A light for revelation for the world

Luke 2:1-35 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

Now in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken of all the inhabited earth. ² This was the first census taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. ³ And all the people were on their way to register for the census, each to his own city. ⁴ Now Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, ⁵ in order to register along with Mary, who was betrothed to him, and was pregnant. ⁶ While they were there, the time came for her to give birth. ⁷ And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

⁸ In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock at night. ⁹ And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood near them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. ¹⁰ And so the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; ¹¹ for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. ¹² And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” ¹³ And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly army of angels praising God and saying,

¹⁴ “Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace among people with whom He is pleased.”

¹⁵ When the angels had departed from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another, “Let’s go straight to Bethlehem, then, and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” ¹⁶ And they came in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as He lay in the manger. ¹⁷ When they had seen Him, they made known the statement which had been told them about this Child. ¹⁸ And all who heard it were amazed about the things which were told them by the shepherds. ¹⁹ But Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart. ²⁰ And the shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as had been told them.

²¹ And when eight days were completed so that it was time for His circumcision, He was also named Jesus, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb.

²² And when the days for their purification according to the Law of Moses were completed, they brought Him up to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord ²³ (as it is written in the Law of the Lord: “Every firstborn male that opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”), ²⁴ and to offer a sacrifice according to what has been stated in the Law of the Lord: “A pair of turtledoves or two young doves.”

²⁵ And there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; and this man was righteous and devout, looking forward to the consolation of Israel; and the Holy Spirit was upon him. ²⁶ And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. ²⁷ And he came by the Spirit into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to carry out for Him the custom of the Law, ²⁸ then he took Him in his arms, and blessed God, and said,

²⁹ “Now, Lord, You are letting Your bond-servant depart in peace,
According to Your word; ³⁰ For my eyes have seen Your salvation,
³¹ Which You have prepared in the presence of all the peoples: ³² A light for revelation for the Gentiles, And the glory of Your people Israel.”

³³ And His father and mother were amazed at the things which were being said about Him. ³⁴ And Simeon blessed them and said to His mother Mary, “Behold, this Child is appointed for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and as a sign to be opposed— ³⁵ and a sword will pierce your own soul—to the end that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.”

In today’s text it says: Now in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken of all the inhabited earth. This was the first census taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. And all the people were on their way to register for the census, each to his own city. Now Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, in order to register along with Mary, who was betrothed to him, and was pregnant. While they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.  Long before Jesus was born, it was prophesied that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem, from the house of David.  It begs the question then, did God know in advance that Caesar Augustus would make that decree, or did God cause Caesar to make the decree to fulfill the prophecy. All together, through His birth, His life, His death and resurrection, Jesus fulfilled over 300 Messianic prophecies. Whether God knew in advance or caused things to happen, the answer is yes. He is omniscient, knowing the beginning and the end. Also, in Isaiah 55:10-11 God says: As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, And do not return there without watering the earth And making it produce and sprout, And providing seed to the sower and bread to the eater; So will My word be which goes out of My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the purpose for which I sent it.  He will do what he said He would do.

The text says: There was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; and this man was righteous and devout, looking forward to the consolation of Israel; and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. And he came by the Spirit into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to carry out for Him the custom of the Law, then he took Him in his arms, and blessed God, and said,  “Now, Lord, You are letting Your bond-servant depart in peace, According to Your word; For my eyes have seen Your salvation, Which You have prepared in the presence of all the peoples: A light for revelation for the Gentiles, And the glory of Your people Israel.” While others saw a baby, Simeon, through the power of the Holy spirit saw the Savior of the world.  Like Simeon, we too have the Holy Spirit upon us. In John 14:16-17 Jesus says: “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, so that He may be with you forever; the Helper is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him; but you know Him because He remains with you and will be in you.”  The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth. We should not be surprised then that the world is deceived, since they have not received the Spirit of truth. In Isaiah 5:20 God says: Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!  Remember that He also says: As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, And do not return there without watering the earth And making it produce and sprout, And providing seed to the sower and bread to the eater; So will My word be which goes out of My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the purpose for which I sent it.  He has declared that those who are deceived and call evil good, those who substitute darkness for light, will experience woe. As Simeon declared, Jesus is the light of revelation for the world. In John 8:12 Jesus says: “I am the Light of the world; the one who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.”  The one who does not recognize that Jesus is light, remains in darkness. The one who does not have the Spirit of truth, remains deceived.

By the Holy Spirit Simeon had the power not only to see Christ, but also to declare Him to the world. In Acts 1:8 Jesus says: “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and Samaria, and as far as the remotest part of the earth.”  The choice is up to each individual, whether they will see, believe and receive or remain in darkness and be deceived. We though, because the Spirit is with us and in us, have the obligation to declare the truth, to be witnesses of Christ and light to the world. In Matthew 5:14-16 Jesus says: “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Your light must shine before people in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”  Amen.