Luke 02.21-38
We saw last time in The Angelic Announcement: 01. The Audience (Luke
02.08) was the shepherds, the first people to hear about the birth
of Jesus by the angel who made 02. The
Announcement (Luke 02.09-13) that there
was a Saviour born for them in Bethlehem; and immediately after the angels
finished glorifying God the shepherds did 03.
The Action (Luke 02.15-20) of going to
Bethlehem, visiting the Baby, and then telling all they came across about what
had happened.
Dr. Luke records for us in Jesus
Presented at the Temple three important meetings in the Temple in
Jerusalem…01. Moses (Luke 02.21-24); 02. Simeon (Luke 02.25-35); and 03. Anna (Luke 02.36-38).
01. Moses (Luke 02.21-24)
This probably all took place in the Women’s Court of the
Temple, by Nicanor’s Gate, also known as the Beautiful Gate (Acts 03.02).
It is thought by Josephus and many rabbis that this is the gate that led from
the Court of the Gentiles to the Court of Women. According to some accounts, it
was a huge gate, and covered with plates of Corinthian brass.
Luke 02.21 We
talked about the circumcision ceremony when we looked at the circumcision of
John the Baptist in Luke 01.50-66.
We are told in the Old Testament that God used circumcision
as a sign between Him and Abraham’s descendants (through Isaac and not Ishmael)
of the covenant that God made with Abraham (the Abrahamic Covenant) that they
were His chosen people (Genesis 17.01-27; Genesis 21.03-04; Acts 07.08).
Circumcision was given in the Law of Moses (Leviticus 12.03).
Joseph and Mary, like Zacharias and Elizabeth were faithful
to the command of the LORD to have their son circumcised on the eighth day. Not
only was circumcision a requirement of the law for all Jewish males, it also came
with some health benefits. In the ancient world, personal hygiene was
essentially unknown like it is today. They didn’t know the dangers of bacteria
like we do today. So by cutting off the
outer skin it diminished the potential of infections being passed from a man to
a woman. There are some people who attribute the generally low rate of cervical
cancer in Jewish women because their Jewish husbands were circumcised. Notice that the
LORD required that circumcision take place on the eighth day after a boy was
born? That is because it is on the eighth day that the level of
Vitamin K is at its highest it will ever be in that baby’s life. Vitamin K is
necessary for normal blood clotting in adults and children. How gracious is
our God? He commanded that the rite of circumcision be on the eighth
day after birth because He knew that on the eighth day is the only time in a
baby’s life when his Vitamin K level will naturally exceed 100 percent of
normal.
Circumcision had a spiritual
meaning as well, for it was an illustration of man’s need for a heart cleansing
from the corruption of sin (Deuteronomy 10.16; Deuteronomy 30.06; Ezekiel 44.07;
Acts 07.51).
The physical act of circumcision wasn’t a requirement to be a follower of Jesus
(Galatians
06.15; Colossians 03.11), though some Jewish
Christians tried to enforce it on Gentile Christians (Acts 15.01; Galatians 06.12) but the
apostles resisted this movement (Acts 15.01-21). Paul says that circumcision of
your heart is a work done by the Holy Spirit (Romans 02.28; Colossians
02.11).
The circumcision of Jesus was His first suffering for us,
for it symbolized the work that He did on the cross in dealing with our sin
nature (Galatians
06.15; Philippians 03.01-03; Colossians 02.10-11).
Luke 02.21 “…His name was then called Jesus, the name given by the angel before He was
conceived in the womb.”
In Luke 01.31 Gabriel told Mary that the name for
the baby will be “Jesus” (Greek Ihsouv Iesous), which is the
Greek equivalent of “Yehoshua” (Joshua=YHWH Saves) in Hebrew. The Jews changed
the name “Yehoshua” to “Yeshua” after the Babylonian captivity. The name
“Yeshua” seems to be influenced by the Aramaic language, but it is still
technically a Hebrew name. His name says it all, that the Messiah (HaMashiach)
came to save the lost (Matthew 01.21; Matthew
18.11; Matthew 20.28; Luke 19.10; John 01.29; John 12.47; Romans
05.06-10; 1Timothy 01.15; Hebrews 07.25).
