The Life Of Jesus Pt. 3

 This blog we will look at two other people who got a chance to see the baby Jesus. Their story is told in Luke 2. Their names are Simeon and Anna.

25 And there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon ; and this man was righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel ; and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 26 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. 27 And he came in the Spirit into the temple ; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to carry out for Him the custom of the Law, 28 then he took Him into his arms, and blessed God, and said, 29 "Now Lord, You are releasing Your bond-servant to depart in peace, According to Your word ; 30 For my eyes have seen Your salvation, 31 Which You have prepared in the presence of all peoples, 32 A LIGHT OF REVELATION TO THE GENTILES, And the glory of Your people Israel." 33 And His father and mother were amazed at the things which were being said about Him. 34 And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary His mother, "Behold, this Child is appointed for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and for a sign to be opposed - 35 and a sword will pierce even your own soul -to the end that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed." 36 And there was a prophetess, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years and had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, 37 and then as a widow to the age of eighty-four . She never left the temple, serving night and day with fastings and prayers. 38 At that very moment she came up and began giving thanks to God, and continued to speak of Him to all those who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.

Luke doesn't give us much information concerning these two individuals. Though we may not know much about their lives, we do know that they lived holy and devout lives.

It was the custom in those days that you would bring your baby boy and present him to the Lord and to offer a sacrifice. This is why Mary and Joseph had come to the temple.

We see from Simeon that 1) We should never give up hoping.
God had promised Simeon that he would not die until he had seen the Christ. Events in Irael's history were not looking good. They were under control of the Romans. Many of the religious leaders didn't know what it meant to have a relationship with God. But Simeon held on to God's promise. I believe that what helped him to remain hopeful was that he was righteous and devout. Hope seems to wither away when we begin to forget about God. For then the only thing we can hope in is what we see and ourselves. In that type of situation we begin to lose hope because we see how bad things are and we know deep down inside we do not have the power to change things or circumstances. But keeping our lives devoted to God helps us to stay hopeful. For we know with God all things are possible.

2). The manifestation of the promise goes beyond the promise.
Simeon was told that he would not see death until he had seen the Lord's Christ. He kept hoping in that promise all his life. But as we scene played out, not only did he get to see the Christ, he also got to put him into his arms. Isn't this true of our lives in God? There have been many instances in my own life where I felt God had given me a promise. But when the promise was fulfilled it turned out even better than I thought. This can also happen in life situations where we may not get a promise from God, but where God has put something in our hearts to do something and it turns out better than we could imagine. I think of all my musician friends in this instance. We all as young kids desired to play an instrument. I believe that God put that desire in us. But as we look back over our lives, all of the experiences we have had are greater than anything we imagined in that initial desire just to play music. Parent also have this experience when it comes to having kids. The experience exceeds anything they could have imagined. And so it is when God fulfills His promise.

3). Like Anna we should give thanks to God and tell others about Jesus.
Luke tells us that when Anna saw the baby Jesus she began giving thanks to God and spoke of Him to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem. I believe we should also thank God for His Son and tell others. Life may not always work out the way we hope or expected but we still have many things in life to be thankful for.

It is amazing how God allowed these two people to come into contact with Jesus. As we know it wasn't like Jesus was born and the whole world knew He was the Savior. No one knew at that time except to the few who it had been revealed to. The wise men, the shepherds, Simeon and Anna. As Jesus' life goes on even though He does only good, preforms miracles and fulfills what God had said His Son was going to be like, the majority of people still didn't believe that He was the Savior, The Christ. Isn't the same true today? Most people know the name Jesus, have heard about what He has done and yet still don't want to believe He is who He says He is. That is why for those of us who do believe we should be extremely thankful to God. We should be thankful for God's grace. That like Simeon and Anna,  God has allowed us to come into contact with His Son. It is nothing we can boast of. Because we didn't have anything to do with it. It is by grace God has revealed Himself to us. Let us share with others how good God has been to us.

Troy