The Messiah Simeon Waited For

Day 56, Time Fulfilled

Daniel 9:24-26a Seventy weeks are decreed
about your people and your holy city—
to bring the rebellion to an end,
to put a stop to sin,
to wipe away iniquity,
to bring in everlasting righteousness,
to seal up vision and prophecy,
and to anoint the most holy place.
25 Know and understand this:
From the issuing of the decree
to restore and rebuild Jerusalem
until Messiah the Prince
will be seven weeks and 62 weeks.
It will be rebuilt with a plaza and a moat,
but in difficult times.
26 After those 62 weeks
the Messiah will be cut off
and will have nothing. (HCSB)

As we near Christmas Day and the end of these posts about the prophetic Simeon, we need to know a bit about why Simeon believed so firmly that he would see the Messiah in his lifetime. He had God’s word through the Holy Spirit, but he also had confirmation in Scripture, in the Word of God. The passage above in Daniel narrows the window of time that the Messiah will appear on earth quite considerably. You can choose one of two declarations to rebuild Jerusalem and then count from there.

Jesus was born in that window of time.

These words of Daniel were so widely understood that the magi, otherwise known as the wise men, used them as a time indicator. They saw the star because they were anticipating a sign of the arrival of the Messiah. They saw him as the long-desired Holy Prince who would bring peace and justice to the world.

Centuries before, Daniel had lived among the wise in Babylon. For a time, he had even been appointed as their leader by the king. Because of this, the groups that followed him studied his words and looked for signs to fulfill them.

The religious leaders in Jerusalem knew the signs and timing, too, but they weren’t looking for an infant Messiah to worship. They waited for a conqueror to overthrow Rome and establish Jerusalem as the world’s capital. They knew the signs so well that they weren’t surprised at the appearance of the magi.

But neither did they follow them.

Matthew 2: 4-5a So he [Herod] assembled all the chief priests and scribes of the people and asked them where the Messiah would be born. “In Bethlehem of Judea,” they told him. (HCSB)

A Sixty-Day Countdown to Christmas


More Days

Introduction to The Messiah Simeon Waited For

Holding Jesus

Day 3, A Sketch of Simeon

Simeon Was a Godly Man

Day 5, Simeon's Testimony

Day 6, Prophecies for the Gentiles

Day 7, Blessing to Nations

Day 8, A Holy People

Day 9, Welcoming God's Firstborn

Day 10, The Name of Simeon

Day 11, Staying Alive

Day 12, Following the Spirit

Day 13, Taking Up Jesus

Day 14, God's Slave

Day 15, True Peace

Day 16, Seeing Reality

Day 17, The Intent of the Law

Day 18, For All Peoples

Day 19, Making Mary and Joseph Marvel

Day 20, A Blessing

Day 21, Hinting at the Rest of the Story

Day 22, Mary Will Grieve

Day 23, Making Simeon into Simeon

Day 24, Prophet to the Prophets

Day 25, A Priest Like Melchizedek

Day 26, Destined for Sacrifice

Day 27, Jesus and the Passover Lamb, part 1

Day 28, Jesus and the Passover Lamb, part 2

Day 29, Jesus and the Passover Lamb, Part 3

Day 30, Jesus as the Lamb (con.)

Day 31, Simeon as a Man of Gratitude

Day 32, Sacrificing Lambs in the Old Testament

Day 33, The Silent Lamb

Day 34, The Messiah as Light

Day 35, Jesus the Stumbling Block

Day 36, Jesus as the Rock

Day 37, The Precious Cornerstone

Day 38, The Stone in Zion

Day 39, The Cornerstone and the Gate

Day 40, The Stone of Judgment

Day 41, Into Zion First

Day 42, Restoring the Booth of David

Day 43, Forgotten Stones

Day 44, Blessed to Receive

Day 45, Crown Him with Many Crowns

Day 46, Identifying the Son of God

Day 47, The Best Storyteller Ever

Day 48, In Bethlehem, the City of David

Day 49, Born a King

Day 50, The Living Jesus

Day 51, The Mountain Tree (Part 1)

Day 52, The Mountain Tree (Part 2)

Day 53, The Root of Jesse

Day 54, David's Branch

Day 55, The Cursed Tree

Day 56, Time Fulfilled

Day 58 through 60

Day 57, Born David's King