The Gospel of Luke 2:21-40 Simeon & Anna
Luke 2:21-40 · Vern Peterman · Nov 30, 2014
Gospel of Luke, No. 09
Holly Hills Bible Church
https://hollyhillsbiblechurch.org/teaching/messages/492644835442

Transcribed from the recording by SermonAudio, so expect the occasional misheard word.

Shalom. Vern asked me to be here. He mentioned something about the Bahamas. And so anyway, I'll be here in his place. I am Simeon, a friend of Dr. Luke. And I will guide you through this passage here that Dr. Luke wrote with my help. What's really funny to me is after the name Luke, he put a bunch of numbers in there. Luke didn't write those numbers.

But Verne said to say them, it says, Luke 2.21, okay?

When eight days had passed before his circumcision, his name was then called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb. So, all the boys would be circumcised on the eighth day after their birth, okay? Naming the boy upon the event of the circumcision, which is the literal meaning of before his circumcision.

And the law on circumcision is given in Leviticus. There's some numbers again. 12, 1 through 3. Moses didn't have numbers in there. Anyway, Jesus was given that name upon His circumcision, since both Mary and Joseph were told by the angels to give Him that name. So, Matthew wrote about that, and Luke wrote about that. I don't know what those funny numbers are after that. Okay, so here's Luke. And boy, we've got more numbers.

And when the days of their purification according to the law of Moses were completed, they brought him up to Jerusalem, and Jerusalem is up, let me tell you, to present him to the Lord. As it is written in the law of the Lord, every firstborn male that opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord, and to offer a sacrifice according to what was said in the law of the Lord, a pair of turtledoves and two young pigeons. Now, Exodus, oh, more numbers, Exodus 3, 1 and 2, and Leviticus 12, 4 through 8. Now, so Mary and Joseph took this hike to Jerusalem.

It's about six, I think you call them miles, six miles north of Bethlehem to offer the sacrifice that the law requires. And the way they did it was one year old lamb and a pigeon or a dove, and it'd be like a turtle dove, right? Or if that's not affordable, then just two of the birds. That would do it. And the law allowed that. So that's what Mary and Joseph gave as a sacrifice, which tells you that they were poor.

That brought them to the outer courtyard of the temple building, and then to part of the inner temple where only Jews were allowed. Nearly every Jewish baby in Israel came in through those gates. because they were all required to do it. So here was the temple area, and they came into the first front courtyard that you see there, and then Joseph would take the doves up to the priests in the back. So Luke 2, 25 and 26, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, looking 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 Christ. So, I'm in Jerusalem at this time, a young guy at that time, right? Because that's the one place where there's the rite and the one holy temple.

Nearly all the Jews in Israel would bring their children to be presented at this one temple. So it was constantly a flow of parents Infants. Now, I've been called Simeon since the very day of my circumcision, at eight days. I come to the temple every day looking for the baby that will be the Messiah.

I'll tell you why I look for him in just a minute. Now, I was telling Luke that he shouldn't write this about me. It's kind of embarrassing. But he said something about it's inspired or something. So he insisted that it be there. So righteous, Dr. Luke, meant not that I was perfect. I certainly am not perfect.

But I sought to be in right standing before God and my fellow Jews and Gentiles. Devout is often taken in a deeply religious sense. But it really means to take something to heart, not just superficially, as many in Israel seem to do. Absolute righteousness is only from God Himself. Now, it also says, I was looking for the consolation of Israel, which I was.

As a Jew, and knowing that things won't be right in the land of Israel and among His people until the Messiah comes to rule and to reign, I'm always looking for God to bring comfort to His people. Israel has had so very much to mourn and weep about now and centuries past, for many centuries actually. Isaiah, who was our prophet, wrote about the coming messianic times. Comfort, O comfort, my people, Isaiah wrote.

Now, Dr. Luke also wrote that the Holy Spirit was upon me. It's clear that all the Israelites don't have the Holy Spirit all the time. But the Lord is seen graciously. It's His grace. Seen to it that I have the Holy Spirit in my heart all the time. Please understand, this isn't about me. It's about Him, the Lord God of Israel. It is by the Holy Spirit's doing that I am able to see and to say what others can't see and can't say. Now let me tell you what I can see and say.

