“It had been revealed to him that he would not die before he had seen
the Lord’s Christ.”
Luke tells us of two old
people who got to hold baby Jesus in their own two hands -- Simeon and Anna (Lk
2: 25-38). Not like I hold my new grand-daughter, cuddling her in my arms, but
in total reverence, knowing and believing that they were holding the long-awaited
Messiah.
I think I can count on two
hands the number of people who recognized the newborn babe at Bethlehem as the fulfillment
of multiple prophecies of the coming Anointed One. Mary and Joseph of course. Simeon and Anna. A
few wise men and a couple of shepherds. We could probably include Zechariah and
Elizabeth.
Now you would think that with
all the prophecies that were given to the Jews throughout the centuries that
they would be able to know when Messiah would come, where he would be born, and
so many other details. There must have been countless writings by the great
rabbis interpreting the writings of Daniel, Micah, and Isaiah. The people of
Israel should have been living with such great expectation and hope, ready to
rejoice at the fulfillment of the promise of the ages. But no. No one
understood prophecy being fulfilled right in front of their noses.
Simeon and Anna rejoiced, in
unabated exultation. They did not go out and proclaim Messiah’s arrival -- no book, no podcast, no webpage, no speaking tour.
No one would have believed them anyway. No, they just marveled and treasured
the great event in their own hearts. They may have been grieved by the lack of understanding
and belief of all the religious people around them, but they were not going to
let that disbelief rob them of the great blessing God gave to them personally.
I’m afraid that even Mary was
not able to convince anyone that her son, Jesus, was the Messiah. By the time Jesus started his public ministry
she still had not convinced a soul, not even her other children. Joseph may
have given up trying to convince anyone as well, retreating into a cocoon of silence.
We don’t know. I guess the fulfillment of prophecy only becomes believable
after the dust has long settled. Then it becomes the subject of countless books
on apologetics. Hindsight is always
20/20. But let’s be clear, God gives prophecy to tell his people what he is
going to do, so they can be prepared (Amos 3:7), not so that we can look back
at events and say, “Oh, so that’s what he meant. What a great God we serve, who
is more than able to fulfill His word.” I mean, let’s get real. Would you have
been one of the ten people who believed Jesus was the Messiah, at that time, or
would you have believed all the great teachers who told you to keep waiting,
keep looking for something different, someone greater than this here guy. Even
thirty years later, there was no amount of evidence, no reconsideration of
prophecies, that could change the minds of the teachers of the law and the prophets.
Don’t confuse them with the facts, their mind is made up.
There is something we need to
understand about this handful of believers. Every one of them was given a
special prophecy or revelation, an epiphany from God, to help them see and understand
what no one else could believe. Mary and Joseph were told by Gabriel, the
angel. Simeon and Anna were told by the Holy Spirit that the small boy in the
temple courtyards was the Son of God. The wise men were given a star to follow.
And the shepherds saw angels and heard their proclamation. No one else in
Bethlehem or Jerusalem had a clue what was happening. They expected something
utterly different than what God did.
I mention this because I
think it may be somewhat the same at the second coming of Christ. There are countless books and opinions about
the signs of the return of Christ, yet confusion, misguided interpretations,
and misunderstanding abounds. But someone, or a few someones, will be led of
the Spirit of God to understand the plan of God. But they will probably be left
to treasure it in their own heart, overwhelmed with marvelous hope and peace,
while others refuse to listen. Then when the long awaited and carefully
prophesied plan of God unfolds many Christians will be left in confusion, perhaps
even despair. They will miss the joy of seeing the blessed hope being fulfilled
before their very eyes. Is that possible? Yes, it is. That’s exactly what
happened 2000 years ago.
