Nunc Dimittis
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Introduction
Introduction
Christmas has finally arrived.
In one more day we will be celebrating Christmas Eve followed by Christmas day on the 25th.
There are many things that are associated with Christmas.
Family get togethers.
Wonderful feasts/meals.
Christmas breakfast.
Christmas music.
Christmas decorations.
Christmas carols. There are many Christmas songs that are constantly on in the places where we do our Christmas shopping; songs such as:
Let It Snow
Jingle Bells
The Most Wonderful Time of the Year
Feliz Navidad
However, there are other songs that were composed by Christian believers in the past. These are very different and remind us of very important/eternal truths. It is possible to sing these songs without believing the message behind them.
Joy to the world, the Lord has come
Oh Come, Oh Come, Emmanuel and ransom captive Israel
Silent night, holy night! Son of God, oh, love’s pure light
These worlds do not pretend to be neutral. These words were written to cause an impact in the lives of those who would sing and hear them.
Today, we will consider one of the oldest Christmas songs that was composed by an old Jewish man who had been patiently waiting for the arrival of the Messiah - his name was Simeon and his song is commonly known as the Nunc Dimittis which in Latin means “now you release/now you allow me to depart”.
The composer - Simeon
The message of his song - The hope of Israel
The composer’s finale
I. The composer - Simeon
I. The composer - Simeon
I. El compositor - Simeón
I. El compositor - Simeón
The Bible does not give us much information regarding the composer of this marvelous song. All we know about him is found in these verses in Luke’s second chapter.
Now 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.
Luke 2.
Y he aquí había en Jerusalén un hombre llamado Simeón, y este hombre, justo y piadoso, esperaba la consolación de Israel; y el Espíritu Santo estaba sobre él.
We are told that his name was Simeon.
The Bible does not dwell on giving us much information about him - but it does concentrate on his character.
The Bible describes Simeon as a righteous and devout man.
He was not like the religious figures of his day that has an appearance of religiosity but inwardly were full of pride and deceit.
Simeon pursued a relationship with God. He desired to be close to the God of Israel. He believed in God and in his promises revealed in his word.
We are not given Simeon’s age. However, people have assumed that he may have been an elderly man when this event occured.
Simeon was remarkable not simply because he was a devout and righteous man; rather he was remarkable because he had a firm hope in God.
Simeon’s hope in God is described as him waiting for the “consolation of Israel.”
This is an Old Testament technical term that refers to something very specific.
Simeon was living in a time in history where the people of Israel were under Roman occupation.
400 years prior God had sent his prophet Malachi to bring a final prophetic word before entering into a period of 400 years of silence.
During those 400 years, God would not send any prophets, no dreams, no revelations, no audible voice was heard from heaven.
During these 400 years, the people of God would be conquered by the Medes and Persians, by the Greeks, by the Egyptians, and now were occupied by the Romans.
The people of God had been trying to survive through the various conquests. It is as if the people of God were praying, pleading, crying out to God for someone to deliver them from their suffering.
Simeon is part of the people of God. Although 400 years have past, he will continue to trust in God’s written revelation. He knows God’s promises will come to pass:
The grass withers, the flower fades,
but the word of our God will stand forever.
Sécase la hierba, marchítase la flor; mas la palabra del Dios nuestro permanece para siempre.
It is for this reason that Simeon is described as waiting for the consolation of Israel.
Simeon trusted that there would come a day when Isaiah’s prophecy would be fulfilled:
It will be said on that day,
“Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us.
This is the Lord; we have waited for him;
let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.”
Y se dirá en aquel día: He aquí, éste es nuestro Dios, le hemos esperado, y nos salvará; éste es Jehová a quien hemos esperado, nos gozaremos y nos alegraremos en su salvación.
God would come to save his people! In fact, God had promised Simeon that he would not die until the day that he would see, with his own eyes, God’s way of salvation!
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.
Y le había sido revelado por el Espíritu Santo, que no vería la muerte antes que viese al Ungido del Señor.
The Bible does not tell us how this had come to Simeon. All we are told is God’s Holy Spirit had brought this promise to Simeon.
It was on this same day that Mary and Joseph had brought the newborn Jesus to the temple to offer the appropriate sacrifice for Mary’s purification, according to the law of Moses.
This day, would not be like any other day.
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,
Y movido por el Espíritu, vino al templo. Y cuando los padres del niño Jesús lo trajeron al templo, para hacer por él conforme al rito de la ley,
The same Spirit that had brought to him the promise that he would see God’s salvation has now come to him so that he would make his way to the temple.
Mary and Joseph, and the baby Jesus would be completely unknown to Simeon.
It is not likely that he had heard about the angel coming to Mary that she would bare a child.
It is unlikely that he heard how Joseph took Mary and the baby to Egypt when Herod had ordered the killing of all the children under two years of age in Bethlehem.
The same Spirit that had given him the promise of seeing God’s salvation, the same Spirit that moved him to go to the temple, is now stirring in him a most glorious joy as he beholds the sight of the Son of God!
