In this painting, Jan Lievens interprets a scene from the Gospel of Luke, in which Christ is presented in the temple and welcomed into the Jewish community. At the lower left, Simeon sings the song of praise recognizing the infant Christ as the long-awaited saviour. Christ’s parents, Mary and Joseph, were originally located behind Simeon but have been removed with an alteration to the canvas by a previous owner. By 1630, Lievens was working on a small scale, much like Rembrandt. Both artists depicted this theme at this time, thereby engaged in a valuable competition.