Spirit revelation
This week is on Luke 2:25-28:
I was caught on these verses because the Holy Spirit made Simeon aware of Jesus' birth. That's odd, because we're kind of led to believe that the Holy Spirit only really showed up after Jesus died, but here He is before Jesus was even born. The Holy Spirit wasn't off drifting through the cosmos, waiting for Jesus' Golgotha starter pistol to spur him into action. He was, and is, and always will be, everywhere, writing God's words onto our hearts.
In Simeon's case, he was freaking out about the condition Israel was in. Israel had turned into a shell of what it was. An enemy had come in force and occupied the temple and defiled it. It seemed hopeless. How could this promise of God, and this kingdom continue? The Holy Spirit came to him for the first of the two times mentioned here, and told him that the Messiah was coming, and that he would get to see the Messiah before he died. The Holy Spirit brought comfort and hope. If the Holy Spirit hadn't come, Simeon would have spent the rest of his life in hopeless apprehension.
The second time, it was the day that Jesus' parents were bringing him to the temple. The Holy Spirit called him to go there, and then showed him who Jesus was. (We actually hear of similar things to this happening in modern times in the Muslim world, where people will suddenly find themselves urged to go to a certain place and see a certain person, who turns out to be an evangelist to tell them about Jesus.) The Holy Spirit here brings revelation and direction. If the Holy Spirit hadn't come, Simeon might have stayed home that day, or if he had gone to the temple, he might have mistook Jesus for any other baby.
None of these things were things that were within Simeon's power. He wasn't going to learn about the coming Messiah in his lifetime through a careful study of scripture or by asking around. And he wasn't going to find out when Jesus was going to be at the temple and what he looked like by searching the Internet or researching it in a library. His life experience was shaped and completed by the Holy Spirit's intervention, and only the Holy Spirit could have filled that role.
The end result of this is that God is glorified. Simeon was brought to Jesus and praised God. Everyone around him was able to see God's glory in what had happened. They might have come to the temple for any number of reasons, but in that moment they saw Jesus for who he was, and were made aware of what amazing things God had done. The Holy Spirit brings our attention to God's glory. Our obedience is rewarded and our attention is focused anew on him.
Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:
I was caught on these verses because the Holy Spirit made Simeon aware of Jesus' birth. That's odd, because we're kind of led to believe that the Holy Spirit only really showed up after Jesus died, but here He is before Jesus was even born. The Holy Spirit wasn't off drifting through the cosmos, waiting for Jesus' Golgotha starter pistol to spur him into action. He was, and is, and always will be, everywhere, writing God's words onto our hearts.
In Simeon's case, he was freaking out about the condition Israel was in. Israel had turned into a shell of what it was. An enemy had come in force and occupied the temple and defiled it. It seemed hopeless. How could this promise of God, and this kingdom continue? The Holy Spirit came to him for the first of the two times mentioned here, and told him that the Messiah was coming, and that he would get to see the Messiah before he died. The Holy Spirit brought comfort and hope. If the Holy Spirit hadn't come, Simeon would have spent the rest of his life in hopeless apprehension.
The second time, it was the day that Jesus' parents were bringing him to the temple. The Holy Spirit called him to go there, and then showed him who Jesus was. (We actually hear of similar things to this happening in modern times in the Muslim world, where people will suddenly find themselves urged to go to a certain place and see a certain person, who turns out to be an evangelist to tell them about Jesus.) The Holy Spirit here brings revelation and direction. If the Holy Spirit hadn't come, Simeon might have stayed home that day, or if he had gone to the temple, he might have mistook Jesus for any other baby.
None of these things were things that were within Simeon's power. He wasn't going to learn about the coming Messiah in his lifetime through a careful study of scripture or by asking around. And he wasn't going to find out when Jesus was going to be at the temple and what he looked like by searching the Internet or researching it in a library. His life experience was shaped and completed by the Holy Spirit's intervention, and only the Holy Spirit could have filled that role.
The end result of this is that God is glorified. Simeon was brought to Jesus and praised God. Everyone around him was able to see God's glory in what had happened. They might have come to the temple for any number of reasons, but in that moment they saw Jesus for who he was, and were made aware of what amazing things God had done. The Holy Spirit brings our attention to God's glory. Our obedience is rewarded and our attention is focused anew on him.
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