The Son Who Saves

From a personal standpoint, success might look like growing in a specific area. Being disciplined to work out. Furthering your education. Growing relationships.

A study in November of 2024 found that for nearly 60% of Americans, the ability to spend money on things that make you happy is a mark that you are successful. If you arrive at the place in life that you can purchase things that make you happy, you are successful. That’s the view of over half of Americans, according to this poll. What makes someone successful?

Is it our net worth?

It it the number of friends we have?

Is it in the degree that we possess?

Is it how much free-time we have?

How do you measure success?

There are examples of people who have more money than you could spend in 10 lifetimes. There are people with more “friends” than you could ever possibly know. Degrees from fancy places that you and I likely couldn’t even get accepted into. From the world’s standpoint, they are successful! Yet, from the Word’s standpoint, they are not.

The Bible reminds us that the true measure of success is our faithfulness to God’s Word. Jesus Himself says in the Sermon on the Mount that the only one who will enter the Kingdom is the one who does the will of the Father. In Matthew 25, Jesus says that this person will hear these incredible words “Well done, good and faithful servant!” Faithfulness, though, can be costly. One of the greatest preachers in the history of our nation is Jonathan Edwards. Edwards pastored one of the largest congregations in our country, just outside Boston, and had served there for over 2 decades… only to be kicked out of his own church with a 230-23 vote. Yes, just 10% of his congregation voted to keep him as their pastor! We look at this number - 90% wanted him gone - and it’s easy to say this man wasn’t successful. His ministry wasn’t successful. He wasn’t a good pastor. Yet, if you read about his ministry, his love for the members he shepherded, his desire to glorify Jesus, you’d walk away saying confidently, this man’s ministry was successful.

Brothers and Sisters, faithfulness to Jesus and obedience to His Word are the marks of true success today. If we excel in every other metric, but fail here, it’s all for nothing. This morning as we continue walking through the Gospel of Luke, we find Jesus growing up and being faithful to His Father. We find Mary and Joseph being faithful to God’s law. As you look at your life today, with the pressures and stressors and anxieties that our world loves to throw at us, let’s remember that our call from the Lord today is simply to be faithful to His Word. Not perfect. Faithful.

Luke 2:21–52 CSB

21 When the eight days were completed for his circumcision, he was named Jesus—the name given by the angel before he was conceived. 22 And when the days of their purification according to the law of Moses were finished, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord 23 (just as it is written in the law of the Lord, Every firstborn male will be dedicated to the Lord) 24 and to offer a sacrifice (according to what is stated in the law of the Lord, a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons). 25 There was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. This man was righteous and devout, looking forward to Israel’s consolation, and the Holy Spirit was on him. 26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he saw the Lord’s Messiah. 27 Guided by the Spirit, he entered the temple. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to perform for him what was customary under the law, 28 Simeon took him up in his arms, praised God, and said, 29 Now, Master, you can dismiss your servant in peace, as you promised. 30 For my eyes have seen your salvation. 31 You have prepared it in the presence of all peoples— 32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles and glory to your people Israel. 33 His father and mother were amazed at what was being said about him. 34 Then Simeon blessed them and told his mother Mary, “Indeed, this child is destined to cause the fall and rise of many in Israel and to be a sign that will be opposed— 35 and a sword will pierce your own soul—that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.” 36 There was also a prophetess, Anna, a daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was well along in years, having lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, 37 and was a widow for eighty-four years. She did not leave the temple, serving God night and day with fasting and prayers. 38 At that very moment, she came up and began to thank God and to speak about him to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem. 39 When they had completed everything according to the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. 40 The boy grew up and became strong, filled with wisdom, and God’s grace was on him. 41 Every year his parents traveled to Jerusalem for the Passover Festival. 42 When he was twelve years old, they went up according to the custom of the festival. 43 After those days were over, as they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but his parents did not know it. 44 Assuming he was in the traveling party, they went a day’s journey. Then they began looking for him among their relatives and friends. 45 When they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem to search for him. 46 After three days, they found him in the temple sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. 47 And all those who heard him were astounded at his understanding and his answers. 48 When his parents saw him, they were astonished, and his mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you.” 49 “Why were you searching for me?” he asked them. “Didn’t you know that it was necessary for me to be in my Father’s house?” 50 But they did not understand what he said to them. 51 Then he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was obedient to them. His mother kept all these things in her heart. 52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and with people.

