Yesterday we were left on a bit of a cliffhanger. We were introduced to the righteous and devout Simeon, and were told of his message from the Holy Spirit that he wouldn’t die before he met the Lord’s Messiah. Today we will get to see more of the Lord’s promises coming true!
It’s another even-day, so we are sticking to the same parts of our memory verses. How many of you are still hanging in there? If it is getting to be too much, that’s fine! My 5-year-old is still working on some of the earlier parts. She’s still proud of herself for what she has accomplished, and I’m proud of her too!
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light…”
27 Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, 28 Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:
29 “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss our servant in peace.
30 For my eyes have seen your salvation,
31 which you have prepared in the sight of all nations:
32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel.”
33 The child’s father and mother marveled at what was said about him. 34 Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, 35 so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.”
Luke 2:27-35, NIV
What should you teach them?
What I tell my kids:
- Yesterday, we learned that the Holy Spirit told Simeon that he would not die before meeting the Messiah. We also learned that he was in Jerusalem at the same time that Mary and Joseph were in Jerusalem to do the things that Moses’ Law said to do when a new baby was born to one of God’s covenant people.
- Simeon was moved by the Holy Spirit to go to the temple courts on the same day that Mary and Joseph brought Jesus there.
- Simeon immediately knew who Jesus was as soon as he saw him! He knew he was the Messiah that the Holy Spirit had told him that he would meet!
- Simeon took the 8 day old baby Jesus into his arms and prophesied over him. Do you remember what a prophecy is? A prophecy is a when someone tells a message that is from God. In this case the message came from the Holy Spirit just like it did when Elizabeth prophesied.
- Simeon said that now that he had seen this baby, he could die in peace. He said that by seeing this baby he had seen salvation! He also mentioned that this savior would help both the Gentiles and the Jewish people. A Gentile is a person who is not Jewish. Jewish people back then were often referred to as Israel because they were from the Nation of Israel which had descended from Jacob. God gave Jacob the name Israel.
- It is not hard to imagine, then that Mary and Joseph were very impressed by what Simeon was saying. They had both been visited by angels of the Lord and they had also heard what the shepherds had to say. Now this!
- The last thing that Simeon does in today’s reading is bless Mary and Joseph. He gives a particular, interesting message to Mary. He tells her that her son will cause many to rise and fall in Israel. This means that Jesus will be the downfall of some important people, but he will also make some people who are considered unimportant to be raised up.
- He says that this baby will also be a sign that will be spoken against, a sign that will reveal what is in people’s hearts. Jesus is the sign, and what people say about Jesus reveals a lot about what is in their hearts.
- A lot of people in Simeon’s day said that they loved God. They even said that they would love the Messiah when he came. However, many of them would say that they hated Jesus. If someone says that they love God, but they say that they hate Jesus, then what is really in their heart? Simeon knew the answer to this one!
- Simeon told Mary that a sword would pierce her own soul too. Some people see this as a prophecy about Mary seeing her son die on the cross. However, the Bible tells us that the Word of God is sharper than a double edged sword. (Hebrews 4:12) Jesus is the Word of God. The scripture goes on to tell us that we will all be judged by this sword. Simeon was telling Mary that even though she was the mother of the Messiah, she would still be judged by him just like everyone else.
- It is now time for our prayer!