Week 4 — Luke 2:21-40 | Encountering God & His Promises

Promised | Luke 1-2  •  Sermon  •  Submitted   •  Presented   •  40:31
0 ratings
· 25 views

Faith-filled hearts encounter God’s promises in Jesus through Spirit-led, everyday obedience in community.

Files
Notes
Transcript
Show of hands: who in here ever feels discouraged when reading the Bible?
I know I sure do sometimes.
This book is full of insane encounters with God—angelic visits, burning bushes that speak, Spirit-empowered prophecies, ancient promises all unfolding before our eyes! It’s like watching the most beautiful sunrise, bursting with color which can make my life feel sort of black and white.
Right? The reality is that the Bible condenses thousands of years and countless divine moments into one book, making it feel anything but routine and crazy super natural!
Which can make our lives can feel mundane in comparison.
I don’t know about you, but I’ve never heard an audible voice from God. I’ve never seen an angel. Most days, my life feels far from supernatural. Am I alone in this? Or have you, like me, felt a twinge of jealousy towards the characters in the Scripture who seem to have another divine encounter with every single turn of the page!?
I can’t be the only one who reads about their extraordinary encounters with God and then compare them to my life and wonder, “Why don’t I encounter God like this?”
The reality is that our lives often feel like repetitive cycles of routine and responsibility, filled with mundane tasks that seem unremarkable.
But here’s a thought—what if the most profound moments of encountering God are hidden in these ordinary, seemingly insignificant routines? What if the seemingly small acts of faith—the holy habits of our hearts—are forming resilience and courage in us that’s preparing us and positioning us to encounter God on the regular?
2 Chronicles 16:9 says, “For the eyes of the LORD roam throughout the earth to show himself strong for those who are wholeheartedly devoted to him” You see, God isn’t searching for extraordinary people; He’s looking for faithful ones, those who are devoted and loyal to Him so He can strongly support them!
To say it another way, those who trust God with small, daily acts of obedience position themselves to encounter God!
Church this is the promise: if your heart is faith-filled, God will pour out His strength in your life. The angel’s words to Mary remind us: “No word from God will ever fail.” His promises may not unfold as we expect, but they are always fulfilled. And in today’s text, we see this truth lived out through Mary, Joseph, Simeon, and Anna. Their faithful, Spirit-led, everyday obedience positioned them to encounter God’s promises in Jesus through His community.
Turn with me to Luke 1:21-40 and we’ll unpack this together in three points:
Everyday Faithfulness Positions Us to Encounter God’s Promises (vv. 21-24, 27b)
The Spirit’s Leading Opens Our Eyes to God’s Promises (vv. 25-28)
God’s People Affirm and Strengthen Our Faith in His Promises (vv. 29-38)
Alright, let’s read it together:
Luke 2:21–40 (NIV)
21 On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise the child, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he was conceived. 22 When the time came for the purification rites required by the Law of Moses, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord 23 (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord”), 24 and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: “a pair of doves or two young pigeons.” 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 on him. 26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. 27 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, 28 Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying: 29 “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss your servant in peace. 30 For my eyes have seen your salvation, 31 which you have prepared in the sight of all nations: 32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel.” 33 The child’s father and mother marveled at what was said about him. 34 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, 35 so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.” 36 There was also a prophet, Anna, the daughter of Penuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, 37 and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. 38 Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem. 39 When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth. 40 And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was on him.
Firstly,

