4/28

Luke 2:29-32

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."

When God delivered Israel from the last plague on Egypt, He spared the firstborn through the blood of the lambs on the doorposts. From that time forward, God claimed the rights to every firstborn male. The parents had to buy back the child with an offering. Mary and Joseph had gone to the Temple to give this offering. When they arrived, a man named Simeon greeted them. He was not like the ritualistic religious leaders of his day. He communed with the Holy Spirit. It was revealed to him that he would not die until he saw the Anointed One who would save his people.

When Mary and Joseph brought Jesus into the Temple, Simeon knew in his spirit that this baby was the One. He uttered the prophecy in our passage for today. He had seen the One, and now he was ready to die. He saw the salvation that God prepared right before everyone's eyes. This is the One who would fulfill the prophecies of being a light to the nations of the world and the glory of God's people, Israel.

What a special person this man was. Only one other person had this insight in the temple that day. Simeon's whole life was waiting for the arrival of God's salvation, Jesus. Just to see that child had come was enough for him. It should be enough for us too. Just to know that God has provided a way, that He loved us so much that He sent His only Son, should be enough to satisfy us. Simeon's whole being longed for the moment of His coming.

Consider: Today we should also long, with the same intensity, for His return. Come quickly Lord Jesus! Is that your heart's cry?