Dr. Kevin DeYoung | To All Who Are Waiting

Christmas Eve, December 24, 2025
Given by Dr. Kevin DeYoung | Senior Pastor, Christ Covenant Church

To All Who Are Waiting

Luke 2:25-38

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Transcript

Continue with our readings through the Gospel of Luke. Now Jesus has been born, and it comes time to present him at the temple. As was commanded in the law of Moses, that sacrifice would be made at the birth of the son. Pick up Luke 2, verse 25. We're going to meet two characters – two figures in this story that that will exit the gospel story almost as soon as they enter it. They only show up here, but they play an important role. 

“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.’ 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.’ 

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 84. 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.”

We meet two characters here at the end of the Christmas story – one man and one woman, Simeon and Anna. And they share a number of similarities. I wonder if you noticed. First, they're both in the temple. Simeon comes into the temple. Luke says Anna never left the temple – not that she literally lived at the temple, but she was there daily. It was only the priests who could go into the holy place, but there were temple courtyards, and that's what's meant here, and there was a court for women, and that's where Anna was day after day. So, they're both in the temple. 

Second, they're both old. Simeon, we assume, is old, because he's been waiting his whole life, and the Lord told him – it was revealed to him – you would see the Lord's Christ. That word means “messiah,” “anointed one.” You would see the Christ before you die So, he's likely old. Anna is 84. Sorry if you were hoping the 84 wouldn't count as old, but it just is what it is. So, they're both old. 

Third, they're both prophets. Simeon is not called a prophet, but we read that the Holy Spirit was upon him and that God had revealed things to him, that he wouldn't die before he saw the Christ, that this child would be spoken against. That's a prophet. Anna is specifically called a prophetess. Prophecy is a supernatural word of insight or revelation. It's not the same as preaching or teaching or public prophets in Israel. Those were all men, but we see from time to time these, sort of, private prophetic ministries like Miriam, Deborah, Huldah in the Old Testament, Isaiah's wife, Philip's four daughters, and here this private prophetic ministry of Anna. 

And then fourth, note Simeon and Anna were both godly. Verse 25 says Simeon was righteous and devout. Verse 37 says Anna never left the temple, but worshiped night and day, fasting and prayer. I point out these similarities because we are surely meant to see that these two characters, one man and one woman, go together. They're so closely related, we can think of them as twins. Not literal twins, of course, but twinned characters. Good news for the few twins we have out there tonight. I know there's some of you, this is a Christmas message about twins. 

And extra special for you, if you're a fraternal twin, with a brother and a sister. Why do I say that? Because we see throughout Luke's gospel, you may not have noticed before, but I trust you will see it and not forget it, that this gospel writer loves to present to us twins – not literal, but characters. They come in pairs, a male and a female. You may have missed how many of these twins are in Luke, and they're also in Acts, which is the book that Luke also wrote. If you think about it, relatively speaking, there aren't that many women in the Bible, compared to men. And yet, you start to notice in Luke's gospel and in Acts, which he also wrote, that there's lots of women in the story, and they're often paired with a male character. Now, we could look at Acts, for example, there's – in chapter 9 – Aeneas, who's healed, and then Tabitha who's restored to life. They both appear there in chapter 9. They're twinned characters. Chapter 16, there's Lydia and the Philippian jailer, who are both expressions of belief. Chapter 17, Dionysius and Damaris – they're both also said to believe, even when many people did not believe Paul's gospel. And that's not counting married couples in the book, like Priscilla and Aquila – good example. Ananias and Sapphira – bad example. 

But let's just limit ourselves to Luke. In chapter 1, we have twin characters, Mary and Zechariah. Now, Zechariah is married to Elizabeth, but the twin character is Mary with Zechariah. Think about it. Both receive news from the angel Gabriel of a surprising birth – Zechariah because his wife is very old and he thought barren, and Mary because she was a virgin. Both receive a message from Gabriel. Both, in chapter 1, explode into a song of thanksgiving. They're twins. Chapter 7, we see the centurion and the widow of Nain. Both receive a miraculous healing for someone they love. Chapter 8, we have Jairus and the bleeding woman. Both put their faith in Jesus, and he provides for them a miraculous healing. They come together. Chapter 18, we have, right next to each other, the story of the persistent widow and the tax collector. Both are commended by Jesus as examples to be followed. And then in chapter 3, before the resurrection, after Jesus’ death at his burial, we see these twin characters, Joseph of Arimathea. That's not Joseph, the husband of Mary, but a different Joseph. And we see, along with Joseph we're told, a group of women from Galilee. They're both coming to attend to Jesus at his burial. Joseph says, "Can I have his body to take him and give him a proper burial?” And then the women from Galilee, it says they were following along to see where he was laid, and they had prepared spices to anoint his body. And then we have here in chapter 2, Anna and Simeon. Several times, then – at least six, I count – twinned characters, a man and a woman. And it happens so often in Luke and in Acts that it can't be a coincidence. This isn't some Bible code that there's a secret message. It's simply one way, inspired by the Holy Spirit, that Luke liked to tell the gospel story. 

