The Bible Says
Luke 2:25-35 Meaning

There are no apparent parallel Gospel accounts of Luke 2:25-35.

In Luke 2:25-35, Simeon, a devout man led by the Holy Spirit, takes the infant Jesus in his arms, declares Him to be God’s salvation for all peoples, and prophesies that Jesus will be both a light and a source of division and sorrow.

While Mary and Joseph were in Jerusalem to offer their purification sacrifice (Luke 2:22-25) for the delivery of Jesus, her firstborn son (Luke 2:7), they encountered a devout man whose name was Simeon.

Righteous Simeon and the Consolation of Israel

Luke describes the setting and introduces Simeon.

And there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; and this man was righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel; and the Holy Spirit was upon him (v 25).

Simeon shared the name with one of Jacob’s twelve sons.

In Genesis, Simeon was the second son of Jacob and Leah (Genesis 29:33) and the full brother of Levi. He was known for his impulsive and violent nature, especially when he and Levi took vengeance against the city of Shechem after their sister Dinah was violated (Genesis 34:25–30), an act that later drew Jacob’s strong rebuke (Genesis 49:5-7).

Simeon is traditionally understood to have played a leading role among the brothers who conspired against Joseph, and may have been the chief instigator in throwing him into the pit before he was sold into slavery (Genesis 37:18-24, 42:21). Simeon was also singled out by Joseph during the brothers’ journey to Egypt, where he was bound and held in custody as a guarantee that the others would return with Benjamin (Genesis 42:24).

The tribe of Simeon was named after Jacob’s son. His tribe later received land within the larger territory of Judah (Joshua 19:1, 9), and he is listed among the patriarchs of the twelve tribes of Israel (Genesis 35:23).

In Hebrew, the name Simeon means “to hear” or “to listen.” Simeon listened to God. In the context of Luke 2:25-35 it is poetically fitting that a man named Simeon —“listen/ hear”—would be the one who sees and proclaims God's long-awaited salvation in the Christ Child.

Luke points out that Simeon was righteous and devout. This meant he kept the law of Moses from the heart and that he was a sincere follower of God.

Moreover, Simeon was actively looking for the Messiah—the Christ—here described as the consolation of Israel.  Simeon (“to listen/hear”) was listening for God’s Messiah.

It is plausible that Simeon was among “all who heard… and wondered at the things which were told them by the shepherds” (Luke 2:18). Simeon could have heard of the shepherds’ account of the angels and the baby Messiah lying in a manger from the shepherds directly or he could have heard this news secondhand. It is also plausible that Simeon had not yet heard about the Christ’s birth.

Consolation means comfort, especially in a time of sorrow, distress, or suffering. It refers to relief, encouragement, or hope given to someone who is grieving or discouraged.

Israel had frequently and long been under the political oppression of other powers from Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Greece, and now Rome. Israel had also long suffered under spiritual oppression of sin and death—separation from God.

Simeon’s looking and longing for the consolation of Israel speaks to the Jewish hope that the Lord would fulfill His promises of national restoration, divine mercy, and Messianic deliverance.

The promise of the Lord’s deliverance of Israel’s oppression through the Messiah was the consolation of Israel. This Messianic hope and consolation was grounded in prophecies such as:

“Comfort, O comfort My people,” says your God. “Speak kindly to Jerusalem; and call out to her, that her warfare has ended, that her iniquity has been removed.”
(Isaiah 40:1-2)

Faithful Jews like Simeon yearned for the day when the Christ would come to deliver Israel from oppression, forgive their sins, and restore them to glory—bringing divine consolation to a weary nation.

As the Messiah, Jesus (v 27) is the consolation of Israel.

Luke also wrote that the Holy Spirit was upon Simeon.

The Holy Spirit is God.

In writing that the Holy Spirit was upon him, Luke likely meant the Holy Spirit was upon Simeon at that particular moment—the moment when Simeon was led to the temple in the Spirit (v 27) and encountered Mary and Joseph and met their baby Jesus, the Messiah.

Luke most likely does not mean that the Holy Spirit was perpetually upon him for most or all of Simeon’s life. The Holy Spirit did not perpetually indwell believers until after Jesus’s resurrection and ascension and the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1-4). Before Pentecost, the Holy Spirit would come upon people at various times to empower them for special service.

