Simeon held onto the promise that he would live to see the birth of the promised Messiah. What was it like for him to hold onto that hope? How did it feel when he finally saw that hope materialize? Join us as we take a look at another promise fulfilled in the coming of Jesus Christ and the Holy Moments that surrounded the first Christmas.
Holy Moments. If you are a Christ follower, I’m sure you have had them. They are those times in your life when you know when God showed up in a profound, perceptible, and powerful fashion. They don’t have to occur at church, and most of the time they don’t. Sometimes they occur as you look out of the window of your aircraft and watch in amazement as jagged bolts of lightning jump from cloud to illuminated cloud, forming a spider web of brilliant light. You are left breathless and pondering the absolute power and majesty of the living God. Sometimes they occur when you are all alone in your home and playing a couple of your favorite hymns. Suddenly, you are not playing anymore, but worshipping the Lord who just showed up as you ran fingers over the ivories. You don’t forget those moments, do you?
I can’t say how many holy moments I’ve had on the Sea of Galilee in northern Israel. There is nothing like taking a wooden boat ride out into the middle of the lake. Looking around, you see what Christ saw with His eyes: the Abel Cliffs on the western shore, with the village of Magdala, the home of Mary Magdalene, located near its northern base near the sea, the city of Tiberias on the western shore, and the natural amphitheater where Jesus gave His Sermon on the Mount.
There is also nothing like turning off the boat’s noisy engine and floating quietly as your group begins to sing various worship songs. Let me tell you, it is always a decisive, emotional, and highly spiritual moment. Yes, there is nothing quite like worshipping your Savior on the very sea where He comforted the disciples in a storm when He, the Creator, spoke to the storm and said, “Peace, be still.” Once you get back on land, you are changed, and you know you will never forget what just happened in that wooden boat. You had an encounter with your Lord.
The Nativity narratives, as recorded in the gospels, have their share of Holy Moments. We should expect this, for God finally did what He said He would do through the prophets over thousands of years. He sent His Son to become our sin-bearer and Savior and ultimately the final King of all kings. His arrival was so momentous our calendar was built around His birth: B.C. represents the time before His birth, while A.D., which in Latin means “in the year of the Lord,” represents the time after His birth. Dionysius Exiguus of Scythia Minor rightly redesigned the calendar in A.D. 525 because he wanted all of us to remember the holy moment that changed the world forever.
One holy moment that gives us much to think about this Christmas season is recorded by Luke, the medical doctor-turned-skilled historian, in his gospel, when Joseph and Mary took baby Jesus to the Temple to dedicate Him to God. For the young couple, they were merely obeying the Law of Moses; however, once they arrived on the Temple mount, they experienced a holy moment that both encouraged and instructed them. It is also a moment in time that still has a profound message for us today as we contemplate the significance of the babe from Bethlehem.
Luke chapter 2, verses 21 through 24 give us the background and setting of the holy moment:
21 And when eight days were completed before His circumcision, His name was then called Jesus, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb. 22 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 23 (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every first-born male that opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord “), 24 and to offer a sacrifice according to what was said in the Law of the Lord, “A pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.” (Luke 2)
According to Jewish law, a woman became ceremonially unclean after a child’s birth. On day eight, a male child experienced circumcision (Luke 1:59; Gen. 17:12). After this, the mother was unclean for thirty-three additional days. After this period, the mother offered a sacrifice to God: a lamb if she had money, or two young pigeons if she was impoverished (Lev. 12:6-8). In addition, the child was, in a sense, redeemed from God by an additional offering, presumably at the Temple (Num. 18:15-18).
Joseph and Mary, therefore, showed up at the Temple with baby Jesus to fulfill the mandates of God’s holy law. Their offering of a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons illustrates that they were a poor young couple, but were desirous of being obedient to God by offering a sacrifice from their meager earnings. From this historical snapshot, we are reminded how God did His most loving redemptive work in a humble couple who were sold out to Him. Obedience to the Lord is woven all through this pericope. They acquiesced to Gabriel’s word by naming their firstborn, Jesus. They could have argued, but they didn’t. They could have argued against spending the time and money to travel to Jerusalem to dedicate Jesus to the Holy Father, but they didn’t. They lived sacrificially to obey God. Do you? Their model teaches us much in this regard.
And as you think about what Joseph and Mary did, pull back a little and realize what Luke’s record here teaches about God. The Savior and Messiah did not come to a well-to-do, well-connected, highly educated family, but to a young couple who had a hard time rubbing two shekels together. From this, we learn that God does not need the self-sufficient to accomplish His lofty goals, but to the meek who find their sufficiency in Him.
