“The Test”
(Luke 2:21-38)
Dr. Richard S. Koole
Chapel Pointe
July 5, 2009
I. Introduction
A. The Story of Anna
1. People had heard about her for years
a. Married when she was 13 or 14
b. Husband died when she was 20
c. Never remarried
2. She had a special passion in life
a. Spent all her time in prayer, serving and worshiping God
b. Never left the Temple area
c. They finally gave her one of the Temple apartments
3. The years passed….and then the decades
a. 60 years later, she was now 84 years old
4. She was to become a key witness in a paternity case
a. Testified regarding the father of a child
B. Michael Jackson’s three children
1. Who are the parents?
2. Wait till you see this custody fight unfold
C. Today, who was Mary’s little baby?
1. Was he really the Messiah?
2. Could witnesses be produced?
D. Two or three witnesses
1. Our courts want “witnesses”
a. …and so did the Old Testament Law
2. Witnesses to corroborate the identity of the baby
a. More than just the word of Joseph and Mary
3. Today, two more witnesses
4. Witnesses of impeccable credentials
II. Text (Luke 2:21-38)
A. The Purification (v. 21-22)
(21) On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise him, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he had been conceived.
1. Circumcision……v.21
a. On the 8th day
(22) When the time of their purification according to the Law of Moses had been completed,
2. The Purification
a. Forty days after birth of Jesus
b. Still in Bethlehem
c. Mother ceremonially impure
d. Had to wait 40 days after birth
B. The Presentation (v. 22-24)
(22) When the time of their purification according to the Law of Moses had been completed, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (23) (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord”), (24) and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: “a pair of doves or two young pigeons.”
1. Went to the Temple in Jerusalem
a. The crowds in the temple courtyard
b. 40 acre site with tens of thousands of people
c. For all kinds of reasons
2. I doubt whether anybody noticed them
a. Obviously of humble background
b. Moved toward the altar with their pigeons
3. The sacrifice
a. He was the first-born
1. Set apart to God
2. Would pay a small temple tax (ransom)
b. Bought two pigeons to sacrifice
1. Couldn’t afford two lambs
4. Things are pretty normal so far
C. The Promise (v. 25-26)
(25) Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.
1. A man named Simeon
a. He was an old man…..v.25
1. Ready to die
2. But, searching for something
a. Not ready to die just yet
b. He was a righteous man …..v.25
1. It doesn’t mean he had earned his righteousness
a. That’s impossible
2. It means that God had declared him righteous because as a sinner he trusted in God for his forgiveness…and not in his own works (MacArthur)
c. He was a devout man
1. This is a man who was concerned about the things of God
2. This word is sometimes translated “cautious” or “careful”
3. “He lived a very careful, cautious life…careful to obey God, careful to honor God, so as to bring glory to God and to be an example to others.” (MacArthur)
d. He was a Spirit-filled man
a. Always in the temple
b. Searching for something
c. But what?
2. The Promise……v.26
(26) It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.
a. Had been promised that he would see the Christ
1. May have been given the promise the day before
….or 70 years ago and still searching
2. He has been searching and waiting ever since!
b. He wouldn’t die before he sees the Messiah
1. Think about that promise
2. He knew he didn’t have much time
3. So what should he look for”
a. A mighty king riding through the Eastern Gate?
b. The darkened sky cracking open in majesty?
4. Part of a small but believing remnant
a. They knew and believed the prophecies
b. Sensed that it was time!
5. Looking for “the Lord’s Christ”
a. Greek – Christ
1. Hebrew – Messiah
b. The “Anointed One”
D. The Proclamation (v. 27-32)
(27) Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, (28) Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:
1. Led by the Holy Spirit to the Temple Courts…..v.27
a. Massive court yards
b. Packed with people
2. Try to imagine how it happened
a. As Simeon first spotted them
3. Was he shocked that it was a baby?
a. As he put it all together
b. Had one of those “Now I get it” moments
4. His proclamation (v. 29-32)
a. One of the most beloved prayers of the early church
b. Called the “Nunc Dimittis”
1. “Now Lord”
2. First two words in Latin
c. Amazing statements in it
(29) “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you now dismiss your servant in peace. (30) For my eyes have seen your salvation, (31) which you have prepared in the sight of all people, (32) a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.”
5. Take me home to glory!
1. For my eyes have seen your salvation
6. People must have thought the old guy was crazy
1. Loud proclamation
7. The shocking message
1. Talking about salvation to both Jews and Gentiles
E. The Parents……v.33
(33) The child’s father and mother marveled at what was said about him.
1. Life had started to return to normal
a. The shepherds had gone back to their fields
b. The Wise Men hadn’t arrived yet
2. Had added to their understanding of their baby
F. The Prophecy (v. 34-35)
(34) Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against,
1. Why just to Mary?
a. Joseph gone after Jesus is 12
b. Joseph would not experience what Mary would
c. Piercing of Mary
(35) ….And a sword will pierce your own soul too.
d. The pain Mary would endure
e. Watching her son on the cross
2. “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel”
a. Jesus would be the dividing line
1. People will have to choose to accept or reject
2. Rejecting will cause to fall away from salvation
b. Jesus the determiner of destinies…. “the Test”
3. “…and be a sign that will be spoken against”
a. His birth
(Isaiah 7:14) “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.”
b. His death and resurrection
1. Mt. 12:38-40
38 Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, “Teacher, we want to see a miraculous sign from you.” 39 He answered, “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40 For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
c. They saw the sign —and cursed him
4. He will reveal the thoughts of the heart
(35) so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed.
a. Taking a tour of Paris
1. The magnificent art work in The Louvre
2. The great symphony in the Paris Concert Hall
b. At the end of the day he was asked, “What do you think?”
1. And he replied, “I wasn’t that impressed”
2. To which his friend said, “If it’s any consolation to you, the museum and its art were not on trial and neither was the symphony. You were on trial. History has already judged the greatness of those works of art and music. All that is revealed by your attitude is the smallness of your appreciation.
c. Jesus isn’t on trial…but every soul is.
1. The Test
d. How people respond to Jesus reveals their heart
G. The Prophetess……v.36-38
(36) There was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phaneuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, (37) and then was a widow until she was eighty-four.
1. Anna….Grace
a. Hebrew….Hannah
2. She was a prophetess
a. A teacher or proclaimer of God’s truth
3. She was very old
a. 84 or 104?
4. She was an extraordinary woman
(37) She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. (38) Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.
a. Longing to see Jesus
b. Prayer warrior
c. So respected
4. Simeon may have called her over
a. She may have found them
5. She gave the word to all who were truly looking for the redeemer