
00:00
00:00
00:01
ប្រតិចារិក
1/0
But now I invite you to turn in the Word of God to the Gospel of Luke, chapter 2, looking at verses 22 through 35, so not moving too far away from the birth of our Lord, just as in time we have not moved too far away from Christmas Day. Luke chapter 2, beginning in verse 22. Hear the Word of God. And when the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord. As it is written in the law of the Lord, every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the law of the Lord, a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons. Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. And this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel. And the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ. And he came in the spirit into the temple. And when the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him according to the customs of the law, he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said, Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace. According to your word, my eyes have seen your salvation, that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel. And his father and his mother marveled at what was said about him. And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed. And a sword will pierce through your own soul also, so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed. And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived with her husband seven years from when she was a virgin, and then as a widow until she was 84. She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day. And coming up at that very hour, she began to give thanks to God and to speak of him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem. Let's pray. Father, we thank you for your word. And we pray now as we give our attention to it, that your spirit would open it to us. Father, we pray that you would teach us, instruct us. Lord, convict us where we need conviction. And Father, we pray that you would grow us in grace. Lord, we love your word. We love this passage. We love all these beautiful chapters, Lord, that speak of the birth of our Savior and of his early days in this world. And of course, Lord, public ministry and is accomplishing our salvation. Father, we pray that we might worship you in the hearing and in the preaching of your Word, and ask it in Jesus' name. Amen. As a child growing up in a church that did not emphasize the liturgical calendar much like this one, I was always a little bit puzzled and fascinated by the song, The Twelve Days of Christmas. I wondered how or where there could be 12 days of Christmas. days of Christmas. It sounded pretty good to me. Only later did I come to realize that the 12 days of Christmas are that period of time from Christmas Day through up to January 6th, or Epiphany, and those are the 12 days of Christmas on the church calendar. Well, Christmas Day, December 25th itself, comes and goes so quickly. you may have noticed. I used to tell my children, as they would sit around and say, I can't wait for Christmas, I can't wait for Christmas, I tell them, enjoy the wait. By the time the day gets here, it's virtually over. And even yesterday, as the morning went by, and I remember noticing that we had passed noon, it was now not Christmas morning, but Christmas afternoon, feeling Maybe a residual effect from my childhood or maybe not. Just a twinge of melancholy as I realized that the day was slipping away quickly. The next thing you know it's December 26th and life rolls on. The same thing was true with first Christmas back with the birth of Jesus himself. Of course, the Bible, especially Matthew and Luke, make much of the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ, the angelic visions, our angelic visits to Joseph, to Mary, announcing the birth of the Savior to come, and then His amazing birth in Bethlehem, placed in a manger, Angels announcing it to shepherds out nearby, keeping watch over their flock by night. And it's all grand, and it's all wondrous. But then it was over. Even for Joseph. Even for Mary. Even for baby Jesus. The next day arrives and life goes on. The first day of the rest of their lives. In our passage, in fact, just before it in verse 41, We have there described the circumcision of Jesus on the eighth day according to the law and his naming, his official naming with that, Jesus, as it says, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb. And then our passage, the sermon text we just read, describes what came next after that. And a key phrase that occurs a couple of times in these early verses of our text that gives us a sense of the importance of it, the focus of it, is the law of the Lord. Twice, the law of the Lord, verse 23, as it's written in the law of the Lord. And then again in verse 24, according to what is said in the law of the Lord. Galatians 4, the Apostle Paul wrote that Jesus was born of a woman, born under the law. And here Luke is showing us that. That even from his earliest days, Jesus lived under the law. law of God, and was obedient to it. From his earliest days, Jesus lived under the law and was obedient to it. I think that's emphasized with that double mention. of the law of the Lord. Now, as we look at this passage, it moves forward through the actions of four people, and we're going to trace those four people. Of course, two are together, Joseph and Mary, and then Simeon, and then Anna. So first, Joseph and Mary, we see them in verses 22 through 24. And these two, the new parents as required under the law, do here What are two distinct actions? The presentation of the child at the temple and presenting him to Israel, presenting him before the Lord, and the purification of the mother after childbirth. Now this presentation of the child, oddly enough, is a result of the Passover. Exodus chapter 13 verse 15 explains the Passover, of course, where the Lord brought Israel out of their slavery in Egypt. Exodus 13, 15 explains it. For when Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the