Naylor Community Christian Church
I. Introduction
-- turn in
Bibles to Luke 2:21-40
Luke 2:21-40
New International Version
Luke 2:21 On the eighth day, when it was time to
circumcise the child, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him
before he was conceived.
Jesus Presented in the Temple
22 When the time came for the purification rites
required by the Law of Moses, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present
him to the Lord 23 (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every firstborn
male is to be consecrated to the Lord”), 24 and to offer a sacrifice in keeping
with what is said in the Law of the Lord: “a pair of doves or two young
pigeons.”
25 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 on him. 26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that
he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. 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 may now
dismiss your servant in peace.
30 For my eyes have seen your salvation,
31 which you
have prepared in the sight of all nations:
32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
and the glory
of 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 prophet, Anna, the daughter of
Penuel, 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.[d] 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.
39 When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by
the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth. 40
And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace
of God was on him.
-- in Bible
study this week, I mentioned the novel, “All the Light We Cannot See,” by
Alexander Doerr, and the Netflix miniseries based on this novel
-- Doerr’s novel
is the story of two young adults who find themselves thrown together during the
Battle of Saint-Malo in France, some time after the Nazis occupy Paris, as they
try to make sense of their place in this dark world
-- at the
beginning of the novel, we are introduced to Marie LeBlanc, who is blind and
who has taken refuge with her father at the home of his uncle and aunt in
Saint-Malo -- seeking to flee from the Germans who are seeking a gem that Marie’s
father possibly has
-- unable to
see or find her way around the unfamiliar setting of Saint-Malo, Marie’s father
makes for her a model of the city, which she uses to learn her way around --
letting her fingers be her eyes as she learns to “see” where she is now living
-- the other
main character is Werner Pfennig, a gifted German orphan who has been forced to
serve in the German army -- growing up as an orphan, he learned to see the
world through the radio broadcasts that he received on his home-made radio --
as the war progressed, the Germans used Pfennig’s skills to search out and
destroy radio transmitters used by the resistance
-- but it
was through those radio transmissions that Marie and Pfennig came together --
you see, as they both lived in a world of darkness -- Marie in darkness because
of her blindness and Pfennig in darkness because he was an orphan in a country
bent on conquest and persecution of those who were not like them -- they found
light in a science broadcast that came across their radios every night -- and
the voice of the professor and the lessons they learned in that broadcast
enabled them to see beyond their situations and to learn to look for light and
goodness in the darkness
-- not to
give too much away from the story, but it turns out the broadcast that both
Marie and Pfennig had relied on to bring hope in their darkness originated in
the village of Saint-Malo -- with both Marie and Pfennig eventually finding
themselves in Saint-Malo as the Germans sought to destroy the French resistance
headquartered in the village and as the allies began their attack to free
France from the tyranny of Germany
-- the title,
“All the Light We Cannot See,” refers to the radio waves which ultimately bring
Marie and Pfennig together -- as you know, radio waves are part of the electromagnetic
spectrum of light, along with gamma rays, x-rays, ultraviolet light, visible
light, infrared, and microwaves
-- and while we cannot see radio
waves with our human eyes as we can visible light, we can learn to look for the
light we cannot see, like Marie and Pfennig did in this story, and find hope
and salvation there -- for the light that we look for and cannot see as
Christians is the Light of the World born to us at Christmas
-- this passage from Luke 2 that
we opened with is the story of two such individuals -- Simeon and Anna -- who
were watchers -- who were looking with eyes of faith for the Light that was to
come
-- so, let us look at this
passage together this morning and see what we can learn about watching for
Jesus -- about looking for the Light that we cannot see with human eyes -- from
their story
II. Scripture
Lesson (Luke 2:21-40)
-- if you
would, look back with me at Luke 2:21-24
Luke 2:21 On the eighth day, when it was time to
circumcise the child, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him
before he was conceived.
Jesus Presented in the Temple
22 When the time came for the purification rites
required by the Law of Moses, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present
him to the Lord 23 (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every firstborn
male is to be consecrated to the Lord”), 24 and to offer a sacrifice in keeping
with what is said in the Law of the Lord: “a pair of doves or two young
pigeons.”
