Satisfied With Jesus – Part 1
Luke 2:25-40 (25-35)
October 15, 2017
Well, we’ve actually been about 3 months in our study of Luke’s gospel
And up to this point Luke only has Jesus now up to about 5 weeks old.
Certainly he has given us more information
In around the birth of Jesus than any other gospel writer.
What is becoming obvious to us is that Luke is giving us history
And he is doing so with tremendous documentation.
Every step of the way he has provided for us absolutely perfect witnesses
To validate that this Jesus really is the Savior of the world.
We first saw ZACHARIAH’S PUNISHMENT
• We remember how Zacharias was made mute and deaf for his failure to
believe the angelic announcement.
• More than just punishment or cruelty this actually proved to be a prophetic
sign.
• It first convinced the crowds that Zacharias had seen a vision
• Later at his healing it convinced the crowds that John was someone special,
even giving Zacharias an opportunity to prophesy about the coming Savior.
Next we saw ELIZABETH’S PREGNANCY
• This woman was barren, and this woman was old, but this woman conceived
and bore a son in her old age.
• This again was part of God’s way of revealing something remarkable was
occurring.
Then we saw MARY’S PRAISE
• Here we had 13 year old pregnant unwed mother.
• Under Jewish Law this was about as bad as it gets,
• But instead of lamenting or horrific condition we find Mary praising God with
regard to the salvation that He had provided for her.
Next we saw the SHEPHERD’S PRESENCE
• When Jesus was born in Bethlehem he had the strangest visitors to his birth.
• We actually had shepherds abandon their flocks that they might come and
gaze upon this new born Savior.
• They came because the heavenly host revealed to them about His birth,
• They proved to be a great verifying proof that this child was no ordinary child.
And THIS MORNING we get to the final two pieces of documentation.
Their names are Simeon and Anna.
Neither of them are mentioned anywhere else in Scripture, but
They are used by Luke to verify that this Jesus
Is in fact God’s Savior of the world.
• We have here two righteous and devout and dedicated servants of God, who have totally severed all ties with worldly treasure and comfort.
• Nothing in this world has a hold on either of them anymore, nothing in this world can satisfy.
• Yet both announce total fulfillment and satisfaction when they set their gaze on God’s Savior, and both announce His presence with extreme excitement and joy.
They are more of Luke’s documentation to his history.
Beyond that, these also fit the mold of the other great point of Luke.
Remember Luke is dead set to remind us of the type of people God uses,
Or the type of people that God accepts.
The fact that people are not acceptable to God as they are,
Has been proven by the fact that before sending Jesus,
God first sent John to prepare the people for Him.
John’s role was to cultivate the proper attitude in those who would be saved
That they might rejoice in Jesus when He arrived.
That proper attitude is the very attitude that Jesus spoke of
In the Sermon on the Mount as those beatitudes.
Things like “poor in spirit”, “mourning” over sin, “meekness”, “hungering and thirsting” for righteousness, and being “pure in heart”
Now do you see that each of the characters that Luke reveals fit that bill?
What can we say of Zacharias and Elizabeth if not “poor in spirit”?
• Zacharias was so humble he couldn’t even believe that God could use him in his lowly condition.
• Elizabeth lamented the life of scorn she had received among women.
• Those two were societal castaways, the bottom of the barrel, they were poor in spirit with nothing to offer and yet they were the first to hear the good news.
Mary certainly fits the bill of being “meek”.
• Meek of course means “strength under control” or submissive.
• This is seen in Mary’s immediate response to the announcement of her immaculate conception; “may it be done to me according to your word.”
The shepherds certainly epitomized those who hungered and thirsted for righteousness.
• They wanted a Savior so bad that they left their sheep in order to see Him.
And now we get to Simeon and Anna; people who are the very definition of what it means to be “pure in heart” as you will see.
So I hope you are getting a big picture view of what Luke is doing here.
Not only is he revealing history
And carefully documenting that history with eye witnesses,
But Luke is also revealing the very theology of salvation
And the necessary attitude of all who would be saved.