Lord killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man and the firstborn of animals. Therefore, I sacrifice to the Lord all the males that first opened the womb, but all the firstborn of my sons I redeem. The firstborn animal was sacrificed. Happily, that was not true of the firstborn sons, but the firstborn sons had to be redeemed. And that was a way of acknowledging that the Lord killed the firstborn in each household of Egypt, but spared the Israelites. And yet they were still required to redeem the firstborn child. And so that passage from Exodus and others are the basis for Luke's explanation for his readers in verse 23. as it is written in the law of the Lord, every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord. That is set apart to the Lord. And that redemption of the firstborn back is a way of acknowledging the firstborn belongs to the Lord. And it was done by paying a five shekel redemption price, which Luke doesn't mention that, but that fee would be paid, five shekels, And it was also done through a sacrifice, an animal sacrifice, which he does mention in verse 24, to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the law of the Lord, a pair of turtle doves or two young pigeons. The law also provided that a woman who had given birth to a son would be ceremonially unclean, in the case of a son, for seven days. And then on the eighth day afterward, a male child would be circumcised, as Jesus was, verse 21. And then for another 33 days, the mother would keep away from all holy things. She would not come into the sanctuary of the Lord. And then, as Leviticus 12, verses 6 through 8 puts it, it says, she shall bring to the priest at the entrance of the tent of meeting a lamb, a year old, for a burnt offering, and a pigeon, or a turtledove, for a sin offering. and he shall offer it before the Lord to make atonement for her. And if she cannot afford a lamb, then she shall take two turtledoves or two pigeons, one for a burnt offering, the other for a sin offering. And the priest shall make atonement for her, and she shall be clean. You'll note that the offering that Joseph and Mary offer up for Mary that of the poor. It's two birds, rather than a lamb and a bird, it's two birds as the law provided. So we see that. What are we to take away from that? What are these earliest events that we know of in the life of our Lord to teach us? Well, let me mention a few things. One, they do show us that from the very beginning Jesus was under the law, as we are, and in being so, he identified with sinners. We're under the law, but we've broken the law. We're condemned by the law. Jesus identifies with us under the law, though, of course, himself without sin. In fact, in another instance where Jesus identifies with sinners as he's an adult, and he goes to John to be baptized, and John pushes back. No, Lord. I need to be baptized by you. You don't need to repent. You don't need to receive this sign of repentance. I need to repent. I need to be cleansed by you. But of course Jesus insisted. He said it is necessary to fulfill all righteousness. Jesus didn't need that washing that's symbolized by John's baptism and the repentance for sin of it, of course, nor did he need removal of sin that was symbolized by circumcision, but he submitted to those things. to be under the law, to be righteous, and to identify with us who were not. And all of this, of course, was in anticipation of His bearing our sin, His becoming our sin, as He died on the cross. That's one thing we can take away from this, too. We see the humble situation into which Jesus was born. Joseph and Mary offered the sacrifice of the poor. Now, to be sure, they weren't destitute. I think sometimes we exaggerate their worldly standing. They weren't destitute, but they weren't among the wealthy either. And so we notice that when Jesus humbled himself to be born into this world, he not only humbled himself that vast distance to be born into this world as one of us, but to be born among the humble of the world. Not just to become a man which was humble enough for the Son of God, but to become a man of humble circumstances. And then three, these verses show us something of the nature of Jesus' parents. Now we already know something of Joseph from Matthew 1 when the angel announces to him about Mary's conception, and this is the work of God, that he did want to divorce her when he found out she was pregnant. He wanted to divorce her at first, but he wanted to do it quietly. He didn't want to put her to public shame. There was a consideration for her well-being even in that shock. to him of discovering she was with child. And we know, of course, he changed his mind when the angel assured him that this actually was the work of God, that Mary was not guilty of anything in that regard. And Mary herself, when the angel announced to her that she would conceive and bear a child, and of course her, as Joe pointed out, her inquisitiveness, how can this be since I'm a virgin? You might even say the first skeptic of the virgin birth was Mary herself. And again, as he did with Joseph, the angel explains to Mary the circumstances that this is the work of God. And she said, I'm the Lord's servant. Let it be to me as you have said. So I already see something of Joseph's character, something of Mary's character. These are godly people. But we see it again here that these are godly people who want to do for themselves, who want to do for their son what God's word requires. They wanted to obey the Word of God for themselves, and they wanted to obey the Word of God on behalf of their son. And certainly, godly parents should desire to do the same today. to see that their children are acquainted with the house of the Lord from their earliest days and that they receive the ordinances of the Lord for themselves and for their children prescribed in the word of God. And so we see Joseph and Mary here providing for their own righteousness and for that of their child, thereby bringing about his earliest obedience