The Savior

This text introduces us to two people. We're only going to talk about the first, Simeon and Anna.

Simeon took a particular interest in baby Jesus and announced a blessing on him that left Mary

and Joseph in a state of awe. And for the purpose of our study this morning, I want to

latch on to a specific phrase that Simeon uses. Look at it there in verse 30. And he says,

My eyes have seen your salvation. My eyes have seen your salvation.

Of course, we've noted throughout these last six weeks that Jesus is the Savior who has come to

earth from heaven. But in this passage, I think we are compelled by Luke to move on from the fact

of Jesus' coming to the purpose of his coming. And this word salvation that Simeon uses in verse 30

perfectly summarizes the purpose for which Jesus came. And using this interaction with Simeon, I want

to show you three things about the person and the work of Jesus and this child. I want to show you

that Jesus himself is our salvation. I want to show you also that the events surrounding his birth

ultimately serve the purpose of pointing forward to his inevitable death. He's our salvation. His birth is

not about his birth. His birth is really about his death. And there's things that are happening here

in the passage we just read that make that very clear. And then the last thing that maybe you'll see

is that Jesus might not be the kind of Savior that you expected.

I think for most people, maybe even the people who came to adore him in these passages,

Jesus the Savior ended up being quite a surprise to them. I think there's some things that we can

notice in these passages as we go. Again, latching onto that word salvation. First thing is this,

I want you to see salvation symbolized. Salvation symbolized. Now, surely we can feel some sympathy

for Mary and Joseph at this point in the narrative. An angel has just informed them in recent months

that their new child is the Son of God and the Messiah. And that led to a series of other encounters

that all have served the purpose of affirming that truth for Mary and Joseph. Now, becoming new parents

is frightening enough on its own. Perhaps you remember the moment that maybe Ashlyn

just turned 11 last week, and we were talking about a picture that I have of the first time

that I ever held Ashlyn right after she was born. And I can remember some of the feelings of,

I'm responsible for this. Like, if we mess this up, Julie, we've messed a lot up. Like, there's some

serious implications to our ability to care for this child that we've been given. Okay, that's scary

enough on its own. Now, put yourself in Mary and Joseph's shoes. An angelic figure has come to you

and has said, not only are you going to have a child, but this child is the Messiah. This is the

Son of God, and it's up to you to raise Him. You're going to have to be responsible for His care. You're

going to have to be responsible to train Him and to raise Him to be a good Jewish young man,

perhaps, is what's in their mind. Can you imagine the pressure? And they got off to a terrible start

because they had to make this 90-mile walk from Nazareth to Bethlehem. And upon getting there,

they can't even find a decent place for Mary to give birth when she goes into labor. And surely,

you men can identify, perhaps, with Joseph, who probably is just thinking of himself as such a failure.

Here, his wife is giving birth to the Son of God, and the best that he could do was a filthy manger

to provide for this new child. And certainly, there's some excitement, maybe a bit of adrenaline rush as the

shepherds rush down and they visit, but eventually the shepherds leave, and it's just them.

It's just them amidst the animals. And perhaps there's a moment in all of that where Mary looks

at Joseph and says, what do we do now? What are we supposed to do? There's no manual here on how to

raise the Messiah. Like, is there special instructions we're supposed to follow? The angel didn't tell us

all of that. He just said, you're going to have a son, and this is who he'll be, and this is what you

should name him. And as we'll see in verses 21 to 24, the answer is that they did exactly what the

law of God said to do. That's what they went with. After eight days, they circumcised Jesus. They gave

him the name that was supposed to be given to him. Then after 40 days, they journeyed to Jerusalem

so that they could present him to God in exactly the way that God's law had said to do it. Now, it's not

the main point of the text, and it's not the main point of the message, but it is helpful nonetheless

to note that in a moment of uncertainty, Joseph and Mary didn't wait for a sign in the sky

before they decided what to do next. Oh, it was ordinary, routine faithfulness to God and to God's

word that actually marked their lives. Alistair Begg was so helpful on this, and I've listened to him

preach this passage, and he said, some of us are waiting to see what God does before we do what God

