Luke 2
"Lord, now you are letting your servant [Simeon] depart in peace, according to your word, for my eyes have seen your salvation/Yeshua that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the nations, and for glory to your people Israel.” - Luke 2:29-32
Simeon, an old man, sees a baby brought to the Jerusalem temple by Joseph and Mary. By the Holy Spirit, he recognises the baby as the promised Messiah. He connects the prophesies of Isaiah and other prophets to this baby, Yeshua.
It has been 700 years since Isaiah's prophecy and 400 years since the final book of the Old Testament, Malachi, was written. And yet Simeon did not lose hope that Messiah would come. He understood and believed this baby would bring about salvation for Israel and the nations. His mind was full of the prophecies of Isaiah:
Isaiah 42:6 I am Yahweh. I have called you [Messiah] in righteousness. I will take you by the hand and keep you. I will give you as a covenant for the people [Israel], a light for the nations....
Isaiah 45:25 In Yahweh all the [believing] offspring of Israel shall be justified and shall glory.
Isaiah 46:13 I bring near my righteousness. It is not far off, and my salvation/Yeshua will not delay. I will put salvation/Yeshua in Zion, for Israel my glory.
Isaiah 49:6 He says: It is too light a thing that you [Messiah] should be my Servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel. I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation/Yeshua may reach to the end of the earth.
Isaiah 52:10 Yahweh has bared his holy arm before the eyes of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation/Yeshua of our God.
Isaiah 60:3 And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.
Father, I love how the Old Testament connects with the New Testament. Thank you that the Bible tells one story, with the hero being Yeshua. Thank you that Simeon got to see Messiah Yeshua before he died. Today, we wait for him just as Simeon did in those days. We know that he is our only hope. Thank you he is going to come again. In the name of Yeshua, amen.
- Jeff Coleman