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Good morning my Walking with Jesus friends, less than a week now till Christmas day. How will you make these next few days really count… for you, your family and every person your life touches? How can we all bring the joy, the light of Christmas Jesus to our world in these frantic days?
We’re reading Luke 2:34-40 today. The scene is the Temple in Jerusalem. Joseph, Mary and infant Jesus have met Simeon, who has prayed a remarkable prayer of thanksgiving, as he held Jesus, Immanuel, the Messiah. It was one of those moments that shapes history. What he had waited for all his life… what God had promised, Simeon was experiencing, as he held Jesus, the Son of God, who had come to earth!
Next Simeon turned his attention to Joseph and Mary, and spoke words he’d never spoken before, in such a ceremony of dedication of a newborn child. “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.” (Luke 2:34,35)
I doubt Joseph and Mary ever became accustomed to the surprises with Jesus, whether it was angels or surprise visitors or amazing things said about Him, or later as an adult, the amazing things they watched Jesus say and do Himself. These words of Simeon must have shaken them. What did he mean, and what should they do about what he said?
Herod the Great had ruled Palestine like a bi-polar, manic-depressive, and had done some amazing things to earn the favor of Rome and the Jewish people. But he had also killed some of his own family members thinking they were trying to remove him from power. To please the people, he had refurbished the Jewish Temple and significantly enlarged the Temple mount. Some of what is there today are remains of that great Temple area mount area. To please Rome, he worked hard at keeping Palestine somewhat peaceful. But Herod’s response to the Magi searching for the ‘newborn king’ shows us his paranoid heart, and his slaughter of the baby boys in Bethlehem shows us his rotten, evil core. (Matt. 2:1-18)
God’s patience ran out on Herod the Great, and he died within two years in 4bc. (Matt. 2:19) Prior to his death he divided Palestine into three regions, giving each of his three sons one region to rule over. Herod Archelaus received Jerusalem & Judea, and he was even more vicious than his father, and is the reason Joseph did not settle in Judea after returning from Egypt. (Matt. 2:22) Herod Antipas received the Galilee area from his father, including Nazareth, Capernaum, the area where Jesus grew up and spent much of His ministry time. This is the Herod who had John the Baptist beheaded and faced Jesus on the night of his trials before crucifixion. This is part of what Simeon meant when he spoke about infant Jesus to Mary saying “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel…”.
In Jesus’ adult years religious leaders who encountered Jesus also had to decide who He was and how to respond to Him, and their names are etched in history based largely on that response, rather than any other achievement. Here are three examples: Pilate the governor who washed his hands while turning Jesus over to the Jewish leaders (Matt. 26:57-67); Caiaphas the high priest who called for his death (Matt. 27:11-26), Saul the zealous Pharisee who attempted to destroy the followers of Jesus and became the Apostle Paul (Acts 9).
Also, do you suppose what Simeon spoke about is seen in the lives of the disciples of Jesus? Simple, unknown, unaccomplished men, each and all of them. Yet Simon Peter, James, John, Andrew, Matthew, and others shook Jerusalem (Acts 4,5,6) as their Pentecostal power touched thousands of Jews there. Also they turned the entire world upside down as they spent their lives telling the story of Jesus, as they had seen and heard Him as eyewitnesses.
Empowered by the Holy Spirit some of these disciples and Paul wrote most of the New Testament of the Bible, the most read book of all time. And their Gospel of Jesus has touched every people group in the world. As people have trusted in the Jesus proclaimed in this Gospel, billions have been rescued from sin and were drawn by God into a personal relationship with Jesus as their Savior and King, and gained eternal life with God!
But not everyone has responded with joy when hearing of Jesus, either then during His lifetime here on earth, or since… am I right?
You probably know some people, as I do, who are not impressed and respond quite negatively whenever Jesus’ name comes up in a conversation. Notice Simeon’s words in vs. 34: “…and to be a sign that will be spoken against.”
