In verse 21, we're breaking into
the middle of the account, but we can't help it for the sake
of time. Luke 2.21, And when eight days
were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called
Jesus, which was so named of the angel before he was conceived
in the womb. When the days of her, that is
Mary's, purification according to the law of Moses were accomplished,
they brought him to Jerusalem to present to the Lord. As it is written in the law of
the Lord, every male that opens the womb shall be called holy
unto the Lord, and offer a sacrifice according to that which is said
in the law of the Lord, a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons. And behold, there was a man in
Jerusalem, and whose name was Simeon, and the same man was
just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and
the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it was revealed unto him
by the Holy Spirit that he should not see death before he had seen
the Lord's Christ. And he came by the Spirit into
the temple. When he saw 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
let thy servant depart in peace. according to thy word, 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." And Joseph and his mother marveled
at those things which were spoken of him, and Simeon blessed them
and said unto Mary his mother, Behold, this is set for the fall
and rising again of many in Israel, for a sign that shall be spoken
against. Yea, a sword shall pierce through
thine own soul also, that the thoughts of many hearts may be
revealed. There was one Anna, a prophetess,
the daughter of Phanuel of the tribe of Assur. She was of great
age and had lived with a husband seven years from her virginity. She was a widow of about fourscore
and four years, which departed not from the temple, but served
God with fastings and prayers night and day. And she coming
in that instant gave thanks likewise unto the Lord and spoke of Him
to all that looked for redemption in Jerusalem. When they had performed
all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned unto
Galilee to their own city Nazareth. And the child grew and waxed
strong in spirit, filled with wisdom, and the grace of God
was upon him." Isn't that a marvelous text concerning the infancy of
our blessed Lord? Before we settle into our consideration
of our main text, let's make an observation, if we might,
about this gospel that is called Luke, and how the gospels, all
four of them, complement one another. And in reading from
the four gospels, it becomes very clear, as A. W. Pink wrote in his little book,
Why Four Gospels, that none of the gospels by themselves give
us a complete and unabridged history of the ministry of our
Lord's blessed anointed. Now, John admits this in John
20, 30 and 31. He does so again in John 21 and
verse 25, that if all the things the Lord did were written, they
would fill all of the books of the earth, so that not everything
is written up which was done by our Lord. For example, as
we look at our text today, we realize that nothing is given
after his birth except a few instances that we read this morning. For example, his circumcision
at eight days of age. That is in Luke chapter 2 and
verse 21. His being presented to the Lord
on the right day, that day, or the right day, that's in chapter
2 and verse 22. And the flight into Egypt to
spare the child's life in Matthew chapter 2 And as a young child, nothing
else is said until the age of twelve. And you have that in
Luke 2, verse 40 through verse 52. And then, concerning the
Lord, the Scriptures, as it were, fall silent. until the Lord begins
His public ministry, which at Luke 3 and verse 23 was about
30 years of age. The Lord began to be about 30
years of age. Now, in looking at the Gospel
of Luke, I would suggest unto you that the first two chapters
of Luke's Gospel are very distinctive and are very unique, and that
they can be read and studied with much profit. For there it
will be seen that Luke contains a fuller account of the birth
and the beginning of two very important persons by which the
new economy or the gospel administration is introduced into the world.
