RECOGNIZING JESUS

RECOGNIZING JESUS Luke 2:22-35 December 18, 2005 Given by: Pastor Rich Bersett [Index of Past Messages] Introduction With some extra time at the end of her Sunday school class, the teacher invited the children to draw a picture of whatever they wanted to draw. One little boy was feverishly putting pencil lead to paper, so the teacher walked to his place at the table and asked, “What are you drawing, David?” “I’m drawing a picture of God,” he answered without looking up. “But, David, no one knows what God looks like!” “They will when I’m done with this!” In a season when “Merry Christmas” has been replaced by “Happy Holidays” in a most unfortunate attempt at political correctness, actually “in-correctness,” I wonder if most people’s idea of the identity of Jesus is accurate. One author suggests that we Americans have a history of “continually re-making Jesus to resemble our current hero-types.” (Stephen Prothero, American Jesus) Among active producers and consumers of images of Jesus in America are Buddhists. Hindus will tell you Jesus is an avatar of the god Vishnu. A Jew might tell you He was a great rabbi. In 1925 Bruce Barton described Jesus as “The Man Nobody Knows”. The infamous “Jesus Seminar redefines Jesus by editing what they think He did and didn’t really say—making God in their own image. There’s Philip Yancey’s insightful book, The Jesus I Never Knew. Prothero, who is the chair of the Department of Religion at Boston University, suggests that today Jesus is the man nobody hates. He says that in America Jesus is very popular. But, which Jesus are we talking about? Prothero says it is important to distinguish the chameleon Christs from the living Christ of faith. He says Jesus has been “interpreted and reinterpreted, construed and misconstrued, the in messy midrash of American culture.” Even in art, Jesus has been depicted in hundreds of different styles. One recent painting by Stephen Sawyer shows Jesus as a boxer standing in His corner, shirtless and ready to don his boxing gloves which are labeled “mercy”—maybe the message is that of  James 2:13, “Mercy triumphs over judgment.” Well in our pluralistic culture, it seems like it’s just pick out the Jesus you like best and enjoy Him however you want to. But today, I’d like to inquire of one biblical character who clearly recognized and identified who Jesus was—even as a baby. Scripture Reading – Luke 2:21-35 On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise him, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he had been conceived. When the time of their purification according to the Law of Moses had been completed, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord”), 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.” 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 upon him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. 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, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying: “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all people, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.” The child’s father and mother marveled at what was said about him. 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, so that the thought5s of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.” This aged man, this unknown prophet who had been waiting untold numbers of years for God to fulfill the promise He made to him, did one thing almost no one else was doing just days after the birth of Jesus. He recognized Him. Why Simeon? What was it about this man that God promised him in the first place that he would behold the Savior of the world? What made him uniquely able to see the identity of God’s Son in human form? Notice something about this man . . . Simeon Recognized Jesus Simeon was not the kind of man who was content to stand on the sidelines of what God was doing in the world. He wanted to know the game plan and be in on the action. Even if being part of the program just meant to “wait on the Lord”, Simeon would do it. It had a lot to do with . . . Simeon recognized Jesus because of . . . • The kind of man he was (25) Verse 25 describes Simeon as “righteous and devout.” Those two terms tell us that he was devoted to everything God wanted done. He was committed to obedience to the Law and to doing good in the name of the Lord. It also says he was waiting for the consolation of Israel. He was looking for the Messiah. So enamored with the plan of God who promised Israel and the world a Savior was Simeon that he spent his entire life on his tiptoes, looking over the fence and excitedly awaiting the fulfillment of these prophecies. But this man had been given a personal prophetic promise—that he would not die until he had seen with his own eyes the messianic promise of God fulfilled. One morning as he waited and prayed, just like he had done for many years, God spoke to him again. “Simeon, I want you to go and hang out in the temple courts today.” When you are waiting for God’s promise, and you hear Him tell you to position yourself at a certain point at a certain time, you go. Simeon went. That’s what the Lord’s righteous, devout, servants-in-waiting do. They hear and they go, expecting to see the glory of God revealed. That’s the kind of man Simeon was. • The kind of control he was under (25-27) Then verse 25 tells us the Holy Spirit was upon Him, and verse 26 explains the leading he had—it says he was moved by the Spirit. Luke 1:41 tells us that Elizabeth was momentarily filled with the Holy Spirit when here baby John leapt inside her because of the proximity of Jesus as a fetus in His mother’s womb. When Zechariah miraculously spoke after his being struck dumb it says he was filled with the Holy Spirit (1:67), but of Simeon it says the Spirit was “upon Him”—this man was walking under the influence of the Spirit. This was no sudden flash in the pan outpouring and withdrawal; Simeon was experiencing a long season of the Holy Spirit presence. Led of the Spirit, verse 27 says, he went into the temple courts. Christians are privileged to have the Spirit of God living within them, and have the honor of being directed and empowered by God’s Spirit. How often do you go place with the confidence you are being led? If you can’t remember the last time you did, then you are living beneath your privilege as a vessel of God’s Spirit. Brothers and sisters, the whole premise of living our lives to please and glorify the Lord begins and ends with this principle—the filling, empowering and leading of His Spirit. • The kind of wisdom he exercised (28-35) The spiritual wisdom Simeon allowed God to cultivate in his heart paid off the moment he recognized the anointing on this week-old child. There is a spiritual wisdom at work in the people of God that will allow us to recognize God’s handiwork. You