Do you know about
the purification offering? I didn’t. It totally passed by me. Apparently, eight days after the first male child is born, the Law of Moses requires that he be dedicated to the Lord. In the temple, the parents would sacrifice two young pigeons, or a pair of turtle doves. Mary and Joseph did as they should, and took baby Jesus to Jerusalem. There was a man named Simeon who was eagerly awaiting for the Messiah to come. The Holy Spirit was upon him, and lead him to the temple of the Lord. This is where he held baby Jesus in his arms, while offering his praises up to God. He referred to baby Jesus as the light of the world, and said he would bring salvation to all who heard. He also told Mary, “This child is destined to cause many to fall, but many will rise in Israel as well." He also said that many would oppose him, even though he was sent by almighty God, “and as a result, the deepest thoughts of many hearts will be exposed, and a sword would come to pierce her soul.” I can’t imagine these words brought comfort to Joseph and Mary, it would seem the people would want to shout "Hallelujah!" Instead they had just been told that some would oppose Jesus as Lord. Anyway, after Simeon saw the baby, He told the Lord he was ready to die, now that he had seen the Messiah with his own eyes. Simeon was not the only one ready to receive the Son. There was an old woman name Anna nearby, and she also began to prophesy. She had spent most her life in fasting in prayer, lingering in the temple waiting for the Lord. When we saw Simeon holding baby Jesus, she came beside him and offered her praises up. She talked about the child to everyone, who had been waiting expectantly for God to rescue Jerusalem, Can you imagine being Jesus's parents? I mean they knew Jesus was conceived by the Spirit of God because this is what the angel Gabriel revealed to them, but here, now, in Jerusalem Simeon and Anna prophesied even more to them. And all of this, on the heels of what happened in Bethlehem when the shepherds came to honor him. They had shared with them the story of the vast host of heaven - immeasurable angels were witnessed singing glory to God! This had to be so overwhelming! That’s probably why scripture says “Mary kept this in her heart and thought about it often.” Amazing! In thinking about Anna and Simeon, it shines a light on how unprepared the religious leaders were. The first spent their lives in prayer and devotion, while the second spent their time rigidly following the Law of Moses. Instead of pursing a relationship with God, the Pharisees focused on a "Brotherhood of Shoulds.” With a wrong heart they slowly drifted away, to the point of not being able to recognize the Messiah when he came. But Anna and Simeon known as prophets, spent their whole lives pursing a relationship with him, and because they attuned to their ears to hear, they knew in their spirit when the Lord was near. When the first coming of the Lord came, they knew right away how to recognize him. And their first response was to offer worship and praise, while prophesying the coming of days. The lesson I learned in all of this is to focus my attention on fellowship with God. I would never want to be so religious that I miss the ability to recognize the second coming of Jesus.
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