OPINION – Luke 2:21-24 - Jesus fulfills the old righteousness
MY PERSPECTIVE, Gary Damron
In our series on what the gospels tell us about Jesus, we now come to a four-verse passage about the Law. When God gave Moses the tablets of stone on Mount Sinai (Exodus 31:18), those were the first step in a framework that for centuries guided Jewish conduct and life. Until the time of Jesus' ministry, the Ten Commandments and Levitical rituals - plus regulations imposed by the Pharisees - had revealed needs and sins, and prescribed sacrifices to atone for them.
At Christmas time, we hear the story of the Christ child being born in Bethlehem. But there's more to that than the Nativity scene. The angels proclaimed a new kingdom and a new King. In our scripture today, Joseph and Mary in obedience brought their baby to the temple in Jerusalem. Paul wrote of the significance of this: "When the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, so that He might redeem those who were under the Law..." (Galatians 4:4-5). That includes us!
