Jesus is God incarnate, which means even from infancy Jesus is the Lord. He is the same forever. We see this truth based on the witness of Mary, Joseph, Anna and Simeon. They testified that his name is Jesus, the Savior of sinners.
After Jesus was born, in accordance to the law, Mary had to wait over forty days to go to the temple because she was considered unclean.(Lev 12:1-4). The reason that a woman is considered unclean is because, even though a baby is God’s gift, they are still sinners, and so there is a time of purification after giving birth. While the law does not bring salvation, Mary and Joseph were both righteous and obeyed according to God’s commands. After the days of purification, they bring Jesus up to Jerusalem to offer to God.
In these events, we see six aspects of Jesus Christ.
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Jesus’ sacrifice is voluntary: In the Levitical law, God reserved the first born son of every family, but in their place God reserved the tribe of Levites. So it was the Levites who would present their first born son to God (Num 8:17-8). Jesus did not have to present himself because He was of the tribe of Judah. He went voluntarily and with humility (Phil 2:5-8). Why would Jesus, who is God, voluntarily sacrifice Himself? Because He loves us (Jn 3:16). What amazing love and wonderful love Jesus shows His undeserving chosen.
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Jesus is as glorious as God the Father: The verse says He went ‘up’ to Jerusalem. As Moses went up Mount Sinai where God revealed Himself, and just as Jesus would later go up the mountain and was transfigured; Jesus the baby went up to His Father’s house (Ex 19:1,3; Mt 17:1,5). Jesus’ glory is God’s glory and all creation worships Him (Rev 5:12-14)
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Jesus is presented to God: ‘Present’ means to offer or to sacrifice. Normally, since the Levites were reserved and presented to the Lord, instead of all the tribes’ first born sons, the other tribes would pay a ransom (redemptions fee) of 30 gerah to the priests (Num 18:16-17). Instead of paying the ransom, Jesus was presented. Jesus is the ransom for sinners, a ransom for many (Mk 10:45). As sinners, we have a debt we cannot pay and no means to pay it (Ps 29:6-9). Jesus pays our debt in full by presenting Himself, His own life, as our ransom. This unfathomable debt is now paid in full and we are free! Praise the name of Jesus! (1 Pt 1:18-19)
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Jesus is supreme: Being the firstborn means He is first in rank, the highest position, supreme (Col 1:15). Jehovah’s Witness may try to argue that being first born is chronological, but they misunderstand. Jesus is not a creature but the Creator, God above all creation.
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Jesus is holy: Holy means otherness. Even though Jesus became man, he was still holy God. Naturally, men hate and fear the holiness of God, especially those who only have an exterior holiness, such as the Pharisees who ultimately killed Jesus out of their hatred. Similar to Peter, the natural response to Jesus’ holiness is to realize our sinfulness and try to distance ourselves (Lk 5:8). May we see the holiness of Jesus and repent of our sins.
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Jesus is the final sacrifice, the lamb of God: For the burnt offering and sin offering, you would present a lamb or a bull, and if you were poor such as Joseph and Mary, you would bring a pigeon or a turtledove. In the old covenant God showed mercy through the sacrifices, and even to the poor, God allowed a way. Mary and Joseph didn’t have a lamb, but they had Jesus. In the new covenant, Jesus is the Lamb, who’s blood washes us of all our sin. The veil in the temple has been torn, and in Jesus, we can draw near with confidence. (Heb 10:8-10;Mt 27:51;Heb 4:16)
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