The Messiah Simeon Waited For

Day 17, The Intent of the Law

Luke 2:31 Which You have prepared before the face of all peoples…

According to the Old Testament, the offerings were prepared in the presence of all the people. The evidence of what the sacrifice cost, the laying of hands on it, or praying and pronouncing judgment was done where all could see.

The burning before God happened inside the veil as did the offering of incense. There, the sacrifice became something else, something holy to God.

In these few words in Luke, though, Simeon states that Jesus is being prepared in the presence of all. Between this reference and verse 35, he knew that the Messiah’s arrival foreshadowed a great sacrifice. Because it happened in front of all, not just the Jews, it would be for all people. That fact alone would not be something that many among the leaders would want to hear.

To know why, you’d have to remember a bit of Jewish history. Early in Scripture, they had trouble as a nation remaining separate from the countries and religions that surrounded them. They kept intermarrying, intermingling and getting dragged down into sin. The end result was captivity arranged and allowed by God to discipline them.

Many of those who returned made the separateness nearly equal with God. Trying to be religious and apart, they refused to have any dealings with non-Jews or even any Jews who would make them unclean. They had moved to the opposite extreme. How human of them!

But God did not intend either end of the spectrum. He wanted a holy people, yes. But he wanted them to be a light on a hill. He wanted their holiness to draw all other peoples of the world and teach them of the Creator God and his marvelous ways.

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