And when eight days were fulfilled for circumcising him, his name was called Jesus, which was the name given by the angel before he had been conceived in the womb.
On the eighth day of His life the newborn Jesus is circumcised, and He receives the name heaven had already chosen. Why would the sinless One submit to a sign meant for sinful flesh, and what does that name commit Him to?
Luke keeps the Lord inside Israel's ordinances from His first week. The naming follows local custom; the timing follows the law.
The child receives the name of Jesus on the day of His circumcision, as Jewish custom required (see Luke 1:59). But the name came from the purposes and revelations of God, brought by the angels of His power. Every step followed the law, for at this point in history we are still linked with Israel. He who was born of a woman was born under the law.
Circumcision cuts away flesh: a judgment on human nature. Writers link His case to two other moments where He took a place He did not need.
We also note that our Lord was circumcised on the eighth day, as the law required, though there was no sinful flesh in Him to be "put off." It matches His baptism by John, which fulfilled all righteousness, though He had no sins to confess as the people did. It matches too His being taken down to Egypt, so that, retracing Israel's history, these words could be true of Him: "Out of Egypt I called My Son."
The nation failed; in Him the sign found a true answer.
In Christ there was a true answer to His circumcision. Where Israel as a nation had failed, He triumphed.
The rite was not a formality. It bound Him to the whole legal system.
His circumcision, as the apostle says of it, makes Him "obligated to keep the whole law" (Gal. 5:3). "But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons" (Gal. 4:4-5). So He pledges Himself to full obedience to the law, and for Him it will never be relaxed. To others He is to be the Source of a grace He will never know Himself. And the law itself marks out a special place for Him, apart from all others.
Mary and Joseph did not pick this name.
They carefully keep the ordinances of the law, and at His circumcision on the eighth day the child receives the name Jesus, the name God decided before He was conceived. This too was announced to Joseph while Mary was pregnant with her firstborn (Matt. 1:18-21).
The word itself carries the divine name, and the wonder is who is wearing it.
As Hebrews 4:8 shows, Jesus is the Greek form of Joshua, or Jehoshua, which means "Jehovah is salvation," or "whose salvation is Jehovah." So there is good reason for the common remark that the name Jesus means Jehovah the Saviour. And what a subject that gives us to think about, yes, and to adore! God Himself declares that a child born into the world, of humble parents in man's eyes, is Jehovah the Saviour!
The rite and the name stand in one verse, and they explain each other.
At His circumcision He receives the name "Jesus" (Jehovah the Saviour), the name Scripture spoke of: "you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins" (Matt. 1:21). He comes under the law as the Redeemer from under it.
Some readers take Paul's phrase "the circumcision of Christ" in Colossians 2:11 as a reference back to this day. One writer says it points elsewhere.
The words in Colossians 2:11 do not refer to those in Luke 2:21 at all. We can also translate "circumcision of Christ" as "cutting off of Christ" — words that remind us of familiar verses in Old Testament prophecy. "He was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people" (Isa. 53:8). "And after the sixty-two weeks, an anointed one shall be cut off and shall have nothing" (Dan. 9:26; older translations read "Messiah shall be cut off"). Put these two Scriptures together and it becomes clear that Paul's words, "circumcision of Christ", point to the Lord's death on the cross — the place of judgment, where He was cut off.
- Under — On the eighth day He takes His place under the law of Moses, not above it.
- Undeserved — The sign judged sinful flesh, and there was none in Him to cut away. Like His baptism, He took a place He did not need.
- Bound — Circumcision obligated Him to keep the whole law. He pledged full obedience, and He never received one concession.
- Named — On the same day He receives the name God settled before He was even conceived: Jehovah is salvation.
- Redeemer — The two facts interpret each other. He came under the law to redeem those under it — a work finished not at His circumcision but at the cross.
And when the days were fulfilled for their purifying according to the law of Moses, they brought him to Jerusalem to present [him] to the Lord
Mary and Joseph carry the newborn Jesus into the temple. Every step follows rules written centuries earlier. Why did a sinless child need anything done "according to the Law of Moses"? And why would God place His Son under the law at all?
Luke returns to the same point again and again. One commentator counts the mentions.
They took great care that every detail concerning the Christ was carried out as the law of the Lord had ordained. Five times over Luke states that the law was observed — verses 22, 23, 24, 27, 39. We presume we must credit this excellent feature to Joseph, the husband of Mary — this careful obedience to the Word of God.
It also placed Jesus inside Israel, met on the nation's own terms.
Here we see the Lord Jesus under the law of Moses… Luke preserves the two traits we have noticed as the characteristics of his Gospel. First, he shows that the Lord met Israel fully according to God's ordinances. He was presented in the strictest compliance with the law, "to the Jew first."
The verse says their purification. So who needed cleansing?
His mother at the same time brought the offering for herself prescribed in Leviticus 12:8, a burnt offering and a sin offering, to make atonement for her, that she should be clean. For the male child who opened the womb, no atonement was ever required on such an occasion. Yet everyone except Mary's child was born in sin.
The same writer weighs what her offerings confessed.
