When the days of their purification according to the law of Moses were fulfilled, they brought him up to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord
Parallel Translations
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When the days of their purification according to the law of Moses were fulfilled, they brought him up to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord
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And when the tyme of their purificacion (after the lawe of Moyses) was come they brought him to Hierusalem to present hym to the Lorde
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And when the daies of her purification after the Lawe of Moses were accomplished, they brought him to Hierusalem, to present him to the Lord,
Cross-references (1)
Passages linked to Luke 2:22 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Leviticus 12:1-8 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the children of Israel, saying, ‘If a woman conceives, and bears a male child, then she shall be unclean seven days; as in the days of her monthly period she shall be unclean. In the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised. She shall continue in the blood of purification thirty-three days. She shall not touch any holy thing, nor come into the sanctuary, until the days of her purifying are completed. But if she bears a female child, then she shall be unclean two weeks, as in her period; and she shall continue in the blood of purification sixty-six days. “ ‘When the days of her purification are completed for a son or for a daughter, she shall bring to the priest at the door of the Tent of Meeting, a year old lamb for a burnt offering, and a young pigeon or a turtledove, for a sin offering. He shall offer it before Yahweh, and make atonement for her; then she shall be cleansed from the fountain of her blood. “ ‘This is the law for her who bears, whether a male or a female. If she cannot afford a lamb, then she shall take two turtledoves or two young pigeons: the one for a burnt offering, and the other for a sin offering. The priest shall make atonement for her, and she shall be clean.’ ”
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain This is meant, for the fulfilling of the Law:…
This is meant, for the fulfilling of the Law: for otherwise the virgin was not defiled, nor unclean, by the birth of this child.
Christ, upon whom all our sins were laid, being offered to God, according to the Law, doth purify both Mary and us all in himself.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 22 And when the days of her purification according…
22 And when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were accomplished, they brought him to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord;
Ver. 22. And when the days of her purification] She was rather sanctified than polluted by bearing Christ, yet wrangleth not with the law, nor claimeth an immunity. Now if she were so officious in ceremonies, what in the main duties of morality?
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According to the law] This law of purification proclaims our uncleanness, whose very birth infects the mother that bare us. She might not till the seventh day converse with men, nor till the 40th day appear before God in the sanctuary, nor then without a burnt offering for thanksgiving, and a sin offering for expiation of a double sin, viz., of the mother that conceived, and of the son that was conceived.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain In these verses is a record of the virgin’s…
In these verses is a record of the virgin’s obedience to two laws, the one concerning the purification of the woman after child birth; the other concerning the presenting of the male child before the Lord. We have the law concerning purification, Lev 12:1-8 throughout. The sum was, That if a woman had brought forth a male child, she should be unclean seven days, and after that continue in the blood of her purifying thirty-three days. If she brought forth a female, she was to be unclean fourteen days, and afterward to continue in the blood of her purifying sixty-six days. So that the time of the woman’s purification after the birth of a female was fourscore days, for a male (which was the present case) forty. After the expiration of which time, she was to bring a lamb of a year old for a burnt offering, and a young pigeon or a turtle dove for a sin offering, to the priest to the tabernacle, who was to offer it for her, and to make an atonement. If she were poor, and not able to bring a lamb, (which seems the present case), then she was to bring only two turtle doves, or two young pigeons, the one for a burnt offering, the other for a sin offering. The evangelist takes no notice of any lamb, but only
a pair of turtle doves, or two young pigeons; which lets us know she was poor, and so obliged by the law no further. Mary, after her forty days were expired, cometh up to the temple, to yield obedience to this law. And not so only, but also to present her child before the Lord. This depended upon two laws. We find the one Exo 13:2, where, in remembrance of God’s sparing the Israelites, when he smote the first born of the Egyptians, he gave the Israelites this law: Sanctify unto me all the first born, whatsoever openeth the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and of beast: it is mine. So Exo 22:29; 34:19. Instead of these, God took the Levites, as appears by Num 8:16; yet were the first born to be presented before the Lord, and redeemed by the payment of five shekels apiece, for all those who were above the number of the Levites, as appeareth by Num 3:44-47; and five shekels was the redemption price of any male upon a singular vow, Lev 27:6. For these two ends, after six weeks, Joseph, and Mary, and, Jesus come up to Jerusalem.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
William Burkitt 1703 · Public Domain A twofold act of obedience doth the Holy Virgin…
A twofold act of obedience doth the Holy Virgin here perform to two ceremonial laws, the one concerning the purification of women after child-birth, the other concerning the presenting the male-child before the Lord.
The law concerning the purification of women we have recorded. Leviticus 12 Where the time mentioned for the woman’s purification is set down; namely, after a male-child forty days; after a female, four score days:after which time she was to bring a lamb of a year oldfor a burnt-offering, in case she was a person of ability; or a pair of turtle doves, or two young pigeons, in case of extreme poverty.
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Now as to the Virgin’s purification, observe, 1. That no sooner was she able and allowed to walk, but she travels to the temple.
Where note, that she visited God’s house at Jerusalem, before her own house at Nazareth.
Learn thence, that such women whom God has blessed with safety of deliverance, if they make not their first visit to the temple of God to offer up their praises and thanksgivings there, they are strangers to the Virgin’s piety and devotion.
Observe, 2. Another act of Mary’s obedience to the ceremonial law: she presented her child at Jerusalem to the Lord.
But how durst the blessed Virgin carry her holy babe to Jerusalem into Herod’s mouth? It was but a little before that Herod sought the young child’s life to destroy it; yet the Virgin sticks not, in obedience to the commands of God, to carry him to Jerusalem.
Learn hence, that no apprehension of dangers, either imminent or approaching, either at hand or afar off, ought to hinder us from performing our duty to Almighty God. We ought not to neglect a certain duty, to escape an uncertain danger.
Observe farther, as the obedience, so the humility, of the Holy Virgin, in submitting to the law for purifying of uncleanness: for thus she might have pleaded, "What need have I of purging, who did not conceive in sin? Other births are from men, but mine is from the Holy Ghost, who is purity itself. Other women’s children are under the law, mine is above the law." But, like the mother of him whom it beloved to fulfil all righteousness, she dutifully fulfils the law of God without quarreling or disputing.
Observe, lastly, as the exemplary humility, so the great poverty, of the Holy Virgin; she has not a lamb, but comes with her two doves to God. Her offering declares her penury. The best are sometimes the poorest, seldom the wealthiest: Yet none are so poor, but God expects an offering from them: he looks for some what from every one, not from every one alike.
The providence of God it is that makes difference in person’s abilities, but his pleasure will make no difference in the acceptation; Where there is a willing mind, it shall be accepted according to what a person hath. 2Co 8:12
William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And when the days of purification,.... Of the Virgin…
And when the days of purification,.... Of the Virgin Mary, the mother of our Lord; though most copies read, "of their purification"; and so read the Syriac, Persic, and Ethiopic versions, including both Mary and Jesus: and now, though Mary was not polluted by the conception, bearing, and bringing forth of Jesus, that holy thing born of her; yet inasmuch as she was in the account of the law clean; and though Jesus had no impurity in his nature, yet seeing he was made sin for his people, both came under this law of purification, which was for the sake of the son or daughter, as well as for the mother; though our reading, and which is according to the Complutensian edition, best agrees with the Hebrew phrase, , the days of her purifying or purification, in Lev 12:4.
according to the law of Moses, in Lev 12:1.
