The Witness of the Christ-Child | Sermon 12/24/2023

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Alright, if you would, please turn with me in your Bibles to the Gospel according to Luke, chapter 2.

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We're deviating for a week from our series in the Gospel according to John. We're going to be in Luke chapter 2, mostly verses 21 through 38.

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And the title of the sermon today, church, is The Witnesses of the Christ Child.

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The Witnesses of the Christ Child. But we're going to go ahead and start in verse 1 all the way through 38 to get the full picture.

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Go to verse 1 in the Gospel according to Luke, chapter 2. Hear now the inerrant and infallible words of the living and true

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God. Luke chapter 2. Now in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that a census be taken of all the inhabited earth.

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This was the first census taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. And everyone was on his way to register for the census, each to his own city.

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Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth to Judea, to the city of David, which is called

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Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, in order to register along with Mary, who was engaged to him and was with child.

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While they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son, and she wrapped him in cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

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In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night.

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And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terribly frightened.

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But the angel said to them, Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy, for which will be for all the people.

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For today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign for you, you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.

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And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly hosts, praising

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God and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom he is pleased.

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When the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another,

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Let us go straight to Bethlehem then, and see this thing that which has happened that the

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Lord has made known to us. So they came in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph and the baby as he lay in a manger.

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When they had seen this, they made known the statement which had been told to them about this child. And all who heard it wondered at the things which were told to them by the shepherds.

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But Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart. The shepherds went back, glorifying and praising

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God for all that they had heard and seen, just as had been told them. And when eight days had passed before his circumcision, his name was then called

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Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb. And when the days for their purification according to the law of Moses were completed, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the

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Lord. As it is written in the law of the Lord, Every firstborn male that opens the womb shall be called holy to the

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Lord. And to offer a sacrifice according to what was said in the law of the

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Lord, a pair of turtle doves or two young pigeons. And there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was

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Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel, and the

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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

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Lord's Christ. And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child

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Jesus to carry out for him the custom of the law, then he took him into his arms and blessed

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God and said, Now, Lord, you are releasing your bondservant to depart in peace according to your word.

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For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light of revelation to the

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Gentiles and the glory of your people Israel. And his father and mother were amazed at the things which were being said about him.

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And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rise of many in Israel and for a sign to be opposed, and a sword will pierce even your own soul to the end that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.

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And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years and had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage.

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And then as a widow to the age of eighty -four, she never left the temple, serving nine days with fastings and prayers.

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At that very moment she came up and began giving thanks to God and continued to speak of him to all those who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.

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Thus ends the reading of God's marvelous and inspired word. Let's pray once more as God's people.

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Lord, I ask you now that you would illuminate the scriptures for all of us. Lord, that we would see beyond the traditions of man and the things that we love most,

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Lord, are made clear in this text, dear God, that Jesus came not simply to stay as a baby in the manger, but to be the one who is the

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Christ, the Messiah, the one who came for the salvation and redemption of a people,

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Lord. And so, God, let this never become old to us. I ask that this would never be something by which we're jaded or indifferent to.

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God, rekindle the fire in us today that makes this so very important and crucial to us.

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Lord, let us see that Christ is the treasure that we've always been looking for.

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And so, God, please bless this time. I pray this in your holy name. Amen. Well, if you remember last year, 2022, on the

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Lord's Day, it was December 25th, and we went over Luke chapter 2.

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Specifically, we went over verses 1 through 20, and I read that at the beginning there.

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Now we're in verses 21 through 33. But in the backdrop, as we just saw, in the birth of Christ was the mention of Caesar Augustus.

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He was one who called himself deity. Augustus called himself the son of God.

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But the birth of our Lord would be the thing that put to rest all claims of divine kingship for this man, even the emperor.

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And instead of palaces and marble, Jesus, in complete humbleness, was wrapped and received in swaddling clothes and was laying in a manger.

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And instead of a royal procession for kings, Jesus had shepherds.

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Shepherds came to be witnesses for his incarnation. Shepherds were considered disqualified to serve as witnesses in legal proceedings in Judaism.

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In Judaism at this time, shepherds were considered low lives. They were scum.

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They were nobodies. They had the worst jobs of them all. But God does the role reversal.