It was a tradition among the Jews to name the child at the
circumcision ceremony, and usually the name of the first-born son was given the
name of his father. Originally, the circumcision surgery was performed by the
father (Genesis
17.23; Genesis 21.04) except for the one time in the
Bible that it was done by Zipporah, the wife of Moses in Exodus 04.25. According to later
Jewish tradition, there had to be at least ten witnesses present, in case it
was ever in doubt if the baby was really circumcised. The practice of naming
the baby boy on the eighth day is not mandated in the Old Testament but became
common practice later on, as many Jews cite that the names of Abram and Sarai
were changed when the LORD first gave to Abram the rite of circumcision (Genesis 17.05;
Genesis
17.15). Joseph and Mary were willing to be obedient to the Law of
God (Galatians
04.04-05).
By Dr. Luke recording for us that
the Baby Jesus was circumcised proves the humanity of Jesus (Philippians
02.08), because if He was a man He
couldn’t have been circumcised!
Luke 02.22-24 Between
Luke 02.21
and Luke
02.22-24 there is a period of about thirty-three days. Dr. Luke
alludes to this thirty-three day period by mentioning the sacrifice Mary
offered. This
law that Dr. Luke is referencing and quoting in Luke 02.22 and Luke 02.24 is found in Leviticus
12.01-08. In Luke 02.23 Dr. Luke also quotes Exodus 13.02
in the dedication of Jesus to God. See also Exodus 13.12-15; Exodus 22.29;
Exodus 34.19;
Numbers
03.13; Numbers 08.16-17; Numbers 18.15. Later on God chose the Levites
to take the place of the firstborn by devoted to the service of God in the
Tabernacle (Numbers
03.12-13; Numbers 08.15-18). But in return for their being
exempted from priestly duty, a redemption price of five shekels of silver had
to be paid for the firstborn from all the other tribes (Numbers 18.15-16). Why five shekels of silver? Joseph, the
firstborn of Rachel was sold by his brothers to the Midianite traders for
twenty pieces of silver in Genesis 37.28, which was the going rate for a
slave. The price of a slave was changed to thirty pieces of silver (Exodus 21.32),
and when Judas betrayed Jesus (Matthew 26.15; Matthew 27.03-05; Matthew 27.09).
Joseph and Mary had to pay five shekels to redeem the Redeemer, who would one
day redeem us “with
precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ.” (1Peter 01.18-19)
If a woman gave birth to a son, she was unclean for seven
days (Leviticus
12.02). On the eighth day, the son was to be circumcised (Leviticus 12.03).
Then following the mothers seven days of being unclean, she had to wait an
additional thirty-three days before she was purified (Leviticus 12.04). In
order to be pronounced ceremonially clean (Leviticus 12.07), the mother had to offer “…a one year
old lamb for a burnt offering and a young pigeon or a turtledove for a sin
offering.” (Leviticus 12.06) This was to cause the parents
to be reminded that they have passed on their sin nature to their child (Psalm 51.05;
Romans 03.23;
1Corinthians
15.22). Moses recorded for us the meaning and design of the sin
offering in Leviticus
04.01-35. When Adam sinned, he brought spiritual and
physical death on the human race.
Once the law was given, man was now individually held
accountable for his sin, so therefore God provided for a way to atone for the
sin and to remind the people the seriousness of sin, that an innocent has to
die. The word sin comes from the Hebrew word (H2398 ajx chata’) which means to miss
the mark. The sin offering was to be offered whenever someone committed a sin.
It was not to be offered for direct/blatant disobedience to God’s law. The
death of an innocent animal would remind the people that when they sin, a price
had to be paid to make them right again with God. The sin offering was brought
by the Israelites as a substitute to make atonement for their sins and was
offered because they are sinners. The sin offering foreshadowed Jesus becoming
sin for mankind, dying in their place to take away their sins (2Corinthians
05.21; 1Peter 02.24).
