Luke 2:25-38 Now
there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He
was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 26
It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he
had seen the Lord's Christ. 27 Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple
courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the
custom of the Law required, 28 Simeon took him in his arms and praised God,
saying: 29 "Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you now dismiss your
servant in peace. 30 For my eyes have seen your salvation, 31 which you have
prepared in the sight of all people, 32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles
and for glory to your people Israel." 33 The child's father and mother
marveled at what was said about him. 34 Then Simeon blessed them and said to
Mary, his mother: "This child is destined to cause the falling and rising
of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, 35 so that the
thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul
too." 36 There was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of
the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven
years after her marriage, 37 and then was a widow until she was eighty-four.
She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. 38
Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about
the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.
In the name of Jesus the newborn King, dear fellow redeemed
Children of God,
I must have been full of
questions for my grandparents. “Grandma,
what is this?”, I would ask as I stayed at her house over summer vacation. “That’s the potato ricer,” she would patiently
reply. “ I use that to make the riced
potatoes we have for our Christmas dinner.
“ “Grandma, what is this?”, I
would ask as I rummaged around in the garage.
“that’s the soldier’s helmet your grandpa wore when he was in France in
WWI.” “Grandma why is there so much
loose skin under your arms?” I don’t
recall her answer to that one. Maybe it
was that it was something that happened with old age.
Today in God’s Word we hear from
two people who had the answer to old age.
When they held Jesus in their arms in the temple they talked about the
cure for old age. It wasn’t a cream or
an ointment. It didn’t cost any
money. The cure for old age was and is
Jesus.
The temple was a busy place. Priests were hustling here and there as they
carried out the sacrifices for the people.
Merchants were setting up their booths for those who traveled from long
distances. Devout children of God, like
Simeon and Anna, spent time there in the temple praying and talking about God’s
Word with others. Now into this busy
bustling place steps a young couple with a little child. This little child is the one all this
hustling and bustling is about. He is
the one old Simeon and Anna had been waiting for. He is the cure for old age.
“Now there was a man in Jerusalem
called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation
of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 26 It had been revealed to him by
the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord's Christ. 27
Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts.” Since God the Father and God the Son are so
much in the forefront during Christmas we might get the idea sometimes that God
the Holy Spirit was just sort of cooling His Holy heels waiting for Pentecost. But that’s not true at all. Here we see the three persons of the one true
God working together as He works out the plan of salvation. The Holy Spirit was the one who had created
faith in Simeon making him a righteous and devout man. The Holy Spirit was the one who had carried
him along as the days stretched into years as he went up to the temple early in the morning waiting for God’s
promise to be fulfilled and returned home at the end of the day still waiting
to see the promised Savior. The Holy
Spirit moved Simeon to come up the temple courts on that day. The Holy Spirit inspired Simeon’s song which
talked about who this child was-the long promised Savior.
Finally the day of fulfillment
arrived. “When the parents brought in
the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, 28 Simeon
took him in his arms and praised God.”
In God’s word today we see
several shining examples of faith. We
see Simeon and Anna waiting there in the temple. We see Mary and Joseph faithfully carrying
out what the Lord had asked them to do.
We could talk all day about them yet the focus is not on them but on the
good Lord. That’s where Simeon put the
focus of his song. “"Sovereign
Lord, as you have promised, you now dismiss your servant in peace. 30 For my
eyes have seen your salvation, 31 which you have prepared in the sight of all
people, 32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people
Israel." Simeon was now ready to
face even death with the assurance which the Christ child brings. The assurance of the Christchild is yours and
mine as we wait for the day when the Lord will take us home to heaven. Whether that day is 90 minutes from now or 90
years we can echo the words of Simeon, “Sovereign
Lord, as you have promised, you now dismiss your servant in peace.”
When I was little we received a candy bag
after the Christmas program. I remember
I took that bag home and hid it in a dark corner away from brothers and sisters
and my dad who liked the snickers.
Simeon knew His Old Testament Scriptures. He knew that they Savior would not be a treat
just for the people of Israel- hidden away from the world. He would be a Savior for all people to enjoy. He remembered wha6 God had said through His
prophet Isaiah, “The Lord will make bare His holy arm in the sight of all of
the nations and all the ends of the earth will see the salvation of our God.
How wonderful it is to hold a
child. There must have been joy and
wonder in Simeon and Anna’s hearts when they held the baby Jesus. This was the child they had been waiting for
since God promised to send him in the Garden of Eden. Think of the wonder in Simeon’s heart as he
held thye King of Creation in His arms.
The Mighty God who had given Simeon his arms and his heart now lay in
the arms of Simeon as a little baby.
We hear of another dear child of
God who had been waiting for the promised Savior, “There was also a prophetess,
Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had
lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, 37 and then was a widow
until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and
day, fasting and praying. “ Anna was a
prophetess. Often , when the New
Testament uses the word prophet or prophetess it is talking about someone who
has a good understanding of God’s Word and is able to share it with others for
mutual uplifting. During the many years
the Lord granted Anna on earth, She made the Lord’s house her home in a very
real way. Now when the baby Jesus comes
into the temple she has to tell someone who this baby is. “Coming up to them at
that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who
were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.” Like a grandmother showing off a grandchild
Anna tells who this child is.
When NFL teams draft players they
are looking for “impact players” who are
going to make a difference on every play they are on the field. There are only a few impact players on every
team. Of all of the babies born in human
history Jesus is the only impact player on the human race. HE truly makes a difference. Simeon points that out. “Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary,
his mother: "This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of
many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the
thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul
too." Jesus would stir things
up. The religious leader of the day
thought their relationship with God was
pretty cozy because they self- righteously thought they had done a very good
job of working their way into God’s favor.
They looked down their noses at those people they thought were worse
sinners than they were. Jesus message
ripped into their self-righteousness
thoughts and actions. Jesus made clear
that no one could work their way into God’s favor because God says, “Be holy as I the Lord your God am
holy.” Jesus the God man offers full and
free forgiveness to all through his suffering and death. That message did not sit well with the
religious leaders of the day. They
hissed when Jesus received tax collectors and prostitutes,
“This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”
The anger and resentment against Jesus’ message would also touch Mary’s
heart as she would later hear the Pharisees
call for her Son to be killed and she would see him nailed to a cross.
Simeon and Anna did not get
magically younger as they stood in the temple that day. Their hips and knees did not stop
aching. But Jesus is still the cure for
old age. This child in the temple meant
that God had kept his promise about restoring the relationship between God and
His creatures. This child would be the
one who would undo the work of Satan on that day when God said, “Dust you are
and to dust you shall return” by opening the door to heaven when this life is
over. In heaven there will be no more
sore knees-no more bad hearts. Jesus not
only for old age but young age too. He
is the Savior for all. Amen
No comments:
Post a Comment