We turn to the Word of God and
to Luke chapter 2, verses 34 and 35. These words, Behold,
this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel,
and for a sign which shall be spoken against. Yea, a sword
shall pierce through thy own soul also, that the thoughts
of many hearts may be revealed. These are the words of Simeon
to Mary, the mother of the human nature of the Lord Jesus Christ. In obedience to the law of God,
Joseph and Mary had brought the child to Jerusalem 40 days after
his birth. We see that in verse 22, And when the days of her purification
according to the law of Moses were accomplished, they brought
him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord, as it is written
in the law of the Lord, Every male that openeth the womb shall
be called holy to the Lord, and to offer a sacrifice according
to that which is said in the law of the Lord, a pair of turtledoves,
or two young pigeons. Now that law we read of in Leviticus
chapter 12 Leviticus chapter 12 the first two verses and the
Lord spake unto Moses saying speak unto the children of Israel
saying if a woman have conceived seed and born a man child then
she shall be unclean seven days according to the days of the
separation for her infirmity shall she be unclean And then
verse 4, And she shall then continue in the blood of her purifying
three and thirty days, and shall touch no hallowed thing, nor
come into the sanctuary until the days of her purifying be
fulfilled. And on the eighth day, of course,
there was to be the circumcising of the child, as we read in the
third verse of that chapter, Leviticus 12. And in the eighth
day, the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised. And so,
Christ was circumcised the eighth day in accordance with the law
of God. He was made of a woman made under
the law to redeem them that were under the law. And at the end,
of the 40 days there was to be an offering made for the woman,
as again we read there in Leviticus 12, verse 6. And when the days
of her purifying are fulfilled, for a son or for a daughter,
she shall bring a lamb of the first year for a burnt offering,
and a young pigeon or a turtle dove for a sin offering, unto
the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, unto the priest.
who shall offer it before the Lord to make an atonement for
her, and she shall be cleansed from the issue of her blood.
This is the law for her that hath borne a male or a female,
and if she be not able to bring a lamb, then she shall bring
two turtles, or two young pigeons, the one for the burnt offering
and the other for a sin offering, and the priest shall make an
atonement for her, and she shall be clean. Now you notice that
there was no offering made for Christ, for he was without sin,
and he is without sin, but there was an offering made for Mary. She was not sinless. She is not
the immaculate conception, as Antichrist makes out. And it
seems that she was not able to bring a lamb, and so she brought
a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons, the one for a
burnt offering and the other for a sin offering. It was on this occasion, then,
that Christ himself was brought to the temple to be presented
to the Lord, again in obedience to the law. as it is written
in the law of the Lord, every male that openeth the womb shall
be called holy to the Lord. And was there not fulfilled on
that occasion the prophecy of Malachi, and the Lord whom ye
seek shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of
the covenant, whom ye delight in, behold, he shall come, saith
the Lord of hosts. And this man Simeon had been
waiting for Christ's appearing. Verse 25, And behold, there was
a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and the same man
was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel,
and the Holy Ghost was upon him. And the Holy Ghost was upon him.
Surely the Holy Ghost is upon all them that wait for Christ's
appearing. Not now as a spirit of prophecy,
of course, but as a spirit of grace. And it was revealed unto
him by the Holy Ghost that he should not see death before he
had seen the Lord's Christ. and we see here in this passage
before us how the Lord abundantly fulfilled his promise. Not only
did Simeon behold Christ as it were with his eyes, not only
did he hold him in his view with his eyesight, but he also held
him in his arms. Oh, the promise was abundantly
fulfilled! Verse 27, And he came by the
Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child
Jesus to do for him, after the custom of the law, then took
he up in his arms and blessed God, and said, Lord, now lettest
thou thy servant depart in peace according to thy word, for mine
eyes have seen thy salvation. Simeon could now depart in peace. Lord, now lettest thou thy servant
depart in peace according to thy word, for mine eyes have
seen thy salvation. And all those who have seen the
Lord's Christ by faith and who hold him in the arms of faith
All those can surely depart this world in peace, and no other
can depart this world in peace but those who hold Christ by
faith. What was said to the woman, which
was a sinner later on in Luke's Gospel, can and shall be said
to all those who lay hold upon Christ by faith. Thy faith hath
saved thee. Go in peace. Simeon The Holy Ghost being upon
him continues to speak of the infant that was in his arms. For mine eyes have seen thy salvation,
which thou hast prepared before the face of all people, a light
to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel. Then we read in verse 33, And
Joseph and his mother notice it doesn't say his father and
his mother and Joseph and his mother marveled at those things
which were spoken of him they marveled not because they didn't
believe these things that Simeon was saying but rather because
they did believe those things which were spoken of him you
see to believing souls the things of Christ are marvelous And so
we read in the Psalms, Psalm 118, I will praise thee, for
thou hast heard me and art become my salvation. The stone which
the builders refused is become the headstone of the corner.