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It's the heavenly irony. It is not a group of finely dressed Pharisees or these high priests with wonderful gowns who come to witness this momentous event.

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The first witnesses of the personified gospel with whom

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God qualifies to see will be those who never get to be witnesses. They're never qualified to be witnesses, but they will be witnesses of this.

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Despite all this, God did not think this was fully sufficient for his son.

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So suddenly, as we saw, there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly hosts praising

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God, saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom he is pleased.

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It was a multitude. It was a count without number. They don't give us a number.

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They were likely more concentrated than the stars, brighter than the stars. The night sky lit up in a magnificent way.

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It was the heavenly hosts. That word in the Greek is often translated even to army.

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And so there were angels of every type, archangels, Gabriel, Michael, all of them, saying,

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Glory to God in the highest. The silent night had been broken by deafening praise.

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The emperor Augustus had to enforce praise of himself. The emperor Augustus had to tell people,

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You must glorify me. He was a mere man. He had to promote that, that he is deity.

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But the gospel of Jesus is something different. It's the truth.

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Jesus is the only and authentic son of God. He is deity. He receives glory like no one we have ever seen.

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And then we saw that Mary held on to these things. She pondered them in her heart.

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They were treasured inside of her, and that will continue until the very end. Mary will continue to ponder these things until he is crucified, dies, and rises and ascends.

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He became her treasure in the fullest way. But the story of Jesus continues right here.

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There were all these witnesses and signs that testified to who this baby is and what he came to do.

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But then we have verse 21. And when eight days had passed before his circumcision, his name was then called

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Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb. So official naming of a boy was specifically at their circumcision.

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But this is no mere boy. This is a king. And this king has a name.

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One given by the heavenly father through the angel. Jesus is the transliteration of the

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Greek name Jesus. That comes from the

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Hebrew, which is Yeshua. What we know to be

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Joshua. And Yeshua is a combination of two words. God's name and God delivers or saves.

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So specifically, Jesus' name is God saves, God delivers.

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And that's why the angel says in the gospel according to Matthew, that his name shall be Jesus for he will save his people from their sin.

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His name is because he saves. His name has action in it. Jesus is the personification of God's salvation.

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He in human and divine form is salvation for humans. And like all

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Jewish boys, eight days after birth, they were to receive the sign of the covenant, circumcision.

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And so they were not in Nazareth at this time, which would have been days travel north of Jerusalem.

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But they, as you know, were in Bethlehem, which was only a couple of miles south of Jerusalem.

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It was very easy for them to go there at this point. Eight days had passed. They traveled north up to Jerusalem.

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It was going to be done right there at the temple of the most high God. His father's house.

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Circumcision goes back to the covenant that God made with Abraham in Genesis chapter 17. Jesus would be the one to fulfill that commandment.

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He would meet the demands of that Abrahamic covenant on the behalf of all his people so that we would become, as Paul says, the true circumcision.

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The one made without hands, completed by Christ. Verses 22 through 24 show along with the circumcision, this family must do two additional things.

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Circumcision and two additional things. It reads, and when the days for their purification, according to the law of Moses, were completed, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the

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Lord. As it is written in the law of the Lord, every firstborn male that opens the womb shall be called holy unto the

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Lord and to offer a sacrifice. According to what was in the law of the

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Lord, a pair of turtle doves or two young pigeons. So the first thing is that the days of Mary's purification must be completed according to the law of Moses.

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Leviticus chapter 12 speaks of this. Let me read that to you as well. Leviticus chapter 12 says,

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Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Speak to the sons of Israel. When a woman gives birth and bears a male child, then she shall be unclean for seven days, as in the days of her menstruation she shall be unclean.

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On the eighth day, the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised. When the days of her purification are completed for a son or a daughter, she shall bring to the priest at the doorway of the tent of meeting, that was the tabernacle or temple, a one -year -old lamb.

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And this lamb would be a burnt offering and a young pigeon or a turtle dove for a sin offering.

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Then he shall offer it before the Lord and make atonement for her, and she shall be cleansed from the flow of her blood.

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This is the law for her who bears a child, whether a male or a female. But if she cannot afford a lamb, then she is to take two turtle doves or two young pigeons, the one for a burnt offering and the other for a sin offering.

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And the priest shall make atonement for her, and she shall be clean. Leviticus chapter 12.

