Behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. This man was righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he should not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. He came in the Spirit into the temple. When the parents brought in the child, Jesus, that they might do concerning him according to the custom of the law,
Parallel Translations
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Behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. This man was righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him.
It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he should not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.
He came in the Spirit into the temple. When the parents brought in the child, Jesus, that they might do concerning him according to the custom of the law,
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And beholde ther was a man in Hierusalem whose name was Simeon. And the same man was iuste and feared God and longed for the consolacion of Israel and the holy goost was in him.
And an answer was geven him of the holy goost that he shulde not se deethe before he had sene the lordes Christ.
And he came by inspiracion into the temple. And when the father and mother brought in the chylde Iesus to do for him after the custome of the lawe
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And behold, there was a man in Hierusalem, whose name was Simeon: this man was iust, and feared God, and waited for the consolation of Israel, and the holy Ghost was vpon him.
And it was declared to him from God by the holy Ghost, that he shoulde not see death, before he had seene that Anointed of the Lord.
And he came by the motion of the spirit into the Temple, and when the parents brought in the babe Iesus, to do for him after the custome of the Lawe,
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Cross-references (50)
- Isaiah 25:9 (v25) It shall be said in that day, “Behold, this is our God! We have waited for him, and he will save us! This is Yahweh! We have waited for…
- John 8:51 (v26) Most certainly, I tell you, if a person keeps my word, he will never see death.”
- Luke 1:6 (v25) They were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord.
- Luke 2:38 (v25) Coming up at that very hour, she gave thanks to the Lord, and spoke of him to all those who were looking for redemption in Jerusalem.
- Luke 9:27 (v26) But I tell you the truth: There are some of those who stand here who will in no way taste of death until they see God’s Kingdom.”
Show all 50 cross-references
- Hebrews 11:5 (v26) By faith, Enoch was taken away, so that he wouldn’t see death, and he was not found, because God translated him. For he has had testimony…
- Titus 2:11-14 (v25) For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to the intent that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts,…
- Mark 15:43 (v25) Joseph of Arimathaea, a prominent council member who also himself was looking for God’s Kingdom, came. He boldly went in to Pilate, and…
- Acts 10:38 (v26) even Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed him with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were…
- Psalms 25:14 (v26) The friendship of Yahweh is with those who fear him. He will show them his covenant.
- Luke 1:41 (v25) When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.
- Luke 2:22 (v27) When the days of their purification according to the law of Moses were fulfilled, they brought him up to Jerusalem, to present him to the…
- John 20:31 (v26) but these are written, that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in his name.
- Genesis 6:9 (v25) This is the history of the generations of Noah: Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time. Noah walked with God.
- Psalms 89:48-49 (v26) What man is he who shall live and not see death, who shall deliver his soul from the power of Sheol? Lord, where are your former loving…
- Isaiah 40:1 (v25) “Comfort, comfort my people,” says your God.
- Matthew 4:1 (v27) Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.
- Luke 1:67 (v25) His father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying,
- Luke 2:41 (v27) His parents went every year to Jerusalem at the feast of the Passover.
- Luke 2:48 (v27) When they saw him, they were astonished, and his mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us this way? Behold, your father and I were…
- Luke 2:51 (v27) And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth. He was subject to them, and his mother kept all these sayings in her heart.
- Luke 23:51 (v25) (he had not consented to their counsel and deed), from Arimathaea, a city of the Jews, who was also waiting for God’s Kingdom:
- Acts 2:36 (v26) “Let all the house of Israel therefore know certainly that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.”
- Acts 10:19 (v27) While Peter was pondering the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Behold, three men seek you.
- 2 Peter 1:21 (v25) For no prophecy ever came by the will of man: but holy men of God spoke, being moved by the Holy Spirit.
- Numbers 11:29 (v25) Moses said to him, “Are you jealous for my sake? I wish that all Yahweh’s people were prophets, that Yahweh would put his Spirit on them!”
- Job 1:1 (v25) There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job. That man was blameless and upright, and one who feared God, and turned away from…
- Job 1:8 (v25) Yahweh said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant, Job? For there is no one like him in the earth, a blameless and an upright man, one…
- Psalms 2:2 (v26) The kings of the earth take a stand, and the rulers take counsel together, against Yahweh, and against his Anointed, saying,
- Psalms 2:6 (v26) “Yet I have set my King on my holy hill of Zion.”
- Daniel 6:22-23 (v25) My God has sent his angel, and has shut the lions’ mouths, and they have not hurt me; because as before him innocence was found in me; and…
- Daniel 9:24-26 (v26) “Seventy weeks are decreed on your people and on your holy city, to finish disobedience, and to make an end of sins, and to make…
- Micah 6:8 (v25) He has shown you, O man, what is good. What does Yahweh require of you, but to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?
- Luke 4:1 (v27) Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness
- John 1:41 (v26) He first found his own brother, Simon, and said to him, “We have found the Messiah!” (which is, being interpreted, Christ).
- John 4:29 (v26) “Come, see a man who told me everything that I did. Can this be the Christ?”
- Acts 9:20 (v26) Immediately in the synagogues he proclaimed the Christ, that he is the Son of God.
- Acts 10:2 (v25) a devout man, and one who feared God with all his house, who gave gifts for the needy generously to the people, and always prayed to God.
- Acts 10:22 (v25) They said, “Cornelius, a centurion, a righteous man and one who fears God, and well spoken of by all the nation of the Jews, was directed…
- Acts 11:12 (v27) The Spirit told me to go with them, without discriminating. These six brothers also accompanied me, and we entered into the man’s house.
- Acts 16:7 (v27) When they had come opposite Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit didn’t allow them.
- Acts 17:3 (v26) explaining and demonstrating that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you,…
- Acts 24:16 (v25) In this I also practice always having a conscience void of offense toward God and men.
- Hebrews 1:8-9 (v26) But of the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever. The scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your Kingdom. You have loved…
- Revelation 1:10 (v27) I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, like a trumpet
- Revelation 17:3 (v27) He carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness. I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet-colored beast, full of blasphemous names, having…
- Numbers 11:25 (v25) Yahweh came down in the cloud, and spoke to him, and took of the Spirit that was on him, and put it on the seventy elders. When the Spirit…
- Isaiah 61:1 (v26) The Lord Yahweh’s Spirit is on me, because Yahweh has anointed me to preach good news to the humble. He has sent me to bind up the broken…
- Amos 3:7 (v26) Surely the Lord Yahweh will do nothing, unless he reveals his secret to his servants the prophets.
- Acts 8:29 (v27) The Spirit said to Philip, “Go near, and join yourself to this chariot.”
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (22 sources)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv25, 27 He was endued with the gifts of the holy…
He was endued with the gifts of the holy Ghost, and this is spoken by the figure Metonymy.
Simeon doth openly in the Temple foretell the deaf, of the coming of Messiah, of the casting out of the greatest part of Israel, and of the calling of the Gentiles.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv25–27 25 And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem,…
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.
Ver. 25. Just and devout] Or wary and cautious, ευλαβης; one that takes heed and is fearful of being deceived in that which he takes for right and current.
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Waiting for the consolation of Israel] That is, for Christ’s coming. This was the sugar wherewith they sweetened all their crosses: this was the dittany, {a} by tasting whereof (as harts do) they shook off all the piercing shafts of their afflictions. Some Jews conclude the Messiah when he comes shall be called Menahem, the Comforter, from Lam 1:6.
{a} A labiate plant, Origanum Dictamnus, called also Dictamnus Creticus or dittany of Crete; formerly famous for its alleged medicinal virtues. ŒD
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On v25 Interpreters have spent much pains in fortifying their conjectures…
Interpreters have spent much pains in fortifying their conjectures (for they can be no more) that this Simeon was Rabban Simeon, the son of Hillel, the father of Gamaliel, but to what purpose I cannot tell; it can hardly be thought that a man of that note should do such a thing as this so openly, and no more notice be taken of him. That which Calvin, and Brentius, and other Reformed divines do think is much more probable, that he was some ordinary, plain man, of an obscure quality as to his circumstances in the world. There was a general expectation of the Messias at this time, but very few had a right notion of him, but lived in a vain expectation of I know not what secular prince, who should bring them a temporal deliverance. These few were scarce any of them of their rabbis or rabbans, but a poor despised sort of people, whom those great doctors counted accursed, Joh 7:48,49. The revelations of Christ were to none of the Pharisees, but to Joseph, a carpenter, to Mary, a despised virgin, though of the house of David, to an ordinary priest, Zacharias, to shepherds; and why we should fancy this Simeon a principal doctor I cannot tell. The evangelist gives him his highest title,
A just man, and devout, and one that waited
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for the consolation of Israel. One of the remnant, according to the election of grace, mentioned by the apostle; a holy and righteous man, one who waited for the consolation of Israel. Which is the same in sense with the character given of Joseph of Arimathea, Luk 23:51, that waited for the kingdom of God. Simeon waited for Christ, that is meant by the consolation of Israel. For it is very observable, that the prophets ordinarily comforted the people of God amongst the Jews, against all their sad tidings they brought them, with the prophecies of the coming and kingdom of Christ, Isa 66:13; Jer 31:13; Zec 1:17. Herein old Simeon showed the truth of his piety and devotion, that he believed and waited for the coming of Christ; he had a true notion of the Messiah promised, he believed that he should come, and he waited for his coming.
And it was revealed unto him, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord’s Christ: God by the Holy Ghost gave him this special revelation, as the reward of his faith and the answer of his prayers, that he should live to see Christ born. The same Holy Spirit moved him to go into the temple, at that very time when Joseph and Mary brought in Christ, to present him to the Lord according to the law, and (though it be not expressed) certainly the same Spirit did intimate to him that that Child was the Lord’s Christ. The old man takes him up in his arms, blesseth God, and saith, Luk 2:29-32
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
William Burkitt 1703 · Public Domain On v25 No sooner was our Saviour brought into the temple…
No sooner was our Saviour brought into the temple and presented to the Lord by his holy parents, but in springs old Simeon, a pious and devout man who had a revelation from God that he should not die until he had with his bodily eyes seen the promised Messiah.
Accordingly, he takes up the child Jesus in his arms, but hugs him faster by his faith, than by his feeble arms, and with ravishment of heart praises God for the sight of his Saviour, whom he calls the Consolation of Israel; that is, the Messiah, whom the Israel of God had long looked and waited for, now took comfort and consolation in.
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Note here, 1. How God always performs his promises to his children with wonderful advantages. Simeon had a revelation that he should not die until he had seen Christ; now he not only sees him, but feels him too; he not only has him in his eye, but holds him in his hands.
Though God stays long before he fulfils his promises, he certainly comes at last with a double reward for our expectation.
Note 2. That the coming of the Messiah in the fulness of time, and his appearing in our flesh and nature, was and is a matter of unspeakable consolation to the Israel of God. And now that he is come, let us live by faith in him, as the foundation of all comfort and consolation both in life and death.
Alas! what are all other consolations besides this, and without this? They are impotent and insufficient consolations, they are dying and perishing consolations; nay, they are sometimes afflictive and distressing consolations. The bitterness accompanying them, is sometimes more than the sweetness that is tasted in them; but in Christ, who is the consolation of Israel there is light without darkness, joy without sorrow, all consolation without any mixture of discomfort.
