"Confess the Lord"
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“Confess the Lord”
“Confess the Lord”
Luke 2:25-35 -
Introduction:
- Waiting is hard, very hard. Very few of us do it well.
Fallacy of quote, “It’s not the destination, it’s the journey,” attributed to Ralph Waldo Emerson.
Although the Old Testament was very clear, God’s promised Messiah was coming, only a very small believing remnant was ready to recognize and confess Him when He came. In Luke’s account of the Gospel, we are told of two couples who were waiting, Zechariah & Elizabeth were one couple. Joseph and Mary were the other couple. Both of those couples were comparatively insignificant. Some might have suggested that the older people, Simeon and Anna, who would have seemed even more insignificant. Some might have suggested that they were so old that they might have been a bit senile and delusional. They understanding of their day the God’s promise of the Messiah eclipsed all of the religious leaders of that day. This morning, we will focus on Simeon ad Anna, who in essence “Amened” what Simeon confessed.
How Simeon and Anna responded to Jesus is as significant today as it was in the days immediately following Jesus’ birth. Quoting Simeon when he saw the baby Jesus, he took Him in his arms and quoting the OT said to the Lord,
for my eyes have seen your salvation
that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
and for glory to your people Israel.”
Anna amened what Simeon said.
We all know that the confessions of Simeon and Anna are not the norm these days. Some might respond that those were special days when the Lord was renewing His witness in a special way. That is true.
But the Lord was stirring His people after more than 400 years of comparative prophetic silence.
Ours is an era of when the clear witness of the Gospel is withering and waning. Our day is also dark spiritually. The unshakable truths of the death, burial and resurrection of Christ, the unequivocal truth of the virgin birth and the incarnation, are increasingly demeaned and denied to the extent that the wonderful truth of that the creator of this universe took upon Himself human flesh and was born to Mary, a virgin and her espoused husband Joseph. In Bethlehem, the city of David, the Saviour, Christ the Lord was born.
May God by His Spirit also move in our hearts to touch the hearts of this generation.
When the angels proclaimed His birth and when Simeon and Anna saw Him, they did not see only a boy child but the salvation that the Lord has prepared in the presence of all peoples.
I would suggest to you that following the examples of Simeon and Anna, we enable us to clarify our confession of who Jesus is.
Please note with regard to :
Simeon:
Only NT reference to this Simeon.
Shared name with one of Jacob’s 12 sons - Gen 34:25 - with a tribe named after him.
Another Simeon referred to as an ancestor of Jesus - Lk 3:30 -
Peter’s Hebrew name - Simon, Simeon - Acts 15:14 -
One of the teachers in the church in Antioch - acts 13:1 -
Who he was - Lk 2:25-27 -
Righteous and devout
Like Abraham had righteousness imputed by faith - Gen 15:6 -
Others referred to as being righteous because of faith
And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord.
and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.”
So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous
And they said, “Cornelius, a centurion, an upright and God-fearing man, who is well spoken of by the whole Jewish nation, was directed by a holy angel to send for you to come to his house and to hear what you have to say.”
Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.”
and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect,
Luke 1–5: The MacArthur New Testament Commentary Simeon’s Character
Eulabēs (devout) has the meaning of “cautious” in classical Greek. It appears in the New Testament only in Luke’s writings (cf. Acts 2:5; 8:2; 22:12), where it describes those who are “reverent toward God,” “God-fearing,” or “pious.” It conveys the idea of being careful to obey and honor God so as to lead an exemplary life before others. Those two terms indicate that Simeon not only was justified, but also sanctified.
Those two terms indicate that Simeon not only was justified, but also sanctified. The two are inseparably linked since, as John Calvin put it, “Christ … justifies no man without also sanctifying him” (Institutes, III, 16, 1). In the words of the apostle Paul, Simeon was “not a Jew who is one outwardly … [but] a Jew who is one inwardly”
John F. MacArthur Jr., Luke 1–5, MacArthur New Testament Commentary (Chicago: Moody Publishers, 2009), 177.
For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. 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.
“Seek the Lord while he may be found;
call upon him while he is near;
let the wicked forsake his way,
and the unrighteous man his thoughts;
let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him,
and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity
and passing over transgression
for the remnant of his inheritance?
