Luke 2:22–35
22 When the time came for the purification rites required by the Law of Moses, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord 23 (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord”), 24 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.” 25 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. 26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. 27 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, 28 Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying: 29 “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss your servant in peace. 30 For my eyes have seen your salvation, 31 which you have prepared in the sight of all nations: 32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel.” 33 The child’s father and mother marveled at what was said about him. 34 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, 35 so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.” (Luke 2:22–35)
We know the impatience with which children await the coming of Christmas. But there was one man who awaited Christmas with greater anticipation than anyone else — the old man Simeon. The account of Simeon shows us that God always has people ready to fulfill His purposes and intentions — even in the worst and most unfavorable of circumstances. The story of Jesus’ birth shows us that when the religious leaders and institutions are corrupt, God still has unknown people, nameless heroes, who are prepared for His coming. The heroes of Luke chapters 1 and 2 — Zechariah and Elizabeth, Simeon and Anna, Joseph and Mary — remind us that God has always had, and always will have, faithful people, even in the most evil and darkest of all times.
From this account of Luke, and from old Simeon, we can learn how to prepare our hearts for Christmas. How can we prepare our hearts for the feast? By cleansing the heart, clearing the mind, and being filled with the Holy Spirit. There are some things we must be, and some things we must remember, as we await Christmas. The questions we will consider are these:
- What must our character be, so that we can serve God effectively?
- What is the comfort that the Savior’s birth brings us?
- What is the mission with which Christmas charges us? Christmas does not only bring us something. It also entrusts us with something.
THE CHARACTER OF THOSE AWAITING CHRISTMAS
Most people missed the significant events of that first Christmas. The political and religious leaders did not even know what was happening. Many in our city as a whole will fail to grasp the meaning of Christmas. Simeon was one of the few who saw and understood the mighty working of God during that first Christmas.
What were the qualities Simeon possessed? What do they teach us? What are the virtues that we too should strive to cultivate in ourselves? In verse 25 we read what Simeon was like.
25 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. (Luke 2:25)
Await Christmas with integrity
First, Simeon is said to have been “righteous and devout” (v. 25). To be “devout” means to possess a longing for God and for spiritual things. With respect to the will of God, Simeon possessed reverence and devotion. He was especially responsible in his spiritual duties. No one who does not guard his integrity, his righteousness, and his devotion can see the beauty of Christmas. Only those whose hearts are right before the Lord, and who do His will, can see and feel the meaning of Christmas.
The qualities with which Simeon is described in verse 25 lead us to examine our own hearts. Let Christmas be for us a time of repentance, a time in which we test ourselves, confess our sins before God, and cleanse ourselves. When the Israelites went up to worship God during their feasts, they passed through a definite process of cleansing. So we too must cleanse ourselves, repent, and live a righteous life.
May God help us to live a holy life and to await Christmas with integrity and wholeness of character. To be holy means to be set apart from sin. To have wholeness of character means to be blameless — not strong in some areas of sanctification and not in others, but to have spiritual integrity, our righteousness intact in every sphere of the struggle against sin. Sadly, we are all sinners. In some areas of the spiritual life we may be very good. We may be very strong in prayer, or in praise and worship, and at the same time be open to lies, to swindling, to immorality, to adultery, or the like. But if that is so, then we do not have wholeness of character. Somewhere in the hull of our spiritual ship there is a breach; water is pouring in. Our ship begins to fill with water and is about to sink. Therefore we must labor to maintain righteousness and integrity in every sphere of our lives.
Righteousness and devotion — this is the “sound doctrine” spoken of in the Pastoral Epistles (Titus 2:1). In 1 Timothy and Titus, the apostle Paul gives clear instructions on what the older men and women, the younger men and women, and so on, are to be like. This makes us realize that we must build within ourselves a devout character. This devout character is a reflection of Jesus. If we have it, we will be like our Lord.
Await Christmas with holy expectancy
Second, Simeon “was waiting for the consolation of Israel” (v. 25). The fact that he was “waiting” means that he had faith. “The consolation of Israel” was the Anointed One. It was the Anointed One who was God’s promise. “To wait” means to exercise faith. If you wait for God’s promise, it shows that you are sure it will come. If you do not wait for it, then you have no faith. Waiting is an expression of faith. The fact that Simeon “was waiting for the consolation of Israel” means that he believed God’s promise of a Messiah.
Simeon’s waiting was not passive. It was marked by fervent desire. Simeon lived each day filled with a white-hot expectation of God’s intervention. He expected at every moment that God would reveal to him “the consolation of Israel.” We must live in the same way as we await the Second Coming. We do not know when it will be, but we must await it with heightened readiness. The blessed Christian hope is the resurrection from the dead (Titus 1:2; 3:7). When will it be realized? When Christ comes a second time (Titus 2:13). We await the Second Coming.