She came at the end of the appointed forty days with two birds, one for a burnt offering and one for a sin offering. The priest offered them to make atonement for her… Her burnt offering and sin offering spoke of her condition as a child of Adam, but also of God's grace, which could meet it by sacrifice.
The presentation is a second act, separate from the purification. What did it commit Him to?
He is afterwards presented to the Lord as a firstborn Son; or, as the law expresses it, one opening the womb… His circumcision, as the apostle says of this, makes Him "obligated to keep the whole law" (Galatians 5:3)… So He pledges Himself to full legal obedience, which for Him is to have no relaxation. To others He is to be the Source of a grace which for Himself He is never to know.
Their sacrifice also says something about the home Jesus was born into.
Everything was done according to the law, for at this point we are still dealing with Israel. He who was born of a woman was born under the law. The sacrifice offered for the purification of His mother also shows the poverty into which Jesus was born.
Commentators tie this scene to Galatians 4:4.
His parents had brought the baby in to do for Him "after the custom of the law." So we have both features of Galatians 4:4, "born of woman, born under the law." It is important to see that He did come as born under the law. That was necessary if blessing was to come to the Gentiles. Every righteous requirement was fulfilled.
Yet birth under the law was not where God's purpose stopped.
Was God's business done when the Son was here, born of woman, born under the law? By no means. The incarnation was only the means, not the end. Redemption was the great point to which God turned.
One writer sees Christ here taking His people's place.
No defilement needed to be put away in connection with the birth of our blessed Lord. But just as in His baptism and in His death, He stands as the representative of His people. So we may say that at the very time of His presentation to God, the witness of His own sacrifice is given, so that His people may be presented and cleansed in the presence of God.
- Under law. Born of a woman, He was born under the law. Luke notes five times over that every detail was carried out as the law required.
- Her purification. The cleansing was the mother's, not the child's. No atonement was ever required for the firstborn son, though everyone except her child was born in sin.
- Her offering. Her two birds confessed the poverty of the home. Her burnt offering and sin offering confessed her condition as a child of Adam.
- His pledge. Presented as the one who opened the womb, He bound Himself to full obedience with no relaxation. To others He became the source of a grace He would never need Himself.
- The end in view. The incarnation was the means, not the end. Redemption was the great point, so blessing could reach the Gentiles too.
(as it is written in the law of [the] Lord Every male that opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord),
Luke stops the story to quote the law itself. It explains why Joseph and Mary brought the child to Jerusalem: an old rule from Israel's escape from Egypt claimed every firstborn son for God. Why did this holy Child come under a law made for others? And what did His parents pay to obey it?
"Opens the womb" points to the firstborn son. The claim on him goes back to Israel's exodus from Egypt.
The point to highlight is in verse 23: it is a quotation from the law. "Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord" (Ex. 13:2). At the time of Israel's exodus from Egypt, God established His rights as Redeemer. He wanted those rights shown in every firstborn baby boy. So when the Lord Jesus came into the world, Joseph and Mary obeyed. Their action acknowledged God's rights over Christ as a man and as one of God's people on earth.
Luke keeps returning to the law in this short section.
Every detail concerning the Christ was carried out with great care, exactly as the law of the Lord had ordained. Five times over the record states that the law was observed — verses 22, 23, 24, 27, 39. We presume the credit for this careful obedience to the Word of God belongs to Joseph, the husband of Mary.
The law of the firstborn marked Him out, and He took that place on purpose.
So He pledges Himself to full legal obedience, and for Him that obedience will never be relaxed. To others He is to be the Source of a grace which for Himself He is never to know. And the law itself marks out for Him a special place, apart from all others… He comes under the law as the Redeemer from under it.
The law had a claim on Him, and yet He stood above it.
Simeon sees that in that baby there was One altogether above the law. In grace He might become subject to it, and His parents were, of course, right to show full respect for its rules.
The firstborn son had to be bought back with money.
No atonement was ever required for the male child who opened the womb, though everyone but the Virgin's child was born in sin… Redemption by money, for every firstborn male of the twelve tribes, was a necessity. But this redemption by money was not redemption from judgment. The two have too often been confused. So the Lord Jesus was not exempted from it, as the historian's reference to the law (2:23) makes clear.
The law fixed both the timing and the price.
It was thirty-three days after the circumcision — that is, when a baby boy was forty days old… The redemption money was five shekels (Num. 18:15).
The law called every firstborn holy. Only one child was holy in fact.
He was "the Holy One of God," "Jesus Christ the righteous." Indeed, He was the only one whose human nature was, or ever could be, called holy… His humanity was holy from the very first, despite being born of a fallen race.
The law set apart every firstborn for God. In His case that place reached further.
Every firstborn male child in Israel was to be set apart for God, recognising His rights as Creator-Redeemer, and dedicated to Him and His service. Later this was limited to the Levites, but it remains a beautiful picture for believers today. The Lord Jesus was not only born among His people on earth. He also represents a whole new generation, without sin, "sin apart." He did not have a human father, as every one of us has. He represents a new beginning: Head of a new generation, Firstborn of a new order. Introducing this new order, He is set apart for God from the very start.
