SIMEON’S SONG
Luke 2:28 -32 Dec. 18, 2022
Have you ever anticipated something with so much excitement you could hardly wait?
I remember when I was growing up being so excited about Christmas morning that I’d try to go to sleep at 6:00 or 7:00 o’clock the night before…my brother, sister and I would wake Mom and Dad up at like 5:30 or 6:00 a.m. on Christmas morning…(some of you experienced that already this morning).
I’m pretty sure Dad didn’t share the same 5:30 a.m. anticipation that me and my brother and sister did…The word that captures the essence of what I’m talking about is…..”Hope”
I hope Mom & dad got the 4 million hints I’d dropped for the “Red Rider B.B, gun.”….I hoped that they would come through with one even though they kept saying “You’ll” shoot your eye out.”
Hope is more than just dreaming about something Hope is more than fantasy…Hope by its definition believes that something will eventually happen…there is a very real expectation of what you hope for coming true.
This passage we read in Luke chapter 2 is called the presentation….Jesus is 8 days old when he’s circumcised according to the law…It’s here he’s named Jesus….”Savior” in obedience to what Gabriel told Joseph before he had been conceived.
After a period of time, 40 days according to the book of Leviticus, for purification Mary & Joseph bring Jesus to the temple…
This is a huge event for 1st born sons…The circumcision marked him as a child of Abraham and now there would e an offering (2 doves because of Mary & Joseph’s poverty level as they present their child to God ( v24).
What makes this so unique and special is that there is a man in Jerusalem called “Simeon” … He was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel and the Holy Spirit was upon Him….
“It had been revealed to him by the Holy spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lords’ Christ.”
How? I don’t know…but the Holy Spirit spoke this truth to Simeon…”You will not die until you see the Christ…the Messiah!”
I’m not sure how many babies he’s blessed…I’m not sure how many babies he’s held…but on this day the Holy Spirit moves Simeon into the temple courts….
And when Mary and Joseph bring Jesus to him he takes this baby in his arms…and praises God…its Simeon’s song… Its hope fulfilled…The hope of Israel and the entire world…
I SIMEON’S SONG OF HOPE
Read v (29-32)
[“All Powerful Lord you’ve kept your promise…I hold the Messiah. I can die in peace. I’ve seen salvation with my own eyes. He will bring light for revelation to the Gentiles and for the glory to your people Israel.”]
I really believe hope is the most powerful motivator known to mankind…with hope you can do anything…without hope…you cannot go forward.
Simeon had been promised by God he would not die until he saw the Messiah…I’m not sure how long he went into the temple before Mary & Joseph and Jesus showed up…but each day was an anticipation…maybe today he will come. And on this day….He did.
Satan is the hope stealer…He says the Messiah will not come…He says…settle for another way of salvation…He says…grief is forever, pain is eternal…
[And God is word says, “Do you not know…Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary and young men stumble and fall, but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not be faint”
(Isaiah 40: 28-31)
Why are so many depressed during this time of the year…why are their more suicides and driving fatalities…because pain and hurt seems amplified alongside jingle bells. It’s because people lose hope…there’s nothing to hang on to…or what seems to be offered is artificial and unstable….
God says….”I AM real hope…I’ve sent you real hope…. Simeon knew that…It’s why Gabriel gave Jesus the name God commanded.
Jesus came to be Savior! Our only hope
• If we had needed healing, God would have sent a Physician.
• If we had needed knowledge, God would have sent an Educator.
• If we had needed information, God would have sent a Scientist.
• If we had needed money, God would have sent a Banker
But we needed forgiveness, so God sent a Savior.
The greatest need this world has…you and I have is to be forgiven…without a Savior there is not hope…but with a Savior…One who loves me…died for me…and lives again with the promise to return for me.
I can do all things…I can count these earthly struggles as light and momentary affections. He has always kept his promises and he always will.
“My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus blood and righteousness.”
Please know that on this day…the day we celebrate the birth of hope.
II WE STILL SING A SONG OF ANTICIPATION.
Romans 8:18, 37-39
In his book Dare to Believe, Dan Baumann illustrates the unique experience of knowing that something is ours, yet longing to enjoy it more fully. He explained that at Christmas time he would always do a lot of snooping, trying to find the gift—wrapped presents and figure out what was in them…One year he discovered a package with his name on it that was easy to identify. There was no way to disguise the golf clubs inside. Baumann then made this observation: “When Mom wasn’t around, I would go and feel the package, shake it, and pretend that I was on the golf course. The point is, I was already enjoying the pleasures of a future event; namely, the unveiling. It had my name on it. I knew what it was.” But only “Christmas would reveal it in its fullness.”
The glories that await the Christian defy our comprehension. What we can grasp about them, however, fills us with great anticipation. We look longingly to that day when we shall enjoy heaven in all its fullness.
I’ve held 4 babies I’ve called my own…. I’ve held 6 babies of my babies and grand kids are the best!!!!!
I’ve seen them grow with my own eyes…they’ve grasped my fingers and wrestled on Papa’s bed…I’ve watched them shoot their first baskets, catch their first fish, go on their first dates…I’ve seen them laugh and I’ve seen them broken in tears….
Mary & Joseph experienced the same things…saw him take his first steps...were amazed in the temple…watched him drive his 1st nail.
And Mary watched the last nail be driven into his hands…Mary would remember her song…Zechariah’s Song…she’d know about the angel’s praise…she’d remember Simeon’s words at his presentation. Hope…born of a virgin…Hope lived a sinless life…. Hope, would be crucified and then rise again… Hope would not die…
On this Christmas morning we proclaim with Mary, Zechariah, the angels, Simeon and God Himself.
“A Baby born in Bethlehem with hands all soft and curled, but held within their dimpled grasp The Hope of the World”
Inv. Jesus Loves Me
