LET US SEE WHAT CHRISTMAS IS ALL ABOUT. LUKE 2 V 21 – 35.

By: Doug Barnett

As we grow older our appearance changes and people who haven’t seen us for a long time can have problems recognising us. We may be thinner or larger than when they last saw us. They may remember us as a teenager struggling with acne and now we are a drop dead gorgeous woman or a handsome hunk of manhood.

Here in Luke 2, Simeon had no problem recognising someone he had been waiting years to see and had never seen before – Jesus.

Some forty days after the birth of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, take him to Jerusalem to be presented to God in accordance with the Law of Moses. Jesus was born into a family, which honoured God. Three sacrifices were involved here, the purification of Mary, the presentation of the first-born and the dedication of the first born to God.

Their offering of a pair of doves or pigeons indicates that they were poor – wealthy people would have offered a lamb or a young bullock.

When they reach the Court of the Women, due to Mary’s presence, they meet Simeon, a devout and pious man who has devoted himself to prayer, reading and meditating on the Word of God and waiting for the promised messiah.

The moment he sees Jesus he recognises him as the Messiah.

Christmas is a nine-letter word that makes no sense and has no significance if you leave out the first six letters – Christ.

Jesus is at the centre of this story

Luke writes his story

The Angels sing his story

The shepherds relate his story

Simeon rejoices in his story.

What is there here for us to consider?

THERE IS MYSTERY HERE. V26

‘The Lord’s Christ’ or ‘the anointed of the Lord’

When I was a boy my father would often entertain us and one day he showed us a plain sheet of paper and old us that he would make a face appear upon it. He took a pencil and rubbed it across the paper and to our amazement the head of the King of England appeared. We were totally mystified until he told us how he did it. Beneath the paper was a coin and as dad rubbed the pencil across the paper the image of the hidden King came through in a form we could understand and see.

Christmas presents us with a huge mystery – the invisible God makes himself visible in the person of Jesus.

When God became man he never ceased to be God

He was not God humanised or man deified – he was the true God-Man

This God is unspeakably wise but as this child he is speechless. The Word is wordless.

This God is the one who made the stars but as this child he is born under them

This God is the one who never slumbers or sleeps but as this child he closes his eyes because he is tired

This God is the one in whose presence angels cover their faces but as this child his face is covered by Mary’s kisses

At the centre of Christmas is a magnificent and meaningful mystery.

Make sure this God is at the centre of your life and Christmas – if He isn’t you will never find him under the Christmas tree.

THERE IS HUMANITY HERE V21.23.27.33.

‘Named Jesus’ ‘male’ ‘parents’ ‘father and mother’ – this passage is replete with the humanity of Jesus. Jesus was not merely human – he was truly human.

He is bone of our bone, flesh of our flesh. He faced temptation just like we do. He offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears, just like we do.

He cried out in anguish, ‘My God, my God why have you forsaken me?’ just like we do.

He knows, he understands and he can help us in our

LONELINESS

A man decided to give up smoking and in the first few weeks he was irritable, bad tempered and difficult to live with. One evening he apologised to his wife for his behaviour and said ‘I’ve gone from happiness to irritableness to grumpiness – what is next I wonder?’ She replied, ‘Loneliness.’

Loneliness is a fact of life for so many people and most of us have experienced it in some shape or form.

Film star Tom Hanks has a dread of loneliness and his film CASTAWAY was about a man’s struggle with isolation, solitude and loneliness on a desert island.

You work hard all day, come home, cook dinner, eat it and go to bed and wind your arms around your pillow or teddy bear! But you wish you had someone to hold on to or snuggle up to.

You may be a widow or a widower and feel the sense of aloneness without your loved one. You are left with a house filled with memories.

Nevertheless somewhere, somehow there is someone who cares and has made us an ironclad promise – ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you’ Hebrews 13 v 5.

But loneliness isn’t always about the absence of people it can be about the absence of purpose, not a lack of affection but direction. John on the isle of Patmos had no close circle of friends whose company he could enjoy, it was a prison he was in but he had purpose and direction and the book of Revelation was the result.

SUFFERING. V34.35

As the Lord’s servant Jesus would know suffering and Isaiah 53 v3.4.10 speak of the suffering of God’s anointed servant.

Isaiah tells us that he would be ‘crushed’ 53 v 5. The word is used of people being trampled to death by the infliction and enduring of crushing agonies.

You may be crushed by a sense of rejection.

Crushed by hurtful, cruel and unkind words. Jesus was plotted against, had lies told about him – he understands.

Crushed by chronic pain that wears you down. Jesus knew the unremitting pain of crucifixion and all the terrible things that preceded it. He understands.

Crushed by bereavement – Jesus wept at the tomb of his friend Lazarus – he understands

Crushed by jealousy and envy of you – people jealous of your popularity, prosperity, personality, ability and spirituality. ‘For envy they delivered him to be crucified’ he understands.

THERE IS TESTIMONY HERE V25

‘A man called Simeon’

Simeon’s testimony is a challenging example to us all.

He manifests faithfulness, perseverance, constancy, obedience and godliness.

When his ministry is complete he is ready to depart to be with God. He is perfectly at ease with God’s timescale.

He is a model of how to grow older usefully and gracefully. He is still going full steam ahead for God. We are never too old to be used of God.

Praise and wonder mark out his life and he is a grateful man not a grumpy old man.

He has a deep knowledge of the Word that sustains him at all times.

He is a contented man – contentment is not a question of age or energy levels, it is not about what we have materially, it is defined by our openness to serve God and share Him with others. It is about the quality of our relationship with God and others.

He is ready to serve wherever he is placed.

Simeon was always facing forward – looking toward the future and when he saw Jesus he met tomorrow today and rejoiced.

As a child I remember one Christmas when I really longed to receive a little train set. It was cheap train set that was made of soft metal and consisted of a small circular track an engine and two carriages. On Christmas Eve I just couldn’t go to sleep and crept from my bed down to the kitchen and as I did so I heard a noise coming from the kitchen. Looking through the large keyhole in the door I saw my father standing at the table playing with a train set. I went back to bed and shared the news with my brothers and sister. No matter how long and dark that night was in passing I was a happy little boy. I had seen tomorrow today and knew it would be joy in the morning.

Because Christ has come there is joy now for us and joy still to come when He returns in glory and splendour to take His people to be with Him forever. This Christmas take a moment to rejoice that you can see tomorrow today.