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Articles 2021-2023
After the birth of Jesus, Joseph and Mary brought Him to the temple to present Him to the Lord and to offer a sacrifice according to the Law (Luke 2:22 - 24).
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.
Scripture does not say that Simeon was a recognized religious leader in the nation, only that he was righteous and devout. Righteousness in God’s sight meant that like Abraham, Simeon knew the Lord, believed in Him, and lived accordingly; devout meant that in his heart, he was devoted to Him. And Simeon was looking for (Greek, PROSDECHOMAI – confidently waiting) for the consolation (Greek, PARAKLESIS – the comforting exhortation that calls near) of Israel. He was watching for and expecting God to arise revealing His heart of love for His people. And Jesus Himself was that perfect revelation.
Simeon did not just decide to come to the temple on that particular day; the Holy Spirit was upon him leading him into God’s introduction of His Son to Israel. The Lord had already revealed to him that he would encounter Israel’s Messiah before he died (Luke 2:26), so Simeon knew what it was to receive revelatory insight from God.
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, then he took Him into his arms, and blessed God, and said, “Now Lord, You are releasing Your bond-servant to depart in peace, according to Your word; for my eyes have seen Your salvation,
What had Simeon expected? Perhaps when anticipating the Messiah, he thought He would meet an impressive mature prophet or teacher. Many in Israel believed that He would be a mighty military man. But Simeon saw a little infant and immediately recognized the salvation of God. Biblically, God Himself is the salvation of His people. So, to some degree, Simeon recognized the presence of deity when he gazed at the little Child. The Lord Himself had arisen in Israel in a way that many would have unknowingly walked right by.
But what God was doing was right in front of the faces of everyone. Simeon’s observation was that this emerging Salvation of God was one –
which You have prepared in the presence (Greek, PROSOPON – the face) of all peoples,
So, why did most not see? Maybe because they were not watching. As Habakkuk the prophet said, he would watch to see what the Lord would say to him (Habakkuk 2:1). The reason many today lack spiritual insight is because they are not watching in order to see. Think of a man driving by a construction site on his way to work. He might notice out of his peripheral vision that something is happening, but he is not really taking it all in. However, when a fellow–worker excitedly shares about a new hospital being built in the area, and specifically on the route they take daily, he immediately decides to pay attention on his way home. Similarly, in the realm of the Spirit, a watchman is simply one who watches in order to gain insight into what Heaven is doing. May God help us to pay attention.
And so, Simeon continued to prophesy that this Child would be:
A LIGHT OF REVELATION TO THE GENTILES (Greek, ETHNOS, the nations).
Jesus, the Light of Revelation to the nations. Yet in our own day, a smothering spiritual darkness continues to oppress the world. When we study the Law and the Prophets, we see that God had promised centuries before the birth of Christ that He would send His illuminating and revelational solution. And so, starting in Galilee, the people who walked in darkness saw a great light (Isaiah 9:2, Matthew 4:15 - 17). Then as a promise to His Son, God declared, I will also hold You by the hand and watch over You, and I will appoint You as a covenant to the people, as a light to the nations, to open blind eyes (Isaiah 42:6 - 7). Clearly, the birth of Christ was the dawning of a new day for the whole earth. And while the darkness today is great, it is also true that there is far more spiritual illumination among the nations now than at any time in the past.
Then, concerning Christ’s call to Israel, God promised: It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also make You a light of the nations so that My salvation may reach to the end of the earth. Or as it is stated in the NKJV: that You should be My salvation to the ends of the earth (Isaiah 49:6).
God’s salvation for mankind is a Person, even the Lord Jesus Christ; He is the One illuminating souls across every continent. And since His ascension, His messianic ministry has vastly broadened. On earth, Christ, the Messiah was one man. But from heaven, He is now revealed in a still integrating and unifying corporate body. And as He arises within and upon His people, Heaven’s illumination of the nations will both continue and intensify. Here is the increasing manifestation of God coming to a fullness among the Gentiles so that Israel might see and be saved (Romans 11:25 - 27).
When God spoke to Isaiah, spiritual darkness was suffocating the whole earth. And it would continue. For behold, darkness will cover the earth and deep darkness the peoples. But God intended to intervene, starting in Israel. But the LORD will rise upon you and His glory will appear upon you. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising (Isaiah 60:2 - 3). Here was the promise that Simeon recognized as he gazed upon the infant Jesus. Here, now, right in front of him was God’s dawning light of revelation to the nations.
And so, as he prayed, Simeon insightfully declared to God that this Child was also –
the glory of Your people Israel.
Today, Israel might think that her glory is her educational system, her successful military, or her wonderful medical insights. But the truth is that she does not know her greatest contribution to humanity, the one Individual who sets her apart from every other nation. From her midst has arisen the Lord God of Israel Himself. He who created everything humbled Himself to become a man that He might then save from eternal destruction everyone from every nation who would turn to Him. Jesus, the Glory of Israel.
The glory of God revealed through the life, death, and resurrection of Christ did not cease to be made known at His ascension, but continued to be revealed on the day of Pentecost as His people were filled with the Holy Spirit. And God has continued to manifest His glory among Spirit–filled believers through their lives of obedience coupled with the ongoing outpourings of His Spirit over the last two thousand years. And so, our prayer is that His glory would increase in visibility across the whole earth in the coming years. As the Scripture says, the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, that shines brighter and brighter until the full day (Proverbs 4:18).
Simeon went on to bless Joseph and Mary and then:
said to Mary His mother, “Behold, this Child is appointed for the fall (Greek, PTOSIS – the crash or downfall) and rise (Greek, ANASTASIS – resurrection) of many in Israel, and for a sign to be opposed –
It was not that some would fall and others would rise but that those who had fallen would themselves rise. Because of Christ’s involvement in their lives, they would experience a crash, a downfall, a collapse of their own plans that had been empowered by their strength and ideas. And then through repentance and the infilling of the Holy Spirit, they would experience a spiritual resurrection to new life in Him. And there would be many in Israel who would have this life–altering experience.
One obvious example – Saul of Tarsus was advancing in Judaism beyond many of his contemporaries until he met the Lord Jesus (Galatians 1:14 - 16). And immediately his priorities changed; his former world crashed. He looked back and saw as rubbish his former religious success in the eyes of men apart from Christ.
Simeon then went on to say that Jesus would be a sign to be opposed. But signs are not the point; they only point to the point. A bus sign will not take a passenger anywhere. But it points to where that individual can be picked up by a real bus. So, how could Jesus be a sign? After all, He was the ultimate reality, the actual God of heaven walking in limitation among men. But at the same time, His whole life also pointed to something else, something really quite amazing – a vast company of forgiven and redeemed people who would follow in His footsteps. And just as He had walked with His Father, they would walk in intimacy with Him. And change the whole earth.
How the religious opposed both Him and the way He walked with His Father. He truly was an opposed sign, even unto death. But Jesus embraced His call and today the vast company continues to grow and mature across the earth. Even so, keep revealing Your glory among us O Lord!
Donald Rumble – July 2023
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