Luke 2:21-38 - Consolation in Disruption

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If you have Bibles with you, open them to Luke chapter 2.

Luke 2 · chapter mention

Luke chapter 2.

Luke 2 · chapter mention

And the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.

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.

When the 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.

And his 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 the 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.

And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phineul, 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.

Would you pray with me as we approach the study of God's word?

Father, we come to what to some may seem a simple task,

and that is we're going to read some words,

and we're going to talk about them, and we want to understand them.

But that's not the hard part.

The hard part's in our hearts,

and also that's why we need this study.

So would you pour out your spirits

and speak to us now from your word.

Father, you've chosen a fool

to proclaim your glory.

And we know that, Father,

we need your spirit.

So would you come,

meet us,

give me words to say,

and give us ears to hear

what you would have to say.

And we ask,

in the great name of Jesus.

Amen.

Amen.

I'm excited to be here,

bringing God's word to you.

Will told me we had an hour,

so don't laugh.

You know, this is not one of the most popular

of the Christmas stories,

as we will see when we get into it.

But it's still one of my favorite.

You know, up until now,

you come through Luke 1 and Luke 2,

and you've got all these,

you've got all these warm and warm fuzzies

after seeing, you know,

these two boys born

from very dramatic circumstances.

You know, the shepherds,

and the story of the shepherds,

and the angels,

and all of that.

And, you know,

what a story for the ages.

But that kind of ends

in verse 21.

And this account

of Simeon

often,

most often,

is not included

in the rest,

but it is

highly significant.

Otherwise,

Luke would not have put it

here

in this critical place.

This story

contains,

if you look through

the birth narrative

of Jesus,

there are basically

four songs

that Luke gives us.

You have

the song of Zechariah,

the song of Mary,

you have the song

of the angels,

and now you have

this song of Simeon.

And this,

in the Latin,

this song is called

the nuke dimittis,

which basically means

now you are

dismissing.

And so,

we have Simeon

here,

someone that we know

hardly anything about.

But what we do know

from this particular

account

is that Simeon

was a godly man.

More than likely,

he was a part of

the leadership

of Israel.

And he has been

made,

to him,

has been given

a very, very special

promise.

somehow,

in some way,

the Holy Spirit

has communicated

to him

that he would

not see

death

until

his eyes

had seen

the Messiah.

God's

God's

And so,

now,

in this period

of Simeon's

life,

more than likely,

those hopes,

you know,

those days

of possibility

of this being

fulfilled

are fleeting.

And so,

as an old man,

he comes into

the temple,

and,

I mean,

think about

what transpires

here.

He comes

to the temple

just like

any other

day,

every day,

as he's coming

in to do

his worship.

But this day,

as he's in

the temple,

he hears

a baby

cry.

Not just

any

baby,

but a baby

that sets

his heart

aflame.

And you

can see

him kind

of pushing

his way

through the

crowds,

and he's

trying,

he comes

up to,

and he's

trying to

find the

source.

And he

comes up

to this

young couple

with an

infant son

in their

arms.

And he

takes up

this child

and sings.

He sings

because his

eyes have

at last

gazed

on the

promised

consolation

that has

come to

Israel.

I mean,

what a

moment.

You know,

the significance

of this

moment,

in many

ways,

what Luke

is doing

here,

he's doing

several

things.

This is,

in many

ways,

this is

pointing to

the bridge

from the

old system

to the

new,

where the

old,

the faithful

of Israel,

where Simeon,

in a way,

represents

Israel itself.

Simeon,

in many

ways,

was what

Israel should

have been.

But now,

Simeon says,

now let your

servant depart

in peace.

And the

new has

come,

and the

child

of

Jesus.

And so

the significance

of what

Simeon is

saying here

is all

bound up,

I think,

in those

words where

Luke describes

him as

awaiting the

consolation

of Israel.

And that

consolation,

those words,

come from

Isaiah chapter

Isaiah 40 · chapter mention

40.

In the very

first verses

of Isaiah

40,

where it

says,

comfort,

oh,

comfort my

people,

says your

God.

Speak

tenderly to

Jerusalem,

and cry to

her that her

warfare is

ended,

that her

iniquity is

pardoned,

that she has

received from

the Lord's

hand double

for all her

sins.

And some,

like Simeon,

had been

faithfully,

faithfully

waiting for

this

fulfillment.

And the

word

consolation,

that word

comfort,

they're really

the same

words.

In fact,

it's the

same word

that will be

used of the

Holy Spirit

who comes

to us

as the

comforter.

