A Person of the Holy Spirit: Simeon (Luke 2:25–27)

There was a time when David committed a great sin against God. It was the incident in which he committed adultery with a woman named Bathsheba. David then tried to conceal the matter by deliberately arranging for Uriah, Bathsheba’s husband, to be killed on the battlefield. Yet even after this, David felt no pang of conscience. On the contrary, as soon as Uriah’s funeral was over, David brought Bathsheba into the royal palace as if he had been waiting for her, and made her his wife.

 Then God exposed David’s ugly and wicked sin in detail through the prophet Nathan. When God rebuked him, declaring that he would receive a judgment greater than the sin he had committed, David finally came to his senses and repented.

And when we look at Scripture, there is one thing David desperately pleaded with God for until the very end during his repentance. Psalm 51:11 says: “Do not cast me away from Your presence, and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.”“Do not take Your Holy Spirit from me…” Everyone, David knew this very well.

The reason his life had been so blessed and prosperous up to that point was because the Holy Spirit had been with him.

▶ David was able to bring down Goliath in the Valley of Elah not because of his courage or his skill with a sling.

▶ David was able to escape capture for ten years while being pursued by Saul not because of his personal knowledge of terrain or wisdom gained from shepherding sheep since childhood.

▶ David was able to defend the nation without a single defeat when the Philistine army—with its overwhelming superiority in iron weaponry—invaded, not because of his military strength.

▶ The power of praise that drove out evil spirits when he played the harp was not a talent David originally possessed.

▶ And did you know what Acts 2:30–31 says about David?

“Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that He would set one of his descendants on his throne, he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that He was not abandoned to Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption.”

Everyone, David was an Old Testament figure who lived 1,000 years before Jesus came to this earth.

Historically and chronologically, he was someone who could neither know nor see Jesus. Yet David saw the spiritual mystery and revelation that Jesus Christ would come a thousand years later, die on the cross, rise again, and sit at the right hand of God. David knew better than anyone that the reason he lived such a prosperous and blessed life—filled with wisdom, courage, prophecy, and revelation—was because the Holy Spirit was with him.

 That is why he cried out to God in tears, desperately pleading that God would not take the Holy Spirit away from him:

“Do not take Your Holy Spirit from me…”

Now, in today’s passage, we see a man with whom the Holy Spirit—whom David so desperately longed for—was pleased to dwell continually. Let us read Luke 2:25–27:

“Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 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. And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law…”

Everyone, the Gospel of Luke describes the work of the Holy Spirit in Simeon’s life in three ways:

“The Holy Spirit was upon him”, “It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit”, “He came in the Spirit”

These three descriptions of the Holy Spirit’s work are extremely important. They are works of the Holy Spirit that are absolutely necessary for people of faith. 1. “The Holy Spirit was upon him”

Doesn’t the expression “the Holy Spirit comes upon someone” or “rests upon someone” sound familiar?

Yes, we see it in Matthew 3:16–17:

“And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.’”

The baptism given by John the Baptist was a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.

If that is the case, then Jesus should not have been baptized by John, right? If Jesus had sin, He could not be the perfect atoning sacrifice. Then why did Jesus, who had no sin, receive baptism from John?

When we look at Matthew 3, the baptism Jesus received was not a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. That is why, after Jesus was baptized, we do not hear a voice from heaven saying, “Your sins are forgiven.”

Instead, heaven opens, the Holy Spirit descends upon Jesus, and the declaration is made:

“This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

This declaration—“This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased”—is a combination of the prophecies from Psalm 2:7 and Isaiah 42:1. ▶ Psalm 2:7 “I will tell of the decree: The LORD said to me, ‘You are my Son; today I have begotten you.’”

▶ Isaiah 42:1 “Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my Spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations.”

The baptism that ordinary people received was a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.

But the baptism Jesus received was not for forgiveness of sins. It was an anointing—an official declaration by God that He was granting His Son full authority to save and rule the world. That is why Jesus was baptized.

Then why did the Holy Spirit come upon and remain on Jesus?

The Holy Spirit testified that Jesus was God’s acknowledged Son and Savior. That is why John the Baptist, upon seeing the plain and unimpressive-looking Jesus, immediately recognized Him as the Son of God and the Savior.

John 1:33–34 says: “I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.” 

So what does it mean for the Holy Spirit to rest upon someone? It means that person is acknowledged by God.

The Holy Spirit testifies that this person is approved by God. Everyone, the life of faith is not about receiving what I want from God. The life of faith is about one thing only: being acknowledged by God. Only then does the Holy Spirit dwell with us, enabling us to live a prosperous and blessed life. 

Last week, our church received an email from the insurance company for the church building. They asked us to fix and reinforce a few things, and one of them was to secure a loose pipe in the restroom and send photographic proof.

Honestly, it was something anyone could do—tighten it with wire or secure it with plaster and paint over it neatly.

But the email added a condition:

“A licensed technician should….”

