Simeon and Anna meet baby Jesus

Teacher background

Luke tells this story just after the birth of Jesus (Luke 2:22–40). When Jesus was about forty days old, Mary and Joseph brought him to the temple in Jerusalem. They came to keep two customs of the law of Moses: presenting a firstborn son to God, and bringing an offering after a birth. They offered two small birds, the gift the law allowed for families who could not afford a lamb (Leviticus 12:8).

In the temple they met Simeon, a devout man to whom the Holy Spirit had promised that he would see God’s chosen one before he died. Simeon took Jesus in his arms and praised God, calling the child a light for all peoples. Then Anna, a very old widow and prophet who worshiped in the temple night and day, came up, thanked God, and told everyone about the child.

The main idea for children is that God keeps promises, and God’s love is for people of every age, from a tiny baby to a very old woman. Simeon also told Mary that a sword would pierce her soul (Luke 2:34–35). Christians hear in those words a hint of the cross; this lesson leaves them for older children.

Some children are close to grandparents or other older people, and some miss someone who has died. Invite them to talk about older people they love without assuming that every child has grandparents nearby.

For more background, read Simeon and Anna.

Welcome activity

The waiting game (5 minutes). Ask the children to close their eyes, stay very still, and listen for a bell. Ring it after five seconds, and everyone opens their eyes and waves. Play again and wait fifteen seconds, then thirty. Cheer for good waiting each time.

Then gather in a circle and ask:

• What is the hardest thing you ever had to wait for?
• What helps you wait?
• Who is the oldest person you know?

Say: “Today we will meet two people who waited a very, very long time for something God promised. Let’s find out what happened when the waiting was over.”

Telling the story

10 minutes. Open your Bible to Luke 2 and show the children where the story is. Then read this version aloud, or tell it in your own words. Pause where the notes in italics suggest.

When Jesus was a tiny baby, Mary and Joseph wanted to thank God for him. So they took him to the temple in Jerusalem. The temple was God’s house. It was big and busy and full of people praying.

Mary and Joseph did not have much money. They brought a small gift for God: two little birds. (Flap your hands like wings.) Two birds were the gift for families who could not buy a lamb.

In Jerusalem there lived a man named Simeon. Simeon loved God with all his heart. For years and years, he had been waiting. (Look around, as if you are waiting for someone.) He was waiting for God to send the one God had promised. That person would help all of God’s people.

God’s Holy Spirit had made Simeon a promise. “Before you die, you will see the one I am sending.” So every day Simeon kept watching and waiting.

On the day Mary and Joseph came, the Holy Spirit gave Simeon a nudge. “Go to the temple today!” (Give a gentle nudge to the air.) So Simeon went.

There in the busy temple, Simeon saw Mary and Joseph with their baby. He knew right away. This was the one! Simeon took baby Jesus in his arms. (Rock a baby in your arms.) He looked up and praised God.

“God, you kept your promise! Now I can go in peace. My eyes have seen your salvation! This baby will be a light for all people everywhere.”

Mary and Joseph were amazed. Simeon blessed them.

Just then, an old woman came up to them. Her name was Anna. Anna was a prophet, a person who speaks for God. She was very, very old. Her husband had died long ago. Anna stayed at the temple all the time. She prayed day and night. (Fold your hands.)

When Anna saw baby Jesus, she knew too. She said thank you to God. (Lift your hands up high.) Then she went all around the temple. She told everyone who was waiting for God’s help, “The one God promised is here!” (Cup your hands around your mouth.)

After that, Mary and Joseph took Jesus home to Nazareth. Jesus grew bigger and stronger. He grew wise. And God’s grace was upon him.

Simeon and Anna waited a long, long time. And God kept the promise. God keeps promises to babies and children, to grown-ups, and to very old people. God keeps promises to you.

Wondering questions

5 minutes. Wondering questions have no wrong answers. Ask one at a time, wait in silence, and welcome every answer without correcting it. Repeat back what a child says so they know you heard them.

• I wonder which part of this story you like best.
• I wonder what it was like for Simeon and Anna to wait so long.
• I wonder how Simeon felt when he held baby Jesus.
• I wonder what Mary and Joseph thought when two people they did not know were so happy to see their baby.
• I wonder who Anna told about Jesus.
• I wonder what you are waiting for.

