Luke 2:34 Commentary and Bible Study

Simeon is used to bring great comfort to Mary and to Joseph. ‘And Simeon blessed them’ – he spoke well about them; that is what the word ‘blessed’ means. In this connection he encouraged them from God mightily. The Holy Spirit was upon him so that he could be used: words came out of him, comfort came out of him. What encouragement the parents of Christ would need in the time ahead! ‘Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel.’ The words ‘rising again’ is the KJV translation of the word which other versions translate simply as ‘rising’. By adding the word ‘again’ it is implied that the same group that fall also rise, but this is not necessarily the case. As Hendriksen argues, it is better to see two groups here: one rising and the other falling. This sort of language is used elsewhere in the Gospels and in the Epistles (Matthew 7:24-27; 21:44; 25:31-46; 2 Corinthian 2:16; 1 Peter 2:7-8). While some fall because they reject Jesus Christ, others who put their trust in him are lifted up by God (1 Peter 5:5). The child – he is only a child as Simeon speaks – has a predetermined future. He ‘is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel’. We must note the form of these words carefully. Christ will not personally cause some to fall and others to be raised up, but he will be the one through whom this happens. Simeon is speaking of the preaching of the gospel and the response of men and women to the message. It is a message that centres on Christ, and what we do with Christ determines our eternal status before God. But the words are addressed to Mary in particular, because she is singled out for a further prophecy. There is no evidence that Joseph was still alive at the time of Christ’s public ministry, but Mary features often in the Gospels, and especially at the end when she stands before the cross in agony of soul. Simeon says nothing about the pain of Joseph, who would certainly also have suffered greatly at seeing the cross. Mary will experience an agony of soul that will be the crisis of her own life. The child she loves, but more than that, the Christ sent into the world, will die before her eyes. Christ will die in front of his mother, and she will be unable to prevent it. The one who she knows was without sin will be the victim of terrible human injustice, and she will be powerless to stop it. ‘A sword shall pierce through thy own soul also.’ How marvellous that a man can be used by God as a prophet to speak of the future with complete certainty, the future which is a mystery to all others! No wonder accuracy of prophecy is made a mark of the true prophet.