Luke 2:29-32: Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, According to Your word; for my eyes have seen Your salvation which You have prepared before the face of all peoples, a light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of Your people Israel.”
Today’s verses are being uttered by a man named Simeon. What little information we are provided about him actually tells us a lot about him. First, his name is derived from a name that means the number 5. The number 5 in Scripture is symbolic of God’s grace and His goodness. Verse 25 tells us he was, “just and devout, waiting for the Consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.” So we have a picture of a man who was truly living his life for God out of God’s grace and goodness. Moreover, he was waiting on God for the Consolation of Israel – in other words, he was waiting for the Messiah. He was expecting to see the Messiah.
Verse 26 elaborates on Simeon’s expectation – “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.” The key point in verses 25 & 26 is the presence of the Holy Spirit. The word “upon” in verse 25 is the same word used to describe the Holy Spirit’s presence on the disciples at Pentecost. Simeon was, at this moment, living with the powerful filling and presence of the Holy Spirit.
What does this mean? John 16:13 tells us, “However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.” Without the presence of the Holy Spirit, we cannot see the truth of God and understand the things of God. You could say He is our Divine Interpreter.
So what we have here in Simeon is a man who is seeking God, waiting on God, and living with God’s empowerment by His Spirit. He must be because what he says in today’s verses is impossible without God’s involvement. Verse 33 indicates even Mary and Joseph, Jesus’ earthly parents, marveled at what Simeon said.
What is he saying about this newborn baby – all pink and squishy? This baby is God’s salvation – not that God needs salvation – but this baby is our salvation from God. Now both Mary and Joseph had been given the “down-low” by the angel Gabriel that Jesus was very special. What they were likely marveling at was Simeon’s claim that this salvation from God – this baby – was for not just for the people of Israel, but also for the Gentiles – the non-Jews! This idea of the Messiah being available to the Gentiles was blasphemy to the Jewish leaders. It wasn’t to God – read Isaiah 42:6.
Whether it’s Simeon, the wise men from the East, or it’s you or me, we cannot know the things of God without the presence of God. We can’t see something such as a little baby that looks like every other baby and boldly claim this is God incarnate who will one day be sacrificed on the cross to be our salvation from our sins without the help of God – without the Helper.
Imagine how much truth in life we could see if we walked with the Holy Spirit all the time. More importantly, imagine how much more of God would we would come to know and love if we allowed the Holy Spirit to guide us all the time. That is His purpose, but we need to purpose ourselves to seek and wait on The Lord. If we do, He will reveal new life to us just as He revealed the new life of the Savior to Simeon. He is the perfect gift.