Jesus Presented in the Temple

" When the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord" Luke:2:22

After the time of Mary's forty days of purification after the birth of her firstborn ,were completed,  Joseph and Mary bring their son Jesus to the Temple  at Jerusalem to be presented before God and be dedicated to his service. 


"(as it is written in the law of the Lord, "Every firstborn male shall be designated as holy to the Lord"),   and they offered a sacrifice according to what is stated in the law of the Lord, "a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons."(23-24)

As they walk through the Temple courts a man of God named Simeon, to whom God  had spoken regarding the coming Messiah ,  was moved by the Holy Spirit to enter the Temple and as he does Simeon encounters Jesus and his family.



"Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; this man was righteous and devout, looking forward to the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit rested on him.  It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Messiah.   Guided by the Spirit, Simeon came into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him what was customary under the law," (25-27)

 Messiah Present in Temple

Simeon had long sought the coming of the promised Messiah,  as did many in Israel , and now here he was in  the person of the young child Jesus ,  in the very Temple of God. Simeon was then moved by the Holy Spirit to entered that scared place and in doing so he encounters Jesus after his parents had made the sacrifice of purification.

Simeon  is drawn to  Jesus and immediately thru the discernment of the Holy Spirit recognizes Jesus as the very one that he, and all,  have truly been seeking, the very promised Messiah the one by whom and thru whom God  would bring salvation to any and to all who would but freely receive it.

The great God , the very Creator of all things;  the God who called Abram out of Ur  and promised him, that thru his seed all nation would be blessed , this God had now demonstrated  his faithfulness to fulfill his word  by sending his Son, the seconded person of the Holy Trinity , fulfilling God's word and promises and covenant showing that God is faithful, to each and all.

Simeon approaches the family and looks upon Jesus, the Spirit of God  confirms that Jesus is the fulfillment of all that has been promised ,that  this child , which was presented there in the Temple that day is the very salvation of all humanity if they will but freely receive it.

 Now at Peace

As Simeon takes Jesus in his arms and embraces him  the assurance of God wells up within him, the certainty of God's faithfulness and love in made real in the old man's heart and he responds with giving praise to God for Jesus,for  Simeon, and all of us can now be at peace. God has worked on behalf of all peoples Jew and Gentile alike.

Simeon receives this personally for himself and acknowledges that it is now true for each and all. Simon then utters his poem of praise to God knowing that he could be be at peace.

"Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:

“Sovereign Lord, as you have promised,

you may now dismiss your servant in peace.

For my eyes have seen your salvation,

which you have prepared in the sight of all nations:

a light for revelation to the Gentiles,

and the glory of your people Israel.” (28-32)

Anna's Life Fulfilled

Also in Jerusalem there was an elderly widow  woman named Anna,  who had spent her life crying out and praying for the Messiah to come and , she too would encounter Jesus and thru the Holy Spirit come to see that God had answered her prayers . As she beheld Jesus,  Anna is moved to give God praise,  then is  moved to share her encounter with any who is near at hand and speaks to them about Jesus.

"There was also a prophet, Anna, the daughter of Penuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem" (36-38)

Jesus Still being Presented 

When we read accounts like this in the pages of Scripture we can think of them as being static and set in only a given time and place, but the Word of God transcends time and location and can speak to any and all in what ever time we live here upon the Earth. When this is clear to us we can see the salvation of God being presented to all  thru this account in the life of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

This presentation of Jesus was and is not just for Simeon and Anna two-thousand years removed from us, it is for peoples down thru the ages.  Jesus is,  even now,  still being presented  within the very Temple of God, which is his Church. 

 "Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in your midst?"1Corth:3:16

 This is not just history,  it is the present reality each time believers come together to worship the God who is come in the person of Jesus is there in our midst revealing himself to those who gather to worship. 

