Luk 2:25-35 | Clarke | STEP | Verse 25 And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem - This man is distinguished because of his singular piety. There can be no doubt that there were many persons in Jerusalem named Simeon, besides this man; but there was none of the name who merited the attention of God so much as he in the text. Such persevering exemplary piety was very rare, and therefore the inspired penman ushers in the account with behold! Several learned men are of the opinion that he was son to the famous Hillel, one of the most celebrated doctors and philosophers which had ever appeared in the Jewish nation since the time of Moses. Simeon is supposed also to have been the Ab or president of the grand Sanhedrin. The same man was just - He steadily regulated all his conduct by the law of his God: and devout - he had fully consecrated himself to God, so that he added a pious heart to a righteous conduct. The original word ευλαβης, signifies also a person of good report - one well received among the people, or one cautious and circumspect in matters of religion; from ευ, well, and λαμβανω, I take: it properly denotes, one who takes any thing that is held out to him, well and carefully. He so professed and practised the religion of his fathers that he gave no cause for a friend to mourn on his account, or an enemy to triumph. Several excellent MSS. read ευσεβης, pious or godly, from ευ, well, and σεβομαι, I worship; one who worships God well, i.e. in spirit and in truth. Waiting for the consolation of Israel - That is, the Messiah, who was known among the pious Jews by this character: he was to be the consolation of Israel, because he was to be its redemption. This consolation of Israel was so universally expected that the Jews swore by it: So let me see the Consolation, if such a thing be not so, or so. See the forms in Lightfoot. The Holy Ghost was upon him - He was a man divinely inspired, overshadowed, and protected by the power and influence of the Most High.

Luke 2:25-35

Verse 25

And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem - This man is distinguished because of his singular piety. There can be no doubt that there were many persons in Jerusalem named Simeon, besides this man; but there was none of the name who merited the attention of God so much as he in the text. Such persevering exemplary piety was very rare, and therefore the inspired penman ushers in the account with behold! Several learned men are of the opinion that he was son to the famous Hillel, one of the most celebrated doctors and philosophers which had ever appeared in the Jewish nation since the time of Moses. Simeon is supposed also to have been the Ab or president of the grand Sanhedrin.

The same man was just - He steadily regulated all his conduct by the law of his God: and devout - he had fully consecrated himself to God, so that he added a pious heart to a righteous conduct. The original word ευλαβης, signifies also a person of good report - one well received among the people, or one cautious and circumspect in matters of religion; from ευ, well, and λαμβανω, I take: it properly denotes, one who takes any thing that is held out to him, well and carefully. He so professed and practised the religion of his fathers that he gave no cause for a friend to mourn on his account, or an enemy to triumph.

Several excellent MSS. read ευσεβης, pious or godly, from ευ, well, and σεβομαι, I worship; one who worships God well, i.e. in spirit and in truth.

Waiting for the consolation of Israel - That is, the Messiah, who was known among the pious Jews by this character: he was to be the consolation of Israel, because he was to be its redemption. This consolation of Israel was so universally expected that the Jews swore by it: So let me see the Consolation, if such a thing be not so, or so. See the forms in Lightfoot.

The Holy Ghost was upon him - He was a man divinely inspired, overshadowed, and protected by the power and influence of the Most High. Verse 26

It was revealed unto him - He was divinely informed, κεχρηματισμενον - he had an express communication from God concerning the subject. The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him. The soul of a righteous and devout man is a proper habitation for the Holy Spirit.

He should not see death - They that seek shall find: it is impossible that a man who is earnestly seeking the salvation of God, should be permitted to die without finding it.

The Lord's Christ - Rather, the Lord's anointed. That prophet, priest, and king, who was typified by so many anointed persons under the old covenant; and who was appointed to come in the fullness of time, to accomplish all that was written in the law, in the prophets, and in the Psalms, concerning him. See the note on Luk 2:11. Verse 27

He came by the Spirit into the temple - Probably he had in view the prophecy of Malachi, Mal 3:1, The Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple. In this messenger of the covenant, the soul of Simeon delighted. Now the prophecy was just going to be fulfilled; and the Holy Spirit, who dwelt in the soul of this righteous man, directed him to go and see its accomplishment. Those who come, under the influence of God's Spirit, to places of public worship, will undoubtedly meet with him who is the comfort and salvation of Israel.