So in Luke 2.27, "...and He came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus to carry out for Him the custom of the law..." Well, please understand here, what Dr. Luke wrote was to glorify the Lord and not me. Only one who came in the Spirit would be able to see and say what I saw and said that day. There was a constant flow of parents bringing their infants, boys and girls, into the temple to present their babies at the temple and to offer the sacrifices called for by the law of Moses.

It was at that day Because the Lord had told me I would not see death until I saw the Messiah. It was one day that day I saw Him, Him, enter the temple. It was God's Messiah, the Lord's Anointed One. I'm sure that His parents were both stunned by the great excitement that I showed that day. And while they were still quite surprised, I asked if I might take their very special child in arms. I believe that they sensed that the Holy Spirit was in this, and they agreed.

Then, in Luke 2, 28-32, then He took him into His arms and blessed God and said, Now, Lord, You are releasing Your bondservant 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 of revelation to the Gentiles and the glory of your people Israel.

O my Lord, sleeping in your mother's arms, this little one, this little one, your mother is keeping you covered and warm, this little one, this little one. Come, let me hold him. Oh, bless you, Lord. I will depart in peace. My eyes have finally seen my salvation, the glory of Israel, the light of the nations.

Mary will be weeping. A sword pierces her soul for this little one. God's only Son. The darkness will be fleeing, a rising light, and this little one, the kingdom will come. Come, let me hold him, O bless you, Lord. I will depart in peace. My eyes have finally seen thy salvation, the glory of Israel. The light of the nations in this little one. Salvation has come in this little one.

So I blessed God. Now, God blessed those in Israel in earthly ways when they obeyed the law, but they often failed, and they did so very, very badly. God has most certainly blessed us in the body of Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. So this kind of blessing, blessing God, is for us to speak well of God and to glorify Him and thus fulfill a part of God's eternal purpose, to reveal and declare and to share His glory so that He might be glorified.

Now, in this releasing your bondservant to depart in peace, there are those who read these words and think, I'm going to die pretty soon. Right? That gives me a chuckle or two or three. But the Lord still has me around. Why is that? Well, in all my days, I've seen a lot of things happen. And I don't have to hang around the temple all the time anymore looking for the Messiah to arrive, because I've seen Him. And that's a great relief.

Now, did I mean, by my eyes of senior salvation, did I mean that I had seen Christ crucified, buried, raised on that day, and at that time? Well, of course, the answer is no. What I did mean was that I had seen God's chosen one, God's Messiah, with my own eyes, and what God starts, God completes.

The Savior had just been born 40 days before. But when God starts, God completes. His name was Jesus. God is salvation. Christ, as our salvation, had been set in place before God said, let there be light. That's the eternal covenant. which you, God, have prepared. God is the one who made that eternal covenant before He said, let there be light. God had a plan in place all along.

This is why the Apostle Paul wrote in Galatians 4.4, but when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son. By the way, it says, born under the law, which He was, that He might redeem us from the law.

And I got to see the Son, capital S, with my own eyes, just 40 days after he was born to Mary, and 33 days after he was named. Now you might be doing the arithmetic, wait a minute Vern, 8 plus 33, that's 41. But the 8th day and the first day of the 33 are the same day. So that's why you have 40. So it's 40 days after Jesus was born that they took him up to the temple.

Now, in the presence of all peoples, all peoples in the Bible means either the Gentiles or the Gentiles and the Jews. In this case, it was Gentiles and Jews. Herod had no idea that he would be used of God to have the Messiah born in Bethlehem, the city of David, just like Micah 5.2 said he would, right under the Romans' noses, and they have substantial noses. Okay, which is it here? We've had Jews and Herod, who is a son of Esau, by the way, and the Greeks and the Romans, all. So it's Gentiles and the Jews here. The presence of all the peoples of all kinds.

Now in Isaiah 49.6, it also talks about making you, the Messiah, a light of the nations.

Isaiah 42.6 says something very similar.

So Luke 2.33, and his father and mother were amazed at the things which were being said about him. Amazed? Why were they amazed? Well, hadn't Joseph and Mary been told enough about Jesus that the amazement might sort of wear off?

The reality is that the angel Gabriel told Mary that she would bear the Messiah. An angel came to Joseph in a dream and told Joseph that Mary would have the Messiah. And an angel came, and then a whole sky full of angels came to tell the shepherds that the Messiah was born.

