START WITH SCRIPTURE:
Luke 2:22-40
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OBSERVE:
The childhood of Jesus, as recorded in the Four Gospels, was fairly unremarkable — with a few notable exceptions.
Luke makes us aware immediately of the Jewishness of Jesus. His parents bring him to the temple according to the Law of Moses. As the Apostle Paul wrote, Jesus was:
born under the law (Galatians 4:4).
According to the law of Moses, a woman who gave birth to a son was required to observe a term of purification for seven days, followed by the child’s circumcision on the eighth day. Her full term of purification was set at thirty-three days before she could enter the sanctuary. Here, Luke focuses on the presentation of the newborn at the temple, as per Exodus 13:2, 12:
Every male who opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord.
There is poignancy to this dedication of Jesus. Of course every firstborn Jewish male would be dedicated to the Lord, and belonged to the Lord in a unique sense. How true this was especially of Jesus, who is uniquely holy as the Son of God!
Moreover, we note that a redemptive sacrifice was required in order to satisfy the requirement of dedication. The wonderful irony is that Jesus is our redemption! He ransoms us from our bondage to sin and death.
We can assume, because Mary comes with Joseph and Jesus to the temple, that her thirty-three days of purification have been fulfilled. And we get a glimpse into the socio-economic level of Joseph and Mary as well. Luke tells us that the parents of Jesus went to the temple to:
offer a sacrifice according to that which is said in the law of the Lord, “A pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.”
This law, from Leviticus 13:6-8, offers a graduated scale for sacrifices. The typical requirement was the sacrifice of a lamb. However, we see that Mary and Joseph were evidently short on cash:
If she cannot afford a lamb, then she shall take two turtledoves, or two young pigeons; the one for a burnt offering, and the other for a sin offering: and the priest shall make atonement for her, and she shall be clean (Leviticus 13:8).
However, while these new parents are bringing their son to be presented before the Lord, and offering their meager sacrifice for the purification of Mary, there is an extraordinary spiritual encounter with a man named Simeon.
All that we know of Simeon is that he is a resident of Jerusalem, and is:
righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him.
And there is also a hint that he has received a prophetic vision:
It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he should not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.
We note the centrality of the Holy Spirit in this passage — Simeon is filled with the Holy Spirit, he has received a revelation from the Holy Spirit, and then the Holy Spirit leads him into the temple at the moment when the parents bring Jesus:
that they might do concerning him according to the custom of the law…
There is an intersection here of two sources of God’s revelation to the people of Israel — the law and the prophets. The latter is uniquely pneumatological, meaning that it relates to the Spirit. Perhaps Simeon’s dependence on the Holy Spirit is an anticipation of Peter’s quote from the prophet Joel on the Day of Pentecost:
It will be in the last days, says God,
that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh.
Your sons and your daughters will prophesy.
Your young men will see visions.
Your old men will dream dreams (Acts 2:17, emphasis mine).
We are also reminded of the interrelation of law and prophets as Jesus announces in the Sermon on the Mount in the Gospel of Matthew:
Don’t think that I came to destroy the law or the prophets. I didn’t come to destroy, but to fulfill (Matthew 5:17).
Simeon’s prayer, known by some as the Nunc Dimittis, and used as a canticle in Christian liturgy, is both a prayer of thanks and a prophecy. Simeon gathers the child into his arms and gives thanks that he has seen the Messiah, just as he has been promised by the Holy Spirit:
Now you are releasing your servant, Master,
according to your word, in peace;
for my eyes have seen your salvation,
which you have prepared before the face of all peoples;
a light for revelation to the nations,
and the glory of your people Israel.
Note the universal scope of Simeon’s prophecy. Jesus is not merely the savior of Israel, but of the Gentiles (nations) as well. His salvation is for all peoples.
Joseph and Mary are astonished by Simeon’s words, but when Simeon blesses them, he then makes a further prophecy pertaining to the child — and to Mary:
Behold, this child is set for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which is spoken against. Yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul, that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.
Simeon sees that Jesus will be a pivotal figure for the people of Israel — and really for all people. Jesus will be controversial — spoken against — as Messiah. But the decision that people make about Jesus will be determinative in their own lives. As the Apostle Peter says:
You also, as living stones, are built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
Because it is contained in Scripture,
“Behold, I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone, chosen, and precious: He who believes in him will not be disappointed.”
For you who believe therefore is the honor, but for those who are disobedient,
“The stone which the builders rejected, has become the chief cornerstone,”
and, “a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense” (1 Peter 2:5-8).
And Simeon also foresees the deep grief that will one day pierce the heart of Mary when Jesus suffers and dies before her very eyes. But this sacrificial death will touch the lives of multitudes.
There is then yet another witness who is cited by Luke — Anna, a prophetess. Like Simeon, she is old — very old. She has been a widow for eighty-four years, after a marriage of seven years. She has spent her years in the temple, fasting and praying. She also recognizes the significance of this holy child:
Coming up at that very hour, she gave thanks to the Lord, and spoke of him to all those who were looking for redemption in Jerusalem.
Anna’s brief appearance is a reminder of the significance of women in Luke’s Gospel. Luke includes women in his narrative of Jesus’ life more than any other Gospel writer. The Gospel is not merely for men, but for all people.
Having completed their ritual obligations, Mary and Joseph return — not to Bethlehem, but to Nazareth in Galilee.
And for now, the Gospel simply tells us that Jesus grows up — physically, spiritually and intellectually. He is a human being, although he is also the divine Son of God:
The child was growing, and was becoming strong in spirit, being filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him.
APPLY:
Jesus fulfils the law and the prophets from the very beginning of his life. As Christians we can never lose sight of the fact that Jesus is the Jewish Messiah who is also our Savior. He fulfills the law and the prophets by his perfect obedience, through his prophetic teaching, and through his sacrificial death and glorious resurrection.
We are able to identify with Simeon and Anna as we anticipate the work of Christ in our lives and in history, and as we respond to his coming. Like these two, we are reminded that no matter how old we may be, the promises of Christ are still alive for us.
RESPOND:
As I age, I am becoming aware of how much I don’t really know. The certainties of my youth simply aren’t so certain anymore. So I find it helpful to identify with the two “senior citizens” who recognize the holiness of Jesus in the temple.
Like Simeon, I am summoned to be righteous and devout, with openness to the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. Like Anna, I find it helpful to spend time in worship, to use the spiritual disciplines of fasting and prayer.
And like both Simeon and Anna, I am to keep my eyes open for the consolation of Israel — who is also the consolation of all of us.
Lord, may my eyes of faith be open as I look at the world today, so that I may see where you are present. Amen.
PHOTOS:
“Saint Simeon with the Christ child. 2014. Oil on canvas.” by Andrei Mironov is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International license.
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