We see here that Jesus, from His childhood, was faithful to God. We see a prophecy about His life that reminds us that Jesus came to earth on a mission… and that mission is ultimately to save sinners! This morning, let’s thank Him for His finished work.

Jesus’ Parents Were Faithful (21-24)

One of the greatest gifts that God gives us as parents is our children. Scripture is unashamedly pro-children and says that children are a heritage. A blessing. A gift. Now, this stands out in our world as children are often seen as out of place. A nuisance. An inconvenience. Noisy. Quick aside - one of the sounds in a healthy, growing church, is children in service! If you don’t have sounds from little ones, it means that you’re either dying or you’re already dead. Parents of little’s, your pastor has 2 and Lindsey and I have sat through services before with them, and it can be tough. From my heart, hear this: Your kids will not bother me one bit. I don’t remember many of the sermons I heard whenever I was 5 or even 10… but I do remember worshiping with my parents. Taking notes. What I discovered is that the Christian faith is taught - we learn from parents, pastors, Sunday school teachers… but it is also caught. We learn by observing. By participating.

Parents, you are the primary disciple-makers for your children! God has ordained this and given that primary responsibility to YOU. The church exists to come alongside you in this process. I’m so thankful for Kristi and her heart to help provide resources that can help you in this process in our Kids Ministry area and even here in the sanctuary. Isn’t this a heavy weight? Consider what Proverbs 22 says about this

Proverbs 22:6 ESV

6 Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.

This picture of training up a child is powerful. This is a principle - not necessarily a promise. You and I both know families that prioritized church. Kids served in church. Parents served in the church. What happened whenever that child graduated? They were out as soon as the the last “Amen” was said! Depending on the study, between 2/3 and 3/4 students who grow up in church leave the church after they graduate. This isn’t 60-70% of high school graduates don’t come to church, this is 60-70% of churchgoing high school graduates stop attending church after having come for years and years! Thankfully, a good chunk do come back typically after becoming parents… Why do the 1/4 or 1/3 stay in church in this same season?

Understand the benefit of their local church

Have relationships with people and pastors

Plugged into ministry

How can we help diminish this number in the years to come at South Gate? Helping our students and our children see that this is THEIR church. See, kids aren’t the just church of tomorrow (although they are), if they are saved they are the church of today! You don’t receive a JV version of the Holy Spirit when you’re 12. You receive the Holy Spirit! (LIT Plug) Parents, it is your job to help your child grow when they are saved. It is your job to help your child hear the truth of the Gospel day after day. It is your job to help your child see the power of the Gospel day after day with the way that you live, the things that you say, and the things that you do as a family. We will never be perfect - your pastor is not a perfect father… but you know what we can do? Be present and point our kids to their perfect heavenly Father. See, you can’t save your kid, but you can give them a solid faith foundation! I remember as a kid, my parents and I read our Bible at home. We talked about our Sunday school lesson on the ride home. We talked about the sermon at lunch. We dove into Biblical doctrines. As I got older, we’d talk about deep stuff and sometimes I was encouraged to go and talk to my lead pastor and I did this, and now as a lead pastor, I LOVE talking with the next generation about our faith and our beliefs as Baptists! Parents, this is our responsibility. Dads listen to Eph 6:4

Ephesians 6:4 CSB

4 Fathers, don’t stir up anger in your children, but bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.

This is your God-given assignment! This matters.

We see in Luke 2 that Jesus’ parents were faithful to do what God’s Word expected of them. Now, we’re talking events that are 2,000 years old. Different contexts. Yet, we see their faithfulness to do what the Bible called them to do. At this time, the custom was to bring Jesus to be circumcised on the 8th day and named. Just like Zechariah and Elizabeth did this and named their boy John on the 8th day, Mary and Joseph do the same thing, and obey what God told them to do in naming Him Jesus.

The name Jesus means that God is my salvation or that God saves. Even the name Jesus helps us see what exactly He will do in His life - He will save His people from their sins. Mary and Joseph were faithful to name the child what Gabriel told them to name Him. They were faithful to present Him before the Lord as well. Leviticus 12 talks about these instructions for presenting your child to the Lord, circumcising them, and the process of becoming “clean.” One of the highlights of our church year is whenever we have our parent/child dedication. We get this from the example of Mary and Joseph with Jesus as this was the custom at the time, to present the child before the Lord - Jesus wasn’t baptized, but He was dedicated. This is what we do. We pray over them. We make a commitment before our family and church family to raise up our children in the fear and admonition of the Lord.

