Simeon Song

Scripture

Point out some key points of this passage. Such as: Filled with the Holy Spirit. This is significant because of Jewish customs Jesus could not have been the second born and be considered Holy. What is holy? Holy is set apart. If a member of a Jewish family was going to do anything significant it was going to be the first born son. (I may or may not share this.)

Luke 2:22–33 ESV

And when the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”) and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the Law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.” 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. 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.” And his father and his mother marveled at what was said about him.

Bless the Nations

I think it is important to talk about the consolation of Israel to fully understand and appreciate what Simeon is going to say.

Israel was a nation that was set apart for the glory of God. It was through the nation of Israel that all the nations of the world were going to be blessed.

Genesis 12:2–3 ESV

And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

Israel had a high honor. All the world was going to know God through the nation of Israel.

The problem comes in that when you read the OT we see God still working but we see Israel not doing what they are supposed to be doing. They are living lives that dishonor God, they are living lives that are not blessing the nations around them but instead are bringing harm upon those nations. There are not setting the example, if anything they are saying that you can do what ever you want to do and we will do whatever we want to do.

Yet, over and over again God pulls them from the edge of destruction and restores them to a place of fulfilling their role, a a nation that blesses all the nations of the world.

As we are introduced to Simeon we see a man that understands that Israel has a special place in the plan of God, and he is waiting for the plan to be realized.

Then Jesus comes and it says that through the Holy Spirit Simeon saw Jesus for who he was, the son of God who has come to allow Isreal to live up to their holy position. As a nation that blesses the nations. It is through Israel that we have a savior. It is through Israel that the world knows of God’s love for all people.

As we being to look at Simeon’s song we see a man that has waited for this Jesus, and at this point knowing that everything is going to be alright says that he can die in peace. God has lived up to his promise. Why do I say this? Because, if we are honest, the promise to Abraham to bless the nations has nothing to do with the faithfulness of Abraham or his descendents. It has everything to do with God’s faithfulness. As I said on Sunday Jesus was coming to be born in Bethlehem before the foundations of the world.

I think there is a brief lesson in this. God’s plans are not contingent on humanity’s obedience. He wants us to be obedient because that is where we find fulness of life, but if all of humanity rebelled against God and ignored him, he still would accomplish what he divine will is. Praise him for that!

Which brings us to Simeon’s words, and the point of the birth of Jesus.

Born to Save

Salvation is at the heart of of the Christmas story.

Isaiah 43:25 ESV

“I, I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins.

That is the salvation we are looking for. That Jesus sees who we are, that he knows the deepest and darkness of my soul and how much I need his salvation, for I can’t save myself. I need God. I am desperately in need of God.

This little baby born in Bethlehem has come to save the world from its sin. This is the reason that Christmas is a season of hope, peace and joy. Because we are made right with God if we have placed our faith in Jesus. I say this because the birth of Jesus points to a hill called Golgatha, and we will be remiss to mention the manger and forget the cross. Jesus’ salvation comes through the cross. We see this as we read the scriptures. Jesus died on a cross for your sins to save you. I know it may seem offputting to mention death as we talk about birth, but in the case of Jesus he was born to die to save us from our sins.

Born to Save Who?

This questions brings us back full circle. The consolation of Israel. God doing what he said he was going to do, through the nation of Israel. He is going to bless the nations.

Notice the language.

Luke 2:31–32 ESV

that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel.”

Salvation is for everyone. This message was incredible for all that heard it.

The Jews didn’t believe it because they had forgotten about it and ignored it. But the OT scriptures point over and over to God’s desire to save the nations.

Isaiah 9:2 ESV

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone.

Isaiah 42:6 ESV

“I am the Lord; I have called you in righteousness; I will take you by the hand and keep you; I will give you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations,

Isaiah 49:6 ESV

he says: “It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel; I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”

Isaiah 51:4 ESV

“Give attention to me, my people, and give ear to me, my nation; for a law will go out from me, and I will set my justice for a light to the peoples.

Isaiah 60:1–3 ESV

Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the Lord will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you. And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.

God’s plan has always been to offer salvation to everyone.

But I think the gentiles, those who were not Jewish, would have a hard time believing this story too. Why? Well because of the way the Jewish people treated them. They lived in front of those who were not Jewish as if God hated them. They saw themselves as the only one that were going to heaven, they lived as if God did not care for anyone but the Jews.

This brings me to what does all of this mean for me. This is great that Jesus has come to save us, this is great that God is living up to his promise, but why does this matter to me.

God Doesn’t Cancel

It matters to you because it means that Jesus was born for you. That this baby in a manger came for you. Came for everyone.

The argument would be that Jesus came for everyone, except me. But this is a lie. Do you believe that God loves you? Do you believe that God’s faithfulness is dependent on him and you? What do I mean? That God’s love for you is only contingent on one thing, his love for you. That this Jesus was born because God loves you. Not because of how much good you have done, or not done. He loves you because that is who he is and that his what he does, and that is the basis for our hope, peace and joy.

So some of you this morning have to stop hating and yourself and start letting God love you. Start letting God heal you. Start letting God be the deliverer of truth. I think every generation needs to be reminded that God is a God who loves.

But I think there is a secondary danger that we need to be careful of. This is the danger of becoming like Israel. The danger of forgetting that God’s desire is to save the whole world. To speak into their hurts and sins and to assure them of his love for them. Christian, guard your heart against this thinking. We have the divine revelation of God in our scriptures, we know what God desires and expects of us, and if we are not careful this leads to pride and isolation that causes us to forget that this baby Jesus came for everybody.

The point of what Simeon is saying to us is that God is faithful and we must not lose sight of the importance of this little baby in a manger. Jesus came to remind the world that God is still in the saving business and he still desires to save everyone who will come to him in faith.

This is why we must continue to see Jesus in a manger. Once we lose sight of this little baby we lost sight of God grand plan. Once we lose sight of this little baby we lose sight of all that God desires in bringing salvation to each and every person.

Candle

This is why now as we light our candles and are reminded of the light that has overcome the darkness. We also will ponder that this light is for everyone. This should cause us to proclaim. Joy to the World.