What God Has Permitted Me To See Series

“When the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, they brought [Jesus] up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, ‘Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord’) and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the Law of the Lord, ‘a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.’ 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. 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. 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, he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said,

‘Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace,

according to your word;

for my eyes have seen your salvation

that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,

a light for revelation to the Gentiles,

and for glory to your people Israel.’” [1]

“My times are in Your hands!” Thus wrote the Psalmist in the 31st PSALM. This declaration acknowledges that not only does God give life, but the direction a life may take; and even the concluding events of that life are guided by the unseen hand of the True and Living God. Those living for the world are incapable of making a confession such as this, but such an admission is readily and joyfully voiced by the child of God. And that is especially evident as we witness the joy expressed by an old man when he was permitted to see the Lord’s Anointed One.

God reveals His plans to those who are righteous and devout. He does this through His Word and through His Holy Spirit. The Spirit of the Lord, speaking through Amos, makes a startling admission:

“The Lord GOD does nothing

without revealing his secret

to his servants the prophets.”

[AMOS 3:7]

And that was what had happened for an old man named Simeon. Doctor Luke informs us, “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. 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” [LUKE 2:25-26]. Simeon knew what was about to happen, because the Spirit of God had revealed this to him! And he was patiently waiting for God to act.

Nor was Simeon alone that day in recognising Who this child was. We read, “And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived with her husband seven years from when she was a virgin, and then as a widow until she was eighty-four. She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day. And coming up at that very hour she began to give thanks to God and to speak of him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem” [LUKE 2:36-38].

God’s salvation, the coming of the Holy One, the Messiah, was not some secret, hidden affair to be suddenly sprung on an unsuspecting world. The Son of God was sent to Israel, just as God had promised for long centuries. And though His unveiling was delayed, His presence was openly announced by angels, heralded by magi from a distant land who saw the divine announcement displayed in the heavens, believed by a wicked king who moved decisively to kill the Messiah Whom God sent, and recognised by prophets whom God prepared before the child was dedicated in the Temple.

The Messiah, the Son of God, did not walk the dusty trails of Judea in secret. Religious savants knew of His presence even as He taught in their synagogues and in the Temple itself! Even emperors knew of His presence from earliest days. After He had presented Himself to His people, only to be rejected by them, and after He had presented His life as a sacrifice for sinful mankind, and after He had conquered death by rising from the dead, a man whom this Risen Saviour had appointed to tell of His power to forgive sin, was accused by a Roman sycophant of being out of his mind. Dead men don’t come back to life! The man accused of being insane was recognised as an Apostle of the Messiah Who had conquered death.