Consecrated to the LORD

Luke 2:21-24

²¹ 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.

²² 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 ²³ (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord”), ²⁴ 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.”

When was the last time you heard a sermon on “The Naming of Jesus”? When was the last time you read these words from Luke 2? We remember the first 20 verses—the familiar story of Jesus’ birth and the angels’ announcement over the hills of Bethlehem. We remember verses 25-51—the story of Simeon and Anna, and the story of the boy Jesus in the temple. In the wake of Christmas we usually don’t take time to consider what Jesus accomplished for us in these 4 short verses.

The Law of Moses required that “every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the LORD” (Exodus 13:2,12). God demanded that gift as a reminder of the miracle he accomplished at the first Passover. When the lamb’s blood was painted on the doorframe, the angel of death passed over the homes and spared the Israelites’ firstborn. By dedicating their firstborn to the LORD, the Israelites remembered their gracious deliverance by the LORD’s own hand.

When Mary and Joseph brought Jesus to the temple and consecrated him to the LORD, it offered more than just a look back at God’s deliverance from the land of Egypt. They caught a glimpse of the deliverance God would provide just 33 ½ years later! Jesus was set apart from birth to execute God’s plan of salvation. From his first breath until his last, he was dedicated to his Father’s will. No wonder he was surprised at his parents as he sat in the temple courts: "Why were you searching for me? Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?" (Luke 2:49).

Is that how we plan? Do we take care of all the details years in advance, and then watch as they all come to perfect completion? We can’t. We aren’t God. We don’t know what January 1, 2010, holds for us, let alone a whole year, or an entire lifetime. That doesn’t have to be worrisome. We have a God who planned for the smallest things, like having his Son consecrated in the Temple. He will take care of the small details in our lives, as well as being there for us in every major event, good or bad. That’s what enables us to wish each other a Happy New Year!

To God alone the glory!                Pastor Jon Brohn