Everything according to the Law of the Lord
Fri, 18 November, 2005: Today’s Bible readings.
And when they had performed everything according to the Law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth.
After the birth of Jesus, He was circumcised and His parents went to Jerusalem to offer the sacrifice required by the law for the purification of the mother after the birth.
What do we learn from this?
Luke tells us that everything required by the law was done as part of Jesus birth. Nothing was skipped. This is consistent with what we learn of Jesus Christ in the rest of scripture.
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus tells us as much.
Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.
Where is Christ in this passage?
Jesus Christ came to perfectly fulfill the law. We have all failed to keep the law of God. Like Adam, our father, we have broken God’s law, and are guilty before God.
Jesus Christ came to pay the price for the guilt of the sins of all who come to Him in faith. But we need more than just to have our guilt removed. We need to be perfectly righteous before God. We need to keep God’s law.
But the good news is that Jesus Christ did keep the law perfectly. He lived the perfect life and completely fulfilled the law. He did that which we have failed to do. And as we come to Him in faith, He grants us His perfect righteousness, so that we can be accepted by God. He not only pays for our sins, but He also gives us His righteousness, as He did everything according to the law of the Lord.
