Dedication
35
Mary pondered the broad and far-reaching prophecy of Simeon.
As she looked upon the child in her arms, and recalled the words
spoken by the shepherds of Bethlehem, she was full of grateful joy
and bright hope. Simeon’s words called to her mind the prophetic
utterances of Isaiah: “There shall come forth a rod out of the stem
of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: and the Spirit of
the Lord shall rest upon Him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the
fear of the Lord.... And righteousness shall be the girdle of His loins,
and faithfulness the girdle of His reins.” “The people that walked in
darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the
shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.... For unto us a
child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon
His shoulder: and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor,
The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”
Isaiah
11:1-5
;
9:2-6
.
Yet Mary did not understand Christ’s mission. Simeon had proph-
esied of Him as a light to lighten the Gentiles, as well as a glory to
Israel. Thus the angels had announced the Saviour’s birth as tidings
of joy to all peoples. God was seeking to correct the narrow, Jewish
conception of the Messiah’s work. He desired men to behold Him, not
merely as the deliverer of Israel, but as the Redeemer of the world.
But many years must pass before even the mother of Jesus would
understand His mission.
Mary looked forward to the Messiah’s reign on David’s throne, but
she saw not the baptism of suffering by which it must be won. Through
Simeon it is revealed that the Messiah is to have no unobstructed
passage through the world. In the words to Mary, “A sword shall
pierce through thy own soul also,” God in His tender mercy gives to
the mother of Jesus an intimation of the anguish that already for His
sake she had begun to bear.
“Behold,” Simeon had said, “this child is set for the fall and rising
again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against.”
[57]
They must fall who would rise again. We must fall upon the Rock and
be broken before we can be uplifted in Christ. Self must be dethroned,
pride must be humbled, if we would know the glory of the spiritual
kingdom. The Jews would not accept the honor that is reached through