1. Everyday Faithfulness Positions Us to Encounter God’s Promises in Jesus (vv. 21-24, 27b)

As I studied the text in my prep, it struck me how many times the law of God was referenced in the first part.
God’s Word and His Law and Mary and Jo’s obedience to it all is all over the place in the beginning of our text, so much so that it seems to me our author is trying to draw our attention to it, perhaps to make a point.
Look at it:
Luke 2:21 “21 On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise the child, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he was conceived.”
On the eighth day: when it came time to circumcise the child.
When it came time? According to what or to who’s time? Why were Mary and Jo taking Jesus to the temple. And why did they name Him Jesus?
Well vs. 21 answers our second question. Mary and Joseph named him Jesus simply because they were obeying the Word of God spoken to them from the angel. They obeyed God’s word through the angel.
The next verse then answers for us the first question: why are they even at the temple to begin with?
Luke 2:22–2422 When the time came for the purification rites required by the Law of Moses, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord 23 (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord”), 24 and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: “a pair of doves or two young pigeons.”
Mary and Joseph are following the ancient traditions of their people outlined for them in the commands of God uttered in Leviticus 12 and also the Word of God to them through the angel!
In many ways, we could say that Mary and Jo are following the rote religious rules of God and their faith tradition. Simply put they had made obedience to God a holy habit of their hearts.
Now on first glace, this may not land well with you.
I’m willing to bet that many of you grew up in a faith tradition that was all about adherence to religious rules where rote obedience was demanded. And because of the lifeless rule following that may have been demanded from you, the word obedience might sound like a curse word to your ears!
For many of you who’ve found a home here at Crossroads, we hear often how much you appreciate the emphasis on personal relationship with Jesus over rote religious rule-following. I get it, and I need you to know I’m not backtracking on that emphasis for us or for how we see the gospel worked out. But sometimes, I wonder if, in our zeal to preach grace and personal relationship, we neglect the spiritual disciplines or holy habits and importance of obedience in some unhelpful ways!
Here’s what I think Mary and Joseph are modeling for us: obedience matters and so does the order we place it in, in regards to salvation.
You see, sometimes, in different faith traditions—even Christian faith traditions—emphasis can be placed on spiritual disciplines (think holy habits: like reading your Bible, praying, fasting, gathering for worship) and obedience in such a way that we are left believing God requires our obedience to bless us and save us. And if we disobey or aren’t disciplined enough, we lose access to Him and His blessings altogether.
That kind of thinking leaves us with spiritual whiplash, like a waved tossed in the ocean to and fro from God’s favor to His anger and disappointment by the waves of our performance and ability to obey!
This, friends, is not what Mary and Joseph are doing, and it’s not what Jesus invites us into either.
Mary and Joseph’s obedience is not an attempt to manipulate God into treating them a certain way; it’s a response to what they’ve heard and seen and experienced from God already in their lives!
Obedience is the fruit of personal encounters with God, not about us trying to force those encounters through our performance or lack thereof!
The grace of God displayed in Mary and Joseph’s life is countless times referred to as favor!
As God was searching the earth for people for whom He could strongly support, He didn’t find extraordinary people in Mary and Joseph, but rather, He found faithful people—people who had made it a habit of their hearts to position themselves to trust, believe, and depend on God! They weren’t flashy people or powerful people or rich people. Mary and Joseph were average, everyday believers who simply went through the mundane routines of their lives, walking with God and seeking to depend on Him for life, joy, and peace!
They grew up learning God’s Word and learning how to live in light of God’s Word in a community of faith! And those daily habits formed in them a faith that learned to say yes to God and positioned them to be used by God and to see His promises fulfilled to in Jesus!
Their story is the story of every believer, church!
And you might be thinking… how do you know that’s what their obedience was? How do you know we’re witnessing holy habits here that reflect a life lived in devotion to God’s word? It’d doesn’t exactly say that in this text.
You’re right but let me ask you this, how else could we have expected them to respond the way that they did, if it wasn’t but for a life long practice of looking for God with eyes of faith and practicing saying yes to Him in the small things of life?
Think about it, the courage displayed by these folks in following through on God’s Word to say yes to Him—this doesn’t just happen unless it’s a holy habit.
Courage doesn’t just show up out of nowhere. It’s a habit if the heart that is formed in us through small, daily acts of faith. Mary and Joseph weren’t extraordinary because of one big moment of obedience; they were faithful in the little things, the everyday acts of trusting God’s Word and following His commands.
They said yes to God in their ordinary lives long before they faced the extraordinary. They had a track record of obedience, so when the angel showed up, when they faced shame and scorn for Mary’s pregnancy, when they had to make the journey to Bethlehem and later to Egypt, they were ready to say yes because their hearts were already aligned with God through their holy habits of faith-filled obedience.
Church, here’s the challenge for us: Are we cultivating those same holy habits in our lives? Are we creating rhythms of faithfulness that position us to encounter God’s promises in Jesus?
It might feel mundane at times—reading your Bible, showing up for worship, fasting, gathering in community, praying with your family, speaking kindly to your neighbor, or serving someone in need. But these small acts of faithfulness create space for God to move. They are the soil where the seeds of God’s promises take root and grow.
It was because of these small and faithful obedient habits exercised in loyally following God’s word that Joseph and Mary find themselves in the exact place where God orchestrates yet another divine encounter with Simeon and Anna.
Again, everyday faithfulness is not about grand gestures but about aligning our lives with God’s revealed Word. When we embrace daily acts of obedience, we position ourselves to encounter His promises. It’s in these routines that God often reveals His extraordinary purposes.
And when we do this, we can rest assured that God will encounter us, not because of our obedience, but because of Jesus Christ!
The reality is that none of our hearts our fully devoted or committed to God. We can’t and won’t perfectly obey, but through Jesus and His perfect obedience to the law, God says if we depend upon Christ’s work well then he’ll see our hearts as if they are Christ’s heart!
Jesus’ obedience secures the blessings of God’s promises for us. His faithfulness enables us to live out our own faith-filled obedience, not to earn God’s favor but in response to His grace. And when we do, well then, we can trust that our everyday faithfulness will position us to encounter God’s promises, with that said, Christ’s obedience and ours is not enough. Without the Holy Spirit we’d still be blind to see God’s promises fulfilled in our lives.
While it’s true that everyday faithfulness positions us to encounter God’s promises, it is the Spirit’s leading that empowers us to see them fulfilled.
which brings me to my 2nd point.

