Luke Week 7: Jesus The Early Years--Luke 2:22-52

What do you think it would be like to be the Parent of Jesus?

Luke 2:22-24

Jesus and his Parents had to go through three different rituals after his Birth.

Circumcision

Redemption of the First Born

Purification after Child Birth

Males were presented at the temple or synagogue on the 8th day after child birth for circumcision. In order that Mary would be able to enter the temple she would have had to bring a sacrifice of a lamb. However, because Mary and Joseph were considered poor they brought a sacrifice of two doves. This was an allotment that was provided in the Law for those that couldn’t afford a Lamb.

Not only would Mary and Joseph had to provide the doves, but because Jesus was a first born male they would have also had to perform the act of “redemption of the First Born”. The first born male of any family or livestock was to be offered up to God. Mary and Joseph would have had to pay a sum of 5 sheckles or a months wages in order to take Jesus home. Otherwise, he was to be offered up to the temple. This is because Children were seen as a gift from God and they did not actually belong to the parents.

Do we have any common Rituals today?

What do you think about the idea of Children Belonging to God?

Read Luke 2:25-40

Simeon and Anna were both known as “the Quiet in the Land”. It was common practice in the Jewish community that people fell in one of three views of the world. The first is that God was going to send the Messiah who would deliver the people of Israel from their oppressors. The second was the group that believed that God would intervene himself and do so miraculously. The third, are the “Quiet in the Land”. They waited quietly and patiently on God to deliver them. They did this through Prayer, worship, and a humble and faithful expectation that God would deliver them.

Simeon

Is the first of two who publicly share who recognize and share who Jesus is.

He does this in what is known as the hymn Nunc Dimittis in verse 29-32. He expresses that Jesus is God’s salvation and is the glory of Israel and a light to the Gentiles.

Luke 2:34-35

What do you think it means that Jesus is the falling and Rising of many in Israel?

How do we often view Jesus and our Relationship to Him?

Luke 2:36-38

Anna

Anna was a widow, she had a life of sorrow and difficulty as a widow. Yet she never loss hope.

How did Anna maintain her Hope?

Luke 2:41-52

Jesus as the Temple

Apart from this one story we do not have much about Jesus first thirty years of his life. There are stories out there from extra biblical sources that were produced much later in life of Jesus making clay pigeons come to life or Palm trees bowing to him. However, there is not enough historical evidence to suggest that these sources are reliable. Many would view them as works of fiction trying to fill in the gaps. The Gospels do not though present any substantial evidence of what life was like for Jesus as a young boy outside of this story.

Do you think it was easy to be in the same family as Jesus?

How do these stories help us to better relate or understand Jesus?