Simeon - Luke 2

Luke 2 Simeon and Anna

And when the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, "Every male who first 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 turtledoves, or two young pigeons." (Luke 2:22-24 ESV)

The time of purification: the baby would be circumcised and named after 8 days, and 33 days after that, the mother was considered purified and could bring him to the temple to offer an atoning sacrifice on his behalf. Remember the sinful donkey and redeeming lamb in Exodus 34:19-20? God had a rule, the first baby born to an animal or person belonged to him. So if it was a sheep or goat, it would be a sacrificed, or a donkey or human would be redeemed with a lamb. Aka, the lamb would die in the person's place.

So what does the sacrificial lamb have to do with Mary and Joseph bringing baby Jesus to the temple? Look at this law in Leviticus:

"'And when the days of her purifying are completed, whether for a son or for a daughter, she shall bring to the priest at the entrance of the tent of meeting a lamb a year old for a burnt offering, and a pigeon or a turtledove for a sin offering, and he shall offer it before the Lord and make atonement for her. Then she shall be clean from the flow of her blood. This is the law for her who bears a child, either male or female. And if she cannot afford a lamb, then she shall take two turtledoves or two pigeons, one for a burnt offering and the other for a sin offering. And the priest shall make atonement for her, and she shall be clean.'" (Leviticus 12:6-8 ESV)

A sacrifice is made to make the new mother "clean" and another is made to "atone" for the baby. But a big takeaway here is that Mary and Joseph are poor! They couldn't bribe the inkeeper to give them a room, and they can't afford a lamb to sacrifice, so they offer two turtledoves instead. Think about it, they were broke newlyweds, so when the wisemen show up with their expensive gifts, Mary and Joseph's minds must have exploded. Gold wasn't just a nice gift for a baby king, it meant they could feed and clothe baby Jesus!

It is ironic that a sacrifice is being made on Jesus behalf. He had come to be the sacrifice, he is the one sinless person who does not need to be atoned. But there are certain things that Jesus does, even though he doesn't necessarily need to. Like being baptized. John would have prevented him, saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?" But Jesus answered him, "Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness." Then he consented. (Matthew 3:14, 15 ESV). Jesus says he did not come to abolish the Jewish law, but to fulfill it, and the sacrifice on his behalf was one of those things.

Think about it, Jesus is the church, did he need to go to the temple? The scripture that they would read was his own word. Did he really need to learn to read it? There were certain things Jesus did to fulfill righteousness and to fulfill being human. Maybe the need to learn was part of setting aside being God and being man. I do picture him learning to walk. . .which must have driven Mary nuts at bathtime!

Time out for a game: Simeon Says

Split up in two teams and decide -True or False, did Simeon say this?  If false, bonus points for who did say it.  

1.  I bring you good news of great joy.  

2.  My eyes have seen your salvation.

3.  How can this be

4. He will turn many of the children of Israel to their God

5. A light for revelation to the Gentiles

6.  We saw his star and have come to worship him

7.  A sword will pierce your soul

8.  Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.  

9. Lord, let your servant depart in peace

10. to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins. . .to give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet in the way of peace

Back to our story: Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous 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. And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child 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 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 for glory to your people Israel." (Luke 2:25-32 ESV)

There's a little old man, a very good man, loved by his family and community, and he has a big secret. God himself told Simeon the secret, and if Simeon told anyone, they would think he was crazy as someone waiting for the Mayan apocalypse. Simeon was old, his back hurt and his knees creaked, but he knew in his heart that he would live to see the Messiah.

One morning, his eyes snap open - this is the day! He throws on his clothes and runs out the front door, dragging his cane behind him. He dashes to the temple, and when he arrives, he is so excited he is out of breath. There he is! The Messiah! Simeon runs over and grabs Jesus and starts dancing with him, grinning and laughing hysterically! I have seen salvation! I am literally holding salvation in my arms! Wahoo kook!!

Just to pause for a second, how in the world did Simeon know which baby was the messiah? If you walked into the newborn nursery at UAB, there would be kids everywhere. The temple was the same. And baby Jesus certainly wasn't wearing a name tag or an "I'm the messiah" t-shirt." I figure it was like Luke and Darth in Star Wars - one could sense the presence of the other. George Lucas called it the force, and it truly does exist, only the true force is the Holy Spirit. Use the Spirit, Simeon.

We (Lutherans) actually sing Simeon's prayer in church after communion, in a part of the service called the Nunc dittimis. Simeon says, I can walk away from this life with peace for I have seen the salvation of The Lord." We essentially say the same thing, "I can walk away from the altar with peace, for I have experienced and tasted the salvation of The Lord." In terms of coolness, of course Simeon wins, he got to literally hold Jesus. But the peace we experience through salvation is the same as Simeon.

Justice is blind, but not faith. did you catch that. Faith Is Not Blind! Don't ever let anyone tell you that, it's not true. Simeon says, my eyes have seen your salvation! Thomas sees and believes, My Lord and My God. Paul bumps into Jesus on the road. John follows Jesus every day for three years and writes about the journeys and who Jesus was. Peter, James, and John have breakfast with him after the resurrection, Mary Magdelene sees him, as do all of the disciples. Luke goes through great pains to write an orderly account based on what he learned from Paul, James, and other believers who had been with Jesus. John makes no orderly account, he sets down the theology of Jesus and the holy spirit based on what he had seen and heard. We have never seen Jesus, but we believe the testimony of people who have seen him.

Why do we believe in Jesus? Because of the testimony of eyewitnesses. Why did we believe in God the Father? Again by the testimony of witnesses in the Bible, the most important of whom is Jesus. But God is a little bit easier, to have blind faith in God, you would literally have to be blind.

What is the very first thing that God did? Genesis 1:4. Let there be light, and God saw that it was good. If we see, then God is real. If the sun rises in the morning, God is true. His promise of salvation is no less true than the certainty we will see light if we open our eyes. Simeon has seen the light of the world with his own eyes. If we see the light, then let us believe like Simeon!!

"And his father and his mother marveled at what was said about him. And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, "Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed." (Luke 2:33-35 ESV).

Mary and Joseph were amazed at Simeon's words, but he has another message that is not sunshine and roses. There will be opposition, there will be conflict, and a sword will pierce your hearts. Raising the savior will have a drawback; namely that you will have to watch Jesus die on the cross. Not fun, but as the turtledoves must be sacrificed, so must the light of the world.

"And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived with her husband seven years from when she was a virgin, and then as a widow until she was eighty-four. She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day. And coming up at that very hour she began to give thanks to God and to speak of him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem."(Luke 2:36-38 ESV)

Anna is very awesome too! We don't know her actual words, but we know she was very old and very excited. Picture one of the little old church ladies grabbing you and talking your ear off. An interesting thing about Anna and the temple - she was a widow and apparently had no family for she was cared for at the temple. There was no social security and life insurance in that day, and women were usually not the wage earners. So little old widow Anna was dependent on the mercy of the Jews for food and shelter. As she had received mercy for some fifty years, she now declared mercy to all who would listen.

We don't often talk about Simeon and Anna in the Christmas story, but if the wise men have a place in the manger scene, I think these two should be included in our stories and nativity scenes too!