It is interesting to note that while Jesus was conceived
without sin, being born of a virgin, and born sinless (Hebrews 07.26-27; 1Peter 01.18-19),
Mary had to offer a sin offering. It’s because as Paul says, “He made Him
who knew no sin to be sin on our
behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” (2Corinthians
05.21)
In Luke 02.24, Dr. Luke only quotes Leviticus 12.08
about the sacrifice that Mary brought to fulfill her forty days of
purification, and not Leviticus 12.06, which talks about the
sacrifice of a lamb and a bird. If the parents were poor, the mother could
bring two birds instead of a lamb and a bird (Leviticus 12.06), one bird each
for a burnt offering and a sin offering (Leviticus 12.08). The earthly parents of Jesus
were poor, which is displayed in the sacrifice that they offered. Paul tells us
that Jesus became poor for our sake in 2Corinthians 08.09. By Mary coming and
offering the offering of a poor person, this shows us that the magi had not
visited them yet, as they brought gold, frankincense and myrrh (Matthew 02.11),
and these valuable gifts could have been used to purchase a lamb for the
sacrifice.
We have seen in this section the Lawgiver meeting the Law,
Jesus meeting the requirements of the Law (Matthew 05.17).
02. Simeon (Luke 02.25-35)
Dr. Luke now records for us the second person that Jesus
meets. Dr. Luke tells us that Simeon is “righteous and devout”, meaning that he was very
careful in keeping both the moral and ceremonial laws of the Jews. This does
not mean that he was without sin, but that he didn’t make it a practice to sin.
And when he did sin, he was quick to offer the sacrifices and do what was
required sinning (see also Zacharias and Elizabeth in Luke 01.06) The Bible mentions
others who were called “blameless”: Noah (Genesis 06.09; Genesis 07.01); Abram (Genesis 17.01);
Job (Job
01.01; Job 01.08); Cornelius (Acts 10.02; Acts 10.22) followers of Christ
justified by faith (Romans 03.21-25; Colossians 01.22; 1Thessalonians
03.13; 2Peter 03.14) and we were told to live humbly
with God Micah
06.08.
Dr. Luke also records for us that Simeon was “looking for the
consolation of Israel”. This means that Simeon was waiting for the
Messiah to come to bring comfort (G3874. paraklhsiv paraklesis) and encouragement to Israel found in
the new covenant (Jeremiah 31.31-34), which promises a new heart
and forgiveness of sins. Many rabbis would sometimes refer to the Messiah as “Menachem”,
which means “comforter” or “consoler” in Hebrew, and one of the traditional
Jewish prayers was “May I see the
consolation of Israel!”
Isaiah identified the comforter in Isaiah 49.08-13; Isaiah 51.03;
Isaiah 51.12;
Isaiah 52.09;
Isaiah 54.11;
Isaiah 57.18;
Isaiah
61.01-02; Isaiah 66.10-13. Other Old Testament prophets
spoke of God bringing comfort to His people (Jeremiah 31.13; Ezekiel 14.22-23; Zechariah 01.17) as well as throughout the Psalms (Psalm 94.19-22).
Luke 02.26 It
was revealed to Simeon that he would not die until he saw the Messiah
(HaMashiach), the consolation of Israel.
Luke 02.27 The
Holy Spirit led him to the Temple at the exact time when Joseph and Mary were
there to carry out the requirements of the Law of Moses.
Luke 02.28-29 Simeon
then took the Baby Jesus into his arms and blessed God.
Soon after the fall of mankind in the Garden of Eden (Genesis
03.01-24), God promised to send a Redeemer (Genesis 03.15), “But when the
fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under
the Law, so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might
receive the adoption as sons.” (Galatians
04.04-05) Now, in the arms of
Simeon, he literally held the Consolation of Israel, the Redeemer, Jesus the
Saviour!
His song of praise is known as Nunc Dimittis (Now you
dismiss) from the first two words in Latin Vulgate version of the Bible. The
word “depart”
here in the Greek (G630. apoluw apoluo) literally means, “to let go, dismiss, to detain no longer”.
This Greek word (G630. apoluw apoluo)
was often used for relieving a sentry from his post after spending all night on
watch.
