Author: Bill Hall

Luke 2:37 “And she was a widow of about fourscore and four years, which departed not from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day.”

   Some might compare Anna to a Nun. But, the conventicle life is an invention of man. One stark difference, for example, is that Anna had been married. Thus, though Anna’s religious practice resembles that of those in a cloister, she was hardly cloistered. Her condition does not lend credence to those who support such institutions.

Heavenly Father, may our praise for you be genuine! We don’t want to fall into false praise by trying to partner it with trappings of false piety. You deserve true worshipers. You are worthy! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 2:36 “And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Aser: she was of a great age, and had lived with an husband seven years from her virginity;”

   It is hard to imagine a person that old back in that time period. But, there were those who made it to ripe old age due to strength and other factors. Imagine the delight of this dear woman to be able to see the Lord Jesus before going to heaven. Though we will know so much more and see so much more in heaven, there seems to be some special value to seeing or experiencing it here. Anna would have known all she needed to know about Jesus after leaving this world. Yet, the Lord allowed her to live longer than most people so that she might see the Lord here.

Heavenly Father, You are amazing! You know so much more than we could begin to imagine. Will we ever stop learning things from You? I think not. Even when we have been in heaven for millions of years, You will be wiser, and You will know more. Your infinitude is beyond us! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 2:35 “(yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”

   Mary would suffer much in that she would watch her own eldest son crucified. She would have to hear the mocking and the opposition. It was indeed painful for her.
   As for the rest, the thoughts of many were indeed revealed. To understand this one must understand Jewish history. The Maccabees had given their people freedom, yes. But they also gave them the notion that that freedom comes at the price of military action. God had brought the Jews out of the Babylonian captivity without them having to use force. Not so with the revolts under the Maccabees. Thus, there has now come to be an element of the Jewish nation which might be called hyper-Zionist. There is a fine line here. Zionism in its purest form would simply say that the Jews have a divine right to their homeland. Hyper-Zionism would say the Jews are a superior race and their enemies deserve destruction.
   The life of Jesus worked as a revealing element. It was obviously manifested that the Jewish elite in that day had learned to hold power. And, they would stop at little to keep it. It is this very kind of thinking that lead to the destruction of Jerusalem not long after. The defense of the Israeli homeland is right and good, but hyper-Zionism should not be promoted any more than other racially-based evils.

Heavenly Father, we will always thank You for how You have guided the Jewish nation. May we always minister to them! They are Your blessed people. Give us mercy and love in our hearts for them. We praise You for Christ, Your Precious Son. We will praise Him for eternity! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 2:34 “And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother, Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against;”

   Though this sounds very generic, this is quite specifically fulfilled in the life of Christ. It is the church that saw the end of the religious structure of then present Israel. Yet, many in Israel experienced revival. The poor were once again cared for, and offered salvation.
   The sign of the death burial and resurrection of Christ was, and still is, spoken against by most of the Jews. Thus, like the other prophets, Simeon shares here truth about the Christ which would shortly come to pass.

Heavenly Father, You are so wise! You have told us the end from the beginning. For, indeed, Jesus is the Alpha and Omega, The Beginning and The End. All praise to Him! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 2:33 “And Joseph and His mother marveled at those things which were spoken of Him.”

Joseph and Mary were right in the middle of something huge.They got a front row seat to the greatest life ever. Imagine what it must have been like to be there with Jesus every day. Surely they learned a lot about themselves during the time that they were caring for Him.

Heavenly Father, thank You for letting us be involved in raising kids for You! It is an honor. Who knows what You will do with their lives? The potential is great. You work in each person’s life. Thanks for the blessings! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Chris I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 2:32 “A light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, And the glory of Your people Israel.”

   It is difficult for us to understand well now, but there was a time when the Gentile world had little in the way of truth. Jesus changed all of that. Even this hemisphere, which stood in relative darkness for so long, had the light of His truth finally brought to it.

Heavenly Father, to know that You have given us the light of Your truth is so wonderful! You are merciful and gracious, and it is all by Your plan. You put it all together from the beginning. You have made it all possible. How can we ever praise you enough? You are worthy of all praise and honor! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 2:31 “Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people;”

   This short little verse packs a lot in. God has made His plan of salvation right before our very eyes, so to speak. Though the evil world system was not helpful to it, He worked it all out anyway. His absolute power over history is evident by His selection of a people in the Old Testament. He then narrowed it down throughout time until the time came for His dear Son, the Messiah, to arrive. And, ever since He has worked in His church. And it has changed the world for Christ.

Heavenly Father, how can we possibly praise You enough? Your plan is amazing! It is nothing shy of impossible in our minds, yet the possible is possible with You. And thus, it has become reality. Thank You for Your salvation! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 2:30 “For my eyes have seen Your salvation”

   Salvation is not a thing, it is  a person. Jesus is salvation. This is one of the most vitally important points for us to understand and proclaim in our own time. We tend to see concepts separated from the person of Christ, and the person of God the Father.
   For example we have those who would purvey the Golden Rule, and yet leave the Eternal Christ behind. There is a desire to sift out of Christianity that which mankind feels it can live with and then throw away the rest. We must fight this urge. There is a great danger in teaching good as a concept without teaching God as a reality. To remove Christ from salvation is to move towards that syncretism that will one day hand the world to the antichrist. And final destruction will follow.

Heavenly Father, thank You for salvation in Jesus Christ Your Son! We will praise You forever for Him. You are infinitely wise in Your plans for this little planet. Thank You for helping us to understand Your universe through Your Word. It is all so very beautiful! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 2:29 “Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, According to Your word;”

   We all remember the little acronym R.I.P. This means to ‘Rest in Peace’ and has been in use for many hundreds of years. Jews and Christians alike employ the idea. However, we should understand that this epitaph is more expressive than it seems on the surface. It is indeed, as in this verse, tied to the hope of salvation. Simeon knew he could rest in peace because he had seen the Christ, the One who gives us eternal hope. So, to rest in peace does not mean to die forever, but for our body to rest until that future resurrection. It should have special meaning to those who belong to the Lord.

Heavenly Father, thank You for hope in Christ! You give us grace for death and life. Hope in Him is not just a nice way of thinking, it is a sure reality that we can rely upon. We praise You for Your plan of salvation! Never could we honor You enough dear Father. You are so wise! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 2:28 “he took Him up in his arms and blessed God and said:”

   Here we find that Simeon ‘blesses’ God. However, the same exact concept is translated ‘praise’ in Luke 1:64. So, which is it? It is both. When we praise the Lord, we are blessing Him. This really puts things into a different perspective. We ask for God’s blessing in our lives. His blessing, though not a praise of us, makes our lives more praiseworthy. So, rather than always asking, how can I be blessed, we should ask, how may I bless Him? When we come together on Sunday, for example, our goal should be to bless God.

Heavenly Father, thank You for always working on our behalf. You bring great blessings into our lives. We will praise You forever! You are worthy to be blessed. We want you to be blessed every day that we live. We praise Your mighty Name! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.