> Download these notes in PDF here: https://www.studyyourbible.org/new-testament/luke/an-orderly-account/handouts/session-08-according-to-the-word-the-promised-child-and-the-written-command/ # According to the Word -- The Promised Child and the Written Command (Luke 2:21-24) *Series: Luke: An Orderly Account - Dr. Randy White* ## I. They Honor the Appointed Time (v. 21) ### From the Shepherds' Praise to the Household's Obedience - The shepherds praised God because everything was "as it was told unto them" (Luke 2:20). Mary and Joseph now act according to His commands. - Heaven's extraordinary announcement is followed by the household's ordinary obedience. The promised child's greatness does not make God's instructions unimportant. - Luke marks "eight days," then the completion of purification. These appointed times concern distinct observances, not one ceremony on one day. ### The Covenant Sign Is Received - "Eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child." God's covenant with Abraham prescribed the eighth day, and the law repeated that requirement (Genesis 17:12; Leviticus 12:3). - The child announced as "Christ the Lord" receives the sign belonging to Israel's males. Luke places the Messiah within the covenant people whose promises He has come to fulfill. ### His Greatness Does Not Remove His Lowly Place - The One promised David's throne begins life in a household that observes God's commands. Royal identity and humble submission belong together in Luke's account (Luke 1:32-33). - Paul's later description, "made of a woman, made under the law," helps explain this setting (Galatians 4:4-5). Jesus enters the circumstances of those He came to redeem. - These are Israel's covenant obligations. We learn from their submission without making these observances ordinances for the Body of Christ. ## II. They Give the Appointed Name (v. 21) ### The Name Was Given Before the Child Was Conceived - "His name was called Jesus." The angel had named Him "before he was conceived in the womb." His parents receive God's appointed name. - Gabriel had told Mary, "thou shalt ... bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS" (Luke 1:31). The naming fulfills that instruction. - The shepherds' report confirmed the child's identity. His name had already been appointed before they arrived. ### Their Obedience Acknowledges God's Prior Purpose - The name belongs to God's announcement of the Son and His promised reign. Mary and Joseph name the child within a purpose that precedes their experience of His birth. - Matthew's account supplies the explicit explanation: "he shall save his people from their sins" (Matthew 1:21). The name directs attention to the Saviour and His work. - Their part is to honor what God has said. Naming Him does not create His identity or confer His mission; it acknowledges the identity and purpose God has revealed. ## III. They Acknowledge the Written Claim (vv. 22-23) ### They Come When the Days Are Accomplished - "The days of her purification" concerns Mary's observance after childbirth. Leviticus 12:2-4 assigns seven days followed by thirty-three further days after the birth of a son. - This later journey brings them to Jerusalem "according to the law of Moses." Luke gives God's instruction as the explanation for their conduct. - Ceremonial purification does not accuse Mary of an immoral conception or Jesus of wrongdoing. The law regulates clean and unclean conditions as well as moral conduct. - **Chronology note:** Luke 2:39 naturally suggests a return to Nazareth after these observances. Egypt before the presentation merits consideration, but Matthew 2:19-23 raises the question of avoiding Judea. A later Egyptian journey requires a summarized return in Luke; neither placement is explicitly dated. ### They Present the Firstborn to the Lord - They bring Jesus "to present him to the Lord." Luke grounds that action in what is written: the firstborn male "shall be called holy to the Lord." - Exodus 13:2, 12-15 connects the Lord's claim upon Israel's firstborn with deliverance from Egypt. The presentation belongs within that remembered redemption. - "Holy to the Lord" means set apart as belonging to Him. Jesus' designation as Mary's "firstborn son" now carries a stated legal significance (Luke 2:7, 23). ### Their Actions Rest on What Is Written - "As it is written" places their conduct under an authority beyond family preference. The angel's instruction concerning the name and the written law both receive their obedience. - Mary's purification and Jesus' presentation are related purposes of the visit, but they are distinct. The mother brings the purification offering; the firstborn is acknowledged as the Lord's. ## IV. They Bring the Permitted Offering (v. 24) ### God's Law Makes Provision for Limited Means - Their sacrifice is "according to that which is said in the law of the Lord." Once again, Luke explains the household's action by reference to God's word. - Leviticus 12:6 prescribes a lamb and a bird. Verse 8 permits two birds when the mother's means do not reach to a lamb; Luke records that permitted provision. - The offering indicates limited means at this time. The promised King enters a humble household, yet its offering is fully within what God has authorized. ### Their Offering Has Its Stated Purpose - These sacrifices belong to Mary's purification. They are not a payment to make Jesus holy or the five-shekel redemption money prescribed for a firstborn son. - The household does not need to invent an impressive gift to match the child's greatness. God has already stated what may be brought in these circumstances. - From the eighth day to the appointed name, from the firstborn claim to the offering, the same pattern holds: God's word governs their response to God's gift. - Last week's witnesses found everything "as it was told unto them." This household acts "as it is written." The faithful word that calls forth praise also deserves careful obedience.