Simeon: Destiny

 

And Joseph and His mother marveled

at those things which were spoken of Him.

Then Simeon blessed them,

and said to Mary His mother,

"Behold, this Child is destined

for the fall and rising of many in Israel,

and for a sign which will be spoken against

(yes, a sword will pierce

through your own soul also),

that the thoughts of many hearts

may be revealed."

Luke 2:33-35, NKJV

Though Simeon had many duties, for many years he had lived with the promise of one destiny.  He had received from the Lord a revelation of his days, that he would not pass from this life before he had seen the fulfillment of God's promise to Israel of a Savior.  So on that autumn day when he encountered Joseph and Mary and the infant Jesus, it was the meeting of a lifetime, the culmination of an long-awaited appointment with God's purpose for him.  It was more than a chance encounter; it was his destiny.

Can you imagine what that must have been like for Simeon?  Taking the child in his aged arms, perhaps he cradled the savior to his chest.  Perhaps he bent his face low over the baby and let the luxurious whiskers of his long white beard tickle those cherubic cheeks.  Perhaps he caressed that tender forehead with lips dry from excitement, and perhaps a little holy fear.  Perhaps there was a gentle smile, even through a flood of tears.  Perhaps his pulse raced as his heart pounded inside his chest.  Perhaps his entire frame quaked with the knowledge that he was holding the Savior of the world.

And then the Word of the Lord came.

"This Child is destined..."

Whether or not Simeon realized this was the very son, the only begotten, of God, Mary and Joseph knew.  They had been told by an angel.  They already knew that their Child was destined.  Inspired utterance had already poured forth from the lips of Elizabeth, Zacharias, and Mary herself regarding the pre-born Offspring of the Almighty.  Angels sang destiny's great song over the hills of Bethlehem in celebration of His birth.  And shepherds woke a sleeping village to tell them their Savior had come.  That Jesus had a purpose in life was already clear.

Now came the details, perhaps Mary's first glimpse into the agony she would have to endure as her Son, God's Son, was first accepted, applauded, adulated, adored, and then abandoned, betrayed, and condemned to death.

"This Child is destined..."

What mother wouldn't appreciate assurance and direction from the Lord God Almighty regarding the future of her firstborn child?  But what if it wasn't what you expected?

He was destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel.  Cryptic, yes, but not a bad start.  And indeed, Jesus certainly brought low the proud and exalted the humble throughout His ministry.

He was destined to be a sign that would be spoken against.  Well of course, if He was the personification of God come into a world alienated from that Person, then surely some would speak out against Him.  After all, no one is liked by everyone.

Then came the parenthetical prophetic insert about the Mother--a sword will pierce through your own soul as well.  What?  A sword?  What's that supposed to mean?  Ominous apprehensions began to whirl in her young mind.  And thirty-three years later, as Jesus was abused, beaten, crucified, denigrated, scourged and pierced in so many ways, and finally impaled on a centurion's spear, she would fully realize what that sword was all about.

He was destined for such, that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.

But would she also understand that her Son was also the Word?  That He was the revelation of God to mankind, the necessary ransom paid by the Creator to redeem all of Creation?  And that Jesus Himself was the living Word of God, sharper than any two edged sword, that he would divide soul from spirit, bone from marrow, and reveal the deepest intentions of every heart?

This wasn't a negative word spoken over an unsuspecting child.  This was the revelation of God's destiny for His Only Begotten Son, a destiny that was done before Jesus was ever born.  Before there was need for an atoning sacrifice, Jesus was the lamb slain from the foundation of the world.  Before there was a problem, God had the solution.  Before there was a fall, God provided forgiveness.  Before there was a sinner, God sent a Savior.

This was the destiny of Jesus Christ.  And a good one it was.