MORNING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 4/13/2026
8:36 AM
My
Worship Time Focus: “Simeon’s
Warning”
Bible
Reading & Meditation Reference:
Luke
2:34-35
Message of the verses: “And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary
His mother, “Behold, this Child is appointed for the fall and rise of many in
Israel, and for a sign to be opposed—and a sword will pierce even your own soul—to
the end that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.”
We have been looking at a hymn of praise from Simeon
earlier and not he turns to this young couple and blesses them. But the euphoria Joseph and Mary were
experience was very quickly was tempered by a shocking warning given by Simeon—the
first negative found in Luke’s gospel.
It foreshadows the opposition Jesus would face, culminating in His
rejection by the nation and crucifixion.
We see that Simeon’s address was to Mary. As we read in all of the gospels that Joseph
was not around when Jesus was crucified, only Mary was there and so this is
perhaps why he was speaking to Mary. Now
after the incident at Passover when Jesus was twelve seen in Luke 2:41-51,
Joseph disappears from the Gospel’s account of Jesus’ life and ministry. Whenever Mary appears (e.g., John 2:1-11),
she is without Joseph. Further, when
Jesus was rejected by the people of His hometown of Nazareth, they mentioned
His mother, brothers, and sisters, but not his father. (Matthew 13:55-56). The presumption, then, is that Joseph had
died before Jesus’ public ministry had begun.
MacArthur writes “Simeon spoke first
of separation, declaring that this Child is appointed for the fall and rise
of many in Israel.” Now this
statement was not only true during the earthly ministry of the Lord Jesus
Christ, but has been true ever since, as this still goes on in Jewish homes
even today, and accepting Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord can split a Jewish home
perhaps faster than any other thing that could happen in a Jewish home. Now back to MacArthur’s quote: “He is
destined to be the determiner of people’s destiny (cf. John 1:9-13).”
(cf. John 1:9-13)
“9 The true light, which gives light to everyone,
was coming into the world. 10 He was in
the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. 11
He came to his own, and his own people
did not receive him. 12 But to all who
did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children
of God, 13 who were born, not of blood
nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.”
“As He
solemnly warned, ‘Do you suppose that I came to grant peace on earth? I tell you, no, but rather division’ (Luke
12:51; cf. John 3:36; 8:24; 14:6; Acts 4:12; 1 Cor. 3:11; 1 Tim. 2:5:11-12).
Not only would some Gentiles be saved, but also some Jews would stumble over
Him and fall into judgment and perdition, thus fulfilling Isaiah’s
prophecy:
“13 But the LORD of hosts, him you shall honor as
holy. Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread. 14 And he will become a sanctuary and a stone of
offense and a rock of stumbling to both houses of Israel, a trap and a snare to
the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 15 And
many shall stumble on it. They shall fall and be broken; they shall be snared
and taken.’” (Isa. 8:13-15; cf. Matt. 21:42-44; Rom. 9:32-33; 1 Peter 2:7-8)
“Only the
believing remnant would rise to eternal life in heaven:
6 [God] raised us up with him and seated us with
him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the
immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith.
And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,” (Eph. 2:6-8).
“Not only
would Jesus bring separation, but He would also be a sign to be
opposed. As in Matthew 25:31, the sign
is the Son of Man—signaling the arrival of kingdom presence, power, and
person. Opposed translates a form
of the verb antilego, which means ‘to speak against,’ ‘to reject,’ ‘to
deny,’ or ‘to contradict’—all of which aptly describe the insults, abuse,
mockery, and hatred, culminating in His crucifixion, that Jesus faced from
unbelieving Israel. Israel’s rejection
of Jesus Christ is an important theme of Luke’s gospel (4:28-30; 13:31-35;
19:47; 20:14-20).
“The nation’s violent rejection of
her Son would cause Mary to suffer.
Simeon graphically pictured the pain and grief she would endure when he
said to her, ‘a sword will pierce even your own soul.’ Mary’s suffering began when her Son began
to distance Himself rom her. When His
worried parents finally found Him after three days of searching, Jesus ‘said to
them, ‘Why is it that your were looking for Me? Did you not know that I had to
be in My Father’s house?’’’(Luke 2:49).
At the wedding in Cana, He did not address her as ‘mother,’ but with the
polite but formal term ‘woman’ (John 2:4).
When told that Mary and His brothers wanted to see Him, Jesus replied, ‘Who
is My mother and who are My brothers?’
And stretching out His hand toward His disciples He said, ‘Behold My
mother and My brothers! For whoever does
the will of My Father who is in heaven, he is My brother and sister and mother.’’’
(Matthew 12:48-50). Mary’s suffering
culminated at the cross, as she watched her Son suffer and die (John 19:25).
“The end result of Israel’s
rejection of Jesus was that the evil thoughts from many hearts would
be revealed. ‘This is the
judgment,’ Jesus said to Nicodemus, ‘that Light has come into the world, and
men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil (John 3:19).
Jesus was the light shining in the darkness (cf. John 1:5), who exposed the
evil of men’s hearts.
“In contrast to those who rejected
Jesus when they saw His works, Simeon knew, when He had done none of them, that
He was the Messiah and testified to that glorious truth.”
Spiritual Meaning for my Life
Today: If not for the grace of God when He
invaded my life on the 26th of January 1974, I too would be one of
those who were lost and going to a Christless eternity.
My Steps of Faith for Today: I am trusting the Lord for guidance in order
to find different doctors to help with my wife’s cancer.
4/13/2026
9:22 AM
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