Simeon now was at peace about dying. When a person has truly
met the Messiah, they are at peace about death and can say with Paul, “O DEATH, WHERE
IS YOUR VICTORY? O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR STING?”” (1Corinthians
15.55) The follower of Jesus doesn’t fear death because they know
that death only frees us from the burdens of this life and leads to blessings
in the next life (2Corinthians 05.08). Simeon not only
recognizes, but also welcomes the approach of his death with a peaceful calm,
as he is about to quietly slip away from his post in fulfillment of the word
revealed to him by the Holy Spirit.
Luke 02.30 Simeon
rejoices that he has seen the salvation of God, the Baby Jesus.
Luke 02.31 Simeon
states that salvation is available for all!
Paul talks about this when he says, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it
is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first
and also to the Greek.” (Romans 01.16) because “…He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the
barrier of the dividing wall,” (Ephesians 02.14) and that “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is
neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all
one in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 03.28)
Luke 02.32 Simeon
here quotes Isaiah
42.06, which is a passage about the Messiah (not Israel) being the “light to the
nations”. The predominant thought and teaching throughout the years,
and still to this day, is that these passages are referring to Israel being a
light to the nations.
But throughout the Book of Isaiah, we see that the Messiah
would be “a
light to the nations,” (Isaiah 42.06). Isaiah records for us about God’s
Servant (the Messiah or HaMashiach) and His
ministry to the Gentiles in Isaiah 49.06 “It is too small a thing that You should be
My Servant To raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the preserved ones of
Israel; I will also make You a light of the nations So that My salvation may
reach to the end of the earth.” In Isaiah 51.04-05, God announced, “Pay attention
to Me, O My people, And give ear to Me, O My nation; For a law will go forth
from Me, And I will set My justice for a light of the peoples. “My
righteousness is near, My salvation has gone forth, And My arms will judge the
peoples; The coastlands will wait for Me, And for My arm they will wait
expectantly.” Isaiah tells us in Isaiah 52.10
“YHWH has
bared His holy arm In the sight of all the nations, That all the ends of the
earth may see The salvation of our God.” God
addressing His Servant, the Messiah (HaMashiach) in Isaiah 60.01-03 “Arise, shine; for your
light has come, And the glory of YHWH has risen upon you. “For behold, darkness
will cover the earth And deep darkness the peoples; But YHWH will rise upon you
And His glory will appear upon you. “Nations will come to your light, And kings
to the brightness of your rising.”
Isaiah wrote that “…there will be no more
gloom for her who was in anguish; in earlier times He treated the land of
Zebulun and the land of Naphtali with contempt, but later on He shall make it glorious, by the way of the sea, on
the other side of Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles. The people who walk in
darkness Will see a great light; Those who live in a dark land, The light will
shine on them.” (Isaiah 09.01-02)
Luke 02.33 With
everything that has occurred surrounding the birth of Jesus, Joseph and Mary were
amazed, seeing Scripture being fulfilled before their very eyes (see also the
events surrounding the birth of John the Baptist in Luke 01.57-66).
Luke 02.34-35 After
he finished his hymn of praise to God, he then blessed Joseph and Mary and then
immediately warned Mary about what would happen to her son. Most speculate that
the reason he warned Mary and not Joseph about what would happen to her son is
because Joseph would be dead when Jesus started his ministry. After Luke 02.41-51,
whenever Mary appears in the Gospels, Joseph is not there (i.e. John 02.01-11),
and when the people rejected Jesus in His hometown of Nazareth, they only
mentioned His mother, brothers and sisters (Matthew 13.55-56).
Luke 02.34 “…Behold, this Child is appointed for the fall and rise of many in Israel and for
a sign to be opposed--”
How a person reacts to Jesus will determine people’s destiny
(John
01.09-13). This was in fulfillment of Isaiah 08.13-15. See also Matthew 21.42-44;
Romans
09.32-33; 1Peter 02.07-08. The stone is a prominent Old
Testament picture of God (Genesis 49.24; Deuteronomy 32.31; Psalm 18.02;
Psalm 71.03).
We are told that the Messiah (HaMashiach) would be a “rejected cornerstone” (Psalm 118.22
fulfilled in Luke
20.17-18) and the nation of Israel would stumble over Him (Isaiah 08.14-15;
Hosea 14.09;
Matthew 21.44;
Romans 09.32;
1Corinthians
01.23; 2Corinthians 02.15; 1Peter 02.04-07).
