CRITICAL NOTES
Luke 2:21. The child.—The best MSS. read “Him.”
Luke 2:22. Her purification.—The true reading is, “their purification” (R.V.). The mother was ceremonially unclean by child-birth, the others of the household by daily contact. The law of purification is given in Leviticus 12. At the conclusion of forty days a lamb was to be offered as a burnt-offering, and a turtle-dove or young pigeon as a sin-offering. In case of poverty two turtle-doves or young pigeons were to be offered instead, one as a burnt-offering and the other as a sin-offering. To present Him.—As a first-born male. “The first-born male of every species was sacred to the Lord, in memory of the delivery of the first-born of the Israelites in Egypt (Exodus 12:29-30; Exodus 13:2). But the first-born male child was to be redeemed for money (Exodus 13:11-15; Numbers 18:15-16), and the whole tribe of Levi was regarded as having been substituted for the first-born (Numbers 3:12-13)” (Speaker’s Commentary).
Luke 2:23. That openeth the womb.—Figurative for “first-born.”
Luke 2:24. A pair of turtle-doves, etc.—As no mention is made of the lamb, it has been reasonably inferred that the holy family were poor.
Luke 2:25. Simeon.—According to some the son of the famous Rabbi Hillel and the father of Gamaliel. This is scarcely possible, as the Simeon of the text seems to have been in extreme old age (Luke 2:26-29), while the other was president of the Sanhedrim some seventeen or eighteen years later. The name was at this time very common among the Jews. Just and devout.—Cf. Luke 1:6. The one epithet describes external conduct, the other the inward, spiritual character. The consolation of Israel.—A beautiful title of Christ or description of the blessings expected from His coming. Cf. Mark 15:43.
Luke 2:26. The Lord’s Christ.—I.e. the Anointed of Jehovah. Cf. Psalms 2:2.
Luke 2:27. By the Spirit.—I.e. under the influence of the Spirit.
Luke 2:29. Now lettest Thou.—Death seemed near and sure since he had seen the Lord’s Christ.
Luke 2:31. All people.—Rather, “all peoples” (R.V.), divided in Luke 2:32 into Gentiles (sitting in darkness, to whom Christ was to be a light) and Jews (whose glory He was to be).
Luke 2:32. To lighten the Gentiles.—Rather, “for revelation to the Gentiles” (R.V.).
Luke 2:34. Is set.—Lit. “lies”: perhaps the figure is akin to that of the stone lying on the path, which is to some a stone of stumbling, to others a stone of support. The fall and rising again.—Rather, “the fall and rising up” (R.V.), i.e. “for the fall of many who now stand, and for the rising of many who now lie prostrate, ‘that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.’ The child was to be a touch-stone of character, of faith, and of love. God’s true but hidden servants would embrace Him; the hypocrites would reject Him” (Speaker’s Commentary). The prediction finds fulfilment in the fall of Pharisees and scribes, and the rising of publicans and sinners. A sign, etc.—That His life and teaching would provoke violent opposition—a prophecy only too abundantly fulfilled.
Luke 2:35. Yea, a sword.—Reference having been made to opposition excited by the life and teaching of Christ, it is natural to see here an allusion to the grief this would excite in the heart of His mother; the sword would pierce deepest at the cross. This idea pervades the Stabat Mater dolorosa. Any reference to Mary’s anguish for sin, or doubts concerning the Messiahship of her Son, seems out of place.
Luke 2:36. Anna.—The same name as Hannah. A prophetess.—Known as such previous to this time. Cf. cases of Miriam, Deborah, and Huldah in the Old Testament, the daughters of Philip in the New (Acts 21:9). Aser.—I.e. Asher. It is interesting to note the presence of one belonging to the ten tribes in the Holy Land at this epoch. Had lived, etc.—I.e. bad been married for seven years, and was now a widow of fourscore and four years of age.
Luke 2:37. Departed not.—Probably denotes assiduous attendance (cf. Acts 2:46): it may mean that her home was in the Temple, that as prophetess she lived in one of the chambers of the holy building. Fastings.—Only one fast appointed in the law, that on the great Day of Atonement. The Pharisees were in the habit of fasting twice in the week (Luke 18:12), on Mondays and Thursdays.
Luke 2:38. Looked for.—I.e. “expected.” The readings of the last clause in the verse vary: the R.V. gives it, “looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.” Jerusalem regarded as the place where redemption would begin. The expectations of these devout souls would be checked by the flight into Egypt, the withdrawal to Nazareth, and the long years of silence before the prophecies concerning Christ began to find fulfilment in His public ministry.
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.— Luke 2:21-39
The Holy Spirit testifies to Christ.—The veil which concealed the glory of Christ had for a moment been drawn aside by the angels, and the shepherds had seen in Him their Lord and Saviour. But after this revelation the veil falls again, and He takes His place among men without anything to distinguish Him from them. He is treated as ordinary Jewish children were; He is circumcised on the eighth day, presented in the Temple on the fortieth day; the Virgin offers sacrifice for her purification, and makes the offering by which He, like other first-born children not of the tribe of Levi, was redeemed from service in the Temple. The only remarkable circumstance is that the name (not in itself an uncommon one) was that appointed by the angel before His conception. But when He appears in the Temple, the veil that conceals His glory is again drawn aside: at the very moment when He is subject to the ordinances of the law, witnesses are raised up and inspired by God to declare that He is the Desired One for whose coming Israel had long waited, and who was to be the Light of the world. Special interest attaches to those who on this occasion were the organs of the Holy Spirit to make this announcement to men. We notice:—
I. Both Simeon and Anna were persons of holy character.—They had that purity of heart which enables us to see God—to have understanding of Divine things.
II. Their faith and hope were strong.—They waited for the consolation of Israel as those who expected to see it, and God rewarded the confidence they placed in His promises.
III. They were not of official rank, yet they received revelations which were denied to priests and doctors of the law. This is in accordance with the Divine procedure in the case of many who were called to be prophets. The majority of the prophets were laymen, whose words had weight from the fact of their being immediately inspired of God, and not because the speakers had a claim to be heard apart from that which their message gave them. Nor can it be without significance that the one of these witnesses was a man and the other a woman, since under the new covenant inaugurated by Christ both sexes are on an equality before God which was before but imperfectly indicated.
SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS ON Luke 2:21-39
Luke 2:21. “The circumcising of the child.”—By circumcision Jesus entered into the covenant relationship with God in which the Jewish nation stood, and of which that rite was the seal. Henceforth there rested on Him the obligation to keep the law and commandments laid upon the children of Israel. The purification from sin which circumcision symbolised was an element in the rite which had no personal significance for Him. Yet His submission to circumcision, as afterwards to baptism, was necessary to His becoming “like His brethren.” “Wherefore in all things it behoved Him to be made like unto His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people” (Hebrews 2:17). “When the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth His Son, made [born, R.V.] of a woman, made [born, R.V.] under the law” (Galatians 4:4). “God, sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh” (Romans 8:3).
“Was called Jesus.”—Less stress is laid upon the fact of Jesus receiving circumcision than upon that of the significant name bestowed upon Him at the time. His Divine character and His freedom from taint of sin are implied in the title of Saviour: the name given Him by the special appointment of God distinguishes Him from all others born of woman, as One who would save the sinful, and therefore of necessity be Himself free from sin.
“Before He was conceived.”—The unique glory of Christ as one in whom the Father was well pleased is delicately implied in the name bestowed upon Him before He was conceived in the womb of the Virgin.
“When eight days were accomplished.”—Our celebration of December 25th as the day of Christ’s nativity makes the first day of the new year to correspond with the date of His circumcision and of His receiving the name Jesus. The putting away of the sinful nature, and the acceptance of obligation to obey the law of God, which are implied in circumcision, suggest appropriate thoughts for the beginning of the new year; and along with them the name of Jesus should suggest the absolution of our past offences, and the gift of spiritual strength for the time that is to come.
The Circumcision of our Lord.—As man our Lord underwent in infancy the rite which was enjoined by the Jewish law. As God He willed to undergo it. He might have ordered things otherwise. But He freely submitted to this, as to all the humiliations of His earthly life, and to death itself. Notice, in this submission—
I. Our Lord gave emphatic sanction to the principle that a feature of heathen practice or religion might be occasionally consecrated to serve the purpose of religious truth.—It is certain that from early times some heathen nations did practise circumcision. Abraham would not regard it as a new rite; for it was common, if not universal, in Egypt. With him, therefore, it was an old rite with a new meaning. The Holy Spirit lays under contribution for His high purposes various words, thoughts, arguments, customs, symbols, rites, associated before with false religions or with none; He invests them with a new and higher meaning, and thus enlists them in a holier service.
II. Our Lord became obedient to the whole Mosaic law.—“Made under the law.” This was the meaning of circumcision, so far as man was concerned; it was an undertaking to be true to everything in the covenant with God, of which it was the initial rite. Our lord voluntarily submitted to ordinances which He Himself had instituted, but to ordinances which had no purpose or meaning except as referring to Himself. He could not have done more had He been consciously ignorant or criminal. He could not have done less if He was to represent us, in His life of perfect obedience, as well as on His cross of shame. “Thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness.” What a lesson of obedience! When do many get into trouble with God? When they make their estimate of their wants, and not God’s declared will, the rule of conduct. Our Lord submitted, because the Father so ordered, and because we needed the bright example and moral strength of His submission.
III. Our Lord submitted to this rite in order to persuade us of the necessity of that spiritual circumcision which was prefigured by it.—Even the Old Testament teaches a moral and spiritual as well as a literal circumcision. Heart, lips, ears, must be circumcised. For us the literal rite is of no value: the real rite is spiritual. Its essence is the mortification of earthly desire. Desire no longer centres in God, but is mainly lavished upon objects of sense. Thus the soul is degraded; it becomes animalised. Hence the necessity for spiritual circumcision. The mortification of degraded desire is the most serious business of a true Christian life. “If thy right hand offend thee,” etc. Our Lord meant by these searching words the mortification of desire which no longer centres in God.—Liddon.
The Name of Jesus.
I. Why should this importance be attached to a name, even although it be the name of our Lord?—We think lightly of names. We contrast names with realities, words with things. Not so in the Bible. Names there are significant. The name of God is treated as if it were a living thing. Is this merely an orientalism? No. Is it not better to feel one language, as the Hebrews felt theirs, than to use the words of two or three as mere counters. A name is a power. Some names invigorate and illuminate; others darken and depress by reason of their associations. The choice of a child’s name is not to be left to chance. Every child possesses in his surname a social and moral inheritance; it is decided for him before his birth: but what of his Christian name, which you are to fix on him indelibly? Our Lord entering the world as a Jew, His human name was constructed on the Hebrew type. It belongs to a large class of personal titles in which the sacred name of God—Jehovah—is connected with some one of His works or attributes.
II. We might have expected that our Lord would have chosen a unique name, unshared by any of the sons of men.—But He willed it otherwise. In His name He had many forerunners, the greatest of whom is Joshua, the “saviour” of Israel, a man of “blood and iron.” This greater Joshua is a Saviour in a higher sense. Is He not the Author of all the self-restraint, the truthfulness, the courage, the purity, the disinterestedness, the sacrifice, which save society? Joshua (or Hoshea) was a name borne of old by intellectual deliverers. Jesus Christ it is who has saved the human race from ignorance of the truths which it most concerns man to know. Another Joshua was the high priest of the Restoration, an earthly anticipation of of our ascended King and Priest upon His throne. He is a Saviour who delivers us from sin’s guilt by His sufferings, and from sin’s power by His grace.—Ibid.
Luke 2:22. The Consecration of the Family to God.—The law of Moses prescribed
(1) the purification of the mother, and
(2) the presentation of the first-born son to the Lord. So close were the ties by which God and His people were bound together, every mother in the time of her newfound happiness was called to appear before God, to receive purification from the taints inseparably connected with the transmission of a sinful nature, and each first-born son was acknowledged as so specially His that he could only be redeemed from service in the Temple by payment of a fine in money. This consecration of the family to God was one of the noblest features of Judaism.
