The Messiah Simeon Waited For

Day 23, Making Simeon into Simeon

You will note the picture of the Simeon tree appearing again today. Why does this tree represent the man so well? How did God raise a Simeon to be present at the birth of His son?

Simeon lived in or near Jerusalem his entire life. He had exposure to all the Scriptures, to all the ceremonies, and to the teaching of the greatest minds of his time. While we don’t know how God and the Holy Spirit drew him in, we know that He did. He grew a love in Simeon for the prophecies of the Messiah. Simeon studied them. Perhaps he even added up the time and knew the coming was near. Whatever the case, what mattered to God became crucial to Simeon. More than anything, he wanted to see those truths come to fruition.

As he grew taller spiritually, he grew older physically. The leaves of his human condition fell off and the tree began to decay within. But still he stretched for the heavens and the truth of God’s word.

For the rest of the days leading up to Christmas, we will focus on various Old Testament prophecies that Simeon alluded to and/or probably studied. While we can’t know for certain how he took in the pieces of information, we can know that he loved God’s word and eagerly awaited the coming of the Christ.

And may we follow in his footsteps until it can be said of us, too, that we adore God’s word and can’t wait until Christ returns!

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