Written by Today is the second Sunday following Christmas. Were Jesus actually born on December 25th (scholars believe the actual date of His birth would most likely have been in the middle of April of 6 BC) he would be nine days old and recovering from the wounds of His circumcision.
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. 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. Luke 2:21-22 (ESV)
From Leviticus 12: 4 we learn that at least thirty three days elapse between verse 21 and 22 of Luke.
1 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to the people of Israel, saying, ‘If a woman conceives and bears a male child, then she shall be unclean seven days. As at the time of her menstruation, she shall be unclean. 3 And on the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised. 4 Then she shall continue for thirty-three days in the blood of her purifying. She shall not touch anything holy, nor come into the sanctuary, until the days of her purifying are completed. 5 But if she bears a female child, then she shall be unclean two weeks, as in her menstruation. And she shall continue in the blood of her purifying for sixty-six days. Leviticus 12:1-5 (ESV)
Think of all the legal minutiae which Joseph and Mary had to complete so that Jesus would be ritually pure in order that He would be a perfect law keeper according to the Mosaic law. Joseph and Mary could have never have fully understood the true eternal significance of each and every act of obedience which they performed. We all benefit from their obedience, however. God choose well when he gave such an important assignment to the two of them. They were capable of blind obedience.
This raises the question in my mind, “What could God accomplish through me today if like Joseph and Mary I submitted and obeyed Him completely even blindly?”
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