Luke 2:24. The Sacrifice of Purification.—Humble circumstances, but not abject poverty, are implied in the offering presented by Mary for the sacrifice of purification; for in the Mosaic law provision was made for those who might be too poor to afford the offering specified in the text. The considerate spirit in which that law was drawn up is manifested, not only in the scale of sacrifices to suit persons in different conditions of life, but also in the alternative of “a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.” The turtle-doves being migratory birds might not be procurable at the time when they were needed in any particular place, and it might be difficult to catch old pigeons, so it was allowable to bring young pigeons taken from the nest.
An Appropriate Offering.—There is something in the birds themselves—the doves—characteristic of the love, purity, and meekness of Christ, anointed above His fellows with the gifts of the Divine Dove.—Wordsworth.
The Lamb of God brought into the Temple.—Mary cannot bring a lamb for an offering; she brings something better, even the true Lamb of God, into the Temple.—Van Oosterzee.
Luke 2:25-26. “A man, whose name was Simeon.”—His character is described in a few pregnant words. As regards his relation to the spirit of the law, he was “just.” In relation to God, he possessed that careful reverential spirit which is ever cautious not to offend. His heart was not wanting in that attitude of sweet expectation, that flower-like unfolding to the dews of promise, characteristic of true holiness under the older dispensation; he waited in hushed expectancy for the “consolation of Israel.” And that consolation implies a Consoler. Such influence of the Spirit was upon him as was yet vouchsafed under the first covenant. To this man God’s will stood revealed in a way which Luke describes with a sweet and subtle antithesis: “It was revealed unto him that he should not see death before he had seen the Anointed of the Lord.” Just as the Virgin and Child were coming up, Simeon “came in the Spirit into the Temple courts.” God directs the path of His faithful servants, that good may meet them on the way. We go here and there, and at times seem to ourselves as if we were floating half at random. But there is a guiding purpose. Then the Evangelist tells us with simple emphasis, “And he himself also received Him into his arms.” Now he feels that he may and must soon go home. So arises his sentinel-song.—Alexander.
“A man in Jerusalem,” etc.—The description given of Simeon may be resolved into seven distinct statements, proceeding from the general to the particular—seven concentric circles:
1. A man—his dignity consisting not merely in official standing, wealth, notoriety, or gifts, but in his manhood.
2. In Jerusalem—in the possession of special privileges as a Jew.
3. Just—upright in his outward life.
4. Devout—in spirit, as one who loved and obeyed God.
5. Animated by religious hopes—looking for the consolation of Israel.
6. An organ of the Holy Ghost—the Holy Ghost was upon him.
7. One who had received a special revelation and promise (Luke 2:26).
“Waiting for the consolation of Israel,’ or rather looking for it as something which was now close at hand, as he was assured by the infallible testimony of the Spirit that it was.
“It was revealed unto him.”—Not to the priests, or to a priest, for they as a class were at this time corrupt and unspiritual, as we see from their unsympathetic and even hostile attitude towards Christ during His public ministry. God therefore passes them by, and chooses unofficial persons, such as Simeon and Anna, to be the organs of the Holy Spirit.
Luke 2:25-32. Hope Realised.—The outward circumstances of the presentation in the Temple are devoid of anything to arrest attention or to appeal to a love of the marvellous. No miracles dazzle the senses of beholders. Nothing is seen but two parents of humble rank of life presenting their child to God and offering the sacrifice of the poor. Simeon, who greets them, is no official of high rank; his only claim to distinction is the beauty and elevation of his character—“just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel.” It is this last-named circumstance which gives significance to his action and words. He is a type of those who under the old covenant had waited for and longed for the coming of the Saviour. We see in him the Church of the patriarchs and prophets, which takes the newborn Christ into its failing arms and presents Him to the Church of the future, and says, “As for me, my task is accomplished; here He is whom I have so ardently desired to behold; here He is who is Saviour and King.”
Simeon’s Hope and Faith.—
1. The first remarkable feature in the character of Simeon was the firmness of his hope. He looked forward to the future in the firm conviction inspired by the Holy Spirit that before he saw death he would see the Lord’s Christ. The attitude he maintained was not peculiar to him, though the special prophecy in which he trusted was given to him alone—it was that of the devout in Israel in all ages of their history. Their golden age was in the future, and not in the past. And we as Christians look forward to a brighter and happier time than the present, when the kingdom of Christ shall have fully come. Our Master is absent, and we look for His return.
2. The second remarkable feature is the greatness of his faith. What was it that his bodily eyes beheld? A child a few weeks old—the child of poor and obscure parents. What appeared to the eye of his spirit? The Saviour of the world, who was to raise up the fallen nation of Israel to more than its former glory, and give light and hope to the heathen world. And can our faith languish and die when we have before us Christ, not as a helpless child, but as the Redeemer who has made atonement for sin and has ascended to the right hand of God—when we have before us His Divine teaching and holy life, and all the influence which He has exercise 1 upon human society? His hopes realised, his faith assured, he has but one emotion—that of joy; his soul enters into a holy peace. Nothing now can move him to desire to linger longer upon earth; it only remains for him to leave the post he has occupied for so many years, from which he has eagerly looked for the rising of this star, and to enter into his rest.
Luke 2:27. “Came by the Spirit into the Temple.”—It might seem accidental, but was not so. A secret impulse urged him to go into the sacred precincts at that particular moment; it was one of the great crises of his life, when all depended upon obeying the Divine intimation pointing out his course, but not compelling him to take it. Do not many of our failures and disappointments in life result from ignoring or disobeying what we believe to be good impulses?
A True Priest.—The parents brought in the child Jesus, and Simeon received Him into his arms, as a true priest appointed of God, though not anointed of man.
Luke 2:28. “Then took he Him up in his arms.”—The aged and righteous Simeon—the good old man of the law—received into his arms the child Jesus presented in the Temple, and signified his desire to depart; and thus represents to us the law, now worn out with age, ready to embrace the gospel, and so to depart in peace.—Wordsworth.
Luke 2:29-32. Hope fulfilled.—As the swan is said to sing just before its death, so does this aged saint break forth into a psalm of thanksgiving as he beholds the Saviour, whom it had been predicted he should see before he should taste of death. With devout gratitude he takes farewell of life, now that he has received the object of his hopes. The anticipation of seeing the Lord’s Christ had made him cling to life; but now that the Holy Child is within his arms, he has nothing more to wish for, and is ready to depart. “Now let me die, since I have seen Thy face.”