The fact that the Holy Spirit was upon him meant that Simeon’s words and actions were influenced and led by the Holy Spirit, and that what he was about to do or say would be from God.

Finally, Simeon’s prayer—You are releasing your bond-servant to depart in peace (v 29a)—suggests that he was very old and near the end of his life.

After sharing these initial details about Simeon, Luke then shares an important aspect to Simeon’s life and one that will be fulfilled in this holy moment,

And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ (v 26).

God had revealed to Simeon that he would not die until he had seen the Lord’s anointed—the Messiah—the Christ.

The Lord had long promised the Israelites that He would send His anointed Christ, who would redeem the people of Israel and exalt His people to glory (Deuteronomy 18:15–19 Isaiah 42:1-4, 60:1-22, Daniel 7:13-14, Zechariah 9:9-10).

It had been over four hundred years since the last prophet spoke to Israel, and the Messiah had not yet come. But God’s promises never fail—even if they take millennia before they come to pass—for a day is like a thousand years to the Lord (Psalm 90:4, 2 Peter 3:8). The righteous, devout, and old Simeon believed the Lord’s promise that He would send His anointed Christ. And Simeon was looking for the consolation of Israel. And the Lord, by the Holy Spirit made a personal promise to Simeon when He revealed to Simeon that he would not see death (i.e. not die) until after he had seen the Messiah.

Simeon also believed the Lord’s personal promise to him. And the Lord may have credited Simeon’s act of faith, like his ancestor Abraham’s act of faith, as righteousness (Genesis 15:6, Romans 4:3).

The context of Luke’s account insinuates that Simeon carried this assurance of faith for many years, both the Lord’s promise to send the Messiah and the Holy Spirit’s promise that he would not see death before he had seen the Christ.

And he came in the Spirit into the temple (v 27a).

Simeon came into the temple of Jerusalem—in the Spirit. That is, he came under the guidance and influence of the Holy Spirit. It was therefore no accident that Simeon was in the temple on this day. This was truly a divine appointment.

And when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to carry out for Him the custom of the Law, then he took Him into his arms, and blessed God and said (v 27b-28).

It was while Simeon was in the temple that he saw Mary and Joseph (the parents of Jesus) with their newborn baby bringing their sacrifice according to the custom of the Law (Luke 2:22-24).

Note: it is likely for the sake of convention, that Luke refers here to Joseph as one of Jesus’s parents. Joseph was not Jesus’s biological father. Jesus had no biological father; his mother Mary conceived Jesus thought the Holy Spirit as a virgin and gave birth to Him while still a virgin (Matthew 1:18, 23-25, Luke 1:34-35). Joseph was therefore Jesus’s surrogate father who helped raise Jesus as a father would raise his son. Luke, of course, has already explained all of this (Luke 1:26-35, 3:23b), and refers to Joseph here as one of Jesus’s parents, for the sake of convention and/or convenience.

Mary and Joseph were in the temple with their baby to perform not just one custom of the Law, but rather two customs (Luke 2:21-24).

1. They were in the temple to offer Mary’s purification sacrifice (Luke 2:22) from giving birth according to the custom prescribed in Leviticus 12:1-8.
2. And they were in the temple to “present [their firstborn son, Jesus] as to the Lord” (Luke 2:23) according to the custom prescribed in Exodus 13:1-2, 11-16 and Numbers 18:15-16

These customs and their significance in the life of Jesus were explained in The Bible Says commentary for Luke 2:21-24.

Then he (Simeon) took Him (the baby Jesus) into his arms, and blessed God, and said (v 28).

When Simeon saw Jesus with His parents in the temple, the old man came up to them. At some point, possibly after a short conversation with Mary and Joseph, Simeon took the baby Christ into his arms and blessed God.

Simeon blessed God for allowing him to see the Messiah and fulfilling the Lord’s promise to him that he would not die until after he had seen the Christ.

Simeon’s Prophetic Blessing

Luke recorded what Simeon said when he blessed God. Jesus’s mother Mary or someone close to Mary was likely Luke’s primary source for this information.

This is what Simeon said when he blessed God as he held the child Jesus in his arms:

“Now Lord, You are releasing Your bond-servant to depart in peace,
According to Your word;
For my eyes have seen Your salvation,
Which You have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
A Light of revelation to the Gentiles,
And the glory of Your people Israel” (vv 29-32).

