Simeon knew he would see Messiah, but how was this possible? Luke 2: 25 At that time there was a man in Jerusalem named Simeon. He was righteous and devout and was eagerly waiting for the Messiah to come and rescue Israel. The Holy Spirit was upon him 26 and had revealed to him that he would not die until he had seen the Lord’s Messiah.[1] We don’t know exactly how Simeon received this message. But we do know the Holy Spirit was the one who told Simeon about seeing the Messiah.
Praying for the Consolation of Israel
The term “consolation of Israel” means messianic hope and was used in the Old Testament. While the NLT explains what consolation means, some of the older translations still use the term. Luke 2: 25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. [2]
Isaiah used this term five times (40:1; 49:13; 51:3; 57:18; 66:10–11) to describe the restoration of Israel as a nation. A traditional Jewish prayer of the time was: May I see the consolation of Israel![3] God had answered that prayer in the positive for Simeon.
Simeon was a man who had been taught by the Word of God and was obedient to it. Simeon allowed the Holy Spirit to lead him, and as a result, he was privileged to see the infant Messiah.
We All Need to See the Messiah Before We Die
We know Simeon was a righteous man who was blessed to see Jesus before he died. I don’t think Simeon knew precisely how Jesus would save Israel, but he trusted that God would work through Jesus.
We are blessed to live on this side of the cross. We know that Jesus would live a perfect life, allowing him to be a substitute for us. His blood on the cross paid the price for our sins that we could not pay. When we trust Jesus, He restores our relationship with God in this life and the next.
Not only that, but when we believe, we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. This is the same Holy Spirit who spoke and guided Simeon and can do the same for us today. It is still vital for people to see the Messiah Jesus before they die so they have eternal life. If you haven’t received Jesus as Savior, ask Him today.
Simeon knew he would see Messiah, to learn more, listen here:
https://podpoint.com/light-of-christ-church-podcast/more-prophecy-of-jesus
[1] Tyndale House Publishers. (2015). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Lk 2:25–26). Tyndale House Publishers.
[2] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Lk 2:25). (2016). Crossway Bibles.
[3] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 177). Victor Books.