And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; and this man was just and pious, awaiting the consolation of Israel, and [the] Holy Spirit was upon him.
Jerusalem was full of religious officials. Yet God made His mind known to an old man we know nothing about but his character. Those few words — righteous, devout, waiting, with the Holy Spirit upon him — show who God trusts with His secrets, and what a believing heart was longing for.
Simeon lived in a dark stretch of Israel's history. One writer pictures him and the few like him as a small light, noticed only because the night around it was so dark.
We find him shining in the night of the Jewish age like a diamond in a dark room, or perhaps more like the humble glow-worm as the night shadows fall. There are some things which are most in season when they are out of season... There were clearly a few others of this spirit, and the aged Anna was among them. They were too few, too feeble, and too poor to form a sect. God kept them as a witness even then in Israel, waiting for the coming of His Son.
Notice who was passed over. God had a high priest and a whole religious establishment to choose from.
God greatly favoured this aged saint with a special revelation about His Christ. He did not make His mind known to the High Priest, the chief priests or the leaders of Israel. He made it known to one who was just and devout, a man waiting for the fulfilment of God's promise in Christ.
Simeon's name points to the kind of man he was. Older translations read "just and devout" where the ESV has "righteous and devout".
Simeon means "hearing", and he was clearly in the right state to receive this message, and in the end to receive the Lord. We read that "the same man was just and devout". He was devoted to the interests of God in this world. This early moment needed such vessels to handle things, to say it reverently, in a right way according to the mind of God.
His godliness was not turned inward. His longing reached out to a whole nation.
Of Simeon we know nothing but his character as just and pious and waiting for the consolation of Israel. This was not merely for his own spiritual good. His heart longed for the blessing of the people of God. He felt keenly both their condition and what alone could meet it — Who alone could bring effective comfort.
"The consolation of Israel" was not a vague wish for better days. It was a known title.
The "Consolation of Israel" was a Jewish name for Messiah.
So the comfort he waited for was a Person, not an event.
The consolation of Israel had come; the Person who brought it in, and who would make it good in due time, was here.
The Spirit on him did two things: He revealed, and He directed.
Simeon was righteous and devout, and he was waiting for the consolation of Israel. To him the Holy Spirit had revealed that he would not see death until he had seen the Lord's Christ. The faithful few were not without God's mind and God's care... But the Holy Spirit also directed Simeon's movements. It was by the Spirit that he came into the temple, at the time when His parents brought Jesus there.
This was one of several such revelations in that time.
These and similar revelations were given before the writings of Scripture were complete.
When Simeon saw the Christ, none of Israel's problems had been solved. That did not disturb him.
Yet things were not as a godly Israelite would have wanted them in the land. The nation was under the heel of a Gentile power. Its proud leaders were as dead as corpses towards God. Darkness, demon-possession and disease held the people in bitter bondage. There was a great parade of outward religion, but underneath the surface lay moral decay and death and everything that was hateful to God. Yet Simeon was at rest about it all. He did not yet see everything put right, but he saw Jesus, and that was enough. The One who would put things right had come.
- Waiting in the dark. Simeon appears at a low point in the nation's story. He was one of a handful too few and poor to form a party, kept by God as a witness.
- Waiting rightly. He was righteous and devout, devoted to God's interests. His longing was for the blessing of God's people, not only for his own good.
- Waiting for a Person. "The consolation of Israel" was a Jewish name for the Messiah. The comfort he waited for was Christ Himself.
- Waiting with the Spirit. The Spirit upon him revealed that he would not die before seeing the Lord's Christ. The same Spirit led him into the temple at the right moment.
- Waiting rewarded. Nothing outward had changed. Yet Simeon was at rest, because he had seen the One who would put everything right.
And it was divinely communicated to him by the Holy Spirit, that he should not see death before he should see [the] Lord's Christ.
Simeon was an old man in Jerusalem, and God had made him a promise: he would not die until he had seen God's Anointed. Why hand such a secret to an unknown man rather than to the leaders of the nation — and what does his waiting say to anyone still holding on to a promise from God?
Scripture tells us almost nothing about Simeon apart from his character and his hope. That hope was not self-centred:
We know nothing about Simeon except his character: he was upright and devout, and he was waiting for the consolation of Israel. His hope was not just for his own good, not even for his own spiritual good. His heart longed for the blessing of the people of God. He felt their condition deeply, and he knew what alone could meet it — and Who alone could bring real comfort. The Spirit let him know that he would not see death until he had seen the Christ, Jehovah's Anointed.