This is the Lord's doing. It is marvelous in our eyes. It is marvelous in our eyes.
John Trapp, in his commentary, says, Saints, the more they see
into the mystery of Christ, the more they are transported with
admiration. Oh, it's marvellous in our eyes. Then as we come to verse 34,
we see that Simeon blessed Joseph and Mary. And Simeon blessed
them, we read, He pronounced them blessed because of their
relationship to this child. Surely they were blessed indeed
to have Christ in their midst. Mary was the parent of the babe.
Joseph, as his legal, though not his actual father, had the
responsibility of bringing him up. So they were indeed blessed. And Simeon blessed them in this,
that he prayed for them. He prayed God's blessing to be
upon them. And no doubt he blessed him in
a prophetical sense too, just as Jacob blessed the sons of
Joseph in his old age on his sickbed. Or Simeon addresses
Mary in particular. And Simeon blessed them and said
unto Mary his mother. He addresses Mary in particular
because she is his only earthly parent. The truth of the virgin
birth shines through this text. She would be greatly affected
by what was to happen to this person because of the closeness
of the relationship. Yea, a sword shall pierce through
thy own soul also. Oh, she was his mother. And therefore
she is specifically addressed here in the words of our text. Well, Mary was indeed blessed
among women. She was highly favoured, as we
read in the first chapter of Luke, of her womb was born the
Messiah, lo, he abhorred not the virgin's womb. This woman
had been visited by an angel. To her betrothed's husband God
had spoken in dreams. She had received many prophetic
testimonies concerning her cousin, sorry, from her cousin Elizabeth. Elizabeth had prophesied of this
child that was to be born, and Zacharias too, Elizabeth's husband. There was a testimony of the
shepherds who had been visited by angels, and Mary herself had
prophesied, as we read in the previous chapter. But lest she
should be exhorted above measure by the abundance of the revelations,
there was an abundance of revelations, lest she should be exhorted above
measure by the abundance of the revelations, there was given
to her this thorn in the flesh, yea, a sword shall pierce through
thy own soul also. And so it is with all those who
are blessed with a true and living faith in the Lord Jesus Christ,
there will be that thorn in the flesh, that crook in the lot,
lest we should be exalted above measure. Now it may be that the
words of men were as a sharp sword piercing her heart, slandering
her good name because she had conceived a child while she was
in an unmarried state. How many of the Lord's people
have had to endure the slanders and false accusations of the
wicked. So the psalmist complains, my soul is among lions and I
lie even among them that are set on fire, even the sons of
men whose teeth are spears and arrows. and their tongue a sharp
sword. Oh, but did not the master have
to endure slander and false accusation, as it was prophesied of him again
in the Psalms? For I have heard the slander
of many, fear was on every side, while they took counsel together
against me, they devised to take away my life. What hardships, what sorrows,
Would this woman have to endure on account of her son? Why, she
would have to flee by night into Egypt and live there until the
death of Herod. She would then have to make the
long journey home again to Nazareth. There was the occasion when,
which we read of later on in this chapter, in the second chapter
of Luke, that occasion when Joseph and his mother would lose the
child, Jesus, for three days in Jerusalem. Imagine losing
your child for three days! That was when the Lord was at
the age of 12. What a sword must have pierced
Mary's heart at that time. Son, why hast thou thus dealt
with us? Behold, thy father and I have
sought thee sorrowing, she said on that occasion. And then there
was the danger that her son was in because of his ministry. Often we read in the Gospels,
don't we, of how the Jews sought to kill him. is in constant danger. And then that hour came when
Mary saw her son Jesus crucified. The child that she loved hung
upon the cross. We read in John's Gospel, now
there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother. Surely a sword pierced
her own soul then. Now, just as an aside, I would
mention the fact, it's a very interesting one, that John never
mentions the name of his mother, of the Lord's mother. You will
not find the name Mary mentioned at all in John's Gospel. And
he doesn't mention the Lord's Supper either. It's as if he
anticipated the rise of Antichrist with his Mariolatory and his
Masses. I say that just as an aside.
