The Messiah Simeon Waited For

Luke 2:30 For my eyes have seen Your salvation.

Psalm 119:18 Open my eyes, that I may see
Wondrous things from Your law.

Sometimes, we have to see to believe.

The most famous example of needing to see to believe, in John 20 of the Bible, is Thomas. Called ‘doubting Thomas’ throughout history, it is hard to blame him on his reaction. What his fellow disciples told him was ludicrous. Someone might come back to life after a long illness like Jairus’s daughter or Lazarus, but Jesus had been crucified. His external body was seriously damaged. The torture prior meant that he had been lacerated and his side had been pierced. The savior’s body was no longer whole enough to truly hold together—speaking in earthly terms of course.

But once Thomas saw, he believed not only that Jesus lives, but that Jesus was God.

How much of this truth did Simeon see when he held the infant Christ? Based on his words to Mary, we know he had a glimpse of the future truth. He knew that salvation required sacrifice.

In the form of a one-week old baby, Simeon saw the answers to years of prayer.

Today, we can’t see our Lord as either Simeon or Thomas did. We can’t look at an in-the-flesh Jesus and say, “There He is!” But we can look at the changes in people who surrender to the call of the Holy Spirit. We can see anger turn to love, addiction to freedom, or bewilderment to hope and say, “There He is!” as his love continues to work miracles the whole world can see.