2. The Spirit’s Leading Opens Our Eyes to God’s Promises (vv. 25-28)

While obedience to God’s law and His Word is woven throughout this text, so too is the empowering and illuminating ministry of the Holy Spirit.
Look at the passage again.
In vv. 25-26 we see that Simeon is described as “righteous and devout,” living in anticipation of God’s promises. Here again we see the importance of spiritual disciplines—those holy habits of practiced expectation that position us to encounter God’s presence and promises. Yet, even here, we’re reminded that human effort alone is not enough. Without the grace and power of God poured out upon us through His Spirit, we remain spiritually blind, dead in our sins, and incapable of truly seeing or savoring the presence or the promises of God.
As important as our devotion is, our obedience and performance is not enough! And we should praise God for this! Thankfully, we don’t serve a God who relates to us based upon our performance! No, we serve a God of grace who relates to us based upon Christ’s performance! Who, while we were still ugly and sinful, came for us! He came in the most unexpected and humble of ways to any and all who would but simply cry out to Him! He came to the outcasts, to the weak and the marginalized. He came not to those who thought they were healthy and classy but to the sick, those who knew they were nothing without Him!
And this is the kind of heart Simeon had. Not perfect, but fully devoted to God. And because of that, we see Simeon powerfully supported by God’s Spirit.
Notice that Simeon had the Holy Spirit, which is remarkable because this was before the outpouring of the Spirit at Pentecost, which would happen 30 years later. In the Old Testament, the Spirit’s presence was rare and often reserved for those uniquely devoted to God. Simeon was one of these individuals—a man righteous and devout, walking closely with God. Yet even with his obedience and devotion, it was only through the Spirit’s empowerment that Simeon could truly see and recognize God’s promises.
Here’s my point:
While obedience may position us to receive, it is the Holy Spirit who enables us to truly see.
Picture it like this: Obedience is like opening your eyes of faith—it positions you to see what’s in front of you and to live with an expectation to receive fulfillment of God’s Promises in your lives. But apart from they Spirit, all those promises remain hidden and in the dark. The Holy Spirit is needed because while we may open the eyes of our heart by faith, only He can illuminate the scene. Only the Spirit can reveal God’s promises that were always there but invisible and the dark.
Simeon’s faithful obedience positioned him to encounter God, and the Spirit led him to play his part in God’s work. The Spirit revealed to him that he would see the Messiah and guided him to the temple at the exact moment Jesus was brought in.
Then, in verse 28, we see Simeon take Jesus into his arms, recognizing Him as the fulfillment of God’s salvation. It was the Spirit that enabled Simeon to see Jesus for who He truly was—the Savior of the world.
Again, while our daily faithfulness positions us, it is the Spirit who opens our eyes to recognize and embrace God’s promises. The Spirit guides us into truth, illuminates God’s Word, and empowers us to live out His purposes.
Through Jesus, we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, who dwells in us and transforms our routine acts of obedience into works of eternal significance that God often uses to strengthen the faith of others in our community of faith. Which is precisely we see lived out not only in the life of Simeon, but of Anna as well!

