Daily Bible Reading 30th March 2026 // Luke 2:21-40
21 And at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.
22 And when the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord 23 (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”) 24 and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the Law of the Lord, “a pair of turtle-doves, or two young pigeons”. 25 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. 26 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. 27 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, 28 he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said,
29 “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace,
according to your word;
30 for my eyes have seen your salvation
31 that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
and for glory to your people Israel.”
33 And his father and his mother marvelled at what was said about him. 34 And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed 35 (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.”
36 And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived with her husband seven years from when she was a virgin, 37 and then as a widow until she was eighty-four. She did not depart from the temple, worshipping with fasting and prayer night and day. 38 And coming up at that very hour she began to give thanks to God and to speak of him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.
39 And when they had performed everything according to the Law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. 40 And the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom. And the favour of God was upon him.
Simeon's song, the 'Nunc Dimittis' (these are simply the opening words of the song in the Latin version), is very beautiful, and there is something very lovely about this old man in the temple holding the Infant Saviour in his arms and close to his heart. But we must not allow a sentimental reading of it to obscure the profound implications that it has for our thinking. For Simeon, in taking the Saviour to his heart, symbolises the reception of the Son of God for salvation. His simple and moving welcome of the Saviour is a spiritual illustration of what all men must do if they are to be saved. His words can be taken in two ways: on the one hand, we may take them as meaning: 'I can die happy now, for I have seen the Lord's salvation'. We speak sometimes in this way when something great has happened to us, giving us enormous and full satisfaction - there is nothing more to wish for. A mother feels she can die happy if she sees her son getting on in life; a teacher feels he can die happy if he sees the pupil on whom he has set his hopes winning the top scholarship. It is the expression of fulfilment and satisfaction. This has a great lesson for us. To have Christ, we are meant to see, means everything. Not to have Him means to have missed the most wonderful thing in life. To have Him means that the hunger and longing of the human heart is met and answered in such a way that there is nothing left to desire. 'To me to live is Christ', said Paul, writing from prison, with a heart filled with joy and gladness and a peace that passed understanding. Having Christ, he had all, and abounded. And not only so: for him, death was something to be welcomed, for it but brought him into the immediate presence of the Saviour - to die was gain for him, for it brought him into the ocean fullness of what he had already tasted on earth. It is this that Simeon bears witness to - that the answer to the mystery of human existence is - Christ, and a personal relationship to Him, in fellowship with Him by His Spirit. We are made for God; He has set eternity in our hearts, so that only He Himself, in Christ, can meet and satisfy the hungers He has planted within us. This is the secret of life, and when we find Christ we have found all that it is of final importance to know and to find. Life has nothing more to offer us.