[00:00:06] You're listening to Theology and Apologetics with Thomas Fretwell, Bringing Theology to Life.
[00:00:13] We are on our Life of Messiah series. We are in number 15 now. We're still in Luke chapter 2 and this is the presentation of Jesus. Let's pray. Father, we'd ask now as we turn our hearts and our minds towards your wonderful word, Lord, just open our eyes to see all that you would have for us this morning, Lord. We'd ask that we would see the glory of your Son. In Jesus' name, for his sake. Amen.
[00:00:36] So we've been in Luke chapter 2 now for a while. Luke chapter 2 is a long chapter. Luke is the only Gospel writer that gives us such detail about the birth and the young, the early life of Jesus Christ.
[00:00:48] Last week, we were in that typical Christmas scene, the announcement to the shepherds. If you remember, the shepherds were in the fields surrounding Bethlehem at the place that we identified as the Tower of Migdal, which was the Tower of the Flock.
[00:01:02] This was the local watchtower where they would raise the sheep that were particularly to be used in the temple sacrifices.
[00:01:09] The angel appeared to them and he announced, remember, it said, the good news of great joy for all people.
[00:01:16] Today in the city of David, there is born a Saviour who is Christ the Lord.
[00:01:21] And then after that singular announcement, the heavens opened and the shepherds saw a whole host of angels singing and giving praise to God.
[00:01:30] And last week we looked at, they said, glory to God in the highest and on earth peace among men with whom he pleased.
[00:01:37] And we spent some time last week talking about the glory of God as the pursuit of the Christian.
[00:01:42] And then the text moved on to tell us that after the shepherds heard this announcement, they were immediately obedient to the revelation of the angels.
[00:01:50] The first thing they did is they went into Bethlehem to find this child that had been born.
[00:01:55] They came to the place where Mary and Joseph and the baby were and they recounted all that had just happened to them.
[00:02:01] And we looked at the results of this.
[00:02:03] Remember, the text said that all who heard it wondered in amazement.
[00:02:07] And we spoke that Jesus, even from his first appearance in this world, in his incarnate form, he brought wonder and amazement to the earth, just as he still does today.
[00:02:17] And we stopped on verse 20 last time that reads,
[00:02:20] The shepherds went back glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as he had been told them.
[00:02:26] And after this encounter with Jesus, we see that the shepherds are left with really nothing else to do except to glorify and praise God.
[00:02:33] And again, I know that that is also something that Jesus still does today.
[00:02:37] When you encounter the Lord Jesus, you glorify and you praise God for him.
[00:02:43] So let's just pick it straight up now in verse 21, Luke chapter 2, verse 21.
[00:02:48] And it says,
[00:03:00] Here we again get a glimpse into the spiritual life of his parents, of Mary and Joseph.
[00:03:06] And once again, as we've already noted a few times in this narrative, we see how faithful they were.
[00:03:11] They were obedient to the word of God, to the law of Moses, in fact, in this particular instance.
[00:03:17] They were obedient to the law and they were not doing it to earn salvation.
[00:03:21] They were doing this because of their already existing faith.
[00:03:25] It's important to understand that.
[00:03:27] Remember when we looked at the naming of John the Baptist, we saw that it was the Jewish custom.
[00:03:31] You would name your child on the eighth day when his circumcision happened.
[00:03:34] Those two things usually happen on the same day.
[00:03:37] That is what happened with John the Baptist.
[00:03:38] And here we see this happening with Jesus too.
[00:03:41] But there are two acts of faithful obedience to note here by the parents.
[00:03:44] First, the circumcision on the eighth day according to the Mosaic law.
[00:03:48] And that's actually important to note.
[00:03:50] Because remember, we quoted a verse at the beginning of this study a few times from Galatians 4.
[00:03:55] And it says,
[00:03:56] When the fullness of time came, God sent forth his Son, born of a woman, born under the law,
[00:04:03] so that he might redeem those who are under the law, that we might receive the adoption of Son.
[00:04:08] So it was actually very important that Jesus Christ came and did fulfill the Mosaic law.
[00:04:14] And his parents had to be part of that in this instance here.
[00:04:17] He was born under the law.
[00:04:18] That was the perfect time for him to come, the fullness of time.
[00:04:21] He had to fulfill it perfectly in order to be able to accomplish his redemptive purpose.
[00:04:26] So these things are important.
[00:04:28] Also, circumcision was a way that was commanded to Abraham, any descendant of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
[00:04:34] So it was an identification with the nation of Israel at this time,
[00:04:37] which, of course, the Messiah also had to be a descendant of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
[00:04:42] So both of those things are important there.
[00:04:44] The second act of obedience we see from Mary and Joseph is to name the child Jesus.
[00:04:49] If you remember, it was traditional that you'd name a Jewish child after someone in your family line.
[00:04:53] But both with John the Baptist, Zechariah was told, you're going to name him John.
[00:04:58] And now also we see that the angel told Mary, you're going to name him Jesus.
[00:05:04] And here we see that they are obedient to that and they do name him Jesus.
[00:05:08] Let's continue in verse 22.
