If you'll open your Bibles to Luke Chapter 2. One of the ways that you can think about the passage of Scripture that we're going to study together tonight is you might think of it as you would think of a letter of recommendation. If you've ever written a letter of recommendation or if you've ever asked someone to write a letter of recommendation and you know that it's that particular kind of writing that in which you commend someone to another person. The letter has the design of persuading and convincing and maybe you've been on the receiving end of that and you so appreciate when a friend of yours can commend you to someone who does not know you as well. And we have that here in our portion. And I suppose we could say that in some sense, all of Scripture is a commendation to us, commending us to our Savior. That certainly can be said, but maybe if you think about the portion that we're going to read tonight in those terms, it'll help you to have sort of an overall perspective of the passage and perhaps how you can be benefited by reading this and meditating upon it. I sometimes find myself, well I often find myself, I'm asking myself the question, how well do I really know Him? How well do I know Him? I have put my trust in Him. I know that my soul is more valuable than anything that I could possess. In this life, I could gain everything, but if I've lost my own soul, then I have lost the most valuable thing to me. And I have put the care of my soul in His hands. How well do I know Him? And in those moments, I know that I need to return to the Scriptures so that my faith would be strengthened in Him. that my faith in Him would be revived and strengthened in that way. So, I encourage you to consider the passage of Scripture which commends Christ to you. And it does it through two main ways that we'll see tonight. Two main ways. We'll get there in just a moment. We'll divide it up into two main sections. We're going to be reading in Luke chapter 2, beginning at verse 21, and we're going to read down through verse 38. Let me go ahead and read the whole section to you, and then we will begin. Luke chapter 2 and verse 21. And when eight days were completed for the circumcision of the child, his name was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb. Now, when the days of her purification, according to the law of Moses, were completed, they brought him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord. As it is written in the law of the Lord, every male who 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 turtle doves or two young pigeons. And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was just 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. So he came by the spirit into the temple. And when the parents brought in the child of Jesus to do for him according to the custom of the law. He took him up in his arms and blessed God and said, Lord, Now you were letting your servant depart in peace according to your word for my eyes have seen your salvation which you have prepared before the face of all peoples a light to bring revelation to the Gentiles and the glory of your people Israel. Joseph and his mother marveled at those things which were spoken of him. Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother behold this child is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel and for a sign which we've spoken against. Yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul also that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed. Now there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Fanewell of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age and had lived with a husband seven years from her virginity. This woman was a widow of about 84 years. who did not depart from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day. Coming in that instant, she gave thanks to the Lord and spoke of him to all those who looked for redemption in Jerusalem. Well, we can read this passage and perhaps in your mind very readily, you notice that this is not the first time that this pattern of speech has been used in the gospel already. As we have read through the Gospel of Luke, we have read in chapter one similar kinds of descriptions about another baby. Gabriel has come already. He has announced to Zacharias the soon birth of his son. And then Gabriel comes and announces to Mary the soon birth of her son. And then we have the description of the birth and circumcision and naming of John. And now Luke takes us back to Mary's son and gives us that same kind of progression. We studied last week the birth of Christ. And now in this passage tonight that we've just read, we have the circumcision, the naming of Jesus. And there's another parallel between this passage and the one that described to John. It's a description of something very important that happens after the naming of the baby. And that is there is this Holy Spirit inspired confirmation. So with John's birth, this is what we've seen already. There was the circumcision and the naming and a fairly ordinary event, but itself is very significant because Luke sets up this great contrast with Zacharias. You remember where the initial message is met with unbelief on Zacharias' part. It's met by a rejection of the word, but then you remember in the circumcision and the naming and that in that moment with the eight day old John. That is a moment we see of repentance