RPG Adults
CHRIST THE SAVIOUR OF ISRAEL
SATURDAY, APRIL 12
Luke 2:25-38
Psalm 122
“For mine eyes
have seen thy salvation.”
CHRIST THE SAVIOUR OF ISRAEL
At least two in Israel, Simeon and Anna, were eagerly awaiting the coming of Israel’s Messiah in light of Old Testament Scripture. In honour of their faith, the Lord granted them the privilege of seeing their Messiah before they died.
God had promised Simeon that before he died he would see Christ. The Greek “Christ” is equivalent to the Hebrew “Messiah,” meaning “the Anointed One.” When he laid eyes on Jesus, he rightly said that he was beholding the Lord’s salvation. Jesus Christ was to be the Saviour of all people, both Jew and Gentile. He also spoke of the agony Jesus had to suffer on the cross, and how Mary herself would grieve because of it.
The KJV accurately reads “Joseph and his mother” (over against the NIV’s erroneous “The child’s father and mother” which attacks the virgin birth of Christ). It is important to note that Jesus has only one Father — the first Person of the Holy Trinity. Jesus only addressed one Person as Father in the Scriptures, and that was His Father in heaven. Joseph was not His father; God alone was His Father. And Jesus would call no one “Father” but Him. The inspired writer carefully distinguished between Joseph’s actual relationship to Jesus by the words “Joseph and his mother,” not only in verse 33 but also 43, again purposely avoiding the title “father” for Joseph.
Anna, the prophetess, understood the Old Testament well when she said that Jesus was Jerusalem’s redemption. Jerusalem, as the capital of Israel, represents the nation as a whole. Anna’s “redemption of Jerusalem” is similar to Simeon’s “consolation of Israel” (Luke 2:25). Israel’s hope and glory rest on her Messiah — the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of David (Isa 52:9; cf. 2 Sam 7:12-13). Born in the city of David (Luke 2:11), He will one day rule over the whole earth from a restored Jerusalem (Rev 5:10, 20:6).
THOUGHT: The nation of Israel is the key to understanding prophecy.
PRAYER: “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee.”