Mine Eyes Have Seen The Salvation

Q: Tell me the names of some Old Testament prophets? [Isaiah, Jonah, Jeremiah, Moses, David etc.]

Q: Tell me the names of some Old Testament prophetess? [Miriam, Deborrah, Huldah etc.]

Today we are going to learn about a prophet and a prophetess, Who lived in BC and in AD.

They were the first to bear witness of Jesus.

Luke 2:21-35
21 On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise him, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he had been conceived.
22 When the time of their purification according to the Law of Moses had been completed, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord
23 (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, "Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord"),
24 and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: "a pair of doves or two young pigeons."
25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.
26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord's Christ.
27 Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required,
28 Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:
29 "Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you now dismiss your servant in peace.
30 For my eyes have seen your salvation,
31 which you have prepared in the sight of all people,
32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel."
33 The child's father and mother marveled at what was said about him.
34 Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: "This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against,
35 so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too."

1. Simeon the prophet

Simeon was a righteous and devoted man of God.

The Bible says that the Holy Spirit was upon him and the Spirit not only revealed to him about the coming of the Lord but also moved him in to the temple court.

When you are righteous and devoted the Spirit moves you and reveals God’s glory. (Like Philip was moved to meet the Ethiopian).

But at the same time when we are not Spiritual, we grieve the Holy Spirit.

Q: What would fan the flame of the Holy Spirit? [Prayer, fasting, Bible study, Sharing your faith, Serving others]

Q: What would grieve the Holy Spirit? [Unconfessed sin, Doubts, Bitterness ……. Etc]

Simeon prophesied 3 important things –

1. Jesus will be a light to the Gentiles too. Through it was written in Isaiah 49:6, even the apostles had a tough time understanding it.

Isaiah 49:6
he says: "It is too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth."

2. In v 34- Some would fall and others would rise. With Jesus there would be no neutral ground; people either totally accept him and be saved or reject him and be lost.

3. In v 35- He will reveal the secrets of mens’ heart and he also told Mary she would go through the pain..!

Q: Paul says we are the ingrafted branches.

Are you grateful that God sent Jesus even for us? (the Gentiles)

Q: Has Jesus coming helped you to rise and grow or are you falling down?

Let us be like Simeon. He was filled with the Spirit and spoke the truth boldly……… though it was contradictory to the Jewish belief that the Messiah would save only Israel.

2. Anna, the prophetess.

Luke 2:36-38
36 There was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage,
37 and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying.
38 Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.

A normal Jewish girl out married between 14-16 years. Either she was widow for 84years (see the NIV foot note) or atleast for 60 yrs. Spent her life as a widow.

Though Anna was very old, she never lost her hope that one day she will see the Messiah.

Think about Anna’s life …..

She lost her husband as a young woman. Probably she had no child (other wise she wouldn’t be working in the temple). She lived in the Dark ages where there was no prophecy and no encouragement from other spiritual leaders.

Yet she never left the temple for 60 years.

Q: How would you fell if you had to stay inside the temple for 60 years and take care of the needs of the temple?

Anna never complained, She prayed day and night.

Q: What are the few things we complain about being a Christian? [3 meetings / DP-time / going and praying with young disciples / no money / not able to find right Husband or wife / job problem.]

Anna had all these problems but yet she was devoted to God.

To be a prophetess you don’t need to predict the future; Anna never did.

But you need to persevere and be faithful to God even when everything goes wrong.

Lets us make a decision to be like Simeon and Anna.

All of us will get old … and I want to challenge you to stay faithful.

And also let us encourage those who are older among us because they have more challenges than we do.

Challenges

Go and do something special for an elderly disciple / elderly family member of yours.