The Messiah Simeon Waited For

Day 10, The Name of Simeon

Luke 2:25 “There was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. This man was righteous and devout, looking forward to Israel’s consolation, and the Holy Spirit was on him.”

The elderly man who awaited the Christ and prophesied about him at the temple was named Simeon, just like one of the twelve sons of Jacob.

Whether he actually descended from the original Simeon, we can’t know for certain because Scripture doesn’t say. There was a good chance that he did, however.

Why is that?

Well, because of various things the tribe of Simeon did, or didn’t do, they ended up with their territory inside the borders of the territory of Judah. So when the Northern tribes would have been taken captive by Assyria, the tribe of Simeon would have come under the protection of King Hezekiah. So more of the tribe of Simeon would have survived the Babylonian captivity than say, Zebulon or Manasseh.

In addition, boys were usually named after someone in their family. While the name Simeon shows up in other tribal lineages, it shows up more often in Simeon. Kind of makes sense, right?

And whether Simeon’s parents realized his eventual mission when he was born or not, the meaning of the name fit this godly man well. Simeon means ‘has heard’.

Simeon had heard clearly from the Holy Spirit. He knew he would see the Messiah and even knew and acknowledged several of the details about the savior that the established religious hierarchy pretended didn’t show up in Scripture.

This man of God not only heard, he proclaimed.

A Sixty-Day Countdown to Christmas


More Days

Introduction to The Messiah Simeon Waited For

Holding Jesus

Day 3, A Sketch of Simeon

Simeon Was a Godly Man

Day 5, Simeon's Testimony

Day 6, Prophecies for the Gentiles

Day 7, Blessing to Nations

Day 8, A Holy People

Day 9, Welcoming God's Firstborn

Day 10, The Name of Simeon

Day 11, Staying Alive

Day 12, Following the Spirit

Day 13, Taking Up Jesus

Day 14, God's Slave

Day 15, True Peace

Day 16, Seeing Reality

Day 17, The Intent of the Law

Day 18, For All Peoples

Day 19, Making Mary and Joseph Marvel

Day 20, A Blessing

Day 21, Hinting at the Rest of the Story

Day 22, Mary Will Grieve

Day 23, Making Simeon into Simeon

Day 24, Prophet to the Prophets

Day 25, A Priest Like Melchizedek

Day 26, Destined for Sacrifice

Day 27, Jesus and the Passover Lamb, part 1

Day 28, Jesus and the Passover Lamb, part 2

Day 29, Jesus and the Passover Lamb, Part 3

Day 30, Jesus as the Lamb (con.)

Day 31, Simeon as a Man of Gratitude

Day 32, Sacrificing Lambs in the Old Testament

Day 33, The Silent Lamb

Day 34, The Messiah as Light

Day 35, Jesus the Stumbling Block

Day 36, Jesus as the Rock

Day 37, The Precious Cornerstone

Day 38, The Stone in Zion

Day 39, The Cornerstone and the Gate

Day 40, The Stone of Judgment

Day 41, Into Zion First

Day 42, Restoring the Booth of David

Day 43, Forgotten Stones

Day 44, Blessed to Receive

Day 45, Crown Him with Many Crowns

Day 46, Identifying the Son of God

Day 47, The Best Storyteller Ever

Day 48, In Bethlehem, the City of David

Day 49, Born a King

Day 50, The Living Jesus

Day 51, The Mountain Tree (Part 1)

Day 52, The Mountain Tree (Part 2)

Day 53, The Root of Jesse

Day 54, David's Branch

Day 55, The Cursed Tree

Day 56, Time Fulfilled

Day 58 through 60

Day 57, Born David's King