and of belief and submission and obedience as he now submits himself to the name that was announced to him and he says his name is John. All of that, that circumcision and naming event is followed by a Holy Spirit inspired confirmation. And for John, it came through the song of Zacharias as he sings. You remember in verse 67 of chapter one, it says that Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit. As he sang and gave this confirmation, so Zacharias was not just confirming, he was reliably confirming. He's filled with the Holy Spirit as he sings this song. So we can read what he says and we can listen to him as a reliable witness to what is happening there. He is, as he sings, he is confirming Gabriel's announcement. He's giving further revelation of who is Mary's son. He is providing an infallible a description of the fulfillment of various Old Testament prophecies regarding the coming king. And he's providing a confirmation of Gabriel's announcement regarding his own son, his prophetic ministry. So, Zacharias serves for us as a Holy Spirit-inspired confirmation of these events. Is it true what Gabriel has said? Yes, it's true. And the Holy Spirit teaches us through Zacharias. Luke portrays these ordinary moments as most extraordinary moments. The circumcision and the naming of a Jewish boy was a very ordinary moment. It was an everyday event. But not that circumcision and naming event, not for John. It was extraordinary, attended by a special and unique working of the Holy Spirit. All to prepare us for the Savior, all to point us to the Savior, all to make you convinced as you listen to the song of Zacharias, to convince you that you should, when you think about this coming King, you should fear his judgments and you should seek him quickly for mercy and safety. Well, the section that we've read tonight can also be divided into two main sections. The first main section is verse 21 through verse 24, and that is a section of obedience. It's a section where obedience is displayed, and then the remaining part of that, verse 25 through verse 38, is a section of confirmation. So that's the two main sections we're going to look at. We'll look, we'll provide a brief explanation as we go through that and then we'll as we go along, we'll look at how we can be benefited by understanding these things. First of all, the main section of obedience, let's read it together again. When eight days were completed for the circumcision of the child, his name was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb. Now, when the days of her purification, according to the law of Moses, were completed, They brought him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord, as it is written in the law of the Lord, every male who 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 turtle doves or two young pigeons. Now, we're going to hope you have your fingers ready. We're going to flip pages a little bit more than usual tonight. I'd like you to turn to the book of Leviticus. For us to really appreciate what has just been described there in Luke 2, we need to understand what is said in Leviticus, Chapter 12. It is a. What Luke is laying out for us is. It is steeped, it is rich in Old Testament. References. Leviticus, Chapter 12, it's only eight verses, let me read the whole chapter. Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Speak to the children of Israel, saying, If a woman has conceived and born a male child, then she shall be unclean seven days as in the days of her customary impurity. She shall be unclean. And on the eighth day, the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised. She shall then continue in the blood of her purification 33 days. She shall not touch any hallowed thing nor come into the sanctuary until the days of her purification are fulfilled. But if she bears a female child, then she shall be unclean two weeks, as in her customary impurity, and she shall continue in the blood of her purification 66 days. When the days of her purification are fulfilled, whether for a son or a daughter, she shall bring to the priest a lamb of the first year as a burnt offering and a young pigeon or a turtle dove as a sin offering to the door of the tabernacle of meeting. Then he shall offer it before the Lord and make atonement for her, and she shall be clean from the flow of her blood. This is the law for her who has born a male or a female. And if she is not able to bring a lamb, then she may bring two turtle doves or two young pigeons, one as a burnt offering and the other as a sin offering. So the priest shall make atonement for her and she shall be clean. Now let's go back to Luke 2 and you can see these very things unfolding. Luke lays out five examples of obedience. Watch how Luke lays them out for you. Number one is circumcision. Verse 21. Circumcision. When eight days were completed, Luke does not have to directly reference Leviticus 12, but that is obviously what Luke is referencing by specifying that they waited until the eight days were completed. The first example of obedience on the part of Joseph and Mary, also, of course, affecting the young baby Jesus, is the rite, the ritual of circumcision. Number two is the name, verse 21. His name was called Jesus, Zacharias, had publicly announced in the circumcision, announced that his son would be named John. That was a moment of obedience for Zacharias. So also here again, the