The truth is that we experience as much of God as the measure of our expectation for new experiences with Him. We must expect God to act in our lives every day, and live our lives with a continual expectation of His supernatural intervention in our circumstances. The season around Christmas should be a time in which we take stock of the degree of our spiritual expectation. Do we expect God to work in our lives? Do we expect Him to intervene in our circumstances? Do we expect miracles and signs today, here and now? Do we expect Him to lead us? If we speak of miracles only in the past tense, it means we have grown cold spiritually. We must expect His manifestations every day, because He is living and true and desires to intervene in our lives and to glorify His name by answering our prayers.
Await Christmas with inspiration
So we come to the third and most important quality of Simeon’s character — namely, his relationship with the Holy Spirit. In verse 25 it says, “and the Holy Spirit was on him.” This fact testifies to Simeon’s constant communion with God. The Holy Spirit had given him a revelation — that he would not die until he had seen the Messiah (v. 26).
26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. (Luke 2:26)
Imagine how happy Simeon was. He read the sacred Scriptures. He read Isaiah 49:6, which speaks of God’s Chosen One as a light to the nations. He prayed, and in his prayer he said, “Lord, when? When will this happen?” And one day the Holy Spirit said to him, “It will happen in your time, within your lifetime. You will see it with your own eyes. You will not die before it comes to pass.”
This promise of the Holy Spirit is like the promise given concerning the flood and Methuselah. The name Methuselah means “before he dies, it will come” — where “it” refers to the flood. It is remarkable that Enoch began “to walk with God” from the time Methuselah was born (Genesis 5:22). Enoch expected the coming end, and this moved him to turn to God with his whole heart. To Simeon, the Holy Spirit said that before he died, Christ would come. What an incredible prophecy, what an incredible encouragement!
The Holy Spirit was leading Simeon in an incredible way. In verse 27 we read, “Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts.” This meant that he was not only filled with the Holy Spirit during prayer; he expected the Holy Spirit to lead him every day. On the day Joseph and Mary had decided to present their baby in the temple, Simeon woke up and sensed the Holy Spirit prompting him to go to the temple. So Simeon got dressed and went.
The first Christmas was marked by a renewed activity on the part of the Spirit of God. Before Christmas, the Holy Spirit spoke to the prophets. But there is a period of about four hundred years between Malachi and John the Baptist and Jesus. In that period we do not see the Holy Spirit acting mightily on the earth. But just before and during Christmas, the Holy Spirit was acting in a special way. So it should be in our lives as well. Every Christmas should mark a renewal of the Holy Spirit’s working in our lives.
The way to prepare for Christmas is to pray. For what? For these three things:
- That the Lord would give you an established, devout, and righteous character.
- That the Lord would increase your faith — that you would eagerly await His manifestation in your life, and await the Second Coming.
- Be filled with the Holy Spirit. Ask Him to come into your life.
THE COMFORT OF THOSE AWAITING CHRISTMAS
A particular sense of comfort and well-being characterizes those who await Christmas. This comfort comes from our relationship with Christ.
Comfort from receiving Christ
Simeon “took” the child Jesus “in his arms” and praised God (v. 28). First of all, the comfort Christmas brings us is the comfort of receiving Christ.
27 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, 28 Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying: (Luke 2:27–28)
In a literal sense, Simeon was the first on the list of those who “received” Christ. We often say that in order to be saved, you must “receive” Christ. But Simeon literally “received” Jesus from Mary’s arms. He took Him in his arms, embraced Him.
Moved by the Holy Spirit, Simeon came to exactly the right place at exactly the right time. Many parents were bringing their children to the temple to present them before the Lord. Outwardly there was nothing physical or dramatic to distinguish Mary, Joseph, and Jesus from the rest of the people. Today they often paint Joseph, Mary, and Jesus with halos. But when they were on earth, they had no halos. And yet Simeon made his way unerringly straight to Joseph, Mary, and Jesus.
This makes us ask the question: Has God brought us to this level of hearing the voice and the leading of the Holy Spirit? Has God brought us to Christ? The Holy Spirit can bring you to the exact time and place where your life intersects with Christ. During this Christmas, ask yourself: Does my path intersect with the path of Christ? Do I hear His words? Do I receive Him? The same Spirit who drew Simeon to Christ is the One who today also draws us to the birth of Christ and to our Lord. We celebrate Christmas because we want to be close to Jesus and to have Him in our hearts. Have you received Christ? If you have not, then this Christmas is an occasion to receive Him.
At Christmas we exchange gifts. These gifts are a symbol of Christ, for it is Jesus who is the greatest gift (2 Corinthians 9:15). When we give gifts to children, we desire that they would receive the greater gift, Jesus Christ. If you have not yet received Christ into your heart, you do not have the “comfort” that Christmas brings.
