Day 7
Text: Luke 2:8-14
Luke 2 shares the glorious announcement of Christ’s birth. Do you think it’s any coincidence that God first chose to proclaim the good news to a bunch of shepherds? Could it be perhaps that He delights in revealing Himself to common people? God often uses the foolish things to confound the wise. (1 Cor. 1:28).
As the shepherds “watched their flocks by night” the announcement came. Do you think perhaps, in the stillness and quietness of the night, the Lord’s glory is best revealed? And the scripture tells us that the “glory of the Lord shone around them”. What do you think it looked like, this glory? I have been asking this question of the Lord lately. “Show me your glory! I want to know what it looks like!” Can you picture it?
The angel said to them, “Don’t be afraid, for look, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all people.” (Luke 2:10)
Good news, with great JOY. Have you accepted this Good News with joy? Do you proclaim it to others with a heart of joy?
Day 8
Text: Luke 2:15-20
Mary had just experienced the birth of not just a son, but the Son of God. What do you suppose was going through her mind at the moments following the birth of Christ? I can imagine that Mary was filled with emotion, zapped of strength and in awe of the precious life she held, not yet fully realizing the magnitude of what just took place.
“Sweet baby boy, do you know who your Daddy is? Do You know Your name? Do You know why you’re here? Will you love me too?” – Jesus, 90 Days with the One and Only
But Mary was pondering up all these things in her heart and meditating on them.
(Luke 2:19)
Oh the questions Mary must have entertained in her mind. She, still a child, never having read the Scriptures for herself; yet, she held the incarnate Word. The fullness of the Godhead laid at rest in her arms. Her mind could not comprehend it.
Day 9
Text: Luke 2:21-24
Jesus was circumcised on the eighth day, according to Jewish custom and law. Some time afterwards, Mary and Joseph presented him at the temple as they offered up the sacrifices required of new parents. This baby, Jesus, would ultimately fulfill the prophetic representation of the rites of circumcision, redemption and purification.
The Rite of Circumcision.
Circumcision served as a sign of covenant between God and the Jewish people. The physical circumcision of a male child was required to set them apart due to their relationship with God. Jesus is later used to fulfill the circumcision of believers in Christ.
“In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature.” (Colosians 2:11)
Jesus was the physical manifestation of the covenant God had made thousands of years earlier. The infant that Joseph held during Jesus’ circumcision was the very “YES” of God to the promise of the covenant being symbolized.
The Rite of Redemption.
Mary and Joseph went to Jerusalem to present Jesus to the Lord to show sacrifice and redemption. It was an act of “giving Him up”to the Lord, and then they would immediately redeem him, or buy him back. The Hebrew word for redemption is padhah, meaning “to redeem by paying a price”. According to the New Testament, Christ came to fulfill for us the rite that Mary and Joseph observed as they presented Him to the Lord.
“In Him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace.” (Ephesians 1:7)
The Rite of Purification.
According to Leviticus 12:1-8, the sacrifice of purification included a lamb, but the law made provision for impoverished parents. Luke tells us that Jesus was the “poverty” version of the sacrifice. Consider what Christ’s earthly poverty has to do with us.
“though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.” (2 Corinthians 8:9)
Mary and Joseph offered the least acceptable sacrifice permitted by Jewish law for the rite of purification. Titus 2:14 tells us that Jesus “gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own.”
The Word made flesh entered the temple as a baby wrapped in a blanket. His earthly parents lifted Him up to the Father and purchased Him from heaven — for a while — for a lost world. And one day, that same baby, Jesus, would purchase them from earth for the glory of heaven.
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I am going to spend some time reading more about the rites of circumcision, redemption and purification. There is so much there and I am only skimming the surface. I really had a “WOW” moment in reading about these.
Questions to ponder:
- What would be different or would have to change about God’s “good news” if it wasn’t intended for all people?
- What would have to change in your life for you to experience more times of “treasuring” your blessings, of “meditating” on the goodness and the greatness of God?
- What religious customs and disciplines carry the most meaning for you–not just in their warm feelings of nostalgia but in their true spiritual significance.
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