But there's more to it than that. You might say, "Well, that's sort of interesting to point out. Seems like the sort of thing you would do, pastor." But there's more to it than that, because all of these twins in Luke's gospel have at least one, and sometimes two, things in common. They all are examples of these two qualities – most of them have both, some have one or the other – but these two qualities we find in the twins. They are humble, and they are waiting. Now, let's just walk through this list of the twins in Luke again, so you can see that I'm not making this up. Zechariah and Mary are both waiting – well, they're both waiting on a promised child. Are both humble – well, they're both supreme examples of humility. Mary, in her Magnificat says, "You have looked upon the humble estate of your servant." Zechariah, in his Benedictus, he accepts the discipline of the Lord that he was silent for nine months. And when he is able to speak, he praises the Lord, even though his mouth, until then, had been tongue-tied. They're both examples of humility. Simeon and Anna – well, we see very clearly, look at verse 25, Simeon was waiting for the consolation of Israel. Look at verse 38: “Coming up that very hour, she began to give thanks and to speak of him to all who were waiting.” Both of them are examples of waiting for God's kingdom. They may not even have completely understood what they were waiting for, but they knew there were promises. And they knew they were waiting for something, that the world they were living in was not the way things were supposed to be. Their longing – if you long for something, don't think that that means that you're not spiritual. That's often the surest expression of faith. You're daring to believe there's something more. There's something better. There's some answer to your pain and to your sorrow. 

Their longing was not a measure of their discontent, but of their faith. Their waiting was an act of worship. They were waiting for – look at verse 25 again – it's called the consolation. Verse 38, the redemption. Now, when you hear consolation, you think of something sort of, you know, the “you have a chance at a new car, $10 million” – open the briefcase, sorry, you get a new blender. It's a consolation prize. But that's not what the word means here. It doesn't mean runner up. It means comfort, hope, salvation. Think of the word to be consoled. It's really the same thing as redemption. They were longing for God to come and bring healing, to bring comfort, to bring rescue. Some of you know this very poignantly in their lives. It does seem as if death and hardship and people with cancer and dying too soon – it does seem to come in waves, and we had a wave wash over many people in our church. They were waiting. Think about the centurion and the widow of Nain. Both were waiting for a miracle of healing, and the centurion was a particular example of humility. Do you remember the centurion? He says to Jesus, "Lord, do not even trouble yourself. I am not worthy to have you come under my roof." He just sends some of his men, sort of going ahead – not because he's too proud to talk to Jesus, because he's too humble. And he says, "I'm a man. I have an army. I have a battalion under my control. I give them commands, and they do it. I know that all you have to do is say the word, and it will happen. I am not even worthy to have you come to my house.” And Jesus says, “Not in all Israel have I seen faith like this.” An example, both of them, of waiting, and the centurion of humility, Jairus and the bleeding woman: he's waiting for his daughter to be healed. If you know the story, he comes up to Jesus and says, "My daughter is sick,” and he's in a hurry. Would you come? Would you do something? And then there's an interruption, and there's a woman, and during the interruption the daughter dies. So waiting – Jesus, what are you doing? This is an emergency. Put on the Messiah sirens, and get to my house. And this woman who's been bleeding – none of the doctors can help her – for 12 years, some kind of hemorrhaging, she's been waiting more than a decade and thinks maybe if I could just touch him, I would be healed. The persistent widow and the tax collector – both waiting. She's crying out for justice. The tax collector is an example of humility. Remember the Pharisee who says, very pious, "Oh Lord, I thank you. I am not like these other people"? Be very careful if you ever read that story and think, "No, that's a pretty good prayer. I've prayed that prayer before. Thank you I'm not like the other people. People who look strange, the people who make bad decisions in life, the people who don't vote the right way. I'm very thankful I'm not like them.” No, he beats his chest, says, "Have mercy on me, a sinner." Those two – the widow and the tax collector, the male and the female – come together. 

