Friday, January 2, 2015
Luke 2:25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon ...
BUT MARY TREASURED UP ALL THESE THINGS, PONDERING THEM IN HER HEART (5)
When Mary gave birth to Jesus it was in a very ordinary place, He had the needs of an ordinary baby. Then came the shepherds with the angel's amazing news about that infant!
A circumcision was a very common event in Israel. But for Mary it would be the angel-given name "Jesus," which was applied to her Son at His circumcision, that would stand out, for He would save His people from their sins.
At each point along the way, there was much that appeared ordinary and everyday, but then a remarkable thing would happen to remind Mary that it was really a unique child which she held in her arms. It was an often-performed ceremony when she followed the laws of purification after childbirth, when she and Joseph presented and redeemed her first-born with the poorest of offerings.
But Simeon's entrance changed all that. Did Mary know about this man when he first came up to them in the Temple? If not she surely found out afterward that he was "righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him." He told them of the pivotal role which her infant Son would occupy, and of the pain that lay ahead for her as she watched Him carry out His mission.
Things may seem very ordinary in our lives, too, at times. And then His Word comes to remind us that we are "a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God." And the difference between what appears on the surface and what actually is -- is J e s u s with us!
