Let's open our Bibles back to
Luke chapter 2. Luke chapter 2. Follow along with me, beginning
with verse 25. And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem
whose name was Simeon, The same man was just and devout, waiting
for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Ghost was upon him. 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 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 him up
in his arms and blessed God and said, Lord, now let us 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 the people, a light to lighten the Gentiles, and
the glory of thy people Israel." Behold. Behold. When we hear that word and when
that word is used in scripture, it's drawing attention to what's
getting ready to be said. Behold, this is significant what's
happening here. Behold, there was a man in Jerusalem
whose name was Simeon. Now I ask you, first of all,
what do we know about man? There was a man. There was a
man in Jerusalem named Simeon. What do we know about man? Any man, all men. Turn with me
to a few passages of Scripture. First, turn to Romans chapter
3. Romans chapter 3. What do we know about man? Look
at verse 10. As it is written, there is none
righteous. No, not one. There is none that understandeth. There is none that seeketh after
God. They are all going out of the
way. They are together become unprofitable. There is none that
doeth good, no, not one. Their throat is an open sepulcher. With their tongues they've used
deceit, the poison of asps under their lips, their mouths full
of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed
blood. Destruction and misery are in
their ways. the way of peace they have not
known. There is no fear of God before
their eyes." Isaiah said this of himself. Isaiah the prophet,
he said, woe, woe is me. Peter said, depart from me. Why Peter? Because I am a sinful
man. Paul said, I'm the chief of sinners. In Romans 3, 23, we read this
as, listen, this isn't just true of Isaiah and of Peter and of
Paul, it's true of all men. This is the universal truth of
all men. And here it is, all have sinned. We probably can't read that passage
enough because it's easy for us to forget, but all have sinned. All have sinned and come short
of the glory of God. Sinners by birth, sinners by
choice, sinners by practice. It's who and what we are. Scripture
says this, by one man sin entered into the world, and death by
sin, so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned. Now back to our text, back to
Luke chapter 2. Luke 2, 25. Behold, there was
a man. His name, this man's name was
Simeon. That name means hearkening. It means to listen. You know,
most men want to just say something. Always got something to say.
Wouldn't we be so much better served If we could just sit and
just listen. Listen to what God's word says. Not what man said, but what God's
word says. We're told to be slow to speak
and quick to hear. I wonder why we have to be reminded
of that. Any question in our minds? Am
I the only one who suffers from that? Slow to speak, quick to
hear. Faith, faith cometh by hearing. Hearing by the word of God. Turn with me to Deuteronomy 18.
Deuteronomy 18. Look at verse 15 of Deuteronomy
18. The Lord thy God will raise up
unto thee a prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren,
like unto me, and listen to what he says here, unto him, unto
him shall ye hearken. Listen. Behold, there was a man
in Jerusalem. You know, Jerusalem is the center
of organized religion. This is a pretty big deal. The idea that there could be
a man in Jerusalem that the Lord is going to be pleased to say.
A man in Jerusalem, who we're going to read here, he was just
and devout. But that wasn't Simeon's hope.
That was the Pharisees' hope. What they were doing, but not
this man. Behold, there was a man in Jerusalem. I was thinking about that driving
here this morning. Couldn't that just as easily
be saying, behold, there was a man in Wheelersburg? Behold, there was a man in Memphis?