Comfort from the fulfillment of God’s promise
The first comfort of those who await Christmas is the comfort of receiving Christ. The second is the comfort of the fulfillment of God’s promise. Simeon felt completely satisfied with life when he saw the baby Jesus (v. 29).
28 Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying: 29 “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss your servant in peace. 30 For my eyes have seen your salvation, 31 which you have prepared in the sight of all nations: (Luke 2:28–31)
“As you have promised.” This means that God had spoken a word, had given a promise, had given His word to Simeon, and had fulfilled it. There is a satisfaction, a joy, when a given promise is fulfilled. Simeon’s words in this verse reflect the relief of a servant who had been informed in advance by his Master to expect the coming of a certain event. And once that event takes place, the weary servant is released from his service. Simeon finds an absolute contentment and delight in seeing and receiving Christ.
Do you await Christmas with the same sense of contentment and satisfaction with life? Only seeing and receiving Christ can give you such fullness and delight.
The birth of Christ is the fulfillment of God’s promise. On the one hand, Simeon had received a personal promise that he would not die before he saw Christ. But there was an even greater promise, given already through Isaiah and through David. God had given this promise — the promise of the Anointed One, the promise of the Messiah. This was a promise of which the whole Old Testament speaks. For the first time, God gave a promise of a Savior immediately after the fall:
15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel. (Genesis 3:15)
Until Simeon’s time, God’s promise lay in the future; but with the birth of Jesus, God’s promise was fulfilled. With the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem, all of God’s promises concerning the Messiah were fulfilled.
God is a God who keeps His promises (vv. 29–31). Our whole relationship with God depends on His faithfulness to His promises. In the coming and the incarnation of Christ, we see that God truly keeps His promises. There are at least seventy-three promises recorded in the Old Testament that are fulfilled in the birth of Christ. This gives us the assurance that God, who has kept His promises in the past, will continue to keep His promises in the future.
God promised us Christ. Did He fulfill that promise? Did He give us Christ? He did. We have another promise. What is it? The Holy Spirit. Peter said, “You will receive this gift, the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38). Did God give the Holy Spirit to the church? He did. He is the pledge of our inheritance (Ephesians 1:14). There is yet another promise — the promise of “eternal life” (1 John 2:25). If God has given us Christ, if God has given us His Holy Spirit, if He has fulfilled the promises He gave in the past, He will give us resurrection from the dead and eternal life. In fact, John says that God has already given us eternal life. We already have it. God has also promised that Jesus will come again. Christ said to His disciples:
2 My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. (John 14:2–3)
The promise is that we will rise again and be with Christ in eternity.
THE MISSION OF THOSE AWAITING CHRISTMAS
The birth of the Savior does not only give us comfort; it also lends our lives a supreme concern and mission. As people who await Christmas, we have a mission. Why? Because Christmas reminds us of the all-encompassing scope of God’s salvation. It is not only for a certain nation. It is for all (Isaiah 49:6).
Christmas reminds us of the universality of God’s salvation
The old Jew, Simeon, proclaimed that the baby he held was “a light for revelation to the Gentiles” (vv. 31–32).
29 “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss your servant in peace. 30 For my eyes have seen your salvation, 31 which you have prepared in the sight of all nations: 32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel.” (Luke 2:29–32)
Simeon saw that what happened in Jerusalem on that day was something universal, something that concerned not only Israel but the whole planet Earth, all of humanity. A light piercing the darkness flashed in every direction from that awesome moment. The very fact that we are here today is proof of it. This saving light has reached even us. According to this prophecy, the wise men from the East, who were Gentiles, came to worship the baby Jesus. Christian world mission cannot be separated from Christmas. The gospel is something too good and too wonderful to remain unshared. Through prayer and through gifts, we must share the light that has dawned in our hearts with others! A shared joy is a greater joy.
Christmas reminds us not only of God’s plan of salvation, but also of the responsibility we have to take part in its accomplishment through the fulfillment of the Great Commission of our Lord Jesus Christ.
As people who await Christmas, let us examine our character, the spiritual condition of our hearts, our faith. If we have not received Jesus as our Lord, then let us not delay — let us receive Him now. Let us be assured that God is a God who keeps His promises.
As people who await Christmas, let us remember the responsibility we have to share the good news of the Savior with all people and all nations. When we exchange gifts, let us tell our loved ones about the greatest gift God has given us — let us tell them about Jesus.
On the eve of Christmas, let us make a decision — a decision to live a righteous life; a decision to live our lives with expectation, with faith in God’s promises and expectation of the Second Coming; a decision to be filled with the Holy Spirit; a decision to live a life with a mission of sharing the gospel and fulfilling God’s purposes.