The same writer points out where God found such people: "not among the heads of the nation," but among those "little known to men."
Prophets before Simeon had spoken of a Messiah still to come. Simeon's promise went further than words about a future event:
His privilege was beyond words. It went past the privilege of all the famous saints and prophets who had spoken before of the coming Messiah. He would not only know that Christ was born; he would truly see Him, know Him, and hold Him as his own... There, by the blessed Holy Spirit, Simeon was given to know that the baby on Mary's knees was none other than Jehovah's Christ.
"The Lord's Christ" means Jehovah's Anointed. Nothing in the temple that day announced Him. A poor couple with a baby was an everyday sight:
People who came often to the temple courts saw nothing new here. A poor couple, their poverty shown by the mother's offering, came up to the altar with their firstborn son in his parent's arms. But Simeon knew what others did not, not even the priest on duty, because the Spirit of the Lord had taught him: the child of that poor mother was the Christ of God.
In these few verses the Spirit does three things for Simeon:
Another sign of God's pleasure in this devoted man was this: "it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ" (verse 26). What joy must have filled his heart when this revelation from God came to him! What is more, "he came in the Spirit into the temple" at the very hour when the parents of Jesus brought Him in "to do for him according to the custom of the Law" (verse 27). The Spirit rested on this godly man. The Spirit gave him the revelation. The Spirit led him to see Jesus, so that he could say, "my eyes have seen your salvation" (verse 30).
One commentator marks a limit here: "These and similar revelations were given before the canon of Scripture was complete" — that is, before the Bible was finished — William Kelly.
The promise gave Simeon a sight of the Christ as a baby, but not the day when Messiah would be shown to Israel. That could have felt like half a gift:
He can never hope to see the day when the Messiah is shown openly to Israel. Might he not have complained about his hard lot? He has to die just as the fulfilment of his hopes comes into sight. Yet all he said was, "Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace"... His heart's love was set on the Christ of God. If the Christ is to go, he is content to go. He has no wish to live if Jesus is to die!
Simeon was not alone, and his kind of waiting did not end with him:
He belonged to the faithful few in Israel who, in dark days of decline and turning away from God, held fast to the Word and waited for it to be fulfilled as promised. The Lord had a faithful few then, who waited for His first coming. Now His faithful people wait for the blessed Hope, His coming again to receive them to Himself... The Spirit led him into the temple at the right moment. His waiting ended when he held the child in his arms.
- Waiting. Simeon longed for the comfort of God's people, not just his own good. God found him among the unknown, not among the nation's leaders.
- Revealed. The Spirit told him he would not die before seeing the Lord's Christ. Earlier prophets only spoke of a Messiah to come; Simeon would see Him.
- Recognised. The baby looked like any poor family's firstborn. Simeon knew what even the priest on duty did not, because the Spirit had taught him.
- Led. The Spirit rested on him, spoke to him, and brought him into the temple at the exact hour. Revelation and guidance came together.
- Released. Once he had seen Him, he could depart in peace. Commentators link his waiting to the hope of those who now wait for Christ's return.
And he came in the Spirit into the temple; and as the parents brought in the child Jesus that they might do for him according to the custom of the law,
An old man walks into the temple courts just as a poor couple carries in their firstborn son. It raises three questions: how did Simeon know, why the temple, and why was One above the law carried in under it?
Simeon's arrival was not a lucky visit on a busy day. One writer traces three works of the Spirit in him. The last one is about timing.
In Simeon the Holy Spirit was working with singular energy. The Spirit could not yet live inside him, but He was upon him. Through the Spirit he had a revelation, and the Spirit guided him into the temple at the exact moment to meet the child Jesus.
The Spirit does not only move the man. He also makes him fit for the moment.
Here is a vessel that God can use, and whom the Spirit does use. He is well prepared to receive the Lord in the temple. Whatever is done in this holy matter must agree fully with the mind of God. The thing to stress is the holy character of the vessels God had prepared to handle this situation rightly.
One writer sees a double action running through Luke's opening chapters.
Simeon is introduced in the condition of a priest, coming into the temple. God Himself had given him light, and in the power of the Spirit of God he was ready to take in the occasion with understanding. One feature of the opening chapters of Luke is the presence of the Holy Spirit as the power that moves the people mentioned. The Lord Jesus Christ is set before them from outside, while the Spirit works inside them to prepare their affections to receive Him.
The parents come to keep a rule of the law. Simeon sees who it is they carry.