William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain On v25 Even when he humbles himself, still Christ has honour…
Even when he humbles himself, still Christ has honour done him to balance the offence of it. That we might not be stumbled at the meanness of his birth, angels then did him honour; and now, that we may not be offended at his being presented in the temple, like other children born in sin, and without any manner of solemnity peculiar to him, but silently, and in the crowd of other children, Simeon and Anna now do him honour, by the inspiration of the Holy Ghost.
I. A very honourable testimony is borne to him by Simeon, which was both a reputation to the child and an encouragement to the parents, and might have been a happy introduction of the priests into an acquaintance with the Saviour, if those watchmen had not been blind. Now observe here,
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1. The account that is given us concerning this Simeon, or Simon. He dwelt now in Jerusalem, and was eminent for his piety and communion with God. Some learned men, who have been conversant with the Jewish writers, find that there was at this time one Simeon, a man of great note in Jerusalem, the son of Hillel, and the first to whom they gave the title of Rabban, the highest title that they gave to their doctors, and which was never given but to seven of them. He succeeded his father Hillel, as president of the college which his father founded, and of the great Sanhedrim. The Jews say that he was endued with a prophetical spirit, and that he was turned out of his place because he witnessed against the common opinion of the Jews concerning the temporal kingdom of the Messiah; and they likewise observe that there is no mention of him in their Mishna, or book of traditions, which intimates that he was no patron of those fooleries. One thing objected against this conjecture is that at this time his father Hillel was living, and that he himself lived many years after this, as appears by the Jewish histories; but, as to that, he is not here said to be old; and his saying, Now let thy servant depart intimates that he was willing to die now, but does not conclude that therefore he did die quickly. St. Paul lived many years after he had spoken of his death as near, Act 20:25. Another thing objected is that the son of Simeon was Gamaliel, a Pharisee, and an enemy to Christianity; but, as to that, it is no new thing for a faithful lover of Christ to have a son a bigoted Pharisee.
The account given of him here is, (1.) That he was just and devout, just towards men and devout towards God; these two must always go together, and each will befriend the other, but neither will atone for the defect of the other. (2.) That he waited for the consolation of Israel, that is, for the coming of the Messiah, in whom alone the nation of Israel, that was now miserably harassed and oppressed, would find consolation. Christ is not only the author of his people's comfort, but the matter and ground of it, the consolation of Israel. He was long a coming, and they who believed he would come continued waiting, desiring his coming, and hoping for it with patience; I had almost said, with some degree of impatience waiting till it came. He understood by books, as Daniel, that the time was at hand, and therefore was now more than ever big with expectation of it. The unbelieving Jews, who still expect that which is already come, use it as an oath, or solemn protestation, As ever I hope to see the consolation of Israel, so and so it is. Note, The consolation of Israel is to be waited for, and it is worth waiting for, and it will be very welcome to those who have waited for it, and continue waiting. (3.) The Holy Ghost was upon him, not only as a Spirit of holiness, but as a Spirit of prophecy; he was filled with the Holy Ghost, and enabled to speak things above himself. (4.) He had a gracious promise made him, that before he died he should have a sight of the Messiah, Luk 2:26. He was searching what manner of time the Spirit of Christ in the Old Testament prophets did signify, and whether it were not now at hand; and he received this oracle (for so the word signifies), that he should not see death before he had seen the Messiah, the Lord's Anointed. Note, Those, and those only, can with courage see death, and look it in the face without terror, that have had by faith a sight of Christ.
2. The seasonable coming of Simeon into the temple, at the time when Christ was presented there, Luk 2:27. Just then, when Joseph and Mary brought in the child, to be registered as it were in the church-book, among the first-born, Simeon came, by direction of the Spirit, into the temple. The same Spirit that had provided for the support of his hope now provided for the transport of his joy. It was whispered in his ear, "Go to the temple now, and you shall see what you have longed to see." Note, Those that would see Christ must go to his temple; for there The Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to meet you, and there you must be ready to meet him.
3. The abundant satisfaction wherewith he welcomed this sight: He took him up in his arms (Luk 2:28), he embraced him with the greatest affection imaginable, laid him in his bosom, as near his heart as he could, which was as full of joy as it could hold. He took him up in his arms, to present him to the Lord (so some think), to do either the parent's part or the priest's part; for divers of the ancients say that he was himself a priest. When we receive the record which the gospel gives us of Christ with a lively faith, and the offer it makes us of Christ with love and resignation, then we take Christ in our arms. It was promised him that he should have a sight of Christ; but more is performed than was promised: he has him in his arms.
4. The solemn declaration he made hereupon: He blessed God, and said, Lord, now let thou thy servant depart in peace, Luk 2:29-32.
(1.) He has a pleasant prospect concerning himself, and (which is a great attainment) is got quite above the love of life and fear of death; nay, he is arrived at a holy contempt of life, and desire of death: "Lord, now let thou thy servant depart, for mine eyes have seen the salvation I was promised a sight of before I died." Here is, [1.] An acknowledgment that God had been as good as his word; there has not failed one tittle of his good promises, as Solomon owns, Kg1 8:56. Note, Never any that hoped in God's word were made ashamed of their hope. [2.] A thanksgiving for it. He blessed God that he saw that salvation in his arms which many prophets and kings desired to see, and might not. [3.] A confession of his faith, that the child in his arms was the saviour, the Salvation itself; thy salvation, the salvation of thine appointing, the salvation which thou has prepared with a great deal of contrivance. And, while it has been thus long in the coming, it hath still been in the preparing. [4.] It is a farewell to this world: "Now let thy servant depart; now mine eyes have been blessed with this sight, let them be closed, and see no more in this world." The eye is not satisfied with seeing (Ecc 1:8), till it hath seen Christ, and then it is. What a poor thing doth this world look to one that hath Christ in his arms and salvation in his eye! Now adieu to all my friends and relations, all my enjoyments and employments here, even the temple itself. [5.] It is a welcome to death: Now let thy servant depart. Note, Death is a departure, the soul's departure out of the body, from the world of sense to the world of spirits. We must not depart till God give us our discharge, for we are his servants and must not quit his service till we have accomplished our time. Moses was promised that he should see Canaan, and then die; but he prayed that this word might be altered, Deu 3:24, Deu 3:25. Simeon is promised that he should not see death till he had seen Christ; and he is willing to construe that beyond what was expressed, as an intimation that, when he had seen Christ, he should die: Lord, be it so, saith he, now let me depart. See here, First, How comfortable the death of a good man is; he departs as God's servant from the place of his toil to that of his rest. He departs in peace, peace with God, peace with his own conscience; in peace with death, well-reconciled to it, well-acquainted with it. He departs according to God's word, as Moses at the word of the Lord (Deu 34:5): the word of precept, Go up and die; the word of promise, I will come again and receive you to myself. Secondly, What is the ground of this comfort? For mine eyes have seen thy salvation. This bespeaks more than a great complacency in the sight, like that of Jacob (Gen 46:30), Now let me die, since I have seen thy face. It bespeaks a believing expectation of a happy state on the other side death, through this salvation he now had a sight of, which not only takes off the terror of death, but makes it gain, Phi 1:21. Note, Those that have welcomed Christ may welcome death.
(2.) He has a pleasant prospect concerning the world, and concerning the church. This salvation shall be,
[1.] A blessing to the world. It is prepared before the face of all people, not to be hid in a corner, but to be made known; to be a light to lighten the Gentiles that now sit in darkness: they shall have the knowledge of him, and of God, and another world through him. This has reference to Isa 49:6, I will give thee for a light to the Gentiles; for Christ came to be the light of the world, not a candle in the Jewish candlestick, but the Sun of righteousness.
[2.] A blessing to the church: the glory of thy people Israel. It was an honour to the Jewish nation that the Messiah sprang out of one of their tribes, and was born, and lived, and died, among them. And of those who were Israelites indeed of the spiritual Israel, he was indeed the glory, and will be so to eternity, Isa 60:19. They shall glory in him. In the Lord shall all the seed of Israel be justified and shall glory, Isa 45:25. When Christ ordered his apostles to preach the gospel to all nations, therein he made himself a light to lighten the Gentiles; and when he added, beginning at Jerusalem, he made himself the glory of his people Israel.
5. The prediction concerning this child, which he delivered, with his blessing, to Joseph and Mary. They marvelled at those things which were still more and more fully and plainly spoken concerning this child, Luk 2:33. And because they were affected with, and had their faith strengthened by, that which was said to them, here is more said to them.
(1.) Simeon shows them what reason they had to rejoice; for he blessed them (Luk 2:34), he pronounced them blessed who had the honour to be related to this child, and were entrusted with the bringing him up. He prayed for them, that God would bless them, and would have others do so too. They had reason to rejoice, for this child should be, not only a comfort and honour to them, but a public blessing. He is set for the rising again of many in Israel, that is, for the conversion of many to God that are dead and buried in sin, and for the consolation of many in God that are sunk and lost in sorrow and despair. Those whom he is set for the fall of may be the same with those whom he is set for the rising again of. He is set eis ptōsin kai anastasin - for their fall, in order to their rising again; to humble and abase them, and bring them off from all confidence in themselves, that they may be exalted by relying on Christ; he wounds and then heals, Paul falls, and rises again.
(2.) He shows them likewise what reason they had to rejoice with trembling, according to the advice given of old, with reference to the Messiah's kingdom, Psa 2:11. Lest Joseph, and Mary especially, should be lifted up with the abundance of the revelations, here is a thorn in the flesh for them, an allay to their joy; and it is what we sometimes need.
[1.] It is true, Christ shall be a blessing to Israel; but there are those in Israel whom he is set for the fall of, whose corruptions will be provoked, who will be prejudiced and enraged against him, and offended, and whose sin and ruin will be aggravated by the revelation of Jesus Christ; many who will extract poison to themselves out of the balm of Gilead, and split their souls on the Rock of salvation, to whom this precious Foundation-stone will be a stone of stumbling. This refers to that prophecy (Isa 8:14, Isa 8:15), He shall be for a sanctuary to some, and yet for a snare to others, Pe1 2:7, Pe1 2:8. Note, As it is pleasant to think how many there are to whom Christ and his gospel are a savour of life unto life, so it is sad to think how many there are to whom it is a savour of death unto death. He is set for a sign, to be admired by some, but by others, by many, spoken against. He had many eyes upon him, during the time of his public ministry, he was a sign, but he had many tongues against him, the contradiction and reproach of sinners, he was continually cavilled at and abused; and the effects of this will be that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed (Luk 2:35), that is, upon this occasion, men will show themselves, will discover, and so distinguish, themselves. The secret good affections and dispositions in the minds of some will be revealed by their embracing Christ, and closing with him; the secret corruptions and vicious dispositions of others, that otherwise would never have appeared so bad, will be revealed by their enmity to Christ and their rage against him. Men will be judged of by the thoughts of their hearts, their thoughts concerning Christ; are they for him, or are they for his adversaries? The word of God is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart, and by it we are discovered to ourselves, and shall be judged hereafter.
[2.] It is true, Christ shall be a comfort to his mother; but be not thou too proud of it, for a sword shall pass through thine own soul also. He shall be a suffering Jesus; and, First, "Thou shalt suffer with him, by sympathy, more than any other of his friends, because of the nearness of thy relation, and strength of affection, to him." When he was abused, it was a sword in her bones. When she stood by his cross, and saw him dying, we may well think her inward grief was such that it might truly be said, A sword pierced through her soul, it cut her to the heart. Secondly, Thou shalt suffer for him. Many understand it as a prediction of her martyrdom; and some of the ancients say that it had its accomplishment in that. Note, In the midst of our greatest delights and advancements in this world, it is good for us to know that bonds and afflictions abide us.
