The Gospel of Luke, and the chapter 2, and I draw your attention this morning in this story of Simeon, the verse 25. 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. We have been considering this old, just, and devout man, Simeon, who is in Jerusalem, and we read about his purpose in Jerusalem. His whole life, his whole heart are wrapped up in one concern. He's a man of one desire. He's a man of one longing. And he's in Jerusalem for this longing. The text tells us he is a man waiting for the consolation of Israel. That's why he's in Jerusalem. That's why he's coming into the temple. This concern, this desire is bringing him in. He's a man of one thing. One thing have I desired of the Lord, the psalmist said. And Simeon's like that. And that one thing is a consolation. Israel. So, he's waiting for the consolation of Israel. And you know something? He's not the only one. There are others. Anna is the same. She comes in after him. She blesses God like him. And she also has been waiting for the consolation of Israel. And it wasn't just these two old saints. in the temple about the same matter. There are others as well, because it says there in verse 38, she coming in that instant, give thanks likewise unto God and speak of him, that is of the Lord Jesus, speak of him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem. There were others. they're about her, and they're looking for redemption in Jerusalem as well. And that word look is the same word as the word weep, The story begins with Simeon waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the story ends with Anna talking to all the others who also are waiting, are looking for the redemption that is in Jerusalem. And so she's speaking out, she's talking of Christ, she's talking about Christ, and she's not speaking to everyone, no, She's only speaking to those who are looking and waiting for the redemption. So there's a whole group of them. We could call them the society of those looking for redemption in Jerusalem. And so they're in Jerusalem, and they're looking and waiting for this consolation. and this is what Simeon and others are doing. And so, this group, however large they may be, they're taught of God, they're taught by the Word, they're taught by the Holy Spirit, they're probably led and taught by old Simeon, and they have a spirit of expectancy. We're not going to speculate on how they got the timing, and the place right. Except to say that, like Simeon, they knew their Bibles, they were taught of the Holy Spirit, they were reading Providence, and there had been certain things happening over the past 40 days around Jerusalem that was bringing them like magnets towards Christ to meet Him in the temple. It's no accident. Simeon is this group's leader and teacher and their representative. And he, as undoubtedly the oldest among them, has the privilege of holding the Christ child among them and saying, this is he, the light to the Gentiles, the glory of Israel, the one we have waited for, this is he. And so there are two things about this description, waiting for the consolation of Israel. There are two things about this description. There is, first of all, the thing waited for, the consolation of Israel. And then there is the second thing, the actual waiting. The first describes a person, the person of Christ, and the second describes a believer, what he does, he waits for that person, and so that implies a promise. You can't wait unless you have a promise. And so we consider this morning the person, waited for, and the promise. but caused them to wait. And so, the person, first of all. You see, the consolation of Israel is not an emotion. The consolation of Israel isn't a feeling. The consolation of Israel isn't an eerie, furry warmth. The consolation of Israel is a person. This is the Hebrew language for expecting Messiah. The context shows that they are wearing not just for some comfort, not just for some blanket to wrap them up and to warm them. No, this is not just ordinary consolation that they're wearing for. This is a person that they are looking and expecting, for the promised one. You remember how it says there in verse 26, it was revealed unto him that is Simeon by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ. That's what he's waiting for, the Lord's Christ. Now, Christ is a Greek word, but it's a Greek word for anointed, for Messiah, waiting for God's Messiah. That's what this constellation is. God's Messiah. It's a person. Then took he him up in his arms and blessed God and said, now let me depart in peace. I have him. I see him, I hold him, this consolation of Israel that I have been waiting for. It's a person. It's the man, child, Christ Jesus. I hope you understand that. And Luke is bringing out that word, Christos, till he had seen the Lord's