Luke 2:25-32 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
25 And 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 would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s [a]Christ. 27 And he came in the Spirit into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, [b]to carry out for Him the custom of the Law, 28 then he took Him into his arms, and blessed God, and said,
29 “Now Lord, You are releasing Your bond-servant to depart in peace,
According to Your word;
30 For my eyes have seen Your salvation,
31 Which You have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
32 A Light [c]of revelation to the Gentiles,
And the glory of Your people Israel.”
The Only Mention of Simeon
The only mention of Simeon in the Bible was in the book of Luke. Yet he had experienced one of the most awesome promises that there was and that was to live to see the Messiah.
Simeon was a man both righteous and devout, a man filled with light. Simeon wanted to see the Savior, that is the Messiah before he died. The Holy Spirit promised this to him, hence he was enlightened by the Spirit. For this he was tethered to this plane of existence.
He knew to look for Christ. and because he had faith he finally found Jesus. Many of the Jewish people were looking for a political savior, or a warrior, to save them from Roman influence. This was totally true of the Pharisees. Simeon unlike the Pharisees and others understood their source of suffering, the source of darkness, and that the people had to be relieved from their sin.
Simeon was a man blessed by God as before his time on this earth was over he was able to hold the physical form of God, that is the infant Jesus in his arms. With this event he found God’s peace, and saw God’s light, for both the gentiles and Israel’s glory.