The Promise Of Jesus In Simeon

Dr. Bradford Reaves

CrossWay Christian Fellowship

Hagerstown, MD

www.mycrossway.org

This morning, I want to take you back to a man only mentioned 1 time in the New Testament. Yet he is someone who fascinates me. Simeon is an old man described as “righteous and devout.” What fascinates me about him is his expectancy to see the Christ based entirely on the promise given to him by the Holy Spirit.

We have all kinds of expectations for this time of year, don’t we? We follow all sorts of beautiful customs and traditions that seem to embellish a nostalgia not found in other celebrations. But, for the believer in Jesus Christ, there should be a duplicity in our lives at Christmas that we see in Simeon. Yes, we should glance behind us and see the glory of the coming of the Messiah. I think there is terrific symbolism in all the symbolism associated with celebrating his birth. But at the same time, Christmas should remind us that we are also looking forward to the promises yet to come. In other words, the Promise of Christmas and all the prophetic fulfillment connected to Jesus’ first Advent should spur in us a hunger, like in Simeon toward his Second Advent.

In reality, there were very few who were mentioned in Scripture who were earnestly aware of the climate of the world that indicated Christ’s arrival to earth. Simeon being one, Anna (whom we will look at next week) being another, the Magi (who are basically pagan astrologers), and then Zechariah, Elizabeth, Joseph, and Mary since they received angelic visits with explicit messages of what is about to happen.

For the most part, the world went about its business, not really looking at the world and asking, “What’s going on?” Like the world then, people are too busy worried about the economy, political upheavals, the trials and stresses of life, making ends meet, if the Rams are going to beat Baltimore today, and so on. There are plenty of distractions in the world.

Then there is Simeon. Simeon is mentioned only by Luke among the gospel writers. He enters the scene and departs from view just as quickly. Yet his inclusion, as with nearly all of Luke’s accounts, brings incredible value to what is being conveyed in the gospel. For most of us, we read through this as a sideline of the story. An old sage is waiting for the prophetic fulfillment of the Christ child. Yet there is so much we can learn from him.

I. Coming to the Temple

And at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb. 22 And when the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord 23 (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”) 24 and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the Law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.” Luke 2:21–24 ESV

We have to set the scene first before we can fully understand what Simeon is about. There are 32 days that separate verse 21 from verse 22. Eight days after being born, a Jewish boy is circumcised. Jewish boys were circumcised as an outward distinction as being set apart for God. This was part of God’s covenant with Abraham:

10 This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your offspring after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised. 11 You shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you. 12 He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised. Genesis 17:10–12a ESV

The significance of the circumcision was to be far greater than a physical distinction because it was to represent the distinction of the heart:

Circumcise yourselves to the Lord; remove the foreskin of your hearts, O men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem; lest my wrath go forth like fire, and burn with none to quench it, because of the evil of your deeds.” Jeremiah 4:4 ESV

But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God. Romans 2:29 ESV

So Mary and Joseph, being devout Jews, bring Jesus to the temple in accordance with Jewish law to have him circumcised. Now, in verse 22, Luke continues the narrative for the purification. This second purification happened forty days after the birth of the child. That’s when the mother would bring a sacrificial offering - 2 turtle doves or 2 pigeons. A woman was ceremonially unclean for 40 days after childbirth and according to Old Testament Law (Lev 12:4) and this sacrifice is for her purification. Additionally, Joseph and Mary are bringing Jesus and an offering of 5 Shekels to dedicate him to the Lord (Luke 2:22-23). The 5 Shekels was a ransom of silver that every firstborn male had to give to the Lord.