Children often dream about things they would like to do in the future. I suspect traveling in space as an astronaut, playing football in the NFL, making the Olympic figure skating team, or driving a $100,000 sports car are some of the more popular ones. When I was growing up, I dreamed of being the first baseman for the Baltimore Orioles and of being a United States Senator from Wisconsin. I didn't want to be both at the same time, but those were a couple of my dreams. Now, unless some things change rather significantly in my life, neither is likely to come true. Oftentimes, our childhood dreams fade away as we get older. But this morning we are going to talk about Simeon, a man whose dream did come true and when it did, it was even more wonderful than he ever imagined. Today it is my hope that Simeon's dream would also come true in each of our lives and bring us more joy and hope than we have ever imagined. Let's pray that God would make that happen today.
Let's look at the story of Simeon. Our text today is Luke 2:21-35. The first twenty verses of this chapter are very familiar to most folks. There, Luke tells about the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem, the angels' announcement to the shepherds of that birth, and the visit those guys make to see the Baby Jesus. In Verse 21, Luke tells us that eight days after the Baby was born, He was circumcised and given the name "Jesus," just as the angel had said. Then in Verse 22, Luke apparently fast forwards to forty days later, when Mary and Joseph go to the temple. They make the five-mile journey from Bethlehem to Jerusalem with Jesus, to go through two ceremonies. The first was Mary's purification rite following childbirth, which is described in the Old Testament in Leviticus 12. There, a sacrifice was to be made. Often a lamb was sacrificed, but if the individual could not afford a sheep, two doves or pigeons could be offered instead. Apparently because they didn't have much money, Mary and Joseph bring two birds. The second reason for coming to the temple was to consecrate, dedicate, their firstborn son to God, just as had been done in Exodus 13, and much like we do in our church today when we dedicate a baby to the Lord.
While Mary, Joseph and Jesus are at the temple, Simeon's dream comes true. He sees the Messiah. We don't know a lot about Simeon. He is not mentioned anywhere else in Scripture, but we know that Luke 2:25b He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. Simeon's dream is that someday he will meet the One whom God sends to be Savior of Israel. This is not something which he dreamed up in his own mind. It doesn't say exactly how, but 2:26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord's Christ. The people of Israel had waited hundreds of years for the Messiah to come. God promised Simeon that he would see the Christ in his lifetime. And when Simeon sees the Baby that Joseph and Mary have brought to the temple, he knows it's not just any infant. Now, Jesus did not have a halo above His head, He looked just like any other six-week-old boy. But God revealed to Simeon that this was the Messiah. And so, 2:28-32 Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying: "Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you now dismiss your servant in peace. 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." When Mary and Joseph hear these words, they 2:33b ...marveled at what was said about him. Mary and Joseph know there is something very special about their son. The miraculous virgin conception, and the visits of the angels had not been forgotten. But, it's still sinking in who this Jesus really is.
Then Simeon speaks words to Mary. He reveals to her in more detail what Jesus' role as the Messiah will include. Simeon has a rare, God-given insight. He tells Mary that Jesus will not receive a hero's welcome as the Messiah. Most Jews expected the Messiah to be a political savior, to rescue them from Roman occupation. If Jesus would have done that, He probably would have been crowned king of Israel and had the highest popularity rating ever. But, Simeon knows this will not be the case, Jesus will be a very controversial, divisive Messiah. He will raise up those who trust Him, but be a stumbling block to those who oppose Him.
If there is a historical parallel, I suppose it might be Washington and Lincoln. George Washington, the Father of our country, was immensely popular and universally respected. He was twice unanimously elected president. Abraham Lincoln, on the other hand, the man who saved the Republic, was very controversial. He was hated by many, both in the North and the South. He narrowly won two presidential elections. He was ridiculed by the press and even by members of his own cabinet, and finally he was assassinated. Jesus the Messiah would be much more like Lincoln than Washington. Many would love Him, but many others would hate Him. And, yes, eventually His opponents would kill Him. In fact, 35b "And a sword will pierce your own soul too.", which means both Joseph and Mary will suffer. These are the first words in the New Testament which point to the crucifixion, Jesus dying on the cross, as His mother would watch the suffering Messiah.