3. God’s People Affirm and Strengthen Our Faith in His Promises (vv. 29-40)

Look again at the text with me.
In verses 29-32, Simeon proclaims Jesus as the “light for revelation to the Gentiles” and “the glory of Israel,” affirming the global scope of God’s promises. This message echoes what Mary and Joseph had already heard from the angels, Zechariah, Elizabeth, and the shepherds. Once again, God confirms His Word and His faithfulness—but notice through whom. Not another angel but rather through another faith-filled believer, empowered by the Holy Spirit!
In verses 33-35, we overhear God’s message through Simeon. He speaks directly to Mary, led by the Spirit, preparing her for both the joy and the sorrow that will accompany Jesus’ mission. This message is meant to strengthen Mary and Joseph, reminding them that while Jesus will be great, the path laid out for Him—and consequently for them—will not be easy.
Simeon foretells that Jesus will be a stumbling block for many, a dividing line for families, a sign opposed by the world. He warns, also, that a sword will pierce their souls too.
Not exactly positive and encouraging K-love right!
But isn’t though? I mean, the word spoken is a hard one, but it’s also true and I’m confident that it prepared Mary and was something she pondered and treasured in her heart as she faced her Son, hanging upon the cross! As hard as the word is, I gotta believe, that God was preparing Mary’s faith for what was ahead and giving her what was required so that she might persevere! As heart wrenching as it must’ve been for Mary to watch them crucify her son and her savior, these words must’ve reassured her, that nothing that was happening caught God off guard! He planned it. He knew! He spoke through Simeon so long ago, 8 days into His sons life! The sword that was piercing her heart God knew and He was there with here in the midst of the suffering!
That’s the encouragement and affirmation spoken by Simeon, and it’s powerful. But as we often say, it takes a village. It wasn’t just Simeon whom God used within His community to affirm and strengthen His promises—to the world and to Mary and Joseph alike.
Enter Anna, another righteous and devoted person. Life had been unkind to her—she was married for just seven years before her husband died, leaving her a widow. Yet, Anna’s resilience of faith, cultivated through holy habits of worship and devotion, positioned her to receive from God and be used by Him as well.
Rather than growing bitter about her circumstances, Anna lived with her eyes of faith open, regularly and intentionally worshiping God with His people. In her faithfulness, the Spirit empowers her to recognize Jesus and the fulfillment of God’s promise right in her midst.
In verses 36-38, we see Anna responding just as Simeon did. She gives thanks to God and speaks about Jesus to all who were waiting for redemption, strengthening their faith and ours through her testimony.
Here’s the point: God often uses His people to affirm and strengthen our faith. Through Holy Spirit empowered encouragement, testimony, and shared experiences, we are reminded of His promises and equipped to persevere.
We say this often here because it’s true: While you may be alone when God finds and saves you, you are never meant to stay that way. Jesus saves us individually, but through the adoption of the Holy Spirit, He places us into His family—the Church. Within this family, we encounter God and find encouragement, accountability, and affirmation we need to press on in faith!
As the body of Christ, this is what we’re called to! To build one another up in faith, testifying to the hope we have in Jesus.
Faith-filled hearts and Spirit-led lives not only encounter God’s promises but are also called to share and affirm them within the community of faith.
As we reflect on the grace of Jesus shown to us at Christmas, let’s not view obedience as a burden, but as a gift. Obedience opens our eyes of faith and positions us to receive from the Father, cultivating holy habits and disciplines rooted in His Word. But we must remember: even with our eyes of faith open, without the Spirit’s illumination, we remain blind.
When we position ourselves to see and the Spirit illuminates our path, we can move forward in faith and courage. In doing so, we not only encounter God’s promises but also become vessels for His purposes, strengthening the faith of our brothers and sisters in the process.
Lord Jesus, may it be so!
Pray.
Related Media
See more
Related Sermons
See more
Earn an accredited degree from Redemption Seminary with Logos.