Meet Simeon

MEET SIMEON

Luke 2:25

“Now 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.”

“Sit down, class.” Mr. Robbins said. “Christmas is days away, and we’ve got work to do!”

“Melanie said pulling out a chair at their round table. “What work?”

“I want you to meet someone,” Mr. Robbins said when everyone sat down. “Open your Bibles to Luke chapter two. It’s time to discover what the world was like when Jesus was born, and why the Father chose this time for Jesus’ birth.”

“Check out verses 22-27. Jesus was forty days old, time for Him to be presented to the Lord, as was Jewish custom for first born males. Mary and Joseph ran into Simeon, an aged priest, at the temple. His eyes lit up when he saw the baby, knowing this was answer to his prayers.

“Taking the baby in his arms, he praised God, confirming the baby as 'light to the Gentiles, and glory to Israel.' You see, Simeon had lived long enough to see Israel go through tough times. He was ready for a redeemer. He’d seen Israel divided. The northern tribes betrayed the God of their fathers, and were no longer people set apart for God.

“Meanwhile, the southern kingdom also bought trouble after years of idol worship. They’d been conquered and taken captive by foreign monarchs. (See Star Followers devotion). After the Jewish uprising of Judas Maccabeus in 167 B.C., Israel enjoyed 100 years of independence. Then infighting broke out among her people. This opened the door for Pompey, a Roman general to take control. In 63 B.C., he made Judah—now known by its Greek name, Judea—a tributary of the Roman Empire.

“That ended Israel being ruled by her own, like King David. Israel would be ruled by the Roman government, now. King Herod was the first, appointed in 37 B.C. Enter, Jesus.”

“So Simeon was looking for the Messiah, and he met Jesus!” Brad said. “So why didn’t the Jews embrace Him as the one they’d been waiting for?”

“An age-old question,” Mr. Robbins said. “They will acknowledge Jesus as their Messiah one day, Brad. But not yet.”

Take Home Nugget

Mr. Robbins continued, “Two Jewish religious groups rose to leadership, even while being under Roman control. They were the Sadducees, and the influential Pharisees. Apostle Paul was a Pharisee(Philippians 3:5). The Pharisees wanted to be seen as holy. This is the stage onto which Jesus was born. You know He had lots of interaction with the Sadducees and Pharisees!”

From heaven’s throne Jesus came to earth—a gift from God of priceless worth!

J.D. Griffith

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