From Extraordinary to Ordinary and Back

Have you ever noticed the close connection between the ordinary and the extraordinary. To go from ordinary to extraordinary you simply have to add five letters to the word ordinary.

extra --- ordinary

I personally consider many of the events of ordinary life to be extraordinary.

The marvel of reproduction

The birth of a child

The growth of plant life

The regularity of the rotation of the earth producing night and day

The rotation of the earth around the sun producing the changing of the calendar year

The process of photosynthesis

The water cycle

These, and so many other ordinary things I find to be extraordinary in many ways. Of course they all point to the existence of a marvelous Creator.

Then there is the beauty in nature. And the list could go on and on.

Please turn with me in your Bible to Luke 2:21-38 as we consider From Extraordinary to Ordinary and Back.

As we meditate on our text we will see how the extraordinary and the ordinary are weaved together in the events which followed the birth of Jesus. We will look at the extraordinary child, the ordinary practice of Jewish customs, and the extraordinary prophetic utterances by a couple of elderly people who met the Christ-child as He was presented at the temple. Let’s read our passage together.

Luke 2:21–38 NASB95PARA

And when eight days had passed, before His circumcision, His name was then called Jesus, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb. And when the days for their purification according to the law of Moses were completed, they brought Him up to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male that opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”), and to offer a sacrifice according to what was said in the Law of the Lord, “A pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.” And there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; and this man was righteous and devout, looking 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 carry out for Him the custom of the Law, then he took Him into his arms, and blessed God, and said, “Now Lord, You are releasing Your bond-servant to depart in peace, According to Your word; For my eyes have seen Your salvation, Which You have prepared in the presence of all peoples, A Light of revelation to the Gentiles, And the glory of Your people Israel.” And His father and mother were amazed at the things which were being said about Him. And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary His mother, “Behold, this Child is appointed for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and for a sign to be opposed— and a sword will pierce even your own soul—to the end that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.” And there was a prophetess, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years and had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, and then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple, serving night and day with fastings and prayers. At that very moment she came up and began giving thanks to God, and continued to speak of Him to all those who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.

Let’s consider first

The Extraordinary Child

Look again at verse 21.

Luke 2:21 NASB95PARA

And when eight days had passed, before His circumcision, His name was then called Jesus, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb.

That this child was extraordinary cannot be stated strong enough.

Extraordinary conception

Luke 1:30–32 NASB95PARA

The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David;

Luke 1:34–35 NASB95PARA

Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” The angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God.

The extraordinary name

Matthew 1:21 NASB95PARA

She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”

The extraordinary place of birth

The extraordinary angelic visitations:

To Zacharias

To Mary

To Joseph (Matt 1)

To the Shepherds

When you get right down to it, the way in which God controls all things is both extraordinary and ordinary. What I mean is that it is extraordinary that One could have such complete power and authority to control all things. And it is the ordinary way in which this world works. Let’s turn our attention now to:

The Ordinary Practice of Jewish Customs

Look at verses 22-24.

Luke 2:22–24 NASB95PARA

And when the days for their purification according to the law of Moses were completed, they brought Him up to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male that opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”), and to offer a sacrifice according to what was said in the Law of the Lord, “A pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.”

As the firstborn of Mary, Jesus had to be redeemed according to the law of the Lord

Jesus was identified with the humble and the poor

Finally, let’s consider:

The Extraordinary Prophetic Utterances

The largest portion of our text this morning regards two elderly folks who made some extraordinary prophecies regarding the Christ-child.

The Extraordinary Blessing

We will look first at the man, and then at the blessing.

Simeon, the Man

Look at verses 25-28.

Luke 2:25–28 NASB95PARA

And there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; and this man was righteous and devout, looking 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 carry out for Him the custom of the Law, then he took Him into his arms, and blessed God, and said,

We don’t know anything about Simeon apart from this text:

The Holy Spirit was upon him

The implication is that this was a constant presence of the Holy Spirit, unlike many OT examples in which the Spirit came upon men such as Gideon and Sampson to perform a mighty deed

It is assumed that he was elderly based on the statement that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ (vs. 26) — but the text doesn’t actually say that he was elderly

The Blessing

The next verses are one of the earliest NT hymns. Look at verses 29-32.

Luke 2:29–32 NASB95PARA

“Now Lord, You are releasing Your bond-servant to depart in peace, According to Your word; For my eyes have seen Your salvation, Which You have prepared in the presence of all peoples, A Light of revelation to the Gentiles, And the glory of Your people Israel.”

