Luke 2:21-24 :
When eight days were fulfilled for the circumcision of the child, his name was called Jesus, which was given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.
When the days of their purification according to the law of Moses were fulfilled, 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 opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”), 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.”
I am very concerned that people today fail to recognize that Jesus is still a Jew. Jesus never said anything about the end of being Jewish. This passage tells us that Jesus was raised very carefully as a Jew, meeting all of the requirements in childhood for a first born son.
Jesus is still a Jew today. This means that mistreating the Jews is mistreating Jesus’ own people and respecting the Jews shows respect for Jesus’ people.
I am definitely not saying that everything that the Jewish nation and people do is right, but we should respect them out of respect for Jesus and show them the love that Jesus has for them, not forgetting that Jesus loves the Gentiles as well. The Bible tells us that Jesus has not given up on His people in any way. He just added Gentiles in and I am happy about that.
Because Jesus was Jewish and because He had not yet died for sin, Joseph and Mary had to do some some unusual things that we don’t do anymore. The Law says that until the Messiah comes, certain sacrifices had to be offered by the Jews. Jews also had to avoid eating certain things and never work on Saturday. We don’t circumcise children on the eighth day or offer “A pair of turtledoves” for our children unto God anymore.
Some people wrongfully think that Christians should live their lives by following the written legal system of the Old Testament. It is true that we are expected to do what the law says, but the intent of the law was show us that we couldn’t actually do it. The Bible actually tells us to follow Jesus and trust His power in order to do what the law says. We can now be good by following Jesus who’s Spirit is now living in Christians, and that is much better than just trying to follow the rules. So, Jesus was a Jew living while sacrifices were still being offered. The Bible also tells us that someday He will return and save His Jewish people from their enemies. This tells me that the wisest thing to do is be a friend of Israel.