When The Waiting Is Over

Merry Christmas, church family. It's good to see you all this morning.

Our sermon text is from Luke chapter 2, verses 21 through 40.

Luke 2:21–40

That's page 805 in the Pew Bible.

Let me encourage you to turn there. We'll have it on the screens when I read it the first time,

but it'll be good to have it open in front of you as we kind of walk through the text today.

As we come to God's Word, let me pray for us.

Lord Jesus, before your resurrection and ascension, you promised your apostles that you would send your Spirit

to bring everything that you had taught them to mind and to guide them into all truth.

Lord, we thank you for the work of your apostles preserving for us your Word,

and we thank you that your Spirit is still at work today,

bringing light and knowledge and love and peace to our hearts as we come to you through the means of your Word.

So we pray now, Holy Father, that as we come to you this morning,

you would open our eyes and ears to hear what your Spirit is saying to us through your Word.

We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.

All right, Luke chapter 2, verses 21 through—I'm going to read through 38 this morning.

Luke 2:21

Luke writes this. He says,

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 had 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 the 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, having lived with her husband seven years from when she was a virgin,

and then as a widow until she was 84.

She did not depart from the temple worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day.

And coming up at that very hour, she began to give thanks to God

and to speak of him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.

Well, waiting can be hard, can't it?

We've just spent a whole month waiting for Christmas,

waiting to open presents, waiting for school to go on break,

waiting for vacation from work.

Waiting can be pretty hard.

But what about when the waiting is over?

What about when the thing you've been waiting for finally arrives?

Well, that can be hard too.

You spend so much time waiting,

sometimes we don't know exactly how to live once the waiting's over.

How's life supposed to change?

What are we supposed to do now?

Now, our passage shows us four people who've spent a long time waiting.

First, there's Mary and Joseph.

They've been waiting nine months for their baby to be born.

Then Simeon, waiting for the consolation of Israel,

but also waiting for the fulfillment of God's particular promise to him

that he would see the Lord's Christ before he saw death.

Now, we don't know how long Simeon had been waiting,

but presumably for many years.

And then we have Anna, 84 years old, a prophetess,

living a life of prayer and fasting and worship in the temple,

waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.

Waiting along with all the other faithful Israelites mentioned in verse 38.

Lots of waiting.

But then, at last, their waiting's over.

The thing that they've been waiting for has finally arrived.

And how do they respond?

You know, this time of year, the Christmas season for Christians

is about more than waiting for gifts and waiting for vacations, right?

It's about reliving again that wait and the longing,

reliving again that longing for Christ to come.

It's about putting ourselves back into this long story of God,

longing for our Redeemer.

And then, as we relive this story, Christmas arrives,

and the angels sing, and the incarnation happens,

and we celebrate with joy all over again,

and we light candles on Christmas Eve, and it's a lot of fun.

But what next?

The waiting's over.

Now what?

How do we live the day after Christmas?

You know, there's an important spiritual principle here, actually.

Sometimes our spiritual life grows stagnant

because we don't know what's next.

We hear the good news about Jesus.

We see our need for a Savior.

We place our trust in Him.

We experience His love.

But then what?

Isn't it true that becoming a Christian is often like realizing

that you've been waiting for something your whole life,

and you might not even have realized exactly what it is,

and then in the person of Jesus, at last,

you feel like you've found it.

Or rather, He's found you.

And you realize that He's the one you've been waiting for.

But what next?

The waiting's over.

Now what?

But this doesn't just apply to those of us who are new in the faith.

It actually applies kind of across the board for us.

If you've been following Jesus for some time,

you know that your spiritual life can get a little stagnant sometimes.

It can sort of feel like that Christmas gift you opened,

but then a few years later,

it just sort of sits there on the shelf,

not really doing anything.

The waiting's over.

Now what?

Right?

Well, this is where our passage comes to speak to us.

How do we live the day after Christmas?

How do we live when the waiting's over?

When we're new to the faith?

Or maybe stagnant in the faith?

Well, each of the characters in our text

show us something about how to live

now that Jesus has arrived in our lives.

So let's look first at Mary and Joseph.

And what we see through their example is,

is now that the waiting's over,

now that Christ has come into our lives,

we delight to obey his word.

