Grace, mercy, and peace to you
from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
In just a few days we’ll be
celebrating Jesus’ birth, but tonight we have jumped forward by 40 days to his
presentation in the temple. This is the first of many appearances Jesus would
make in the temple, culminating with Holy Week. But since this one is his
first, it is filled with prophetic fulfillment and great theological
significance. If you were a Jew living at that time, you would pay close
attention to the numbers Luke uses. God has some favorite numbers—3, 7, 12,
40—and when they show up repeatedly in the Scriptures, it’s a way for him to
tell us something important is going on.
Luke tells us it’s been 490
days since the angel Gabriel appeared in the temple to Zechariah the priest,
announcing that he and his wife Elisabeth were going to conceive a son in their
old age and name him John. 490 days later, Jesus makes his first appearance at
the same temple. 490. That’s 70 times Seven. 70 weeks times Seven days.
Just after the text we read,
we hear of the prophetess Anna. She also speaks of fulfillment in the numbers
of her life. Married a brief Seven years. And now she is 84, which is 12 times
Seven. We read the text and think nothing of these numbers, but this is not
merely coincidence. This is one of many ways in which God is telling us that
the entire Old Testament has come to a focal point in this little child. He is
the One!
The prophet Malachi had
written: “Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple, the
messenger of the covenant you desire will come.” I don’t think anyone expected
the Lord of heaven and earth to be carried to the temple by his parents, but
then no one expected God to become a man either. And so the mystery of the manger
continues here in the temple, as the infant Priest of humanity makes his first
appearance. Humble and hidden. God in the flesh returns to his holy house, just
as he promised he would. Not in the form of a cloud this time, and not above
the Ark of the Covenant. But as a holy infant, so tender and mild.
The temple was the place of
sacrifice, the place where lambs were slaughtered for sins—all of them being
modeled after the Passover lamb, who was slaughtered to let the Lord’s servants
depart in peace from Egypt, according to his word. And now in the temple, the
tender Lamb of God appears, 40 days old to be redeemed as the first born, in
according with the Law of Moses. Mary and Joseph came to offer the prescribed
sacrifice—a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons—the poor man’s sacrifice
of redemption. For it is written: “Every male who first opens the womb shall be
called holy to the Lord.” That is, every first born son anticipated God’s Son.
And now God’s Son fulfills the sacrifice. The Redeemer is redeemed by the blood
of two turtledoves under the Law. But not because he needed redeeming.
Christ came to fulfill the Law
to the last stroke of the pen. At eight days he was circumcised according to
the Law of Moses. At 40 days he was redeemed by a humble sacrifice. Here we see
the Christ’s work for our redemption. He is the Substitute, the Sin-bearer, the
Sacrifice. Though he is sinless, yet for our sakes, he became our sin. He is
the sinner in place of sinful humanity. He joined the human race, not only by
sharing in our flesh and blood, but also in taking up our burden under the Law.
And so it is fitting and proper that Jesus be redeemed at the temple, just as
it was fitting and proper that he be baptized—even though he had no sins to
repent of, but took our place in perfection under the Law, to fulfill all
righteousness. He is the sinless Sinner, and the Redeemer is redeemed, for you
and for me.
At the temple, two very old
people are waiting to greet baby Jesus. Simeon and Anna. Together, they
represent the Old Testament prophet and priest, waiting to see the Scriptures
fulfilled by the Prophet of prophets and the Priest of priests, the coming
Christ. Simeon had been told he would not die until he had seen the Messiah
with his own eyes.
You can only imagine what it
was like for Simeon walking about the temple day after day, year after year, as
child after child was brought to the temple for redemption under the Law. Some
might think Simeon would have given up waiting and watching by now. But, like
you, he knew that God keeps his promises according his timing, not
according to ours.
Simeon knew the Scriptures.
And the entire Old Testament functions as Advent. Each person, all the stories,
every last detail points to one thing: the coming of Christ. In a sense, Simeon
is like a little kid waiting for Christmas. He knows what he’s getting, he just
has to wait for the big day. And waiting is something we’re usually not good
at. One clue at a time—a vague hint here, a quick glimpse there, even a few
clear promises. It all whets the appetite for the final feast of fulfilled
prophecy. And if you are anything like me, it’s both exciting and torturous at
the same time, because patience is not something I have a lot when I’m waiting
for something special. I would have made a horrible Simeon! I probably would
have asked God just to go ahead and let me die because the waiting is too much
for me.
But Simeon had faith that God
was faithful. Simeon knew the promises God made to Eve, that her future child
would reverse the curse she and Adam brought upon the whole world. Though they
were tricked by the serpent and overcome by the fruit of tree, which they
ate unto eternal death, Eve’s offspring would use a tree to trick the
serpent into biting his heel with rusty Roman nails. And by that tree of the
cross he would crush the serpent’s head, leaving all of us the fruit of
his body and blood to eat for eternal life.
