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Recognizing Jesus

In Luke 2: 21-38, Mary and Joseph take their 8 day old son Jesus to the temple to be circumcised.  Among those at the temple are Simeon and Anna. Simeon and Anna (who was a prophetess) had been waiting their whole lives for the Messiah. Both were near the end of their lives, but God had promised them they would live to see the Messiah.  When they saw the tiny baby Jesus, they both instantly knew who He was and worshiped Him.  The Scriptures tell us, starting with verse 25:

"Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.  It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord's Christ. Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God saying: 'Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you now dismiss your servant in peace for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all the people, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.'"

Skipping down to verse 36, we meet Anna:

"There was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher.  She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after he marriage, and then was a widow until she was eighty-four.  she never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying.  Coming to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem."

Reading this I have to ask myself, "Would I have known? Am I seeking Jesus as intently and diligently as Simeon and Anna?"  What about you?  If Christ came to you in a form you weren't expecting, would you know it was Him?

I challenge you this Christmas to be diligent like Simeon and Anna.  Read the gospel and study the life of Christ in order to learn how to recognize Christ.  Is the Christ of the Bible the Christ your experience, upbringing, or traditions portray?  Are you missing out on the real Jesus?

"Beloved, do not believer every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world." 1 John 4:1

Comments

  1. AnneDecember 5, 2011 at 12:37 PM

    Excellent challenge!! And I enjoy your insight thanks for sharing!!!

    ReplyDelete

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