Look again at verses 21 through 24.

At the end of eight days,

when he was circumcised,

he was called Jesus,

the name given by the angel

before he was conceived in the womb.

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 turtle doves or two young pigeons.

So we see Mary and Joseph here

obeying God's word.

Now there are three ways in particular

that Mary and Joseph obey God's law

in this short passage.

First, as Genesis 17 says,

they circumcised Jesus on the eighth day.

And then as Exodus 13 says,

they are presenting Jesus,

their firstborn son to the Lord.

And finally, as Leviticus 12 says,

they're coming to offer appropriate sacrifices

for ceremonial purification after childbirth.

Now consider all that's just happened

to this young couple.

An angel has appeared to both of them

on separate occasions in Luke 1 and Matthew 1,

telling them that their child

was going to be the Messiah

and to be born to Mary as a virgin.

Then after giving birth in a stable,

a group of shepherds burst in

with news about angels singing Gloria,

excited to meet the newborn king,

that's all pretty wild stuff, right?

Those are the sort of experiences

you could write about

and get a book contract in no time.

But notice how Mary and Joseph

respond to the fact

that God has fulfilled his promise.

Notice how they respond

to the great news

that their son

is being heralded as the Messiah.

After being such radical recipients

of God's grace and favor,

how do they respond?

They obey God's word.

God's law for them

isn't some arbitrary code.

It isn't some kind of cosmic killjoy.

No, this is the word

of their awesome, faithful, loving God,

and they delight to keep it.

It's the same for us, you know.

When Christ comes to us,

when we receive him,

when our waiting is over,

and we find in him

all that we've been longing for,

suddenly,

God's commands

aren't some burdensome,

tiresome thing.

No, God's commands

are the life-giving paths

of our loving God.

Maybe you've had the experience

of opening up a Lego set

on Christmas.

Has anyone here

opened up a Lego set

on Christmas?

Okay.

Some of you have.

Imagine it with me.

You open up the package,

tiny pieces fall out,

they scatter across the table,

some of them sometimes

are in different bags,

and the thing looks nothing

like it looks

on the front of the box, right?

But then,

as the pieces are all over the table

and you're looking at the picture,

out of the box drops,

the instructions.

And then,

step by step,

you see how the pieces

go together,

how it all fits

to make this cool-looking thing

on the front of the box.

You know,

when we become a Christian,

it's a little like that.

You open the gift,

and on the front of the box

is this glorious picture.

And the picture on the front

of the box is you

in all the glory

of Christ's likeness.

That's the goal.

Your life,

radiant with the glory

of Christ in you.

And then you open the box,

and all the pieces fall out.

In other words,

your Christian life starts,

and you realize

that you've got

a lot of broken pieces,

and the pieces

don't seem to fit,

and there are some pieces

you just don't know

what to do with.

And you can get

a little discouraged.

You can get

a little frustrated,

and you can be tempted

to give up.

But then out falls

the instruction manual.

And in the pages

of God's word,

we see the means

whereby God,

through his spirit,

is going to slowly

start putting the pieces

where they're meant to go.

He'll slowly start

building you

into the image

of his son

through the means

of his word.

Of course,

now that Christ has come,

we no longer live

under the particular

customs of the Mosaic law.

Things like circumcision,

the presentation

of the firstborn,

ritual sacrifices

after childbirth.

These ceremonies

are no longer binding

now that the Messiah

has come.

But as you read

the New Testament,

you see that God

has continued

to give his church

the guidance

and instruction

we need

to become like Jesus

in this era

of the new covenant.

He's shown us

practically

how to love him

with all our heart,

soul, mind, and strength.

He's shown us

practically how to love

our neighbor as ourself.

But of course,

some of these instructions

seem a little odd

at first, don't they?

Even if we're not called

to go up to Jerusalem

and sacrifice

after we have a baby,

still,

some of the instructions

of the New Testament

strike us

kind of culturally

against the grain

at times, don't they?

Some seem odd.

Some seem challenging.

Sometimes God's instruction

through his word

can seem impossible.

But you know,

if you look again

at our passage here

in Luke chapter 2,

Luke 2 · chapter mention

what you see

isn't just

a young couple

obeying God's word.

