Simeon - Waiting for Jesus
Luke 2:21-35
December 27, 2020
Have you ever heard about a famous person who was coming to town and you wanted to get their autograph. Maybe if it was an athlete, you put on their jersey and you hoped to see them in real life. Then you have to wait and wait in line to see that person and get their autograph, maybe have a picture taken with them or just shake their hand.
Well, that’s kind of like what it was like for the last person we’re going to talk about in our series on the Characters involved in the first Christmas. This was a person who waited and waited to see Jesus. While Jesus obviously is not a celebrity, this man was waiting to meet him. So, let’s look at the story which is only found in the gospel of Luke. In chapter 2, beginning in verse 21 --
21 And at the end of eight days, when He was circumcised, He was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb.
22 And when the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, they brought Him up to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord
23 (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”)
24 and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the Law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.”
25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.
26 And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ.
27 And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for Him according to the custom of the Law,
28 he took Jesus up in his arms and blessed God and said,
29 “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word;
30 for my eyes have seen your salvation 31 that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel.”
33 And His father and mother marveled at what was said about Him.
34 And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this Child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed
35 (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.” - Luke 2:22-35
Simeon was promised to see not just any superstar, but it would be the Son of God. The difference was the fact that Simeon didn’t know when this would occur. He just knew that he had been promised by God he would see Jesus before he died.
So, let’s look at little more of the back story.
Before we meet Simeon, Mary and Joseph bring Jesus into the temple according to what the law commanded. Remember, Mary and Joseph are Jewish and are faithfully following the law.
Since Luke is writing primarily to a Gentile audience, you will notice in verses 22-24 that he kind of explains what is happening, so that everyone will in a sense be on the same page.
Luke brings in Leviticus 12 which is the Law of God which Mary and Joseph are obeying. What they are doing is kind of like what we do in dedicating children to God. This may be the closest thing we can relate to concerning this event, but what is happening in this text is more involved than our traditional baby dedication.
Let me give you a quick overview of what is happening according to Leviticus 12.
The Law stated that parents were to present their child to the Lord. This presentation was to be after the mother’s purification, which would be seven days after birth. On the 8th day a male child would be circumcised and named. Luke tells us this in verse 21.
According to the Law, following the 8th day the mother, Mary, was to continue for 33 more days to be purified before she could enter the Temple or touch anything holy.
When that time period ends, the parents were to bring a lamb or two turtle doves or two young pigeons, if they couldn’t afford a lamb. One sacrifice was a burnt offering and the other was a sin offering. This would occur 41 days after the birth of Jesus and that’s what we saw in 22-24.
So, why mention this? The presentation of Jesus to God seems strange to us, but Mary and Joseph are simply obeying the Law. As Jesus did during His earthly life.
Mary and Joseph’s obedience to the Law of God is astounding. Never once do they think they are beside the Law or above the Law even though the Messiah has been born. They continue to obey God’s law. In the same way, we too must obey the standards of God as written in his Word and not waver from what He requires as His adopted children.
OK, so we have a little background, now Simeon comes into the picture.
Simeon had been promised that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. That’s a pretty astounding promise.
That is a strong promise, and who knows how long Simeon waited for this revelation. This promise was revealed to Simeon by the Holy Spirit. The promise made to Simeon affirms the reality of the Messiah’s coming. Just as the Old Testament spoke of the Messiah’s coming, the Holy Spirit has promised Simeon that he will see the Messiah in his lifetime. For Simeon, that time comes when Mary and Joseph present Jesus in the temple.
Most people assume Simeon was an old man, but we really don’t know how old he was.
We learn that Simeon was a righteous and devout man. He lived his life according to the Law of God. We might say that Simeon was a good guy. But his goodness is not what secured this promise.
You know, that’s a hazard we run into in our faith. We do meet lots of good people. The world, as crazy as it has been this year, still has so many good people out there. But just being good, really isn’t good enough. I know that seems harsh, and we want the door to be more open to people to say YES to Jesus, but it takes faith, belief and trust in proclaiming Jesus as our Lord and Savior.
While Simeon, didn’t know Jesus, he had a resolute, a strong faith in God. God viewed Simeon as a just man and a God fearing man.
Simeon also believed that the Lord was coming. He didn’t know when, but he trusted in what the scriptures foretold about the coming Messiah. Luke tells us he was waiting for the coming Messiah, the consolation of Israel, which is found in Isaiah 4:1-2.
We also learn that the Holy Spirit was upon Simeon, as he awaited the Messiah. The Bible doesn’t tell us if he was a pharisee or scribe or a priest, or a teacher. That’s really not important to the story.
What’s important is that he has the Spirit of God upon him. And he knew it. Sometimes God is knocking on our hearts and spirits and we’re oblivious to it. Simeon knew and I would surmise, it was obvious to everyone around him. They knew he had the spirit by the way he lived his life.
Lastly, this is the only time we see Simeon in the Bible.
When we’ve been told something is going to happen - - - I don’t know about you — but I’m not really patient in waiting for whatever to happen.
I wonder how patient Simeon was, as he would experience the promise of the coming Messiah into the world. I wonder hoe many parents he saw bringing their children into the temple after 40 days? 100's or maybe 1000's.
Can you imagine being Mary and Joseph? You’re just doing what the law tells you to do. You’re in the temple presenting Jesus, making offerings, celebrating, kind of hoping others will notice you and your precious child. Yet, they are just a common everyday looking couple with a 40 day old baby.
Then in walks Simeon. He looks around and suddenly . . . there’s Jesus. His heart leaps within him. The long days of waiting are finally over. The Lord’s Christ is before him. Here is the One for whom the nation has been waiting.
What do you do? Do you stare and gawk? Do you do what we would consider is unacceptable and just grab the kid and hold him?
We don’t know who else was around. I’m sure there were other people in the temple, but Simeon isn’t worried about protocol. There’s Jesus. With his own eyes he finally sees the promised Messiah.
What does one do in that moment? Simeon takes his Messiah in his arms (imagine this, the Son of God cradled in another’s arms) and blesses God.
Listen again to what Simeon said ---
29 “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word;
30 for my eyes have seen your salvation 31 that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel.”
Simeon can now die, because the Lord’s promise has been fulfilled. Simeon praises God that salvation is now available for all people, both Jew and Gentile because the Messiah has come.
Did you hear that?! Jesus would not only be for the glory of the people of Israel, but He would be a light for revelation to the Gentiles. WOW!! That’s almost blasphemy.
Now, Simeon directs his words to Mary, telling her --
34 Behold, this Child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed
35 (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.” - Luke 2:34-35
Simeon tells Mary that Jesus will suffer, and she will suffer because of her child, but this is necessary for the redemption of sin.
As we come to the end, know that each character we looked at through this series experienced a unique call from God and the really great, the cool part is that each person was obedient to the call from God.
Maybe God is calling you to a relationship with Him through faith. Jesus Christ is a gift from God to the world. Without Jesus, sin would never be forgiven, and we would live forever condemned, living with no hope.
We must come to understand that we are sinners. But God loves us so much, that He doesn’t want us to be alienated from Him, He wants us to draw closer to Him, so that we can experience His joy, mercy, power, strength, grace and love.
Jesus paid the price for us. The good news is that we can all meet the Savior. We don’t have to wait in line to meet Him. He’s there, He’s here. He’s knocking on the doors of our hearts, spirits and minds.
He wants to enter. Would you be obedient to His call? Would you be faithful to God as you say yes, and then follow in obedience . . . serving Him with glad and joy-filled hearts.
