Jesus said, “ Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” Luke 24:44  Jesus came and lived the perfectly sinless life which meant that He made all the right sacrifices at holy days, was circumcised, and followed all the Jewish customs and laws.  In addition, all that was prophesied about Him, all the work He came to accomplish was Yes in Christ. 

Today’s story continues in Luke 2:21-25 “And at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb. And when the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord ²³ (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”) ²⁴ and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the Law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.”   These actions are what we would expect from Mary and Joseph as they would want to observe all the right customs that were required by the Law of Moses with their new child.

Luke 2:25-37 tells us what happened when they came to the temple to present Jesus to the Lord. 

Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. ²⁶ And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. ²⁷ And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, ²⁸ he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said,

²⁹ “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace,
    according to your word;
³⁰ for my eyes have seen your salvation
³¹     that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
³² a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
    and for glory to your people Israel.”

³³ And his father and his mother marveled at what was said about him. ³⁴ And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed ³⁵ (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.”

The attribute of God that comes to mind with this story is goodness. God was so good to Simeon to allow him see Jesus before his life was over. God kept His promise to Simeon and God in His goodness will do the same for you and me. We see God’s goodness in His love and faithfulness. God is good through and through and no one is good but God. Mark 10:18 “And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.” God is compassionate and satisfies those in need out of His goodness. He offers hope and refuge. All of God’s children experience His goodness even when bad things happen. God promises in Romans 8:28 “ And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”

How do you see God’s goodness in your life? Do you feel the compassion of others towards you and find things work out for good even when it looks bleak? I have found that in tough circumstances I need to trust God even more as I can’t see why the dark threads of my life are needed. Someday I will understand and see God was building my character and was planning good for me. I claim Jeremiah 29:11 over my life “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” God’s plans are good and I need to walk in trust fearlessly day by day!

May God’s goodness overflow towards you today.

Linda