moment of announcing the name by the parents is a moment of obedience to what was previously announced. Remember back in chapter 1 and verse 31, Gabriel said to Mary, and behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a son. And it's not you may, but it's you shall call his name Jesus. And here they demonstrate obedience to that, they name him Jesus. Not any name, but only that name that has been announced by Gabriel. Number three is the ceremonial purification, part one, talking about Mary here. Look at verse 22. Now, in the days of her purification, according to the law of Moses, We're complete. So we can stop there. Remember Leviticus chapter 12. There's the seven day period. And then on the eighth day, the circumcision of her male child. What is clearly implied here, though Luke does not have to state it directly, is that now we are between verse 21 and verse 22, we are 33 days later because she bore a male child. She has waited 33 days. That's the days that Luke refers to in verse 22. The days of her purification, according to the law of Moses, as we have read in Leviticus 12, were completed. All right. Why does she wait 33 days? Why do they even bother coming to the temple? Because it's the law of God. God has mandated that this is what is to be followed. That is Mary's ceremonial purification. The first part of it, at least. when her days were completed, roughly about a month. Number four is the presentation of Jesus. Now, let's let's let's look carefully what Luke says here. They brought this is the end of chapter verse 22. They brought him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord. And we would ask, well, what kind of a presentation is this? Well, Luke answers the question, as it is written in the law of the Lord, every male who opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord. Now, Luke is quoting from the book of Exodus chapter 13. Let's look there. Find out the significance of this moment. Exodus chapter 13. The Passover meal was not the only activity that God used to remind his people of their redemption from Egypt. Exodus, chapter 13, then the Lord spoke to Moses saying, consecrate to me all the firstborn, whatever opens the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and of beast. It is mine. Down to verse 12. Or verse 11, and it shall be when the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites, as he swore to you and your fathers and gives it to you, that you shall set apart to the Lord all that opened the womb. That is, every firstborn that comes from an animal which you have, the male males shall be the Lord's. But every firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb. And if you will not redeem it, then you shall break its neck and all the firstborn of man among your sons you shall redeem. So it shall be when your son asks you in the time to come saying, what is this? That's all of this about the firstborn son. That you shall say to him by strength of hand, the Lord brought us out of Egypt and out of the house of bondage. And it came to pass, when Pharaoh was stubborn about letting us go, that the Lord killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man and the firstborn of beast. Therefore, I sacrificed to the Lord all males that opened the womb, but all the firstborn of my sons I redeemed. It shall be as a sign on your hand and as frontlets between your eyes, for by the strength of hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt." Now, that's what Luke directly references, is that reference. that act of memorial in which God's great redemption from Egypt for his people would be remembered. Now, there's another possibility, though Luke does not mention it directly. In Numbers chapter 3, if you want to reference this later, Numbers chapter 3 also speaks of a ceremony of dedication for the firstborn male. And I think it may have been something that Joseph and Mary also engaged in. If you had a son and you were of the tribe of Levi, then your son would follow in your steps and would be dedicated to the priesthood. But if you had a son and your son was not of the tribe of Levi, and when we think of Christ, Christ was not of the tribe of Levi, he was of the tribe of Judah. Well, one way or the other, you are going to support the priesthood. He will either support the priesthood by, in a sense, dedicating your own son because your own son for the rest of his life will be a priest. Or if you're not of the tribe of Levi, your son's not going to be a priest, but you still come to the temple and you offer five shekels. That's detailed in Numbers chapter three. So one way or the other, the priesthood is supported One way or the other, you make a sacrifice. Either it's your own son or you make a monetary offering to support the temple work. That may be in view, though Luke does not directly mention it. I suspect that Joseph, when he came to engage in this ceremony of remembrance of the deliverance that God had brought, I think Joseph probably also brought along five shekels for that for that aspect of it. But this is the presentation. This is not a baby dedication. All right. You can't think in modern terms of the baby dedication. They come and the priest in temple says, OK, here we're going to. To the parents, here's what you need to do. It's not that kind of a thing at all. There is a very specific kind of a meaning that is occurring here. As we've just read from the