Christmas 2007 Message

Luke 2:21-24

 

 

There are two parts to gift-giving at Christmas—there is the giving of gifts and the receiving of gifts.  There is an art to both. Personally, I am much better at giving gifts than receiving them.  That doesn’t mean I don’t like gifts, but my “expressive personality” leaves something to be desired. I know people in our church who get so excited at the smallest of gifts you would think they are trying out for “The Price is Right.” They jump up and down, scream a little, thank you over and over, and even shed a tear or two. They are a five-year olds worst nightmare because they can thank you for two hours for one gift, keeping the kids from ever opening another of their gifts. On the other hand, my heart has a hard time reaching my face. I relate very well to Mary, who when told she was going to give birth the Messiah simply responded, “May it be to me as you have said.” To which the Bible concludes just as simply, “Then the angel left her.”

 

It is this greatest gift ever given—the gift of God’s own Son—and what Mary and Joseph did in response to His birth that I want to share a few thoughts with you this morning. Read with me Luke’s words from 2:21-24:

 

On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise him, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he had been conceived. When the time of their purification according to the Law of Moses had been completed, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, "Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord"), and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: "a pair of doves or two young pigeons.”

 

Follow the flow of the action words in this passage: circumcise, name, purification, present, and consecrate. These five words show the piety and faith, as well as the social position, of Joseph and Mary.

 

By taking Jesus to the temple in Jerusalem to have Him circumcised, they are making the statement that want to raise Jesus as a true son of the covenant made between the nation of Israel and God.  Their statement of faith and this “cutting” brought their entire family under the covenant protection offered by God.

 

In giving their child the name Jesus, they acted in faith. In Luke 1:31 the angel told Mary to name her baby Jesus. Here Luke affirms that she and Joseph did as they were told. In giving Jesus this name, they were also affirming their belief in the calling and destiny the angel delivered: “He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High.  The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end” (1:32-33). Remember who Joseph, the carpenter, and Mary, the pregnant teenager, were when they affirmed their belief in this message by calling Him Jesus.  They could do little to nothing to give Jesus this future. But they believed all things were possible with God.

 

According to Jewish law, a woman who had given birth was not allowed to touch anything sacred or to enter the temple until after she had undergone ritual purification. As she had shed blood in giving birth, this act of faith in submitting to the law brought her back into relationship with God.

 

In presenting Jesus to God, Joseph and Mary were acknowledging that they were only stewards of this one who was given them from on high. God was His real Father and they would do their part to raise Jesus as God desired.  Jesus was not their child to control or direct; they were the parents God had chosen to assure Jesus the chance to reach His rightful destiny.

 

Ever since Israel had left Egypt after the slaying of all of the firstborn sons of the Egyptians, God had required a “price” be paid to redeem back the firstborn of Israel.  On that first “Passover” night, the shed blood of a lamb had to be placed on the doorframe of their homes in the shape of a cross. When the firstborn male child was given by God, he had to be “redeemed” by the shed blood of a lamb.  That two young pigeons were given and sacrificed instead of the usual lamb was actually a concession to the poor folk (Leviticus 12:8). It signified Joseph and Mary had nothing more to give.

 

These five words: circumcision, naming, purification, presentation, and consecration show how completely Joseph and Mary gave Jesus back to God and the level of commitment they would maintain throughout their lives to ensure Jesus was given every chance to fulfill His God-given destiny.  Our children are a gift from God.  Each one of us is a gift from God.  While it is too late for many of us as parents to give our children so completely to God from their birth, there is nothing to keep any of us from giving ourselves that completely to God right now. 

 

Is there anyone here this morning to wants to give their life completely to God and become a son or a daughter of the new covenant Jesus cut with the blood He shed on Calvary to take away our sins?  All of us were given names by our parents. But are there any of us here this morning who want God to reveal to us the spiritual the name, the name that goes along with our spiritual destiny, by which He calls us in heaven?  Do you want the real life He intended for you to live or are you content with the life you are living this morning?  Sin stains our lives; all of us need purified or to have our sins washed away and our hearts and minds left clean.  Are you willing to take that step this morning?  If you are, I am going to ask you to come forward and present your life a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—your personal act of spiritual worship—this morning while Rob Cowie plays “My Tribute” on the piano. Jesus has already paid the price required for your complete consecration to God.  It could be His gift to you this morning if you will accept it.

 

As I told you when I began, there is an art to the giving and receiving of gifts.  You don’t have to jump up and down, scream and shout, to receive the gift of eternal life. No one even has to see in on your face.  But you must receive it in your heart.  Come now and receive this greatest of gifts from the greatest of gifts.