In the Bible, though, not only did you present your child before the Lord, but the firstborn male was to be dedicated to the Lord. Look at this in Numbers 18

Numbers 18:15–16 CSB

15 The firstborn of every living thing, human or animal, presented to the Lord belongs to you. But you must certainly redeem a human firstborn, and redeem the firstborn of an unclean animal. 16 You will pay the redemption price for a month-old male according to your assessment: five shekels of silver by the standard sanctuary shekel, which is twenty gerahs.

So, either you could have your son “signed up” to work in the temple system… or you could pay 5 shekels of silver. Mary and Joseph are poor. We could say that they are broke college kids. They don’t have $2,000-$3,000 to “redeem” Jesus… so they dedicate Him to serve the Lord. How does Jesus do this? We know the answer is that His entire life is in service to the Lord.

Jesus’ parents weren’t perfect, but they were faithful. Though they were young, poor, and likely had a lot of learning to do… they were obedient to do what the law said. Today, parents, we won’t ever be perfect, but we can be faithful. We can be faithful to teach our kids the Word. To show them what it looks like to worship and live for Jesus. To belong to and serve inside His church, here at South Gate. God blesses ordinary obedience!

Jesus’ Presentation Was Fruitful (25-40)

As Jesus is presented in the temple, we see that Luke shows us how two different people respond to His dedication. We see several similarities between both Simeon and Anna in the text - both of them are old, both of them are devoted to God, both of them are “prophets” in that they speak God’s truth, and both of them believed in God’s promise of the Messiah. Did you know that every member of the body has a vital role to play? Romans 12 talks about the different gifts that God gives to the Church. One of those gifts is the gift of age. We talked about parents and children already, today we celebrated Grandparents Day in the fellowship hall. It is a gift to have multiple generations at South Gate! We have the wisdom of seasoned saints to help us navigate difficult times. There is a trend in some congregations to be so “for” the next generation that they forget about the older generation, and this isn’t right. We see in our text that God uses both older men and women for His glory, and I’m thankful for the seasoned saints that we have here at South Gate.

Look at what Luke tells us about Simeon. Do you see the number of times we see the Holy Spirit show up in this passage? The Spirit was on him. The Spirit revealed this to him. He was guided by the Spirit. He was told he would see the Messiah before dying. This is fascinating! The Holy Spirit is our guide. Our comforter. Our helper. Luke doesn’t tell us how long Simeon had known this promise that he wouldn’t die before seeing Jesus, it could’ve been weeks. Months. Maybe even years! Yet, he kept on being faithful. He kept on waiting. He ket on going to the temple… and eventually, he saw Jesus. What happens whenever you meet Jesus? You’re a changed person. Jesus changes you. One of the ways that He does this is by producing fruit inside of us. Look at what Matthew 5 says about this

Matthew 5:6 CSB

6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

This man hungered for God and His glory. Think about your life today, what do you hunger and thirst for? Many people would say that they hunger and thirst for things. We desire more money. We crave the new car. We are eager for power. These are the things that people hunger and thirst for today… but notice, those things don’t fill you. In fact, they leave a chasm of a gap in their place. Lindsey has a cousin who played in the Women’s College World Series a few years ago as the starting 1B and pitcher for Florida State as they played against Oklahoma. Mack, as we call her, pitched well and even hit a home run… but Oklahoma ended up winning the title, their 3rd in a row. An Oklahoma player was interviewed after they won and said that she had won the championship the year before as a freshman and thought that it was her dream come true. The thing that she had worked her entire life toward! She won the championship in 2022. Celebrated with her friends and family. And woke up the next morning emptier than she had ever been. This doesn’t make much sense, on one hand! She had worked hard. She was a champion. She played well. But she was empty. Why? Because she hungered and thirsted most of all for a softball championship, not for righteousness. So she was empty, not filled. This player was saved between her freshman and sophomore seasons, and after beating Florida State her entire interview was full of her praising God and saying that it was all for His glory, win or lose, and she wanted to use her gifts to point others to Him. This is what it looks like to be fruitful, friends!

Simeon longed for God’s glory and after seeing Jesus, he praised God and basically said, “Ok God, I’m ready to go home now!” Simeon shares that Jesus is here to bring a light of salvation that will change everything! But this doesn’t mean that everything will be easy - notice what he says to Mary, this child will be opposed, and a sword will pierce your soul.” Think about what Mary endured with Jesus on the cross

John 19:25 CSB

25 Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.

