J.C. Ryle's Devotional Thoughts on the Gospel of Luke, Section 13, Christ's Presentation in the Temple, Luke Chapter 2, verses 21 through 24.

And at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus the name given to him by the angel before he was conceived in the womb. And when the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord as it is written in the law of the Lord Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the law of the Lord, a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.

The first point which demands our attention in this passage is the obedience which our Lord rendered as an infant to the Jewish law. We read of his being circumcised on the eighth day. It is the earliest fact which is recorded in his history. It is a mere waste of time to speculate, as some have done, about the reason why our Lord submitted to circumcision. We know that in him was no sin, either original or actual. 1 John 3, 5 His being circumcised was not meant in the least as an acknowledgement that there was any tendency to corruption in his heart. It was not a confession of inclination to evil and of need of grace to mortify the deeds of his body. All this should be carefully borne in mind.

Let it suffice us to remember that our Lord's circumcision was a public testimony to Israel, that according to the flesh he was a Jew, made of a Jewish woman, and made under the law, Galatians 4.4. Without it, he would not have fulfilled the law's requirements. Without it, he could not have been recognized as the son of David and the seed of Abraham. Let us remember, furthermore, that circumcision was absolutely necessary before our Lord could be heard as a teacher in Israel. Without it, he would have had no place in any lawful Jewish assembly, and no right to any Jewish ordinance. Without it he would have been regarded by all Jews as nothing better than an uncircumcised Gentile and an apostate from the faith of the Fathers.

Let our Lord's submission to an ordinance which he did not need for himself be a lesson to us in our daily life. Let us endure much, rather than increase the offence of the gospel, or hinder in any way the cause of God. The words of Paul deserve frequent pondering. Though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all, that I might gain the more. And unto the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews. To those who are under the law, as under the law. that I might gain those who are under the law. I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some. 1 Corinthians 9 19-22

The man who wrote these words walked very closely in the footsteps of his crucified master.

The second point which demands our attention in this passage is the name by which our Lord was called by God's special command. Eight days later, when the baby was circumcised, he was named Jesus. The name given him by the angel even before he was conceived. The word Jesus means simply Saviour. It is the same word as Joshua in the Old Testament. Very striking and instructive is the selection of this name. The Son of God came down from heaven to be not only the Saviour, but the King, the Lawgiver, the Prophet, the Priest, and the Judge of fallen man. Had he chosen any one of these titles, he would only have chosen that which was his own, but he passed by them all. He selects a name which speaks of mercy, grace, help, and deliverance for a lost world. It is as a deliverer and redeemer that he desires principally to be known.

Let us often ask ourselves what our own hearts know of the Son of God. Is He our Jesus, our Saviour? That is the question on which our salvation turns.

Let it not content us to know Christ as One who wrought mighty miracles, and spoke as never man spoke, or to know Him as One who is very God, and will one day judge the world. Let us see that we know him experimentally as our deliverer from the guilt and power of sin and our redeemer from Satan's bondage. Let us strive to be able to say, this is my friend. I was dead and he gave me life. I was a prisoner and he set me free.

Precious, indeed, is the name of Jesus to all true believers. It is as ointment poured forth, Song of Solomon 1.3. It restores them when conscience troubled, it comforts them when cast down, it smooths their pillows in sickness, it supports them in the hour of death. The name of the Lord is a strong tower. The righteous runs into it and is safe. Proverbs 18 10

The last point which demands our attention in this passage is the poor and humble condition of our Lord's mother, the Virgin Mary. This is a fact which, at first sight, may not stand out clearly in the form of these verses. But a reference to the twelfth chapter of Leviticus will at once make it plain. There we shall see that the offering which Mary made was specially appointed to be made by poor people. If she is not able to bring a lamb, then she shall bring two turtle doves or two young pigeons. In short, her offering was a public declaration that she was poor. Leviticus 12, 6.

Poverty, it is manifest, was our Lord's portion upon earth from the days of his earliest infancy. He was nursed and tended as a babe by a poor woman. He passed the first thirty years of his life on earth under the roof of a poor man. We need not doubt that he ate a poor man's food, and wore a poor man's apparel, and worked a poor man's work. and shared in all a poor man's troubles. Such condescension is truly marvellous. Such an example of humility passes man's understanding.

Facts like these ought often to be laid to heart by poor people. They would help to silence murmuring and complaining, and go far to reconcile them to their hard lot. the simple fact that Jesus was born of a poor woman and lived all his life on earth among poor people ought to silence the common argument that religion is not for the poor. Above all, it should encourage every poor believer in all his approaches to the throne of grace in prayer Let him remember in all his prayers that his mighty mediator in heaven is accustomed to poverty and knows by experience the heart of a poor man. Well would it be for the world if working men could only see that Christ is the true poor man's friend.