
is the Lamb. The purpose of all sacrificial lambs in the ceremonial law was
to point to Christ as the Lamb of God. But when Christ came on the scene there
could not be another lamb pointing to Christ. He was the Lamb to whom all the
sacrificial lambs were pointing. And so, when “they
brought him to
We have seen what the Lord Jesus Christ had to sacrifice in order to
redeem us from our sins. In order to be our Redeemer He first had to become our
Kinsman. He had to be made in our likeness. Thus He had to empty Himself of His
glory, and be born in the poorest of families, and submit Himself to an earthly
stepfather, and be obedient to all the stipulations of the Law, even the Law
that declares, “The wages of sin is death”. And so He became obedient to even
the death of the cross. He gave all that He had for us, who really did
not deserve such a great honor. But He did it for the glory of God.
Now the question is: What are we doing for the glory of God? We have heard all this, but what is our response? I am saying this as if it depended on us. It does not depend on us. If God has passed us by, then we will remain in the hardness of our hearts, and we will remain spiritually blind and deaf. But if God has opened our spiritual eyes and ears, we will respond with great love and admiration for Christ and we will sit up and listen when God says in Rom 12:1,
#3. Present Your Bodies a Living Sacrifice (Rom 12:1-2)
Please turn in your Bibles to the Epistle to the Romans 12:1 (2X). The Apostle has just concluded Romans chapter 11 with the words, “For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen”. In other words, “of Him are all things” because Christ is the creator of all things from the beginning of time, “through Him are all things” because Christ is the sustainer of all things and all processes and all movements of mankind, and “to Him are all things”, because all things move toward the end goal that Christ has determined all things and all people to go. The Lord Jesus Christ is Almighty God. He is the absolutely sovereign Lord. Knowing this the Apostle pleads with us,
Ro 12:1 ¶ I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the
mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable
unto God, which is your reasonable service.
Ro 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye
transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that
good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
Verse 1 says, “by the mercies of God”. It is only by God’s mercy
that we are made willing to do this that is described here in verse 1 and
following. Therefore, knowing that we are constantly under the watchful
eyes of the Lord Jesus Christ, how shall we respond to the good news that He
has saved us from our slippery slide into Hell? If we really believe the
Gospel, and we believe because God has put that faith in our heart, then our
actions will reflect what we believe. It will then be our second nature
that we present our bodies a living sacrifice unto God. What does this mean? It
means that we make our bodies available in order that many others also might
know the love of Christ. If we have been saved, then “the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy
Ghost”. What is that “love of God”? It is
a love to save unworthy sinners from sliding into Hell. If the love of God has
been shed abroad in our hearts, then we will have the same desires that Christ
had when He came to earth to save us. Does it show? Is there any evidence that
we desire to be used by God to save some of His elect? Of course the elect will
be saved. But do we desire to be the instruments that God will use to save
them? This then is the real test of our gratitude. And without gratitude no one
will be saved. But this action, of serving as the ambassadors of Christ, is “acceptable
unto God”, or better it is “well pleasing unto God”. Why is it well
pleasing to Him? It is because we would be glorifying God in word and deed, and
this is well pleasing to God. When we have been saved we have an urgent
desire, or better an urgent need to do those things that are
pleasing in God’s sight. We stop focusing on the Law, and we stop counting our
sins, and instead we have an urgent need to do those things that are pleasing
in His sight. The same word appears in verse 2. “What is that good,
and acceptable, and perfect, will of God”? The word “acceptable”
may be better translated “well pleasing”. What is the well pleasing will of
God? It is that will and purpose which He ordained from before the foundation
of the world. It is His will to save those whom He chose from before the
foundation of the world. And it is to us a great privilege to be used by God to
accomplish what He had planned to do. Just like it was a privilege for Simon of
Cyrene to carry the cross of Jesus, so we should feel honored to serve Him in
any way.
AMEN. Let us turn to the Lord in prayer.