Anticipation Resolved

Simmeon's Prophecies, Anna's Praise

Luke 2:21-39

INTRODUCTION

Last week we took a look at what was going on in Israel in the time of the birth of Jesus. We remember that the last words of the Old Testament, written by Malachi, were received about 400 prior to the events of Jesus' ministry in the New Testament. For 4 centuries, the people of Israel had heard no new prophesies from God or His prophets.

By the time that Malachi's book is finished, the Israelites, who had been defeated and exiled into the Assyrian and later the Babylonian empires, had returned to their land. Jerusalem's walls and gates had been rebuilt and the Temple had been rebuilt, however, Israel was not totally free. Though self-governing, for the most part, they still fell under the rule of the Persian Empire.

Over the course of 400 hundred years between the writing of Malachi, who was contemporary with Nehemiah, and the New Testament, no new word came from the Lord to His people. The Jews were supposed to be waiting to receive the Messiah, the chosen one, the Son of God who was to bring peace and salvation to His people and to the world. The feasts and rituals that the Jewish people were to be observing were all signs and symbols of the coming of this Messiah. Some of the feasts had a double meaning to them. For example, the Feast of the Tabernacles, where Jews lived in tents and booths outside during this celebration was a remembrance of how God had provided for them in the wilderness for 40 years, but this feast also foreshadowed the coming of the Messiah. He would leave His heavenly home to dwell temporarily on earth, but it also references His second coming when He will come to establish His kingdom.

These celebrations along with the sacrifices and the rituals that were to be observed in the Temple were all supposed to be helping the Jewish nation to focus their hearts on God and prepare for the coming of the Messiah that would take away the sins of the world. It was supposed to build anticipation for the coming of the Messiah. The time was not right in the world during the Persian Empire, nor the times of the Greek or Syrian empires. The time was not right for the Messiah to come during Malachi's time or in the 400 years that followed.

But one day, as Galatians 4:4 says, "In the fulness of time," meaning, when the time was just right, God sent His Son Jesus to be born of a virgin woman named Mary. He was born under all the circumstances that the prophets had foretold hundreds of years before. He was wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger. Born during the time when Israel was ruled by the Roman empire under Caesar Augustus. Herod the Great, the founder of the Herodian family was king in Judea. Rome's presence was seen everywhere.

We discussed that even the structure of religious leadership in Israel had become very political.

The people of Israel were very concerned about a Messiah now, but not the one that had been described by the prophets, one they had imagined themselves that would come and throw off the Roman yoke of oppression and free the nation of Israel. Their ideas were not of a servant coming, but a powerful and majestic king. Though Isaiah described Him as a suffering servant, born to endure cruelty, torture, and a cursed death so as to overcome sin, the Jews generally thought of the Messiah as a warrior that would come in glorious victory over those who oppressed them.

There were, however, those who truly waited with anticipation for the coming of the Messiah. Right in the beginning of Jesus' life here on earth we meet two of these people. We meet them both in the Gospel of Luke chapter 2.

1. Jesus Presented at the Temple

Luke 2:21-33 (KJV - King James Version)

21And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called JESUS, which was so named of the angel before he was conceived in the womb.

22And when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were accomplished, they brought him to Jerusalem, to present himto the Lord;

23(As it is written in the law of the Lord, Every male that openeth the womb shall be called holy to the Lord;)

24And to offer a sacrifice according to that which is said in the law of the Lord, A pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.

25And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name wasSimeon; and the same man wasjust and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him.

26And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.

27And he came by the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him after the custom of the law,

28Then took he him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said,

29Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word:

30For mine eyes have seen thy salvation,

31Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people;

32A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.

33And Joseph and his mother marvelled at those things which were spoken of him.

JESUS PRESENTED AT THE TEMPLE

As was the law for every Jewish male, Jesus was circumcised, and after Mary's days of purification (which would have been 40 days after Jesus' birth), Jesus is brought to the Temple in Jerusalem to be presented to the Lord. This was also one of the commandments that God had given Moses.

The Picture of Redemption

In Exodus, (Exodus 34:19-20) we find God's command to the Israelites that every firstborn of the cattle was to be sacrificed to the Lord. The exception was that of a donkey. Since it was an unclean animal, a lamb had to be sacrificed in its place. If there was no lamb to sacrifice, the first born of a donkey had have its neck broken, outside the temple, of course. The practice of sacrificing something like a lamb in place of the donkey was called redemption. There were other ways to redeem things as well, you could pay the price of a lamb to the Temple to redeem something. In effect, you were buying it back from the Lord.