What you also see here

is your Savior

coming under the law

for you

in his circumcision,

in his presentation

at the temple,

the Lord of the universe

is taking the law

upon himself

and he will obey it

and he will keep it

to the very end.

Jesus here truly

is God with us.

So when the commandments

of God seem burdensome

or seem impossible

to us,

remember

that your Savior

has walked this road

for you

and he will continue

to walk this road

with you.

In his obedience,

he accomplished,

yes,

a perfect righteousness

for you,

but now through his spirit

he's working out

this righteousness

in you.

In other words,

he's justified you

through his obedience

to the law

and he will go on

and sanctify you as well.

So this is part of

what it means to live

when the waiting's over.

We don't just sort of

twiddle our thumbs

and wonder what's next.

We have the very word

of God directing us,

showing us how to become

the sort of people

he created us

and redeemed us to be.

We get to put the pieces

of our life together

according to the plan

of our creator

and our redeemer

and we get to become

more and more

like Jesus.

But that's not all.

Because after Mary and Joseph

enter the temple,

they're met by another person

who's been waiting

for the Christ

and he's been waiting

longer than nine months.

Simeon's been waiting,

it would seem,

for many years.

And what we see in Simeon

is that now that

the waiting is over,

now that Christ

has come into our lives,

we receive his peace.

We receive his peace.

Look with me again

at verses 25 through 32.

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 his 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.

Now Simeon's blessing

here in verses 29

through 32

is often called

the nunc dimittis

which is just a Latin

translation of verse 29.

Now you are dismissing.

Now you are letting

your servant depart

or dismissed

in peace.

Notice how this peace

for Simeon

is both personal

and global.

It's personal

and global for Simeon.

On the personal level,

Simeon here is talking

about his own death.

The Lord had promised him

through the spirit

that he would see

the Lord's Christ

before he died.

And now

that he has seen Jesus,

he's seen the Christ,

he knows

that he can depart

from this life.

Now the fact

that Simeon

is talking about

his departure,

his death,

that's what makes us think

that Simeon

is most likely

in his later years,

that he's an old man

in the temple.

But notice,

now that he's held

Christ in his arms

and seen Christ

with his own eyes,

he's ready to meet

the end of his life

with what?

With peace.

And of course,

that isn't just true

of Simeon, is it?

It's true of everyone

who has seen

in Jesus

the fullness

of God's salvation.

Did you notice?

Simeon says

of the child,

my eyes

have seen

your salvation.

Simeon is saying

that all of God's

saving purposes

are found

in Christ.

There's no salvation

apart from him.

He's the storehouse

where all the rich

blessings are found.

And that means

that if you have Christ,

then you have it all.

There's nothing

God has withheld

from you

if you have his son.

And that means

we can face anything,

even death,

like Simeon,

with peace.

Imagine what it

would look like

to live your life

without the fear

of death.

Some of us

are afraid of death

because we're not sure

what might happen

to us after we die.

But if you're united

to Christ

through faith,

then all of your sins

are forgiven

and God promises you

eternal life

in his own presence.

So if you belong

to Christ,

you need not fear

what happens

after you die.

But some of us

are afraid of death

because we're afraid

of what we might

not have accomplished.

We're afraid

we might not

have accomplished

all that we want

to accomplish

before we die.

In other words,

we're sort of afraid

of death coming

because we're afraid

that maybe we won't

have experienced

everything we want

to experience

before death comes.

So we're afraid

of the end to come.

Maybe we won't

accomplish everything

we want to accomplish.

And so the prospect

of death simply

as the end

of this life

fills us with dread.

And it casts

a shadow over our life,

a shadow of anxiety

or pressure

or fear

or regret.

But for the Christian,

this need not

be the case.

We can view

the prospect

of death

not with anxiety

or fears

of regret,

regret,

but with peace.

Why?

Because we know

on the one hand

that it's our sovereign God

who numbers our days

and like Simeon,

we can trust

God's timing.

Perhaps

we don't accomplish

all we hope to

in this life,

but we still live

in the confidence

that God is doing

his good work

in us and through us.

But you know,

on the other hand,

we also serve

a risen Savior

a risen Savior

who promises

a new creation.

