Quest Study Bible note, p 1418:  To fulfil the Law of the Lord, Jewish families went through at least three ceremonies after the birth of a first-born son: (1) Circumcision: As a sign of the Jews' covenant with God, each Hebrew boy was circumcised on the eighth day after his birth. (Lev. 12: 3),  (2) Redemption of the firstborn.  Each firstborn son was presented to God a month after his birth, a dedication acknowledging that he belonged to God.  The child would be 'redeemed', that is repurchased, by giving a sacrificial offering in his place (Exodus 13: 2, 11-16).  (3)  Purification of the mother.  For 40 days following the birth of a son (80 days following the birth of a daughter), a mother was considered unclean.  At the end of this ritual impurity, a sacrifice was offered as part of her cleansing process.

The presentation of the first-born was in recognition of what God had done for the people of Israel when he brought them out of Egypt after killing the first-born of Egypt - both human and animals. Exodus 13: 1,2: The Lord spoke to Moses and said. 'Every first-born, the first birth of every womb among the Israelites, you must dedicate to me, both man and beast; it is mine.' 

Mary and Joseph were good Jewish parents.  They kept the law: time of purification, presentation at the temple, sacrifice as prescribed in the law.  The sacrifice they made was that of poor people. Leviticus 12:  6 - 8:  When her days of purification are completed for a son or a daughter, she shall bring a yearling ram for a whole-offering and a young pigeon or a turtle-dove for a sin offering to the priest at the entrance to the Tent of the Presence . . .  If she cannot afford a ram, she shall bring two turtle-doves or two young pigeons, one for a whole-offering and one for a sin-offering.  The priest shall make expiation for her and she shall be clean.

This passage lets us know that Jesus was born into a family where God was revered and his authority recognised.  He was born into an ordinary family, not one of human importance or wealth.  God uses ordinary people for his work, not necessarily those we think of as particularly talented or important.  He uses people who love and obey him.  It also affirms that Jesus was the first born child of Mary and Joseph.

V 25
There was at that time in Jerusalem a man called Simeon.  This man was upright and devout, one who watched and waited for the restoration of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.

Simeon - devout and upright - of good character and a true believer.  He was filled with the Holy Spirit for a special purpose - not the same as the filling that came at Pentecost, which is for all who believe in Jesus as the son of God and their Saviour and Lord.

NRSV, NIV: restoration of Israel = consolation of Israel.
Quest Study Bible note, p 1418.  This phrase refers to the Old Testament hope in a Messiah that would finally and decisively deliver Israel from the political bondage of other nations.

V 26
It had been disclosed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death until he had seen the Lord's Messiah.

Simeon's mission in life - to proclaim the coming of the Messiah.  The promise to Simeon was not that he would see the deliverance of Israel, but that he would see the Messiah.  And that promise was kept, probably in a way that Simeon did not expect.  Simeon was content to see the Messiah, knowing that the deliverance would follow.

It is important that we understand what God promises us and not put our own 'spin' on it.  God always keeps his promises, not always in the way we expect.  Sometimes we think that God is promising our heart's desire.  But our heart's desire is not always God's heart's desire.

Simeon had probably not kept God's promise to him secret!  I imagine he spent the years when he was waiting letting people know what the Spirit had promised him.  He was a faithful proclaimer of God's promise and he made it very clear that he trusted that God would in time keep that promise.  I wonder if he was respected by the people around him, or if he was considered an eccentric, a fanatic, an 'old fool'?  But he hung in there, confident that God would not let him down.  How persistent are we when we believe that God has given us a vision or a mission?  Do we get side-tracked and put off by the opinions of other people?

Vs 27, 28.
Guided by the Spirit he came into the temple;  and when the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what was customary under the Law, he took him into his arms, praised God, and said:

As he waited to see the Messiah as he had been promised by the Holy Spirit, Simeon would have been expecting an adult political figure to arrive to deliver Israel.  So it is amazing that, seemingly without hesitation, he recognised the baby Jesus as the Messiah he had been waiting for.  Nothing could have been more unlike the common expectation of the Messaih than the baby of a very ordinary family.  

Simeon's relationship with God must have been so close and he must have been so much 'in tune' with the guidance of the Spirit in his life that he recognised and accepted the Messiah in this unlikely baby.

Vs 29 - 32

NRSV: v 29 - Master, now you are dismissing your sevant in peace, according to your word. 
NLT: v 29 - Lord, now I can die in peace!

Simeon recognised that his life's mission was completed.  He had nothing more to do for God.  He was willing - looked forward - to dying. In seeing the one he recognised as the Saviour, he knew that the deliverance he had waited for would happen. But now he understood more than what he had hoped for.  He now saw that this Messiah would be the deliverer of, not only Israel, but people of all nations, including the Gentiles.

V.33
The child's father and mother were full of wonder at what was being said about him.

'full of wonder' - why, after all that had already happened?  In hindsight, we wonder why Mary and Joseph could have been surprised at anything that they were told about this child.  For them, even with the visits of the angels around Jesus' conception, the predictions of Elizabeth, the surprising visit of the shepherds and what they reported at the time of Jesus' birth, this baby had been born in a normal way and was a normal new-born with all that goes with it.  He screamed for his milk, he probably kept them up at night, he needed his nappies changed.  He needed to be cared for like any other baby. Any new pronouncement that was made about him must have surprised them over again.

Vs 34, 35
Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, 'This child is destined to be a sign which men reject; and you too shall be pierced to the heart.  Many in Israel will stand or fall because of him, and thus the secret thoughts of many will be laid bare.'

Simeon, led by the Holy Spirit, then predicted what we now know to be the future of Jesus: he would be rejected and Mary would suffer deep hurt because of the way he would be treated.  Many people would 'stand or fall' because of him. (NLT: [ his rejection by many] will be their undoing.  But he will be the greatest joy to many others.) 
New Bible Commentary, p 985.  It is not clear whether Simeon was referring to the falling of some people and the rising of others or to the penitence and restoration of the same people.
Many people would be revealed in their true colours because of Jesus.  Some, like Peter, would become leaders, even though they seemed unlikely for such a role. Many people throughout the centuries who have followed Jesus have discovered new depths and have reached new heights that they would not have imagined they could achieve.  Others who may have seemed destined for greatness have rejected him and have not become the achievers people expected.

V. 36, 37
There was also a prophetess, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher.  She was a very old woman, who had lived seven years with her husband after she was first married, and then alone as a widow to the age of eighty-four.  She never left the temple, but worshipped day and night, fasting and praying.

Anna was an old woman who hung aroiund the temple every day.  She came to worship and to pray.  We are not told whether she had received similar promises to Simeon's.  She is called a prophetess, but we do not know from Luke's story whether she was listened to by the people who came to the temple or whether she was respected.  She certainly would have not been seen as an important person, being old, a woman and a widow.  Once again, God used someone whom the world would not see as important.

V. 38
Coming up at that very moment, she returned thanks to God; and she talked about the child to all who were looking for the liberation of Jerusalem.

Anna backed up Simeon's statements, praising God and telling everyone who would listen about this special baby and who he was.

V. 39, 40
When they had done everything prescribed in the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth. The child grew big and strong and full of wisdom; and God's favour was on him.

After all this excitement, Mary and Joseph went home and continued to live their normal lives.  We are told that Jesus grew up to be a healthy boy, but that he also grew in wisdom and that there was something about him that showed that God was pleased with him.