If you have your Bibles, I’d invite you to turn with me to Luke chapter 2. We’re going to be looking at verses 22 to 25. As you’re turning in your Scriptures, just a couple of words. One, thank you so much for your ministry to my son and to his now wife, Sarah Grace. They have had a wonderful experience here and David has been such a good pastor to Jennings and the rest of the pastoral staff and the interns have been so good to him. It has been a great experience and a privilege for him to be able to work under Charlie Wingard and Billy Dempsey. And Sarah Grace’s experience at the Day School has just been wonderful. So, thank you to all of you for how good you have all been to them. And then let me thank you for how good you have been to the students of Reformed Theological Seminary. We are closer now, physically; we are only five or so minutes away. And I’m noticing that more of our students are attending First Pres, which makes my heart happy. And you have, many of you, have been significantly involved in a number of the student’s lives in profoundly impacting ways, so thank you for your ministry to us at RTS.
It’s a joy to open God’s Word to you this morning. Let me set the passage in context. This is a prophecy. Simeon is giving this prophecy almost 2,000 years ago. And it’s given by a man that we know almost nothing about. We know his name, we know he was in Jerusalem at the temple – that’s about it. And there’s a point in there, so watch for that point in the sermon. Setting wise, Jesus has been born about 40 days earlier, so this is the ritual purification that’s specified in the Torah, in the Law of Moses, to be performed. So the angels have announced Jesus’ coming to Mary, Jesus has been born in Bethlehem, the angels have told the shepherds about it, the shepherds have already come to Bethlehem, now Joseph and Mary have gone to Jerusalem for this purification ritual. The Magi have not come yet. Jesus is going to be a year or so years old before the Magi come.
And if you remember Luke 1 and 2, there’s already been a lot of singing. Mary has sung. Zechariah has sung. The angels have sung. And now we are going to get a song from Simeon. But his song is going to add, I think, at least two accents that we haven’t seen so far in the songs that have been sung. So here we are a few days after Christmas and we have been singing Christmas songs all month and the day has come and past and we are looking back on it. And here in Luke chapter 2 verse 22, we are looking back on the birth with our eyes on a few specific things. The song of Simeon is going to show us the work of the Holy Spirit, it is going to point us to Christ, and it is going to provide us with a mirror for our own souls. So with those words of sort of setting it in context, let’s look to God in prayer and then we’ll read His Word.
Heavenly Father, open our eyes to behold wonderful things in Your Word. We ask it through Jesus Christ, our Lord, amen.
Luke chapter 2, beginning in verse 22. This is the Word of God:
“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. And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, ‘Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.’”
Amen, and thus ends this reading of God’s holy, inspired and inerrant Word. May He write its eternal truth upon all our hearts.
Simeon, in his song, preaches Christ and Him crucified. And I want you to see three things in particular in the song of Simeon. The song of Simeon shows us the Spirit, points us to Christ, the Savior of the world, and proclaims the suffering Savior. It shows us the Spirit, it points us to Christ who is the Savior of the world, and it shows us the suffering Savior.
Let’s look first at how the song of Simeon shows us the Spirit. And we see this both in the Spirit’s work in Simeon and in what Simeon longs to see. Look at verses 25 to 27. Simeon is described for us as “righteous and devout.” Now let me pause. Simeon is a very common name, and all we are told about this man is that he was named Simeon, that he was in Jerusalem at the temple at the time that Mary and Joseph brought Jesus for the ritual purification, and that he was righteous and devout and that he was looking for the consolation of Israel. We know almost nothing about him. So when Luke tells you that there was a man named Simeon, it’s like saying, “There’s a man named Mike in Manhattan. There’s a guy named Larry in London. There’s a guy named Joe in Jackson.” He’s just Simeon. You don’t know anything about him. And no doubt, that adds to the marveling of the parents here later on. “Who is this guy who just took our child in his arms and pronounced this strange blessing?” But it does remind us that the Lord always has believers in the worst of time in the least likely of places.
So here’s this unknown man named Simeon, but here’s how Luke will describe him – he was “righteous and devout.” Now over and over in the passage, the influence of the Holy Spirit on Simeon is emphasized. We’ll see that specifically three times in the passage. And what does the Holy Spirit do in our lives when He is at work? He makes us “righteous and devout.” We love our neighbor and we love God. Righteous – we love our neighbor, we care about the well being of our neighbor, we love our neighbor as ourselves. We are righteous. We are just in our conduct towards our neighbor. And we are devout in our relationship to God – we love Him, we worship Him, we praise Him, we delight in Him, we glorify Him. Righteous and devout. This man shows the work of the Holy Spirit in a believer’s heart. He was righteous and devout. That’s what the Spirit does in our lives – He makes us Christ-like. Christ loved His neighbor and laid down His life for His neighbor and Christ loved God. He loved to do the will of Him who sent Him. So Simeon bears the marks of someone that the Spirit is at work in. He is righteous and devout.
