JESUS   THE   MESSIAH

His Life and Times

No. 14

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   The Purification of the Virgin & 

 The Presentation in the Temple

     During the time that Mary was pregnant with Jesus, and after he was born, she must have thought many different things.  She must have lived in wonder at how the angel had come to her and told her that she would be the mother of the Christ-Child.  The Bible says that she pondered on all these things and tucked all the memories deep within her heart.  Then there was more amazement at how the Angel had come to Joseph and told him to marry her when he was so set on putting her away.  

     Then as the shepherds came and told them that a star had led them to the Christ-Child, she must have been totally astounded.  She had given birth in such a lowly place, and she must have sensed some of the divineness of the moment when the shepherds came and fell at the cradle around Jesus and worshipped him as the child sent to become the Savior of the world.  That whole time must have been one of wonder and amazement.  

     But even though Mary sensed there was something great about this child, she could not have known about the whole Divine Nature of Christ.  If she had, she would not have raised him in the same way that she raised her other children.  He would not have been able to partake of sheer humanness that God intended for Him.  Such knowledge of the Divine would have broken the bond of His Humanity to ours, by severing that which bound Him as a child to his mother.  We could not have become his brethren had he not truly become the virgin's son.  The mystery of the Incarnation would have been needless and fruitless had His humanity not been subject to all its right and ordinary conditions.  If His true Divinity had been made knowledge of, it would have been impossible for Him to have been just a human, with all its lessons to learn.  He could have never truly been just a man.  

     If the people had known of His Divinity, they would have known how the story ended, because they had read the scriptures and knew what would happen to the King of the Jews, even though they might not have fully understood it.  God just wanted Jesus to live with humans so that they would understand in future generations that he knew exactly what they were going through at any given time, because His Own Son Jesus had been through the same thing and had come out victorious over Satan.  

     Thus it was that every event connected with the Messianic manifestation of Jesus would come to the Virgin-Mother as a fresh discovery and a new surprise.  Each event would be isolated in her mind as a link in a chain.  She understood somewhat the beginning and the end, but didn't know the path that lay in between.  Every new fact was treasured and remembered, until it was a natural thing that she had truly indeed bore the Son of God Incarnate.

     Since she was a good Jewish Woman, she would have naturally fulfilled all the requirements of the Law in regards to herself and her child.  The first of these would have been circumcision, which represented the covenant God had made with Abraham and his seed.  The ceremony would have taken place on the eighth day and it was then that the child would be given the name that the Angel had told Mary those months ago - Jesus.  

     There were two other legal ordinances that remained to be observed.  The firstborn son of every household was, according to the Law, to be 'redeemed' of the priest at the price of five shekels.  The earliest period of presentation was 31 days after birth, so as to make the legal month quite complete.  The child must have been the firstborn of his mother (some writers say father, also); neither father nor mother must be of Levitic descent; and the child must be free from all such bodily blemishes as would have disqualified him for the priesthood.  It was a thing much dreaded that a child should die before his redemption; but if his father died in the interval, the child had to redeem himself when of age.  

     The Rabbinic law stated that the shekels were to be of "Tyrian weight', so the value of the 'redemption money' would have amounted to about 10 or 12 shillings.  The redemption could be made from any priest, and attendance in the Temple was not required.  

     The Rabbinic law for purification of the mother was 41 days after the birth of a son and 81 after that of a daughter.  This made the Biblical terms complete.  But it could also take place later than that, such as when the family went to Jerusalem for any of the great feasts.  Sometimes a mother would offer several sacrifices of purification at the same time.  If she lived a long way off, she was not required to be personally present, though.  

     In many cases the redemption of the firstborn and the purification of his mother would be combined.  This was probably the case with the Virgin-Mother and her Son.  

     Basically the ceremony was a simple one.  It consisted of the formal presentation of the child to the priest, accompanied by two short 'benedictions' - one for the law of redemption, the other for the gift of a  firstborn son - after this the redemption money was paid.  This must have been a very solemn occasion.

     There is very little information regarding the ceremony of the mother's purification, so it would not be prudent to read anything into what actually happened here.  It was probably just a simple, solemn ceremony as well.  

     Then there may have been sacrifices made for a sin-offering if one had been committed.  It was in most cases it was a turtle-dove or a young pigeon.  The more wealthy people might bring a whole lamb for sacrifice, but the poor could substitute the birds. The substitution of the birds for a young lamb was designated 'the poor's offering'.  