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were accomplished; which for a son were forty days: the seven first days after she gave birth she was unclean; and then she continued three and thirty days in the blood of her purifying, which made forty; see Lev 12:2 but though the time of her purifying was upon the fortieth day, yet it was not till the day following that she came to the temple with her offering: for so runs the Jewish canon (w),
"a new mother does not bring her offering on the fortieth day for a male, nor on the eightieth day for a female, but after her sun is set: and she brings her offering on the morrow, which is the forty first for a male, and the eighty first for a female: and this is the day of which it is said, Lev 12:6 and "when the days of her purifying are fulfilled for a son, or for a daughter, she shall bring", &c.
And this was the time when they, Joseph and Mary, brought him, the child Jesus, to Jerusalem, and to the temple there, to present him to the Lord, to the priest his representative; and which was done in the eastern gate, called the gate of Nicanor: (x) for here,
"they made women, suspected of adultery, to drink, and purified new mothers, and cleansed the lepers.
And here Mary appeared with her firstborn son, the true Messiah; and this was the first time of his coming into his temple, as was foretold, Mal 3:1.
(w) Maimon. Hilch Mechosre Cappara, c. 1. sect. 5. (x) Misn. Sota, c. 1. sect. 5.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain The days - The forty days prescribed, Lev. xii,…
The days - The forty days prescribed, Lev. xii, 2, 4.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 22. Days of her purification] That is, thirty-three…
Verse 22. Days of her purification] That is, thirty-three days after what was termed the seven days of her uncleanness-forty days in all: for that was the time appointed by the law, after the birth of a male child. See Le 12:2; Le 12:6.
The MSS. and versions differ much in the pronoun in this place: some reading αυτης, HER purification; others αυτου, HIS purification; others αυτων, THEIR purification; and others αυτοιν, the purification of THEM BOTH. Two versions and two of the fathers omit the pronoun, αυτων, their, and αυτου, his, have the greatest authorities in their support, and the former is received into most of the modern editions. A needless scrupulosity was, in my opinion, the origin of these various readings. Some would not allow that both needed purification, and referred the matter to Mary alone. Others thought neither could be supposed to be legally impure, and therefore omitted the pronoun entirely, leaving the meaning indeterminate. As there could be no moral defilement in the case, and what was done being for the performance of a legal ceremony, it is of little consequence which of the readings is received into the text.
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The purification of every mother and child, which the law enjoined, is a powerful argument in proof of that original corruption and depravity which every human being brings into the world. The woman to be purified was placed in the east gate of the court, called Nicanor's gate, and was there sprinkled with blood: thus she received the atonement. See Lightfoot.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Luk 2:22-24. When the days of her purification were…
Luk 2:22-24. When the days of her purification were accomplished — “It appears, from Lev 12:1-6, that for the first seven days, every woman who had borne a child, was considered as unclean in so great a degree, that whoever touched or conversed with her was polluted. For thirty-three days more, she was still, though in an inferior degree, unclean, because she could not all that time partake in the solemnities of public worship. At the conclusion of this term, she was commanded to bring certain sacrifices to the temple, by the offering of which the stain laid on her by the law was wiped off, and she restored to all the purity and cleanness she had before. This was the law of the purification after bearing a son. But for a daughter, the time of separation was double; the first term being fourteen days, and the second sixty-six; in all eighty days before she could approach the sanctuary. Now as Jesus was circumcised, though perfectly free from sin, so his mother submitted to the purifications prescribed by the law, notwithstanding she was free from the pollutions common in other births. It was evident, indeed, that she was a mother, but her miraculous conception was not generally known.” They brought him to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord — Because the law required that he should be presented in the temple at the end of forty days from his birth, and that the usual offerings should be made, his parents would find it more convenient to go up with him from Bethlehem, where he was born, at the distance of six miles only, than, after Mary’s recovery, to carry him first to Nazareth, which was a great way from Jerusalem. We may, therefore, reasonably enough suppose that they tarried in Bethlehem all the days of her purification, and that from Bethlehem they went straightway to Jerusalem. Here, entering the temple, the sacrifices prescribed for the purification of women, after child-bearing, were offered for Mary, who, according to custom, waited in the outer court till the service respecting her was performed. As it is written, Every male that openeth the womb, &c. — See this explained in the note on Exo 12:2. And to offer a sacrifice, a pair of turtle doves, &c. — This was the offering required from the poor, Lev 12:6; Lev 12:8. Those in better circumstances were commanded to bring a lamb of the first year for a burnt-offering, and a turtle-dove, or a young pigeon, for a sin-offering. It is evident, from the offering they made, that although Joseph and Mary were of the seed royal, they were in very mean circumstances. The evangelist mentions the presentation of the child to the Lord before the offering of the sacrifice for the mother’s purification; but in fact this preceded the presentation, because, till it was performed, the mother could not enter the temple; accordingly Luke himself introduces both the parents as presenting Jesus.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain Days of her purification - Among the Hebrews a…
Days of her purification - Among the Hebrews a mother was required to remain at home for about forty days after the birth of a male child and about eighty for a female, and during that time she was reckoned as impure - that is, she was not permitted to go to the temple or to engage in religious services with the congregation, Lev 12:3-4.
To Jerusalem - The place where the temple was, and where the ordinances of religion were celebrated.
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To present him to the Lord - Every first-born male child among the Jews was regarded as “holy” to the Lord, Exo 13:2. By their being ““holy unto the Lord” was meant that unto them belonged the office of “priests.” It was theirs to be set apart to the service of God - to offer sacrifice, and to perform the duties of religion. It is probable that at first the duties of religion devolved on the “father,” and that, when he became infirm or died, that duty devolved on the eldest son; and it is still manifestly proper that where the father is infirm or has deceased, the duty of conducting family worship should be performed by the eldest son. Afterward, God chose “the tribe of Levi in the place” of the eldest sons, to serve him in the sanctuary, Num 8:13-18. Yet still it was proper to present the child to God, and it was required that it should be done with an offering.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Of her purification. The blessed Virgin mother stood not…
Of her purification. The blessed Virgin mother stood not in need of this ceremony, to which she submitted herself, as her Son did to that of circumcision. (Witham) --- Whence St. Lawrence Justinian in his sermon on the purification, very well observes: grace raised the Virgin above the law; humility subjected her to it. Jesus Christ, in subjecting himself to the law of Moses, has left us an example to princes and magistrates, to obey their own laws; for then they may expect them to be observed by others, when themselves shew respect to them. (Barradius.)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures 1864 · Public Domain B. The Fortieth Day; or, the Redemption from the…
B. The Fortieth Day; or, the Redemption from the Temple Service. Luk_2:22-40
22And when the days of her [their]21 purification, according to the law of Moses, were accomplished [completed], they brought Him to Jerusalem, to present Him to the Lord;23(As it is written in the law of the Lord [Exo_13:2], Every male that openeth the womb shall be called holy to the Lord); 24And to offer a sacrifice, according to that which is said in the law of the Lord [Lev_12:8], A pair of turtle-doves, or two young pigeons.
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25And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him. 26And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord’s Christ [the Christ of the Lord]. 27And he came by the Spirit unto the temple: and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for Him after the custom of the law, 28Then took he [he took] Him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said,
29Lord, now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace, according to Thy word: 30For mine eyes have seen Thy salvation, 31Which Thou hast prepared before the face of all people [all the nations, πάντων τῶν λαῶν];
32A light to lighten [for a revelation to, εἰς ἀποκάλυψιν] the Gentiles, and the glory of Thy people Israel.
33And Joseph [His father, ὁ πατὴρ αὐτοῦ] and His mother22 marvelled at those thingswhich were spoken of Him. 34And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary His mother,
Behold, this child [οὗτος] is set [appointed] for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against;
35(Yea, [And] a sword shall pierce through thy [thine] own soul also), That the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.
