How much can you trust God? How much do you really believe the Word of God?
• Christmas didn’t come easy to believe. The Jewish people has had 400 years of silence between the OT and NT during which God did not speak.
• The Roman Empire conquered Jerusalem in 63BC and ruled over the land.
• It certainly seemed as though God has forgotten them. Nothing externally points towards the imminent coming of the Messiah.
That explains why John the Baptist’s ministry was so significant. He was in fact the first prophet called by God since Malachi some 400 years earlier.
• Yet despite this challenging circumstance, we read in the various Christmas accounts the faith of a small group of remnant.
• They were willing to believe the Word of God, when confronted with the news of Jesus’ birth.
• And under very difficult circumstances, for Joseph and Mary, after 400 years of silence without any prophet speaking the Word of God.
Can we be found among the remnant of faith?
Can we trust the Word of God even after such a long wait and against all odds?
We have to. His Word is the only unchanging truth in all that changes around us.
• God fulfils His promises in His own way and at His own time.
• Gal 4:4-5 ESV “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, 5to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.”
• In the FULLNESS of time – the right time, the perfect time, at precisely the moment God wants it to be. Nothing was delayed.
Historians tell us this TIME was good because:
• The Roman Empire brought about peace to the entire region and established a road system that facilitated travel throughout the land.
• The Gospel message would be able to reach the farthest lands.
• The Greek civilization provided a trading language which was adopted as the lingua franca of the empire, so making it possible to communicate the Gospel to all the different people groups in one common language.
In this FULLNESS of time, two devout believers of God met Christ in the Temple.
• We are going to read them today in Luke 2:25-38. These TWO are described in ways that highlight their righteous and devout living.
• One is SIMEON, a righteous and devout man. The other is ANNA, a prophetess.
[Read Luke 2:25-38]
We do not know for how long they have been waiting to see this day.
• Simeon says that the Holy Spirit has assured him he would not die before he had seen the Christ (2:26). It would seems that He is old and time is not on his side.
• For Anna the text says she was very old (2:36). 2:37 says she has been ‘a widow until she was 84’, which can mean she was a widow who was 84 years old or she has been a widow for 84 years old, which would make her much older.
• The references to Simeon not dying and Anna being old were likely to highlight to us that their wait has been very long.
They waited to see the Messiah, for a long time and did not give up hope.
• SIMEON was “waiting for the consolation of Israel” (2:25) and ANNA spoke of Him to all who were “looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.” (2:38)
• They were the devout WAITING and LOOKING FORWARD to the coming of the Messiah.
They waited for this day BELIEVING that it would come because God has spoken, through the prophecies of the OT.
• It doesn’t matter if the political landscape has changed. It doesn’t matter if God did not speak for the last 400 years (because He has already spoken before that).
• The Word of God remains true even in the silence of God. Our hope is in the REVEALED Word of God.
• Never mind what God did not say (long silence). Hold on to what God has already said.
THE DEVOUT BELIEVES GOD
The devout believes the Word of God and obeys it. Luke seems to make an extra effort to highlight this to us in this chapter.
• 2:15 - the shepherds said to one another: “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”
• 2:19 – “Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.”
And then look at what the couple did (note how Luke expresses it):
• 2:21 – Joseph and Mary circumcised Jesus on the eighth day – “when it was time to” (which is according to what God has instructed in Lev 12:3).
• 2:22 - they dedicated Him at the Temple after her purification is completed, which is according to the Law of Moses (40 days after giving birth, Lev 12:1-4).
• 2:23 emphasized again “as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord” (Exo 13,2,12)
• 2:24 - they offered a sacrifice, and again “in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord.” (Lev 12:8 “If she cannot afford a lamb, she is to bring two doves or two young pigeons…”) which means they were poor.
• 2:39 - and when they left, “When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee…”
I believe Luke wanted us to see that they were a very obedient couple.
• Joseph and Mary believed the Word of God and they submitted to it.
• From the time of the announcement of Jesus’ birth to the time of His consecration here in the Temple.
• It wasn’t easy for them but they submitted to God’s will.
• In fact, SIMEON prophesied to Mary that Jesus would “be a sign that will be spoken against” (2:34, a target that people shot at). And that a sword will pierce her own soul too (2:35). She would suffer the agony of seeing her son rejected and crucified at the cross.
The devout believes God, not because it is easy but because it is God’s will.
• Simeon and Anna waited because they believed the prophecies of God. They did not lose faith in the long wait.
THE DEVOUT IS LED BY GOD
Both of them – Simeon and Anna – were clearly led by God. It was quite miraculously.
• 2:25b-27 “…the Holy Spirit was upon him. 26It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. 27Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts.”
• The word SPIRIT came up 3 times in 3 verses. The Spirit of God led him into the Temple at the right time and to recognise the child Jesus.
Luke continues the emphasis on the role of the Holy Spirit in the lives of the devout.
• 1:15 John the Baptist “will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from birth.”
• 1:35 Angel to Mary: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.”
• 1:41 “When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.”
• 1:67 “His father Zechariah, was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied…”
Simeon and Anna are part of this unfolding work of God’s Spirit in the lives of the devout.
THE DEVOUT SEES JESUS
• When SIMEON saw the child, he “took him in his arms and praised God...” (2:28). He recognised Jesus!
• When ANNA saw the child, she came up at that very moment and gave thanks to God (2:38). She recognised Jesus, and started talking about Him to those around.
• Both were led by God to recognise Jesus, a six-week-old baby!
They were able to see what no one else in the Temple Court noticed that day.
• The rest were too caught up by their own affairs, by the Temple routines, by their own sacrifices, to understand the grandeur of what was taking place.
• Only those who look with eyes of faith will see Him; those who seek the Lord with all their heart and with all their soul, will find Him (cf. Deut 4:29)
May we not become so preoccupied by our own stuff that we lose sight of Jesus’ presence.
• He is right there but we are not seeing Him. It is not that He is absent; we are too distracted to see Him!
The Lord led Simeon into a prophetic song:
• 2:30-32 “For my eyes have seen your salvation, which You have prepared in the sight of all people, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel.”
• It was not just the salvation of the Jewish people, but the whole world.
• 2:33 Even Joseph and Mary marvelled at what was said about Him.
SIMEON was so satisfied that he asked the Sovereign Lord to dismiss him in peace (2:29).
• Here lies the secret to a fulfilled life – you are so satisfied with life you want to go - when God’s will is done.
Look at ANNA. She lost her husband only 7 years into the marriage. A widow without support and for a long time. To many, this was a sad life.
• But look at her. She wasn’t a woman filled with bitterness or resentment or sorrow. She worshipped the Lord night and day, fasting and praying.
• She enjoyed the presence of the Lord every day and saw the Messiah with her own eyes, the fulfilment of God’s promise.
We have 2 very fulfilled person here.
Are you in the midst of a season of waiting, maybe a long one?
• You feel as though God has forgotten you. You’re going through a tough time and living a sad life (so you think).
• Don’t let these distract us from God. He is present and our sovereign Lord is still at work even in the silence.
• Keep faith with God. Hold on to what God has said. Submit to His will.
The devout believes God. He trusts the Word of God.
The devout is led by God. The devout sees Jesus.
