Luke 2:25- 40 – 4 Questions from Simeon …
I want to ask everyone here how patient they are. Come on does anyone here like waiting for things? If you were to put yourself on a scale from 1 to 10 with 1 being so impatient that you don’t even know what the word patience means to 10 not having a care in the world and not even owning a watch, where would you be? Take a Poll.
Three women who arrived at the Pearly Gates at the same time. St. Peter came along but said he had some pressing business and would they please wait. He was gone for a long time, but finally he came back and called one of the women in and asked her if she minded waiting.
"No," she said, "I’ve looked forward to this for so long. I love God and can’t wait to meet Jesus. I don’t mind at all."
St. Peter then said, "Well I have one more question. How do you spell `God?’"
She said, "Capital-G-o-d."
St. Peter said, "Welcome, Go right on in."
He went out and got one of the other women, told her to come on inside, and said, "Did you mind waiting?"
She said, "Oh, no. I have been a Christian for fifty years, and I’ll spend eternity here. I didn’t mind at all."
So St. Peter said, "Just one more thing. How do you spell `God?’"
She said, "g-o-d. No, I mean capital-G."
St. Peter said that was good and sent her on in to Heaven.
He went back out and invited the third woman in and asked her if she minded waiting.
"Yes, I did," she said huffily. "I’ve had to stand in line all my life—at the supermarket, when I went to school, when I registered my children for school, when I went to the movies--everywhere--and I resent having to wait
in line for Heaven!"
St. Peter said, "Well that’s all right for you to feel that way. It won’t be held against you, but there is just one more question you need to answer before I let you into heaven. How do you spell `Czechoslovakia?’"
For some people, waiting is almost akin to being tortured by having your nails pulled out. It is painful. Tonight, I want to talk about 2 people who waited. Their names were Simeon and Anna and they were waiters. We don’t actually know much about them - we know virtually nothing about Simeon – but we know they were playing the waiting game. What were they waiting for? For the coming of the Messiah and they had waited a long time – patiently. So turn in your bibles to Luke 2:25-40. Tonight, I want to focus particularly on Simeon and I want us to ask ourselves 4 questions tonight about our view of Jesus and his impact he has on our lives.
Before I read this passage, let’s set the scene a little. Last week, I talked about 3 rituals that occurred at the birth of a first born male child. Well events we’ll read about soon occurred 40 days after Jesus was born as soon as Mary was ritually clean. Mary & Joseph entered the temple to pay the 5 sheckels of Silver to Redeem the Firstborn back from God. If you want to know what that is all about, get the tape from last week. As Mary & Joseph enter the temple, they meet 2 people. Let’s read about them.
Read & Pray
Question 1: Are you willing to wait for God’s timing?
Both Simeon and Anna were waiters. Though we don’t know how old Simeon was, we are told that God had told him that he wouldn’t die before seeing the Messiah. He may have been quite elderly and just waiting for this day, we don’t know. But what we do know, is that he waited patiently.
Let’s face it, most of us find waiting difficult. In our consumer orientated world, we are programmed to expect instant service, but this isn’t how God works.
So often we fight against the process of waiting. It is not natural to us – but that doesn’t mean it is not good. Often waiting can be painful also. I think of both my Grandfathers. Both godly men and widowers and both would have wanted to just die and go to be with their Lord quickly. One had a stroke and was in a coma on ventilators for almost 5 months. It was painful for him and in his subconscious state, he kept pulling out the nasal-gastric tubes that were keeping him alive. He had to wait though – and it was painful. My other grandfather passed out across a bar heater getting out of the shower and received horrible burns across his legs and groin. He lingered in pain in hospital for sometime, before passing away. Waiting is often painful for those amongst it – it is definitely not easy.
Waiting often also doesn’t make sense. I read of a missionary who did not receive her monthly support check. She was seriously ill and because she had no money she had to live on oatmeal and canned milk. She received her check thirty days later – Why God? Why did she had to wait? Waiting often doesn’t make sense to us, but then again, we don’t know the big picture. This missionary who was forced to wait, mentioned this incident to a doctor friend while on furlough. He asked the nature of her illness. She described the intestinal digestive trouble she had been having and the doctor said, "If your check had arrived on time and you had been eating your normal diet you would probably now be dead, because the best treatment for your illness was a thirty-day oatmeal diet."
If we change our perspective a bit, we can begin to see waiting as a gift from God instead of a burden. Jeremiah wrote, "It is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord" (Lam. 3:26). Waiting is not only necessary; it’s good. Those who wait for God experience His salvation in times of trouble (Is. 33:2). Waiting on God renews our strength so that we can "soar on wings like eagles" (Is. 40:31). Obedient waiting is the pathway to inheriting God’s blessings (Ps. 37:34). Waiting is intimately linked with answered prayer (Ps. 38:15, Mic. 7:7).
It may be difficult to wait on the Lord, but it is worse to wish you had. I don’t know what you are waiting for today - it may be frustrating, painful, making no sense at all. But are you prepared to trust that the God who created this universe knows what He’s doing? Are you prepared to wait for the good things that God has for you? Simeon was
Question 2: Who controls your life?
A bit of a confronting question, but an incredibly important one. Really there is only 2 options here. You either take control of your own destiny or you let God take the reins. Lets see who controlled Simeon. We read a few things about Simeon …
O He was righteous and devout (vs25). A righteous man was one who behaved well towards other people. A devout man fulfilled all his religious duties. Simeon was both – he was a good man and deeply religious, but this does not help us figure out who controlled his life. You see, you can be very religious, and follow all the rituals of the church, yet still leave God out of the picture completely. Jesus was often incredibly critical of the Pharasees for doing just this. In Mt 23:27&28 he writes “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness. We can pretend to be controlled by God, but be doing what we want on the inside.
o The answer to who controlled Simeon is found later in this verse. We read that the Holy Spirit was on him. And in vs 26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. 27 Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. Simeon was indwelt by the Holy Spirit, he was communicating with the Holy Spirit and he was responding to the Holy Spirit’s instructions. Remember again that this is before Pentecost and so it was fairly rare for the Holy Spirit to dwell with people. Simeon was incredibly blessed because he had the Holy Spirit and this was who it seems controlled him.
