Advent Day 18: Luke 2:25-35

Read & Journal

Read Luke 2:25-35. Meditate on what you’ve read, using any or all of the following questions.

• What does Simeon’s praise teach you about Jesus’ character? His mission?

• What are some examples of joy you find in Simeon’s hymn of praise?

• Consider the word “consolation” in verse 25 (CSB and other translations), a word that can point toward comfort or a sense of renewed hope. How has Jesus been your consolation lately?

• Examine verse 32 and the reference to light. What does this verse reveal about Jesus’ purpose?

Ponder

Apart from Luke’s account, Simeon is not mentioned in the rest of Scripture. But in those few brief verses, Luke gives us a glimpse of Simeon’s character. He was righteous, a man committed to seeking and pleasing the Lord. He was devout, so Simeon was well aware of God’s promise of the coming Messiah. And he was faithful because Simeon had taken God at His word, trusted the Holy Spirit, and was waiting and watching for the promised Messiah to arrive.

When Simeon saw Jesus, just eight days old, he recognized what many Jews later could or would not: that Jesus was the promised one, the Messiah. The Holy Spirit had promised that Simeon would see God’s consolation, and Simeon found that comfort and hope in Jesus. Simeon’s heart and mind were focused on God, and when God began to unfold the story of salvation He was writing through Jesus, Simeon recognized God’s handwriting.

Though just a few verses are devoted to him, we can learn much from Simeon’s example. He was a man completely devoted to God. He knew God’s promises; He took God at His word; and he believed that God would be faithful. He expected God to do what God had said He would, and Simeon lived in expectancy. If I’m honest, that doesn’t often describe me.

Simeon understood that the consolation God had promised was salvation, but it might not look exactly how the Jews had pictured it. Simeon was an old man living in oppression under the Roman rule, but Simeon recognized God’s salvation incarnate in a week-old baby. This child would be a light to the nations, revealing God and his purposes and ways to all people. He wasn’t just the answer to the Jews' current oppression under Roman rule; Jesus was the comfort and hope of all people trapped in the oppression of sin.

Salvation had come, and it was found in a person.

Today, let Jesus be your hope and comfort. Salvation is found in Him alone (John 14:6, Acts 4:12). Like Simeon, trust and praise Him for what He has already done to save you and bring you into a relationship with the Father. And, then, choose to live expectantly with faith that God will do what He has promised. That kind of faith will be a light of revelation for all people.