under the law of God. So that's the first two people, Joseph and Mary, doing what they do here. Second, we meet Simeon. in verses 25 through 35. Verse 25, Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. This man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel. And the Holy Spirit was upon him. We know nothing of this man except for this moment when his earthly life happened to intersect with that of Jesus' earthly life. But what we do know about him is astounding. The Holy Spirit had revealed to him that he would not die until his eyes had seen the Messiah. Now you think about how long Israel had been waiting for the Messiah, and how many must have given up hoping. And yet here's Simeon, and the Lord revealed to him that he wouldn't die. that in his lifetime, he would see the Messiah. That would be the equivalent then as if the Lord were to assure me or to assure you that before you died, you would see the return of Jesus. And of course, therefore you would not die. During your lifetime, you would see the return of the Lord. What a thing to know. He'd been waiting for the consolation of Israel. We tend to think of him as old. Maybe it's his cheerful readiness to die that he expresses in the words we'll look at in just a minute. But nothing ever says that he was old. We're not told that. We are told that by the same spirit of God, he was in the temple at just the right time to see Jesus. So, here we have two new parents carrying their baby into the bustling temple complex, probably looking here, looking there, trying to figure out where they're supposed to go, what they're supposed to do in order to take care of what they need to take care of for Jesus. When suddenly this stranger, this man walks up to them takes their baby from them into his arms and starts talking. Gotta admit, it probably was a little startling. Well, Simeon is talking and he speaks what we know as the Nunc Dimentis. The first two words of his song in Latin which mean now dismiss, now dismiss your servant. Or as it is in the ESV, Lord, now you're letting your servant depart in peace according to your word. For my eyes have seen your salvation that you've prepared in the presence of all peoples. In other words, Lord, I can die a happy man because I have seen the Messiah just like you said. What words, what a great thing. He continues, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel. Pretty stunning that right here in the temple, right here in the heart of Judaism, right here in the heart of the capital city of Judaism, Simeon starts talking about the Gentiles coming in. starts talking about Gentiles being saved, which of course is fulfilled in the book of Acts as the gospel goes out. Jesus is a light for revelation to them. And he also says, for glory to your people Israel. Why? Because it was from Israel that the Savior came. that this was the beachhead the Lord had brought about in the world throughout the Old Testament as he establishes the nation of Israel, the people from which the Lord would come into the world to send the Messiah into the world. And so he was the fruition of all God's covenant dealings with them. The seed of Eve, the son of David, the Messiah had come through Israel. And you know, Paul talks about this early in Romans chapter 9, all the blessings that God had poured out on Israel. All of this, as Simeon is looking at their newborn son, which is pretty amazing. Most people just get, what a beautiful baby. But they got all of this about their son. So naturally, as verse 33 tells us, his father and his mother marveled. They wondered at what was said about their son. Now, yes, they knew what Gabriel had told them. But remember, this was almost a year before that that happened, and maybe they were beginning to think, did we just dream that? Did we just imagine all of that? Remember, the angels appeared to the shepherds out in the field, not to Mary and Joseph the night that Jesus was born. And now they're getting this from Simeon. No, this is real. Everyone seems to think their baby is special, a prodigy, destined for greatness. We all think that about our children, right? But in this case, this was real. This child was distinct. Their baby was unique. among all children." What a wonderful thing. Parents love hearing people say good things about their children. No better thing was ever said about any child. But Simeon didn't stop there, did he? He also had some hard things. Verses 24, 25. And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother. Now he just turns his gaze to her. Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel. and for a sign that is opposed. And a sword will pierce through your own soul also, so that the thoughts from many hearts may be revealed." Being the parents of the Messiah would not mean easy street for them. It would be hard, especially for Mary. Her baby boy would be a lightning rod A divider. He caused the fall and the rise of many. He would be a sign. A sign of God. A sign of righteousness. A sign of sin. A sign of hypocrisy in Israel. A corruption. A rebellion. A sign that would be opposed. The 19th century Anglican Church of England minister J.C. Ryle wrote, men who agreed in nothing else have agreed in hating Christ. This opposition to her son, Simeon tells her, will be excruciating. Like a sword piercing through her own soul. Pain to the depth of her being. And I'm sure that occurred many times in her life, but no more so than when she would see her baby boy, this child she held so tenderly, nailed to a Roman cross for His execution. Of course, you know Jesus' ministry as we read about it in the Gospels. He did reveal the thoughts. He did reveal the hearts of many exposing their true character as He does to this present day. In some, self-righteousness. In some, lovers of this world. In others, hypocrisy. and in others, deep conviction of their own sin and their need of a Savior, trusting in Jesus. Jesus has a way of revealing our true character. So what do you think of Jesus? What does He call forth in your