II. He is taken notice of by one Anna, or Ann, a prophetess, that one of each sex might bear witness to him in whom both men and women are invited to believe, that they may be saved. Observe,
1. The account here given of this Anna, who she was. She was, (1.) A prophetess; the Spirit of prophecy now began to revive, which had ceased in Israel above three hundred years. Perhaps no more is meant than that she was one who had understanding in the scriptures above other women, and made it her business to instruct the younger women in the things of God. Though it was a very degenerate age of the church, yet God left not himself without witness. (2.) She was the daughter of Phanuel; her father's name (says Grotius) is mentioned, to put us in mind of Jacob's Phanuel, or Penuel (Gen 32:30), that now the mystery of that should be unfolded, when in Christ we should as it were see God face to face, and our lives be preserved; and her name signifies gracious. (3.) She was of the tribe of Asher, which was in Galilee; this, some think, is taken notice of to refute those who said, Out of Galilee ariseth no prophet, when no sooner did prophecy revive but it appeared from Galilee. (4.) She was of a great age, a widow of about eighty-four years; some think she had now been eighty-four years a widow, and then she must be considerably above a hundred years old; others, rather than suppose that a woman so very old should be capable of fasting and praying as she did, suppose that she was only eighty-four years of age, and had been long a widow. Though she was a young widow, and had lived with her husband but seven years, yet she never married again, but continued a widow to her dying day, which is mentioned to her praise. (5.) She was a constant resident in or at least attendant on the temple. Some think she had lodgings in the courts of the temple, either in an alms-house, being maintained by the temple charities; or, as a prophetess, she was lodged there, as in a proper place to be consulted and advised with by those that desired to know the mind of God; others think her not departing from the temple means no more, than that she was constantly there at the time of divine service: when any good work was to be done, she was ready to join in it. It is most probable she had an apartment of her own among the out-buildings of the temple; and, besides her constant attendance on the public worship, abounded in private devotions, for she served God with fastings and prayers night and day: having no secular business to employ herself in, or being past it, she gave up herself wholly to her devotions, and not only fasted twice in the week, but always lived a mortified life, and spent that time in religious exercises which others spent in eating and drinking and sleeping; she not only observed the hours of prayer, but prayed night and day; was always in a praying frame, lived a life of prayer, gave herself to prayer, was frequent in ejaculations, large in solemn prayers, and very particular in her intercessions. And in these she served God; that was it that put a value upon them and an excellency into them. The Pharisees fasted often, and made long prayers, but they served themselves, and their own pride and covetousness, in their fastings and prayers; but this good woman not only did that which was good, but did it from a good principle, and with a good end; she served God, and aimed at his honour, in fasting and praying. Note, [1.] Devotion is a thing we ought to be constant in; other duties are in season now and then, but we must pray always. [2.] It is a pleasant sight to see aged Christians abounding in acts of devotion, as those that are not weary of well-doing, that do not think themselves above these exercises, or past them, but that take more and more pleasure in them, and see more and more need of them, till they come to heaven. [3.] Those that are diligent and faithful in improving the light and means they have shall have further discoveries made them. Anna is now at length abundantly recompensed for her attendance so many years in the temple.
2. The testimony she bore to our Lord Jesus (Luk 2:38): She came in at that instant when the child was presented, and Simeon discoursed concerning him; she, who was so constant to the temple, could not miss the opportunity.
Now, (1.) She gave thanks likewise to the Lord, just as Simeon, perhaps like him, wishing now to depart in peace. Note, Those to whom Christ is made known have reason enough to give thanks to the Lord for so great a favour; and we should be excited to that duty by the praises and thanksgivings of others; why should not we give thanks likewise, as well as they? Anna concurred with Simeon, and helped to make up the harmony. She confessed unto the Lord (so it may be read); she made an open profession of her faith concerning this child.
(2.) She, as a prophetess, instructed others concerning him: She spoke of him to all them that believed the Messiah would come, and with him looked for redemption in Jerusalem. Redemption was the thing wanted, waited for, and wished for; redemption in Jerusalem, for thence the word of the Lord was to go forth, Isa 2:3. Some there were in Jerusalem that looked for redemption; yet but a few, for Anna, it should seem, had acquaintance with all them that were joint-expectants with her of the Messiah; she knew where to find them, or they where to find her, and she told them all the good news, that she had seen the Lord; and it was great news, this of his birth now, as afterwards that of his resurrection. Note, Those that have an acquaintance with Christ themselves should do all they can to bring others acquainted with him.
Lastly, Here is a short account of the infancy and childhood of our Lord Jesus.
1. Where he spent it, Luk 2:39. When the ceremony of presenting the child, and purifying the mother, was all over, they returned into Galilee. Luke relates no more concerning them, till they were returned into Galilee; but it appears by St. Matthew's gospel (Mat 2:1) that from Jerusalem they returned to Bethlehem, where the wise men of the east found them, and there they continued till they were directed to flee into Egypt, to escape the malice and rage of Herod; and, returning thence when Herod was dead, they were directed to go to their old quarters in Nazareth, whence they had been perhaps some years absent. It is here called their own city, because there they had lived a great while, and their relations were there. He was ordered further from Jerusalem, because his kingdom and priesthood were to have no affinity with the present government of the Jewish church or state. He is sent into a place of obscurity and reproach; for in this, as in other things, he must humble himself and make himself of no reputation.
2. How he spent it, Luk 2:40. In all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, and therefore he passed through infancy and childhood as other children did, yet without sin; nay, with manifest indications of a divine nature in him. As other children, he grew in stature of body, and the improvement of understanding in his human soul, that his natural body might be a figure of his mystical body, which, though animated by a perfect spirit, yet maketh increase of itself till it comes to the perfect man, Eph 4:13, Eph 4:16. But, (1.) Whereas other children are weak in understanding and resolution, he was strong in spirit. By the Spirit of God his human soul was endued with extraordinary vigour, and all his faculties performed their offices in an extraordinary manner. He reasoned strongly, and his judgment was penetrating. (2.) Whereas other children have foolishness bound in their hearts, which appears in what they say or do, he was filled with wisdom, not by any advantages of instruction and education, but by the operation of the Holy Ghost; every thing he said and did was wisely said, and wisely done, above his years. (3.) Whereas other children show that the corruption of nature is in them, and the tares of sin grow up with the wheat of reason, he made it appear that nothing but the grace of God was upon him (the wheat sprang up without tares), and that, whereas other children are by nature children of wrath, he was greatly beloved, and high in the favour of God; that God loved him, and cherished him, and took a particular care of him.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv25–27 And behold there was a man in Jerusalem,.... Not…
And behold there was a man in Jerusalem,.... Not in Nazareth, or Bethlehem, but in Jerusalem, the metropolis of the nation: one that lived there, was an inhabitant of that city, and a person of fame and note. So Joseph ben Jochanan is called (z) a man of Jerusalem, an inhabitant of that place:
whose name was Simeon; not Simeon, "the just", the last of the men of the great synagogue, of whom the Jews often make mention (a); though this Simeon bears the same character, yet could not be he; because he was not only an high priest, which, if this man had been, would doubtless have been mentioned; but also lived some years before this time. Many have thought, that this was Rabban Simeon, the son of Hillell, who was president of the sanhedrim forty years; and in which office this his son succeeded him; and which Simeon was the father of Gamaliel, the master of the Apostle Paul, of whom the Jewish chronologer thus writes (b):
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"Rabban Simeon, the son of Hillell the old, received from his father, and was appointed president after his father; but the time of the beginning of his presidentship I do not find in any authors:
and a little after,
"Rabban Simeon, the son of Hillell, is the first that is called by the name of Rabban.
There are some things which seem to agree with, and favour this thought; for certain it is, that Christ was born in his time, whilst he was living: so the above writer says (c), after he had observed, that "Jesus of Nazareth was born at Bethlehem Judah, a parsa and a half from Jerusalem, in the year 3761 of the creation, and in the 42nd year of Caesar Augustus; that, according to this computation, his birth was in the days of Rabban Simeon, the son of Hillell.
And it is worthy of notice also, what another genealogical writer of theirs says (d), that "Rabban Simeon, the son of old Hillell, the prince, or president of Israel, as his father was, as it is in Sabbat, c. 1. is not "mentioned in the Misna."
Which looks as if he was not a favourer of the traditions of the elders, nor in great esteem with the Jews, that they ascribe none of them to him; yea, it may be observed, that he is entirely left out in the account of the succession of the fathers of tradition, in the tract called Pirke Abot; which is somewhat extraordinary, when he was the son of one, and the father of another of so much note among them. One would be tempted to think, that such a neglect of him, should spring from ill will to him, on account of his professing Jesus of Nazareth to be the Messiah. But there are other things which do not so well accord, as that this Simeon lived some years after the birth of Christ; whereas our Simeon seems to be in the decline of life, and just ready to depart: as also, that he was prince of Israel, or president of the sanhedrim, after this; which it is not likely he should, after such a confession of Jesus being the Messiah: likewise, seeing that his son Gamaliel was brought up a Pharisee: to which last Dr. Lightfoot replies, that holy fathers have some times wicked children; and that it was thirty years from Simeon's acknowledging Christ, to Gamaliel's education of Paul, or little less; and so much time might wear out the notice of his father's action, if he had taken any notice of it, especially his father dying shortly after he had made so glorious a confession; but his last observation is an objection to him. Upon the whole, it must be left uncertain and undetermined who he was:
and the same man was just and devout; he was a holy good man in his life and conversation; he was one that feared God, and avoided evil; he was righteous before men, and devout towards God, and exercised a conscience void, of offence to both:
waiting for the consolation of Israel; that is, the Messiah; for this was one of his names with the Jews, who sometimes style him, "the comforter": for so they report (e) that "there are some that say his name is Menachen the comforter; as it is said, "because the comforter that should relieve my soul is far from me". Lam 1:16.
And again (f), It is observed, that "the name of the Messiah is Menachem, the comforter; and Menachem, by "gematry", or numerically, is the same with Tzemach, the branch, Zac 3:8.
And so they often call him by the name of the "consolation": , which Dr. Lightfoot renders, "so let me see the consolation", but should be rendered, "may I never see the consolation", was a common form of swearing among them; and used much by R. Simeon ben Shetach, who lived before the times of Christ, of which there are several instances (g):
"says R. Juda ben Tabai, "may I never see the consolation", if I have not slain a false witness. Says R. Simeon ben Shetach, to him, "may I never see the consolation", if thou hast not shed innocent blood.
The gloss (h) on it is,
"it is a light word, (the form) of an oath, in short language; as if it was said, may I never see the consolations of Zion, if he has not done this.
Again (i),
"says R. Simeon Ben Shetach, "may I never see the consolation", if I did not see one run after his companion, into a desolate place, &c.