[00:05:11] And when the days for their purification, according to the law of Moses, were completed,
[00:05:16] they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord.
[00:05:20] As it is written in the law of the Lord,
[00:05:22] every firstborn male that opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord.
[00:05:26] And to offer a sacrifice according to what was said in the law of the Lord,
[00:05:29] a pair of turtle doves or two young pigeons.
[00:05:32] Now this is part of the infancy narrative of the Christmas story,
[00:05:36] but it's a part that we obviously at Christmas time,
[00:05:37] you don't really want to spend too much time talking about things like this text.
[00:05:42] So it's one that skips over.
[00:05:44] I want to take a little bit more time to go through it with you.
[00:05:47] It's one of the advantages of not studying this at Christmas time.
[00:05:50] And look at some of these things.
[00:05:51] You might notice how often we've seen the law of Moses just referenced
[00:05:55] in this particular three or four verses.
[00:05:57] And there's a reason for that.
[00:05:58] We have two Old Testament regulations, two Levitical laws here, Mosaic laws,
[00:06:03] that Mary and Joseph have to again be obedient to and have to be fulfilled.
[00:06:07] And again, we see their faithfulness in doing this.
[00:06:10] The first one is this period of purification.
[00:06:13] That talks about it.
[00:06:14] It's a very strange thing to us,
[00:06:15] but this period of purification was specified that when a baby boy was born for 40 days,
[00:06:22] the mother would need to be separated.
[00:06:25] She would be considered ceremonially impure,
[00:06:28] and she would have the days of purification after that.
[00:06:32] So we know that this was 40 days.
[00:06:34] So this helps give us a timeline because the circumcision was on the eighth day,
[00:06:38] probably still in Bethlehem.
[00:06:39] And then now they're in the temple and it's 40 days after his birth.
[00:06:43] So give you an idea there of where we are in the timing.
[00:06:47] They journeyed to Jerusalem at this time for the purpose of presenting him to the Lord.
[00:06:53] Now, again, let's make sure we don't read over this too quickly.
[00:06:56] There are two specific regulations going on here,
[00:06:58] and I want you to try and follow me.
[00:06:59] I'll try and hopefully make this clear for you,
[00:07:01] but some of these things are strange to our ears.
[00:07:04] The first one is purification, like I mentioned.
[00:07:06] That comes from Leviticus 12.
[00:07:08] Let me read it to you.
[00:07:10] Leviticus 12, verse 6.
[00:07:12] It says,
[00:07:13] When the days of her purification are completed for a son or for a daughter,
[00:07:16] she shall bring to the priest at the doorway of the tent of meeting
[00:07:19] a one-year-old lamb for a burnt offering
[00:07:22] and a young pigeon or a turtle dove for a sin offering.
[00:07:24] But if she cannot afford a lamb,
[00:07:27] then she shall take two turtle doves or two young pigeons,
[00:07:29] the one for a burnt offering, the one for a sin offering,
[00:07:32] and the priest shall make atonement for her and she shall be clean.
[00:07:35] I want you to notice here that the text we just read in Luke,
[00:07:39] that when Mary and Joseph brought Moses, brought Jesus to the temple,
[00:07:43] they offered, it says there, a sacrifice, two turtle doves and two young pigeons.
[00:07:48] That is what they did there.
[00:07:49] So this does tell us that they couldn't afford a lamb.
[00:07:53] So it does tell us the economic status of Mary and Joseph.
[00:07:56] They couldn't afford the lamb sacrifice.
[00:07:57] So they took the exception there that was given for people who couldn't afford it.
[00:08:02] However, I think there's something deeper going on here.
[00:08:05] And a good way to look at this, I want to try and draw this out.
[00:08:08] It comes up a couple of times in these few verses now.
[00:08:11] The same, why did Mary and Joseph not bring,
[00:08:14] why was it fitting that they did the turtle doves and the pigeons and not the lamb?
[00:08:17] And I like to think basically because,
[00:08:20] why did they not buy an actual lamb for sacrifice there?
[00:08:22] Because they had with them in their very arms at that time,
[00:08:25] the true lamb of God that they were bringing to the temple.
[00:08:28] So for me, it seems fitting that they actually did the other one.
[00:08:31] Now I know it was driven by probably economics at this time,
[00:08:34] but I think that's a hint that we see in the text.
[00:08:36] There's something greater is going on here.
[00:08:38] So that's the first part of Mosaic law,
[00:08:40] this purification period of which the offering is associated with.
[00:08:44] But this presentation of the baby in the temple is something different.
[00:08:48] This is another, a second Mosaic law that is being fulfilled at this time.
[00:08:53] And let's have a look at that.
[00:08:54] This is the dedication of the firstborn.
[00:08:56] It goes all the way back to Exodus chapter 12,
[00:08:59] which again, Exodus 12, the Passover land,
[00:09:02] the redemption of the people of Israel.
[00:09:04] As soon as you read that narrative in Exodus 12,
[00:09:06] which is the Exodus portion,
[00:09:08] you come to Exodus 13.
