Luke 2:1-39: The Birth And Dedication Of Jesus”

By

Jim Bomkamp

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1. INTRO:

1.1. In our last study, we looked at verses 39-80 of chapter 1 of the book.

1.1.1. In our last study we saw that many events occured in fulfillment of what the angel had previously announced to Zacharias and Mary:

1.1.1.1. Mary, who had recently conceived, came to visit Elizabeth since she had been told by the angel of the baby which Elizabeth, in her old age, had conceived in her womb.

1.1.1.2. The baby, “John the Baptist,” was born to Zacharias and Elizabeth at the end of Mary’s 3 months of visiting them.

1.1.1.3. Both Mary and Zacharias responded with a song or hymn to the great things that the Lord was doing in their lives at this point in time. We considered their responses as being songs because they are constructed like songs.

1.1.2. A common theme in that section of study was “joy in what the Lord is doing” in the lives of each character: Zacharias, Elizabeth, and Mary.

1.2. In our study today, we are going to look at the first 39 verses of chapter 2 and the birth and dedication of Jesus.

1.2.1. Most believe Jesus birth to actually have occurred in autumn of 2 or 3 BC.

1.2.2. This passage of scripture which we will study today is one of the most widely known passages in the Bible since it, along with the early part of Matthew, is often read during the Christmas holidays. Even though the passage is familiar to us it makes a rich study.

1.2.3. We will observe the incredible circumstances that the Lord brought about in order to fulfill various prophecies concerning the birth of the Messiah.

1.2.4. We will observe the incredible way that every Old Testament prophecy involving the birth of the Messiah was fulfilled in Jesus.

1.2.5. We will observe, in regard to baby Jesus, how that Joseph and Mary were careful to do everything in strict obedience to the Law of Moses.

1.2.6. We will observe three different witnesses of the birth of Jesus the Messiah provided by the Lord to us:

1.2.6.1. Shepherds.

1.2.6.2. Simeon.

1.2.6.3. Anna.

1.2.6.3.1. We have mentioned already that of the four gospels that Luke has the most stories involving how Jesus touched the lives of women. In fact, 43 times in Luke’s gospel he mentions women. Also, of the twelve widows that are mentioned in all of the scripture, Luke contains three of the stories. In this gospel, we have already studied about Elizabeth and Mary, and in this study we will consider this old widow who is a prophetess, named Anna.

1.2.7. Through simply observing what the scripture says in our study we are going to debunk some of the popular Christmas lore and traditions.

2. VS 2:1-7 - “¹ Now in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken of all the inhabited earth. ² This was the first census taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. ³ And everyone was on his way to register for the census, each to his own city. ⁴ Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, ⁵ in order to register along with Mary, who was engaged to him, and was with child. ⁶ While they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth. ⁷ And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.” - A Roman census causes Joseph and Mary to head to Bethlehem to register and it is there that Mary gives birth to Jesus

2.1. Every 14 years Rome would take a census of all of the people in the land of Israel. They did this for military purposes and so that they could tax the people. This was the first of those censuses.

2.2. The Jews knew that the Romans were funding their own luxury and their oppressive government by taxing the Jews, and this caused much resentment towards the Romans.

2.3. There was a sense of desperation throughout Israel. When Joseph and Mary have to go to Bethlehem (where baby Jesus is born) to pay tax to Rome, the Jews saw that this tax represented symbolically that the Covenant God of Israel had not yet restored relationship to the people and thus brought them out of their “spiritual exile.”

2.4. To the Jews the Roman presence was an affront regarding their sovereignty, though in all practical terms they hadn’t had any sovereignty since 63 BC. At this time Herod the Great ruled over them, and every reminder of Rome was a cause for rebellion.

2.5. Notice here that this is a worldwide census that went out to ‘all the inhabited earth.’

2.6. Many Old Testament prophesies concerning the Messiah are fulfilled here by how the Lord worked behind the scenes in bringing about the circumstances of Jesus’ birth:

2.6.1. In Gen. 3:15, the Messiah to come was prophesied to be the seed of Eve and thereby not be angelic but human, “¹⁵ And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel.””

2.6.2. The incredible fact that we see here though is that the Lord uses these circumstances to cause Joseph and Mary to travel to the city of Bethlehem so that baby Jesus can be born there in fulfillment of Micah 5:2, which was written some 600 years earlier, “² “But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Too little to be among the clans of Judah, From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, From the days of eternity.””

