And now from Luke 2.25, speaking of Simeon, now there was a man whose name was Simeon. And this man was both 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 Spirit that he would not see death until he had seen the Lord's Christ. And he came in the Spirit into the temple when the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him according to the custom of the law. And he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said, Lord, you are now allowing your servant to depart in peace according to your word. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and a glory to your people Israel. So far, the hearing of God's word. But Church, I want to ask you today, when's the last time that you had to wait for something for a very long time? It's very hard for us to wait for a long time, or kids who are in the room, perhaps three days that is left between now And that very special day seems like a really long time, but you still have to wait for all that is going to take place. Birthdays seem to take a long time to come each year when you're young, and the sad thing is that they seem to come much, much sooner as we get old. Perhaps for those of you who are kids and who are young, trips are a thing that excites you, and it seems like the day just won't come when we finally get to leave and go on that trip. But as parents and as adults, perhaps the ones who pack the suitcase and have to make the plans, we could do with a little bit more time. How about for the more serious things in life? It's very hard to wait, isn't it? Some of you in our church just this year have prayed a long time for a job and have had to wait for a very long time. Some of you have had to wait for the Lord to bring about a fix to a situation in life that just doesn't seem solvable. And you have prayed night and day for months on end, and you wait for the Lord to reveal to you His plan, what He's going to do. Some of us have prayed for a friend. We long for a friend. If the Lord would just give us one friend that could know us and help us and walk beside us and care for us, For some of us, perhaps, it's a spouse. We would long to be able to have a spouse and someone to share the joys and sorrows of life with. And we pray about this night and day, and we've had to wait for a long time. Some of us in our church are quite ill and we've been praying to the Lord for him to help us, to tell us what is wrong so that we could just go and see the right person to get the right answer and then perhaps maybe we would feel well again. We live in a day and age in which the world seems to be at war. And certainly the Church of Christ spread around the entire world has been praying and longing for the Lord to bring peace. We've had to wait a long time. Today, the man that we meet in Luke 2 has had to wait a very long time. He's had to wait his entire life for one single thing. Luke doesn't tell us all that we might like to know about this man whose name is Simeon. We don't know if he was married, if he had a wife, or perhaps he had kids. We don't know what his job was. We don't know all of the things that we might like to know about him, but we do know some things. We know that he was not a king, that he was not a priest, a prophet, He was not a man who held a high rank in terms of the world. He was just a common, ordinary man. But Luke tells us that he was a man who loved God. If you'll look with me at the text in the very first verse that we read, Luke records these two words. Simeon was a man, both. a righteous and devout. And perhaps as you read those words or hear those words read aloud, you recoil just a little bit within yourself. We tend to use the word devout in not a very nice way these days, because sometimes we hear those who profess to be devout and all that we can see on the outside is a sort of falsehood. People who claim to be sort of pious within their life and the faith that they profess and yet from our seat all we can see are those who might appear one way on the outside and yet their heart seems to be far away. from the Lord. But what these two terms want for us to know is not that sort of thing. What these two words want for us to know is that this was a man who knew God and loved God and walked before him and sought to please him in all of his life. This was a man who loved the law of God And of course, as we think about what the law of God is, sometimes we think of it summarized in those 10 words. Moses wrote down these 10 words, which is not all of God's law, but are just 10 summarized summarizing statements about what all of the law is. And we regard the first of those four to be that life that we owe to God. We want to live for him. And then commandments 5 through 10, of course, are what we owe to those who live around us. And Simeon was a man who sought to love God, to serve Him, to please Him, and to serve others so that they also would come to know the Lord. Was Simeon perfect? Of course not. Of course not. And he tells us as much here. If Simeon did not need to be saved by someone outside of himself, then he wouldn't have felt such a need for the Lord Jesus to appear. You see, he refers to him as the salvation whom God has sent. Simeon has longed to be saved and has longed to see the one in whom the grace of God would come for his entire life. So Simeon knows himself that he is not a perfect man. He is a man who has stained lips and an impure heart, who has hands that are defiled and need to be cleansed. But here