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Set Apart — The Traditions That Shape God’s People
Lesson 3, Part 2 — The Firstborn God Gave  ·  June 24, 2026  ·  ▶ Watch

Note: the source recording for this class was a rougher, unedited transcript than prior lessons. This version has been lightly cleaned for readability; a few speaker attributions for brief class comments are approximate.

Opening Prayer

Our Father in heaven, we thank You, Lord, so much for this time here this evening. We thank You for the opportunity to be here to share in this time of prayer and study. Lord, we ask that You be with us and give us the courage and strength that we need to have open hearts and minds to study and learn, that we might learn these things to the best of our ability, to be the Christians You would have us to be. We are so grateful for each and every person who is here, and we ask, Lord, Your blessing upon them. Lord, we take this time to lift up to You those who are mentioned here this evening — Lord, that list is very long, but we know that You know each and every one of them. We ask, Lord, for Your blessing and healing. We ask for Your watchful care over them. We just ask that You do what is right and good in each and every situation. We thank You, Lord, so much for all the many blessings You have given us. We thank You for this time, in Jesus’ holy name. Amen.

Class: The Firstborn God Gave

Alright guys, so we are continuing our study — I actually put a note at the top of my notes: “Push record.” We’ve been working through this series that I’ve titled Traditions That Shape God’s People. These are not just traditions — maybe traditions wasn’t the greatest word — but practices they have done for generations that have shaped who they are, how they understand God, and how they understand themselves. The dedication of the firstborn is one of those. Last time we talked about the Sabbath and how that helps us understand what God wants for us. The dedication of the firstborn is another one of those things that really does help us. We ended last week with a picture and a promise.

The picture was an Israelite family carrying a sacrifice, or silver, to the priest to redeem their firstborn son. Why did they do that? What did that point back to?

Class member: Passover.

That is really where it pointed back to. Every step they made in this process was meant to cause them to remember the night when God struck the firstborn of all Egypt in order to spare and free Israel. There is a powerful lesson in that, because from then on, God says all the firstborn are Mine. And the promise that Scripture had been pointing to all along was a different kind of firstborn — one who would not be spared. The death of the firstborn, joined with the promise that the firstborn are Mine, looks forward to the promise of a firstborn who would not be spared. In today’s lesson, we are going to dive into meeting him — who that firstborn was.

Remember what we said about the firstborn carrying a family’s hopes and dreams. It was the furtherance of that family’s lineage. Remember the price that a mother or father would pay without a second thought if it meant rescuing one of their children. Hold that thought, because we are going to watch God do exactly the opposite of what any parent would feel naturally inclined to do. We are going to watch Him give up His firstborn so that we could be saved. The same language of redemption that we traced through Exodus last time, we are going to see fulfilled in Jesus.

Let’s turn to Luke 2, and we are going to start at verse 22. Let’s read down through verse 24. If somebody would, go ahead and read that for us.

Reading: Luke 2:22–24

“And when the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, ‘Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord’) and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the Law of the Lord, ‘a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.'”

Now think about this. Here begins a major part of the story of Jesus Christ, and it is so ordinary, so simple. Mary and Joseph are doing what every other family in Israel had done for centuries: bringing the firstborn to the temple, offering the sacrifice, redeeming that firstborn child, ever since Egypt.

Class member: What was the purpose of all the silver in your opening statement?

The silver — so they could pay five shekels of silver. If they couldn’t afford anything else, they could pay five shekels of silver. That’s a good question. This is what I want to happen in class: if you’ve got a question, raise your hand and ask. All the way through our Bible classes, Sunday mornings and Wednesday nights, we are here to study, and study requires saying, “I don’t get it, help me understand, I have a question.” It’s important that we do that, so don’t hesitate.

Class member: Growing up, we were always told that a sacrifice had to be done in blood. I’ve never heard that you could pay five shekels and it would be acceptable.

That’s interesting, isn’t it. There is so much I have learned just preparing for this lesson that I didn’t know before.

Class member: Going back to what it says — every male who first opens the womb — what if the girl was first?

Didn’t count. So the second child — if it was a son — that was the one who counted. It had to be the firstborn male. It didn’t matter if he was the third or fourth child born overall; if he was the firstborn male, he had to be redeemed. He would receive the double portion of the inheritance and would take his father’s place as head of the family from then on, as acting priest, everything.

