Isaiah 61:10-11, Isaiah 62:1-3, Psalm 148:1-14, Galatians 4:4-7, Luke 2:22-40
A). THE BLESSINGS OF THE AGE TO COME.
Isaiah 61:10-11; Isaiah 62:1-3.
“The Spirit of the LORD God is upon me,” announces Isaiah (Isaiah 61:1). The prophet goes on to speak of restoration (Isaiah 61:4), and an everlasting covenant (Isaiah 61:8). “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,” echoes Jesus: and our Lord goes on to proclaim the year of Jubilee (Luke 4:18-19).
Isaiah, Israel, the believer, the church - and Messiah Himself - all respond with a hymn of joy at the grace of God, which clothes us with salvation, and robes us in His righteousness (Isaiah 61:10-11). This is what it means to have “put on Christ” in that which our baptismal initiation represents (Galatians 3:27). It also explains the on-going commands to “put on the new man” (Ephesians 4:24), and to “put on the Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 13:14).
This passage is the reversal of another song, another time, when judgment and desolation loomed large upon the horizon of Isaiah’s contemporaries: the ‘Song of the Vineyard’ (Isaiah 5:1-7). There the husbandman (cf. John 15:1) looked for a fruitful harvest, but the vineyard yielded only bad fruit (Isaiah 5:4). The LORD looked for justice and righteousness in Israel, but found instead only oppression, and cries of distress (Isaiah 5:7).
Now at last the LORD will have His harvest: the dispossessed will no longer be fearful of those who exploited and oppressed them, neither their own people nor the invasion force of the enemy. Righteousness will spring forth before all nations (Isaiah 61:11), starting at Jerusalem (Isaiah 62:1). A once desolate and forsaken land will be restored (Isaiah 62:4).
According to God’s judgement, the northern kingdom of Ephraim/Israel wore a crown of pride, and their hitherto glorious beauty was a fading flower (Isaiah 28:1). The restored Jerusalem, however, was to be “a crown of glory in the hand of the LORD” (Isaiah 62:3). The “royal diadem” speaks of a kingdom of priests, kept by the hand of God.
Isaiah - and Messiah - will not hold their peace, nor rest, until the LORD has established Zion a praise in the earth (Isaiah 62:7). It was the gospel emanating from that city which yielded a plenteous Jubilee harvest for Christ. We should still, “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem” (Psalm 122:6).
The involvement of Gentiles and kings (Isaiah 62:2) anticipates the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. Isaiah prophesied elsewhere that “in the last days” the mountain of the LORD's house would be exalted above all hills, and people from all nations would gather to worship (Isaiah 2:2-3). According to the Apostle Peter, the last days began at Pentecost (Acts 2:16-17).
The bestowing of a “new name” (Isaiah 62:2) points forward to our new identity in Christ (Revelation 2:17). There is an identification with the new name of God (Revelation 3:12), and a hitherto hidden name of Jesus (Revelation 19:12). Whatever the name is, it will be pronounced by God.
B). THE SONG OF CREATION.
Psalm 148.
The whole of creation - from the cosmos (Psalm 148:1), to terra firma (Psalm 148:7) - is called to praise the LORD. This includes angels (Psalm 148:2), and animals (Psalm 148:10), and men (Psalm 148:12). Psalm 148 could be a sermon amplifying the text of Psalm 145:10 - “All your works shall praise you, O LORD: and your saints shall bless you.”
The Apostle Paul informs us that “the whole creation is groaning and travailing in pain together until now” (Romans 8:22). The Fall of man has had cosmic consequences, introducing death and disorder into creation. With bated breath, nature awaits “the revelation of the sons of God” (Romans 8:19).
The opening exclamation OF praise (Psalm 148:1) is followed by several imperative exhortations TO praise. One by one, the various strata of the created order are challenged to take a different attitude - until at last the final invitation of this cosmic ‘altar call’ is full of expectation and hope (Psalm 148:13-14).
The appeal reaches first to the heavens (Psalm 148:1). Beginning at the place where angels dwell (Psalm 148:2), and through the starry domain of the Hubble telescope and its successors (Psalm 148:3), the summons goes forth into the sky and clouds above us (Psalm 148:4). Let them praise the LORD, for when He spoke they were created, and He made a decree that sets their limits for ever (Psalm 148:5-6).
Then the appeal is made to the earth. The command reaches down into the depths of the sea (Psalm 148:7), through the weather systems (Psalm 148:8), and up into the mountains. Trees are called to break forth into praise (Psalm 148:9); as is animal life, insects and birds (Psalm 148:10).
Then the whole human race (Psalm 148:11-12) is commanded to join the joyful symphony. The highest king is not excused; nor is the smallest child. All must join this song of praise.