The words of our text then are addressed to Mary, the Lord's
mother, the mother of his human nature. She is not the mother
of God. She is the mother of the human
nature of our Lord Jesus Christ. Yea, a sword shall pierce through
thy own soul also. But the prophecy itself concerns
the Lord Jesus Christ. Behold, this child is set for
the fall and rising again of many in Israel, and for a sign
which shall be spoken against that the thoughts of many hearts
may be revealed. Behold! Behold, Simeon says. He had already declared many
wonderful things concerning the child that was in his arms. For
mine eyes have seen thy salvation, which thou hast prepared before
the face of all people, and light to enlighten the Gentiles, and
the glory of thy people Israel. And Mary and Joseph had marveled
at all these things. Ah, but Simeon has more to say.
Behold, there is more. To those who have grace shall
more grace be given, and grace for grace. As it was promised
to Nathanael, thou shalt see greater things than these. Behold,
come and see. Come and see these things which
things the angels desire to look into. Those things which the
angels marvel at. Consider very carefully what
I'm about to tell you. Behold, he says. Behold, this
child is set This child is set. Literally, this is set. And you
notice the word child is there in italics, it's not there in
the original. It's been supplied by the translators.
Literally it reads, Behold, this is set for the fall and rising
again of many in Israel. This person is set. This person
whom I have described in my prayer to God as thy salvation. which
thou hast prepared before the face of all people, a light to
lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel. This
one is set. This is no ordinary child. This
is the Christ. This is the Messiah. This is
God's co-equal and co-eternal Son, the promised ruler in Israel,
whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting. Oh, this is God manifest in the
flesh. is as if there are not sufficient
words to express the glories of this person. Simeon simply
says, this, this is set. And the word set means literally
to lay, or to be laid. This is how the same word is
translated in verse 12. And this shall be a sign unto
you, you shall find a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in
a manger. also in verse 16 and they came
with haste and found Mary and Joseph and the babe lying in
a manger the word lying in those two verses is the same word in
the Greek that we have here translated as set it's also translated as
lay in Matthew 28 verse 6 He is not here, for he is risen,
as he said. Come see the place where the
Lord lay. Again in John 20 and verse 12,
where we read that Mary Magdalene seeth two angels in white sitting,
the one at the head and the other at the feet, where the body of
Jesus had lain. This same Jesus, this Holy One,
whom they had lately seen laid in a manger, who is even now
laid in Simeon's arms, and who was to be laid in a sepulcher,
in a grave, this Holy One is laid, or set, as a stone. As a stone. Therefore thus saith
the Lord God, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation, a stone,
a tridestone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation, He that believeth
shall not make haste. And the same word, here translated
set, can also mean appointed. Appointed, this is how the same
word is translated in 1 Thessalonians chapter 3 and verse 3. That no man should be moved by
these afflictions, for yourselves know that we are appointed thereunto. This child is appointed. He is appointed from everlasting. I was set up from everlasting,
from the beginning, or ever the earth was. He was appointed to
be the mediator of the new covenant. I have made a covenant with my
chosen. He was appointed to be the saviour
of the church. And he is the saviour of the
body. the very place of his birth was
appointed as was declared by the prophet Micah Micah 5 verse 2 well-known verse
but thou Bethlehem Ephratah though thou be little among the thousands
of Judah yet out of thee shall he come shall he come forth unto
me that is to be ruler in Israel, whose goings forth have been
from of old from everlasting. Or his birth was appointed, and
the very time of his birth was appointed. But when the fullness
of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman,
made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law. His death was foreordained of
God, Him, being delivered by the determinate
counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked
hands have crucified and slain. There was an appointed day for
His rising again from the dead. The Son of Man must be delivered
into the hands of sinful men and be crucified, and the third
day rise again. The day of his second appearing,
when he shall come again to judge the world in righteousness, is
appointed of God, because he hath appointed a day in the which
he shall judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained,
whereof he hath given assurance unto all men in that he hath
raised him from the dead. Behold, this child is set, for the fall and rising again
of many in Israel." This stone, laid for a foundation in Zion,
proved to be a stumbling block to many in Israel. as we read again in Isaiah, and
he shall be for a sanctuary, but for a stone of stumbling,
and for a rock of offense to both the houses of Israel, for
a gin, and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And
many among them shall stumble and fall, and be broken, and
be snared, and be taken. And so we read here, behold this
child is set for the fall, and rising again of many in Israel. He is set for the fall of many
in Israel. And just as Christ was appointed, so those who stumble
and fall are appointed to this end. What a solemn word that
is in 1 Peter chapter 2. and verse 7, unto you therefore
which believe he is precious but unto them which be disobedient
the stone which the builders disallowed the same is made the
head of the corner and a stone of stumbling and a rock of offence
even to them which stumble at the word being disobedient whereunto
also they were appointed what a solemn word that is there's
a great mystery in this Remember Paul says regarding the Jews
who fell through their unbelief that through their fall salvation
is come unto the Gentiles for to provoke them to jealousy but we also read that Christ
was to be the cause of the rising again of many in Israel the words
rising again are actually one word in the Greek and that word
is Anastasis Resurrection. Resurrection. Christ is set for
the fall of many and for the resurrection of many in Israel. All thanks be to God that there
are those who are appointed to eternal life. There are those
who are appointed to eternal life and as many as were ordained
to eternal life believed. And as the gospel goes out from
Jerusalem and unto the uttermost part of the earth, it is evident
that there are those who are redeemed to God out of every
kindred, and tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation. And each
and every redeemed and ransomed soul is quickened together with
Christ, and made a partaker of his resurrection. And you hath
he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins. Paul continues
there in Ephesians chapter 2, But God, who is rich in mercy,
for his great love wherewith he loved us, even where we were
dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ. By grace
ye are saved, and hath raised us up together, and made us sit
together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. that in the ages
to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness
toward us through Christ Jesus. Oh, the matchless grace of God,
yes! Christ is set for the fall and
rising again of many. There are those who stumble and
fall, but there are also those who believe and are saved. He that believeth and is baptized
shall be saved, but he that believeth not shall be damned. Now of course,
these words may also be taken as referring to the same persons.
