Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Southern United States

Simeon Sees God's Salvation


print Print  |  send Send to a friend  |  bookmark Bookmark  |   |   |  back Back

Chapter 3

Simeon Sees Gods Salvation

When our Lord Jesus Christ was eight days old, St. Mary and Joseph had a ceremony where He was named JESUS, the name given to Him by Archangel Gabriel.

A little while later, St. Mary and Joseph took baby Jesus to the temple to present Him to the Lord. According to the law that God gave His people Israel, every boy child who is the first to be born in a family was called holy and was to be presented to God.

At the same time there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. He was a very old man who was waiting for the salvation of the whole world.

Our church tradition tells us that Simeon was one of the men who used to translate the scriptures. One day he came to the verse in the book of Isaiah that says, Behold, a virgin will conceive and bear a child. Simeon could not understand this verse and wanted to change it. But the Spirit of God came to him and told him that he must not change the verse. Since Simeon was a very good and righteous man, the Holy Spirit showed him that he would not die until he has seen the Consolation of Israel, who is our Savior Jesus Christ.

The day that St. Mary and Joseph brought our Lord, the child Jesus, to the temple, the Holy Spirit moved in Simeons heart and made him come to the temple. When he saw our Lord he took Him in his arms and blessed God and said:

Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, according to Your word.
For my eyes have seen Your salvation which You have prepared before the face of all peoples.
A light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of Your people, Israel.
(Luke 2:29-32)

St. Mary and Joseph were amazed at the things that Simeon said. Then Simeon blessed them.

There in the temple lived an old woman named Anna. Anna was prophetess and she had lived in the temple for many years. She was eighty-four years old and had served the Lord with prayer and fasting. Just as Simeon was blessing St. Mary, Anna walked in. Because of her great love for God, the Holy Spirit revealed to her that the child Jesus, our Lord, is the promise that God had made to rescue His people from sin.

Anna gave thanks to the Lord for this wonderful gift (the true gift of Christmas our Lord Jesus Christ) and spoke of Him to anyone who was looking for redemption in Jerusalem.

Questions:

  1. Who took the Child Jesus to the temple?

  2. Who met the holy family (our Lord Jesus Christ, St. Mary and Joseph)?

  3. What made him go to the temple?

  4. Who else was at the temple when the holy family went to offer a sacrifice?

print Print  |  send Send to a friend  |  bookmark Bookmark  |   |   |  back Back