I want to ask you the question tonight - Who is controlling your life? Remember that there are only 2 choices – it is either you on the throne, or it is God. Are you filled with the Holy Spirit like Simeon? Are you listening to the Holy Spirit like Simeon, Are you obeying the Holy Spirit’s promptings like Simeon.
Or are you in control of your life. Make no mistake, you can be a good person, appearing to be very religious like the Pharisees, but still motivated by your own sinful desires. You can even be a Christian, but refuse to give up the control of your life to God. Sometimes it is incredibly difficult to trust God isn’t it. I struggle particularly in the area of money. I know up here that God will never let me starve and that he has the power to provide for my every need, but in my heart, I find it very difficult to give up the control of my savings and investments to him. I want to keep a close watch on them and make sure they are growing for the future. Do you have an area in your life that you struggle to give up control of? If you do, we need to be daily handing them over to God - praying that he will take control of it and ask him for his guidance.
We need to be like Simeon and allow God complete control of our lives, because if we don’t we risk missing all the good things that God has in store for us. What would Simeon have missed if he hadn’t listened to the Holy Spirit’s prompting? … If he hadn’t had followed the Holy Spirit’s prompting that day, he would have missed that God arranged appointment in the temple. He would have missed that thing that God had promised him – a chance to see the Saviour of the world in the flesh. I wonder what we are potentially missing out on because we are not letting God control our lives?
Question 3: Have you seen the light?
We read in vs 25 that Simeon was waiting for the consolation of Israel. To console someone is to comfort them. Simeon recognized that Israel was going through a tough time. They were ruled by the Romans and wanted freedom. Simeon was waiting for a Messiah to come and save them and comfort them. Simeon had been promised that he wouldn’t die until he saw this Messiah in the flesh.
Can you picture Simeon in the temple that day – knowing that the Holy Spirit had told him to be there. Why? Could it be that this was the day that the Messiah would appear? What would he look like? Would he be a grown man – ready for battle? Would be an elder statesman – able to command the respect of all of Israel? Can you imagine him sitting waiting – looking expectantly at every face coming into the temple gates. He saw the young couple as they came to the Temple. His eyes followed them. Certainly this couldn’t be them - this poor couple bringing a newborn for presentation to the Lord – No, not the Messiah. But as they approached, Simeon felt himself moving toward them.
Imagine the surprise of Mary and Joseph as this old stranger approached, looking, not at them, but at the child Mary held in her arms. His face seemed to almost glow as he looked at the face of their child. He gently reached for and then cradled the baby in his arms. God had opened his eyes and Simeon saw before him, not the 40-day-old child, but the 33 year old man hanging from a cross. He knew that he held in his old, tired arms, the Savior of the world – listen to his words (vs 29) …
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.”
This is a fascinating statement because in this statement Simeon recognized what most Jews missed. Jesus was the Savior of the World. He was going to save all people, not just the Jews. In fact Simeon specifically mentions both the Gentiles (non-Jews) and Israel (Jews). He was going to be the light of the world, leading all men back to God.
Tonight, have you seen the Light of the World? Have you recognized that your only hope in this world is the salvation that comes from Jesus Christ? Stop chasing after money or fame. Stop consulting the horoscopes or spirit guides. Stop believing that you yourself have all the answers. Our only hope with getting right with God is through this baby who became a man and died for us. He is the light which shows us how we can be saved from God’s judgement. Have you seen him? If you have, what are you doing to help others see him?
Question 4: Will Jesus be your Ruler or your Rival?
After blessing this baby, Simeon spoke some rather amazing words to Mary and Joseph (vs34) …
“This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, 35 so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.”
Jesus’ life was not going to be an easy one. He was going to turn the social order upside down. He would cause many who regarded themselves as having made it to fall off their pedestals. In contrast, he would resurrect or lift up many whom society had downtrodden and who were regarded as worthless. As a result, many would speak against him. Many would oppose him because he would reveal their true motives and in turn their hatred of him would be revealed as they nailed him to the cross. This would not just be a painful experience for Jesus, but also for Mary. Simeon says it will be like a large sword piercing her soul.
Earlier, we said there were only two answers to the question of who controlled your life – yourself or God. If you are in control of your life, you will see Jesus as a rival to your control. If you allow God to take control of your life, he will be your ruler. 6C What is your attitude to Jesus today? Is he your ruler or your rival? If he is your rival, you are on dangerous ground, because you are going up against the creator of this world and I know who I’ve got my money on. Ruler or Rival? This is an important question that has eternal consequences, so choose carefully.
Conclusion
Through this cameo appearance, Simeon brings us 4 challenges tonight. How will you answer these questions?
1) For those who know Christ as Lord this evening. Are we willing to wait for God’s timing? Though it may be difficult, lets trust God that he knows what is best.
2) For all of us – Who controls our life? Are we willing to give over the reins in every area of life
3) For those who haven’t met Jesus yet - Have you seen the light? Do you want to know more about this savior of the World?
4) Will Jesus be your Ruler or your Rival? We can oppose Jesus in this life, but one day, we will lose. I hope for those who don’t know Jesus yet, that you don’t leave it too late and lose everything.