Turning back to the arrival of Joseph and Mary with baby Jesus at the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, we quickly realize how the mundane moment became a momentous one they hadn’t anticipated. It all centered around a man named Simeon, whom they just happened to run into as they walked toward the area of dedication. This man, with a very common Jewish name, was an uncommon man because, as we shall learn, he was a prophet of God in the flesh. From his actions and words, the holy couple not only learned much about their child, but also about how a holy person lives. And at the end of the day, I’m sure they headed back to the arduous, bumpy journey to their mountain village north of Jerusalem, called Nazareth, with the realization that they had just experienced a Holy Moment, a time when God had revealed Himself.
Simeon, the supposedly aged prophet, who set this ancient Holy Moment in motion, is a snapshot of how all believers should respond to the birth of the Savior, Jesus the Christ.
He Was Amped Up (Luke 2:25-26)
Simeon, whose Hebrew name means “God has heard,” was a man who heard from God as He studied the Torah and the Prophets. What he discovered about the prophesied coming of the Messiah excited and motivated him. We don’t know Simeon’s age, but we can infer from his statement that he could now die happy after seeing Jesus, the Messiah (Luke 2:29) that he sounds like an old person. Young people don’t speak like this. Why is it important to talk about his age? It’s key because, from what Luke recounts, this man waited a long time for God to fulfill his humble prayer, allowing him to see the Messiah in the flesh.
25 And behold, 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. (Luke 2)
Simeon, a godly man, looked for “the consolation of Israel.” What does this mean? The Greek word for “consolation” in our text is paraclaysin (παράκλησιν), which denotes help or comfort. It is used by OT prophets like Isaiah to speak of the Messiah and His impending work on earth:
Isaiah 40:1, “Comfort, comfort my people,”
Isaiah 66:13, “As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you; and you will be comforted over Jerusalem.”
Simeon had studied the prophetic writings and knew that one day the Lord would send the Messiah, who, in turn, would bring spiritual and geopolitical comfort to Israel. He longed for that day. Many other texts, in Isaiah alone, spoke of a coming day and time of perpetual messianic peace on earth (Isa. 2:1-5; 7:14; 9:1-7; 11:1-10; 40:1-11; 49:8-13; 51:1-6, 12-16; 52:13-55:13; 60:1-3; 61:1-11). He studied, prayed, and got all excited over verses like these. Likewise, we should be equally excited as we study the words of the prophets and understand what God is still going to fulfill in the future concerning the Messiah. Do you study? Are you amped up?
Like so many godly people before him, he obviously prayed a bold prayer to God: Lord, would you please permit me to see the Messiah before I die and pass into your presence. As we learn here in this holy moment, God answered that bold prayer by sending the Holy Spirit to give the aging, hopeful prophet a word.
26 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. (Luke 2)
How did God speak to Simeon? We have no idea, but we do know how He did it in the OT: dreams (Joseph in Genesis 37; 40-41; Samuel in 1 Samuel 3; Ezekiel in chapters 1-3 of his book), direct speech (think of how God spoke to Moses out of the burning bush in Exodus 3), visions (Daniel 2, 7), and angelic intermediaries (Deut. 33:2; Acts 7:53; Gal. 3:19; Heb. 2:2). Think about this. After literally thousands of years of requests like this, God finally said, “Now is the time for me to choose one holy man to see the infant Messiah and speak words of truth to His loving parents. I’ll choose Simeon in Jerusalem.” Amazing. No, what grace on God’s part.
Simeon’s prayer should cause you this Christmas to pause and ask yourself: What bold thing regarding the words of the prophets am I asking God to fulfill in my lifetime?
Old Simeon wasn’t just excited about what the Bible said regarding the Messiah’s eventual arrival. There’s more.
He Was Tuned-in (Luke 2:27-32)
First, let’s read the text and then offer some salient observations:
27 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, 28 then he took Him into his arms, and blessed God, and said . . . (Lk. 2)
Simeon’s entrance into the massive Temple Mount that day was divinely orchestrated. Somehow, the Spirit of God guided him to be in the right place at the right time so that he would encounter the holy royal family. As I’ve said, from the perspective of Joseph and Mary, this was a dedicatory journey, just an ordinary thing a Jewish family did with a newborn. They merely followed the Law without realizing that this day would be a holy moment they hadn’t anticipated. And this is how these moments come to us. When you least expect it, God shows up, grabs your spiritual attention, and gives you a word. Perhaps this sermon will be that moment for you.
Herod the Great (king from 37-4 B.C.) expanded the temple platform in his time. When he finished, the entire ornate, massive complex covered some 36 acres. Ostensibly, this meant 100,000 people could comfortably fit into this area. This temple model in Jerusalem gives you an idea of its vast, lofty, jaw-dropping nature.
With 100,000 people tightly packed into this space, you can imagine the excitement as Simeon searched the crowd for the baby of all babies, Jesus, the Christ. Perhaps as he scoured the husbands and wives passing by with new babies, the Spirit whispered in his ear, “No, Simeon. That’s not them. No, Simeon, it’s not them either. Oh, there they are, and there is the Messiah. What are you waiting for? Go over there and take the child in your arms.”