This is an absolutely remarkable work which Luke is giving us.
Well, THIS MORNING, we want to begin looking at
These last two eye-witnesses and examples that Luke brings forth.
#1 SIMEON
Luke 2:25-35
When we left off in our story,
• Jesus had been born, and reached the age of 8 days old
• And we saw Jesus circumcised, effectively putting Him “under the Law”
• Then there was another 33 day waiting period as Mary was unclean due to having given birth to a boy.
• Following this, they then entered the temple to pay the sacrifice for Mary’s atonement, a price which we noted, was more than she could pay.
But that is the setting.
Mary and Joseph and Jesus (now about 5 weeks old) have entered the temple
AND LUKE IS ABOUT TO VALIDATE THIS CHILD ONCE AGAIN.
Simeon arrives.
Let’s take a look at Simeon
1) HIS CHARACTER (25a)
“And there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; and this man was righteous and devout”
Scripture DOESN’T SAY Simeon was a priest or a prophet or a member of the Sanhedrin or give any title or indication for him at all.
You’ve probably figured out, those things don’t mean a whole lot to Luke.
But Simeon WAS a man who “was righteous and devout”
The fact that he was considered “righteous”
• Indicates that like Abraham, and all the faithful Jews of the Old Testament, he had been justified by faith.
• God had declared him righteous by reason of his faith in God.
• He is what we would call a genuinely saved person.
We also find that he was “devout”
• Which of course reveals the fruit of his faith.
• Simeon wasn’t just justified, he was also sanctified.
• He wasn’t just a Jew outwardly as so many of his contemporaries were, he was a Jew inwardly.
The word “devout” comes from a Greek word that means “careful”
As in careful to do everything according to the will and word of God.
It mattered to him that he be obedient.
He was no empty claimer
He was no false confessor
When Simeon determined to trust God,
He put his money where his mouth was.
He is the very definition of “pure in heart”.
2) HIS DESIRE (25b)
“looking for the consolation of Israel;”
“consolation” is a word that means “comfort”
He longed for Israel’s deliverance.
He longed for Israel’s return.
More than that he longed for Israel’s revival.
He was not content with where Israel was in her current state.
He longed for more.
He wanted her to be saved and delivered and renewed.
His life had moved long past all the temporal desires of the world.
He wasn’t after comfort or fame or fortune,
He wanted to see God move.
He wanted his brothers and sisters
To be brought to repentance and salvation and restoration.
Spiritual things were far more important than physical things.
3) HIS ANNOINTING (25c)
“and the Holy Spirit was upon him.”
Don’t confuse this with the New Testament reality of being indwelt with the Holy Spirit.
• We are still pre-cross, and therefore technically still in the Old Testament.
• And while the Holy Spirit was just as active in the Old Testament as He is in the New Testament, His function was a little different.
• It isn’t until after Jesus atones for sinners that the Holy Spirit would actually come to dwell “in” believers.
• During this time, He merely dwelt “with” believers.
• And anytime God set apart a man or woman for a specific task we commonly read that the Holy Spirit would come upon him.
That is what we find here regarding Simeon.
He was a believer, He was focused on spiritual things,
And God had set him apart for a special purpose.
That purpose is made clear in verse 26
4) HIS PROMISE (26)
“And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.”
God had set this man apart for the purpose
Of being an eye-witness of the Messiah.
He would not die before he saw the Messiah.
5) HIS SATISFACTION (27-30)
“And he came in the Spirit into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to carry out for Him the custom of the Law, then he took Him into his arms, and blessed God, and said, “Now Lord, You are releasing Your bond-servant to depart in peace, According to Your word; For my eyes have seen Your salvation,”
I love these verses.
• Do you see the satisfaction that Simeon has found in Jesus?
• Do you see that for him Jesus is absolutely enough?
• Do you see that this world holds no other allurement for him?
That is no coincidence.
Listen to the statement.