Now they might easily collect this name of the Messiah, from several passages of Scripture, which speak of God's comforting his people, at the time of redemption by the Messiah; and particularly, from its being part of his work and office, to comfort them that mourn, for which he was anointed by the Spirit of the Lord, Isa 61:1. And when he is called here, "the consolation of Israel", it is not to be understood of the whole Jewish nation; for he was so far from being a comfort to them, as such, that through their corruption and wickedness, he came not to send peace, but a sword; and to set at variance the nearest relations and friends among themselves; and through their unbelief and rejection of him, wrath came upon them to the uttermost: but of the true and spiritual Israel of God, whom he has chosen, redeemed, and calls, whether of Jews or Gentiles; his own special and peculiar people, the heirs of promise; and who are often mourners in Zion, and being frequently disconsolate on account of sin, the temptations of Satan, and the hidings of God's face, stand in need of consolation from him: and in him there is what is always matter and ground of consolation; as in his person, he being the mighty God, and so able to save to the uttermost; in his blood, which speaks peace and pardon, and cleanses from all sin; in his righteousness, which is pure and perfect, and justifies from all iniquity, in his sacrifice, which expiates all the transgressions of his people; in his fulness, which is sufficient to supply all their wants; and in his power, by which he is able to keep them from falling, and to present them faultless before God. And he does often comfort them by his Spirit, by his word, and ordinances, by the promises of his Gospel, by the discoveries of pardoning grace, through his blood, and by his gracious presence: nor are his consolations small, but large and abundant, strong, solid, and everlasting. Now for the Messiah under this character, Simeon was waiting, hoping in a little time to see him; since he knew, both by the prophecies of the Old Testament, particularly by Daniel's weeks, and, by divine revelation, that the time was just at hand for his coming,
and the Holy Ghost was upon him; not in a common and ordinary way, as he is upon all that are called by grace, as a Spirit of regeneration and sanctification: and as he was upon many others, who at this time were waiting and looking for the Messiah, as well as he; but in an extraordinary way, as a spirit of prophecy: for though prophecy had ceased among the Jews, from the times of Malachi, yet upon the conception and birth of Christ, it now returned; as to Zacharias, Elisabeth, and the virgin Mary, and here to Simeon, as is clear from what follows,
(z) Pirke Abot. sect 4. 5. (a) Pirke Abot, sect. 2. T. Bab. Yoma, fol, 69. 1. T. Hieros. Yoma, 3. & 43. 3. (b) Ganz. Tzemach David, par. 1. fol. 25. 1. (c) Ib. par. 2. fol. 14. (d) Juchasin, fol. 66. 2. (e) T. Bab. Sanhedrin, fol. 98. 2. Echa Rabbati, fol. 50. 1. T. Hieros. Beracot, fol. 5. 1. (f) Kimchi in Zech. iii. 8. (g) T. Bab. Chagiga, fol. 16. 2. & Maccot, fol. 5. 2. (h) Tosaphot in Chagiga ib. (i) T. Bab. Sanhedrin, fol. 37. 2. & Shebout, fol. 34. 1. Vid. & Cetubot, fol. 67. 1. & Echa Rabbati, fol. 49. 2.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv25, 27 The consolation of Israel - A common phrase for…
The consolation of Israel - A common phrase for the Messiah, who was to be the everlasting consolation of the Israel of God. The Holy Ghost was upon him - That is, he was a prophet.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv25–27 Verse 25. And, behold, there was a man in…
Verse 25. And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem] This man is distinguished because of his singular piety. There can be no doubt that there were many persons in Jerusalem named Simeon, besides this man; but there was none of the name who merited the attention of God so much as he in the text. Such persevering exemplary piety was very rare, and therefore the inspired penman ushers in the account with behold! Several learned men are of the opinion that he was son to the famous Hillel, one of the most celebrated doctors and philosophers which had ever appeared in the Jewish nation since the time of Moses. Simeon is supposed also to have been the AB or president of the grand Sanhedrin.
The same man was just] He steadily regulated all his conduct by the law of his God: and devout - he had fully consecrated himself to God, so that he added a pious heart to a righteous conduct. The original word ευλαβης, signifies also a person of good report - one well received among the people, or one cautious and circumspect in matters of religion; from ευ, well, and λαμβανω, I take: it properly denotes, one who takes any thing that is held out to him, well and carefully. He so professed and practised the religion of his fathers that he gave no cause for a friend to mourn on his account, or an enemy to triumph.
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Several excellent MSS. read ευσεβης, pious or godly, from ευ, well, and σεβομαι, I worship; one who worships God well, i.e. in spirit and in truth.
Waiting for the consolation of Israel] That is, the Messiah, who was known among the pious Jews by this character: he was to be the consolation of Israel, because he was to be its redemption. This consolation of Israel was so universally expected that the Jews swore by it: So let me see the Consolation, if such a thing be not so, or so. See the forms in Lightfoot.
The Holy Ghost was upon him] He was a man divinely inspired, overshadowed, and protected by the power and influence of the Most High.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On v25 Luk 2:25-33. Behold there was a man, &c. —…
Luk 2:25-33. Behold there was a man, &c. — There was now in Jerusalem one Simeon, venerable on account of his age, piety, and virtue. For, he was just and devout — Righteous toward his fellow-creatures, and holy toward God; waiting for the consolation of Israel — A common phrase for the Messiah, who was to be the everlasting consolation of the Israel of God. And the Holy Ghost was upon him — That is, as the word here signifies, he was a prophet. And it was revealed unto him, &c. — God, in reward of his piety, had favoured him so highly as to assure him by a particular revelation, that he should not die till he had seen the Messiah. And he came by the Spirit into the temple — That is, by a secret but powerful direction and impulse of the Holy Spirit; when the parents brought in the child Jesus — Just at that very juncture of time when they brought him into the court of Israel there. Then took he him up in his arms — Having discovered him by the supernatural illumination with which he was favoured; and blessed God, and said — Aloud, it seems, in the hearing of all the people then present; Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, &c. — Let me depart hence with the satisfaction of having seen the Messiah, according to the gracious promise thou wast pleased to make me. This good old man, having attained that which had long been his highest wish, the happiness of seeing God’s Messiah, and having no further use for life, desired immediate death. Yet he would not depart of himself, knowing that man cannot lawfully desert his station till God, who placed him therein, calls him off. For mine eyes have seen thy salvation — Thy Christ, the Saviour. Simeon, being well acquainted with the prophetic writings, knew from them that the Messiah was to be the author of a great salvation, which, because it had its origin in the wisdom, power, and love of God, he refers to him; and, putting the abstract for the concrete, or the effect for the cause, he terms the Messiah God’s salvation. Thus, God is called, our defence, our song, our hope; that is, our defender, the subject of our song, the object of our hope. Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people — Here it appears that Simeon knew that this salvation was not confined to the Jews, but was designed for all mankind. A light to lighten the Gentiles — Who then sat in darkness, and who were to receive the knowledge of God, of true religion, and of divine things in general, especially of a future state, through him; and the glory of thy people Israel — It was an honour to the Jewish nation, that the Messiah sprung from one of their tribes, and was born, lived, and died among them. And of those who were Israelites indeed, of the spiritual Israel, he was indeed the glory, and will be so to all eternity, Isa 60:19. For in him shall the seed of Israel be justified and shall glory, Isa 45:25. And Joseph and his (Jesus’s) mother marvelled at those things which were spoken — For they did not yet thoroughly understand them; or they marvelled how Simeon, a stranger, came to the knowledge of the child.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv25–27 Whose name was Simeon - Some have supposed that…
Whose name was Simeon - Some have supposed that this Simeon was a son of the famous “Hillel,” a distinguished teacher in Jerusalem, and president of the Sanhedrin; but nothing is certainly known of him but what is here related. He was an aged man, of distinguished piety and reputation, and was anxiously expecting the coming of the Messiah. Such an “old age” is especially honorable. No spectacle is more sublime than an old man of piety and high character looking for the appearing of the Lord, and patiently waiting for the time to come when he may be blessed with the sight of his Redeemer.
Just - Righteous before God and man; approved by God as a righteous man, and discharging faithfully his duty to man.
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Devout - This word means “a religious man,” or a “pious” man. The original expresses the idea of “good reputation, well received,” or of high standing among the people.
Waiting for the consolation of Israel - That is, waiting for the “Messiah,” who is called “the consolation of Israel” because he would give comfort to them by his appearing. This term was often applied to the Messiah before he actually appeared. It was common to swear, also, by “the consolation of Israel” - that is, by the Messiah about to come. See Lightfoot on this place.
The Holy Ghost ... - He was a holy man, and was “divinely inspired” respecting the Messiah about to appear.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv25–27 A man ... named Simeon, whom some conjecture to…
A man ... named Simeon, whom some conjecture to have been one of the Jewish priests. --- Waiting for the consolation of Israel, for the happy coming of the Messias. --- And the Holy Ghost was in him, by the spirit of grace and of prophecy. (Witham) --- The consolation here expected by Holy Simeon, was the coming of the Messias, and the consequent redemption of mankind from sin and the devil; not a redemption only, as some carnal Jews thought, from the power of temporal enemies. These supposed the Messias was to come in order to raise them in power above all nations, to whom before his coming they had been subject. (St. Gregory of Nyssa in Dionysius) --- Many have pretended that Simeon was a priest; the best and oldest interpreters say he was a laic. (Bible de Vence)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv25–27 just--upright in his moral character.
just--upright in his moral character.
devout--of a religious frame of spirit.
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waiting for the consolation of Israel--a beautiful title of the coming Messiah, here intended.
the Holy Ghost was--supernaturally.
upon him--Thus was the Spirit, after a dreary absence of nearly four hundred years, returning to the Church, to quicken expectation, and prepare for coming events.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv25, 27 25-35. The Nunc Dimittis; or Prophecy of Simeon.
25-35. The Nunc Dimittis; or Prophecy of Simeon.
As in the body of the Jewish population we have abundant evidence that the expectation in regard to the Messiah was, that he would be a warlike deliverer of the nation from the Roman yoke, so in the shepherds we have the representatives of the general class of the more spiritual. But in Simeon and Anna we seem to have representatives of the higher order of saints, whose views were fully enlightened by a study of the prophets and the influences of the divine spirit.
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25. Name was Simeon—Some able thinkers have supposed this to be Rabban Simeon, (father of the learned Gamaliel,) president of the council, a man of eminence and learning, and living at this time. As the Jews, nevertheless, celebrated both the father and son of Simeon, but say very little of him, it has been imagined that his fault may have been his acknowledgment of the infant Jesus as Messiah. To the objection that Luke would not have introduced so distinguished a personage with the words “there was a man,” etc., it is plausibly replied that Luke introduces his still more distinguished son Gamaliel with the words “there stood up one in the council, a Pharisee,” etc. Act_5:34. To the objection that Rabban Simeon was not a very aged man, it may be replied that it is not explicitly said that this Simeon was aged. The phrase “should not see death until,” etc., is essentially used of the apostle in Mat_16:28. The phrase “now lettest thou thy servant depart,” etc., might be used by any man of mature age, who feels that he has gained the goal of his earthly life. Anna’s extreme age is arithmetically stated; but it is outside the evangelist’s narrative only that we bear of “aged Simeon.”
Just—In dealings towards men.
Devout—Towards God.
The consolations of Israel—Israel is a child of sorrow; but his consolations were to come in the Messiah.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv25–27 25–35. Simeon and the Nunc Dimittis
25–35. Simeon and the Nunc Dimittis
25. a man … whose name was Simeon] This cannot be Rabban Shimeon the son of Hillel (whom the Talmud is on this account supposed to pass over almost unnoticed), because he would hardly have been spoken of so slightly as “anthropos,” ‘a person.’ The Apocryphal Gospels call him “the great teacher” (James xxvi., Nicod. xvi.).