36And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the [a] daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Aser [Asher]: she was of a great age [of great age], and had lived with an [a] husband 37seven years from her virginity; And she was a widow of about [till]23 fourscore and four years, which [who] departed not from the temple, but served God [serving]38with fastings and prayers night and day. And she,24 coming in that instant [at that very hour, αὐτῇ τῇ ὥρᾳ], gave thanks likewise unto the Lord [God],25 and spake of Him to all them that looked for redemption in26 Jerusalem.
39And when they had performed all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own city Nazareth.
40And the child grew, and waxed strong27 in spirit, [being] filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon him.
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
Luk_2:22. Their (not her) purification.—The law of Moses declared, that the mother was unclean seven days after the birth of a son (fourteen days after the birth of a daughter), and must remain separate for thirty-three days from this period. These forty days are together denoted the days of the καθαρισμός. If several persons are spoken of (αὐτῶν, their), we must not refer it to the Jews in general, nor to the mother and the child (for the Mosaic precept, Lev_12:4-6, had regard only to the mother, not the child), but to the mother and the father. Joseph was not obliged to be present in the temple, yet he might take part in the solemnity of purification, as it was his part to present the firstborn to the Lord. It appears from the reference to Lev_12:8, that Mary brought the offering of the poor.
Luk_2:24. In the law of the Lord.—According to Exo_13:2, all the first-born were dedicated to God. In remembrance of the deliverance from Egypt, when the destroying angel spared the first-born of the Israelites, it was ordered, that the eldest son of every family should be considered as God’s special property, and be redeemed from the service of the sanctuary by the payment of five shekels (Num_18:16). The tribe of Levi afterward took the place of the first-born thus dedicated and redeemed. The fact that Mary was unable to bring a lamb and a turtle-dove [Lev_12:6], as she would undoubtedly desire to do, is a fresh proof of the truth of the apostolic word, 2Co_8:9.
Luk_2:25. Simeon.—The principal traditions concerning this aged saint are to be found in Winer in voce28 The very manner in which Luke mentions him, as ἄνθρωπος ἐν Ἱερουσ., while he speaks with so much more of detail concerning Anna, supports the conjecture that, though acknowledged by God, he was not famous among his fellow-men. He may have been, however, one of the leading men of his country, and was probably aged, while he must certainly be numbered among those who waited for the redemption of Israel, Luk_2:25; Luk_2:38. A later tradition, describing him as blind, but receiving his sight on the approach of the child Jesus, suitable as its allegorical sense may be, is without historical foundation.
Luk_2:26. Revealed unto him by the Holy Spirit.—By an inward revelation, which it would be as impossible to describe as presumptuous to doubt. We prefer supposing an infallible consciousness, wrought by God, that his prayer in this respect was certainly heard, to imagining the intervention of some wonderful dream. If the spirit of prophecy had departed from Israel since the time of Malachi, according to the opinion of the Jews, the return of this Spirit might be looked upon as one of the tokens of Messiah’s advent.
Luk_2:26. See death.—Or, as it is elsewhere expressed, taste death, Mat_16:28; Heb_2:9. It means, not merely falling asleep, but the experience of death as death, with its terrible accompaniments. That he should depart immediately, or soon after seeing Christ, was not indeed revealed to him in so many words, but might naturally be expected by him. Lange beautifully remarks: “Simeon is in the noblest sense the eternal Jew of the Old Covenant who cannot die before he has seen the promised Messiah. He was permitted to fall asleep in the peace of his Lord before His crucifixion.”
Luk_2:27. And he came by the Spirit—Perhaps he was accustomed, like Anna, to go daily into the temple; at all events, he now felt an irresistible impulse from God to enter it. It is possible that he might have heard the narration of the shepherds of Bethlehem; but such a supposition is not necessary for the understanding of the gospel account.
Luk_2:29. Now lettest Thou, etc.—Simeon’s song of praise is genuinely Israelitish, not exclusively Jewish. Compared with the hymns of Zachariah and Mary, it is more peculiarly characterized by its psychological truth than even by its æsthetic beauty. The internal variety and harmony of these three compositions is a proof of the credibility of the early chapters of Luke which must not be overlooked.
According to Thy word.—A retrospect of the previous revelation.
Luk_2:30. Thy salvation.—His mind fastens on the thing, not the person; and he sees the world’s salvation, while beholding the form of a helpless child.
Luk_2:31. Before the face of all nations (πάντων τῶν λαῶν).—The true union of the particular and universal points of view. Salvation goes out from Israel to all people without distinction, in order to return to Israel again. The Sun of Righteousness makes the same circuit as the natural sun, Ecc_1:5.
Luk_2:32. A light for a revelation to (to lighten) the Gentiles, εἰς ἀποκὰλυψιν ἐθνῶν.—The κάλυμμα is now taken away from the eyes of all nations, that they may see the Christ, the Light of the world.—And the glory.—Not a declaration that glory is the end proposed, but used as apposition to σωτήριον, Luk_2:30. The highest glory of Israel consists in the salvation of Messiah.
Luk_2:33. And His father and mother marvelled.—Not because they learned from the song of Simeon anything that they had not heard of before, but they were struck and charmed by the new aspect under which this salvation was presented. Simeon sees fit to moderate their transports, by alluding to the approaching sufferings which must precede the glory. His words, however, contained nothing new or strange. The prophets had already announced, that the Servant of the Lord would undergo sufferings and persecution; and even the apparent poverty of the mother and of the holy child could not but convince the pious man, who well knew the carnal expectations of his fellow-countrymen, that a Messiah born in so lowly a condition could not fail to encounter the opposition of the nation. With regard to the ῥομφαία (Luk_2:35), it did not pierce Mary’s soul for the first time, but only for the last time, and the most deeply, on Golgotha.
His father.—[Our Saviour never speaks of Joseph as His father, see Luk_2:49; but he was His father in a legal sense and in the eyes of the people, and, as Alford observes in loc, in the simplicity of a historical narrative we may read ὁ πατὴρ αὐτοῦ and οἱ γονεῖς, without any danger of forgetting the momentous fact of the supernatural conception.—P. S.]
Luk_2:34. Set for [κεῖται εἰς, is appointed for] the fall.—Comp. Isa_8:14; Rom_9:33. This divine setting or appointing is always to be considered as caused by their own fault, in those who fall, by wilfully continuing in unbelief and impenitence. Mary had already expressed the same truth, in a more general form, Luk_1:52-53; while the Lord Himself still further develops it, Joh_9:39; Joh_9:41; Mat_21:44. We have here the first hint, given in New Testament times, of the opposition which the kingdom of Messiah would experience from unbelief. The angels had only announced great joy: it was given to the man of God, who saw heaven opened before his death, to go a step farther.
[And for a sign which shall be spoken against, σημεῖον ἀντι λεγόμενον signum, cui contradicitur.—Bengel: “Insigne oxymoron. Signa alias tollunt contradictionem: hoc erit objectum contradictions, quanquam per se signum est evidens fidei (Isa_55:13, Sept.); nam eo ipso, quia lux est, illustris et insignis est. Magnum erit spectaculum.” The fulfilment of this prophecy culminated in the crucifixion.—P. S.]
[Luk_2:35. And a sword shall pierce, etc.—This sentence is coördinate to the preceding one, and hence should not be inclosed in parenthesis, as in the E. V. The grief of Mary corresponds to the rejection and suffering of Christ. The sword that shall pierce the ψυχή of Mary, must be referred to her sympathizing motherly anguish at beholding the opposition of the world to her Son, and especially His passion and crucifixion. It is a prophecy of the mater dolorosa apud crucem lacrymosa, who represents the church of all ages in the contemplation of the cross.—I cannot agree with Alford, who refers the ῥομφαία to the sharp pangs of sorrow for her sin and the struggle of repentance; referring to Act_2:37. This would require πνεῦμα or καρδιάν rather than ψυχήν, and is hardly consistent with the character of Mary. She was probably one of those rare favorites of Divine grace who never forsake their “first love,” who are always progressing in goodness, and from their infancy silently and steadily grow in holiness, without passing through a violent change, or being able to mark the time and place of their conversion. Such were St. John, Zinzendorf, Mary of Bethany and other female saints.—P. S.]
