²² And 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
²³ (as it is written in the law of the Lord, "Every male that opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord")
²⁴ and to offer a according to what is said in the law of the Lord, "a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons."
²⁵ Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.
²⁶ And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he should not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ.
²⁷ And inspired by the Spirit he came into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the law,
²⁸ he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said,
²⁹ "Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word;
³⁰ for mine eyes have seen thy salvation
³¹ which thou hast prepared in the presence of all peoples,
³² a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to thy people Israel."
³³ And his father and his mother marveled at what was said about him;
³⁴ and Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, "Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is spoken against
³⁵ (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that thoughts out of many hearts my be revealed."
³⁶ And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phan'u-el, of the tribe of Asher; she was of a great age, having lived with her husband seven years from her virginity,
³⁷ and as a widow till she was eighty-four. She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day.
³⁸ And coming up at that very hour she gave thanks to God, and spoke of him to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.
³⁹ And when they had performed everything according to the law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own city, Nazareth.
⁴⁰ And the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him.

• Background: Luke drew from the first two chapters of the first book of Samuel, where Samuel was God's gift to his barren mother, who offered Samuel to God and was received by the high priest Eli. Jesus' story here has some of the same components: the unusual birth of a child as a promised gift who was offered to the Lord and received by a person in the Temple.
• (vv.22-23) The Lord accepts and complies with the Jewish laws. Two laws are applied here: the purification of a mother (40 days after birth of a son or 80 days after birth of a girl) and the consecration of the first born.
• (v.24) The law prescribes a yearling ram for purification, but allows two turtledoves or young pigeons for the poor. The Holy Family's gifts indicate that they were poor.
• (v.25) Simeon means "God has heard." Though he is not a priest, his service of God associates him with the temple. In this scene, three sources join force to declare the greatness of Jesus: the Law, the prophetic spirit, and the temple tradition.
• (vv.29-32) These verses form the center of the message. This is a prayer about the fulfilled promise that satisfies Simeon's life.
• (v.32) The salvation is for all peoples, for the whole world, not just Israel.
• (v.36) Anna means "grace, favor." Unusual for his time, Luke commonly pairs man and woman as equal: Simeon and Anna here, Zechariah and Elizabeth in chapter 1 (parents of John the Baptist), and five other such couples in the rest of the Gospel.

The Lord has come as promised to save all peoples.

1. Simeon's life was satisfied by seeing Jesus. What am I looking for in this life? What would satisfy me?
2. What do the people around me consider as their goal, their satisfaction, or their salvation, by the way they live? How much does that influence me?

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A synthesis by the Vietnamese Christian Life (Dong Hanh) Community