is a man who was sensitive to the Spirit of God. Luke tells us that the Spirit was upon him. That the Spirit of God was upon him. We need to take a second or two just to unpack exactly what that means. Of course, in one way we should say that the Spirit of God dwelt within him. Why? Because this man was born again. man believed in the Christ who was to come and had faith in the Lord. So this man was filled by the Spirit of God. He was a son of God and by the Spirit of God he cried out to the Lord as Father. And you and I, who are born again, have the Spirit within us. And in that same way, by the Spirit of God, you profess faith in Christ and you call out to God as Father. But that's not what Luke is speaking about here. Luke is speaking about a very special way that the Spirit of God used to come upon people, not just work within their heart, but come upon them. That is, descend and outfit them for a special service that the Lord had ordained for them to perform. And the Spirit had come upon Simeon and had made known to him something that wasn't common to the rest of Simeon's peers. The Spirit of God made it known to this man that he was not going to die until he saw with his own eyes the Lord in whom he believed. He calls him the Lord Christ, the promised one who was to come. And so Simeon held this special word from the Lord in his heart, and it almost seemed to describe everything about his life. This was a man who was attuned to the way that the Spirit of God led him. This was a man who knew that God had spoken to him, and that because God cannot lie, because God has sworn an oath which he will fulfill, Simeon said, I don't know how it's going to occur. I don't know when it's going to take place, but I know the Lord, and I know that God is going to fulfill the word that he has spoken to me. And so you can more or less put yourself in his shoes. Simeon might have gotten up from his sleep day by day and thought, Lord, is today the day? Is today the day that you will come? And then that day came and went, and he put his head down to rest that night. And then the very next day, Lord, is this the day that you will come and that when I will get to see you? And then that day came and went. But then there was this one day, you see, when the Spirit of God prompted him within his heart and he rose up from his home and he went to the temple to see the Lord Jesus standing in front of him. Now, it wasn't just that he longed to see the Lord in the flesh. There was something about Jesus. That's Simeon especially long to see. I am curious if it stood out to you as you read the text for yourself. Was it that he wanted to see the one in whom all of God's word would now come about? Yes. Was it that he longed to see the one who would bear the guilt for all of his sin? Yes, it was that. But there was something very special about Jesus that Simeon longed to see, and it's at the end of verse 25. Consolation. Consolation. And that word is a special Bible word, of course, that has appeared in God's word at a certain place for a certain time. Isaiah has this section of his book in which he refers to the servant of the Lord who will come. Chapters 40 through about 61 sing these songs that are called servant songs about the servant of the Lord who will come. And all those songs begin with a word of comfort. Isaiah prophesies. saying, comfort, comfort to my people, says the Lord. Speak tenderly to her, for her warfare has come to an end, and she will receive double for all of her sins. And we just need to take a step back from that psalm and hear the word that the Lord has promised here. The church, in all of her sin, is not going to receive payment for sin, but instead is going to receive grace instead of wrath. The church, on account of all of our sin, is not going to receive punishment from God, but instead is going to receive double grace, contrary to what we have earned. And all of this is going to come to the tune of comfort, comfort. The one who is going to come and bring it about is going to not speak in a loud thundering voice of wrath, but instead is going to speak what? Tenderly and softly. I don't know if you've ever been in a very sore time of your life. Perhaps it's on account of the circumstance in which you find yourself in, or perhaps it's especially in a time when you know that you have done something wrong. And you know that those who have found out about the wrong that you have done would be right to come and to excoriate you and to read you the riot act and to punish you for your sinfulness. But what happens when we expect to receive the voice of the law and instead of receiving thundering condemnation from the law, instead we receive an embrace of grace? That is the most stunning thing that we can experience and know in our entire life, and that is exactly what the promise of the gospel is in Jesus Christ. You see, it's not just that Jesus was going to come. It's not just that Jesus, as the second person of the Godhead, the Son of God himself, was going to take human flesh for the very first time and be born like us. It's not just that Jesus was going to obey the law of God in our place or to suffer on the cross for the sake of our sins. It's not just that Jesus was going to come and speak a word of grace to us. It's the way that the Lord Jesus comes, full of grace, tenderly. Jesus comes with a heart of compassion for sinners, and he embraces us and holds us close to himself. Just think about the way Jesus