[00:09:10] The next very next chapter, the first verse says this,
[00:09:13] the Lord spoke to Moses saying,
[00:09:15] sanctify to me every firstborn,
[00:09:17] the first offspring of every womb among the sons of Israel,
[00:09:21] both man and beast, it belongs to me.
[00:09:23] And it's an important thing.
[00:09:25] We don't often think about this.
[00:09:26] You are to set apart, sanctify every firstborn.
[00:09:30] Same kind of concept as being holy, to be set apart.
[00:09:33] They belong to the Lord.
[00:09:35] The firstborn of every Israelite family,
[00:09:38] since the Exodus in that sense, belongs to the Lord.
[00:09:42] That's one part of it.
[00:09:44] Hold that in your head.
[00:09:45] There's another piece of information though about this custom,
[00:09:47] which is conveniently left out of the Luke account.
[00:09:50] And this is what I want you to try and bring out,
[00:09:52] because we've had an emphasis here on the text about specifically fulfilling all these laws of Moses,
[00:09:57] Mary and Joseph doing that.
[00:09:58] But there's one glaring omission in this particular way that they do this.
[00:10:03] So the dedication of the firstborn.
[00:10:05] You bring him to the temple and you give him back to the Lord.
[00:10:08] But think about it.
[00:10:11] The Lord, it says here, owned that firstborn.
[00:10:13] And in order for the family to actually take possession of that firstborn again,
[00:10:18] they would have to redeem that firstborn back from the Lord.
[00:10:22] And there was a regulation for this.
[00:10:23] Numbers 18.
[00:10:24] Let me read it to you.
[00:10:25] Every first issue of the womb.
[00:10:27] This is Numbers 18 verse 15.
[00:10:30] Every first issue of the womb of all flesh,
[00:10:32] whether man or animal which they offer to the Lord, shall be yours.
[00:10:35] Nevertheless, the firstborn of man you shall surely redeem,
[00:10:39] and the firstborn of unclean animals you shall redeem.
[00:10:42] As to their redemption price,
[00:10:44] for a month old you shall redeem them by your valuation five shekels in silver,
[00:10:49] according to the shekel of the sanctuary.
[00:10:51] So the concept here.
[00:10:53] The idea was that the firstborn was the Lord's.
[00:10:55] The family wanted to offer it to the Lord,
[00:10:58] but take it back and obviously be in charge of raising that child.
[00:11:02] They would pay a redemption price of five shekels to purchase back that child in that sense.
[00:11:07] That's the idea that we have going on here.
[00:11:08] I know this is kind of foreign to us,
[00:11:10] but this was how it was in ancient Israel at this time.
[00:11:13] Now the tribe of Levi, if you remember,
[00:11:16] they didn't have this option.
[00:11:17] They were all the lords.
[00:11:18] The whole tribe, the priestly tribe,
[00:11:19] they were set apart.
[00:11:20] They didn't have any option.
[00:11:21] They had no inheritance.
[00:11:23] The Lord was their inheritance.
[00:11:24] They set up the Lord.
[00:11:25] Anyone from another tribe of Israel,
[00:11:27] they had this option.
[00:11:28] The firstborn was still the Lord's,
[00:11:29] but they had the option to buy back the child,
[00:11:32] to redeem the child back.
[00:11:33] And obviously Jesus was not from the tribe of Levi.
[00:11:36] He was from the tribe of Judah.
[00:11:37] So his parents had this option.
[00:11:39] And this is generally what would happen
[00:11:40] because we know Mary and Joseph didn't leave him at the temple there to serve.
[00:11:44] They took him back.
[00:11:45] But the text in Luke does not mention this five shekel redemption period.
[00:11:50] And I want to just dig into this a little bit.
[00:11:52] Why is that left out?
[00:11:54] Surely they knew about it.
[00:11:55] They were faithful and obedient to the law.
[00:11:57] So let me share again what I think this is pointing us towards.
[00:12:01] If you continue reading in the numbers passage that tells us about this five shekel cost,
[00:12:06] we read verse 15 and 16.
[00:12:08] And then in verse 17,
[00:12:09] it says this,
[00:12:27] So right after that it tells you,
[00:12:29] you have to buy them back,
[00:12:31] redeem them with a five shekel offering.
[00:12:32] It gives these exceptions.
[00:12:34] And what is one of those exceptions?
[00:12:38] First born of a sheep.
[00:12:39] And what's the baby sheep called?
[00:12:41] Lamb.
[00:12:42] There's an exception for a lamb.
[00:12:44] And what does it say about that lamb?
[00:12:46] That lamb is holy.
[00:12:48] And what also does it say to that lamb?
[00:12:49] That lamb is to become a blood offering on the altar.
[00:12:53] Now that's an exception.
[00:12:54] Usually,
[00:12:55] obviously they wouldn't think human animal,
[00:12:57] but I think there's something deeper going on here.
[00:12:59] I believe that Luke actually probably leaves this portion out,
[00:13:02] maybe indicating that Mary and Joseph didn't do that,
[00:13:05] because once again,
[00:13:06] they actually had with them,
[00:13:08] this was not just a human family from a nation of Israel.