But who else? See, Mary and Joseph were discovering. Others knew. And they were surprised and amazed that others knew. Who else had the Lord told about this special birth? And how would they be told? It seems like it's a little different every time. The Magi, that is the wise men, had not shown up to the house yet. So that's one more discovery that they were about to make. Besides that, Joseph and Mary had everything that was written about the Messiah to learn from in what you call the Old Testament. Many of the details about Messiah were not prophesied.

Lots of things. Who his disciples were? Did we have 12 of them? All their names? There were lots of things that were not prophesied. And that's one reason why Dr. Luke wrote this gospel that you have been using to investigate Jesus. And besides, the rabbis did not correctly understand a number of the passages. They thought there would be more than one Messiah. They thought one would be reigning and one would be suffering. They thought a lot of things wrong. And that's why they didn't recognize Jesus when He came the first time.

There is no book written on how to raise the Messiah, because that's another thing. Think about that. No instructions. How do you raise the Messiah? Nobody wrote that book. I have another question. Can you blow it, raising the Messiah? Oops, that didn't work. Actually, I don't think you can. So here's Luke 2, 34 and 35.

And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother, Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rise of many in Israel and for a sign to be opposed. And a sword will pierce even your own soul to the end that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.

First of all, why did I say these things to just Mary and not to both Mary and Joseph? Well, Dr. Luke also wrote about Joseph and Mary going back to Jerusalem some 12 years later to look for Jesus. As a matter of fact, they looked for three days trying to find him. That was the last time that Dr. Luke or any other writer in what we call the New Testament wrote about Joseph. That's it. Joseph would not live until the time of Jesus' ministry. So I spoke to just Mary.

The standings of many would change because of Jesus, some for the better and some for the worse, and that has indeed happened. By this I meant that there would be both political and religious consequences, outcomes, that would increase the tension level in this already very tense nation. Dr. Luke's friend Paul, who was a rising star among the Jewish leaders, would one day be confronted by this Jesus, this little infant. Assigned to be opposed, Jesus' life and his message would stir up lots of opposition in Israel, and it has. Oh, at first they just opposed Jesus with words, but eventually came to more than just words. Eventually it would come to treachery by one of his own, forcing the hand of the governor, and to crucifixion by the hand of the Romans. But Dr. Luke will certainly give you all the gory details later as you continue investigating Jesus.

Simeon told Mary, a sword will pierce even your own soul. Not sure if she was prepared for that, but she would certainly go through it. Mary was honored by the Lord, certainly, for having the Messiah, by birthing the Messiah. And she even herself looked generations ahead She had a long-term view, which is amazing. But events would take place in her lifetime that would be exceedingly painful.

At the worst, she would see her own firstborn son crucified. That crucifixion is ugly. I've seen it. They crucify only the worst of the worst, criminals and rebels, and it's an agonizing death. She would watch as her own son would be crucified. Even more, on top of how awful the crucifixion is, Jesus would bear the world's sins and cry out, Abba, Father.

The child Jesus would grow up to a man about whom one cannot remain neutral. The leaders of the Jews were shown to be who they were at heart, as was Judas, The Lord put into places of leadership men who had erred and stumbled badly and who had committed great offenses such as Peter and Paul. And God's mercy and grace shined through them.

In Luke 2.36 through the first part of 37, And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel of the tribe of Asher.

She was advanced in years and had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage. And then as a widow to the age of 84, up to this point in time. So the first part here tells about who is Anna. Anna's name was most likely Hannah, Anna being kind of a shortened or nicknamed form.

Dr. Luke wrote that she was a prophetess in Israel. That's different from a prophet in the New Testament times. Miriam being the first one, Miriam the sister of Aaron, being the first one in the Old Testament out of the book of Exodus. And his father was Phanuel of the tribe of Asher. And all those records would have been kept there at the temple. and had been married for seven years when she became a widow, and she was 84 years old when she saw Jesus, so she was probably a widow for about 60 years or a bit more.

Now, have you noticed the way that Dr. Luke writes? He's great. He's shown repeatedly that he pays careful attention to detail. Have you also seen that Dr. Luke takes note of and writes favorably of those who are older. Yes, repeatedly. He recognized Zacharias and Elizabeth as older. He here recognizes that Anna is older. And he takes note when they're righteous and devout. Now, have you seen that Dr. Luke didn't write that I was old back then, though I am now?

