Then it was time for their purification offering, as required by the law of Moses after the birth of a child; so his parents took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord. 23 The law of the Lord says, “If a woman’s first child is a boy, he must be dedicated to the Lord.” 24So they offered the sacrifice required in the law of the Lord—“either a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons” – Luke 2:22-24 NLT
Here are a couple of interesting note worthy facts from the early life of Christ soon after this birth. Sometimes we read the same story over and over and we gloss over some really rich insights that God brings our way.
Here are some for you to chew and meditate on –
First, after Jesus’ circumcision, forty days later, Mary and Joseph had to come to the temple for the purification rites described in Leviticus 12 and Numbers 18. They had to “redeem” their son since He was their first-born (Exod. 13:1-12). What did they have to pay? Five Shekels (Num. 18:16). Why is this so ironic? Because they “redeemed” the Redeemer who would one day (33 years from this point), redeem them and us, paying for our redemption through His precious blood (1 Pet. 1:18-19).
Second, they also had to offer Jesus to the Lord as their firstborn. The required sacrifice to do this was a lamb (Lev. 12:6). However, if someone did not have a lamb or could not afford to purchase a lamb, then they could purchase at a much cheaper value a pair of turtle doves or two young pigeons (Lev. 12:8).
Why is this so ironic? When Joseph and Mary purchased the cheaper animal sacrifice, it revealed how poor economically this couple was. They did not have a lot of money. Yet, they possessed the One Person who owned the universe!
Furthermore, since they were so poor, they could not bring to the temple as their sacrifice a lamb. Yet, they brought Jesus “the lamb of God” (John 1:29).
All these examples reveal so many rich truths to us, but here is one that I want to leave you with. Just because a person or family may have the Son of God in their lives and in their home, does not mean in this life such will be given earthly riches. Nevertheless, if as Christians we do not have earthly riches, by having the Son of God we do possess all the true riches that Jesus Himself owns.
Mary and Joseph are seen in the world’s standard as being poor economically, yet with Jesus in their possession, they had the true riches of heaven in the Person of a little boy name Jesus.
Don’t see yourself with what you don’t have in terms of the world’s goods, but see what you truly do have – the Son of God. If you have Him and He has you – you are rich indeed!