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You see, the birth itself and the baby are not unclean.

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The birth itself and the baby are not unclean. That is not what's stated. Specifically, the mother is unclean according to the text.

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And what we gather is she is unclean due to post -delivery discharge in blood.

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In the Bible, a bleeding or discharging body or even a wounded body is considered unclean to God.

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It's lacking the wholeness that it ought to have. God told us to be fruitful and multiply, to fill the earth, and yet there is an element in this where there is uncleanness in that fruitfulness due to the blood and discharge.

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So all at the same time, blood. Blood would be the key.

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Blood in the right places is what atones for or pays for sin according to the

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Bible. Blood is the payment, but blood in the wrong places pollutes those who touch it.

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Mary had just gone through her very first baby delivery and there is incredible joy, joy inexpressible, especially that which comes after delivery, but now fruitfulness would come with a price.

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You see, after the fall in the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve, God cursed the woman for her sin and He says,

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I will greatly multiply your pain in childbirth. In pain you will bring forth children.

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And so Mary got to experience the fall, the pain of childbirth in the highest degree in the delivery of Jesus.

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She bore Him in much pain. And not only that, she must endure the ramifications of her uncleanness after He is born.

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And so to remedy this, she needs to bring an offering to God.

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A lamb for a burnt offering and a pigeon or a turtle dove for a sin offering. That's why they're here.

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Circumcision and offerings to God. But as it said, if you were poor, you didn't have to give up your lamb or maybe you didn't have a lamb, you would give up two turtle doves or two young pigeons instead.

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Now did Mary have sin that she had to deal with? Did Mary have sin that she had to deal with?

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Indeed, Mary incurred original sin when she was born into the world.

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She incurred the curse that went to all mankind as the Bible says. She didn't escape it.

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She was not exempt. Although her conception was miraculous, it was not as they say immaculate or sinless.

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That's a Roman Catholic dogma that she was immaculate or sinless in the delivery of Jesus or even some say for her entire life.

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No, the conception was a miracle, no doubt. And she was a faithful woman of God.

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She was righteous. She loved the Lord. But she was not perfect. She was not perfectly blameless like the

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Lord Jesus Christ. She had a predisposition of sin that had to be dealt with.

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Jesus, according to Scripture, He did not incur original sin though. He is the only one born after Adam and Eve who never incurred the curse of the fall.

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He never incurred original sin. And so He became man in the fullest sense that it meant to be man, and yet without sin.

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Jesus had no original sin. And so as Luke says right here, the firstborn son that opens the womb shall be the

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Lord's. This comes from Exodus 13 and Numbers 3. A dedication to the

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Lord the first time a womb was opened. A baby coming into the world is a miracle.

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And God desires a dedication to Him. That ultimately, children are not only ours.

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God created them. Our children belong to Him. But especially according to the

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Pentateuch, according to the law of God, firstborn sons, firstborns, were dedicated to the

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Lord. And what is striking is that this is the first time a baby boy isn't simply called as sanctified.

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In the Old Testament, he was called sanctified to the Lord, but here Jesus is truly holy to God.

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That's what it says. He is holy to God. This boy is the first to ever be set apart to God in the most holiest of senses.

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This is God's own Son. The very One who would truly rid

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Mary of her sin and uncleanness is bundled in her arms. It's amazing.

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His blood would be the blood of all bloods. The blood that would accomplish what the blood of goats and bulls and pigeons and doves could never do.

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Actually deal with sin and uncleanness. Not once to be dealt with, again and again and again, but once for all

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His blood is given never to be given again. A forever atonement, a forever cleansing.

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And so this is Genesis 3 .15 on full display, you guys. God told the crafty serpent,

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Satan, that the Lord would give the woman a child that would crush his head, delivering the death blow to the devil.

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And here He is. This is the One who came by the seed of the woman. This is the

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One who would crush the head of the serpent. And make no mistake, Joseph and Mary brought, of course, turtle doves.

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They brought pigeons. We're not sure which. But one thing we know they brought for sure was a spotless lamb.

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Not the physical animal, but what they brought was their Son, the

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Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. It's as if Jesus being brought to the temple in Jerusalem to be presented to the

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Lord was like an inspection. Here He is. Here's the

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Son. Here's the One who came by pure miracle, the

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Lord Jesus Christ. And the Lord saw in that moment that His Son was perfect, blameless, without blemish and completely clean.

