Simeon and Anna – Ponderings

Luke 2:25 – 38

Preliminary thoughts: Why didn’t any of the religious leaders go from Jerusalem to Bethlehem? (Matthew 2:1 – 6).

In Luke 2:21 – 38 Joseph and Mary bring Jesus to Jerusalem; neither Herod nor the religious leaders knew what Child was in their midst. The same can be said for the religious leaders in Luke 2:41 – 47.

But then we have Simeon and Anna, they knew – they may not have known much, we don’t know how much they knew, we don’t know the breath of their understanding, but they certainly had a depth of understanding, of connection, they knew the Child…and knowing the Child was enough. Is knowing the Child enough for us? Not that we shouldn’t be growing in the grace and wisdom of our Lord Jesus, but if simply knowing Him and being in His Presence is all we had would it be enough?

Simeon was “looking for the consolation of Israel”. Anna, after seeing Jesus, spoke “of Him to all those who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.” It appears that there was a “people within a people” in Israel, a remnant within a people. The perfunctory, and often political, practice of religion in Jerusalem was not what this remnant understood to be in keeping with the Law of God. Christ came to two representatives of this remnant, Simeon and Anna.

Since the fastings of the Bible are related to intercession (and if there is an exception to this forgive me for missing it), I think Anna’s fastings must be related to seeking the God of her fathers for “the redemption of Jerusalem”. (Yes, intercessory fastings result in our continued spiritual formation; and I do not mean to suggest that we may not fast for clarity and devotion in our individual and familial lives, but the thrust of Biblically – based fasting is not ourselves but God and others. When Jesus fasted in the wilderness He fasted, I think, in preparation for what was to come, and also as the Representative New Man, New Humanity – just as we were once in Adam, we are now in Christ.)

Daniel fasted and interceded in relation to the deliverance of his people from captivity – what we see played out in Ezra and Nehemiah is the result, in some fashion, of the workings of God through the intercession of Daniel (and others perhaps?). God spoke a promise of deliverance from captivity through Jeremiah, Daniel read the promise and Daniel engaged in intercession in response to the promise.

Simeon and Anna knew the promises of Yahweh, their covenant-keeping God, for the redemption of His people Israel and all nations of the earth, hence their hopes, their prayers, their intercessions.

Well, what about us? What are we looking for? Are we looking for our Lord Jesus?

Paul writes in Philippians 3:20 that we are “eagerly waiting” for our Lord Jesus from heaven. In 1 Thessalonians 1:9 – 10 we read that we have been redeemed “to serve a living  and true God and to wait for His Son from the heavens.” Hebrews 9:28 speaks of those who are “eagerly” awaiting Him. What about us? We are eagerly looking for Jesus? Are we eagerly awaiting Him?

The Holy Spirit was upon Simeon. Simeon comes into the Temple in the Spirit. How do we come when we assemble as God’s People? Do we come in expectation? Do we come prayerfully? Do we come in the Holy Spirit?

It had been revealed to Simeon by the Holy Spirit that he would not die until he had seen the Messiah. This reminds me of Hebrews 11:33, that our fathers and mothers of faith “obtained promises”. Note that the promise given to Simeon was for Simeon and that it was not normative for Simeon’s contemporaries, including those of the remnant.

I have seen much heartache and confusion within the church when people, especially people in authority, attempt to make an understanding or perspective that is particular to them and their relationship with Christ normative for others. Often such a perspective or understanding is in its infancy, often it is misunderstood, often it does not reach maturity in a context of Biblical support and understanding, and often (perhaps nearly always) it is not vetted and tested by mature brothers and sisters. We have a common relationship with our Lord Jesus, and we, of course, have our individual relationships with our Lord Jesus – there is a mystical reciprocity and interchange in all of this, it is Trinitarian in nature for it is rooted in the Trinity.

What was it like for Simeon to awake each morning? Will this be the Day? Will this be the Day?  What about us? Are we looking for our Lord Jesus? Will this be the Day? Certainly our Lord will come to us today, if it is not the Day it is assuredly a Day – a Day in which Jesus comes to us, lives with us and in us, comes to us in other people, comes to us in the vicissitudes of life, comes to us in and through the Scriptures and prayer, comes to us as we see His hand in creation.

Are we looking for Jesus today? How is He coming to us?