No Lamb Needed Here
Text: Luke 2:22-40
Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
You may have noticed that this morning we’ve diverged from the traditional numbering of the Sundays after the Epiphany and are celebration the Purification of Mary and the Presentation of Our Lord. If I were to ask you what today was I’m sure you’d quickly look to a calendar and see that it was February 2nd. I’m guessing your first thought about what that date represents would likely be, Groundhog Day. Punxsutawney Phil did see his shadow this morning, by the way, meaning that we’re in store for six more weeks of winter, or maybe more. Of course we already knew that given the blanket of snow on the ground this morning. If February 2nd doesn’t immediately turn your thoughts toward a rodent in Pennsylvania, and if you’re one of the folks that has been diligently slaving away in the kitchen these past few days, perhaps the date has been etched in your mind as that of this year’s Souper Dinner. It’s a busy day apparently. But most importantly this date, every year, is when we celebrate Jesus’ presentation in the temple in Jerusalem.
As we just heard in the gospel reading, this is the event of Jesus being presented in the temple by his parents, dedicating Him to God, according to Jewish custom forty days after his birth. Of course, for us that’s 40 days after Christmas, which will always fall on February 2nd. This public appearance at the holy temple, which is the focal point of ancient Judaism, revealed Jesus to God’s own people and as a light to the nations.
With that theme of light in mind, this day is also known as Candlemas and in the early church this is the day when the new year’s candles would be blessed. Many churches would begin their services with a rite of blessings for those candles that would be used in the church, and in their homes, throughout the year.
As a liturgical festival, the Presentation dates all the way back to the end of the fourth century. The festival evolved over time to include a procession of lighted candles into the church, even as Christ, the light of the world, was presented and publicly revealed in procession into the temple at Jerusalem.
Thus, the presentation of Jesus in the temple is in keeping with this season after Epiphany, which is really a series of Sundays of many epiphanies as we hear again bible accounts which reveal more and more about the true identity of Jesus.
The epiphany for today focuses specifically on the revelation of Jesus to the ancient prophet Simeon. So, today we’ll dive into the details of that encounter as described by Luke. But before we get to Luke’s account, we need to go all the way back to Leviticus where the Lord had instructed Moses that for a full 40 days after giving birth any new mother, “shall touch no holy thing, nor come into the sanctuary, until the days of her purifying be fulfilled.” This is a bit ironic in the case of Mary, the mother of our Lord. For those 40 days after she gave birth, she was touching a holy thing. She was spending most of her time touching a holy thing. She was touching the Most Holy Thing you could touch, the Incarnate God himself. She doesn’t really have much of a choice though, does she? She’s the one who has been charged to feed, change, and lovingly care for little baby Jesus.
The reason for Moses’ command is that since the mother brought a sinner into the world, she therefore must be purified. But that isn’t quite how it is with Jesus. When God the Holy Spirit Himself comes upon a woman and the power of the Most High overshadows her, she doesn’t really need the purification prescribed by Moses. Even though Jesus shares in our flesh and blood, He does not share in the sin of our Father Adam. From what then does Mary need to be purified if her son is the sinless Son of God? Why are they in the temple?
St. Luke tells us of three things which took place in the temple 40 days after Christmas. First, the purification of Mary. Second, they offered the sacrifice. And third, they presented six week old Jesus to God in the Temple. With each of these events Luke says it happened “according to the law of the Lord.”
The first thing we need to notice about this is the praise given to Mary and Joseph because of their obedience. Mary knew well that she was a virgin. She knew that according to the letter of the Law, she didn’t need purification, nor was she required to offer a sacrifice. She knew that Moses was speaking about women who became pregnant the normal way. But she also knew that not everyone would understand her situation. She might offend those who found out. So, she did what every woman in her culture was obligated to do.
And it’s not that she was concerned about her reputation or the opinions and potential sneers of others. She does it at great cost to herself. She offered “A pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.” Not everyone could afford the customary lamb for the sacrifice, so the Law gave provision for the poor. Mary and Joseph are not wealthy people. Yet despite their poverty, they don’t use this miraculous birth to save some of their precious time and money.