The Sentinel—Simeon represents himself under the figure of a sentinel whom his master has stationed upon an elevated place to watch for the appearance of a certain star and to give notice to the world of its arrival. He sees the wished-for star, and announces that it has risen, and asks to be set free from the post he has occupied so long. It is thus that, in the opening of the Agamemnon of Æschylus, the sentinel stationed to watch for the signal-fire that would tell that Troy had fallen when he at last beholds the long-expected blaze, celebrates in verse both the victory of Greece and his own release.—Godet.
A Rebuke to our Unbelief.—The faith in a Saviour who had just appeared which sustained Simeon in the near prospect of death is a rebuke to our unbelief and fears in view of that great change. We know Jesus as the conqueror of death and sin.
Luke 2:29. Nunc Dimittis.—In this apparently unremarkable little group there is something really remarkable in each of these four living souls. We recognise in the words spoken the Nunc Dimittis of eighteen centuries of the Church’s worship. What is there in these pathetic and beautiful words, suggestive of thoughts which should be our life?
I. The speaker is an Old Testament saint.—Just and devout, yet waiting for the consolation of Israel by the actual coming of “the Coming One.” He had a revelation common to him with his nation; he had also a private revelation of his own.
II. The message.—
1. The thought comes to us—Blessed is the man who has the Lord for his God, the man whose life was in the hands of an Owner. Very real and very dear to the heart of Simeon was the relationship of servant and master. It was the chosen title of the apostles; it was the secret of their success, the rest and stay of their anxious and homeless life. Later saints have felt the same thing, and expressed it in the same way.
2. Simeon has still to see the Lord’s Christ. It is a parable for all time. There are many who say, “Be just, and it shall be counted to you for righteousness.” There are many who say, “Be just and devout, fear God and pray to Him alway, and assuredly you shall lack nothing of the fitness for glory.” Simeon had both these graces, and yet he must not die till he had seen Jesus. There are many who have all else—every grace of uprightness and devoutness, every characteristic of seriousness and earnestness, of piety and charity; only Christ they have not yet realised. It does not come home to them why “Believe in God” should not suffice for them without the added clause, “Believe also in Me.” We must not idly wait for that peradventure of illumination which Simeon’s case suggests. Upon us the true Light has already shined; it is ours to see it, and to walk-in it. We cannot say the Nunc Dimittis till we can say with it, “Mine eyes have seen Thy salvation.”
III. Another thought remains.—The Divine office of “dismissing.” “Thou art letting Thy servant depart.” What would these partings be, how sad, how hopeless, without a gospel—without the knowledge, such as we can only get from Jesus Christ, of a life out of sight, in which present and absent are one—of a real heaven, opened and set open to all who are travelling life’s journey in the faith of a Father, and Saviour, and Comforter who has us all in His holy keeping! With this gospel in our hearts, we can hear of each other’s deaths with no disconsolate sorrow, because in Him, living or dying, we are one. The dismissal Simeon spoke of was dismissal by death. He was ready for it now. He spoke of it as a release, a setting free, a desired change, a transition, all for good. When the great departing comes for each of us, we shall need all Simeon’s hope, and all the support of his dismissal. We know not any of us what that departure is. It is no lack of courage to confess that it is formidable in the prospect. Let us think of it now, earnestly endeavouring so to live that there may be no spectres and no voices to terrify the act of dying.—Vaughan.
Simeon’s View of Death.—It is not the removal of a reluctant, unwilling man from the scene of all his joys and all his interests; it is the releasing of a weary man at evening from the toil and heat of a long, fatiguing day; it is the desirable and peaceful dismissal of one who has done his work to a rest which toil has earned and which promise has sweetened. It is worth while so to live as that the Nunc Dimittis may express our own true thought when we die.—Ibid.
Luke 2:29-30. Christ and Old Age.—One of our Lord’s epiphanies; His epiphany to old age. A subject of pointed application to the young, for the young expect to be old. The present sowing of youth is for the reaping of age. What is a “good” old age? All old age is not good. There is an old age which mars as well as an old age which makes reputations.
I. Few men in the abstract desire old age.—Few men in their experience find it desirable. It needs practising for. A good old age comes to no man by accident. Rare, probably unexampled, is that natural and durable sweetness which could make the trials of protracted age light or enjoyable. It is bitter to feel yourself in the way, and to see no help for it; to be beyond the age of activity, of independence, of importance, of admiration; to be reminded daily that you are the survivor of a past generation; to know that the only prospect is a narrowing of action and interest, to make room for new energies and young self-sufficiencies: this is a severe trial, on the acceptance of which, for good or evil, will depend the real character and complexion of the individual old age. Well-principled and self-controlled patience is one condition of a good old age.
II. A foremost condition of a good old age is the preservation of a thorough harmony and unity with the young.—Old age is naturally impatient of the new. But still the old may succeed in being young in feeling; and where this is so they attract the young. The young delight in their experience, their mellowness, their sympathy. This special characteristic cannot be put on; it must be cultivated and lived into. Let each age be in harmony with the age below. Let the continuity never be broken. Lead by going before, help by feeling with, and old age will but complete and crown the work of the manhood and the activity.
III. There are, however, besides trials and risks, incomparable privileges in old age.—These should be faithfully treasured and “occupied.” An intelligent old age is a storehouse of precious memories, which no chronicles can rival nor libraries supersede. An old man should use his opportunities of testifying to a younger generation the living sights and sounds of his own. It is a debt due to history; it is a debt scarcely less to the verities of Christianity and Christ. And, besides, the influences of old age are incalculable. Let a man give himself to this work, and he may mould the young almost to his will. Let the old make the young feel that they are worth helping, listening to, answering. By a generous, manly interest in the coming generation who are what he was, by deep, true, noble sympathy with their difficulties, struggles, unavoidable ignorances, the old man may write himself unconsciously upon the young, and keep up the continuity of that work of God on earth which consists in the amelioration, emancipation, and transfiguration of His creatures. But such a work needs for its accomplishment the epiphany of our Lord Jesus Christ to old age. Natural gifts and graces do not suffice for this apostleship of the aged. O miserable spectacle a Christless old age! Pity, yet despise not, the old man whose testimony, rightly read, is all on the side of materialism and infidelity. How different the evidence of him whose old age has been brightened with the epiphany of Jesus Christ! He, the “Ancient of Days,” is still, as ever, young with a perpetual youth: herein lies the virtue of His epiphany to the old. He tells of a world where they reckon not by years, where past and future are not, where the weakness of old age is made strong in the first sight of the Immortal. He draws nigh to the solitude, He comforts the isolation, He calms the irritation, He inspires the languor, He fills the void of old age. He makes its age venerable, its weakness dignified, its deathbed beautiful, its last departure blessed, and its funeral “a door opened in heaven.”—Ibid.