But, despite these dark days ahead, what is important to Simeon is that this Baby is indeed the Messiah. God kept His promise! This Child has come to save His people from their sins. For Simeon, this surely is good news of great joy. He could not imagine any privilege greater than seeing the Messiah that God had sent. The dream the Lord had given him had come true.
One reason Luke tells us this story is to show us the value of knowing Jesus the Messiah. For Simeon, seeing Jesus is the ultimate experience. Let's go back to Verse 29 "Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you now dismiss your servant in peace." Friends, this is one time when the New International Version missed the mark. They have changed the word order in Greek to make a clear sentence in English, but by doing so they dilute the force of Simeon's words. More literally Simeon says, "Now, Lord, dismiss or release your servant in peace according to Your Word." Now, Lord, dismiss Your servant. What is Simeon saying? Remember, God had promised that during his lifetime he would witness the coming of the Messiah. Now that has happened. Simeon says, "My life is complete, fulfilled. I have experienced everything I desire. I've seen Jesus the Messiah, I have held Him in my arms. Lord, if my time has come, I am perfectly content to die right now." It is often assumed that Simeon was a very old and frail man, with one foot in the grave. But Luke doesn't tell us Simeon's age or physical condition. In the following verse he says Anna, the prophetess, was a very old woman, but Simeon may have been in great health, with lots of years left. Yet, when he has seen Jesus, he wants nothing more.
Maybe you have known someone who was so discouraged that life didn't seem worth living anymore. That person felt so empty he/she didn't want to go on living. Or maybe the death of someone close to you, a broken relationship, or some other tragedy has caused you, yourself, to pray, "Lord, let me die, take me home. Life is more than I can handle." Friends, those are not fun times. But, note that Simeon's attitude is totally opposite. He is ready to die, not because his life is so empty, but because it is so full. He is so full of joy, so content. He knows that anything else which will ever happen to him will not match the ultimate experience he's just had of holding the Messiah in his arms.
In some ways, Simeon's words remind me of a speech made by Martin Luther King where he said, "Like any man, I would like to live, but it really doesn't matter anymore because I've been to the mountain top, and I've seen the promised land." King was using an analogy of Moses having the privilege to view the Promised Land before his death. And, indeed, Simeon has seen God keep His promise.
But, when I think of Simeon, the biblical parallel that comes to my mind is not Moses, but a story that Jesus Himself would tell thirty years later. It is called the parable of "The Pearl of Great Price." I believe this story is so important for Christians today. It is found in Matthew 13:45,46 "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it." The merchant finds a pearl which is so spectacular that he realizes nothing else really matters as long as he has the pearl and thus, he sells everything he has to obtain it. Now, in doing that, he has obtained a real bargain. He may have paid a million dollars for it, but it was greatly undervalued since it is worth billions. When a merchant has the pearl, he has no desire for anything else. In the same way, when Simeon sees with his own eyes and holds in his arms the Messiah, he knows that this is the pearl of great price. Nothing else really matters anymore because he knows the Messiah, the Savior, has come.
A few years ago there was a beer commercial which said, "When you've said Budweiser, you've said it all." What an absolutely ridiculous message. Could someone actually think that drinking a can of beer is the ultimate experience in life? Well, I guess there are people who probably do say that, but come on, I really don't think they can be that shallow. But, Simeon could say, truthfully say, "When you've said Jesus the Messiah, you've said it all." Knowing Jesus is the ultimate experience of life. Nothing in the world comes even close to matching that. He is worth more than every pearl and gem on the planet.
So, almost 2000 years have passed since Simeon saw Jesus in the temple. What does this story have to say to us today? Two very important lessons. #1) Do not be content to go through life without Jesus Christ. Knowing Jesus is more important than anything we can imagine, yet it is a dream within our grasp. All we need to do is turn to Jesus and trust in Him as our Lord and Savior. In a very real way, Simeon's dream can come true in each of our lives. No, we may not be able to hold Jesus in our arms or see Him with our own eyes during this lifetime, but each of us can know the Messiah personally. We can have a relationship with Jesus as our Friend, our Brother, our Savior, our Lord and King. All we need to do is receive the gift of salvation that God so graciously offers.