That those who fall are the same as those who rise. Behold, this
child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel. Those who are appointed to eternal
life, those who are appointed to rise with Christ, must first
of all be brought to fall in self. That is to know that they
are fallen creatures, that they can do nothing good, that they
cannot save themselves, that they cannot deliver themselves,
that they cannot quicken themselves and give themselves a new birth. they must be brought to fall
from the pedestal of their own self-righteousness to know that
they are sinners indeed for Christ Jesus came into the world to
save sinners and there are only sinners who
repent They fall before the Lord Jesus Christ and they beg Him
to save them from all their sins. Have you been brought to that?
To cry out to Him to save you from your sins, lest those chains
of your sins drag you down to hell? Oh, they fall upon Him, upon
His grace alone. as it is written in Matthew's
Gospel, and whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken,
but on whomsoever it shall fall it will grind him to powder.
Oh, they fall upon him and he breaks their stubborn wills and
he breaks all their self-righteousness and their creature religion.
To them he's given a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart. And so they fall upon Christ
and they rise again by His grace, faith and repentance being granted
to them. Behold, this child is set for
the fall and rising again of many in Israel, and for a sign which shall be
spoken against, and for a sign which shall be spoken against. His virgin birth is a sign which
shall be spoken against. Therefore the Lord himself shall
give you a sign. Behold, a virgin shall conceive
and bear a son and shall call his name Immanuel." Oh, how often
has this sign been spoken against by the liberals, by the modernists,
by the atheists. His death and resurrection are
a sign too, which shall be spoken against. An evil and adulterous
generation seeketh after a sign, and there shall be no sign given
to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. For as Jonas was three
days and three nights in the whale's belly, so shall the Son
of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. This sign in particular was spoken
against, wasn't it, at Athens, you remember, in Acts 17, verse
32. And when they heard of the resurrection
of the dead, some mocked, and others said, we will hear thee
again of this matter. Well, there's nothing new under the sun. Men
were mocking the doctrine of the resurrection even in those
days, the days of the apostles. Should we expect anything different
now in our day? Armenians, atheists, Romanists,
Muslims they all speak against this sign as do many others even
to this very day and not only Christ himself but also his people
are as it were a sign which shall be spoken against we read in
Isaiah chapter 8 and verse 18 Behold, I and the children whom
the Lord hath given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel
from the Lord of hosts which dwelleth in Mount Zion. The Lord's people are a sign,
and they are a sign which shall be spoken against. Wasn't this
the psalmist's experience? I am as a wonder unto many, but
thou art my strong refuge. Why are we a wonder to many?
Surely it's because of the great change that is wrought in our
hearts by the Spirit of the Living God. The reason why we are so spoken
against by many is the great difference, surely, that there
is between the living and the dead, between the Christian and
the worldling. For the time past of our life
may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when
we walked in the sidiousness, lusts, excess of wine, revelings,
banquetings, and abominable idolatries, wherein they think it strange
that ye run not with them to the same excess of riot, speaking
evil of you, who shall give account to him that is ready to judge
the quick and the dead. Why, even the religious shall
speak against the cause of Christ. When the Jews which were at Rome
saw Paul, they said to him, you remember, But we desire to hear
of thee what thou thinkest, for as concerning this sect we know
that everywhere it is spoken against. And so it is today. The true cause of Christ is still
spoken against, even by the religious and the professed Christian.