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waiting for the consolation of Israel] See Gen_49:18. “They shall not be ashamed that wait for me,” Isa_49:23. “Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God,” Isa_40:1. Joseph of Arimathea is also described as one who “waited for the Kingdom of God,” Mar_15:43. “May I see the consolation of Israel!” was a common Jewish formula, and a prayer for the Advent of the Messiah was daily used.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv25–27 (25) Whose name was Simeon.—Some writers have identified the…
(25) Whose name was Simeon.—Some writers have identified the man thus described with a very memorable Simeon in the annals of the Jewish scribes, the son of Hillel, and the father of Gamaliel. He became president of the Sanhedrin, A.D. 13. Singularly enough, the Mishna, the great collection of expositions of the Law by the leading Rabbis, passes over his name altogether, and this suggests the thought that it may have done so because he was under a cloud, as believing in the prophet of Nazareth. On this assumption, his looking for the “consolation of Israel” may be connected on one side with the fact that he, too, was of the house of David, and on the other, with the cautious counsel of Gamaliel in Act_5:38-39. Against this view there is the fact that St. Luke’s way of speaking leaves the impression that the Simeon of whom he speaks was of a very advanced age, waiting for his departure, and that he, who names Gamaliel’s position (Act_5:34), would hardly have passed over Simeon’s. There was an aged Essene of this name living at the time of Herod’s death, who rebuked Archelaus for marrying his brother’s widow, and prophesied his downfall, and who more nearly fulfils the conditions; but the name was so common that all conjectures are very precarious.
Devout.—The Greek word expresses the cautious, scrupulous side of the religious life, and is therefore used always in the New Testament (Act_2:5; Act_8:2; Act_22:12) of Jewish devoutness.
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The consolation of Israel.—This is the first occurrence of this word. In its general use it included the idea of counsel as well as comfort. Here the latter is obviously the dominant thought. We cannot pass over the words without remembering that the Child of whom Simeon spoke called Himself the Comforter, and promised His disciples to send them another, who should bear the same name (Joh_14:16).
The Holy Ghost was upon him.—The words point to a special moment of inspiration, rather than a continuous guidance.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv25–27 Vers. 25-35. The episode of Simeon and his inspired…
Vers. 25-35. The episode of Simeon and his inspired hymn.
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. Many expositors have believed that this Simeon was identical with Simeon (Shimeon) the son of the famous Hillel, and the father of Gamaliel. This Simeon became president of the Sanhedrin in A.D. 13. Strangely enough, the Mishna, which preserves a record of the sayings and works of the great rabbis, passes by this Simeon. The curious silence of the Mishna here was, perhaps, owing to the hatred which this famous teacher incurred because of his belief in Jesus of Nazareth. Such an identification, although interesting, is, however, very precarious, the name Simeon being so very common among the people. Waiting for the consolation of Israel. There was a general feeling among the more earnest Jews at this time that the advent of Messiah would not be long delayed. Joseph of Arimathaea is especially mentioned as one who "waited for the kingdom of God". (Mar_15:43) Dr. Farrar refers to the common Jewish prayer-formula then ill use: "May I see the consolation of Israel!" A prayer for the advent of Messiah was in daily use.
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Vers. 25-30. A satisfied human spirit.
There are few more exquisite pictures even in Holy Writ than the one which is here drawn for us. An aged and venerable man, who has lived a long life of piety and virtue, and who has been cherishing an ever-brightening hope that before he dies he should look upon the face of his country"s Savior, directed by the Spirit of God, recognizes in the infant Jesus that One for whose coming he has so long been hoping and praying. Taking him up into his arms, with the light of intense gratitude in his eyes, and the emotion of deepest happiness in his voice, he exclaims, "Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace.... for mine eyes have seen thy Salvation." Life has now no ungranted good for him to await. The last and dearest wish of his heart has been fulfilled; willingly would he now close his eyes in the sleep of death; gladly would he now lie down to rest in the quiet of the grave.
I THOSE WHO MUST BE UNSATISFIED IN SPIRIT. There is a vast multitude of men who seek for satisfaction in the things which are seen and temporal in taking pleasure, in making money, in wielding power, in gaining honor, etc. But they do not find what they seek. It is as true in London as it was in Jerusalem, eighteen centuries after Christ as ten centuries before, that "the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear with hearing." All the rivers of earthly good may run into the great sea of an immortal spirit, but that sea is not filled. Earthly good is the salt water that only makes more athirst the soul that drinks it. It is not the very wealthy, nor the very mighty, nor the very honored man who is ready to say, "I am satisfied; let me depart in peace.
II THOSE WHO MAY BE SATISFIED IN SPIRIT. Simeon knew by special communication from God was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost that he should reach a certain point in the coining of the kingdom of God, that his heart"s deep desire for "the Consolation of Israel" should be granted him. And waiting for this, and attaining it, his soul was filled with joy and holy satisfaction. It is right for those who are taking a very earnest interest in the cause of Christ to long to be allowed to accomplish a certain work for him. Again and again has the parent thus striven and prayed and longed to see the conversion of all his (her) children, or the teacher of his (her) class; the minister of Christ to see the attainment of some pastoral design; the missionary to win some tribe from barbarism and idolatry; the translator to render the Word of God into the native tongue; the national reformer to pass his measure for emancipation, or temperance, or virtue, or education, or the protection of the lives and morals of women or children. And this deep desire of the heart has been a con- straining power, which has nerved the hand and energized the life, which has brought forth the fruit of sacred zeal and unwearied toil. God has given to these souls the desire of their hearts, and they have gone to their grave filled with a holy, satisfying peace. So may it be with us. And yet it may not be so. We may be called upon to quit the field of active labor before the harvest is gathered in. Others may enter into our labors. But if it should be so, there is a way in which we may belong.
III THOSE WHO CANNOT FAIL TO BE SATISFIED IS SPIRIT. For we may be of those who realize that it is in God"s hand to fix the bounds of our present labor, and to determine the measure of the work we shall do on earth. We may work on diligently and devotedly as those who have much to do for God and man, yet clearly recognizing that God has for us a sphere in the spirit world, and that he may at any hour remove us there, though we would fain finish what we have in hand below. If we have the spirit of Christ in our service, if we go whither we believe he sends us, and work on in the way which we believe to be according to his will. we may rest in the calm assurance that the hour of our cessation from holy labor is the hour of God"s appointment, and a peace as calm as that of Simeon may fill our soul as we leave a not- unfinished work on earth to enter a nobler sphere in heaven. C.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On vv25–27 Whose name was Simeon
Luk_2:25-35
Whose name was Simeon
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Readiness for Gods will
Some years ago, says a lady, I made the acquaintance of an old peasant in a little German village, where I for some time resided.
He was called Gottlieb, a name which has the very beautiful signification, The love of God. The old man was well worthy of it, for if ever heart was filled with love to God and to all Gods creatures it was his. Once when walking I came upon him as he was stooping to pick up a fallen apple. Dont you weary, Gottlieb, I asked, stooping so often, end then lying all alone by the roadside? No, no, miss, he answered, smiling, and offering me a handful of ripe pears, I dont weary; Im just waiting--waiting. I think Im about ripe now, and I must soon fall to the ground; and then, just think, the Lord will pick me up! O miss, you are young yet, and perhaps just in blossom; turn well round to the Sun of Righteousness, that you may ripen sweet for His service. (New Cyclopaedia of Anecdote.)
Waiting for the Lord
Everybody knows and loves the story of the dog Argus, who just lives through the term of his masters absence, and sees him return to his home, and recognizes him, and rejoicing in the sight, dies. Beautiful, too, as the story is in itself, it has a still deeper allegorical interest. For how many Arguses have there been, how many will there be hereafter, the course of whose years has been so ordered that they will have just lived to see their Lord come and take possession of His home, and in their joy at the blissful sight, have departed! How many such spirits, like Simeons, will swell the praises of Him who spared them that He might save them. (Augustus Hare.)
Waiting for the chariot
Mrs. Cartwright, wife of the famous American preacher, was, after her husbands death, attending a meeting at Bethel Chapel, a mile from her house. She was called upon to give her testimony, which she did with much feeling, concluding with the words: The past three weeks have been the happiest of all my life; I am waiting for the chariot. When the meeting broke up she did not rise with the rest. The minister solemnly said, The chariot has arrived.
Simeons blessed hope
I. SIMEONS EXPECTATION. He was waiting. He did not wish that the tabernacle of his body might be dissolved; but he did hope that, through the chinks of that old battered tabernacle of his, he might be able to see the Lord.
II. THE FULFILMENT OF THIS EXPECTATION. He had the consolation for which he waited, and all the people of God now have it, in Jesus. But a little while ago I heard of an ungodly man who had a pious wife. They had but one daughter, a fair and lovely thing; she was laid on a bed of sickness: the father and mother stood beside the bed; the solemn moment came when she must die; the father leaned over, and put his arm round her, and wept hot tears upon his childs white brow; the mother stood there too, weeping her very soul away. The moment that child was dead, the father began to tear his hair, and curse himself in his despair; misery had got hold upon him; but as he looked towards the foot of the bed, there stood his wife; she was not raving, she was not cursing; she wiped her eyes, and said, I shall go to her, but she shall not return to me. The unbelievers heart for a moment rose in anger, for he imagined that she was a stoic. But the tears flowed down her cheeks too. He saw that though she was a weak and feeble woman, she could bear sorrow better than he could, and he threw his arms round her neck, and said, Ah! wife, I have often laughed at your religion; I will do so no more. There is much blessedness in this resignation. Would God that I had it too! Yes, she might have answered, I have the consolation of Israel. There is--hear it, ye despisers, and wonder, and perish!-there is consolation in Israel. Ah! it is sweet to see a Christian die; it is the noblest thing on earth--the dismissal of a saint from his labour to his reward, from his conflicts to his triumphs. The georgeons pageantry of princes is as nothing. The glory of the setting sun is not to be compared with the heavenly coruscations which illumine the soul as it fades from the organs of bodily sense, to be ushered into the august presence of the Lord. When dear Haliburton died, he said, I am afraid I shall not be able to bear another testimony to my Master, but in order to show you that I am peaceful, and still resting on Christ, I will hold my hands up; and just before he died, he held both his hands up, and clapped them together, though he could not speak. Have you ever read of the death-bed of Payson? I cannot describe it to you; it was like the flight of a seraph. John Knox, that brave old fellow, when he came to die, sat up in his bed, and said, Now the hour of my dissolution is come; I have longed for it many a-day; but I shall be with my Lord in a few moments. Then he fell back on his bed and died.
III. THE EXPLANATION OF THIS FACT.
1. There is consolation in the doctrines of the Bible. What sayest thou, worldling, if thou couldst know thyself elect of God the Father, if thou couldst believe thyself redeemed by His only-begotten Son, if thou knewest that for thy sins there was a complete ransom paid, would not that be a consolation to you? Perhaps you answer, No. That is because you are a natural man, and do not discern spiritual things. The spiritual man will reply, Consolation? ay, sweet as honey to these lips; yea, sweeter than the honeycomb to my heart are those precious doctrines of the grace of God.
2. There is consolation in the promises of the Bible. Oh! how sweet to the soul in distress are the promises of Jesus! For every condition there is a promise; for every sorrow there is a cordial; for every wound there is a balm; for every disease there is a medicine. If we turn to the Bible, there are promises for all cases.