As  Simeon and Anna, who by the agency of the Spirit were drawn to and  saw in Jesus the salvation of God , when we are , by the Holy Spirit drawn to Jesus and our minds and hearts are opened to see that Jesus is the very one whom we all have truly been seeking; 

 "No man comes to me except the Father Draw him" Jhn:6:44

It was the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity,  who led  Simeon and Anna into the Temple  to Jesus , and it is The Holy Spirit who still  even to this very day leads people into the "Temple courts" of the Church where they too can encounter Jesus. The Holy Spirit will always lead to Jesus and speak of him.

"When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father--the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father--he will testify about me" Jhn:15:26

Then our response   should be as was Simeon and Anna's , to worship and give God praise for his fitfulness and fulfilling his word and promises which have come down thru the ages, promises not just to Israel but to all people, this is what Paul address when speaking of the promised seed of Abraham being a blessing to all humanity.

"The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. Scripture does not say "and to seeds," meaning many people, but "and to your seed," meaning one person, who is Christ."Gal:3:16

Jesus is what Simeon sang about.

"For my eyes have seen your salvation,

which you have prepared in the sight of all nations:

a light for revelation to the Gentiles,

and the glory of your people Israel."

Taken into Our Arms

Jesus is our Salvation, that is who Jesus is for each and all of us. He is within the very "Temple"  of his Church  being presented to us, thru the proclamation of the Gospel message , prayer , the ordained Sacraments, worship and fellowship,  Jesus is there  just waiting for our response to the lead of the Holy Spirit  to enter in and look upon him that we might embrace him even as Simeon did , that is "take him into our arms", we accept him, we believe him, we receive him. We see him for who he is our very Salvation  and we respond by worshiping the great God.

"Simeon took him in his arms and praised God,"

When we embrace Jesus we can have no other response but to worship God and praise him for his faithfulness to us all.

Depart in Peace

Simeon could now be at peace, he had seen the Messiah face to face in Jesus. Now his life as Anna's had fulfilled their purpose in coming  to believe in Jesus. 

 "you may now dismiss your servant in peace For my eyes have seen your salvation",(29b-30)

 We all were born to come to believe in Jesus, that is purposes of our lives  to believe in Jesus Christ; When we come to believe in Jesus our lives have accomplished everything a human life was ever meant to accomplish .

We like, Simeon  , can depart in peace , that is,  we need not fear, not the past , nor the present, nor the future not even sin and death;  nor the grave,  for we have seen Salvation. God has thru Jesus made eternal life ours if we but freely receive it. All fear can now  be gone. We can "depart in peace"  as Simeon proclaimed. 

Telling Others About Jesus

Anna had such a powerful experience with the infant Jesus that she told any who were present about him.

"Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem".Lk:2:38

Do we , when we  have encountered Jesus   able tell others about him?...We should be ready when God provides the opportunity to speak about Jesus and invite them to come and see him even as he is presented in the Church.

Anna spoke of Jesus with humble boldness to all that she saw in the Temple, people who needed to hear about Jesus, that Redemption has arrived and is there for them.

"But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,"1Ptr:3:15

Anna told others about Jesus even as he was yet and infant, how much more should our lives proclaim a risen glorified Savior to the world around us.

  Even As an Infant

Jesus' life is of such power that even as an infant , before he utters even one word of the divine message of God, Jesus was impacting others and transforming their lives and revealing the faithfulness of the great God to send Salvation into the lives of humanity that we might  come to know him and live eternally with him.

"this is eternal life that they might know you the only true God and Jesus Christ whom you have sent" Jhn:17:3

Even now Jesus is here in the midst of the Church,  and in and by the lives individually and collectively of Christians Jesus  is, even now,  being presented to any and to all that they may see Jesus  and see God's  faithfulness and  salvation for and  to us all.....Amen

Rev. Todd Crouch, Pastor 

The Fountain of Life Church a Congregation of Grace Communion
2101 Old National Pike.

Washington, Pennsylvania.   www.gcfountainoflife.org

The Fountain of Life is heard  on the RKP Radio Network 1710 and 1670 AM in Washington and North Franklin ,and 1790 AM  in the Arden Fair Grounds area of Washington Pennsylvania, and on 1710 AM in Bentleyville and Monongahela, Pennsylvania. And online around the world at www.rkpradio.com