-- Luke gives us these verses to
lay out the context of the passage for us -- in the first part of Chapter 2, we
read of the birth of Jesus in a manger in Bethlehem -- we read how the angels
led the shepherds in worship -- and how the shepherds were the first
evangelists of the newborn Messiah -- sharing the good news that a Savior had
been born in the town of David
-- but even
though the shepherds may have shared the news to those people they came into
contact with in Bethlehem, here in Jerusalem, no one knows that the Messiah has
been born -- the priests and the leaders of the Jewish people weren’t visited
by angels that night announcing the birth of Jesus -- and if they heard the
reports of the shepherds from out in Bethlehem that angels had appeared to them,
they probably paid little attention to it -- not believing their wild story --
the same as we would pay little attention to a homeless guy on the street
corner proclaiming that the end was near
-- the Magi haven’t come yet to
the court of Herod to inquire over the newborn King of the Jews -- that won’t
happen for at least another year or so -- and so, no one in Jerusalem knows
that the Messiah has come -- all because no one has been looking -- even those
who should have been looking and proclaiming the coming of the Messiah
-- it’s like Casting Crowns sang
in their song, “While You Were Sleeping:”
“Oh Bethlehem, what you have
missed while you were sleeping
For God became a man and stepped
into your world today
Oh Bethlehem, you will go down in
history
As a city with no room for its
King”
-- there’s a warning there for us
in this -- as we’ve discussed before, there is nothing left on the prophetic
calendar before Christ comes again -- He may come at any moment -- it might be today
-- it might be tomorrow -- it might be 100 years from now -- but the Bible
tells us that He is coming and that we should be watching and preparing to
receive Him, just as the Israelites should have been watching and preparing to
receive the Messiah when He came the first time, 2000 years ago
-- back to
the story -- Luke tells us here that Mary and Joseph went to the temple to
present Jesus to the Lord, in fulfillment of the Levitical Law given by God to
Moses
-- in
Leviticus Chapter 12, God said that a woman who was pregnant and gave birth to
a son would be ceremonially unclean for 7 days -- on the eighth day, the child
was to be circumcised as a physical sign of the covenant that God made with
Abraham
-- and 33
days later, following the prescribed period of purification for the mother, the
law said that first-born sons were to be presented to the Lord at the temple,
for in Exodus we read that all the first-born in the land of Israel belong to the
Lord
-- when they presented their
first-born son at the temple, the parents were to carry with them a sacrifice
to the Lord, to redeem their son -- to buy him back from the Lord -- as Beth
Moore writes, "When Jewish parents presented their firstborn son to the
Lord, they were symbolizing the act of giving him up by saying, 'He is yours
and we give him back to You' -- then, they would immediately redeem him or, in
effect, buy him back through their offering"
-- so, 41 days after the birth of
Jesus, Mary and Joseph go up to the temple in Jerusalem to fulfill the Law and
present their first-born son to the Lord -- Luke tells us they brought with
them a pair of doves to offer as a sacrifice, indicative of their financial
status
-- the Law said that parents were
to offer up a year-old lamb as the redeeming sacrifice, but if they could not
afford a lamb, they were to bring two doves or two young pigeons -- one for a
burnt offering and the other for a sin offering -- to make atonement for the
mother and to redeem their son
-- now I want you to understand
that as Mary and Joseph made their way through Jerusalem to the temple carrying
Jesus, they attracted no more attention than any other couple with a newborn
babe -- no one was looking for them -- no one was watching out and proclaiming
the coming of the Christ -- there were no cries of “Hosanna, Hosannah” -- no
palm branches -- no coats on which to tread
-- no angels in the sky singing glory
to God -- no shepherds carrying the news that the Messiah was coming -- no Magi
presenting their gifts
-- they were just another
ordinary couple carrying what people assumed was just another ordinary baby,
fulfilling the ordinary law in the ordinary way
-- everyone they passed saw them,
but no one noticed them -- everyone they passed saw them, no one “saw” them --
because all those they passed looked on them with human eyes and not with eyes
of faith or anticipation -- and so, they all missed Who was in their midst --
and did not see what was truly happening in this moment
-- but that changed when they had
finished the purification and dedication rites in the temple
-- verse 25-35
Luke 2:25 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 on him. 26 It had been revealed to him by the
Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. 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 may now
dismiss your servant in peace.
30 For my eyes have seen your salvation,
31 which you
have prepared in the sight of all nations:
32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
and the glory
of 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.”
