Hope Does not Disappoint

Waiting is not my strong suit. Anyone who knows me is familiar. I have the patience of a fruit fly…or a sleepy toddler. I see the line wrapped around the building at Chick Fil A and have to remind myself that they are efficient. The microwave may or may not be too slow for me at times. And the more I WANT what I am waiting for the worse I can be. It’s a HUGE character flaw.

I cannot imagine what it must have been like for the Jewish people waiting for the Messiah. Imagine…being promised deliverance…freedom…release from oppression…and constantly being disappointed or dying in anticipation. And hearing over and over again that help was on the way…only to never see it happen or worse be taken by an imposter.

Waiting.

And yet, God keeps His promises. They may not always be in our timing or understanding…but He shows up..He delivers…He never disappoints. Even when it seems impossible, if He says “This is what I will do” He does it. God is a keeper of promises.

That’s good for us, because God is a maker of promises. He says what He is going to do…and then He does it. He told Moses He would deliver the people out of Egypt. He told Elijah He would send fire on the alter. He told David He would make him a king. He told Abraham he would be a great nation.

He told Adam if he ate of the fruit he would die… Some of those promises are tougher than others.

God is in the business of keeping promises.

This passage today is all about the hope that comes from trusting in God’s promises. What happens when we take God at His word? What do we get to see when we believe what God says?

Look with me at Luke 2:22-35.

Now to set this up, Jesus has been born and Mary and Joseph are headed to the Temple to dedicate Him. And to make the sacrifices they are commanded to make. They are doing what God has said for them to do, despite the unusual nature of Mary’r divine pregnancy…much less the shepherds and angels.

In verse 25 we are introduced to someone else. Simeon. He is a different sort of fellow:

righteous- He was in right standing with God

devout- He was full of reverence for God

waiting for the Messiah

Luke Comments

For Luke this referred not to the fulfillment of Jewish political hopes involving deliverance from their enemies and restoration of David’s throne but rather to the salvation Jesus brought

Luke Comments

Simeon was looking forward to Israel’s consolation (2:25), i.e., Jerusalem’s redemption (2:38); the coming of God’s kingdom (23:51); the Master’s return (12:36); the resurrection of the just and the unjust (Acts 24:15

Simeon was also on other thing- he was hearing from God. And what God had told him was that he would not die until he had seen the Messiah- and Simeon was old.

Luke Comments

Luke wanted his readers to understand that Simeon was providing reliable testimony to the person and work of God’s Son.

Why did God make this promise? We have no idea. We don’t get to always understand why God does what He does. He chooses to show Simeon Jesus. But notice something, Simeon has to do the work. He has to pay attention and be willing to go where God says to go, because on the da Jesus comes to the Temple, Simeon isn’t there yet. Look at vs 27.

Simone is led by the Spirit to the Temple. See there are times that in order to experience God’s promises we have to FOLLOW Him to the promise- this isn’t a self service type situation!

There is a huge lesson here for us- when God makes a promise, part of the fulfillment of that promise is tied to our being obedient…we have to go where He sends us in order to see the fulfillment. Trusting God’s promises is an act of faith. This isn’t a one off- it is what God has done since He began putting His redemption plan into action:

Abraham had to leave the comfort of his home

And he had to trust God with Issac on the alter

Joseph had to trust God in the pit and in prison

Moses had to return to Egypt to free his people

Ruth had to go to Boaz

David had to face the giant

He also had to wait for Saul to die rather than killing him

Esther had to enter the king’s court

Nehemiah had to return to go before the king and return to Jerusalem

the list goes on…Hebrews 11...

And Simeon’s reaction is awesome! (v29-31)

First…the sentence in the Greek is mangled in the English…a better rendering is “Now Sovereign Lord...” which indicates that in this moment Jesus, as a baby, is already the full keeping of God’s promise of salvation…He is not at risk of failure…He is even as a 47 day old infant the fulfillment of God’s promise to save His people…when was the last time we saw the infant baby Jesus as that?

Have we ever????

What is the end result of this arrival?

First, salvation- rescue, deliverance- the Messiah has arrived for His people just as He promised- the Jewish nation is going to be restored to God

Second, light- Jesus will not just save one nation, but all nations, and His coming will allow the darkness that has existed for other nations- who do not know God- to have that truth revealed to them, and they will be able to follow Jesus as well. This is the opening of a global Kingdom!!!

Third, glory- the arrival of Jesus allows the Jewish nation- one that has been oppressed and enslaved and attacked since their inception- to have a glory all their own- they are the source of salvation for the world- they have followed what God has called them to do, however imperfectly, and the result is they will bless all nations with the arrival of the Messiah!

He realizes what he sees and Who has allowed him to see this promise fulfilled and he praises God!

When is the last time you thanked God for keeping a promise?

I know I am often guilty of taking God for granted. This one really hit me. When is the last time I turned to the Lord when I saw Him keeping a promise to me or someone else and praised Him for His faithfulness?

And beyond his praise to God, Simeon uses the moment of the fulfillment of his promise from God to bless Mary and Joseph! His promise is a blessing to others! And to extend to them another promise that also comes from God- the fulfillment of one promise begets another- because God is always at work!

Look at verses 34-35

Jesus will bring about the rising and falling of many- some- the poor, the marginalized, the broken will be elevated, but the religious elite, the falsely pious, the powerful- they will be lowered

Luke Comments

The latter appears more likely and indicates that there is a double significance to Jesus’ ministry. For the humble and poor it is positive, salvation; for the haughty and rich it is negative, judgment. This twofold aspect of the coming Messiah is found both in the OT (Isa 8:14; 28:16–17) and the NT (Rom 9:33; 1 Pet 2:6–8).

Jesus would be attacked by His own people- the rejection of Him by the nation would be a fulfillment of prophecy and something that would cause Jesus to intercede on their behalf on the cross

The life and ministry of Jesus would put the hearts of other into clear view

And Mary herself would experience the crushing hardship of seeing her own Son killed

See our promises from God are not for us alone…they are for everyone around us. We cannot be selfish with God’s blessing to us! And the promises of God are not always promises of ease…but they are promises He will be with us in the midst…and see us thru…without all of this Mary could not have been saved herself, AND she would not have had the joy of seeing the resurrection of her Son!

Let me ask you this morning…how has God kept a promise to you?

How did it change your life?

Did you say thank you?

How did it bless someone else?

One promise God wants to keep to you this morning is the promise to save you. (Gospel presentation here)