3. Not only have we consolatory promises, and consolatory doctrines, but we have consolatory influences in the ministry of the Holy Spirit. (C. H.Spurgeon.)
Scripture biography of Simeon
What a biography of a man? How short, and yet how complete! We have seen biographies so prolix, that full one half is nonsense, and much of the other half too vapid to be worth reading. We have seen large volumes spun out of mens letters. Writing desks have been broken open, and private diaries exposed to the world. Now-a-days, if a man is a little celebrated, his signature, the house in which he was born, the place where he dines, and everything else, is thought worthy of public notice. So soon as he is departed this life, he is embalmed in huge fulios, the profit of which rests mainly, I believe, with the publishers, and not with the readers. Short biographies are the best, which give a concise and exact account of the whole man. What do we care about what Simeon did--where he was born, where he was married, what street he used to walk through, or what coloured coat he wore? We have a very concise account of his history, and that is enough. His name was Simeon; he lived in Jerusalem; the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him. Beloved, that is enough of a biography for any one of us. If, when we die, so much as this can be said of us--our name--our business, waiting for the consolation of Israel--our character, just and devout--our companionship, having the Holy Ghost upon us--that will be sufficient to hand us down not to time, but to eternity, memorable amongst the just, and estimable amongst all them that are sanctified. Pause awhile, I beseech you, and contemplate Simeons character. The Holy Ghost thought it worthy of notice, since he has put a behold in the sentence. Behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon. He doth not say, Behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was King Herod; he doth not say, Behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, who was high priest; but Behold!--turn aside here, for the sight is so rare, you may never see such a thing again so long as you live; here is a perfect marvel; Behold, there was one man in Jerusalem who was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel; and the Holy Ghost was upon him. His character is summed up in two words--just and devout. Just--that is his character before men. Devout--that is his character before God. He was just. Was he a father? He did not provoke his children to anger, lest they should be discouraged. Was he a master? He gave unto his servants that which was just and equal, knowing that he also had his Master in heaven. Was he a citizen? He rendered obedience unto the powers that then were, submitting himself to the ordinances of man for the Lords sake. Was he a merchant? He overreached in no transaction, but pro-riding things honest in the sight of all men, he honoured God in his common business habits. Was he a servant? Then he did not render eye-service, as a man-pleaser, but in singleness of heart he served the Lord. If, as is very probable, he was one of the teachers of the Jews, then he was faithful; he spoke what he knew to be the Word of God, although it might not be for his gain, and would not, like the other shepherds, turn aside to speak error, for the sake of filthy lucre. Before men he was just. But that is only half a good mans character. There are many who say, I am just and upright; I never robbed a man in my life; I pay twenty shillings in the pound; and if anybody can find fault with my character, let him speak. Am I not just? But as for your religion, such a one will say, I do not care about it; I think it cant. Sir, you have only one feature of a good man, and that the smallest. You do good towards man, but not towards God; you do not rob your fellow, but you rob your Maker. Simeon had both features of a Christian. He was a just man, and he was also devout. He valued the outward and visible sign, and he possessed also the inward and spiritual grace. (C. H.Spurgeon.)
The waiting Church
All the saints have waited for Jesus. Our mother Eve waited for the coming of Christ; when her first son was born, she said, I have gotten a man from the Lord. True she was mistaken in what she said: it was Cain, and not Jesus. But by her mistake we see that she cherished the blessed hope. That Hebrew patriarch, who took his son, his only son, to offer him for a burnt offering, expected the Messiah, and well did he express his faith when he said, My son, God will provide Himself a lamb. He who once had a stone for his pillow, the trees for his curtains, the heaven for his canopy, and the cold ground for his bed, expected the coming of Jesus, for he said on his death-bed--Until Shiloh come. The law-giver of Israel, who was king in Jeshurun, spake of Him, for Moses said, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you, of your brethren, like unto me: Him shall ye hear. David celebrated Him in many a prophetic song--the Anointed of God, the King of Israel; Him to whom all kings shall bow, and all nations call Him blessed. How frequently does he in his Psalms sing about my Lord! The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool. But need we stop to tell you of Isaiah, who spake of His passion, and saw His glory? of Jeremiah, of Ezekiel, of Daniel, of Micah, of Malachi, and of all the rest of the prophets, who stood with their eyes strained, looking through the dim mists of futurity, until the weeks of prophecy should be fulfilled--until the sacred day should arrive, when Jesus Christ should come in the flesh? They were all waiting for the consolation of Israel. And, now, good old Simeon, standing on the verge of the period when Christ would come, with expectant eyes looked out for Him. Every morning he went up to the temple, saying to himself, Perhaps He will come to-day. Each night when he went home he bent his knee, and said, O Lord, come quickly; even so, come quickly. And yet, peradventure, that morning he went to the temple, little thinking, perhaps, the hour was at hand when he should see his Lord there; but there He was, brought in the arms of His mother, a little babe; and Simeon knew Him. Lord, said he, now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace, according to Thy word: for mine eyes have seen Thy salvation. Oh, cries one, but we cannot wait for the Saviour now! No, beloved, in one sense we cannot, for He has come already. The poor Jews are waiting for Him. They will wait in vain now for His first coming, that having passed already. Waiting for the Messiah was a virtue in Simeons day; it is the infidelity of the Jews now, since the Messiah is come. Still there is a high sense in which the Christian ought to be every day waiting for the consolation of Israel. I am very pleased to see that the doctrine of the second advent of Christ is gaining ground everywhere. I find that the most spiritual men in every place are looking for, as well as hastening unto, the coming of our Lord and Saviour. I marvel that the belief is not universal, for it is so perfectly scriptural. We are, we trust, some of us, in the same posture as Simeon. We have climbed the staircase of the Christian virtues, from whence we look for that blessed hope, the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
The consolation of Israel
Piscator observeth that the consolation of Israel is the periphrasis of Jesus Christ; because all the consolation of a true Israelite, as Jacobs in Benjamin, is bound up in Christ. If He be gone, the soul goeth down to the grave with sorrow. As all the candles in a country cannot make a day--no, it must be the rising of the sun that must do it, the greatest confluence of comforts that the whole creation affordeth, cannot make a day of light and gladness in the heart of a believer; no, it must be the rising of this Sun of Righteousness. (G. Swinnock.)
Waiting is good but hard service
Waiting is often the best kind of service a man can render. Indeed we call a good servant a waiter. But it is commonly harder to wait than to work. It was hard for the children, the night before Christmas, to wait until morning before they knew what presents they were to have. Yet there was nothing for them to do but to wait. And if they only would wait, the morning would come--and with it all that had been promised to them for the morning. How hard it is to wait for the fever to turn, when we are watching by a loved ones bedside, and our only hope is in waiting. It is hard to wait from seedtime to harvest, from the beginning of the voyage to its end, from the sad parting to the joyous meeting again, from the sending of a letter until its answer can come back to us. How much easier it would be to do something to hasten a desired event, instead of patiently, passively waiting for its coming. It is so much easier to ask in faith than to wait in faith. The minutes drag while the response tarries. (H. C. Trumbull.)
Waiting is harder than doing
Waiting is a harder duty than doing. In illustration of this compare Miltons beautiful sonnet on his blindness, and that part of The Pilgrims Progress which tells of Passion and Patience. Jesus Himself had to wait patiently for thirty long years before He entered upon His mission. In a certain battle a detachment of cavalry was kept inactive. It was hard for the men to do nothing but wait, while the fight was going on before them. At last, in the crisis of the battle, the command was given them to charge, and that body of fresh men, sweeping down like a torrent, turned the tide of battle. So, in the battle of life, waiting is often the surest means to victory. And it is comforting to know that where we see only the unsightly bud, God sees the perfect flower; where we see the rough pebble, He sees the flashing diamond. (Sunday School Times.)
Patient waiting
Those who have read the story of Agamemnon will remember the glorious beauty of its opening. A sentinel is placed to watch, year after year, for the beacon-blaze, the appointed signal to announce the taking of Troy. At last it is lighted up; on many a hill the withered heath flares up to pass on the tidings being given; from many a promontory the fire rises in a pillar, and is reflected tremulously on the ridged waves, till at last it is lighted upon the mountains, and recognized as the genuine offspring of the Idean flame. And then the sentinel may be relieved. Even so it is with Simeon. He is a sentinel whom God had set to watch for the Light. He has seen it, and he feels now that his life-work is over. (Bishop Wm. Alexander.)
Simeon and the child Jesus
1. It is saying much for Simeon that he was both a just and a devout man. These two features of Christian character are needful tile one to the other. A just man may be rigidly and legally righteous, yet his character may be hard and cold; but a devout man is one of a warmer, gentler spirit, who is not only good, but makes goodness attractive. Simeons devout spirit adorned his justice, and his just spirit strengthened his devotion.
2. No Christian grace is finer than the grace that waits for the consolation of Israel. Waiting higher than working. The passive virtues of the Christian require and display a greater faith and a profounder humility than the active. To those who wait in faith, submission, and holy living, the consolation of Israel will always come.
3. All Christians may not depart in raptures, but they may at least expect to depart in peace. Many good people are greatly concerned lest they should not be ready to die. If we are ready to live we may leave dying to the Lord. Simeons life had been passed in peace with God. In the same peace he was ready to die.
4. The salvation of Christ is no meagre and limited scheme. It is for all peoples. Christ is both a light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of Gods Israel. Before His throne will be gathered at last a great multitude whom no man can number. He shall see of the travail of His soul, and shall be satisfied. But what will satisfy His infinite heart, if the kingdom of Satan at last outnumbers His own?
5. Christ has always been spoken against, but Christianity lives, and is going on in the world conquering and to conquer. (E. D. Rogers, D. D.)
Simeon: saint, singer, and seer
Simeons song was the first human Advent hymn with which the Saviour was greeted, and it has been sung constantly in the Church ever since.
I. Contemplate A SAINTLY CHARACTER.
II. See further THE SAINTS ANTICIPATION, resting upon
(1) the word of prophecy;
(2)a definite personal promise (Luk_2:26).
III. Now think of THE SAINTLY SATISFACTION. Simeon saw Christ. The promise was fulfilled. The vision was enough to satisfy the soul.
IV. Let us listen to THE SAINTS SONG. HOW honourable was the position which Simeon occupied in uttering this song! A long chain of saints, stretching through the ages, was completed in him. They expected, he realized. They had all died, not having received the promise, he received. They had only foreseen, he actually touched Christ. He struck the first chords of that song which has been taken up already by the ages, and will go on vibrating and increasing in volume so long as earth stands or heaven endures.
V. THE SAINTLY PROPHECY of Simeon must not be unnoticed. If there is to be glory, there must also be suffering. He gives a hint of Gethsemane and of Calvary. A sword was to pass through Marys heart. Here is the first foreshadowing of the Passion found in the New Testament. It should save us from surprise that Christianity has had to pass through such vicissitudes. The Saviour came to His throne by way of the cross, and His truth will come to be the one power among men by way of frequent dispute and temporary rejection.
