The Angelic Choir and Christ as Priest

Luke 2:22–38 “22 And when the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord 23 (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”) 24 and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the Law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.” 25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 26 And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. 27 And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, 28 he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said, 29 “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word; 30 for my eyes have seen your salvation 31 that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, 32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel.” 33 And his father and his mother marveled at what was said about him. 34 And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed 35 (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.” 36 And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived with her husband seven years from when she was a virgin, 37 and then as a widow until she was eighty-four. She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day. 38 And coming up at that very hour she began to give thanks to God and to speak of him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.”

This was a time that revealed Jesus’ priestly role:

Sacrifices happened

Luke 2:22–24 “22 And when the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord 23 (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”) 24 and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the Law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.””

Luke 2:25–32 “25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 26 And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. 27 And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, 28 he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said, 29 “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word; 30 for my eyes have seen your salvation 31 that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, 32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel.””

Referring ultimately to his death that she witnessed

Luke 2:35 “35 (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.””

Payment for sin

Luke 2:38 “38 And coming up at that very hour she began to give thanks to God and to speak of him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.”

Running theme:

Luke 2:33 “33 And his father and his mother marveled at what was said about him.”

Luke 2:18–19 “18 And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart.”

Luke 2:51 “51 And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them. And his mother treasured up all these things in her heart.”

These verses connect with the announcement of angels: glory to God and peace to men.

We saw last week how Jesus is King in the most exalted and absolute sense. But since we came to use his royalty for the good of the people who serve him, we saw him come humbly to earth, as a baby in humbled circumstances.

Indeed, Jesus came to be King and serve his people by saving them

And how he saves is to be a priest and a prophet to his people.

This week, as we move on in Luke 2, we will see the priesthood of Jesus come out and see how this is the salvation Jesus has brought for his subjects.

Before we look at the text I want to remind you what was revealed in the Scriptures about the need and the role of the priest.

Remember the Israelites in the wilderness had broken faith with God by making a golden calf and worshipped it.

And in order for God to remain with the people, be their presence, and go with them to the promise land, the tabernacle needed to be built and sacrifices established to cover their sins and make it so they can be near to God.

Thus the law of the sacrifice and tabernacle was revealed to Moses.

And what you see in these laws are two major things:

The sacrifice must be pure and holy.

The one doing the sacrifice must be pure and holy.

Sacrifice:

Leviticus 22:20–21 “20 You shall not offer anything that has a blemish, for it will not be acceptable for you. 21 And when anyone offers a sacrifice of peace offerings to the Lord to fulfill a vow or as a freewill offering from the herd or from the flock, to be accepted it must be perfect; there shall be no blemish in it.”

Exodus 12:5 “5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male a year old. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats,”

Malachi 1:8 “8 When you offer blind animals in sacrifice, is that not evil? And when you offer those that are lame or sick, is that not evil? Present that to your governor; will he accept you or show you favor? says the Lord of hosts.”

The one doing sacrifice

Leviticus 16:30 “30 For on this day shall atonement be made for you to cleanse you. You shall be clean before the Lord from all your sins.”

Day of atonement:

Leviticus 16:23–25 “23 “Then Aaron shall come into the tent of meeting and shall take off the linen garments that he put on when he went into the Holy Place and shall leave them there. 24 And he shall bathe his body in water in a holy place and put on his garments and come out and offer his burnt offering and the burnt offering of the people and make atonement for himself and for the people. 25 And the fat of the sin offering he shall burn on the altar.”

Leviticus 21:1–6 “1 And the Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them, No one shall make himself unclean for the dead among his people, 2 except for his closest relatives, his mother, his father, his son, his daughter, his brother, 3 or his virgin sister (who is near to him because she has had no husband; for her he may make himself unclean). 4 He shall not make himself unclean as a husband among his people and so profane himself. 5 They shall not make bald patches on their heads, nor shave off the edges of their beards, nor make any cuts on their body. 6 They shall be holy to their God and not profane the name of their God. For they offer the Lord’s food offerings, the bread of their God; therefore they shall be holy.”

Exodus 28:36–38 “36 “You shall make a plate of pure gold and engrave on it, like the engraving of a signet, ‘Holy to the Lord.’ 37 And you shall fasten it on the turban by a cord of blue. It shall be on the front of the turban. 38 It shall be on Aaron’s forehead, and Aaron shall bear any guilt from the holy things that the people of Israel consecrate as their holy gifts. It shall regularly be on his forehead, that they may be accepted before the Lord.”