Behold, there was a man in Greenup County? I mean, we just, behold,
there was a man. The idea that the Lord would
be merciful to a man. Behold, there was a man. This
man was a sinner. His name was Simeon. He was he
was he was he was he was he was he was he was he was he was he
was he was he was he was he was he was he was he was he was he was he was he
was he was he was he was he was he was he was he was he was he was he was he was he
was he was he was he was he was he was he was he was he was he was he was
he was he was he was he was he was he was he was he was he was
he was he was he was he was he was he was he was he was he was he was he was he
was he was he was he was he was he was he was he was he was he was he was he was he
was he was he was he was he was he was he was he was he was he was he was he was he
was he was he was he was he was he was he was he was he was he
was he was he was he was he was he was he was he was he was he
was he was he He showed up to work on time. He wasn't trying
to slide out of work early. He put in a full day's work for
a full day's pay. If he was a boss, I believe he
was a good boss. Took care of his employees, watched
out for his employees. If he was a dad, he was one that
didn't provoke his children to wrath, but brought them up in
the nurture and admonition. He was a devout man. But listen,
that wasn't his salvation. That wasn't his hope. Read on
in our text. Simeon was waiting. That word
wait, it means to expect the fulfillment of a promise. He
was waiting for the promised Messiah. waiting for that one
that was promised, that one that was pictured, that one that was
prophesied throughout the Old Testament. Moses called that
man that prophet, speaking of the Lord Jesus Christ. He said,
God will raise up from among the brethren a prophet, him,
him shall you hear. Ruth called him the kinsman redeemer. Pictured again throughout the
Old Testament. David called him, David who was the king, he called
him the king. The king who shall sit upon the
throne. Solomon called him my beloved. Isaiah called him wonderful,
counselor, the mighty God, the everlasting father, the prince
of peace. Jeremiah called him that branch,
that righteous branch, the Lord, our righteousness. All the way
through the Old Testament, we hear about the Messiah, that
one who is coming. And the Jews of old and of the
New Testament, they looked for the coming of Christ. They looked
for the coming of this Messiah that had been told about. Abraham
knew about him. Remember that when they were
going to offer up Isaac, his son, and Isaac said, where's
the lamb? Here's the fire, here's the wood,
where's the lamb? What'd he say? God will provide
himself a lamb. In his time, God will provide
a lamb. Simeon, he was waiting, he was
waiting on that lamb. He was waiting for the consolation
of Israel. And Scripture says this, that
the Holy Ghost was upon him. I ask you, when we wait on something,
we expect that whatever we're waiting on is going to come,
don't we? Otherwise, we wouldn't be waiting. We'd just pull in
the driveway and just go on. He's waiting. He's expecting.
Waiting with expectation by faith. Hebrews 11, 13 says, these all
died in faith. Speaking of those Old Testament
prophets, those Old Testament folks, he said, these all died
in faith, not having received the promise, but having seen
them afar off. and were persuaded of them and
embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims
on this earth. I don't know about you, but that's
some instruction I need. Wait. Oh, just wait. We get in a rush and a tiz about
everything. Wait. He was waiting. Wait on
the Lord. waiting for the comfort of Israel,
waiting for the consolation of Israel. Listen to this consolation. Listen to what God's Word says
about this consolation. It says this, He is able to save
them to the uttermost that come to God by Him. How about the consolation of
His blood? His blood which cleanses us, cleanses His people from
all sin. How about the consolation of
His righteousness? Whose righteousness? His righteousness. It's pure. It's perfect. He'll justify the iniquity of
His people. Justifies us from all iniquity. How about the consolation of
His sacrifice? What was the purpose of that
sacrament? It was for my transgression. Is that consolation? Is that
comfort? The consolation of His power which is able to keep us
from falling and present us faultless before the presence of His glory
with exceeding joy. Simeon was waiting, you see that
in Luke 2.25, he was waiting for the consolation, waiting
for the comfort of Israel. And we read on, it says, the
Holy Ghost was upon him. Behold, behold, there's something
special about this man. The Spirit of God is upon him.
It was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost that he would not
see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ. 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. A couple things here. Listen. Scripture says, one,
he's not going to see death. until he sees the Lord's Christ. Christ must be revealed to him. Turn to John chapter 6. Turn over just a book there.
John chapter 6. These are the words of our Lord.
Look at John 6, verse 40. This is the will of him that
sent me, that everyone which seeth the Son and believeth on
him may have everlasting life. And I'll raise him up at the
last day. His people are going to... We
must see Him. We're going to see Him just as
Simeon. He's not going to die until...