God is good, and He would give suitable witnesses. So this godly man came in at the very time when the parents brought in the infant Jesus to do for Him "according to the custom of the Law." But he sees that in that baby was One altogether above the law. In grace He might become subject to it. His parents were, of course, right to show full respect for its rules.
Coming under the law had a wider purpose.
His parents had brought the Baby in to do for Him "according to the custom of the Law." So we have both features of Galatians 4:4: "born of woman, born under the law." It is important to see that He did come "born under the law." That was necessary if blessing was to come to the Gentiles. Every righteous requirement was fulfilled.
One writer traces the place back to a prophecy that fixed it in advance.
The Lord must appear, and where must He appear? In the temple (Malachi 3:1). How could He appear in the temple if there was no temple on Mount Zion? So the temple had to be built, because the Messiah was to appear in the temple when He came. When we open the Gospels we find the record of the Holy Baby brought into the temple at a set time. The Holy Spirit led Simeon there at that same moment, as Luke tells us.
Nothing in the scene looked like an arrival worth noticing.
The people who filled its courts day by day often saw a poor couple approach the altar with their firstborn son in his parent's arms. The mother's offering showed how poor they were. There was nothing new in that. But Simeon knew what others did not, not even the priest on duty. The Spirit of the Lord had taught him that the child of that poor mother was the Christ of God.
- Spirit upon him — the Spirit did not yet live inside him, but He rested on him and worked with unusual energy.
- Spirit revealing — what Simeon knew came by revelation, not by sight. The priest on duty saw the same baby and saw nothing.
- Spirit leading — the same Spirit brought him into the temple at the exact moment, so a prepared man met the Child.
- Law fulfilled — the parents came to keep the custom. The One they carried was above the law, yet in grace He came under it, so blessing could reach the Gentiles.
- Promise kept — Malachi 3:1 said the Lord would appear in His temple. A poor, unnoticed arrival there answered it.
*he* received him into his arms, and blessed God, and said,
An old man and a newborn meet in the temple. Simeon takes the child into his arms — then blesses God, not the baby. Who did he believe this infant was?
Some writers prefer a different translation of these words. They find reverence in the change.
We read that Simeon "took" Jesus up in his arms. It should be "received Him into his arms". Every reverent soul will see at once that this fits better, and it is in fact the correct word. He received Him into his arms, we may be sure, from the hands of Mary. What a sight! Think of that devoted mother handing her Child into the arms of old Simeon! Think of Simeon, given the priceless privilege of taking into his arms that Child in whom God would establish and perfect all His purposes!
Nothing about this child looked special. So how did Simeon know?
Simeon had received the revelation that he would not die until He had come. The Spirit led him into the temple at the right moment. His waiting ended when he held the child in his arms. He was a baby, like any other baby. Yet faith saw in Him what He is, the Lord's salvation for His people; He who had come to do the great work.
That knowledge set him apart from everyone else in the temple that day:
Simeon knew what no one else there knew — not even the priest on duty. The Spirit of the Lord had taught him that the child of that poor mother was the Christ of God.
The word "blessed" does not always carry the same sense.
The word "blessed" carries two senses here. Simeon blessed God as a creature worshipping his Creator. This is the worship that man may give to God alone, and that God alone can rightly receive.
What Simeon left undone matters as much as what he did.
He had the Child in his arms, and at such a moment you would expect him to bless the Infant. But he does not. For he had that Child in his arms, not as a weak infant to entrust to God's care, but as God's Salvation. In that glorious character, at the moment of nature's complete weakness, he held Him up and gloried in Him. The lesser is blessed by the greater. It was not for Simeon to bless Jesus, though he could rightly bless Mary.
Simeon stood at the heart of Israel's worship: altar, sacrifices, music. Yet none of it held him.
Everything around him spoke of the law of Moses, and of the singing David had set up to go with it. Yet he turned his back on it all. He must often have heard the musicians with cymbals and trumpets, and the human voice — the sweetest instrument of all — praising Jehovah together. He must often have watched the service at the altar too. None of that held him now. He was taken up with the infant child of a poor mother, and all the sacrifices offered on that altar, as we know, were only pictures of Him.
One writer turns this into an invitation. Praise grows out of what you hold.