says. And he says that's completely upside down. Joseph and Mary said, we will do what God says,

and then we'll see what God does. And there is just a helpful side note here for us, isn't there,

that just the ordinary faithfulness, they immediately upon not knowing what to do,

not having any further instruction, they immediately went to the word of God, and they said,

what does the word say for us to do? What does God say in his law that we are to do? And

that's what they did. And it was through that ordinary obedience, that ordinary faithfulness,

that God began to do this work in their lives, that God provided for them everything that they needed

to raise this child exactly as he intended. And I think that's a helpful note for us, maybe just to

tuck in the back of our minds as we move forward. Now look at verse 21. 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. Now the routine faithfulness of

Joseph and Mary to do the things described in these verses may not seem like much, but it is actually of

utmost importance as we understand the person of Jesus. Each step they took was either in obedience to

God's law or in obedience to the direct instruction given through the angel. And their actions are

important on two levels. The first is this, it was necessary that Jesus perfectly fulfill God's law.

It was necessary that Jesus perfectly fulfill God's law. He said this himself, Matthew chapter five,

the sermon on the mountain, Jesus says, do not think I have come to abolish the law or the prophets.

I have not come to abolish them, but to fulfill them. So that for Jesus to be the Savior, for him to

actually be the one to bring us salvation, it wasn't enough for him just to stay out of trouble.

This isn't only about his sinlessness. There is also this dynamic of fulfillment in Christ.

It was necessary that he fulfill all the laws, that he fulfill all the pictures, that he fulfill all the

promises recorded in the Old Testament. But as a baby, baby Jesus has no control over his own

circumcision. He has no control over his own presentation to the Lord. Things that would be

necessary for him to be the fulfillment of what those things were to picture in the plan of salvation.

No, God providentially used Joseph and Mary's ordinary obedience so that he could fulfill his saving

purposes in Christ Jesus. Do you see that? Jesus sat eight days old, didn't look up at Mary and say,

all right, Mary, it's time. We better get this taken care of. Don't forget the angel said, Jesus,

yes, make sure you do that. Jesus doesn't do that. No. He uses Mary and Joseph's ordinary

obedience and faithfulness to accomplish his purpose.

Now, I imagine there were many days that they felt keenly the weight of responsibility given to them.

But the fact of the matter is that God's purposes could never be thwarted.

Joseph and Mary weren't perfect people. They weren't perfect parents, but they had a perfect son,

and God was using them to accomplish his purposes, and there was nothing that they were going to do

that was going to keep God from doing that. He raised them up for this task. And though they

weren't perfect, he sovereignly governed their lives so that his will would be accomplished through them.

Now, in their minds, they just thought, we're just doing what every good Jewish family does.

I doubt Joseph was sitting in Bethlehem thinking, you know, if we don't do this, he won't be the Savior.

No, that's not what they're thinking. But their obedience, whether they understood it or not,

was far more necessary to God's plan than that. And I don't know about you, but I find incredible comfort in that.

The Christian life is dynamic.

That there's no failure

that I can exhibit

that will hinder

God's sovereign purposes in this world.

Even when I do fail,

and when I do sin,

it is because God is allowing that to take place

in order that he might accomplish

his purposes in my life

and in the lives of others.

And I find comfort in the fact

that as I go about my evangelism,

perhaps, or as I go about

raising my children, doing as much

as I can to the glory of God, recognizing

that I'm an imperfect father,

and I'm an imperfect pastor,

and I'm an imperfect Christian,

I'm an imperfect friend,

and all of those kinds of things.

That God is always working

in me. He's always working

through me

to do his will

in my life and in the lives

of people around me.

And that's exactly what he's doing

with Mary and Joseph.

So it's first important on that level

that Jesus had to be

the fulfillment of all of these things.

And he is that,

and God uses Mary and Joseph's

ordinary faithfulness for it.

But the second reason

this is so important

is that these actions

were symbols

of the salvation

Jesus had come to provide.

Or symbols.

Now, we don't have time

to go into all of the details here.

