(For the audio version of this blog, go to this link at FAB’s Podcast.)
In Jerusalem at the time, there was a man, Simeon by name, a good man, a man who lived in the prayerful expectancy of help for Israel. And the Holy Spirit was on him. The Holy Spirit had shown him that he would see the Messiah of God before he died. Led by the Spirit, he entered the Temple. As the parents of the child Jesus brought him in to carry out the rituals of the Law, Simeon took him into his arms and blessed God:
God, you can now release your servant;
release me in peace as you promised.
With my own eyes I’ve seen your salvation;
it’s now out in the open for everyone to see:
A God-revealing light to the non-Jewish nations,
and of glory for your people Israel. (Luke 2:25-32)
~~~~~
Think of the cast of characters who participate in the Advent story. How many of them would you say were expecting to encounter the Messiah?
Not the star-scholars. They studied the skies, and we have no idea all that they were looking for (weather patterns? Early inter-planetary movements? Stars that reflected coming events?). Coming from distant lands, there is no indication that their work was to track the birth of the King of the Jews. They just knew from their study that a star indicated that a king had been born, and the star led them to Israel. But it seems far-fetched that their study was a quest to know when the Jewish Messiah would be born.
Not King Herod. While history shows his depth of extreme paranoia, we aren’t told that he was expecting a future king to be born in Bethlehem during his lifetime. When he consulted with his Bible scholars, he did find out that the Messiah King would one day be born in Bethlehem. But that would be in the distant future, right?! Nothing to worry about now. At least, I don’t think so.
Not the shepherds. They were going about their night shift, minding their own business!
Not Zachariah or Elizabeth. They were an older, childless couple, with no inkling that Elizabeth would become pregnant. Much less that her pregnancy would be tied to the pregnancy of her virgin cousin, Mary.
Not Joseph! He wasn’t even married (and for the most part, it seems that babies came from marriage unions in those days).
Neither was Mary expecting to encounter the Messiah—in her womb.
But a new character enters the Advent story, “a man who lived in the prayerful expectancy of help for Israel.” For the first time in the story, we hear the word “expectancy.” He is identified as a “good man named Simeon.” He enters on to center stage, and there are three things related to the Holy Spirit that characterize this Yahweh-follower.
Notice that the text says “the Holy Spirit was on him.” In the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit came “upon” people for power, and for certain purposes. For example, Samuel anointed David with oil, preparing him to be king of Israel, and the Scripture says the Holy Spirit came upon David in power (1 Samuel 16:13). After the Day of Pentecost, and combined with the impartation of the Spirit by Jesus to his disciples before he departed earth, the Spirit resided inside God’s followers. The Spirit upon Simeon indicates to me that he was in a position of receiving and exercising God’s power for a specific purpose at a specific time. And this was definitely one of those.
Then the text says that, “The Holy Spirit had shown him that he would see the Messiah of God before he died.” This was a very specific revelation to him of future activity. Not, “maybe you will live long enough to encounter the Messiah.” Not, “put this on your so-called bucket list (i.e. the list of things you want to do, as they say, before you die, or “kick the bucket”) and strive all your life to find some way to do it.” No. The Holy Spirit very clearly revealed to him that he would see the Messiah of God in his lifetime. We aren’t told if he woke up every morning wondering if today was the day, but he certainly carried with him this knowledge, and this certainty. He was obviously not just acquainted with the Holy Spirit, but in tune, listening, and in a position to see this fulfilled.
The final reference to Simeon and the Spirit says that Simeon was “led by the Spirit.” The Messiah was in his midst, suddenly. As a baby. Was that in the script, and in the imagination of Simeon for how this would come to pass? This baby was pointed out as the one! Notice that the report of the Spirit informing him was not “and the Messiah will be in the person or form of a baby.” Do we assume that he thought the Messiah would be a fully-grown man? And did Simeon believe the historic and traditional description of Messiah as a military leader, one who would rescue Israel from her hated enemies? Simeon would pick him out of a crowd, or maybe see him at a public rally, swept up in the buzz of the day. People would be standing around and pointing and saying, “Who is this man?! He’s fantastic!” And Simeon would reply to any who would listen, “You don’t know who this is? This man is Messiah! God promised I would see him before I die, and I tell you, the Spirit just prompted me that He’s the One! Prepare O Israel, to receive your king!”
No, none of that kind of public revealing and proclamation, standing out in a crowd, or upon a wooden fruit box yelling at the top of his lungs. The Spirit upon Simeon, who had promised that he would see Messiah, led him to this child. And he picked him up in his arms and he broke out in ecstatic praise:
God, you can now release your servant;
release me in peace as you promised.
With my own eyes I’ve seen your salvation;
it’s now out in the open for everyone to see:
A God-revealing light to the non-Jewish nations,
and of glory for your people Israel.
He lived in prayerful expectancy of God’s help for his people. We are not privy to the words of that holy conversation. Perhaps there were few words spoken by Simeon, and it was mostly a non-verbal, attitude of prayer, waiting for the Lord to speak to him, as he expressed his longing to see the Messiah in his lifetime. None of that is recorded. But what is known to us is that whatever that prayerful expectancy was, the Holy Spirit showed him that he indeed would see the Messiah before he died. This was Simeon’s assurance.
To me, this is a beautiful part of the story. A simple, “good man”, known only by his first name, is recorded by Luke as yet another witness to the birth of Jesus the Messiah. When he saw Jesus, he knew his prayer had been answered. It was a no-doubter. His response was to break out with words of “ecstatic praise”, and those words have been sung by Christians for centuries.
Simeon’s expectation of Messiah was fulfilled. In this Advent season, what is your expectation?
Once in Japan, I was in a social group which had gathered to share dinner together. Before the meal, I recall we were just making small talk, introducing ourselves. I had assumed all there were Christians, as in this Christian-minority country, our hosts were Christians, and I thought (naively) it was a time of bringing “some of the few” together. We were sharing openly with each other. I ventured to ask the Japanese man next to me about his turning point in coming to Christ and subsequent decision-time. When and how did it happen? He darted his eyes downward, and quietly replied, “I am still seeking.”
I am confident that the Lord will not disappoint the expectant seeker. Simeon’s story gives us reason to hope yet again that God will break in on our journey and reveal himself, especially to those who are seeking him, doing so in the words of the Christmas hymn, as “the hope of every longing heart.” May all who are seeking him today, longing for the life that he gives, may they find him.
“Father, thank you for this record of this good man named Simeon! His expectancy and the resulting fulfillment of his hope is uplifting. For anyone reading this meditation who is on the road to discovery of the Messiah, may they not be disappointed! May their expectancy lead to encounter and life-change!”
Freddy Boswell 