Today’s Passage: Luke 2:25–35

Amazing. Jesus is eight days old. He is fully human and therefore he does what fully human eight-day-old boys do: eat, sleep, and get their diapers changed. Of course he’s cute; all babies are. Yet his effect on others is beyond the “oohs and ahs” of most babies.

For those for whom the Spirit of God dwells, they respond in the presence of Jesus. Simeon does. Here Simeon proclaims that the Christ, the Anointed One, has arrived. A close read reveals that Jesus is far more than the Jewish people hoped for. Zechariah hinted at it when he proclaimed that Jesus comes to those who walk in darkness, and Simeon called it out plainly. Jesus is a light to the gentiles—salvation for all peoples.

Simeon was an old man who had spent his life looking for the consolation of Israel. Isn’t that an interesting phrase? “the consolation of Israel.” The phrase is used in the Bible to call attention to the Jewish hope of the coming of the Messiah.

Let’s unpack that a bit. What would the Messiah do? He would put their lives, the lives of God’s people, right. Imagine the years, decades, even centuries of bondage, exile, and oppression. These people looked to heaven for their release from suffering. You see, it is people who experience consistent grief, frustration, and pain who want to be consoled.

Do you seek consolation—even salvation? By my way of thinking, without this longing, it will be hard to want Jesus.