     The sacrifices had to be done a certain way.  The neck of the sin-offering was to be  broken, but the head not wholly severed.  Some of the blood should be sprinkled at the southwestern angle of the altar, below the red line, which ran round the middle of the altar, and the rest should be poured ou6t at the base of the altar.  The whole of the flesh belonged to the priests, and had to be eaten within the enclosure of the Sanctuary.  

     The Temple price of the meat and drink offerings was fixed once a month.  Special officials instructed the people what to do and provided them with what was needed.  There was also a special 'superintendent of turtle-doves and pigeons' that is mentioned in the Mishnah.  This person was required to be an upright person, because the poor would have to deal with him as they purchased their animals for sacrifice.  

     In the Court of the Women, there were thirteen trumpet-shaped chests for contributions for sacrifice, called 'trumpets'.  (These have been covered in much more detail in The Temple No. 5 Archives text) Into the third trumpet those who brought the 'poor's offering', like the Virgin Mary, were to drop the price of the sacrifices which were needed for their purification. A priest was probably stationed here so that he could make sure everything was in order with the money given for each certain sacrifice.  At a certain time of the day the chest was opened and half of its contents applied to burnt offerings, with the other half being applied to sin offerings.  Thus sacrifices were made that corresponded with the amount of money that was in the chests.  This way the poor would not be shamed because no one except the one the sacrifice was bought from would know exactly how much they had given for their sacrifice.  No one would also have to know exactly what their sin was and they could keep their dignity without others looking down on them for the sins they had committed.

     In our minds, we can follow Mary in the Temple.  Her child had been given up to the Lord, and received back from Him.  She had entered the Court of the Women, probably on the north side, and deposited the price of her sacrifices into Trumpet No. 3.  This was close to the gallery where the women worshipped and was apart from the men.  Now there rose the sound of the organ which announced throughout the vast Temple-buildings that the incense was about to be kindled on the Golden Altar.  This sound summoned those who were to be purified.  The chief person on duty for this job arranged those who presented themselves for special sacrifices in the special place at the top of the 15 steps on either side of the great Nicanor Gate.  It was as if they were to be brought nearest the Sanctuary itself, and their prayers were special ones that were answered by Jehovah Himself.  (A picture of the Nicanor Gate is available to see in the same text, just further down from the 'trumpets' explanation - The Temples Archives No. 5.)

     After the service was over, everyone left except those who had brought special sacrifices.  They were now Levitically clean and all stain was removed so that they could partake of sacred offerings again.  It must have been a wonderful clean and pure feeling that they had after they had partaken of this service.  Their hearts must have been tremendously grateful.  

     The 'parents' of Jesus had brought Him into the Temple for presentation and redemption when they were met by Simeon, who was well known in the city and the Sanctuary.  The Holy Spirit was upon him, and told him that this Child was the Promised Messiah.  He took him into his arms, and burst into praise and thanksgiving to God.  God had indeed fulfilled His word to Simeon - that he would not die until he had seen the Promised One.  With this Infant in his arms, it was as if he stood on the mountain-height of prophetic vision and could see into the future what Jesus would actually do for His people.  There was nothing Judaic in what he said in Luke 2: 29-35 - quite the contrary.  "Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace according to thy word:  For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people; A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.  And Joseph and his mother marveled at those things which were spoken of him.  And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother, Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against; (Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also,) that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed."

     Mary and Joseph marveled at what Simeon had told them, but they still didn't fully understand what was happening.  There was also another in the Temple that day that recognized the Christ-Child because the Spirit of God was upon her - Anna.  She was a widow early on in her life and this had been followed by a long life of solitary mourning for the Promised One to come.  She had spent many years in fasting and prayer with a deep longing in her soul for the Promised One to come.  Because of this God granted her as prophetess to recognize Him.  Together they both praised God that He had finally sent the one they had waited so long for.

     Day by day as people came in the Temple, they would speak of what they had seen.  They were in the City of Herod, though, and were right in the middle of the stronghold of Pharisaism.  Therefore, they could only speak in whispers and only tell people who could be trusted and who believed the same way they did.  The Christ-Child had come, but it was not the time for Him to be praised openly at this very moment.  There were too many enemies that would try to kill him if they found out. 

     For more information from this book, go to the archives page at my site  www.cathydeaton.com   There are other articles of interest there also. 

     This text is taken from the book Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah written by Alfred Edersheim.  This book is used by permission.