Because of Jesus, many in Israel will fall in conviction and
then rise in salvation, while others will be crushed because of their sins.
Luke 02.34 “…and for a sign to be opposed--” The Greek word for “sign” literally means “a revelation of divine truth”. The Greek word for “opposed” means “to contradict, to speak against”. Jesus is God’s sign or revelation of divine truth,
and yet instead of listening to Him, many of the people spoke against Him. His
birth was a miracle, yet they spoke against it (John 08.41), and there are still
many today who deny the virgin birth of Jesus! They
said that His miracles were done by the power of Satan (Matthew 27.39-44; Luke 11.14-18). When He hung on the cross, they hurled insults and
slandered Him (Psalm
22.06-08; Matthew 27.39-44; Mark 15.29-30; Luke 23.35-39). They lied about His resurrection (Matthew
28.12-15), and many today still do not believe that He rose from the
dead on the third day (1Corinthians 15.03-08). Now today we also have people mocking us for believing in the
Rapture (1Thessalonians
04.13-18) and the Second Coming (2Peter 03.03-09; Revelation
19.11-21) of Jesus.
Luke 02.35 The
Greek word for “sword”
(G4501. romfaia rhomphaia) means a large
sword, and this same Greek word is used for the sword of Goliath in the Greek Septuagint
(which is the Old Testament written in Greek in Egypt in about 284bc by 70
scholars, hence the name Septuagint which means 70 and usually abbreviated as
LXX) translation of the Old Testament in 1Samuel 21.09.
Luke 02.35 “…and a sword will pierce even your own soul”
The way that this is written in the original Greek is that
Mary’s soul will be deeply afflicted pierced, or cut to the heart in the
future, specifically at the cross when her Son was crucified for the sins of
the world (John
19.25). The rejection by the nation of her Son would cause Mary to
suffer.
Luke 02.35 “…to the end that thoughts from many hearts may
be revealed.”
What people think of Him exposes what people are really
like. The way in which a person reacts to the Saviour is a test of his inward
motives and affections. Jesus asked His disciples the most important question
for anyone to answer, “What do you think about the Christ, whose son is He?” (Matthew 22.42). John (1John 04.01-03) tells us to “…not believe
every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because
many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit
of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is
from God; and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is
the spirit of the antichrist, of
which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world.”
03. Anna (Luke 02.36-38)
Anna’s name is the Greek form of the Hebrew name “Hannah”
which means, “grace”. Much like Hannah in the Old Testament (1Samuel
01.10-13), Anna was a woman marked by prayer and fasting. “Prophetess”
here means more than likely that she was well versed in the Word of God and was
capable of teaching God’s Word to other women.
Luke 02.36 “…of the tribe of Asher.” Asher was a
son of Jacob and Leah (Genesis 30.13). The tribe of Asher was a part
of the Northern Kingdom, taken captive by Assyria in 722bc. But the
so-called ten lost tribes were not lost! In fact, before the Northern Kingdom
was taken captive, some of the people came to live in the Southern Kingdom in
response to letters written by King Hezekiah in Judah (2Chronicles 30.06-11).
Luke 02.36-37 Dr.
Luke in a kind way tells us that Anna was old! Dr. Luke never told us how old
Simeon was, but most assume he was old as well. Dr. Luke also tells us that “She never left
the temple” meaning that she was constantly involved worshipping
God. What an example to us, a woman who was widowed, no obligations and she
spent the time serving and worshipping God.
Luke 02.38 “38 At that
very moment she came up and began
giving thanks to God…”
At the time that Simeon was praising God, blessing Joseph
and Mary and warning Mary that her heart would be pierced is when Anna came up
to them. We are not told exactly what she said, but Dr. Luke tells us that she
was giving thanks to God.
Luke 02.38 “…and
continued to speak of Him to all those who were looking for the redemption”
She would tell everyone that she ran into at the Temple
about the Messiah being born! She had the same response to seeing the Saviour
that the shepherds did (Luke 02.17-18).