A ‘sign’ of what? A sign of GOD… remember the name “Immanuel” means “God with us” (Matt. 1:23), and there have always been people who either don’t believe God exists or certainly don’t want Him too close for comfort! And then a ‘sign’ of God’s truth, or a ‘sign’ of God’s power, or a ‘sign’ of God’s holiness, or a ‘sign’ of God’s Sovereignty over all creation, including humanity. And friends, the majority of the human race, in every generation, has bristled and rejected this ‘sign’. Many historical figures are most famous for attempting to eradicated the name of Jesus and anything related to Him from their society.
Isn’t it also true, as Simeon said, “…the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed.” People’s response to Jesus both then and now, reveals what is deep within their hearts and minds, isn’t that true? Think for a moment, of your own family, and friends, and then others you know. Think about how their response to Jesus affects their lives, and even shapes their character, and shapes their reputation! Do you see how powerful Simeon’s words are even today, 2000 years later?
Of course Simeon’s final words “And a sword will pierce your own soul too.”, was a frequent experience of Mary’s. We have few glimpses of this in the Gospel stories of Jesus’ life… here are some:
* Luke 2:48-50… when Jesus stayed behind in the Temple at age 12.
* Luke 4:22-30… Jesus’ rejection by His hometown of Nazareth.
* Luke 8:19-21… Jesus’ response when hearing His mother couldn’t get through the crowd to Him
* John 19:25… Mary standing at the foot of Jesus’ cross
I wonder if you’ve given much thought to what it was like for Mary, from the time Gabriel first announced to her the remarkable news that she would be pregnant by the Holy Spirit, all the way to her death, which we don’t have recorded in the Bible?
But may I point out one other time Mary is mentioned, that must have been a glorious time for her… Acts 1:14. In the days after resurrected Jesus ascended back to heaven, Mary was among those who gathered together, and we presume was present when the Holy Spirit came on the day of Pentecost! We also presume she was one Dr. Luke interviewed, maybe several times, as he researched to write the Gospel which bears his name and in which we find such detail of the Christmas story. (Luke 1:3)
Back to the Temple and Luke 2:36. Just as Simeon is finishing his amazing statements, suddenly an old woman approaches them… Anna. Luke tells us “She was very old, she had lived with her husband 7 years, and then was a widow until she was 84. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying.” I wonder what picture comes to your mind as you read of Anna?
I am so grateful to God that He has blessed Dawn and me with several women like this. Most but not all are widows. Esther lives in upstate NY and will be 100 this year! Marilyn, whom we call ‘kneel’ lives in northeast PA. Lenora, Bonnie and Verda live in Fargo and Virginia lives in a retirement home in Wisconsin. Clem lives in her ‘prayer cottage’ in Tennessee and a the widow of my Haitian mentor lives in Florida. Each of these are remarkable women of God. Prayerful women, women of great faith, women who are content in Jesus. How about you my dear friends… who are these types of people God has brought into your lives? I urge you to join Dawn and me in thanking God for them today!
Now one last comment for today. Obviously there’s a gap of time between verse 38 and 39 of Luke 2. In that gap, as we will see tomorrow, Matthew chapter 2 takes place. Please don’t let it disturb you that Dr. Luke does not mention the Magi, or Herod’s slaughter of the Bethlehem boys, or Joseph & Mary rushing to Egypt to live as refugees for a time. God gives us two great perspectives on the Christmas story through Matthew and Luke, and they don’t duplicate each other, which is why it’s important we take them both together to get the full story.
For today, I urge you to thank God for the Simeon’s and Anna’s… the older, mature, God honoring men and women whom God has used to influence your life. And then spend a little time thinking about how God is refining and maturing your life so you can be Simeon’s and Anna’s, Elizabeth’s and Zechariah’s for the generations which follow you, beginning in your own family. Whey not stop and pray for them right now?
Oh God, thank you for Dr Luke’s explanation, in such detail, of the Christmas events which we celebrate these days. Help us to learn well all you want to teach us through this remarkable incarnation miracle. And help us become men and women of great faith like Joseph, Mary, Zechariah, Elizabeth, Simeon and Anna.
Have a comment or question about today’s chapter? I’m ready to hear from you, contact me here.
Pastor Doug Anderson 262.441.8785
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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