Mosaic law message 10
Childbirth, and circumcision
Luke 2: 4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) 5 To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. 6 And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. 7 And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.
21 And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called Jesus, which was so named of the angel before he was conceived in the womb.
22 And when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were accomplished, they brought him to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord;
23 (As it is written in the law of the Lord, Every male that openeth the womb shall be called holy to the Lord;)
24 And to offer a sacrifice according to that which is said in the law of the Lord, A pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.
In my sermons over the last months, we’ve been spending a lot of time studying the law of Moses. And one of the first things that we discovered is that there are three categories of Mosaic law; civil law governing Israel as a nation, ceremonial law governing the religious life of Israel, and moral law. Today we are finishing our look at the ceremonial law. The ceremonial laws are all of those laws that informed Israel about their spiritual life and relationship to God. They involved things like when and what kind of offerings to bring, the role of priests, the construction and use of the temple, what feast days to celebrate and what to do on those days, ceremonial washings and purification laws. And specifically we have been considering it according to New Testament statements that the law was fulfilled in Jesus.
Luke 24:44 – “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.”
Romans 10:4 – “For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.”
Colossians 2:16–17 – “Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.”
He completed its purpose, He gave it its final complete meaning. And we are so thankful and blessed that that is true. Because, here’s something else we learned about the Mosaic law; it was designed to be a heavy burden.
Galatians 5:1 – “For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.”
Galatians 3:10 – “For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, ‘Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.’”
Romans 7:9–10 – “I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin came alive and I died. The very commandment that promised life proved to be death to me.”
How did it become death to the one trying to follow it? Because the more he tried, the more guilty he felt. This was especially true with these purity laws. The purity laws were meant to tell the people of Israel how to remain pure before God, so they could enter God’s presence, participate in temple services. But if a person actually tried to follow them, they discovered that they were constantly battling impurity.
For the average Israelite, the laws of purity were an ever-present weight woven into daily life. A typical month might involve a man rising early to ensure he had not been made unclean by touching a dead insect. If he had intimate relations with his wife, he was unclean until evening and had to bathe before entering the camp assembly. His wife had to do the same. And she had the added monthly burden of a week of separation during her monthly cycle. And they also had to be sure not to touch or be touched by anyone, including their children, because anyone who touched them while they were unclean, would be unclean. This meant the severe adjustment of family routines. And if she got pregnant, after childbirth, her separation would be far longer, 40 to 80 days depending on whether she bore a son or daughter.
And that was just the impact of uncleanness in the home space. As he and his wife went about the daily task of life, the typical Israelite man, maybe a shepherd, would encounter dead sheep, dead animals, in the slaughter of animals for food, he would encounter bugs dead and alive. And his wife, who then cooked the food would encounter the same. A fisherman constantly encountered dead fish, or other sea creatures. Touching any of those meant washing and being unclean until the evening. You might say, well if they just ate bread, beans, vegetables or fruit, they could stay clean. But those things were made from harvested produce, which had to be sifted to ensure there were no unclean bugs, or rodents in it. If grain were stored in an earthenware vessel, and a dead rodent were found in it, the grain was thrown out, the jar was to be broken, and you became unclean until evening.
And his vigilance did not stop there. Any skin condition, even a rash or boil or a pimple, might send them to the priest for examination, leading to possible isolation or repeated inspections stretching over weeks.
Daily meals had to be carefully prepared, ensuring no contact with forbidden foods like pork or shellfish (Leviticus 11). If an animal was slaughtered improperly, or if mold appeared in clothing or the house, the law required special rituals, washings, or even burning of garments and reconstruction of homes (Leviticus 13–14). At least monthly, and often more, sacrifices at the tabernacle were necessary—sin offerings, burnt offerings, and peace offerings—all requiring travel, animals, and the mediation of priests. For women and men alike, the cycle of purification and sacrifice never ceased. Life was a constant vigilance against uncleanness, a continual reminder of sin’s defilement, and a heavy burden.
And those who would seek God today experience the same burden. Do you feel a constant tug on your spirit, that you are just not good enough? God is never happy with me? Then you are in the company of some of the greatest preachers of the gospel who have ever lived.
