The passage in which Simeon blessed the baby Jesus and prophesied great things was an opportunity to prove to the readers of Luke's Gospel that Jesus was indeed the son of God. For some reason, Simeon, alone of all people, had been promised that he would not die before he saw the Lord's Anointed (Christ). Simeon recognised Jesus as the Christ as soon as he saw him, and blessed the young family. The author of Luke often used repetition to ensure certainty among his readers, so the story of Simeon was immediately followed by the story of Anna the prophetess.