Baby Jesus’ Dedication – Lesson 4
By: Frank Tunstall, D. Min.
When Jesus was eight days old, His parents made the five-mile walk from Bethlehem and took Him to the temple for dedication and circumcision (Luke 2:21-24; Leviticus 12:8; Exodus 13:1-2, 12). John (the Baptist) was about three months old when Baby Jesus was dedicated.
A man named Simeon who was “righteous and devout” was in the temple. He was “waiting for the consolation of Israel… the Holy Spirit was upon him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.” Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts and was present at the exact time Joseph and Mary brought Baby Jesus to the temple (Luke 2:25-27). Simeon took Jesus out of Mary’s arms, and holding the infant, began to speak a prophecy of praise to God:
“Sovereign Lord, as you have promised,
you now dismiss your servant in peace.
For my eyes have seen your salvation,
Which you have prepared in the sight of all people,
A light for revelation to the Gentiles
And for glory to your people Israel” (Luke 2:29-32).
THINK ABOUT IT: No one is ready to die until he has met Jesus in repentance and opened his heart to him as his Savior.
Simeon’s prophecy was specific. God had promised him that he would see His Messiah before his death, and it was fulfilled in those moments in the temple. It must have been minutes of ecstasy for Simeon to realize by the Holy Spirit he was holding His Messiah in his arms. This Godly man prophesied that Mary’s Baby would have a ministry to Israel and to the Gentiles. Mary and Joseph could only marvel.
After expressing the prophecy, Simeon then blessed Joseph and Mary, and began to prophesy again, this time speaking to Mary:
“This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too” (Luke 2:34-35; John 1:29).
One can wonder if the prophecy was like a hit in the stomach to this teenage mother. How could she ever put it out of her mind?
Some thirty years later, on crucifixion morning, an unnamed person rushed to bring the news to Mary that her Son had been nailed to a cross (Isaiah 50:6, 53:3-5; Lamentations 1:12). In the moment she heard it, she surely yelled the piercing scream of a mother’s mortified heart. It is also possible in her shock she remembered Simeon’s prophecy again.
No mother should ever have to see her bloody and mangled son impaled with three nails on a cross. The dagger surely hurt Mary beyond words and she never forgot the sight.
The Bible does not tell us if she stayed at Jesus’ cross until the end and heard Him say with His last breaths, “Father, forgive them. They do not know what they are doing,” and “into your hands I commend my Spirit” (Luke 23:46).
Another of the Lord’s saints, an elderly woman named Anna, was also in the temple on Jesus’ day of dedication. “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” (Luke 2:37-38).
Since all firstborn males in Israel were to be brought to the temple for dedication and circumcision, it is also reasonable other babies were in the temple at the same time. Guided by the Holy Spirit, both Simeon and Anna got it exactly right and chose Baby Jesus.
Biblical prophecy, one hundred percent perfect. Amazing!
Moses wrote in the “mouth of two or three witnesses a matter shall be established” (Deuteronomy 19:15, NKJV). Two witnesses at random, Simeon and Anna, expressed the same prophetic testimony about Jesus’ life mission. It was another confirmation to Mary and Joseph.
Simeon’s and Anna’s testimonies continue to this day to go around the globe.
Jesus was warmly received as a child of twelve in the temple (Luke 2:42-49). But when He launched His ministry, it must be noted He never had a pleasant, conflict-free visit to the temple that He described as “my house.” Jesus even indicted the temple later in His ministry as “a den of thieves” (Matthew 21:13; Isaiah 56:7 Jeremiah 7:11).
Simeon and Anna were living when Jesus was born, but they were not temple officials. During Jesus’ ministry no one in the temple system recognized Him as the Messiah and welcomed Him; Nicodemus probably came the closest, but he rejected Jesus too (John 3:11; Malachi 3:1). In addition, neither Simeon nor Anna was living to affirm Jesus. In the thirty years after Jesus’ birth, Temple worship had moved much further away from the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Think about it dear reader: how quickly the Gospel of Jesus Christ can slip away from the American church too. My prayer is simple:
Jesus keep me near the Cross [and you too!]
There a precious fountain.
Free to all a healing stream,
Flows from Calvary’s mountain.
By: Jonathan Hibbard