-- even
though most of Jerusalem was just going about their day as if it were just
another ordinary day, Luke tells us there was someone in Jerusalem that day who
was different -- someone who was waiting and anticipating and looking for the coming
Messiah -- Simeon, who Luke describes as a righteous and devout man
-- the word
"righteous" means that you are in a right relationship with someone
else -- in this case, Simeon was in a right relationship with God
-- to be spiritually
righteous means you are right with God -- you have a heart for God -- you are
living for God -- to be righteous means that you have a heart that longs for
the coming of Christ
-- a righteous person is one who hasn’t
been blinded by the ordinary -- who hasn’t been dulled by the same-old,
same-old and the drudgery of life here on this earth
-- a righteous person is a person
who still sees with eyes of faith -- who looks for the promises of the Bible --
who listens for the call of God
-- someone who gets up each
morning and asks, "Is this the day that the Messiah is coming?"
-- he was also devout -- that
means he was devoted to God -- that means that he was sold out to God -- he
gave more than lip-service to the Law, but lived out his faith with his life
and with his practices
-- Luke’s description of Simeon as
devoted implies that he was intentional in His relationship with God -- that he
spent time with God every day -- that he read the Scriptures and listened to
the teaching of the Scriptures -- that he practiced the spiritual disciplines
of prayer and obedience and walking with God in faith -- living a life of
holiness through his devotion
-- that is who Simeon was -- and
Luke goes on to tell us that because of his righteousness and devotion, Simeon
was "waiting for the consolation of Israel" -- a term used in
Scripture to describe the Messiah -- for it was through the Messiah that the
nation of Israel would be consoled
-- in other words, it was through
the Messiah that the nation of Israel would be redeemed -- it was through the
Messiah that the promises of God for restoration and revival would come -- it
was through the Messiah that all would be made right again
-- but while the nation of Israel
just went through the practice of religion that pointed to the coming of the
Messiah -- while their spiritual senses were dulled by the same-old, same-old
of following the Law and the religious traditions day in and day out -- Simeon
was actually waiting for the promise to be fulfilled
-- he had been told by the Holy
Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Messiah -- and so, every
day, Simeon would get up and say, “Perhaps today is the day,” and go to the
temple and look for the promised Messiah
-- and on this day, the Spirit
spoke to Simeon and moved him into the temple courts -- and when he looked up
and saw Mary and Joseph and the baby, Simeon rejoiced, for he saw what no one
else did -- he saw the Messiah -- the Savior of the world -- who had been sent
by God for Israel and for all creation
-- taking the baby in his arms,
Simeon proclaimed the promise fulfilled -- he cried out to God, “dismiss your
servant in peace -- for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have
prepared in the sight of all people -- a light for revelation to the Gentiles
-- and for glory to your people Israel”
-- because he was righteous and
devout -- because he looked with eyes of faith -- Simeon saw the Light that no
one else did
-- verse 36-40
Luke 2:36 There was also a prophet, Anna, the daughter
of Penuel, 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.
39 When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by
the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth. 40
And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace
of God was on him.
-- but Simeon was not the only
one there in the temple that day who was looking for the Light -- Luke tells us
that Anna, a prophetess, was also there
-- Anna was a widow -- she had lived
with her husband for seven years, but then he had died -- and she had sought
refuge from her grief in the presence of the Lord -- living there in the temple
since her husband’s death
-- just as a note, the text is
not clear here whether Anna was eighty-four years old or whether she had lived
in the temple for the past eighty-four years -- more than likely, she was
eighty-four years old, since otherwise she would have been close to a hundred
-- regardless, the main thing to
glean from this statement is that Anna had been living a holy and obedient life
in the temple of God for a long time -- Luke tells us here that she was known
as someone who was righteous and devout, just as Simeon was -- he says that she
never left the temple, but worshiped night and day -- fasting and praying -- and
attending to her relationship with the Lord
-- and, just like Simeon, she was
drawn to this ordinary couple with their extraordinary child -- as Simeon was
standing there with Mary and Joseph, praising God for the coming of the
Messiah, Anna came up and began prophesying about this baby -- she recognized who
Jesus was and proclaimed His birth and His name to the people gathered there
that day because she was a prophet -- because she was one who heard from the
Lord -- confirming what Simeon had just said
-- I’ve mentioned in here before
the television show, “The Chosen” -- the drama about Jesus and His disciples
that explores their relationship with Him -- one of the great taglines for that
show is the statement, “Come and see”
-- when their family and friends
began questioning why they were following this itinerant preacher from
backwoods Galilee, the disciples simply said, “Come and see”
-- when I think about the story
of Simeon and Anna from the passage today, I like to think that’s what they
proclaimed to everyone around them -- “Come and see! The Messiah has been born!