Luke 2:29-35. Nunc Dimittis.—Simeon is the reverend type of Old Testament piety, waiting for the consolation of Israel. His inspired words
(1) express the perfect homage of his individual soul;
(2) expand into a glowing prophecy of the gospel future;
(3) through a side glance of benediction on Mary utter the first disguised prediction of the Redeemer’s darker, as well as of His brighter, destiny as the Saviour and Judge of mankind.—Pope.
The Nunc Dimittis a pre-Christian Hymn.—Our Church uses the song of the blessed Virgin and the song of Simeon as daily psalms, and applies them to Christ. But those who had seen the incarnate Lord, and who had beheld Him risen and ascending, would have spoken far more strongly. Their songs would have been more like “Rock of Ages,” or “When I survey the wondrous cross.” They would not have been echoes of the harp of David, so much as of the harps of heaven. “Thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by Thy blood.” Such silence as to the details of redemption could only belong to the thin border-line of a period which was neither quite Jewish nor quite Christian. A little less, and these songs would be purely Jewish; a little more, and they would be purely Christian.—Alexander.
Luke 2:29-30. Simeon.
I. Simeon himself.—
1. His character. He was just and devout, upright in his relations to men, pious towards God. And he lived in faith, “waiting for the consolation of Israel.” Doubtless the blessed prophecies of Isaiah, “Comfort ye, comfort ye, My people, saith your God,” were dear to the old man’s heart. He was one of those who were “looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.” He lived in the faith of the Messiah who was to come, who was to bear our griefs and carry our sorrows, who was to make intercession for the transgressors, to justify many, who should see of the travail of His soul and should be satisfied.
2. His privileges.
(1) The promise. The Holy Ghost was upon him. That gracious Presence which is vouchsafed in a greater or less measure to all true believers rested on the faithful Simeon. Special revelations were granted to him: he was not to see death till he had seen the Lord’s Christ; he was to see in this earthly life the Messiah of whom the prophets had spoken, the Lord’s Anointed, who was to be, in the highest sense of the words, the Prophet, Priest, and King of His people—the Prophet like unto Moses, but greater far than Moses (Hebrews 3:3), of whom Moses spake; the great High Priest, who “is able to save to the uttermost all who come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them”; the King of kings and Lord of lords, whose kingdom shall have no end.
(2) The fulfilment of the promise. The time was come: the Spirit led the holy man to the Temple of the Lord; “he came by the Spirit into the Temple.” So we should now come to the church by the guidance of the Spirit, led thither by the Spirit, that there we may find the Lord, and worship Him in spirit and in truth,” praying in the Holy Ghost” (Jude 1:20). They who thus come in faith and prayer ever find the Lord. Simeon found Him now. It was not perhaps what he had looked for; it was but a little Babe lying in His mother’s arms. But Simeon doubted not; the Spirit taught him that that little Babe was indeed the Christ of God, who was come into this world to save sinners, to conquer back the world from the dominion of the wicked one. He took Him up in his arms; he blessed God, and poured forth his thankfulness in the words so familiar to us all.
II. The utterance of Simeon.—
1. His view of life. It is not a prayer. We may well pray for a happy, holy death; it is the greatest of earthly blessings, the crown of a holy life. But these words are not words of prayer: it is an utterance of recognition and assent. He says (to translate the words literally), “Master, now Thou art releasing Thy slave.” He recognises the fulfilment of the Divine promise: he has seen the Lord’s Christ. That sight means that the end is close at hand: he is about to die. He recognises the intimation of the Divine will; he receives the solemn announcement with cheerful acquiescence—he is ready to depart. “Master,” he says, “now Thou art releasing Thy servant.” Life, he means, is a time of service, work to be done for God. He calls God his Master; he speaks of himself as the slave of God. Indeed, Almighty God has permitted us to address Him by another name: He bids us call Him “Father,” “our Father in heaven.” We are not worthy to be called His children, but He is our Father still. He gave His blessed Son to die for us, that through His atoning blood we might be restored to the privileges of sonship; He gives us His Holy Spirit. “He hath sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.” But while we thank Him for His gracious condescension, and claim His holy promises, we must not forget that He is our Master too. The word here translated “Lord” means properly Master—a Master in relation to slaves. God is our Master; we are the slaves of God. We are not our own; we are bought with a price (1 Corinthians 6:19-20); our souls and bodies are God’s, not our own. We are His by creation: He made us. We are also His by redemption: He bought us to be His own, not with corruptible things such as silver and gold, but with the precious blood of Christ (1 Peter 1:18). And because we are His, we have work to do for Him. He teaches us that solemn lesson in the awful parable of the talents. He “giveth to all men liberally” (James 1:5); He worketh in us both to will and to do; therefore we must work out our own salvation with fear and trembling. All that we have comes from Him—life, health, worldly means, intellectual gifts. All these are talents intrusted to our keeping for a while. But spiritual gifts must be chiefly signified by the talents distributed among the servants; for spiritual gifts are the only coin current in the kingdom of heaven. Without the grace of the Spirit we are helpless, we can do nothing good; we cannot become “approved money-changers” (a saying attributed to our Lord by several of the Fathers), unless we have from God a portion of the heavenly treasure. All the servants in the household of the great Master receive their portion from Him; they have to use it to His glory and their own good, to work out their own salvation, to beware lest they receive the grace of God in vain (2 Corinthians 6:1). Two servants were faithful. Outwardly there was a great difference between them. One was far more highly gifted than the other; his gains were far greater; he was a man of great energy, great resources—like St. Paul, who laboured more abundantly than all the rest (1 Corinthians 15:10). But the second servant also did his best, his very best according to his power; his gains were much less than those of his fellow-servant, but they were in the same proportion to his endowments; and he received the same reward. The Lord judgeth not according to the outward appearance; he looketh on the heart. He regards not the outward work, not the amount of work done, but the inward temper of heart and mind—the faithfulness, the love with which the work is done. He saith, “Well done, good and faithful servant,” to the humblest Christian who in faith and self-denial has done his little best. The slothful servant had done nothing for his Lord; he may have worked hard for himself, but he let his Lord’s money lie unused and uncared for; he neglected the precious means of grace; he lived as if he had no Master—as if he was his own master, as if his time was his own, to waste it or to use it as he pleased; therefore he was cast into the great outer darkness, where is weeping and gnashing of teeth. Simeon had been a good and faithful servant; he was just and devout; the Holy Ghost was upon him. Now his life-work was over; the Master was releasing him from his labours; he was ready, cheerful, and happy. We may well long to be like him, to share his faithfulness and his peace.
