Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:
“Sovereign Lord, as you have promised,
you now dismiss your servant in peace.
For my eyes have seen your salvation,
which you have prepared in the sight of all people,
a light for revelation to the Gentiles
and for glory to your people Israel.”
(verses 25-32)
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Encountering the child, Jesus, in the temple courts, Simeon has a piercing revelation. He knows who this child is! He is “salvation … a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to … Israel”! At that very moment, an elderly woman, Anna, comes upon the scene and confirms the same. These two witnesses join their voices to give testimony to what the Sovereign Lord is doing.
But even apart from the spoken testimony, these two are part of the swelling tide of divine activity that bears witness to the wonder of Jesus’ birth.
The preceding 400 years had seen an absence of prophetic activity in Israel, with no visible sign of the movement of the Spirit. But already in Luke’s Gospel we have seen John the Baptist “filled with the Holy Spirit even from birth” (Luke 1:15); his mother, Elizabeth, “filled with the Holy Spirit” (Luke 1:41) and proclaiming the Lord’s blessing on Mary, Jesus’ mother; and John’s father, Zechariah, “filled with the Holy Spirit” (Luke 1:67) and prophesying. Put together with angelic visitations to Zechariah and Mary and Bethlehem shepherds, this is an amazing flurry of God-activity that abruptly interrupts those 400 years of silence. A new thing is happening! The Spirit of God is on the move!
And so, when we’re told three times in as many verses (Luke 2:25-27) that the Holy Spirit is intimately involved in Simeon’s life, it alerts us again to the reality that something radical is afoot. The Spirit is “upon him,” and gives him revelation that he will see (with his own eyes) the Lord’s Messiah, and then leads him into the temple courts at the precise moment necessary to come face to face with Jesus himself. Holding the child in his big, gnarled hands, Simeon lifts his voice to praise the Sovereign Lord, and speaks prophetically (itself a Spirit-activity), declaring this baby boy to be the long-promised Messiah. The active presence of the Spirit of God confirms the testimony.
So, too, with Anna. She enters the scene at that very moment. Already she has been identified as a “prophetess” (Luke 2:36), which again is so unusual in that current context that it gives clear indication God is moving in a new way. She, too, knows who this child is and gladly proclaims the reality to “all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem” (Luke 2:38) – which is to say, all who were yearning for Messiah. Now he’s here!
All this excitement – all this supernatural, Holy Spirit activity – is firmly anchored in the one who, on the eighth day of his life, is named Jesus, “the name the angel had given him before he had been conceived” (Luke 2:21) – the name which means “he will save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21).
The Lord is doing a new thing. The wind of the Spirit is blowing strong. Salvation has come. Messiah is here. Praise his name.
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O Lord Jesus, welcome. As Simeon embraced you, so, too, do I. As he rejoiced in your salvation, I rejoice likewise. I could not live apart from your light. I could only be lost in sin apart from your saving work. Welcome, my Saviour and Lord.
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Reflect:
Jesus provides “salvation,” “light for revelation,” “glory,” “redemption.” Take one of these descriptions and reflect: What does this mean for you right now? Live with it all day.
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Photo by K. Mitch Hodge on Unsplash
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