2.6.2.1. Bethlehem means “house of bread” and it is fitting that in Bethlehem the One who is “the bread of life” would be born.

2.6.3. This census came about by the edict of Octavian, Caesar Augustus, the great nephew of Julius Caesar who reigned in a triumvirate with Mark Antony and Lepidus, but God was directing the events. (Quirinius was an able administrator and soldier.) Joseph and Mary lived in Nazareth and yet they have to travel the 90 miles south to Bethlehem because with these Roman censuses that were commanded every 14 years each person had to return to the land of their ancestral inheritance. Each family in Israel belonged to a particular tribe and had a unique allotment of land given to them in their tribal inheritance. Even if they sold this land, by the Law of Moses in the year of Jubilee it was to revert back to them (a practice that unfortunately was not kept by Israel). The family of Joseph were from the city of Bethlehem located in the territory allotted under Joshua to the tribe of Judah. This detail in our story establishes yet again that Joseph was from the tribe of Judah. This is important because Gen. 49:10 told that the Messiah was to come from the tribe of Judah, “¹⁰ “The scepter shall not depart from Judah, Nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, Until Shiloh comes, And to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.”

2.6.4. Mary and Joseph were at this point still engaged and had not consummated their marriage (had sexual relations). This is very important because in order for Isaiah 7:14 to be fulfilled Mary had to be a virgin when Jesus was born, “¹⁴ “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.”

2.6.5. Though technically not Jesus’ father, Joseph was a descendant of David. We will see in chapter 3 that Mary herself is a descendant of David. So, with both Joseph and Mary being descendants of David, the prophesy of 2 Sam. 7:12-16 is fulfilled which foretold that the Messiah would be a direct descendant of David, “¹² “When your days are complete and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your descendant after you, who will come forth from you, and I will establish his kingdom. ¹³ “He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. ¹⁴ “I will be a father to him and he will be a son to Me; when he commits iniquity, I will correct him with the rod of men and the strokes of the sons of men, ¹⁵ but My lovingkindness shall not depart from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. ¹⁶ “Your house and your kingdom shall endure before Me forever; your throne shall be established forever.”’”” See Isaiah 9:6-7 which was also fulfilled in Jesus.

2.7. Contrary to what some in church history have taught as Christmas lore concerning the birth of Jesus :

2.7.1. Joseph and Mary did not have Jesus to be born in a manger because they did not have enough money to afford a nice room in the inn.

2.7.2. The account does not tell us that they made a search but could not find a place to lodge.

2.7.3. The account does not tell us that the innkeeper was harsh and refused them a room.

2.7.4. The account just tells us that the baby came and they could not find any other place for Mary to deliver a baby.

2.7.5. The Greek word “kataluma” that is translated ‘inn’ does not refer to an inn such as we might imagine in our culture today. For many years I pictured this inn as being like a bed and breakfast stop located in Bethlehem. Rather, this word referred to a temporary shelter more like a homeless shelter today.

2.7.6. The Greek word “fotnay” that is translated ‘manger’ here is not a perfectly kept wooden barn building that in manger scenes tends to look like it was created for the birth of divine children. Rather, it simply refers either to a simple animal shelter or an animal feed trough. Often times in Jesus’ day animals were housed in caves rather than nice wooden barns, and it may have been a cave in which Jesus was born. Contrary to popular manger scenes, this manger was probably dirty and filled with flies and animal droppings.

2.7.6.1. Ancient tradition claims that Jesus was born in a cave, and there is a cave in Bethlehem today where tourists go to see the place where Jesus was born. At this site a basilica was erected at the Church Of The Nativity. It is possible that this is the very place where Jesus was born.

2.7.7. Contrary to what church fathers taught there is no mention of a painless birth by Mary. If she hasn’t already, I’ll bet Mary will someday straighten out the men that came up with that theory!!!

2.8. In Jesus’ day in the middle east, when a baby was born narrow strips of cloth were wrapped around the baby’s legs, arms, and torso to give strength to the baby’s appendages and keep it warm. These are the swaddling cloths that were wrapped around Jesus, and thus they were not like the blankets that we see baby Jesus wrapped in at nativity scenes.

