Sermon Tone Analysis

INTRODUCTION

[ILLUS] A group of expectant fathers were in a waiting room, while their wives were in the process of delivering babies.

A group of expectant fathers were in a waiting room, while their wives were in the process of delivering babies.

A nurse came in and announced to one man that his wife had just given birth to twins.

“That’s quite a coincidence” he responded, “I play for the Minnesota Twins!”

A few minutes later another nurse came in and announced to another man that he was the father of triplets.

“That’s amazing,” he exclaimed, “I work for the 3M company.”

At that point, a third man slipped off his chair and laid down on the floor.

Somebody asked him if he was feeling ill.

“No,” he responded, “I happen to work for the 7-up company.”

A nurse came in and announced to one man that his wife had just given birth to twins.

“That’s quite a coincidence” he responded, “I play for the Minnesota Twins!”

A few minutes later another nurse came in and announced to another man that he was the father of triplets.

“That’s amazing,” he exclaimed, “I work for the 3M company.”

At that point, a third man slipped off his chair and laid down on the floor.

Somebody asked him if he was feeling ill.

“No,” he responded, “I happen to work for the 7-up company.”

No matter how panicked new dads or new moms may be, the birth of a child (or the birth of many children) is always a wonderful thing.

Raising children is just as wonderful.

It can be full of trying moments, but its also full of joyous ones.

Moments like a child’s first steps or first words or, most joyous of all, the first time they sleep through the night!

In our passage this morning, Joseph and Mary walk into one of those joyous moments as they bring their new born son, Jesus, into the temple.

[CONTEXT] prophesied, “the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple,” but as poor Mary and Joseph carried our infant Lord in their arms, this was surely not the coming most people thought of when they thought of the coming of the Lord.

J. C. Ryle, an old preacher from long ago, said, “It was indeed a sudden, un-ostentatious coming.

The only witnesses, apparently, were an old man and an old woman, and the only attendants a poor woman and her equally poor husband; and the form in which the Lord appeared was as a little infant in arms!

How little we would have expected this.”

It surely was unexpected, and not everyone recognized it for what it was.

But those with eyes to see recognized in the coming of Jesus the arrival of the Messiah, the Savior, the Lord.

In this passage we see the circumcision of Jesus, the purification of the family, the presentation of Jesus, and the exultation of Simeon and Anna, two people of God who had eyes to see Jesus for who he really was.

[INTER] But this passage is meant to change us, to lead us to greater Christlikeness as all passage in the Bibles are meant to do, so what is this passage calling us to do?

[PROP] Well, this passage is calling us to greater obedience, to greater attentiveness, to greater belief, to greater gratitude, and greater joy as we speak of Jesus.

[TS] As we discuss these things this morning, I want us to build our thoughts around four ACTIONS...

MAJOR IDEAS

Action #1: Obey the Law ().

[Exp] The very first thing recorded about Jesus’ life is that he (Jesus) was obedient to the Law.

[Exp] The very first thing recorded about Jesus’ life is that he (Jesus) was obedient to the Law.

In both Genesis and Leviticus in the OT God commanded his people to circumcise their male children on the eighth day, which was a sign that they belonged to God’s people.

Circumcision was important for Jewish boy like Jesus.

Without it he couldn’t have fulfilled the Law’s requirements.

He couldn’t have been recognized as the son of David and descendent of Abraham.

He wouldn’t have been heard as a teacher in Israel without being circumcised.

He wouldn’t have had any legitimate place any legal Jewish assembly.

He wouldn’t have expected to participate in Jewish feasts and festivals without circumcision.

He would have been regarded as nothing better than a Gentile (i.e., an uncircumcised non-Jew) or one who had denied the Jewish faith.

But Jesus obeyed and was circumcised.

Not only was he circumcised, but you’ll also see in v. 21 that his parents named him Jesus just as they were instructed to do.

Many names might have been appropriate for Jesus had he chosen them.

A name meaning “king” would’ve been appropriate.

As would names meaning “Judge” or “Lawgiver” or “Prophet” or “Priest.”

But of all the names, he was named “Jesus,” which means Savior.

As the angel said to Joseph in ...

Jesus’ obedient circumcision and his salvific name are not brought together in v. 21 by accident.

In the Apostle Paul wrote...

As one writer put it, “He who was above the law, would come under the law, to free us from the law,” (Bishop Hall in Ryle).

But you’ll also notice Jesus’ parents obeying the law.

Leviticus, Exodus, and Numbers lay all this out for us in detail (cf.

; , ; ), but in general Luke mentions two further acts of obedience to the Law: purification and presentation.

According to the Law, a woman was ritually unclean after the birth of a child ().

In all likelihood, Joseph would have become ceremonially unclean by touching Mary who was unclean.

Cleansing or purification involved a sacrifice.

In the Law, allowed for a poor person to offer two turtledoves or two young pigeons if they could not afford to sacrifice the recommended lamb.

Thus, it seems that Joseph and Mary were poor.

But even in their poverty they were obedient to God’s Law.

And according to the Law (), every firstborn male child was consecrated or set part for God.

In obedience to God’s Law, Mary and Joseph had come to present their firstborn Son to God; to do for him according to the custom of the Law (); to perform everything according to the Law of the Lord ().

[App] Our Lord and his parents are great examples to us in this passage.

The Law can’t save us, but we ought to obey the Law.

The Law has been fulfilled for us through the perfect obedience of Jesus, but, even so, we ought to obey the Law.

Not the civil law that governed God’s people in the Promised Land; not the ceremonial law that, before Jesus, was so central to how God’s people worshipped; but the moral law which reveals God’s heart.

That moral law is the law of the Ten Commandments summed up by Jesus as, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.

And… You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” (, ).

It’s what Bible elsewhere refers to as “the Law of Christ,” ().

Too often though, we are convinced that obedience to the law of Christ is ruinous to our good time.

[Illus] We are like the young man Josh McDowell writes about in one of his books.

[App]

And the third ceremony was the consecration of the firstborn.

The young man knew his neighbors down the street had a pool and, wanting to impress his girlfriend, he suggested they sneak down to the pool one night for a swim.

The girlfriend agreed and off they went, ignoring the “Keep Out” and “No Trespassing” signs on the fence surrounding the pool.

The young man - excited, surging with adrenaline, on the lookout to see if his neighbors had noticed his trespassing, wanting to impress his girlfriend - bounded off the diving board and went headfirst into only two feet of water.

His neck broken, his life was forever changed.

But why was his life changed?

Was it not because he ignored the commands to “Keep Out” and “No Trespassing”?

What about the one that says, “Thou shalt not covet” ()?

You see, we sometimes think that God’s commandments are robbing us of a good time when in fact they are protecting us from destruction.

So, let me ask you, are you obeying God’s Law?

Are you obeying the Law of Christ?

In what situations do you find yourself breaking God’s Law?

How will you stop breaking and start obeying the Law of Christ?

Do you want to obey?

Do you want to love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength?

Do you want to love your neighbor as yourself?

How will you grow in your knowledge of God’s Law?

Will you begin today?

[TS] We should obey the Law, and we should...

Action #2: Listen to the Spirit ().

[Exp] Simeon is described as righteous, devout, and waiting for the consolation or comfort of Israel (i.e., the Messiah whom the Comforter or the Holy Spirit would reveal).

The

The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Christ, and look at how Simeon is described in relation to the Holy Spirit...

[Exp]

He was a man possessed by the Spirit.