A Sword Will Pierce

When the eight days until His circumcision had passed, the child was named Jesus. It was the name the angel had given before He was conceived. Mary had heard it before the journey, before the birth, before she wrapped Him in cloths. Now it was the name of the child she carried.

When the time of purification according to the Law of Moses was complete, His parents brought Him to Jerusalem. They came to present Him to the Lord and offer the required sacrifice. Luke names the offering: a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons. Their visit began with what the Law required of them.

In Jerusalem there was a man named Simeon, righteous and devout, who was waiting for the consolation of Israel. The Holy Spirit was upon him and had revealed that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. Led by the Spirit, he came into the temple courts. Mary and Joseph brought in Jesus to do what was customary under the Law, and Simeon was there.

He took the child in his arms and blessed God. “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 people, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to Your people Israel.”

The child’s father and mother were amazed at what was said about Him. Simeon spoke of the end of his own waiting while holding the beginning of their son’s life. His words reached beyond the family before him, naming the Gentiles and Israel. Then he blessed the parents and spoke directly to Mary.

“Behold, this Child is appointed to cause the rise and fall of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed—and a sword will pierce your soul as well.” The words about the child had become words about His mother too. Simeon did not give her a date or describe an event she could recognize when it came. He named a wound without telling its story.

Mary’s answer is not recorded. The account moves from the words spoken to her to another person coming forward at that moment. Anna was a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was eighty-four, a widow after seven years of marriage.

Anna never left the temple, worshiping night and day with fasting and prayer. She came forward, gave thanks to God, and spoke about the child to everyone waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem. Simeon had been waiting, and Anna knew others who waited. The child His parents had brought for the customary observance became the subject of their words.

When Mary and Joseph had done everything required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee. They went to their own town of Nazareth. Jerusalem had given them amazement, a blessing, and the warning spoken to Mary. Now the account brought the family home.

The child grew and became strong. Luke describes Him as filled with wisdom, with the grace of God upon Him. The infant Simeon had held would not remain an infant. Years would pass in Nazareth, and Mary and Joseph would continue their yearly journeys to Jerusalem for Passover.

One of those journeys would come when Jesus was twelve. The city where Mary had heard Simeon’s words would become the place where she searched for her missing son. For now, they had returned home together. The next long visit the account makes to their family begins with another journey to the feast.