Simeon — "Received Him into his arms, and blessed God." Dear friends, I want to say this to you tonight. If you will receive this blessed Man and hold Him as Simeon did, substance will be formed in your heart, and out of it you can praise and bless our God and Father. Simeon did not have the light we have. He did not have the Holy Spirit in the way we have Him. Yet he stood there under the power, guidance, influence and teaching of the Holy Spirit. And the Holy Spirit always calls attention to the preciousness and glory of Christ.
- Led — the Spirit brought Simeon into the temple at the right moment, and his long wait ended with the Child in his arms.
- Received — the truer sense of the phrase is that he received the Child into his arms, most likely from Mary's hands.
- Recognised — He looked like any other baby. Faith saw the Lord's salvation, which even the priest on duty missed.
- Blessed — he answered with worship. A creature praised his Creator, with the altar and its music all around him.
- Not blessed — he never blessed the Child. He held Him up as God's salvation, because the lesser cannot bless the greater.
Lord, now thou lettest thy bondman go, according to thy word, in peace;
Simeon has spent a long life waiting for God's promised comfort for Israel. Now he holds the baby Jesus in his arms and asks his Master for permission to go.
Simeon does not use the ordinary word for "Lord." He uses a stronger one:
Verse 29 gives us a remarkable statement. Simeon says, "Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace." The word "Lord" here is really "Despot." We see in it the effect of a man moving under the power of the Spirit of God. Simeon recognised that supreme power was with God, not with the Emperor. Only a person who has the advantage of the indwelling Spirit can understand where this world is heading.
Another writer follows the same word through the New Testament:
Notice that the word used here for "Lord" is not the usual one. The same term occurs in Luke 2:29, Acts 4:24 and Jude 4. It means the Lord as "sovereign master." It is also used in 2 Peter 2:1: "denying the Master who bought them." This is not the nearness in which we know Him as "our Lord." It is the general relation of authority in which the Lord is Master of the whole world — of all men, whether bad or good.
Simeon calls himself God's servant — older translations say "bondman", a slave. He does not walk out on his own. He asks his Master to release him.
The eyes of Simeon have seen God's salvation, and he begs of the sovereign Lord that he may go.
God had made Simeon a personal promise, and Simeon now points back to it:
He begins with what is personal to himself. God is acting in His sovereignty, and he can rejoice — for sovereignty with Him means sovereign goodness. He has fulfilled His word to him, and now he may depart in peace. What, indeed, could man have sought or imagined on God's part so blessed as what He has done? Who could have thought what the Babe in Simeon's arms meant for the heart that could take it in?
Everything around Simeon that day followed the law of Moses. His peace came from somewhere else:
He sees that in that babe there was One altogether above the law. In grace He might come under it, and His parents were of course right to honour every one of its rules. But Simeon "received Him into his arms, and blessed God." He said, "Lord, now You are letting Your bondman go according to Your word, in peace, for my eyes have seen Your salvation." The law of Moses never could let a sinful man depart in peace. So to speak, it never ought to. ... It was not imagination, but solid faith; it was "according to Your word." There is nothing so sure as the testimonies of God and His Word.
Simeon is holding a baby. He will not live to see what that baby will do. One writer explains why he was content anyway:
Here was this aged saint. He had spent a long life "waiting for the consolation of Israel." Now, just before his eyes must close in death, God lets him see as an infant the One who is the fulfilment of his hopes... He might well have complained about his hard lot, having to die just as the fulfilment of his hopes was in sight. Yet in fact he simply said, "Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace." He foresaw the approaching tragedy of the Cross, and more than that, his heart's love centred in the Christ of God. If the Christ is to go, he is content to go. He has no wish to live if Jesus is to die!
Others put the weight on what he already held: "All his desires were satisfied, every link with earth was broken as soon as he had God's salvation, and he was ready to depart in peace" (Edward Dennett).
One writer reads the verse as a pattern for the end of a believer's life:
Suppose a man walks with God and has finished his course. He knows that his work is done, and he is aware that the Lord's time has come. He has companionship and communion with the Lord he has walked with. If he only comes to a bed of sickness, he is not ready to go yet. He is not afraid; God is teaching him something else. But when God's time has come, all is joy and readiness. He feels like Simeon: Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace.
- Master. Simeon addresses God with the word for an owner of slaves — sovereign authority over all men, not the nearer title believers use for "our Lord."
- Servant. Because God is Master, Simeon speaks as His slave. He asks leave to go; he does not take it.
- Word. His release rests on a promise God made to him. God acts here in sovereignty, and sovereignty with Him means goodness.
- Peace. The law could never let a sinful man go in peace. That peace comes from the Child in his arms.