know, when God fulfills one of His promises, not everyone recognizes that fact. But those who have their spiritual wisdom tuned up and tuned in will see and understand. If all you see when you suffer is pain and disappointment, and you don’t understand the spiritual import of what is happening to you, you need a spiritual tune-up. If you faithfully witness your faith and you are ridiculed or rebuffed and all you feel is embarrassment and betrayal, you need a tune-up. God is very interested in speaking to you by His Spirit like He spoke to Simeon. To those who are pretty sure God doesn’t do that anymore, let me pose a question: Why do you pray for God’s wisdom and leading in your life, if you are sure He won’t answer? He is looking for servants who are willing to have eyes to see and ears to hear Him. To have this glorious leading from God through His Spirit, are you willing to pray, study His Word, meditate on it and listen? Can you imagine the racing of Simeon’s heart as he entered the Temple courts, his eyes wide with anticipation? Was this the day? Why else would He lead me here today? I’m old, I’m so tired of waiting; please, Lord, don’t let there be any more delay! Eyes heavenward in this prayer he peripherally notices a young family coming across the marble floor. As surely as the Spirit had led him here, Simeon sensed the significance of this family out of all the others there that day. The child! It’s the child! It’s the Messiah! Old men are not supposed to move that fast, but his feet barely touched the tile as he raced to Mary and took the baby from her arms with wrinkled hands trembling with excitement and his jaw propped open by the glory of the moment. Tears filled his eyes, his hopes were realized, and all he could do was speak out praise to the Lord. There he stood at the Temple of the Lord, an old man who one minute ago had nothing but an overdue bill on a brittle promise. Now here he stood, awestruck and grateful, holding his own Creator in his arms. Now I can die! I’ve seen what You told me I would see. Thank you! Thank you, Lord! And he spoke forth another prophetic utterance from the Lord: a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel. (32) There, in those brief moments, a whole lifetime of prayer and hope and study and waiting paid off. Wisdom saw her children. God vindicated His Word and His servant. How grateful Simeon was that he finally saw clearly what he understood in part about the things of God. Someday, we, too, will fully experience the full promises of God which we now know in part. Until then may we fully trust the promises and be ready to move whenever and wherever the Spirit leads us. People like Simeon, who spend their lives in faithful service and devotion to the Lord, who become intimately acquainted with the Word of the Lord, who strive to walk in the way of His Spirit—these kind of believers develop spiritual wisdom along the way. Years of faithful relationship with the Lord will do things to you. It will deepen you and make you wise. Let me say a word about older believers—people who’ve been in the Christian faith for many years: hang around them! Drink in some of the wisdom that God has fermenting in their lives. Youthful people are forever ignoring the aged to their own loss. There are valuable treasures stored up in these antique vessels. Let’s honor them as the scripture tells us to do, and not be in such a hurry to shuffle them off to the nursing homes of our convenience and the forgotten corners of uselessness. Look around for the Simeons God has placed in your courts. They’re walking around in your life, sold out to and deeply in love with the Lord. And they have some very helpful, if not prophetic, insight to share with you. Simeon has one more prophetic utterance here in our text before the book closes on him and we hear no more from scripture about him. While Joseph and Mary marveled at what was said about Jesus (33), Simeon pronounces a blessing over them. Then he speaks to Mary words that will remain alive in her heart for the rest of her life. He prophesies that because of Jesus there will be a division in Israel. Those who reject this child’s claims will fall and those who accept them in faith will rise. Many will speak against Jesus in noisy disbelief and in violent antagonism. The hearts of people will be revealed—their true motives and aspirations, the genuineness or in-genuineness of their religion, the true measure of their faith in God—will come to light through the ministry of the Savior. Then, that terrifying personal word to Mary that would find its fatal fulfillment 33 years later when her Son is killed by sinners and their sins on a hilltop cross; And a sword will pierce your own soul too (35). No parent wants her child to suffer and die. Let alone to be told about it in advance. Later in chapter two we are told Mary treasured all these things in her heart (2:51). Conclusion When you look for the real Jesus, how will you find Him? Someone recently “found” His image in a dental x-ray. Someone else claims His image showed up on the tailgate of his pick-up truck, drawn in the dirt. Some others saw Jesus in the swirl of an imperfect pane of glass. Unfortunately while they were carting it to the church building it broke. The most important thing in the world is seeing Jesus for who He really is—understanding His nature and what He came to earth to do. Images of Jesus as a baby in a manger are seasonal reminders of His incarnation and the beginning of His life as a man on earth, but it’s only a part of who He is. The Bible teaches that Jesus is the Son of God, born of the virgin Mary. Interestingly, in the book I quoted earlier the Religion professor from Boston University says his research shows that among people who claim NOT to be Christians, over half believe that He is the Son of God, born of the virgin Mary. The Bible further says that God was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself. That is, the death by which Jesus died was an atoning sacrifice that paid the death sentence of every human being who ever sinned against God. God sent His divine amnesty for sinners in the life, death and resurrection of His Son Jesus! If you believe that Jesus was a great teacher or rabbi, and a great man who worked miracles, but miss this important truth, you will have missed His whole purpose for coming. In the Bible we are taught that God loved the world so much, and that is why He sent His Son into the world, giving Him up to die, so that whoever would believe in Him would not have to die eternally, but could live forever with Him. Jesus’ death paid for the forgiveness of every person’s sins—provided they repent and turn to Him in faith. Be wise like Simeon—recognize Jesus for who He really is. Accept Him as your Savior and the Lord of your life.   [Back to Top]