December 21: What Child Is This?

In our little towns and communities where local sports, choirs, and pageants play such a vital role, most of us have a general knowledge of the identities of the participants, but not always. When one child performs in an outstanding way, one person may whisper to another, "Whose young’un is that?" If we know the parents, we know the child. In the case of Baby Jesus, the question is phrased differently. To say what He is, is to say who He is. Just what is He?

• To begin, He is David’s Son (vv. 4-7). He is of royal lineage and Heir to the throne of Israel’s most outstanding king. God somehow led the people to preserve the records of their ancestry down through the centuries of subjugation and bondage. When Caesar Augustus decreed a universal taxation policy (v. 1), Joseph led his wife to Bethlehem, the City of David, to pay their tax (v. 3). In their lowly social standing, they had to settle for the modest accommodations in an "inn," a carvansary, or as we would say, a cheap motel on the edge of town. The Son of David and Lord of Glory began His earthly sojourn in humble surroundings.

• Next, the Son of David is also God’s Salvation (vv. 27-32). At the time Joseph and Mary took Jesus to the temple to present Him formally to God (v. 22), the Holy Spirit had already prepared the heart of a godly man to confirm further the unique nature of the Child (v. 25). In Simeon’s personal life, he was just in the sight of others and devout in the sight of God. He waited patiently for God’s Israel’s consolation, that is, the moment when God would summon Israel to spiritual decisions.

The summons came from God, but not in the way the religious leaders desired or expected. The Messiah had arrived, as Simeon quickly discerned, when he saw a baby in the care of Joseph and Mary. Taking Him in his arms, he thanked God for allowing him to see God’s Salvation for both Israel and the Gentiles. The way of redemption was being prepared "in the presence" of the people of the world.

• The Holy Spirit inspired Simeon to a further revelation because he saw Salvation’s Rejection (vv. 33-35). To the amazement of Joseph and Mary at Simeon’s pronouncements, the prophet had not yet completed his message. He then pronounced a blessing on the pair, but not on Jesus. After all, how can a mere mortal bless God? He turned his attention to Mary to inform her of two outcomes to the life and ministry of the Babe he held in his arms. As far as their beloved nation was concerned, the reaction to Jesus would be mixed. Many would rise to the challenge He gave them, but many would not. Tragically, their rejection would ultimately lead to a cruel crucifixion.

We do not know how much of that event the Holy Spirit revealed to Simeon, but he understood enough to know her sorrow would be such that her very soul would be pierced. We get a glimpse of it as she followed the body of Jesus after Joseph of Arimathea removed it from the cross, prepared it for burial, and escorted it to a borrowed tomb (24:55). Truly, the crib resided in the shadow of the cross.

• The final explanation of the baby remained for the aged Anna, a widow who foresaw Jerusalem’s Redemption (vv. 36-38). Along with countless numbers of others, she had prayed the promise of Psalm 122:6: "Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love them." The prayer finds its way into present Christian rituals. Redemption and peace can come for Jerusalem, but at a horrendous cost. We, too, should hold on to the goal of praying that both Jew and Muslim might bow before the Messiah. Until then, peace is fragile at best.