appeared, and the way that he spoke, and the way that he was with all of those who are outcast from the societies in which They lived. Jesus was not afraid to be near them. Instead of shunning those who were unclean, those who were separate and apart, by the word of the law, he embraced them to himself. He went to their home and dined with them. He received them and walked with them, hand in hand, side by side. You see, Jesus Christ is not an it. He's not a thing. He is a he. He is someone. And sometimes when we just speak about him as being grace, grace, grace, we risk thinking of him as being something instead of someone. Christmas, you see, is not about receiving something. It is about seeing and enjoying and knowing someone, Jesus Christ. And sometimes we just need to assess ourselves and our thoughts about Christ. Is he a 1D person to us, or is he 3D? Do we know him in this way, to be tender and full of compassion in his heart towards us? When we know that we have sinned against Him, when we know that we have offended against the law of God, do we know that Jesus Christ is our consolation? The Simeon waited his entire life. And he longed to see Jesus Christ in the flesh, to behold him, to pick him up, to embrace him, and to know him to be exactly the one who he had longed for. Well, then there's the circumstance in which it all took place. Marian Joseph Luke tells us in chapter 2, verses 22 through verse 24, took their child, once he had been weaned, and they took him to the temple because he was their first-born child. And the law of God prescribes what we are to do with the first-born child. That child is especially holy unto the Lord. And so what the law of God prescribed was when a firstborn child has been weaned and can stand on his own feet, mom and dad are to bring him and with him a small sacrifice to be able to present him to the Lord. That small sacrifice is to small birds, pigeons, turtle doves, whatever one can afford. Joseph and Mary don't have very much that they can pay. They can only afford this small thing, and so they bring their very special child. And they bring him according to the standard of the law. And boy, that makes us stop and scratch our heads, does it not? Because the entire reason why the mom and dad were to bring this small sacrifice was to consecrate this child to be holy unto the Lord by way of sacrifice. Now, it wasn't the blood of that small turtle dove that was to atone for the guilt in which that child had been born. But that was a sign. It was by faith as they looked ahead to the promised one who was to come, who would atone for the guilt of all of the people of God. But because they trusted in that one to come by faith, they brought these two small birds with which to present their child to the Lord. But why did Mary and Joseph do that? had not been born in the way that all of the rest of the young boys, all who had come before him, had been born. Jesus did not have guilt that was counted to him from the first Adam. He was spared that guilt. And of course, Jesus himself had not sinned. It was impossible for him to sin. And so, therefore, Mary and Joseph did not need to bring sacrifice for Jesus himself. But what we see here is an amazing display of the way that the Son of God has been born subject to the law. And he freely takes upon himself the terms of the law, not for his own sake, but for your sake. Now, look at what's taking place here. Jesus, the son of God, who gave the law of God to Moses. Jesus, the Son of God, who created the entire world and all that we see and upholds it by the word of his power, it is this same Son of God, the one who gave the law, the one who upholds the world by the word of the law, who now makes himself subject to the law. You see, even from the very first days of Jesus Christ as incarnate Son, we see that he is both Lord and servant at the same time, the one who gives the law and the one who takes upon himself the terms of the law so that he may fulfill it for you. As we look into this text and we see Mary, Joseph there presenting their child, Mary certainly stands out to us. And of course, it causes our minds to think all the way back to another child that was born, to a mother who prayed and had to wait a long time for her child to be born. Hannah prayed. And you will recall the special circumstances by which Samuel was born. Hannah said, Lord, if you will give me a son, I will give him back to you. I will devote him to your house. And that's exactly what took place. Samuel was weaned, and then Hannah took him by the hand and presented him at the temple to the priest Eli. And she left him there. And Samuel was to live his whole life serving the Lord and was to respond to the way that the Spirit of God was going to speak to him, to call him, and to rest upon him, and to outfit him for the special service that he was to perform. But if we think about Samuel on the one hand, Jesus on the second hand, these two young boys presented by their parents, devoted to the task that is before him in the temple, then we see the hand of the Lord at work in both of these in reverse ways, reverse ways. In the first case, Samuel is devoted to the Lord's service. He is a gift to God. But you see, Jesus comes not as a gift from his parents, from his mom, to the Lord, but he comes as the Lord himself. Jesus comes as God in the flesh. as a gift to the people of God. Samuel had to be set apart from the rest of those who were like him so that he could serve