WHEN SIMEON SAW THE BABY JESUS

Luke 2:25-35

Morning Meditation 10/15/16

Verses 25-35 say, “And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him. And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord's Christ. And he came by the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him after the custom of the law, Then took he him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said, Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word: For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people; A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel. And Joseph and his mother marveled at those things which were spoken of him. And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother, Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against; (Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also,) that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”

This took place when Jesus was brought to the Temple for His formal presentation to the Lord. This is described in verses 21-24. They did everything according to the requirements of the Law. Even though Jesus did not have a sinful nature, He did partake of flesh and blood. He was made in our likeness. He was also born under the law (Gal. 4:4) and came to fulfil the law. So all the things that were required by the law were done to Him of His parents. He was presented to the Lord (vs. 22) as every male child was supposed to be. We have the parenthetical statement in verse 23: “(As it is written in the law of the Lord, Every male that openeth the womb shall be called holy to the Lord;)” Jesus is truly holy. There are two things about this that did not apply to Jesus, but did to His parents, and were done that the law might be conformed to in all things. The first is circumcision. I quote John Gill: “But it may be asked, why was Christ circumcised, since he had no impurity of nature, WHICH CIRCUMCISION SUPPOSED (Caps mind for emphasis); nor needed any circumcision of the heart, which that was a symbol of? To which it may be replied, though he needed it not himself, it was the duty of his parents to do it, since all the male seed of Abraham were obliged it, and that law, or ordinance, was now in force; and besides, it was necessary that he might appear in the likeness of sinful flesh, who was to bear, and atone for the sins of his people; as also, that it might be manifest that he assumed true and real flesh, and was a partaker of the same flesh and blood with us; and that he was a son of Abraham, and of his seed, as it promised he should; and that he was made under the law, and came to fulfil it, and was obliged to it, as every one that is circumcised is; as well as to show a regard to all divine, positive institutions that are in being, and to set an example, that we should tread in his steps; and likewise to cut off all excuse from the Jews, that they might not have this to say, that he was an uncircumcised person, and so not a son of Abraham, nor the Messiah.” —John Gill in Online Bible.

Neither was it necessary to offer the sacrifice referred to in verse 24 because He had no sin of His own because of His miraculous conception by the Holy Spirit. But the turtle doves were offered, or, the two young pigeons, because this was what was required by law and Jesus came to fulfil the law. Jesus would become the sacrifice that this sacrifice represented when He became sin for us (2 Cor. 5:21).

When all this was done, a man by the name of Simeon, came by the Spirit into the temple and took Jesus in his arms and blessed Him and began to speak under the power of the Holy Spirit. First, lets look at what verse 25 tells us. His name was Simeon. Simeon means “harkening.” He is true to his name. He listened to the Holy Spirit. This suggests that he was a man of prayer who was in the habit of hearing from God. He would be a good man to have praying for you. The next thing we notice is that God says he was “just.” When God says a man is just it means He is saying he is saved. By the use of this word, God is saying, Simeon has the imputed righteousness that is put to the account of the person who believes God (Rom. 4:5). Next God says that he was “devout.” This word has to do with godly living. It is one thing to be saved and quite another to live godly. I will not go into this at the present time, but, men who were not devout are at times declared to be “just” (2 Pet.. 2:7). We are not saved because we are devout. We are saved because we believe. Next God says that he was waiting for the consolation of Israel. This means he was waiting on the coming of the Messiah. He is the Consoler of Israel. This is the same as those of us who are waiting for the premillennial, pretribulation rapture of the saints. Next, God says that the Holy Ghost was upon him. This means that the Lord’s hand was upon him, the Lord’s anointing was upon him, and the Illuminator and Revealer was upon him. The doctrine of the Holy Spirit is not just a New Testament truth. May God help us to have such a faith-prayer relationship with God that this can be said of us. Five things are said in this verse. It tells us who he is, that he was just in the eyes of God, that he was devout, that he was waiting on the Messiah, and that the Holy Ghost was upon him. This verse is dynamite!

Then verse 27 says that Simeon came by the Spirit into the temple and was there to observe Joseph and Mary as they presented Jesus to the Lord according to the Law of Moses. Then Simeon took Jesus into his arms and “blessed God” (vs. 28). The words “blessed God” translates a word that means, “To celebrate with praise.” This old man is thrilled because the One he has been praying for, and waiting on for years, has arrived at the temple as a Baby, and he has just been presented to the Lord. As Simeon holds Jesus in his arms he says in verses 29-32, “Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word: for mine eyes have seen thy salvation, Which thou has prepared before the face of all people; A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.” This is a burst of ecstatic praise from an old man who has been saved and lived for the Lord for years. There is no discord or notes that are not being sounded because of his age. He hits every note perfectly. The music of praise that falls from this old man’s lips is of the Holy Spirit. Had we been there, tears would have streamed down our faces as we listened to this old man lift his voice in praise to the Lord.

Simeon says, “Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word.” God had promised Simeon at sometime in the past, when he was having a time of prayer, that he would not die until he had seen the Messiah. Simeon was perfectly satisfied that the Babe that he was holding in his arms was that Messiah. He says, “ . . . now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace . . .” He didn’t say, “Lord, please let me live to see this worked out in His Messianic ministry.” That was not necessary. Simeon knew what would happen. He knew the prophecy. He knew that everything that the prophets said would come true and would be fulfilled by the Babe in his arms.. O to believe without seeing! Is the Bible really the Word of God to us? The words “let depart” translate “apoluo,” and means, “to set free, to let go, to dismiss.” It is a present active indicative verb and means that Simeon requested that the Lord “set him free” in the present tense from an old body, and take him off this earthly scene, and put him in the heavenly grandstands where he can observe the rest from there. Amen! Someone hold my mules! To Simeon, death was being set free. It was being loosed! Christian, do you feel bound? Death will set you free because, to be absent from the body, (the wretched man to whom we are bound - Rom. 7:24), is to be present with the Lord.

Simeon also says that this Babe is to be a light unto the Gentiles. The Church is the result of this prophecy. While the Church was hidden to the Old Testament prophets, the salvation of the Gentiles wasn’t. The Church is the place today where the middle wall of partition is broken down so the Jew and Gentile are one in Christ (Eph. 2:14-18).

Simeon also predicted the grief that Mary would experience. This is brought out in the words, “(Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also,).” I believe this was fulfilled when Jesus died on the cross and the sword pierced His side. When it did, it pierced this Mother’s heart. The words “. . . that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed” are the result of His death which will bring the Holy Spirit to convict the world of sin, of righteousness and judgment (John 16:7) It predicts the present ministry of the Word through the Church as is stated in Hebrews 4:12: “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”

This is what happened when Simeon saw the Baby Jesus. May the Lord bless these words to our hearts during this Christmas season.

In Christ

Bro. White