Why the cross? Because this was God’s plan. Because in order for sinners to be saved, a sinless Savior had to die. How did the cross happen? On the one hand, it was God’s plan… but on the other, it was due to the evil actions and wickedness of sinful men. Jesus was not received well by everyone - many rejected Him when He walked the earth… and many continue to reject Christ today as well. However, there are some who rejoice at what Jesus has done. Simeon is one example. The thief on the cross is another. I pray that you and I are in this group as well. That because of the presentation of Jesus in the temple and on the cross, that we respond to. One preacher said that Jesus is like a magnet - you are either drawn to Him or you are repelled by Him, but you cannot be neutral to Him.

Simeon and Anna were clearly drawn by Jesus - they rejoiced and worshiped God because of Him. Anna in our text was a widow for 84 years! Can you imagine? This means that she likely is somewhere in the ballpark of 105-110 years old. What did she do, though? For 84 years she continued to worship God. TO Serve Him. To pray to Him. She was fruitful in spite of the pain that she was walking through! God used her to point people forward to the redemption of Jerusalem. Do you see how God uses these empty people, who had been waiting for years for this promise? Friends, God works in our waiting and while we wait, we have work to do! We have fruit to produce. These people waited to see Jesus, you and I are waiting to see Jesus as well… they didn’t know when He would come, we don’t know when He’ll come back, but we do know that while we wait, we have work to do and that work is to be about our Father’s business, just like Jesus

Jesus’ Priority Was His Father (41-52)

For Jesus, one of the things that was custom for the Israelites was to make a journey to Jerusalem for Passover. Depending on the route they took, you’re talking about a nearly 80 mile walk which would take them about 5 days to complete. Sometimes we take things called vacations that are 5 days long, but could you imagine having to walk to get there? That kind of defeats the whole purpose of going away and relaxing! But, here is Jesus and His family year after year going to Jerusalem to worship during Passover. Not only did Mary and Joseph dedicate Jesus when He was a boy, they continued to train Him up in the way that He should go. In our world, we would say that not only did Mary and Joseph dedicate Jesus on Parent/Child dedication day, but they continued to bring Him to church. They continued to teach Him God’s Word. But, we see a problem in this process. When Jesus was 12, He stayed behind in Jerusalem instead of traveling home with their family and friends.

Parents, have you experienced the panic of not knowing where your child is? Especially in a crowded, dangerous, unfamiliar place? Y’all know Gabriel by now… the Hayworth’s have this experience from time to time, and nothing makes your heart stop quicker as a parent than not knowing where your child is. Scholars are divided if this is 5 days without Jesus, or 3 days… but the consensus is that they traveled for a day, realized that Jesus wasn’t with them, traveled a day back, and looked for a day in Jerusalem before finding Him. After 3 days of separation, they found Jesus. Any Home Alone fans? Jesus puts Kevin McCailster to shame!

Now, this brings us to an important question: Was Jesus disobedient? If so, did Jesus sin in doing this? Some believe this story is telling us that Jesus disobeyed his parents deliberately… but this is problematic, isn’t it? That would be to say that Jesus sinned by disobeying His parents, which Scripture commands children to do. Hebrews 4:15

Hebrews 4:15 CSB

15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in every way as we are, yet without sin.

See, Jesus never sinned. So, how do we understand this story? Jesus was 12. He was fully-God and fully-man. Notice what Jesus does, He asked questions of the priests and teachers. He listened to them. He soaked up what they said. And He answered questions that shocked these leaders. What can we see here? Jesus has a unique grasp of the Scriptures… and Jesus has a desire to learn more and more from these teachers. As fully-man, Jesus learned things. He learned how to build things from his earthly father, Joseph, who was a carpenter. He learned basic math and language skills of the day. Because He was fully-man. He wasn’t an emotionless robot. He learned as His parents taught Him Scripture. It is dangerous to view Jesus as fully-God and not man … but it is equally dangerous to view Jesus as fully-man and not fully-God. This is the view in our modern age. Jesus was a cultural icon. A political activist. A holy man. A great person… but certainly not God.

Yet, here He is. Learning and teaching. God and man. Eventually Mary and Joseph find Him, they are relieved, and likely exhausted. Just like whenever you find a lost child, you wrap them up in your arms because you love them… and then what do you say? Never do that again! This is Mary’s response - I love you, why did you do this?

