Concerning Luke 2:21-24:
On the eighth day after Messiah Jesus was born, Joseph and Mary had Jesus circumcised. This could have been done by a rabbi at Bethlehem or in Jerusalem:
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 (Luke 2:21).
This was in accordance with the Scripture’s requirement in Leviticus 12:1-2:
1 The Lord said to Moses, 2 "Say to the Israelites: 'A woman who becomes pregnant and gives birth to a son will be ceremonially unclean for seven days, just as she is unclean during her monthly period.
3 On the eighth day the boy is to be circumcised.
The next steps were for Joseph and Mary to go to Jerusalem so that Mary could undergo the post-birthing rite of burnt and sin offerings—and then present the infant Jesus for consecration. As Leviticus 12: 4,6-8 states:
4 Then the woman must wait thirty-three days to be purified from her bleeding…
6 "When the days of her purification for a son or daughter are over, she is to bring to the priest at the entrance
to the Tent of Meeting a year-old lamb for a burnt offering and a young pigeon or a dove for a sin offering.
7 He shall offer them before the Lord to make atonement for her, and then she will be ceremonially clean from her flow of blood. " 'These are the regulations for the woman who gives birth to a boy or a girl. 8 If she cannot afford a lamb, she is to bring two doves or two young pigeons, 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.' "
We see from the above that Joseph was to assist Mary in either having a lamb offered, or lacking the money for a
lamb, two doves or young pigeons. So, which creatures were offered up for Mary? We are likely given the
answer in Luke 2:22-24:
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."
Here, verse 24 isolates the description of the sacrifice to two types of birds: doves and pigeons. Does this mean that
Mary and Joseph did not purchase a lamb for sacrifice? Not emphatically, but the specific reference to the birds in Luke paints a specific picture that we needn’t ignore.
Tying these passages from Leviticus and Luke together, there are some important and interesting things to consider:
There was a “sin offering” for Mary. She was not sinless, although, bless God, she lived a holy life.
Joseph and Mary could not afford a lamb. They were not wealthy. Had the Magi visited them any time from the day of
Jesus’ birth until Mary’s purification/the consecration of Jesus (33 days), they would certainly have been able to use the
providential gift of gold to buy a lamb. The Magi must have arrived later, and Joseph and Mary had to have lived in Bethlehem for some time after the Magi’s arrival and just before Herod’s murderous order to kill male children in his hunt for the Messiah.
A speculation on my part: perhaps Jesus’ parents were prevented by the Holy Spirit from being able to purchase a
lamb because “it was not yet His time”—a lamb also being symbolic of Jesus’ being the sacrificial lamb for the sins of the
world. All the more reason for Mary to have been in awe while near the foot of the Cross, aside John the Beloved. All the more reason for us to be in awe, as well.
A side note, and something I find touching. The Temple offerings, as required by Leviticus, were on behalf of Mary. But, these were not in isolation to her relationship with Joseph--in that Luke 2:22 states "When the time of their purification according to the Law of Moses had been completed...". This verse could have correctly been penned "her purification", yet "their" is inserted.
Her holiness and devotion was a part of theirs.
________
All Scripture text quoted is taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION ®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved. Bold and italicized text are mine.
On the eighth day after Messiah Jesus was born, Joseph and Mary had Jesus circumcised. This could have been done by a rabbi at Bethlehem or in Jerusalem:
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 (Luke 2:21).
This was in accordance with the Scripture’s requirement in Leviticus 12:1-2:
1 The Lord said to Moses, 2 "Say to the Israelites: 'A woman who becomes pregnant and gives birth to a son will be ceremonially unclean for seven days, just as she is unclean during her monthly period.
3 On the eighth day the boy is to be circumcised.
The next steps were for Joseph and Mary to go to Jerusalem so that Mary could undergo the post-birthing rite of burnt and sin offerings—and then present the infant Jesus for consecration. As Leviticus 12: 4,6-8 states:
4 Then the woman must wait thirty-three days to be purified from her bleeding…
6 "When the days of her purification for a son or daughter are over, she is to bring to the priest at the entrance
to the Tent of Meeting a year-old lamb for a burnt offering and a young pigeon or a dove for a sin offering.
7 He shall offer them before the Lord to make atonement for her, and then she will be ceremonially clean from her flow of blood. " 'These are the regulations for the woman who gives birth to a boy or a girl. 8 If she cannot afford a lamb, she is to bring two doves or two young pigeons, 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.' "
We see from the above that Joseph was to assist Mary in either having a lamb offered, or lacking the money for a
lamb, two doves or young pigeons. So, which creatures were offered up for Mary? We are likely given the
answer in Luke 2:22-24:
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."
Here, verse 24 isolates the description of the sacrifice to two types of birds: doves and pigeons. Does this mean that
Mary and Joseph did not purchase a lamb for sacrifice? Not emphatically, but the specific reference to the birds in Luke paints a specific picture that we needn’t ignore.
Tying these passages from Leviticus and Luke together, there are some important and interesting things to consider:
There was a “sin offering” for Mary. She was not sinless, although, bless God, she lived a holy life.
Joseph and Mary could not afford a lamb. They were not wealthy. Had the Magi visited them any time from the day of
Jesus’ birth until Mary’s purification/the consecration of Jesus (33 days), they would certainly have been able to use the
providential gift of gold to buy a lamb. The Magi must have arrived later, and Joseph and Mary had to have lived in Bethlehem for some time after the Magi’s arrival and just before Herod’s murderous order to kill male children in his hunt for the Messiah.
A speculation on my part: perhaps Jesus’ parents were prevented by the Holy Spirit from being able to purchase a
lamb because “it was not yet His time”—a lamb also being symbolic of Jesus’ being the sacrificial lamb for the sins of the
world. All the more reason for Mary to have been in awe while near the foot of the Cross, aside John the Beloved. All the more reason for us to be in awe, as well.
A side note, and something I find touching. The Temple offerings, as required by Leviticus, were on behalf of Mary. But, these were not in isolation to her relationship with Joseph--in that Luke 2:22 states "When the time of their purification according to the Law of Moses had been completed...". This verse could have correctly been penned "her purification", yet "their" is inserted.
Her holiness and devotion was a part of theirs.
________
All Scripture text quoted is taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION ®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved. Bold and italicized text are mine.
