40 Comfort, comfort my people,
  says your God,
2 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
  and proclaim to her
that her her hard service has been completed,
  that her sin has been paid for,
that she has received from the LORD'S hand
  double for all her sins.

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION.
Copywrite © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society.
Used by permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers.

Luke 2:21-52

2:21 On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise him, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he had been conceived.

22 When the time of their purification according to the law of Moses had been completed, 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"[Exodus 13:2,12]), 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."[Leviticus 12:8]

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 upon him. 26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord's Christ. 27 Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:

29 "Sovereign Lord, as you have promised,
  you now dismiss your servant in peace.
30 For my eyes have seen your salvation,
31   which you have prepared in the sight of all people,
32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles
  and for the glory of your people Israel."

33 The child's father and mother  marvelled 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."

36 There was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, 37 and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshipped night and day, fasting and praying. 38 Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.

39 When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth. 40 And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him.

41 Every year his parents went to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover. 42 When he was twelve years old, they went up to the Feast, according to the custom. 43 After the Feast was over, while his parents were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it. 44 Thinking he was in their company, they travelled on for a day. Then they began looking for him among their relatives and friends. 45 When they did not find him, they went back to Jerusalem to look for him. 46 After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. 47 Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers. 48 When his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him, "Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you."

49 "Why are you searching for me?" he asked. "Didn't you know I had to be in my Father's house?" 50 But they did not understand what he was saying to them.

51 Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart. 52 And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and men.

Introduction: Living for the Future

1. Simeon - Waiting for the Consolation of Israel (21-35)

2. Anna - Looking Forward to the Redemption of Jerusalem (36-38)

3. Joseph and Mary - Anxiously Searching (39-52)

Conclusion: The Tree of Life

Introduction: Living for the Future

As I've been reflecting on life recently, I've been exploring a suggestion that much of life is lived looking to the future. As I go to bed I set an alarm because I know the future holds the responsibility of getting to work on time. In a different way, when my alarm goes off, on bad days, I start looking forward to getting home, even before I leave for work. We look forward to weekends, holidays, Christmas and the end of Christmas!

The suggestion that much of life is lived looking to the future was made by a Christian writer who was trying to explain how we can test our response to God. He suggests that what we really are is seen in what we long for. He is only saying what Paul says in Romans 8:23-

"We ... who have the firstfruits of the Spirit wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies."

and what Solomon says in Proverbs 13:12-

"Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life."

In today's passage Luke shows us what several people are really like by showing us what they long for . He shows us the hearts of Simeon, Anna, Joseph and Mary. He shows us something of Jesus' heart also.

We'll look at Simeon first- '... waiting for the consolation of Israel.' Then we'll look at Anna- '... looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.' Finally, we'll look at Joseph and Mary '... anxiously searching.'

1. Simeon - Waiting for the Consolation of Israel (21-35)

We are told that Simeon was devout. It's not a word we use often anymore, sadly because it's a virtue that is no longer valued. What does it mean? Devout people are those who are quietly careful to obey God. It is similar to piety but without any suggestion of moral pride. In fact, we can say devout people are devoted to God. We should all want to be devout. Not only Simeon, but also Joseph and Mary appear to be devout. Consider the following examples:

verse 21- the angel named Jesus before he was conceived, Joseph and Mary name the child as they were told;

verse 22- the Law of Moses required a time of purification after birth. Joseph and Mary observe God's requirement;

verse 23- the Law of the Lord required first born males (animals as well) to be consecrated, set apart as belonging to God. Joseph and Mary do this;

verse 24- a sacrifice to redeem the child back is required, Joseph and Mary do this too.

Back to Simeon, presumably, he too was careful to obey everything in the Law of the Lord but Luke takes us deeper into his heart- he was 'waiting for the consolation of Israel.' If we are what we long for, we know Simeon by this longing. But what was this consolation he was waiting for? To console is to comfort. Isaiah 40 jumps to mind, it is quoted in next week's passage, so we are probably on the right track.

