SIMEON'S PROCLAMATION

We have a sure hope when we trust in Jesus.

Luke 2:25-35

We have seen many things in our lifetime that many have long hoped for.  From home appliances to the automobile, from air travel to space travel we live in a time of things that make our hopes and wishes become reality.  We even now have 3-dimensional printers that can literally "print" 3 dimensional objects out of thin air.

After the birth of Jesus, shepherds came to worship him, and Mary pondered the things that had happened since the angel first visited her.  She made preparations with Joseph for the eighth day after Jesus' birth when he would be named and circumcised at the Temple.  They would encounter yet another surprise.


They would encounter a righteous and devout man  name Simeon.  Simeon is not described in physical or historical detail.  We don't know if he was young or old, or if he was a religious partisan or a priest, but we do know three things about his character.  He was righteous and devout.  He always tried to do the right thing.   He was devout. He was reverent and faithful and lived with great respect for God.

We also know that he was looking for God's Messiah, the one that God anointed to lead humanity back to God.  We also know that the Holy Spirit was on him.  Prior to the coming of the Holy Spirit on all believers at Pentecost, the Holy Spirit would work with a few selected people to fulfill a task.  The Holy Spirit was on Simeon and Simeon is used to further validate the special nature of Jesus.  Because of Jesus, and like Simeon, we can look forward in hope of God's salvation.  

Simeon saw what others did not – salvation was not listed to only one nation.  The mission of the Messiah was to bring us ALL to a full relationship with God.  Simeon knew that Jesus would serve God to be "a light for revelation to the Gentiles and glory to your people Israel." Jesus was destined for this important assignment.  He would be the "fall line" – the demarkation between the "low lands" and the "high lands" – for humanity.  As humanity moved toward this "fall line" many would stumble and see it as insurmountable.  They would reject moving on and would "fall" back into their previous state.  But some would see the "fall line" as the demarkation that the "high point" was further on and they would continue on and rise in their journey.  Some will experience salvation through Jesus and others will stumble and fall back to their old natures.  

We can learn from Simeon's proclamation and example and know that Jesus is the "fall line" on our road towards a fully restored relationship with God.  We can recognize that our recognition and acceptance of Jesus as God's Messiah is the sign that we are drawing every closer to God on our journey through life.

The choice is yours.  You can choose to journey onward and upward to God, or "fall" back and live your life in your old sin nature as far apart from God as the mountain peak is from the sea floor.

None of us know for sure how long we have left on this earth, but we do know that we have a sure hope when we trust in Jesus.  We keep journeying upwards towards God with the assistance of the Holy Spirit, just as he assisted Simeon in recognizing the baby messiah.  We have a responsibility to share that hope with others just as Simeon's proclamation validated and pointed to Jesus as the Messiah promised by God.