And what this means

is that this life

isn't the end,

but just the beginning.

Yes, you know,

there are notes

that are being played

in this life

full of beauty

and full of power

and yes,

it's very true

that we don't want

the music of this life

to end, do we?

And we think about

all the great things

and desires that we have

and we don't want

that music to stop.

But if we serve

a risen Savior,

then these notes

that we hear

in this life

are just a prelude

to a greater symphony

to come

in the new creation.

And so we can face

death now,

not with despair

or with regret

of things we may not

have done

or may not have experienced,

but we can face it

with peace

because we know

that God has

much better in store.

And you know,

Simeon shows us

that this is not

just a personal peace

that we can experience

in our own lives,

but it's also

a global peace.

It's a peace available

to everyone

without distinction.

In verses 31 and 32,

the salvation of Christ

is set before all peoples.

He's a light

for both Gentiles

and Jews.

For Jews,

Christ is their glory.

He's the one

they've been waiting for,

the one who sums up

their long history

with God

and brings it

to its climax.

For Israel,

Jesus is their glory.

But for the Gentiles,

Christ is light too.

He's their revelation.

Christ is the unveiling

of the one

they were looking for

when they didn't

even know it.

So this peace

isn't something

that greedily belongs

only to a select few.

No, it's freely

offered to all.

It's not just personal.

It's global.

It's not just for Simeon.

It's for you.

But Simeon goes on

to say that it's not

just personal and global.

This peace is costly

as well.

Look again at verses

33 through 35.

And Jesus' father

and 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.

Now, Simeon here

is warning

these young parents

that the road ahead

for this child of theirs

will not be an easy one.

You know,

you might think

up until this point

in the birth narrative

that everything's going to be

one sort of

triumphant parade

to glory.

The king is here.

The angels are singing.

Old men and women

are dancing.

And yet,

the road

will not be an easy one

for this child.

Simeon says

he's going to be

sort of like a litmus test.

Some will encounter Jesus

and they will fall.

They will not

see in him

God's salvation,

but in pride

they will reject him.

Others will encounter Jesus

and they'll rise.

They'll behold him

with the eyes of faith

and in humility

call out to him

for rescue

and he will receive them

and raise them up.

In other words,

Christ,

as Simeon says

at the end

of verse 35,

he's going to expose

the innermost thoughts

of the heart.

And he still does that today.

Christ poses a question

to each one of us

and there's no neutral ground.

Will we receive him

as king,

as Lord,

or will we reject him?

Will we humble ourselves

before him?

Or will we turn away

in pride

and live for some other Lord

of our own choosing?

There's no getting around

this decision.

Each of us must face

the question of whether

we will bow to Jesus

as Lord.

But these verses

don't just speak

of the decision

that Christ poses

to each of us.

It also speaks

of the decision

Christ made

for each of us.

We see here

that when Christ came,

he humbled himself.

He submitted himself

willingly

to the rejection

of his own people.

He was willingly opposed,

as verse 34 says.

And then Simeon speaks

of a metaphorical sword

that will pierce

Mary's own soul.

And most readers

of Luke's gospel

have taken this piercing

as a reference

to Mary's sorrow.

Where?

At the cross.

Mary would see

her own son

rejected and crucified.

And sorrow

would stab her heart

like a sword.

And so we see

in this text

not just

an old man,

Simeon,

living in the peace

of Christ.

We also see

our Savior

and the costly price

he would pay

to win us

that peace.

You see,

it's only because

our Savior was rejected

that we can be accepted.

It's only because

he was opposed

that we can be received.

Why?

Because our sins

deserve God's rejection.

But on the cross,

Christ is rejected

in the place

of our sins.

That's why peace

can be ours

and is offered

to everyone.

Because the debt

of sin

has been paid

in full

through his sin-bearing death.

Now,

if we reject him,

we will fall,

as Simeon says,

under the weight

of our own sin.

But if we receive him,

we will rise,

having been released

from the burden of sin

through his death

on our behalf.

And for those

who do humble themselves

and receive

this gift in Christ,

it is a peace

that not even death

itself can take away.

Why?

Because our Savior

has died for us.

We can live in peace

even in the face of death.