VI. THE SAINTS PREPARATION FOR DEATH is suggested in his own words. There is a tradition that this was his swan-song--that he passed into the other world when he had finished it. More fitting words with which to die could not easily be found. What a contrast the dying words of such a saint present to the words of the worldling! It is said that Mirabeau cried out frantically for music to soothe his last moments; that Hobbes, the deist, said, as he gasped his last breath, I am taking a fearful leap into the dark; that Cardinal Beaufort said, What I is there no bribing death? Men with the Christian light have met death in another way. When Melancthon was asked if there was anything he desired, he said, No, Luther, nothing but heaven. Dr. John Owen said at last, I am going to Him whom my soul loveth, or rather, who has loved me with an everlasting love. John Brown of Haddington could say, I am weak, but it is delightful to feel ones self in the everlasting arms. George Washington could say, It is all well. Walter Scott, as he sank in the slumber of death, Now I shall be myself again. Beethoven, as he could almost catch the melody of the mystic world, Now I shall hear. Wesley could cheerily meet death with the words, The best of all is, God is with us. Locke, the Christian philosopher, exclaimed at dying, Oh, the depth of the riches of the goodness and knowledge of God! Stephen said, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit: Paul, having a desire to depart; and, to die is gain. All such utterances accord with the last words of Simeon. Inquiry as to the character of the individual life, hope, and preparation for the future should be the outcome of these thoughts. Useful and important lessons all may learn as they contemplate the character of the venerable Simeon--saint, singer, and seer. (F. Hastings.)
Simeon: a sermon for Christmas
Simeon, we are told, waited for the Consolation of Israel. In that short but striking word we discover a thought unknown to the ancient world, and one which gives the Jewish nation incomparable grandeur. Israel is a people that waits. Whilst the other nations grow great, conquer, and extend here below; whilst they think only of their power and visible prosperity, Israel waits. This little people has an immense, a strange ambition; they expect the reign of God on earth. Much that was carnal and selfish mixed up with that ambition. But the truly pious understood in a different way the consolation of Israel. In their ease, the question was, before everything else, spiritual deliverance, pardon, salvation. Yet how few they were who were not tired of waiting! For more than four hundred years no prophet had appeared to revive their hope. The stranger reigned in Jerusalem. Religious formalism covered with a winding sheet of lead the whole nation. The scoffers asked where the promise of Messiahs coming was. Yet in the midst of that icy indifference, Simeon still waits. Consider--
I. THE FIRMNESS OF HIS HOPE.
II. THE GREATNESS OF HIS FAITH, In a poor child brought by poor people to the temple he discovers Him who is to he the glory of Israel, and--something more wonderful still, and wholly foreign to the spirit of a Jew--Him who is to enlighten the Gentiles. It is the whole of mankind that Simeon gives as a retinue to the child which he bears in his arms. Never did a bolder faith launch out into the infinite, basing all its calculations on the Word of God.
III. THE FEELINGS AWAKENED IN HIS SOUL BY THE CERTAINTY WITH WHICH FAITH FILLS HIM. All these feelings summed up in one--joy; the joy of a soul overwhelmed with the goodness of God, joy which is breathed out in song. What is the principle of that joy? It is a Divine peace. Now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace. And on what does that peace rest? On the certainty of salvation. Mine eyes have seen Thy salvation. You who know this joy, keep it not to yourselves! (E. Bersier, D. D.)
A representative man
Sometimes one man seems to stand as the representative of the whole human family. It was so in this instance. All the expectations, desire, hope, and assurance of better things which have moved the heart of man, seem to have been embodied in the waiting Simeon. His occupation is appropriately described by the word waiting. He had probably seen a long lifetime of varied spiritual service, and had passed through his full share of human suffering; and now, with all this discipline behind him, he had nothing to do but to wait for the disclosure of the supreme mercy of heaven. At his age he could not be long, in the usual order of things, before he saw death; and yet, between him and that grim sight there lay the promised revelation of the very beauty of the Fathers image. The coming of Simeon into the Temple, though an ordinary act, was invested with extraordinary feeling and significance. Sometimes the habitude of a whole life will suddenly disclose new meanings and adaptations, and the most beaten ground of our routine will have springing up on it unexpected and precious flowers. Persist in going to the house of God, for the very next time you go you may be gladdened by rare revelations! A beautiful picture is this taking of the child into the arms of Simeon, this lifting up of the old mans face, and this utterance of the saints prayer! Let imagination linger upon the pathetic scene. It is thus that God closes the ages and opens the coming time. The old man and the little child, whenever they come together, seem to repeat in some degree the interest of this exciting scene. Every child brought into the temple of the Lord should be in his own degree a teacher and a deliverer of the people; and every venerable saint should regard him as such, and bless God for the promise of his manhood. It is amazing at how many points we may touch the Saviour. There is Simeon with the little child in his arms, and in that little life he sees the whole power of God, and the light that is to spread its glory over Israel and the Gentiles. Simeon might have given his prayer another turn; he might have said, Lord, let me tarry awhile, that I may see the growth of this child. I am unwilling to go just yet, as great things are about to happen, such as never happened upon the earth before; I pray Thee let me abide until I see at least His first victory, and then call me to Thy rest. This would have been a natural desire, and yet the old man was content to have seen and touched the promised child; and he who might have died in the night of Judaism, passed upward in the earliest dawn of Christianity. Simeon saw the salvation of God in the little child. Others have seen that salvation is the wondrousness and beneficence exemplified in the full manhood of Christ. Some have been saved by a simple act of faith; others have passed into spiritual rest through doubt, suffering, and manifold agony. Some have gone through nature up to natures God; and others have found Him in the pages of revelation, in bold prophecy, in tender promise, in profound legislation, in gracious and healing sympathay. Thus there are many points at which we touch the great saving facts of the universe; the question is not so much at what point we come into contact with God as to be sure that our progress is vital and progressive. (J. Parker, D. D.)
Aged evangelists
The first evangelists were old people. When the King of kings put off the glory of His heavenly state, and came into this world, no person pronounced His name, or even recognized His face on the day of His first public appearance, but one old man and one old woman.
I. THE FIRST MAN IN THIS WORLD WHO WAS HONOURED TO BE AN EVANGELIST WAS AN AGED MAN. An old father named Simeon. Historically, we know nothing about him, not even that he was old; but all tradition says that he was so, and it is the fair, inevitable inference from the spirit of the story that he had reached a stage when, in all human probability, he would not have to live much longer. I think that he began to walk up to the temple with short breath and slow step, and that age had set a seal upon him, which, like the red cross upon a tree marked by the steward to come down, told that he was soon to die. Yet he had in cypher a secret message from heaven, by which he knew that he was safe to live a little longer, It looks as if he had belonged to the predicted few who spake often one to another in the dark hour just before the Sun of Righteousness rose, and that in answer to a great longing to see the Saviour it was revealed to Him by the Holy Ghost that he should not see death until he had seen the Lords Christ. We are not told when this revelation was made. If in his early manhood, it must have been a strange, charmed life that he led ever after. At last the long-looked-for express came. Did he hear in the air or did the voice whisper in his soul words like these: Go to the temple; the Lord whom you seek shall suddenly come to His temple this day? We only know that he came by the Spirit into the temple. No particular stir in the street that morning, as the old man hurried along, to mark anything out of the common way. No one knows what kind of being Simeon expected to see, but we know that his faith was not shaken by the sight of His King coming as a mere child. All his soul flamed up. The old face shone like a lamp suddenly lighted; then to the delight of the mother and to the amazement of the officiating priests, who almost thought him out of his mind, this servant of the Master in heaven took the child in his arms and spoke like the prophet Isaiah. Let no believer be afraid to die. When the time comes, you will find that, little by little, He has cleared out all the impediments that now seem to you so great; you will be as really to go as Simeon was; and if you look for Him as he did, you will find that Jesus clasped close to you is still the antidote to death.
II. THE FIRST WOMAN IN THIS WORLD WHO WAS HONOURED TO BE AN EVANGELIST WAS AN AGED WOMAN. Let us take short notes of what is said about her.
1. The fact of her great age is stated. The style of the statement is obscure, but the meaning seems to be that she was a widow about eighty-four years of age; that seven years out of the eighty-four she had been a wife, and that she was quite a young girl when she married. Then she had lived long enough, like Noah, to see an old world die, and a new world born.
2. She was a prophetess God had said by an ancient seer, On My servants and on My handmaidens I will pour out in these days of My Spirit. As the sun sends out shoots of glory and tinges of forerunning radiance to tell that he is coming, so, before the Day of Pentecost was fully come, we have foretokens of it in the prophetic flashes that shone out from the souls of Simeon and Anna.
3. She was of the tribe of Asher. Not an illustrious tribe. No star in the long story of its darkness until now. It had, however, one honourable distinction. To it had been left a peculiar promise, the richest gem in the old family treasure: And of Asher he said … As thy days, so shall thy strength be. The old prophetess could say of this promise, I am its lawful heiress. Long have I known it, and always have I found it true. In my young days, in my days of happy wifehood, in my days of lonely widowhood, in my days of weary age; as my days, my strength has been.
4. She departed not from the temple, but served God, &c. (verse 37). Looking and listening for the Lord of the temple, she thought that His foot on the stair might be heard at any moment, and she would not be out of the way when He came. When the temple shafts, crowned with lily-work, flashed back the crimson sunrise, she was there; when the evening lamps were lighted, she was there; when the courts were crowded, she was there; when the last echoes of the congregation died away, still she was there; her spirit said, One thing have I desired of the Lord, &c. (Psa_27:4).
5. She took part in making known the joyful tidings. Simeon was in the act of speaking, and she, coming in that instant, gave thanks likewise unto the Lord, and spake of Him, &c. (verse 38). We try in vain to picture her delight. It had been her habit to speak about the glory of which her heart was full to the people who came at the hour of prayer; and now, at this most sacred hour, we are sure that in her holy rapture she would stop this person, put her hand on that, and say in spirit, whatever her words may have been: Look there on that little child; He is all that we have been looking for; folded up in that lovely little life is all our redemption; that bud will burst into wondrous flower some day. Whoever lives to see it, mark my words, that child will grow up to be the Redeemer of Israel. First things are significant things, especially at the opening of a new dispensation. When, therefore, we find in the gospel-story that the first evangelists were old people, both old and young should take the hint. Old Christians must never tell us any more that they are past service. God has no such word as superannuated written against any name in His book. The young Christian, joyful with a soul that colours all things with the freshness and glory of its own morning, can never say of the old Christian, I have no need of thee. No hand can turn back the shadow on the dial of time; no spell can change the grey hair into its first bright abundant beauty; no science can discover the fountain of youth told about in Spanish tales of old romance; but the grace of God can do infinitely more than that. It can keep the heart fresh; it can make the soul young when the limbs are old. When strength is made perfect in weakness; when many years have run their course; when we are obliged to change the tense in speech about your labours, as Paul did when he said, Salute the beloved Persis, who laboured much in the Lord, but feel all the while that you are more beloved than ever; when, coming in, you give thanks to the Lord; when your inmost life can say, My hand begins to tremble, but I can still take hold of the everlasting covenant; my foot fails, but it is not far from the throne of grace; my sight fails, but I can see Jesus; my appetite fails, but I have meat to eat that the world knows not of; my ears are dull, but I hear Him, and He hears me; my memory is treacherous, but I remember the years of the right hand of the Most High, and delight to talk of His doings; when you can thus preach Jesus, be assured that few evangelists do more for the gospel. No sermon moves us more deeply than that of an old, happy, Christian life, and no service more confirms our faith. (C. Stanford, D. D.)
Simeon and Anna
Simeon had come up by special revelation; Anna needed no such token. Surely her leading was the best. Simeon needed the message, but if Christ had come as a thief at first, as He will at last, Anna would have been there. (A. Whyte, D. D.)
