The Adoration of Simeon
“And he (Simeon) came by the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for Him after the custom of the law, then took he Him up in his arms, and blessed God” (Luke 2:27-28 KJV).
Two elderly people gave much adoration to Christ in the Temple. The first was a prophet named Simeon, and the other was a prophetess named Anna. The adoration of Christ is further enhanced by the fact that the ones giving the adoration were people of great character.
Luke 2:25 describes Simeon as “just and devout.” “Just” speaks of his relationship with man. “Devout” speaks of his relationship with God. Next, we are told in 2:26 that “It was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.” This revelation was unique to Simeon. Even in his old age, Simeon still trusted God. His secret was in his worship and expectation for God. Worship and praise were natural to him – they were the center of his life.
Now we read in 2:27-28 that Simeon “came by the Spirit into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus... then took he him up in his arms and blessed God.”
Three aspects about worship are seen here in Simeon’s action:
The prompting to worship - The Holy Spirit led him to the Temple, the place of worship. It is important to note that the Holy Spirit does not lead to places of amusement and commercialism when it is time to worship.
The profit in worship – “Then took he him up in his arms.” Worship brings great reward, and Simeon, by coming to the Temple to worship, met the Christ child, a great blessing indeed.
The praise in worship – “Blessed God.” The word translated “blessed” here gives us our English word eulogy. Simeon glorified and praised God in the Temple. When your affections are upon Jesus Christ, you will praise God. The lack of honor for God in our society reveals our lack of love and respect for the Lord Jesus
Soli Deo Gloria (To God Alone Be The Glory)
Quotation of the Week
“A man can no more diminish God’s glory by refusing to worship Him than a lunatic can put out the sun by scribbling ‘darkness’ on the walls of his cell!”
Clive Staple (CS) Lewis (1898 - 1963)
Novelist, Poet, Academic, Literary Critic
Essayist, Lay Theologian, and Christian Apologist
Word Study
Pondering
In Luke 2:19 we read, “But Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart” (NASB).
Ponder is the Greek word Sumballo (συμβαλλω). It is made up of two words: “sun” which means together, with, and “ballo” which means to throw, or cast. The word mean to converse, to carry on a discussion, or to consider carefully and draw conclusions about a certain matter. Other meanings include to dispute or quarrel with someone, even to the point of engaging in a fight. It can even mean to offer help to someone.
In ancient Greek, sumballo carried the idea of placing together for comparison. Mary had a lot to think about as she gazed into the face of her child. She would go over each detail of the words spoken to her by Gabriel and then those of the shepherds. She would then compare the sayings with the facts so far developed and brood over it all with a mother’s high hopes and joy. As she held the baby Jesus in her arms, she must have wondered at all that God was doing, and who her son would grow up to be.
Bible Facts
Mary the mother of Jesus was the one human who was with Jesus from birth to death (Luke 2:8; John 19:26-30).
Bible Trivia
What tribe was Elizabeth from?
**Answer to last week’s trivia: Who gave thanks to the Lord when they saw the baby Jesus? Anna (Luke 2:36-38)
That’s in the Bible
“Manna from heaven”
“And had rained down manna upon them to eat, and had given them the corn of heaven” (Psalm 78:24 KJV).
During our time of need, we all would like to see it rain “manna from heaven.” Of course, “manna from heaven” is referring to the supernatural, unexpected, and timely gift the Lord provided for the Israelites in the desert when they had no food to eat. Their “manna” was a type of bread that literally came down from the skies to feed them during their Exodus through the desert.
Did You Know – Christian History
Candy canes began as straight white sticks of sugar candy used to decorate the Christmas trees. A choirmaster at Cologne Cathedral decided to have the ends bent to depict a shepherd’s crook and he would pass them out to the children to keep them quiet during the services. It wasn’t until about the 20th century that candy canes acquired their red stripes.
Stories of Favorite Christmas Carols
O Little Town of Bethlehem
The writer of this carol was the influential American theologian of the Nineteenth Century, Bishop Phillips Brooks. Bishop Brooks wrote the beautiful words that we all know in 1868 in Philadelphia as he recalled a trip he had made to the Holy Land several years before. He gave a copy of the words to his organist, Lewis Redner, and requested him to compose a melody that would be easy for the children to sing. On the evening just before the program, Redner awakened suddenly from sleep with the present melody in his mind - he quickly wrote it out. “O Little Town of Bethlehem” has been a favorite with children and adults around the world since that time.
A Little Humor
It was a cold and misty Christmas morning in the very depth of winter after a heavy fall of snow and only one farmer and the minister managed to arrive at the church for the morning service. “Well” said the clergyman, “'I guess there’s no point in having a service today.” “'Well that’s not how I see it.” said the farmer. “If only one cow turns up at feeding time, I still feed it.”
Thought Provoking Church Sign
“Jesus can change the foulest sinner into the finest saint!”