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What the Father had planned to do worked. And of course it did. He's God.

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He's God. And so Jesus was brought into the world. It wouldn't be that day in Jerusalem, but 33 years later, the

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Lamb would finally have His blood spilt for the sins of not just Mary, but all of those who call

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His name. Both the circumcision, the offerings, and dedication to God are simply foreshadows of what

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Jesus came to do and indications of who He truly is. And while Joseph, Mary, and Jesus were at the temple in Jerusalem, they would now at the temple have these encounters with a man and then a woman.

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We saw that. And the first one is detailed in the following verses. Let's look again. There was a man in Jerusalem whose name was

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Simeon. And this man was righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel.

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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

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Lord's Christ. And he came in the Spirit into the temple. And when the parents brought in the child

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Jesus to carry out for him the custom of the law, then he took him into his arms. And he blessed

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God and said, Now, Lord, You are releasing Your bondservant to depart in peace according to Your word.

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For my eyes have seen Your salvation, which You have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light of revelation to the

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Gentiles and the glory of Your people Israel. And his father and mother were amazed at the things which were said about him.

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So, Simeon. Simeon. We don't know much about him.

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All that we know is what's said here that this was a righteous man. He feared God and he was looking for something.

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In the Greek here, it literally means that he's ready to receive. He's ready to welcome.

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He's ready to accept something. He was expectant. This isn't like someone wandering around and looking for general deliverance.

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He came directly to the Holy Child. He's not just wandering around looking where salvation might be.

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He came directly to the Child who can bring him that salvation. This man was specifically seeking the

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Messiah of God. The Anointed One. Looking for who he called the consolation of Israel.

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Consolation here is paraklesis. Paraklesis. Remember, Jesus and the

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Holy Spirit are both called the paraclete. We talked about that a few weeks ago. The comforter, the helper, the first paraclete

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Jesus has arrived. He is the encouragement, the comfort, the consolation of Israel.

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And it's not simply a feeling. It's not simply a feeling. The baby in the manger isn't only a sweet image of purity even though he is pure.

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He is the very solution to all the pain, agony, and despair and sin and trouble that this world has faced since the fall of man.

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And this man Simeon, led by the Holy Spirit, was looking for this consolation.

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After all these years of waiting and seeking, longing to see the Messiah, the one to usher in the true promised land that is the kingdom of God, the

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Lord honored his desire. The Lord honored it. You know,

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Moses never got to enter the promised land. He only got to see a glimpse of it. But this man would set his eyes on the

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Lord's Christ before his death. And so this is no human invention.

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This is no religious idea. Jesus isn't a religious idea.

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He's not a moral invention. This is no self -appointed miracle worker. Jesus isn't simply a moral teacher or a really good man.

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Verse 26 says, this is the Lord's Christ.

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This is the Lord's Christ, the Mashiach, the Messiah, the appointed one by the

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Lord, the Lord's very own self -representation, the greatest self -disclosure of God on earth is here, the

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Lord Jesus Christ. And this is such a privilege. What a privilege. This man,

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Simeon, was waiting for this. He would get to lay his eyes on this

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Son of God. He was informed of this honor by the

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Spirit. And then he was led directly by the same Spirit to the temple.

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And so Mary and Joseph at that moment bring the child Jesus to the temple.

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They're about to perform the circumcision. They're walking in the temple. And Simeon saw

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Jesus. He knew. How did he know? He knew because the

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Holy Spirit, it says, was the one to reveal to him that Jesus is the

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Christ. He wasn't looking for a warrior king. He was looking for a baby.

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Because the Holy Spirit told him. And the

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Spirit gives these things that are not innate in us. This really tells us that someone cannot see that Jesus is the

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Christ, that Jesus is the Messiah, apart from the Holy Spirit. That's the reality.

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It takes the Holy Spirit to show us these things. Ears to hear, eyes to see are a spiritual function that are foreign to us, that must be given to us.

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The Spirit gives these things. And so Simeon, therefore, was able to see this baby for who he really was because he was filled with the

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Holy Spirit. And it's incredible to think that the priest who performed

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Jesus' circumcision had no idea. He's cutting the foreskin of another baby boy.

