Luke 2:25-26

Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah.

From Background Notes [BN] for Dec 13th & 14th written by Pastor Bob Brown:

Using the Greek word prosdechomai, which means "to await" or "to welcome or receive", Luke paints a picture of Simeon as a "watchman" for Israel...

 

...a theme already part of the Hebrew tradition (see Ezekiel 3:16-17). He was entrusted with the task of looking out for God's arrival. The Old Testament exposes similar ideas in such passages as Genesis 49:18, Psalm 119:166, and Isaiah 15:2). This "coming of God" is called the paraklesis, "the comfort, consolation", a powerful idea in Isaiah's prophecy, especially in chapter 40. Such consolation refers to the coming of the Messiah as seen in Isaiah 49:13; 57:18; 61:2. Simeon's role was to be the first to publicly identify the Messiah, but to do so, he needed to accurately recognize him. For this task he requires special insight from God, and that is granted through the Holy Spirit, as examined next. [BN,14]

Join us this week in Study, Worship, Praise and Celebration at Chicago First Church of the Nazarene:

* Saturday 6:00pm
* Sunday 8:30am & 11:00am