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 2:22
The connection between Simeon and the infant Jesus came about when Mary and Joseph brought him up to Jerusalem to present him before the Lord. This happened when the time came for their purification—forty days after the birth of the child.
You can hardly miss the importance of the law here, because it is referred to in each of the next three verses: “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 (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, ‘Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord’) and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the Law of the Lord, ‘a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons’” (2:22-24).
God has laws and they matter. But from Adam on, the human race has never produced a single person who has fulfilled the law of God. We produce great athletes—Michael Jordan and Muhammad Ali. We produce great business leaders—Steven Jobs and Bill Gates. We produce extraordinary minds—Pythagoras, Newton, and Einstein. But the human race has never produced a single person who has fulfilled the law of God.
Christ came to do on our behalf what we had not done, and what we could not do for ourselves—fulfill the law. This is the great significance of the virgin birth. He did not come from the human race. He came to the human race. He is the gift of God to us.
Reflect on God’s gift to us, and let it lead you to thanksgiving.