I'll have to leave it to you

to look into some of these things

on your own,

but let's just touch

on the three things here.

First is circumcision.

Circumcision was a sign

of the Abrahamic covenant.

It marked Israel's

national identity

as the people of God.

It was a command of God

for them to fulfill

in obedience to him.

But it was also meant by God

as an object lesson

of the need for cleansing

from sin.

This act of circumcision

reminded them

that from the very moment of birth,

they are guilty in Adam,

that they are under sin,

that they have a nature of sin.

And this act of circumcision

communicated to the people

over and over

their need for cleansing,

their need for mercy,

and their need for grace.

It was a physical symbol

of the spiritual cleansing

of the heart

that takes place at salvation.

And of course,

circumcision was never capable

of providing salvation,

but it did remind the people

that they needed salvation.

And so it's necessary

that Jesus go through this

to fulfill the law of God

and to point toward the symbol

that it represented.

The second thing is Jesus' name.

Jesus' name.

And it's also an important symbol

of salvation,

as was noted by

the angelic message

to Joseph

in Matthew 1.

She will bear a son,

the angel says,

and you shall call his name

Jesus,

for he will save his people

from their sins.

We've talked about this before.

Jesus is the

Greek equivalent

of the

Old Testament

named Joshua,

which means

God will save.

Yahweh will save.

So even the name of Jesus

communicates

that God

had sent him

to bring salvation.

And then the third thing here

is the sacrifice

that they made.

If you want to learn

more about this,

you can go to

Leviticus chapter 12,

Leviticus 12 · chapter mention

and I think it's

Exodus chapter 13,

Exodus 13 · chapter mention

and you'll see

all the things

that the law

had laid out here.

But in short,

the law considered

a woman who gave birth

ceremonially unclean

for a certain period of time.

And it depended,

the time frame

depended on whether

or not their child

was a boy

or a girl.

Now why there was

a difference,

I don't know.

We'll have to ask the Lord

when we get to heaven

one day,

but there was a difference.

If you had a boy,

you had to wait

seven days

for the initial part

of their ceremonial cleansing,

and then on the eighth day

is when the circumcision

was necessary for the boy.

Then after that,

they waited another

33 days.

And after 33 days,

that's when they would have

presented the boy

to the Lord.

That's when the mother

would be considered

ceremonially clean

and could go to the temple

and could participate

in all the things

of worship in Israel

that were necessary.

If it was a baby girl,

it's different.

All of those things

were doubled.

Had to wait 14 days initially,

and then another 66 days

beyond that.

So when we see

that Mary and Joseph

have come to the temple,

and they have come

to present baby Jesus

to the Lord,

the time frame here

is all related

to Leviticus chapter 12.

Leviticus 12 · chapter mention

But the thing

that was necessitated

in the law

was a sacrifice.

And there were

two parts to it.

The first part

was a one-year-old lamb

for a burnt offering.

The second part

was a young pigeon

or a turtle dove

that would be

for a sin offering.

But the law

made a provision

for those

who couldn't afford

a lamb.

If they didn't

have a lamb

or they couldn't afford

to purchase a lamb,

they could offer

two birds

instead of just

one bird,

and that would be enough

for the burnt offering

and for the sin offering.

And so clearly,

we see Mary and Joseph's

poverty coming through

as they didn't even

have the money

to pay for the lamb

at this point.

But then they go

through the process,

and what is it

that they're doing

as they offer

these sacrifices?

They're recognizing

their need for atonement.

They're recognizing

their need for

cleansing,

forgiveness from God.

You see,

everything the Bible

records about Jesus

ultimately points forward

to his salvation.

And the events

of his death,

his birth,

ultimately point

toward his purpose,

which was that

he came to die.

He came to be

that sacrifice.

He came to be

that agent

of cleansing

that would provide

true cleansing

from sin.

We're in desperate

need of that cleansing.

Jesus provides

the salvation

we need

by dying

as our sacrificial lamb.

So we see here,

salvation symbolized.

Number two,

salvation personified.

Salvation

personified.

Look with me

at verse 25.

Now there was a man

in Jerusalem

whose name was Simeon.