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Eight days old. The priest would have no idea that he's handling the Messiah.

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That blows my mind. People would have walked past this family. They would have walked past the one they were waiting multiple millennia for, and they would have never known.

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They just walked right by. Another baby to get circumcised. It's incredible. It's unbelievable.

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No inkling as to the child's true identity, his divine identity, people just walked on by.

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But a man of no other significance or status than being someone devoted to God saw

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Jesus Christ. Simeon was no one special. He was just a man of God, someone who feared the

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Lord, someone who was waiting, someone who was expectant. And so at this moment, he comes to this family and Mary is holding the baby in her arms, and he comes right to them and he takes the child.

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Talk about something you don't do to new mothers. You just take their baby out of their arms. That sets off the mama bear reaction, right?

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Like, I don't know you. But this was something that they could tell the Holy Spirit was doing.

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Simeon comes right up to them and he takes Jesus in his own arms. That's unreal.

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Simeon is holding the living God, holding the Messiah in his arms. And it says that he took

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Him. He took the baby. And this word took is not the normal word for it that is typically used in the

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Bible. This word right here is the exact fulfillment of the previous word that Luke described of this man when it said he was looking for the consolation of Israel.

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This is the exact fulfillment of this very action. And so the image is not one of Simeon coming up and taking a baby.

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The image that Luke is trying to get us to have here is that he received something.

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He received something. Into his hands, he was receiving the very consolation and comfort of God into his own hands.

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And that's amazing. The Lord's Christ was an infant.

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A baby. And that is honestly one of the greatest aspects of Jesus' humility.

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It is such humbleness. The greatest strength seen in the entire world was observed in frailty as an infant.

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The most powerful being that the world has ever seen was held in hands that were finite in its strength.

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And Simeon blessed God at that moment. The word is eulogio.

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It's a good saying. It's a good word. A eulogy. A praise to God. What does one do when blessed by God but to bless

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Him back? And that's what he did. He opened his mouth and he mustered up this praise.

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Now You, Lord, are releasing Your slave, Your bondservant to depart from this world in peace.

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My eyes have seen Your salvation. You have prepared this salvation in the presence of all peoples, a light of revelation to the

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Gentiles and the glory of Your people Israel. He praises God. He's holding this child.

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The child that would save a multitude of people over centuries.

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Still saving even now. And he praises God. What a gift.

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Simeon can face death knowing there is a hope. Simeon can face death knowing there is a real hope in this world and God finally gave it.

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He can face death knowing that one has come to deal with death. That's amazing.

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I don't know if you remember, I told you maybe a month or two back in Isaiah, the holy servant of God, the

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Messiah, is often called the arm of the Lord. The action and power and representation of God on earth.

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Well, in Isaiah 52, verse 10, it says, the Lord has revealed His holy arm in the sight of all nations, all peoples, that all the ends of the earth may see the salvation of our

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God. And this has been fulfilled right here in Luke 2. That's what

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Simeon is saying. The arm of the Lord, who is Jesus, is the salvation of God.

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He is the same thing. He is our rescue. He is our solution. Our Savior.

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And Simeon with his own eyes has seen this. He's seen the solution to man's greatest plight.

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He's seen the One who can reverse the curse that was done thousands of years ago.

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And the shocking thing is this child is not simply for Israel. It says this is in front of all peoples.

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All types. Simeon, a Jew in the Jewish temple, could say that this child is for everyone.

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He's a light of revelation to Gentiles. He is also the glory of His people

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Israel. He is the light of the world. He is the highest glory to come forth from God's people.

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He is the One whom the oracles of God have spoken about this whole time. In other words, this child is for everyone.

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This child is for everyone. And so after talking about how something great will come from the region of Galilee, Isaiah actually says in chapter 9, the people who walk in darkness will see a great light.

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Those who live in a dark land, the light will shine on them. And so who is this light?

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Who did Simeon just say is this light? This is Jesus. Verses after this in Isaiah 9, it says, for a child will be born unto us, a son will be given, and the government will rest on His shoulders, and His name will be called

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Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His peace.

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On the throne of David and over His kingdom to establish it and uphold it with justice and righteousness forevermore.

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So Simeon was holding this One. The Prince of Peace. The Mighty God.

