We had the scripture reading from Luke chapter 2, and I invite you to turn again to that passage, at least to that chapter. And of course, Luke 2 is the account of what took place on that first Christmas morn, and Christ was born. And that's what Christmas really is all about. That's, in a nutshell, the message of Christmas, but not quite. There's so much more to the story. What ought we to know about that Christ child that was born in that manger? What ought we to know? Well, to answer that question this morning, I want us to consider an event that took place 40 days after the birth of Christ. And it's when Mary and Joseph are going to bring the baby to the temple. So follow along now as I read Luke 2, beginning in verse 25. We'll read down to verse 32. 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 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 Christ child 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 thou 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." Let's pray. Our Father, we do thank you so much for the beautiful music that we have heard this morning. and the beautiful hymns that we have sung this morning, and the reading of the account from Luke 2 that informs us of the birth of Christ. And now, Lord, as we direct our attention to this passage, I pray that you will help us to understand the significance of this encounter with Simeon in the temple and the words that he said on that occasion. We pray in Jesus' name, amen. Well, what a privilege this man had to hold in his own arms the Christ child. What a privilege. He held the baby Jesus and he embraced him. Now, this was not some Jesus figurine that you would find in a modern day nativity scene. Simeon embraced the real Jesus. The little girl kept telling her mother that she wanted to hold Jesus and to kiss him. Her mother smiled at her daughter's sweet words, but gave it no further thought. As they continued on and walked through the shopping mall, all of a sudden, the little girl said, look, mommy, look, there he is, there he is. And she took off running to the life-size nativity scene that was set up there in the shopping mall. But when she got there, her countenance fell. And she said with sadness in her voice to her mother, mommy, he's hollow. And he's made of plastic. See, that's not the real Jesus. And sadly, this is the only Jesus that many have embraced, a little plastic figurine, a Christmas decoration that they set up in the lawn, a plastic Jesus, a mass market figurine placed on the dashboard of the car to ward off bad luck. It's sad if that's the only Jesus they really know. But Simeon held the real Jesus. He saw him with his own eyes. He held him in his own arms. It was the real Jesus, the Son of God incarnate. This Jesus is both full of life and the giver of life. This Jesus is a real person, but not merely a person. He is the Christ, the Messiah, the Savior. The question is, do you know this real Jesus? Is this the Jesus you know? This morning, I'd like us to relive this event through the eyes of Simeon. In fact, I want you to imagine for a moment that you are this man, that you are Simeon. How might this look to you? Well, your parents named you Simeon. Your name means God has heard. You were born into and reared in an Orthodox Jewish home in the city of Jerusalem, the holy city, the city of God, the city where God put his name, the city where the temple stands. It's a temple that was rebuilt by Herod, so it's not the original temple of Solomon, but it is the temple, and it's where all the Jewish people come to worship Yahweh God. You're in the holy city. From an early age, your parents trained you to revere the Jewish scriptures, the Torah, the writings of Moses, the Nevi'im, the prophets, and the Ketuvim, the writings. You revered them all. Your parents dutifully taught you the 613 commandments of the law so that you could grow up and be a bar mitzvah, a son of the commandments. Beginning at a fairly early age, you attended the synagogue. You listened carefully to the mikra, the reading of the scriptures. You took it all in. You were very attentive. You learned and memorized all of those Jewish prayers and you recited them in the Hebrew. In fact, you learned Hebrew so that you could read the sacred scrolls for yourself, the holy scriptures. You could look upon them. You could learn of them. In adulthood, you became a lifelong student of the scriptures. You loved them with all your heart. They were beautiful to you, beautiful to read, beautiful to listen to, beautiful to recite. You became so very familiar with the writings of Moses. You learned them inside and out. You could recite large portions of those writings. You admired the poetic beauty of the Psalms of David. Oh, how beautiful they are. Beautiful poetry. But above all, you were fascinated with the oracles of the prophets. Oh, they were so fascinating to you. You just loved reading the prophets. You wanted to understand what they were foretelling, and especially those prophecies. that spoke of Messiah, the Messiah to come. Prophecies involving HaMashiach in Hebrew, the Messiah. Oh, you wanted to know about the Messiah. Prophecies like from Daniel chapter 7 and verse 13. I saw in the night visions and behold, one like the son of man came with the clouds of heaven and came to the ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion and glory in a kingdom that all people and nations and languages should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away in his kingdom, that which shall not be destroyed." What a gripping prophecy. And Daniel 9, 25, know therefore and understand that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks and threescore and two weeks. The street shall be built again on the wall, even in troublous times. And as you reflect upon that prophecy, you realize that perhaps this is coming to pass even in your day. Prophecies like Isaiah 7.14, therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign. Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son and shall call his name Emmanuel. You know the meaning of that word, Emmanuel, God with us. Prophecies like Isaiah 9.6, for unto us a child is born. Unto us a son is given and the government shall be upon his shoulder. and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end. Upon the throne of David and upon his kingdom, to order it and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even forever, the zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this." Oh, that gets you so excited to reflect on that wonderful prophecy. You're looking for this Messiah. He's going to come. And in your mind and in the minds of so many Jews of the time, you're expecting this Messiah to come in power and to establish his kingdom, to reign, to rule, to free you from the oppressive fist of Rome. You wanted that freedom so much. Prophecies like Isaiah 42.1, behold my servant whom I uphold, mine elect in whom my soul delighteth. I put my spirit upon him. He shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. He shall not cry nor lift up nor cause his voice to be heard in the street. A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench. He shall bring forth judgment unto truth. this prophecy is yet a bit of a dark mystery to you. Is this talking about God's servant, Israel, or is this talking about God's servant, the Messiah? You wanted to know. And then Micah 5.2. But thou, Bethlehem Ephrata, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel, whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting. Now you, Simeon, are living about 500 years after that prophecy. And you think to yourself, so, so much time has passed since then. When will Messiah come? When will he come? Could it be that Messiah might come in your lifetime? You wondered. You pondered this. Then something really marvelous happened. something totally unexpected to you. You didn't see it coming. The Holy Spirit gave you a divine revelation, a message from God to you, addressed to you personally. And the message was that you will not die before with your own eyes you see the Messiah. Wow, a message from God to you. And from that day forward, you are looking everywhere for that Christ child. You are looking everywhere for the Messiah. You're walking down the street and you see a young family come along and there are young boys in that family and you look at them and you stare and you wonder, could this be the one? Could this be the Messiah? Could it be? And finally, the day comes. You awaken that morning with a very strong urge to go to the temple. And as you get into the temple courts, you pass through the outer court for the Gentiles. You go into another court inside of that, the court of the women, where women and men and children, all the Jewish people could enter into that court. For the women, that's as close as they could get to the innermost temple. And you were there in that court, waiting, looking at each family that came in, wondering, is that the one? Is that the one? And then you look across the courtyard and you see a young couple come in. with a baby that's about a month and a half old. And your heart skips a beat. And you're thrilled and you're excited. Something inside you tells you this is the one. This is the Messiah. The one the Lord has promised that you will see before you pass away. And so you hurriedly go across the courtyard and come to the young couple. And there's something that happens between you and them. There's a connection that takes place. Somehow they know they can trust you. You, Simeon, the aged man, who's there with a big smile on your face. And Mary takes that little child and holds him out to you. And you take that child from her and embrace him in your arms. And the words just flow out right from your heart. O Lord, now let us, thou thy servant, depart in peace according to thy word. For mine eyes have seen thy salvation which thou hath prepared before the presence of all people, a light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel." And you look down and you behold that child, the baby Jesus, the Christ child, the Son of God incarnate. and you just treasure that moment. And then you take that child and give him back into the arms of Mary. And your mood becomes a little more somber because the Lord has given you some solemn words to speak to her. We find these in verse 34. And Simeon blessed them and said unto Mary his mother, 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 thine own soul also that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed. The Lord has revealed to you the ultimate destiny of that little child. You probably don't know all the details, but you know enough to say these words to Mary, to warn her, to prepare her for the difficulties that lie ahead and that very dark day when she will watch with her own eyes her own son being nailed to a cross. God's promise to you, His special message for you, has now been fulfilled. And you are free to go to Him. You have seen the Lord's Christ with your own eyes, you have held him in your own arms, the word of life, the Messiah, the light of the world. So now you've lived through it as Simeon. And looking at it from our vantage point today, we must each ask ourselves the question, Do I know this Christ child like Simeon did? You must see Jesus as Simeon saw him. You must see him as the Savior. I'd like us to focus on some of the very words that Simeon said here to make sure that we do understand who this Jesus is, that we have the same understanding that Simeon had. Notice in verse 30, Simeon says, mine eyes have seen thy salvation. Now he's talking to God. He's talking to the Lord God. And he refers to this child as God's salvation. Because that child is God's means of salvation for all people. In verse 11 of Luke chapter 2, which was read earlier, the angels said to the shepherds, for unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior. A Savior. Savior. Salvation. These words are linked together. The Savior is the one who brings that salvation. And the