Waiting On A Promise
The story of Simeon and Anna in the Bible gives cause for interesting insight to our spiritual lives. Neither of them were wealthy. Both were aged in years and simple people. Yet what they had was of more value than the wealth of the world.
When I read their story many qualities concerning their character come to my mind. One of them being patience. Waiting on God is not always easy. The part that we fail to sometimes see is that God is never late and often is right on time to a specific moment of life. There are many other qualities which I admire these two Biblical people for which is often overlooked.
Why Was Jesus In The Temple?
After a woman gave birth to a son she would remain unclean for 7 days and on the 8th the boy would be circumcised. The woman would wait an additional 33 days after that 7th day before bringing the child to the Temple to make an offering. Jesus was a total of 40 days old when this event took place.
The law accounts for a different period of time for a girl being born. Rather than this 40 day period of time the woman would wait 80 days. When Joseph and Mary went to the Temple it was for this ceremonial offering after 40 days.
While we do not have conclusive proof to the symbolism it is interesting that it is 40 days of waiting until Jesus was dedicated to God. Before He would begin his earthly ministry he would spend 40 days in the wilderness being tested.
Who Was Simeon?
25 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.
26 And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.
27 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,
Luke 2:25-27
Luke 2 tells us that Simeon was a just and devout man. It states that the Holy Spirit revealed to him that he would not die until he had seen the Messiah. The words used by Luke is that he was waiting for the consolation of Israel which is taken from Isaiah 40:1-2.
While Isaiah does not use the exact word consolation its reference is derived from how the Messiah would “comfort ye my people”. It goes on to speak of her iniquity being pardoned as they have received the Lord.
For Simeon to be promised and then compelled by the Holy Spirit to go to the temple that day it must have been something that weighed on his heart and mind. First and foremost what comes to my mind is how close one must be to God in order to receive such a promise. Then to also move by faith and go to the temple when he was compelled to do so is faith in action.
His actions speak volumes to the words in Scripture calling him a just and devout man. We know little else of his life yet it would seem he was as common as anyone else within his time. Despite this common appearance there were other parts concerning his life which were very uncommon.
Who Was Anna?
36 And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Aser: she was of a great age, and had lived with an husband seven years from her virginity;
37 And she was a widow of about fourscore and four years, which departed not from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day.
38 And she coming in that instant gave thanks likewise unto the Lord, and spake of him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem.
Luke2:36-38
Luke states that she was of great age and departed not from the Temple. She served God and notably is the only prophetess mentioned in the New Testament. Simeon and Anna’s life was on the cusp of transition from the Old Testament times into the New. What they were waiting on was a long desired fulfillment of prophecy.
Scripture says that as Anna came in then instantly gave thanks to the Lord. She immediately began to tell others of this Messiah who would redeem Jerusalem. There is one thing that stands out when compared to Simeon. She was not promised to see Jesus but rather recognized Him upon seeing Him.
There can be no doubt that the Holy Spirit was with Anna in order to reveal this to her. There was no other person that day which recognized Jesus as the Messiah they have long been waiting for.
Reaction By Joseph And Mary
The words of Simeon and Anna caused Joseph and Mary to marvel at what was said in verse 33. This is not to mean that they could not know who Jesus was. Rather the details which they were given about Jesus life might have not yet been revealed. As one begins to look at the words of Simeon there was a lot which the Holy Spirit had given him.
30 For mine eyes have seen thy salvation,
31 Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people;
32 A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.
33 And Joseph and his mother marvelled at those things which were spoken of him.
34 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;
35 (Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also,) that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.
Luke 2:30-35
In Luke 1:26-38 we see that Gabriel was very clear in telling Mary who her child would be. Some have surmised that because of the reaction by Mary to the words of Simeon that she was unaware of who her child was. This is not the case.
Rather in looking at the words of Gabriel and also the words of Simeon it could be this marvel they held was in two ways. First that Jesus was recognized by someone other than themselves. Secondly the fact that Simeon knew so much about what would come in the life of Christ.
Keep in mind the disciples of Jesus spent a great deal of time with Him. Up until the last few days of Christs life they were unsure of what would happen. Thomas is famous for asking where Christ would go not knowing how to follow. Shortly after Philip began asking to see the Father.
In Matthew 16:13-20 Jesus and the disciples come to the coast of Philippi and Jesus begins to ask the disciples who people say that He is. They give many responses then Jesus asks specifically who they believe He is. It is Peter who speaks up saying that He is Christ the Son of the living God.
Jesus immediately informs Peter that there is no way he could have known this except that the Father has revealed it to him. This takes us to an interesting view of what Simeon knew.
God’s Revelation To Simeon
Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against;
A sign which shall be spoken against is making reference to multiple passages. Clearly Simeon knew Isaiah quite well. This phrase he used here reaches back to Isaiah 7:14. He would have also known the words of Isaiah 53 as Christ would be spoken against. Yet what I find so amazing about Simeon is that he knew something that would take some time for many to accept.
32 A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.
Luke 2:32
In verse 32 we see that Simeon knew that Christ came also for the Gentile world. This is a far cry from what we would later see among many of the Jewish people. Some expected the Messiah to come as a king, others believed He would defeat Rome. There was also beliefs that when He came that He would begin His kingdom here on Earth.
Later in Scripture we begin to find confusion among different people as to who this Messiah would be and His purpose. It was not limited to only those who followed Christ but also among the Pharisees. I cannot help but wonder what exactly the Pharisees were looking for in terms of signs to this Messiah. They held the same passages as Simeon yet were looking for something else.
In later writing we find with Paul some believed the faith should be exclusive rather than including the Gentile world. At the time when Jesus was only 40 days old here is Simeon with the knowledge that Christ came to save all people.
There is no doubt that the Holy Spirit had revealed much to this man. He may have not had all the details but he definitely knew who the Messiah was and His purpose in this world.
A Life Like Simeon Or A Pharisee
Our time today within the modern Church we see people who fall between two lines. There are those who are humble and open while there are others who are full of knowledge rather than the Holy Spirit. Simeon was not given any new knowledge or information. He recalled the words of Isaiah.
What is important is that the Holy Spirit revealed to Him the meaning of what was given so long ago. While we in our daily life may not be looking for this level of revelation there is no doubt we do need revelation concerning our daily lives. There is a difference in walking with humility than that of pride.
The Pharisees already had all the answers. They too knew the words of Isaiah. It is not as if they ignored them. In fact they most likely had them memorized. Yet they allowed their knowledge and pride to cut them off from the Holy Spirit.
There is a very clear difference in walking within a religion by comparison to walking by faith. One can be just as blind as the world if we only reside within religion. If you remember early on in this article one of the things I pointed out with admiration to character with Simeon was his patience.
God revealing things in our lives only comes with patience. This requires faith more than knowledge. I have no doubt that any Pharisee could have run circles around Simeon when it came to knowing Scripture by heart. That was their daily job in life. Yet too few knew its meaning.
In our time we certainly are not waiting on Christ to be born. We wait for other things. We are to continue our lives in a daily manner planning for the next day while we wait. With this we are to be patient and walking in faith as God reveals to us our daily path trusting in Him to care for us and use us.
If we live having all the answers to every little thing for our own life we become blind like the Pharisee. We lose patience and make choices that we are not qualified to make. Rather than waiting on God to set our path we find ourselves in trouble asking for deliverance.
What is more is that we begin to miss the meaning of things. If we are not humble and patient there is little the Holy Spirit can do to reveal anything concerning life to us. Simeon and Anna may have only had a small mention within Scripture yet their life holds insight to believers today. It is something we should not miss.