Now, the next part of Luke 2.37 and then verse 38, He never left the temple, serving night and day with fastings and prayers.

At that very moment she came up and began giving thanks to God and continued to speak of Him to all those who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem. Now, Anna was an amazing lady. Night and day at the temple, fasting and praying, and I can vouch for that. She had actually started that long before I even first came to the temple. She had been doing this for about 60 years. What was going on inside was shown by what Anna did. Her heart for the Lord showed on the outside. It's very evident.

Anna had been in the temple fasting and praying for over 60 years, but Anna was a prophetess, and she saw that infant Jesus was the Messiah, the one that she had been looking for to redeem Israel. Now some of your Bibles might say the moment, it actually literally is that hour. Anna came up that hour and recognized that this infant was the long-promised Messiah. She began giving thanks to God right then and there. Then beyond that hour, she began telling others that she knew were also looking for the redemption of Jerusalem and about the birth of the Messiah. She had seen him with her own eyes.

Now if you look at the description of Simeon, that's me, looking for the consolation of Israel, and Anna looking for the redemption of Jerusalem, very similar. You see, Jerusalem is the main city, the capital city, and also the temple city. And in ancient times, our citizenship was not in a country, it was in a city. Just like the Romans have Roman citizenship, it's citizenship in the city of Rome. So this kind of statement, looking for the redemption of Jerusalem, is also looking to the whole country, not just that one city.

So Luke 2, 39 and 40, when they had performed everything according to the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own city of Nazareth, And the child continued to grow and become strong, increasing in wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him." So they returned to Galilee eventually. Dr. Luke reports that they ended up in Galilee, which they did.

However, I understand there's another guy named Matthew that adds some details to this transition back to Nazareth. And what Matthew reveals is things like the Magi, who he called the wise men, And Herod sending soldiers to kill the babies. Oh, Herod, terrible, cruel man. Terrible, cruel man. And Joseph being warned, and then all three of them then going down to Egypt for a time.

And then it says, the child continued to grow and become strong. Jesus, being raised by Joseph and Mary, continued to grow in his humanness, becoming stronger over time. On his human aspect, he grew and became stronger. In his deity, the Son of God, he did not change. Malachi, the last of our prophets of the Old Testament, said, For I, the Lord, do not change. As the Son of God, he did not change. As a human being, he did grow and change. The grace of God, it says, was upon him, and in his humanness he was increasing in wisdom. As the Son of God, he was not. But in his humanness he was increasing in wisdom.

Ah, here's the questions we started off with. Did Mary and Joseph bring Jesus to the temple on a whim, or because they were compelled to bring Jesus to the temple on a particular day? For males, 40 days after birth. And so the males would also be checked for, have they been circumcised? I have the baby checked. Have you been circumcised? And so certainly by the 40th day, should have been circumcised for 33 days.

And then did Simeon say, a sword pierce your soul to Joseph and Mary or just Mary? And of course, the answer is to just Mary. Joseph would not live. to see the time of Jesus' ministry. As a matter of fact, I'm pretty well certain that Jesus would delay His start of ministry until the rest of Joseph and Mary's children had grown up. Was Simeon necessarily old, or was Anna who was old, or was it both? Dr. Luke was very specific on this. Anna is old, 84 years old as of this date. It doesn't say that I'm old. I'm old now. I wasn't then.

Now, questions for next Sunday. I won't be here. Vern should be back from the Bahamas. Will Joseph and Mary go to Jerusalem just for Passover and then head back home to Nazareth the next day? Okay? Vernal will cover that with you. So why didn't Joseph and Mary notice that Jesus wasn't with them when they were first leaving Jerusalem? So we'll get to that. And one more, why did Joseph and Mary find Jesus only after searching for Him in Jerusalem for three days? Wow.

So, Vernal will pick that up with you. And meanwhile, we should pray. Lord, thank You what you have brought forth here from the pen of Dr. Luke. And we thank you for that. We thank you for your love and care and faithfulness and for the wonderful opportunity for me to see the Messiah before my last days. I pray in Jesus' name. Amen.