Sermon Tone Analysis

Luke 2:25‑32

The First Person to Die in The Faith

 

“There was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.

And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.

And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said,

 

“‘Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace,

according to your word;

for my eyes have seen your salvation

that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,

a light for revelation to the Gentiles,

and for glory to your people Israel.’”[1]

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od attends the death of His saint; the child of God is not deserted at death.

Holy angels await the Master’s call to transport His child into His eternal presence.

This truth is emphasised throughout the Word.

I have spoken on numerous occasions to weary saints as they neared the time of their exodus.

Frequently I have heard believers speak of their longing to be finished with their trials; I have witnessed their peace at the prospect of their soon-to-be transition.

The Psalmist spoke a comforting truth in these words:

 

*/Precious in the sight of the Lord /*

*/is the death of his saints/*.

[*Psalm 116:15*]

 

Multiplied thousands of saints have died in the Faith; thousands more may yet die before Christ the Lord returns.

These will not die in defeat, but in victory.

The message today is a study of the first person to die in the Faith of Christ the Lord.

It focuses on a man who appears as a minor character in the drama of redemption.

Yet, Simeon is the first person to die in the Faith.

He appears but once in the Word of God, and that at the very beginning of Jesus’ life.

I recommend that a study of God’s revealed Word will encourage us and equip us to be more effective in our service to Christ.

*The Character of the First Person to Die in the Faith* —I want to know what makes an individual “tick.”

What motivates people to act as they do?

This is a serious question to my mind.

I want to know of the character of those I read about in the Word of God.

We know something of the character of Simeon; the text describes him as */righteous and devout/* and as */waiting for the consolation of Israel/*.

Anyone whom God identifies as righteous and devout merits our careful attention.

In preparing for the study I came across a snippet of information concerning a man named Simeon who lived in Jerusalem at about this time.

Here, in brief, is the account of that man.

[Simeon] dwelt now in Jerusalem, and was eminent for his piety and communion with God.

Some learned men, who have been conversant with the Jewish writers, find that there was at this time one Simeon, a man of great note in Jerusalem, the son of Hillel, and the first to whom they gave the title of */Rabban/*, the highest title that they gave to their doctors, and which was never given but to seven of them.

He succeeded his father Hillel, as president of the college which his father founded, and of the great Sanhedrin.

The Jews say that he was endued with a */prophetical/* spirit, and that he was turned out of his place because he witnessed against the common opinion of the Jews concerning the temporal kingdom of the Messiah; and they likewise observe that there is no mention of him in their Mishna, or book of traditions, which intimates that he was no patron of those fooleries.[2]

Perhaps it is not the same man; but then again, perhaps it is.

There are objections and there are strong points of similarity.

What is certain is that Luke, guided by the Holy Spirit, likely received his information during interviews with Mary.

Regardless of the identity of this Simeon, we know of his character, and this knowledge can serve to encourage each of us in our own desire to honour God.

Simeon was */righteous and devout/*.

The words employed are not at all rare, but the combination is suggestive of a character trait that should mark each individual looking for the revelation of the Son of God and seeking to honour God.

The two terms, bound in such close connection to one another, speak of obedience to God and the outward expression of that obedience.

In short, Simeon was */righteous/* towards men and */devout/* towards God.

Righteousness and devotion seem always to go together.

We cannot serve God without the impact of our service being witnessed by those about us.

The Greek term which is applied to Simeon and which is translated */righteous/*, when applied to disciples of the Living God usually speaks of fidelity to the Law.

Inherent within the word is a stress on one’s relationship with God.

A righteous individual is one who walks with God and who seeks to please God in every area of life where God has revealed what is pleasing to Him.

The term */righteous/* speaks of a disciple who truly keeps the Law or who does God’s will.

Since God has chosen to describe Simeon as */righteous/*, we may assume that he was careful to maintain the Law of God, an expression of his desire to maintain a close relationship with the Lord.

We would not be remiss to conclude that Simeon kept the Law without partiality or prejudice.