The first thing which Simeon said when he blessed God was to address the person he was speaking to.

Simeon said: “Now Lord” to acknowledge he was speaking directly to the Lord God. All the uses of the pronouns You and Your in verses 29-32 refer to God.

The word—now—also indicated that now (as Simeon held and beheld the infant Christ) was the precise moment which God fulfilled His promise.

The second thing which Simeon said when he blessed God was to acknowledge that God had fulfilled His personal promise to him:

You are releasing Your bond-servant to depart in peace.
According to Your word
For my eyes have seen Your salvation,

In this context the expression—Your word—refers to the Lord’s promise to Simeon that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.

Once Simeon saw the baby Jesus, the first part of God’s personal promise to Simeon was fulfilled. Simeon had seen the Christ with his own eyes. The Lord was now released from this portion of His promise because it had now come to pass according to the Lord’s word/personal promise.

Now, the second part of the Lord’s promise was able to be fulfilled which was: Simeon would be able to die and depart in peace—having seen the Messiah.

There appears to be a play on words in Simeon’s expression: For my eyes have seen Your salvation.

The name Jesus in the Hebrew language is “Yeshua.” Yeshua literally means “God saves” or “the Lord’s salvation.” Jesus was given His human name from God precisely because “He will save His people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21).

If we Hebraicize the wordplay of the angel’s message, Matthew 1:21 would read:

“You shall call His name Yeshua, for He will yoshia His people from their sins.”
(Matthew 1:21)

Simeon made a similar wordplay when he said: For my eyes have seen Your salvation.

The old man was literally seeing Yeshuah—God’s salvation—in the person of Yeshua (Jesus).

In other words, Simeon was saying my eyes have seen Jesus—Yeshua/the Lord’s salvation—yeshuah), as he held in his arms the baby Jesus—Yeshua who was the Lord’s salvation/yeshuah.

Simeon then described the Lord’s salvation and prophesied who Jesus (Yeshua) would be and what He would accomplish for Israel and the world:

…Your salvation, 
Which You have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
A Light of revelation to the Gentiles,
And the glory of Your people Israel (vv 30b-32).

Your salvation is Jesus—Mary’s son and the Child whom Simeon had just held in his arms.

Jesus is salvation for both Gentiles and Jews.

The expression—all peoples—refers to the Gentiles.

The expression—Your people—refers to Israel, God’s chosen people—i.e. the Jews.

Simeon declared how the Lord had prepared His salvation (Yeshua/Jesus) in the presence of all the peoples. This means that the Messianic ministry of Jesus would be visible and/or made known to all peoples of the earth.

At first Jesus’s Messianic ministry would directly be to the Jews and the lost sheep of Israel (Matthew 10:5-6), but many other Gentile peoples—including the Romans, Syrophoenicians, and the Greeks of the Decapolis—would witness His miracles and experience His presence and teachings.

After the Jews rejected Him and demanded that He be crucified, Jesus rose from the dead and ascended into heaven. Then the Holy Spirit came to the disciples and the good news of Jesus and the invitation to His Messianic kingdom become available to all peoples. The Luke-Acts writings tell the unfolding of these events in two installments.

• The Gospel according to Luke focuses on the ministry of Jesus to the Jews with hints of what is to come.

• The Book of Acts explains how the Gospel of Jesus Christ, starting from Jerusalem, went to the ends of the Roman Empire.

Simeon’s prophecy that Jesus would be the Lord’s salvation prepared in the presence of all peoples is one of those hints that the impact of Jesus’s ministry will go to all the peoples of the earth (Acts 1:8).

Simeon declared that this Child would be a Light of revelation to the Gentiles. As a ministry companion of the Apostle Paul, Luke was actively involved in the many disputes Paul engaged with regarding whether the Gentiles who believed in Jesus were required to practice the Jewish law in order to be saved (Acts 15:5-7).

By including this detail that Jesus would be a Light of revelation to the Gentiles, Luke is setting up a theme that will weave throughout his great works of Luke and Acts. Luke will demonstrate that the gospel of Jesus Christ was sent to the Gentiles through the ministry of Paul. He will also validate Paul’s authority and his message that Gentiles are free from any requirement of the law as a result of Jesus’s death. As Paul will assert, to walk in the Spirit is to fulfill the law (Romans 8:4).