“I did not love, yes, I hated the righteous God who punishes
sinners… I was angry with God.”
— Luther’s Preface to his Latin Works (1545)
“I was myself more than once driven to the very abyss of despair so
that I wished I had never been created. Love God? I hated him!”
— Luther recalling his pre-conversion struggles
Augustine of Hippo (354–430)
“I was bound not with an iron chain, but with the obstinacy of my
own will… I struggled daily, sighing and groaning, dragged by habit.”
— Confessions VIII.5
John Wesley (1703–1791) – before Aldersgate
“I went to America to convert the Indians; but oh! who shall convert
me? Who, what is he that will deliver me from this evil heart of unbelief?”
— Journal entry, 1738
Blaise Pascal (1623–1662) – before his conversion Blaze Pas-kell
“I was filled with distress, and found no rest, no peace. I was
afraid of God, yet could not keep His law.”
— Pensées, fragments describing his pre-conversion despair
John Newton (1725–1807) – slave trader before grace
“I knew I was wretched, I longed to be delivered, but I did not know
where to go, or what to do. I could not cease from sin, nor could I be happy in
it.”
— Authentic Narrative
And the same burden was true for the final two categories of purity laws. Purification after childbirth and circumcision.
3. Purification after Childbirth (Leviticus 12)
In our Scripture reading today, I chose the story of the birth of Jesus. It gives us a glimpse into how these purity laws impacted the lives of Mary, Joseph, and Jesus.
When Mary gave birth to her firstborn Son in Bethlehem, she entered into the rhythm of Israel’s laws for purification. For the first seven days, she was considered ceremonially unclean, set apart from normal contact with the holy things of worship. During this time she rested and cared for her newborn while Joseph tended to the household. On the eighth day, as the Law required, they brought the Child to be circumcised, formally marking Him with the sign of God’s covenant with Abraham’s descendants (Luke 2:21). After that, Mary continued in a state of purification for thirty-three more days, a period in which she could not touch anything holy or enter the temple courts (Leviticus 12:4).
When those days were completed—forty days in total—she and Joseph traveled to Jerusalem to present both herself and her Child to the Lord (Luke 2:22). According to the Law, she was to bring a year-old lamb for a burnt offering and a young pigeon or turtledove for a sin offering. But Mary and Joseph were poor, and so they brought instead the provision made for the humble: two birds (Luke 2:24). At the entrance of the temple, the priest received her offering, made atonement for her, and declared her clean, fully restored to participate in the life and worship of Israel once more.
And this period of separation wasn’t just about the ritual uncleanness of the processes of childbirth, they were an acknowledgement that another sinner was born into the world.
Psalm 51:5 5 Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.
The set period of uncleanness after birth meant temporary withdrawal from public worship.
Mary gave birth to a son, so here separation was for 40 days. If she later bore a daughter, the time was doubled, she was considered unclean for 80 days.
We’re not told why the separation was doubled for giving birth to a girl. Scholars and interpreters have suggested several possibilities: it may have symbolized a “full measure” of purification for both mother and daughter, since both were connected to the life-giving cycles of menstruation and childbirth; it may have carried heightened ritual emphasis, since the birth of a girl represented future childbearing and thus the potential for repeated ceremonial impurity. In other words, since both mother and child were female, both required a time of cleansing.
Some suggest that it may have provided practical recognition of the mother’s condition, giving her longer recovery when raising a daughter who would remain closely tied to the home; in other words, it was a beginning of more time to acclimate an infant daughter to the home.
Ultimately, the doubled time underscores how deeply the law tied purity to both the rhythms of life and the symbolism of holiness.
But again, the ultimate aim was to constantly remind of God’s holiness and our uncleanness and separation.
Leviticus 12: 6 And when the days of her purifying are fulfilled, for a son, or for a daughter, she shall bring a lamb of the first year for a burnt offering, and a young pigeon, or a turtledove, for a sin offering, unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, unto the priest: 7 Who shall offer it before the Lord, and make an atonement for her; and she shall be cleansed from the issue of her blood. This is the law for her that hath born a male or a female. 8 And if she be not able to bring a lamb, then she shall bring two turtles, or two young pigeons; the one for the burnt offering, and the other for a sin offering: and the priest shall make an atonement for her, and she shall be clean.