In Luke, more fully than in any of the other three Gospels. And those two persons that I
have reference to in their order of appearance are, number one,
John the Baptist, the forerunner of our Lord, in Luke chapter
1 and verse 5 through verse 25, born of a mother named Elizabeth. And the second person is the
Holy Christ, the Son of God, born of Mary the Virgin. Now, as stated, we can see some
facts from Luke on these two that only Luke provides for us
of all of the gospel, such as their parents, especially their
mother. The mother of John is said to
be a daughter of Aaron. She came out of that land. she was old and had been married
or barren. The mother of Jesus, on the other
hand, was young and was a virgin, having not been married and not
having known a man. Both of them, however, were by
the providence of God to bear a special and a unique son. And in both cases, their names
were given unto them before they were ever born by God or by the
angel of God. Luke 1.13, Thou shalt call His
name John. And in Luke 1.31, Thou shalt
call His name Jesus. Now again, In regard to the birth
and the work of each son, the announcement was made by an angel
of God. And also, there was made a prophetical
proclamation concerning the work of each one of them. In John
1, 15 through, excuse me, Make that Luke 1 and verse 15 through
17. He shall be great in the sight
of the Lord, John, shall be a Nazarite. He shall be filled with the Holy
Spirit from the womb and shall turn or convert many of Israel
unto the Lord and so forth. Jesus in Luke 1.32, shall be
great, shall be called the Son of the Highest, he shall have
the throne of his father David, he shall reign over the house
of Israel, etc. Plus, it is interesting to note
the response of the angels of God to the reactionary incredulity
or skepticism or an expression of unbelief of Zacharias and
of Mary. Zacharias in Luke 1 and verse
18. How will I know this? He said
of the angel of God. How am I to know this? How is
it to be confirmed? I am old. My wife likewise is
up in years. It makes me think of Abraham
and Sarah in Genesis chapter 18 and verse 12. On the other
hand, Mary in Luke 1.34, how shall this be? that I have a son, seeing I know
not a man." And as a result of their reaction, Zechariah was
made speechless by God until after the birth of John. Mary, on the other hand, is given
a gracious explanation of the manner of the accomplishment
of the work. Therefore, most expositors see
more unbelief in Zacharias and more faith in Mary, but not doubting
it. Only, as Gil said, whether it
should be in a married state or in a single and a virgin state
that it would come to pass. Now the birth of John, the son
of Zacharias and Elizabeth, was by natural procreation, much
resembling the birth of Isaac to Abraham and to Sarah. Dependent, I mean, on a sovereign
work of God, overcoming, as he did with Sarah and Abraham, their
procreative deadness and restoring unto them the time of life. For
as the angel said to Mary regarding the pregnancies of both her and
Elizabeth in Luke 1 and verse 37, with God nothing shall be
impossible, whether a son of old age or a son by a virgin
birth. So I would say to us this morning,
hear ye, hear ye. If you do not accept the Scripture
account of the virgin birth of Christ, then farewell unto thee. As Owens once wrote, you have
had your entertainment. If you are looking only for theater,
then go out again. Farewell. The whole person and
the work of Christ, the salvation of sinners, is bound up in the
incarnation of the eternal Son of God, that He was born of a
woman, though not at all begotten by a man. John was begotten by
men, but Christ was not, for as we read in Matthew 1, And
verse 18, the birth of Jesus was on this wife, when, as she
was a spouse to Joseph, betrothed, but not yet taken to wife or
in marriage, not having consummated a one-flesh union, while still
a virgin, Mary was, number one, found with child. She was with child. She was expectant. She was going to be a mother. Secondly, this, says the Scripture,
was the result of the Holy Spirit. She was found with child of the
Holy Spirit. twice in Matthew 1.18 and again
in verse 20, that which is conceived, the thing in her begotten is
of the Holy Spirit. Now, exactly as the angel announced
to Mary, saying in Luke 1.31, thou shalt conceive in thy womb."
Her question is, how shall this be? The angel's answer is, in
Luke 1.35, the Holy Ghost, or Holy Spirit, shall come upon
you. The power of the highest shall
overshadow thee, and that born of thee shall be called the Son
of God. I agree with Gill, who said in
his commentary that this implied no local motion whatsoever, and
nothing at all after the manner of a conjugal act. This would
be a bugger thought. for us to have in our mind. It would make Jesus the Son,
then, the Son of the Holy Spirit. Rather, it refers to what Gil
called an effectual operation of the Holy Spirit, whereby the
humanity of the Son of God was conceived in the womb of Mary
without a man. Now, Mary was an ordinary young
woman, a young Jewish maid betrothed to be married, a virgin. And
that fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah 7 and verse 14, Behold,
a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and thou shalt call his
name Immanuel. See that in Matthew 1 and verse
23. And this is another point for
us to ponder and to turn over in our mind, and that is the
time, the historical time of Messiah's appearing. And it's
