The Firstborn

It is written:

Luke 2:21-40
And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, His name was called JESUS [Saviour], which was so named of the angel before He was conceived in the womb.  

And when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were accomplished, they brought Him to Jerusalem, to present Him to the Lord;  (As it is written in the law of the Lord, Every male that opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord;) [Exodus 13:2]  and to offer a sacrifice according to that which is said in the law of the Lord, A pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.  [See Leviticus 12:6-8]

And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him. And it was revealed to him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord's Christ.  And he came by the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for Him after the custom of the law,  then took he him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said, Lord, now let You Your servant depart in peace, according to Your word: for my eyes have seen Your salvation, which You have prepared before the face of all people; a light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of Your people Israel. 

And Joseph and his mother marvelled at those things which were spoken of Him.  And Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary His mother, Behold, this Child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against;  (Yes, a sword shall pierce through your own soul also,) that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed. 

And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher: she was of a great age, and had lived with an husband seven years from her virginity [or marriage];  and she was a widow of about eighty-four years, which departed not from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day. And she coming in that instant gave thanks likewise to the Lord, and spoke of Him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem. 
And when they had performed all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own city Nazareth.  And the Child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon Him.

The dedication

About forty days after the birth of Christ, Joseph and Mary took Him to Jerusalem, to present Him to the Lord, and to offer sacrifice. This was according to the Jewish law, and as man's substitute Christ must conform to the law in every particular. He had already been subjected to the rite of circumcision, as a pledge of His obedience to the law. 

Genesis 17:10

This is My covenant, which you shall keep, between Me and you and your seed after you; every man child among you shall be circumcised.

Leviticus 12:3
And in the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised.

Notice that this pledge was made by His parents on His behalf, and would have to be ratified by Him when He came of age (about 13 in the Jewish culture).  He did this at His first visit to Jerusalem at a Passover.  Luke 2:46-50. 

As an offering for the new mother, the law required a lamb of the first year for a burnt offering, and a young pigeon or a turtledove for a sin offering. But the law provided that if the parents were too poor to bring a lamb, a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons, one for a burnt offering, the other for a sin offering, might be accepted. 

All the offerings presented to the Lord were to be without blemish, for these offerings represented Christ, and from this it is evident that Jesus Himself was free from physical deformity. He was the "lamb without blemish and without spot." 1 Peter 1:19. His physical structure was not marred by any defect; His body was strong and healthy. And throughout His lifetime He lived in conformity to nature's laws. Physically as well as spiritually, He was an example of what God designed all humanity to be through obedience to His laws. 

The dedication of the first-born had its origin in the earliest times. God had promised to give the First-born of heaven to save the sinner. This gift was to be acknowledged in every household by the consecration of the first-born son. He was to be devoted to the priesthood in the family, as a representative of Christ among men. 

The pass over

In the deliverance of Israel from Egypt, the dedication of the first-born was again commanded. While the children of Israel were in bondage to the Egyptians, the Lord directed Moses to go to Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and say, "Thus says the Lord, Israel is My son, even My first-born: and I say to you, Let My son go, that he may serve Me: and if you refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay your son, even your first-born." Exodus 4:22-23. 

Moses delivered his message; but the proud king's answer was, "Who is the Lord, that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I know not the Lord, neither will I let Israel go." Exodus 5:2. 

The Lord worked for His people, including the Egyptians, by signs and wonders, having to allow terrible judgments to fall upon the unrepentant Pharaoh and his followers, but being able to have periods of peace between the plagues. 

Exodus 9:19-21
[Moses said to Pharaoh at God’s request] Send therefore now, and gather your cattle, and all that you have in the field; for upon every man and beast which shall be found in the field, and shall not be brought home, the hail shall come down upon them, and they shall die. 

He that feared the word of the LORD among the servants of Pharaoh made his servants and his cattle flee into the houses: and he that regarded not the word of the LORD left his servants and his cattle in the field.

At length the destroying angel had to be granted permission to slay the first-born of man and beast among the Egyptians. That the Israelites might be spared, and to show that this angel did not come from God but was one of Satan’s followers, they were directed to place upon their door posts the blood of a slain lamb. Every house was to be marked, that when the angel came on his mission of death, he might have to pass over the homes of the Israelites and any Egyptians who might have found shelter there. 

After sending this judgment upon the remaining Egyptians as the direct result of their choice, the Lord said to Moses, "Sanctify to Me all the first-born, . . . both of man and of beast: it is Mine;" .... "for on the day that I smote all the first-born in the land of Egypt I hallowed to Me all the first-born in Israel, both man and beast: Mine shall they be: I am the Lord." Exodus 13:2; Numbers 3:13. 

However, after the tabernacle service was established, the Lord chose the tribe of Levi in the place of the first-born of all Israel to minister in the sanctuary as result of their definite stand during the golden calf incident.  Exodus 32:1-29.  But the first-born were still to be regarded as the Lord's, and were to be bought back by a ransom.  