He comes

as that

consolation.

And so

what Simeon

says in

response to

this,

he says

two things,

in this

song he

says two

things.

And he

says two

things about

what this

child is

going to

bring to

Israel.

And the

first,

he said

really it's

not to

Israel

itself,

he's

coming as

a light

of revelation

to the

Gentiles.

Now,

this,

when he

says this,

when he's

talking about

the light

of revelation,

he's not

talking about

just real

light,

physical

light,

but what

he's talking

about is

the light

of knowledge,

not the

light of

ignorance.

And when

he's,

excuse me,

I'm off,

I'm not

used to

preaching from

paper.

I'm used to

something not

quite so

high tech.

But the

light of

revelation,

the world

has been

living in

darkness

and the

ignorance of

who God

is and

all that

he is,

and they've

been groping

about in

darkness,

trying to

figure it

all out.

And I

don't know

if you've

ever been

in a place

of real

darkness.

Have you

ever been

in a room

or a place

where it

was so

dark you

couldn't see

your hand

right in

front of

your face?

And have

you ever

been there

for a

long time?

It's

oppressive.

But this

is the way

our world

is.

When we

lived in

Hungary,

Gail and

I went

down into

the city

one day

to one

of the

main city

squares,

like we

love to

do,

but on

that particular

day,

there was

a whole

big group

of Hare

Krishnas

having a

festival of

some kind

and a lot

of booths

and a lot

of places

they were

selling things

and demonstrating

things and

you'd see all

these idols

and all

these trinkets

and all

this stuff

and as you

walk through

this,

the darkness

of all

this superstition

was grievous

and just

oppressive.

but I

mean,

I've seen

it not

just there,

I had

a good

friend

and this

friend

normally

was very

rational,

very logical,

always

tried to

make good

solid

decisions

because,

I mean,

that's what

you do,

you just

think well

and you

make good

decisions,

but yet

every time

he said

something like

he hoped

would happen,

he could

not help

himself but

to knock

on wood.

And if

he didn't

have wood,

he would

knock himself

in the head,

which as I

thought about

it was

appropriate.

But somehow

we thought

that this

inanimate

material

had some

kind of

control

over his

destiny.

And that's

darkness.

And it

reminds me

of Isaiah

again in

chapter 44.

This is,

in some ways,

as Isaiah

writes these

verses that

you'll see

here,

it's really

kind of

comical.

Because he

describes a

guy who

goes and

cuts a piece

of wood,

and half of

the piece

of wood,

he burns

in the fire

and cooks

his dinner,

the other

half he

takes and

he carves

an idol,

and he

bows down

to it.

And Isaiah

writes,

starting in

verse 16,

he says,

half of it

he burns

in the fire,

over half

he eats

meat,

he roasts

it and

he's satisfied,

he warms

himself,

and the

rest of it

he makes

into a

god,

his idol,

and falls

down to

it,

and worships,

and prays

to it,

deliver me.

And then a

little bit

farther down

he says,

no one

considers,

nor is

there knowledge

or discernment

to say,

half of it

I burned

in the fire,

over half

of it I

made into

an abomination,

and then at

the end

he describes

it as a

deluded

heart has

led him

astray,

and he

cannot

deliver

himself.

That's the

darkness.

But to

those who

live in

darkness,

the light

of the

reality

of God

comes

in Jesus.

Jesus

himself

makes God

known.

And so

all of those

who live in

darkness,

Jesus

reintroduced,

shines the

light

of the

one

that we

were made

to know.

That we

were made

to know

intimately.

And we

can know

him only

through

this

child

who was

born

to us.

But that

consolation

which he

said is

not just

in the

light of

the revelation

of the

Gentiles,

it's also

when he

says glory

for Israel.

Now as I

read this

I ask,

alright,

why does he

say glory?

Well it

goes back

again to

this whole

need of

consolation.

Because at

this point

in Israel's

history,

Israel has,

they are

existing under

the strong

repressive

control

of Rome.

In fact,

they are a

people really

enslaved.

They are

not this

great people

of God

who everybody

else should

be coming

to.

They were

the scorn

of the

world.

They were

oppressed.

They were

suppressed.

They were

depressed.

And all

they wanted

was their

freedom.

They wanted

again their

dignity.

They wanted

to be

these people

that God

promised them

that they

would be.

But yet

they lived

under this

force.

And they

were derision.

Not a

people

glorious.

She was

at the

mercy of

her enemies

and were

outcasts.