So now that the waiting

is over,

now that Christ

has come into our lives,

we receive

and live in peace

with courage

and freedom

from the fear of death

and from the guilt of sin.

But there's one more figure

Luke wants us to see.

One last way

that Luke here

charts out for us,

sketches out for us

how to live.

And that is Anna

in verses 36 through 38.

And what we see in Anna

is that now

that the waiting is over,

now that Christ

has come into our lives,

we proclaim his kingdom.

We obey his word,

we live in peace

and we proclaim his kingdom.

Look again

at verses 36 through 38.

And there was a prophetess,

Anna,

the daughter of Phanuel

of the tribe of Asher.

She was advanced in years,

having lived with her husband

seven years

from when she was a virgin

and then as a widow

until she was 84.

She did not depart

from the temple,

worshiping with fasting

and prayer night and day.

And coming up

at that very hour,

she began to give thanks to God

and to speak of him

to all who were waiting

for the redemption of Jerusalem.

Now Anna is sort of

this wonderful contrast

to Simeon,

isn't she?

Simeon,

you know,

after he meets Jesus,

he's like ready to retire,

right?

He's like,

Lord,

okay,

you fulfilled your promise to me,

I'm good,

let me go.

But,

we get the sense

that Anna is just getting started.

If Simeon shows us

the serenity,

the peace that Christ brings,

Anna shows us the vitality,

the energy that Christ brings.

She might be 84 years old,

but now that Christ has come,

she can't help but proclaim

the arrival of her king

and the restoration of Jerusalem

and the arrival of God's kingdom.

So friends,

let this be an encouragement to you.

If you feel

that you are reaching

your later years,

God still has a plan for you

to use you

to advance his kingdom.

And that's true of all of us.

Just think of all the characters

we met in Luke 1 and 2.

Young and old,

some who work in the temple,

some who work in the fields,

some who are named,

some who are unnamed,

but all together,

God is gathering his church

around Jesus' son,

the Messiah,

our Lord,

and in Anna,

we see this first lighting

of the flame

that will continue to burn

through the gospel of Luke

and then especially

in Luke's sequel,

the book of Acts,

where like Anna,

the early church

filled with the Spirit

will take this news

of their Redeemer

and begin telling it

to all who will hear.

A message of good news,

of great joy

for all people.

A message of repentance

and the forgiveness of sins

for all people.

A message of eternal life

and freedom

for all who believe.

You see,

Anna understood

that when the waiting

was over,

the real mission

had just begun.

Now that Christ was here,

the world needed to know.

The kingdom of God

had arrived

and the great renewal

had begun.

So for us,

as the year ends

and another year begins,

who will we tell

this year

about the good news?

A co-worker,

a friend,

a neighbor?

Who in your life

needs to know

that God has come

in Christ

to give us His peace

without charge,

fully of grace?

let's begin praying for them.

Let's think about

how we might

open up

spiritual conversations

with them.

And friends,

do all of this

with a deep sense

like Anna

of joy

and thanksgiving.

God wants to use you

to bring this good news

to those who need it.

What a wonderful privilege

to be bearers

of good news.

the good news

that God loves us

and sent His Son

to be our peace.

So the waiting's over,

friends.

Christ has come at last,

but the adventure

has just begun.

Through His Word,

He's making us

more like Jesus.

Through His peace,

He's giving us courage

and freedom

even in the face of death.

And through His mission,

He's advancing

His kingdom

through us.

So church,

may we live

like Anna

and Simeon,

like Joseph

and Mary,

who when the wait

was over

had their course set

by the arrival

of their King.

Amen?

Amen.

Let's pray.

God,

we thank You

for the many pictures

that You've preserved

for us

from this history

of the earliest days

of Jesus our Lord.

and how men and women,

young and old,

insiders and outsiders,

were all gathered

into Your people

and given this great purpose

to live for Your kingdom.

We pray for a fresh pouring out

of Your Spirit, God,

upon us

as this year ends

and another begins.

Oh Lord,

make us like Simeon,

confident in Your peace.

Make us like Anna,

excited and thrilled

to share the news

of the One

who has come

and is coming again.

God,

do all this

for the glory

of Your great name

and the upbuilding

of Your church,

we pray.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Thank you.