The True Spirit of Christmas

Introduction

What is the Christmas Spirit? How often do we hear cheesy lines about the Spirit of Christmas in movies and songs this time of year. Perhaps some of us may think of the classic Christmas stories like Charles Dickon’s character Ebenezer Scrooge and the transformation he undergoes in the story through the help of, not one, but three Christmas spirits.

But when we go back to the original Christmas story, the foundation of all our traditions and celebrations, we do indeed find a Spirit of Christmas. But what is it? And how do we know that we have it? Tonight, let us explore the true Spirit of Christmas in the story of Simeon.

Simeon’s Waiting

Verse 25 begins by introducing us to a man named Simeon. Simeon is described to us in four ways: he was righteous, devout, he was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and he was filled by the Holy Spirit.

Righteous, meaning he was a man who submitted himself to God’s Law, not just as an outward show like the Pharisees, but from a heart of worship, faith, and love for God. He, like his ancestor Abraham, is counted righteous by faith.

Devout, meaning this man lived a life of peity and devotion to God.

Waiting for the consolation of Israel. The story of the OT is a story of the people of Israel in constant suffering because of their rebellion against God. The prophets, when they looked forward to a future redemption and salvation of Israel, spoke of comfort and consolation which the nation would one day experience because of their restoration to God. Isaiah 40:1

Isaiah 40:1 ESV

Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.

Isaiah 49:13 ESV

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.

Isaiah 51:3 ESV

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.

So from the words of prophets like Isaiah, faithful men like Simeon waited with patience and hope, in faith and prayer, for this comfort to come. A time when God will remove the sins of his people, fill them with a spirit of truth, and comfort them in the midst of their sufferings.

The last thing we are told is that he was filled with the Holy Spirit. This is the reason he is a prophet and knkows the Spirit’s promise to him that he would not die until he had seen the Christ. This is also apparently how he is able to recognize the child as being the Messiah; it takes the clarity of the Spirit’s work to show the true nature of Jesus to a human mind. It also takes the Spirit’s work to understand God’s promises so that our faith may take hold of them.

This was the work of the Spirit in Simeon’s heart, and is the work in every believer’s heart. There are many reasons we can bring up that assure us of the truth of the Gospel, but none of them are the foundation of faith. Instead, the Spirit works in the heart of the elect so that they, like Simeon, recognize the Christ. He know Jesus by sight in person, even as an infant, and believers know him by sight in the Scriptures. Every believer, when they heard the Gospel, had their heart resonate with that message. The Spirit told you that this was true in the same way that he told Simeon who this child was.

So, Jesus’ parents bring him into the Temple on the eigth day in obedience to the law, for him to be circumcised since Christ was born under the law to redeem those under the law. It is here, at the Temple, the place where God’s presence dwelt among his people Israel, that the promise comes to fruition for this faithful old man.

Simeon’s Prayer

His prayer is in praise to God, joining a growing chorus of those glorifying God because of the coming of the Son.

“now you are letting your servant depart in peace according to your word” - having seen Jesus, the Spirit made it known to him that this way he, the consolation of Israel for which he was waiting. The comfort which the Prophet Isaiah had promised had been personally promised to Simeon, that his eyes would see in faith.

Of course, Simeon would never see this comfort come to full fruition. He says that “now” he is ready to depart in peace. He sees a baby, not unlike the many babies that went through the Temple every day. The Spirit made it known to him who this child was, and beyond this one child there was nothing visible to hold onto. He is not unlike Abraham who was promised a nation and never saw anything but one boy, and on this he founded his faith. Having seen the child, he trusts that God has kept his word, proof of his flourishing faith.

While “depart” may refer to departing from the Temple, having recieved the promise, is almost certainly referring to his life. He is ready to die in peace knowing that God had kept his promise to his people. This also proves his devotion to Israel as their comfort was needed for him to pass in peace. He loved God and God’s people, and so the coming of the Messiah was the one thing that could bring his life to a peaceful end. God, in his mercy, granted this desire.

“my eyes have seen your salvation” - salvation and the consolation of Israel are the same here. He has waited for God to save his people. Save them from what? Again, from what Moses couldn’t; from the sin that kept them from experiencing the blessings of their covenant with God. Moses took Israel out of Egypt, Jesus came to take Egypt, the internal slavery of sin, out of Israel!

“you prepared in the presence of all peoples … a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel.” - Again, the focus of his faith is not mainly inward, nor is it only for the national people of Israel. Simeon knew his OT very well. He knew that Abraham had been promised to be a blessing to the nations. He knew Isaiah and the other prophets had spoken of a time when all the nations would come and worship Israel’s God and even be named among his people. He saw this child, not only as the salvation of Israel from her enemies, but the salvation of all people from evil itself. Whereas the truth of God’s grace had been hidden to the nations in previous ages, the coming of Christ would be as the dawning of a new morning and a day which would have no end. It’s not that God’s plans for Israel had failed, or that God had moved on to other peoples, but rather God’s salvation had expanded to cover all nations, tribes, and people groups.

All this was revealed to Simeon through two mediums of God’s truth: the written Word of God through the writtings of the prophets, and the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit who took the Scriptures and showed them fulfilled right before his eyes.

Conclusion

So, what, or rather who, is the true Spirit of Christmas? I’m sure it’s clear to you now, the Spirit of Christmas, the Spirit who reveals the person of God embodied in human flesh, is the Holy Spirit himself. He inspired the prophets, like Isaiah, to write about the coming of the Messiah so that faithful people could hold onto God’s promises. He made it known to Simeon, a prophet himself, that he would see the beginning of the consolation of Israel before he would depart this life. He also inspired faith in that man’s heart to recieve that promise with confidence and to continue his regular worship in the Temple waiting for the comfort which Isaiah had foretold. Finally, the Holy Spirit helped the believing man to recognize the fulfilment of God’s promise when his mother and father brought him into the Temple to be circumcised according to the law. In that child, the Spirit showed Simeon, not only the consolation and comfort Israel had waited so long for, but a comfort and joy which would be for all the world. The Spirit of Christmas is the Holy Spirit who causes a believing heart to recognize the hope and glory of the incarnation of the Son of God.

If you have believed upon the Lord Jesus Christ, if you have submitted yourself to him in faith and in faith joined him among his poeple through Baptism, you can be sure that the Spirit of Christmas lives in you. It is not some intangible feeling to attitude, it is a person, the third person of the Trinity. He leads us to the seeming weakness of the young child born in Bethleham that night long ago and shows us who he truly is: the salvation of God. A light of revelation for all peoples. The glory to God’s people. The greatest comfort for all who believe.

So this Christmas Eve, allow yourself to hear the words of the Scriptures with faith by the Power of the Spirit. Ask him to give you the wonder, the joy, and the comfort which Simeon felt that day in the Temple. Allow yourself to become filled with a child-like amazement that the fullness of deity inhabited that little baby in Mary’s arms. Consider the love of God, and comfort he shares with his people, and the hope for all in this world shown through him.

But if you do not know Christ, you do not know the Spirit of Christmas. But that, of course, can change even tonight. Consider the Christmas story and its message: God became a human being, he took on our flesh and weakness, so that his may offer his perfect life on the cross in exchange for your sin and brokeness. He then rose from the dead so that he may raise those who believe into his eternal life. Is there anything more comforting, more joyful, than that? To rejoice at the truth of this Gospel, to read and think of the star, the angels, the manger, and virgin mother, and the child who was God himself, and all this means for us as sinful human being in need of salvation, that is the joy of Christmas shown to us by the Spirit of Christ.