Spiritual things are spiritually discerned. In the temple, the Son of God was dedicated to the work He had come to do. The priest looked upon Him as he would upon any other child. But though he neither saw nor felt anything unusual, God’s act in giving His Son to the world was acknowledged. This occasion did not pass without some recognition of Christ.

Simeon

“And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was just 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.”

Luke 2: 25-26

As Simeon enters the temple, he sees a family presenting their firstborn son before the priest. Their appearance bespeaks poverty, but Simeon understands the warnings of the Spirit, and he is deeply impressed that the infant being presented to the Lord is the Consolation of Israel, the One he has longed to see. To the astonished priest, Simeon appears as a man enraptured. The child has been returned to Mary, and he takes it in his arms and presents it to God while a joy that he never felt before enters his soul. As he lifts the infant Saviour toward heaven, he says,

“Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace,
According to Your word;
For my eyes have seen Your salvation
 Which You have prepared before the face of all peoples,
A light to bring revelation to the Gentiles,
And the glory of Your people Israel.”

The spirit of prophecy was upon this man of God, and while Joseph and Mary stood by, wondering at his words; he blessed them and said to Mary,

“Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against; (yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also,) that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”

Luke 2: 29-35

Anna

Anna, also a prophetess, came in and confirmed Simeon’s testimony concerning Christ. As Simeon spoke, her face lighted up with the glory of God, and she poured out her heartfelt thanks that she had been permitted to behold Christ the Lord.

These humble worshipers had not studied the prophecies in vain. But those who held positions as rulers and priests in Israel, though they too had before them the precious utterances of prophecy, were not walking in the way of the Lord, and their eyes were not open to behold the Light of life. 

So it is still. Events upon which the attention of all heaven is centered are undiscerned; their very occurrence is unnoticed by religious leaders and worshipers in the house of God. Men acknowledge Christ in history, while they turn away from the living Christ. Christ, in His word, calling to self-sacrifice, in the poor and suffering who plead for relief, in the righteous cause that involves poverty and toil and reproach, is no more readily received today than He was eighteen hundred years ago.

Mary pondered the broad and far-reaching prophecy of Simeon. As she looked upon the child in her arms and recalled the words spoken by the shepherds of Bethlehem, she was full of grateful joy and bright hope. Simeon’s words called to her mind the prophetic utterances of Isaiah:

“There shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: and the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord. . . . And righteousness shall be the girdle of His loins, and faithfulness the girdle of His reins.” “The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined. . . . For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon His shoulder: and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 11:1-5; 9:2-6.

Yet Mary did not understand Christ’s mission. Simeon had prophesied of Him as a light to lighten the Gentiles, as well as a glory to Israel. Thus the angels had announced the Saviour’s birth as tidings of joy to all peoples. God sought to correct the narrow Jewish conception of the Messiah’s work. He desired men to behold Him not merely as the deliverer of Israel but as the Redeemer of the world. But many years must pass before even the mother of Jesus would understand His mission.

Desire of Ages, p. 55 in part