Cloud of Witnesses - Simeon

All right. Good morning everyone. Must be a lot of one hit wonders. Or maybe everyone blanks on having a one hit wonder and talked about something else. My one hit wonder is a song. I don't even know the band name. It's a song that you all will probably everyone would recognize. Well, maybe someone out here knows the name, but the Macarena, a band, made that song. You all know that song. Does anyone know the name of that band? No. Crazy, huh? That one. And now it's going to be stuck in your head today. I already saw some. Yeah, you guys are going to go home and do the dance today. We're going to actually look at a one hit wonder in scripture. And so I'm excited to get there. But for those that don't know me, my name is Aaron Robertson. I'm one of the elders here at Hope Community Church and today I get to teach from scriptures. And we're in the middle of a summer series called Cloud of Witnesses. And each week we're looking at a different person in the Bible that helps us see the bigger story of scripture and points us towards Jesus. And so I'm excited to do that with, with you this morning. Uh oh, my screen went blank. Could be a very quick sermon if I can't get this up and running. I had it plugged in, I promise. Here we go. Yeah. So we're looking at a one hit wonder. This series has really been a fun one because whoever's preaching each week kind of gets to pick. They get to kind of consider their favorite stories, their favorite characters. And we're looking at them and then looking at him, it points us to Jesus. So this morning. Sorry. And now the. It did a screen flip. So we're going to go this way. Hopefully it doesn't fall off. But this morning we are going to be looking at a character who shows up in the Gospel of Luke. Usually when we think of the Christmas story, we think of the manger scene, right? There's Mary and Joseph and the baby in the stable and sheep and shepherds and the wise men. But the Gospel of Luke actually includes a couple little bonus scenes when it tells the story of Jesus birth. One scenes that we don't typically include, oddly enough. We don't usually talk about Jesus circumcision when we talk about nativity. But it's the same week that he's born, it's eight days later. Right. And there's another scene after that that we're going to look at as well. 40 days after Jesus birth, Mary and Joseph bring the baby Jesus to the temple to offer sacrifices and to present him at the temple. And so we're going to look at that. And in that scene there's two characters. There's Simeon and there's Anna. And we're going to look at Simeon today and he's got this great little scene. These old pictures are just like, that's a giant 40 day old baby. We've got a lot of babies in this church. That's like a five year old, six year old. I mean that's. It's a giant baby. It's really fun to kind of look at them sometime. And Mary kind of has a look of concern, slash disgusts. I think she's not quite sure. Jesus, I don't know what he's got going on, but the story reads better than what the pictures show. So we're going to look at that. I found a lot of encouragement this week looking at Simeon, his life, his character, that what we learned about him in just a few short words is certainly something that we can emulate in our own lives. But more important, Simeon shares the gospel in a beautiful, beautiful way, in a simple, clear, excited way. And so we're going to look at that. We find the story in Luke 2:22:35. So the text will be up here if you want to follow along. Otherwise you can open your screens and look there. But this is Luke 2:22:35. When the time came for the purification rights required by the law of Moses, the Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord. As it is written in the law of the Lord, every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the law of the Lord. A pair of doves or two young pigeons. Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord's Messiah. Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the law required, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying, sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss your servant in peace for my eyes and have seen your salvation which you have prepared in the sight of all nations. A light for revelation to the Gentiles and the glory of your people Israel. The child's mother, father and mother marveled at what was said about him. Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother, this child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed and a sword will pierce your own soul too. In the first few verses here, Luke, the author of the book here, has given us some important background to who Jesus is. Just like his circumcision was done according to law on the eighth day here we see that Mary and Joseph are fulfilling the religious and ceremonial obligations it would have been expected for faithful Jews. It was a normal thing for the firstborn of a family, a male, to be presented before the Lord. They'd go to the temple and they'd offer a sacrifice, dedicate that child to the Lord. But as parents, Mary and Joseph, they're not just being faithful to their heritage, to Jewish law, but they're also being faithful to their calling as parents of the Messiah. In many other places in the Gospels and the rest of the New Testament, we see and are told of all the different ways that Jesus actually fulfills what the law demanded. And so when Luke writes this into this story, he's pointing to the totality of Jesus life, where over and over again he's doing all that the law would have required of a Jew. And so this really points towards. It brings out later on in the story of Luke and in the Gospels, Jesus has fulfilled