“Now Lord, You are releasing Your bond-servant to depart in peace”
When is the last time you ever heard someone talk about death in that way?
It is the same mindset we find in Paul:
Philippians 1:22-26 “But if I am to live on in the flesh, this will mean fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which to choose. But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better; yet to remain on in the flesh is more necessary for your sake. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy in the faith, so that your proud confidence in me may abound in Christ Jesus through my coming to you again.”
Simeon looked at it just like that.
This life had no hold on him.
It is a far cry from the number of believers today, if given the option,
Would delay the return of Christ
Until they get to do everything they want to do on this earth.
I remember the statement of one man during a funeral meal who told me, “I want to go to heaven, but I’m not homesick yet.”
WELL PAUL WAS AND SIMEON WAS.
These men had “crucified the flesh with all its passions and desires”
And this world held no treasure for them.
For them, Jesus was enough.
All Simeon wanted was to see Jesus,
And everything else in this world faded after that.
Don’t think that it is just a coincidence
That God chose this man to reveal His Son.
This is the type of person God is looking for,
This is a very attitude of salvation.
ALL HE HUNGERED FOR WAS
Salvation, Righteousness, and the very Presence of God,
That he might abandon this sin infested world
To go and dwell with Him forever.
And on the day he saw Jesus, his excitement hit an all-time high,
Because it meant he was leaving this joint!
I’ll just leave that there for you to measure your ambitions by his.
6) HIS THEOLOGY (30-33)
“For my eyes have seen Your salvation, Which You have prepared in the presence of all peoples, A LIGHT OF REVELATION TO THE GENTILES, And the glory of Your people Israel.” And His father and mother were amazed at the things which were being said about Him.”
What Simeon said here would have absolutely offended the Jews.
Simeon spoke of a salvation that was for ALL people.
The Jews certainly missed that reality.
They saw themselves alone as God’s chosen and saw no need or reason for Gentile salvation.
• Perhaps you remember the trouble Peter got into for visiting the house of Cornelius?
• Perhaps you remember the uproar of the early church when all these uncircumcised Gentiles were supposedly being saved?
Jews had no concept of this
Despite the fact that it was all over the Old Testament.
Isaiah 49:6 “He says, “It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant To raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also make You a light of the nations So that My salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”
Isaiah 52:10 “The LORD has bared His holy arm In the sight of all the nations, That all the ends of the earth may see The salvation of our God.”
And those are just a couple.
• It was never God’s plan to only save Jews.
• Jews were to be the evangelists.
• They were to be the light of the world.
But they took their light and hid it under a bushel.
Simeon however understood God’s salvation.
• He knew where it came from “Which You have prepared”
• He knew who it was for “in the presence of all peoples.”
• He knew what it looked like “a light of revelation to the Gentiles” and “the glory of Your people Israel.”
Simeon knew that when God’s salvation broke onto the scene
That it would be a salvation available for the whole world.
It would be a salvation that gave hope to the hopeless,
Truth to the ignorant, and would be the absolute best thing (“glory”) of any and all religious people.
In short, Simeon was in tune with God’s heart.
He knew God to be a Savior.
And as you can see, Simeon was used by God
To be yet another verifying voice of exactly who Jesus was.
Zacharias, Elizabeth, Mary, the angels, the shepherds, and now Simeon.
They’ve all been saying the same thing.
God is sending His Savior into the world and this Child is that Savior.
That has been Luke’s redundant theme over and over and over.
The Savior is coming! The Savior is here!
Simeon is the next witness in line.
But what you should also know is that
Simeon also provides the first piece of bad news
Recorded in Luke’s gospel.
7) HIS REVELATION (34-35)
“And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary His mother, “Behold, this Child is appointed for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and for a sign to be opposed — and a sword will pierce even your own soul — to the end that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.”
Talk about a wet blanket…
Everything has been kittens and rainbows up to this point.
• Angels are singing, shepherds are rejoicing, people randomly show up in the temple and break into songs of praise.