He does not retain his anger forever,
because he delights in steadfast love.
He will again have compassion on us;
he will tread our iniquities underfoot.
You will cast all our sins
into the depths of the sea.
- Led by the Holy Spirit
Waiting for the consolation of Israel
Consolation - paraklesis - comfort, encouragement or solace
Not only salvation for himself but more for Israel.
Like the Apostle Paul ,saw beyond his need of salvation to Israel’s need of salvation
Roman occupation
Simplicity of faith as seen earlier in the OT had been overshadowed with manmade rules and legalism. The corruption that was all too obvious in the puppet leaders installed by Rome was every bit as obvious in the religious leaders who were more politically than spiritually minded.
While longed for independence and national blessings promised in the Abrahamic & Davidic covenants, some longed more the New Covenant - promise of forgiveness, new cleansed hearts, indwelling of the Holy Spirit - Jer 31:31-34 -
The Messiah embodied Israel’s hope of consolation.
Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.
Behold, the Lord God comes with might,
and his arm rules for him;
behold, his reward is with him,
and his recompense before him.
Thus says the Lord:
“In a time of favor I have answered you;
in a day of salvation I have helped you;
I will keep you and give you
as a covenant to the people,
to establish the land,
to apportion the desolate heritages,
saying to the prisoners, ‘Come out,’
to those who are in darkness, ‘Appear.’
They shall feed along the ways;
on all bare heights shall be their pasture;
they shall not hunger or thirst,
neither scorching wind nor sun shall strike them,
for he who has pity on them will lead them,
and by springs of water will guide them.
And I will make all my mountains a road,
and my highways shall be raised up.
Behold, these shall come from afar,
and behold, these from the north and from the west,
and these from the land of Syene.”
Sing for joy, O heavens, and exult, O earth;
break forth, O mountains, into singing!
For the Lord has comforted his people
and will have compassion on his afflicted.
For the Lord comforts Zion;
he comforts all her waste places
and makes her wilderness like Eden,
her desert like the garden of the Lord;
joy and gladness will be found in her,
thanksgiving and the voice of song.
“I, I am he who comforts you;
who are you that you are afraid of man who dies,
of the son of man who is made like grass,
The Holy Spirit was upon him/came in the Spirit into the temple.
Some believers and even some theologians do miss undertand the ministry of the Holy Spirit in the OT or before Pentecost. Jesus explained to His disciples that the Holy Spirit would transition from abiding with them to being in them.
even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.
In the OT, the Holy Spirit convicted of sin and renewed the heart of the believer.
Luke referenced the Law of Moses 3 times as to why they brought Jesus to the temple - vs 22-24 -
Luke also references the Holy Spirit 3 times as leading Simeon to confess the Christ child - vs 25-27- 6th person referenced as indwelt by Holy Spirit
John - Lk 1:15 - Mary - 1:35 - Jesus - 1:35 - Elizabeth - 1:41 - Zech 1:67 -
Revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.
Gr word same as used re wise men being warned in a dream not to return to Herod - Matt 2:12 -
Because there is no mention of a dream, we can assume that Simeon had been praying/asking the Lord when the Messiah. the Christ would come. The Lord revealed to him that he would see the Lord’s Christ before he died.
For Simeon, God’s revelation prompted him to go to the temple. There he saw the parents and the child Jesus.
paidion - term of endearment for male or female from baby to young adult. It was not about age or gender but endearment.
Same word used by Jesus when He spoke His disciples.
Jesus said to them, “Children, do you have any fish?” They answered him, “No.”
What he did/said/confessed - Lk 2:28-32 -
Blessed the Lord
Took/received child in his arms and blessed God
The Greek word for “take” is not the expected lambanein but a less frequent form of the word for awaiting the messianic hope above, thus achieving a play on words: in receiving (dechesthai) Jesus into his arms, Simeon is in fact receiving (prosdechesthai) the consolation of Israel (v. 25). Simeon’s reception of Jesus symbolizes the ideal hope that Israel will receive and embrace Jesus as Messiah.