all that is asked. He is perfect. He is the righteousness that God wants from his people. And so even this little scene in the beginning of Jesus life points to that reality that Jesus will live out. Another little detail in these first verses reveal more about the humble nature of Jesus becoming a man. We know the birth in a stable and in the manger and with fear, field hands, shepherds around to celebrate. It's certainly lacking in pomp, right? That's not a glamorous birth to be in a place where livestock are kept. A very humble background. The King of kings is born in these backwaters to parents of no particular significance. And then today in our passage, you see that the sacrifice they offered was two pigeons or turtle buves. Typically, when a firstborn would have been presented at the temple, the called for sacrifice was actually a lamb. And so to offer two turtle doves. There's an exception in the law, in the customs for families that were in poverty, that families could not afford a lamb. The exception was they could buy turtle doves instead. And so we know even more about Jesus upbringing, his background about Mary and Joseph. They were not people of any significant means, any financial wealth, anything like that. And it just creates this backdrop for the following scene of this humble birth of relative anonymity. Jesus kind of coming up on the scene, coming out of poverty, really, which makes the scene with Simeon all the more remarkable. So as we look at Simeon, there's not a whole lot said about him, actually. He's an incredible character. But we really only learn four things directly from the text. And those things are really, really important. First off, we read that he is a righteous man. And this is meant not that he was a pharisaical rule follower and kind of just a legalistic, I'm going to check all the boxes and make sure I do it right. Rather, it is meant that he was observant and faithful to follow the Lord. He wasn't trying to earn favor with God, but he was someone who understood that righteousness was a matter of the heart and the mind and the actions all being aligned with God. He's someone who would have understood and would have lived out Jesus Summation of the law later in the Gospels when he says that we're supposed to love the Lord with all our heart, soul, mind and strength and love our neighbors as ourselves. So that's the first thing we know about Simeon. He's a righteous man, but not in the legalistic, religious, pharisaical sense, but in a personal walk with the Lord, wanting to do what is right because he loves the Lord. Secondly, we read that Simeon was a devout man. His obedience to God wasn't simply religious practice, but he was faithful and he was earnest in his heart. He was seeking the Lord and he was seeking to live according to God's Word. He would have had a humble faith of dependence on God. And it shows in his later words, he had a heart full of gratitude. Devout here isn't meant to be understood as just kind of fastidious adhering to the rules. I'm going to make sure all the things are lined up. But Devout is talking about clinging to the Lord. He has a love for the Lord, his devotion. Think of it more in terms of love devotion versus devout in kind of rule following. So those are the first two things. And taken together, as I was reading this week, what came to mind. Simeon seems like the kind of guy that would have understood a lot of the heart of the Old Testament law, a lot of the heart of scripture. And my mind went to Micah, and you're probably familiar with verse 8, but Micah 6, 6, 8 talks about what kind of life. We're supposed to live before the Lord. With what shall I come before the Lord and bow down before the exalted God? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with 10,000 rivers of olive oil? Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? So Micah's setting up. There's all these things that religious people do that legalistic people do. I can sacrifice a field full of cows. I can pour olive oil till the vineyards run dry of olives, all those things. But that's not what the Lord wants. He's looking at the inward being. And so, as a righteous and devout man, Simeon really lived out verse 8. He has shown you, O mortal, what is good, and what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. Next thing we learn about Simeon is that he was patiently hopeful. And I kind of came up with that phrasing there. Patiently hopeful. He was waiting for the constellation of Israel. He was familiar with God's promises, and he understood that one day God would provide a Messiah and would provide a redeemer and what comes through in this passage. He wasn't living out a disgruntled patience, kind of just waiting and murmuring and mumbling like, lord, come on already. He was active and joyful, ready to respond to God's promises being fulfilled. He wasn't filled with resignation like, I guess I got to sit and wait for this. But he was trusting that God would fulfill his word. There's no question for Simeon whether or not the Lord would fulfill his promises. He maintained a patient yearning for seeing the Messiah, and he was filled with hope because of that. And as I read through this passage this week, I kept reflecting on my own attempts at patience through the years. Most typically, my waiting in any search circumstance or waiting on the Lord. My children are here. You can talk to them. My mom's here, too. Actually, you could talk to her for an even longer view of my attempts at patience. But most of the time, my waiting on the Lord, it's filled with anxiety, with kind of frustration. You know, my teeth are grinding, my jaw's clenched. I'm just kind of shaking my head or, you know, feel like I'm