Exodus 13:2, 12, 15 is the law concerning dedication of the firstborn that opens the womb; Leviticus 12:1-4, 6-8 is the law of conception and birth of a male child and what and when to offer God as he is presented to the Lord; Leviticus 12:5-8 is the law of conception and birth of a female child and what and when to offer God as she is presented to the Lord, and these laws are what Luke 2:22-38 refer to when after 41 days, Mary and Joseph bring the Child Jesus to the temple at Jerusalem for the priest Simeon to present Him to the Lord, and Anna, a praying widow, confirms God’s Son is being presented to Him, by priest Simeon, who calls Him, “God’s Salvation”.
Of all the priest in Jerusalem, Israel, God chose Simeon to be on duty that special day to present Jesus, the Christ, God’s Son, to God along with the special sacrifice Mary and Joseph brought, and of all the praying widows in Jerusalem, Israel, God chose Anna to witness and confirm this was God’s Son, God’s Salvation, being presented to Him. What an honored privilege this must have been both for priest Simeon and widow Anna.
Not many boys are named Simeon and not many girls are named Anna, but only these two special people had the cherished, honored, privilege, of being present on that incredibly special day as God’s only Son was presented to Him, and their names are forever included in Scripture.
Priest Simeon, though did not call Jesus, God’s Son, “Savior” but “Salvation”, so what is the difference in Jesus, the Christ, being our “Savior” and Him being our “Salvation”? A lot!
Jesus our “Savior” died once to “save” (deliver) us from our sins, but Jesus our “Salvation” never has to die to keep us “saved and delivered” from our sins; He can immediately forgive our sin the moment we know we have sinned, repent, and ask for His forgiveness. Our Savior is now our Salvation, the same way our “Redeemer” (Isaiah 44:24) is now our “Redemption” (Romans 3:21-26; 1 Corinthians 1:30-31).
We say it a lot, “What a Mighty God we serve”, but it cannot be said enough, for there is no other god but our Mighty Salvation, Redemption, God of perfect love, grace, mercy, and forgiveness to all who will accept Him as He is to us.
Some days we are compelled to spend the day in sweet praise, thanks, and worship to the Godhead, for no other reason than for who He is, as He fills us with Himself, exactly as Ephesians 3:14-21 says, and we cannot get enough of His sweet, peaceful presence.
These are days when all wickedness is meaningless and the Godhead has the highest rank and value of anything going on in the world, to which we are crucified (Galatians 6:14), and rejoicing in our Lord’s “abundant and eternal life” (John 10:10; 1 John 5:9-12), which we firmly, passionately, and unashamedly believe and enjoy.
As Christians, members of Christ’s body, the worldwide church, we may be hated by the world, but God has so amazingly “blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He has made us accepted in the Beloved. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him (Ephesians 1:3-10).
“We have started following Jesus; no turning back, no turning back.” Therefore, we must listen carefully to His instructions and obey every detail of what He tells us, so we never turn back, regardless of what wicked people try to do to God and His children (Hebrews 6:1-12).
Jim Nabors