After taking us about as high as we can possibly go,
Speaking about a Savior for all people,
Simeon now reveals the heart breaking reality that
Most of those “all people” won’t be interested.
In fact, they will oppose Him.
(34-35) “Behold, this Child is appointed for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and for a sign to be opposed”
Without a doubt, Simeon here puts a bit of a damper on the excitement.
Let’s look a little closer at what he is saying.
He says that Jesus is “appointed for the fall and rise of many in Israel”
In a very simple sense it means that
Jesus is the great DETERMINER OF DESTINY.
He is the absolute and most polarizing
And necessary figure in the whole of human history.
What men do with Him
Determines everything about them and their eternal destiny.
Those who oppose Him will “fall” and those who receive Him will “rise”.
YOU JUST CAN’T BE NEUTRAL WITH JESUS.
Jesus Himself said:
Luke 11:23 “He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me, scatters.”
You either come in humility & repentance that He might raise you up,
Or you resist in pride and arrogance resulting in His eternal judgment.
BUT YOU DON’T JUST STAY NEUTRAL.
In addition to that Simeon says that Jesus is “a sign”
What does he mean?
• Many times throughout the gospels you have people approaching Jesus and
wanting Him to perform a sign.
• Sometimes because they were skeptical, sometimes because they were
greedy, but we see it all the time.
What they failed to realize is that Jesus WAS the sign.
His presence indicated that the Kingdom of Heaven was among them.
Luke 17:20-21 “Now having been questioned by the Pharisees as to when the kingdom of God was coming, He answered them and said, “The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed; nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or, ‘There it is!’ For behold, the kingdom of God is in your midst.”
When Jesus began His ministry, His first sermon was clear:
Matthew 4:17 “From that time Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
Jesus was that long awaited Messiah.
Jesus is God’s anointed and chosen King.
His presence indicated that God was now sending His King into the world that He might rule and reign in the hearts of men.
John the Baptist was sent to prepare you for His arrival.
What was the problem?
MEN DIDN’T WANT A KING TO RULE THEM.
That is why Simeon said that Jesus was “a sign to be opposed”
• If You want to come and give us bread…that’d be great.
• If You want to come and take away our disease…we’d love to have You.
• If You want to come and overthrow Rome…awesome!
But don’t come around here assuming that
You’re going to be our boss or something like that.
They had no intention of submitting their lives to God.
Remember?
Psalms 2:1-3 “Why are the nations in an uproar And the peoples devising a vain thing? The kings of the earth take their stand And the rulers take counsel together Against the LORD and against His Anointed, saying, “Let us tear their fetters apart And cast away their cords from us!”
TURN TO: LUKE 19:11-27
The context of this parable was a curiosity about the kingdom.
“they supposed that the kingdom was going to appear immediately”
Jesus is clarifying what men really think about the kingdom.
(READ 12-14)
• They didn’t really want a king.
• They certainly wanted all the benefits of a strong and secure kingdom,
• They just didn’t want a king ruling over them.
This reality made it very difficult for the King’s servants.
And that is an explanation for
Why at least one of those servants proves to be unfaithful.
(READ 15-26)
You see the similarity to the parable of the talents here, but you get a little more insight as to why that third slave was so wicked and lazy.
He was afraid because he recognized that
The people around him weren’t not interested in submitting to the King.
And notice how the king responds.
(READ 27)
You see that the King will destroy all who oppose Him.
But it does greatly illustrate the point that
There will be a great many people
Who have no interest in submitting to this King.
He is “a sign to be opposed”
And as if that is not enough, SIMEON TAKES IT A STEP FURTHER
To reveal to Mary just how far this opposition will go.
(35) “and a sword will pierce even your own soul”
It’s not going to be pleasant Mary.
This Child whom you’ve delivered is certainly the Savior of the world,
That is obvious by now.
But Mary you need to know that this world isn’t looking for a Savior. They’re going to oppose Him and the manner in which they do
Will be like a sword in the heart.
Well we know what Simeon was talking about.
• He was talking about the coming crucifixion of Jesus.