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The child born unto us. He was holding the Prince of Peace in His arms. The very

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One that could give him peace to face the next life. And he praises

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God. And Jesus' parents were amazed. They marveled at the things spoken of them.

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We saw that. They marveled at what the shepherd said. They marveled now at what Simeon has said. And some have asked, but didn't they know?

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Didn't Mary and Joseph know? Right? Well, sure they knew in some kind of way.

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They knew what the angel had told them about Jesus. They knew what the Lord did in His power to bring about this child.

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Yes, they were told that this child would save His people from their sin. They knew in some capacity, but even they would have to get to know the

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Messiah and His teachings and see His works like anyone else.

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But now they aren't the only ones to have witnessed these things concerning Jesus. Other people have confirmed to be witnesses of this child.

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The angelic visitation nine months ago was legitimate. It was true.

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It was all real. And other people are coming up to them confirming this.

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They thought that this was something that was privately given to them. Oh, an angel came to us, told

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Joseph, told me, that a child would be born. But now even people in the temple are coming up.

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Oh my goodness, this is true! This is real! This is

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God's salvation according to this man Simeon. Who is this child?

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What is this? They were told He is the Christ, but can you imagine? Of course there would be wonder.

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Of course there would be amazement. You know? Look, even when you and I have already known

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Jesus as our Savior, don't you still marvel? Don't you still have amazement sometimes?

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Don't you still have this great wonder when you learn more about Jesus? When you see more of His love?

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When you meet someone who is just saved by Him as well, something wells up in you.

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And so, the same thing is happening for Mary and Joseph right here.

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Their responses are very appropriate. They marvel at these things. This is incredible.

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Simeon, a man we've never known, came up in the temple, picked up my child and said, this is the light.

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This is the light to the Gentiles. This is the glory of Israel. This is the salvation of all peoples.

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There's more things for Mary to treasure in her heart, right? So Simeon doesn't necessarily do an official blessing of the child, because really he needs the child to bless him.

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So he finishes in verses 34 and 35 in what seems to be a prophetic word,

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Holy Spirit inspired. It says, And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother,

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Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rise of many in Israel and for a sign to be opposed, and a sword will pierce even your own soul to the end that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.

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So what Simeon is saying is that Jesus isn't a moment in history.

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He's not an occasion in history. He's not simply a quick occasion of separation in history.

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But Jesus was appointed to come and divide the world in two. And that's what

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He would do. Jesus would divide the world in two at His coming. His coming marks the fall or rise of many.

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Jesus says in Luke 12, verses 51 -53, Do you suppose that I came to grant peace on earth?

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I tell you no, but rather division. For from now on, five members in one household will be divided.

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Three against two, and two against three. They will be divided. Father against son, son against father, mother against daughter, and daughter against mother, and mother -in -law against daughter -in -law, and daughter -in -law against mother -in -law.

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And so when Jesus comes into the world, there's no false harmony. There's no fake peace.

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Jesus' coming into the world divides people. It leads to the fall or rise of many.

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Sin doesn't make anyone get along. And so He must deal with sin.

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And when dealing with sin, some will choose sin over Him. They'll choose their own sin over the

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Messiah Who came. And so there's the division. There's the dividing line. People will choose their sin, which they make out to be their own

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God, or they'll choose the true God through Jesus Christ. They will love their sin over the

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Savior, and for that reason, many will fall, many will rise. The world is split in two from that moment forward.

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And it is today. You can see it today. The world is split in two. There are those who have believed on Christ, and there are those who have rejected

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Him. This phrase, for a sign to be opposed, that Jesus would be a sign to be opposed, is a small aspect of the translation.

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It is literally that He is a sign that will be spoken against. In other words,

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Simeon tells Mary, be joyful, be extremely joyful, be glad this is our salvation, but know this, that this child, this

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Savior, will divide the nation, He'll divide the world, and He will be spoken against.

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In fact, there will be active opposition against this child. There will be active opposition against Him from this moment to His death, and all the way as He rises and ascends into heaven to the moment that He returns.

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There is active opposition against this child, against the Christ. In fact, verse 35,

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Mary said, a sword will pierce even your own soul. Simeon tells

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Mary, a sword will pierce even your own soul. What does he mean by that?