Christ, Messiah. Now, whenever the shepherds heard the announcement of the birth, it was in these words. Unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord." He's the Lord Messiah. And it is not inconceivable that that message reached Jerusalem, and that they were waiting the arrival of this newborn babe for his mother to go through the purification ritual. The shepherds that the angels appeared to, it was no accident. The shepherds were deliberately chosen, and no doubt, it was because of their link to the temple. They were keeping watch over the sheep. And no doubt it was their lambs that were to go. And we read that the shepherds made known abroad the saying. They didn't keep it secret to themselves. They talked about it everywhere they went. And when they brought their sheep to the temple, they talked about it and they said, the angels appeared to us and they told us that Christ the Lord was born. And no doubt, Luke is wanting us to tie all these threads together. And there is this society who believe this message, and they're waiting in Jerusalem for this child to come. It is the Lord Jesus who is the consolation of Israel. Just as he is, verse 32, a light to the Gentiles, and just as he is the glory of Israel, so he is the comfort of Israel. It is a lovely description of our Lord Jesus Christ. For us poor, needy, and miserable sinners, He is our comfort. He is our consolation. And so it is a lovely way that the believing Jews viewed their Messiah. And we should still view Him as this. And we wish and we pray that Israel would see and view Him as this, their true comfort, their only comfort, the consolation of Israel. Because consolation means comfort. It means solace. It means encouragement. Now, the Holy Spirit is called the Comforter, but Christ is the Comfort. Do you see the difference? The Holy Spirit is the Comforter, but Christ is the Comfort, the Consolation. That man-child is the very Comfort. the very comfort that the Holy Spirit, as the Comforter, has brought. The very one the Holy Spirit, as the Comforter, brings us to. He is the comfort. There's a vast difference. And so he is our comfort. He is Simeon's comfort. And do you see why he takes the child, why he holds the child, why he blesses God, and why he can say, I'm now ready to die? Because he holds the comfort. That's how believing Jews thought. Now, not all of Israel thought that. I'm not talking about all of Israel. I'm talking about the remnant. I'm talking about true believing Jews. That's how they thought. Their Messiah, their promised coming Messiah, to them He was the comfort of Israel. And I have to say this morning, there is no comfort without Jesus Christ. None whatsoever. And you will not find comfort without Him and apart from Him. He alone is the comfort. We are all lost, miserable sinners unless Christ comes. And there is no comfort unless Christ comes. And Simeon knows that. And believing Israel knows that. I say it again. There is no comfort without and apart from Jesus Christ our Lord. You will not find it unless you find Him. You will not have it unless you hold and embrace him. He alone is your comfort. And so, whether Simeon or believers today, it's still the same. There is no one else. We look for no one else. and we pray Israel and all of Israel, and not just a small remnant, will see this, that their comfort is Jesus Christ. You see, without Christ, we are miserable, helpless, perishing sinners. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, If it's just a dream, if it's just a fancy, if it's just a notion that we have now in this life and we're deluded, if that's all it is, we are the most miserable men of all, for we have no comfort. And there is no comfort if Christ is not living and real. You see, we sinners need a coming Savior. We sinners need a Redeemer. We sinners need one who comes and dies and lives and reigns for us. We sinners need pardon. We sinners need cleansing. We sinners need a righteousness. We sinners need reconciled to God. We sinners need sanctified. We sinners need to be delivered and redeemed. We're enslaved, we're unholy, we're unrighteous, we're unclean, and we're far off from God. And there is no comfort unless there is One who can rectify all of that. And the only One who can rectify all of that is Christ. And therefore, He is the embodiment of our comfort, and there's no one else. And so, thus, they who are without Christ are without hope and have no comfort. the Lord Jesus is our hope, we that are saved. And Christians know this, and Simeon knew this, and Simeon could die in the hope of it. They had faith in Christ. So, Simeon pictures just an Old Testament saint. He pictures an Old Testament saint waiting for the comfort of Israel, and we as New Testament saints have the fulfillment of it, and we are trusting in