And then what about the very last one? Joseph of Arimathea and the women from Galilee. Those women were waiting to see where Jesus would be laid. They were waiting to prepare his body with spices, as was the custom to preserve it, to cover up some of the natural odor that would happen, to give it a proper burial and sense of honor and decorum. And then there's Joseph, who is probably the clearest example of all. And I want you to see how he is the mirror image of Simeon. Think about this. At the beginning of the gospel, what we read in Luke 2, there is at the very beginning of Jesus’ life, there is a man who takes him up in his arms. We read that. He holds baby Jesus in his arms. At the end of the gospel, not a baby Jesus – a dead Jesus at this point – is again taken up in the arms by a man who seemingly appears out of nowhere, this Joseph of Arimathea. That's not a coincidence. Listen to what is recorded about both of these men – at the start of Jesus' life as a baby and at the end of his life when he's dead, soon to be resurrected. Luke 2:25, “There was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. And this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel.” That's Simeon. Here's what it says in Luke 23: “Now, there was a man named Joseph from the Jewish town of Arimathea. He was a member of the council, a good and righteous man who had not consented to their decision and action, and he was looking for the kingdom of God.” It's expressed in almost the exact same way. There was a man named Simeon. There was a man named Joseph. Simeon was righteous and devout. Joseph was righteous and devout. Simeon was waiting for the consolation of Israel. Joseph was looking for the kingdom of God. And in fact, that word in Greek is identical in both chapter 2 and chapter 23. Translated “waiting,” translated “looking” – it's the same word. 

Do you see how humility and waiting go together? We are meant to see that the story of Jesus’ life starts with this man waiting, and it ends in his death – what seems to be the end – with a man again taking him in his arms, a dead body to lay in the tomb. And he, too, is said to be waiting. It is the characteristic that holds together all of these male-female twins. It's the trait that marks out the man who holds Jesus at his birth and the man who holds Jesus at his death. And here's the characteristic: it is a recognition that you need something you don't have, and you look to God as the only one who can give it to you. That's what we find in each of these twins. They realize there's something they need that they don't have – a child, a miracle, a healing, a resurrection, justice, righteousness, the kingdom of God, the redemption of God's people, the consolation of Israel. In each one of those twins, there's a recognition: that is what I need. And – here's the humility – I can't get it on my own. I'm looking to God, and I'm waiting for him. 

So, here are the questions you need to consider on this Christmas Eve: are you, in humility, willing to admit your need, to confess, like Mary, that you are of a lowly estate. Doesn't matter where you live in this city, what you make, how nicely you're dressed – you are of a lowly state. Are you willing, like the tax collector, to beat your chest, no matter how long you've been in church, or if you've never been in church before, and say, "Have mercy on me, a sinner”? Are you willing to have that kind of humility? And are you willing to wait? You think about each one of these twins. For some, the answer came that very day. Jesus came to their house, and he gave them the healing they wanted. Others waited nine months for a child. Some waited their whole lives. Anna is 84, about to die. Simeon's an old man. But they waited. No one will ever be worse for waiting for Jesus. You see verse 38 again: “And coming up at that very hour, she began to give thanks to God and to speak of him” – to who? – “to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.” That is to say, this Christmas message is the message for all who are waiting for God to make right all that is wrong in this world, who are waiting for God to come and give you the hope and the life that you so desperately need. Are you willing to look to Jesus this Christmas Eve? 

I’m not going to give you a sinner's prayer to pray, though they're good. But you might not even be there. You might simply, sometime, in the quiet of these next few moments, or later tonight, lying in bed after all your festivities – maybe you haven't done this for 10 years or ever, and maybe you don't even quite know how to pray or what to say or what you're even after, but you could say to God, “If you're there, I'm looking for something, because there has to be more to life than what I have.” Maybe you come to him simply with your own fear or with a need of a loved one – someone in need of healing or help or in the bonds of addiction – and you come, and you say, "Would you help me?" That's a start. Look to him. Cry to him. Ask for grace. Take his consolation. And here is the unimaginable good news. You and I can see more than Anna and Simeon saw. They saw a child. At the end of their life, about to die, the prophecy had come true. They didn't know. Even Joseph and Mary – they're surprised by what Simeon says. They don't know all that will happen. We have this book. We have the Holy Spirit to preach to us. And we see more than they saw. We know who this child is, the Son of Man, the son of God. We know what he did on the cross to die for ins, for sinners like you and like me. We know this Jesus. You can know him. Things into which angels long to look. Are you, this Christmas, brokenhearted enough, sick enough of your sin, at the end of your rope, knowledgeable of your lowly estate, brokenhearted that you'll bow, and you'll believe, and you'll wait? Let's pray. 

Heavenly Father, we thank you for the sending of your son, our Lord Jesus Christ. Give us faith to trust in him, that our sins may be forgiven, that we may know that all that is wrong will be made right, to trust and to hope and to know that we, in whatever sadness has befallen us this year, do not have to grieve as those who have no hope. But the one who came is coming again. And the one who was a little child grew, lived, taught, worked miracles, loved the lost, died on the cross, rose again, ascended into heaven, and now can hear our prayers and will come again. Thank you. Give us eyes to see. In Jesus’ name. Amen.