9 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the
glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.
10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good
tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is
Messiah (Christ) the Lord. (Luke, 2:9-11)
21 And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his
name was called YESHUA (JESUS), which was so named of the angel before he was
conceived in the womb. (Luke, 2:21)
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;) (Luke, 2:22-23)
In Torah we read:
12 That thou shalt set apart unto the LORD all that openeth the matrix, and
every firstling that cometh of a beast which thou hast; the males shall be the
LORD's.
13 And every firstling of an ass thou shalt redeem with a lamb; and if thou
wilt not redeem it, then thou shalt break his neck: and all the firstborn of
man among thy children shalt thou redeem.
14 And it shall be when thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, What is
this? that thou shalt say unto him, By strength of hand the LORD brought us out
from Egypt, from the house of bondage:
15 And it came to pass, when Pharaoh would hardly let us go, that the LORD slew
all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man, and the
firstborn of beast: therefore I sacrifice to the LORD all that openeth the
matrix, being males; but all the firstborn of my children I redeem.
16 And it shall be for a token upon thine hand, and for frontlets between thine
eyes: for by strength of hand the LORD brought us forth out of Egypt. (Exodus,
13:12-16)
15 Every thing that openeth the matrix in all flesh, which they bring unto the
LORD, whether it be of men or beasts, shall be thine: nevertheless the
firstborn of man shalt thou surely redeem, and the firstling of unclean beasts
shalt thou redeem.
16 And those that are to be redeemed from a month old shalt thou redeem,
according to thine estimation, for the money of five shekels, after the shekel
of the sanctuary, which is twenty gerahs. (Numbers, 18:15-16)
IT WAS THE JEWISH CHRISTMAS!
25 And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Shimon (Simeon);
and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel:
and the Holy Ghost was upon him.
26 And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see
death, before he had seen the Lord's Christ.
27 And he came by the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents brought in
the child Jesus, to do for him after the custom of the law,
28 Then took he him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said,
29 Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word:
30 For mine eyes have seen thy salvation,
31 Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people;
32 A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel. (Luke,
2:25-32)
In Tanach we read:
1 Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. (Isaiah, 40:1)
5 And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it
together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it. (Isaiah, 40:5)
6 And he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise
up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also
give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto
the end of the earth. (Isaiah, 49:6)
41 Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of Pesakh (the
passover). (Luke, 2:41)
There were three pilgrim holidays when Jews were come
to Jerusalem: Pesakh, Shavuot (Pentecost) and Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles).
42 And when he was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem after the custom
of the feast. (Luke, 2:42)
Likely it was the Jewish custom - Bar Mitzva.
"According to Jewish law, when Jewish children reach the age of
majority (generally thirteen years for boys and twelve for girls) they become
responsible for their actions, and "become a Bar or Bat Mitzvah".
<...>
In modern Jewish observance, the occasion of becoming a Bar Mitzvah or (in
non-Orthodox congregations) a Bat Mitzvah usually involves the young man or
woman being called to read the Torah and/or Haftarah portion at a Shabbat or
other service and may also involve giving a d'var Torah, a discussion of that
week's Torah portion." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bar_and_Bat_Mitzvah)
43 And when they had fulfilled the days, as they returned, the child Jesus
tarried behind in Jerusalem; and Joseph and his mother knew not of it.
44 But they, supposing him to have been in the company, went a day's journey;
and they sought him among their kinsfolk and acquaintance.
45 And when they found him not, they turned back again to Jerusalem, seeking
him.
46 And it came to pass, that after three days they found him in the temple,
sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them
questions.
47 And all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers.
(Luke, 2:43-47)
When we share the Good News with the Jews we need to
tell them Yeshua was Jewish, about that Yeshua was brought up as Jew, observed
Torah, went to synagogue on shabat, observed the holidays (Luk 2:40-42;
Matt 17:24-26; Luk 4:16; John 2:13, 5:1; John 7:8-14, 37-39; John
10:22-23).
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