heart? What does He call forth from you? Will you believe in Him and follow Him and rise? Or will you reject Him and fall? Mary and Joseph, faithful parents. Simeon, a declarer of weal and woe. But then third, Anna, verses 36 through 38. There was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived with her husband seven years from when she was a virgin and then as a widow until she was 84. According to the law, by the mouth of two witnesses shall a thing be established, and so it is here. A man and a woman confirming the identity of the baby and the promises made about baby Jesus. And it may be, since they both seem to spend a lot of time at the temple, that they may well have known each other, Simeon and Anna. Well, as it was with Simeon, so it is now with Anna. This is all we know of her. She was a prophetess. which is a pretty remarkable thing given how much silence there was in the intertestamental period, that 400 years or so between the close of the Old Testament, the beginning of the New, and silence from God, and yet God very much at work preparing the way for Jesus. She was of the tribe of Asher, a northern tribe lost with the fall of the Northern Kingdom, yet somehow she has retained her genealogy back to that tribe. She was married as a young woman for seven years, and then was a widow until age 84. So we know her age now, or it may be that she was a widow for 84 years, which would have made her quite old indeed. But as a widow in Israel, her life was probably overall pretty difficult. This is a woman who likely knew a great deal of hardship. Yet she was also a godly woman, as verse 37 indicates. It says, she did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day. Now that may have meant that she had quarters somewhere in the temple complex, or it may mean, it may be more likely means, what we would mean by the expression, she was at church every time the doors opened. She was there a lot. Notice that would mean she also attended the evening service, apparently. So this is the woman who sought the Lord. She was at the temple. This was like a second home to her. It is possible it was her home. She's very epitome of Psalm 27, 4. One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire. in his temple. That's Anna, a woman very familiar with the house and the presence of the Lord. And like Simeon, Anna comes up that same time that Joseph and Mary and Jesus were there at the temple. Luke does not quote her directly. He simply notes that, as he writes, she began to give thanks to God and to speak of God to all who are waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem. So no doubt, Anna knew many others, Simeon and many others at the temple, who, like her, were waiting for the Messiah. Others may have given up hope, but not Simeon, not Anna. They were waiting, they were watching, they were looking, and she says was speaking to them, the people there, telling them, no doubt, that the salvation of God embodied in this baby was in their midst even now. Amazing stuff. Coming to do what the law required, hearing the words of Simeon, hearing the words and seeing the witness of Anna to their child. So much extraordinariness. And after all of that, verses 39 and 40 tell us that Joseph, Mary, and Jesus returned back north, back up to Galilee, back home to Nazareth, back to the ordinary, where they raised their son. So there you have it. Baby Jesus, the center of it all, the parents, the witnesses doing what needed to be done. Looking ahead, if only vaguely, at this point to what was to come. Joyful things to come, painful things to come. Things at this point that, for the most part, were still 30 years or more in the future. Yet they knew this. The Messiah has arrived. Salvation. Deliverance is coming. In a way, our situation, even today, even right here, is very similar to those we meet here in this passage. Another year looms ahead of us. We don't know what it holds. We may know things we have planned. We may know some things that are coming along in shadowy form, or maybe as items on a calendar. But we don't really know. what 2022 holds. It may be wonderful. It may be great. It may be painful. It may be difficult. It may be devastating. Most likely some mix of all of the above. But Christmas testifies to this. The Messiah has come. Deliverance has come. Salvation has appeared. We know that whatever the year holds, our Savior Jesus holds the year. As were Simeon and Anna, we too are a people waiting, looking ahead, waiting, waiting for the second coming, the second appearance of our Lord and the fullness of our salvation. So another day has come. Life rolls on. We go about our business, living our lives like Anna, bearing witness to the Lord and His salvation, meeting week by week with His people to worship with God's people on the Lord's day. We'll continue on looking for the appearance of our Lord. Come, Lord Jesus. Let's pray. Father, we thank you that our expectation, our waiting, is based on your promise. Lord, your people waited a long time, some even gave up waiting for the first appearance of our Lord. And we know there are those who would taunt, where is this coming, he promised. Yet, Lord, we wait, we look ahead in confidence because, Lord, our Savior appeared the first time. We know he will appear at the second, you've promised. And so, Father, as we go through this afternoon and this week, as we go into 2022, help us to live, Lord, as your people, godly folk, trusting in Jesus, counting on the word of the Lord, going about our business, until that day that we are with you in heaven, until that day that the trumpet sounds, And Jesus appears. Come, O Jesus, that is our prayer, and we pray it for you in your name. Amen.
Looking Ahead
ស៊េរី Christmas 2021
From his earliest days Jesus was obedient to the law of God.
លេខសម្គាល់សេចក្ដីអធិប្បាយ | 123121125486403 |
រយៈពេល | 30:34 |
កាលបរិច្ឆេទ | |
ប្រភេទ | ព្រឹកថ្ងៃអាទិត្យ |
អត្ថបទព្រះគម្ពីរ | លូកា 2:22-35 |
ភាសា | អង់គ្លេស |
បន្ថែមមតិយោបល់
មតិយោបល់
គ្មានយោបល់
© រក្សាសិទ្ធិ
2025 SermonAudio.