Luk_2:35. That the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.—The thoughts of Mary, who now as before (Luk_2:19) ponders and is silent, and the thoughts of all who, whether for their fall or rising again, should come in contact with her Son. Lasting neutrality with respect to the Lord is impossible; he that is not for Him is against Him; comp. Luk_11:23. His appearing brings to light the latent good and evil, as the same sun which dissipates the clouds that obscure the sky, also draws up the mists and vapor of earth.
Luk_2:36. A daughter of Phanuel.—It is remarkable that the name of Anna’s father should be mentioned, and not that of her husband. Perhaps he also was known as one who waited for the consolation of Israel. The pious words of Anna, Luk_2:38, cannot be the only reason of her being called a prophetess; such an appellation must have been caused by some earlier and frequent utterances, dictated by the Spirit of prophecy, by reason of which she ranks among the list of holy women who, both in earlier and later times, were chosen instruments of the Holy Ghost. Eighty-four years (fourscore and four) is mentioned as the sum of her whole life, not of that portion of it which had elapsed since the death of her husband. It is specially mentioned, to show also that, though she had passed but few years in the married state, she had reached this advanced age as a widow; a fact redounding to her honor in a moral sense, and ranking her among the comparatively small number of “widows indeed,” whom St. Paul especially commends, 1Ti_5:3; 1Ti_5:5. That her piety was of an entirely Old Testament character, gives no support to the opinion of certain Roman Catholic theologians, e.g. Sepp, Leben Jesu, 2. p. 54, that Mary was brought up under her guidance in the house of the Lord.
Luk_2:38. Likewise gave thanks, ἀνθωμολογεῖτο, vicissim laudabat, Psa_79:13.—She took up the theme of praise which had just fallen from the aged Simeon. We believe, with Tischendorf, that the correct reading here is τῷ Θεῷ; but even if we read τῷ Κυρίῳ, with the Textus Receptus, we still have to apply it to the Jehovah of Israel. It is no acknowledgment of the new-born Christ, but a doxology to the Father who sent Him, that is here spoken of; while the words immediately following, and spake of Him, evidently allude to the child of Mary, whose name needs not to be repeated here, as He plays the chief part in the whole history.
Luk_2:38. That looked for redemption in Jerusalem.—There were then a certain number of pious persons dwelling in the capital, who lived in and upon the hope of salvation through the Messiah, and among whom the report of His birth was soon spread. Who knows how soon this report might not have spread also throughout the whole country through their means, had not the secret departure of the holy family to Egypt and Nazareth caused every trace of them to disappear from the eyes of this little band at Jerusalem? Perhaps, too, it was chiefly composed of the aged, the poor, and the lowly, whose influence would certainly not be very extensive. The new-born Saviour, now recognized, through the testimony of Simeon and Anna, by the noblest in Israel, was soon to receive the homage of the Gentile world also, through the arrival of the wise men from the east.
Luk_2:39. And when they had performed all things—they returned into Galilee, to their own city Nazareth.—The question naturally occurs here, whether the visit of the wise men, and the subsequent flight into Egypt, took place before or after the fortieth day. Although the former is by no means impossible (see Lange, Leben Jesu ii, p. 110), we think the latter conjecture preferable. The narrative of Luke (Luk_2:22-24), at least, gives us the impression, that the presentation in the temple took place at the customary time; and we should therefore find some difficulty in inserting the matter contained in Matthew 2. between the eighth and fortieth days. As long as Mary had not brought her offering of purification, she was obliged to remain at home, as unclean; and if Joseph, on his return from Egypt, as we find from Mat_2:22-23, was obliged to settle at Nazareth, instead of Bethlehem, from fear of Archelaus, it was not likely that he would then have ventured to go to Jerusalem, and even into the temple. We need not necessarily conclude, from Mat_2:1, that the event there mentioned took place in the days immediately following the birth of Jesus; nor can Luk_2:39 be considered a complete account of the whole occurrence. This would have required the return to Bethlehem, and its sad results, to be mentioned before the settlement at Nazareth. The passage is rather a concluding paragraph, wherewith the Evangelist closes his account of the early infancy of our Lord, before passing on to a somewhat later period. Completeness not being his aim in this preliminary history, he has no need to speak of the visit of the Magi, and the flight into Egypt, even if he were as well acquainted with these circumstances as Matthew was; but hastens on to the definitive settlement at Nazareth (Luk_1:26; Luk_2:4), where Mary and Joseph had previously dwelt; and even of this period he gives only a general account, Luk_2:40, and a single occurrence, Luk_2:41-52.29
Luk_2:40. And the child grew, etc.—Comp. Luk_1:80. The same expressions are made use of concerning John, while somewhat more is added when Jesus is spoken of. There is no need of insisting on the anti-docetic character of the whole narrative.
DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL
1. Even the second occurrence in the life of our Lord, His presentation in the temple, is elucidated by a reference to what is written. From this time forth, the ἵνα πληρωθῇ ἡ γραφή will continually recur, and the whole life of the God-Man present a realization of the ideal, depicted in the prophetic writings of the Old Testament. The offering of doves, brought by Mary on this occasion, while it shows the poverty of her condition, testifies at the same time to the depths of humiliation to which the Son of God descended. Mary cannot bring a lamb for an offering: she brings something better, even the true Lamb of God, into the temple.
2. In Simeon and Anna we see incarnate types of the expectation of salvation under the Old Testament, as in the child Jesus the salvation itself is manifested. At the extreme limits of life, they stand in striking contrast to the infant Saviour, exemplifying the Old Covenant decaying and waxing old before the New, which is to grow and remain. Old age grows youthful, both in Simeon and Anna, at the sight of the Saviour; while the youthful Mary grows inwardly older and riper, as Simeon lifts up before her eyes the veil hanging upon the future.
3. The coming of Simeon into the temple, “by the Spirit,” is entirely according to Old Testament experience. The Spirit does not dwell in him, permanently, as his own vital principle, as in the Christian believer; but comes upon and over him, as a power acting from without. Such exceptional manifestations among the saints in Israel, by no means prejudice the statement of St. John, Luk_7:39. There is a remarkable coincidence between the expectation of Simeon and that mentioned Isa_49:6. [Alford: “Simeon was the subject of an especial indwelling and leading of the Holy Ghost, analogous to that higher form of the spiritual life expressed in the earliest days by walking with God, and according to which God’s saints have often been directed and informed in an extraordinary manner by His Holy Spirit.”—P. S.]
4. A divine propriety, so to speak, seems to require that the new-born Saviour should receive first the homage of the elect of Israel, and afterward that of the representatives of the Gentile world. If so, the visit of the Magi must have been subsequent to the presentation in the temple. Besides, if the gold they offered had come into the hands of Mary and Joseph before this event, would they have brought only the offering of poverty?
5. The shepherds, Simeon, and Anna agree in this, that they all become, in their respective circles, witnesses to others of the salvation of God. They do not wait, or seek for suitable opportunity, but seize upon the first, as the best. Comp. Psa_36:1; Act_4:20. When the Saviour is seen by faith, the true spirit of testimony is already aroused.