angels go on to say He's a Savior, which is Christ the Lord, Christ being a title, Christos, Christ. It's connected to the Hebrew Old Testament, Messiah. He's the Messiah, the Lord. Later on, the Apostle Paul testifies of Jesus in 1 Timothy 1.15, this is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. And then Paul adds, of whom I am chief. The Apostle Paul knew Jesus in the same way that Simeon did, as his Savior. And Paul further recognized that he himself was a sinner in need of a Savior. That's where everyone has to start. Apostle John also testifies of Jesus in 1 John 4, 14, and we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. Yes, He's the Savior. He's the Son of God sent from the Father, the Son of God incarnate. He's the Savior of the world. And really, every one of us individually needs to be able to give testimonies like this, like the Apostle Paul, like the Apostle John, like Simeon. We need to see Jesus for who He is, that He is the Savior, and not just the Savior, but our Savior, my Savior, your Savior. So have you admitted that you're a sinner in need of a Savior like Paul? Have you looked upon the real Jesus and accepted Him as your Savior? John 3.17 says, for God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. That's the mission of the Son. That's why the Father sent Him, to become the Savior, that He might save people from the horrible, eternal consequences of their sin. and from their bondage to sin, to break the power of sin, and ultimately to deliver them from the presence of sin someday. So Simeon proclaimed that the baby Jesus was God's salvation for the world. And we know the rest of the story, don't we? That little baby Jesus grew up, became a man, and had an earthly ministry, he not only walked this earth, but he was willing to allow sinners to approach him and be close to him because his ultimate objective was to die on the cross for them. And when the day came, Jesus stretched out his arms and allowed that physical body to be nailed to a cross that he might die to atone for our sins. mission accomplished. And to declare victory over sin and death, God raised him up on the third day. Of course, we celebrate that on Easter. We don't serve a dead Savior. We serve a risen Savior. And he's alive today. So Simeon emphasized that God's salvation was provided through Jesus. that Jesus' death on the cross would be sufficient to provide salvation for the whole world. Simeon declares, mine eyes have seen thy salvation which thou hast prepared before the face of all people. What an encouragement that is to us. No one is excluded if they will come to Christ by faith. And all people in this context especially means Jews and Gentiles, Jews and all the other nations of the world, everyone. Simeon looked upon Jesus as God's salvation for everyone. It doesn't matter whether they're Jew or Gentile, male or female, young or old, do-gooder or chief of sinners. Jesus died on the cross to pay for the sins of all. He's the Savior for the whole world. He's not some private Savior just for the Jewish people or just for Gentiles. He's the Savior of all. So this brings us now to the second truth that Simeon declared about Jesus. The first truth is that Jesus is God's salvation. Second truth is that Jesus is the light of God's revelation. We see this in verse 32, a light to lighten the Gentiles. Now the word light in the Bible often refers to the light of God's revelation. The revelation of God's truth. For example, in Psalm 43.3, O send out thy light and thy truth, let them lead me, let them bring me unto thy holy hill and to thy tabernacles. Now Simeon specifically applies this figure of light as revelation to the Gentiles. Why? Because until this point in time, the Gentiles had been in darkness. For the Jews were the ones who had the oracles of God. The Jews had the revelation that came from God. The Gentiles did not. They were excluded. They didn't have the revelation from God. They were in darkness. And yet Simeon declares that Jesus is the light to lighten the Gentiles. Folks, I don't know about you, but I'm a Gentile, okay? I'm really glad that that's in my Bible. After Christ came, he changed everything, didn't he? And the Gentiles are now included in God's plan. In fact, they were always part of God's plan, but now we see them completely included as Jesus includes them in his ministry. Peter writes about it in 1 Peter 2 verse 9. It says, He's talking to all Christians. He's talking to the Christian church. He goes on to say that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light, which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God, which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy. Aren't you glad that God included me in you? We're included. All Gentiles who put their faith in Jesus Christ are included in the people of God. We're in. We're in his kingdom. We're going to experience all of the kingdom blessings alongside of all the Jewish people who have put their faith in Jesus Christ. We're all together as one in the body of Christ. Like daylight shining through a dark cave, the rays of God's light have penetrated our darkness. Now Simeon's statement here, a light to lighten the Gentiles, is actually fulfilling a prophecy that was spoken by Isaiah concerning God's servant, whom we now understand to be a reference to the Messiah, Jesus Christ. In Isaiah 42.6, here's the prophecy, I, the Lord, have called thee in righteousness and will hold thine hand and will keep thee and give thee for a covenant of the people for a light of the Gentiles. Jesus is the fulfillment of that prophecy, and Simeon is declaring it to be so. So, B.C., before Christ, only the Jewish people had the oracles of God, but in Christ, the revelation of the mystery has been made known to all nations. The Messiah has come, and he is the Messiah of us all. Before Christ, salvation was only proclaimed to the Jews, but in Christ, whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." Whosoever, what a beautiful word. So we see that