Seeking Jesus This Christmas- Day 15: Dec 15 | Simeon, the Elder

Read: Luke 2:22-35

Key Verse: “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 2:26)

Who is this Simeon character? Luke only included one thing about Simeon – he was “righteous and devout,” waiting for the consolation of Israel (the Messiah). Simeon was a faithful follower of God. God revealed to Simeon that he would not see death until he beheld the Lord’s Christ (Luke 2:26), the comforter of Israel who would fulfill all the promises of the Abrahamic and Davidic covenants, the One who would bring both personal and national salvation. Simeon counted the days until God revealed what he had promised to him personally. We don’t know how long Simeon waited, but we do know that he was led by the Spirit to go to the temple that day, and he recognized Jesus the moment he saw Him.

​Simeon, and generations before him, waited for the coming of the One who would console God’s people. But unlike those around him, Simeon still believed God would save His people. He believed the promise of a coming Servant-King, the son of David threaded throughout the law and the prophets.

Simeon’s own name comes from a word that means “to hear intelligently.” And he is portrayed as deliberately listening to God’s Spirit. We are told that the Holy Spirit rested on him (v. 25), the Holy Spirit showed things to him (v. 26), and the Holy Spirit moved him (v. 27). 

​The outcome of Simeon’s listening is one of the most tender scenes in Scripture: Simeon enters the temple to discover Mary and Joseph with their newborn. Then he picks up baby Jesus (v. 28). He has the distinction of being the only person in the Bible who we are explicitly told held the Christ child in his arms.

In that act, he provided a striking visual of not just meeting Jesus but receiving Him unto himself. As Simeon gazed into the brand-new eyes of the Ancient of Days, Christ for him went from being “God with us” to “God with me.” Nothing outwardly about Simeon’s life had changed, yet he told God he could die in peace (Luke 2:29). His inner disquiet had been calmed by Christ, and his soul was at rest.

There is so much to learn from Simeon’s life. His perseverance, his attentive listening to God in a latter age, his worship of the baby Jesus. But what is most important about Simeon was his relationship with Jesus. Simeon could die not because he’d checked off all the right religious boxes or performed all the outward rituals of the Jewish faith, but because he put his faith in the God-man.

Pray: Father God, what a tremendous and encouraging story of faith. Give us Simeon’s perseverance, teach us to listen to you as attentively as Simeon did. We love you Lord and we worship you.