6. The sacred art has not forgotten to glorify the presentation of Jesus in the temple. Think of the beautiful pictures of John van Eyk, Rubens, Guido Reni, Paul Veronese, Raphael, Titian, Rembrandt, and many others.
7. [Ambrose, on Luk_2:22 (Opera, tom. i. p. 1301):—“Christ received a witness at his birth, not only from prophets and shepherds, but also from aged and holy men and women. Every age, and both sexes, and the marvels of events, confirm our faith. A virgin brings forth, the barren becomes a mother, the dumb speaks, Elizabeth prophesies, the wise men adore, the babe leaps in the womb, the widow praises God … Simeon prophesied; she who was wedded prophesied; she who was a virgin prophesied; and now a widow prophesies, that all states of life and sexes might be there (ne qua aut professio deeset aut sexus.”—P. S.]
8. We shall have to speak more particularly, in the next division, of the manner of the genuine human development of Jesus. But the hint here given, is sufficient to direct our attention to its reality. Not only the body, but the soul and spirit of the Lord, grew incessantly and regularly. When He was a child, He spake as a child, before He could, with full consciousness, testify of God as His Father. Undoubtedly the awakening of His divine-human consciousness, His recognition of Himself, formed part of the filling with wisdom. As Sartorius says in his lectures on Christology, “The eye which comprehends heaven and earth within its range of vision, does not, by betaking itself to darkness or closing its lid, deprive itself of its power of sight, but merely resigns its far-reaching activity; so does the Son of God close His all-seeing eye, and betake Himself to human darkness on earth, and then as a child of man open His eye on earth, as the Light of the world, gradually increasing in brilliancy till it shines at the right hand of the Father, in perfect splendor.”
HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL
The offering of pious poverty acceptable to God.—The inconsiderable redemption-money paid for Christ; the infinite price of redemption paid by Christ.—Simeon, a type of an Israelite indeed: 1. Just and devout; 2. waiting for the consolation of Israel; 3. filled with the Holy Ghost.—The Holy Ghost, 1. witnesses of Christ; 2. leads to Christ; 3. and teaches to praise Christ.—The song of Simeon, the last note of the psalmody of the Old Testament.—He who has seen the salvation of Christ can depart in peace.—Christ, according to the prophecy of Simeon, 1. the glory of Israel; 2. the light of the Gentiles; 3. the highest gift of God to both.—The death that glorifies God, has, 1. a song on the lips; 2. Christ in the arms; 3. heaven in view.—Christ set for the fall of some, and the rising of others: 1. It is not otherwise; 2. it cannot be otherwise; 3. it ought not to be otherwise; 4. it will not be otherwise.—The sign that is spoken against, 1. in its continual struggle; 2. in its certain triumph.—Christ, the touchstone of the heart.—The Saviour came into this world for judgment, Joh_9:39.—The sword in Mary’s heart: the depth of the wound; the balm for its healing.—Anna the happiest widow of Holy Scripture.—A pious old age, cheered with the light of Christ’s salvation.—The first female testimony to Christ, a testimony, 1. excited by longing expectation; 2. based on personal vision; 3. given with full candor; 4. sealed by a holy walk; 5. crowned by a happy old age.—The Annas of the Old and New Testament, 1 Samuel 2 : Both tried, heard, and favored in a peculiar manner.—In Christ there is neither male nor female, old nor young, etc.; but faith which worketh by love.—The significancy of the events of the fortieth day, 1. to Simeon and Anna; 2. to Mary and Joseph; 3. to Israel; 4. to Christendom in after ages.—The holy childhood.—The grace of God on the holy child.—The most beautiful flower on the field of Nazareth.
Starke:—The duty of all parents to present their children to God.—Majus:—Vows and sacrifices must be offered according to the law of God, not according to the notions of men.—The most pious are not always the richest; therefore despise none for their poverty.—God has a people of His own, even in the darkest seasons of the Church, 1Ki_19:18.—Quesnel:—The elect of God never die, till they have beheld, here on earth, the Christ of God with the eye of faith.—Hedinger:—The duty of yielding immediately to special impulses toward that which is good.—The death of God’s children, a loosening of the bondage of His life of misery.—The prosperity and adversity of the saints, determined beforehand in the counsels of God, even from eternity (Luk_2:34).—Whatever happens to Christ the Head, happens also to His members (Luk_2:34).—Zeisius:—Mary (Luk_2:35), a type of the Church, upon whom, as the spiritual mother, all the storms of affliction fall.—God, the God of the widow, Psa_68:6.—Holy people cannot but speak of holy things: what is the chief subject then of our discourse?—Langii Opus Bibl.:—Children should imitate the mind of Jesus, and grow stronger in what is good.—Jesus remained a child but a short time, and His believing people should not long remain children in faith.
Heubner:—Christian dedication of children: 1. Its nature; 2. its blessing.—Simeon’s faith, and Simeon’s end.—The prelude of the “Stabat mater … cujus animam trementem, contristatam et gementem, pertransivit gladius.”—Anna, the model of the Christian widow, forsaken by the world, and living alone and bereft; but not forsaken of God, and living in the happy future, and in the faith of Christ.—Early announcement of the destination of Jesus: 1. How and why it happened; 2. its truth and confirmation.
Rieger:—Of the spiritual priesthood of Christians.—J. Saurin:—Simeon delivered from fear of death by the child Jesus: 1. He cannot desire to see anything greater on earth; 2. he has the sacrifice for sin in his arms; 3. he is assured of eternal life, why then should he desire to remain any longer on earth?—F. W. Krummacher beholds, in the history of Simeon, 1. a divine “Forwards,” 2. a happy halt, 3. a safe anchorage, 4. a peaceful farewell, 5. a joyful welcome.—O. von Gerlach:—Jesus our all, when we, 1. have found in Him rest for our souls; 2. are resolved to fight for Him; and 3. to bear His reproach.—Rautenberg:—Simeon’s hope: 1. To what it was directed; 2. on what it was founded; 3. and how it was crowned.—Bobe:—Simeon in the temple: 1. The Holy Spirit his leader; 2. faith his consolation; 3. piety his life; 4. the Saviour his joy; 5. departure for his home his desire.—Krummacher:—Anna a partaker of a threefold redemption: 1. From an oppressive uncertainty; 2. from a heavy yoke; 3. from a heavy care.—Florey:—Directions on our pilgrimage for a new year (from Luk_2:33-40). We must go on our journey, 1. steadfast in the faith (Luk_2:34); 2. submissive to the divine will (Luk_2:35); 3. diligent in the temple of God (Luk_2:34); 4. waiting for the promises of God (Luk_2:38); 5. faithful in our daily work (Luk_2:39); and 6. growing in the grace of God (Luk_2:40).—L. Hofacker:—Simeon, one of the last believers of the Old Covenant, an encouraging example for the believers of the New.
Footnotes:
[21]Luk_2:22.—Αὐτῶν is better authenticated (also by Cod. Sinait.) than αὐτοῦ, and still better than αὐτῆς, and refers to Mary and Joseph (not the child, nor the Jews), comp. the following ἀνήγαγον αὐτόν. In this instance the translators of King James followed the Complutensian reading αὐτῆς, which is almost without authority and a manifest correction from the misapprehension of a transcriber who thought that αὐτοῦ or αὐτῶν would imply the impurity of Christ. Wiclif and the Genevan Bible have Maries purification, the Rheims Test. her purification, but Tyndale and Cranmer correctly their purification.