- Ready. Holding Christ satisfied him. The glory he would never live to see cost him nothing, and a believer knows that same readiness when God's time has come.
for mine eyes have seen thy salvation,
An old man in the temple takes a newborn into his arms and announces that he has now seen what God had promised him. His words raise the question that runs through the whole scene. How can anyone say he has seen salvation? The work is not done yet — no cross, no empty tomb, only a baby.
Simeon does not say he has seen a plan or a promise. He says he has seen God's salvation, and what he is holding is a child. One writer turns this into advice for anyone beginning the Christian life:
It is important, I think, to link salvation with the Lord Himself. We have it in present and enjoyed possession when we have Him. Simeon's words show this plainly. He held the infant Jesus in his arms and said, "My eyes have seen Your salvation." The Lord's words to Zacchaeus show it too: "Today salvation has come to this house." He was there, and He was salvation. I advise young Christians to spell salvation "H.I.M." and not "I.T."
The salvation had not yet been accomplished. Simeon's confidence rested on the One who would accomplish it, and the weakness of the infant did not shake him:
Simeon knew, at last, that here was God's salvation. The work was not yet done, but here was the Worker of it. His faith did not fail as he considered the weakness of those infant hands that now held the task. Already his eyes had seen this salvation. It might come from Israel, but it could not be shut up in Israel. No, God had prepared it before the face of all the peoples.
Another writer weighs the exact wording:
The whole tone here is not what we may call formal. It was not that the work was done. But in Christ there was, in principle, "God's salvation" ... The Spirit might not yet say "God's righteousness," but He could say "God's salvation." It was the person of the Saviour, seen according to the prophetic Spirit, who would in due time make everything good as to God and man.
Many people saw that baby. Only Simeon saw salvation in Him, and the difference was not in his eyesight:
Only the anointed eye could discern who He was, the eye of faith. The angels voiced the gladness of heaven and proclaimed the greatness of that Babe. Yet His lowly birth and deep humility made no appeal to people — except to men like Simeon, who had the eye of faith. He was an old man, unknown and perhaps poor in the world, but rich in heaven's reckoning, and highly favoured of God ... The old saint had waited for a sight of God's Salvation until his natural eyes grew dim. At last he looks on Him and knows Him.
Simeon asks to go, and he asks it in peace. Where does that peace come from?
But he sees that in that baby there was One altogether above the law. In grace He might become subject to it, and His parents were, of course, right in paying every respect to its rules ... The law of Moses never could let a sinful man depart in peace — so to speak, it never ought. For peace to be real and righteous, it must come from the God who gave the law. He is present in grace, present as man in this world, and present to suffer for sins, the Just for the unjust. And so He was, for such was Jesus.
With salvation in his arms, Simeon had nothing left to wait for:
As soon as he held God's salvation, all his desires were satisfied. Every tie to earth fell away, and he was ready to depart in peace ... With the holy Child in his arms, Simeon stood at the centre of God's purposes. From there he looked on to the time when the Gentiles would come into the light, and when Christ would be the glory of His people Israel.
Before Simeon says a word about nations or about himself, he blesses God. That order matters:
God's sovereign work is in view in what He told Simeon, and God has in mind to bring us into the good of these things. Has knowing these things produced in us the same effect it produced in Simeon? When he took the Babe up in his arms he "blessed God". Could there be a greater evidence of reconciliation than a company marked by blessing God?
- Seen — Simeon's eyes saw a baby; his faith saw God's salvation. The sight was given, not achieved.
- Personal — What he saw was not a system but a Saviour. Spell salvation "HIM," not "IT."
- Early — The work was not yet done, but the Worker was there, and that was enough for faith.
- Peaceful — The law could never send a sinner away in peace; holding God's salvation, Simeon could go.
- Worship — Simeon's first act after receiving Christ was to bless God — the surest mark of a reconciled heart.
which thou hast prepared before the face of all peoples;
Simeon, an old man in the temple, takes a baby into his arms and calls Him God's salvation — the salvation God has made ready in full view of all peoples. Two questions follow. How could Simeon see salvation years before the cross? And how far does "all peoples" reach?
Simeon is not holding a plan or a promise. He is holding the Saviour, and in Him he sees God's salvation.
No wonder that Simeon, whose eyes were opened by better sight than earth can give, could see God and His salvation in the baby. It was not imagination, but sober faith. "My eyes have seen your salvation." This was what kings and prophets had longed to see, and now Simeon saw it in the person of Jesus.
