Daily Devotion – December 23, 2020 – Dr. Pat Taylor Ellison
Luke 2:22-40
2:22 When the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord
2:23 (as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male shall be designated as holy to the Lord”),
2:24 and they offered a sacrifice according to what is stated in the law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.”
2:25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; this man was righteous and devout, looking forward to the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit rested on him.
2:26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah.
2:27 Guided by the Spirit, Simeon came into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him what was customary under the law,
2:28 Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying,
2:29 “Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace, according to your word;
2:30 for my eyes have seen your salvation,
2:31 which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
2:32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.”
2:33 And the child’s father and mother were amazed at what was being said about him.
2:34 Then Simeon blessed them and said to his mother Mary, “This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed
2:35 so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed–and a sword will pierce your own soul too.”
2:36 There was also a prophet, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, having lived with her husband seven years after her marriage,
2:37 then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped there with fasting & prayer night &day.
2:38 At that moment she came, and began to praise God and to speak about the child to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.
2:39 When they had finished everything required by the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth.
2:40 The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him.
In this story, two special people, Simeon and Anna, in the Temple at Jerusalem, added testimony into Jesus’s story, causing his parents to be amazed for now a second and third time in about a month.
Remembering the night of his birth, the roughest, smelliest, least prestigious people, outdoor-living shepherds, came and told the holy family of their visitation by angels, all the host of heaven singing God’s praises, and the angel’s specific directions sending the shepherds to find them. (And the Magi? Scholars say they didn’t come to the manger in Bethlehem but made their trip a year or more later). About a month after Jesus’s birth the holy family moved slowly northward to Nazareth and home, and when his 40th day of age came, they were in Jerusalem, so they presented him in the mighty temple.
That is where Simeon saw them and knew who Jesus was. Simeon may not have been very old, but the Spirit on the Lord was upon him, and he had been promised that he would see the Savior in his lifetime. Simeon must have felt Jesus come into the temple, so he made his way over, held the baby, and made his declaration for anyone to hear, probably while the holy family was waiting in line to be blessed and make their sacrifice. Then also a prophet, Anna, who was 84 when very aged people died in their 50’s, found them and also began speaking of Jesus’s destiny as Savior! Two extraordinary testimonies.
Shepherds and Simeon and Anna – these folks saw Jesus and immediately spoke energetically about who he was and what he would do. If Mary and Joseph had any ideas about an ordinary life for this infant son of theirs, they would have to ignore these testimonies. We know that Mary did not ignore them. She pondered them regularly, and when she looked at Jesus, she knew exactly who he was.
Lord God, Thank you for loving us. Thank you for sharing these testimonies with us in your Word. Amen.