Class discussion: [The class discusses what this meant for daughters. Several members note that there are accounts, once Israel entered the Promised Land, of daughters receiving their father’s inheritance when there were no sons, so that a family’s lineage would not die out — with the understanding that whoever married into the family would take the family’s name to preserve it. The class places this in the book of Joshua but is not certain of the exact passage.]

So we see Mary and Joseph bringing Jesus to the temple — such a simple, ordinary thing to do. They brought their firstborn to present him to the Lord and to redeem him, just as Exodus 13 says. Here is what I think is so powerful: the Son of God entered the world into a family faithful enough to come and honor the law that God gave. That wasn’t true of every family at that time — especially not in the first century. Not every Israelite family was faithful enough to actually do this. But here are Mary and Joseph, and they are.

A Family Too Poor

Class member: But what did they bring?

A pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons. That points back to Leviticus 12:8 — these turtledoves were the offering prescribed for those who could not afford a lamb, the offering allowed for the poor. I want you to sit with the humility in all of this. Jesus comes into a family that is faithful, going through such an ordinary thing — bringing a firstborn son. But when they come, it is clear they are extremely poor. Not just a little poor — this is as poor as it gets. You can’t afford anything but two turtledoves. We need to let that sink in for a moment. The King of all creation, God in the flesh, the firstborn over everything, was redeemed like any other child in Israel, by parents who couldn’t afford anything but the least amount possible. No fanfare, no trumpets — just a young couple with their firstborn son coming to the temple to do what every other Israelite family should do. It was so small, so simple, so ordinary.

If I were going to tell the story of Jesus, I might want to build it up a little — make him a little more well known, a little more famous, a little more wealthy. But not God. He brings Jesus Christ into the world to a poor family — not just a little poor, very poor, working class, surviving day by day. They can’t afford anything more than two turtledoves, but they are still faithful enough to God to do it.

That brings up a question: where do these small things matter the most? These little obediences, these little unseen things that nobody else sees — where in your own walk with God do those little things matter the most?

Class member (Kathy): It shows what’s in your heart.

The Savior of the universe, born into a family too poor to even offer the least acceptable thing — and how arrogant we get in this world. That really makes you stop. Joseph and Mary could have said, “We can’t do anything but the smallest thing possible, we’ll wait until we can do something more.” That’s what we would do — wait until we can do what’s expected of us. But they didn’t wait. They came to God and offered what they could, no matter how small, when they could. Jesus later says about the woman who anointed His feet with oil, “Leave her alone, she’s done what she could.” They did what they could. It didn’t matter how little it was.

Class member: Like the widow with the two mites.

Absolutely. And there is a profound lesson in that for us. We want the big thing, the best of everything — we get a little entitled and spoiled. But when it came to worshiping God, Mary and Joseph didn’t stop just because they couldn’t do what everyone else could do. They brought what they could.

Class discussion: [The class briefly recalls that the shepherds who came to see Jesus were themselves common, looked-down-on people of the field, not the religious elite.]

Nazareth and Galilee

Class member (Jimmy): There were a lot of people who didn’t take Jesus seriously because of his humble background, and saw it as a stumbling block. But on the other hand, it meant he connected with so many more common, ordinary people because of where he came from.

That’s an aspect of where he grew up that most people don’t realize. Jesus was from Nazareth in Galilee — that’s where he was raised. He was born in Bethlehem but raised in Nazareth of Galilee. Do you know why that’s so significant? The region was heavily influenced by Gentile populations and trade routes; the majority of people who lived there were not faithful Israelites. It sat right on a trade route of people coming down from Syria. So Jesus would have been exposed to all kinds of people as a young person — rich, poor, travelers, people from all walks of life. The entire life of Christ demonstrates something profound: God cares about all people. But He wants all of us to bring what we can, no matter how little or how much, as long as it starts from the heart.

Faithful in Little

Mary and Joseph come with very little. The Scriptures don’t actually say they are poor, but the two turtledoves tell us they were extremely poor. But they still come. Let me read Luke 16:10.

Reading: Luke 16:10

“One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much.”