Isaiah 40:1,2

40 Comfort, comfort my people,
  says your God,
2 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
  and proclaim to her
that her her hard service has been completed,
  that her sin has been paid for,
that she has received from the LORD'S hand
  double for all her sins.

What comfort is God promising his people, Israel? He promises completion of their hard service and payment for their sin. God is promising forgiveness for his people. Simeon longs for this forgiveness. God shows him it will come through Jesus, the Lord's Christ. As Simeon says, 'my eyes have seen your salvation.'

We should be clear about what Christ means, contrary to popular opinion, it's not Jesus' surname. Christ is a Greek word, simply meaning anointed. Anointing was a ceremony performed at the appointment of those responsible for high positions- kings and prophets. To say Jesus is the Christ is to say he is God's King.

God had promised that he would give his people a king, the Christ, who would lead them out of their punishment and into a new relationship with him. This is what Simeon was waiting for- 'the consolation of Israel.' God told Simeon, who told Mary and Joseph, who told Luke, who tells us that Jesus is the king we long for.

Please help us help you pass on the Good news about Jesus:

Pray
Come
Invite friends
Keep talking to your friends about Jesus

We're here to love you by helping you love your friends. We're also here to learn from you...

Back to Simeon again. Simeon doesn't stop at the good news. God's Spirit prompts him to warn Mary that Jesus will cause many to fall in Israel, that he will be spoken against, that he will expose people and that Mary herself will suffer grief.

I can't help wondering what will happen this week in Wagga and into the future as a result of our public declarations about Jesus. Who will God raise and who will fall because of Jesus? Who will speak against Jesus and who will be exposed?

When we take a stand for Jesus, people will stand against us. I pray that when the SUFM team leaves, what we stand for will stay. I pray we leave many challenged by the truth about Jesus. Those who speak against Jesus may speak against those who stand for him who remain- you! They may speak against the team. We will stand with you by praying that you will make the most of every opportunity. Please stand by us by helping us change our methods but keep our message. We must change our methods if they can be improved. We can't change our message.

What we long for is exposed by the Gospel. Sadly, many long for much less than God's good offer of forgiveness and this is exposed as we hold out the offer, only to be rejected.

We've seen how the good news about Jesus exposes our deepest longings. Simeon most deeply longed to know the Lord's Christ. So too did Anna. Let's turn to our second brief character study.

2. Anna - Looking Forward to the Redemption of Jerusalem (36-38)

Anna is just the sort of person we want on our mission team. She just thanks God but doesn't stop at private thanks. Notice how she goes on to tell all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.

This seems to be a typical pattern. Private thanks becomes public praise. Obviously public praise is not genuine unless it reflects private thanks. Ultimately, though, private thanks will always end up in public praise.

A provocative friend of mine says praise is just advertising. We tell others- 'God is great! subscribe now! for life!' Satisfied customers are the best advertisement.

In fact, one could say God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him.

Anna was satisfied as her deepest longing was fulfilled. She told others so they could share this joy. She'd be selfish not to. If it's good enough for her, it's good enough for them.

Well, we've looked at Simeon and Anna, now let's turn to Joseph and Mary.

3. Joseph and Mary - Anxiously Searching (39-52)

As I was looking at this passage under the heading, 'A Longing Fulfilled,' I wondered if it was right to see Jesus as longing to be with his Father. Is that why he must be in his Father's house? I don't think this can be right, for two reasons. Firstly, because he knew that his Father was always with him; and secondly, because God is not limited to being present only in his house. So why did Jesus have to be in his Father's house? I think it has more to do with what he was doing there. He was sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. He was also giving answers and people were amazed at his understanding.