Even the joy of childbirth was touched by the reality of sin’s defilement, reminding Israel that God’s holiness covers every stage of life and that new life itself is subject to His sanctifying work.
Today we understand that true cleanness does not come from rituals or sacrifices but from Christ alone. Modern medicine shows us that after childbirth, or any medical procedure, hygiene and proper care are what protect health—washing hands, cleaning wounds, and guarding against germs. These things genuinely safeguard a mother’s and baby’s well-being. But in ancient Israel, the ceremonial laws pointed symbolically to the need for cleansing from sin, not actual physical healing. Going to a priest or offering a pair of birds could never change a woman’s health, restore her strength, or guard her child from sickness. Those rituals were shadows, reminders of the deeper uncleanness of sin that only Christ’s blood can wash away. Now, in Him, we know that cleanness is not found in external rites but in the new heart He gives and the forgiveness He purchased once for all.How striking that Mary, the mother of the sinless Son of God, submitted to these laws as every other Jewish mother did. The One she bore would grow to be the true Lamb, who by His own offering would cleanse His people—not for forty days, but for eternity.
In Christ, all that anxiety over being declared clean is over. It is so poetic that the last account of a woman bringing an offering after childbirth is Mary when she bore the Christ, who would abolish the need for this law.
Hebrews 10:1, 10 – “For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come… we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”
Christ fulfilled the purity laws concerning childbirth by accomplishing in reality what those laws only symbolized—complete cleansing from sin and restoration to God’s presence.
The last of the purity laws that we will look at is circumcision. Again, that is why we started with the birth of Jesus.
4. Circumcision (Leviticus 12:3; Genesis 17)
On the eighth day after His birth, Mary and Joseph brought their tiny Son to be circumcised, just as the Law of the Lord commanded. This was no mere custom—it was rooted in the covenant God had made long ago with Abraham, when He declared that every male child must bear this sign in his flesh as a token of belonging to the covenant people (Genesis 17:10–12; Leviticus 12:3). As the priest performed the rite, the Child received the covenant mark that spoke of consecration, the removal of impurity, and identification with God’s chosen nation. And in that moment, Mary and Joseph gave Him the name spoken by the angel before He was conceived—Jesus—the name that means “The Lord saves.”
A lot has been said about the purpose and symbolism behind circumcision.
Philo of Alexandria (1st century AD, Hellenistic Jewish philosopher)
“The
law commands that the whole foreskin be cut away… It is a symbol of the
excision of pleasures, and of those passions which delude the soul.”
(On Circumcision, Philo, Special Laws I.1)
Rabbi Moses ben Nachman (Nachmanides, 1194–1270)
“The commandment of circumcision has many reasons. One is that it completes what is lacking in man’s body… It is to mark us as different from the nations and to remove from us the uncleanness of the foreskin.”
Midrash Tanchuma (Tazria 5)
“Why is Israel circumcised on the eighth day? … So that the covenant may be impressed upon his body, so that the evil impulse will be diminished in him.”
Many indicate that its purpose was to weaken sexual desire thus heightening focus on God. And even Old Testament Scripture would tell us that it was a symbolic act representing a separation from fleshly desires to dedicate oneself wholly to God.
Deuteronomy 10:16 Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiffnecked.
Jeremiah 4:4 Circumcise yourselves to the Lord, and take away the foreskins of your heart, ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem: lest my fury come forth like fire, and burn that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings.
The external rite pointed to the deeper need for purity of heart, obedience, and devotion to the holy God.
And
it was a constant Reminder.
Every generation of Israelite males bore in their bodies a reminder of God’s
covenant promises. The act was both personal and communal: personal in that
each man carried the sign of the covenant himself, and communal in that the
whole nation was bound together under the same covenant obligations. The eighth
day itself carried significance, symbolizing a new beginning beyond the created
order of seven days, pointing toward life under God’s covenant blessing.
