THE PANDEMIC GOSPEL: SPREADING JOY
Luke 2:25-38: LIFEWAY WINTER QUARTERLY 2020/21 SESSION 4
There are certain gifts one should never give adolescent boys at Christmastime. Sadly, our “twenty-something” youth leader at Liberty Baptist Church learned this the “hard way.” He got an excellent deal on cases of large spray cans of Silly String for Christmas and each boy received three cans! Early 1980’s Silly String, for the uninitiated adult, is a sticky, smelly, staining, cold substance that shoots out at a rapid rate in a continuous thickness and likeness of kite string (a quite attractive and enthusiastic gift from a 6th-grader’s perspective but a sentiment not shared by the Building and Grounds committee or our parents)… Our gift of Silly String came in bright “day-glo” colors of orange, green, yellow, purple and red; the color was very pretty and the cans could shoot very far; our parents could easily see which color can shot the farthest by following the tie-dyed markings on the church carpet and furniture… Church members on the first floor could also tell which parents had the loudest voices that Sunday when said parent with reluctant child scoped out the “newly finished” and “redecorated” Youth Chapel after the 6th grade Christmas party! Like I said, us 6th graders were enthusiastic about the gift we had received and the chapel showed it: silly string on the lights, silly string on the chairs, the carpet, the pool table, the piano, in our hair, on our clothes and yes even on our glasses (who knew my single visions could now pass for bifocals with green lines in the middle of the lens)! It was a Christmas gift we were happy to share until later… That “later” convinced me to never “share” silly string again!
Sharing silly string is not recommended, but the same contagious enthusiasm, the same “send it everywhere and to everyone” leave everlasting marks, the same “cover the earth,” global pandemic, unforgettable spread of “good tidings of great joy” of the forgiveness of our sin, light penetrating our darkness, salvation coloring our world with the permanent stains of God’s infinite love, humankinds’ availability to be reconciled to God by grace through faith in Christ Jesus Our LORD available to everyone who believes- the proclamation of THE GOSPEL is one of the central themes of Luke’s story (Lk 1:3, 2:29-32, 38; 24:45-47; Acts 1:8) and the emphasized, purposeful mission of every Christ follower.In Luke 2 the angels proclaim it, the young, the despised and the “poor in spirit” receive it and the old, faithful, and revered see it revealed as ALL who believe spread the WORD that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh!This week we will continue with Luke’s introductory theme to his Gospel of the joy of the gift of Christ from the Father:Joy is a gift given, joy is a gift received, and joy is a gift proclaimed!As we said last week, these gifts of Gospel Joy did not come from the earth they came from heaven but Luke wants to make sure that we know what to do here on earth WITH this gift from Heaven…We as Christ’s followers and His Church know that the Gospel has been proclaimed to us and we therefore because of that joy proclaim it to others, those who believe receive it and the gift is given again, as Jesus testifies of Himself in John 4 “whoever drinks the water I give him (Jesus as the living water) will never thirst.Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” (Jn 4:13-14). If we were to illustrate Luke’s evangelism method and emphasis through his story it would look like this…
OF HUMANKIND: EVERY TRIBE AND EVERY NATION
Let’s take a look at this illustration (“exegetically” {out of}) our passage on Simeon and Anna today. Verse 25 gives us a description of Simeon- a devout and righteous Jew. Luke answers for us what makes him devout and righteous, it was Simeon’s expectation and anticipation of the fulfillment of Old Testament prophesy; Simeon’s faith and trust in God and dependence upon the Holy Spirit for guidance. Simeon’s trust in God is reflected by his expectant hope of seeing scripture (specifically, Isaiah 49:6 revealed) fulfilled with the coming of the Christ child. Simeon had been given a promise that he would see The Christ with his own eyes (notice the importance of “witness”) in Luke’s Gospel. A witness testifies to what he or she has beholden, seen, heard and received and in Luke’s Gospel those who receive God’s gift receive it with expectation, hope and joy as they wait faithfully and with great patience (Simeon had been waiting his whole life as was Anna). Some scholars believe Luke might be the unnamed author of Hebrews because of the parallels between the emphasis on faith and patient witness found between his Gospel and the major themes of Hebrews. Specifically here we have a complete illustration of an Old Testament Jewish saint waiting to see Old Testament promises fulfilled in New Testament current Truths that the persecuted prophets of old longed to see but did not experience… (See Hebrews 11:39-12:1).
