Anticipation

Have you ever felt ANTICIPATION? You just can’t wait until you GET something or something happens?

As a kid we would have big Thanksgiving Dinners and my cousins would drive up from Glenpool. I would set on the front DIVAN, that’s what we called SOFA’S back in the day, but I would set looking out the front window of our house, way out across the fields, looking at the MAIN ROAD, watching for that old BROWN CHEVY STATION WAGON. Looking forward to seeing my COUSINS Bruce and Bryan.

A lot of KIDS and ADULTS are looking forward to Christmas morning, ANTICIPATING what GIFT they’re gonna get.

Here’s the deal. A LOT of them are going to be DISAPPOINTED. A lot of them are NOT gonna get what they WANTED. NOT what they EXPECTED. And NOT what they THINK they DESERVE.

And as I was reading this passage it crossed my mind. This man we’re going to look at this morning GOT EXACTLY what he had been waiting on for a LONG TIME. He got to see the Promised Messiah. You can almost FEEL his AWE and EXCITEMENT as he holds Jesus in his arms. So let’s go ahead and read Luke 2:22-35.

“And when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were accomplished, they brought him to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord;

23 (As it is written in the law of the Lord, Every male that openeth the womb shall be called holy to the Lord;)

24 And to offer a sacrifice according to that which is said in the law of the Lord, A pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.

25 And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him.

26 And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord's Christ.

27 And he came by the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him after the custom of the law,

28 Then took he him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said,

29 Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word:

30 For mine eyes have seen thy salvation,

31 Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people;

32 A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.

33 And Joseph and his mother marvelled at those things which were spoken of him.

34 And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother, Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against;

35 (Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also,) that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.

Joseph and Mary, wanting to do everything according to the Law of Moses had CIRCUMCISED JESUS on the 8th day. And now they were bringing Him to the TEMPLE to PRESENT HIM to the Lord. A sacrifice was required of TWO TURTLEDOVES or TWO YOUNG PIGEONS. And these were given. But while there at the TEMPLE they met someone else. A man by the name of Simeon. And that man is WHO I want to talk about this morning. But before we do let’s go to the Lord in Prayer.

Brother ______, would you lead us?

I. The first thing we see about Simeon was that he was JUST and DEVOUT.

In the DAY and AGE that Simeon lived, the TEMPLE had become a CORRUPT PLACE.

The PRIESTS were in it for the money and it had gotten to the point where they would abuse the poorest to gain more riches. When Jesus got older he had his FILL OF IT and went in and CLEANSED the TEMPLE. Turning over TABLES and DRIVING some out with a WHIP.

ILLUS: I was reading an article about the AVERAGE PERSON in Israel at this time. And how they had SUCH LITTLE RESPECT for the PRIESTHOOD because of what they had SEEN and HEARD. The ABUSE had basically turned people away from serving God.

But in CONTRAST to the CORRUPTION that was going on in the TEMPLE, Simeon was JUST and DEVOUT. A MAN who wanted to PLEASE GOD in spite of what was going on in the TEMPLE.

And what drove Simeon to be JUST and DEVOUT? Two things in Verse 25.

#1 He was WAITING for the CONSOLATION of ISRAEL.

#2 And it also tells us the HOLY GHOST of GOD was upon him.

The DEFINITION of CONSOLATION is: a person or thing providing comfort to a person who has suffered.