[22]Luk_2:33.—The original reading, which is sustained by Codd. Sinait., B., D., L., Origen, Vulgate (pater ejus et mater), etc., was no doubt: ὁ πατὴρ αὐ τοῦ καὶ ἡ μήτηρ (Cod. Sinait. adds a second αὐτοῦ), and is adopted in the text of Tischendorf, Alford, and Tregelles (not of Lachmann). The substitution of Ἰωσήφ for πατὴρ αὐτοῦ is easily explained from prejudice. The word is, of course, not to be taken in the physical, but in the legal and popular sense.
[23]Luk_2:37.—The usual reading is ὡς, which is very usual in connection with numbers; but Lachmann, Tischendorf, Alford, and Tregelles read ἕως, till, according to Coda. Sinait., B., L., Vulgate (usque ad), etc.
[24]Luk_2:38.—Αὕτη is wanting in the best authorities and modem critical editions, and could easily be inserted from Luk_2:37.
[25]Luk_2:38.—Τῷ Θεῷ is the true reading (sustained also by Cod. Sinait.), and now generally adopted instead of the lect. rec. τῷ Κυρίῳ.
[26]Luk_2:38.—Ἐν is wanting in Codd. Sinait., Vat., etc., and dropped by Lachmann, Tischendorf, Tregelles. Alford puts it in brackets. In this case Ἱερουσαλήμ must be taken as the genitive; for the redemption of Israel. But Meyer defends the ἐν, and explains its omission from Luk_2:25.
[27]Luk_2:40.—Πνεύματι seems to have been inserted from Luk_1:80, and is excluded from the text by Lachmann, Tischendorf, Alford, Tregelles, on the best ancient authorities. Cod. Sinait. is likewise against it. Dr. van Oosterzee omits it in his German Version.—P. S.
[28][According to some, Simeon was the son of the famous Rabbi Hillel, and father of Gamaliel, the teacher of St. Paul (Act_5:34). The Rabbis say: “The birth of Jesus of Nazareth was in the days of R. Simeon, son of Hillel.” But this is, of course, a mere conjecture, without inherent probability.—P. S.]
[29][For an examination of the conflicting views of harmonists on the order of these events, the reader is referred to Sam. J. Andrews: The Life of our Lord, N. Y., 1863, p. 84 ff., who places the visit of the Magi and the flight into Egypt soon after the presentation in the temple. This is the view of the majority of modern harmonists, while the old traditional view puts the arrival of the Magi on the sixth day of January, or on the thirteenth day after the birth of our Saviour.—P. S.]
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures (Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical), ed. John Peter Lange, English translation edited by Philip Schaff (1864–1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain PURIFICATION OF THE VIRGIN--PRESENTATION OF THE BABE IN THE…
PURIFICATION OF THE VIRGIN--PRESENTATION OF THE BABE IN THE TEMPLE-SCENE THERE WITH SIMEON AND ANNA. (Luke 2:22-40)
her purification--Though the most and best copies read "their," it was the mother only who needed purifying from the legal uncleanness of childbearing. "The days" of this purification for a male child were forty in all (Lev 12:2, Lev 12:4), on the expiry of which the mother was required to offer a lamb for a burnt offering, and a turtle dove or a young pigeon for a sin offering. If she could not afford a lamb, the mother had to bring another turtle dove or young pigeon; and, if even this was beyond her means, then a portion of fine flour, but without the usual fragrant accompaniments of oil and frankincense, as it represented a sin offering (Lev 12:6-8; Lev 5:7-11). From the intermediate offering of "a pair of turtle doves or two young pigeons," we gather that Joseph and the Virgin were in poor circumstances (Co2 8:9), though not in abject poverty. Being a first-born male, they "bring him to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord." All such had been claimed as "holy to the Lord," or set apart to sacred uses, in memory of the deliverance of the first-born of Israel from destruction in Egypt, through the sprinkling of blood (Exo 13:2). In lieu of these, however, one whole tribe, that of Levi, was accepted, and set apart to occupations exclusively sacred (Num. 3:11-38); and whereas there were two hundred seventy-three fewer Levites than first-born of all Israel on the first reckoning, each of these first-born was to be redeemed by the payment of five shekels, yet not without being "presented (or brought) unto the Lord," in token of His rightful claim to them and their service (Num 3:44-47; Num 18:15-16). It was in obedience to this "law of Moses," that the Virgin presented her babe unto the Lord, "in the east gate of the court called Nicanor's Gate, where she herself would be sprinkled by the priest with the blood of her sacrifice" [LIGHTFOOT]. By that Babe, in due time, we were to be redeemed, "not with corruptible things as silver and gold, but with the precious blood of Christ" (Pe1 1:18-19), and the consuming of the mother's burnt offering, and the sprinkling of her with the blood of her sin offering, were to find their abiding realization in the "living sacrifice" of the Christian mother herself, in the fulness of a "heart sprinkled from an evil conscience," by "the blood which cleanseth from all sin."
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain § 12.—JESUS PRESENTED IN THE TEMPLE, Luk_2:22-38.
§ 12.—JESUS PRESENTED IN THE TEMPLE, Luk_2:22-38.
The presentation in the temple must have preceded the arrival of the Magi; as after their presence Jesus would have not have been safe from Herod’s hands.
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Jesus underwent circumcision as he underwent death; not because of his own sin, but because he stood as representative of sinners and as a bearer of the sins of others.
Called Jesus—See note on Mat_1:21.
22. Days of her purification—These were forty days after the birth of a male child; during which the mother was held ceremonially impure, and remained in her own house. The design of this institution was to teach the Jews that man is impure from conception and birth—conceived in sin and brought forth in iniquity.
22. Brought him to Jerusalem—From Bethlehem to the temple at Jerusalem.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 22–24. The Presentation in the Temple
22–24. The Presentation in the Temple
22. her purification] Rather, their purification. The reading αὐτῆς, ‘her’, of the Received Text is almost unsupported. All the Uncials read αὐτῶν, ‘their,’ except D, which probably by an oversight reads αὐτοῦ, ‘His.’ Strictly speaking, the child was never purified, but only the mother. The purification took place on the fortieth day after the Nativity, and till then a mother was not permitted to leave her house. The feast of the Presentation was known in the Eastern Church as the Hypapantê.
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according to the law of Moses] See this Law in Lev_12:2-4. Jesus was “made of a woman, made under the Law, to redeem those that were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption of sons,” Gal_4:4-5.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (22) When the days of her purification . .…
(22) When the days of her purification . . .—The primary idea of the law of Lev_12:1-6, would seem to have been that of witnessing to the taint of imperfection and sin attaching to every child of man, just as that of circumcision (its merely physical aspects being put aside) was that of the repression or control of one chief element of that sinfulness. Here neither was necessary; but the whole mystery of the birth was not as yet revealed to Mary, and therefore her act was simply one of devout obedience to the law under which she lived. The period of purification lasted for forty days from the birth, bringing the Feast of the Purification in our Church Calendar to February 2nd.
To present him to the Lord.—This, as the next verse shows, was only done according to the law of Exo_13:2, when the firstborn child was a son. It was obviously a witness of the idea of the priesthood of the firstborn—a survival of the idea in practice, even after the functions of that priesthood had been superseded by the priesthood of the sons of Aaron. The firstborn of every house had still a dedicated life, and was to think of himself as consecrated to special duties. Comp. Heb_12:23 as giving the expansion of the thought to the whole company of those who are the “firstborn,” as they are also the “firstfruits” of humanity (Jas_1:18). As a formal expression of the obligation thus devolving on them, they had to be redeemed by the payment of five shekels to the actual Aaronic priesthood (Num_18:15).
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain When the days of her purification according to the…
When the days of her purification according to the Law of Moses were accomplished. This period lasted forty days from the birth. The forty days, according to the date of the nativity accepted universally by the Catholic Church, would bring the Feast of the Purification to February 2.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain Luk_2:22; Luk_2:24
Luk_2:22; Luk_2:24
The days of her purification
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The presentation in the temple
I.