Obviously, that is precisely what Simeon did. The text doesn’t tell us he asked permission to grab baby Jesus. He just joyously came out of the thick of the crowd, took the baby Jesus in his arms, and looking down at Him, he began to relate Scripture concerning the Messiah to this particular child.
Don’t you know Joseph and Mary were shocked by the actions of this strange, old man? Let me ask you a personal question: Would you let an old man from this congregation grab your newborn this morning as you came into worship? I don’t think so. Why not? You know that newborns are prone to viruses and germs; hence, there is no way you’d let this happen. In classical D.C. fashion, you’d have some boundaries established with a detailed checklist before anyone touched your baby.
- Do you have your shots? More precisely, my husband and I want to know whether you’ve had your TDAP (Tetanus, Diphtheria, and Pertussis, or whooping cough) shots? You should have had a Td at least every ten years, so have you?
- Have you sanitized your hands? What was the alcohol content of your sanitizer? It has to be between 60% and 95% to really rid your hands of harmful germs.
- Do you have an N95 mask? Are you willing to put it on before you take the baby?
- Do you have a temperature? Would you mind using the disposable temperature gauge I carry in my purse?
That would be us in action. That was not Joseph and Mary. Why? They sensed something unusual about Simeon, something good, noble, and holy, and they were right.
What exactly did Simeon say once baby Jesus was in his arms?
29 “Now Lord, Thou dost let Thy bond-servant depart in peace, according to Thy word; 30 For my eyes have seen Thy salvation, 31 Which Thou hast prepared in the presence of all peoples, 32 A light of revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of Thy people Israel.” (Luke 2)
First, he thanked God for fulfilling his bold prayer. Now, he could die in total shalom because God had permitted him to lay his eyes and hands on the Messiah and Savior. What a privilege. How exciting for him.
Looking at the cooing, tightly wrapped up long-awaited Lord, Simeon made a fantastic statement that revealed his deep, intricate understanding of the prophetic Word of God:
30 For my eyes have seen Thy salvation, 31 Which Thou hast prepared in the presence of all peoples, 32 A light of revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of Thy people Israel.” (Luke 2)
By looking at Jesus, whose name in Hebrew means Yahweh Saves or God is salvation (from the Hebrew, Jeshua), Simeon saw the essence, the embodiment of complete salvation, spiritually and militarily (as the great Davidic king). Isaiah foretold the Messiah’s redemptive role for sinners. In chapter 49, which contains some of the same motifs we hear in Simeon’s words, the prophet prophesies the coming of the Suffering Servant, the Messiah. What will He do when He arrives?
3 And He said to Me, “You are My Servant, Israel, In Whom I will show My glory.”
4 But I said, “I have toiled in vain, I have spent My strength for nothing and vanity; Yet surely the justice due to Me is with the LORD, and My reward with My God.” 5 And now says the LORD, who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant, to bring Jacob back to Him, in order that Israel might be gathered to Him (For I am honored in the sight of the LORD, and My God is My strength),
6 He says, “It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant To raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also make You a light of the nations so that My salvation may reach to the end of the earth.” (Isa. 49)
The Messiah would be the Savior, not a Savior or many Saviors, who would bring His spiritual light not just to Israel, but to the nations, or the Gentiles. This is precisely what the angel said Jesus would do: “ 21 And she will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for it is He who will save His people from their sins” (Matt. 1). And this is precisely what Jesus did and does, as the Scriptures attest:
16 For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world should be saved through Him. (John 3)
10 let it be known to all of you, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead– by this name this man stands here before you in good health. 11 He is the stone which was rejected by you, the builders, but which became the very corner stone. 12 And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men, by which we must be saved. (Acts 4)
Old Simeon was tuned into the gospel story because he had studied the word for years. He not only knew that man was a sinner from his analysis of the Word and man’s behavior, but that man needed the Savior, Jesus, to find and secure forgiveness for his sins and salvation from God’s holy wrath against sin. His words, of course, cause us to ponder how well we know the gospel story. And if you know this story to be the end of all stories, do you, like Simeon, waste no time sharing and proclaiming it?
Additionally, don’t you know that Joseph and Mary were dumbfounded, again, concerning the identity of their firstborn son? He wouldn’t be a great General, a skilled architect, or a renowned teacher in a rabbinical school. He would be mankind’s only hope for salvation from sin. He would be the spiritual light that would call sinners from darkness unto the light that saves (John 8:12; 12:46). And He was their son, but He was also God’s only Son, born to Mary.