The overall reason is given. The LORD has raised up the “horn” OF His people Israel (Psalm 148:14). The horn represents strength. In the song of Zechariah (Luke 1:68-69), the “horn of salvation” raised up FOR Israel is identified with Jesus.
There are no exceptions, no excuses. The LORD alone is worthy of our praise (Psalm 148:13). If mute things are able to praise God - and they are, for they “fulfil His word” (Psalm 148:8) - how much more should “a people near to Him” (Psalm 148:14).
When we worship and bless and praise God we add nothing to Him but, like the Old Testament priest, we magnify Him before the people. It is a command we should delight to obey. “Praise ye the LORD!”
C). THE FULLNESS OF TIME.
Galatians 4:4-7.
In Galatians 4:4, Paul speaks of a fullness of time. In what sense was it the fullness of the time?
There is a time for everything under the sun (Ecclesiastes 3:1). God has set limits to the times and boundaries of the nations from all eternity (Acts 17:26). Even in the days of Father Abraham, God was shaping the destiny of the wicked nations of the Holy Land (Genesis 15:16). Furthermore, if we are the people of God then our times are in the Lord's hands (Psalm 31:14-15).
If we are being called by God, then His Holy Spirit is already at work in our hearts to shape us into the image of Christ, to free us from the bondage which comes from a slavish keeping of legalistic rituals and ceremonies (Galatians 4:10). “If the Son shall make you free, you shall be free indeed” (John 8:36). If we have been set free by Christ, then we are totally free, and have no need to wander back into the slavish fears of our pre-conversion days.
The “fullness of the time” also has a historical context. The hope and expectation of the coming of Messiah was at its zenith amongst the faithful remnant of Israel: people like Simeon and Anna, living in the Temple (Luke 2:25; Luke 2:36-38). Even amongst the Gentiles there was a sense of anticipation: people like the wise men from the East (Matthew 2:1-2).
The conquests of Alexander the Great had brought about a common culture, and a common language (koine Greek, in which the New Testament would be written). The armies of Caesar had secured the Pax Romana, the Peace of Rome, whereby it was easier for the Gospel to cross the borders of the known world than it had ever been hitherto. There was a hunger after knowledge, and a sense of dissatisfaction with the old “gods” of Greece and Rome.
“In the fullness of the time God sent forth His Son” (Galatians 4:4). What a momentous sentence!
There was nothing accidental about the coming of Jesus. The fact had been announced in the Garden of Eden, on the very day of Man's fall from God's grace. All the events of the Old Testament anticipated Him. The sacrifices prefigured His sacrifice. The prophecies pointed towards Him. And even cautious typology points to “Christ in all the Scriptures, beginning at Moses and all the prophets” (Luke 24:27).
What a wonder that God should send forth His only begotten Son to redeem fallen mankind. It was not what we deserved. It was “while we were dead in trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1) that Christ died for us, the godly for the ungodly, the righteous for the unrighteous, the altogether lovely One for the unlovely and unlovable (see Romans 5:6-8).
Jesus, the eternal Son of God, was born of a woman. He was born into the family of rebellious mankind. He became what He was not in order that we might become what He is, for by a perfect transference our sins are laid upon Him whilst we are clothed with His righteousness. He becomes the Son of man so that we might become children of God (John 1:12).
Jesus was born under the law. As the son of a Jewish mother, He was circumcised on the eighth day in accordance with the law. He kept the law perfectly, as no man has ever been able to do. He took upon Himself the guilt of our sin, and willingly submitted to the penalty of the law on our behalf. He set us free from the law and its condemnation, so that we may legally enter into the privileges of sons (Galatians 4:5; Galatians 4:7).
It is a great privilege to be able to call God our Father. And we can, because God sent forth not only His Son, but His Spirit also, whereby we cry, "Abba, Father" (Galatians 4:6).
D). SIMEON, ANNA AND JESUS.
Luke 2:22-40.
I. THE SONG OF SIMEON.
Luke 2:22-35.
Nearly six weeks after the birth of Jesus Mary and Joseph went up to the Temple in Jerusalem, with baby Jesus, to fulfil the rite of purification. Jesus' parents were obedient to this tenet of the law, which involved both the child and His mother (Luke 2:22; cf. Leviticus 12:2-4).
The Old Testament ceremony dated back to the Exodus, and the sanctification of the first-born to God (cf. Exodus 13:2). The LORD does not require human sacrifice, but dedication. It is remarkable that even as a baby all things were being done in relation to Jesus in such a way as to fulfil the law of God (Luke 2:23; cf. Matthew 3:15).
No lamb was available to sacrifice for the Lamb of God. We are not told why. Mary offered the minimum requirement of the law (Luke 2:24; cf. Leviticus 12:8).
