Have you ever contemplated God as a baby? We sometimes leap over this part of incarnation. We often fail to imagine the significance. God could have decided to burst on the scene as a fully grown adult. This would have even added to the mystery. But it would mean that God would have failed to experienced something of humanity. You and I don’t begin as adults. O, I know, some people seem to have appeared on the scene as fully functioning adults, leaving us hard pressed to imagine them as children. The fact is that they were born; they were babies who needed to be fed and changed; they toddled; they fell and skinned their knees; they most likely squirmed and giggled. And the absolutely overwhelming reality of Jesus, of God in the flesh, is that he also came as a baby, complete with messy diapers, inability to feed himself, crying need, clumsy toddling, mispronounced words that cause the adults to burst out laughing, skinned knees, missing teeth, and the whole nine yards. He was the ideal man, the fulfillment of the law and prophets, who experienced every aspect of humanity. And he was born into this world, knowing in advance, he would be experiencing a time of complete dependence.
Luke 2:39-40 is a wrap up of the section begun in verse 21. Luke 2:21-40 is about Jesus fulfilling the Law from the beginning, being circumcised on the eighth day. This section is wrapped up with the statement that they had completed everything according to the Law of the Lord in verse 39. This part of Jesus’ life may also be said of many other Israelite babies. Many parents would have made sure their male baby was circumcised on the eighth day and that they would have been presented at the temple. But it is important that Jesus, even though at this point he had no control over what happened, is the fulfillment of the whole Law of God. And this speaks to God’s choice of Jesus’ parents. Let this one sink in for a moment. It is necessary for Jesus to fulfill all the law which includes circumcision and being presented before the Lord. And yet, he had no actual say in whether it would be done. Contrary to some spurious gospels, he did not come out of the womb walking and talking, which would have been creepy and terrifying. God specifically chose a poor young couple who were devout and law abiding because he knew they would carry out this part of the law – since Jesus would not be able to do it himself. Hmm.
We do have an issue in this short passage. Matthew tells us of a flight to Egypt to escape the crazily paranoid Herod. It is difficult to make that flight fit in Luke’s account. If the presentation of Jesus was the same trip as Mary’s purification it would have been about forty days after the birth. And verse 39 makes it seem as if after this trip they returned to Nazareth. The flight to Egypt took place from Bethlehem. I don’t know where in Luke’s account the flight to Egypt took place. I’m convinced it happened. Matthew tells the tale because that initial attack against God’s anointed is a big part of his account. Luke is focusing on fulfillment so he does not feel the need to include the story. Personally, I don’t think it is super important to figure out how to harmonize the gospels. It is more important to get the message each gospel is presenting. Jesus is the fulfillment of the law, even as a baby.
Everything being fulfilled, they return to Nazareth, where God in the flesh grew and became strong. Tucked away in the mountains, growing up poor, Jesus became full of wisdom. Picture him there in the dusty streets learning to walk and falling down, running to his mother to comfort away the pain. Picture him learning to speak just like every other little child in the village, making mistakes in pronunciation, stumbling through the Shema, as adults chuckled. Did he miss the first time he tried to get a piece of bread to his mouth on his own? Did Mary have to yell at him not to climb so high in the tree? And through it all God’s grace was upon him. In this context grace probably refers to favor. God looked down and smiled as his son grew as a human.
And this is amazing! God wrapped himself in flesh and not only fulfilled the whole Law, but also fulfilled what it means to be human. He came as a baby, learning and growing. Needing to be taught how to pronounce Elohim. Try to imagine what it would be like to go back into your mother’s womb after experiencing adulthood. Could you choose to lose all ability to speak, to move, to feed yourself? What if it would save your children? What if it would save a stiff necked rebellious people? And this is what the incarnation is: God poured out into flesh; baby flesh; weak flesh; dependent flesh. For you. Praise God!