Today on “Family & Friends Friday,” we’re blessed to have my friend, David Welker, as our guest blogger. Dave has been a member of Webster Bible Church since 1973 and serves with me on our elder leadership team. A retired public school teacher, Dave enjoys teaching elementary students in Olympians (a Word of Life program) and middle school students in the church's Sunday morning Truth Tracks (Sunday school) ministry. You will be able to tell from the article that Dave also enjoys crossword puzzles.
I have always been impressed by the faith of Simeon as seen in Luke’s account of the Christmas story (Luke 2:25-35). But to be truthful, I have seen him as a minor character in the narrative. When I studied this passage in depth back in October to prepare for my middle school Sunday school class, I realized that Simeon was not so minor after all.
Do the math. The shepherds get 13 verses in Luke. The wise men are allotted 12 verses in Matthew. Yet Simeon’s story spans 11 verses — and includes his own solo!
Here is the Scripture that recounts this remarkable man — Luke 2:25-35::
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.”
And his father and his mother marveled at what was said about him. 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 (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.”
Simeon is described as righteous and devout. He was at peace with God and with his fellow man. He has been waiting for the “Consolation of Israel,” a common term at that time for the Messiah (see Isaiah 12:1). This man had been promised by the Holy Spirit that he would see the Messiah before he died. Remember that God had been silent for 400 years. That makes Simeon’s faith all the more remarkable. He looked forward to the Messiah with eager anticipation.
The Holy Spirit brought Simeon to the Temple on the day that Jesus’ parents brought him to be presented there as required by the Law. It had to be the Spirit’s power that showed Simeon who the Messiah was, because I’m pretty sure that he was not looking for a six-week-old baby. He tenderly holds Jesus in his arms and blesses God! “My eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples.” (vv. 30-31)
This verse reveals two vital truths:
Salvation is a person. It is not ritual you perform or some set of laws you obey. Salvation is a person and that person is Jesus Christ. Do you have Him in your life today?
Salvation is for all people. There were not many world travelers in Israel at this time. It is my guess that Simeon was very limited in his geography. Yet he saw Jesus as the Savior of the world!
It is no surprise that the Gentile writer of this gospel, Luke, picked up on this point. Jesus was a Light to the Gentiles. Simon praises God that this tiny baby is also the long-awaited Savior of the Jewish nation.
The final section of Simeon’s part in the Christmas story is his foretelling of Mary’s “sword in her soul” (v. 35). Mary paid a steep price to be our Savior’s mother. She was shunned for being an “unwed mother.” She heard what others said about her son as He went about His ministry. And she stood at the cross to watch her son die a horrible death. Mary’s love of her son brought great suffering, a fact that Simeon foretold through the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
I am a person with a great amount of life experience. (That’s my tender way of saying that I’m in my seventies.) If you are in that age bracket, let me remind you that so was Simeon. God still has tasks for people our age to do for His Kingdom. Notice that Simeon was looking forward, not to the past.
Historians estimate that about 40,000 people lived in Jerusalem at this time. Only two of those people (the other is Anna, whose story is recounted in Luke 2:36-38) recognized the coming of the Savior of the world. You don’t have to be a great mathematician to see that the percentages are pretty small.
Be on the lookout this Christmas
for a chance to make a difference
in the life of someone around you.
I am a retired elementary school teacher. My background tells me that we need to encourage the young people around us. We do not want to be like the huge majority of people in Jerusalem who missed the chance to see an extraordinary child. A special child might be riding on the bus with you, living down the street, or residing right in your own home! Be watching. The Lord is at work!