But what

God promises

in this

Messiah

is that

to this

people

who are

in oppression

light,

the glory

has

come.

Israel

and this

child

is going

to be

the means

of

Israel

being

that

people

that God

has promised

to them

they would

be.

And this

we see

in Revelation

because if you

read on past

in Revelation

21 into

22 you'll

see even

there that

all of the

nations of

the world

are going

to come

to Israel.

Israel.

They're going

to come

into the

new

Jerusalem.

And this

Messiah is

going to

take away

their shame

going to

take away

their

oppression

and they

will no

longer be

scorned.

They will

be the

glorious

glorious

people that

God created

them to be.

But this

works not

just on

a corporate

scale.

What Simeon

sings of

here is

also true

on a

personal

scale.

And I

think this

is so

much of

why I love

this passage.

Because we

all live

in a

prison and

that prison

is shame.

we are

not the

people that

we want

to be.

We are

not the

people that

we ought

to be.

We in

many ways

are the

very people

we don't

want to

be.

And so

we live

in hiding.

We live

covering up

ourselves.

We live

in fear

of being

exposed.

Now

something you

need to

know about

me.

You hired

me.

So you

need to

know I'm

an imposter.

You know

in so many

ways I'm

an imposter.

I can

present a

pretty good

image on

the outside.

I clean

up pretty

well.

But on

the inside

parts of

it that

you'll

never see.

There is a

sense where

I live

in great

fear.

Fear that

you're going

to really

know who

you've

got.

I live

in hiding

because I

don't think

you're going

to like

what's really

here.

Because I

don't like

what's really

here.

Some people

call that

self-contempt.

And I think

it's a disease

that we

all share.

You know

some may

think it's

a psychological

malady.

I think it's

the normal

state of

existence

for mankind

because

we

know

instinctively

down in

our hearts

that's not

who we're

made to be.

We are

made for

something else.

And we

live in

this reality

glory.

That we're

not

that.

We were

made to be

beautiful

in the image

of God.

We were

made for

glory.

And we

also know

that we

don't have

it.

Now we're

we've just

moved into

a new

house

which we

really like

and we're

excited to be

here.

but one

of the

things about

living here

in this

house is

there's a

lot of

things that

have to

be done

and that

terrifies me

because for

example there

were we had

some light

fixtures that

we needed to

replace in

our bathroom

and I said

what's the

big deal

about light

fixtures?

Well it's

three wires

wire nuts

put them

together

screw it

to the

wall

and

boom it

should work

you know these

nice eight

lights up here

over this big

bathroom mirror

and I put

them up

and only two

of them work

and I have

no idea

why

but see now

electricians got

to come to

the house

gonna come

first of the

week

and you know

what the

first thing

he's gonna

say

who did

that?