banging my head on the wall. And it reveals my lack of trust that God truly will do what's best for me. And in his own timing, I fret and I worry and I Over plan. And I try to control circumstances and situations. I kind of try to create the right situation that, you know, if I do this, I bet the Lord will finally answer this prayer. If I get these things lined up, then the Lord, it'll be. The Lord will be able to do what he needs to do. And as I read this, and as I considered Simeon waiting and actively hopeful, seeking for the Lord's fulfillment of his promises, it brought a peace to me. It settled my heart. As I think about some of the different things I've been praying for for days, weeks, months, years, some of the situations that I found frustrating. For days, weeks, months, years, my heart was settled. Seeing Simeon, his deep faith that God will do what he's promised. And that was really helpful for me. His profound, deep trust in God's promises is a great example for us. And the final thing we learn of Simeon this morning is that he was filled with the Holy Spirit. And I don't think this final one is disconnected to the first three. It helps kind of complete the picture of who Simeon is. Someone whose heart and mind are given over to the Lord, to pursuing the Lord, to listening to the Lord, to creating space for the Lord to work in his life through the power of the Holy Spirit. And we know that when the Spirit's moving in someone's life, those are the kinds of things that are produced in us. When the Holy Spirit is at work in us, he's going to produce righteousness through the work of the Holy Spirit, making us more like Christ. He's going to help us be devoted in a loving manner. He's going to help us be, hopefully patient in all those things. And I just love that that's in there, because those things together paint a picture of a person at rest in who God is seeming isn't resting in who he is or what he's done. He's resting in what God has promised and what God will do. Because the Holy Spirit is reminding him over and over that he serves a God who loves him. One other thing that jumped out this week is something that isn't said in this passage. If you look at this, there's actually surprisingly little said about his life. We don't know if Simeon was rich or poor. We don't know if he had endured terrible suffering or if he had lived one of those remarkable lives that kind of remains untouched by hardship. We don't know if he was married or single, if he had lots of friends or none. He could have come from noble family, educated family, or he could have come from great poverty. We don't know any of those things. He could have been the life of the party or he could have been the one that was never invited. And many assume that Simeon was an older man. And there's some contextual clues that, like, okay, that maybe it could be, but it actually doesn't say that. He could have been 23 years old and waiting and his devotion to the Lord could have been just the same as if he had been 84. What matters is that he was righteous, devout, he was patiently hopeful. He's filled with the Spirit. And I love when Scripture does this, right? It's just such a beautiful kind of blank page. We look at Simeon and we see what matters most about him. And it's not circumstances, it's not upbringing, it's not background, it's not wealth or education or any of these other things. It allows us to see ourselves in Simeon. So he could have been young, old, rich, poor, all those things. He may have even bore a passing resemblance to Falkor from the Never Ending Story. I don't know. I saw that picture of him and that's where my mind went, right? We don't know anything about Simeon. And I love that. If we knew more about Simeon, it could be pretty easy for us to think about the kind of life he's shown, to have the virtues. He has a character that's revealed. And we could attribute those things perhaps to his circumstances. Well, he had it easier. He didn't have to go through this or whatever the case might be. But instead we're left with a blank page, blank backstory that allows us to consider that any of us could be a Simeon. What matters is that his devotion before the Lord is what stands out and being filled with the Spirit. When we look at him, something remarkable happens through him in this scene. The Holy Spirit is at work in him, at work in the situation. And what happens is by coincidence, if you want to call it that, I'm going to credit the Holy Spirit. Mary and Joseph and baby Jesus show up in the temple at the exact same time as Simeon is led there. Right? And it's not a coincidence, Right? It's got it working. We see Simeon responding to Jesus in just this incredible way. And as I read and reread it, this passage gets got more and more remarkable to me. If you think about this, Simeon only saw a poor young couple bringing in a nondescript 40 day old baby to the temple. They weren't doing anything particularly exciting. They were there for completely normal reasons. After 40 days to present their first borsan at the temple. This was a regular thing. That's what Simeon sees. They did nothing that would have stood out as being extraordinary. Jesus was only a baby, 40 days old, right? Crying, nursing, pooping and sleeping were the only things on his Messiah resume, right? Like he had nothing to show. There's nothing there, just those baby things. There were no miracles to be seen by Simeon. There was no wise teachings to consider, no invitations to follow him and be a fisher of men. There wasn't even his thoughtful engagement with scripture that we see later when he's 12 years old in the temple. It's just Jesus as a baby and that's all that Simeon sees. But when he sees that baby