II. The message of his song - The hope of Israel
II. The message of his song - The hope of Israel
II. El mensaje de su canción - La Esperanza de Israel
II. El mensaje de su canción - La Esperanza de Israel
Simeon sees the child and takes him in his arms and immediately erupts in glorious praise to God!
“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.”
Ahora, Señor, despides a tu siervo en paz,
Conforme a tu palabra;
Porque han visto mis ojos tu salvación,
La cual has preparado en presencia de todos los pueblos;
Luz para revelación a los gentiles,
Y gloria de tu pueblo Israel.
Simeon knows he can now die in peace.
We do not know how many years have past.
We do know that it has been at least 400 years where God has remained silent.
400 years have past since God has spoken to his people and spoken about someone that would prepare the way for the coming of the Lord.
For 400 years the people of God had been waiting for the fulfillment of his promise.
For 400 years the people of God had been suffering the evils of war, greed, and the evils of their own sin.
In the same way, for many years Simeon had been waking up each day thinking - “Lord, could it be today? Will it be today that I will finally see your way of salvation? Will it be today that you will let me see him who will save his people from their sins?”
Simeon sings to the Lord. This is the message of his song:
His eyes have seen God’s salvation. Simeon had much more sense than the average person living in the United States.
Simeon did not regard the baby Jesus as just an ordinary baby. He regarded him as God’s way of salvation. This baby that he was holding was God’s salvation. This is how God would ultimately save his people.
Simeon had not heard his teachings, his sermons, his parables - after all, he was just a baby - but Simeon was sure of this: this baby was God’s way of salvation. This baby would be God’s way of saving humanity from the just punishment that their sin deserves.
One of the ques
In the same way, we cannot regard Jesus as simply a wonderful teacher, an example, a marvelous philosopher. He is none of that! He is the way, the truth and the life.
Why would people not regard Jesus as the Savior of the world?
Why would people sing - Angels we have heard on high, Oh come Emmanuel, Silent Night…and not live to serve the Lord Jesus Christ?
Why would people oh ah at a manger scene and not come before God to confess their sins?
We have forgotten our miserable state. He have believed a lie. We have come to believe that we are ok. We have come to believe that ultimately we are not that bad after all.
But Simeon, through God’s Spirit knew better. Simeon knew that he was part of a sinful humanity that had broken God’s law. He knew that we are enemies of God for we have decided to follow our own will rather than to obey God’s will. He knew that humanity lives in a state of darkness. If we are truly sincere we can see the darkness all around:
People trying to satisfy the pain the feel through drugs and alcohol.
Broken marriages as a result of infidelity.
Wars, murders, and violence all around.
People trying to buy more and more things and in the end realizing that nothing they have has brought them an ounce of happiness.
People taking their lives because they have lost the will to live.
The darkness is all around us!
But in the midst of all this darkness, the baby that was born in Bethlehem has come to bring us light!
a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
and for glory to your people Israel.”
a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
and for glory to your people Israel.”
Jesus came to be the light of the world. He came to illumine our understanding.
He came so that we could see the way back to the Heavenly Father.
He came so that we may be cleansed from our sin and from our guilt.
He came so that we could experience his forgiveness, his love, and ultimately his salvation and the promise of eternal life.
III. The composer’s finale
III. The composer’s finale
III. El final del compositor
III. El final del compositor
Although Simeon’s song starts out with so much joy and praise to God we should not loose sight that his words end in a somber/more serious note:
(and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.”
(y una espada traspasará tu misma alma), para que sean revelados los pensamientos de muchos corazones.
Simeon turns his face towards Mary and expresses these most serious words.
Who was Jesus to Mary? Humanly speaking she was his mother. He is the savior of the world, he is God manifested in the flesh, he is the author of life and salvation - but to Mary he was also her beloved child.
Simeon can understand that deep bond between mother and child.
It is as if God has allowed Simeon to see 30 years into the future when the child is fully grown, he would eventually be beaten, his face completely marred, his face disfigured, his back bleeding, his hands outstretched nailed to a cross.
The Bible tells us that when Jesus was crucified Mary was beneath the cross.
but standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.
Estaban junto a la cruz de Jesús su madre, y la hermana de su madre, María mujer de Cleofas, y María Magdalena.
It would be upon a cross that Jesus’ life would ultimately come to an end. Jesus would give up his life - oh how much pain and anguish Mary would experience at seeing her child bleeding, suffocating upon a cross.
Brothers and sisters, Mary would have to go through the full experience. Mary would bare a son…but Mary would one day have to see her son dying upon a cross.
In the same way, we cannot think about Christmas without thinking about Calvary. We cannot think about the manger without thinking about the cross.
We cannot think about Bethlehem without thinking about the outskirts of Jerusalem - without thinking about Golgotha where our saviour would give up his life for all those who would believe.
Lord, grant us faith to understand that your birth was necessary so that you would one day give your life for a sinner such as I!