Simeon in the Bible: Why We Must Have “Eyes of Expectation”

By Karen Engle, ICEJ USA Managing Editor

Simeon is only referenced a few times in the Bible, yet those passages are packed with insight.  

In the scene that follows in Luke 2, Jesus was eight days old, and Joseph and Mary were at the temple to dedicate Him to the Lord and have Him circumcised, as required by God’s law, when they encountered Simeon. Luke writes: 

Behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was just and devout, waiting for the Consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. (25–26, NKJV, emphasis added) 

This passage says Simeon was “just and devout,” meaning his heart was tender toward God. It also tells us Simeon had spent his life watching and waiting for the “Consolation of Israel,” what pastor, theologian, and author Steven Cole says, “refers to the time prophesied by Isaiah (40:1–2) when God would comfort His people and remove their sins by sending His Anointed One, the Messiah.” 

Who Is Simeon in the Bible? 

At that time (first-century Israel), the faith of Abraham was spoiled by the man-made doctrines of the Pharisees and Sadducees, whom Jesus, citing Isaiah, would later condemn in Mark 7:6: 

These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. (NIV; See also Isaiah 29:13) 

These leaders appeared to say the right things, but their worship of God had become all about keeping human rules and they were therefore, far from God.  

But Simeon in the Bible was a layperson who was part of the believing remnant (along with Anna, Zacharias, Elizabeth, Mary, and others), those faithful few in Jesus’ day who were deeply devoted to God and not caught up in man-made traditions. They believed what God’s Word said about their coming messiah and were waiting and watching for His arrival. They had eyes of expectation. 

Luke 2:27–32 tells us Simeon’s presence at the temple that day was not by chance: 

So he [Simeon] came by the Spirit into the temple. And when the parents brought in the Child Jesus, to do for Him according to the custom of the law, he took Him up in his arms and blessed God and said: “Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, according to Your word; for my eyes have seen Your salvation which You have prepared before the face of all peoples, a light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of Your people Israel.” And Joseph and His mother [Mary] marveled at those things which were spoken of Him. 

Simeon was at the temple because he “came by the Spirit”—God had led him there. According to this passage, Simeon—who had been waiting for the messiah, whom Jeremiah called the “hope of Israel”—would also be a “light” to the gentiles. Israel’s messiah would make salvation and truth available to the whole world, not just the Jews (see Isaiah 9:2; 42:6; 49:6–9; 51:4).  

Simeon knew the Hebrew Scriptures (the Old Testament) and expected a literal fulfillment of what they said about this long-prophesied Redeemer. And as he stood before Mary, Joseph, and Jesus that day, Simeon was acknowledging he was in the presence of his Savior. 

The Signs of the Times 

Amos wrote that God “does nothing without revealing his plan to his servants the prophets” (3:7 NIV), and Jesus told His disciples ahead of time about His death and resurrection “so that when it happens you will believe that I Am the Messiah” (John 13:19 NLT; see also John 14:29). Yet Jesus often condemned Jewish religious leaders for their lack of understanding, at one time chiding them for being able to interpret the weather simply by looking at the color of the clouds but being unable “to discern the signs of the times” (Matthew 16:3). 

The story of Simeon in the Bible seems unassuming, but we can learn much from this humble searcher of the Scriptures. Like Simeon, God has told us through the prophets of old everything He wants us to know about what’s ahead so we will recognize the season of our Messiah’s return. But also like Simeon, we must know our Bibles well, pay attention to what’s happening around us, and allow the Spirit to lead us. 

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