3. VS 2:8-14 - “⁸ In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night. ⁹ And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. ¹⁰ But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; ¹¹ for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. ¹² “This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” ¹³ And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, ¹⁴ “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.”” - Angels appear to some shepherds in the field and announce to them the birth of Jesus

3.1. Angelic annunciations mark the birth of Jesus yet again. Gabriel has already appeared to Zacharias and Mary and told them about the birth of this one who is to be the Messiah. Now that Jesus is born angels announce the news to some shepherds.

3.2. This news about Jesus is intended to bring ‘great joy’ to all.

3.3. In our typical Christmas play or movie about the Christmas story, shepherds are sort of elevated and sanitized much in the same way they sanitize the manger Jesus was born in. However, a shepherd’s life was a hard life and shepherds tended to have a bad reputation as they were viewed as being local criminal types and thought to be thieves.

3.4. In the scriptures the metaphor of a ‘shepherd’ is not considered bad or evil for after all the Lord calls Himself, “The Good Shepherd.” Plus, leaders in the church are called “shepherds” of God’s sheep.

3.5. The Lord could have led His holy angels to make annunciations to the rich, the famous, the religious leaders, the affluent, the successful, etc. However, He chose to make the annunciation to a group of shepherds, and He did this to show that salvation is being made available to the common man, to men at the lowest levels of society. The rich reject the Lord and find no need for Him so the Lord does not call them to hear this message, but rather some shepherds.

3.6. The shepherds will become the very first evangelists we will see and they make good evangelists because they are not easily fooled nor are they pretentious. Rather, they will just tell the plain truth just as it is.

3.7. To make this annunciation, first one angel appears and then a whole bunch of them appear. The words of praise by the angels are considered the third song of our gospel, subsequent to the songs of Zacharias and Mary in chapter 1.

3.8. Each of the angelic annunciations concerning the birth of Jesus includes a sign to attest that what was announced would come to pass. Here the shepherds are given this sign to prove the words of the angels, and the sign is that they will find a baby wrapped in cloths lying in a manger in Bethlehem.

3.9. The angel intimates the inclusion of the Gentiles in this salvation which God is now bringing, for this good news and great joy shall be for ‘all the people.’

3.10. Next, notice the title that is given to this child is ‘Christ the Lord,’ which is a clear indication that Jesus is the prophesied Old Testament Messiah, for that is what ‘Christ’ means.

3.11. The birth of Jesus brings ‘glory to God,’ the angels announce to the shepherds.

3.12. ‘Peace’ is to be bestowed by the advent of the birth of Jesus, however this ‘peace’ is only for those who are the elect of God, His people, people ‘with whom He is pleased.’

4. VS 2:15-18 - “¹⁵ When the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another, “Let us go straight to Bethlehem then, and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us.” ¹⁶ So they came in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as He lay in the manger. ¹⁷ When they had seen this, they made known the statement which had been told them about this Child. ¹⁸ And all who heard it wondered at the things which were told them by the shepherds.” - The shepherds come quickly to Bethlehem and find Jesus lying in a manger

4.1. Just as Mary came in haste to Elizabeth to verify the sign given to her that the angel’s words would come to pass (her relative Elizabeth in her old age is 6 months pregnant), so these shepherds come in haste to search out and find this baby lying in a manger.

4.2. These shepherds then become the first of Jesus’ evangelists because they begin to make known to everyone what they had seen and heard concerning the birth of Jesus.

4.3. The response of everyone who heard the testimony of the shepherds was that they ‘wondered at things which were told them.’

4.4. It appears that these shepherds came to have genuine faith in Jesus as Messiah and Lord. Though we do not hear about them again it would appear that they continued on in their faith in Jesus after the events of this story.

5. VS 2:19 - “¹⁹ But Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart.” – Mary treasured the things that she had heard and seen on this day

5.1. Mary is yet again found pondering the things of God. Here we see that she is trying to place all that she had seen and heard into some sort of an order so that she could make sense out of it and understand thereby all that the Lord was doing through this child, and in her life.

6. VS 2:20 - “²⁰ The shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as had been told them.” - The shepherds went back to their fields glorifying and praising God

6.1. This is an expression of the shepherds’ faith.

7. VS 2:21-24 - “²¹ And when eight days had passed, before His circumcision, His name was then called Jesus, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb. ²² And when the days for their purification according to the law of Moses were completed, they brought Him up to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord ²³ (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male that opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”), ²⁴ and to offer a sacrifice according to what was said in the Law of the Lord, “A pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.”” - Joseph and Mary bring Jesus up to Jerusalem on the eighth day after He was born to complete at the temple that which the Law required

7.1. It is very important for us to realize that everything in the Law of Moses was followed to the letter by Joseph and Mary regarding the birth of Jesus.