2. Simeon’s view of death. It was not to be dreaded: it was to be welcomed; it was a release from the labours of life. Simeon’s life, we may be sure, had not been miserable. Doubtless he had had his troubles, perhaps great troubles, for God’s holiest servants are sometimes most severely tried. But the Holy Ghost was upon him; and “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace.” The faithful servant has an inner source of joy even amid tears; he is, like St. Paul, “sorrowing, yet always rejoicing.” Nevertheless, death was a release. Sometimes death is very thoughtlessly described as “a happy release”: people think only of the cessation of bodily pain; they do not think of what comes after death. Simeon looked forward to the rest that remaineth for the people of God. To the faithful servant, who has striven to work out his own salvation with fear and trembling, death is a release; for life is full of work, bodily, intellectual, spiritual work, sometimes very hard and exhausting. And that spiritual work which is of all work the most momentously important is sometimes full of fear and trembling: our past sins affright the conscience, the old temptations which once seemed overcome reassert their power, Satan is strong, we are weak, we seem to have no strength, we are tempted to fear, sometimes in very agony of soul, lest we ourselves may be castaways at the last. Therefore, to the faithful, death is a true release: it sets them free from anxiety and fear, from toil and labour. “Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord. Yea, saith the Spirit, for they rest from their labours, and their works do follow them.”
III. The ground of Simeon’s confidence.—
1. The promise. He was to depart, according to God’s word, in peace. He is faithful that promised. He that hath begun the good work in His people will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ (Philippians 1:6). We might well despair if we were left to ourselves; but we have the blessed promises, and we must trust. “He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” We must trust, and not be afraid.
2. The earnest, the pledge of fulfilment. “Mine eyes have seen Thy salvation.” Simeon had seen the Lord’s Christ, the Saviour Jesus, whose blessed name means the salvation of Jehovah. That was his hope; and that is the hope of the faithful Christian now. We see not the Holy Babe with our outward eyes; but we may see Him still with the eye of faith, we may embrace Him with the embrace of faith, and cling to Him with our whole heart as our only Saviour and Redeemer. We have His blessed promise: “The world seeth Me no more, but ye see Me”; “I am with you all the days, even to the end of the world.” We must pray, “Lord, increase our faith”; we must pray for a strong, living, earnest faith, that seeing Christ now by faith, and living in spiritual communion with Him, we may at last, through His grace and the power of His atoning blood, depart in peace, and rest with Him for ever.—Caffin.
Luke 2:30. “Salvation.”—To see Christ is to see salvation—to see Him, as Simeon saw Him, with the eye of faith. If Simeon had not seen Him thus, he would not have seen in Him God’s salvation; for everything to the outward eye was against His being so. “Every one,” our Lord says, “who seeth the Son, and believeth on Him hath everlasting life.” We who have not “seen” may yet believe. Is this our idea of salvation—Christ Himself? If it be, are we looking for Him? When we can see Christ by faith, then we shall be fit to die.—Vaughan.
Assurance of Salvation.—This is one chord of Simeon’s swan-song. Does it not remind us that—
I. The great aim of Jesus Christ is to bring salvation?—Not simply mental light, or national renewal, or even spiritual comfort, but salvation from sin as a ruling principle, as a terrific power, and as entailing an awful penalty.
II. This salvation can be clearly realised?—Not dreamed of, talked about, expected, hoped for only, but “seen”: its purpose, method, and result “seen.”
III. This salvation should be realised in its personal relation?—
1. As saving the individual—“mine eyes.”
2. As wrought by God—“Thy salvation.”
IV. This clear consciousness prepares for death?—He who can make these words his own can sing Nunc Dimittis.—Thomas.
Preparation for Death.—No one is ready to die in peace until he has seen Christ; but when he has seen Him, he needs no further preparation for dying. He may not have carried out one of his own ambitious plans in life, nor have achieved anything great or beautiful; but no matter, the one essential achievement in life is to see Jesus.—Miller.
Luke 2:29-35. Simeon’s Twofold Prophecy.—Simeon is not expressly said to have been an old man; but he probably was so. How striking is the picture of the aged, worn face bending over the unconscious Child, whom he clasped in his withered arms! His two short prophetic songs are singularly contrasted in tone—the one all sunny and hopeful, the other charged with sad forebodings.
I. The one tells what Christ is sent to be.—The joyful welcome of the new by the expiring old. Simeon lives in the forward-looking attitude proper to Old Testament saints. Is not the ideal for us the same? We too have to base our morality on religion, and to nourish both by hope, which burns the clearer the nearer we come to the end of earthly life. When he actually touched the long-promised Hope of Israel, an infant of six weeks old, no wonder be broke into praise. But the course of his thoughts is noteworthy. His first thought—and it is a glad thought to him—is, “Here is the order for my release.” Is there not a tone of relief and of hailing a long-wished blessing in the “now”—as if he had said, “At last, after weary waiting, it has come”? He speaks as a servant getting escape from toil. The words are not a prayer, though this is the application often made of them. He teaches us what death may be to us if we hold Christ in our hearts. It may be the crowning act of obedience. Death is to Simeon the sweet rest after the day of toil, and the satisfied close of long expectancy. Life can give nothing more than the sight of the Christ. The latter part of the song tells us what the eyes of faith see in the Child in whom the eyes of sense see only weakness. This feeble suckling is the God-appointed means of salvation for all the world. The precedence given to Messiah’s work among the Gentiles is very remarkable. Simeon rejoices over a “salvation prepared” for “all peoples.” No shadows darken the glad picture. The Divine ideal and purpose are painted in unshaded colours.