Look at verse 49. Here we find Jesus’ first words in Luke’s Gospel

Luke 2:49 CSB

49 “Why were you searching for me?” he asked them. “Didn’t you know that it was necessary for me to be in my Father’s house?”

This is big. Of course, parents will search for a lost child… but Jesus’ words are pointed and particular. Why did they have to search? In other words, they should have known where He would be. Of all the times the phrase “It was necessary” is used in the Bible, the Gospel of Luke has nearly 20% of the total. Luke uses this often to demonstrate that God has a plan, and Jesus Christ is on earth to submit to and succeed in that perfect plan. Jesus’ first priority was to His heavenly Father. This is His purpose in coming to the earth. Between His miraculous birth. His presentation at the temple. The prophecies given about Him. His parents should’ve known that He existed for the purpose of obeying His Father. Yet, verse 50 says that they didn’t understand this. Jesus is claiming that God is His Father. This is what He would do throughout His earthly ministry, especially in His prayers. His first words in Luke’s Gospel show us that Jesus believed that He was the Son of God and was here for the purpose of fulfilling His Father’s plan.

Aren’t you thankful that we live on this side of the cross? Jesus’ own parents didn’t understand this. His siblings didn’t understand this. Yet, 2000 years later, we can look back with confidence as we read our Bible’s and see that this truly was God’s plan. He would be misunderstood and rejected by thousands… but He would succeed and be faithful to His Father. We wonder how people can miss Jesus today… most people missed Him back then too. They didn’t understand His purpose. They didn’t understand God’s plan. Yet, when it was all over, Jesus submitted to His parents and obeyed them.

Remember why they were in Jerusalem in the first place? Passover. Passover celebrated whenever the Israelites were in Egypt and the Angel of Death passed over the houses that had blood on the doorpost. Hence, Passover. As a boy, Jesus came to Jerusalem for Passover year after year. At the temple, the priest would offer up a sacrificial lamb. Then people would remember God’s faithfulness. Fast forward about 20 years from this event… do you remember what they were celebrating the night Jesus was arrested? Passover. Luke 22 documents this. As a boy Jesus came to Jerusalem and sacrificed a lamb on Passover. As a man, Jesus grew to become the true and better Passover lamb who doesn’t just save us from physical death, but from eternal separation from God! Jesus doesn’t just save our lives, He saves our souls. This is why He came. This is what He did. Not because it was easy, but because Luke 22 reminds us that Jesus’ priority was on submitting to the Father’s plan from start to finish, and this is exactly what Jesus did!

Application

How do we gauge success? Let’s look to Jesus as the example. Jesus humbled Himself and submitted to the Father’s plan. Jesus was faithful to live a sinless life and provide salvation for Jews and Gentiles alike. Today, our call isn’t to be famous, but it is to be faithful. What does faithfulness look like? 2 questions for each of us to consider:

Who Am I Following? JESUS

We all are being discipled by someone or something. Even the best leader is a follower. Who are you following today? Whenever Jesus walked this earth, He spent time with His Father. He followed God’s plan for His life, even when it was hard. Today, to be faithful, it requires you and I to follow Jesus. Sometimes that will prove to be costly. But there is a much greater cost attached to not following Jesus. As you look at your life, who are you following? What is your goal? Who determines what you do and don’t do? I pray that your answer to those questions is that you follow Jesus. Your goal is to glorify Him. That the Bible determines what you do and don’t do! Today, follow Jesus!

What Am I Producing? FRUIT

An incredible thing happens as we do follow Jesus, He changes us. Have you heard the expression “You are what you eat”? Spiritually we can flip it just a bit, “You produce what you consume.” Garbage in, garbage out. Scripture in, Scripture out. Today, what are you producing? John 15 reminds us that whenever we abide or remain in Christ, we produce fruit. Faithfulness to Jesus leads to fruitfulness for Jesus. We see this with Mary and Joseph, they were faithful to God’s Word, and that led them to do things that the Bible instructed them to do. They were flawed, sure, but they were fruitful. Today, what fruit are you producing? The fruit of the Spirit? Or the fruit of a sinful world? Parents, when we face a difficult decision, what do we model for our kids? We don’t always understand what God is doing, but we can always trust in Him and point people to Him!

What is our hope in all of this? Why do we follow? Why do we worship? Why do we submit? Because of what Jesus did! Because He is the Savior of Sinners! What has your response been to Him? Like many others in His day, have you response been confusion or has it been transformation? Today, Jesus can transform your life from the inside out because He came to save.

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