here means ―burial clothes‖. They are not normal baby clothes. Probably they had to make do with what they
could on such short notice and borrowed these from a nearby tomb. With the wrapping of swaddling or burial
clothes, we are told the reason for the Baby‘s birth. He was born to die and even will be buried in a borrowed
tomb.
―(13) And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,
(14) Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. (15) And it came to pass, as the
angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even
unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us‖. It is
important to grasp the incredible change in Israel‘s relationship with YHWH that was taking place here.
During Israel‘s history, angels had appeared to only a select few individuals. For the last 400 years, Israel
had not even heard from YHWH. Suddenly, He is now speaking profusely to men and women in Israel. This
in itself is a sign that something incredible was happening.
Another important note is that the shepherds were out in the field and from there they moved to Bethlehem.
―(16) And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. (17) And
when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.
(18) And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds‖. Caught up
in the excitement of the hour, the shepherds rush to see the Miracle Child. They find everything to be as the
angel had said.
―(19) But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart‖. Miriam pondered upon these
things, but kept them to herself. Years later, she would reveal them to the Gospel writer, Luke.
̳(20) And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen,
as it was told unto them‖.
Brit-milah (circumcision) of Y‟shua – the first of the Jewish Lifecycle customs (we continue to read
from Luke chapter 2)―(21) And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called
JESUS (Y‘SHUA), which was so named of the angel before he was conceived in the womb‖. Here we can
see that the Hebraic custom of bris was followed very carefully by Y‘shua‘s parents. We will see that Y‘shua
complied fully with the traditions and customs of Judaism. Before we continue, allow me to explain what
Judaism is:
Judaism:
Judaism as we know it is the culmination of thousands of years of growth and development shaped by the
Written and the Oral Traditions, and the religious (orthodox) Jews adhere to these customs and traditions.
The Written Tradition (Torah shel biktov) includes everything that was written in the Tanach (the Old
Covenant of the Bible). It includes three parts:
Torah – The first five Books of the Bible, the Five Books of Moses also known as the Pentateuch, serves as
the foundation of Judaism (revelation or instruction from YHWH);
Nevi'im ("Prophets") starts where the Torah leaves off. It documents Joshua leading the Israelites into the
Promised Land, includes stories from the period of Judges and Kings and culminates with the Prophets
(basically all the Books written by the Prophets in the Old Covenant);
Ketuvim ("Writings"), which includes the most dramatic works of literature questioning the most basic
questions about life and human existence. The Book of Job, Song of Songs, Lamentations and Proverbs are
all found in this third section of the Written Tradition. It includes a historical record of the Jewish People
dating to the end of the Babylonian captivity around 500 B.C. The rabbis of old closed the Written Tradition
with Chronicles I and II, forbidding anything else to be added to it. Everything that followed became a part of
the Oral Tradition.
The Oral Tradition includes everything that was written in the Talmud, Mishnah and Zohar (explained in the
―Glossary‖ section at the back) on the Holy Scriptures.
In a nutshell, every religious Jew adheres to the 613 commandments laid out in the Torah. Y‘shua and his
family did exactly the same as the Scriptures prove. With that in mind, let‘s continue with Y‘shua‘s bris
(circumcision).