-- Come and see Him! Come and worship
Him! Come and fall down before Him.”
-- but, more than likely, no one
paid them any attention -- no one came -- no one saw
-- Luke closes this section of
his gospel by saying that after Joseph and Mary had fulfilled the Law of the
Lord and done everything that was required of them, they went home
-- there’s a gap in time here
that Luke doesn’t cover in his gospel -- for we know from the gospel of Matthew
that the Magi sought Jesus and visited the family while they were still in
Bethlehem -- and we know they fled to Egypt to avoid Herod’s fury
-- but both Luke and Matthew state
that, eventually, Mary and Joseph and Jesus found their way home again -- they
returned to Nazareth in Galilee and began their life together -- and Jesus grew
and became strong -- filled with wisdom and the grace of God
III. Closing
-- I’ve always been amazed at how
people can be in the same place and look at the same thing but see something
entirely different -- a couple of years ago, I went with another biologist down
to Grassy Pond to check on the bald eagle nest -- to see if the pair had
hatched young that year and how old the babies were
-- we hiked in about two miles to
the nest and then headed back to the truck -- when we got back, we compared
notes -- I had seen or heard about twenty different species of birds, and I
asked my companion if she had noticed them -- she had not
-- because while I was looking at
the birds, she was looking at the reptiles and amphibians -- and she pointed
out that we had passed by seven different kinds of frogs and toads -- a couple
of lizards -- and one snake
-- we were in the same place --
walking the same trail -- but what we saw was entirely different
-- it’s the same way with
spiritual things -- outside of Simeon and Anna, no one in Jerusalem that day saw
anything out of the ordinary -- they looked at Mary and Joseph and Jesus and
just saw another young couple with a newborn, coming to fulfill the law
-- and even growing up in
Nazareth, there’s no indication from Scripture that the people who were around
Jesus everyday -- those who watched Him grow up and knew Him as a child -- had
any idea who they were looking at
-- that’s why they proclaim in
astonishment at Jesus’ words in the synagogue when He preaches His first
message to them, as recorded in Matthew 13 -- “Isn't this the carpenter's son?
Isn't his mother's name Mary, and aren't his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and
Judas? Aren't all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these
things?”
-- they saw Him every day -- but
they never “saw” Him -- when they looked at Him, they saw the carpenter’s son
-- they didn’t see the Son of God -- all because they were not looking with
eyes of faith and with hearts attuned to the Spirit of God
-- some of us live our lives just
like them -- we get too distracted by the things of this earth to see the
Spirit moving around us -- our senses get too dulled by the same-old, same-old
-- and we miss the magic of the Messiah in our presence
-- we go through the routines of
church and move through the seasons of Advent and Christmas -- through Lent and
Easter -- and never connect with God Himself
-- the message for us in today’s
passage is that we need to learn to open our eyes -- to see with eyes of faith
-- to go through our lives in faithful anticipation of the coming of Christ --
to look for Him wherever we are
-- the lives
of Simeon and Anna were characterized by faithful waiting -- by anticipation of
the coming of Christ -- they were in a right relationship with God -- they knew
Him intimately and personally -- they lived life as a reflection of His
holiness -- and they faithfully waited and anticipated the day that Jesus would
be born -- every day, they got up and asked themselves, "Is this the day
of the coming of the Lord?" -- and they went out and looked for Him every
single day
-- we need
to become more like Simeon and Anna
-- in the
Emmaus and Chrysalis movements, there is a moment on that weekend when the
participants are stopped and are told, “Look for Jesus”
-- that
needs to be our mantra -- that needs to be our life -- we need to learn to go
through life looking for Jesus -- looking for His return -- and looking for His
presence among us
-- to do
that, we have to prepare our hearts and we have to prepare our eyes -- we have
to be living for God -- we have to be in a right relationship with Him --
living holy and devout lives of faithfulness -- and we have to be ready for His
coming
-- so, as we close this morning,
let us open our spiritual eyes -- let us look with eyes of faith for Jesus --
let our hearts be attuned to His presence so that we look forward to His coming
with anticipation and excitement -- and let us commit to living lives of
righteousness and faithfulness for Him today and all the days to come
-- let us
pray
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