Luke 2:25-32

The book of Luke, chapter 2, verses 25 to 32 for our text and study this morning. And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Ghost was upon him. And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost that he should not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. And he came by the spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him after the custom of the law, then took he him up in his arms, and blessed God and said, Lord, now letest thou thy servant depart in peace according to thy word, for mine eyes have seen thy salvation, which thou hast prepared before the face of God, of all people, a light to lighten the Gentiles and the glory of thy people, Israel. May God bless to us His sacred and holy word this morning. A Christian’s life should certainly be something that stands out. We should sort of like be the zebras among the horses. We would have the black stripe that the… distinguishes us, if you would, from the rest of mankind around us. However, if your life is indistinguishable from the worlds, then you’re sort of like an albino zebra. It doesn’t have the stripe. You can’t tell the difference between them and the horses. It’s not easy, anyhow. And as far as others can tell, if you look just like a horse, you lack the character of a horse. Christian. If you look just like the world itself, no different, you lack the character for Christian. Luke records an incident here, which takes place at the temple when Mary offered a sacrifice for her purification after childbirth. At this time, Jesus is the firstborn, was to be redeemed with silver coins according to the law of Moses. suddenly Joseph and Mary encounter a man named Simeon, who makes an amazing pronouncement here about the Lord Jesus Christ. What a biography is provided for us in verse 25 of this man, about this man. It’s short, and yet it’s complete. What a testimony to this man’s Christian character. This was a man who stood out. This was a man that could be easily distinguished from the ungodly around him. He was a memorable person. He’s about to depart from this world, but he has an impact upon it. Would that you and I were more like him in this regard? And so as we look at this text this morning, I will start by talking about the godly simeon in verses 25 and 26. Scripture says, and behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Ghost was upon him, and was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost that he should not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. Let me zero in on those two words, just and devout, which describe this man. He was just or righteous, certainly in all his dealings, with fellow human beings. He carefully kept the second table of the law. And it’s plain from what he says afterwards about Christ, that he was also a justified man. He was a man. who believed the gospel concerning Christ, and therefore was declared to be righteous by God on the basis of salvation in the Savior Jesus Christ. So here’s a man who’s been saved by sin, from sin, by divine grace. And he’s a devout man. Now, you can be a very religious person without being a developed person. The scribe. and the Pharisees were very religious, but they weren’t devout. They didn’t have the inward spiritual grace of a man or a woman who is devout. Simeon took great delight in the worship of God in spirit and in truth. He was genuine. He was sincere in his faith. He was not a hypocrite. He lived a life dedicated to serving God. Does such a description, just and devout, describe you? And then we read that he waited for the consolation of Israel. The consolation of Israel was, I believe, a reference to the coming of the Messiah. And it seems to be taken from the book of Isaiah, chapter 40. If you hold your place, but turn to Isaiah 40 with me. I want to read the first five verses here. Comfort ye, comfort ye, my people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned, for she hath received of the Lord’s hand double for all her sins. The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God, Every valley shall be exalted. Every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken at. Verse 10 and 11 then, Behold, the Lord God will come with strong hand, and his arms shall rule for him. Behold, His reward is with his reward is with him, him and his work before him. He shall feed his flock like a shepherd. He shall gather the lambs with his arm and carry them in his bosom and shall gently lead those that are with young. Now, in this passage of Scripture, we have the promise of the coming of the Messiah, that God is going to be with his people. And we notice the reference here, the John the Baptist making straight the way of the Lord. This is a direct reference, of course, to Christ as the New Testament indicates to us. Now, you’ll notice that this consolation that he talks about, it’s not some kind of earthly comfort or peace, but it’s a comfort that’s a comfort that’s related to the forgiveness of sins, as verse 2 indicates to us. Also, we see that in verse 9 of this text of Scripture as well, or verse 9 of our text. Anyhow, the text of Scripture indicates to us that here that we’re not talking about some kind of deliverance from national calamities, but we’re talking about some kind of spiritual deliverance that the Messiah is going to provide. Now Israel is not to be understood here in the book of Luke when he talks about