The Source of Salvation

What we behold — what our heart loves and finds beautiful and compelling — will determine how we behave. The goal of this Advent series is to help us behold Jesus. Each week we’re going to look at an aspect of Jesus’ identity, and together these vignettes give us a fuller picture of the One who is worthy of our beholding. 

In today's message, we explore how Jesus is the source of salvation.

Transcript

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The sermon text for today is from Luke chapter 2, verses 22 through 35. You can find this passage in the Blue Pew Bible on page 1561. Please listen as I read God's word. When the time came for the purification rites required by the law of Moses, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord. As it is written in the law of the Lord, every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the law of the Lord a pair of doves or two young pigeons. Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord's Messiah. Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the law required, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying, Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss your servant in peace, for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all nations, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and the glory of your people Israel. The child's father and mother marveled at what was said about him. Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother, This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed, and a sword will pierce your own soul too. Here ends the reading.

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And before we take a look at God's word together this morning, I want to invite you to pray with me. Father in heaven, I praise you and I thank you so much for the gift of your son. Father, he is our supreme treasure. He is the source of our salvation. Father, may he mean everything to us always. Father, as we anticipate the celebration of Christmas, we pray that you would help us to wait for it with patience and to anticipate with joy all that you're going to do and have done in Christ Jesus. Father, we pray that as we look at your word this morning, you would instruct our hearts and help us to glorify you and value Jesus above all things in his precious name. Amen. I want to invite us to do something a little bit different this morning. I want to invite each one of us to use our imagination. And even if you need to close your eyes for a moment, if that helps, go for it. But this morning I want to invite us to think back to a time when we've received a promise for something so big that we looked forward to it for a long time. Something so good that it captured our imagination and focused our thoughts and dreams as the biggest thing that we're looking forward to. For example, for those of us who are grandparents, think back to when you received the news that your children were pregnant and told you that one day soon you would become a grandparent. You got excited and anticipated the day eagerly when your first grandchild would be born. And then the day finally arrives, and a flood of emotion fills your heart, and you get to hold this precious child for the first time. For those of us who are married, think back to when you first got engaged, and either you proposed and she said yes, or he popped the question, and now the ring is on your finger, and your life is now busy with preparation and anticipation for your wedding day, and the dream of one day soon being newly married to the love of your life. Others of us are students, and we're looking forward to the day when we graduate from high school or from college. The day you believe is coming when you're going to get that degree and hold that diploma in your hands, and you get to start a new adventure with a new and better job, or even just the next stage of your life. And some of us at this point in life look forward to that next vacation. The day when we get to get away from the daily grind and enjoy some of our favorite activities. Personally, for me, I love to go snorkeling in a coral reef and see gorgeous ocean water and exotic fish. But for still others of us, we might be looking forward the most right now to Christmas morning. Where we get to hear the Christmas story read, unwrap presents under the tree, and play with that great new toy that you really, really want. And parents, I'm not talking about the one that was too expensive that you begrudgingly got, and then you watched your kids play with it for a little bit and then play with the box instead. I'm talking about the really good one where you get to live vicariously through your child as you see their face light up with joy. Whatever you might be excited about this morning and looking forward to, we can all relate to that thing that we were promised that we look forward to the very most. It consumes our imagination, and our thought life gives us joy, anticipating the time when the fulfillment of a promise will arrive. During this Advent season, we're in a series of messages called behold. And what we're looking at is the life-shaping practice of fixing our eyes on Jesus. And what we know to be true is that what we behold determines how we behave. What our heart loves and values and finds beautiful and compelling, those things that we behold will determine how we live. So during these weeks leading up to Christmas, we're looking at various passages that show us who Jesus is, and our objective is very simply to behold him. Last week we beheld him as the one the prophets foretold, and today we behold him as the source of our salvation. In our text today, we find a man whose heart and mind were consumed with something that he knew was coming in the future. We see a man who lived with anticipation for the day when he would see the Messiah. And what we're going to see today is that when we behold Jesus as Simeon did, we get to experience the same kind of hope and anticipation that he did. And as we look at this text, the first thing we need to ask ourselves is this what does the coming of Messiah mean for the people of Israel? The people of Israel had suffered under foreign exile and foreign occupation for centuries by the time that we get to our text. They had been living under exile in Assyria, in Babylon, and under the empire of the Medes and the Persians. And then King Cyrus I of Persia sent Israelite exiles back to the Promised Land, but they still lived under foreign rule as they rebuilt the temple of God and the city of Jerusalem. And then Israel suffered under rule of various Greek empires who tried to Hellenize them and fought over the promised land, and finally were conquered