him, looking to him. Are you not comforted today, child of God? Why are you so cast down in your soul? Take up Jesus. Hold him to your and have comfort. He's for you, poor sinner. Be comforted in embracing Him by faith. And so, the person. But there is also the promise. And I want to close this sermon this morning by using the remaining time to look at some of the Old Testament texts that sustain Simeon's faith. Why is he waiting? Why is he expecting? Why is he looking for Christ at all? Why is he anticipating the comfort? Because it was promised. It was promised in the Old Testament. He believed those promises, and he's in Jerusalem every day, expecting soon their fulfillment. And so, there's no waiting without a promise. We wait for the postman to come. We expect the postman to come because the post office has promised that the postman will deliver the letters. And we expect, and we wait, and we look. And Simeon is expecting, and he has anticipation because he has promise. And because there is promise, he has faith. And there's no salvation without promise, and without promise of Christ, and without faith that takes that promise and trusts in that Christ. That's saving faith, and Simeon has it. The only difference is that he is before Christ and looks forward to Christ. whereas we look back to Christ. But it's the same faith, it's the same way of being saved, and it's the same salvation through the same Christ child. There's no difference. He is the only comfort of sinners. What promises then? Well, where do we begin? This expression, wearing for the consolation, the comfort of Israel, instantly one's mind goes to Isaiah 40. where these words are doubled. Comfort ye, comfort ye my people. That's what the prophet Isaiah was told. Comfort my people, Isaiah. The prophet Isaiah was raised up. And in fact, he chiefly is the prophet of the consolation of Israel. Now all of the Old Testament is so, but Isaiah seems to have a unique place. and setting forth in detail the consolation of Israel, because God commissioned him and says, you comfort my people, and you tell her her sins are pardoned. The prophet Isaiah was raised up by Christ, and he was sent by Christ, and he was commanded to speak comfortably to Jerusalem, and to cry unto her that the warfare is finished. And how does Isaiah do that? How does he do that? You know how he does that? He endlessly writes about Messiah. That's how he does that. Everything is about Messiah. Not just about Israel. It's about Messiah, Christ the true Israel. the true servant of Jehovah, who will do all that Israel failed to do. He's coming, the promised one, the sent one, my servant, my righteous servant, who I will raise up. And so he knows his Bible, Simeon, and he's waiting for the salvation, he's waiting for the coming. And Isaiah shows the people Christ. Isaiah 53. He was wounded for our transgression. He was bruised for our iniquity. And Simeon could say to Mary, a sword will pierce your own soul. You'll be cut up at the cross. This is the man to be wounded for our sins. This is the man to bear our iniquities, to be despised and rejected of men. and in his sacrifice be our comfort." And so, Isaiah preaches him and tells about him. And we could turn anywhere in Isaiah's prophecy and see this. It held up the Jews in their Babylonian captivity. Our comfort is coming. It held them up under Roman occupation. Our Savior and Redeemer is coming. He's coming. Isaiah 25 and verse 9. We read these words. "'It shall be said in that day, "'Lo, this is our God. "'We have waited for Him.'" Exactly what Simeon is doing. This is a prophecy. There'll be those in that day who will say, "'This is our God. "'We have waited for Him.'" That's Simeon. "'We have waited for Him.'" We have been looking for Him. We have waited for Him. We will be glad and rejoice in His salvation. That's what they're waiting for, a Savior, a Savior who's God, a Savior who will bring salvation, a Savior who they will rejoice and be glad in. This is Him. This is Him, Simeon says. This is Him. We've waited for Him. Does not the coming one speak in Isaiah 61 that we read? That's why we read it, because this servant of the Lord speaks thus, the coming one, the Spirit of the Lord God is upon me. The Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek. He sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of the vengeance of our God, to comfort all that mourn. The Lord hath anointed me. I'm the one who does this. I'm the one who proclaims the liberty to the captives. I'm the one who brings the comfort to sinners. I'm the one who sets those in darkness, brings them into light. I'm the one who breaks off the chains of Satan that bind them. I am the one who removes their sins by my blood. It's me! Jesus says, and Simeon is waiting for him, and now he has