Numbers 8:13-16
And you shall set the [the tribe of] Levites before Aaron, and before his sons, and offer them for an offering to the LORD.  Thus shall you separate the Levites from among the children of Israel: and the Levites shall be Mine. 

And after that shall the Levites go in to do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation: and you shall cleanse them, and offer them for an offering.  For they are wholly given to Me from among the children of Israel; instead of such as open every womb, even instead of the firstborn of all the children of Israel, have I taken them to Me.

Numbers 18:15
Every thing that opens the matrix [womb] in all flesh, which they bring to the LORD, whether it be of men or beasts, shall be yours [he was speaking to the high priest ]: nevertheless the firstborn of man shall you surely redeem, and the firstling of unclean beasts shall you redeem.

The presentation of Christ

Thus the law for the presentation of the first-born was made particularly significant. While it was a memorial of the Lord's wonderful deliverance of the children of Israel, it prefigured a greater deliverance, to be wrought out by the only-begotten Son of God. As the blood sprinkled on the door posts had saved the first-born of Israel, so the blood of Christ has power to save the world. 

What meaning then was attached to Christ's presentation! But the priest did not see through the veil; he did not read the mystery beyond. The presentation of infants was a common scene. Day after day the priest received the redemption money as the babes were presented to the Lord. Day after day he went through the routine of his work, giving little heed to the parents or children, unless he saw some indication of the wealth or high rank of the parents. Joseph and Mary were poor; and when they came with their child, the priests saw only a man and woman dressed as Galileans, and in the humblest garments. There was nothing in their appearance to attract attention, and they presented only the offering made by the poorer classes. 

The priest went through the ceremony of his official work. He took the child in his arms, and held it up before the altar. After handing it back to its mother, he inscribed the name "Jesus" on the roll of the first-born. Little did he think, as the babe lay in his arms, that it was the Majesty of heaven, the King of glory.

The priest did not think that this babe was the One of whom Moses had written, "A Prophet shall the Lord your God raise up to you of your brethren, like to me; Him shall you hear in all things whatsoever He shall say to you." Acts 3:22. He did not think that this babe was He whose glory Moses had asked to see. But One greater than Moses lay in the priest's arms; and when he enrolled the child's name, he was enrolling the name of One who was the foundation of the whole Jewish economy. That name was to be its death warrant; for the system of sacrifices and offerings was waxing old; the type had almost reached its antitype, the shadow its substance. 

The Shekinah had departed from the sanctuary, but in the Child of Bethlehem was veiled the glory before which angels bow. This unconscious babe was the promised seed, to whom the first altar at the gate of Eden pointed. This was Shiloh, the peace giver. It was He who declared Himself to Moses as the “I am”. It was He who in the pillar of cloud and of fire had been the guide of Israel. This was He whom seers had long foretold. He was the Desire of all nations, the Root and the Offspring of David, and the Bright and Morning Star. 

The name of that helpless little babe, inscribed in the roll of Israel, declaring Him our brother, was the hope of fallen humanity. The child for whom the redemption money had been paid was He who was to pay the ransom for the sins of the whole world. He was the true "high priest over the house of God," the head of  "an unchangeable priesthood," the intercessor at "the right hand of the Majesty on high." Hebrews 10:21; 7:24; 1:3. 

Spiritual things are spiritually discerned

In the temple the Son of God was dedicated to the work He had come to do. The priest looked upon Him as he would upon any other child. But though he neither saw nor felt anything unusual, God's act in giving His Son to the world was acknowledged. This occasion did not pass without some recognition of Christ. "There was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the Consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him. And it was revealed to him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord's Christ." 

As Simeon enters the temple, he sees a family presenting their first-born son before the priest. Their appearance speaks poverty; but Simeon understands the warnings of the Spirit, and he is deeply impressed that the infant being presented to the Lord is the Consolation of Israel, the One he has longed to see. To the astonished priest, Simeon appears like a man enraptured. The child has been returned to Mary, and he takes it in his arms and presents it to God, while a joy that he has never before felt enters his soul. As he lifts the infant Saviour toward heaven, he says, "Lord, now let You Your servant depart in peace, according to Your word: for mine eyes have seen Your salvation, which You have prepared before the face of all people; a light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of Your people Israel." 

The spirit of prophecy was upon this man of God, and while Joseph and Mary stood by, wondering at his words, he blessed them, and said to Mary, "Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against; (yes, a sword shall pierce through your own soul also,) that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed." 

Anna also, a prophetess, came in and confirmed Simeon's testimony concerning Christ. As Simeon spoke, her face lighted up with the glory of God, and she poured out her heartfelt thanks that she had been permitted to behold Christ the Lord. 

These humble worshipers had not studied the prophecies in vain. But those who held positions as rulers and priests in Israel, though they too had before them the precious utterances of prophecy, were not walking in the way of the Lord, and their eyes were not open to behold the Light of life. 

