Message No 1
Waiting For God
Simeon – Waiting for the Consolation of Israel
Aim: To show that God’s blesses the patient praying of the godly.
Text: Luke 2:21-36.
Introduction: How often have we heard it said that, “Christmas is for children.” That may be true of the secular Christmas, but in the Biblical account of the nativity the narrative is loaded with adults. The coming of the Messiah into the world was a matter that exercised the minds of grown ups at the time. And among those grown ups were two individuals we rarely mention in the run up to Christmas, both of them elderly and both blessed of God, namely Simeon (who we read about in our text) and Anna (who we will consider next week).
Sometimes the church is guilty of forgetting about the elderly. We are ever reminded about the needs of youth, but we forget that God is interested in all of us regardless of our age or what stage we are at in life’s journey, and God cares for us from the cradle to the grave. Isaiah wrote, “Hearken unto me, O house of Jacob, and all the remnant of the house of Israel, which are borne by me from the belly, which are carried from the womb: And even to your old age I am he; and even to hoar hairs will I carry you: I have made, and I will bear; even I will carry, and will deliver you.” (Isaiah 46:3-4)
I am sure many of us remember the BBC TV comedy series “Waiting for God.” It centred upon two spirited residents of a retirement home who spent their time running rings around the home’s oppressive management and their own families. The title of the show intimates that retirement homes are but waiting rooms for eternity, and the residents are sitting around waiting to die, waiting for God. Well in Luke 2 we have these two elderly people, Simeon and Anna, waiting for God. They are not waiting for God to take their lives, they are waiting for God to act upon their prayers, and their godly example in waiting is a lesson for us all. Let’s consider the first of these two, Simeon.
I. Simeon’s Person – vss 25-27
A. As Luke’s narrative unfolds we leave the shepherds of Christmas returning to their flocks.
1. Jesus is circumcised, and Mary and Joseph wind their way down to the temple to make a presentation of their firstborn before the Lord and to make a customary offering.
2. It was a sin offering, an offering for the purification of Mary, of two turtledoves and two pigeons.
3. That was all they could afford. Mary’s offering was that of the poor.
4. How important it is that we see Mary was just an ordinary woman.
5. Like all Jewish women she was required to address the matter of her sin, and to keep the law.
6. In that respect we see that Mary was not a “saint” as portrayed by Catholicism, but a sinner as recorded by the Bible.
B. In any case, having made the offering, the young couple encounters Simeon.
1. This old man had been waiting for them.
2. Of course he didn’t know it was them specifically he was waiting for until they arrived, but God had promised him he would not die until he had seen the Christ.
3. The moment Mary & Joseph appeared in the temple court Simeon knew who they were, and that the baby they were carrying was the Christ of God.
4. Now, I want you to see something of the character of this old man, for although he fleets on to the pages of Scripture and just as quickly disappears again, there is enough information in these verse to help us see the kind of man he was and by extension the kind of men God does business with.
C. He was a just man – (vs. 25)
1. When the Bible applies the word “just” to a man, it is not saying that he was merely a fair-minded man, but that he was a “saved” man.
2. Throughout Scripture the saved are referred to as the “just”, those who are right with God, and God doesn’t deal with any man unless he is saved.
3. You see, unless we deal with the sin problem in our lives we are by nature separated from God, He will have nothing to do with us.
a. He will not respond to our prayers.
b. He will not accept our worship.
c. He will not permit us entry into heaven.
d. He will judge us as sinners and cast us off.
4. How vital it is to be a saved person, a just man/woman.
D. He was a devout man
1. That is he lived a holy life.
2. Unfortunately, there are many who are saved who are anything but holy.
a. They are caught up in the world; they govern their lives by worldly standards, with worldly values and worldly ambition.
b. Simeon wasn’t that kind of man, for him God came first.
c. He lived a separated, sanctified life.
d. He had surrendered himself unto the Lord, and saw Himself as belonging firstly to him.
e. Is that you? That is the kind of man God speaks with.
f. Do you ever wonder why God speaks to one man, and not another? Here is your answer, some are holy men and some are not.
E. He was a patient man.
1. Luke says he was “waiting for the consolation of Israel,” that’s another name for the Messiah.
2. Understand these were dark days for the Jews.
3. Their nation was under occupation and the people oppressed.
4. The word consolation is the same word Jesus later used of the holy Spirit when He describes Him as the “Comforter”.
a. The word is “paraklesis” and portrays one who comes alongside to help, one who pleads a cause, a defence lawyer.
b. Simeon was looking for a Saviour who would come alongside the people of Israel, understand their problems, help them, represent them before God’s judgment bar, and save.
c. He saw the one who fitted that bill resting in the arms of Mary.
5. How long he had waited, who knows? But the intimation is that he had been there a long time.
a. Here was a man who trusted God’s Word to him day after day, and patiently awaited the fulfilment of God’s promises.
b. That’s the kind of man God responds to.
F. He was a Spirit filled man.
1. “The Holy Ghost was upon him”.
2. In O.T. Times the Holy Ghost did not indwell God’s people, but came upon them for special occasions… such was the visit of Mary and Joseph, with the baby Jesus at the temple.
3. Simeon experienced God’s filling. He knew something special was about to happen, and then he saw the little family winding their way through the court.
4. This was a man who was sensitive to the Spirit of God in his life. are you that kind of person?
G. He was a discerning man.
1. “It was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.”
