Day 6 - Turmoil in the Temple

Read Luke 2:21-38 (yes this happened before the wise men got there)

Have you ever debated about what to name your kid?

The Jews only named their kids after they were circumcised, which happened on the eighth day. This gave them eight whole days to debate on the baby’s name. Jesus’ parents follow this timeline and on the eight day gave him the name Jesus, which means ‘The Lord saves’ and is similar to the name Joshua. But wait, wasn’t the baby supposed to be called Immanuel, “God with Us”? Actually Immanuel is a title for the baby. And people have been calling him that every year for centuries... “O Come, O Come Emmanuel ...”

In verse 22 it says that the family went to Jerusalem for their purification. This ceremony is a two-fold for both Mary’s purification after birth and for Jesus’ dedication. In the Old Testament, God commanded that the first-born animals or sons had to be redeemed by a special offering. The required sacrifice was a lamb. But Jesus’ family was so poor that they had to opt for the exception clause in sacrificing two doves.

Here we see two things. First, that God became poor, so poor that his family wasn’t even able to worship at the same standards as everyone else. Second, we see that Mary and Joseph did all that they could to follow the Law and worship God. This is important because Jesus is said to have fulfilled the Law even as a baby.
Now imagine the scene. Mary and Joseph are a bit discouraged about their finances and just finishing up their baby dedication and a great big man runs up and excitedly grabs the baby Jesus. He launches into this loud preachy prayer about how God can let him die now that he has seen the savior of the world. He stands there lifting up the baby and shouting about God’s mighty work for all people even the Gentiles, while Mary and Joseph just stand there and shuffle awkwardly. Then the large man, Simeon, turns to the parents and starts revealing some hard things about their future and the future of their son.

Before Simeon had finished yelling at everyone, a really old woman hobbled over and joined in with the praises of Simeon. Mary and Joseph recognized her as Anna the widow who was over a hundred years old and never left the temple. Then she starts squawking to anyone who would listen about the redemption of Jerusalem through this baby.

Mary and Joseph were once stuck just in awe of the attention this seemingly insignificant baby received.



Questions for Reflection

• What do the meanings of the names Jesus and Immanuel teach us about His nature and mission?


• Isn’t it shocking that God who literally owns everything became poor, likely poor enough that people noticed his family didn’t have enough money?


• Do we rejoice when we see Jesus like Simeon and Anna? Or have we grown accustomed to being around or flippantly talking to or about him?

• This is the first time in Luke we hear mention of Jesus’ mission to the gentiles. Spend time today thanking God that he sent Jesus as “a light for revelation to the Gentiles.”