And he came by the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him after the custom of the law,
Parallel translations
- WEB He came in the Spirit into the temple. When the parents brought in the child, Jesus, that they might do concerning him according to the custom of the law,
- BSB Led by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. And when the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for Him what was customary under the Law,
- NKJV So he came by 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,
- NASB And he came by the Spirit into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to carry out for Him the custom of the Law,
- NLT That day the Spirit led him to the Temple. So when Mary and Joseph came to present the baby Jesus to the Lord as the law required,
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Led by the Spirit, Simeon comes to the temple just as Jesus' parents arrive. It matters because the Spirit orchestrates this meeting with the Messiah.
Overview
Simeon enters the temple under the Spirit's leading at the very time the parents bring Jesus for the customary rites. The Holy Spirit's guidance brings the waiting saint and the infant Savior together. God sovereignly arranges the encounter that fulfills His promise.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Luke 2:22And when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were accomplished, they brought him to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord;
- Luke 2:48And when they saw him, they were amazed: and his mother said unto him, Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing.
- Matt 4:1Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.
- Luke 2:51And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them: but his mother kept all these sayings in her heart.
- Luke 2:41Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the passover.
- Acts 10:19While Peter thought on the vision, the Spirit said unto him, Behold, three men seek thee.
- Luke 4:1And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness,
- Rev 1:10I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet,
- Rev 17:3So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.
- Acts 16:7After they were come to Mysia, they assayed to go into Bithynia: but the Spirit suffered them not.
- Acts 11:12And the Spirit bade me go with them, nothing doubting. Moreover these six brethren accompanied me, and we entered into the man’s house:
- Acts 8:29Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot.
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Christ at the center
Luke shows Jesus the Savior for all — outsiders, the poor, the nations — the one who, on the Emmaus road, opened all the Scriptures to show they were about himself.
How Luke 2:27 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.