called in the Scripture, the fullness of time, Galatians 4. When the fullness of time was
come, God sent forth His Son. Mark 1 and verse 15, the Son
came not when religion was prevalent and when it was pure, but He
came when the nation was largely apostate, when the leaders and
the people were exceedingly corrupt, and the traditions of men had
replaced and substituted in the place of the Word of God. Oh, sure, they kept up the formality
of religion, they kept meeting in the synagogue, reading the
scripture every Sabbath day, visiting the temple on appointed
occasion, observing days and feasts and going through the
motions and the formalism of Judaism. But the religion of
Moses was sadly and badly decayed when our Lord made His appearance
in this world. To such a generation our Lord
came. And even in such a religious
climate as that, God will have His remnant. He will have some
who have not bowed the knee unto Baal. as God assured Elijah in
I Kings 19 and verse 18, Romans 11 and verse 4. And Paul says in Romans 11 and
verse 5, even so at this present time, that is when he wrote,
there is a remnant according to the election of grace. And such were Zacharias and his
wife Elizabeth in Luke 1 and 6. They were both righteous before
God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord, blameless,
Zachariah was a priest and offered incense at regular intervals
in the temple. And in Luke 2 and verse 25, it
tells us of a man, a Jew in Jerusalem named Simeon. And furthermore,
it tells us that he was just and devout. And look at that
statement, waiting for the consolation of Israel. and something else,
the Spirit of God was upon him. There was also Joseph of Arimathea,
an honorable counselor, which waited for the kingdom of God. We read, then there's Anna, that
we read about in Luke 2 and verse 37, which departed not from the
temple, but served God with fasting and prayers night and day. Evidently, many Jews believe
that Jesus, the great Messiah, would make his appearance in
the temple of the Lord. We also read in Luke 2.38, "...of
them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem." And the margin
has it as Israel. Be that as it may, our text concerns
a couple of instances that are related to the ceremonial law
or the law of Moses. Number one, the circumcision
of the virgin-born son of Mary. Number two, the purification
rites for Mary and presenting her son before or to the Lord. Now, the first one, the circumcision
of the son, occurred on the eighth day, the second on the fortieth
day after the birth of the Lord. Does this make us wonder? Does our mind go in this channel? What meaneth these things? What need has our holy, blessed
Lord to be circumcised? And what need has she that bare
our blessed Lord need of being purified as set forth in the
law? That law would be Leviticus chapter
12, verses 2 through 6. And there it was a proclamation. of the uncleanliness of those
naturally propagated and born of women. For as Job said, how
can he be clean that is born of a woman? Job 25 and verse
4. Now the circumciser of hearts
himself circumcised in the flesh. And I know that this is prying
into things which the Scripture keeps silent on. But our minds
can wonder who wielded the knife that shed the drops of blood
from God's holy darling on this eighth day. If such knew the
one before him, he should say like John, I have need to be
circumcised of thee, and cometh thou unto me. But we must keep
the words of Paul in our mind. Galatians 4 and verse 4, that
the Lord was not only made of a woman, but He was made under
the law. Keep both of those in our mind. And this circumcision of him
on the eighth day marks him as a true son or seed of Abraham,
and marks him as a Jew after the flesh, and that he might
be heard and honored as a teacher in Israel. It must have been a custom
in Israel, at least at that time, that the child was officially
given their name at that time. That the child was officially
named at the time of the circumcision. We see the same thing in John
as well as in the Lord Jesus. So we read in verse 21, His name
was called Jesus. And this was the same that the
angel commanded of Joseph to give him before he was ever born. In Matthew 1, verse 21, Thou
shalt call His name Jesus. By the way, there are three shalls
in that verse. Thou shalt call His name Jesus,
for He shall be born of thee, and shall save His people from
their sin." God named Him. God gave Him what some have called
His human name, Jesus, Jesus the Nazarene. In the King James,
Matthew 1.21, Luke 2 and 21, the letters are all in caps,
if you have noticed. But the significance of the name,
the meaning of the name Jesus is literally Savior. It is the same name as the name
Joshua in the Old Testament. Savior or Deliverer. And the words of the angel, In
Matthew 1.21, Thou shalt call His name Jesus for, since, or
because He shall save His people from their sin. He shall have
that name Savior. His work is reflected in His
name. His work is a fulfillment of
His name Savior, Deliverer, or Redeemer. Therefore, called Jesus
our Savior. Then we notice in Luke 2, in
verse 22 that we read, when the forty days of Mary's uncleanness
and separation were finished, Mary offered a proper offering,
signifying, I think, the meager circumstances of the family of
Mary and of Joseph. For those less well off, in Leviticus
12 and verse 8, could offer like turtle doves or pigeon. And at
that time, in Luke 2 and 22, they presented the young male
child unto the Lord in accordance with Exodus 13 and verse 2. And it came to pass and was ordered