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.

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.

So Luke sets

the scene for us.

He mentions

Simeon's character

and faith

first.

Three things

just to note

in passing about it.

We see first

that Simeon

was devoted

to God.

Luke says

he was righteous

and devout

meaning he was

obedient to God's word

and careful

to live his life

for God's glory.

So this is a unique man.

He's devoted to God.

Secondly,

Luke tells us

about his faith

in God's promises.

His faith

in God's promises.

That he was

waiting

for the consolation

of Israel

means that

Simeon was

a disciplined

student of the Bible.

That he was filled

with expectancy

about the Lord's Christ.

And then finally

we're told

that Simeon

was used

by God.

So the Spirit

of God

reveals to Simeon.

We're not told

how or in what way

but reveals

to Simeon

that he would

see the Messiah

before he dies.

And then the Holy Spirit

leads him

into the temple

at precisely

the time

that Joseph

and Mary

are arriving

at the temple

to present

Jesus

to God

according to the law.

And here's

the simple thing.

Just like

every believer

God's salvation

was revealed

to Simeon

by the Holy Spirit

through the Holy Scriptures.

There's no difference

here for him

than there is

for any other person

that comes to Christ.

The Spirit

leads us.

The Spirit

guides us.

The Spirit

opens our understanding

of God's Word

in order that

we might be saved.

Look at verse 28.

Here's what Simeon did.

He took him up

in his arms

and he blessed God

and said,

Lord,

now your servant,

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 mother marveled

at what was said

about him.

So directed

by the Holy Spirit,

Simeon immediately

knew that Jesus

was the promised

Christ.

And he took

the baby up

in his arms

and he began

to worship God.

And again,

Simeon's character

and faith

are revealed here.

The word used

for Lord

that translates

Lord here

is the Greek word

despotes.

Now that's not

the typical word

for Lord

in the New Testament.

Typically it's

kurios,

but not here.

It's despotes,

despot.

Most often

this is used

in the New Testament

to translate

slave owner.

And then he follows

it up with servant.

Dulos

literally means slave.

This tells us

something not about

the dynamics

of slavery

in that time.

It tells us

something about

Simeon's mind

toward God.

He viewed God

as his Lord,

as having full control,

full authority

over everything

that Simeon did

and thought

and believed

and he's recognizing

in this moment

of worship

that God

is his Lord,

that he is

the slave of God.

He is the servant

of God.

And we see

his character,

his godliness,

his devoutness,

his righteousness

coming through.

The point is

that he viewed

his whole life

as being devoted

to God

and his purposes,

a distinguishing

mark for a Christian.

And then his faith

was in God's word.

Did you see that?

He says,

now you're letting

your servant

depart in peace

according to

your word.

Another distinguishing

mark

of a Christian.

But it's the rest

of Simeon's statement

that I want to

draw your attention to.

There's two things

of note here

about his recognition

of God's salvation.

First,

salvation

is a person.

It's a person.

For my eyes

have seen

your salvation.

He doesn't say

I have experienced

God's salvation.

No.

He says

I have seen

your salvation.

So when he looked

at baby Jesus

under the inspiration

of the Holy Spirit,

Simeon knew

he was gazing

upon the one

and only Savior.

You see,

Simeon knew

that salvation

is not a place

like heaven.

So when we share

the gospel,

we don't win people

to heaven

because salvation

is not heaven.

Simeon recognized

that salvation

is not

a

thing

like

material

or

wealth

or prosperity.

So when we

share the gospel,

we're not

persuading people

to a better life

because that's not

what salvation is.

Salvation is in

a better life.

Simeon understood

that salvation

was not an ideal

state

of inner peace

or a fulfillment.

So when we

invite people

to the gospel,

we're not inviting

them to a new

spiritual level

of peace

that's going to

finally settle

all the chaos

in their lives

and it's going to

set their minds

exactly where

their minds

need to be.

That's not the

message of salvation.

Salvation is a

person

in Simeon's eyes.

Salvation is

Jesus.

And to receive

salvation is not

to grasp

onto health

or wealth

or personal

fulfillment.