Simeon knew the sacred story
was continued with Abraham, when God promised him that through his offspring
all nations would be blessed. Not just for the chosen people of Israel, not
just for Australians and Americans and Europeans, and not just for Lutherans
either, but for people from every tongue and tribe and nation. Like Simeon, you
know that forgiveness of sins is only for undeserving sinners, Jews and
Gentiles alike. For this Christmas gift takes away the sins of the whole world,
including those of your unbelieving family and friends and coworkers. The most
unlikely candidates—including you and me—are made members of God’s kingdom,
purified and cleansed by the shed blood of Abraham’s son, who was sacrificed by
his Father. Just like Isaac was spared death while a sacrificial ram took his
place, so too are we spared death because the sacrificial Lamb of God took our place.
Simeon also knew the words of
Isaiah the prophet, who is often called the fifth evangelist. Matthew, Mark,
Luke, and John… and Isaiah! These five give us the clearest picture of who
Jesus really is, and what he has done on our behalf. Isaiah said, “Behold, a
virgin shall conceive and give birth to a son, and he shall be called
Immanuel.” That sounds a lot like Matthew and Luke. Isaiah said, “For to us a
child is born, to us a son is given, and the government shall be on his
shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting
Father, Prince of Peace.” That sounds a lot like Mark and John. And of course
it is Isaiah who said, “He was led like a sheep to the slaughter. He was
pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the
punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are
healed.” That sounds a lot like the entire New Testament. Each time God speaks
he reveals more of his Gift. His promises become clearer and clearer. The image
slowly comes into focus. All the pieces of the puzzle are coming together to
create a picture of God’s perfect plan.
Like I said, the entire Old
Testament is Advent. But it’s not just a handful of details sprinkled
here and there. The priests, the temple, the sacrifices, the festivals, the
feasts, Noah’s ark, Moses’ deliverance, David’s kingdom, and on and on—all
these things point to salvation in Jesus. It’s so obvious, it’s a wonder anyone
could miss it. I am often asked why, if it’s so obvious, more Jews didn’t
believe in Jesus. To which I say, “They did!” The first generation of
Christians consisted almost entirely of Jews. They converted by the tens of
thousands, from the priests to the Pharisees to the common man, woman, and
child. That’s how obvious it was to them that Jesus was their long-awaited
Messiah. It’s kind of like of like asking, “Do you think only Christians know
what season it is?” The cards, the carols, the decorations, the wreaths, the
candles, the manger scenes, the sales, the shopping, Santa Claus, elves,
reindeer—they all point to one thing as clearly as the Old Testament does: the
Babe born in Bethlehem, the new covenant in Christ. It’s as clear as day.
Now of course in
our day, the main protest people hide behind is the convenient little excuse
they raise by saying, “It isn’t true.” And I understand that. After all, what
sounds more fantastical than the birth of Jesus? Dreams of angels, a pregnant
virgin, a census from Caesar, no room at the inn, a babe in a manger, wise men
from the East bringing gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh, worshipping a
Jewish child as though he were God. All this Advent stuff sounds a bit like a
bedtime story for children, doesn’t it? We are rational modern adults – can we
really believe that it actually happened? Or is it merely another
ancient myth, on par with Grimm’s Fairy Tales, or the Legend of King Arthur.
Now I don’t know
what it’s like in Australia, but I can tell you that in America, every
Christmas, and every Easter, our media marshals out a mass of material meant to
dissuade anyone from thinking the New Testament is true. What they don’t
mention, however, is all the evidence that has been found—evidence that shows history
is Christianity’s greatest ally. All the Christmas texts are actually grounded
in the world of facts, not the world of fiction.
Was there really a
star in the sky, and did wise men really follow it? Yes. History
confirms it, even if the media chooses to remain silent. I don’t know how many
of you aside from your pastor know Greek, but the Greek word for “star” is aster, which is where we get words like
“asteroid” and “astronomy.” It doesn’t have to mean a literal star, but can
refer to any unusually bright object in the sky. Well, there are records from
that time, outside the Bible, of a comet in the sky that was so bright it could
be seen in the near and far east for a period of 70 days, and it seemed
to move westward. As if … it served as a beacon for travelers, better than the
North Star does. Now there are a few other options for this “aster,” so you
don’t have to rush home and replace the star on top of your Christmas tree with
a comet. But this confirms that the Gospel writers were not myth-makers.
Second, there is
an ancient tablet from Babylon, also from this exact time, that records
celestial movements in the heavens. It sits in the British Museum for anyone to
see. And it indicates that someone in ancient Babylon was very interested in
what was going on above their heads, so much so that they not only went to the
trouble of engraving their observations on stone, but they preserved it as well
– as if, this was something worth remembering. That would be the Magi.
Again, the Gospels are not making things up.
Now consider the
words we heard from Saint Peter: “We did not follow cleverly devised
myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ,
but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.” In a world full of Greek and
Roman fables about gods, Peter is letting everyone know the story of this
God become flesh is not fiction like all the other tales. For he himself is an
eyewitness. And just like today, eyewitness testimony holds up in court.
Hearsay … doesn’t. Where is the person who ever claimed to see Zeus, or Apollo,
or Aphrodite? What historians believe those tales are true?
