In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
When the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, they brought Jesus up to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord. There are two sacrifices referenced in this event from Jesus’ infancy. The sacrifice for purification and the sacrifice for redemption.
First, the one involving Mary. Forty days after giving birth to her son, a mother was required by the Law of Moses to go to the temple for purification from the uncleanness of childbirth. You might wonder, what’s so horrible about childbirth? Is it sinful? No, but it involves blood—and blood can mean two things: life and death. Blood is powerful—the life of the creature is in the blood. The amazing thing about childbirth is that through terrible pain and loss of blood, new life is born. But this loss of blood and risk of death was one of the ways someone could be rendered unclean according to the Law. There were all kinds of things that could make a person unclean according to the Law of Moses. Most of them were not related to any specific sin committed by the person. But the Law of clean and unclean recognized and taught that we do live in world infected by sin. We live in an unclean world. And no matter how hard we might try we can’t keep ourselves perfectly clean, perfectly unstained, perfectly unaffected by this world. Because the source of all uncleanness, the source of all sin which causes filth and sickness and danger and death—the source is in our own hearts.
In our modern, antiseptic, disinfected world, we can forget how dirty life is. More often, it seems that we forget about the uncleanness and infecting power of sin in our lives. We forget how it can stain and leave a mark on us for years, or even infect other people and get passed on to other generations. Even more devastating is it when we forget the cleansing power of Jesus’ blood. The Absolution does not only say we are forgiven, but it actually cleanses us, it makes us pure, unstained. And not only for the sins that we commit, but also for the sins done against us.
Sexual sins most especially carry with them this feeling of impurity, defilement. This is even more true in cases of rape and abuse. Isn’t it interesting, how in the last few decades as the church has abandoned the language of defilement and purity, we see it resurface in the secular world? It is more common now to hear people talk in terms of pollution: in the natural world (that’s a big deal for people), but also in the realm of the body, especially in the area of sexuality. We need to recognize the truth that what we do with our bodies and what others do to our bodies can defile us. It goes deeper than the skin, even deeper than the mind. We can’t just will it away, wish it away. And no amount of self-esteem can remove the stain of that sin and cleanse an unclean conscience. Whether a person willfully takes part in the sin or they are violated by others, the filthiness can haunt a person for the rest of their life. People are looking for something to cleanse them, to make themselves feel pure again. And we have the answer in the Church.
In the Old Testament Law, blood was required for purification. The holy blood of the sacrifice offered on the Lord’s altar was cleansing and it restored life. By the death of the sacrifice, the person who had been cut off from life, was brought back into life with God and with their community. And that’s what Jesus has brought us.
His birth was pure and holy, conceived by the Holy Spirit. His mother was not made unclean by this pregnancy or birth, she remained a pure virgin. And yet, they submitted to this Law so that all righteousness could be fulfilled. Jesus didn’t have to get circumcised for His own benefit, He was already in perfect covenant relationship with God His Father. Jesus didn’t have to get baptized by John, He was already sinless. And He didn’t need this sacrifice either, He was already pure. But He, along with His mother in this case, He kept God’s Law so that it would be fulfilled for us.
Jesus is the sacrifice for purification. He is the One who cleanses you of all your sins—all the sins you’re carrying—the sins you’ve done, defiling yourself, and the sins others have done against you, defiling you, filling you with shame. He says to you, “My holy blood covers you and purifies you. I have called you clean. Don’t let anyone else call you unclean. Don’t let your own mind think of yourself as dirty.” He says to you, “In Me, you are clean and holy.”
Now, the second sacrifice referenced in this trip to the temple is the redemption of the firstborn son. Think back to Egypt and the tenth plague. The firstborn sons of Israel were marked by the blood of the Passover Lamb and so God spared them from death. But this meant that the firstborn, from both animals and men, were holy to the Lord—they belonged to Him. The firstborn livestock had to either be sacrificed to God or bought back, paid for to the temple, redeemed. The firstborn sons had to either be given to the Lord for a lifetime of service in the temple as priests, or they were bought back, redeemed.
The really amazing thing about this event in Jesus’ life is that even though He was taken by His parents as Mary’s firstborn son, and He was presented to the Lord, there is no mention of the redemption price being paid for Him. Jesus was not redeemed because He is the Redeemer. Even though He does not stay in the temple physically, He remains in God’s service, holy to the Lord, for His entire life and even beyond. He is still the great High Priest who offers the perfect sacrifice to save human life. Jesus was presented to the Lord in the temple as the real offering. He is the true sacrifice for sin and for cleansing. Jesus was presented to the Lord so that through Him you can be presented to the Lord. By baptism and faith in Jesus you are brought and presented to the Father, pure and holy like His Son. Jesus is the Lord’s salvation prepared for all people.
By inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Simeon sees all this going on in the temple courtyard and he proclaims it in his song: Lord, now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace according to Thy Word, For mine eyes have seen Thy salvation, which Thou hast prepared before the face of all people, A light to lighten the Gentiles and the glory of Thy people Israel. There He is—Simeon sees Him with his own eyes: the sacrifice of purification and redemption, the light for the nations and the glory for God’s people, the salvation prepared since the beginning of the world. There He is—the Lord appeared in His temple, in the flesh of that little baby in Simeon’s arms.
And the Lord still comes to His temple—not a temple of stone, but the temple of His holy people, here, today as well. In His Word spoken and in the bread given and the wine poured out, He appears: the salvation prepared before the face of all people. Your High Priest Jesus still ministers in the heavenly temple for you and He carries out His cleansing and life-giving ministry right here in your midst. You are made holy priests with Him, and given access to God. Like the priests of old, you are permitted to eat the holy food from the sacrifice: His body and blood. That makes you clean, pure, belonging to Him, holy to the Lord. You are presented to the Father and you receive His blessing.
And then you are also able to depart in peace, according to His Word. Cleansed and restored to life, you go out into the world carrying His holy presence with you. You are a little temple of the Lord, bringing His cleansing, purifying Word with you, bringing it to the people in your life who are still suffering in this world of sin and pollution. And so you remain the Lord’s holy servant, until that day when you are finally called to depart this world in peace, and are brought into the Lord’s nearer presence, and are presented to Him, wearing only that white robe of Christ’s righteousness. You are clean, pure, and holy, now and forever.
In the Holy + Name of Jesus. Amen.
Preached at Trinity, Clinton, IA & Immanuel, Charlotte, IA
