The story is a familiar one: Joseph and Mary travel to Bethlehem where Jesus is born. Though familiar, it is glorious, for in it we read the second Person of the Trinity, the Son of God “was manifested in the flesh” (1 Tim. 3:16). He was not only born in humble conditions but humbled himself, as the apostle Paul describes it, “he [who] was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men” (Phil. 2:6-7). And such a glorious act of God’s love did not happen by accident but according to the providence of God.
Tag Archives: Luke 2
Of All Peoples
He who said that he came to “fulfill all righteousness” (Matt. 3:15) did, in perfect obedience to the Law of God, not only as an adult but as an infant, as we see in our passage today. According to the law, as the firstborn male, he was to be presented to the Lord, harking back to the Egyptian captivity and God’s preservation of Israel’s firstborn sons by the blood of the lamb. Jesus’ presentation also included his mother’s ceremonial purification, following childbirth, and a required sacrifice of a lamb or “a pair of turtledoves, or two you young pigeons” (2:24), the offering of a family of meager means. It is a humble yet beautiful picture of covenant faithfulness, obedience, and the early blessings of a godly home.
God’s Perfect Gift
We often think of the sudden, supernatural appearance of the heavenly host in relation to Jesus’ birth, and rightly so. But in a sense, their explosion of praise is but a commencement of our continued celebration. For, we are not waiting like the Old Testament saints or even the angels, but “in these last days [God] has spoken to us by his Son” (Hb. 1:2) and has revealed his redemptive purposes in his church. So, let the angelic chorus continue, “Glory to God in the highest!”
Planter, Pastor, Preacher 