1. Consider the inner meaning of the law which was here fulfilled by the Infant Jesus. Ever since the day that Israel had been delivered from bondage by the death of the first-born of the Egyptians, the first-born had been considered especially dedicated to the service of God.
2. Here the First-born, not of Mary only, but of all creation, is presented to the Father. Is He not the Only-begotten Son, begotten before all worlds? Now that He has come in the substance of our flesh He is the true Head of the human race, the First-born of a restored humanity. It is as such that He makes His first visit to Jerusalem--type of the heavenly Jerusalem--the Church of the First-born; and His first entry into the Temple, the Home of God upon earth.
3. Unto us a Son is given; as the Son of Man, the Hope of the Human Race, our First-born, He is presented to the Father as our best and only offering. From this day forward He is in the presence of God for us.
4. Inasmuch as we are members of Christ, we too are presented in His presentation. We also become the first-born, joint-heirs with Him, the first-fruits of creation, a royal priesthood, a chosen nation.
II. 1. Realize that we are ever being presented in the Temple of God through our union with our Head, even Jesus Christ.
2. Realize this especially in the Holy Eucharist, in which we plead before our Father the one perfect and sufficient sacrifice and oblation for the sins of the whole world, and at the same time, sharing in His life, we offer and present ourselves a reasonable, holy, and lively sacrifice.
3. Realize that as the first-born is especially claimed for the service of God, this sacrifice of ourselves must include the offering of our first-born, our best energies, our truest thoughts, our highest talents, our richest possessions. (Canon Vernon Hutton, M. A.)
Dedication to God from early youth
In congratulating Simeon and Anna on having seen the salvation of Israel, we should not overlook the fact, that by long preparation and longing they made themselves worthy of embracing the Saviour. If you desire the same happiness, make the same preparation Do not defer it to your old age, but in order to ensure the friendship of Jesus then, devote yourself to Him now
I. THIS IS A SACRIFICE EXCEEDINGLY WELCOME TO GOD.
1. God has a predilection for youth, and selects them as His instruments to attain His designs. Joseph, David, Daniel, Stephen.
2. The young are eminently fit for heaven (Mat_14:14).
3. So much the more does He value the self-sacrifice of youth, the devotion to Him from childhood being
(1) Firstlings (Gen_4:4). He who dissipates him youth, and in old age turns to God, offers fruits of which the sweetest have been tasted by the devil; and ears, the best grain of which has been taken by him.
(2) A sacrifice free from selfishness.
(3) A. stainless offering (Mal_1:8).
(4) An example to others.
II. VERY PROFITABLE FOR ONESELF.
1. Because you are led to perfection, which is the true beauty and riches of man.
(1) Virtue is a tree that strikes deeper roots in young hearts. Greater susceptibility--fewer storms internal and external. The coldness and miseries of life are not so much felt. The soul is not yet enervated by passions, nor petrified by custom and stupidity.
(2) The stem of this tree is harder and more solid. Virtue, like vice, is hardened into habit and passion. The conversion of old age is often unstable.
(3) This tree bears more delicious fruits, and in greater measure. The wine first taken from the press is the most delicious. Virtue is an art acquired by exercise.
2. Because you will gain happiness here on earth.
(1) Inner peace--the consciousness of being Gods friend.
(2) The prospect of proximate, abundant, eternal reward.
(3) The love and esteem of all who are of good will.
3. Happiness in the next world. (Q. Rossi.)
Consequences of good education
Mary is the happiest mother, because she carried in her arms the best Child. Where is there a father or mother who would not desire to have good children? The attainment of this wish is often frustrated by parents themselves. Yet they would find urgent motives to realize it, if they would consider the happy results of giving a wise and religious education to their children.
I. CONSEQUENCES TO THE PARENTS. Children well educated are--
1. An honour to their parents. Their good name reflects on those who brought them up.
2. Their joy, consolation, and help, in every condition of life.
3. Their eternal crown.
II. CONSEQUENCES TO THE CHILDREN. Parents wish nothing more than to see their children happy. Now it is on good education that--
1. Their temporal happiness depends.
2. Their eternal weal. You have planted for heaven, and in heaven, therefore, you will reap your reward. No dowry equals this.
III. CONSEQUENCES TO FESTIVITY.
1. In regard to the family (Psa_3:2; Psa_3:8).
2. In regard to civil society. Good and bad morals are rapidly spread and are kept up for a long time. (Tirinus)
The purification
The question meets us, If the blessed Virgin conceived the Son by the operation of the Holy Ghost, and if He Himself were absolutely and entirely pure, then what need of purification? What defilement was there, from which the Virgin Mother could be purified? And an answer is ready to hand which seems abundantly sufficient, namely, that as Jesus was circumcised, so Mary was purified; in each case there was submission to the letter of a Divine law, and there was no desire and no attempt to establish an exception. Our Lord was a Jewish boy, and was treated as Jewish boys were treated; Mary was a Jewish mother, and acted as Jewish mothers were wont to act. Our English version speaks of the days of her purification, and this is what we might have expected, but it should not be concealed that the best copies of the original Scriptures give, some of them His, some of them their purification; and there can be little doubt that this last form of the sentence is the correct one (so Revised Version). It would seem to indicate that, in the popular belief and feeling of the Jews the sacrifice which was instituted for the purification of the mother (Levit. 12.) did in reality also apply to the child; and this being so, St. Luke appears not to have hesitated to use a phrase, which, literally interpreted, would imply the need of purification on the part of our blessed Lord Himself. This is only another instance of the complete and unreserved manner in which the Head of our race is identified with ourselves. Perhaps the most interesting point in these verses is the incidental testimony to the poverty of the Holy Family. The offering might be a lamp and a turtle-dove if the parents were rich, and two doves or two pigeons if they were poor. Hence the mention of the pair of turtle-doves or two young pigeons marks the worldly condition of the Blessed Virgin and Joseph; they came with the poor mans and poor womans offering; and thus again the poverty of our Lord was declared in the most striking manner during His infancy. (Bishop Goodwin.)
The days of purification
When the fixed time of purification was passed (seven days for a boy and fourteen for a girl), the mother still remained at home thirty-three days for a boy and sixty-six for a girl. Then she went up to the Temple. (E. Stapfer, D. D.)
Her forty days were no sooner out than Mary comes up to the Holy City. She comes with sacrifices, whereof one is for a burnt-offering, the other for a sin-offering; the one for thanksgiving, the other for expiation; for expiation of a double sin--of the mother that conceived, of the Child that was conceived. We are all born sinners, and it is a just question whether we do more infect the world, or the world us. They are gross flatterers of nature that tell her she is clean. But, O the unspeakable mercy of our God I we provide the sin, He provides the remedy. Every poor mother was not able to bring a lamb for her offering; there was none so poor but might procure a pair of turtles or pigeons. God looks for somewhat of every one, not of every one alike. Since it is He that makes differences of abilities (to whom it were as easy to make all rich), His mercy will make no difference in the acceptation. The truth and heartiness of obedience is that which He will crown in His meanest servants. A mite, from the poor widow, is more worth to Him than the talents of the wealthy. The blessed Virgin had more business in the temple than her own. She came, as to purify herself, so to present her Son. Every male that first opened the womb was holy unto the Lord. He that was the Son of God by eternal generation before time, was also, by common course of nature, consecrated unto God. It is fit the Holy Mother should present God with His own. Her first-born was the first-born of all creatures. It was He whose temple it was that He was presented in, to whom all the first-born of all creatures were consecrated, by whom they were accepted; and now is He brought in His mothers arms to His own house, and, as man, is presented to Himself as God. Under the gospel we are all first-born, all heirs; every soul is to be holy unto the Lord; we are a royal generation, an holy priesthood. Our baptism, as it is our circumcision, and our sacrifice of purification, so is it also our presentation unto God. Nothing can become us but holiness. O God! to whom we are devoted, serve Thyself of us, glorify Thyself by us, till we shall by Thee be glorified with Thee. (Bishop Hall.)