and the Holy Spirit is revealing this to him, he responds with exuberance and with gratitude. The Holy Spirit had been working in his life in a way that gave him incredible insight and into who Jesus was and who he would be. Several times in the Old Testament and actually again in Matthew, Jesus picks this up. It's mentioned again in Acts. There's some language used that describes, I think, what Simeon is experiencing. It says that people can have eyes but not see and they can have ears but not hear. That they are not able to see and understand clearly unless the Holy Spirit's at work in their hearts and their minds. And so what Simeon has here, he has eyes to see. He doesn't see miracles. He doesn't see any of the other stuff that Jesus will do. But because the Holy Spirit has given him eyes to see, he sees baby Jesus and he responds with joy. He doesn't need all that extra stuff because he has seen clearly who Jesus is. Simeon is not the kind of guy with eyes that don't see or ears that don't hear. He sees with immediate clarity that God's promises are all having their yes and amen in this baby. Simeon didn't waste his one shot in Scripture to leave his mark here. He is a one hit wonder. He actually this is a well known song, these words that he shares. It's got a fancy Latin name, Nunc Dimittis. And if you look online, you can find all sorts of choral and modern and all sorts of versions of this. For millennia, people have been singing and reciting and praying this song. He gets just these few sentences to sing this praise and then he walks off the stage and he's never heard from again. He is the unrivaled one hit wonder, right? Except we do know his name, unlike whoever did the Macarena. So maybe You've seen those interviews of football players after the super bowl, and they're like, they've won and the bottles are popping and they got the hats on and the glitter's falling. Everyone's excited and they do these interviews and it's a Super bowl victory interview. And they ask, what are you going to do next? And who knows the answer? I'm going to Disney World, right? I'm going to Disney World. Simeon is having his super bowl victory right here. He has seen the promised Messiah and it won't get any better for him. But we don't even get to ask him, what are you going to do next? I kind of like to imagine Simeon finishing his song, yelling Simeon out and dropping the mic and just walking like he's done. It doesn't matter. There's no more Super Bowls to be won. There's no more victories. He has reached the pinnacle. And after seeing Jesus, Simeon knows nothing else will be better. He's ready to be called home to heaven. We don't know about his background, remember. So we don't know if he's in horrible pain and hardship and looking for escape or if he's got a wonderful life. The point is that it doesn't matter when you see Jesus, when you know Jesus, Lord, you can take me, because it's not getting better than this. I love that. I love that. We don't know Simeon's story because it doesn't matter. When we see Jesus, everything else dims in comparison. When we see the Messiah, we know that we can die in peace. When we know Jesus, we're good. We don't need to go to Disney World. We don't need to clamor after other things. We've seen the goodness and faithfulness of God in a powerful way that makes everything else dim in comparison. So Simeon issues this incredible song. One verse, beautiful song. And then he turns to Mary and Joseph and he blesses them. And he has a few final parting words here. He knows that Jesus is God's prepared salvation. And he knows that the Lord has promised freedom and deliverance and redemption. That all of God's promises are beginning to be fulfilled in this baby Jesus. And he knows that this is gospel of salvation. It's not just for Israel. It's a salvation for all nations. Simeon doesn't know about the cross. He doesn't know about resurrection. He just knows that God is faithful to fulfill his promises, that God will forgive his forgive sins through a promised Messiah, that we will be restored to right relationship with God. This week I got to thinking about what I see when I look at Jesus. What do I say about Jesus when I talk about him? And there's maybe a lot of different answers to that, depending on the day, depending on the moment. Jesus is certainly a friend or a confidant. He's a refuge, He's a teacher, he's someone to emulate, he's someone to worship. All those things are true and right. But as I thought about it, I also considered sometimes I think untrue things about Jesus. Depending on where my heart's at, I can look at Jesus and I think maybe he is scowling at me because of some sin I've been stuck in. It's not true, but that's what I might be, what I see. I can look at him and see him as a stern disciplinarian or a joy kill just trying to get me to follow a bunch of rules. Or I can see Jesus in my own image, condoning whatever sin I think might be okay at the moment, whatever my whims for right and wrong are. And Simeon this week refreshed me, rejuvenated my soul. When he looks at Jesus, he sees with clarity and he sees truth. He looks at Jesus and he knows who Jesus is and he knows what Jesus will do. When he held that helpless baby in his arms, in his hands, he saw the Messiah, he saw a Savior, he saw salvation, and he saw someone who would bring light and glory. And think about that light of revelation. It's not just kind of a candle. When we have light, a light of revelation, it reveals, it shows us what is actually in front of us. In the dark, we can't see properly. But with Jesus as the light of salvation, we actually can see clearly. Jesus is the light by which we see the world clearly. He's the light by which we see