James R. Edwards, The Gospel according to Luke, ed. D. A. Carson, The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.; Nottingham, England: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company; Apollos, 2015), 85.d
Bless/praise the Lord:
Doxology of trust, hope with a universal scope. While Simeon praised the Lord within the intimacy of the warm interaction between a trusting servant and a benevolent caring master
servant - doulos - bond slave
The Lord’s peace
Now - first word = now - Lk 2:11 - this day
Depart/die in peace - able to face death with the assurance that can trust God
According to His Word
God keeps His word. Simeon believed that and and praised God for keeping His word.
For I am the Lord; I will speak the word that I will speak, and it will be performed. It will no longer be delayed, but in your days, O rebellious house, I will speak the word and perform it, declares the Lord God.”
For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.
Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring—not only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all,
The Lord’s salvation
Not soteria but soterion = pertaining to salvation - used 4 times by Luke
2:30 - human response to Jesus
Paul final testimony to Jesus
Therefore let it be known to you that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles; they will listen.”
Prepared
In the presence of all peoples
All the peoples - the for emphasis
After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands,
A light
“I am the Lord; I have called you in righteousness;
I will take you by the hand and keep you;
I will give you as a covenant for the people,
a light for the nations,
All peoples both Israel & Gentiles but Gentiles first.
The Gospel according to Luke Simeon and Anna Receive Jesus in the Temple (2:21–40)
Coming from a righteous Jew, standing in the holy temple, and quoting from the prophet Isaiah, Simeon’s declaration is invested with the imprimatur of divine authority. In declaring God’s messianic salvation as light to the Gentiles (Isa 42:6; 49:6), Simeon recovers a long-neglected but seminal truth of Judaism, namely, that Israel was not the terminus of God’s revelation, but the conduit of God’s revelation to all humanity.
Revelation to the Gentiles
Light for revelation for the Gentiles did not mean that God was bypassing/rejecting Israel for the Gentiles, but through Israel, the light of salvation, the Gospel would reveal the Gospel to the Gentiles as well.
Glory to Israel
In the Lord all the offspring of Israel
shall be justified and shall glory.”
I bring near my righteousness; it is not far off,
and my salvation will not delay;
I will put salvation in Zion,
for Israel my glory.”
Simeon’s comments to the parents:
By the Holy Spirit Simeon knew truths about Jesus that Joseph and Mary did not know.
Blessed Mary
Appointed for rising and falling of many in Israel - stumbling block
and
“A stone of stumbling,
and a rock of offense.”
They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.
and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
And he will become a sanctuary and a stone of offense and a rock of stumbling to both houses of Israel, a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And many shall stumble on it. They shall fall and be broken; they shall be snared and taken.”
Would be opposed
Mary would greave
but standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.
How people responded to Jesus would reveal their true hearts.
2. Anna’s “Amen!” - Lk 2:36 -38 -
Prophetess - spoke God’s word to all who were waiting for the redemption of Israel - not some new revelation but affirmed what God had said.
Other unnamed women prophesied - Acts 2:17; 21:9; 1 Cor 11:5 -
Second witness - Deut 19:15 -
Old = credable
Worshipping with fasting & prayer - day & night
All of waking hours at the temple - did not depart from the temple
Giving thanks to God/spoke to all who were waiting for the redemption of Israel
Imperfect tense - ongoing
At that very hour
With so many who seem unwilling to receive and confess Christ as Saviour and Lord, will we still be remembered as:
Righteous and devout in the true Biblical sense?
We witness for the Gospel can easily be negated when what we say and do is inconsistent with the Gospel that we speak.
Righteous - by faith not the law
Love - If we speak of God’s love and the church being a loving place but do not embody that ...
If we speak of sin that needs to be forgiven but deny our need of continuing forgiveness we negate the Gospel
This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.
Righteous - declared righteous by faith
Devout - fear God.
2. Blessing God and readily confessing the Lord’s peace and salvation, the light of the world?
Perhaps begin with a confess rather than a proclamation.
I don’t know about you about but sometimes I become of those who are miles apart in defining truth, affirming the way that they see things with a tunnel vision. Or is it isn’t tunnel vision, it seems to be ethical/moral macular degeneration.
Have you ever wondered why what’s right and wrong keeps changing?
Behind all the Christmas festivities, there’s the glimmer of hope that there is a God who really cares for us. How do you feel about that?
Pray and listen for an opening.