No myth
A mythus generally endeavours to ennoble its subject, and to adapt the story to the idea. If, then, the gospel narrative were mythical, would it have invented, or even suffered to remain, a circumstance so foreign to the idea of the myth, and so little calculated to dignify it as the above. A mythus would have introduced an angel, or, at least, a vision, to hinder Mary from submitting the child to a ceremony so unworthy of its dignity; or the priests would have received an intimation from heaven to bow before the infant, and prevent its being reduced to the level of ordinary children. (A. Neander.)
Early dedication to the Lord
The old Romans used to hold the face of all their new-born infants towards the sky, to denote that they must look above the world to celestial glories. We solemnly and prayerfully dedicate our children to God in baptism, &c. And, remembering their immortality and the uncertainty of their life, should we not also constantly devote them to God, and train them for Him and for heaven! My dear mothers prayers with and for me influenced me more to what is good than any earthly thing besides ever did. Richard Cecil spoke of his mother as one that had great nearness to God in prayer, and he says she was to him as an angel of God in her counsels and prayers, which most deeply impressed him. At a college were one hundred and twenty young men were studying for the ministry, it was found, as the result of special inquiry, that more than a hundred of them had been converted mainly through a mothers prayers and labours. But Sunday-schoolteachers, ministers, church members, young people themselves, and everybody should join in loving, prayerful efforts to present young people and others to the Lord. And if Gods grace be obtained for them, will they not be restrained from evil, and also led to good? Then children themselves should humbly, earnestly, lovingly, and through faith in Christ, present themselves to the Lord. A dear boy, who was soon after killed in a moment, prayed, Lord, make me quite, quite ready, in ease Jesus comes for me in a hurry. (Henry R. Burton.)
Early piety a safeguard
In one of the public enclosures of Philadelphia the fountain was recently left to play all night. During the hours of darkness a sharp frost set in; and those who passed by next morning found the water, still playing indeed, but playing over a mass of gleaming icicles. But that was not all. The wind had been blowing steadily in one direction through all these hours, and the spray had been carried on airy wings to the grass which fringed the pool in which the fountain stood. On each blade of grass the spray had fallen so gently as hardly to bend it, descending softly and silently the whole night long. By slow and almost imperceptible processes each blade became coated with a thin layer of ice; by the same noiseless processes each layer grew thicker, until in the morning what before had been a little patch of swaying grass was a miniature battleground of upright, crystal spears, each holding within it, as its nucleus, a single blade of grass, now cold, rigid, and dead. In human life, in like manner, it may seem a light thing leave a young heart outside of Christs fold, and exposed to the cold winds of the worlds great unbelief. There is no violent transformation of the character in such a case. Yet silently and surely the worlds frost settles upon the flowers of the heart, covering them with the chill spray of doubt, binding them with soft bonds which harden into chains of ice, encasing them in a coat of crystal mail, polished, cold, and impenetrable. You have met persons in whose heart this freezing process has been accomplished. You have seen beneath the icy surface the nucleus of good which might have grown to so fair a harvest, just as you have seen the dead blade of grass preserved at the core of the icicle. You can do little now for either the person or the plant: nothing but heavens sunshine can melt the ice which holds them in its deadly thrall. But you can take care that none of those for whom you are responsible will be left out in the worlds cold, to suffer so deadly a change. You can bring them within the warm influences of Christian life, where no frost will gather upon them, and where the souls highest powers will be gently wooed to their best growth.
Training children for the Lord
An aged Christian, a widow of fourscore years, relates the following experience of her early days. When she first entered upon her married life, she and her husband could lock their cottage door, and go together, forenoon and afternoon, to the house of God. After the birth of their first son they had to enjoy this privilege in turn; one going in the forenoon, and the other in the afternoon. But the sickness or fretfulness of the child not unfrequently detained the mother at home during the whole of the Sabbath. This she felt to be a great privation. On one such occasion a neighbour, coming in to inquire about her welfare, found her in tears. The dejected young mother was a Christian; she had early been brought to the knowledge of the truth as it is in Jesus; she was a lover of the Lords house, and of the Lords day; she trusted in Jesus as her Saviour; but she had not yet learned lovingly to accept all His discipline. There were things connected with it too painful for her. She did not know what was to compensate her for tile want of the days in the courts of the Lord; and so she told her neighbour the cause of her dejection. Woman, replied her neighbour, in the broad dialect of that land, dye no mind the word that says, Take this child, and nurse him for Me; and I will give thee thy wages? It was a word in season; and, with greater or less power, it sustained and comforted that mother during the whole of her subsequent nursing of ten children. Her home in the valley of the Tweed was long ago exchanged for one on the banks of the Mohawk. But the God whose Word thus comforted her in early womanhood is with her still when she is old and greyheaded; and she can gratefully speak of her eleven children, nursed for Him, as all walking in the ways of God on earth, or taken away to another home into which sickness and death can never come. (Mothers Treasury.)
Holy education of children
Good laws will not reform us, if reformation begin not at home. This is the cause of all our misdeeds in Church and State, even the want of a holy education of children. (R. Baxter.)
Permanence of early impressions
The late Rev. Richard Knill, a most devoted and useful missionary in Russia, returned home to his native village. It so happened that he slept in the chamber where he had slept as a boy. All night long he lay awake thinking of the mercy and goodness of God to him through life. Early in the morning he looked out of a window, and saw a tree in the garden beneath which his mother had prayed with him forty years before. He went out, and on the same spot knelt down and thanked God for a praying mother. Here was the reward of a mother who trained her children in the way to heaven.
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain 22. The days of their purification. See Lev. 12:4–6.…
22. The days of their purification. See Lev. 12:4–6. These “days” were a period of thirty-three days after the circumcision of a male child. He was then to be presented in the temple by the parents.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 When the required number ... had passed
When the required number ... had passed
This shows the passing of time before this new event. (See: Introduction of a New Event)
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the required number of days
This can be stated in active form. AT: "the number of days that God required" (See: Active or Passive)
for their purification
"for them to become ceremonially clean." You can also state God's role. AT: "for God to consider them to be clean again" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
to present him to the Lord
"to bring him to the Lord" or "to bring him into the Lord's presence." This was a ceremony acknowledging God's claim on the firstborn children who were male.
As it is written
This can be stated in active form. AT: "As Moses wrote" or "They did this because Moses wrote" (See: Active or Passive)
Every male who opens the womb
"open the womb" here is an idiom that refers to the first baby coming out of the womb. This referred to both animals and people. AT: "Every firstborn offspring who is a male" or "Every firstborn son" (See: Idiom)
what was said in the law of the Lord
"that which the law of the Lord also says." This is a different place in the law. It refers to all males, whether firstborn or not.
translationWords
pure
law
temple
Jerusalem
lord
written
set apart
sacrifice
dove
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 2:22 time for their purification offering: The law of…
2:22 time for their purification offering: The law of Moses prescribed a forty-day period of ritual purification for women following childbirth (Lev 12), after which an offering was made (Luke 2:24). • to present him to the Lord: Every firstborn, whether human or animal, was to be offered to the Lord; humans were bought back with a redemption price (see Exod 13:1-2, 15; 34:19-20; Num 3:11-13; 18:15-16; Neh 10:35-36).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.