Luke 2_ Simeon.pages

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Luke 2 - Simeon

12/21/14

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Good morning! We are three weeks into our Advent season and today we are going to look at the story of Simeon. For me, this has been a fun week studying this passage because I began to see emotions in the text I just had never seen before. Simeon’s story is one of longing. Longing for his promised Savior. And longing is something all of us at some level can relate to. All of us have longed for something. I don’t mean just desiring something, but truly, deeply longing for it. It could be something simple like a Red Ryder BB gun or something serious like getting married or something very complex like the restoration of a marriage. Whether simple, serious or complex, it is a longing because it matters deeply to us at the time. Christmas is a story of longing if there ever was one. And Simeon longed for the very best thing. He longed for a Savior. So I want to examine our own longings this morning through this story of Simeon. And I want to do this from 3 angles. I. Simeon’s Longing II. Simeon’s Resonse III. Simeon’s Hope I.

Simeon’s Longing

The first thing we need to see is that desires aren’t bad. Most of our desires fall into the category of what I call normal. It is normal and good to desire financial security. It is normal and good to desire a spouse. It is normal and good to desire significance and purpose in this life. And sometimes thees desires become longings. Sometimes one of these desires becomes so much greater than the others and we find ourself thinking, dreaming and hoping for it more than other desires. And this isn’t a bad thing either. But, when any of these longings becomes our deepest longing, no matter how good of a thing it is, it then becomes bad. When our longing for financial security takes the top spot and causes us to break the law, or neglect our family, it has become a bad longing. When our desire for significance and purpose becomes so great that we begin to desire bad for others and resent anyone we view to have more significance, it has become a bad longing. Or when the desire for significance has drawn you into a losing battle with pornography, it has become a bad longing. When our desire for a spouse takes the top spot and causes us to lower the Biblical standards we are given for a spouse, it has become a bad longing. But there is one longing that we should put in that top spot. There is one thing we should long for much more than anything else. And when we long for this thing most, all the other longings of our hearts will become at least a little less intense. So what is that longing? To answer this, we first have to ask why do we long for anything in the first place? If our lives were good. If our lives were fundamentally ok, logically, we shouldn’t have longings, right? Pregnancy Cravings Example. JD pulled out a Pascal quote a few weeks ago, let’s go back to Pawnsay where he asks a very similar question: If our condition were truly happy we should not need to divert ourselves from thinking about it. Do you see what he is saying? If our condition were truly a good one, why would we ever think or long for anything else than our current status.

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We long because things aren’t good! And if we go all the way back to Genesis we can see that people weren’t created with these longings. They were perfectly content. Adam and Eve had no longings because they had everything…until they sinned. And the first thing they longed for was clothing. They didn’t long for clothing because they were simply naked though. They longed for clothing because they were exposed. They were exposed for who they really were in front of a holy and righteous God and they wanted to hide behind something. And in the same way, we are exposed and need to hide behind something. We hide behind significance to feel better about ourselves. We hide behind relationships to feel more content. We long to feel better about our shortcomings, but none of the things we long for on this earth will work. So what will? Simeon longed for the only thing that will help us in our current fallen state. He longed for a Savior. And we can see this clearly in verse 25 and 26. 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. Simeon knew he was exposed, he knew humanity was cursed and needed nothing short of a radical rescue. Simeon longed for a Savior. Now I want us to notice just one thing about Simeon’s longing: it came from the Holy Spirit. The source of Simeon’s longing was the Holy Spirit. He wasn’t a super Jew. He wasn’t an Apostle. And we know this because we know so little about him. He was not significant at all from a historical perspective outside of this passage. No where else did anyone think to write anything about him, but….the Holy Spirit chose to reveal something significant to him. Now someone might say, “Well Jim, he might not have been significant, but the text says he was righteous. That makes him a lot more promising of a candidate than me right there.” Do you know what the Biblical term righteous means? You believe God will do what He said He would do. Simeon believed the Old Testament promises of a Savior and the Holy Spirit came and told him who and where. Now, this should be very encouraging to all of us. Do you feel insignificant? Do you feel exposed? Do you feel purposeless? You don’t need money, a spouse or better morals. You need saving. I met with a guy this week who is going through an emotionally trying divorce and sees more clearly than most that we need saving. The world is not as it should be. We are not as we should be. And the Holy Spirit has spoke to all of us in an even more significant way than He did to Simeon. Let me say this more directly: the Holy Spirit is speaking to you more clearly than to Simeon. The Holy Spirit is speaking more fully to you than He did to Simeon. Because He has given us His word…the Bible. And His word doesn’t just tell us that a baby is born (which really is all Simeon knew). His word tells us that that baby Jesus would grow up and live the life none of us can. He would love like