[00:13:11] This was the true lamb of God,
[00:13:14] the holy lamb of God that was very soon going to be offered on the altar
[00:13:18] as a blood sacrifice for the sins of the nation.
[00:13:21] And therefore it falls under this exception in the law.
[00:13:23] Or you didn't have to redeem it back.
[00:13:25] It was already a new to the Lord.
[00:13:27] I think that's,
[00:13:27] with those two things,
[00:13:28] I think that's the emphasis that we have going on here.
[00:13:30] It fits with the whole emphasis that Luke has given us in chapter two
[00:13:34] to do with the focus on lands.
[00:13:35] The shepherds who raised the temple lambs had the announcement.
[00:13:38] We see here that these,
[00:13:40] both of these sacrifices point us towards the fact
[00:13:42] that he was the true lamb of God.
[00:13:45] And very shortly in the next couple of chapters,
[00:13:48] we're going to see John the Baptist announces his public ministry.
[00:13:50] The first thing he says of him is he behold the lamb of God
[00:13:53] who takes away the sin of the world.
[00:13:55] So this lamb theme is all throughout this,
[00:13:57] these birth narratives here.
[00:13:59] Now let's carry on in verse 25.
[00:14:01] We'll read this whole section.
[00:14:03] It says,
[00:14:03] And there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon.
[00:14:06] And this man was righteous and devout,
[00:14:08] looking for the consolation of Israel.
[00:14:10] And the Holy Spirit was upon him.
[00:14:12] And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit
[00:14:15] that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ.
[00:14:18] And he came in the spirit into the temple.
[00:14:20] And when the parents brought in the child Jesus
[00:14:23] to carry out for him the custom of the law,
[00:14:25] then he took him into his arms and blessed God
[00:14:28] and said,
[00:14:29] Now, Lord, you are releasing your bondservant
[00:14:32] to depart in peace according to your word.
[00:14:34] For my eyes have seen your salvation,
[00:14:36] which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
[00:14:39] a light of revelation to the Gentiles
[00:14:41] and the glory of your people Israel.
[00:14:44] This is a wonderful little episode.
[00:14:46] We're going to see two, two wonderful people now
[00:14:48] in this scripture here.
[00:14:49] We move on to see another righteous Israelite.
[00:14:52] His name is Simeon.
[00:14:54] And it says that he was righteous
[00:14:56] and that he was just.
[00:14:59] Basically, we would say that's a way of saying he was saved.
[00:15:01] Okay, that's what he's getting at here.
[00:15:03] He was justified by grace through faith.
[00:15:05] I.e. he was part of the believing remnant of Israel at this time.
[00:15:09] He was righteous, just, but it also says he was devout.
[00:15:13] It's a slightly different word there
[00:15:14] that I want to just talk about for a moment.
[00:15:16] What do we think of when we hear the word devout?
[00:15:18] Quite often, it maybe takes a slight negative connotation.
[00:15:22] We maybe think of maybe someone who has a monastic life,
[00:15:25] something like that.
[00:15:25] Or a very strict kind of puritanical religious person.
[00:15:29] We must avoid that.
[00:15:30] The word is a wonderful word here.
[00:15:32] It has, it's actually taken from two words put together.
[00:15:35] It basically has the idea of taking hold of that which is good.
[00:15:39] Taking hold of that which is good.
[00:15:42] And in the context here,
[00:15:43] it means taking hold of the tenets of the spiritual life,
[00:15:46] which are good.
[00:15:47] That's what being devout means.
[00:15:49] Sometimes a very similar word is translated as being God-fearing.
[00:15:52] That's what that means, to take that seriously.
[00:15:55] And it also has the idea of being dedicated to that.
[00:15:58] Being dedicated to take hold of the good things of life,
[00:16:01] which is why I think we have it here in the story
[00:16:03] about the dedication of Jesus Christ.
[00:16:06] Simeon was someone who was dedicated to the Lord.
[00:16:09] And we see that.
[00:16:10] It says, what was he dedicated to?
[00:16:11] It says he was looking for the consolation of Israel.
[00:16:15] Looking for the consolation.
[00:16:16] The word looking there,
[00:16:17] that means waiting and watching expectantly.
[00:16:21] Coming of the consolation of Israel.
[00:16:23] That's a term for the Messiah.
[00:16:24] It's a Jewish term for the Messiah.
[00:16:26] And it refers not only to the person, Messiah,
[00:16:28] but also to what Messiah will do.
[00:16:30] Bring that restoration to Israel.
[00:16:32] They were looking for both of these things.
[00:16:35] So this was a man, Simeon, a righteous man, a just man, a devout man.
[00:16:39] Someone who was following the Lord,
[00:16:41] who was eagerly waiting, watching, expectantly for his Lord.
[00:16:46] The looking there is in the present tense.
[00:16:48] It depicts something that is a continual daily practice for this believer.
[00:16:52] It's his default setting.
[00:16:54] You could see watching, waiting for the Messiah to come.
[00:16:58] Wesley captured this very well in E.E.
[00:17:00] He wrote a hymn called Come Thou Long Expected Jesus,
[00:17:03] where he used this verse.
