The parents of an infant have many challenges that are simply part of their new responsibilities.
Jack and Jill, both graduate students, recently celebrated the arrival of their first child. At Jill's insistence, they had paid their entire medical bill and were now worried about meeting other payments. They were discussing their sad financial situation one evening when their son demanded a diaper change. As Jill leaned over the baby's crib, Jack heard her mutter, "The only thing in the house that's paid for, and it leaks."
The parents of an infant have many challenges that are simply part of their new responsibilities. The parents of the messiah have many challenges that are simply part of their new responsibilities, such as seeing to "Jesus' Circumcision and Consecration."
When God delivers the Israelites from slavery in Egypt He does not set them free only to wander in the wilderness aimlessly. They are now His people and, as such, they enjoy the protection of His presence with them even as He expects their compliance with His commands for them. Some commands apply to the whole nation, like the Sabbath. Other commands apply only to a portion of the nation, like those governing the addition of a newborn male, commands about circumcision and consecration.
What God does with circumcision is actually the renewal of an old practice He instituted centuries earlier:
I. Circumcision is a practice God established through Abraham.
A. It entails a surgical procedure.
...on every infant male eight days old. The timing is very specific and, although Abraham was unaware of the reason, it is probably because circumcision is a minor operation for a newborn male, with a fast recovery time, and the eighth day presents the lowest risk of bleeding.
Circumcision is a foundational element in Jewish society. Even though it only includes half the population, circumcision still marks participation in the Abrahamic covenant and is a requirement to eat Israel's annual rehearsal of the exodus—the Passover seder:
Any uncircumcised male...will be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant (Gen 17:14).
Although generally unseen, circumcision distinguishes God's people from other people, making uncircumcision a sign of godlessness:
Must you go to the uncircumcised Philistines to get a wife? (Judg 14:3b)
Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God? (1 Sam 17:26b)
For Jesus to be part of Israel, especially as its messiah, he has to be circumcised. Mary and Joseph, make sure to initiate their son onto the Abrahamic covenant.
B. It demonstrates the parents' dedication (v. 21).
Luke 2:21 On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise him, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he had been conceived.
Paul treats circumcision extensively in his epistles, distinguishing between when it matters and when it does not. Circumcision is relevant because of its relation to the Abrahamic covenant and, like the Abrahamic covenant, circumcision is relevant only to life on earth (and only for Israel). Circumcision is not relevant in relation to the messianic covenant or to life in heaven, and people err when they try to make a connection (i.e., make circumcision a requisite for the messianic covenant).
Some churches think circumcision is comparable to infant baptism in that as circumcision initiates a newborn into the Jewish community so baptism initiates a newborn into the Christian community. That analogy fails at three points. First, baptism is a Jewish rite and antedates the church by several centuries. Second, baptism (i.e., ritual ablution) is only for adults never for infants. Third, baptism is always by immersion not, as in many churches, by aspersion or effusion.
Application: When there is a conflict between biblical teaching and church tradition, you should have no difficulty deciding which to do. Always choose biblical teaching even when it conflicts with your own church tradition. That way you will have no difficulty answering when Jesus asks you to explain your actions.
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad (2 Cor 5:10).
In addition to circumcision, Jesus' parents do at least one more thing for their son on this trip to the temple, following yet another law.
II. Consecration is a practice God established through Moses (Luke 2:22-24).
Luke 2:22 When the time of their purification according to the Law of Moses had been completed, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord 23 (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, "Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord"), 24 and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: "a pair of doves or two young pigeons."
According to the law, every first born male belonged to the Lord. That was the payment God exacted for delivering the Israelites from slavery in Egypt:
After the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites and gives it to you, as he promised on oath to you and your forefathers, you are to give over to the Lord the first offspring of every womb. All the firstborn males...belong to the Lord.... When your son asks you, 'What does this mean?' say to him.... When Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the Lord killed every firstborn in Egypt, both man and animal. This is why I sacrifice to the Lord the first male offspring of every womb and redeem each of my firstborn sons. (Exod 13:11-12, 14-15)
When God says they have to redeem their firstborn sons, He means that literally. Parents have to pay a redemption price to temple personnel: "Collect five shekels for each [child], according to the sanctuary shekel.... Give the money for the redemption...to Aaron and his sons" (Num 3:47-48). Five shekels is not a large amount (about $55), even for those of modest means, but it reminds the Israelites that their freedom came at great cost, the death of all firstborn in Egypt.
There is more to consecration than a simple monetary exchange.
A. It entails a sacrificial presentation.
The birth of a child, any child, requires other follow-up action in first century Judaism, both by the mother—ritual purification and animal sacrifice:
The woman must wait thirty-three days to be purified from her bleeding.13 She must not touch anything sacred or go to the sanctuary until the days of her purification are over.... When the days of her purification...are over, she is to bring to the priest...a year-old lamb for a burnt offering and a young pigeon or a dove for a sin offering. He shall offer them before the Lord to make atonement for her, and then she will be ceremonially clean from her flow of blood.... If she cannot afford a lamb, she is to bring two doves or two young pigeons [which Mary did], one for a burnt offering and the other for a sin offering. In this way the priest will make atonement for her, and she will be clean. (Lev 12:4,6-8)
The two sacrifices—"burnt" and "sin" offerings are better termed 'dedication' and 'purification' offerings—both address the effect of childbirth on the nation's relationship to a holy God, something the messiah's advent underscores." The sacrificial part of the trip to Jerusalem, an additional expense, also shows the couple's determination to obey God in all things pertaining to their son's birth.
B. It demonstrates the parents' dedication.
Mary and Joseph follow these two biblical practices, circumcision and consecration. The couple sets apart their firstborn son, initiating him into God's covenant with Israel and reclaiming him from a life of service in the temple. These acts are also necessary "to fulfill all righteousness" (Matt 3:15) so that Jesus can undertake his messianic role as the savior of Israel.
Application: Some Christians mistakenly make Jesus' experience here the basis for the church's practice of child dedication, when it is actually child redemption, the parents' buyback of a child's rightful ownership by God. The only example of child dedication in the Bible is that of Samuel, whose parents did not redeem him and who spent the rest of his days in the tabernacle under the care of Eli the priest. Few parents today would give their firstborn son to a minister's care, and few ministers would accept the responsibility of raising all the firstborn males in a church. Child dedication is an ecclesiastical tradition, which is fine as long as people do not confuse it with a biblical teaching. Better is "child blessing," which Jesus practiced (Mark 10:16) and which has a long, venerable history in Judaism.
When Joseph and Mary visit the temple in Jerusalem, it is to fulfill their obligation as Jesus' parents. They perform several significant acts there, including "Jesus' Circumcision and Consecration," both necessary for him "to fulfill all righteousness" (Matt 3:15) as God commanded. It is a fitting start for one who "has come to help his people" (Luke 7:16). The infant Joseph and Mary redeem will grow to be the redeemer of Israel, even of the world.
For the Bibliography and Endnotes see the pdf here.
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Jim Skaggs