Why did Joseph and Mary present Jesus at the temple?

As with the circumcision and purification, Joseph and Mary were obeying the Old Testament law when they presented their Son to God: “The firstborn of your sons you shall give to Me” (Exodus 22:29; also 13:2, 12, 15; Numbers 8:17). It was not mandatory for them to go to the Temple to present Jesus. But in the spirit of how Hannah brought Samuel to the Lord (1 Samuel 1:24–28), Joseph and Mary went above and beyond the normal duty and brought God’s Son to God’s house. They knew the child was very special and that He, of all children, belonged to the Lord already. By their action Jesus’ parents in effect said, “We are devoting this Child to You, God. He is already Yours, so do whatever You will in His life so He serves, honors, and glorifies You.”

That special presentation did not mean, however, that Joseph and Mary dedicated Jesus to the Levitical priesthood. They were of the tribe of Judah and therefore, like all non-Levite families and according to the law, they needed to redeem their Son from that priestly responsibility by paying five shekels of silver (Numbers 18:15–16). That would have been equivalent to many days’ wages, a difficult amount for a working-class couple like Joseph and Mary to pay. But God made sure they had the necessary coins.

That Jesus the Redeemer was ceremonially redeemed is both an interesting irony and an important scriptural reality. Just as with His earlier circumcision and later baptism, Jesus did not need to go through any kind of redemption. He was the sinless Son of God; He did not need to be cleansed from sin or redeemed from condemnation. But He was circumcised, He was baptized, and He was “redeemed” as part of His presentation to God—all because He had to obey the letter of the Law to fulfill all righteousness on our behalf.