Luke
2:25-40 * December 28, 2008 * Christmas I * Pastor Pagels
In the name of the One who was born for you and me, dear friends:
William Chatterton Dix isn’t exactly a household name, but you are
probably familiar with some of his work.
Dix was a businessman who lived in
William Dix liked to write hymns, and he was pretty good at it. In fact, four of his hymns have made their
way into our hymnal. We sang one of them
on May 1st. It was a Thursday, forty
days after Easter, also known as the Festival of the Ascension of our Lord. Alleluia!
Sing to Jesus (CW 169) is an
Ascension hymn that comforts Christians with the knowledge that the Lord who
has ascended into heaven is still watching over his people on earth.
We will be singing another one of Dix’s hymns in the weeks to
come. As with Gladness Men of Old is sung during the Epiphany season, and
the men of old are the Magi who followed the star to Bethlehem to worship the
newborn King.
Dix’s most famous hymn is a Christmas carol. I’m confident that you all know it…because
you just sang it. Hymn 67 in Christian
Worship begins with a question: What child is this? What is so significant about this baby that
was born 2,000 years ago, and why do millions of people around the world still
celebrate his birth?
Simeon knew that answer to that question. Anna knew the answer to that question. Mary and Joseph knew the answer to that
question. And by the grace of God so do
we. If anyone ever asks you to explain
the meaning of Christmas, if anyone ever asks you who Jesus is, if you are ever
asked…
What Kind Of
Child Is This?
I. He is the long-expected Christ
II. He brings peace to the world
Jesus’ parents were God-fearing Jews. Because they wanted to obey the Law of Moses
and fulfill the rite of purification (see Leviticus 12:1-8 for the details),
they brought baby Jesus to the temple in
Not much is known about this mysterious figure. He has no official title. He holds no special temple office. His age is even a mystery to us. Simeon is simply called “a man,” and this is
what we know about him. Luke tells us
that he was “righteous and devout,” and
that he was “waiting for the consolation
of
Simeon was God-fearing. He was righteous
in the eyes of God, not because of what he had done for God but because of what
God had done for him. And he was
devout. In other words, the faith that
resided in his heart spilled over into his life.
Simeon was a good man, but he was waiting for something better. He was waiting for “the consolation of
This Comfort-Giver had been promised to Adam and Eve way back in the
Garden of Eden after the fall into sin.
Abraham received the same promise of a Savior through whom all the
nations on earth would be blessed. God
promised King David that one of his descendants would sit on his throne and establish
an eternal kingdom.
Simeon probably wasn’t a person of power or prestige, but the Lord had given
him some priceless information. The Holy
Spirit had revealed to Simeon that he would not die before he saw the Christ
with his own eyes. Try to imagine that. Imagine how Simeon felt, carrying around that
promise day after day, waking up each morning wondering, “Is this the day? Is this the day it will happen? Is this the day I will meet the Messiah?”
Simeon was anxiously awaiting the birth of the Christ-child, but he wasn’t
the only one who was waiting. There were
others who were longing for God’s promise to be fulfilled. Among them was an old prophetess by the name
of Anna.
Like Simeon, Anna was familiar with Old Testament prophecies about the
Savior. For many years she had been watching
and waiting for the Messiah. Not an
earthly king who would usher in a new golden age for
To prepare for the Lord’s coming, Anna dedicated herself to the
Lord. Not just for an hour on Sunday (or
for Jews, Saturday) mornings. Not just
when it fit into her busy schedule. Anna
spent “day and night” in the temple
worshipping and fasting and praying.
The Greek word used here for “prayer” refers to a specific type of
prayer. Literally, it means “asking.” Anna never stopped asking God to make his
promises come true. Her undying devotion
to the Lord was matched by her unwavering trust in the Lord.
Patience is a virtue. You have
probably heard that proverb before, but did you know that it continues? It goes like this: Patience is a virtue. Possess it if you can. Seldom found in woman, never in a man.
That’s more than a cute little rhyme.
It speaks the truth. It speaks
volumes about our sinful human natures. In
our express delivery, fast food, instant access world people we don’t like to
wait at all, much less wait patiently for what they want.
We get annoyed if we have to stand in line for a few minutes at the
store. We get upset if we have to sit in
traffic. We get so angry so easily about
so many things, trivial things, insignificant things, things that don’t really
matter.
Is our time really that important?
Are we really that important? Do
we have the right to become indignant?
Do we have right to be so impatient?
No, we don’t. Instead we need to
repent. We need to learn how to
wait. We need to remember that good
things come to those who wait…like Simeon and Anna.
With hope and eager expectation, Simeon waited for the Messiah to be
born. Even though Anna had been waiting
for many years, her confidence never wavered.
And as we will soon see, the patience of these believers was rewarded.
The good news is that we don’t have to wait like they did. The Lord has made good on his promise to Adam
and Eve, to Abraham, to David, to Simeon and Anna, to you and me. The long-expected Christ has come and what a
child this is! He brings peace to the
world.
When Joseph and Mary brought Jesus to the temple, Simeon was moved by
the Spirit to approach them in the temple courts. Somehow the Holy Spirit let him know that this
child was THE CHRIST CHILD.
Simeon’s joy and expectation reached a climax as he held baby Jesus in
his arms and exclaimed:
“Sovereign Lord, as you have
promised, you now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which
you have prepared in the sight of all people, a light for revelation to the
Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel” (29-32).
Simeon understood the believer’s relationship with God. God is the master. We are humble servants. The Lord is in control of all things, and we
thank him for his goodness. Because God made good on his promise, Simeon was
able to “depart in peace.” He was at peace with God because he was
holding “salvation” in his arms.
Simeon was on the receiving end of a very special blessing from God,
but he recognized that this blessing was not for him alone. Jesus would bring glory to
When Anna found Mary and Joseph and Jesus in the temple, she responded
with her own songs of praise. She kept on praising God because her prayers had
been answered. The Savior had been born,
and this little baby brought peace into the world.
It was this peace that angels proclaimed to the shepherds on Christmas
Eve: “Glory to God in the highest, and
on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests” (Luke
In a world where people claim to serve God by making themselves into
human bombs, we have peace. In a year
when the stock market took a nose dive and many personal portfolios took a big
hit, we have peace. We don’t know what
will happen next year or next month or even next week, but because that little
baby in Simeon’s arms lived a perfect life in our place and died on the cross
for our sins we have peace. We have
peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
At the beginning of the sermon I said that four hymns written by
William Dix are included in our hymnal.
I made reference to three of them, but I failed to mention the fourth. Come
unto Me, Ye Weary (CW 336) is the title, and it is based on Jesus’ words in
Matthew 11:28: “Come to me, all you who
are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”
In this verse (and in this hymn) our Savior comes to us and says: “If
you are in trouble, if you are in need, come to me. If you are worn down by life’s problems, if
you are burdened by sin, come to me and I will give you rest.”
That’s a great comfort. It is so comforting to know that Jesus invites us to come to him, but it gives us even greater comfort to know that Jesus has come to us. He came as a little baby. He came in fulfillment of prophecy. He is the long-expected Christ, and by his coming he has brought peace to the world. Amen.