7.1.1. Jesus said the following in Matthew 5:17-18, “¹⁷ “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets ; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill . ¹⁸ “For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away , not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished.”

7.1.2. In Galatians 4:1-7, the apostle Paul wrote about how Jesus was born and raised under the Law, “¹ Now I say, as long as the heir is a child, he does not differ at all from a slave although he is owner of everything, ² but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by the father. ³ So also we, while we were children, were held in bondage under the elemental things of the world. ⁴ But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, ⁵ so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. ⁶ Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” ⁷ Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God.”

7.2. There are a few events that took place here in observation of the Law of Moses, however these verses just sort of lump them all together. Lets look at the parts of the Law that were fulfilled with Jesus in these verses:

7.2.1. Jesus was circumcised on the eighth day at the temple in Jerusalem.

7.2.1.1. Genesis 17:11-12, “¹¹ “And you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin, and it shall be the sign of the covenant between Me and you. ¹² “And every male among you who is eight days old shall be circumcised throughout your generations, a servant who is born in the house or who is bought with money from any foreigner, who is not of your descendants.”

7.2.1.2. Leviticus 12:3, “³ ‘On the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised.”

7.2.2. When Jesus was forty days old Joseph and Mary again came to the temple in Jerusalem for the purification rites of Leviticus 12.

7.2.2.1. Leviticus 12, “¹ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Speak to the sons of Israel, saying: ‘When a woman gives birth and bears a male child, then she shall be unclean for seven days, as in the days of her menstruation she shall be unclean. ³ ‘On the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised. ⁴ ‘Then she shall remain in the blood of her purification for thirty-three days; she shall not touch any consecrated thing, nor enter the sanctuary until the days of her purification are completed. ⁵ ‘But if she bears a female child, then she shall be unclean for two weeks, as in her menstruation; and she shall remain in the blood of her purification for sixty-six days. ⁶ ‘When the days of her purification are completed, for a son or for a daughter, she shall bring to the priest at the doorway of the tent of meeting a one year old lamb for a burnt offering and a young pigeon or a turtledove for a sin offering. ⁷ ‘Then he shall offer it before the Lord and make atonement for her, and she shall be cleansed from the flow of her blood. This is the law for her who bears a child, whether a male or a female. ⁸ ‘But 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; and the priest shall make atonement for her, and she will be clean.’ ””

7.2.2.1.1. Note here that the fact that Joseph and Mary made a sacrifice of two turtledoves or pigeons indicates that they were in fact living in poverty for per the Law of Moses this sacrifice for purification was only allowed for the poor of society. Just as the Lord chose lowly shepherds to be the recipients of the angelic announcement of Jesus’ birth, so here by choosing a poor family in Joseph and Mary to birth and raise up Jesus, the Lord is showing that He relates to all mankind and that HeHis salvation and has provided salvation for all people.

7.2.3. Jesus was presented to the Lord by Joseph and Mary according to the Law of Moses as their firstborn son, yet because the five shekels redemption price is not mentioned as being paid by them this indicates that instead of “redeeming” Jesus according to the Law they instead dedicated Him to the Lord for His service.

7.2.3.1. Exodus 13:1-15; 34:19, “¹ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Sanctify to Me every firstborn, the first offspring of every womb among the sons of Israel, both of man and beast; it belongs to Me.” ³ Moses said to the people, “Remember this day in which you went out from Egypt, from the house of slavery; for by a powerful hand the Lord brought you out from this place. And nothing leavened shall be eaten. ⁴ “On this day in the month of Abib, you are about to go forth. ⁵ “It shall be when the Lord brings you to the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Hivite and the Jebusite, which He swore to your fathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, that you shall observe this rite in this month. ⁶ “For seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a feast to the Lord. ⁷ “Unleavened bread shall be eaten throughout the seven days; and nothing leavened shall be seen among you, nor shall any leaven be seen among you in all your borders. ⁸ “You shall tell your son on that day, saying, ‘It is because of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt.’ ⁹ “And it shall serve as a sign to you on your hand, and as a reminder on your forehead, that the law of the Lord may be in your mouth; for with a powerful hand the Lord brought you out of Egypt. ¹⁰ “Therefore, you shall keep this ordinance at its appointed time from year to year. ¹¹ “Now when the Lord brings you to the land of the Canaanite, as He swore to you and to your fathers, and gives it to you, ¹² you shall devote to the Lord the first offspring of every womb, and the first offspring of every beast that you own; the males belong to the Lord. ¹³ “But every first offspring of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb, but if you do not redeem it, then you shall break its neck; and every firstborn of man among your sons you shall redeem. ¹⁴ “And it shall be when your son asks you in time to come, saying, ‘What is this?’ then you shall say to him, ‘With a powerful hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, from the house of slavery. ¹⁵ ‘It came about, when Pharaoh was stubborn about letting us go, that the Lord killed every firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man and the firstborn of beast. Therefore, I sacrifice to the Lord the males, the first offspring of every womb, but every firstborn of my sons I redeem.’…¹⁹ “The first offspring from every womb belongs to Me, and all your male livestock, the first offspring from cattle and sheep.”