It's to leave

all of those

things actually.

At least your

primary desire

for all of those

things and to

cling trustingly

to the baby.

To cling

trustingly

to the Savior.

To cling

trustingly

to Jesus.

Salvation is

a person.

So when we

share the gospel

we're sharing

a person.

We're bringing

people to a

person.

But then

salvation is

also we see

here for all

peoples.

Salvation is

for all peoples.

Look at what

Simeon says.

This salvation

is prepared in

the presence of

all peoples.

A light for

revelation to

the Gentiles for

glory to your

people Israel.

excuse me.

So Jesus is

salvation and

Jesus is for

everyone who

will come to

him in

repentance and

faith.

Simeon's actually

quoting Isaiah

here.

In Isaiah

Isaiah 49 · chapter mention

chapter 49

is God

speaking of

the Messiah

says is it

to light a

thing that you

should be my

servant to

raise up the

tribes of Jacob

and bring back

the preserved of

Israel.

I will make

you as a

light for the

nations God

says.

That salvation

may reach to

the ends of

the earth.

Jesus would

later identify

himself in this

way.

Remember John

John 8 · chapter mention

chapter 8.

Again Jesus

spoke to them

saying I am

the light of

the world.

Whoever follows

me will not

walk in darkness

but will have

the light of

life.

John affirmed

this at the

beginning of his

gospel in John

John 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1 he

said the true

light which gives

light to everyone

was coming into

the world.

He was in the

world and the

world was made

through him yet

the world did

not know him.

He came to his

own and his own

people did not

receive him.

but to all who

did receive him

who believed in

his name he

gave the right to

become the

children of God

who were born

not of blood or

of the will of

the flesh nor

of the will of

man but of

God.

And here's the

point.

Jesus is the

only light that

can overcome the

darkness of sin in

your life and in

my life.

And according to

the Bible to

receive salvation is

to receive Jesus

and the way you

receive Jesus is by

believing in his

name.

Then and only

then will we

receive forgiveness

of sin.

Then and only

then will we be

reconciled to God

in peace as his

children.

We're almost

finished.

The third thing I

want you to see is

salvation

clarified.

So we've seen

salvation symbolized.

We've seen

salvation personified.

I want you to see

salvation clarified.

Excuse me.

Generally the

Jews believe that

the Messiah would

be a towering

political military

leader.

And that

ultimately the

salvation that he

brought would be

the destruction of

Israel's enemies.

Jesus actually

proved to be a

surprising Messiah

for them at

least in that he

did not meet those

expectations.

You remember in our

study of Mark even

the disciples didn't

grasp all of this

until after Jesus'

crucifixion and

resurrection.

See Jesus' focus

was not on

deliverance from

Rome.

His focus was on

deliverance from

sin.

His peace was not a

national peace.

It was a peace with

God.

The life that he

offered was not

full of material

prosperity.

He actually promised

the opposite in many

cases.

It was a life of

spiritual prosperity.

mercy.

But Simeon turns his

attention here in

verses 34 and 35 to

Mary in particular.

And he pronounces a

prophetic blessing on

Joseph and Mary.

And there's a

mysterious prophecy in

this of what the

child's future would

be.

Look at verse 34.

We're almost there.

Simeon blessed them

and said to Mary his

mother,

Behold this child is

appointed for the fall

and rising of many

in Israel for a sign

that is opposed.

And then he kind of

has this side statement

for Mary and a sword

will pierce through

your own soul also.

So that thoughts from

many hearts may be

revealed.

Jesus' life and

ministry as you know

would expose and

confront Israel's sin

particularly their

spiritual pride.

He would reveal the

true nature of their

hearts so that the

spiritually arrogant

would be judged and

the humble would

ultimately be exalted.

So Jesus confronts

those who trusted

their Jewish heritage

or their commitment

to the law.

He judged them.

He condemned those

people.

while he acknowledged

that or those who

acknowledge their sin

and cast themselves

on the mercy of God

were saved.

And you can step back

and you can read the

Gospels again and you'll

see that this was

consistently the teaching

and the interactions

that Jesus had.

