At that time there was a man in Jerusalem named Simeon. He was righteous and devout and was eagerly waiting for the Messiah to come and rescue Israel. The Holy Spirit was upon him and had revealed to him that he would not die until he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. (Luke 2:25-26)
Simeon (appearing in Luke 2:25-35) adds to the cast of characters in the Advent story who experience (or does it feel like, stumble into?) amazing surprises. His character provides rich meditation material.
This is the only time he is mentioned in the Bible. He is described as having the Holy Spirit upon him. He was righteous, devout, and waiting on the Lord to reveal the Messiah in his lifetime. This was a promise given to him—he would not die until the Messiah was revealed. He was sure of it! That’s a promise so big it’s hard to measure, and definitely one that would keep this man in an attitude of prayer, waiting, and discernment.
He showed up at the Temple on the day he was directed to go there by the Spirit. It happened to be the day that Joseph and Mary were presenting Jesus to the Lord, “as the law of Moses required.” The Scripture doesn’t say he was a priest or performing duties in the Temple, but he was simply there, presumably for worship.
When he saw the baby Jesus with his parents, he knew Jesus was the One. I wonder how quickly the chills and goose-bumps and face-flushing came on Mary and Joseph when he started praising God and saying:
“Sovereign Lord, now let your servant die in peace,
as you have promised. I have seen your salvation,
which you have prepared for all people.
He is a light to reveal God to the nations
and he is the glory of your people Israel!”
Then Luke records that his parents were “amazed.” That sounds like an understatement! They keep getting these clear words and indications, out of the blue, from complete strangers, but the pieces are adding up and his parents can’t deny it: their baby is the long-awaited One who will bring salvation and life to the people of Israel.
Interestingly, he turns to Jesus’ mother (not the father) and gives her the hard word:
He will cause many in Israel to fall—but even so he will be a joy to others;
He is a sign sent from God—but many will oppose him.
He will cause the deep thoughts of many to be revealed—and a sword will pierce his mother’s heart.
Perhaps “the deep thoughts of many which will be revealed” are the array of thoughts that freely came out during his ministry which showed that many of the leaders were jealous, conniving, and in deep opposition to God’s Anointed One. Mary’s own pain will be seeing her son—this obviously special, set-apart-like-no-other-before-or-after son, rejected and killed.
The reality check is in place: they are just now embarking on the journey of this young child—who is 40 days old—and the pieces are undeniably adding up quickly. God has made it clear that He’s the One; He will accomplish his purposes through this child who will grow to be a man; many will oppose Him; many will embrace him; joy is ahead, sorrow is ahead.
God spoke very clearly to Mary and Joseph before he was born. Now, with a few months’ lag time after his birth, he speaks again.
Parents, keep trusting God.
“Father, thank you for the witness of Simeon, and that you anointed him to wait on You for this revelation. Thank you for preparing this stranger to announce to any who would listen, that this child is the Messiah! Prepare us, Lord, to announce to those you bring in our paths—and no doubt, many will be unsuspecting—that Jesus is the Anointed One of God! Pay attention to Him!”
Freddy Boswell 