Is there hope to be found in the new year? We enter 2024 filled with hope, but the unpredictability of life can reveal it’s just another year. Through the biblical accounts of Simeon and Anna’s recognition of the Messiah, we, too, can find the hope and change of God’s love and grace in the new year.

New Year, New You?

There’s no doubt that many thoughts and emotions are swirling around as the calendar page turns. The beginning of a new year brings with it all kinds of hope and possibilities and a little bit of anxiety.

Maybe you had similar thoughts at the start of the last new year. But then, not too far into January, most of us realized that not much was different than the previous year.

While there were undoubtedly some fabulous moments for all of us that happened last year, the hopes and possibilities you began the year with didn’t quite pan out as you thought they might.

Then, there were the hard things that happened that took your breath away. Those events left you confused as to why they happened at all.

“Lord, didn’t you hear my prayer?”

“God, where were you?”

We can get jumbled with those questions, and life can become complicated. But the hope we want to place in the new year doesn’t come close to answering those questions.

Calendars and the way we measure time are truly amazing to think about. There are excellent reasons that brilliant minds devised the framework that we’ve used for centuries to live with. Using weeks, months, and years to measure time and structure our days is no small feat.

But let’s be honest; a calendar is only a meager attempt to manage what is beyond our understanding. It’s an attempt to manage what ultimately cannot be managed. Our calendars do not determine how and when God will move in our lives.

While I still value my calendar, I have to remember that I can make plans, but plans, moments, and expectations can all change with a phone call. Unfortunately, many of us know that all too well.

However, God knows us so well that He knows the number of hairs on our heads (or lack thereof for some of us!). The length of our days on this earth is already determined by God, who loves us and calls us His sons and daughters.

We can trust King Solomon when he says we can make plans, but the Lord determines our steps. God simply does not look at time as we do when He moves in our lives like we want Him to. There’s unlikely anyone is praying, “Lord, bless me just like you did this last year.”

Most hope that as the new year begins, some circumstances will be different, and lingering questions will be answered. We hope we’ll have a reason for more joy and appreciation for God’s goodness.

But we need to realize that underneath all that, what we’re hoping and asking for is that our lives will be different. Not just the externals but also the internals like our hearts and souls. We’re hopeful that God will do a work and change us.

To be changed from the inside out; there is only one way that change happens. It comes when we draw close and encounter our savior, Jesus Christ. When we experience that internal change, we can’t help but be changed externally.

In our Scripture passage, the author, Luke, sheds light on what happens when someone who longs for internal and external change has a brief encounter with Jesus. This story shows two people who, according to the calendar, had lived long lives. They had great hope that their lives would be different, but more than that, they had great hope that they would see the fulfillment of God’s promise to bring redemption and salvation to His people.

Against all odds, these two see God’s fulfillment with their own eyes, not in a vision, dream, or imagination. They could reach out and touch the fulfillment of a promise made more than 700 years earlier. Seven hundred years is a lot of new years with fresh hope and possibilities coming and going. Can you imagine the difficulty in maintaining hope so far removed from your present reality?

Let’s look more closely at Luke’s account of what happened.

When Simeon Recognized the Messiah

Mary’s baby is 40 days plus one. Think of how alert baby Jesus is. By now, he’s probably even briefly smiling at His parents.

The day has come when the newly formed family can move toward the temple to make an offering for Mary’s purification. Only Joseph could enter when they reached the court of Israel, but not Mary. However, he returned with a priest to meet her at the gate, where the sacrifice would be made.

Then, seemingly out of nowhere, an older man approaches them. Something expansive and magnificent was about to happen.

We learn this man’s name was Simeon. There is no title or position listed for him. We’re only told that he was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the promise of salvation for Israel. The Holy Spirit was upon Simeon because it was revealed to him that he would not see death before he saw the Lord’s Christ.

Simeon took Jesus in his arms and blessed God. This was the moment and who he was looking for. However, remember, there’s no reason for him to do that. He’s not the priest nor a relative. He’s just a man with a determination to see the promise of God.

“Lord, now let your servant depart in peace according to your word. For my eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles. And for glory to your people, Israel.” Luke 2:29-32

Imagine what changed in Simeon’s heart and soul when he came face to face with the infant. Decades of longing and hoping all fell away as he handed Jesus back to Mary and Joseph. As Simeon blessed them, we’re told that Mary and Joseph marveled at what was said about their son.

However, in that awe, what Simeon said to Mary next seemed like It would have deflated the moment.

“This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel and to be a sign that will be spoken against so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul, too.” Luke 2:34-35

How did Simeon know that this particular baby was what the promise was all about?