Simeon puts Israel and the nations together in one salvation. And the word "prepared" says who arranged it.
Notice that he makes both one in a salvation for all, prepared — ordered — before the face of all people. The glory, though, belongs to Israel as God's people.
Simeon's faith was not shaken by the weakness of what he held. And he saw how far this salvation had to reach.
Simeon knew, at last, that here was God's salvation. Even if the work was not yet done, here was the Worker of it. His faith did not fail as he looked at the weakness of those baby hands now trusted with it. Already his eyes had seen it: a salvation which, being what it is, might come from Israel but could not be shut up in Israel. God had prepared it before the face of all the peoples. Could it be anything less than world-wide in God's desire, with the same need on every side calling for it?
Simeon goes further than the angel did, and the difference sits in one word.
He went one step further than the angel. He saw that God had prepared His salvation before the face of "all peoples" — the word is plural this time. Jesus was not only to be the glory of Israel but also a light to lighten the Gentiles. It was revealed to him that grace was going to flow beyond the narrow borders of Israel.
Simeon lists the nations before Israel, and the older prophets do not. Commentators differ on what that reversal marks. One reads it as a picture of the present period, while Israel stands aside. He works from an older wording, "revelation of the Gentiles," not "to the Gentiles":
The reversed order here seems to me significant: "a light for revelation of the Gentiles, and the glory of Your people Israel." First comes this exceptional period, in which God brings the Gentiles to light. The predicted and regular state of things will follow it. Still, once God has brought the Gentiles into light, He never puts them back into darkness.
Another reads the same two clauses as the coming reign of Christ over the whole earth:
Salvation, the deliverance of God, had come in Christ. It was for the revelation of the Gentiles, who until then lay hidden in the darkness of ignorance, with no revelation. And it was for the glory of Israel, the people of God. This is indeed the fruit of the government of God in Christ, that is to say, the millennium.
Simeon's song ends with what holding Christ did to Simeon himself.
The first fruit of possessing the Christ was to bless God. It was a holy, happy, grateful acknowledgment of His salvation now seen, and it gladdened the heart of God to have His Anointed welcomed. Simeon also declares marvellous things about the Child, the Gentiles, and His people, in that order. The effect on himself was a satisfied heart, a peaceful spirit, and readiness to depart out of the world — an experience that is ours also.
- Person — God's salvation is a Man before it is a work. The work was still ahead, but the Worker was already in Simeon's arms.
- Prepared — the word points back to God. He ordered and arranged this salvation Himself.
- Peoples — the plural is deliberate. This salvation may come out of Israel, but it cannot be shut up there. The same need calls from every side.
- Pattern — Simeon names the Gentiles before Israel, and the prophets did the reverse. Commentators differ: some see the present time, while Israel is blind; others see the coming reign of Christ.
- Peace — whoever receives this salvation gets what Simeon got: a satisfied heart, a quiet spirit, and no fear of leaving the world.
a light for revelation of [the] Gentiles and [the] glory of thy people Israel.
In the temple, Simeon holds a baby and describes the future of the whole world. He names light for the nations first and glory for Israel second, and commentators read our own age out of that order.
English versions word this line in different ways. One writer argues the common renderings miss the point: the nations themselves are what the light uncovers.
"A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel" (Luke 2:32). "A light for revelation to the Gentiles" in the Revised Version is no better; its margin note has it right. It should be "A light for revelation (or, unveiling) of the Gentiles." This means that Christ is a light for bringing Gentiles into divine view. That is happening now. He will be the glory of Israel later on.
Before Christ came, the nations outside Israel had no place in God's public dealings with the world.
Christ has been a light for the revelation of the Gentiles. Before that, they were so completely in the dark that in God's sight they were as if they did not exist. This was not about His judgment of the secrets of the heart, but about His government of the world.
He also names what that unveiling brought them.
This was the revelation of the Gentiles — their discovery in darkness by the Light that had come, and their admission to an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Christ.
Simeon names the nations before Israel. One writer reads the whole present age out of that order.
This is the time during which Israel is blinded, and the long hidden Gentiles come into view, brought out of the low state in which they had lain until now. But when God has finished His work among the Gentiles, the next words will come true: "and the glory of your people Israel." This verse is very important. It shows what would follow when Israel rejected the Messiah, and what comes before God brings them in later on. This is not the order we find in the prophets. There, wherever the Lord appears as the Glory of Israel, He also blesses the Gentiles in a place below the chosen people.