by the providence of God that a certain good and spiritual
man named Simeon was guided by the Spirit to be at the temple
as Joseph and Mary were doing what the law of God commanded. And in Luke chapter 2 and verse
26, it is a most amazing fact that is revealed, and that is
that the Holy Spirit had sealed unto Simeon a certain blessed
promise. He would not see death, meaning
he would not see death, not die, not leave this world by means
of physical death until or before he had seen the Lord's anointed,
the Christ of God in the flesh. He would not see death until
he had seen the other, the anointed. Most agree Simeon was well owned
up in years at this occurrence. Now how great and precise is
the providence of God such as when The woman of Samaria came
to the well to draw exactly at the time that our Lord was there
in John chapter 4. How precise the providence of
God! The night the king could not
sleep and he called for the chronicles to be read in Esther chapter
6 and it changed all things around. Or, in Genesis chapter 24, how
precise the providence of God when Rebekah appeared so soon
as Abraham's servant had prayed for a sign to signify the maid
that was to become the bride of Isaac that he had been sent
to fetch. Even so, the precise providence
of God guided the meeting of Simeon and of Joseph and Mary
and the holy child Jesus. Both of them are coming to the
temple at the same time, though for a different reason altogether. Joseph and Mary have come for
her purification and to present the child unto the Lord. Simeon has come for his devotional,
to pray, to meditate, to worship and to look and to long for that
one that would come from God. Thus Joseph and Mary came in
accordance with the law, Simeon under the impulse of the Spirit,
and Faith in the promise of God. But it was God's providence that
carried the matter. This made another credible witness
to the person of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Now, let
us collect a double set of expression. Number one, as to the person
and the character of Simeon. What sort of a person was he?
Another run-of-the-mill, self-righteous Pharisee, religious hypocrite? No, not that. But just and devout,
with the Spirit of God upon him. In verse 26, having received
a special revelation. Verse 27, having been guided,
led, moved, directed by the Spirit of God. But secondly, let's notice
his hope and expectation. Again, in verse 25, the consolation
of Israel. Verse 26, the Lord's Christ are
anointed. This was ever before Him and
was His desire. Now, two things concerning this
particular visit of Simeon unto the temple. He had been often
there, but concerning this time, Number one, as Lange's commentary
expressed it, this time he was moved by an irresistible impulse
of the Spirit to go and make an appearance in the temple.
Number two, when he saw Joseph and Mary presenting the child
Jesus unto the Lord, the Spirit of God cause Simeon to recognize
the child as the promised and anointed one. Now, to emphasize
that for its importance, I would ask us to remember how many times
this good man had probably seen this done before with the children
of others, yet without this feeling or this reaction that he had
at the Lord Jesus. what or who, but the Spirit of
God caused Simeon to do what he did and to say what he said,
and to take that child, now forty days old, up in his arms and
bless God and that he had fulfilled his reason for living his life
in the world. His hope and expectation had
been realized. He was ready to depart out of
this earthly house. Compare Genesis 46 and 30 when
Jacob had seen Joseph, that he was yet alive, his beloved son
whom he had grieved for all the days of his life, He said the
same as did Simeon, Now let me die, since I have seen thy face,
because you are yet alive. Meaning, of course, Joseph. Now
I won't say that either Jacob or Simeon died the same day that
they saw their hope fulfilled. But Simeon gives the reason that
he is ready to be freed from his earthly existence in verse
30. For mine eyes have seen thy salvation. Which is the same as consolation
back in verse 25. And is one and the same with
the Lord's Christ in verse 26. J.C. Ryle wrote that this particular
word salvation that we have here is only four times in the New
Testament. And he called it, quote, a more
abstract, energetic word than the one more commonly translated
salvation, unquote. So Therion, and amazingly, Simeon
declares this of a 40-day-old child. even more amazing, or
just as amazing, John paid tribute to this one while he were yet
in the womb. Remember, filled with the Spirit
of God from the womb. Luke 1, 41, And 44, when Mary
and Elizabeth came together and conversed with each other, the
babe John leaped in the womb, as if to say, that's him, that's
him, that's him, even before he was ever born. And we should
take verse 30 through verse 32 together, as Simeon sees the
Deliverer in that babe that is in his arm, just as in Matthew
2, 1 and 2, the wise men owned him at his birth to be king of
the Jew. a babe in a manger, but king
of the Jews." Now, the subject in our text of verse 31 and 32
is thy salvation, which the inspired man was declared has been prepared
before the face of all people, that is, all nations, not just
the Jews only. For here is another prophecy
that the Gentiles would be the takers of the great salvation
of Messiah, and contrary to the usual order, the Gentiles are
mentioned first in Simeon's prophecy, that those many, some of them,