Doesn’t that apply right here? One who is faithful in a little will be faithful in a lot. Faithfulness with little matters deeply to God. Galatians 6 says you reap what you sow — sow a little, reap a little; sow a lot, reap a lot. You see that displayed in the life of Christ. Mary and Joseph brought what they could, no matter how little, and were faithful in that. That humbles me. What does God expect from me? Do what I can, when I can — don’t wait for ideal situations. God didn’t wait for the ideal circumstances to bring Jesus into the world. He didn’t wait for a wealthy family, or the kind of family that would have framed Jesus as more important in the world’s eyes. I think it was almost intentional that God brought him into a family so unremarkable that people would dismiss it — much as Isaiah 53 describes.

When you think about what God expects of us, you see Him demonstrate that in the life of Christ. What does God really want for you? Be faithful with no matter how little you have. Follow what God wants for you. Do the best you can with what little you have. If all you can afford is a penny, use that penny to God’s glory — because that is how He brought Christ into the world, in a very humble situation, to a family willing to do however little it could.

We get to see the gap between what we want for our spiritual lives and the kind of person God actually uses. We expect God to use the really wealthy, well-connected, polished, extroverted person. But the people you see God use most often are the little nobodies the world would have discounted. He brought Jesus into that kind of family, and He has used that kind of people throughout the history of Scripture — the very person nobody would have taken a second glance at.

Class member (Nancy): Mary and Joseph didn’t give the least of what they could give — they gave as much as they could.

Absolutely. So have you ever thought about why God so often operates through people the world wouldn’t take a second glance at? He doesn’t do it exclusively — Luke was a doctor, Paul was a trained rabbi and theologian, so God doesn’t limit Himself to the nobodies. But more often than not, that is who He uses. You see where the power is coming from — it’s not coming from them, because they have no power of their own. It’s what God is doing through them.

Class discussion: [A class member, David Laney, recalls some of the best preachers he has ever heard had no formal training or background — they had only their Bible and a passion for God, and God used them in powerful ways.]

I’ve seen the full range of how that plays out in life. God uses these kinds of situations so we can see clearly where the power comes from, where the faithfulness comes from. People who do a little with the very little they have are the people God is going to bless. Use faithfully what God has already given you. Scripture says He can open the windows of heaven and pour out a blessing until there is no more need, and you see that demonstrated in Jesus’ life.

Closing Application

Class member (Jeff): We shouldn’t be ashamed of our lifestyle. If we put God first and take the opportunities when we can — none of us in here is hurried by any means — we shouldn’t be ashamed of that lifestyle, because His blessings are evident. The blessings we have belong to Him, and it’s because of Him that we have them. But we shouldn’t be ashamed of it, and we shouldn’t hide it either.

That’s a matter of how you feel about things, but I think what Jeff brings up is important. If you’re like Mary and Joseph, extremely poor, don’t be ashamed of that — use what you have to God’s glory. But if you’ve been faithful and God has blessed you, don’t be ashamed of that either, because God blesses you not only in connection with your faithfulness, but so that you can be a representation to everyone else. You sow a little, you reap a little; you sow a lot, you reap a lot. If you are more faithful, God may entrust you with more, and we see that happen around us. Often we don’t think, “If I would do more, God would give me more.” So don’t be ashamed of having a little, and don’t be ashamed of having a lot. Use what God has given you to the best of your ability, faithfully. That’s all He expects of us.

All right guys — anyone else? Let’s have a word of prayer, and we will be dismissed.

Closing Prayer

Our Father in heaven, we thank You, Lord, so much for this time here this evening. We thank You for each and every person who is here and online. We thank You, Lord, for their involvement, and for the example they are setting through their faithfulness to be here. Lord, we are grateful for them. We ask Your blessing upon them and upon their lives. Lord, we ask that You be with us as Your church. Help us to be faithful in all that we do, and help us to grow and to make an impact on this world and upon our community. We are so thankful for the avenue of prayer and the ability to bring to You all of our cares and concerns. We ask, Lord, that You look into each situation, each life, each illness, and do what’s right and good, do what’s best. We don’t always understand what that is, but we know that You do, Lord, and we trust You. Lord, as we leave here this evening, we ask that You go with us and bless us, and help us, Lord, to return at our next appointed time. In Jesus’ holy name. Amen.