There was a man in the Temple, named Simeon. Perhaps he lived there, like Anna the prophetess. Or perhaps he was a priest, or some other member of the ecclesiastical staff. Simeon was a godly man, clothed in God's righteousness, and committed to the LORD in all that he did. Simeon was longing for God's intervention in the life of His chosen nation, and had received the gift of the Holy Ghost ahead of time (Luke 2:25).
Furthermore, by the Holy Ghost, Simeon had been given some insight into the timing of God's deliverance. This was not a calculation based upon the seventy weeks of Daniel. Nor was it an expectation that had been birthed with the loosening of Zacharias' tongue upon the birth of John the Baptist. This was a personal word from the LORD to himself. Simeon would not taste death until he had seen, with his own eyes, the Lord's Christ. The question is not whether God still speaks today, but rather whether we are listening (Luke 2:26)!
It was by the Spirit that Simeon came into the Temple, just at the exact time that the parents of Jesus brought Him in. This is God's perfect timing, yet also contingent upon the obedience of both parties. The parents were doing what the law required, and Simeon was moving where and when the Spirit directed (Luke 2:27).
Simeon took the baby Jesus in his arms. What a privilege! What wonderful holy audacity! Yet his motives were true: he blessed God, and spoke forth words which were inspired by the Holy Spirit (Luke 2:28; cf. 2 Peter 1:21).
In effect, Simeon asked the Lord to dismiss him now. With this child, that which God had promised had surely been fulfilled, and Simeon was ready to be received up into glory. It is a good benediction, “Let us depart in peace,” but it can only be “in the name of the Lord.” There is no peace otherwise. Simeon was able to claim a specific promise to himself: “according to thy word” (Luke 2:29).
Simeon held, and beheld, the baby in his arms. For one awesome moment Simeon saw the world's holistic salvation in the Person of that infant (Luke 2:30).
This is a salvation prepared beforehand by God, to be displayed before all people (Luke 2:31; cf. Isaiah 52:10).
This is the light to lighten the Gentiles (cf. Isaiah 42:6; Isaiah 49:6), which would one day even be celebrated in “Galilee of the Gentiles” (cf. Matthew 4:15-16). This is the glory, the Shekinah no less, of the people of Israel (Luke 2:32; cf. Isaiah 46:13).
Of course, Joseph and his wife marvelled at what was being said about Jesus. The incarnation, and all the implications of God becoming man on our behalf should never cease to amaze us (Luke 2:33).
Simeon had one last thing to say, and he was done. It was a blessing, but also a warning. Jesus Christ would be the cause of the fall and the rising again of many (Luke 2:34)! The fall would be like the collapse of a house, a ruin. So Jesus could say to Jerusalem, “Your house is left unto you desolate” (cf. Matthew 23:38). The “rising again” is literally a resurrection. “For if the casting away of Israel is the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be but life from the dead?” (cf. Romans 11:15). Despite the fact that He is the light of the Gentiles and the glory of His people Israel, Jesus was God's sign that would be spoken against, the stone which the builders rejected, foolishness to the world, a stumbling block to Israel. Sometimes the Lord must take us down a peg or two in order to restore us to where we should be (Luke 2:34).
Mary was also warned of what pains awaited her as the mother of our Lord. She would see Him die a dreadful death that He does not deserve - except on our account. The Cross is the catalyst whereby all shall ultimately be judged (Luke 2:35).
II. THE THANKSGIVING AND TESTIMONY OF ANNA.
Luke 2:36-40.
Anna was a prophetess of great age, who departed not from the temple, and served God with fasting and prayers both night and day (Luke 2:36-37). It is interesting that Luke calls her a "prophetess," since we have long been taught that there was no prophecy in Israel for over four hundred years, from Malachi to John the Baptist. Perhaps this is another part of the miracle which we call 'Christmas.'
This devout woman probably witnessed the presentation of the baby Jesus, and added her own thanksgiving to the message of Simeon. Furthermore, she "spoke of Him to all those who looked for redemption in Israel" (Luke 2:38). Anna shared about Jesus, bringing hope to the hopeful.
We are told nothing about what Anna said, but her testimony, like that of John the Baptist (cf. John 3:30), pointed away from herself to Jesus. Thus there were two witnesses, one a man and one a woman, to the fulfilment of the prophecy: ‘the Messenger of the Covenant in whom you delight will suddenly come to His temple’ (cf. Malachi 3:1).
It is noticeable that Joseph and Mary were devout, too. They did not go home until they had "performed all things according to the law of the Lord" (Luke 2:39). This set the pattern for Jesus' life and upbringing until, at last, He presented Himself as an adult for the baptism of John (cf. Matthew 3:15).
The passage ends with Jesus growing, and becoming strong in spirit, "filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon Him" (Luke 2:40; cf. 1 Samuel 2:26; Luke 2:52).
Jesus is as truly man as He is truly God!
