Mary and Joseph take Jesus to the temple
21 When the baby was eight days old, it was time for the priest to circumcise him. His parents gave him the name ‘Jesus’. The angel had told Mary that they must give him that name. He told her that before she had the baby inside her.
22 Long ago, God gave Moses rules for his people to obey. One rule told people how to become clean after a baby was born. The time came for Mary and Joseph to do this. So they took the baby Jesus to the temple in Jerusalem to show him to the Lord.
2:22Moses was a great leader of the Israelites, who gave God's laws to the people.
23 This is the rule which the Lord God gave to his people: ‘The first male baby born to a woman belongs to me. So you must bring him to me. 24 When you do this, also bring two doves or two young pigeons as a sacrifice.’ So that is what Mary and Joseph did.
2:24The Jews had to obey this rule 40 days after a boy was born. Poor people could offer these birds instead of a sheep. See Leviticus 12:2-8. Simeon speaks about Jesus
25 At this time, a man called Simeon was living in Jerusalem. He was a good man and he obeyed God. He had waited a long time to see the special person who would save Israel's people. The Holy Spirit was with him. 26 The Holy Spirit had told him, ‘You will not die yet. You know that the Lord God has promised to send his Messiah. You will see him before you die.’
27 Now the day had come. The Holy Spirit told Simeon that he should go to the temple. Mary and Joseph were bringing the baby Jesus to the temple, as God's rule said. 28 Simeon went to them. He took Jesus and he held him in his arms. Then he thanked God. He said:
29 ‘Master, I am your servant.
You have done what you promised to me.
Now I can die with peace in my mind.
30 I have seen the person that you have sent to save your people.
31 You have sent him to the world
and people everywhere will know about him.
32 He will bring light to people so that they can know you.
He will show you to people of other nations.
He will bring honour to your own people, the Israelites.’
33 That is what Simeon said about Jesus. His message surprised Mary and Joseph very much.
34 Then Simeon asked God to be good and kind to Mary and to Joseph. After that, he spoke to Mary, the mother of Jesus. He said to her, ‘God has chosen this baby. He will cause many people in Israel to turn away from God. But many of them will turn to God because of him. He will be like a sign that points to God. But many people will speak against him. 35 This will show their secret thoughts about God. It will make you very sad, too. It will seem as if a sharp knife is cutting into you.’
Anna thanks God for Jesus
36 A very old woman called Anna was also there in the temple. She spoke messages that God gave to her. Anna was the daughter of Phanuel, who belonged to the tribe of Asher. She had lived with her husband for seven years and then he had died. 37 After that, she had lived alone until she was 84 years old. Now she never left the temple. She stayed there day and night to worship God. She fasted and she prayed.
2:36Asher was one of the sons of Jacob. He was the ancestor of the Israelite tribe called Asher. See Genesis 35:23-26. 38 At that moment, Anna came to where Mary and Joseph were standing in the temple. When she saw the baby, she thanked God for him. Then she began to speak about him to other people there. Many people were waiting for God to make Jerusalem free. These were the people that she spoke to about the child, Jesus.
39 When Mary and Joseph had done everything that God's rules said, they returned home to the town of Nazareth in Galilee. 40 There the child grew up. God was kind to him and he became strong. He learned many things and he could understand them well.