Those who constantly

trusted in how they

were brought up.

Those who constantly

trusted in their

religious associations

and their religious

observances.

observances God

or Jesus condemned

those people.

He told them

straight out

I didn't come

for you.

No it was the

humble

the

abased

those who

acknowledged their

sin

who cast themselves

not on their own

goodness or efforts

but cast themselves

on the mercy of God

those were the ones

that Jesus

went to.

And this comes

through most

clearly in Jesus'

interactions with

the Pharisees.

We could go to

several places.

Let's just look at

one.

You're in Luke.

Would you flip over

to chapter 18?

Just quickly

chapter 18 of Luke.

You probably know

the story well

but I think it would

serve us well as we

finish to look at it

together.

Luke 18

Luke 18:9

verse 9

Jesus also

told this parable

to some

who trusted

in themselves

that they

were righteous

and in doing

that they

treated others

with contempt.

These are the

people Jesus

is addressing.

He's telling

this parable

about them.

Here's the

parable.

Two men

went up into

the temple

to pray.

One was a

Pharisee

the other

a tax collector.

We're looking

at two

completely

opposite people

here as far

as culture

was concerned

in their day.

The Pharisee

standing by

himself

prayed

thus

God I

thank you

that I'm

not like

other men

extortioners

unjust

adulterers

or even

like this

tax collector

I fast

twice a week

I give

tithes

of all

that I

get

but the

tax collector

standing

far off

would not

even lift

up his

eyes

to heaven

but beat

his breast

saying

God

be merciful

to me

a sinner

notice

what Jesus

says

I tell

you

this man

went down

to his

house

justified

rather than

the other

for everyone

who exalts

himself

will be

humbled

but the

one who

humbles

himself

will be

exalted

this is

such an

important

parable

of the

Lord

because

we see

the same

dynamic

play out

all the

time

if you're

around

Christians

or those

who

profess

Christianity

you see

this all

the time

there are

those who

fit this

equation

of what

this

Pharisee

was

God

I

thank you

that I'm

not as

bad as

those

people

I

thank you

that I've

never been

guilty of

homosexuality

I'm thankful

that I

have never

been guilty

of abortion

or influencing

somebody in

that way

I thank you

Lord that

you didn't

make me

like them

but instead

you have

given me

the wisdom

to go

and give

my money

to the

church

you've

given

me

the wisdom

to actually

go to

the church

services

and I

do this

and I

do that

and look

at my

upbringing

and look

at all

that I

have done

I have

all the

pedigree

that's

necessary

to be

a

Christian

and Jesus

looks at

those people

and he

says they

will not

inherit

the

kingdom

of heaven

he looks

rather

at the

one

who stands

far off

who's

unwilling

in acknowledging

their own

sinful condition

to even lift

their eyes

up to God

who beats

their breast

and says

have mercy

on me

God

have mercy

on me

a sinner

have mercy

on me

for all

the times

that I

thought

being a

good

Christian

boy

or a

good

Christian

girl

was enough

to get

to heaven

was enough

to get

peace

with God

forgive

me

for all

the times

that I

have rebelled

forgive me

for all

the times

that I

have been

filled

with spiritual

pride

have mercy

on me

God

Jesus

says

that's the

one who

goes home

justified

that's the

one to

whom God's

grace has

been given

that's the

one

who can

take

assurance

in the

reality

of their

salvation

Jesus

says

you see

Jesus

is a

surprising

savior

for many

people

Simeon

says

this

one

will

be

appointed

for the

rising

and the

fall

of many

in Israel

the

rising

of the

prostitutes

the

rising

of the

tax

collectors

the

rising

of the

publicans

and the

fall

of the

Pharisees

and the

fall

of the

Sadducees

and the

fall

of the

others

who were

so filled

with spiritual

pride

as to think

that their

salvation

had anything

to do

with them

Simeon's

