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Luke 2:21-40 Key Verse: 2:30 Jesus Came to Simeon and Anna "For my eyes have seen your salvation" In today's passage, we learn how Jesus was presented in the temple. At the time of baby Jesus¡¯ presentation, two old persons, Simeon and Anna appear. We learn from these two old persons faith in believing God's promises. We learn from them that Jesus is salvation for all mankind, a light for the Gentiles. 1. Jesus Became Like Us (21-24) Look at verse 21. "On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise him, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he had been conceived" After circumcision, his parents named him Jesus, the name the angel had told them. The name "Jesus" means "the Savior of the world" (Mt 1:21). The little baby was Jesus who would die for our sins. Look at verse 22. "When the time of their purification according to the Law of Moses had been completed, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord...." For the ceremony, Mary brought a pair of pigeons because she could not afford a lamb. It was called, "the offering of the poor." Jesus was born into a poor family. This reminds us of 2 Corinthians 8:9. "For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich." Through the ceremonies of circumcision and presentation, Jesus became like us. Jesus was born of a woman. He was born under the Law and had to undergo circumcision and purification. This was a great humiliation to Jesus, who is the Son of God. But he took upon himself the impurity of his people, to save us from our sin and guilt. Hebrews 2:17a says, "For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way...." Jesus is our humble Lord. 2. Simeon, a Man of Faith and Hope (25-28) When Jesus came, it was dark and evil, and people did not believe in God. When people do not believe in God, they become fearful and restless. When people do not believe in God, they live according to their feelings and become very immoral and violent. At that time, the world was dark and full of despair. But there was a man called Simeon. To people's eyes, Simeon was no more than an old man who would die soon. But what does Bible say about him? Look at verse 25. "Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him." Simeon was a warrior of faith. At that time, everybody was sorrowful. But Simeon was not sorrowful, because he had faith in God. What kind of faith did Simeon have? Simeon had faith that God's promises were true. Simeon had faith that he would see the Savior of the world with his own eyes before his death. In that dark world, most people felt meaningless due to the difficult worldly situation. They lived on a day-to-day basis; if they were alright after a day's hard work they sighed deeply, saying, "Today was lucky." Then, they began to worry about tomorrow. But Simeon was different. Day and night, Simeon studied the Law of God with all his heart. Through Bible study, he tasted the word of God. He found the promise of God that he would send the Savior of the world. In Jesus, Simeon found salvation for all mankind; they would be saved from their sins through the Son of God. The situation of Israel in those times was simply tragic. Under the Roman rule, they were hungry and miserable. There was no hope in their hearts. But there was hope in God. For the previous 1,000 years, so many prophets and devout people had believed God¡¯s promise to send the Messiah. They waited for his coming with hope. This hope had sustained their faith. This was Simeon¡¯s hope. Verse 25b says, "He was waiting for the consolation of Israel" Simeon had hope, because he had faith in God in his heart. He believed that the Messiah would come soon. When the Messiah came, his people would be consoled for all the sorrows and pains they had endured to live as God¡¯s people. In the middle of despair, he believed God's promise that the Messiah would come to comfort and redeem his suffering people. Simeon believed in the promise of God in that dark generation. Then something great happened in his life. Look 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." The Holy Spirit came upon him and convinced him that he would not die before seeing the Lord's Messiah. Simeon was old, but he had absolute faith in God. God blessed his faith and gave him the conviction that he would not die. God also gave him the conviction that he would see the promised Messiah, the Lord's Christ. May God give us the conviction that we will not die before seeing Korea University become a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. Look at verses 27-28. "Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God," He had waited for the coming of the Messiah for a long time. Finally, his long-awaited hope was realized. God always looks after those who seek him honestly. 3. Jesus, light for Gentiles (29-35) Look at verse 29. "Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you now dismiss your servant in peace." This verse is Simeon's testimony. Simeon was a faithful shepherd of God's sheep all his lifetime. He could not do anything for himself. He could not even die, because of God's flock under his care. Simeon had to keep watch over God's flock of sheep, suffering many long, weary nights. Now the promised Messiah had come to save his people. Now Simeon was indeed happy to die. Look at verse 30. "For my eyes have seen your salvation." Simeon saw in the baby Jesus salvation for all mankind. Look at verse 32. "a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel." God chose Israel as his firstborn son. But they did not realize God's deep love for them. They did not obey God's commands. The chosen people Israel did not want to proclaim the gospel to the Gentiles. Most of the Jews thought that the Gentiles were like animals. But Simeon thought that the Gentiles were also precious children of God and Jesus was a light for the Gentiles. God revealed to Israel that he wanted to use them as his chosen people in order to save the Gentiles. Yet his people disobeyed. But Jesus obeyed God's will for world salvation. Jesus became the light for Gentiles. Look at verse 34-35a. "Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed." There are many kinds of people with different views of man and the world. But they are all wrong. Despite many ideas concerning human destiny, all men's destiny depends on how they see Jesus. Those who believe in him will be saved. Those who do not believe will be smashed into eternal condemnation (Lk 20:17,18). When we look around us, there are not many believers. But we have faith and Jesus saved us. We have Jesus' saving grace in us. It does not fade away. May God use us to deliver the good news of Jesus' grace to campus students! 4. Anna's faith (36-40) Among many women there was a faithful woman Anna, who was a prophetess, a daughter of the tribe of Asher, a beloved wife to her husband. One day her husband died. She had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, and then became a widow until she was 84. When she lost her husband, she could have spent her life as a sorrowful widow. But to her, life was the same, even though her young and handsome husband died. To her, the best way of life was to live in the house of God among God's people, serving them as a mother of prayer. So she made a decision of faith to devote herself to God and to pray for her people. Her prayer topic was the redemption of Jerusalem. She embraced all of God¡¯s people with a mother¡¯s heart and prayed for them one by one. She was also waiting for the coming of the Messiah. The moment she saw the baby Jesus, she knew he was the Messiah. She thanked God, for the promise of the redemption of Jerusalem had been fulfilled. We should not despair. Like Simeon and Anna, we must have faith in the promises of God. We must have hope for ourselves and for Korea. May we all accept Jesus as our light and salvation and have his peace and joy. May we all proclaim Jesus' name to those living in darkness without hope. |