A Walk with God: Luke Simeon’s Prophecy (Luke 2:29–35)

Do you see what is behind the song? ‘O Lord, I don’t have to watch this child grow up, I don’t have to watch him talk with the doctors in the temple as a lad of twelve years old; I don’t have to watch him multiply the fishes and the loaves to feed five thousand people to be convinced. I don’t have to watch him walk on the water or turn the water into wine. I don’t have to be on the Mount of Transfiguration. I don’t have to be an eye-witness of the resurrection, or his ascension into heaven. I have seen all I need to see. Now, let me die in peace.’ One glimpse of the Christ-child, and Simeon was ready to go home to God.

Despoteis vs. Kyrios

Kyrios is the more common word for Lord

Sproul wrote: God is seen as having absolute authority over his servant, Simeon, and Simeon addresses God as his despoteis, indicating his total allegiance and total submission to the authority of God.

We don’t know how, but somehow Simeon recognized that Jesus was the salvation of God

Simeon refers to two people groups: first the Gentiles:

Luke Simeon’s Prophecy (2:25–35)

For Gentiles he is a revelation. This term refers to his opening up the way of salvation to the nations in a way unknown before his coming

Second, the nation Israel

Luke Simeon’s Prophecy (2:25–35)

But for Israel, God’s people, Jesus is glory—that is, his activity represents the realization of promises made by God and thus shows Israel’s special place in his heart (Is 46:13).

As beautiful as this hymn is, Simeon is not finished with his prophetic utterance. What he speaks next must have sent a chill to the heart of Mary. Let’s look at:

The Foreboding Revelation

Look at verses 33-35.

Luke 2:33–35 NASB95PARA

And His father and mother were amazed at the things which were being said about Him. And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary His mother, “Behold, this Child is appointed for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and for a sign to be opposed— and a sword will pierce even your own soul—to the end that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.”

There will be no neutral ground concerning the Christ-child. Either a person will fall or they will rise based on their reception of Him.

The Prophetic Witness

Look at verses 36-38.

Luke 2:36–38 NASB95PARA

And there was a prophetess, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years and had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, and then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple, serving night and day with fastings and prayers. At that very moment she came up and began giving thanks to God, and continued to speak of Him to all those who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.

Anna’s personal circumstances

Married only seven years before her husband died

Rather than remarry she spent the rest of her life serving God

Anna’s Service

Anna served God through prayer

A Walk with God: Luke Anna’s Prophecy (Luke 2:36–38)

It is interesting that Luke should describe her life of fasting and prayer as a life of service to God. Usually we think that service involves preaching, or teaching, or reaching out to the poor, the hungry or the imprisoned, all of which, of course, are forms of service and dedication to God. But this singular devotion of prayer and fasting can also be a ministry.

R. C. Sproul tells of a man he knew:

A Walk with God: Luke Anna’s Prophecy (Luke 2:36–38)

He was an elderly man, and had served for decades as a foreign missionary, until age and infirmity made it necessary for him to retire. He decided, however, that he still wanted to have a mission of service to God, and even though he was infirm and almost totally bedfast, he committed himself to working for Christ for eight hours a day. Those eight hours were spent in concentrated prayer. He couldn’t walk; he couldn’t give messages; he was almost blind and consequently couldn’t write; all that he could do was to offer service to God through a ministry of prayer. What a saint he was! Whenever I spoke with him I couldn’t help but think of the statement of James, that ‘The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much’ (James 5:16).

Many of you may feel like you are too old to effectively serve Christ. You may not be able to help out on a work day. You may not be able to get out of the house to minister to others. But you can pray. I challenge you to take the church directory and methodically pray for those on it. Pray not only for their physical needs, but pray for their spiritual needs.

Pray that their love would abound

Pray for spiritual insight

Pray for spiritual wisdom

Pray for spiritual growth

Today we have looked at this extraordinary Child who was born in a very ordinary way, the ordinary practice of Jewish customs, and the extraordinary prophetic utterances referred to in our text. My hope is that you have come to intimately know this extraordinary Child; that you would be count with the many who will rise as a result of their relationship with Him.

If you are not in a relationship with Christ then you are opposing Him. The good news is that even for those who oppose Him there is still time to embrace Him. I invite you to embrace the Eternal God who became man so that He could die for the sins of all who embrace Him by faith.

2 Corinthians 5:21 NASB95PARA

He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

Let’s pray.