[00:17:05] He said, Israel's strength and consolation,
[00:17:07] hope of all the earth, dear desire of every nation,
[00:17:10] joy of every longing heart,
[00:17:12] born thy people to deliver, born a child and yet a king,
[00:17:15] born to reign in us forever.
[00:17:16] Now thy gracious kingdom bring.
[00:17:19] Israel's strength and consolation.
[00:17:21] Jesus, obviously the Messiah.
[00:17:23] Simeon was a wonderful character, righteous, devout,
[00:17:26] living in the expectation of the Messiah.
[00:17:28] And notice it also says the Holy Spirit was upon him.
[00:17:31] It's a very important element of this.
[00:17:33] He was a man who was controlled by the Holy Spirit.
[00:17:38] It's a wonderful model of the Christian life for us.
[00:17:41] If you think about those descriptions,
[00:17:44] just, righteous, devout, with the Spirit,
[00:17:47] waiting, watching, expecting for the Messiah.
[00:17:52] Now we can ask ourselves, challenge ourselves maybe even,
[00:17:55] are we righteous and devout like that?
[00:17:58] Now we could argue that we're righteous
[00:17:59] because the righteousness is given to us by faith.
[00:18:02] It's Jesus Christ's righteousness.
[00:18:04] So we could argue, yes, we're righteous in that sense.
[00:18:06] It's a gift of God to be made righteous.
[00:18:08] But then we must ask ourselves,
[00:18:10] do our lives bear witness to the truth that we are righteous?
[00:18:14] Are we living a life worthy of which,
[00:18:16] the gospel of which we have been called to?
[00:18:18] That's always challenging.
[00:18:20] But let's focus in on the devout element.
[00:18:22] Are we also devout?
[00:18:23] Remember what that meant.
[00:18:25] Diligently taking hold of the spiritual things,
[00:18:29] which are good.
[00:18:30] Do we dedicate ourselves to the good things of a spiritual life?
[00:18:35] And I could pause for effect as we all connor that there.
[00:18:39] It's a challenging concept.
[00:18:40] I want to read you a quote by a guy called Adoniram Judson.
[00:18:44] Does anyone know?
[00:18:45] He was the first American missionary to Burma.
[00:18:47] I'm going to share with you a bit about his life.
[00:18:49] But on this topic, he said this,
[00:18:51] A life once spent is irrevocable.
[00:18:54] It will remain to be contemplated through eternity.
[00:18:57] The same may be said of each day.
[00:18:59] When it is once passed, it is gone forever.
[00:19:02] All the marks which we put upon it,
[00:19:04] it will exhibit forever.
[00:19:06] Each day will not only be a witness of our conduct,
[00:19:09] but will affect our everlasting destiny.
[00:19:11] How shall we then wish to see each day marked with usefulness?
[00:19:15] It is too late to mend the days that are past.
[00:19:17] The future is in our power then.
[00:19:19] Let us then each morning resolve to send the day into eternity
[00:19:23] in such a garb as we shall wish it to wear forever.
[00:19:27] And what he basically means by that is don't waste your life.
[00:19:30] You can't get a day back.
[00:19:31] Every day that goes is a day that if you're not living in that way,
[00:19:35] in many ways, it's gone.
[00:19:37] And I believe we could read that and think that that sounds way too strict.
[00:19:41] What's he talking about there?
[00:19:41] Some of those statements.
[00:19:42] Let me just tell you a little bit about his life.
[00:19:45] He earned the right to say that, I believe.
[00:19:48] He was a missionary to Burma.
[00:19:50] He spent 40 years of his life there.
[00:19:52] He was a Congregationist minister.
[00:19:53] God saved in his early 20s.
[00:19:55] And one day he was reading a book in his library in America.
[00:19:58] And it was about Burma.
[00:19:59] And he said he felt that fiery excitement.
[00:20:01] He felt like he was looking into his future.
[00:20:03] And he committed that day to go and tell the Burmese about Jesus.
[00:20:08] In 1812, he sailed to Burma with his wife.
[00:20:11] And he immediately set about learning the language of Burmese.
[00:20:15] Sometimes spending up to 12 hours a day studying that language for the sole purpose of being able to tell them about Jesus.
[00:20:21] And even there, just stop there for a moment.
[00:20:23] I read a life of people doing that.
[00:20:26] This took him four years.
[00:20:28] And he didn't really see anyone else.
[00:20:30] And his wife actually learned too quicker than him.
[00:20:31] She was very good.
[00:20:32] But they did that for four years before they even dared hold a public service in Burma.
[00:20:38] All they did was pray for the Burmese people living there, isolated, on their own.
[00:20:43] Dedication, if you ask me.
[00:20:45] And in 1817, he completed...
[00:20:48] They'd learned the language.
[00:20:49] He was a good linguist.
[00:20:50] He completed a translation of the Gospel of Matthew for the Burmese people.
[00:20:55] And in 1818, he began publicly evangelizing the Burmese people in their own language.
[00:21:01] It took him 12 years to make 18...
[00:21:05] 12 years of his life.
[00:21:07] Probably because there was a death penalty for people converting to Christianity, so he was up against it.