All we know is that Simeon was given a promise. He did not know when it would happen or who he was looking for. No dates, details, or descriptions were provided, except a promise from years ago. The passing of years surely brought Simeon his own questions, but he never lost the conviction that God would deliver on His promise to bring salvation to Israel, and he would see the Messiah.

So, how did Simeon know that the baby Jesus was the Messiah?

Because he never stopped paying attention. Despite the difficulty of holding to a promise, Simeon continued to believe. His belief allowed him to do more than just see the fulfillment; he cradled it and was changed.

Verse 34 is the last we see of Simeon. We do not know when he died. Did he go home, lie down, and die that day? Did he live three more years? Maybe 10? We don’t know. But there should be no doubt that after seeing and holding the fulfilled promise of God, Simeon would’ve been grateful, full of awe, and overwhelmed with peace. He found all that he believed about God and His promises to be true. That changes a person.

When Anna Recognized the Messiah

“There was also a prophet, Anna, the daughter of Penuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, and then was a widow until she was 84. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.” Luke 2:34-38

Anna’s life was turned upside down when she became a widow many decades earlier. Year after year, everything that would’ve grounded her was taken away. This includes companionship, the prospect of children, and all of the societal protections that would’ve been hers. The easy route for Anna would have been to become hopeless or bitter about living with such difficult circumstances.

But we’re told that that wasn’t the case. She remained in the temple to pray and worship God. She knew that what she and the rest of God’s people needed wasn’t merely a nice life or even a life in their own land. What they needed was redemption from their sins and reconciliation with God. They needed a re-creation of their hearts.

She knew they needed their long-promised Messiah, and she never gave up praying for the fulfillment of that promise. Again, we see that something expansive and magnificent takes place in that temple in a very brief moment. We’re told that Anna came upon the scene of the young family, and she had her own glorious “when you know, you know” moment.

“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.” Luke 2:38

After decades of prayer and worship, she immediately recognized the one that her heart had longed for and the one she already loved. She could personally and truthfully speak of Jesus as a Redeemer because He had already been hers. Anna was changed.

She could not and did not hold back, as she proclaimed to anyone who could hear her. Repeatedly, the Gospel writers tell us that those who came face-to-face with Jesus were not the same.

How Do We Recognize the Messiah?

So what about us? We’ve not been able to look Him directly eye-to-eye, at least not yet.

But I want to remind you that we know more about Jesus than Simeon or Anna knew. We know how the story goes. We know of Jesus’ life, ministry, death, burial, and resurrection. We also know of His ascension. Simeon and Anna did not see these things. They only saw a baby.

However, you, too, have seen Him. He speaks to us through His Living Word, the Bible. We’ve worshipped Him in our communities of believers through small groups, prayer groups, Bible studies, and communal worship. You’ve seen the exalted Christ and have been changed because when we behold Him, we are changed.

So now what? As this new year begins, we continue to fix our eyes on Him. We see Jesus as He is, and we can learn to recognize the sound of His voice in any and every way we can.

• We embrace and draw close to Him.

• We read about Him.

• We pray to Him, and we pray in His name.

• We learn the desires of His heart, and we attend to the dreams that He has for this world.

We keep looking at Jesus and seeking His presence to be attentive to the change taking shape in our hearts and souls. That way, when He shows up in our stories, we’ll recognize Him and speak about Him just like Anna did, so we can help others identify Him, too.

We get to tell others that this Jesus looks like hope. He’s clothed in beauty and righteousness and brings redemption wherever He goes.

So, as the calendar page turns, may we do so together, knowing with great confidence that as we stand alongside each other, we’re looking in the same direction to Jesus again. We can be changed from the inside out so that, above all else, we will know the all-encompassing love of God that is full of grace and mercy.

​TL;DR

1. In this blog, we discuss recognizing the Messiah through the story of Simeon and Anna in Luke 2:22-38.

2. Life can be unpredictable as a new year begins, but how can we learn to discover our hope and heart change from Simeon and Anna’s encounters with the baby Jesus?

3. We have internal change when we value the importance of seeking and recognizing Jesus in our lives.

4. Even if we haven't physically seen Jesus like Simeon and Anna, we can be encouraged by embracing His presence for personal transformation.

5. To find hope and change in the new year, we have to experience God’s love and grace. The only way to do that is through our savior, Jesus Christ.

Related Reading

Three Keys to a Better Prayer Life by Rev. Paul Lawler

Five Steps to a Fruitful New Year by Rev. Paul Lawler

How Do I Read the Bible by Grant Caldwell