prophecy

comes to be

very true

as we read

the gospels

but he

doesn't stop

there

it was for

this reason

that Jesus

was opposed

by many

in Israel

to the

point

that they

sought to

execute him

and you

see how

Simeon's

prophecy

is working

here

and we

see

this is

exactly

what

Jesus

did

Jesus

went

through

and he

he's

telling

parables

like this

about how

Pharisees

are going

to go

to hell

and how

tax collectors

are going

to go

to heaven

that didn't

win him

a lot

of fan

favorites

Jesus

became

opposed

so that

the religious

elite

and the

powerful

of his

day

fought

against

him

because

he

was

a

surprising

messiah

he

wasn't

the

savior

they

actually

wanted

they

wanted

the

savior

that

would

come

and

say

you've

been

good

little

Jews

and

good

little

Pharisees

and

good

little

priest

and

good

little

!

they

wanted

deliverance

from

Rome

and

they

wanted

themselves

to be

elevated

and

when

Jesus

came

clearly

showing

the power

of God

on his

life

clearly

teaching

in a way

that people

were drawn

to

because

he

was

the

son

of

God

because

he

wasn't

the

messiah

they

expected

they

rejected

him

and

Simeon

said

this

is

what

will

happen

he

will

be

a

sign

that

is

opposed

and

that's

exactly

what

happened

with

Jesus

life

he

was

opposed

to

the

point

that

he

was

crucified

and

then

there's

this

little

side

statement

for

Mary

a

sword

that

pierced

Mary's

soul

as

well

you

mothers

surely

you

can

relate

to

this

what

it

must

have

been

like

for

Mary

to

sit

in

Nazareth

that

that's

where

she

remained

during

the

days

of

Jesus

ministry

wondering

where

her

boy

was

knowing

that

as

Jesus

said

to

one

man

the

son

of

man

he

has

got

no

place

to

lay

his

head

foxes

have

holes

and

birds

have

nests

Jesus

said

but

I

have

no

!

I

have

no

place

to

lay

my

head

and

perhaps

Mary

hearing

Jesus

saying

that

at

some

point

along

the

way

in

his

ministry

perhaps

she

lays

awake

at

night

wondering

where

is

my

boy

today

is

he

safe

has

he

had

food

today

remember

when

Jesus

visited

his

hometown

in

Nazareth

they

were

so

offended

by

his

teaching

in

the

synagogue

that

they

tried

to

murder

him

right

then

and

there

they

tried

to

cast

him

off

of

a

cliff

you

know

Mary

was

there

what

it

must

have

been

like

for

her

to

walk

through

town

and

hear

the

snickers

or hear

the

reviling

that

came

from

the

others

that

were

in

Nazareth

or

that

were

passing

through

when

she

visited

Capernaum

to

hear

of

the

plots

against

her

son

that

were

taking

place

for

three

years

to

have

him

put

to

death

what

it

must

have

been

like

for

Mary

to

stand

at

Golgotha

and gaze

for those

six

hours

at

the

broken

body

of

her

son

as

he

died

on

the

cross

yes

a

sword

pierced

her

soul

too

but

it

was

this

very

opposition

that

God

determined

to

use

to

bring

us

salvation

it

was

Christ's

crucifixion

that

made

an

atonement

for

our

sins

and

through

it

he

fulfilled

his

purpose

as

the

savior

and

Simeon

here

with

a

measure

of

mystery

especially

to

Mary

and

Joseph

at

least

at

this

point

prophetically

states

and

clarifies

the

purpose

of

salvation

how

it

would

actually

come

the

wonderful

truth

of

this

verse

is

what

we

call

the

doctrine

of

imputation

We read

it in

2 Corinthians

5

for our

sake

God

made

him

to

be

sin

who

knew

no

sin

so

that

in

him

we

might

become

the

righteousness

of

God

that's

the

transaction

that

happens

on

Calvary

Jesus

the

righteous

one

has

the

wrath

of

God

poured

on

him

our

sin

imputed

onto

Christ

so

that

by

faith

God

then

imputes

the

righteousness

of

Christ

onto

us

salvation

had

nothing

to do

with

Rome

salvation

had

everything

to do

with

sin

this

is

how

Jesus

became

our

savior

and

man's

response

to

this

gospel

is