Subject: Lord, my eyes have seen Your salvation
Yesterday, we saw that "Yeshua" means "Yahweh saves". Everytime we mention Yeshua, the Name of Yahweh is proclaimed. Yahweh saves us through Yeshua.
Luke 2:25-32,
25 And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem,
whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the
consolation of Israel:
and the Holy Spirit was upon him.
26 And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Spirit, that he should not
see death, before he had seen the Lord's
Christ.
27 And he came by the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents brought
in the child Jesus, to do for him after the custom of the law,
28 Then took he him up in his arms, and blessed God,
and said,
29 Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word:
30 For mine eyes have seen thy
salvation,
31 Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people;
32 A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.
Simeon, filled with the Holy Spirit of God, held baby Jesus in his arm and
prayed to Yahweh God (2:28), whom he addressed as "Lord" (2:29) saying that his
eyes had seen God's salvation (2:30).
In Jesus, Simeon sees God's salvation.
In the context, the "Lord" here in 2:26 and 2:29 refer to Yahweh, not to Jesus.
The Spirit of God revealed to Simeon that Jesus is Yahweh's Christ, meaning
Jesus will be the Messiah Christ that all the people of Israel were
looking forward to for their redemption.
When Joseph and Mary entered into the temple of Jerusalem, they had already
given the name " ישוע " (Yeshua) to the
baby as instructed by the angel of
God. Like all Jewish parents, they came to the temple of Jerusalem
to fulfill the requirements of the law. "According to the Law of Moses,
they brought Yeshua to the Temple
to present him to the Lord as it is written
in the Law of the Lord, "Every male
who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord".
(Luke 2:22-23)
The "Lord' here refers to Yahweh as it is a quote from the OT. Unfortuantely because we are working with
English and LXX translations, we do not see the word "Yahweh". "Yahweh" is in the original Hebrew text in Exodus 13:11-12.
Simeon was a just and devout man and he had been waiting for a long time for
the consolation of Israel. So when Simeon laid his eyes on Yeshua, he turned his attention to God and blessed Yahweh for he has
now seen salvation from God in Yeshua. Blessed be Yahweh God. God allows Simeon
to see Yahweh's salvation not just for Israel but also for the Gentiles,
so Simeon went on and gave a message to Mary from God.
At this time in the temple, Anna, the old prophetess, also gave thanks to Yahweh, for redemption is going to come through "Yeshua". Anna then spent the rest of her life speaking of Yeshua to "all who were looking for redemption in Jeruslaem."
Yahweh accomplishes the redemptive work of salvation through Yeshua, the Lamb of God, the sacrifice for the atonement of sins, to take away the sin of the world (John 1:29).
1 Peter 1:18-21 tells us that "we are ransomed with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for your sake who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God."
Simeon, Anna, Peter, and the early apostles put their faith and hope in Yahweh God for salvation.
In Yeshua, they see Yahweh's salvation.
In Yeshua, do we see Yahweh's salvation?
Yeshua directs our attention to Yahweh, the One who saves. Yahweh is our ultimate Savior. Yahweh savse through Yeshua. Our faith and hope are in Yahweh.
:)