The same writer answers the question that raises: does Israel's future glory undo what the nations have received?
Once God has brought the Gentiles into light, He never puts them back into darkness. But this will not stop Him from bringing Israel to the highest place of earthly glory, above all the nations. So God's goodness to the Gentiles never passes away, and He will still keep His ancient and special promises to Israel.
One writer sets this line beside other Scriptures about how the present age ends.
This is prophetic. The Gentiles are put first. And so it has come to pass; after the fullness of the Gentiles has come in, all Israel will be saved. See Isaiah 49:5-6; Romans 11:25-26.
Another writer follows the same line forward into the book of Acts.
When Mary took Him to the temple, Simeon, one of the faithful few in Israel and a servant of the Lord, rejoiced to see in Him God's "salvation," and "the glory of His people Israel." He also saw in Him "a Light for revelation of the Gentiles," so that they, brought out of their darkness and ignorance, might be revealed in God's marvellous light. This truth is not limited to the time when our Lord Jesus Christ was here on earth. When Paul preached the gospel he said, "Behold, we are turning to the Gentiles. For so the Lord has commanded us, saying, 'I have made you a light for the Gentiles'" (Acts 13:47). The Light, like the gospel and the salvation of God, is sent out for all men everywhere.
One writer pictures Simeon beside Moses on the mountain, looking out at the land.
All his desires were satisfied. Every tie to earth was cut as soon as he had God's salvation, and he was ready to depart in peace. Moses once stood on Mount Pisgah and saw the land God had provided for His people. Simeon went further: with the holy Child in his arms, he stood at the centre of God's purposes. From there he looked forward to the time when the Gentiles would be brought into the light, and when Christ would be the glory of His people Israel.
- One Person, two effects. One Child is both — light for the nations, glory for Israel.
- Revelation means unveiling. Commentators prefer "revelation of the Gentiles." Nations once invisible in God's dealings now stand in view.
- Order matters. Simeon flips the prophets' order. Writers read that flip as a preview of this age: Israel set aside, the nations reached.
- Glory is future. Light is shining now; the glory of Israel waits — after the fullness of the Gentiles comes in.
- Held, then released. Simeon held God's salvation in his arms and was ready to go; that same salvation is sent out for all men everywhere.
And his father and mother wondered at the things which were said concerning him.
Simeon has just held the baby and called Him a light for the nations and the glory of Israel. Joseph and Mary are amazed. Luke notes their wonder before he records Simeon's warning. Two questions follow: what surprised them so much, and why does Luke call Joseph His father?
Even the two people closest to this child were amazed at Simeon's words. One writer sees no failure of faith in that, only the normal way people take truth in.
Joseph and the Child's mother were amazed at the things spoken about Him, and well they might be. Here we only know in part. Only little by little do we take in the truth we say we believe, and come into its power.
Simeon's song named the nations first and Israel second. For a Jewish listener, that order was a surprise.
He spoke of the child as a light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, as well as the glory of God's people Israel (2:32). A Jew would have thought first of his own nation, God's people on earth. Old Simeon put the Gentiles first. The good news really would be preached to them alongside Israelites. In that way God would bring them out of the background where His dealings had kept them, and this would happen before the Jewish nation entered its final blessing.
Luke records how the parents felt. That fits the purpose of his account, which keeps the human side of the Lord's life in view.
"And his father and his mother marveled at what was said about him. And Simeon blessed them."… Luke always brings out these touches of human affection and sorrow. This is part of his purpose, because he shows the Lord Jesus especially as a man. In keeping with that, he brings out the feelings of those closest to Him, such as His mother.
The verse calls Joseph His father. That title is not about how the child was conceived. It is about Joseph's place in law.
The angel of the Lord spoke to him as son of David: "Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit" (Matt. 1:20). In obedience to God's Word Joseph took her, "and" (the Holy Spirit carefully records) "knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus" (v. 25). Joseph was therefore rightly regarded as the legal father of Jesus. In every true sense the firstborn Son of Joseph's wife was legally his rightful Heir.
The old manuscripts differ here. Some read "his father," others read "Joseph."
Their amazement is not the end of the scene. Simeon turns to the mother with a warning.
Simeon does not see the bright side only. He does not imagine that God's message of salvation will be welcomed at once, just because men need it. While Joseph and Mary wonder at the things said about Him, he turns to the mother. He warns her what the light of God will reveal about the hearts of men… For the presence of Christ as light would bring everything to light.
The cross is already in view while the child is still an infant, yet the tone is not despair.