Light illuminates and reveals truth and reality. As the Light, Jesus reveals the knowledge and truth of salvation to the Gentiles.

Jesus declared Himself to be the world-Messiah when He said: “I am the Light of the world” (John 8:12, 9:5). John also called Jesus: “the Light of men” (John 1:4).

Even as Simeon’s words look ahead to the role and impact of Jesus’s Messianic ministry and salvation, they also harken back to some of Isaiah’s prophecies about the Christ. In the prophecies of Isaiah, Light is often used as a symbol for the Messiah—especially as it regards the Gentiles (Isaiah 9:1-2, 42:6, 49:6, 60:1-3). When Simeon used the expression—Light of revelation to the Gentiles—he seems to explicitly be referencing Isaiah 49,

“I will also make You a light of the nations
So that My salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”
(Isaiah 49:6b)

As the Lord’s Christ, Jesus is a Light of revelation to the Gentiles and the person of the Lord’s salvation for all peoples of the earth.

And as the Lord’s Christ, Jesus is the glory of God’s people, Israel. Jesus is the promised One who will redeem and exalt the Jews (Jeremiah 23:5-6, Zechariah 9:9).

Simeon had said how God had fulfilled His personal promise to him and predicted that the Child, Jesus, would fulfill the Messianic promises to redeem Israel and save the world in the presence of Mary and Joseph.

Joseph and Mary’s Amazement at Simeon’s Words

Next, Luke reports what Jesus’s parents felt and thought when they heard what Simeon had to say about the child they were responsible for raising.

And His father and mother were amazed at the things which were being said about Him (v 33).

The expression—His father and mother—refer to Joseph, Jesus’s adoptive father, and Mary, Jesus’s biological mother.

When Mary and Joseph heard Simeon confess and bless God for the personal prophecy Jesus had fulfilled in his life and how Jesus would fulfill many other Messianic prophecies, it amazed them. It also may have been reassuring that after a month of taking care of the baby Jesus, that all the things the angel(s) had declared of Jesus before He was born and on the night of His birth were still true.

God seems to have given the Messiah’s parents enough signs to give them courage to endure the challenging days they had and would continue to experience. This seems to be God’s pattern. God never allows us to be tempted more than we are able to overcome, but always expects us to overcome the trials by faith in His power and promises (1 Corinthians 10:13).

Luke’s statement that His father and mother were amazed at the things which Simeon had said about Jesus infers that Mary was Luke’s original source for this interaction. Only Mary would have been able to testify how she and Joseph were amazed, and it seems less likely that a secondhand source would remember such a detail.

Then Simeon, while still speaking in the Holy Spirit, spoke to Mary and Joseph.

And Simeon blessed them (v 34a).

Simeon spoke a blessing over the Messiah’s parents. Luke does not record what he said when he blessed them.

But Luke does record what Simeon said to Mary, Jesus’s mother (v 34b).

Simeon’s Prophecy to Mary

“Behold, this Child is appointed for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and for a sign to be opposed— and a sword will pierce even your own soul—to the end that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed” (vv 34b-35).

Simeon began his words to Mary with the prophetic imperative—Behold. Behold beckoned the listener to pay careful attention and give heed to what was about to be said or done. In this case, Behold referred to what Simeon was about to say concerning Jesus, Mary’s son.

Simeon’s description of the baby Messiah as—this Child—appears to be an allusion to the child of the Messianic prophecy of Isaiah 9:

“For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us;
And the government will rest on His shoulders;
And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.
There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace,
On the throne of David and over his kingdom,
To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness
From then on and forevermore.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this.”
(Isaiah 9:6-7a)

Simeon prophesied that this Child—Mary’s son, Jesus—is appointed. To be appointed means to receive a special purpose from an authority. Jesus was appointed by God to be the Messiah. Even though this was a wonderful thing, it would not be easy, and not everyone who ought to love, follow, and worship Jesus as the Messiah would choose to do so.

In fact, many would reject Jesus as the Christ. Many in Israel would oppose Him and try to destroy Him. Many would collude and approve of His crucifixion—to their own demise and fall.