Old Testament, there's a very particular meaning for that. I've never seen a modern baby dedication that refers to those things. It's a very different thing. Modern baby dedications are not in the scripture. That's not what this is. This is a presentation of their son. So that's number four. And you see the basis for it, as Luke refers you to. Now, the book of Exodus and the fifth is the fifth example of obedience and the circumcision and the naming and this presentation description here is Mary's ceremonial purification. Part two. Notice verse 24. The sacrifice that Luke is describing here doesn't have anything to do with the presentation of Jesus. It's with the presentation of Mary, it's for the atonement for her sins, as we've already read from Leviticus, chapter 12. and to offer a sacrifice, that is because of Mary, to complete her process of purification according to what is said in the law of the Lord. And Luke there quotes again from Leviticus chapter 12, a pair of turtle doves or two young pigeons. Now that indicates again something of their lack of material status, they did not offer a one-year-old lamb, they instead brought the two birds, one for the burnt offering and one for the sin offering, which was accepted if you could not afford the lamb. So there you have five things. Now, we were kind of digging down a little bit, getting at the Old Testament references behind this, but I want you to do something a little different now. I want you to sort of step back a little bit from the list and I want you to think about how Luke portrays all of this, how he has just described this to you. Luke, if you'll notice, does not just simply string together a list of actions. He doesn't just do that. In other words, you'll notice that the scripture does not say they circumcise, they name, they wait, they present, they sacrifice. He could have done that, but he doesn't do that. So what I'm proposing to you is that what this list is, is not primarily a listing of the what. It is primarily a listing of the why. Now, there is what in the verse, that's what we've just been talking about, but I don't think that's Luke's main intention. That's not the main the main issue. It's not just the what, it's why they do the what. It's why. Each action is described in terms of what? It is described in terms of the requirements. of the Word of God. Did you notice that as we went along? It's not just a listing of the events. All five events are attended by an explanation of why Joseph and Mary are doing these things. They don't just do them. It's not just things they do. It is an example of obedience, of submission to the Word of God, to His law, Luke is presenting to us an overall picture of obedience. Each action is backed up with a reason. Do you see here how Luke is presenting righteousness to us? Righteousness is defined by an objective, unbending standard. Why is the child circumcised? Well, what does Luke tell you? It's because eight days were completed. That's why the child is circumcised. That's according to the law of God. They are submitting themselves. to his law. Why do they name him Jesus? What does Luke tell you? Because that's the name that Gabriel had announced before. Why does Mary submit to the purification ritual? Because that's what God had commanded in Leviticus 12. Why is Jesus presented? Because that's what God had commanded in Exodus and in the book of Numbers and on and on. You see how this is working out. There is. There's this way of looking at the list, it's an example of obedience and submission to the law of God. Now, why is that important? We'll get there. Let's look at the second main section. I want you to tuck that away for just a moment. I believe it's very intentional on the part of Luke. Remember what I said at the beginning of the sermon, that your savior is being commended to you. He is being commended to you so that you can read that in your faith in Christ would be strengthened. We'll talk about that in just a moment, let's look at the second main section. First was the obedience and second is the confirmation. God is very kind to us. Because here he provides us with reliable witnesses. He provides us with people who can be trusted in what they say. Notice, the first confirmation comes by a man by the name of Simeon. Verse 25, this man, Simeon, is in Jerusalem. He is just and he is devout. That is, by God's evaluation, he is a man who can be characterized as a righteous man. He is a man whose bread and drink is the law of God. He is just. He is devout. He is described as a reverent and pious man, and his piety is not judged by the standards of men, but by the standards of God's word. This is all contained in this description. He is just and he is a devout man. He's in Jerusalem and more than just Jerusalem. Notice where he is. He is in the temple. And the Holy Spirit is upon him, guiding him. Simeon is a reliable witness. Luke wants you to understand that. So observe what he's about to do and listen to what he's about to say. He is just and devout. That's God's evaluation of Simeon. He's in Jerusalem. He's in the temple. He's about to do something. He's about to say something. We ought to pay attention. The Holy Spirit is upon this man. We ought to give him our attention. Verse 25, Simeon lives his days with a hope. This man was just and about waiting for the consolation of Israel. He lives his days with a hope, with a godly scripture