A Dedication of Great Value

The following is the theme of Fridays May 27, 2005, broadcast on European Gospel Radio:

In this passage of Scripture we see two dedications of the baby Jesus. First, the Lord Jesus was circumcised on the 8th day because He was a descendant of Abraham, and all the descendants of Abraham were commanded to be circumcised, including the descendants of Ishmael and of all the sons of Keturah, and of Esau, and all the Arab nations who descend from these children of Abraham through intermarriage. God commanded it to Abraham, and God commanded to keep doing it forever. But if Jesus was born without sin, why does He have to be circumcised? God indicated by this action that in the circumcision of Christ He was already bearing the guilt of all our sins, and therefore He had to be circumcised. Ceremonially those sins had to be cut off. And therefore this ceremony was pointing to the ultimate sacrifice of Christ on the cross. Second, the dedication of the Lord Jesus, took place 40 days after His birth. The Lord Jesus Christ was made under the Law and thus He also had to submit to the Dedication of the Firstborn, according to the Law given to Moses. To sum it up, all the firstborn from the animals were sacrificed to the Lord, except the firstborn of donkeys and all the firstborn of man were redeemed with the sacrifice of a lamb. Now, the Lord Jesus Christ was the firstborn of Mary. And so Jesus had to be redeemed with a lamb.

Is it not remarkable that there is no record in the narrative Gospels of such a sacrificial animal? We see only the sacrifice for the cleansing of Mary, two turtledoves or two young pigeons, but the lamb sacrifice for the firstborn is conspicuously absent. Where is the lamb? When “they brought him to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord”, the baby Jesus was dedicated to the Lord, but in actuality He dedicated Himself. It was a necessary dedication, because the Lord Jesus Christ was made under the Law, and thus He had to be subject to all the laws God had laid down in the OT. And thus it became Him to fulfill all righteousness. And so we see that both His circumcision and His dedication were actually one and the same “Dedication of Great Value”.

In it God was glorified, as it was pointing to the ultimate glory of the cross.

AMEN.

Pastor Alfred J. Chompff

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