Israel, it’s not to be understood of the whole Jewish nation. Christ was not a comfort to many that were in the nation. He came with a sword, so to speak, and divided men. We’ll see that later in the book of Luke. Wrath would come upon the Jewish nation to the uttermost for their corruption and for their wickedness. But the Israel that receives comfort here is the Israel of God. These are God’s elect people among the nation, those that have been chosen, redeemed, called out of the Jews. And we should understand also of the Gentiles as well. He will provide comfort for them. Simeon waited. He expected the Christ to come because he was given a divine revelation. The Holy Spirit revealed to him that he would see Christ before he died. And so he’s waiting. He’s anticipating Christ to come. You and I ought to live waiting and expectation of Christ coming too. And we’ll talk about that in a moment. But the whole thing. ghost was upon him. Boy, not only is he just in devout, but we see that he has the Holy Spirit, not just in an ordinary way, not the common way that the spirit works, graces in us, but in the extraordinary manner of revelation being given to this man. And he knows that he’s going to die soon, but before. Before he dies, there’s a promise he’ll see the Messiah. And this means that he would see the Messiah with his bodily eyes, because he’s already seen him with the eyes of faith. He already believes in the Messiah. He’s already a just man based upon that. But here we have the idea that he is actually going to behold him, very differently from the rest of the people, let’s say, in the Old Testament. He’s going to actually. with his physical, I see, the Messiah. Obviously, we know today that the extraordinary gifts of the Spirit have ceased, but there are still many precious promises in Scripture that are revealed to us by the Spirit that we should be clinging to as well. So here we have the godly signment. He’s just and devout. He’s waiting for the consolation of Israel, the appearance, of the Messiah and the Holy Ghost is upon. Secondly, we see Simians’ declaration concerning Christ in verses 27 to 32. Let us look at that a moment. And he came by the Spirit into the temple when the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him after the custom of the law, then took he him up in his arms and blessed God and said, let now, Lord, now let us thou servant depart in peace according to thy word. For my eyes have seen thy salvation, which thou hast prepared before the face of all people, and light the light and the Gentiles and the glory of thy thy people, Israel. He saw God’s provision for salvation. When Joseph and Mary came into the temple for the purification and for the redemption of the firstborn, Simeon came, being directed by the spirit to come at this particular time, and he witnessed the first fulfillment of the prophecies respecting the desire of all nations, filling the Lord’s house with glory. The Lord, as the messenger of the covenant, suddenly appearing in his temple. Simian was by divine guidance, immediately enabled somehow to pick out or to know who the the Messiah was. Out of all, perhaps the children had been brought and so forth, he is able to zero in by the direction of the spirit on Christ and self, beyond doubt. This is the promised Messiah. And he’s moved to bless God for his mercy and grace in providing the Savior sinners. He is able to hold in his hands what he calls thy salvation. He He peopled. up the Christ Child. And he calls the Christ Child thy salvation. This is God’s remedy for man’s sin. This is the hope, the only hope that we have. In this person, the Christchamian. Now, Simeon was now ready to die. He had personally had peace with God. His faith in Christ is intact here, and he says, now let your servant depart. I’m ready to go. I’ve seen the salvation you’ve provided. All of this happened according to God’s word, as he tells us here, the gracious promise of God. God has been good as His word with regard to Simeon. Now, it’s important that you see Christ as God’s provision for salvation. Simeon did. This is the one I’ve been waiting on. This is the one I’m trusting in. This is the one God promised to send as a consolation to Israel so that we can have our iniquities forgiven. This is the way, the truth, and the life. Jesus Christ. So he saw God’s provision for salvation. Notice also he saw Christ as God’s provision for salvation for people of all nations. verses 31 and 32. God prepared this salvation in Christ with a purpose of setting Christ before all the nations as the way of salvation. Not just for the Jews, but for the Gentiles as well. For the far-off aisles of the sea, as well as the people right there in Jerusalem. Christ will be preached as the way of salvation for all nations. We read in Isaiah 52, verse 10, the Lord hath made bear his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God. That’s the promise with regard to Jesus Christ and Him coming. It is the true mission of the Messiah to be the glory in particular of Israel initially. you remember that as he went out his ministry was to the lost sheep of the house of Israel for the most part. Yeah, he talks to the Samaritan woman and so forth, but for the most part. But through his disciples, the gospel is going to go out into all the world. Believers glory in Christ’s cross. Jesus Christ has made unto us wisdom and