Leviticus 12:6

"And when the days of her purifying are fulfilled, for a son, or for a daughter, she shall bring a lamb a year old for a burnt-offering, and a young pigeon, or a turtle-dove, for a sin-offering, unto the door of the tent of meeting, unto the priest: and he shall offer it before Jehovah, and make atonement for her; and she shall be cleansed from the fountain of her blood. This is the law for her that beareth, whether a male or a female. And if her means suffice not for a lamb, then she shall take two turtledoves, or two young pigeons; the one for a burnt-offering, and the other for a sin-offering: and the priest shall make atonement for her, and she shall be clean."

The fulfillment of the Mosaic requirements here listed were meticulously observed by Mary the blessed Mother of Jesus. Luke gives the account thus:

"And when the days of their purification according to the law of Moses were fulfilled, they brought him up to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the law of the Lord, Every male that openeth the womb shall be called holy to the Lord), and to offer a sacrifice according to that which is said in the law of the Lord, A pair of turtle-doves, or two young pigeons." (Luke 2:22-24)

The very fact that the exact words of this chapter are quoted in the Lukan version of the Nativity proves that the ceremonies here were in some way prophetic of the eventual revelation of Jesus Christ to mankind. For countless generations, women, in case of the birth of a male child, were granted a bonus, so to speak, in the shorter period of purification, suggesting the ultimate time when the True Deliverer would be born, and that he would be a man. And then, in the case of Mary and her son Jesus Christ, there suddenly appeared the One who would abolish all of those rules forever! Sure enough, Simeon, under the power of the Holy Spirit, was on hand to shout, "Mine eyes have seen thy salvation!" (Luke 2:30).

THE RICHES OF CHRIST

You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might become rich (2 Corinthians 8:9). The chapter before us, along with the N.T. account of Mary and Joseph's careful observance of it puts a mighty emphasis upon the poverty of Jesus Christ who was born into a family so POOR that they could not even afford a lamb to redeem their firstborn. Our Lord never, during his whole life, moved outside that circle of poverty. He grew up in an ancient carpenter shop. He was familiar with patching old clothes, attempting to use old wineskins, and with many other devices of the poor (as proved by his parables). There is no proof that Jesus ever even possessed such a thing as a coin. He once said, plaintively, "The Son of Man hath nowhere to lay his head." And when he died upon Calvary, only a single item of his clothes was worth a throw of the dice to see who would have it.

In this light, therefore, what could Paul have meant in the bold declaration, "Though he was rich?" The riches of Christ consist of only one thing - HIS STATUS "in the beginning, with God" (John 1:1). The command of an innumerable host of angels, the splendors of heaven, "The glory," as Jesus put it, "that I had with thee (God), before the world was!" That was the riches of Christ, all of which Jesus forsook to bring mankind "through his poverty" the eternal riches of life everlasting! Therefore, Paul's statement in 2 Corinthians 8:9 takes its place along with Ephesians 4:9 and Philippians 2:6-9 as a member of that matchless triad of Great Parabolas reaching from infinity in the past to the brief earthly ministry of Christ, and then again reaching all the way to infinity in the future!