Mary and Joseph took Jesus up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord
Today, we complete the forty days of our Christmas observance.
For those not well versed in Mosaic Law there is a bit to unpack here.
The first item is the idea of purification. As our Gospel tells us: When the days were completed for their purification Joseph took Mary and Jesus to Jerusalem. A mother had to spend forty days in the process of purification from having given birth to a son. She was considered unclean or impure during those days and could not be seen in public, and most particularly not in the synagogue or Temple, nor around anything holy.
To complete the purification a sacrifice, a purification offering, was to be made. The Law required the offering of one-year-old lamb and a young pigeon or turtledove. Because Joseph and Mary were poor, they were allowed to offer a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons. By the way, if a mother had given birth to a girl, under the Law she is considered unclean for eighty days. If you want to go into all the details read Leviticus 12.
As we all know, the old Law has passed away in Jesus’ sacrifice and our purification by confession and faith. So why do we pay very special attention to this day?
What is most telling for us is what happened on that day in the Temple and its parallels thirty-three years later.
Three plus decades later a purification offering was to be made. Jesus goes up to Jerusalem again to present Himself to the Father and to carry out the Father’s will. He would be that purification offering for us.
Consider as Jesus goes to Jerusalem, He drives out the money changers and sellers who were plying their trade to people who could not afford items for sacrifice – they were taking advantage of people just like Mary and Joseph.
Consider too the cost. Could we afford Jesus? Could we afford the cost of the sacrifice necessary for our salvation? Absolutely not! Even the richest person in the world is too poor to pay for salvation, for their sin, thus why Jesus had to pay our cost.
These parallels are underlined in Simeon’s words to Mary. Jesus would be the reason for the rise and fall of many, and a sign that would be contradicted.
Jesus’ coming has led to our being raised up. Because of Him we are a contradiction to the worldly. As He is our light so are we a light to all who would come to Him.