Luke 2: (New American Standard Bible)
25 And there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; and this man was righteous and devout, looking 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 carry out for Him the custom of the Law,
28 then he took Him into his arms, and blessed God, and said,
29 “Now Lord, You are releasing Your bond-servant to depart in peace, According to Your word;
30 For my eyes have seen Your salvation,
31 Which You have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
32 A LIGHT OF REVELATION TO THE GENTILES, And the glory of Your people Israel.”
33 And His father and mother were amazed at the things which were being said about Him.
34 And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary His mother, “Behold, this Child is appointed for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and for a sign to be opposed–
35 and a sword will pierce even your own soul–to the end that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.”
via Luke 2:25-35 – Passage Lookup – New American Standard Bible – BibleGateway.com.
I am not a research expert so what I am saying is what I have so far found or shall I say not found regarding Simeon.
The Word says he was a man in Jerusalem. We are not told his occupation. Nor his lineage. Not even his age. Neither if he was married or unmarried, a father or not a father, if he had siblings, if he had houses and lands — only that he was a man in Jerusalem, a righteous and devout man in Jerusalem.
Wow! Do you gather from this as I do that when all is said and done, all that really matters is are we righteous and devout?
Are we righteous and devout wanting only to see JESUS?
That was Simeon. Wanting to see JESUS. And knowing he would see JESUS. The HOLY SPIRIT had told him so. That was all he needed — just the witness of the HOLY SPIRIT.
Oh we need some Simeons! Christians — that all it takes for us to believe and wait is the witness of the HOLY SPIRIT.
And yet if we read carefully we are told some things about Simeon.
He knew the Scripture. He knew the Messiah was coming. He knew how the Messiah would come. And he knew the reason the Messiah was coming.
Not only that, I know Simeon was a man full of the love of God. So full of the love of God that he embraced the message that the Gentiles would also be saved by this Messiah.That this Messiah was coming for the Gentiles AND for God’s own people, Israel. And isn’t it interested that the Gentiles are listed first? (see verse 32. I will leave that right there for you to ponder.)
That my Friends is HUGE! It is HUGE that this man of Israel would include Gentiles in this Salvation, he saw wrapped in humanity, an eight day old Jewish Infant named JESUS. Savior of the World. SON of the Most High God. Yahweh. The Almighty!
Simeon was a man of huge faith. Note Simeon lived prior to the indwelling of the HOLY SPIRIT yet he heard Him and followed His Instructions. As I said bring on the Simeons!
And look at verse 29, he refers to himself as Your bond servant. And if we can believe my on line Scripture search this is the first time bond servant is used in Scripture, at least in the NASB translation.
And finally notice also in verse 29 that Simeon knows that he is about to be released from this earth IN PEACE.
Yes, bring on many more Simeons!
Again, ABBA, You have honored us with an understanding of Your Word. Thank You. I ask You to strengthen this ministry, both in the study of Your Word and in prayer. You know each heart, You know each request that comes to this screen, You know our needs, our wants, and our fears; please deal with us according to Your good pleasure in JESUS Holy name. Amen and amen.
Waiting and Believing,
Kathie
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