Simeon enters the Temple in Jerusalem (the heart of Old Testament Faith and promise) and witnesses Mary and Joseph consecrating Jesus as their first-born son. The Holy Spirit reveals Jesus as the long awaited Messiah- as the “gift of salvation given for all.” Mary and Joseph’s obedience in following the Old Testament Levitical laws shows how Jesus is not “above the Law He created but fulfills it (a major theme we will revisit in Luke’s Sermon on the Plain” later on this season). Notice Simeon’s reception of Jesus… When parents have their first child, many may refer to him or her as a “bundle of joy”… Simeon got to hold God’s ultimate “bundle of Joy”- Jesus the King of Kings, LORD OF Lords, Savior, the Son of God and the Son of Man… How would you respond when such a promise is made sight to you? How have you personally experienced God’s salvation in Christ Jesus our LORD? What is the testimony of your witness? Simeon’s was one of great joy, and peace after years of patiently waiting having God’s promise revealed and fulfilled and holding that fulfillment physically in his arms. Faith doesn’t just wait for some mystical, esoteric experience- faith for us as believers is physical, tangible, hopeful in the “God-Man/ Person of Jesus Christ, and will one day involve our own physical salvation in the form of resurrection just as it did with Christ (the first fruits of our salvation). As the Carol, Hark the Herald Angels Sing tells us: “Veiled in flesh the God-head see, hail incarnate Deity!” Yet Simeon and Anna had to wait years… Why did they have to wait so long?
I think the emphasis Luke wanted to make is not just on the “witness” of Simeon and Anna to others of Christ but the strength of their testimony… Older people in the ancient world were greatly revered, and Simeon and Anna were revered in Jerusalem. Yet Luke’s emphasis is not just that older people’s testimony was more trustworthy, and evidentiary of Truth but that Simeon’s and Anna’s testimony was strong because “they lived out” their expectation of waiting for Christ by the patient and reverent way in which they lived. Never underestimate the power of your patient witness for Christ as you endure suffering and difficulties in the midst of God’s continuing blessing over your life. Simeon expands on this with his blessing of Mary and Joseph. When one first hears it, you wonder what kind of blessing this is really. “A sword piercing Mary’s soul” sounds rather ominous and threatening; anxiety producing… Aren’t blessings supposed to secure our welfare? Spiritually yes, physically/emotionally- not always and sometimes definitely not. A blessing from God is always for our good but sometimes we must endure great hardships for the spiritual good of it all to be revealed… Jesus made this point with his disciples over and over again, and Mary testified to it as well. God’s blessing of His followers is not just for their welfare but for the future welfare and witness to others. God’s blessings often come to us in disguise and surrounded by perplexity and misunderstanding at the time and we must have the faith to not give up and wait for God’s revelation of the blessing like Simeon and Anna. Are there current blessings that God is making available to us in the midst of this pandemic? Are we trusting God that He can bless us through it? That He can work “all things” to our good so that we are conformed to the likeness of His Son (Romans 8:28-29)? The result of the gift of the Christ Child is He is received with joy by Simeon, the Truth of His person and mission- the blessings and the cost to Messiah and His followers is revealed and God’s glory is proclaimed. Luke finishes this section by foreshadowing the end of his Gospel and the beginning of the Church.
Look at verse 37 and 38…Anna is in the Temple night and day praying to receive God’s gift of Christ Jesus. When we look at the end of Luke’s Gospel (see Chapter 24) where are the disciples as they await the Holy Spirit, and what are they doing? Luke loves to show us God giving us gifts…God giving us Jesus, God giving us salvation, God giving us a witness, and God giving us His Spirit (Acts 1 and 2). The gift of Jesus Christ our LORD is given from Heaven, received by those who by faith believe, great joy results and the Gospel is proclaimed! It is no different today. The gift of Jesus has been given, the gift of Jesus has been received and the gift of Jesus has been proclaimed and is and should be proclaimed by us that others may receive Him and we give back to God the gift of His glory by a body, life, and Truth, redeemed and proclaimed through what He has done. We will never know and experience joy like Mary, Joseph, the angels, Elizabeth, Zechariah, Simeon and Anna until we make Him known. Let that be our prayer for the New Year as we await Christ’s return! Love to you all! Darrin.