The Sign That Reveals Us

Luke 2:22-35

22-24

Again, we see the parents faithfully fulfilling the law. The turtledoves or pigeons show that this was a poor family.

25-35

The Holy Spirit’s Work in Simeon’s Final Days

Again, we have another little profile on a ‘nobody’.

To be ‘righteous and devout’ is to be ‘waiting for the consolation of Israel’. We can often think our righteousness is centred on us and our performance, but it’s actually centred on God the salvation he graciously provides for us.

And again, we have featured the role and work of the Holy Spirit. Here the Holy Spirit is ‘upon’ one of the people of God, a term that will be used again and again in Luke and the rest of the NT (e.g. Luke 24:49, Acts 1:8).

The Holy Spirit had ‘revealed’ to Simeon that he would only die after he’d seen ‘the Lord’s Christ’ (yet another quietly and implicitly Trinitarian verse).

The Spirit is apparently guiding his steps this day – ‘he came in the Spirit into the Temple’ – the presence and power of the Spirit was probably obvious to him.

I love the image of this old man picking up Baby Jesus and holding him and speaking to the parents.

29-32

What the Servant Sees

Like Zechariah, Simeon too ‘blessed God’.

Like Mary and the others he identifies himself as a ‘servant’ of God, at God’s disposal.

He too experiences the reliability of God’s word – ‘according to your word’.

What is Simeon seeing here? In this one little newborn baby boy he sees God’s ‘salvation’ that he has ‘prepared in the presence of all the peoples’. He sees God’s sovereign plan coming to fruition, a plan of salvation that affects everyone on the earth: this boy will grow up to be ‘a light for revelation to the Gentiles’ (God showing himself to those outside his covenant people, the Jews) and this will be ‘for glory to your people Israel’—this is what they were made for all along, this is their glorious purpose and boast, to bear forth the Messiah to the world for worldwide salvation.

33-35

More marvelling— it’s interesting that they can still marvel at each new spiritual proclamation about their child. But of course, this may be the first direct thing they themselves have heard declaring this Child to be God’s salvation sent to humanity (apart from Gabriel’s announcement to Mary).

The Sign that Reveals Us

Simeon turns from blessing God to bless the Child’s parents.

What he says to Mary shows something of the pivotal nature of the Child—by the Sovereignly appointed means of him, many will rise and many will fall. He is the divinely chosen ‘sign’ that if not accepted can only be ‘opposed’—all this is so that the ‘thoughts from many hearts may be revealed’. So how we respond and react to the revelation of this Child will unveil, not the true nature of the Child, as if he were the one on trial under our scrutiny, but the true disposition of our own hearts. We are the ones on trial in the presence of this salvific Gift from God!

He seems to warn Mary that as a mother she will suffer on account of this Child being opposed. But perhaps he is also signalling how even the ‘mother of God’ must have her soul sifted and weighed by the Word of God incarnated among us.

The dividing ‘sword’ of the word of God (Ephesians 6:17; Hebrews 4:12-13) divides the world ultimately into just these two people groups: John 3:15-21; 1 Peter 2:6-8.

But in this life none of us can know for certain where each will end up. We are all in the process of either rising or falling (1 Corinthians 1:18). We cannot finally judge one another on this matter—only God can (1 Corinthians 4:4-5).

The church’s job in this life is then to welcome in those who are journeying, those on the fringes, those walking or running away. And even to be made by Christ to fall right now may actually be the beginning of our rise—indeed, we all must fall by his mastery to rise in his glory.

Works Cited:
Darrell Bock, Luke
Joel Green, The Gospel of Luke
Tom Wright, Luke for Everyone