And his heart is focused on what? Look again at verse 25. “He was waiting for the consolation of Israel.” Now many of you know that over and over in the prophecy of Isaiah there are passages like Isaiah 40 verse 1 that say things, and maybe if you’re like me, I can’t read Isaiah 40 verse 1 without hearing the tenor solo in Handel’s Messiah. I will not dare attempt to sing the solo for you. It’s too high; I’ll splatter all over the place. But, “Comfort ye, comfort ye My people.” You remember the libretto from Handel’s Messiah? That’s Isaiah 40 verse 1. And over and over in Isaiah, there’s are these words where God promises Israel in exile that He is going to come and comfort His people. He is going to console His people. He is going to bring consolation to His people. So here is a man who has been looking intently all of his life, however long his life is – we don’t really know how old Simeon was; oftentimes he’s pictured as an old man. We don’t know because we don’t know anything about Simeon except his name and that he was righteous and devout and that he was looking for the consolation of Israel. But however old he is, he has been waiting for God to fulfill His promise to the prophet Isaiah that God was going to come and console His people.
And we are going to find out that the Spirit has also revealed to him that he is going to see it with his own eyes. He is not going to die until he sees the prophecy fulfilled. So he is looking for the consolation of Israel; he is looking for the coming of the Messiah. And by the way, so should we! We just sang, “Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus,” a wonderful Christmas carol but it works both ways, right? Because now, what’s the last prayer in the Bible? “Come, Lord Jesus! Come quickly!” So we can sing that for Christmas, but we can also have it in our hearts waiting for the coming of the Lord. This man was waiting for the coming of the Messiah. We too, the Church, ought to be looking for the consolation of the Church. Simeon is a man who shows the Spirit in his Christ-likeness and in his focus. He is looking for the coming of the consolation of Israel. He believes the Scriptures and he wants to see the Scriptures fulfilled.
Now, when he comes to the temple, he takes the Christ child up into his arms and he pronounces a blessing of God. Notice his language. He “blessed God and said…” Notice now, “In the Spirit” – go back to verse 25 – “the Holy Spirit was upon him,” verse 26; by the Holy Spirit he had been revealed that he wouldn’t see death until he would see the Messiah. Verse 27, he came “in the Spirit into the temple.” Now he takes up Christ in his arms, as the surprised parents look on because this is not part of the ritual, right? Simeon is not a priest, as far as we know; he is not an elder, as far as we know. He is not a significant public figure. He is just this guy in the temple who shows up and takes the Christ child into his arms and he suddenly begins pronouncing this blessing on God. “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your Word.”
And it reminds you a little bit of something, doesn’t it? Do you remember Genesis 46:30 when finally, after that long, convoluted, heartbreaking story of Joseph being sold off into slavery into Egypt and the fracturing of that family, suddenly all of the brothers have been brought back together, the brothers have been reconciled, and now they are all together with their father, Jacob. And what does Israel say? “Now I can die. Lord, all these years I’ve lived with my boy in Egypt and with my family fractured, and You’ve brought us all back together. Now You can take me home.” And this is echoing, in Simeon’s words – “Lord, You can let me go now. You told me that You would let me see the consolation of Israel. I have seen the consolation of Israel with my own eyes; I can go home now. You can take me home.” Simeon is able to face the prospect of his death with peace because he has seen the Savior of the world.
That’s the only way, by the way, that you can face death with peace. Charles Simeon, another Simeon, but a famous Simeon. Charles Simeon was a pastor of an evangelical Church of England congregation in Cambridge, England last century and he says this about Luke 2:30 – “Without the knowledge of Christ, no man can behold the face of God in peace.” Can you behold the face of God in peace? Not apart from Christ. It’s so instructive – he sees the Christ; he is ready to go to God. The Scripture has been fulfilled, his faith is in the Messiah, he is ready for the face of God. The same way it works for us. We believe the Scriptures, we trust in Christ, we are ready to see the face of God. And so Simeon shows us how to be ready to die.
But notice specifically what he says about the Savior. Verse 30, “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.” Now in the songs that have been sung so far in Luke, I think it’s fair to say that the accent falls on the wonderful fulfillment of the Scripture that God is going to send the Messiah into the world and that God has fulfilled the promises that He has made to His ancient people, especially the promises that He has made to Abraham and to David. If you go back and look at the earlier songs and angelic messages in Luke 1 and 2, I think it’s fair to say that most of them focus on the fact that the Messiah has come into the world and God has been faithful to the promise that He made to Abraham and to David – that He would send a Savior, a seed, a Messiah.
But now, Simeon adds another accent, and that accent is – Jesus is not simply the Savior of His ancient people; He is the Savior of the world. Notice the emphasis. “You have prepared in the presence of all peoples a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to Your people Israel.” Again, it’s a lot like Isaiah 49 verse 6. “It’s not enough that You would save My believing people of Israel. I want to bring the world to Me through You, Messiah,” it is announced in Isaiah 49:6. And so Simeon emphasizes that Christ is the Savior of the world, not just of Israel but of the world. Again, in the background you can hear Paul, “to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” Or Luke, “Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and to the ends of the earth.” There is a missionary note in this prophecy. Jesus is the Savior of the world. Simeon faces death with peace because he has seen Jesus the Savior and he announces here that Jesus is the Savior of the world.
