On this day after Christmas 2010, we come to an event recorded in Luke 2 that takes place 8 days after Jesus' birth. It was the day of Jesus' dedication in the temple when an old priest named "Simeon," who had been promised that his eyes would see the coming of Messiah, recognized Jesus as the Promised One. Some have called this story the "most ignored part of the Christmas narrative." That may not have always been true. Rembrandt painted a beautiful depiction of Simeon with the Christ Child in the Temple (which I'll show you in the services). More recently, Luci Shaw wrote an insightful poem about the event. In it, she clearly noticed one startling aspect of the Simeon story that usually is ignored, i.e., that the birth of this child will bring not only salvation but also a sword into the heart:
Simeon
"You are to give to the Lord the firstborn of every womb."
Exodus 13:2. 12
"The Lord makes his life an offering for sin . . ."
Isaiah 53:10
Expectant, though never knowing quite
what he was watching for, the old man
had waited out the years of a long life
to be in the right place
at the right time.
How many generations of crying babies
brought by new parents into the holy precincts
for dedication? How many innocent doves
wrung by the neck for their blood
and burned on the altar? Yet, when they
came with their child and their pigeons,
and when the man Simeon, seized by Spirit,
took the infant in his arms, his eyes
looked into the eyes of God; there was
that flash of absolute knowing.
So, as the Law decreed, he gave the child
back to the Master of the Universe, singing
for joy (salvation had now come)
and grief (as sword was in his song).
Here was the fulfillment
of Simeon's expectation.
Here in the Presentation, he saw the
commencement of the Offering.
May we learn the importance of both the salvation and the sword that Jesus came to bring.
To His glory,
Dr. Greg Waybright
Senior Pastor