the Lord in a special way on behalf of the people. But you see, Jesus was now coming not to those that he was like, but to those who he was unlike. And he took upon himself their flesh in order to be found in the form of a servant, so that he could come on behalf of God and serve the people." Simeon catches some of this. He knows that this child is the Great Holy One who has finally come. And before him, as he sees this child, stands the One who is full of comfort, whose very far and before his eyes exudes tender grace from God and yet at the same time is holy and he's here in the temple where all of the Sacrifices would be made. And Simeon certainly knows that in years to come that this child that he now sees in this place of sacrifice will become the sacrifice for sin by becoming the sacrifice itself. You see, Mary could have had no way to fathom all of these things but by the way that the Lord had made it known to her. How could she take it all in? If you go home and just read the rest of Luke 2, it says that Mary and Joseph went away from this scene, and they were just pondering all of the things that had been said. Mary has stored up the word of the Lord in her heart, but they are just trying to come to grips with all that has been said about this child that has been put into their care, and they marvel at what has been said about him. Simeon is an old man, of course. He is near to the time of his death. The Lord has preserved him long enough to see this child be born. And as an old man, he picks up this young child and he holds him in his arms and he begins to sing to him. He begins to sing a song of praise for the way that God has fulfilled all of the words promised to his people. He says, this child is a light to those who have walked in the dark. This child is a light to those who have longed to know the way of truth and to know the Lord and have groped about in the dark trying to perceive God in his ways. This God has now made himself known by shining a light in the face of Christ. And secondly, this child that has been born is absolute glory. Glory, he says. Glory is a funny word. Sometimes we can translate that to mean heavy weight or worth. Sometimes we can speak about that word as the way that it reveals light to our eyes. But here, Glory, of course, simply means thrilling joy. Thrilling joy. Simeon holds this child in his arms and he sings a song of praise for the grace that God has revealed in Jesus Christ, the one through whom salvation would finally be made known." Simeon holds him tight and says, now Lord, now I can depart. Now my prayer has been answered and I can leave this place. I can now die because I have seen and beheld the one that I longed for. It's almost in his words as he sings the song that we hear the prayer that Job prayed. In all of his pain, in all of the days of his long life that Job longed for relief from all of the signs of the curse that were all about him, Job by faith prophesied and said, one day I shall see my Redeemer standing on the earth. And Simeon now holds this redeemer in his hands and he says, nunc dimittis. Now I can depart because Jesus has come. Friends, Some of us would shudder to think that we could, with full sincerity of heart, say the things that Paul said about himself, as he wrote to the Church of Philippi, saying, for me to live is Christ. What did that mean for Paul? For Paul to live is Jesus Christ. What is your life? What is your life about? Who do you live your life for? What do you live your life for? What do you long for? Church, what is the yearning of your heart? What is the desire of your soul? Who do you long to see at the end of the day in all of your days? Can you say like Job, by faith, one day I shall see my Redeemer standing on the earth? In His second coming, then He will appear and we will see Him, we will behold Him. Will He come and present Himself to you as Redeemer? Because you have been found in the embrace of His grace, tenderly. Or will you come on that last day and will you be found outside of Christ? And instead of seeing the redeemer before you, will you see the one who gives the law to condemn and judge? How about for all of your loved ones as you prepare to be around them this week? What is the desire that you have for them at the end of the day? What is the prayer that you pray for them? Lord, this year, the gift that we long for is Jesus Christ. We want to see him appear full of grace for our needy hearts and for all those that we love. And would it be enough for you to say, Nunc dimittis. Now I can depart. My life has all been about seeing, savoring, beholding, enjoying Jesus Christ. Let's pray. Our Father, your word is so rich and so powerful. We thank you so much for it all. We thank you that there's no way possible for us to plumb the rich depths. But we thank you that you tell us that your word is like a glass that we can look through to see the Lord Jesus. Father, pray for our church now, and we pray that by your Spirit, that you would press this word down upon us, that you would use it in the depths of our being, that we would know Jesus Christ, and that we would know him as he is, full of grace for weary sinners. Oh, would you draw us to him now? Would you fill our hearts with the knowledge of all that he is? Would it be for us that the Lord Jesus would embrace us and take us up in his arms and lead us in a song of joy and thanks and praise? We pray all these things in his name and for his glory's sake. Amen.