A Light for Revelation
Luke 2:22 begins the account of when Jesus was brought to the temple so His parents could dedicate Him to the Lord and offer a sacrifice of either a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons. There are several aspects of the entire account (Luke 2:22-35) that I think are worth highlighting.
First though, let’s read the entire text:
And when the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”) and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the Law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.” Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 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. And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said, “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel.” And his father and his mother marveled at what was said about him. And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.” (Luke 2:22-35 ESV)
Simeon was a godly Jewish man abiding in the instruction of of the Lord. He was waiting for the coming of the Messiah. According to the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE), “The Messiah is the instrument by whom God's kingdom is to be established in Israel and in the world.” This was a hope for the Jewish people first and foremost. Secondly though, the Messiah would not only bring salvation to the Jews, but also to the entire world! John 3;16 says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved” (John 3:16-17 KJV). So one can see why Simeon was attentively waiting for “the Lord’s Christ”, in other words, “THE ANNOINTED…which is synonymous with the Hebrew Messiah” (Webster’s 1828 Dictionary).
When Simeon was supernaturally instructed that the child Jesus was the promised Messiah, he reacted a joyful way. Simeon took Jesus in his arms and he thanked and praised God! God had come through with his promise to Simeon. And not only Simeon, but to the Jews and to the Gentiles. The Gentiles were basically anyone who wasn’t a Jew (the chosen people of God). Jesus coming to this earth as He did opened up the possibility for every person in the entire world regardless of ethnicity, social status, gender, etc., to be saved from their sins and adopted into the family of God. Simeon acknowledged this in his prayer to the Lord!
Let’s look at some of the things more closely though from what Simeon said.
A light for revelation to the Gentiles: The Gentiles were known for living in ignorance and sin with respect to the things of God. Jesus coming though brought the light that they required. They would now be able to know who God is and experience a relationship with Him that was impossible before. How blessed are we today that we can also experience the same!
Glory to your people Israel: Jesus was a Jew and His Messiahship was prophesied to come from the Jews. God fulfilled his promise. Because of that, the Jews as a whole would be recognized. God ultimately gets the Glory, but He chose to use His people and His Son to show the world how wonderful and marvelous He is! For all people today to believe in Jesus Christ and repent of their sins, we can also bring Glory to God.
This child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel: The Jews expected the Messiah to rule in an earthly fashion and be a conquerer of earthly kingdoms. The Jews expected the Messiah to rule in his kingdom on earth and prevail against their enemies. When Jesus did not do exactly as many Jews expected, they were disappointed and rejected Him. However, there were Jews that did see who Jesus was and for those who followed Him, they were humbled, thankful, and saved. One could see this by how Peter repented and Judas despaired and how one thief on the cross blasphemed and the other believed. This is what we see today during our time. Jesus said that many would be called, but few would be chosen. Jesus also said His way was narrow and the world’s way was broad.
A sign that is opposed: This literally means Jesus would have a target on his back. Jesus dealt with various forms of accusations in his earthly life. Ultimately those false accusations resulted in Him dying on the cross. Jesus though willingly took it all on so that all the world could be saved from their sins, just as the angel from the Lord said prior to His birth. Followers of Jesus Christ today also have a target on their backs from Satan. Christians all over the world are being persecuted in various ways. We must remember though the reason the world hates Christians is because the world first hates Jesus (John 15:18-25).
A sword will pierce through your own soul: Mary, the mother of Jesus, not only had the privilege of raising the Savior of the World from birth to manhood, but she also experienced a great burden. Perhaps the greatest burden was to see her miraculous first born son die on the cross for something He did not do. For her to see how His own people (the Jews) and his creation as a whole, reject Him, must have been like a sword piercing through her soul. When we are born again and see Jesus for Who He truly is, it should also pierce our soul with a burden for those who reject Him. Christians should have a burden to share the gospel with as many people as possible before it is too late!
Thoughts from many hearts may be revealed: God reveals himself in two basic ways: General revelation and Special revelation. General revelation clearly seen in the creation of the world. Special revelation is the Word of God. There is no excuse for anyone not to have “seen” God. In fact, we all have God’s moral law written on our hearts from conception. We all have an internal understanding (flawed by sin) of right vs wrong.
How we view God’s revelation and His Son Jesus Christ will test our hearts. I leave you with this: Will you fall in disappointment or will you rise with hope everlasting? Will you abide in Christ and obey His commands or will you serve yourself and make yourself a god? Will you suppress the truth and believe a lie or will you believe in Jesus Christ who is the way, the truth and the life? Jesus is the light of the world and has revealed Himself to everyone. The question is, have you opened your eyes?