based expectation. Simeon is a man who yearns for something. He has completely invested himself in one hope. And what is his hope? He was waiting. His heart was longing for something. And Luke tells us he was waiting for the consolation of Israel. Now, these are the kind of things that were going through Simeon's mind. As a just and devout man, he would have been an Old Testament expert and he would have been very familiar with the promises that God had given regarding how Israel would be comforted. Now, let me read to you a couple of examples, I'll just read them for you. I'm reading from Isaiah 9, verses 1 through 7. Through the prophet. Nevertheless, the gloom will not be upon her who is distressed. As when at first he lightly esteemed the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, and afterward more heavily oppressed her by the way of the sea beyond the Jordan and Galilee of the Gentiles, the people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. Those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them a light has shined. You have multiplied the nation and increased its joy. They rejoice before you according to the joy of harvest, as men rejoice when they divide the spoil. For you have broken the yoke of his burden and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, as in the day of Midian. For every warrior's sandal from the noisy battle and garments rolled in blood will be used for burning and fuel of fire." And we might ask Isaiah at that point, well, these are great words of comfort. What great words of consolation, but how will these things be brought about? And Isaiah would answer you and say this in verse 6, For unto us a child is born. Do you hear the descriptions of comfort for God's people? Wonderful, beautiful, poetic, rich descriptions of consolation, of freedom from the oppressor. Why? Isaiah says, because unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government will be upon his shoulder and his name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Simeon probably also was considering the conclusion of Isaiah's prophecy. From Isaiah chapter 66, we read these words, this is verses 10 through 14. Rejoice with Jerusalem and be glad with her, all you who love her. Rejoice for joy with her, all you who mourn for her, that you may feed and be satisfied with the consolation of her bosom, that you may drink deeply and be delighted with the abundance of her glory. For thus says the Lord, behold, I will extend peace to her like a river and the glory of the Gentiles like a flowing stream. Then you shall feed. On her sides, you shall be carried and be dandled on her knees as one whom his mother comforts. So I will comfort you and you shall be comforted in Jerusalem. And we would ask Isaiah why? We go back to that original thing that we read, because unto us a child is born. It's all based on him. So Luke describes this man named Simeon. He's just and devout and the Holy Spirit is upon him and he is characterized by this one hope. He waits for the consolation of Israel that has been promised to him. He waits. He waits for the consolation. Hendrickson says this. He says, to be sure, conditions were bad, very bad in Israel at the time of Jesus' birth in Bethlehem. Think of loss of political independence. cruel King Herod, externalization of religion, legalistic scribes and Pharisees and their many followers, worldly minded Sadducees, the silence of the voice of prophecy, etc. But in the midst of all this darkness, degradation and despair, there were men who hopefully looked forward to and earnestly expecting the consolation of Israel. Then Hendrickson says there were such men and women, too. We've already had two examples in Mary and Elizabeth. There's going to be another example before we're done tonight. That's what he's hope that's what his hope is in. It's in this consolation as foretold by the prophets waiting. Waiting for this comfort. Notice to Simeon a very special promise has been given, verse 26, 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. The promise is that his hope will be satisfied. The promise that has been given to him is that his waiting by faith would be returned into a rejoicing by sight. He would see the Lord's Christ. What a what an amazing promise. So it's not what is Israel's consolation. It is who is Israel's consolation. Their comfort is the Lord's Christ. Their consolation is Messiah. The hope is directly connected to the promise that he had been given. He was hoping for the waiting for the consolation of Israel and the promise had been given to him. That his waiting would not be in vain, he would see the Lord's Christ, he would see Messiah. Verse twenty nine. Actually, verse twenty seven, he came into the temple by the spirit into the temple. And by revelation of the spirit, he immediately recognizes who the baby is. Seeing the eight day old baby is the answer. seeing this month-old baby at this point, just a little over a month old, seeing this baby brought here is the answer to the promise given to him that you will see the Lord's Christ. Jesus is the satisfaction of Simeon's hope and is the fulfillment of the promise of the Holy Spirit. This is who Jesus is. Jesus is the long-awaited for consolation. Jesus is the Lord's Christ. Jesus is the joy of Simeon's longing heart. Listen to Simeon as he expresses this praise, Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace according to your word. