Today’s story of Simeon and Anna is at the top of my list for teaching what a life dedicated to perfect unity looks like. And I find an exciting personal parallel to them as well.
When Joseph and Mary bring their new baby for dedication to the Lord, they name him Jesus, in obedience to Gabriel’s command. Since the temple is always full of people, this kind of ceremony is performed publicly, in front of friends as well as total strangers:
“Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him” (Lk 2:25, ESV).
But Simeon is no casual observer. He spends most of his time in the temple – expectantly waiting:
“And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he saw the Lord’s Christ” (2:26).
What he does is astonishing. When Mary and Joseph bring Jesus into the temple, Simeon:
“…took him up in his arms and blessed God…” (2:28).
Can you imagine a total stranger grabbing your baby away? Yet what Simeon says is a powerful and memorable offering of perfect unity with God:
“Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace…for my eyes have seen your salvation… in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles…” (2:29-32).
After a life of devotion to God and a special in-dwelling of the Holy Spirit, Simeon is old and desires to die peacefully. But not until the completion of a promise made to him by the Spirit – that he would not die before he saw the Christ, the Messiah – in person.
On this day, he knows instantly that the promise had been fulfilled! This promise involves salvation of both Israel and Gentiles (unthinkable at the time)! By holding the child, he announces to everyone there that his long-standing faith has been rewarded.
Anna, too, is very old, widowed, now spending her entire life inside the temple, worshiping, fasting, and praying, and immediately recognizes the moment:
“…she began to give thanks to God and to speak of [Jesus] to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem” (2:38).
Simeon and Anna exhibit beautiful qualities of lives lived in perfect unity with God:
- Devotion
- Worship
- Prayer
- Fasting
- Special knowledge from the Holy Spirit
- Absolute certainty of God’s promises, whether immediate or far off
- Prophecy
- Message of salvation for “all the people” including the Gentiles
- Thanksgiving
- Uncontrollable joy
The irony is that while they are correct about Jesus as Messiah, they do not live to see, and we are still waiting for, the full restoration of the people of Israel through belief that Jesus is the Messiah.
Why? The Cycle suggests that, while God’s never-ending love has never left Israel, they have not yet been brought to complete repentance and confession of Jesus as Lord.
Which brings me to my personal parallel. I would not dare to compare myself with the holiness of Simeon and Anna, except that purely by the grace of God my sins are forgiven through the blood of Jesus. And I too have continuous urging from the Holy Spirit concerning unity, beginning 57 years ago, and continuing even as I write today.
Like Simeon and Anna, I have been waiting a lifetime for the prayer of Jesus for perfect unity among all believers in his grace to be answered.
Yet as Christians we have diverged farther and farther apart over the centuries, not closer together. We too need a huge world-wide revival of repentance for lack of unity.
So like Simeon and Anna, I pray for an outbreak of perfect unity before I die; I declare to all people that it is possible; and that all believers will be convicted and repent our lack of unity.
And like Simeon and Anna, I will ask again and again to all who will listen, simply because the Spirit has not told me to cease: is this corporate repentance by all believers what Jesus is looking for before he returns?
Maybe. Just maybe.