LEARNING DAILY

 

Luke 2:25, And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was just and devout, waiting for the Consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.

 

It is interesting to really consider the shepherds. The revealing of the birth of the Messiah to those thought to be so lowly regarded by society is an important reminder that no matter what a person has done, no matter how “unclean” a person might be due to sin, he/she can come just as he/she is. Through the salvation Jesus Christ offers, anyone can be cleansed and made a new person through Him.

 

I am going to stop writing about our journey in Israel to focus on some aspects of the Christmas story. I am skipping ahead to Joseph and Mary presenting the baby Jesus to the Lord, His Father, in the temple in Jerusalem. We must not forget that this was a time of lukewarm spiritual conditions; there was rampant unbelief and ungodliness. Paul would write in Ephesians 2:12 that the time was on, “without hope and without God in the world”.  Yet, a man named Simeon had focused all his attention on the coming Messiah. The verse above states, “this man was just and devout, waiting for the Consolation of Israel”; he was diligent in watching and waiting because “it had been revealed to Him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ”.

 

I would interject that this might describe the world and time we live in today. I look at what is going on around us and I see tremendous ungodliness and people who have placed their hope in everything but God. In a devotion by the Dr. James Kennedy Foundation, this statement was made. “When religious hope dies, all real hope dies with it.”  It continues, “without God, the aspirations, strivings, and wishes of countless hearts are weighed down by defeats and sorrows; they are broken by hopes never materialized and saddened by relationships gone sour.” I believe we live in a world very much like what Paul wrote about above.

 

We need to be like Simeon who was filled with the Holy Spirit and waited patiently and watched diligently for the coming of the Messiah. But we are waiting for the return of the Messiah as King of kings and Lord of lords. Titus 2:13 encourages us, no it admonishes each of us to be, ”looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ”. Like Simeon, who had been told the Messiah was coming and was devout in waiting for Him, we, too, must be diligent and devout in watching for His return.

 

Two words were used to describe Simeon – “just” and “devout”. “just” means righteous. It indicates that a person was right with God both in heart and in actions. God wanted people in the Old Testament to be “just”; it was a righteousness that came from the heart based on true faith. God wants His people, today, to have a righteousness that comes only through the salvation His Son offers to all who come to Him as they are” (just like the shepherds). “Devout” means Simeon read and studied the Old Testament scriptures (that is all he had). He knew the prophecies regarding the coming of the Messiah. Being “devout” he was a man dedicated to prayer; prayer goes hand-in-hand with studying God’s Word. Because of Simeon’s devotion, the Holy Spirit revealed to him he would not die until “he had seen the Lord’s Christ”. Simeon “knew immediately and absolutely, and with authority this baby was the Messiah” (DJSB).

 

I use this scripture today to remind us that Jesus Christ is our only hope; the baby born in Bethlehem is the hope for all who have placed their faith in Him. It is not enough to just receive Him as Savior! Each of us must become “devout”, to be diligent in watching and waiting for His return. Each of us must realize our greatest blessing will be “to see the Lord’s Christ” face to face, to be ready for His return and live for eternity with Him in His glorious kingdom1

 

 

From now on DJSB will be used to note information or quotes from the David Jeremiah Study Bible and LSSB will refer to information and quotes from the Life in the Spirit Study Bible