If we're His, if I'm His, I've got to see Him. He has to be
revealed unto me. God's elect are chosen to life. They must hear the Gospel. They must see the Lord Jesus
Christ by faith. To see Him as He is, to see Him
as our wisdom, our righteousness, our sanctification, and redemption. To see Him, to hear Him, to see
Him, and to believe Him. To believe in Him, to believe
on Him, to rest in Him. Simeon must see the Son. You know, back there in Genesis
45, 28, Israel learned that his son Joseph was still alive. Oh, what joy! He had to fill his heart. And
he said this, he said, I'll go see Him before I die. Simeon's going to see the Lord
before he dies. The believer is going to see
Him. Our eyes must be opened to see Him and rest in Him. We also see by this passage of
Scripture that Simeon was led by the Spirit into the temple. And here we see something of
the work, the work of the Spirit. There's an article in your bulletin,
you've probably already read it, but we often hear of men,
Brady wrote that article, we often hear of men saying that
they led a man to the Lord. Well, that's a big thing to say
for ourselves, isn't it? Only God can lead a man to his
son. Only the Spirit of God can lead
a man or a woman or a young person to see Christ. We must be led
by the Spirit. We must be drawn by the Spirit.
It wasn't Simeon's being just or devout that led him to the
Lord. It was the work of the Spirit
of God in drawing him, to bring him. Our Lord said this, He said,
No man... How many? No man can come unto
me except the Father which hath sent me draw him, and I'll raise
him up at the last day, led by the Spirit of God to see the
Savior. Oh, I pray that would be the
case here this morning. I pray that'd be the case every
time we gather together. That the Lord would be pleased
to lead men and women to see Christ, to rest in Him. That we would not see death until
we've seen the Lord's Christ. to see him in mercy and grace
and love. Paul, writing the Ephesians,
he said this, in whom also we have obtained an inheritance
being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh
all things after the counsel of his own will, that we should
be to the praise of his glory who first trusted in Christ. Listen, not the work, not the
work of the sinner, Not the work of a so-called soul winner. The work of the spirit. I've got in my notes a waking
a sinner to life, but listen, giving life where there never
was life. To take a dead sinner and give
life. Life, light. We'll turn back
to our text, Luke chapter 2. Look at verse 28, Luke 2 verse
28. Then took he him up in his arms
and blessed God and said, Lord, now let us thy servant depart
in peace according to thy word, for mine eyes have seen thy salvation. all for eyes to see the Lord
Jesus Christ. Paul writing to the Corinthians,
he said, I determined not to know anything among you save
Jesus Christ and him crucified. Philip, when he was preaching
to the eunuch, the eunuch had been reading from the prophet
Isaiah, and we read that Philip began where? At the same scripture. And what did he do? He preached
unto him the Lord Jesus Christ. The apostles, what were they
doing? They were daily in the temple, in every house, and they
ceased not to teach and preach one subject, Jesus Christ. And consider this, all that in
spite of the fact that they were persecuted and beaten and often
put in prison for that very thing, for preaching the Lord Jesus
Christ. The Lord told his disciples,
he said, go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every
creature. And he that believeth and is
baptized shall be saved. shall not be damned, but shall
be saved." Oh, the great need for the preaching of God's Word.
Oh, the great need of hearing God's Word, to believe God's
Word. Listen again, listen again to
this. There was, behold, there was a man named Simeon. He was
a just man. He was waiting for the consolation
of Israel. It was revealed to him that he
would not see death till he had seen the Lord's Christ and he
was led by the Spirit into the temple. And now, oh what a glorious
thing, now he sees Christ. Him whom to know is life eternal. And what does he say? Does he
see Him and say, I'll consider him next time I have this opportunity.
Does he say, I'll wait for a more convenient season? Does he say,
well, I'm not sure. I'm not sure if I'm one of God's
elect tonight. What does he do? What does he
do? It says he sees him and he takes
him up in his arms and he blessed God and he said, now let thy
servant depart in peace according to thy word. for my eyes have seen thy salvation." I wonder what was going on in
the temple that day. Sometimes we read these scriptures
and you just kind of wonder, like, what was happening there?