This command extended to the firstborn sons of families in Israel as well. Obviously, God does not, and never did, condone human sacrifice, so the firstborn sons needed to be redeemed as well. The sacrifice for redeeming the sons was also a lamb. However, for a poorer family that could not afford a lamb, they could instead offer a pair of turtledoves or a pair of young pigeons, and this is the sacrifice that Mary and Joseph take to the Temple as they redeemed Jesus from the Lord.

If you will remember, last Mother's Day I preached on Hannah as she dedicated her son Samuel. When she was praying desperately for a son, her promise to the Lord was that if God were to giver her a son, she would dedicate it to God all the days of his life. She recognized the law that said "every firstborn belongs to the Lord." Hanna gave up her choice to redeem her child from the Lord, and instead offered Samuel as a "living sacrifice" to the Lord.

2. MEETING SIMEON

So Mary and Joseph go to the Temple with their two turtledoves, and as they are there, they meet a man named Simeon. Simeon was an interesting character, unique in a couple of different ways.

The first thing we see about Simeon is that he was a Just and Devout man. This man was righteous. He was not self-righteous, as was common to observe in the Pharisees and Sadducees. Simeon was a righteous man, a man in right standing with God. He gained his righteousness just like everyone who is righteous gains it: by God's grace alone.

But Simeon was not just a righteous or just man, he was a devout man. This man was faithful in his pursuit of God. He wasn't just going through the motions when he offered sacrifice, or praise, or observed the solemn feasts. He knew what they meant and what they symbolized as far as the Messiah was concerned. When he prayed throughout the day, he didn't just repeat empty words and phrases, he prayed those prayers from his heart, one of which was the prayer for God to bring the Messiah into the world quickly.

The Bible continues to say, as describing Simeon's devotion, that he waited "for the consolation of Israel." We talked about how the Israelites were to be waiting last week during the Life Groups. It was not a passive waiting that they were to practice, sitting around doing nothing. It was to be an active waiting. As they waited, they were supposed to be praying for the coming of the Messiah, preparing their hearts for His arrival, and studying God's word. This is exactly what Simeon had been doing for years. His active waiting had brought him into a special relationship with the Lord that not many people in that day experienced: the Bible says that the Holy Ghost, or the Holy Spirit was upon him.

Simeon was one of the handful of people in the Bible that Had this gift of having God's Spirit on them. God had then revealed to Simeon that he would not die until he had seen the "Lord's Christ," or the Lord's Anointed, or Messiah. That day, he went to the Temple, directed there by the Holy Spirit that dwelled upon him, and saw Jesus. When he sees Jesus, he takes Him up in his arms and praised God. He knew immediately that this baby, barely a month old, was the consolation of Israel and recognized Him as his savior. There, with little, baby Jesus in his arms, Simeon makes some statements about Jesus that leave Mary and Joseph in awe.

Simeon's Prophecies

SIMEON'S PROPHECY CONCERNING SALVATION

Luke 2:30-32 For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, 31 Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people; We must remember and be aware that God had prepared His Gospel, His Good News, before the creation of the world (Acts 2:23). God had communicated His salvation to the Israelites through the word of the prophets, and because of the exile that Israel and Judah suffered at the hands of her enemies, these writings had spread to all people groups in these successive empires that ruled over Israel. I hope you can see that even in the punishment of exiling of the various captivities and exilings that Judah and Israel had suffered because of their rebellion to God, that God used this to spread His word throughout the world. And now, Simeon makes reference to the fact that the different people groups knew the Hebrew belief of a coming Messiah. Then he goes on to say:

32 A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel. Simeon understood what many Jewish people did not understand, or if they had the head knowledge of it, it didn't make it to their hearts as it was not commonly reflected by their actions. The thing that Simeon understood was that the consolation and glory of Israel was also going to be a light to the Gentiles.

Jesus would be the salvation of the entire world, not just their world.

Luke 2:34-35 (KJV - King James Version)

34And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother, Behold, this childis set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against;

35(Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also,) that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.

SIMEON'S PROPHECY CONCERNING SUFFERING

"This child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel." Jesus would be set, like a stone. For some, a stumbling stone, for others, the chief cornerstone. Passages dealing with this can be found in Isaiah and in the Psalms (Isaiah 8:14; Psalms 118:22). Many would fall stumble and fall because of it. Many of the Pharisees, the scribes, the Sadducees, the rulers, the rich, the powerful would stumble because of Jesus and fall to their own demise.