Friends, I don't know what your dream in life has been. Maybe you have wanted to make a lot of money, or maybe to be successful in your career. Some of you have this dream house, or this cabin on the lake that you are saving up money to build some day. Others maybe just want to raise a family of which you can be proud. Some of you young folks dream of doing well in sports and playing on a champion team. Others work hard at school because they dream of going to college and becoming Nobel Prize-winning physicists. Now there is nothing wrong with any of these dreams. Nothing wrong as long as they don't prevent us from experiencing the great joy in life that comes from knowing Jesus Christ. Nothing is more important than that. Friends, it is foolish to be so busy with other goals and dreams that we don't take time to meet Jesus. Because, even if we fulfill every other dream we have, without Jesus Christ, it will mean absolutely nothing.
This week Tom Burke, a defensive end for the Wisconsin Badgers, was voted first team All-American. That is a high honor in college football. Tom is from Poplar, Wisconsin, a little town outside of Superior. He's come a long way for a young man. He didn't grow up in an All-American family situation, but he was a big strong kid who liked to play football. When he was in high school, his goal was to lead his team to the state playoffs, and he did just that, as well as winning all sorts of individual awards. Then his goal was to make the Badgers football team and become a starter, and he did that. In fact, last year, as a junior, he was voted the top defensive player on the team. This year his goal was to be an All-American and to sack the opposing teams' quarterbacks twenty times over the season. When he told people about that, they laughed. Yet, this year he recorded 21 sacks, setting a Big 10 record, was defensive player of the year for the whole league, and first team All-American. I'm sure now one of his dreams is to be drafted and play in the NFL. He has a good chance to see that dream come true.
But, I hope Tom has his dream in perspective. I have not talked with him for a number of years, but Tom knows about Jesus Christ. While he was in junior high and senior high school, Tom was involved in the youth group at Lakeside Baptist, the church I pastored before coming here. I pray that Tom understands that reaching his goals means nothing without Jesus Christ. If he is not a believer in Christ, I pray he will never be content with just being a great football player. As Randall Cunningham, Deon Sanders and many others can testify, being a great football player without Jesus Christ is a very empty life. No one should ever be content without Jesus. And, Friends, if you don't know Him as Lord and Savior, I urge you to turn to Him today. If you are not sure what that means, please talk with me after the service.
The second lesson is that if we do know Christ, we should be content. Perhaps the only thing more foolish than being content without Christ, is to know Jesus the Messiah and not be content. In other words, it makes no sense to be a Christian, but think that true fulfillment and joy are found elsewhere. It would be like an Olympic skier who spends his time skiing in the Swiss Alps and Colorado Rockies, saying, "I'm going to skip the Winter Olympics next year so I can spend that week in northern Minnesota at Giants Ridge." Now there is nothing wrong with Giants Ridge, it is a wonderful ski place, but for a skier to choose that over the Olympics would be ridiculous. But no more ridiculous than for someone who knows Jesus Christ to decide what he really needs, what will really make him happy, is not his relationship with Jesus, but something else. Maybe more money, more things, more physical pleasure, or more excitement in life, something else besides Jesus.
Brothers and Sisters, we need to realize that nothing in life is more important, nothing is more fulfilling, nothing in life can bring us greater joy, than our relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Now, that doesn't mean other things in life don't matter. God has given us responsibilities at home, work, and school, and He wants us to devote ourselves to fulfill those. He wants us to be involved in the lives of our family and friends. He wants us to attend our grandchildren's concerts and basketball games. A true follower of Jesus does much more than sit around and read the Bible, pray, and sing hymns. But, we must always remember that nothing, nothing, is more important than our relationship with Jesus Christ. Because of that, we do spend time cultivating that relationship by studying God's Word, praying, and worshiping Him. Yes, there are many other things in life we desire and enjoy, and that is fine. But, we need to realize that if all we had was Jesus Christ, that would be enough. With Jesus, our life is complete and we can be content.
Friends, the question this morning is: Are we finding joy in the great gift God has given? Do we understand Christmas as well as Simeon did? Do we realize that Jesus' coming means more than anything else in our lives? The best way to celebrate Christmas 1998 is to embrace Jesus as Messiah, to give thanks to God for what He has done, and to find our joy in the greatest gift that God has given, our Lord Jesus Christ. I hope during the next week that will be the focus of your Christmas celebration.
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Go to www.life.1stbaptist.org/sermons.htm for Pastor Dan's full text Bible based sermon site