How many people were in the temple? Who all was present? I imagine
they were in the temple, there had to be a priest, right? You
can't be in the temple without a priest. Mary and Joseph, we
read that they were there. What was Simeon taken up with? Was he taken up with the priest? Was he taken up with Mary? No. Was he taken up with himself?
I mean, Simeon was just and devout, right? Let me just give you a few things
in closing here. He came to the temple seeking
the Lord. That's why He came. We're told to seek the Lord while
He may be found, to call upon Him while He is near, to seek
Him, to seek the Lord and His strength, to seek His face continually. In Malachi 3 verse 1 it says,
Behold, I'll send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way
before me, and the Lord whom ye seek shall suddenly come into
the temple, even the messenger of the covenant whom ye delight
in. Behold, he shall come, saith
the Lord of hosts. And listen, just listen to God's
Word regarding those that seek Him. Deuteronomy 4.29 says this,
if from thence thou shalt seek the Lord thy God, thou shalt find him. Why would we do anything but
seek him? If thou seek him with all thy
heart and with all thy soul, seek the Lord. Simeon said this,
this is the second thing, Christ is salvation. Not just the Savior, he indeed
is the Savior, that's what the angels declared, unto you is
born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ
the Lord. He alone is salvation. Again, Simeon wasn't talking
to the priest. He wasn't talking about Mary.
No. Christ. Christ. He took him up in his arms and
he said, mine eyes have seen thy salvation. You know, the
Lord Jesus Christ was just an infant. He had yet to perform his first
miracle. He had yet to suffer and die. He had yet to declare
it's finished. He had yet to be exalted at the
right hand of the Father. But in the purpose of God, he'd
done all those things. What does Simeon say? Mine eyes
have seen thy salvation. He's the Lamb slain from before
the foundation of the world. And listen, he's my salvation. You can say that as Simeon. He's
my salvation. And then third, third it says,
he took him up in his arms. He laid hold of Christ. I must
have him. Isn't that what Jacob did back
there in the Old Testament? He took hold of him and he said,
I will not let you go until you bless me." That woman with the
issue of blood, she said, if I can just, oh, if I can just
touch his garment, I'll be made whole. Lay hold of him. And another
thought on this, when he took him up in his arms, I believe Simmons identified,
he's identifying with Christ. This is my salvation. Christ. Christ alone is my salvation. And he wasn't ashamed for anybody
in that temple to see that. Christ is my salvation. He alone is my hope. He alone
is my salvation. I believe that had to be obvious
to everybody in the temple that day. I ask you, is he your hope? Is he your salvation? Have you
confessed him? In Matthew 10, beginning in verse
32, we read this, whosoever therefore shall confess me before men,
him will I confess before my father, which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before
men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven." What's a man to do? What's a
woman to do? What's a young person to do? Flee to Christ. Flee to our refuge. Lay hold
of him. And then, quickly, last observation,
fourth, when Simeon saw the Lord, when he saw Christ, who is salvation,
he was left with a desire to see nothing else. Let thy servant depart in peace,
for mine eyes have seen. Thy salvation." What's he saying? I don't need anything but Him. I don't need anything else. He
alone is my salvation. Without Christ, I have nothing. But with Christ, I have everything
my soul could ever desire. I pray this morning, and truly
any time the Lord would enable us to gather together, to hear
His Word, if anything, He would do for us what He was pleased
to do for this man, Simeon. A man in Jerusalem. Behold, there
was a man in Jerusalem named Simeon. Oh, he'd give us a desire,
a heart desire to seek Him and Him alone, that He would give
me eyes to see Him as my salvation, a desire to lay hold of Him,
to have Christ and nothing else, a desire to see nothing else
but Him, Christ and Christ alone. Behold, there was a man a man
in Jerusalem named Simeon. And the Lord was pleased to save
that man.