A Longing Heart

Eight days after giving birth to a baby, Mary and Joseph went to the temple in Jerusalem to have their baby boy circumcised. It was also the time to declare his official name. Both Mary and Joseph knew what the name would be because they both had been instructed by the angel Gabriel what to name him. They called him Jesus which is the Greek rendering of Joshua which means that “Jehovah is salvation.” As Joshua had been Israel’s conqueror and deliverer, so Jesus would deliver from their sins all who come to him, as Gabriel had said, “She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins" (Matt 1:21).

About a month later, Mary and Joseph returned to the busy temple for the dedication of their son. God had prepared this moment for them because a priest named Simeon was moved by the Spirit to go to the temple at the very moment the couple entered. He had been assured by God that he would see the Messiah before he died, and as he held the baby in his arms, he knew this was the one he had waited for (Luke 2:25-28).

Though the hustle and bustle of the temple was everywhere, Joseph and Mary were with Simeon, and it was as if they had known each other all their lives because God had arranged this meeting. Accompanying Simeon was Anna who was over a 100, and she, too, was longing to see this baby. Many were waiting for a Messiah to come riding atop a black stallion, but Simeon and Anna expected otherwise. Their hearts longed for God, and this day he filled both of them. Simeon exclaimed that he had seen and had held the Messiah, and his heart was satisfied.

Simeon offered a prophesy over the child and his mother. "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). Mary was hearing for the first time of the sorrow that would pierce her heart when she would witness her son’s death.

Simeon’s words about Jesus are so revealing for all of us when he says that Jesus is destined to cause the rising and falling of many. Jesus is so controversial even today. He is loved or hated, understood or misunderstood, followed or rejected because he reveals who we are. Everything hinges on whether we open or close our hearts to Jesus. If we receive him as Simeon did, our longing hearts will also be satisfied in Jesus.