Jesus is the means of God's salvation. Jesus is the light of God's revelation. And the third truth that we gleaned from Simeon's words here is that Jesus is the glory of God's people. Simeon is emphasizing that Jesus is the glory of God's people, Israel. How is this so? Well, because Jesus is the King of glory. The king of glory that is spoken of in the Psalms, for example, in Psalm 24, verse 7. He is the king of glory. He is the promised seed of Abraham. He is the lion of the tribe of Judah. He is the righteous branch of David. He is the fulfillment of all of those messianic prophecies. He is the Messiah that the Jewish people had been waiting for. He's the glory of God's people. The sad reality is that most Jewish people today do not recognize Jesus as their Messiah. They have the mistaken idea that Jesus is the Messiah of the Gentiles. But they're wrong. Because Jesus is the glory of God's people, Israel. He's the king of glory. He's their Messiah, too. Paul writes about the blindness that is upon the Jewish people in Romans 11.25. He says, You see, we're living right now in the time of the Gentiles. The gospel is getting out to the whole world. What a privilege we have as Christians to be able to be involved in this great mission of spreading the gospel throughout the whole world. We're learning about this in our series on Sunday mornings in the Book of Acts, and if you're visiting with us, I invite you to come back and join with us as we go through those exciting first years of the church and the spread of the gospel in the New Testament era. So we're living in the time of the Gentiles. There are not many ethnic Jews who embrace Christ as their Savior, but there are some. And there are some wonderful Jewish Christian ministries that are trying to get the gospel to the Jewish people. We support as a church two such ministries. The Jewish people need to hear that Jesus is their Messiah too. And so today, not many Jews are converted and become Christians, but there is coming a day when the time of the Gentiles will be completed. And a vast majority of the Jews will be saved. Romans 11, 26, Paul says, and so all Israel shall be saved as it is written, there shall come out of Zion the deliverer and shall turn away the ungodliness from Jacob. For this is my covenant unto them when I shall take away their sins. I don't know if we have any ethnic Jews here in the room. Maybe there's some watching today. Maybe someone who will listen to this message later. If you are an ethnic Jew, here is God's message for you. The Lord Jesus Christ is your Messiah. He is the glory of God's people Israel, the King of glory. So I want to ask a question. I really want you to seriously consider this very important question. It's a question that you need to answer for yourself. Your parents can't answer it for you. Your husband, your wife can't answer it for you. You need to answer it for yourself. Have you had your own simian moment? Have you embraced the real Jesus as your Savior and your Lord. To do so, you must know Jesus as Simeon knew Jesus. You must recognize him as the Savior, as God's salvation, God's means of salvation, God's only means of salvation. For Jesus is the only way. He said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father but by me. So Jesus is God's means of salvation for everyone, for anyone who will put their faith in Christ. You must see Jesus as the light of God's revelation. He is, in fact, the Son of God incarnate. He is the very tangible revelation of God himself. And you must see Jesus as the glory of God's people the promised king of glory, the fulfillment of all of these Old Testament prophecies that foretold of the coming of Messiah. He is that Messiah and he is king and he will reign forever and ever. Simeon foretold that many would reject Jesus. Many would speak against him, as he put it. And so we come to the end of Jesus' earthly ministry, and it seems like, on the face of it, such a tragic ending. For a man who was such a good man who never sinned, who never broke a commandment of God, who welcomed so many people, and took them in and healed so many and cast out so many demons, proving that he is the Son of God. For this man to be nailed to a cross and hung up to die. Indeed, it would pierce through Mary's heart to see that. And yet that was what it cost to accomplish God's salvation. That was the price of atonement for sin, my sin, your sin. Jesus died on that cross for you so that you might be delivered from the penalty of your sin and have hope of eternal life with your Savior. You see, this was all part of God's plan to redeem sinful man. Jesus came to give his life a ransom for many. He came to become the Savior for all people, and he isn't your Savior until you take that step of faith and you come to God and you say, God, I recognize that I'm a sinner in need of a Savior. And I believe that Jesus is that Savior. I put my faith in Him. I receive Him as my Savior and Lord. I want to follow Him from this day forward. Is that the desire of your heart? To know Jesus as Simeon knew Jesus. To see Him as your Savior. Have you had your Simeon experience? Let's pray. Our Father, we thank you for this passage and this encounter that took place with the real Jesus and a man whom you had selected and identified to have this privilege of seeing your salvation in that Christ child, of holding that child in his own hands. Oh Lord, I pray for any who have put their hope in some hollow plastic figurine that is not the real Jesus, some trinket, some idol, some feeling that they've had. May they instead put their hope and confidence and faith in the real Jesus. May they embrace the real Jesus like Simeon did. Lord, I pray for that one who might be here today who has never come to that point of saving faith, where they come to you, confess their sin, and call upon you to save them. We pray, Lord, for all of us as believers to cherish the reality that we have seen the real Jesus, and may we embrace him all the more. We pray in Jesus' name, amen.