Simeon and Jesus

Old Simeon is quite the character in the birth of Jesus.  God showed him that he would not die until he had seen the Lord’s Christ.  What a wonderful revelation!  But he was aging with only few years left for God to fulfill the prophecy.  So, when Mary and Joseph brought Jesus to the Temple to be circumcised when Jesus was eight days old, it was Simeon who was there.  When he took up the baby Jesus, what a wonderful thrill was Simeon’s!  The Holy Spirit revealed to him that this little baby was indeed the announced Messiah!  But when Luke told the story, what an interesting turn of words he used.  In Luke 2:34 he said, “And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother, Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against.”  The coming of Jesus was good news for some, but for some it was not.  You would think that EVERYONE would have been glad to know that the Messiah had come.  But some were not.  King Herod was not: Jesus threatened his throne.  The priests and scribes were not: Jesus threatened their cushy religious position.  Sinners were not: for Jesus brought them the news that they were guilty before God.  You see, we must first see that we are sinners, THEN we can see that God sent us a Savior to save us from our sins.  First the bad news, then the good news.  I’m glad that Jesus Christ the Savior came to earth to save me.  Hey, are you?