Luke 2:28-32
Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:
"Sovereign Lord, as you have promised,
you now dismiss your servant in peace.
For my eyes have seen your salvation,
which you have prepared in the sight of all people,
a light for revelation to the Gentiles
and for glory to your people Israel."
In this song we meet a temple worker named Simeon. He was promised by God that he wouldn't see death before seeing the fulfillment of the Promise, the coming of the Messiah.
And this meeting takes place when Jesus is eight days old, in accordance with the Law he was consecrated at the temple. This rite basically hearkens back to the Passover night in Egypt, when God struck the firstborn in the Land of Egypt. Only those who painted the blood of a lamb on their doorposts were spared by the angel of death. In recognition of this, God demanded that the firstborn be consecrated to Him.
But he didn't want child sacrifices, as the Canaanites practiced. Rather, he decreed that a bull, or two doves, be sacrificed in their place.
A woman who had given birth also had to be ceremonially purified before she could partake of the temple rites as well. Thus Mary and Joseph travel five miles from Bethlehem to Jerusalem to consecrate Jesus with the offering of two doves and the purification of Mary. And Simeon, waiting for the fulfillment, sees the Messiah and knows who this one special child is.
No doubt Simeon had inside information. I'm sure he worked with Zechariah, a priest, and knew the miraculous circumstances of the birth of John six months previous. And Mary herself had stayed with Zechariah and Elizabeth for several months. Simeon and Mary had to have crossed paths at some point-or at the very least he knew the time was near. Even if Zechariah couldn't speak, Elizabeth was still free of tongue.
Simeon also includes Gentiles in his song! Later, in Jesus' ministry, the court of the Gentiles would be the site of the moneychangers who did temple business. No doubt the reason for the Court of the Gentiles was lost on the Jewish leaders. But Simeon understood, and knew that this Messiah was sent for all people, not just Israel.
The Latin title, Nunc Dimittis, simply means "dismiss now." In a sense, Simeon is saying, "May I be dismissed now? I have seen that my salvation is here!"
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