And to think that this baby was born to bring spiritual light to the likes of someone like August Caesar (63 B.C. to 14 A.D.). Julius Caesar, the father of the adopted Augustus, liked to call himself Divine Julius, as if he were a god. Right. Later, Augustus waxed eloquent by calling himself Soter Augustus, or Venerable Savior. He also didn’t mind the title Divi Filius, or “son of the divine one.” He loved these titles because, in his arrogance, he taught that the peace he brought to the world, known as the Pax Romana, was a testimony to his divine status. He couldn’t have been more misled, for the true Savior and author of true, lasting peace was resting comfortably in the arms of an old Jewish prophet that day, amidst the hustle and bustle of people on the Temple Mount. His name? Jeshua, or Savior. Simeon knew him. Do you? Or are you misled like Augustus and so many others are by false systems of darkness masquerading as light?
The holy moment created by God through the prophet Simeon wasn’t over. Looking up at the parents of Jesus, Simeon had a few more things to say, and these were highly prophetic and powerful. From his words we learn that . . .
He Was A Voice of Unvarnished Truth (Luke 2:33-35)
Just like a prophet from the Old Testament, Simeon spoke the unadulterated truth about Jesus to His parents. His initial statements took their breath away as we read:
33 And His father and mother were amazed at the things which were being said about Him. (Luke 2)
It wasn’t like they didn’t know how special Jesus was. On the contrary, God had given them much insight into their firstborn son’s identity and mission up to this dedicatory point.
From Gabriel, Mary learned the following:
- You, a virgin, will have a son that you will name Jesus.
- This son will be related not to Joseph but to the Most High, El Elyon, God. Huh?
- This son will rule and reign forever on the throne of David.
- This son’s kingdom would have no end, unlike all the kings and kingdoms before him.
- This son will be called the son of God (Luke 1:31-37)
From an unnamed angel, Joseph learned the following:
- Your wife will become pregnant not by human means, but by divine means, i.e., the Holy Spirit (Matt. 1:20).
- Your new son will be named Jesus (Matt. 1:21). Why? He will save his people from their sins.
Yes, their son was no ordinary son. This thought had to be at the forefront of their minds. But really, how do you wrap your mind around this if you are the parents? How do you smile and say, “Oh yeah, our son is the God-man Savior and Messiah, the King of Kings, the great I-Am, the Almighty”? With each new revelation, Joseph and Mary’s minds and hearts were simply overcome with the magnitude of the statements, and rightly so.
Turning to Joseph and Mary, Simeon told them some further prophetic truths about Jesus. I’m sure the words were not easy to say, but sometimes truth is hard to speak, yet a godly person must. So, Simeon gave Mary, especially, a pointed prophetic word from God:
34 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- (Luke 2)
Jesus was the God-man and Savior/Messiah, but his role wouldn’t come without hardship and cost. As a person, He would be opposed by people who would be jealous of His power and likability among the populace. As a teacher, those who couldn’t stand His powerful teaching would oppose Him because He dared to challenge their power base, authority, laws, rules, regulations, and traditions. He would, by definition, bring a division between people. You were either for Him or against Him. There would be no middle ground with Him when He grew up and got to work preaching and teaching, and this is precisely what happened.
Peter followed Him, but Judas deserted Him. The Sanhedrin condemned Him to die on trumped-up charges, but one member, Nicodemus, followed him in faith. One thief next to Him on Calvary embraced Him in faith, while the other cursed Him. And so it was, and so it is, even today. Christmas isn’t just about the birth of a long-awaited baby in Bethlehem. It’s so much more than this, as we learn from this holy moment with Simeon. Christmas is about the birth of THE Savior. Christmas is also concerned with a question: Will you serve and worship Him, or will you reject Him?
As Mary and Joseph thought about these powerful words, Simeon boldly added one more prophetic data point:
35 and a sword will pierce even your own soul– to the end that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed. (Luke 2)
This was directed to Mary, first and foremost. The Holy Spirit spoke through Simeon and informed her that though her son would become the world’s Savior and Israel’s greatest and last king, it would not come without hardship for her. I’m sure each time the Pharisees and Sadducees attacked Him and His mother found out about it, it pierced her heart like a sword. I know the trumped-up trial He endured, and the pain she watched Him suffer on the cruel cross, was almost more than a mother could bear. But God had forewarned her through Simeon and this holy moment.
About thirty-two years later, after Jesus rose from the dead three days after His crucifixion, Mary would learn that Simeon’s words were not the Father’s last words. Her Son would die for mankind’s sins, only to rise to life so He could offer the greatest gift a sinner could ever receive: the gift of divine forgiveness of sin and eternal life in God’s presence.
But in this holy moment, God grabbed the attention of a couple with a newborn baby boy, and an old prophet full of hope in God’s plan for sinners, Jew and Gentile.
I pray that God grabs your attention to this Christmas by giving you a holy moment that will educate you about the person and work of Jesus, the Christ. May that information deepen and embolden your faith, and if you don’t have faith, may it bring you to the faith.
