Chapter 2—Jesus Presented in the Temple
Joseph and Mary were Jews, and followed the customs of their
nation. When Jesus was six weeks old, they brought Him to the Lord
in the temple at Jerusalem.
This was according to the law which God had given to Israel, and
Jesus was to be obedient in all things. So God’s own Son, the Prince
of Heaven, by His example teaches that we should obey.
Only the first-born son of each family was thus presented at the
temple. This ceremony was to keep in memory an event that had taken
place long before.
When the children of Israel were slaves in Egypt, the Lord sent
Moses to set them free. He bade Moses go to Pharaoh, king of Egypt,
and say:
“Thus saith the Lord, Israel is My son, even My firstborn: and I
say unto thee, Let My son go, that he may serve Me: and if thou refuse
to let him go, behold, I will slay thy son, even thy firstborn.”
Exodus
4:22, 23
.
Moses carried this message to the king. But Pharaoh’s answer was,
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“Who is the Lord, that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I know
not the Lord, neither will I let Israel go.”
Exodus 5:2
.
Then the Lord sent fearful plagues upon the Egyptians. The last
of these plagues was the slaying of the first-born son of every family,
from that of the king to the lowliest in the land.
The Lord told Moses that every family of the Israelites must kill a
lamb, and put some of the blood upon the door-posts of their dwellings.
This was a sign, that the angel of death might pass over all the
houses of the Israelites, and destroy none but the proud and cruel
Egyptians.
This blood of the “Passover” represented to the Jews the blood
of Christ. For in due time, God would give His dear Son to be slain
as the lamb had been slain; so that all who should believe in Him
might be saved from everlasting death. Christ is called our Passover.
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