7.2.3.2. Numbers 18:15-16, “¹⁵ “Every first issue of the womb of all flesh, whether man or animal, which they offer to the Lord, shall be yours; nevertheless the firstborn of man you shall surely redeem, and the firstborn of unclean animals you shall redeem. ¹⁶ “As to their redemption price, from a month old you shall redeem them, by your valuation, five shekels in silver, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, which is twenty gerahs.”

7.2.3.3. Joseph and Mary dedicated their firstborn son to the Lord’s service just as was also done for baby Samuel by Hannah in 1 Sam. 1-2.

7.3. The gospels as well as other New Testament books reveal that Jesus always obeyed the Law of Moses, and this is critical for He must be sinless to qualify to be our sin bearer. We can see this for instance in :

7.3.1. Jesus words in John 8:46, “⁴⁶ “ Which one of you convicts Me of sin ? If I speak truth , why do you not believe Me?”

7.3.2. Paul’s commentary on Jesus 2 Corinthians 5:21, “²¹ He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

7.3.3. The commentary of the author of the book of Hebrews 4:15, “¹⁵ For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.”

7.3.4. Peter’s commentary in 1 Peter 2:21-22, “²¹ For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps, ²² who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth.”

8. VS 2:25-35 - “²⁵ And there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; and this man was righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel; and the Holy Spirit was upon him. ²⁶ And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. ²⁷ And he came in the Spirit into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to carry out for Him the custom of the Law, ²⁸ then he took Him into his arms, and blessed God, and said, ²⁹ “Now Lord, You are releasing Your bond-servant to depart in peace, According to Your word; ³⁰ For my eyes have seen Your salvation, ³¹ Which You have prepared in the presence of all peoples, ³² A Light of revelation to the Gentiles, And the glory of Your people Israel.” ³³ And His father and mother were amazed at the things which were being said about Him. ³⁴ And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary His mother, “Behold, this Child is appointed for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and for a sign to be opposed— ³⁵ and a sword will pierce even your own soul—to the end that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.”” - A man named Simeon at the temple recognizes baby Jesus as the Messiah

8.1. Contrary to what many have taught, there is really no indication from the gospels that Simeon was a priest. However, Simeon was a righteous man and he lived each day awaiting the consolation of Israel (the revelation of the Messiah to Israel), and the Holy Spirit was upon him.

8.2. Contrary to tradition it is also the case that there is no evidence that Simeon was a very old man. This seems to have come about because after seeing baby Jesus that Simeon makes the remark that he could now die, but this remark gives us no proof that he is an old man.

8.3. Simeon was either in the Court of the Gentiles or the Court of Women since Mary, being a woman, could have only gone to either of those two places.

8.4. Simeon stops Joseph and Mary as they are heading into the temple to dedicate their firstborn according to the Law.

8.5. On this occasion, and we’re not sure exactly when, Simeon had received a revelation from the Lord that he would not die until he had seen ‘the Lord’s Christ’ (Messiah).

8.6. Simeon sings a song of prophetic praise here to the Lord, and the church named this song the “Nunc Dimitris” because of the first line in the Latin translation of the song.

8.7. Simeon’s praise comes about because the Lord had fulfilled His promise doing all things “according to His word.”

8.8. Notice here that Simeon knew by the Holy Spirit that salvation from Jesus would be extended to ‘all peoples,’ Jesus even being ‘a light of revelation to the Gentiles.’

