Christmas is The Christ
Text: Luke 2:25-35
Introduction: Christmas has a lot to do with waiting and waiting seems to be hard work for most of us. True, on rare occasions, you do find people who are happy to wait. I’m reminded of the condemned man who, while awaiting his execution in the dead of winter, was asked what he wanted for his last meal. He said, "All I want is a big juicy watermelon." The warden complained, "Ah, come on...it’s December! How am I going to get you a watermelon?" "Don’t worry about it warden," said the condemned man. "I’m willing to wait ’til next year." For most of us, however, waiting is an ordeal rather than a good deal. Just ask our children if they enjoyed waiting for the opportunity to open their presents this morning. The truth is that they are no different from us and we all WANT WHAT WE WANT WHEN WE WANT IT! And yet one of the predominant themes of Christmas is delayed gratification. Think about it.
• The nation of Israel had to wait thousands of years for the Messiah to come and deliver them.
• Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist, for failing to believe the words of God, had to wait nine months to speak again.
• Joseph and Mary had to wait at least as long for the birth of their son after the announcement from the angel Gabriel.
• And the magi waited 18-24 months before they were finally able to see Him. Yes, indeed, Christmas has a lot do with waiting!
Christian writer and theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer, imprisoned by Hitler during WWII, wrote to his fiancée on one lesson learned from life in prison: "A prison cell, in which one waits, hopes, does various unessential things and is completely dependent on the fact that the door of freedom has to be opened from the outside, is not a bad picture of Advent."
In the text we read this morning, we learn that Simeon had been looking for the appearance of the Lord’s Christ for a long time. Now to get a sense of what he was waiting for, you need to know a little bit more about the term "Christ." Translated in the Old Testament as "Messiah," it is not so much a name (although it is used that way at times -- see Acts 9:34) as it is a title expressing the work that Jesus came to accomplish. The word means "anointed."
• In the Greek translation of the Old Testament it was used to refer to King Saul by David (See 2 Samuel 1:14) who, in fact, was the Lord’s anointed to lead Israel (See 1 Samuel 10:1). Notice that Saul was anointed with oil which is symbolic of the Holy Spirit. Later he prophesied in the Spirit as evidence that the hand of God was upon him (See 1 Samuel 10:10).
• "The Christ" or "the Lord’s Anointed" was a title Jesus accepted for Himself as well (See Matthew 16:13-17; John 4:25-26). As confirmation that He was the Lord’s anointed, the Father gave Him the Spirit without measure (See John 3:34). Christ had been set apart to God even before He had been conceived to accomplish His Father’s purposes (See Matthew 1:22-23). He was duty-bound to offer Himself in payment for our sin (See Matthew 16:21 - Note the use of the word "must"). This was the One for whom Simeon had patiently waited...the very hope of Israel. In what ways would He bring hope to the world? Let’s look at the text.
Background: Following the birth of Christ, Joseph and Mary went to the temple to observe two important ceremonies in obedience to the Word of God: the presentation of the child (See Numbers 18:15-16) and the purification of the mother (See Leviticus 12:1-4, 6-7). While they are there they ran into Simeon. His name means "one who hears and obeys." Simeon was called a "righteous and devout man." The first word indicates that he behaved well towards people. The second means that he took his religious duties seriously. He had been waiting patiently for the opportunity to see the Lord’s Christ before he died because God the Holy Spirit had revealed to him that he would be given this privilege. After years of waiting, at last the moment came and hope arrived in the form of a baby. Simeon, in his sheer exuberance offered up a prayer of thanksgiving to God and a prophecy concerning the child and his mother. In so doing, he directed our attention to three main ideas.
I. To see Christ is to see God’s promises fulfilled. (See Luke 2:29-31). God is the ultimate promise keeper. He always does what He says. As a matter of fact, it is impossible for God to make a promise and not fulfill it for that would constitute lying (See 1 Samuel 15:29). So here in this passage, Simeon acknowledges that God has in fact kept His word.
A. First To Simeon. It had previously been revealed to Simeon by God that he would not die until He had seen the Lord’s Christ (2:26). Two things are assumed, but never stated in these verses: (1) that Simeon was an old man who was drawing every closer to death. (2) that Simeon had been waiting a long time for this moment. Once he had seen the fulfillment of the promise, he was ready to go. The language is that of a slave that is experiencing freedom for the first time. By finally setting his eyes on the Christ, Simeon was released from his faithful service and the burden he bore for many years waiting for His arrival.
B. Then To Mankind (See Genesis 3:15). Immediately after the fall of man, God promised to destroy the works of the Devil through the seed of the woman. The salvation that was promised long ago arrived, we are told by Simeon, in full view of all people (See Luke 3:6). In other words, this didn’t happen in a vacuum, but in plain sight of all who were willing to see the birth of Christ for what it was, the fulfillment of God’s promise to redeem mankind. Application: A promise, according to Random House Dictionary, is a declaration that something specified will or will not happen. People make promises all the time, but often they amount to empty words. Illustration: After an evening out, some parents came home to the children they had left in the care of a babysitter and were pleased to find the kids fast asleep. As the babysitter was about to walk out the door, she said, "By the way, I promised Tommy that if he would stay in bed, you would buy him a pony in the morning. Good night!" I’m certain there was at least one disappointed child in that home the next morning. Application: WE MUST REMEMBER, HOWEVER, THAT WHEN GOD MAKES A PROMISE HE KEEPS IT! This was true when God promised Abraham that through Him all the peoples of the earth would be blessed (See Genesis 12:3); This was true when God promised David that one of his descendants would sit on the throne forever (See 2 Samuel 7:12-13); This was true when God promised through Isaiah that Israel would be given a sign that that their deliverance had arrived (See Isaiah 7:14). God always keeps His promises. Simeon waited patiently for God’s word to come true and then praised Him for it.
