Welcomed; Named; Presented
From April till the autumn the flocks pastured at night in the open fields, from which it seems probable that our Lord must have been born earlier or later than December. No doubt these shepherds were, like Simeon, “waiting for the consolation of Israel,” and their purity of life and simplicity of soul well qualified them to receive the blessed tidings of the angels. First simplicity and afterward science, Matthew 2:1-23, found their way into the presence of Jesus.
In the act of circumcision, our Lord admitted His obligation to fulfill the whole Law, Galatians 5:3. He was “made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law,” Galatians 4:4-5. Mary could afford only the gift of the poor, Leviticus 12:6-8; Leviticus 5:7-11; 2 Corinthians 8:9. The precious name of Jesus-Savior-is the name above every name, Acts 4:10-12.