After the custom of the law - To present him to the Lord, and then redeem him by paying five shekels, Num 18:15, Num 18:16, and to offer those sacrifices appointed by the law. See Luk 2:24. Verse 28

Then took he him up in his arms - What must the holy soul of this man have felt in this moment! O inestimable privilege! And yet ours need not be inferior: If a man love me, says Christ, he will keep my word; and I and the Father will come in unto him, and make our abode with him. And indeed even Christ in the arms could not avail a man, if he were not formed in his heart. Verse 29

Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace - Now thou dismissest, απολυεις, loosest him from life; having lived long enough to have the grand end of life accomplished.

According to thy word - It was promised to him, that he should not die till he had seen the Lord's anointed, Luk 2:26; and now, having seen him, he expects to be immediately dismissed in peace into the eternal world; having a full assurance and enjoyment of the salvation of God. Though Simeon means his death, yet the thing itself is not mentioned; for death has not only lost its sting, but its name also, to those who have, even by faith, seen the Lord's anointed. Verse 30

Thy salvation - That Savior which it became the goodness of God to bestow upon man, and which the necessities of the human race required. Christ is called our salvation, as he is called our life, our peace, our hope; i.e. he is the author of all these, to them who believe. Verse 31

Which thou hast prepared - Ὁ ἡτοιμασας, which thou hast Made Ready before the face, in the presence, of all people. Here salvation is represented under the notion of a feast, which God himself has provided for the whole world; and to partake of which he has invited all the nations of the earth. There seems a direct allusion here to Isa 25:6, etc. "In this mountain shall the Lord of hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things," etc. Salvation is properly the food of the soul, by which it is nourished unto eternal life; he that receiveth not this, must perish for ever. Verse 32

A light to lighten the Gentiles - Φως εις αποκαλυψιν εθνων - A light of the Gentiles, for revelation. By Moses and the prophets, a light of revelation was given to the Jews, in the blessedness of which the Gentiles did not partake. By Christ and his apostles, a luminous revelation is about to be given unto the Gentiles, from the blessedness of which the Jews in general, by their obstinacy and unbelief, shall be long excluded. But to all true Israelites it shall be a glory, an evident fulfillment of all the predictions of the prophets, relative to the salvation of a lost world; and the first offers of it shall be made to the Jewish people, who may see in it the truth of their own Scriptures indisputably evinced. Verse 33

Joseph and his mother marvelled - For they did not as yet fully know the counsels of God, relative to the salvation which Christ was to procure; nor the way in which the purchase was to be made: but to this Simeon refers in the following verses. Verse 34

This child is set for the fall - This seems an allusion to Isa 8:14, Isa 8:15 : Jehovah, God of hosts, shall be - for a stone of stumbling and rock of offense to both houses of Israel; and many among them shall stumble and fall, etc. As Christ did not come as a temporal deliverer, in which character alone the Jews expected him, the consequence should be, they would reject him, and so fall by the Romans. See Rom 11:11, Rom 11:12, and Matthew 24. But in the fullness of time there shall be a rising again of many in Israel. See Rom 11:26.

And for a sign - A mark or butt to shoot at - a metaphor taken from archers. Or perhaps Simeon refers to Isa 11:10-12. There shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an Ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: - intimating that the Jews would reject it, while the Gentiles should flock to it as their ensign of honor, under which they were to enjoy a glorious rest.

That the thoughts (or reasonings) of many hearts may be revealed - I have transposed this clause to the place to which I believe it belongs. The meaning appears to me to be this: The rejection of the Messiah by the Jewish rulers will sufficiently prove that they sought the honor which comes from the world, and not that honor which comes from God: because they rejected Jesus, merely for the reason that he did not bring them a temporal deliverance. So the very Pharisees, who were loud in their professions of sanctity and devotedness to God, rejected Jesus, and got him crucified, because his kingdom was not of this world. Thus the reasonings of many hearts were revealed. Verse 35

Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also - Probably meaning, Thou also, as well as thy son, shall die a martyr for the truth. But as this is a metaphor used by the most respectable Greek writers to express the most pungent sorrow, it may here refer to the anguish Mary must have felt when standing beside the cross of her tortured son: Joh 19:25.