Those who oppose and rejected Jesus would fall in Israel. Many of those in powerful positions (including the chief priests, the elders, the scribes, Herod) did not believe in Jesus and consequently would fall.

Israel fell forty years after the people’s rejection and crucifixion of this Child. Rome destroyed Jerusalem and the temple and stripped the Jews religious leaders of all their sanctioned authority. The priestly party of the Sadducees and Herod’s tetrarchy were no more.

But many others in Israel did believe in Jesus for their own salvation and thus will rise to eternal life and enter His kingdom.

Those who did believe in Jesus would rise in Israel. Many lowly sinners believed in Jesus as the Messiah and sought to follow Him. This included despised tax collectors and lowly sinners (Luke 5:27-28, 7:37-38, 19:2, 8-10).

This is why Simeon prophesied that Jesus was appointed for the fall and rise of many in Israel.

Simeon’s prediction that this Child is appointed for the fall and rise of many in Israel is reminiscent of Psalm 2 and Psalm 118.

Psalm 2 concludes:

“Do homage to the Son, that He not become angry, and you perish in the way,
For His wrath may soon be kindled.
How blessed are all who take refuge in Him!”
(Psalm 2:12)

Just as Simeon foretold that Jesus would cause the fall and rise of many in Israel, Psalm 2 presents the Son as the dividing line between judgment and blessing.

Psalm 118 describes the Messiah as a corner stone that was rejected by the leaders but became the foundation for Israel’s salvation.

“The stone which the builders rejected
Has become the chief corner stone.”
(Psalm 118:22)

Simeon’s prophecy aligns with Psalm 118, which foretells that the Messiah would be rejected by Israel’s leaders yet become the foundation of God’s redemptive plan. Those who rejected Jesus—the stone—would stumble and fall, but those who believed in Him would rise, as He became the cornerstone of salvation.

Simeon’s prediction that this Child is appointed for the fall and rise of many in Israel is also similar to Jesus’s “Parable of the Landowner/Vine-growers” (Matthew 21:33-41).

In “the Parable of the Landowner/Vine-growers” Jesus tells of a landowner who leases his vineyard to vine-growers and goes on a journey. When he sends servants to collect some of the vineyard’s produce, the vine-growers beat and mistreat each one, sending them away empty-handed. Finally, the landowner sends his beloved son, thinking they will respect him. But the vine-growers kill the son, hoping to seize his inheritance. Jesus concludes that the landowner will come, destroy those vine-growers, and give the vineyard to others.

After telling “the Parable of the Vine-growers,” Jesus rebuked the religious leaders of Israel:

“Truly I say to you that the tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the kingdom of God before you. For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him; but the tax collectors and prostitutes did believe him; and you, seeing this, did not even feel remorse afterward so as to believe him.”
(Matthew 21:31b-32)

After declaring to Mary that her Son is appointed for the fall and rise of many in Israel, Simeon added this strange clause—and for a sign to be opposed.

Not all the Messianic prophecies were pleasant and happy. Some were bitter. One of the most bitter was that the Messiah would not be embraced and celebrated by everyone in Israel when He appeared. He would be opposed, rejected, and despised by many.

Psalm 22, 31, 35, and the fourth Servant Song of Isaiah (Isaiah 52:13-53:12) represent some of these bitter prophecies. One of the most overt predictions of rejection comes from this messianic prophesy in Isaiah:

“He was despised and forsaken of men,
A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;
And like one from whom men hide their face
He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.”
(Isaiah 53:3)

Ironically, even the vehement opposition the Messiah endured was a fulfilling sign that He was the Messiah.

When the time came, Jesus was not received by His own (John 1:11). Jerusalem did not rightly perceive and worship Him as their salvation when He came to them (Luke 19:41-44). The people demanded and received His crucifixion (Luke 23:20-25).

Jesus’s mother, Mary would be there to witness the horrific and gruesome torture of her own Child on a cross (John 19:26-27).

This is why Simeon prophesied to Mary: and a sword will pierce even your own soul.

In this statement, Simeon was saying that the bitter prophecies the Messiah would suffer would be bitter for Mary, the Messiah’s mother also.

The expression pierce even your own soul is akin to “break and crush your heart.” It speaks to a pain and sorrow so intense and deep that one’s own identity will be shaken to the core.