II. What men’s sin will make of God’s salvation.—Can it be that the salvation prepared by God is a salvation not accepted by men? Who could suppose that in the very Israel of which Messiah was meant to be “the glory” there would be found tongues to speak against Him and hearts to reject Him? But the wonder is true, and that Child is charged with the terrible power of being ruin as well as blessing. There is no more mournful nor mysterious thought than that of man’s power to turn the means of life into the occasion of death, and that power is never so strangely and mournfully displayed as in men’s relations to “this Child.” Christ may be either of two things. One or other of them He must be to all who come in contact with Him. They can never be quite the same as before. How do we fall by contact with Christ? By the increase of self-conscious opposition, by the hardening following rejection, by the deeper condemnation which necessarily dogs the greater light with its blacker shadow. How do we rise by Christ? In all ways and to all heights to which humanity can soar. From the depth of sin and condemnation to the height of likeness to Himself, and finally to the glory of participation in His throne. He is life to those who take Him for their all, and death to those who turn from Him. Simeon further forecasts the fate of the Child as a “sign that shall be spoken against.” A sign from heaven, yet spoken against, is a paradox which only too accurately forebodes the history of the gospel in all ages. How strange to the virgin mother, in all the wonder and joy of those blissful early days, must that prediction of the sorrows that were to pierce her heart have sounded! Mary’s grief at her Son’s rejection culminated when she stood by Calvary’s cross. Her heart was to be pierced, the thoughts of many hearts to be laid open. A man’s attitude to Jesus Christ is the revelation of his deepest self. It is the outcome of his inmost nature, and betrays his whole character. Christ is the test of what we are, and our reception or rejection of Him determines what we shall be.—Maclaren.
Luke 2:32. “A light to lighten the Gentiles.”—The Gentiles are represented as enveloped in darkness, the Jews as abased and down-trodden. Christ, therefore, appears in two aspects corresponding to the conditions in which the two great divisions of the human race are placed:
1. He gives light to those in darkness.
2. He gives the promised glory to the chosen people; they derive from Him an imperishable renown, for the great claim of the Jew to honour among men is that Christ was one of His blood.
“The Gentiles … Israel.”—There seems to be some significance in the Gentiles being named before the Jews, as though Simeon had some prophetic intimation of the fact that the Jews as a nation would reject Christ. His words might be taken to imply that the conversion of the Gentiles would precede and bring about that of God’s ancient people to faith in Jesus. This seems to be the tenor of the teaching in some parts of Scripture, e.g. in Romans 11:25-26.
Luke 2:33. “Marvelled.”—Doubtless the surprise was due to testimony thus coming from all quarters to the greatness of the destiny in store for the Holy Child: the angels, the shepherds, Elisabeth, and Zacharias had all hailed His advent; and now in the Temple aged saints of prophetic rank bear witness to Him. Already the wise men from the East are on their way, as representatives of the Gentile world, to do Him honour.
Luke 2:34. “And Simeon blessed them.”—It is noticeable that Simeon pronounces a benediction on Joseph and Mary, as distinguished from Jesus, of whom he proceeds to speak. On the principle that “the less is blessed of the better” (Hebrews 7:7), he would naturally abstain from even the appearance of superiority to the Child whom he held in his arms. He addresses Mary with special emphasis, as though acquainted with the fact of the miraculous conception.
“Sign which shall be spoken against.”—The allusion is evidently to Isaiah 8:14-15, where the Messiah is represented as a rock on which the believing find a refuge, but against which the rebellious dash themselves. In many parts of the Gospels we read of violent opposition excited by the teaching and actions of Christ, and He Himself frequently speaks of divisions and conflicts arising in consequence of the proclamation of the truth—e.g. Luke 12:49-53. He is appointed to try men’s hearts and tempers, whether they will humbly and carefully examine the truth, and receive it with joy, and bring forth its fruits in their lives; and according to the result of this moral probation, He will be for their weal or woe (John 3:19; 2 Corinthians 2:16). As Greg. Nyssen says, the fall will be to those who are scandalised by the lowliness of His humanity; the rising will be to those who acknowledge the truth of God’s promises in Him, and adore the glory of His divinity. Other passages in which this testing of human character is described are: 1 Corinthians 1:18 et seq., Luke 2:14; John 9:39; 1 Peter 2:7-8; Hebrews 4:12; John 12:48.
Luke 2:34. The Blessedness of the Virgin is proclaimed over and over again in the early chapter of this Gospel. The angel Gabriel salutes her as “blessed among women”; Elisabeth repeats the phrase; she says of herself, “All generations shall call me blessed”; and here the aged Simon bestows his benediction on her and on Joseph. Yet it is instructive to notice that this blessedness did not imply a life of unmixed happiness. Here, indeed, her future sorrows are spoken of in no uncertain manner: “Yea, a sword shall pierce through thine own soul also.” The prophecy was not long in finding fulfilment. The jealousy and malice of Herod expose the life of her Son to great danger, and she is obliged to find safety for Him in flight. The fatigues and anxieties of a journey into Egypt have to be encountered by her. Then some years after she undergoes the agony of losing Him for three days at the Passover feast in Jerusalem. Nor were her sorrows at an end when He reached the years of manhood. She had the grief of seeing that He was despised and rejected of men, hated even by His own townsmen, and in risk of being murdered by them. She saw Him weary with labours for the good of others, and yet treated with ingratitude, contempt, and contumely. And finally she was witness of His death at the hands of His enemies, after an unjust and shameful trial; she saw Him expire upon the cross after hours of pain and suffering. Scarcely any griefs could be more poignant than hers, and the name by which she is frequently described—Mater dolorosa—commemorates her pre-eminence in sorrow. One great lesson we may learn from her history is that immunity from suffering is not necessarily enjoyed by those who are truly blessed of God; and the thought is one that should console us in times of trial and suffering. Outward troubles may not be a sign of God’s displeasure with us: they may be a form of discipline to which in His wisdom and love He subjects us.