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Well, the words of Jesus, the life of Jesus, are very much like the prophetic words of God, which are often called a sword in Scripture.

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And so the climax of this sword, Jesus will act as a sword, will be at the crucifixion of her son.

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This crucifixion will crush this woman. This crucifixion will hit this mother's heart.

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She'll see her son whipped with a cat of nine tails, flesh peeling off his back.

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She'll see him bruised, broken, bloody, with a crown of thorns on his head, mocked and sneered, and nailed through his wrists and through his ankles.

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And he'll be raised up on a cross. As he's being crucified, to be able to get a breath in crucifixion, you must drive your body up to extend your lungs out to get a full breath.

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It's a matter of asphyxiation. And when he drives his body up, he'll drive the nails further into his body.

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And this woman will see this. This woman is there for every step of what

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Jesus will go through. And it will pierce her soul. It'll pierce her soul.

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But the very thing that pierces her soul in anguish will be the thing that also brings it relief.

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That's the reality. And likewise, the end of that glorious act will separate and reveal hearts from thoughts.

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The arrival of the Incarnate Son of God sets off a chain reaction, you guys. It brings to light the thoughts of the heart, even provoking them to either spirit -filled faith and belief, or exposure to your dank and empty caverns of unbelief.

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That's what happens. Now right after this, Mary and Joseph and Jesus are still at the temple.

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They're at the temple in Jerusalem for His circumcision and for Her offerings. Our final verses, verses 36 -38.

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And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher.

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She was advanced in years and had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage. And then as a widow to the age of 84, she never left the temple, serving nine days with fastings and prayer.

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At that very moment, she came up and began giving thanks to God and continued to speak of Him to all those who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.

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It's almost as if Luke is bringing to life the promise of Joel 2 that the

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Holy Spirit is going to come when this Messiah arrives. Sons and daughters, men and women, will prophesy.

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And so you have Simeon and Anna right here. They're not related in any way.

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Not that we know of, other than that they are both seeking the Messiah. They are unique witnesses.

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Anna is from the tribe of Asher. If you remember, Asher is one of the tribes that was considered in part of the ten lost tribes of Israel.

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Asher is one of the ones that were lost in the Assyrian captivity.

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And so you have this moment now where this woman is representing Asher. A lost tribe of Israel has returned.

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Anna represents those whom Jesus came to restore. Whoever is lost,

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Jesus finds. It says she approached them. Maybe they're done with the circumcision at this point.

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They're now walking out of the temple. Simeon talked with them already. He held the baby.

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And she comes up and she tells them these things. She gives thanks to God in front of them.

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She recognized this was her Savior. After seeing

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Jesus, Simeon is ready to die, it says. His eyes have seen the

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Lord's salvation. Simeon's ready to die now. He can go be with the

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Lord in bliss. But for Anna, Anna is alive and energized by this.

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She's ready to proclaim the arrival of the Christ to all who would hear her. The actions of giving thanks to God and continuing to speak of the

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Messiah to all who were looking for Him, those actions are in the imperfect tense in the Greek, which means to say that Anna did not stop thanking

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God. It wasn't that she thanked God once. It was that until the end of her life she continued to thank

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God that the Messiah came and she continued to share with those who would hear her that He has arrived, that the redemption of Jerusalem is here.

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She did not stop. She did not stop until the day she died.

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And that was her legacy. And that was Simeon's legacy. Love and dedication to God, seeing the

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Christ and sharing the news of Him with everyone around, these are considered lives well spent.

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They're both at the end of their lives, but these moments, meeting the

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Lord Jesus Christ, have made every single year prior worth it.

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That's a legacy, you guys. Are these postures of Simeon and Anna yours as well?

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Now that you have the salvation of God and the forgiveness of sins, are you ready to die?

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If you were given nothing else in this life, is this enough for you? That you have the salvation of the

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Lord Jesus Christ? You see, it ought to be. We ought to experience the salvation of our

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Lord Jesus, the forgiveness of sins, the giving of the Holy Spirit, and we ought to say, look, if I had nothing else in this life,

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I have Jesus. I'm ready for death. I could die and it wouldn't matter because I have salvation.

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I'll live forever. I'm given eternal life. If you have

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Christ now, you and I can say like Simeon, Lord, take me whenever, because I have the greatest treasure in existence.