So it is still

Events upon which the attention of all heaven is centered are still frequently undiscerned, their very occurrence is unnoticed, by religious leaders, and worshipers in the house of God. Men and women acknowledge Christ in history, while they turn away from the living Christ. Christ in His word calling to self-sacrifice, in the poor and suffering who plead for relief, in the righteous cause that involves poverty and toil and reproach, is no more readily received today than He was two thousand years ago. 

Mary pondered the broad and far-reaching prophecy of Simeon. As she looked upon the child in her arms, and recalled the words spoken by the shepherds of Bethlehem, she was full of grateful joy and bright hope. Simeon's words called to her mind the prophetic utterances of Isaiah: "There shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: and the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord. . . . And righteousness shall be the girdle of His loins, and faithfulness the girdle of His reins." Isaiah 11:1-5

"The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them has the light shined. . . . For to us a child is born, to us a son is given: and the government shall be upon His shoulder: and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace."  Isaiah 9:2-6. 

Yet Mary did not understand Christ's mission. Simeon had prophesied of Him as a light to lighten the Gentiles, as well as a glory to Israel. Thus the angels had announced the Saviour's birth as tidings of joy to all peoples. Luke 2:10. God was seeking to correct the narrow, Jewish conception of the Messiah's work. He desired men to behold Him, not merely as the deliverer of Israel, but as the Redeemer of the world. But many years must pass before even the mother of Jesus would understand His mission. 

Mary looked forward to the Messiah's reign on David's throne, but she saw not the baptism of suffering by which it must be won. Through Simeon it is revealed that the Messiah is to have no unobstructed passage through the world. In the words to Mary, "A sword shall pierce through your own soul also," God in His tender mercy gives to the mother of Jesus an intimation of the anguish that already for His sake she had begun to bear. 

Falling and rising

"Behold," Simeon had said, "this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against."  They must fall from pride who would rise again. We must fall upon the Rock and be broken before we can be uplifted in Christ. Self must be dethroned, pride must be humbled, if we would know the glory of the spiritual kingdom. The Jews would not accept the honour that is reached through humiliation. Therefore they would not receive their Redeemer. He was a sign that was spoken against. 

The contrast

"That the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed." In the light of the Saviour's life, the hearts of all, even from the Creator to the prince of darkness, are revealed. Satan has represented God as selfish and oppressive, as claiming all, and giving nothing, as requiring the service of His creatures for His own glory, and making no sacrifice for their good. But the gift of Christ reveals the Father's heart. It testifies that the thoughts of God toward us are "thoughts of peace, and not of evil." Jeremiah 29:11. It declares that while God's hatred of sin is as strong as death, His love for the sinner is stronger than death, even the death of the cross as a despised and unwanted One. 

Having undertaken our redemption, He will spare nothing, however dear, which is necessary to the completion of His work. No truth essential to our salvation is withheld, no miracle of mercy is neglected, no divine agency is left unemployed. Favour is heaped upon favour, gift upon gift. The whole treasury of heaven is open to those He seeks to save. Having collected the riches of the universe, and laid open the resources of infinite power, He gives them all into the hands of Christ, and says, All these are for man. Use these gifts to convince him that there is no love greater than Mine in earth or heaven. His greatest happiness will be found in loving Me. 

At the cross of Calvary, love and selfishness stood face to face. 

Here was their crowning manifestation. Christ had lived only to comfort and bless, and in putting Him to death, Satan manifested the malignity of his hatred against God. He made it evident that the real purpose of his rebellion was to dethrone God, and to destroy Him through whom the love of God was shown. 

A witness to us

By the life and the death of Christ, the thoughts of men and women also are brought to view. From the manger to the cross, the life of Jesus was a call to self-surrender, and to fellowship in suffering. It unveiled the purposes of men. Jesus came with the truth of heaven, and all who were listening to the voice of the Holy Spirit were drawn to Him. The worshipers of self belonged to Satan's kingdom. In their attitude toward Christ, all would show on which side they stood. And thus everyone passes judgment on himself. 

In the day of final judgment, every lost soul will understand the nature of his or her own rejection of truth. The cross of self-sacrifice will be presented, and its real bearing will be seen by every mind that has been blinded by transgression. Before the vision of Calvary with its mysterious Victim, sinners will stand condemned. Every lying excuse will be swept away. Human apostasy will appear in its heinous character. Men will see what their choice has been. Every question of truth and error in the long-standing controversy will then have been made plain. In the judgment of the universe, God will stand clear of blame for the existence or continuance of evil. It will be demonstrated that the divine decrees are not accessory to sin. There was no defect in God's government, no cause for disaffection. When the thoughts of all hearts shall be revealed, both the loyal and the rebellious will unite in declaring, "Just and true are Your ways, You King of saints. Who shall not fear You, O Lord, and glorify Your name? . . . for Your judgments are made manifest [or clear]." Revelation 15:3-4.

oooOooo