It is a popular view that people go to church to be with God. It is the place that is important. How better can we apply this part of the Bible, than to follow Jesus example and go to the place where we can be with God? Perhaps we should pray there, perhaps sing songs with others who are there. Why else do we go to church? Of course praying, singing and even feasting are good things to do but verse 46 and 47 point to something more important and something that need not be restricted to church buildings. It seems that Jesus must be in his Father's house to learn and to learn with others. Verse 52 tells us that Jesus grew in wisdom. Between the lines I think we see that the temple then and church now serve as places where those who know God from his word, the Bible, meet and assist one another to grow in knowledge, love and wisdom. It was not the place but the people and the search to know God from his word that meant that Jesus had to be in his Father's house. It was obedience to the generous law that called people to feast at the temple that took Jesus and his family to Jerusalem but what kept him there was love of his Father and trust in the power of his word to bring him glory and to bring good to those who love him. Isn't this the example we should follow? Isn't this the way we should understand church? Do you meet with others in a home during the week to grow in wisdom and understanding, asking questions and giving answers from the Bible? Is that church? Is God present? Are we following Jesus' example by doing it?

As good as it was that Jesus was in his Father's house, didn't he do wrong by his parents to do it without permission? Mary asks this question in verse 48 'Why have you treated us like this?'

Jesus rebukes his mother. He's not the first child to do that. In Jesus case, however, its not disrespectful or disobedient (see verse 51.) He picks up on two things in what she has said. "Son, ... your father and I have been anxiously searching for you."

1. Son ... father. In his answer Jesus directs his mother's attention to God, who is his real Father. Jesus tries to stretch her understanding of who he is, not just her son and Joseph's adopted son, but God's Son. Something she really should come to terms with.

2. Anxiously searching. Jesus addresses the anxious nature of their searching, seeing more more than godly concern for him in this. It was a good thing for them to be concerned about him and to search for him. It was not good that they were anxious and didn't know where to find him. 'Didn't you know?' Jesus challenges. Luke also comments that they didn't understand what Jesus was saying. Jesus was saying that if they understood who he was they'd have known what he'd be doing.

Anxiety is not faith. Faith follows understanding and subdues anxiety. How do we encourage anxious people- we give them facts to help them understand what they can trust. Jesus was doing this for Mary and Joseph. We need to do it for one-another as we help one-another learn to trust God. We need to be building a foundation of knowledge and understanding of God and his promises from the Bible. Our faith will grow as our understanding grows. This brings us back to our theme of a longing fulfilled and to the conclusion of this talk.

Conclusion: The Tree of Life

Hope deferred makes the heart sick,
But a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.
Proverbs 13:12

So much of life is bound up with our hopes for the future: finishing a course, gaining a promotion, seeing a child through a difficult phase. However, we are often disappointed by hopes that fail to deliver what we wanted. It is different with God. He never fails. He always keeps his promises and we have regular encouragement as we see his faithfulness demonstrated. When we trust God with our deepest longings we are encouraged to trust him more. But what are our deepest longings and what does God promise?

Our deepest longing is to be on happy terms with God. We need to know we are forgiven. Simeon and Anna saw this. Simeon was waiting and Anna looking forward to this. The consolation of Israel and the redemption of Jerusalem are exactly what we most long for also. Israel, Jerusalem and all of us here today need to know God's forgiveness. But we do! Simeon and Anna saw it, Mary treasured it in her heart but didn't understand. Let's hear what Luke want us to understand, what God declared through Simeon, Anna and Jesus. Our longing is fulfilled!

Simeon's reference to a sword piercing Mary's heart (v35) is a reference to the spear that pierced Jesus' heart, proving his death and the satisfaction of God's anger with our sin. Jesus' death dealt with our sin once and for all- past, present and future sin- it put us back on talking terms with God. Our deepest longing is fulfilled! We are now free to live. The cross of Jesus is a tree of life for us. With our own deepest longing met, surely we can be more concerned about others than ourselves.

What do you long for? Have you seen your need for God's forgiveness? Have you trusted that it has been dealt with once and for all at Jesus' expense? Do you trust God for the lesser details of your life? Important as the details of our lives are to God, they are less important than escaping his anger. Are you finding life in this knowledge- trusting God and loving others? Are you struggling? Do you want to start now or start over again?

Let's entrust ourselves to God now, in prayer about these things. If you'd like to talk to me or someone you know and trust about how you're going in your life of trusting God- well, that's what church is for isn't it? Let's pray.
 

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© Copyright 1997 Danielle Treweek