righteousness, sanctification, redemption, that according as it is written, he that glorieth let him glory in the Lord. Lord, 1 Corinthians 1, 1,000, 1, 13 and 31. Quoting from Jeremiah. What do we glory in? We glory in Christ as the Savior. Now, Christ is the light which arises upon Israel. But it’s, he’s also going to enlighten the Gentiles. As the scripture also indicates, Isaiah 42, and Isaiah 49. Let me just quote Isaiah 496. It’s a light thing that thou should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the preserved of Israel. I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles that thou mightest be my salvation to the ends of the earth. It’s a light thing for me just to save some people of the Jews. Why, I’m going to save people from all nations through you. So here you perceive an indication to us again that Christ’s kingdom is a worldwide kingdom, just as Daniel’s prophecy chapter two indicates to us. Thus the command of Christ to the apostles to preach to all the nations. Simeant knew these Old Testament prophets. He’s by the illumination of the spirit. He realized that this was going to be fulfilled. And he talks about this here in this passage of scripture. Damien’s declaration concerning Christ. Now let me make these practical observations this morning. The first is this. You see how God preserves a godly remnant to serve him in dark times. The true faith was a very low ebb in Israel at this particular time. The faith of Abraham. And that faith was that a man is justified by faith in the seed of Abraham to come, which is Christ. It had been corrupted by the doctrines of the Pharisees and the Sadducees and so forth. They had undermined the gospel. They had taught a works righteousness, contrary to what the scripture reveals to us. And a blanket of ignorance had fallen over the nation. And they’re in darkness. Now, in speaking of Simeon, you’ll notice, verse 25, says, Behold, take notice of this man. In the meaning of this man. midst of all this, take notice of this man. He’s just and devout. Here is a truly godly man. A rare sight to see. An Israelite indeed, if you would. Like the burning bush that was not consumed that caught Moses’s attention, so Simeon is a sight to behold. Ponder this man. God never leaves himself without a witness in every generation in this dark world. You know, small as Christ’s church sometimes appears to be on this earth. And pearl being swallowed up like Jonah by the whale of this world, God sustains it. God has a people. Do you see the perverted city? of Sodom, where men were exceeding sinners before God, and yet somehow rather, within it, there is the righteous lot. Do you see the most wicked household of King Ahab, who is a hater and persecutor of God’s prophets like Elijah? And yet, among the household, there is the godly Obadiah. It hides and feeds 100. of the sons of the prophets. The prophets of the Lord. Here is a man who was the governor of Ahab’s house, according to First Kings, 183, who feared God. Fear God greatly. How can that be? God preserves it. I read in the New Testament that some, even among Caesar’s household, have come to know the Lord. That’s the way God works. Do you see how an apostate Judah is carried far off into Babylon? And yet among those taken captive by Nebuchadnezzar, there is a Daniel, a Shadrach, a Meshach, and a Bendigo. True Christians in every age should find comfort in this truth. You find it throughout the scriptures. There are times you can feel like Elijah. You can be fearful. I’m the only one left. Well, not really. God still has his people. He’s still going to reserve some to himself and save them. Let the people of God, therefore, be hopeful. Because the church shall never be eliminated from the face of the earth. We can always know that God’s going to preserve it people. So you see how God preserves a godly remnant to serve him in dark times. You can be assured. of departing from this world in peace. A second point. You’ll notice in verse 29, he says here, Lord, now let us thy servant depart in peace. According to thy word. Many face death with great fear and foreboding. Even in old age, when plagued by ailments, people tenaciously cling to life. They don’t want to depart. I once talked with a woman who was an aide at a nursing home, and she told me that there were people there are absolutely terrified when it comes to death. Shrieking and crying out in anguish. I remember the incident occurred in my father’s life. My father at one point had colon cancer, and he had to go to the hospital, and the doctor was talking to him about the procedure, and they were going to have to take a foot out of his colon. It was a cancerous. a tumor there that they were going to cut up like six six inches on each side of it and take that out and reattach his intestines. As the doctor talked with him and cancer is certainly a very serious matter, the doctor asked my father, are you afraid to die? And my father said, no, I’m a Christian. If I die, I’ll go to heaven. The doctor marveled at the peace and the calmness of my father, and then he noticed my father. My father’s Bible was sitting over on the table next to his bed there in the hospital. He walked over to the Bible and he tapped it a couple of times and just seemed like he realized this is what’s given him peace when it comes time to face death. My friends, it is always the great truths of Scripture that anchor us, anchor our soul when