It has been a rough couple of weeks at work. I really love what I do but the environment and constraints I have to work under right now are super harsh. I feel blessed to have a job and I feel deeply for those who have been laid off all over my industry. My life at work is just one where every day I return home utterly sapped of energy.
Then Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary His mother, “Behold, this Child is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which will be spoken against (yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.” Luke 2:34-35 [NKJV]
I was reading today about the time that came after the birth of Jesus where Joseph and Mary brought Him to the temple to be Presented to God. Verses 25 and 26 of this chapter introduce us to Simeon, a man who God singled out and revealed amazing things to him about Jesus.
“And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was just and devout, waiting for the Consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.”
Luke 2:25-26 [NKJV]
On the face of this it seems like such an amazing revelation and at the same time I can only imagine how anxious Simeon’s life must have been waiting for this moment. Luke does not tell us how old Simeon was so it could be that he had been waiting for this moment for quite some time.
My passage at the beginning of this post is what Simeon says to Mary and Joseph as he is holding the baby Jesus in his arms. I mean, look at how much the Holy Spirit told Simeon in this passage! Jesus would bring the rise and fall of many in Israel, He would be a sign and be spoken against. He tells Mary that she will be pierced through the heart with grief noting the crucifixion of her Son. Finally Simeon talks about how the hearts of many people will be revealed. These final words of Simeon point to the revelatory function of Jesus’ work. People declare themselves by their attitude to him. We cannot ultimately be neutral. When people see Christ suffer‚ their reaction shows on which side they stand.