[00:21:13] In 1823, he'd translated the entire New Testament into Burmese.
[00:21:19] And then in 1824, the war started.
[00:21:21] This was the British, the Anglo-Burmese war.
[00:21:24] And he spent...
[00:21:25] He was arrested, actually, at that time by the British.
[00:21:27] And put in prison.
[00:21:28] Happened quite frequently because he was seen to be one of...
[00:21:32] Over 20 months, he spent in a pretty brutal prison.
[00:21:36] Then just after he was released, his wife died.
[00:21:38] Two children had already died while he was in prison.
[00:21:41] And as he came out, the third child would die six months later.
[00:21:45] And now he was alone.
[00:21:46] He set off into the jungle to reach another unreached people group of the Burmese.
[00:21:51] Between his trips, he continued translating.
[00:21:54] His lifelong dream really was to translate the entire Bible for the Burmese people.
[00:21:57] He finished that in 1834.
[00:22:00] It took him 24 years.
[00:22:01] He married again.
[00:22:02] He had eight more children.
[00:22:03] Three of whom died.
[00:22:04] Five of whom survived.
[00:22:06] His wife also died.
[00:22:07] And this, again, was quite common in those days.
[00:22:09] Lots of children, high number dying, which is how it was.
[00:22:13] He died himself in 1850 of a lung disease.
[00:22:16] We could read that.
[00:22:17] Most people would have no idea what this man was like.
[00:22:20] You go back to America.
[00:22:22] But by the time he died, there were 7,000 believers in Burma.
[00:22:26] 63 churches, 163 missionaries.
[00:22:29] And even today, this time later, his Bible translation is still the most popular Bible translation.
[00:22:36] I'm not sharing any of this to try and make us feel bad.
[00:22:38] I put like a guilt trip on us.
[00:22:39] But I could share with you story after story of people's lives like this.
[00:22:43] And it does make me think sometimes, what was it that made these people so dedicated to doing things like telling people about Jesus?
[00:22:50] I think this explains what it means to be just, devout, and full of the Holy Spirit.
[00:22:55] I think only someone who really has their eyes on the Messiah, someone whose heart is with the Lord in heaven,
[00:23:00] someone who understands what Paul meant when he wrote,
[00:23:03] We look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen.
[00:23:07] For the things which are not far seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.
[00:23:12] He had his eyes on heaven.
[00:23:13] This, I believe, is the same as Simeon.
[00:23:16] This man who had spent his life looking, waiting, praying for the consolation of Israel.
[00:23:23] Go back to Luke 2, verse 26.
[00:23:25] It says,
[00:23:39] So the Lord had obviously revealed to this fainful saint that he would not die.
[00:23:43] He'd be blessed by having just a glimpse of the Messiah before he came.
[00:23:48] And this day Simeon enters the temple as he did every day.
[00:23:52] But he saw Mary and Joseph, who had just brought this child to be dedicated,
[00:23:56] and he knew that that was the Messiah.
[00:23:57] He rushes over.
[00:23:58] It's a wonderful scene.
[00:23:59] He rushes over, takes this young child in his arms, and he begins blessing the Lord because of him.
[00:24:05] Now, Lord, you are releasing your bondservant in peace according to your word.
[00:24:10] For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
[00:24:14] a light of revelation to the Gentiles and the glory of your people Israel.
[00:24:18] Doing all that while he's just standing there, holding the child Jesus.
[00:24:23] My eyes have seen your salvation.
[00:24:25] Now, remember from our word study, that's basically saying my eyes have seen your Jesus,
[00:24:29] your Yeshua.
[00:24:30] That's what the name of Jesus means.
[00:24:32] God saves.
[00:24:33] He is a light of revelation to the Gentiles.
[00:24:36] This tells us again, Simeon knew very well the desire that the Messiah was to be the consolation of Israel,
[00:24:43] but he was also to be the savior of the entire world.
[00:24:46] This was promised many times.
[00:24:48] Verses like Isaiah 49, verse 6.
[00:24:51] The Lord says, is it too small a thing that you should be my servant?
[00:24:55] Speaking of the Messiah, he raised to raise up the tribes of Jacob to restore the preserved ones of Israel.
[00:25:00] I will also make you a light to the nation so that my salvation will reach the end of the nation.
[00:25:05] And here we see Simeon presenting Jesus as the fulfillment of these.
[00:25:10] A savior that is for the Gentiles and for the Jews.
[00:25:13] Just like the angel said to the shepherds, good news of great joy for all.
[00:25:21] Jesus is the light of revelation.
[00:25:23] And when he later comes in the gospel, this is why he refers to himself as the light of the world.
[00:25:28] He's placing himself as the fulfillment, as this one who is the light of the nations.
[00:25:32] And he is also the return of the glory to Israel.
[00:25:37] Simeon now has seen this.
[00:25:39] He's been blessed by the Lord to see this, just glimpse it in his life.
[00:25:42] And he says he can now depart in peace.
[00:25:44] It's a wonderful kind of ending to this fainful saint's life.
[00:25:48] That's amazing, really.
[00:25:49] It's a very brief description we have of this amazing senior.