Notice their willing obedience. Notice how they sacrifice even what little they have, just to make sure they listen to God’s Word and do what’s required of them. Notice it, and then look at how our obedience is so often half-hearted and begrudging. The example of Mary and Joseph put us to shame. We do not do the things that the Lord requires of us. We do not love our neighbors as ourselves. We do not love the God from whom we have everything good in life, with our whole heart. We just said all that in our confession this morning. We admitted that so often we use the Gospel as an excuse to not obey God’s law. We use the freedom we’ve been given in Christ to “do that which was right in our own eyes.” For all of God’s goodness to us we ought to thank Him and listen to Him. Instead, we’re belligerent and unruly, unwilling to do what’s right and good. This is one reason why St. Luke refers to the Law in our Gospel Lesson.
This is why all of us would have needed to be there, but what’s Jesus doing in the temple? Here we get to the heart of the matter and the answer is clearly given in the text. He’s fulfilling the Law of the Lord. Whatever Jesus does, and whatever is done to Him, is to fulfill all righteousness, to accomplish all that is written in the Law. At eight days He was circumcised under the Law. At six-weeks, He was Presented to God in the temple, in accordance with the Law of Moses. Jesus has joined the human race, not only sharing in our flesh and blood, but sharing in our burden, the burden of being under the Law.
This is also His redemption day. To redeem means literally “to buy back.” It’s what you did to set a slave free. You paid the redemption price. Since God had spared the firstborn of all of the Israelites when the Angel of Death passed over, from that point on all the firstborn were to be given to Lord. “Every male that opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord.” If it’s an animal you sacrifice it. If it’s a baby, you pay the Redemption price. When a baby was redeemed, it reminded every Israelite parent of that fateful night in Egypt when the firstborn was redeemed by the blood of the Lamb painted on the doorpost, the night when Death passed over.
Yet, Mary and Joseph don’t pay Jesus’ redemption price. No, like little Samuel in the Old Testament He’s presented before the Lord at the Temple and dedicated to do His will from that point forward. In presenting their first born, Mary and Joseph were saying to God, “He’s all yours, but couldn’t we please have him back just for a little while.” In that way, Jesus took His place with every baby boy in Israel.
The Redeemer was not redeemed, so that he could redeem you. He was placed under the burden of the Law, so that His blood might be shed under the Law, to buy you back from captivity to the sin and death to which you were slaves. We’re all born in a debtor’s prison. There’s an outstanding bill to be paid – and the Law shows us that unpaid bill and condemns us. That debt must be paid. There must be obedience – perfect, sinless, holy, active obedience. And there must be a death – perfect, sinless, spotless, unblemished sacrificial death. Normally at the presentation of a firstborn son, that death and redemption would be accomplished by the sacrificial lamb offered up by the parents. Yet here, that is not the case. No lamb is brought forward. Except that’s not entirely true. There was a Lamb. That’s what this Child in Simeon’s arms is all about. He is the fulfillment of the Law. He actively fulfills it with His perfect, sinless, spotless life. And then He passively fulfills it with His perfect death. And as disobedient as you are, He still gives you the benefits of his death, feely, as a gift, given in your Baptism and in His Holy Supper. His life, His death are yours. The perfect Lamb was offered up on that day, 40 days following the birth of our Savior. He wasn’t sacrificed right then, but He would be. And His sacrifice would be the one perfect final offering. And as we’ll sing in our first communion hymn today, “Let earth join heav’n His praise to sing.”
Because you are redeemed: Purchased and won from sin, death, and captivity to the power of the devil. Not with gold or silver. Money can’t redeem a life. It takes blood. The holy precious blood and the innocent suffering and death of Jesus Christ in your place, who became a Sin Offering, embracing you in your death, so that you might be His own and live under Him in His kingdom, and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence and blessedness, as surely as He is risen from the dead, lives and reigns to all eternity. “Worthy is the Lamb whose death makes me His own.” Amen.
The peace of God which surpasses all understanding guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
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