Presentation of Jesus
According to the Law, every firstborn had to be brought to the Temple to be consecrated to the Lord. Boys were brought on the fortieth day, and girls on the eightieth day after birth. There, as an offering of gratitude to God and for the purification from original sin, a redemption was made — a one-year-old lamb and doves; if the parents were poor, then only two pigeons.
The Evangelist Luke and the apocryphal texts tell of the presentation of Jesus in the Temple.
According to tradition, long before Christ’s birth, seventy-two translators began translating the Bible from Hebrew into Greek (this translation became known as the Septuagint). One of the translators was Simeon, who was entrusted with translating the book of the prophet Isaiah. Upon reaching the phrase “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son…” (Isa. 7:14), Simeon wanted to correct the word “virgin” (unmarried) to “young woman.” However, an angel appeared to him and told him that he would not die until he saw the child born of the Virgin. The Protoevangelium of James tells that after the murder of the high priest Zechariah (the father of John the Baptist), Simeon took his place.
As described by Luke: “And the Spirit brought him into the temple. And when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for Him according to the custom of the law, He took Him up in His arms and blessed God, and said: ‘Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, according to Your word; for my eyes have seen Your salvation which You have prepared before the face of all peoples, a light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of Your people Israel!'” And He said to Mary, His mother: “Behold, this Child is destined for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and for a sign which will be spoken against (yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed!” (Luke 2:27-35)
There, the prophetess Anna, who had been a widow for eighty-four years and prayed and fasted in the Temple daily, saw the Emmanuel. She gave thanks to God and spoke of Him to all those who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem (Luke 2:36-38).
Mykhailo Skop