by the rising power of Rome. And Israel had lived without a king on the throne of David in Jerusalem for hundreds of years, and they were looking for God to deliver them out of bondage. And when Sivian received this promise from God that he would not die before seeing the Messiah, his mind was likely filled with messianic passages from the Hebrew Bible in texts like this from Isaiah 9. For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders, and he will be called wonderful counselor, mighty God, everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this. The promise of the Messiah would bring to the collective memory of the Israelites former days of Israel's power and glory, when God blessed them and brought them into the promised land, and he gave them freedom and peace on every side, remembering a time when they had great kings like David and Solomon. So it's understandable how the people of Israel were looking for the Messiah to restore the kingdom of Israel and bring them freedom from the Romans. And yet Jesus came to provide a greater deliverance than the one that they were looking for. The people of Israel also knew that the book of Deuteronomy spells out a whole list of consequences for disobedience that would be brought upon the people of Israel if they broke God's covenant commands in the law, which included being sent into exile beyond Babylon. So by the time we get to our text, the people of Israel had already seen how God had allowed them to face the consequences of their actions by allowing foreign powers to conquer them and to send them into exile in Mesopotamia. And the people of Israel at this point in history had experienced that kind of punishment in exile for multiple generations of people. And even though they had returned to the promised land, they were still living under foreign rule and military occupation. Their lack of a king on the throne of David in Jerusalem by this point had lasted almost 600 years. To put that into perspective, that's roughly 50% longer than the entirety of the time that the people of Israel had spent as slaves in Egypt. Or to put it another way, next year in 2026, we're about to celebrate 250 years as a country, from the time the Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776 until next year, is about 250 years. Their exile without a king on the throne had lasted two and a half times longer than that. So if we wanted to put that in modern-day terms, that meant the last time they had a king on the throne would have been about 1425. And yet the Romans imposed heavy taxes and at times even harsh military rule. And the people of Israel knew that somehow, some way, the Messiah was going to change everything for the better. That somehow the Messiah would restore the kingdom of God, deliver the people of Israel out of bondage, and set their relationship with God to rights. And Luke's gospel account tells us that Simeon had personally received a promise from God concerning the Messiah. We are told that Simeon was a righteous and devout man, and he was waiting for the consolation of Israel. And God filled him with the Holy Spirit, and the Spirit revealed a glorious promise to Simeon toward the end of his life. The Spirit told Simeon that he would not die until he had seen the Messiah, the Lord's anointed, with his own eyes. It was a great big promise. Still can't wrap my mind entirely around how big of a promise that is. The time had finally come, and God had fulfilled his promise. And then Simeon takes hold of the baby Jesus in his arms, and he lifts him up, and filled with joy in the Holy Spirit, he praises God, saying, 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 Simeon was now content and satisfied to meet the end of his earthly life, knowing that all of God's promises were going to be fulfilled in the child whom he had now touched and beheld. As a baby who's literally eight days old, Simeon was able to recognize Jesus for who he truly is as Savior and Messiah. Therefore, he is able to proclaim honestly, My eyes have seen your salvation, knowing that salvation was to be found in the person and work of Jesus Christ. More than that, Simeon recognized that the coming of Messiah in the person of Jesus had broader implications for the people of Israel and for the world. Simeon's mind was likely filled with the words of God through the prophet Isaiah, Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one, in whom my soul delights. I have put my spirit upon him, and he will bring forth justice to the nations. I am the Lord, I have called you in righteousness, I will take you by the hand and keep you, I will give you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations, to open the eyes of the blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison, whose those who sit in darkness. And we know that Jesus did all of these miraculous signs and more. Can you imagine being in foreign captivity for six hundred years and then being promised that this kind of person was coming soon? How much of a message of hope would it bring for a weary people and a fallen world to rejoice in? Simeon, in his words, praises God for his faithfulness in allowing him to see the Messiah before he died, declaring the Messiah would not only be for glory for God's people, Israel, but also a light of revelation to the Gentiles. And Jesus, after his resurrection, commands his disciples, saying, All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you, and behold, I am with you always to the end of the age. So the coming of Messiah is also great news for the world, for it is through the Messiah that God would bring a light to the Gentiles, including a message of salvation that would extend to the ends of the earth, and make disciples from every tribe, every tongue, every people, every nation. And for nearly two thousand years, that same gospel has been going forth to all the nations in all directions, beginning at Jerusalem. And the Holy Spirit had poured out on the apostles his own spirit, and people heard the good news about Jesus in their own language. And this is also great news for us, because Jesus is our Messiah as well. And we as believers in Christ are part of this very same gospel legacy. Simeon's experience of Messiah when he saw him briefly in the temple as a baby is also Israel's promised king. And even more than that, Jesus is our Messiah. Not only was Simeon satisfied to see Jesus at the end of his life, he also understood that the mission of Jesus would bring broad-reaching effects on all the people of Israel and ultimately on the world. Jesus would be the initiator of a new covenant in his blood. And this new covenant would involve the people of Israel receiving forgiveness of sin