Every requirement was met — and not for any need of His own.
Here everything the law required is fulfilled. Of course no defilement needed to be put away at the birth of our blessed Lord. But here, as in His baptism and in His death, He stands as the representative of His people. So we may say that at the very moment of His presentation to God, the witness of the sacrifice of Himself is given, so that His people may be presented and cleansed in the presence of God.
- Claim — the words come from the law given at the Exodus. God claimed every firstborn son as His own.
- Obedience — Luke names the law five times in this one passage. The family met every requirement, and the credit likely belongs to Joseph.
- Cost — the law made no exception for Him: five shekels of redemption money. That money never rescued anyone from judgment. He came under the law to redeem those under it.
- Holiness — the law called every firstborn holy. Only His humanity was holy in fact, from the very first, in a fallen race.
- Us — the Firstborn of a new order stands there for His people, so they may be presented and cleansed before God.
and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the law of [the] Lord A pair of turtle doves, or two young pigeons.
The last thing Luke records at the temple is not a speech. It is a receipt: two small birds, the cheapest sacrifice the law allowed. That one detail says two things. The Child stood under the law of Moses, and His family could not afford a lamb.
Luke keeps the whole scene on Jewish ground. Naming, circumcision, presentation, sacrifice — each step follows the written rule. The sacrifice they chose also reports what the family could afford.
The child receives the name of Jesus on the day of His circumcision, following Jewish custom. Yet the name came from the counsels and revelations of God, made known by the angels of His power. Everything was done according to the law, for at this stage the history is still tied to Israel. He who was born of a woman was born under the law. The sacrifice offered for the purification of His mother also shows the poverty into which Jesus was born.
One commentator ties this obedience to blessing reaching beyond Israel.
His parents had brought the Babe in to do for Him "according to the custom of the Law." So we have both features of Galatians 4:4, "born of woman, born under the law." It is important to see that He did come "born under the law." That was necessary if blessing was to reach the Gentiles. He fulfilled every righteous requirement.
The law asked for a lamb after childbirth. Birds were the option for those who could not afford one, and Luke records which of the two this family brought.
Here Luke gives us more than Matthew does — the Jewish evidence of the poverty of the holy family. Earlier we saw the contempt of man proved in the lowly circumstances of the Lord's birth. … The books of Moses show that this sacrifice was the provision for parents who were very poor. So Luke keeps the two traits that mark his Gospel. The first: he shows that the Lord met Israel in full accord with God's ordinances, presented in the strictest compliance with the law, "to the Jew first."
Leviticus made room for the poor. Compare that provision with Luke's record, and you see how far God stooped.
We read here the grace of God to the poor. And by comparing the closing verse of Leviticus 12 with Luke 2:24, we learn the amazing depth to which God stooped to show that grace. … From this simple fact we learn something about the reputed parents of our blessed Lord Jesus. They were so poor that they had to use the gracious provision made for those who could not afford "a lamb for a burnt offering." What a thought! The Lord of Glory, the most High God, Possessor of heaven and earth, owns "the cattle on a thousand hills" — yes, the wealth of the universe. Yet He appeared in the world which His hands had made, in the narrow circumstances of humble life.
The sacrifice belonged to the mother, not to the Child. One of the two birds was a sin offering, and it made atonement for her.
His mother at the same time brought the offering for herself prescribed in Leviticus 12:8, a burnt offering and a sin offering, to make atonement for her, that she should be clean. For the firstborn male child, no atonement was ever required on such an occasion. Every other child was born in sin; the Virgin's child was not. … Mary could take advantage of the provision in the law for those unable to bring a lamb, and so brought two birds. Her offering showed her poverty. The purpose for which she brought them showed her need as a sinful creature.
The cheapest offering was still a real one. Commentators read the doves as a picture of Christ Himself.
Turtle-doves and pigeons are the lowest grade of burnt offerings. These were for the poorest of the people. As a picture, they express the weakest faith in Christ and the lowest estimate of His work. But here too we read that God accepted it as an offering made by fire, a sweet aroma to the Lord. These birds speak of Christ as do the ox and the lamb. The dove is the bird of peace, love and sorrow. The dove pictures Him as holy and undefiled, filled with tenderness and love.
The poverty is not an accident of history to be pitied. It is the method of grace.
How, it may be asked, did Jesus become poor? He became poor in several ways. He was poor in this world's goods. His parents were poor. They took advantage of the special provision made "in the law of the Lord" for the poor. Too poor to afford a lamb, they offered instead "a pair of turtle doves or two young pigeons."
- Law kept. Every step at the temple followed the written rule. The One born of a woman was born under the law.
- Poverty proved. The law let anyone who could not afford a lamb bring two birds. Luke records that His family used it.
- Grace stooping. The Possessor of heaven and earth entered the world He made — in a home poor enough for the poor person's offering.
- Mother, not Child. The burnt offering and sin offering made atonement for Mary. The Child Himself needed none.
- Blessing widened. He fulfilled every righteous requirement of the law, so that blessing could reach the Gentiles too.