it comes time to die. Dear, death is a fearful thing. Obviously we’ve never gone there. We don’t know what’s happening and so forth, but here’s the thing. Well, we don’t know how the body dissolves and, you know, what’s going to happen on all this physically to us. We know one thing. If we know Christ, we know where we’re going. We know that His angels will give us transport, if you would, into the celestial city. And so when we come time, we know that we come time. It comes time to die. There’s a sense in which we should be able to face death with confidence. Let me depart, Lord. He’s in control of death. I’m ready. I’m at peace. About the matter. I hope that we could all have the thinking of Paul. We had a desire to part and be with Christ because he said it’s far better. I was reading some of the dying words. of believers. Some of them are interesting. Matthew Henry said this. Sin is bitter. I bless God that I have inward supports. Thomas Goodwin said this. Ah, is this dying? How I dreaded as an enemy, this smiling friend. At an I’m Judson, the missionary. I’m not tired of my work, neither am I tired of the world. Yet when Christ calls me home, I shall go with the gladness of a boy bounding away from school. C.H. Spurgeon said this on his deathbed. I am tranquil and happy, though very weak. My theology is very simple. I can express it in four words. I don’t say that they contain all you should live by, but I know they are enough to die on. Jesus died for me. Are you a person for whom the issue of death has lost its terrors? I mean, are we prepared? die? Can we die confident that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord? That’s the comfort that we have. What enables you to have this kind of peace that Simeon had? and I’ll notice some things about Simeon. Have you seen God’s salvation in the person of Christ? mine eyes have seen thy salvation. Have you seen it with the eyes of faith? Are you presently serving Christ? He talks about thy servant here. He’s God’s servant. He’s serving the Lord while he’s in his life. Do you look at death as coming by God’s appointment that he’s in total control of it? Now let us thy servant die. He sees God in control of death. Have you found all things in your experience have been according to God? God’s word, so will death be according to God’s word too and his promises. According to thy word, he says, let me go. My friends, it’s only the believer who can die with such peace. Really? There is no peace saith my God to the wicked. So you can be assured of departing from this world in peace. Thirdly, you should live in expectation of Christ’s coming. Simian waited for the consolation of Israel looking for the appearance of Christ. Now, there is a sense in which we should live with this same situation, only in regard to the second coming of Christ, not the first coming. God’s people are looking for, indeed hastening unto, if you would, the coming of the Lord. The scriptures speak of waiting for God’s son from heaven, 1st Thessalonians 1st. And the patient waiting for Christ, 2, Thessalonians 3.5. As God’s people, we have a tendency to not expect to be as, a tendency to not be as expecting of Christ’s return as we should be. You remember the virgins that Jesus talked about in Matthew 25? They were supposedly waiting for the bridegroom to come, but they all fell asleep. And that’s sometimes the case that we’re not alert and ready and prepared for when the bridegroom, There are people who plan and they live their day without even thinking about, could Christ come back today? There’s a story told about a Scottish fishing village, and after many days at sea, the captain of a fishing vessel was returning home with his whole load of catch. And the men had been out to sea for months, and they’re finally coming back. As the ship near the shore, the men gave it. eagerly toward the dock because there would be their wives and children waiting for them as they arrived. And the captain looking through, you know, his telescope, his spy glass looks toward the dock and he calls out to the men. I see Mary’s, Bill’s Mary, there’s Tom’s Margaret, there’s David’s Anne. One man was very anxious because his wife wasn’t on the dock. when the ship got in. So he rushes home to see what the situation is. And as he opened his door, his wife greeted him, and she said, I’ve been expecting you. You may have been expecting me, but you weren’t waiting at the dock, like all the other men’s wives. My friends, you may expect Christ to come, but are you waiting for? We don’t know the day nor the hour of Christ’s return, but are we watching for it? Are we at the dock, so to speak? It is the unfaithful servant who thinks, my Lord delayeth his coming, and then he doesn’t live properly. It is the servant who knows the Lord is coming and is waiting and watching for him, who lives appropriately. Let me close with these last few words. There are albino zebras. They don’t have the stripe. You can’t tell them from horses. There are Christians that say, you can’t tell them from horses. seem to be sort of like albino Christians. You couldn’t tell them from the world. There’s something wrong if we’re like that. We need more people like Simeon, had the Christian character of a Simeon. Behold, this guy stands out. As a professing Christian, you shouldn’t be blending in with the world. You should be far different from it. Let us close with the word of prayer.