Because of our propensity for depending upon our own merits and for exaggerating our own supposed goodness, it is necessary for me to point out the fact that no one is saved by observing the Law.

Outward righteousness is important, but without inward righteousness, observance of the Law becomes meaningless.

The great sin of the Pharisees was that they depended upon their observance of the Law instead of looking to God for their justification.

This emphasis is found in the letter to Roman Christians.

*/What then shall we say was gained by Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh?

For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God.

For what does the Scripture say?  “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”/* [*Romans 4:1-3*].

Simeon was */righteous/* in observing the Law of God.

Those who knew him would know that he was conscientious and careful to obey God in all that God had commanded.

They would know that it was not merely mindless adherence to the revealed will of God, however, for Simeon was also */devout/*.

The word translated */devout/* is interesting in part because of its association with another word.

These two words, */eulabés/* and */eusābés/*, together describe an individual who is godly or pious [e.g.

*Acts 10:2*; *2 Peter 2:9*].

The word */eulabés/*, translated */devout/* in our text, is a compound word that literally means */to take hold of well/*.

The word spoke of exercising */care/* or */caution/* to fulfil a duty.

Thus, it came to be applied to the careful observance of religious duties.

By the time Doctor Luke wrote his account of the Good News about the Jesus, Son of God, the word was understood to speak of the careful realisation of the presence and claims of God.

It would suggest one who revered God, and who was thus devout or pious.

As an aside, it is interesting to note the distinction in the concept of */devout/* that is observed between Old and New Testament passages.

The use of this word in the Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures would speak of */fear of God/* as the motivating force for devotion to Him.

The use of the word in the New Testament spoke of */love for God/* as the motivating force.

Just as there was love in the fear of God for Old Testament saints, there must be fear in the love of saints now.

However, what is important for us to realise is that love must be the dominant motivation for our service if we will please God.

We know that Simeon was righteous in his relationship to men and devout before God.

Underlying this life of righteousness and devotion was a longing for God to fulfil His promise toward Israel, for Simeon was */waiting for the consolation of Israel/*.

He was waiting for the coming of Messiah.

In Messiah alone would the nation find consolation.

The Christ would be not only the author of His people’s comfort, but He was to be the matter and the ground of comfort.

Why should Simeon wait at this time?

In earlier studies, I have alluded to the fact that the scholars of the Law would have known enough concerning Messiah’s coming to be prepared for Him.

Specifically, they should have known the lineage of Messiah, the place of His birth and the timing of His revelation.

Throughout the unfolding Scriptures, the Lord God had spoken of the coming of His Messiah and identified the lineage of this coming ruler of Israel.

The promised Messiah was to be */born of the seed of a woman/* [*Genesis 3:15*].

He would be */Abraham’s child/* [*Genesis 13:15*].

The lineage of Messiah would be */traced through Isaac/* [*Genesis 17:19*], */through Jacob/* [*Genesis 25:23*], and also */through Judah/* [*Genesis 49:10; Numbers 24:17-19*].

The Messiah would be */of the line of David/*, sitting on David’s throne [*2 Samuel 23:5; Psalm 89:19-29*].

In fact, Messiah would be */known as David’s Branch/* [see *Isaiah 4:2; 11:1-5*], a reference to His royal lineage.

Have you ever investigated the lineage provided by Matthew and Luke?

They are not identical, differing dramatically at a critical juncture.

Have you ever questioned why there are two lineages differing in critical detail?

Matthew provides the paternal genealogy of Jesus, the genealogy through Joseph, his legal father.

You will notice that this genealogy carefully follows the kings of Judah from David through Jeconiah, and then details the descendants of Jeconiah, also known as Coniah or Jehoiachin.

God, through Jeremiah, pronounces a curse on Jehoiachin [*Jeremiah 22:24-30*].

That curse said no descendent of Jehoiachin would ever again sit upon David’s throne, which superficially appears to rule out Messiah ever occupying the throne of His father David.