But there would be many others that were in the ranks of the outcasts, the fishermen, the widows, the sorrowful, the ill, the lepers, the poor and destitute, the desperate, and the sinners that would fall upon Jesus in conviction and rise again in salvation. Even today, the cross is either a stumbling block for many, but to others, a stepping stone.

Jesus was also to be a "sign which shall be spoken against." Simeon calls Him a "sign;" John, in his gospel account, calls Jesus the "Word," the "Logos," the visible representation and the Divine Expression of God. He was there to show others the Father, and yet was spoken against by so many. Jesus, and those that followed Him, would be spoken against, lied about, and persecuted.

Then Simeon says something that may not seem like a very nice thing to say to a new mother. Directing his speech to Mary he says, "A sword will pierce your soul." Simeon had undoubtedly read the prophecies of the Messiah as the Suffering Servant. He had probably studied Isaiah's words that relate the fate of the Messiah as one that would be bruised, beaten, and whipped. He would have been familiar with the passages in Psalms that prophesy the Messiah as one betrayed by a friend, reproached by his enemies, and beaten to the point of being able to see and count each of his bones. No mother would be able to see her child go through what Jesus went through and be okay. Mary would have a sword driven through her soul as she watched her son suffer and die. Simeon was preparing her for that event, letting her know that everything was not going to be a bed of roses.

"That the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed." Jesus is the revealer of thoughts. We will see, as we study through His life, that there were many instances that he revealed the thoughts of the Scribes and Pharisees. And in his suffering, the thoughts (and this word translated thoughts has a negative intonation to it, as if to refer to evil thoughts) of many would be revealed. There would be many that left his side permanently, even those that had once proclaimed His praises. Many that followed him and witnessed healings and other miracles scoffed at Jesus as he hung on the cross. But there were others like the centurion that was nearby, that saw Jesus hang and die on that cross, and could only proclaim, "Surely this man is the Son of God."

So we've seen here the anticipation of one man being resolved with the birth of Jesus. And immediately after, there comes someone else that has been praying for and expecting this day.

Luke 2:36-38 (KJV - King James Version)

36And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Aser: she was of a great age, and had lived with an husband seven years from her virginity;

37And she wasa widow of about fourscore and four years, which departed not from the temple, but served Godwith fastings and prayers night and day.

38And she coming in that instant gave thanks likewise unto the Lord, and spake of him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem.

3. ANNA'S PRAISE

Here we find Anna. Anna is described as a prophetess. She proclaimed God's truth to the people. Now Anna was a widow. She had been married to her husband for only seven years before he died, and after that dedicated her life to being in the Temple serving God through fasting and prayer day in and day out.

This was a woman who we could say was wholly dedicated to prayer. We have discussed it before, but one of the prayers that the Jews prayed for daily was a prayer about the coming of the Messiah. This woman was a woman that was waiting in anticipation for the Messiah. We see this because as she goes by Joseph, Mary, and Simeon who is holding Jesus in his arms and prophesying over Him, she hears it, understands that this is the one that she has been praying for, Immediately starts praising God.

Notice the last phrase of v.38 - And spake of him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem. She has been talking about the Messiah with others. She knows who in that Temple are people that have been waiting with anticipation for the Messiah, she seeks them out, and tells them the news that Jesus is here and that He is the Messiah.

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Life Groups

Redemption

We opened up by talking about redemption. Every human life is tainted with sin and deserves death. That is what the Bible tells us in Romans 3:10 and Romans 6:23, but God has made a way to redeem us from that death, to buy us back. How did He do this?

What was the symbolism of the redemption sacrifice? Ideally it would be a lamb (unless you couldn't afford it). The lamb had to be perfect and without any spots or blemishes. This lamb would die. It would be killed and its blood would be spilled. A similar process was done for the sin sacrifices. The blood would be collected and then sprinkled on the mercy seat of the ark of the covenant.

Jesus was the perfect lamb of God that died upon the cross for our sins to be able to buy us back from the curse of sin.

Simeon

How is Simeon described in Luke 2:25? Just (right in his outward life) and devout (right in his inward life) and waited for the consolation of Israel (looking forward to the coming of the Messiah) and the Holy Spirit was upon him.

What does it mean when v.27 says, "He came by the Spirit into the temple"?

How do you approach your daily time with God? It needs to be in the Spirit. It should not be because you're keeping a routine or a checklist.

Anna

What does it tell you that Anna had decided to remain a widow dedicating her entire life to serving God?

What are ways that we can praise God daily?

What are ways that we can tell others about Jesus?

Who needs to hear about Jesus within your immediate circles (work, family, friends, etc.)?