Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. Luke 2:23-26 ESV1
Read Luke 2:21-35
There were undoubtedly many reasons why God chose Mary and Joseph to raise His Son. One of those reasons was that they were obedient to His commandments. When Jesus was eight days old, “they brought Him up to Jerusalem [to the temple] to present Him to the Lord (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, ‘Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord’) [see Exodus 13:2 & 12] and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the Law of the Lord, ‘a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons’ [see Leviticus 12:8]” (Luke 22b-24). At that time, Jesus was also circumcised and officially named. But more waited at the temple for the young family than tradition.
“There was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the Child Jesus, to do for Him according to the custom of the Law, he took Him up in his arms and blessed God and said, ‘Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, according to Your word; for my eyes have seen Your salvation that You have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to Your people Israel’” (Luke 22:25-32).
“[Joseph and Mary] marveled at what was said” (Luke 22:33). Of course, they did! Imagine you are going to a routine check-up after the birth of your first child, and you are met at the door by a strange, yet nice enough, older gentleman who takes your child out of your arms, holds him to his chest, and begins to prophesy over him. Admittedly, this whole pregnancy and birth had not been exactly what Mary and Joseph expected. As if talking to angels, getting pregnant by the Holy Spirit, obeying instructions given in dreams, giving birth in a barn, and being visited by shepherds and Wise Men was not enough. Yet, the Holy Spirit upon them must have resonated with the Holy Spirit upon Simeon, so that they were eager to hear what he had to say.
“And Simeon [continued and] blessed them and said to Mary His mother, ‘Behold, this Child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed’” (Luke 22:35).
What did Simeon mean by that? Maybe he should have kept some of that to himself. If Mary had been afraid when Gabriel said she was favored of God and confused when he told her of the great King her Son would become, how must she have felt when she was told that a sword would pierce her heart? Hadn’t the call to bear the Savior been hard enough already?
But this whole scenario proposes other questions, as well. How did Simeon know that Mary’s heart would be pierced? How could he be so sure that Jesus would be not only the Jewish Messiah but the Savior of Gentiles, as well? When did he realize that Jesus would challenge the religious order and be opposed by the very ones who should have welcomed Him? The angel hadn’t revealed anything of the sort to Mary or Joseph.
How did Simeon get the Holy Spirit? And how did he understand he wouldn’t die until he saw the Christ? How did he discern when he went to the temple that day that he would see the Savior? And how did he perceive that this couple held the Child he sought?
I believe Simeon knew things that others couldn’t even imagine, and he had the confidence to share those things because he intimately knew the One who had originally spoken them. He was deeply acquainted with God because He spent much time in God’s presence. Through years of consistently pursuing a relationship with God, he learned to hear God and believe Him. Simeon realized from personal experience what Jeremiah recorded: “’Thus says the LORD … Call to Me and I will answer you and tell you great and hidden things that you have not known’” (Jeremiah 33:3).
Another person who spent much time with God and with whom God shared His secrets was Daniel. Even when prayer became illegal, Daniel continued his prayer times, and not in secret either! “He went into his house where he had windows in his upper chamber open toward Jerusalem. He got down on his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks to God, as he had done previously” (Daniel 6:10). Daniel became known as one in whom was the Spirit of the Holy God (see Daniel 5:11). In His times with Daniel, God shared all kinds of secrets about coming kingdoms and about the end of the world. Daniel recorded all of these revelations in his book for future peoples, but God shared them first with Daniel, because Daniel was available and listening.
God doesn’t want to share His secrets with just a few special people. He wants to share His secrets with all His children. But His children have to want to hear those secrets. Begin now by making a habit of regularly talking to God and intently listening to Him, as well. Spend time in prayer and Scripture reading. Soon, you will realize how precious time with God is. Before long, God may surprise you with some secrets.
1Scripture quotations marked by ESV are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (ESV), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. All scripture quotations are taken from the ESV unless otherwise noted. To aid in understanding, I have capitalized references to God.