After the wondering questions, play the quiz on the slides, or ask the questions aloud and let the children call out the answers.

Craft: a light-for-everyone candle

10 minutes. Each child makes a paper candle to remember that Simeon called Jesus a light for all people. Many churches remember Simeon and Anna on February 2 with candles, and some call that day Candlemas.

You will need a cardboard tube for each child (a paper towel tube cut in half works well), white paper, yellow and orange construction paper, tape, glue sticks, safety scissors, and crayons or markers.

1. Wrap white paper around the tube and tape it in place.
2. Decorate the candle with crayons or markers.
3. Cut a flame from yellow paper and a smaller flame from orange paper. Glue the orange flame on top of the yellow one.
4. Tape the bottom of the flame inside the top of the tube so it stands up.
5. Write “Jesus is a light for everyone!” on the candle.

These candles use no real fire, so they are safe to carry and wave. Let the children hold up their candles while you say the memory verse together.

Game: Simeon says

7 minutes. This game works like “Simon says,” except that no one is ever out. Stand in a circle with plenty of room.

1. The leader calls out an action. If the leader starts with “Simeon says,” everyone does it.
2. If the leader leaves out “Simeon says,” everyone freezes. Anyone who moves by mistake laughs and keeps playing.
3. Use actions from the story: rock a baby, flap like a bird, fold your hands like Anna, look up and praise God, point to your eyes, walk to the temple in place, or shout “Thank you, God!”
4. After a few rounds, let a child be the leader.

The game has no winners and no losers. Everyone plays to the end.

Memory verse

3 minutes. Teach the memory verse with motions.

My eyes have seen your salvation.

Luke 2:30

• “My eyes”: point to your eyes.
• “have seen”: shade your eyes with your hand and look around.
• “your salvation”: rock a baby in your arms.

Explain that salvation is a big word for God’s way of saving and helping people. Simeon saw it when he held baby Jesus. Say the verse slowly, as Simeon might have said it, then with great excitement, then in a whisper, like Anna praying. The memory verse coloring page lets children color the words in bubble letters.

Snack idea

Optional. Practice waiting like Simeon and Anna. Serve everyone first, then say thank you to God together, as Anna did, before anyone eats. Crackers, cheese, and grapes work well. Check for food allergies before class, and serve water or juice.

Closing prayer

Ask the children to fold their hands or hold their candles. Read each line and let them repeat it after you.

Dear God,
thank you for Simeon and Anna,
who waited and prayed.
Thank you for keeping your promises.
Help us wait with hope.
Thank you for Jesus,
a light for everyone.
Amen.

Take-home note for families

Send this note home with the activity sheets. It also prints by itself on the printables page.

Today in Sunday school

Today your child heard about Simeon and Anna (Luke 2:22–40). When Jesus was a baby, Mary and Joseph brought him to the temple in Jerusalem to thank God. Simeon, who had waited many years for the one God promised, held Jesus and praised God. Anna, a very old prophet, thanked God and told everyone about him. The story shows that God keeps promises and that God’s love is for people of every age.

Talk about it

• What is hard for you to wait for?
• How do you think Simeon felt when he held baby Jesus?
• Who is an older person you love? What have they taught you?

Try this at home

Read Luke 2:22–40 together. This week, call, visit, or draw a picture for an older friend, relative, neighbor, or someone at church, and tell them about Simeon and Anna.

Pray together

Dear God, thank you for keeping your promises. Help us wait with hope, and bless the older people we love. Amen.

Adapting for younger or older children

Younger children (ages 4 to 6). Tell the story with a doll, two paper birds, and a flashlight for the light, and keep it short. Skip the crossword and the word search, and use the maze, the coloring pages, the candle craft, and Simeon says. Teach only the memory verse motions.

Older children (ages 10 to 12). Read Luke 2:22–40 together from a Bible, taking turns. Compare Simeon’s song in verses 29–32 with Mary’s song in Luke 1:46–55, and read about Hannah bringing young Samuel to the house of God in 1 Samuel 1:24–28. Talk about Simeon’s words to Mary in verses 34–35. Use the crossword without the word bank, and invite the children to ask an older person at church how they have waited for God.