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared before the face of all peoples. A light to bring revelation to the Gentiles and the glory of your people Israel. Simeon sees and holds He who is the light to the nations in darkness. Simeon sees and holds He who is the glory of Israel. He sees Him and He has an opportunity to hold Him. He takes Him up in His arms. Isaiah had prophesied before in chapter 62 of his prophecy. Isaiah had said, for Zion's sake, I will not hold my peace. And for Jerusalem's sake, I will not rest until her righteousness goes forth as brightness and her salvation as a lamp that burns. The Gentiles shall see your righteousness and all kings your glory. You shall be called by a new name, which the mouth of the Lord will name. You shall also be a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord, in a royal diadem, in the hand of your God. You shall no longer be termed forsaken, nor shall your land anymore be termed desolate. And he goes on to say, for as a young man marries a virgin, so shall your sons marry you, and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you. And Simeon takes up this child and he says, this is the fulfillment. This is the consolation. He is the consolation. He has taken up in his very arms God's salvation. He holds in his arms the consolation of Israel. He holds in his arms the fulfillment of what Isaiah had prophesied, a light to the Gentiles and the glory of the people of Israel. It's quite a moment for Simeon. Imagine. He has lived his whole life thinking about these promises, especially the prophecies of Isaiah. He's thought about them. He has read them or he has heard them read. And he has totally invested himself in this one hope waiting. And at some point, the Holy Spirit revealed to him this very special promise that he would not die before he saw the Lord's Messiah. And here he is. I mean, it's the grand moment of his life. The one hope that he has invested himself in and how he holds this baby in his arms. Imagine the moment. The moment that it is for Simeon. Such praise. Such blessing of God. that he utters, what worship is given to the Lord in this moment, what excitement would have been very clearly conveyed, what a sense of seriousness and delight and joy and all of these things all together wrapped up in his expression that would have been heard somewhere there in the temple area. What might you have thought if you were either Joseph or Mary? It must have been what I mean, what a great moment. Joseph and Mary are trying to think through all of these things. But notice what happens in verse thirty three. Simeon concludes his praise, he blesses Joseph and Mary. And then in verse thirty four, he stops and he looks at Mary. And he says something most astonishing. He looks at Mary and he says, Behold, this child is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel and for a sign which will be spoken against, that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed. And then that parenthetical statement, Yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul also. Hendrickson says this again from his commentary. He says literally what Simeon says is this. Mark well, this child is set for the falling and rising of many in Israel. In other words, a person's relation or attitude toward Jesus would be absolutely decisive of his eternal destiny. Some would reject him. Others, by sovereign grace, accept him. The former would fall, that is, they would, unless they repented, be excluded from the kingdom. The latter would arise, that is, they would be welcomed to the kingdom and its wedding feast. And how this would be a great piercing ultimately. Because Jesus is the sign. Which would be rejected by many. And her own soul would be pierced. I'm going to resist the temptation to run too far ahead at that point. Simeon is a reliable witness, is he not? He's in Jerusalem. He's in the temple. The Holy Spirit is upon him. He is guided by the Holy Spirit. The words that he utters, we can completely trust. He's a reliable witness regarding what we are to understand about this month old baby. There's a second witness. Notice very quickly here, the second witness is Anna. A very pretty name, it means grace. There was this prophetess and her name was Anna. Now, it comes across a little awkward in the. In the description here that she is described as being that she lived seven years, she lived with her husband seven years from her virginity, we would just simply say she had been married seven years. We don't know at what age she married, she may have been married at a very young age, but Luke tells us simply that her marriage only lasted seven years until her husband died, and then she's been a widow ever since then. Luke says that she was a widow of about 84 years. Now, that's either her total age, she's 84 years old, she's an 84-year-old widow, or Luke is meaning that she has been a widow for 84 years, which would mean perhaps she's, I don't know, 105 or 106. I don't know that it really matters so much how old she is, I think we can get the point that she is a fairly elderly woman at 84 or 106. She's definitely older than the average woman at this time. And she is described as having spent her lifetime after the death of her husband as being occupied in the temple with fastings and prayers. Now, Anna comes in at that instant, Luke says. She comes in that