Is Every Word From God Meant to Be Shared? (Luke 2:22-40) | Daily Devotional & Bible Study

Two people recognize the Messiah on the same day, in the same temple. God gives one of them a private word and the other a public one. That difference has a lot to say about how God works through you when He starts giving you spiritual insight.

Today we're in Luke 2:22-40 with Simeon and Anna. We'll talk about why Mary needed purification, what the two birds tell us about this family, how the Holy Spirit worked before Pentecost, and what Simeon meant when he said the thoughts of many hearts would be revealed.

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We visit Luke's house in Rome on our Bible Study Live trip.

Bible Study Live is a small-group Bible study trip with Rachael Groll. Study Scripture where it happened in Rome, or slow down for a contemplative Bible study retreat in Maui. Dates and details at BibleStudyLive.org

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Why did Mary need to be purified?

Jesus had no sin, so why would His mother need cleansing? This wasn't about sin. It had to do with the blood of childbirth, going back to Leviticus 12. That law said a mother waited forty days after having a son before returning to worship at the temple, and eighty after a daughter. Then she brought offerings to the priest.

Being unclean didn't mean she'd done something wrong. It meant she wasn't ready to come near holy things yet. Leviticus 15 says any bodily discharge made a person ceremonially unclean, and Numbers 19 says touching a dead body made you unclean for a week. If Joseph helped Mary deliver, he would have been unclean too. This was ritual cleansing, not a sin offering.

Why did they bring two birds instead of a lamb?

Leviticus 12 called for a lamb and a bird, but if you couldn't afford a lamb you were permitted to bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons instead.

They brought two birds. That tells us they couldn't afford a lamb. The Son of God was born into a family living in poverty.

And think about this. She didn't need one. She was holding the Lamb. Years later Jesus would become the final sacrifice, which is why you and I don't have to bring a perfect lamb as an offering.

Birds were plentiful in that region and nested in the clefts of the rock walls there. They were considered clean, simple, and harmless, which is why they fit as a sacrificial animal. Keep an eye on the doves as we move through Luke.

Why does Scripture say "up to Jerusalem"?

Because people literally had to go up. Jerusalem sat on a ridge higher than the surrounding area, so you climbed to reach it from almost any direction. The Psalms of Ascent were the songs people sang on that journey up the hill.

How do the regions fit together?

Galilee was the north, green and fertile with trade routes running through, which meant many non-Jewish people settled there. Isaiah calls it Galilee of the Gentiles. Southerners looked down on Galileans and could pick out their accent immediately. That's where Jesus grew up.

Samaria was the middle. There was real bad blood between Samaritans and Jews over where to worship and which Scriptures to accept, and Jewish travelers would cross the Jordan and back just to avoid passing through. That's what makes it so striking later when Jesus had to go through Samaria to meet the woman at the well.

Judea was the south, the heartland, with Jerusalem and Bethlehem. The name comes from Judah, which is also where we get the word Jew.

Nazareth was a small village in Galilee, the kind of place that prompted Nathanael to ask whether anything good could come from there. Bethlehem was a small town in Judea about six miles south of Jerusalem, and its name means house of bread. It was David's hometown and the setting of Ruth and Boaz.

Here's what used to confuse me. City of David usually means Jerusalem in the Old Testament. But Luke gives that title to Bethlehem, because that's where David was born and tended sheep. It's a reversal his readers would have caught. The King of kings comes from a small town, not the royal capital.

Put the travel together: Nazareth in the north, ninety miles south to Bethlehem for the census, then six miles up to Jerusalem to present Him at the temple.

How did the Holy Spirit work before Pentecost?

Luke says the Spirit was upon Simeon and led him into the temple on the exact day Jesus was brought in. But Pentecost hasn't happened yet, so what is this?

All through the Old Testament, the Spirit came upon specific people for a specific assignment or season. We saw it with Zechariah and Elizabeth. David spoke of it and begged God not to take it from him. It was real, and it was temporary. The Spirit came on and off people.

At Pentecost that changes. Peter quotes Joel, that God will pour out His Spirit on all mankind and sons and daughters will prophesy. Not just prophets and kings. You and me. And it becomes permanent, made possible by the finished work of Jesus.

So if you have come to faith in Jesus, you already have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. There's also the baptism of the Holy Spirit, which works more like what we see here, coming on someone for a specific purpose. We'll get to that later in the series.

What does "the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed" mean?

This line is easy to brush past. The word for revealed is apokalypto, where we get apocalypse. It means unveiling. It does not mean disaster.

The word for thoughts is dialogismoi, where we get dialogue. It describes internal reasoning, the back and forth you have with yourself in your own head. So Simeon is talking about the private objections and doubts people carry about Jesus without ever saying them out loud.

We see it again when Jesus asks the Pharisees why they are reasoning in their hearts, and after the resurrection when He asks why doubts arise in their hearts. He knows. Jesus is going to pull the cover off what people actually think about Him.

That can bring peace, and it can also feel like chaos. I'm not saying God is the author of chaos. But when He brings truth into the light, whatever has been hiding in the dark scatters. In some places I've worked, you flip a light on and the cockroaches run. He exposes things because He wants to heal them.

Why does Simeon speak privately and Anna publicly?

Simeon waited a long time, and when the fulfillment came, he kept his word private. He gave it to one couple, specifically to Mary, and it was hard. A sword will pierce your own soul.

Anna does the opposite. She declares her word publicly to everyone waiting for the redemption of Israel.

Jewish law required two witnesses to establish something, going back to Deuteronomy, and Luke keeps giving us pairs. Zechariah and Mary. Elizabeth and Mary. Now Simeon and Anna.

Luke calls Anna a prophetess with no hesitation. She was a woman, a widow, and at least eighty-four. Some translations suggest she'd been a widow for eighty-four years, which would put her past a hundred. Widows were among the outcasts of that culture, and her tribe, Asher, had been scattered generations earlier. She was part of the faithful remnant God preserved.

Two people, same room, same day, two assignments. One private, one public.

That's what I want you to carry. When God gives you a word, not everything is for everyone. If He's growing you in spiritual insight, recognize that, especially when the word is hard. Hard words are usually meant for private. Knowing the difference is part of spiritual maturity.

Featured quote

"Not everything is for everyone."

Scripture referenced

Luke 2:22-40 (ESV), Leviticus 12, Leviticus 15, Numbers 19, Deuteronomy, Isaiah, Joel, Acts 2

Timestamps

• 00:00 Where we are and why we go slowly
• 01:22 Reading Luke 2:22-40
• 03:17 Prayer
• 04:11 Why did Mary need purification?
• 06:11 Two birds instead of a lamb
• 07:03 She was holding the Lamb
• 08:25 Why Scripture says up to Jerusalem
• 10:57 Galilee, Samaria, and Judea
• 13:37 Nazareth, Bethlehem, and Jerusalem
• 15:45 Why Luke calls Bethlehem the city of David
• 17:40 The Holy Spirit before Pentecost
• 19:02 What changes at Pentecost
• 21:18 The thoughts of many hearts revealed
• 23:27 Why Jesus brings things into the light
• 24:38 Simeon's private word
• 25:28 Anna's public word
• 26:34 Who Anna was
• 27:25 Not everything is for everyone
• 28:23 Prayer

Frequently asked questions

Was Mary being cleansed from sin?
No. This was ritual purification after childbirth under Leviticus 12.

How far did Mary and Joseph travel?
About ninety miles from Nazareth to Bethlehem, then six miles up to Jerusalem.

How old was Anna?
At least eighty-four, and possibly over a hundred depending on the translation.

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