LK 2:25Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 26It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. 27Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, 28Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying: 29“Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you now dismiss your servant in peace. 30For my eyes have seen your salvation, 31which you have prepared in the sight of all people, 32a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.”
Simeon was righteous, devout, and full of the Holy Spirit. His greatest desire was to see the much-awaited Messiah before he dies.
This great dream was fulfilled on the day Joseph and Mary brought baby Jesus to the temple for the ritual of presentation which called for every firstborn to be dedicated and consecrated to serve God throughout their lives.
As Joseph and Mary were walking in the temple courts with their newborn son, Simeon, now an old man, came to them and uttered, 29“Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you now dismiss your servant in peace. 30For my eyes have seen your salvation, 31 which you have prepared in the sight of all people…
Joseph and Mary were amazed by Simeon’s words. Why and how Simeon knew that Jesus was the Messiah was the sheer work of God. Being a man full of the presence and anointing of the Holy Spirit, Simeon had developed a very deep and personal relationship with God. This relationship enabled him to fully grasp the Holy Spirit’s special witness to him that he will not die without seeing the Consolation of Israel, the promised Savior and Christ.
And so it happened! Simeon was in the right place at the right time. The promise of God to him came to pass. He did not only see the Consolation of Israel but actually held Jesus in his own arms.
26It had been revealed to Simeon by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. God loves to be known. God loves to be understood. God takes great pleasure in unveiling his heart and disclosing his glorious purposes to his people.
Sadly, however, we are too distracted and uninterested. The reasons are varied and complex. The point simply is that we have become too self-reliant and too unmindful of our need for God’s participation in our lives.
Renowned evangelist Charles Spurgeon loved to tell the story of his grandfather, a minister who was very poor. The one and only cow he owned died unexpectedly one day, and his 10 children were left without any source of milk. His wife asked him, “What will we do now?” His grandfather said, “I cannot tell, but I know what God will do. He will provide for us.” The next morning, people came knocking at his grandfather’s house to hand him a cash gift from a special minister’s relief fund which he did not know about. His grandfather could only say, “Those men knew nothing about my cow, but God did.”
Friends, God’s revelation is never in the abstract. His revelation means healing when we are broken. It means peace when everything around us seems to be falling apart. It means forgiveness and compassion when we are at our worse. It means hope when we hit rock bottom. It means embrace and comfort when others turn away.
LK 2:25Simeon was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. To console literally means to comfort, to cheer up, to calm, to brighten up and to relieve. Like Israel of old, many nations today are in need of true and lasting consolation.
For centuries, nations have sought this consolation from every imaginable source — from the most brilliant of national leaders to the most comprehensive of global schemes, from the best economic plan to the most sincere peace initiative.
But despite our earnest efforts, what has the world become? We do not need words to answer this question. We only need to look around us and within us to realize that our brightest plans have backfired. Our finest intentions have failed.
As we usher one another to the new year, may the Spirit of God continue to witness to our hearts that like Simeon, we can only find our redemption and our consolation in Jesus Christ.
To operationalize this truth may not be as simple as we think. It means effort. It requires action. It calls for a serious and heartfelt commitment on our end to make way for the Lordship of Christ in every area of our life and witness.
Friends, there is absolutely nothing to fear as we welcome the days ahead. Take a deep and long breath. Let your heart rejoice. The Holy Spirit who was with Simeon is the Holy Spirit who is in our midst today. Cheer up. Be calm. Be comforted. Rejoice and see clearly God’s salvation in the most beautiful face of Jesus Christ — our Redemption and our Great Consolation.
