The beginning of the New and Eternal Covenant between God and People.
(Heb 7:17; 8:1–13; 9:20; 10:15–18; 13:20–21)
Everything that concerns our salvation “through Christ, with Christ and in Christ,” by the will of God the Father Almighty, began with the Holy Family, which consisted of Saint Joseph, the husband of Mary and the foster Father of the Child Jesus; the Holy Mother of God, Mary; and the Eternal Son of God and Son of Man, Jesus Christ.
The Holy Family had an extraordinarily important mission to fulfill and therefore was under the special care of Divine Providence. Despite this special destiny, they experienced various afflictions, inconveniences and life dangers, and ordinary poverty.
However, there were no “accidents” in their life. Everything happened according to the will of the Almighty (Luke 1:46–55) in concrete geographical‑natural, social‑political conditions and according to the religious life of the chosen nation, the Israelites (Hebrews).
There were no supernatural interventions like “manna from heaven.” Saint Joseph and his wife Mary had to work hard to provide the Family with the necessary living conditions and to care for the physical and spiritual development of Jesus, who would be the Redeemer and Savior of the Human Race. But with complete certainty God supported Joseph and Mary with various graces which strengthened their faith, supported their health and the strength needed to overcome difficulties and obstacles, so that they might realize the Mission for which they were chosen and called.
Let us list the most important facts and events which bear witness to this.
1) The Incarnation of the Son of God.
The Virgin Mary “by the power of the Holy Spirit” conceived the Son of God and the Son of Man. She was “with child” when she did not yet live with her husband Joseph (Matt 1:18–25; Luke 1:26–38). Therefore she could have been accused of adultery, which was punished by death by stoning (Lev 20:10; Deut 22:20–24; John 8:1–11).
Saint Joseph, “who was a righteous man,” at the command of the Angel “took his wife into his home,” for “he did not want to expose her to public shame.” The Angel of the Lord announced to Joseph that Mary would bear a Son, whom he was to name Jesus. “For He will save His people from their sins.” “All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the Prophet: Behold, the Virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Emmanuel” which means “God with us” (Matt 1:20–23; Luke 1:30–35; Isa 7:14).
Emmanuel (Immanuel), “God with us”, signifies in a symbolic way the provident and saving presence of God among the Israelites (Isa 7:17).
2) The journey of the Holy Family to Bethlehem and the birth of the Savior.
The decree of Caesar of Rome (the Roman Empire), Octavian Augustus, to which Palestine at that time was subject, ordered a census of all its inhabitants (Luke 2:1–7).
Palestine was then divided into provinces. In the south‑central part was Judea with Jerusalem. Eight kilometers from Jerusalem, towards the south‑west, lies Bethlehem. The central part was occupied by Samaria. In the north was Galilee adjoining the Lake of Galilee (Tiberias or Gennesaret). About twenty kilometers west of that lake and the River Jordan lies Nazareth, located on a trade route and able to have up to two thousand inhabitants. Due to the considerable distance from the lake and the Jordan, it could not be a fishing locality.
The Holy Family, which lived in Nazareth, according to this decree had to go to Bethlehem “to be registered,” because Saint Joseph “belonged to the house and lineage of David.” At that time Mary was “with child”—in the last month of pregnancy.
From Nazareth to Bethlehem is 111 km in a straight line, and about 152 km by road. Nazareth lies at an elevation of 358 m a.s.l., and Bethlehem at 777 m. The caravan and foot route was about 150 km. It led for the most part through a belt of stony and uneven hills uphill, since the difference in elevation between Nazareth and Bethlehem is 419 meters.
Cold nights and hot days and strong winds or heavy rains—depending on the season—greatly impeded the traversing of this route. Therefore it was a demanding and dangerous journey, especially for the Mother of God.
The Holy Family certainly had at their disposal a donkey needed to transport the necessary equipment for the journey, which could last several days. The donkey could also be used for riding by the pregnant Mary.
Thanks to Divine Providence, this journey ended happily for the Holy Family.
“When they came there, the time came for Mary to give birth. She bore her firstborn Son, wrapped Him in swaddling cloths and laid Him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn” (Luke 2:6–7).