Everyone, what does “licensed” mean?

It means someone who is officially qualified and recognized in that field.

In other words, someone who takes full responsibility for the task—not someone who gives up halfway saying it’s too hard, but someone who sees it through to the end. The same applies to those who are acknowledged by God. If we are God’s people, we must do our utmost to guard the faith and salvation given to us until we enter heaven. Salvation is a gift from God—a promise. Therefore, as those who are saved and promised heaven, we must live faithfully to the end, waiting for the Lord’s kingdom and guarding our faith like citizens of heaven.

Such people are acknowledged by God. Those who are not shaken here and there, but hold firmly to the Word, rely on the Lord, and live a steady life of faith—these are the people upon whom the Holy Spirit rests.

Look at Simeon. At that time in Jerusalem, the Sadducees—who denied the resurrection—had allied with Rome and were wielding political power. The Pharisees, obsessed with the Law, were misleading the people with formalism and hypocrisy. The Zealots committed violence and terror, believing true independence could only come by driving out Rome.

The Essenes withdrew into the Judean wilderness, living in isolated, monastic communities.

It was a reality where people did not know which group to belong to in order to survive without disadvantage. Simeon lived in such a confusing world. Yet Scripture tells us that Simeon lived quietly as one who was: “Righteous” — holding fast to what God considered right to the very end “Devout” — not fearing worldly power or loving wealth, but fearing God alone and loving God alone “Waiting for the consolation of Israel” — waiting for Jesus Christ, the true Comforter and Savior

This is the kind of person with whom the Holy Spirit dwells. The Holy Spirit is with those who hold fast to what God calls right, love only the God who deserves to be loved, and steadfastly wait for the Lord’s day. Then how does the Holy Spirit work in such a person? First, Luke 2:26:

“It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.”

Simeon’s lifelong prayer was to meet Jesus Christ—the true Comforter and Savior—before he died. The Holy Spirit answered this earnest prayer in a rather unusual way:“It will be fulfilled before you die.”

At first glance, it feels like an answer and yet not quite an answer—it’s hard to interpret.

The Greek word for “revealed” here is chrēmatizō (χρηματίζω), which means “to give assurance” or “to illuminate again, bringing renewed alertness.” When we pray to God, how much inner turmoil, anxiety, and worry do we experience while waiting for an answer? “Will God really answer this prayer?” “Why do others seem to receive answers so easily while I don’t?”

When such doubt and skepticism arise, the Holy Spirit gives us assurance—assurance of faith—leading us back to prayer and back to God’s Word. When we cannot even pray, the Holy Spirit intercedes for us. He ensures that our line of prayer connected to God is not severed.

Romans 8:26–27 says: “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.” Amen.

Second, how does the Holy Spirit work in those acknowledged by God? Luke 2:27 says:

“And he came in the Spirit into the temple…” The phrase “in the Spirit” appears frequently in Scripture. The Greek word (pheromenoi) means “to be powerfully carried along, like a ship driven by the wind.”

That is why Jesus says in John 3:8: “The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

When the Holy Spirit leads us, there are times when we do not know where or why He is leading us. But when the Spirit leads us powerfully, it is always toward what is best and most beneficial for us—according to God’s goodness.

If not, we would stop out of confusion or choose another path. That is why the Holy Spirit sometimes leads us forcefully.

In today’s passage, Joseph and Mary brought the forty-day-old Jesus to the temple to perform the purification rite according to Leviticus 12. Strictly speaking, the purification rite was not for the baby but for the mother, Mary, who had shed blood during childbirth. Therefore, the place Mary entered for purification was specifically the Court of Women in the temple.

This is confirmed by Luke 2:36–38, where the prophetess Anna proclaims Jesus as the Messiah—because the Court of Women was the place where Anna could remain. Now, as a man, Simeon would normally worship and pray in the Court of Israel, not in the Court of Women.

He had entered the temple countless times, but would he ever have imagined meeting the Messiah in the Court of Women? As a Jewish man, this would have been unthinkable. That is why the Holy Spirit led Simeon powerfully.

With his own reasoning, common sense, and experience, he could never have met Jesus. The Holy Spirit moved his heart and led him directly to Jesus.

I believe we need this kind of powerful leading of the Holy Spirit. We live in a time when decisions are incredibly difficult. Discernment feels almost impossible. Even after praying and deciding, we often lack confidence. Everything feels full of worry and anxiety. At such times, I wish God would simply carry us forcefully along His good path—before my experience, reason, emotions, and instincts take over.

Therefore, we must earnestly seek the Holy Spirit. We must deeply long for the Holy Spirit.

“Holy Spirit, come upon me.” “Holy Spirit, remain upon me.” “When my faith is weak and I am anxious, give me strong assurance.” “Above all, lead me powerfully along Your good path.”

“Make me a person like Simeon—one who belongs to the Spirit and is led powerfully by the Holy Spirit.”

Let us live this week longing for and praying for the Holy Spirit.