2. He knew the voice of God when he heard it.
3. Many there are today who say they hear God speaking, when they are really hearing no such thing.
a. Illus: I remember a neighbour of mine dying with acute Leukemia. He was a believer who needed much encouragement, and one day a woman from his church told him God had revealed to her that He would spare his life, like he spared the life of Hezekiah. He asked me what I thought. I shared some deep reservations with him, not wishing to discourage him, but simultaneously not wishing to offer him false hope. At the end of our conversation he mentioned that the lady in question had given her "word of prophecy" on the understanding that she was "just a trainee prophetess and could be wrong!" God doesn’t speak through "trainees" and make no allowance for mistakes in a "Thus saith the Lord." When God speaks Hos Word is absolute and true.
4. To discern the voice of God a person has to have a very close walk with Him. Simeon did. Do you?
H. He was Spirit led.
1. “And he came by the Spirit into the temple…”
2. Today we hear so much about being purpose driven, but not nearly enough about being Spirit led.
3. How interesting that the life of the man, who is about to receive a personal introduction to the Messiah, a preview, if you like; a private viewing of the Christ child is so caught up in the Spirit of God.
4. Is that not our need today? To have men and women who are Spirit filled, Spirit sensitive, and Spirit led?
5. Would to God we had a church full of Simeon’s
6. And thank God for those of senior years in our midst who exercise godly influence over us!
II. Simeon’s Prayer - vss 28-32
A. This is a truly remarkable prayer.
B. Here was a man who understood God’s will and purpose, not just for hos own life, but on a much grander scale, he understood that the Messiah whilst ultimately Jewish, “the consolation and glory of the people Israel” was also to be a light to the Gentiles.
1. This was a man who was light year ahead of his peers.
2. When Gentiles were being saved some 40 years later the church was thrown into disarray, and they had to call the Council of Jerusalem to resolve the legitimacy of it.
3. But Simeon knew, he knew a few short days into Christ’s life the purpose of His coming.
4. And having held the Son God had given he prayed, “Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word: For mine eyes have seen thy salvation.”
C. In effect he said, “I can die happy.”
1. You know we don’t all have to live, but we all have to die, and what a blessing it would be if we would live before God in such a way that when our time comes, like Simeon, we can die happy.
2. He said, “Mine eyes have seen thy salvation”.
a. Salvation, wrapped in swaddling clothes.
b. Salvation is infant form.
c. Salvation is centred on a Person – Jesus, who is the “light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.”
III. Simeon’s Prophecy – vss 33-35
A. It seems the whole experience of Jesus’ birth was a ceaseless wonder to Mary & Joseph.
1. Event after event leaves them stunned, and Simeon’s words are no less impressive, yet he has a word of prophecy for them.
2. Notice too, as an aside, how careful Dr. Luke was not to call Joseph Jesus’ father – vs. 33 says, “Joseph and his mother…”
B. The prophecy in the first instance was broad and sweeping, it included the whole nation.
1. Simeon predicts that Christ is to bring about the fall and rise of Israel.
2. That instead of being embraced by the nation He will be rejected by them, and spoken against.
3. Isaiah also predicted the Messiah would be, “a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel.” (Isa 8:14)
4. And so it was, they tripped over Him, he became in Paul’s words, a stumbling block to them.
5. Of course there are those who would have God leave them there lying in the dust of their own unbelief, but He came not only to be a light to the Gentiles, but the glory of Israel… they will rise again, and at His Second Coming they will recognise Him, He will restore them to the glory that God ever intended, and prove Himself to be their consolation.
C. But then he had a word also for Mary, “Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also.”
1. This boy would break her heart someday.
2. Of course, His purpose in coming was to go the cross, to suffer for sin, and someday she would stand upon the hill of Calvary and watch the lifeblood seep from his bruised body.
3. It seems his words cast a shadow over all that he has said before.
4. And yet, my friends is that not the lot of the Christian? Do we not find in this life that mercies and trials go hand in hand?
5. Why would God allow her to suffer in this way? “That the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”
6. In other words, any doubts about the depravity and wickedness of the human heart would be put to bed once it was seen what was done to Jesus.
7. Irrespective of the veneer of religiosity that often covers the heart, Calvary would reveal man for what he really is, a sinner in need of the grace of God.
Conclusion: Simeon is proof positive that God is concerned for all men, young and old. Standing in the court of the temple, a figure from the past, he holds the hope of the future in his arms and blesses God. God kept His word to this old saint of His, and He will keep His Word to you and me also.
Are you here and not a Christian? Then here is His Word to you, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.”
Are you here as a Christian, but your spiritual life lacks that vitality it once knew; you want to hear God’s voice speaking to you once more? Well, are you living in a way that is pleasing to Him, are you faithful in prayer and patient for an answer? Do you trust in His Word and obediently act upon it? Are you the kind of man/woman the Spirit of God can fill?
You know as Christmas approaches we will perhaps buy toys for our children or grandchildren not noticing that in fine print on the package are these words: “Batteries not included.” That could prove to be a Christmas Day disaster. Do you know what that means? It means that you get the toy, but the power to make it work is not included. That is not the kind of gift that God gave, when He gave us Jesus. God’s gift includes the power of the fullness of the Holy Spirit – the power to make this Christian life work. It worked for Simeon, is it working for you?
