Luke 2:21-40
How many here remember as a kid waiting most of the year to get what you got for Christmas? I grew up in a family that worked hard for what they had. And if I wanted something big I either worked hard for it or waited till Christmas. Growing up this way taught me a lot about how real life is. I am glad now that I didn’t get everything I wanted when I wanted it. I learned about patience and hard work. I know that I will not always have things handed to me.
One year I can remember wanting a remote control car. I wanted one of the big ones with big tire and a big remote with a trigger and a wheel on the side to make it turn, not the one with the little sticks you control with your thumbs. Now this was something that when I asked for it I knew that I was not going to get it right away. I knew the response before it was given, “maybe for Christmas.” For some of you when you heard that you got really excited because you knew you were going to get it. Now in my house “maybe for Christmas” was not a guarantee that you would get it for Christmas, it was what it was, it was a “maybe.”
Now that I am older I think I can confess something without getting in trouble for it and without running the risk of losing out next year. I was a snoopy kid. I was constantly looking through things in our house and finding things that I should not be finding. That year I found my remote control car early. I cannot remember how much early but I know it was enough time before Christmas that it drove me nuts for what seemed like forever. I remember going and looking at it every chance I got.
I knew all about this thing before I ever opened it. I couldn’t wait to open this thing on Christmas morning. I knew which present it was and I couldn’t wait to finally get to play with it.
But for some reason when I finally opened it up I was not as excited as I thought I would be. Don’t get me wrong I loved it and I played with it as much as I could that day and many days after that. The surprise and aw was ruined for me when I found it in the back a closet. It is possible that they thought I was ungrateful or something because of my reaction when I opened it.
If I were given the chance to go back and not find that gift… I would.
Now lets crack those Bible open and read from page___ which is Luke 2 starting with verse 21…
Right off the bat we see stuff in these verses that assumes we know other things. Like the “Law of Moses.” I know what you are thinking, but don’t worry I am not going to give you a list of rules and guilt you into thinking you have to follow them. I only want to point out the fact that Mary and Joseph were following the rules that have been given to them through Moses from God. The laws concerning childbirth and such are found at the beginning of Leviticus chapter 12. Leviticus is the third book in the Old Testament. It is said that no other book contains more direct words from God than Leviticus. This is the book you would want to go to if you had a question about a “Law.”
In this 12th chapter of Leviticus we can compare what Mary and Joseph are doing and see that they are doing exactly what they are supposed to do according to “The Law.” A couple weeks ago Dan told us about how an angel came to Mary and told her some very hard news. And her response did not include her winning, complaining or anything like that. She simply said, “I am the Lord’s servant, May it be to me as you have said.” And that is what we see them doing here; they are serving the Lord by following his Law. Now if we did not know anything about them before this we would see that they were doing everything they could do to follow God.
Consider the consequences of them following the Law. To start with think about little Jesus and what happened to him. I don’t know how they did it back then but I am sure they did not have some of the equipment we have today, like razor sharp equipment and antibiotics. According to the Law Mary was unclean and unable to interact with anyone for 40 days. Which includes going to church. Think about it this way if anyone had an excuse to break the rules… it was Mary! She is the mother of “God.”
We also meet a man named Simeon. Now Simeon was a good man. Verse 25 tells us that he was righteous which means, “strictly observant of morality” and devout some synonyms of devout are, “godly, holy, pietistic, pious, prayerful, religious.” Simeon was a man of the Bible. He knew what it said and what it meant. He eagerly awaited the day that God would send the Savior. Look with me at verse 26… “It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.”
Did anyone notice the way it is worded at the end? “The Lord’s Christ.” I find this interesting because most of the time we use the word Christ as a name rather than a title or description of who Jesus is. One of my Bible dictionaries says that the title Christ (or messiah) means anointed, and refers to one commissioned by God for a special task. “Commissioned by God for a special task?” I feel as if that is a bit of an understatement.
Now Simeon on the other hand said it way better. Listen and follow with me as I read Simeon’s song it starts at verse 29…
29 “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised,
you now dismiss your servant in peace.
30 For my eyes have seen your salvation,
31 which you have prepared in the sight of all people,
32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles
and for glory to your people Israel.”
At this point if Dan were up here he would be saying, “Now that what I call Christmas!”
Listen to that again and then we will unpack it…
29 “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised,
you now dismiss your servant in peace.
30 For my eyes have seen your salvation,
31 which you have prepared in the sight of all people,
32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles
and for glory to your people Israel.”
If you can all put on your imagination caps with me and picture this old man going into the temple courts just as he had done many times before. But this day felt different. This day he probably had a little flutter in his stomach that told him something special was going to happen. And then they walked in. Joseph and Mary with the little baby Jesus came walking in. They had their pair of doves or two young pigeons just as the law described and were ready to have their little one dedicated to God just as the law described. But something unexpected happened.
Simeon walked up to them and instantly he knew. He knew who this was. I can see him now. As he approaches them he is just absolutely awestruck. He starts to reach for the infant but hesitates, thinking this is the savior of the world what if I drop him. He retracts his reach but then realizes… this is what God has talked about all throughout the Bible and this is the promise that has been made to him and to pass up this opportunity would qualify him as a fool.
