Simeon was pregnant longer than Mary. God had birthed a promise in his heart and he’d been waiting for the fulfillment of that promise. He was waiting on the Messiah.
Jamie Shuck asked our youth last night “How are you waiting?” He used the story of Simeon. As I’ve thought on his lesson, I’d ask, “ARE you waiting?” There’s another arrival of the Messiah pending! Are you waiting? Watching? Expecting?
I believe Simeon was chosen for this particular promise because he was a just, righteous, devout, and watchful man. God promised him he would see the Messiah before he died. And ONE DAY…the Spirit of God told him to get to the temple. Mary & Joseph entered the temple that day with baby Jesus to present him to the Lord and to offer a sacrifice for his birth. That’s when Simeon saw the Messiah. The same God who’d given him the promise quickened his spirit to recognize Who he was seeing. And Simeon took the child and blessed him. He blessed his parents and prepared them for things to come. And I’m sure that moment reverberated in their spirits as long as they lived. It was a sign post that this was all true. This was God’s Son—the Messiah.
Simeon had been promised he’d see the Messiah before he died. I wonder if he’d gotten sick with a fatal disease? It would be just like Satan to do that to create doubt about God’s promise. We don’t know. But God kept that promise alive in Simeon’s heart. After all, Simeon’s name means, “harkening.” He waited well by listening to the voice of the Spirit.
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