In Luke 2:25-39 we are introduced to two people which are not commonly discussed in the telling of the Christmas story. Perhaps it’s because it’s after the birth of Jesus, but important to discuss at this time of the year, none-the-less.
Simeon, according to Scripture, was a righteous man. God has promised him that before he died, he would see the promised Savior - the Messiah. This was revealed to him by the Holy Spirit. (Luke 2:25-26) We don’t know how old Simeon was when God made the promise to him but the Bible tells us that Simeon believed the promise and was looking for the day to come for God’s promise to happen. It may have been hard for Simeon to understand how he would ever live to see the Savior because as the years passed he was not getting any younger. Even though Simeon could not see or understand how he would see the Savior, he believed God would do what He said.
When Jesus was 40 days old Mary and Joseph traveled to the temple in Jerusalem to have Jesus dedicated in the temple. To dedicate someone means to offer him to God. Mary and Joseph loved and obeyed God. Simeon, prompted by the Holy Spirit, went to the temple at the same time. There he saw the Promise fulfilled as the Spirit relayed that this Child was the promised Messiah. He began praising God! As this was taking place there was another person in the temple that day. Her name was Anna. At this time she was 84 years old. Anna was a widow. She had only been married 7 years before she became a widow. Anna stayed in the temple every day praying and fasting. Because she had a close relationship to the Lord, she knew that God had promised to send a Savior. As soon as she saw the Child, she immediately thanked the Lord for sending the Savior who was going to take away the sins of the world.
Simeon and Anna saw and believed that Jesus was God’s promised Savior. Because they had a close relationship with God, they were exactly where they needed to be to see with their own eyes God’s promised Savior. Imagine what they would have missed if they chose to do what they wanted to do and not what God wanted them to do that day. After Simeon and Anna met the Savior of the world on that day they chose to praise and thank Him for allowing them to see His Promise come true.
