Luke 2:25
And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him. And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him.
Luke 2:25 presents Simeon as a just and devout man in Jerusalem who was waiting for the promised Messiah and had the Holy Spirit upon him, with the assurance that he would not die before seeing the Lord's Christ. Led by the Spirit into the temple at the presentation of the infant Jesus, he took the child in his arms and blessed God for letting him depart in peace after seeing God's salvation as a light to the Gentiles and the glory of Israel. The consolation he waited for was the Messiah himself, Jesus the Son and Redeemer of Israel. The Holy Spirit upon him enabled him to recognize that poor family's infant as the promised Christ when the officiating priest saw nothing unusual. That discernment came through living in close relation with God, hungering and thirsting after righteousness and staying open to instruction and divine illumination, showing that spiritual things are discerned by the Spirit and not by outward appearance.
Simeon and His Setting
Luke speaks of a man in Jerusalem named Simeon, just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel with the Holy Ghost upon him. The Spirit upon him enabled him to recognize the infant as the long-awaited Messiah, even when the officiating priest saw nothing unusual. Led by the Spirit he came into the temple and prophesied of Jesus as a light to lighten the Gentiles and the glory of Israel.
The setting is the presentation and dedication of the infant Jesus in the stone temple at Jerusalem, when His parents brought Him to do for Him after the custom of the law. Mary held the swaddled child and Joseph stood with her before the broad entrance with its tall columns and stone steps. Others approached and looked on, including an elderly woman.
Led by the Spirit into the temple, the elderly white-bearded Simeon took the swaddled infant in his arms and lifted his face with joy. He blessed God that he could now depart in peace, for he had seen God's salvation prepared before the face of all people. That salvation was set forth as a light to the Gentiles and the glory of Israel. The following context shows the child growing and waxing strong in spirit, filled with wisdom with the grace of God upon Him, and increasing in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man.
It had been revealed to him by the Holy Ghost that he should not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ, and waiting for the consolation was to him a personal hope and living reality. Like other pious aged Jews he waited and prayed to see the Saviour before death, trusting the prophets and believing the appointed time foretold by them had come. God preserved him with Anna so that they could testify that Jesus was the promised Messiah when He was presented in the temple. Together with Anna his testimony in the temple proclaimed the divinity of Jesus as the Son of God, as part of the early witness in Judea.
Christ the Promised Consolation
The promised consolation is the expected Messiah himself, Jesus the Son and Redeemer of Israel, the long-looked-for one for whose coming faithful people waited. Believers have fellowship with him as the Son and Redeemer.
Faithful Jews represented by Simeon trusted the prophets, believed the appointed time foretold had come, and waited and prayed to see the Saviour before they died. They longed for his appearing to reveal God's will clearly and to free faith from confusing traditions and needless ceremonies. They expected him to dispel ignorance, bigotry, and the traditions that had confused the people's faith.
The same hope was shared beyond Israel by the Magi, who learned of the coming Messiah from the Hebrew Scriptures and eagerly awaited him. They were wise men, rich and noble philosophers of the East, students of nature who had seen God in His handiwork, seekers for light who had learned from the Hebrew Scriptures. With eager desire they awaited him not only as the Consolation of Israel but also as a Light to the Gentiles and salvation to the ends of the earth.
Waiting for the consolation means longing for the promised Saviour, hungering and thirsting after righteousness. It means being eager for instruction and ready to believe on and accept the Saviour when he is revealed. That waiting placed even a sinful Samaritan woman, who hungered for righteousness and eagerly sought instruction and was ready to accept Jesus when he revealed himself, in a more favorable condition to become an heir of Christ's kingdom than those who made exalted professions of piety yet trusted salvation to outward forms and ceremonies and felt they needed no Saviour and no teacher.
There were many hungering and thirsting souls who had waited long for the redemption and consolation of Israel. When the expected Teacher came, their waiting ended and they feasted upon the bounteous grace of a merciful Saviour. Heaven was brought down to men as never before, and all who came to Jesus for instruction received precious lessons of divine knowledge from the great source of intelligence and lived under the full splendor of his light. Yet many of the favored people did not comprehend it and turned from the divine radiance with indifference or unbelief.
Discernment by the Spirit
The Holy Spirit resting upon Simeon enabled him to recognize the infant brought by a poor family to the temple as the long-awaited Messiah, while the officiating priest saw nothing unusual in the child. Because he lived in close relation with God he discerned what the priest missed, for he was open to the Spirit's influence. Spiritual things are discerned by the Spirit and not by outward appearance, so the One he had longed to see was revealed to him as God's salvation prepared for all peoples.
That discernment came through willingness to be instructed and attentiveness to God's voice, leaving him open to the Holy Spirit's guidance and to divine illumination concerning Christ's mission. Those who wait on the Lord and listen to the Spirit receive such divine illumination. His spiritual condition stands in contrast to the prideful Jewish teachers, who rejected light and grew darker.
Those teachers and people of exalted profession trusted their salvation to the observance of outward forms and ceremonies and felt they needed no Saviour and no teacher. Waiting for the consolation means hungering and thirsting after righteousness, being eager for instruction and ready to believe on and accept the Saviour when revealed. Even a sinful Samaritan woman who shared that longing, hungering for righteousness and eagerly seeking instruction, was thereby in a more favorable condition to become an heir of Christ's kingdom than those who trusted in outward religious forms.
Waiting for the consolation was to Simeon a personal hope and living reality, made certain by revelation from the Holy Ghost that he would not die before seeing the Lord's Christ. The secret of his life was habitually laying hold by faith of cleansing and converting power and renewing grace that makes a person one with God. That oneness brings communication from God and revelation of divine secrets, for he was just and devout because he lived under the Holy Spirit's influence. His example shows that without receiving the Holy Spirit and the righteousness of Christ every day is lost.
Coming by the Spirit into the temple he prophesied of Jesus as a light to lighten the Gentiles and the glory of Israel. In this the spirit of prophecy reappeared at the close of the Jewish dispensation to usher in the Messiah after nearly disappearing for a few centuries because of corruptions in the church. This proves God still spoke through prophets about the first advent of Christ to suffer for sinners and His second appearing in glory to destroy His enemies and complete redemption.