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no one has ever loved. He would endure and resist temptations none of us can imagine. I mean, at the very least, He was promised by Satan that He could rule the world. Have you ever been offered that? And He said no. He then died the death we deserve so that we could be saved from the punishment of our sin. But it doesn’t stop there. We don’t just get off the hook. We don’t just barely escape the wrath of the God we have rebelled against. Whatever status Jesus earned with God through His perfect life, and I can’t imagine all that He earned, we get it. God now looks at whoever believes in Jesus as morally perfect as Jesus Himself. He came to switch places with us. Let’s say you have never read the Bible in your life. What I have just told you is the Christian gospel revealed to us by the Holy Spirit in His word and now you have been given even more prophecy from God that even Simeon. And this gospel is ultimately what all of us are longing for. So what do we do with that news? II. Simeon’s Response Simeon has longed for a Savior and is now holding this Savior in his arms. And what does he do? He blesses God. We can see this in verses 28-32. 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 Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel.” Simeon blessed God. Now this idea of blessing God can be confusing. Someone might think, “how in the world can I bless God? What do I have to offer God?” The Greek word ‘bless’ though is the word ‘eulogos’. It’s where we get our word eulogy. ‘Eu’ means good and ‘logos’ means word. So blessing is simply a good word about God in response to what He has done. This is the reason we say a blessing at a meal. We are simply offering a good word to God in light of the food we are eating. We aren’t blessing the food and making it holy. We aren’t hoping that somehow the Big Mac turns into a carrot on the way down. We are blessing God in response to what He has provided every time we eat. It’s cool to see that Simeon got the gravity of who he was holding in his hands and he couldn’t help but bless God. So many of the Jews thought the Messiah would simply be a Jewish King who would overthrow the Romand, but Simeon knew the Messiah would bless the Romans. He knew the Savior was for all people and this is why he said: you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles. The dude got it! He knew his Scripture. He knew that in Genesis chapter 12, the world lies in ruins. It has been ravaged by sin and God comes to a guy named Abraham. If you have a church background, this is Father Abraham who had many sons. I didn’t know this story growing up and remember going to camp thinking we were singing about Abraham Lincoln. We are not talking about Abraham Lincoln here. God comes to Abraham and says:

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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.” So God came to Abraham and said, “One day, I am going to make all this right. I am going to fix everything! And I am going to do it through your family.” So Abraham is the first Jew. And it’s kind of funny when you realize that he is from Cush which is in modern day Iraq. So technically, the first Jew was an Iraqi. I bet ISIS isn’t teaching that to their kids. So Abraham becomes the Jewish race, later to be called Israel. And God comes back to him in Genesis 22:17-18 and says it again: I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of the heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies, and in your offspring (singular) shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.” And this refrain is repeated over and over in the Old Testament. Simeon knew that one day Abraham’s offspring would not just bless Israel, but the whole world. This Savior would come for all types of people. Every tribe, tongue and nation. Every socioeconomic class, every ethnicity and every background. Simeon was longing for this Savior who he now hold in his hands. And having received that which he longed for most, he cannot help but bless the God who provided Him. So now, when we think of our Savior, we thinking not of a helpless baby, but the Son who has redeemed us and who now sits on the right hand of God the Father interceding for us at every turn. Answer our prayers. Comforting us in our tears. And sustaining us in our weakness. We have our Savior. None of us merited a Savior, but we got one. Are we blessing God for Him? Are we talking about Him? Are we proclaiming Him? Are we trying to explain Him? And if you’ll allow me to press in a bit here….If we aren’t blessing God for our Savior, is it possible we are longing for a different type of Savior? Because when we get something we are longing for, we can’t help but talk about it. If you are longing for a husband and get him, you’re going to want to talk about it. If you have struggled financially and win the lottery, you are going to want to talk about it. If you have longed for a promotion and finally get it, you are going to want to talk about it. Now maybe you don’t for reasons of humility, but deep down, there is no getting around the fact that you want to. Now what I’m saying applies just as much to believers as anyone else. We are prone to look to other things for our saving. We are prone to long for Saviors other than Jesus. Is it possible that we don’t bless God….we don’t talk about Him because we are longing for something else to save us? Simeon’s greatest longing was for His Savior and now that he holds him in his hands, he can do nothing else but publicly praise God for him. And then we see this sweet phrase that comes when our deepest longings are satisfied. We can die in peace. Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation

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He can die a happy man because his deepest longing has been satisfied. Now, I know there are many of you who do bless God. Who deeply desire to proclaim Him. And I would be remiss if I din’t say that there will be a cost in this. People will look at you differently. There are some things you won’t get invited to. You will be misunderstood. Mary believed, yet her son was taken from her in a truly horrific way. This is what Simeon meant when he told her this: and a sword will pierce through your own soul also. The Christian life won’t always be easy. But there will always be hope. III. Simeon’s Hope Here is the hope: He is coming back. And the Greek word for hope that the apostles use is much stronger than our English word. It isn’t like saying, “I hope it won’t rain.” or “I hope I get this promotion” or “I hope JD is preaching this week.” It’s an assurance. Simeon knows he is holding the Savior. And one day, this little baby is going to make everything right. And between now and that time we are caught up in something so much bigger than anything else we are involved in. I remember a few years ago watching the new JJ Abrams Star Trek movie and something deep in me was saying, “I wish I could be a part of something that important. Something that adventurous.” And at that moment it hit me. I am!! We are involved in something that makes Star Trek look like a cartoon. We are caught up in something that makes the Hobbit look like Jake And The Neverland Pirates. We are a part of the coming and the expansion of God’s Kingdom. One day Jesus is coming back and it will go down very differently for two groups of people. This is how Simeon describes it: Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed, so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed. Simeon’s hope is that one day, Jesus is coming back. And for those who have trusted in Him, all your deepest longings will be satisfied. You will get the promotion. You will get the BB gun. You will get the husband. You will have complete healing. You won’t ever be lonely again! You will have complete security. And you will want for nothing! But this is not a promise for everyone. It isn’t some feel good verse to make everyone feel warm and fuzzy. It is only for those who long for a Savior and trust Jesus as Him. This is the rising Simeon is talking about. But there is also a falling for all those who choose a different savior. Or for those who think they can save themselves. They will stand before God and be judged on their own merits while we are judged on the merits of Jesus Christ. But their fall ….is …..not imminent. We get to be a part of the greatest and most important commission that has ever existed. We get to take this message to them and be a part of their rescuing. We are commissioned officers. My grandfather was very high up in US intelligence and oversaw spy networks into East Germany and the Soviet Union. He commissioned his

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spies and they endured great difficulties and even death because they understood the gravity of their commission. Well, without taking any honor from those men…as significant and great as their commission was…our commission is even greater. The hope that sustains all of our longings is that Jesus is coming back. And this hope gives us all an ultimate purpose. We get to help people see that what they long for will not fulfill them, but there is a Savior who will. Conclusion: So here is where I want to land the plane. Do we long for a Savior like Simeon did? We must continually ask ourselves, what is it that we long for and is it possible we are looking to it for saving? Maybe you have walked with Jesus for years and other longings are creeping in and dulling your longing for the only Savior. If this is you, this is a great season to be reminded that Jesus is greater than a football team. And certainly more reliable. He will provide more security than any inheritance. He will provided more companionship than a spouse. And he will give you more purpose than any job ever will. Use this season to remind yourself of this. Secondly, are we blessing God? Are we talking about our Savior? We talk about what we long for. I was so encouraged and challenged talking with a dad of young children this week about how he and his wife fight hard to utilize the hours of 4:30-7:30 by playing with their kids and teaching them the Bible. It’s so easy to want to sit back with a beer in front of the TV after a long hard day. And I’m not saying there isn’t a time for that. But it’s not most days. We have a brief and ever closing window with our kids. Are we teaching them about the Savior we long to return? And lastly, is this hope changing us? Is it making us more willing to be wronged? More hesitant to wrong others and more excited to serve? We all long for something to save us. But only Jesus Christ can. And when we see Jesus as our salvation the way Simeon did, every longing will take its place…. even our longing for physical life. Lord now you are letting your servant depart in peace. Now I can die. Let’s pray.