The Eternal Son of God, by the will of God the Father Almighty, was not born in a royal palace, but in a humble stable for animals, where the Holy Family found shelter and rest after the hardships of the arduous journey.
In this difficult situation of the Holy Family God strengthens the faith of Joseph and Mary. The Angel of the Lord in the brightness of the “Glory of the Lord” appears to shepherds who in the vicinity kept watch over their flock and announces: “Behold, I bring you good news of a great joy for all the people. Today in the city of David a Savior has been born to you, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a Baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” Immediately a multitude of the heavenly host joined the Angel, praising God and saying: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to people of good will, in whom He is pleased.”
The shepherds went in haste to Bethlehem “and found Mary, Joseph and the Baby lying in the manger” and “told what had been made known to them concerning this Child.” “And Mary treasured up all these words, pondering them in her heart” (Luke 2:8–20).
The birth of the Child Jesus by Mary in Bethlehem was the fulfillment of God’s promise “that the Messiah would be from the offspring of David and from the town of Bethlehem” (John 7:42; Ps 132:11; Mic 5:1; Matt 1:1; 2:4–6; 9:27; Luke 2:4). This means that the Mother of God also comes from the house of David.
3) Circumcision and the naming of the Child Jesus.
(Luke 2:21; Matt 1:21–23; Isa 7:14)
Saint Joseph and the Mother of God were devout people who observed the prescriptions of the Mosaic Law contained in the Torah—the Hebrew Pentateuch (the first five Books of the Old Testament).
According to the “Law of the Lord” (Gen 17:9–12; Lev 12:3; Ex 13:14–16) every male child was to be circumcised as a sign of the eternal covenant of God with Abraham and his descendants. “From generation to generation every male among you, when he is eight days old, shall be circumcised.” “The flesh of the foreskin shall be circumcised as a sign of the covenant with Me.”
Therefore all faithful Hebrews (Israelites) from the time of Abram, who lived about eighteen hundred years before Christ, as “children of the Covenant” have observed to our time the command of circumcision.
The ceremony of circumcision took place in the Jerusalem Temple (Luke 1:59). The rabbi, according to the ritual of circumcision, gave the blessing and bestowed the name on the boy, which the father indicated—in this case Saint Joseph in accordance with the Angel’s command—the name Jesus (Luke 2:21). From that moment the boy became a faithful member of the Jewish nation (of the Mosaic religion). For the family this day was a feast.
The name Jesus in Hebrew is Yehoshua, or shorter Yeshua: that is “God (Yahweh—JHWH) is Salvation,” “God (Yahweh—JHWH) saves”; Greek Iesous; Italian Gesù; English Jesus; Latin Jesus.
In the year 49 “the apostles and elders” of the Church in Jerusalem decided that circumcision would not be required of the confessors of Christ.
“So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in Him… He is the head of every power and authority. In Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not performed by human hands, but by the circumcision of Christ, by the putting off of the sinful nature” (Col 2:6, 10–11).
“True circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. This person receives praise not from people, but from God” (Rom 2:29).
“For it is we who are the circumcision, we who serve by the Spirit of God and who boast in Christ Jesus, and who do not put confidence in the flesh” (Phil 3:3).
“The Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live” (Deut 30:6).
4) The Presentation of Jesus in the Jerusalem Temple and the return to Nazareth.
(Luke 2:22–24; Ex 13:1–2, 8–15; Lev 12:1–8)
The Law of the Lord (Mosaic Law) commanded that thirty‑three days after the circumcision of a son the mother was “in the blood of purification.” The firstborn son was to be redeemed with a one‑year‑old lamb “for a burnt offering and a young pigeon or turtledove for a sin offering.” Then the priest performed expiation for the mother for her purification “from the flow of blood.” “If she is too poor to bring a lamb, she shall bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons, one for a burnt offering and one for a sin offering. In this way the priest shall make expiation for her and she shall be clean.”
The burnt offering was to obtain for the family the graces of God Yahweh (IHWH). The sin (purification) offering did not concern persons; it was offered to cleanse exactly the sanctuary from ritual uncleanness before the next religious ceremony. Therefore it was always offered before the burnt offering.
“Mothers of boys for seven days after birth were regarded as unclean for hygienic reasons. On the eighth day, in accordance with the Mosaic Law, the boys were subjected to the ceremony of circumcision and the giving of the name.