arrived. The comfort. Christ is the promised comfort, and he's come. You know, the poor Jews, they're still waiting for something. They're blind. If only they could listen to Simeon, If only they could listen to their aged old Anna. But the veil still is over them. Isaiah 66, verse 13. As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you. And ye shall be comforted in Jerusalem. In Jerusalem, Closing up the book of Isaiah the prophet, those who are waiting for the consolation of Israel know where to wait. They know where to wait, in Jerusalem. And the text tells us, and it's no accident, a man called Simeon in Jerusalem. He's there waiting. He knows his Bible. This is him. I will comfort you, and ye shall be comforted in Jerusalem. Sing, O heavens, and be joyful, O earth, and break forth into singing, O mountains, for the Lord hath comforted his people. I, I am he that comforteth you, Break forth into joy, sing together, ye waste places of Jerusalem, for the Lord hath comforted his people, he hath redeemed Jerusalem. for the Lord shall comfort Zion. He will comfort all her waste places, and he will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the Lord. Joy and gladness shall be found there in thanksgiving, and the voice of melody." And the only one who makes you sing like that is Jesus Christ. And if you think this is going to be fulfilled in the nice wee green lush pastures in Israel, if that's what you're singing about, and if that's what you're expecting to sing about, you're deluded. The only one who does this in our hearts and lives is Jesus Christ. He is the one who turns our mourning into dancing and our crying into singing. The comfort of Israel. Simeon knows his Bible. And Anna knows her Bible. And Mary, when she sings the Magnificat, knows her Bible. And when the saint sings the Benedictus, they know their Bible. And when Simeon breaks out here to sing the Nun to meet us, he knows his Bible. Christ is the comfort, the true comfort, the real comfort, the solid comfort of Israel and he alone. Let me say, closing, three things very briefly. The first is to sinners. unconverted sinners. Christ is your only hope. The man-child in the arms of the old dying man is your only comfort. There is none in this world, and while you remain in your sins, you can have no comfort. And you shouldn't be comforted while you're Christless, because you are deluded and deceived, and there's no comfort. How can you be comforted? You're going to meet God in your sins. You're far off from God. You don't even seek Him. He's not in your thoughts. How can you be comforted? Without Christ is without salvation and without hope. And I would say to you, sinner, don't be taken up with religion. You need Christ. You need Christ. A real encounter with Jesus Christ. You need to hold Christ as really, as truly, and as solidly a Simeon did. Don't rest, sinner, until you know you have Christ. And then the other two things are for saints. First of all, Christian, continue to rest and trust in the Lord Jesus. Commune with your Lord. lie at his feet, abide in his fellowship and in fellowship with him, so that your comfort will intensify." I'm sure Simeon had comfort in the promise. I'm sure he had comfort in the anticipation. I'm sure he had comfort whenever he saw the mother bringing the child in. Ah, but there was nothing like the comfort when he took the child and held him in his arms, and the Spirit of God came upon him, and he sung the Nun, Demetrius. Hold Him. Hold Him close to your breast. Bring Him close to fellowship with your heart. Live on Him, abide on Him, meditate on Him, listen to Him, pray to Him, and seek Him. And you also shall be filled with the Spirit and shall sing of Him. Stay close to Christ and draw Christ close to your breast. And so, when you lose consolation and need encouraged and need succor, then say this, oh come, let us adore him. And then lastly, to believers again, we are in a position very like Simeon in another regard, because there's not only the first coming of Christ, now there is the second coming, and there is the promise of his return, the promise that he shall come back again. Now, we are like Simeon. We have promises. Christ is at the right hand of the Father, and we're promised he's coming again. Are we waiting? Are we looking? Are we anticipating? Are we behaving as Simeon behaved in anticipation of the promises and their fulfillment? Are we in Jerusalem waiting? His return. So, Simeon is a role model for us New Testament saints, even in this regard of waiting and looking for the redemption and the comfort in Jesus Christ's coming. What does the Bible say? Looking for that blessed hope. and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior, Jesus Christ. And in our looking and waiting for that, Simeon is our role model.