everything else. And that was a great encouragement to me this week just to remember as I watch news, as I have different situations in life, when I'm looking at Jesus, I can actually look at those other things and see truth. I can see clearly because of the light of the gospel of Jesus Christ. And so this week, over and over, I found myself praying for that kind of simplicity and clarity. When I look at Jesus, I want those lies and I want that truth to be proclaimed. He is a Messiah. He is a Savior, and he gives light and he brings glory. Simeon's closing words to Mary are really important here as well. Simeon declares that Jesus is the Messiah. He brings salvation. He brings the good news of forgiveness of sins. But Simeon Also recognized that this would be divisive. He understood that people can't go halfway with Jesus when they look at Jesus. When we look at Jesus, our hearts are revealed. Salvation is Jesus or it's nothing. It's not Jesus plus anything for salvation. It's just Jesus. And Simeon knew that that would divide people. It would reveal hearts, it would split people apart. In that way, you're either in or you're out. In terms of acknowledging that Jesus truly is the promised Messiah, it's not kind of maybe. I think at the end of the day, it's Jesus. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. I'm going to ask Jordan to come up here. We're going to not sing a song. We're going to listen to a song. And I'd like for us to take this as a time of reflection. If you like the song, you could talk to Jordan. Maybe we can sing it again. Another service, another time. But for night, I want us to just listen to this and take this as a time for reflection. And the song covers an idea that I think Simeon lived with in this passage and lived with for however long it was. He was waiting to see Jesus. And actually, if you listen, I could actually imagine Simeon singing some of these verses as he waited for the Messiah. And they're words that we, too, can sing. And the name of the title of the song is Come Jesus, Come. It's about waiting. It's about anticipating. It's about seeing with great clarity that Jesus is who we need salvation from God is what we need. And it's really an echo of Philippians 3:20, when Paul says, our citizenship is in heaven and we eagerly await a savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ. That's what Simeon was waiting for and saw. And that's what we're waiting for and will one day see. So Jordan and Worship Team are gonna just lead us here through this song. Thank you for that. That heart of. That song of waiting, of yearning, of longing. That's a song when we know how good Jesus really is. We can sing that when we're in the valleys, when we're in the hard place. But Jesus is so good, we can sing that from the mountaintops in the best moments of our lives, that same heart. Come, Jesus, come. He is that good. And I love it. That's a prayer. This final verse is a prayer for someone who maybe hasn't. Doesn't know Jesus that way, maybe hasn't experienced God, hasn't looked to Jesus and said, I can die in peace because I have seen the Lord's Messiah. But it's also a prayer for those of us who follow Jesus every day. Come, Jesus, I need you today. My past is going to be washed by rivers of grace. My present is being washed by rivers of grace. My future will be washed by those same rivers of grace. Jesus is that good. And I'm so thankful for Simeon and the way that he sees Jesus and he knows that, and he declares that to us. As we close today, I've got a few questions for us to consider. There we go. First one is, what do you see when you look at Jesus? Are there some lies about Jesus perhaps mixed in that are not aligned with what Scripture says about Jesus, that are not aligned with what God has promised for his people? Is what you see in Jesus the same as what God has promised with his Messiah? He's not a joy kill. He's not a person hanging over your head, watching over your shoulder, ready to pound you with discipline and anger. He's a Savior who loves and redeems and restores. Who are the Simeons in your life that can help you see Jesus with greater clarity? Maybe you're in a place where you really need that help seeing Jesus. Call that person up, grab coffee with that person, tell them, I need to see Jesus. I need to see Jesus, and you help me do that. Thank you for that. Help me see Jesus. Help me know he's a savior. He brings light. He brings glory. And who doesn't see Jesus clearly that you can be a Simeon for who is it in your life that maybe has not yet experienced Jesus in a way where they can say, you can take me, Lord, I've seen you and I know you. Who can you be Simeon for? This week we're going to close with the time of worship. We have people in the back that love to pray with you. We have opportunities to give online through the app. There's a QR code and a giving box back there. And then communion as we eat the cracker and drink the grape juice, they point us towards that river of grace that comes from the cross, that what Jesus has done can wash over us, all of us, all of our sin. So we're gonna do that now. I'm gonna pray, and then we'll close in worship. Heavenly Father, I pray that you'd give each of us eyes to see more clearly today. They would look to Jesus and see a Messiah, see salvation, see a light of revelation by which we can clearly see the world around us and that we'd see your glory, the glory of the cross. We thank you for your word. We thank you for Simeon, for his testimony, his example and his declaration of your goodness in our lives. We pray that you'd be with us all this week, be with us as we continue worship this morning. Amen. Amen. Thanks, Aaron. Let's stand and.

Philippians 3:20