instant, verse 38, and she gave thanks to the Lord and spoke of Him to all those who looked for redemption in Israel. Now, what can we say of Anna? Is she flighty? No, she's a reliable witness. Look at the example of her life. A lifetime. of seriousness and of devotion to the Lord, described in some similar ways as Simeon was described. This is a lady who has a lifetime of credibility, and she's the one who comes in and offers her thanks and praise for what she sees. Well, in conclusion tonight, let's take these two main sections and let's think about how Christ is being commended to us. how our faith in Him can be strengthened by consideration of these two things. Picture of obedience and then confirmation. I remember when I was in seminary and I had to take a preaching lab and the classes were only about an hour or so long and so sermons had to be pretty short and we had to do two sermons per class period. So sermons had to be about 12 or 13 minutes long, imagine me preaching for only 13 minutes. So that itself was a little bit of a challenge, but a good friend of mine, his name's James Galling, I'm sure you know James, he and I took that class together and we signed up to preach our sermons on the same day. And I'll never forget the moment James stood up on the platform and all of us students were out there, we're supposed to be evaluating, we have our little grading sheet, everybody evaluates each other. And James stood up and he began to preach and he essentially said, beginning of his sermon, he said essentially that the gospel teaches us that everyone is saved by works. And you could have heard all the, as the students began to murmur and all of that, but that was the, I think that may have even been the title of his sermon, that we are saved by works. And of course, James was absolutely correct. If you are going to be saved, you will be saved by works. It will either be your works or it will have to be the works of someone else in your place. But what can we say about our own works? What are you convinced of from the Scriptures? You don't look too confident. We are without in life. Paul wrote to the Galatians and he said this, Now I say that the heir, as long as he is a child, is not different at all from a slave, though he is master of all, but is under guardians and stewards until the time appointed by the father. Even so, we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world, but when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his son and what does he say next? Born of a woman, born under the law. To redeem those who were under the law that we might receive the adoption of sons. And because you are sons, God has sent forth the spirit of his son into your hearts, crying out, Abba, Father. J.C. Ryle says this, Let it suffice for us to remember that our Lord's circumcision was a public testimony to Israel. That according to the flesh, he was a Jew. A Jewish woman. gave birth to him and he was born under the law. Without this, he could not have fulfilled the law's requirements. Without it, he could not have been recognized as the son of David and the seed of Abraham. Let us remember, furthermore, that circumcision was absolutely necessary before our Lord could be heard as a teacher in Israel. Without it, he would have had no place in any lawful Jewish assembly and no right to any Jewish ordinance. Without circumcision, he would have been regarded by all Jews as nothing better than an uncircumcised Gentile and an apostate from the faith of the fathers. It must be that your Savior, it does not just die under the law, and it must be more than just he preaches under the law or he heals under the law or he has his public ministry under the law, he must be born under the law, if he is to be fully qualified to completely keep the law on behalf of his people. Apart from perfect conformity with the law, Jesus would be disqualified from being the perfect substitute for his people. And again, I can refer you to the book of Colossians. Paul said to them, and you being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, notice, having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us, and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. You will be saved by either your work are the works of another who can keep the law if you can't. If you want to try by your own works, well, you better be perfect. You better be perfect. But you know what? All of us appear to be older than eight days old. It's too late. It's too late for all of us. Who of us could say that we have perfectly kept the righteous requirements of God's law? Who of us? By the law, you were judged to be dead. You were judged by the law to be cursed and lost because of transgressions, because of trespasses. You were judged to be a deviant The fair anger of God against the ungodly is known and is understood by the light of His unbending and unyielding revelation of His holiness. The handwriting of requirements requires much, but it extends no hand of help. It requires of you absolute holiness. But then we come to Luke 2 and our hearts rejoice. The law slays us. And we come to Luke 2 and we rejoice. Because here we find that there is one who was born under the law. From his very first incarnational moments, he is submitted under the law and is absolutely meeting what it requires. Luke doesn't just give you a list of what, he shows you why. The entire picture is a picture of submission