[00:25:53] Spurgeon did a whole sermon on verse 25 there.
[00:25:56] He just simply called it Simeon.
[00:25:58] I want to read to you.
[00:25:59] It's worth reading the whole thing if you've got it.
[00:26:01] But if you know Sermon, his sermons are not short.
[00:26:03] But I'll read to you just a small section.
[00:26:05] He says,
[00:26:06] We have seen biographies so tearously prolonged.
[00:26:09] That full one half of them are nonsense and much of the other half is too vabbit to be worth reading.
[00:26:14] We have seen large volumes spun out of men's letters.
[00:26:18] Writing desks have been broken open, private diaries exposed to the world.
[00:26:22] Nowadays, if a man is little celebrated, his signature, the house where he was born,
[00:26:26] the place where he dines and everything else is thought worthy of public notice.
[00:26:30] So soon as he has departed this life, he's embalmed in huge folios,
[00:26:34] the prophet of which rests mainly with the publishers, I believe.
[00:26:38] Short biographies are the best, which give a concise and exact account of the whole man.
[00:26:43] What do we care about what Simeon did where he was born, where he was married,
[00:26:47] what street he used to walk through, what colour coat he wore?
[00:26:49] We have a very concise account of his history, and that is enough.
[00:26:54] His name was Simeon.
[00:26:55] He lived in Jerusalem.
[00:26:57] The same man was just and devout,
[00:27:00] waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Ghost was upon him.
[00:27:04] Beloved, that is enough of a biography for any of us,
[00:27:07] if when we die, so much as this can be said of us.
[00:27:10] I love that.
[00:27:11] Spurgeon just summing it up there wonderfully.
[00:27:14] But let's carry on.
[00:27:15] Verse 33.
[00:27:16] And his father and his mother were amazed at the things which were being said about him.
[00:27:20] And Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary his mother,
[00:27:35] So once again now, words that bring amazement about Jesus to the mother.
[00:27:40] Simeon now turns and he blesses Mary and Joseph.
[00:27:43] So he holds the baby, he praises God, then he turns to the parents and he blesses them.
[00:27:47] Just a lovely guy.
[00:27:48] And he gives this short prophecy.
[00:27:49] This child is appointed for the fall and rise of many in Israel.
[00:27:54] What is he saying there?
[00:27:55] Jesus will bring division to the nation.
[00:27:58] Some will be judged, i.e. they'll fall, because of their response to him.
[00:28:02] Others will be blessed, i.e. they'll rise, because of their response to him.
[00:28:06] He will either be the precious cornerstone to some,
[00:28:08] or he will be the stumbling stone, the rock of offense to others.
[00:28:12] He will be opposed by the nation, nationally rejected by them.
[00:28:16] This is very similar to us today.
[00:28:18] What happens when you go out and you tell someone about Jesus today?
[00:28:21] People make a response, don't they usually?
[00:28:23] See that they're either going to rise or fall on what their opinion of Jesus is.
[00:28:27] And ultimately, on the day of judgment, that will be the deciding factor.
[00:28:30] What was your opinion of Jesus Christ when you were told about him?
[00:28:33] Did you rise or fall?
[00:28:35] Did you accept him?
[00:28:35] Was he the precious stone?
[00:28:37] And you believed on him, or was he the stumbling stone of offense,
[00:28:40] and you disbelieved?
[00:28:41] That will be the most important things, really.
[00:28:44] It also says his coming will be like a sword to Mary,
[00:28:47] piercing your own soul.
[00:28:49] It's a real graphic description here.
[00:28:50] And you think about this, Mary.
[00:28:52] Everything that she's going through now,
[00:28:54] really since she was first announced that she was going to be pregnant
[00:28:57] by the virgin birth and everything,
[00:28:59] and all this wonderful stuff that's happening with this child,
[00:29:01] but then she was going to raise him, grow up.
[00:29:04] She was going to watch as the nation of Israel turned against the Messiah.
[00:29:08] She was going to watch as he was put on trial,
[00:29:11] as he was flogged, as he was tortured,
[00:29:13] and then ultimately that piercing sword through her soul
[00:29:17] as she stood at the foot of the cross and watched him breathe his last.
[00:29:20] That was Mary.
[00:29:22] It was a tough commission that she was given by the Lord.
[00:29:25] Verse 36.
[00:29:28] Let's just finish this little section.
[00:29:29] And there was a prophetess,
[00:29:32] Anna, the daughter of Phenuel, of the tribe of Asher.
[00:29:35] She was advanced in years and had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage
[00:29:39] and then as a widow to the age of 84.
[00:29:42] She never left the temple,
[00:29:44] serving night and day with fasting and prayers.
[00:29:46] At the very moment she came up and began giving thanks to God,
[00:29:49] continued to speak to him,
[00:29:51] to all those who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.
[00:29:53] And when they had performed everything according to the law of the Lord,
[00:29:57] they returned to Galilee, to their own city of Nazareth.
[00:30:00] So here we see, not to be outdone by the men,
[00:30:04] another faithful female saint of God,
[00:30:08] the prophetess Anna.
[00:30:09] Hannah, obviously in the Hebrew the name would have been.