And so this song shows us the Spirit and it points us to Christ who is the Savior of the world. But it does one more thing. This song shows us the suffering Savior, and that’s the second thing that it does that’s a little bit different from all the songs that have gone before. Notice especially verses 34 and 35. “And Simeon blessed them,” that is, Joseph and Mary, “and said to Mary his mother” – interestingly to Mary. Pause. Why to Mary? Apparently, Joseph is a good bit older than Mary and Joseph is not going to be around when Jesus dies. And you know, how does Simeon know this? He doesn’t, but the Spirit directs him to speak to Mary because she is going to see something that Joseph is not going to see. She is going to see the suffering and the crucifixion of her son. And listen to what he says. “Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel.” Now that’s something that you haven’t heard in the previous songs of Luke 1 and 2. “And for a sign that is opposed (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.” This is a strange blessing, and it’s called a blessing, right? Verse 34, “Simeon blessed them,” but this blessing is nothing like the blessing that he has just pronounced to God. This blessing contains sobering words about the suffering of Christ.
First of all, notice this child is “appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel.” The previous songs in Luke celebrated the coming of the Messiah promised to Abraham and to David, promised in Isaiah and Jeremiah, into the world to His people Israel. This song says He is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel. It’s a hint, isn’t it, that not everyone will trust the Messiah and rejoice in His coming like Simeon did, like Joseph and Mary had. Not everyone will trust Him. And then it gets even more explicit. Second, “for a sign that is opposed.” Mary and Joseph, you need to know your son will be opposed. Yes, He is the Messiah promised to Abraham, yes, He is the Messiah promised to David, yes, He is the Savior of His people” and what does John say in John 1? “He came to His own and His own received Him not.” Simeon is telling her that ahead of time. There will be many people who are not going to receive Him.
And then he says, and this may be the most poignant word in the whole song – “And a sword will pierce through your own soul also.” Mary, almost alone, will be there at the cross after the disciples have fled. Not a surprise, is it, mothers? Not a surprise. All His friends have fled. She is still there. She will see Him pierced through. And Simeon says, “Mary, it will feel like that sword went through your soul. It will feel like that spear went through your soul.” What is he pointing to? The sufferings of the Savior. This is yet again another accent that we haven’t seen in these previous songs. And again, it reminds – at the end of Luke, remember Luke will tell both the disciples on the road to Emmaus and he will tell us the story of Jesus speaking both to the disciples on the road to Emmaus and to His disciples in the Upper Room that the Scriptures say what? That the Messiah must suffer and be raised again. This is the first song in Luke 1 and 2 that points us to those sufferings that Jesus will say, both to the disciples on the road to Emmaus and to the disciples in the Upper Room, “The whole Old Testament testifies to this about the Messiah – that He will suffer and be raised. He will be humiliated and be exalted.” In other words, Simeon is prophetically proclaiming the cross. He is pointing us to the suffering Savior. Or in the language of Paul, he is “preaching Christ and Him crucified.” The songs previous to this have emphasized, “He is the Christ. He has come as God promised to Abraham and David. Praise the Lord!” This song adds, “and He will suffer.”
And then one last thing – “so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.” Your response to Jesus reveals your heart, for Jesus and how we respond to Him is a mirror into the state of our own souls. What we think of Jesus and whether we trust in Jesus reveals the state of our souls. I remember sharing the Gospel with a person on one occasion and they politely listened and then said something like this, “Thank you so much for sharing that. I don’t need that. I’ve lived a good life. I think I’ll be fine.” Now I just want you to think about that. Just take that phrase and take it to the final judgment. “Thank You, God, for giving Jesus. I didn’t need that. I’ve lived a good life. I’ll be fine.” How do you think that’s going to go over on the last day? You see, how you respond to Jesus reveals the state of your heart. If you don’t think you need Jesus, that tells you something about your heart. If you don’t think you need forgiveness of sins, that you cannot purchase yourself, that tells you something about the state of your heart. Simeon knew he needed a Savior. He sang of a suffering Savior who gave His life for our sins. When we look to Jesus and trust in Him, it reveals that our hearts know that we need a Savior and know that Jesus is the Savior who is God’s provision by His grace. And they assure us that we have peace with God. Why? Because we rest and trust on Christ alone for salvation as He is offered in the Gospel. But if we look at Jesus and we say, “Thank You so much. I don’t need Him,” that shows us our heart.
In this new year, we need the Spirit and we need the Savior of the world and we need the Savior who suffered. Trust in Him. He will never leave you or forsake you. Let’s pray. Heavenly Father, thank You for this time in Your Word. We give You praise for the sending of Your Son, the suffering Savior, into the world. And we ask that You would take away the blindness of our heart to our own sin and need and by the grace of Your Holy Spirit, trust in Christ for salvation as He is offered in the Gospel. We ask these things in Jesus’ name, amen.