to the law of God. Although here at this point, as a baby, Jesus is passively involved in this. We must even have that. It must be perfect. It must be complete. When he was eight days old, his parents circumcised him. And we read that and Christ is commended to us. It must be so. It must be so if we are to have any hope. all the requirements of holiness must be met on our behalf. There must not be the slightest, or in our minds, what would seem the slightest or the smallest jot or tittle of the law bypassed. It all must be fulfilled. And here, though, it's just an introduction of that here in the Gospel. It's enough for us to read and to rejoice. There is one who was born under the law that we might be redeemed, us, those of us who have put our trust in Him. And then there were some who had read or heard read the promises of comfort, and we were given two examples here, Simeon and Anna. Think about just and devoted Simeon. He was just and he was devout. An Old Testament expert. Meditating deeply on the promises of God and committing himself to the promises of God. Believing. Living by faith in the promises that God had given. Even just and devout Simeon did not rest in his devoutness. But instead, he longed for the promised one. Even devoted Anna did not find hope or rest for her soul in her own devoutness. She did not look at herself and think, well, I spend night and day in the temple, I must be OK. But along with Simeon had longed for that consolation of Israel. What a great picture this is that Luke gives to us and how this prepares us for many other things that we're going to see in this gospel. Jesus will encounter many people who have different kinds of hope, resting their souls in all kinds of things. Well, I would say to you, as you read that portion of the Scripture, look at Simeon's hope and then look at your hope. Make a comparison. Look at his hope and then look at your hope. Christ is commended to you. Think about the things that you have put your hope in. In the end, in the final analysis, will your hopes satisfy? Or will they leave you horribly disappointed and desperate? Look at Simeon's hope and look how satisfied he is. So much so, he can say, now you are letting your servant depart in peace. All kinds of things that Simeon could have put his hope in. His hope is in one. Christ is described and commended to you. Children, when you think about this passage of Scripture, young children, if you've had an opportunity tonight to listen to the preaching of the Word, maybe you remember from Romans 10 that faith comes by hearing. And hearing comes by the Word of God. And the Word of God, hearing the Word of God comes to us by preachers who are sent. So, young children, those of you who have had an opportunity tonight to listen, do you know what's happened tonight as I have been up here preaching from Luke 2? I'm the preacher that God sent tonight. And I have in front of me a copy of God's Word, and that's what I have been trying to preach from tonight. So as you have sat here in our familiar and comfortable building, as you sat there maybe next to your parents, a wonderful thing has happened. We've had the preaching of God's Word. A preacher was sent tonight. And every Lord's Day, God is so consistently faithful to us. Every Lord's Day, we have a preacher who is sent to us who preaches the Word of God. Have you not trusted in Christ yet because you don't know about Him? Think about what you've learned from Luke 2 tonight. Think about all of these wonderful things that have been described in your hearing. They have been described so that you may believe. Look at how beautiful He is. Look at how powerful He is. Look at how perfect He is. Look at the response of godly Simeon when he sees Jesus. Look at how Simeon has put his hope in this one. Look and listen and learn and consider what is your response to Jesus. Think about how worthy this One is. Children, think if you will put your trust in Him, how safe you will be from the wrath of God against your sins. Children, I've said earlier tonight that all of us will be saved by works. Young ones, do you know that your works are not good enough? Though you may work hard to obey your mommy and daddy, even on your best days, the best obedience that you can work up will not satisfy God's anger. But we've read good news tonight. We've read that God promised comfort to His people. We've read tonight that it is in Jesus that we find this comfort. That in Christ and in Christ alone we find One whose works of the law are perfect. He was born under the law and lived His whole life in perfect obedience to all of the commandments of God. And you know what's most amazing when we think about that is that God is so kind and God is so gracious that He would say to people like us that His righteousness, the righteousness of His Son, the perfect law-keeping of His Son, that His merits and the rewards that He has earned by His own working can be yours. And they're totally free. You don't even have to pay for them. They're totally free. Offered for all who will but believe in Him. I can't think of any other news that I can bring to you that would be more wonderful than that. A possession, a reward that is that valuable And it can be had for free. Jesus is commended to us. Observe the picture of obedience and submission to the law and then listen to the witnesses who commend Him to you. Let's pray together tonight.