But even those Old Testament passages told us that it was not intended to be a permanent rite. God was always concerned about the condition of the heart. And could circumcision cause a man to be pure in his heart? No. We know what Jesus said,
Matthew 15: 19 For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: 20 These are the things which defile a man:
Christ fulfilled the law of circumcision by accomplishing what it symbolized—true cleansing from sin and full covenant identity with God. Paul writes in Romans 2:28–29, “For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit.”
In Christ, the shadow gives way to the reality. Colossians 2:11–12 declares, “In Him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised with Him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised Him from the dead.” Here, Paul ties circumcision directly to Christ’s death and resurrection: in Him, believers have experienced the true “cutting away” of sin, not by a physical blade but by the Spirit’s regenerating work.
When Jesus was eight days old, He Himself was circumcised (Luke 2:21), entering under the law that He came to fulfill. Yet at the cross, His body was broken and His blood was shed as the ultimate covenant sign—one not carved into flesh but written on our hearts. By His sacrifice, believers are brought into the new covenant, not by outward ritual but by inward renewal (Hebrews 8:10).
The Greater Reality
Physical circumcision set Israel apart temporarily; spiritual circumcision in
Christ sets believers apart eternally. Under the old covenant, circumcision was
a reminder of separation; under the new covenant, baptism becomes the outward
sign of inward faith, symbolizing union with Christ in His death, burial, and
resurrection.
Philippians 3:3 declares, “For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh.” No longer do we rely on outward rituals to mark our standing with God—our confidence rests in Christ’s finished work, by which we have been cleansed, consecrated, and claimed as God’s own.
In Him, the old covenant sign has reached its fulfillment. Circumcision foreshadowed the deeper work of grace; Christ’s cross accomplished it. Where once a knife cut flesh to mark the covenant, now the Spirit cuts sin from the heart to mark us as God’s children forever.
Conclusion: Christ the True Purifier
All the purity laws of the Old Covenant were shadows pointing to Christ, and in Him they find their completion. The food laws taught Israel to distinguish clean from unclean, yet Jesus declared, “Thus he made all foods clean” (Mark 7:19), showing that holiness is not about what goes into the body but what flows from the heart. The laws of childbirth reminded Israel that even life itself came through the curse of sin, yet now we rejoice that “we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” (Hebrews 10:10). The skin disease regulations warned that even the smallest blemish excluded a person from God’s presence, but Christ, who touched the leper, has fulfilled the promise that “the blood of Jesus… cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7). Laws about bodily discharges emphasized how deeply human weakness separated people from worship, yet now the gospel declares, “having been justified by his blood, we shall be saved by him from the wrath of God” (Romans 5:9). Even contact with death made a person unclean, but Jesus has triumphed, for “Death is swallowed up in victory… thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:54–57). In every shadow, Christ is the substance, the One who bore our uncleanness so that in Him we might be forever clean.
John Bunyan, long before he was a preacher, wrestled with the awful weight of sin. He tried to tame his flesh and discipline his desires, but the harder he tried, the filthier he felt before God. He said he was “both a burden and a terror to myself,” haunted by the thought that he had committed sins too great to forgive. His conscience was so troubled that at times he despaired of ever being saved.
He captured this torment through the character of Christian in The Pilgrim’s Progress. With a great burden on his back, Christian staggered under its weight, searching for relief. Bunyan describes the moment of change in unforgettable words:
“He ran thus till he came at a place somewhat ascending, and upon that place stood a cross, and a little below in the bottom a sepulchre. So I saw in my dream, that just as Christian came up with the cross, his burden loosed from off his shoulders, and fell from off his back, and began to tumble, and so continued to do till it came to the mouth of the sepulchre, where it fell in, and I saw it no more.”
That was Bunyan’s story. The despair of trying to cleanse himself gave way to freedom at the cross. The burden of sin rolled away, never to be seen again. And what he could never achieve through fear, discipline, or religious striving, Christ accomplished in an instant—by grace alone.
👉 That illustration lands beautifully on Psalm 51:7 (“Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow”) or Hebrews 10:14 (“For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified”).