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And if the Lord keeps you here for now, keeps me here for now, are you like Anna? Are you like Anna?

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Will you continue to give thanks to God and will you continue to share with those who will hear you that Christ has come, that the salvation of God has arrived?

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Well, churches, we close the text for the evening. I want you to think about all that has happened in this brief account.

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All the names that Jesus was called in this moment, think about it. He was called the consolation of Israel.

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He's called the Lord's Christ. He's called the Lord's salvation. He's called a light to the

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Gentiles, the glory of God's people. He is the soul piercer. He's the one who divides.

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He's also called the redemption of Jerusalem. He's not even eight days old completely, and He is more than we could have ever hoped for as a fallen humanity.

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And these people were witnesses of this. Mary and Joseph and the shepherds who heard the heavenly hosts and the multitude of angels sing over the baby in the manger and now

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Simeon and Anna in the temple. Together, Simeon and Anna make up the fact that both males and females were waiting for the

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Christ. And according to what Simeon said, this child is both for Jews and Gentiles.

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This is where you get the theology that Paul has that you're neither Jew nor Greek nor male nor female, nor slave nor free.

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Christ came for every type of people. And so the shepherds and Simeon and Anna make up the necessity of two to three independent lines of witness to authenticate the truth of this scene.

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The shepherds, Simeon, and Anna are three witnesses. The Christ was verified.

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This is all true history. Jesus reveals Himself to two people we've never even known in the

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Bible. People who we've never seen until this moment,

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Simeon and Anna. We don't know much about them. They seem to have no great status in Judea, and they are people who will never be mentioned again in the entire

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Bible. This is it. This is where Simeon and Anna's story ends.

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But He's also revealed Himself to you. And so if you're a nobody, like Simeon and Anna, you're in good company.

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Together, the nobodies of Christ become somebodies because of Him.

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And I'm not talking about fame. I'm not talking about status. I'm talking about the forgiveness of sins.

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The changing of position from death to life. From wrath to forgiveness.

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From hell to heaven. That's what Jesus has done for us. While most at this time were waiting impatiently for a warrior king to rid them of the

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Romans, Simeon and Anna are seen as two people with expectant eagerness, and most of all, faith.

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Faith. They represent the poor in spirit who were eager for the kingdom of heaven.

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Jesus says, blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

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They shall see God. And this Christmas, I submit to you, the greatest things that your eye could behold is the salvation of the world.

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It's the Lord Jesus Christ. So don't waste another second in delay to join

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Simeon and Anna in seeing and knowing that the Lord is Jesus.

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He is the Christ, and never forget, what allows us to celebrate this baby in the manger is that He lived perfectly on our behalf.

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He died on the cross in our place, and He rose again from the grave to live forevermore, promising those who have faith in Him that He did all these things that they would have the very same thing.

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They would live forever. That's the promise of Christmas. That's why we celebrate.

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It doesn't end with a baby in a manger. It ends with a Christ on a cross and an empty tomb and a risen

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Lord who rules and reigns from a throne to this day. And He's coming back again. Will we be ready?

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If you don't know Him, turn to Him today. Let's pray, church. Heavenly Father, Lord, thank

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You for Your Word. Thank You for this record that Luke gave us.

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He was so intentional to give all the facts of what occurred during the incarnation of Christ.

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Lord, we thank You for the witness of the shepherds, men who were not considered worthy to be witnesses in a court of law.

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We are thankful, Lord, for the witness of an old man named Simeon, who was no wonderful high priest or wealthy man, but just the average sort of guy that loved

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You and was expecting Your Son. Lord, we thank You for Anna, a woman who was a widow, a woman who was in her 80's, who had nothing special about her except that she loved

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You and that makes her very special, Lord. She also got to see her salvation in Jesus Christ.

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And so, Lord, we thank You for these witnesses. We thank You, Lord, for showing us

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Your Son. That even though we weren't there in the first century,

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You have also given us Your Holy Spirit that we can take these things on faith. That we can also see with our own eyes the salvation of this world, the

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Lord Jesus Christ. And so, God, that's what we proclaim as a church today. We proclaim

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His name, that He is the way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes to You but by Him.

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And so, Lord, we love You and we praise You. We pray this all in Jesus' name,