On the forty‑second day from the birth of the firstborn son, the father and mother brought him to the Temple to offer (consecrate) him to the Lord (IHWH). The Feast of Presentation commemorates the deliverance of the Israelites (Hebrews) from Egyptian slavery (Ex 13:14–15). God slew at that time all the firstborn sons of Egypt, and spared the firstborn sons of Israel, whose doorways had been sprinkled and marked with the blood of the Paschal lamb (Ex 12:12–13).
In memory of these events the Jews each year celebrate the Feast of Passover (Ex 12:14).
On the Sabbath observed on the seventh day of each week (every Saturday), which is the day of rest, this fact is also recalled.
The above commands of the “Law of the Lord” concerned also the Mother of God and Saint Joseph, who were faithful followers of Judaism (the Jewish religion). However, the presentation of Jesus to God Yahweh (IHWH) in the Jerusalem Temple by the Mother of God and Saint Joseph has a particular eloquence and meaning.
The Incarnation of the Son of God and Son of Man began a New Era in the history of humanity. Mary, the humble Virgin of Nazareth, was chosen by Yahweh to be the Mother of the Savior. The Angel Gabriel announced to her: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the Holy One who will be born will be called the Son of God” (Luke 1:35).
At that moment Mary became the Mother of our Savior and Lord. At the same time by the power of this Act she received all the gifts of the Holy Spirit and was sanctified by the presence of the Eternal Son of God in her womb. We rightly say that she is “full of grace,” and call her the “Tabernacle of the Holy Spirit” and the “Ark of the Covenant.”
Therefore the “purification” of the Mother of God and the “burnt offering” were not necessary.
Let us recall now the words of Jesus Christ: “The Law and the prophets testify about Me” (Luke 16:17; 24:27); “it is they (the Scriptures) that testify about Me” (John 1:45; 2:22; 5:39, 46; 20:9).
Luke 24:27: “And beginning with Moses and all the prophets, He explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning Himself.”
Acts 2:25: “For David says concerning Him…”
Acts 10:43: “All the prophets testify about Him that everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins through His name.”
Of John the Baptist, who preached “a baptism of repentance (with water) for the forgiveness of sins,” Jesus said that he is “more than a prophet” and “the one about whom it is written: ‘Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, who will prepare Your way before You.’”
He said about the Messiah: “Behold the Lamb of God” (John 1:29). “I have seen and I bear witness that He is the Son of God.” “He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire” (Luke 3:16).
The deliverance of the Israelites from Egyptian slavery became possible when God slew all the firstborn sons of Egypt, and spared the firstborn sons of Israel, whose doorways were sprinkled and marked with the blood of the Paschal lamb (Ex 12:12–13). This was the foreshadowing of the coming into the world of Jesus Christ, the “Lamb of God,” whose Passion and death on the Cross is a voluntary sacrifice offered for our redemption and salvation. And His Resurrection signifies the victory of good over evil, of life over death and over Satan.
Therefore for us Christians “the exodus from Egypt, the house of slavery” is the deliverance from the slavery of sin thanks to our Savior, who is the “Paschal Lamb” for the whole Human Race.
The presentation of Jesus in the Temple also shows that the Holy Family was very poor. According to the Mosaic Law (Lev 12:6–8) a woman after the birth of a child, “when the days of her purification (33 days) are fulfilled, shall bring to the priest, at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, a year‑old lamb for a burnt offering and a young pigeon or a turtledove for a sin offering.” “If she is too poor to bring a lamb, she shall bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons, one for a burnt offering and one for a sin offering.”
Saint Joseph and the Mother of God “in accordance with the prescriptions of the Law of the Lord” had “to offer a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons” (Luke 2:24). This means that they were very poor.
Jesus Christ also said of Himself: “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head” (Matt 8:20).
“Though He was in the form of God, He did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but He emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men” (Phil 2:6–11). In this way the Savior stands in solidarity and identifies Himself with all people of this world.
Among the eight beatitudes Jesus Christ put poverty of spirit in the first place: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matt 5:3). The poor in spirit are those who value spiritual goods more than material goods. The Holy Family is for us a model of these values (qualities) of spiritual life.
