To dedicate a child means to give the child to God in a church service. Some churches do this instead of baptising babies.
Circumcision was the sign God gave to Abraham’s family. Every baby boy received it when he was eight days old.
Purification was a ceremony for a mother 40 days after her son was born. After it, she could go to the temple again.
The firstborn is the first son born to a mother. God’s law said every firstborn son belonged to God.
Open a Bible to Luke chapter 2, verses 21 to 24. It is only four verses. Does it say “dedicate”? What happened on the eighth day? Then come back.
What did the preacher say?
At a baptism service, a preacher said:
- Baby Jesus was taken to the temple and “got dedicated.”
- “Nobody baptized him.” We do not read that in the Bible.
- His parents were poor.
- When he was 30, he was baptised.
- So God accepts the dedication of children.
This page does not name the preacher or the church. It does not say that baptising babies is right. A preacher may disagree with it. This page asks only one thing: does the Bible say what he said?
Five points
- The Bible does not call it a dedication. Luke says the family was obeying God’s law.
- The law was about two things: the mother’s purification, and the firstborn son.
- One verse earlier, Luke says Jesus was circumcised when he was eight days old. That was God’s sign for babies. The preacher did not mention it.
- Nobody baptised baby Jesus because Christian baptism did not exist yet.
- No verse in the Bible tells churches to have a dedication service.
This is my own opinion. A preacher may disagree with baptising babies. But he should read the Bible correctly. Either he did not read these verses carefully, or he read them and said something different. We expect a doctor to read a blood test correctly. We should expect a preacher to read the Bible correctly.
The four verses
When eight days were fulfilled for the circumcision of the child, his name was called Jesus …
Luke 2:21 · World English Bible
In simple words: When the baby was eight days old, he was circumcised and named Jesus.
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 …
Luke 2:22 · World English Bible
In simple words: After 40 days, it was time for the mother’s purification. This was in God’s law. They took the baby to the temple.
(as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every male who opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”)
Luke 2:23 · World English Bible
In simple words: God’s law said every firstborn son belongs to God.
… 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.”
Luke 2:24 · World English Bible
In simple words: The mother gave two birds. This was the gift for poor mothers who could not buy a lamb.
In Luke chapter 2, Luke speaks about God’s law 5 times. He says “dedicate” 0 times. We checked 67 English Bibles. None of them uses the word “dedicate” in verse 22.
The verse the preacher did not mention
The preacher said God gives no sign to babies. But look at verse 21. On the eighth day, baby Jesus was circumcised. That was the sign God gave to every baby boy in Israel. God told Abraham: “He who is eight days old will be circumcised among you” (Genesis 17:12).
The law about the mother’s purification is in Leviticus chapter 12. Verse 3 of that chapter also says: circumcise the baby on the eighth day. So the same law has the sign for the baby in it.
The preacher used these verses to say God gives babies no sign. But the verse just before says that baby Jesus received God’s sign.
“They were poor”
Luke does not say that Mary and Joseph were poor. How do we know? Because of the two birds. God’s law said a mother should bring a lamb. If she was poor, she could bring two birds (Leviticus 12:8).
The same verse says the birds were for the mother, to make her clean. They were not for the baby.
So the preacher knew about the birds. But he did not say what they were for. Did he not know? Or did he know and say something different? You decide.
Why was baby Jesus not baptised?
Because Christian baptism did not exist yet. Jesus told his followers to baptise after he rose from the dead (Matthew 28:19). That was more than 30 years later. John the Baptist was only six months older than Jesus. So when Jesus was a baby, John was a baby too.
Nobody gave baby Jesus communion either. That does not tell us anything about babies today.
When Jesus was about 30, John baptised him. But John’s baptism was for people who were sorry for their sins (Mark 1:4). Jesus had no sin. So his baptism is not the same as a Christian’s baptism.
Is a dedication service in the Bible?
No. No verse tells churches to dedicate babies in a service. In the Old Testament, Hannah gave her son Samuel to God. But he went to live at God’s house for the rest of his life (1 Samuel 1:22). Jesus went home with his parents (Luke 2:39).
Dedication services started much later. Some began in 1525. Many churches began them in the 1900s. It may be a good custom. But it is a custom. It is not in Luke 2.
Should preachers read carefully?
Let not many of you be teachers, my brothers, knowing that we will receive heavier judgment.
James 3:1 · World English Bible
In simple words: Teachers have a big responsibility. God will judge them more carefully.
A doctor must read a blood test correctly. An engineer must check that a building is safe. A preacher must read the Bible correctly. Either the preacher did not read these four verses carefully, or he read them and said something different. Both are a problem.
“On the eighth day Jesus was circumcised, as God commanded. Forty days later his parents went to the temple to obey God’s law. Some Christians think baptism is like circumcision. I do not agree, and here are my reasons.”
This is honest. It tells you what the Bible says. Then it gives the preacher’s opinion. You can decide for yourself.
Read it yourself
- Read Luke chapter 2, verses 21 to 39.
- Read Leviticus chapter 12. It has only eight verses.
- When a preacher uses a Bible verse, read the verse before it and the verse after it.
Want more?
The quick version shows the four verses with the laws they come from. The full dossier has all the evidence.
Quick version → Full dossier →