and his true servants are still spoken against behold this child
is set for the full and rising again of many in Israel and for
a sign which shall be spoken against that the thoughts of
many hearts may be revealed that the thoughts of many hearts may
be revealed Christ is the revealer of many
thoughts Hebrews chapter 4 verse 12 says for the word of God is
quick and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword piercing
even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit and of the
joints and marrow and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of
the heart And it's plain that the apostle is there speaking
of Christ, where he goes on to say, in the next two verses,
neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight,
but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with
whom we have to do, seeing then that we have a great high priest
that is passed into the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God. Let us
hold fast our profession. Christ is the revealer of many
thoughts and how is it that the thoughts of many hearts are revealed? How are they revealed? Well they
are revealed under the preaching of the gospel. Paul could say, now thanks be
unto God which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and
maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every
place. For we are unto God a sweet savour
of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish. To the
one we are the savour of death unto death, and to the other
the savour of life unto life. And who is sufficient for these
things? For we are not as many which corrupts the word of God.
But as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God, speak
we in Christ. For wherever and whenever the
gospel is faithfully preached, there is the savour of his knowledge. There is the savour of the knowledge
of the Lord Jesus Christ. To some, the savour of the knowledge
of Christ is the savour of death. There's nothing attractive in
it. They detest it. They disregard it. They don't
want to know about it. It's to be avoided. It's as a
stench in their nostrils. Their enmity to God and truth
is revealed. And this is the condemnation,
that light is coming to the world, and men loved darkness rather
than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that
doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light,
lest his deeds should be reproved. Ah, but to others there is a
gracious attraction. what a mercy it is if we are
graciously drawn to the Lord Jesus Christ and to his gospel. To them the gospel is the savour
of life. It's the savour of life. Because
of the savour of thy good ointments thy name is as ointment poured
forth. Therefore do the virgins love
thee. Like Peter, we would say, Lord,
to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal
life, and we believe and are sure that Thou art that Christ,
the Son of the living God. All the thoughts of many hearts
are revealed in persecuting times, when Christ is everywhere spoken
against. Who are they, and where are they,
who will speak for him? Oh, they may be few, but they
are faithful, and they are the favourites of heaven. And they
that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful. The thoughts of many hearts are
revealed when true religion and real righteousness are not popular. And such a time we are now in.
We now find ourselves, don't we, in the days concerning which
the Apostle warned us. This know also. This know also that in the last
days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their
own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemous, disobedient
to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, truce-breakers,
fault-accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that
are good, traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than
lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying the
power thereof, or we are now in those days of which the apostle
warned us. And the thoughts of many hearts
are being revealed, and because iniquity shall abound, the love
of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto
the end, the same shall be saved." Now the great question which
concerns each and every one of us this morning is this, what
think ye of Christ? What are your thoughts concerning
Him What think you of Christ is the
test, to try both your state and your scheme. You cannot be
right in the rest unless you think rightly of Him. As Jesus
appears in your view, as He is beloved or not, so God is disposed
to you, and mercy or wrath are your lot. Are you for him? Are you with
him? Or are you against him? He that
is not with me is against me. And he that gathereth not with
me scattereth. In the days of his earthly ministry,
there were those who continued no longer with him. You remember
when he preached the doctrines of election and irresistible
grace, John chapter 6? Verse 66, from that time many
of his disciples went back and walked no more with him. From
that time, from what time? Verse 65 tells us, and he said,
therefore said I unto you that no man can come unto me except
it were given unto him of my father. From that time many of
his disciples went back, and walked no more with him. Then
said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away? Then Simon Peter
answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of
eternal life, and we believe and are sure that thou art that
Christ, the Son of the living God. Or are you with Christ? Or are you against Him? Let each
answer in his or her own conscience. And let all those who are with
Him repent and be baptised according to the commandment of God our
Saviour. Repent and be baptised every
one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins
and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. Is not Christ's
holy ordinance of baptism a sign which is spoken against? Ah,
but in that holy ordinance of baptism we identify ourselves
with this child which is set for the fall and rising again
of many in Israel. Know ye not that so many of us
as were baptised into Jesus Christ were baptised into his death? Therefore we are buried with
him by baptism into death. that like as Christ was raised
up from the dead by the glory of the Father even so we also
should walk in newness of life. Well may the Lord be pleased
to bless his word to your soul and to mine and grant that we
might fall before and upon this Jesus now that we might be exalted
to a throne of glory hereafter. Behold, this child is set for
the fall and rising again of many in Israel, and for a sign
which shall be spoken against. Yea, a sword shall pierce through
thy own soul also, that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed. Amen.