SIMEON, ANNA AND JESUS.
Luke 2:22-40.
I. THE SONG OF SIMEON.
Luke 2:22-35.
Nearly six weeks after the birth of Jesus, Mary and Joseph went up to the Temple in Jerusalem, with baby Jesus, to fulfil the rite of purification. Jesus' parents were obedient to this tenet of the law, which involved both the child and His mother (Luke 2:22; cf. Leviticus 12:2-4).
The Old Testament ceremony dated back to the Exodus, and the sanctification of the first-born to God (cf. Exodus 13:2). The LORD does not require human sacrifice, but dedication. It is remarkable that even as a baby all things were being done in relation to Jesus in such a way as to fulfil the law of God (Luke 2:23; cf. Matthew 3:15).
No lamb was available to sacrifice for the Lamb of God. We are not told why. Mary offered the minimum requirement of the law (Luke 2:24; cf. Leviticus 12:8).
There was a man in the Temple, named Simeon. Perhaps he lived there, like Anna the prophetess. Or perhaps he was a priest, or some other member of the ecclesiastical staff. Simeon was a godly man, clothed in God's righteousness, and committed to the LORD in all that he did. Simeon was longing for God's intervention in the life of His chosen nation, and had received the gift of the Holy Ghost ahead of time (Luke 2:25).
Furthermore, by the Holy Ghost, Simeon had been given some insight into the timing of God's deliverance. This was not a calculation based upon the seventy weeks of Daniel. Nor was it an expectation that had been birthed with the loosening of Zacharias' tongue upon the birth of John the Baptist. This was a personal word from the LORD to himself. Simeon would not taste death until he had seen, with his own eyes, the Lord's Christ. The question is not whether God still speaks today, but rather whether we are listening (Luke 2:26)!
It was by the Spirit that Simeon came into the Temple, just at the exact time that the parents of Jesus brought Him in. This is God's perfect timing, yet also contingent upon the obedience of both parties. The parents were doing what the law required, and Simeon was moving where and when the Spirit directed (Luke 2:27).
Simeon took the baby Jesus in his arms. What a privilege! What wonderful holy audacity! Yet his motives were true: he blessed God, and spoke forth words which were inspired by the Holy Spirit (Luke 2:28; cf. 2 Peter 1:21).
In effect, Simeon asked the Lord to dismiss him now. With this child, that which God had promised had surely been fulfilled, and Simeon was ready to be received up into glory. It is a good benediction, “Let us depart in peace,” but it can only be “in the name of the Lord.” There is no peace otherwise. Simeon was able to claim a specific promise to himself: “according to thy word” (Luke 2:29).
Simeon held, and beheld, the baby in his arms. For one awesome moment Simeon saw the world's holistic salvation in the Person of that infant (Luke 2:30).
This is a salvation prepared beforehand by God, to be displayed before all people (Luke 2:31; cf. Isaiah 52:10).
This is the light to lighten the Gentiles (cf. Isaiah 42:6; Isaiah 49:6), which would one day even be celebrated in “Galilee of the Gentiles” (cf. Matthew 4:15-16). This is the glory, the Shekinah no less, of the people of Israel (Luke 2:32; cf. Isaiah 46:13).
Of course, Joseph and his wife marvelled at what was being said about Jesus. The incarnation, and all the implications of God becoming man on our behalf should never cease to amaze us (Luke 2:33).
Simeon had one last thing to say, and he was done. It was a blessing, but also a warning. Jesus Christ would be the cause of the fall and the rising again of many (Luke 2:34)! The fall would be like the collapse of a house, a ruin. So Jesus could say to Jerusalem, “Your house is left unto you desolate” (cf. Matthew 23:38). The “rising again” is literally a resurrection. “For if the casting away of Israel is the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be but life from the dead?” (cf. Romans 11:15). Despite the fact that He is the light of the Gentiles and the glory of His people Israel, Jesus was God's sign that would be spoken against, the stone which the builders rejected, foolishness to the world, a stumbling block to Israel. Sometimes the Lord must take us down a peg or two in order to restore us to where we should be (Luke 2:34).
Mary was also warned of what pains awaited her as the mother of our Lord. She would see Him die a dreadful death that He does not deserve - except on our account. The Cross is the catalyst whereby all shall ultimately be judged (Luke 2:35).
II. THE THANKSGIVING AND TESTIMONY OF ANNA.
Luke 2:36-40.
Anna was a prophetess of great age, who departed not from the temple, and served God with fasting and prayers both night and day (Luke 2:36-37). It is interesting that Luke calls her a "prophetess," since we have long been taught that there was no prophecy in Israel for over four hundred years, from Malachi to John the Baptist. Perhaps this is another part of the miracle which we call 'Christmas.'
This devout woman probably witnessed the presentation of the baby Jesus, and added her own thanksgiving to the message of Simeon. Furthermore, she "spoke of Him to all those who looked for redemption in Israel" (Luke 2:38). Anna shared about Jesus, bringing hope to the hopeful.
We are told nothing about what Anna said, but her testimony, like that of John the Baptist (cf. John 3:30), pointed away from herself to Jesus. Thus there were two witnesses, one a man and one a woman, to the fulfilment of the prophecy: ‘the Messenger of the Covenant in whom you delight will suddenly come to His temple’ (cf. Malachi 3:1).
It is noticeable that Joseph and Mary were devout, too. They did not go home until they had "performed all things according to the law of the Lord" (Luke 2:39). This set the pattern for Jesus' life and upbringing until, at last, He presented Himself as an adult for the baptism of John (cf. Matthew 3:15).
The passage ends with Jesus growing, and becoming strong in spirit, "filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon Him" (Luke 2:40; cf. 1 Samuel 2:26; Luke 2:52).
Jesus is as truly man as He is truly God!