through Jesus' one-time sacrifice of himself on the cross. And when Jesus rose from the dead, he instructed his disciples to go and make disciples of all the nations. And we as believers in Jesus are part of that legacy and members spiritually of Jesus' new covenant community by faith. And the full blessing and adoption as children of God in Jesus the Messiah is available to each and every one of us today who receive Christ by faith and abide in him. And that is definitely something worth celebrating at Christmas. And the message for us in this text is also to receive and behold Jesus this Christmas the way that Simeon did. When Simeon saw and received Jesus, he immediately responded with words of praise. Simeon recognized Jesus for who he is and beheld him with joy, knowing that just by seeing Jesus as an infant, he could reach the end of his life with full assurance that all of the promises of God concerning Messiah were coming true. And yet Simeon also follows up his words of praise with words of prophecy, foretelling that the child Jesus was destined to bring about the rise and fall of many in Israel, and to give a sign that would be opposed. And we know that when we read the gospel accounts, that Jesus' earthly ministry had no lack of controversy. And the words Jesus spoke and the signs he performed and the things he taught revealed what was in people's hearts. And the people's relationship with God was to be dependent upon whether or not they received Jesus and his message that they had heard and seen with their own eyes. So our beholding of Jesus requires us to see him. With eyes of faith. You see, what God promised to give Simeon was a tangible sign that he could see and behold. Someone that he could meet face to face and touch with his hands. And yet there's a difference in our experience of Jesus, isn't there? How do we behold Jesus when we haven't been able to see him physically face to face? Here I think it's helpful to remember there are many who didn't experience life in Christ this way. Abraham merely received the covenant promise of God that would make his descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and the sands on the seashore. Abraham believed this promise of God, even though he didn't see its fulfillment within his lifetime, and God credited Abraham's belief to him as righteousness. And the author of Hebrews tells us about many people of faith who received great promises from God who didn't get to see its full fulfillment in their lifetime. Jesus also tells his disciples, after they had been eyewitnesses to the miraculous signs he performed and the teachings that he taught, that they were blessed, saying, Blessed are your eyes, for they see, and blessed are your ears for they hear. For truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see and did not see it, and longed to hear what you hear and did not hear it. And while Simeon was promised he would see the Messiah and given the chance to see Jesus face to face, our experience by faith is different too. We believe in Jesus and who he truly is as Lord and Savior of our life, but our experience of Jesus is received in an invisible way. We behold him with eyes of faith, not with physical beholding as Simeon did. We experience life in Christ through the Holy Spirit, and by reading the text and believing and receiving God's promises through them. For us, we can relate to the Apostle Peter when he writes, Though you have not seen him, you love him. And though you do not see him now, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls. It's helpful to remember that even Jesus himself, when he appeared in the upper room after his resurrection to the apostles, he allowed Thomas to put his hands into the holes where the nails used to be, and his hand into the side where his spear used to be. And he says, Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed. We can all relate to this way of believing in Jesus. None of us have ever seen him face to face in physical form, yet we believe in him and have received him, and Jesus says that we are blessed for it. But there's more. We also have a joy of looking forward to one day meeting Jesus face to face as Simeon did. Because the gospel tells us that Jesus is coming again. And while Simeon was able to see Jesus face to face at his first coming, we anticipate with joy that one day we will have the privilege of seeing our Lord and Savior Jesus at his second coming. One day after we pass away, we will all be reunited with Christ in eternal life to come. In Jesus' first coming, his spiritual mission was to deal decisively with sin once and for all. And the author of Hebrews tells us that just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin, but to save those who are eagerly awaiting for him. This is the joy that is ours, to abide in Christ today, and to eagerly await his coming, when we will behold him face to face as Simeon did. When Jesus comes a second time, not to deal with our sin, but to save those of us who are eagerly awaiting his arrival. When Jesus came the first time, he dealt with sin decisively to save us from our rebellion and our disobedience. But when he comes again, God will make all things new. There will no longer be any curse or sin. The enemy will be cast into the lake of fire and will no longer be able to deceive the nations anymore. Nor will he be able to torment anyone who is in Christ anymore. In the age to come, we will all live with Jesus in eternity, enjoying Jesus, enjoying God the Father's presence, and enjoying his creation the way that it was meant to be. And just as Simeon had much to anticipate and look forward to in meeting the Messiah, we have just as much to look forward to and more as we eagerly await the day when Jesus returns. All of us who are in Christ are people whom God will raise from the dead. And one of the best ways we can encourage one another to behold Jesus until that day arrives is merely to proclaim the good news of the gospel to one another. Paul wrote it like this in his letter to the Thessalonians. We believe that Jesus died and rose again. Even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive who are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore, encourage one another with these words. So as we come together to be fed at the Lord's table, we have the opportunity to receive Christ in a tangible way. And we once we are fed at the Lord's table, we are given the opportunity to receive Christ, to remember what He has done for us, and to look forward to the second coming of Jesus when we will have the chance to see our Lord and behold him face to face. As we prepare for communion today, I want to invite us to pray and confess our sins to a holy God.