The sword that would pierce even to Mary’s own soul was the cross of her Child.

Seeing her Son Jesus be rejected, hated, humiliated, slandered, tortured, and crucified would pierce Mary’s soul.

From the moment Mary said “may it be done to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38) to the angel Gabriel after he told her the Holy Spirit would cause her to conceive the Christ (Luke 1:26-38), Mary likely viewed herself as the mother of the Messiah.

Simeon’s prophecy suggests that the grief and bewilderment from watching Jesus suffer and die as He did may have caused even Mary to question what was going on and who she was.

By including the line and a sword will pierce even your own soul, Simeon was preparing the young mother for what she would suffer when her Son suffered.

It can also be inferred in this prophecy by Simeon’s omission of Joseph that he would not be around to see Jesus’s crucifixion, which was likely another source of pain to Mary.

Simeon concluded his prophecy to Mary by explaining God’s purpose for all these signs, wonders, and sufferings associated with her Child.

The purpose of his prophetic fulfillments, miracles, opposition, and suffering was to the end that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.

The expression—to the end that—means “for the purpose of.” It indicates that Simeon is about to explain the “why” or the reason for all the signs and sufferings.

The reason for the signs Jesus will perform and His sufferings caused by His opposition is so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.

Before we explain Simeon’s final clause, there are four terms that require defining. These four terms are: thoughts, many, hearts, and revealed.

Revealed means to make known or apparent.

In this context, thoughts means “intent” or “decision.” Thoughts describe the ultimate choice people make about Jesus, and what they choose to believe of Him—particularly whether or not they believe Him to be the Messiah and Son of God and choose to trust Him with their life.

There are three things in life, and only three things, which a person can choose or control—what they believe, what perspective they will adopt, and what actions they will take.

Simeon’s expression Thoughts of the hearts directly refers to the first two things a person can choose, and what a person decides about these first two things (trust and perspective) strongly influences the third thing they can choose (their actions).

Hearts in this context means the inner core of a person. It is where the choice is made.

In the context of Simeon’s prophecy, the quantifier—many—has two meanings or senses in which it can be interpreted or applied. It has a particular and a general meaning.

Particularly, many describes the generation of Israelites who were living at the time of the Messiah’s ministry—and thus had the opportunity to live, hear, interact with, and know Jesus during His first advent. Everyone in the Messiah’s generation will be held accountable as to whether they believed and followed the Messiah or rejected Him. Largely, they rejected Him (John 1:11).

In a general sense—many—describes everyone and all people who hear of the good news of Jesus both during His earthly ministry and until He returns.

Jesus continues to reveal and make known the thoughts of all peoples’ hearts.

How a person responds to His Spirit and His Gospel reveal whether they love God or something other than God.

• If people love God, they will love Jesus.
  (John 8:42)
  
  
• If people do not love God, they will hate Jesus.
  (Luke 10:16, John 5:42-43, 15:24)

Jesus is God in human form. A person cannot love God and hate Jesus.

Jesus is also the central figure of Israel and the world.

Everyone’s eternal destiny is determined by their own heart’s response to Jesus. “There is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved”—only Jesus. (Acts 4:12). He is “the Way, the Truth, and the Life” no one can come to God apart from Him (John 14:6).

• If a person receives Jesus as the Son of God and the Messiah by faith, that person receives the Gift of Eternal Life and is born into God’s forever family (John 1:12).

• If a person does not receive Jesus by faith, that person remains spiritually dead and is forever relationally separated from God in the eternal fire (Matthew 25:41, 46).

The reason people choose the second and negative consequence over the first and exceedingly better outcome is because they love sin and darkness and they are afraid of their evil actions becoming exposed by the Light (John 3:19-20).

Thus, the embodied presence of God in the life, example, and teachings of Jesus reveals the thoughts from many (all) hearts. Each person will make a choice whether to believe God and the truth or to believe the world and its lies. Each person will make a choice whether or not to adopt a perspective that they have sin and need a savior.

The Son of God came to earth to bring salvation from sin and death and for the purpose—to the end—that everyone’s heart toward God would be revealed for what it ultimately is.

Simeon understood and prophetically told Mary in the Holy Spirit that her Child would be of eternal consequence for Israel and the entire world.