22 And when the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord 23 (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”) 24 and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the Law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.”
When we look back to Leviticus we find that Jesus' parents were faithfully following the instructions God had given to the people of Israel centuries before. Due to the birth process, the mother was considered ceremonially unclean, and was to bring a special sacrifice to the temple to acknowledge that. Also, since Jesus was a firstborn son, there was a special offering to be brought in memorial of the Passover when the death angel "passed over" the Israelites' homes and did not take their firstborn sons like he did to Egypt. The firstborn son, in a special way, belonged to God. When we add to that Who Jesus was - He was doubly God's Son, who came to live out obedience to God perfectly; He had no sin from which He needed to be purified. Over the next few days, we will see how that was confirmed.
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