He again reaches for this fragile little baby and scoops him up in his arms. Almost in tears Simeon holds Jesus up in the air and announces…
29 “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised,
you now dismiss your servant in peace.
30 For my eyes have seen your salvation,
31 which you have prepared in the sight of all people,
32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles
and for glory to your people Israel.”
He goes on to bless Joseph and Mary and tell them that Jesus is going to shake things up. Hearts and minds will be opened and closed. Things will not be the same.
I think back to that Christmas when I found my gift early. I was not surprised because I knew exactly what it was going to be. But Simeon was quit surprised at the way God chose to fulfill his promise. Look at it this way, just like me Simeon found his gift but it was already wrapped up, he didn’t knew exactly what it was all he knew was that something great was going to come.
The Old Testament is full of descriptions of who Jesus was going to be but nobody really saw it the way God planned it. You see most of the Jews expected some sort of military leader that would come and turn over the Roman government, not a baby born to just your average run of the mill family. But that’s how God like to work sometimes. He chooses the most unlikely situations and does great things through them.
And that’s not even the big surprise. The big surprise is that God is surprising the world with salvation and not just the Jews. Hardly any of the religious leaders accepted that God would send a savior for the whole world, not just to the Jews.
The Jews are this special group of people throughout the Old Testament that God favored. These were Gods chosen people that he took special care of. These are the people that God rescued from Egypt, these are the people that God protected in the desert, these are the people that God promised a great things to, all they had to do was follow him.
Look at Simeon’s song with me again starting with verse 30…
30 For my eyes have seen your salvation, or rescue, deliverance, recovery, escape.
My personal favorite is escape. Through Jesus God has given us an escape route from sin. During our last series we learned about the effects sin has had on our world. It has caused lots of trouble and sadness and sorrow and pain and grief. And if that isn’t enough it causes death. But we have a way out, and it’s through the Lord’s Christ… Jesus.
31 which you have prepared in the sight of all people,
Jesus isn’t some top-secret mission to rescue a few good people. This was a mission that would reach all people in all of time.
32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles
and for glory to your people Israel.”
According to Jewish people in those days there were two kinds of people the Israelites (Jews, Hebrews, Gods chosen people) and everybody else, aka gentiles.
Simeon announces that Gods salvation or escape plan is for everyone not just a select few.
In the Dan scruffy voice “Now that’s what I call Christmas.”
So what does that mean for us. It means we have a way out. It means that even though I was a snoopy kid who later turned into much worse than that… I was the kid that your parents didn’t want you hanging out with… I was the guy that when told not to do something was the first to figure out a way to do it without getting caught (most of the time)… I was the guy that got kick out of the house because I did what my dad told me not to do (which now I am thankful for)… God gave me a way out. It means that regardless of who you are or what you have done Gods escape plan is for you.
Christmas means a lot of different things to different people. For kids it generally means getting that new toy, another Barbie, some clothes/shoes, or video game system that costs more that it should because everybody else wants one.
For some people it is a very cheerful time of year when they get to give give give.
For some people it means a big financial burden.
For some it is no different than the rest of the year.
For others (such as myself) it is a time to remember what happened such a long time ago that is still making a difference today.
There two kinds of people today just like there were two kinds of people long ago. Those that know God and have accepted Jesus as the Christ and those that haven’t.
For those of you that have… are you as excited as you should be about the gift from God, or has the excitement worn off because you feel like you know all about it has lost its specialness has worn off.
Come with me for a minute. Consider the last time you were really excited about something. We get excited about all kinds of stuff… like new stuff. When we get new stuff we tend to “brag” about it a little or a lot depending on who you are. I remember when I bought my Tahoe that I just sold… Tahoe story…
2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation:
We are brand new in Christ… that calls for excitement. And when you get excited about something you tell people about it.
Why does God make us new? It’s because he loves us right? Remember when you got your first kiss or the first time you heard those magical words from the person you are head over heels for. I LOVE YOU! Anyone that says that doesn’t get his or her heart pumping with excitement is crazy.
John 3:16.
Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
God loves us more than we can imagine. What better reason to get excited but when we were unlovable He loved us
There is an old saying that says, “2nd place is like kissing your sister.” We don’t like to lose do we? We like to win. Think about the last time your team won. For you Browns fan I know it may take a while but when they win you got excited. You jumped, you yelled, you got excited and you crammed it into everyone’s face that is not a browns face. When you win there is a thrill that fills your heart that is unmatched.
I am going to clue you guys into something. I cheated and read the end of the book as some of you may have. Guess what… WE WIN!!!
So what would happen if we got as excited about Jesus as we do about all these other things going on in our life?
For the rest of you I hope you were listening. God has done an amazing thing for us so that we don’t to do this life alone. And Momentum is a great place to find that out. Momentum is all about loving people the way God loves us. One place that Momentum has created to experience that love is Mo Groups. In a Mo Group you will find people that are dealing with or have dealt with some of the same things that you are. At a Mo Group you will find a safe place to find out who God is and explore what it means to become a follower of Jesus.
Jesus said…
“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John 8:12.
We don’t have to go through life blind and alone.