Peter is placing
all these accounts about Christ into real time and space, because … they actually
happened. The same is true for Luke. If you read what it says just before and
after the song of Simeon, you’ll that Luke can’t go more than a few paragraphs
without mentioning all sorts of people and places that connect his biography of
Jesus with the real world. “In those days a decree went out from Caesar
Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first
registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. And all went to be
registered, each to his own town. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from
the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called
Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David.” Or again, Luke
take the trouble to tell us, “In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius
Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, and Herod being tetrarch of
Galiliee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis,
and Lysanius tetrarch of Abilene, during the high priesthood of Annas and
Caiaphas . . . .”
We might find it
tedious or boring to go through these verses, but Luke is letting everyone
know, from his time to our time, that this is did not happen Once Upon A Time,
or A Long Time Ago In A Galaxy Far, Far Away. As C.S. Lewis once said, “I have
been reading myths, legends, romances, vision literature, and the like my entire
life. And not one of them reads like the Gospels.” Indeed, every person
and place I just read from Luke has been positively confirmed through
historical research.
So go ahead and
investigate history, and you’ll see that it’s not simply a matter of
faith, but a matter of fact. You’ll discover that there was an actual
census from Caesar, and the record of it still stands to this day over in
Turkey, at the temple of the Divine Augustus.
Investigate some
more, and you’ll find there’s a papyrus fragment of an official Roman decree
supporting the fact that Mary & Joseph had to go to Bethlehem. It
reads: “Seeing that the time has come for the census, all those residing out of
their provinces must return to their own homes.” It was Roman law.
I could go on and
on. But the point is, this is not merely a bedtime story for children,
this is not a myth for primitive people, and it is not something
you have to believe despite all the evidence to the contrary. No, there
is more evidence for these 4 Gospels about Jesus, including the details,
than for any other record in the entire ancient world.
And so, when Mary
and Joseph brought their 40-day old son into the temple, Simeon knew he hadn’t
believed in a fairy tale all these years, but the truth. When he saw the real
flesh-and-blood Jesus before him, the Holy Spirit whispered to his spirit:
“This is the One you are waiting for.” Simeon’s heart must have skipped a beat
that day. He gathered up the little Child into his tired, old arms, and lifts
his eyes to heaven, and sings this little song: “Lord, now you are letting your
servant depart in peace, according to your Word, for my eyes have seen your
salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for
revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel.”
Simeon’s time of
service had come to its end. You can almost hear the relief in his voice. His
tired old eyes had seen the Lord’s salvation. Only faith could perceive this.
Faith worked by the Spirit through the Word. Only faith can see through the
humility, the weakness, the poverty of this Child, and gaze upon the face of
God.
So if at this
point you’re thinking, “What does all of this have to do with me?” Well,
this song of Simeon’s is now your song. When each of us sings it, we
make it our own. It was traditionally said at the end of each day, a sort of
“Now I lay me down to sleep” prayer. But Lutherans decided to say it at the
close of the liturgy of the Lord’s Supper. For then we have heard the words of
our Lord addressed to us personally: “This is my body, given for you. This is
my blood, shed for you.” The body and blood born of Mary, laid in a manger,
nailed to a cross, raised from the dead, glorified at the right hand of God.
This is given to us as our own food and drink, the medicine of immortality. So
like Simeon, we sing our song of release, our song of freedom and forgiveness,
and we can truly depart in peace.
Make no mistake. Simeon is
saying he is now free to die. When I was younger, I thought we said this
because we were free to leave church. But this is Simeon’s death song—and so it
is your death song—and it is a joyous one at that. We are released from
this life of sin, and free to die.
There is a temptation at
Christmastime to dwell and the cute and the cuddly, on the glittery and the
glorious. But if the Child in the manger does not end up as the Man on the
cross, if Christmas doesn’t pave the way to Good Friday, then . . . what’s the
point, really? The presents will become old, or lost, or broken. The
decorations will be put away. The new year will come, and we’ll all return to
our daily routine of regrets, griefs, and sins.
Simeon wastes no time in
reminding us of this. He tells Mary: “Behold this child is appointed for the
fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed.” There is no
neutral position with respect to this Child. There is no middle ground when it
comes to Jesus. You either trust him with your life and with your death, or you
do not. You can’t reshape, reinvent, or revise him. You can only receive him as
he is for you—your Savior, your Lord, and your Redeemer.
The serpent’s head has been
crushed, all nations have been blessed, and by his wounds we are healed. No
more hints, no more clues, no more waiting. For the Lord who came to his temple
also went to the cross, and has left his tomb empty. Your sins are
forgiven. Not just seven times, or even seventy times seven. For the blood of
Christ cleanses you from all sins. And so you are free to die,
knowing that death itself has been conquered and that you too will rise again
in glory. Let each one of us say, “Lord, let your servant depart in peace.”
In the name of Jesus, Amen.
(Some of the above text is adapted from a sermon by
the Rev. William M. Cwirla of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Hacienda Heights,
California, U.S.A.)
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