Page 10 - Florida Sentinel 12-18-15 Edition

Sunday School
Dedication Of The Firstborn (Exodus 13:13–15; Luke 2:22–32)
through the dedication of the firstborn. The plague that was the last straw for Pharaoh was the death of the firstborn of every family in Egypt. The only escape for Israel from this ter- rible plague was to smear lamb’s blood on their door- posts (Exodus 12:7). That way their firstborn sons could escape death.
The way this was later re- membered was with an animal sacrifice purchased (re- deemed) in place of the first- born son. This redemption, mentioned twice in the text, functioned as a reminder and gave cause for celebration. Ex- odus 13:13b-15
No doubt one reason God chose Mary and Joseph to be the earthly parents of Jesus was their devout obedience. Following Jesus’ birth and cir- cumcision, Mary and Joseph took Jesus to Jerusalem. The purpose of this was to present him to the Lord. The paren- thetical statement in verse 23 of our text underlines that even Jesus, as the firstborn of his family, had to be redeemed (consecrated or purified).
So for Jesus, the great sub-
stitute for sin, a substitution was made (a pair of doves or two young pigeons). This state- ment from the Scriptures tells us something about the eco- nomic status of Mary and Joseph, but even more it tells us of their obedience to the law. In this obedience our re- demption is anticipated. Luke 2:22-24
Obedience can lead to pro- fundity. Mary and Joseph were just following what the custom of the law required. But that obedience on their part led to an occasion to celebrate the re- demption that was forthcom- ing in Jesus.
An old man named Simeon, who was righteous and devout and maybe had spittle in his beard, approached the couple and took their baby in his arms. Maybe that would not be disconcerting in that culture, but it would sure be alarming for most of us. And, in light of what Simeon went on to say about Jesus being “destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel” (Luke 2:34), it must have unnerved Mary and Joseph to some extent.
Simeon joined the chorus of
witnesses in the birth narra- tives about Jesus in Luke 1, 2. Elizabeth sang, Mary sang, Zechariah sang, and here Simeon sang (or at least spoke). He spoke of the conso- lation of Israel. Like others, he had waited a long time for this. He spoke by divine inspiration. Mention is made of the work of the Holy Spirit three times in Luke 2:25-27. So these are not just his thoughts.
Note the deep reverence as Simeon directed his praise to God by referring to him as Sov- ereign Lord. Then Simeon made mention of three things: First, God kept his promise. The Holy Spirit had informed Simeon that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. For Simeon that was enough. He could die a happy man. Second, salvation is Jesus—not just an event. Third, this salvation was for every one in every nation (one of Luke’s great themes).
It is amazing that one little act of law keeping could under- line so much. God’s salvific acts combined with human obedience still saves lives. Luke 2:25-32
There is an old downward spiral to sin that goes like this: If you hesitate, you will con- template; if you contemplate, you will negotiate; if you nego- tiate, you will participate; and if you participate, you will des- ecrate. But maybe we could say that with the coming of Christ in his incarnation, God re- verses that downward spiral of sin to this: Redemption gives rise to celebration, which leads to purification, and in turn fol- lows through to consecration, which ultimately shows up as dedication.
As we celebrate Christmas this year, we take note of the dedication of Jesus by Mary and Joseph. The couple’s obe- dience to the law for their first- born son gave a unique
occasion for a prophetic cele- bration of the salvation that Jesus brought.
If we want to understand the Old Testament, we must understand the exodus. This act of redemption of God’s people from Egyptian slavery was so significant that God wanted it remembered in many ways and in many sea- sons. Observing Passover was to remind God’s people of the defeat of Pharaoh and their lib- eration from Egypt. Observing Tabernacles was to remind God’s people of the provisions that God made for the people in the wilderness after having brought them out of Egypt.
One way that God could cause Israel to once again re- member his redemption was
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