II. To see Christ is to see God’s salvation presented (See Luke 2:30-32). Luke informs us that Simeon was waiting for the consolation of Israel. The word means "comfort by way of encouragement (For an example see Acts 9:31)." What was it that brought such comfort and encouragement so that he could say, "Now dismiss your servant in peace?" It was the message that salvation had come in Jesus. Simeon was quick to recognize that the baby boy being presented in the temple by his parents was no ordinary child. He was the Christ of God who had come as "a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel. Simeon was quick to see that Jesus came for everyone. There had never been a time when Christ was more needed than when, in God’s providential timing, He came 2,000 years ago (See Matthew 9:35-36). The great comfort of the Gospel is that in our present distress over the consequences of sin, Christ has come to rescue us, all of us, Jews and Gentiles alike! Illustration: The other night I woke up at about 4:45 AM to hear my 11 year old son, Jordan, yelling, "Dad, dad." As I gradually came to my senses, I made my way down the hall to the bathroom. Inside I could hear him and I knew without opening the door that he had the flu. It quickly became one of those scenes that most parents dread as his body rejected every ounce of food he had eaten in the last 12 hours. Everything inside of me wanted to tiptoe back to my room, quietly get back into bed and pray that Laurie would hear him calling out. But I just couldn’t do it. He was sick and he needed comfort. So I walked into the bathroom and began to take care of him the best I could, offering encouragement and cleaning up as I went. Why? Because to do otherwise would have been very unloving and unfatherlike. Application: In our distress our heavenly father has come to our rescue through His son. He has literally saved the day!
III. To see Christ is to see God’s offer rejected (See Luke 2:33-35). Simeon transitions from a prayer of blessing to a prophetic message to Mary. In so doing, he acknowledges that while God’s mighty work of salvation exalts some, it humbles others (See 1:34-35). Christ’s story will be one of conflict. His ultimate sacrifice, though effective for canceling the debt of sin, will become a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles (See 1 Corinthians 1:23). It will be by their response to God’s offer in His son that the true motives of their hearts will be laid bare for all to see. This conflict will reach even as far as the experience of Mary, herself. Application: The conflict incited by God’s offer of salvation in Christ has never really ended. To this day, we find people who have accepted it and others who have rejected it. May I remind you this morning that the only sin for which a person will be sent to Hell is the rejection of Christ, God’s solution for man’s sin? Please don’t think yourself so smart that you would miss the wonderful simplicity of the Gospel and reject God’s offer.
Conclusion: In 1996 Oklahoma State University’s quarterback was President Lyndon Johnson’s nephew, Randy Johnson. He proved to be a mediocre quarterback for a mediocre team. But mediocre or not, he and his teammates could be lifted to legendary greatness if they managed to beat their arch rival, the University of Oklahoma, in the season-ending game. In that final game of 1996 Oklahoma State trailed late by six points. Little hope remained that they would score with almost 80 yards between them and their goal line, with only minutes left on the clock, and in a steady downpour of rain. But their mud-covered suits didn’t look half as pitiful as the battered, despairing faces of the State players. As a gesture of goodwill, the Oklahoma State coach put in all the seniors for the last play of the game, and told Randy to call whatever play he wanted. The team huddled, and to the surprise of his teammates, Randy called play 13—a trick play they’d never used, for the good reason that it had never worked in practice. Well, the impossible happened! Play 13 worked! Oklahoma State scored! Randy Johnson’s team won the game by one point! The fans went wild! As they carried Randy, the hero of the game, off the field, his coach called out to him, “Why in the world did you ever call play 13?” “Well, we were in the huddle,” Randy answered, “and I looked over and saw old Harry with tears running down his cheeks. It was his last college game and we were losing. And I saw that big 8 on his chest. Then I look over and saw Ralph. And tears were running down his cheeks, too. And I saw that big 7 on his jersey. So in honor of those two heartbroken seniors, I added eight and seven together and called play 13!” “But Randy,” the coach shouted back. “Eight and seven don’t add up to 13!” Randy reflected for a moment and answered back, “You’re right, coach! And if I’d been as smart as you are, we would have lost the game!” UNFORTUNATELY THERE A LOT OF PEOPLE TODAY WHO ARE TOO SMART FOR THEIR OWN GOOD. THEY SIMPLY CAN’T GRASP THE SIMPLE TRUTH THAT GOD HAS PROVIDED SALVATION FOR US IN CHRIST.THE WORST PART IS THAT THEY ARE IN DANGER OF LOSING THE MOST IMPORTANT GAME.