8.9. Simeon mentions prophetically that not everyone would be happy about this child being born for Jesus, ‘is appointed for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and for a sign to be opposed.’

8.9.1. It appears that Simeon understood Isaiah 8:14 and 28:16 which speak of the Messiah being the chief corner stone and stone of stumbling (see also 1 Peter 2:7-8).

8.10. Jesus would reveal the truth wherever He went and thus Simeon mentions here that thoughts from many hearts would be revealed. When people are confronted with Jesus it brings out their true colors in regard to their love for and desire to serve the Lord. The big question for people is, “What will you do with Jesus?”

8.11. Likewise, Simeon mentions how that a ‘sword’ would even pierce Mary’s heart. The Greek word translated ‘sword’ here actually means a huge and broad two-edged sword, perhaps like that which Goliah the Philistine giant had once used.

8.11.1. Mary would have the thoughts of her own heart revealed by her son Jesus, and this would pierce her. However, seeing her son hanging upon the cross of Calvary must have been the greatest piercing she experienced by Jesus.

8.12. As with Simeon, should not all of God’s people be anxiously anticipating the soon coming of our Messiah. Jesus can come at any moment for His church and then we will be “raptured” up to be with Him in the clouds, and so shall be always be with the Lord (1 Thess. 4:17).

9. VS 2:36-39 - “³⁶ And there was a prophetess, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years and had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, ³⁷ and then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple, serving night and day with fastings and prayers. ³⁸ At that very moment she came up and began giving thanks to God, and continued to speak of Him to all those who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem. ³⁹ When they had performed everything according to the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own city of Nazareth.” - A prophetess named Anna at the temple recognizes Jesus as the Messiah

9.1. Anna (her name means “grace”) was a woman who had married early in her life (perhaps as young as 12 years old), however after only 7 years of marriage she had become a widow. Ever since becoming a widow she showed her devotion to the Lord by serving continually in the temple and by fasting and praying to the Lord, and thus the length of time that she had served the Lord in the temple in this way may have been up to 65 years.

9.1.1. Widows who served in this capacity were greatly honored in Israel and we even find in the New Testament a reference to the dedication and service of older widows in this capacity in the church, “a woman who is a widow indeed.”

9.2. According to the Lord’s perfect timing, Anna happens to come up to Simeon, Joseph, Mary, and baby Jesus just as Simeon had been giving his prophetic hymn of praise. Through the Holy Spirit, Anna immediately recognized that this baby was in fact the Messiah and that the Lord was fulfilling His word in bringing this child into the world at this time.

9.3. Anna began to be an evangelist there in the temple and ‘speak of Him’ to everyone who like her were looking for the redemption that the Messiah would bring to Israel.

9.4. After completing all that the Law of Moses required concerning the birth of baby Jesus, Joseph and Mary returned to their home city of Nazareth in Galilee.

10. CONCLUSIONS:

10.1. In review, in our study we have observed:

10.1.1. Three witnesses to the birth of Jesus: shepherds, Simeon, Anna.

10.1.2. Every Old Testament prophecy concerning the birth of Jesus fulfilled.

10.1.3. The Law of Moses being kept to the very letter in everything by Joseph and Mary in the birth and dedication of Jesus.

10.2. As we consider the events of this story and how that the Lord was working mightily behind the scenes to bring together several witnesses of the events of Jesus’ birth and also to fulfill so many prophecies concerning the birth of Jesus, the Messiah, let us give our hearts to trust in Him. Trust that the Lord has you in his mind, as 2 Chron. 16:9 tells us, and that He will also be faithful to perform every promise He has made on your behalf, “⁹ “For the eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His.”

10.3. As we consider the events of the story of Jesus’ birth and dedication to the Lord at the temple, we need to realize that just as the Lord has fulfilled everything in prophecy that referred to Jesus’ birth so He also has and will fulfill everything that pertains to Jesus’ procuring of eternal salvation for you. Jesus came to be born a baby so that in 33 years He could die upon the cross conquering sin, death, hell, the grave, and the Devil. Trust Him to save you.

10.4. Jesus not only touched the lives of many people in our study, giving them a radiant faith, people such as the shepherds, Simeon, Anna, and others, He also wants to touch your life and give you a radiant faith as a result of this study.

10.5. Like Simeon, lets anxiously await the return of Jesus for us for He can return at any moment for His church.

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