Bible Character Explorer
New Testament • 1st century BC - 1st century AD
Simeon
Waiting for the Consolation of IsraelA devout, Spirit-led man who was promised he would not die before seeing the Lord's Christ, and held the infant Jesus in the temple.
"Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word: For mine eyes have seen thy salvation."
Luke 2:29-30 (KJV)
Overview
Simeon was a just and devout man living in Jerusalem, described as waiting for 'the consolation of Israel,' with the Holy Spirit upon him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ. Led by the Spirit into the temple at the very moment Mary and Joseph brought the infant Jesus to be presented according to the law, Simeon took the child into his arms and blessed God, uttering the words now known as the Nunc Dimittis: 'Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace... for mine eyes have seen thy salvation.' He went on to prophesy over the child, telling Mary that Jesus was set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel, a sign to be spoken against, and that a sword would pierce her own soul also, a foretelling of the sorrow she would witness at the cross.
Gospel Connection
Simeon's declaration that his eyes had seen God's salvation in the infant Jesus, prepared 'before the face of all people' as light for the Gentiles and glory for Israel, is one of the earliest prophetic confirmations in the New Testament that the child born in Bethlehem was indeed the promised Messiah, whose saving work would extend to the whole world.
Discover More
See how this life points to Christ in the Gospel Connection section above.