Luke 2:35. “Yea, a sword shall pierce.”—Undue elation on the part of the parents, and especially of the virgin mother, must have been repressed by the ominous tone of Simeon’s words, and still more by the special reference to the sorrow which was to pierce her heart like a sword. The full meaning of this latter prophecy she must have realised as she stood beside the cross. No lamentation of hers is recorded as having been uttered in the hour of her greatest grief; but her silence is that of ineffable anguish, and not of insensibility.
“The thoughts … revealed.”—In and by Christ’s sufferings it was shown what the temper and thoughts of men were. Then Judas despairs, Peter repents, Joseph of Arimathæa becomes courageous, Nicodemus comes by day, the centurion confesses, one thief blasphemes, the other prays; men faint, and women become strong.
Luke 2:36-38. Anna the Prophetess.—God’s book is a book for all. The aged are not forgotten. They need support and comfort. This history of Anna, with many a word besides, is proof that they are not passed over by God. In the life of Anna we have—
I. The grace of God sustaining a believer in the midst of affliction.—She had met with trials—widowed in her youth; but she had learned to look beyond the blow to the Hand that had inflicted it. She had found in Him the widow’s stay through long years of sad memories; her heart renewed many a time all its grief, but she ever found fresh comfort in God. So may every aged Christian in like trying experiences. Bereavements will come, even though long delayed. The effect of trial to Anna was doubtless most blessed. One great affliction at the beginning of life may bless the sufferer to the close of it.
II. The grace of God supporting a believer in privation.—Anna had to face the world’s struggles all alone. We know not if she had relatives to advise or aid, or outward means of sustenance to depend on. If so, God’s grace was as much manifested in providing and continuing these as it would have been in maintaining her without them. It is not only those who are ever on the verge of want who illustrate God’s care. So do those who have what is called a competency. They are as surely dependent on God. They are exhorted to trust not in uncertain riches, but in the living God. In this humble trust rich and poor meet together. Anna had been thus divinely helped. So is every aged Christian. Each is a living monument of God’s faithfulness, of God’s perpetual providence. A life of fourscore years bears manifold inscriptions of the grace of God. At this advanced age He writes on her briefly told history Jehovah-Jireh, “Let thy widows trust in Me.”
III. The grace of God strengthening a believer in duty.—“Anna … served God … night and day.” A long course, but not dreary or monotonous. The spectator sees only the outward form of service, not the inward life and love that animate it. The freshness and constancy of aged Christians in the performance of duty is one of the most delightful proofs of the unfailing power of gospel truth, and of the faithfulness of the renewing Spirit. Their activity, though it differ from that of youth, will continue. “They shall still bring forth fruit in old age.” None of God’s children becomes sated with prayer or praise, with the exercise of trust and hope. In a higher sense than that of Moses “their eye is not dim nor their natural force abated.”
IV. The grace of God consoling a believer in the decline of life.—There is much externally to make the last years of life cheerless and comfortless. The bodily powers decline. The old familiar faces disappear. The sense of solitude deepens. Still the setting sun has more glorious hues than at his dawning, and autumn has a beauty which spring knows nothing of. So God’s saints may have their brightest hours at the close of life, and “the day of death be better than the day of birth.” So it was with Abraham, Jacob, Moses, Paul, and John. As the world faded their eyes saw “the King in His beauty.”
V. The grace of God sealing a believer’s parting testimony.—This aged saint gives thanks for herself, and speaks of Christ to others. God makes her useful to the latest close, and dismisses her bearing testimony to His faithfulness and mercy in the gift of His Son. It is a happy thing to be willing to serve God to the end. Aged sufferers serve by waiting. Thus, certainly, “they also do His will.” To bear, to submit meekly, to praise God in fainting and decay—this is the prerogative of earth. Let none think the time of trial too long, when the time of triumph shall be eternal. The aged Christian should be concerned to make his closing days a testimony for his Lord.—Ker.
Luke 2:37. “A widow.”—Perhaps it was in allusion to her that St. Paul depicted the manner of life of one who was a widow indeed, and desolate—“she trusteth in God, and continueth in supplications and prayers night and day” (1 Timothy 5:5).
Asceticism commended.—It is impossible to overlook the fact that the Evangelist speaks with emphatic approval of the ascetic mode of life followed by Anna—her abstinence from second marriage, her residence in the Temple, and her fastings and prayers night and day. Perhaps our recoil from the abuses of a monastic life has carried us too far in the opposite direction, and blinded us to the beauty and worth of a type of piety which may have its home in a cloister. It aims at a complete and single-hearted service of God, and it is lacking in the important element of religion which concerns service of man. In our philanthropical forms of religion we are specially in danger of losing sight of the service of God in serving our fellow-men.
Luke 2:38. A Small Congregation.—But one old man and one old woman recognised the Lord when He came to His Temple. Priests and wise men and the world knew Him not. They two alone witnessed the fulfilment of Malachi’s prophecy (Luke 3:1); so it may be with other prophecies yet to be fulfilled.
Luke 2:39. “Returned into Galilee.”—The evangelists constantly speak of Galilee as a different country from Judæa. The fact that there were considerable differences between the two needs to be kept in mind, if we would understand many parts of the gospel history. The inhabitants of Galilee were despised by those of Judæa as rude, illiterate, lax in religious practices, and almost semi-heathen. The people of Judæa were more cultured, strict in religious observances, under the rule of custom, and priestridden. The ministry of Jesus was more successful in Galilee than in Judæa, and it is plainly indicated that the enthusiasm manifested on the day of His triumphal entrance into Jerusalem was largely owing to the pride of Galilæan pilgrims in the greatness of their fellow-countryman. Of the twelve apostles, eleven evidently were from Galilee, and only one—Judas Iscariot—from Judæa.
Respect for the Law.—It is significant that St. Luke, who in so many parts of his Gospel reflects the Pauline teaching, gives no indication of any contempt for the ceremonial laws of Judaism. It is only after his parents had “performed all things according to the law of the Lord” that they returned to Nazareth. The antagonism between adherents of the Old Testament economy and those of the New belongs to a later generation, and finds no justification in the inspired documents on which Christianity is based.