Christmas: My Eyes Have Seen Your Salvation Series

MY EYES HAVE SEEN YOUR SALVATION

Pastor Dan Little

adfontes.djl@gmailcom

The Landmark Church

12-11-12

SCRIPTURE READING

Luke 2:1-38

I. GOD’S SALVATION

Frist look at verse 11 where the angel says to the shepherds,

11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

This angel is saying that Jesus was born UNTO them, In other words, He was not conceived by the action of men and then groomed for the Messiah job.

He was God clothed in the flesh of humanity, planted in the virgin’s womb, who by His life, death and resurrection reconciles us to God. All of this was God’s plan, and it came to us complete in Jesus.

Second, look to verse 30 where Simeon praises God saying; “for my eyes have seen YOUR salvation”

Simeon is a humble and faithful old man. Our reading tells us that he has been holding fast to a promise given to him by the Spirit of God, i.e., that he would live to see Israel’s true Messiah.

Think of all the kinds of salvation claims Simeon had seen come and go in his life time. He has seen salvation attempted by keeping religious laws, by the idolatrous worship of power and wealth, and certainly in his life time he saw salvation claims reaching over into the bizarre.

But Simeon takes one look at Jesus and breaks into joyful praise to God saying; Now I can die in peace because, “my eyes have seen YOUR salvation.”

Years later Jesus stated His identity with a shocking Gospel-truth claim that was in perfect keeping with what the angel announced to the shepherds and what Simeon saw;

John 14:6 … "I am THE way , and THE truth, and THE life. No one comes to the Father except through me. ESV

This was not spoken in arrogance. Jesus was simply saying what He knew. He had NOT come to SHOW us what salvation looked like. He actually WAS (and is) our salvation. He is God’s plan A and there is no plan B.

And yet in our natural selves we prefer to try almost any form of self-salvation over God’s plan A. Why is that? Let’s talk about self-salvation for a few minutes.

II. ATTEMPTS AT SELF-SALVATION

Jesus told a story (a parable) about a young man who tried a form of self-salvation using the well worn path of self-discovery. That’s the one that says, I must be completely free from restraint, free from God in order to find my own identity. It’s a very short story found in Luke 15. Let me take 95 seconds and read the first part of it to you.

Luke 15:11 And he said, "There was a man who had two sons. 12 And the younger of them said to his father, ’Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.’ And he divided his property between them. 13 Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living. 14 And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need. 15 So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. 16 And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything.

17 "But when he came to himself, he said, ’How many of my father’s hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! 18 I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants."’ 20 And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. 21 And the son said to him, ’Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ 22 But the father said to his servants, ’Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. 23 And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. 24 For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate. ESV

What is this young man saying? Isn’t he saying, “I will never know who I am until I am free from the influence of my father, his hovering love and this farm. I need to cut loose from all that is familiar to me and head off into new territory.