[00:30:13] Another wonderful saint of God.
[00:30:15] And as I mentioned, remember one of Luke's focuses in his gospel is Gentiles and women.
[00:30:18] So he always lifts up the women that are in Jesus' life.
[00:30:22] Right, we've seen Elizabeth, spoken of wonderfully.
[00:30:25] We've seen Mary and now we see Hannah.
[00:30:27] And I like that because if you think about that,
[00:30:29] Mary was young, she was in her teens.
[00:30:31] Elizabeth was middle age and now Anna was old age.
[00:30:36] So you get those wonderful three segments of life.
[00:30:38] An example from each one of those eras held up
[00:30:40] as just people who deserve to be recorded in the gospel.
[00:30:43] This lady was a prophetess of the tribe of Asher.
[00:30:47] Now interestingly, Asher was supposed to be one of the supposed lost tribes.
[00:30:49] Have you ever heard that theory? The 10 lost tribe theory?
[00:30:52] This whole verse just destroys that.
[00:30:54] She was not lost.
[00:30:55] She obviously very much knew where she was from.
[00:30:56] The text records it here.
[00:30:57] She was from the tribe of Asher.
[00:31:00] And it says she's at least 84 years old.
[00:31:04] Okay.
[00:31:04] It could be older because the text can read that she was either 84 when this happened
[00:31:08] or that she'd been a widow for 84 years,
[00:31:10] including her time of marriage and everything.
[00:31:12] So she could be over 100 at this time.
[00:31:14] Never too old to serve the Lord.
[00:31:16] Any true retirement we get from that is when we are promoted to glory.
[00:31:21] Now, look at her faithfulness though.
[00:31:23] She never left the temple night and day with fasting and prayer.
[00:31:29] Again, what a wonderful, short, concise biography of this woman.
[00:31:32] And that makes me think, I wonder how much we owe to like Annas of the church
[00:31:36] that we see here.
[00:31:37] Those ones that are just holding everyone up by prayer day and night.
[00:31:43] Unknown mostly, I'd imagine, in some ways.
[00:31:45] But probably more than we could ever know.
[00:31:48] But she was completely dedicated to the Lord's service.
[00:31:51] Much like Simeon was.
[00:31:52] A lifetime of prayer and fasting made her comments worthy of inclusion in the Bible here.
[00:31:57] So that preachers for thousands of years would be speaking of the great faithfulness of this saint.
[00:32:01] I think that's valid.
[00:32:03] And at this moment, if you think she sees the Messiah.
[00:32:06] And I'd imagine she's probably seeing this as Simeon is doing his bit over there.
[00:32:10] She sees the Messiah.
[00:32:11] She sees Simeon.
[00:32:12] And I'm guessing them.
[00:32:13] It's likely those two would have known each other.
[00:32:15] I'm guessing around the temple so much day by day.
[00:32:18] And then she also comes up.
[00:32:19] And her response is the same.
[00:32:21] She begins giving thanks.
[00:32:23] And I think that's a little foretaste of us.
[00:32:26] That'll probably be what our response should be.
[00:32:28] One day when we get to see the Messiah, a spontaneous anthem of thanksgiving and praise.
[00:32:34] Remember the words of Fanny Crosby.
[00:32:35] This is my story.
[00:32:37] This is my song.
[00:32:38] Praising my Savior all the day long.
[00:32:40] It's kind of imagine Anna's heart here.
[00:32:42] This woman in Scripture.
[00:32:43] You can think, take a step back.
[00:32:45] These two lives that we lived.
[00:32:46] Kind of think of Adoniram Judson or think of Simeon here.
[00:32:49] Think of Anna.
[00:32:50] You see, the world can mock a life like that.
[00:32:53] The things that it would come are a life that's just lived in the temple, fasting and praying.
[00:32:57] Why have you not gone out?
[00:32:58] Why have you not traveled?
[00:32:59] You've not seen the world.
[00:33:01] Why have you not remarried?
[00:33:02] There's all these pleasures out there in the world that you can do.
[00:33:05] But yet you've chosen to spend it.
[00:33:07] The word mocks that.
[00:33:08] And you can see why it does in many ways.
[00:33:10] And if you're not careful, it can be tempting to listen to those sorts of voices.
[00:33:14] You know, there are other things.
[00:33:15] But this was an example of someone, all those two people in the historical one we've looked at,
[00:33:21] that had their eyes fixed on heaven.
[00:33:23] They lived a life in service to God.
[00:33:26] The great Bible expositor Matthew Henry.
[00:33:29] He said,
[00:33:29] The life spent in the service of God and in communion with him is the most pleasant life that anyone can live in this world.
[00:33:36] Ultimately, because you know life with Jesus, you're going to get every longing fulfilled that you ever wanted.
[00:33:42] Simeon and Anna would agree with that statement.
[00:33:44] And I think for us now, the example of these two aged saints is a reminder to make sure that we live a life following the example of these two saints.
[00:33:55] Just, devout, waiting, watching, expectantly for the coming of Messiah, filled with joy because of it and filled with the Holy Spirit.
[00:34:04] Amen.