The same man was just and devout
To be devout means to live always with the consciousness of Gods presence; to walk with Him, as the old Scriptures put it, so that all thoughts and acts are thought and done before Him, and ordered so as to be in tune with His character. It means to live in worship of Him, so that honour is paid in everything to that which is God, to truth and mercy, justice and purity. But to be devout without being just is almost useless. For this kind of devotion is liable to extravagances of feeling which dim the clear sight of things. There is nothing more common than the prophecies M pious men who map out the future and run into the wildest follies. The prophet must be a just man, and that means not only the habit of right doing which devoutness almost secures, but the habit of right thinking. (Stopford A. Brooke.)
It is hard to wait, and few can do it well
But God was with Simeon, and high hopes, and faith. God with him; he had no lonely hours, and it is the loneliness of the heart that makes waiting so bitter. He had that ineffable Presence with him, consciousness of whom would make life Divine, could we but possess it; and the glory of Gods life and thought had filled his heart with song. To wait, then, was not hard; for every hour brought peaceful joy, and every joy was a new pledge of the last and most glorious joy. But along with this life with God, and flowing from it as a source, were those high hopes and faiths which were his companions in this abiding old age. Waiting was no hardship to one So companied. (Stopford A. Brooke.)
The expectant Simeon
We here see three different periods in the career of a believer.
I. WAITING.
1. For what? Consolation. The heart requires this (Heb_6:18). Redemption. No consolation except through redemption. Gods salvation. The Lord Jesus Christ the sum and substance of it all; for when he saw Him he was satisfied.
2. Relying on what? Gods Word.
3. Where? In the Temple. Perhaps because he looked for a special blessing in the house of God (Isa_56:7). Perhaps because of prophecy Mal_3:1). Learn that the Holy Ghost never supersedes Scripture, but leads men to trust it, and wait in faith for the promised blessings. Observe also that He leads men to the sanctuary of God; not to neglect church, but to look for a blessing in it.
II. FINDING. We do not know how long he waited. Perhaps years. At length a very insignificant party entered the Temple. A man with a young woman and Child. Poor people. Proved by turtle doves (Lev_12:8).
1. He recognizes the sacred character of the Child. The believer recognizes Christ as his Saviour, though men in general may think nothing of Him.
2. He receives Him into his arms (Heb_11:13).
3. He blesses God.
III. HAVING FOUND.
1. He is at peace.
2. He is ready to die.
3. He is sure of the Divine salvation. (Canon Hoare.)
The Consolation of Israel
I. THE CHARACTER, UNDER WHICH THEY EXPECTED THEIR MESSIAH, is beautifully expressed in these words of Simeon--THE CONSOLATION OF ISRAEL.
II. Having shown you under what character the Messiah was expected by Simeon and his friends, I proceed now, in the second place, to consider the STATE OF MIND IN WHICH THEY AWAITED HIS ARRIVAL.
1. Simeon waited in full confidence for the Consolation of Israel. He had received the promises of God concerning the coming of that Just One, and by faith he was persuaded of them, and embraced them. He entertained no doubts of their being fulfilled in their season.
2. Simeon waited for the Consolation of Israel with ardent desire. The Incarnation of the Son of God was not merely an event of whose certainty this excellent man was assured: he regarded it as an event most desirable, most happy for himself.
3. Once more; the state in which Simeon awaited the birth of the Messiah, was a state of holy preparation. For the same man was just and devout; and both he and his friends appear to have been very constant in their attendance on the public worship at the Temple. (J. Jowett, M. A.)
Christ our Consolation
I. Let us ask ourselves what it is that is here described by the words the Consolation of Israel. Israel was Gods own people. For all the duties, for all the trials, for all the sufferings of life, what had the Greek, what had the Roman, to furnish him, as compared with the poorest peasant in Israel, with one who could go forth in the strength of the Lord his God, and make mention of His righteousness only; who could stay himself on his God in trial, and in suffering could say, It is Jehovah, my covenant God: let Him do what seemeth Him good? Which of them could ever cry out, as death drew on, I have waited for Thy salvation, O Lord? Of which of them could it ever be said, amidst all the void and unsatisfied yearnings of this life, When I awake up after Thy likeness I shall be satisfied? So that, as compared with the nations round, Israels Consolation was already abundant. Still, Israel had, and looked for, a Consolation to come. Gods people differed in this also from every people on earth. When, then, we use the words the Consolation of Israel, we mean Christ in the fulness of His constituted Person and Office as the Comforter of His people. And when we say waiting for the Consolation of Israel, we imply that attitude of expectation, anxious looking for, hearty desire of, this Consolation, which comes from, and is in fact, Christ Himself. First, then, Christ is the Consolation of His people, inasmuch as He DELIVERS THEM FROM THE BONDAGE OF SIN. But, again, Christ consoles His people not only from guilt, but Is SORROW. It is His especial office, as we saw, to bind up the broken heart; to give the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness. (H. Alford, M. A.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain On vv25, 27 25. Simeon. The first prophet to declare that Christ…
25. Simeon. The first prophet to declare that Christ had come. Looking for the consolation of Israel. The promised Messiah. The Holy Spirit was upon him. To give him supernatural knowledge. It was revealed to him that he should see Christ.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On v25 just and devout
just and devout
righteousness
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The O.T. righteousness. Summary: In the O.T. "righteous" and "just" are English words used to translate the Hebrew words yasher, "upright"; tsadiq, "just"; tsidkah, "righteous." In all of these words but one idea inheres: the righteous, or just, man is so called, because he is right with God; and he is right with God because he has walked "in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless" Luk 1:6; Rom 10:5; Php 3:6. The O.T. righteous man was not sinless Ecc 7:20, but one who, for all his sins, resorted to the ordinances, and offered in faith the required sacrifice (e.g.) Lev 4:27-35 CF. "Righteousness (N.T.), (See Scofield "Rom 10:10") and Paul’s contrast, Php 3:4-9.
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On v25 The coming of Simeon:
The coming of Simeon:
v. 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.
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v. 26. And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost that he should not see death before he had seen the. Lord’s Christ.
v. 27. And he came by the Spirit into the Temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for Him after the custom of the Law,
v. 28. then took he Him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said,
v. 29. Lord, now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace according to Thy word;
v. 30. for mine eyes have seen Thy salvation,
v. 31. which Thou hast prepared before the face of all people,
v. 32. a light to lighten the Gentiles and the glory of Thy people Israel.
The incident here told by Luke is so important that he introduces it with "Behold!" It brought a further testimony for the Christ child and strengthened Mary in her faith. A man by the name of Simeon was in Jerusalem at that time. Nothing more is known of him than what the evangelist here relates, and yet he is known throughout Christendom. This man is described as just or righteous, which refers to the condition of his heart and mind, and devout or pious, which refers to the outward manifestation of the condition of his heart. He was one of the true Israelites. He practiced, as he professed, the religion of his forefathers. And he was well versed in the prophecies concerning the Messiah, he was expecting, eagerly waiting for, the solace, the comfort of Israel. He had the proper understanding of the work of the Redeemer, he looked for a spiritual kingdom to be revealed. And the Holy Ghost was upon him, resting upon him, influencing his whole life and conduct. He had received a revelation, a very strong and urging impulse from the Holy Spirit, amounting to a definite promise, that he should not see death before he had seen the Christ of the Lord. Note the parallelism and contrast presented: in either case he would see, but on the one hand death, the end of life, on the other the highest revelation of the eternal Life from above, the Messiah of the almighty and gracious God. Just at this hour the Spirit impelled him to go up to the Temple, and in the same way he recognized the Christ child on the arms of His mother, when the parents came to perform the sacrifice according to the law of Moses. Now the venerable old man did a thing which must have astonished both Mary and Joseph very much. Stepping up to them, he took the Babe in his arms and proceeded to sing a hymn of praise and thanksgiving to God. Its beauty is such that it has retained its position in the Church from the earliest times. Now at last the hope long cherished by him would be fulfilled, for he is altogether content to die. The words must sound strange in the ears of an unbeliever. For he speaks of a deliverance, of a departure, which would be made in full peace and satisfaction, in rich contentment, and which he knows will bring him lasting rest and quietness, the peace brought by the Christ child. For his old eyes had seen the salvation of God, since the Child was the salvation of the world personified; in and through Him all the nations of the earth are blessed with full and complete redemption. This salvation in Jesus is prepared, is ready before the face of all nations; He brings a universal reconciliation, from which no one in the wide world is excluded. And the Gentiles are not only to be disinterested spectators of the miracle which shall be worked by this Child, but His salvation, He Himself, is the Light which is to illumine, to give the full brightness of the Gospel to the Gentiles, and which is to be the glory of His people Israel, Isa 9:2; Isa 42:6; Isa 49:6; Isa 60:1-3. This beautiful hymn emphasizes, in the strongest possible terms, the fact of universal grace, that no one is excepted from the glorious working of that grace, that no one is excluded from the salvation earned by the merits of Christ. And, at the same time, Simeon, by the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, teaches some of the effects of this universal grace and salvation upon those that accept Jesus as their Savior. All such believers will receive the illumination of the Gospel in mind and heart, will become partakers of the glory which pertains to the Messiah and His work. And they will learn to look upon temporal death as a deliverance, as a departure for better and more precious scenes, since they fall asleep in Jesus. "Whosoever has this Savior, the Savior of God, may have a peaceful, quiet heart. For though death be as terrible, the sin as mighty, the devil as evil and poisonous as he ever will, yet we have the Savior of God, that is, an almighty, eternal Savior; He is strong enough to move us out of death into life, out of sin into righteousness."
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv25, 27 Connecting Statement:
Connecting Statement:
When Mary and Joseph are at the temple, they meet two people: Simeon, who praises God and gives a prophecy about the child, and the prophetess Anna.
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Behold
The word "behold" alerts us to a new person in the story. Your language may have a way of doing this. (See: Introduction of New and Old Participants)
was righteous and devout
These abstract terms can be expressed as actions. AT: "did what was right and feared God" or "obeyed God's laws and feared God"
consolation of Israel
The word "Israel" is a metonym for the people of Israel. To "console" someone is to give them comfort, or "consolation." The words "consolation of Israel" are a metonym for the Christ or Messiah who would comfort or bring consolation to the people of Israel. AT: "the one who would comfort the people of Israel" (See: Metonymy)
the Holy Spirit was upon him
"the Holy Spirit was with him." God was with him in a special way and gave him wisdom and direction in his life.
It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit
This can be stated in active form. AT: "The Holy Spirit had shown him" or "The Holy Spirit had told him" (See: Active or Passive)
he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ
"he would see the Lord's Messiah before he died"
translationWords
Jerusalem
Simeon
righteous
Israel
Holy Spirit
reveal
lord
Christ
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv25–27 2:25 Simeon was righteous and devout, like Zechariah and…
2:25 Simeon was righteous and devout, like Zechariah and Elizabeth (1:6). They represent the righteous remnant of Israel that awaited God’s salvation (Isa 10:20-22). Some have assumed that Simeon was a priest; the text says only that he was a devout man in Jerusalem. • eagerly waiting for the Messiah to come and rescue Israel (literally awaiting Israel’s consolation): This is an allusion to Isa 40:1, which promised comfort to Israel after returning from exile. • The Holy Spirit was upon him: See study note on Luke 1:41.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.