And of

course the

temptation's

gonna be

he says

well it

was one

of those

deacons

that came

over to

the house

I might

add I'm

really appreciative

of the deacons

that came

over to the

house

and have

done a lot

of things

that I was

too embarrassed

to try to

do

but that

kind of

stuff

exposes

me

exposes

my

incompetence

so I

just I

hate

doing that

kind of

stuff

because

you know

it's not

just that

man

you know

you look

back

not just

on those

things that

I do

but I

look back

on my

past

and those

years

and unfortunately

that Facebook

continues to

remind me

about

I shudder

I shudder

over the

shame

and sometimes

I get

paralyzed

by the fear

of being

known

and I

want to

be

beautiful

and I

try to

make

myself

that

way

and I

just

can't

but the

promise here

is the

Messiah is

bringing

comfort

and he's

making

all

things

new

including

me

you know

and too

often I

think

when we

think of

the gospel

our ideas

of what the

gospel does

are truncated

they're too

small

we think

that yes

he comes

he's going

to forgive

us for the

guilt of

our sins

and I'm

not going

to feel

guilty

anymore

but that's

not all

he does

he doesn't

just come

to release

me of

my

shame

I mean

my sins

he's come

to set

me free

from my

ugliness

he's coming

to bring

glory

in John

17

there is

an incredible

passage

that just

floors me

every time

I read

it

starting

in verse

22

John

writes

the glory

that you

have given

to me

I have

given

to them

who's

them

it's

us

Jesus

has

taken

his

glory

he's

given

it's

given it

to us

that they

may be

one

even as

we are

I

in them

you

and me

that they

may become

perfectly

one

so that the

world may

know that

you sent

me and

love

them

even as

you love

me

father

I

desire

that they

also

whom you

have

given me

may be

with me

where I

am

to see

my

glory

do you

see what he

wants for

us

what is

Jesus

working

towards

here

what

does he

come

to do

he's

come to

take

what is

ugly

ugly

by our

own

fault

and turn

us

into

beauty

I

mean

I am

beautiful

use your

imagination

because

I'm in

Christ

I am

clothed

with the

garments

of the

bride

I am

beautiful

and there's

nothing

nothing

that can

do anything

to undo

that

all of us

who are in

Christ

we are

no longer

worthy of

derision

we are

worthy

of glory

because

the

comforter

the

consolation

of Israel

has come

tell you

what

that'll

set you

to sing

as

Simeon

did

but he

goes on

I wish

he had

stopped

right there

because

he goes

on

and

this

is

where

it

gets

a little

dicey

and

because

Luke

writes

and

Simeon

blessed

them

and then

said to

Mary

his

mother

behold

this

child

is

appointed

for the

rise

and fall

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

the

sweet

innocent

child

is

armed

and

dangerous

and

what

he's

going

to

do

he's

going

to

upset

everything

on a

corporate

scale

absolutely

because

the

Messiah

is

going

to

come

and

turn

everything

upside

down

and

this

is

a

theme

that's

going

to

run

all

the

way

through

the

gospel

of

Luke

that

Jesus

is

turning

society's

values

on

their

head

and

every

place

he

comes

he

disrupts

things

Jesus

never

leaves

things

as

they

were

no

one

is

ever

complacent

in the

presence

of

Jesus

they

either

love

him

or

he

is

opposed

and

he's

still

doing

that

but

see

he

does

this

personally

too

on

a

personal

level

the

most

I

think

the

most

disruptive

thing

you

can

do

in

life

is

to

come

to

Jesus

he

comes

to

bring

beauty

and

glory

to

our

ugliness

and

our

brokenness

but

to

do

that

he

has

to

disrupt

things

terribly

and

he

will

you

know

sometimes

when I

think

about

it

I

wish

that

Jesus

would

just

leave

me

let

me

be

he

says

why

can't

I

just

be

happy

why

can't

I

just

be

comfortable

why

can't

we

just

have

a

nice

little

joy

ride

through

life

would

it

hurt

well

but

that's

not

what

he

does

you

know

several

years

ago

he

precipitated

one of

the

darkest

moments

in

my

life

and

he

did

it

through

one

of

my

children

and

I'm

not

going

into

all

the

details

but

he

shook

my

world

so

seriously

so

hard

that

I

thought

I

was

going

to

lose

my

balance

and

I

remember

on

this

event

being

so

hurt

and

angry

at

what

he

did

in

my

life

that

I

basically

just

crossed

my

arms

and

looked

at

him

and

says

I'm

not

playing

with

you

anymore

because

you

hurt

me

unfortunately

I was

a pastor

then

and I

had to

keep

preaching

how do

you preach

the good

news

of someone

you don't

like

but see

what he

was doing

he was

not trying

to destroy

my faith

he was

trying to

destroy

a false

foundation

so that

my faith

real faith

substantive

faith

would actually

grow

and so

he was not

trying to

destroy me

he was

trying to

build me

up

he was

working

for

real

joy

in life

not this

false

stuff

that I

pursued

but he

had to

get that

out of

the way

he was

not trying

to destroy

my life

and my

faith

he was

just

replacing

it

with

something

real

and he's

relentless

in this

pursuit

of my

heart

he is

relentless

it is

terribly

disruptive

you know

all I

want

sometimes

is

would you

please

just

leave

me

alone

let me

just be

comfortable

let me

just have

some rest

here

let me

just have

some quiet

and he

says no

I want

more for

you than

that

I want

you to

taste

glory

I want

you to

taste the

sweetness

of the

kingdom

him

he's

moving

us

to

glory

the

savior

has

come

with

a

sword

in

his

hand

to

put

our

enemies

to

death

in

those

enemies

a lot

of

them

are

in

our

hearts

now

the

question

is

how

or

why

would

I

trust

him

to

do

that

in

me

it's

because

this

child

who

comes

with

a

sword

pointed

it

to

himself

he

didn't

come

wielding

the

sword

on

me

he

came

and

wielded

it

on

himself

he

didn't

put

me

to

death

he

put

himself

to

death

he

died

for

my

shame

he

died

for

my

guilt

he

gave

himself

so

that

I

could

know

life

and joy

and peace

he

and if

that's

the way

he

works

we

can

trust

him

and so

we can

say

to

him

Lord