• He was talking about how they would arrest Him and insult Him and mock Him and beat Him.
• He was talking about how they would deny Him justice and wrongfully convict Him.
• He was talking about how they would leverage Pilate and get a sentence of death brought against Him.
• He was talking about how they would lead Him up the hill to Golgotha and drive nails in His hands and feet and crucify Him in open shame.
That sort of thing is brutal on a mother.
And Simeon is revealing to her now (at 5 weeks of age) that it’s coming.
• You have a Savior here, and that is in fact good news of great joy!
• He is the Savior of all people, and Simeon most certainly rejoiced at that.
• But Simeon wants His mother to know that many will oppose Him and hate Him.
TO WHAT END?
(35) “to the end that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.”
While Jesus is the Savior of the World
We know that not everyone in the world will be saved.
We know about the rebellion of men and the reality of eternal judgment.
SO WHILE HE IS THE ONLY SAVIOR THIS WORLD WILL RECEIVE,
NOT EVERYONE WILL BE UNDER HIS SALVATION.
But there is one reality that Jesus brings to all men.
HE EXPOSES THEM
We know what kind of person someone is
By what they do with Jesus.
Some reject Him and prove themselves arrogant or cowardly or covetous or idolatrous or selfish, etc.
And by their rejection of Jesus the true colors of their heart are exposed.
It doesn’t matter how religious they are,
Or how long the tassels on their garments are.
THEIR REJECTION EXPOSES THEM FOR WHAT THEY REALLY ARE
They are God-Haters.
They might be religious, they might carry a Bible everywhere they go,
But in their heart they are at enmity with God.
In their heart they really hated God.
Listen to Jesus:
John 8:39-47 “They answered and said to Him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, “If you are Abraham’s children, do the deeds of Abraham. “But as it is, you are seeking to kill Me, a man who has told you the truth, which I heard from God; this Abraham did not do. “You are doing the deeds of your father.” They said to Him, “We were not born of fornication; we have one Father: God.” Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and have come from God, for I have not even come on My own initiative, but He sent Me. “Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you cannot hear My word. “You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies. “But because I speak the truth, you do not believe Me. “Which one of you convicts Me of sin? If I speak truth, why do you not believe Me? “He who is of God hears the words of God; for this reason you do not hear them, because you are not of God.”
There was a multitude of people in Israel who were as religiously zealous as any people had ever been, but they didn’t love God.
They were those apathetic people that Malachi talked about.
They were those people
Who would not be able to stand the coming of the King.
Because this King refused to allow their religious façade to fool anybody any longer.
They didn’t love God, they loved themselves, and they used the system of religion as a means to gratify themselves.
• Religion allowed them fame
• Religion allowed them prestige
• Religion allowed them riches
• Religion allowed them to stroke their own egos
They didn’t love God.
And where it not for Jesus, we might not have ever realized that.
JESUS EXPOSED IT.
When God is in the heavens it’s easy to claim to love Him,
But when God takes on human form and stands beside you
Now we’re going to find out.
JESUS EXPOSED THESE PEOPLE.
He revealed that
• It wasn’t the Pharisees and Sadducees and Chief Priests who were the true children of God.
• Instead it was these social outcasts like Zacharias and Elizabeth and Mary and the Shepherds and Simeon and Anna.
JESUS CAME TO EXPOSE MEN.
There is a whole lot more in this text we need to talk about, and we’ll have to do it next time, but I want to leave you with one simple question.
DO YOU LOVE JESUS?
I mean the Biblical Jesus. (and not just the sweet little baby in the manger)
• The Jesus who calls for repentance
• The Jesus who demands self-denial and sacrifice and faithfulness
Do you love that Jesus?
• Do you search for Him in His word?
• Do you commune with Him in prayer?
• Do you delight in telling about Him to others?
Do you love Jesus?
Because one thing we learn for certain in Scripture.
If you don’t love Jesus, then you don’t love God.
It’s a question that demands and answer, and we’ll talk about this more next time.