Simeon turns to the parents, for the Spirit of God in grace links Joseph with the mother, and he blesses them. But he also foretells that cross which would reveal many hearts, and the sword which would pierce her own. So, at His very birth, we see the shadow of the cross. It is not a shadow of gloom. It shows the unchanging purpose of love, which no difficulty can block and which even death cannot quench (33-35).
- Light. Simeon's words reach past Israel to the nations. He names the Gentiles first, before Israel's final blessing.
- Wonder. That reach amazed even the parents. We know only in part, and we take truth in step by step.
- Father. Joseph is His father in law, not in nature. The child was his rightful Heir, yet conceived by the Holy Spirit.
- Sword. Simeon answers their wonder with a warning: the light of Christ reveals men's hearts, and a sword will pierce Mary's own soul.
- Love. The shadow of the cross falls on the scene at His birth, yet it shows a purpose of love that nothing can stop — not even death.
And Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary his mother, Lo, this [child] is set for the fall and rising up of many in Israel, and for a sign spoken against;
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.
(and even a sword shall go through thine own soul;) so that [the] thoughts may be revealed from many hearts.
Simeon has been speaking over the Child in front of everyone. Now he turns to the mother alone, with a word about a sword in her soul and about hidden thoughts brought into the open.
Simeon's words came years before the events they describe. One writer sees kindness in that timing.
In tender grace God used His servant Simeon to prepare Mary for her Child's path of sorrow and rejection. Who can doubt that the sword pierced her own soul above all when she stood by the cross of Jesus and saw His sorrow? How merciful God's ways are! We come to our sorrows only step by step, and when they come we find them lit up with His love.
The sorrow named here is Mary's own, and its inclusion fits the character of this Gospel.
The words point to Mary's personal sorrow, since she was to be a witness of the crucifixion of her own Son. Luke always brings out these touches of human affection and sorrow. This is part of his special task, because he above all portrays the Lord Jesus as a man. In keeping with that, he brings out the feelings of those as close to Him as His mother.
At the cross the prediction came true. One writer sets Mary's grief beside a very different sword that fell on her Son in the same hour.
The hour had come when the words of the aged Simeon to Mary came true — "a sword will pierce through your own soul also." The sword of Jehovah, according to Zechariah, was about to awake against the true Shepherd of Israel. But a sword of another kind would also pierce the soul of His mother, and the Shepherd thought of that.
What became of her after that hour?
The Lord entrusted John with the care of Mary His mother, and from then on John gave her a home. Old Simeon's prediction came true. A sword did pierce through her soul, but the loving care of John must have soothed her and comforted her.
The word translated soul has a wide range in Scripture.
The word also covers conscious feeling and existence in general — the activity of the inner man — without saying where it comes from or what it is. In this way it applies even to God. So: "with all your heart and with all your soul"; "My soul is very sorrowful"; "a sword will pierce through your own soul also."
The verse ends with a purpose that reaches far beyond Mary. One writer traces what the coming of the Messiah brought about.
The full accomplishment of God's counsels towards Israel, and towards the world through Israel, brought joy of heart to the faithful who had trusted these promises. But at that moment it tested every heart, through a Messiah who was a sign spoken against. The counsels of God and the heart of man were both revealed in Him.
Rejection is the very thing that brings hidden thoughts to light.
As He would be spoken against and rejected, the thoughts of many hearts would come to light, as they came into contact with Him. In the presence of God every man must come out in his true character. So this feature about Christ was an unintended tribute to His deity.
The sharpest test is the place where the sword fell. There the revealing runs both ways.
The Cross of Christ is the test; it lays bare the thoughts of all hearts. But most of all it revealed His own thoughts, His deep feelings. We learn what they were from the seven words that came from His lips.
That testing did not stop at the cross.
The One who is the Saviour will also convict us of our sins, and so show us our need of the Saviour. His word will be like a sharp sword and a polished arrow. It pierces the conscience and reveals the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
- Warned — Simeon's word came years early. Grace prepared Mary for a path of sorrow she could not yet understand.
- Pierced — the sword came at Calvary. Another sword fell on the Shepherd there, and He still found His mother a home.
- Human — Luke records her feelings. His Gospel presents Jesus as man, so it takes in the affections of those nearest to Him.
- Tested — the Child who brought that grief tests every heart. In His presence every man comes out in his true character.
- Revealed — the cross lays bare the thoughts of all hearts, and above all His own. His word still does that searching work.