who sit yonder in darkness before their idols shall be enlightened
when the sun, that is the S-U-N, of righteousness apprises with
healing in his wing. When the glorious light of the
gospel shines, not only in their land, but also in their heart. And they, the Gentiles, are called
from darkness to light by and to Him who is the light of the
world. And Simeon adds this, "...and
the glory of thy people Israel." Now the greatest glory of Israel,
not their temple, it's not their priesthood, not their ceremonies,
not their days, not their feasts, but the salvation that is wrought
among them at the appearing of Messiah. Simeon declared it clearly,
"...mine eyes have seen thy salvation. What he saw was the babe Jesus. Verse 33 of Artek takes notice
of the reaction of the words of Simeon by Meric and by Joseph. When they heard all of this,
when this was spoken over and about their son, they marveled,
or I think it's in the present tense, they were marveling. They were gripped with amazement
at what was done and what was said, for they had not expected,
nor could they ever have anticipated this, only that they had come
to do for Him after the manner of the law, present Him before
and unto the Lord. And the scripture notes how Mary
did keep and meditate upon the events that occurred in connection
between her and the son that she bore into this life. Number one, how could she ever,
all of her days, Forget the words and the visit of that angel who
came. How could she in all of her days
ever forget that divine visitor and the announcement? Number
two, Luke 2.19. Mary kept all these things and
pondered them in her heart. She, as it were, made a mental
diary of these. She combined them all together. She made a collection of them.
She encountered them. She joined them together. The
Word is telling us and kept them in her heart. And thirdly, Luke
2.51, His mother kept all these sayings in her heart. And again
and again she brought them up to rehearse them in her mind
and in her memory over and over. Then, verse 34 and verse 35,
Shimeon The Spirit-filled man directly
addresses Mary and her specific situation. And he does so on
two matters, if we might look. One, verse 34, Behold this! is set. This is laid out. This is appointed. The word child,
as noted by the italic, is not in the original text. This one,
or this salvation, this great person, will have a two-fold
effect on the people of Israel. Some will stumble at him and
be ground to powder. Some will be lifted up and will
be freed and liberated. A double purpose served, a sign
spoken again. This greatness will not be evident
or accepted by or to all. In fact, it shall be a sign spoken
against, which, by the way, is also a confirmation of Him to
be the Holy One of God, if you read Isaiah chapter 53 and that
great prophecy. And a more personal word to Mary. He says that a sword would pierce
in her own soul. He predicted for her heart-rendering
sorrow in days to come. Thy, Elbrick Laws, are in connection
with this one. Oh, He predicted unto her heart-rinsing
sorrow. That makes us remember that she
was there at the cross when the Lord was crucified, when she
would experience grief as she saw her beloved Son on the cross
and saw Him crucified. There she would experience grief
like unto a sword thrust into her buried soul. As He hung there,
and endured the contradiction of sinners against himself as
she saw him there stripped naked and nailed to the cross in jeers
and hoots and mockery and she heard the taunts and she heard
the blasphemous things that were said regarding our Lord, which
things, by the way, reveal the thoughts of many hearts of their
offense at the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Christ the Son,
born of a woman, a babe, in Him the Holy One of God has assumed
flesh. He has taken on our nature without
its depravity. He has taken on the likeness
of flesh and blood in order that he might die for the people whom
God has given unto him, Christ the Son born of a woman, holy
one, assuming flesh, the consolation of Israel. God's visitation of
His people has come in and through Jesus Christ. God, as He did
down in Egypt, has heard their groan, has remembered them, has
remembered His promise and His covenant, and has visited them. He visited them in Israel and
brought them out. And He hath made the greatest
visitation in the person of His own eternal, blessed, divine
Son. He hath visited His people. Oh, the thought of that, the
great visitation in the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, bringing
redemption, bringing freedom, the great salvation of God. Now, we don't really have time
to get into Anna, but Anna also bare witness to Christ, and that's
the point that we wanted to bring from her testimony, or her spirit-led
words that she said. She was a good and a godly woman,
and she too gave thanks unto the Lord. spoke all the time
of that blessed one that was to come. And she saw him that
day and gave witness and testimony even unto others as well. Thank God for this one who came
into the world, not a full-grown man, but born a woman. And our text said, that the child
grew, verse 40, waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom.
The grace of God was upon him and such like. Blessed one whom
God has sent. In the words of Simeon, mine
eyes have seen thy salvation in a forty-day old man child. Bless God for his revelation
and for his providence. and for sending the Son of His
love to be our Redeemer and our Savior.