And what we have from verses 21-24 is Luke showing how from a baby Jesus was fulfilling all the laws of Moses so as to be prepared to be a pure sacrifice.

Three different laws with three ands:

Luke 2:21 “21 And at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.”

Luke 2:22–23 “22 And when the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord 23 (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”)”

Luke 2:24 “24 and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the Law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.””

And a good way to summarize the time Jesus spent at the temple as a baby is:

Luke 2:39 “39 And when they had performed everything according to the Law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth.”

Jesus, is being described by Luke as being totally in conformity with the law of God in preparation of his role as priest.

We see this further from the comments a man name Simeon makes, and as Luke introduces this man we get the longing from him for the coming Messiah who saves:

Luke 2:25–28 “25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 26 And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. 27 And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, 28 he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said,”

Again, the Scriptures point to Jesus as prophet, priest and king, and it also reveals the longing from God’s people for the Christ, or the promise one to come and fulfill these roles for his people.

And this man’s longing is revealed in Jesus’ being prepared as a sacrifice for the people:

Luke 2:29–32 “29 “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word; 30 for my eyes have seen your salvation 31 that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, 32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel.””

Prepared:

2 Chronicles 35:4–16 “4 Prepare yourselves according to your fathers’ houses by your divisions, as prescribed in the writing of David king of Israel and the document of Solomon his son. 5 And stand in the Holy Place according to the groupings of the fathers’ houses of your brothers the lay people, and according to the division of the Levites by fathers’ household. 6 And slaughter the Passover lamb, and consecrate yourselves, and prepare for your brothers, to do according to the word of the Lord by Moses.” 7 Then Josiah contributed to the lay people, as Passover offerings for all who were present, lambs and young goats from the flock to the number of 30,000, and 3,000 bulls; these were from the king’s possessions. 8 And his officials contributed willingly to the people, to the priests, and to the Levites. Hilkiah, Zechariah, and Jehiel, the chief officers of the house of God, gave to the priests for the Passover offerings 2,600 Passover lambs and 300 bulls. 9 Conaniah also, and Shemaiah and Nethanel his brothers, and Hashabiah and Jeiel and Jozabad, the chiefs of the Levites, gave to the Levites for the Passover offerings 5,000 lambs and young goats and 500 bulls. 10 When the service had been prepared for, the priests stood in their place, and the Levites in their divisions according to the king’s command. 11 And they slaughtered the Passover lamb, and the priests threw the blood that they received from them while the Levites flayed the sacrifices. 12 And they set aside the burnt offerings that they might distribute them according to the groupings of the fathers’ houses of the lay people, to offer to the Lord, as it is written in the Book of Moses. And so they did with the bulls. 13 And they roasted the Passover lamb with fire according to the rule; and they boiled the holy offerings in pots, in cauldrons, and in pans, and carried them quickly to all the lay people. 14 And afterward they prepared for themselves and for the priests, because the priests, the sons of Aaron, were offering the burnt offerings and the fat parts until night; so the Levites prepared for themselves and for the priests, the sons of Aaron. 15 The singers, the sons of Asaph, were in their place according to the command of David, and Asaph, and Heman, and Jeduthun the king’s seer; and the gatekeepers were at each gate. They did not need to depart from their service, for their brothers the Levites prepared for them. 16 So all the service of the Lord was prepared that day, to keep the Passover and to offer burnt offerings on the altar of the Lord, according to the command of King Josiah.”

Mark 15:42 “42 And when evening had come, since it was the day of Preparation, that is, the day before the Sabbath,”

Matthew 27:62 “62 The next day, that is, after the day of Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate”

John 19:14 “14 Now it was the day of Preparation of the Passover. It was about the sixth hour. He said to the Jews, “Behold your King!””

Matthew Poole: The preparation to any feast signifies the day before it, because on that day they prepared whatsoever according to the law was necessary for the solemnization.

Hebrews 10:5 “5 Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said, “Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body have you prepared for me;”

Luke 2:32 “32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel.””

Although Jesus fulfilled the Law of Moses to be a proper sacrifice and priest for salvation, it was not just for the Jews but rather for the entire world.

Thus when God says:

Luke 3:22 “22 and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form, like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.””

He is well pleased with Jesus because he not only was pure in light of the Law of Moses, but the law of God in general.

Jesus is presented as the one God has prepared to be the one who offers himself up as a pure sacrifice for the salvation of the world.

But then Simeon moves to the response of people to what God has done in Jesus:

Luke 2:33–35 “33 And his father and his mother marveled at what was said about him. 34 And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed 35 (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.””