Sermon 12-29-24

Pastor Ray Lorthioir

Trinity Lutheran Church

W. Hempstead, NY

Based on the Gospel Lesson for the First Sunday After Christmas, Luke 2:22-40

Eight Days Later

Well, it’s all accomplished. Caesar had to be obeyed. The approximately 90 mile walk from Nazareth to Bethlehem had been made. And because of the census the little town of Bethlehem was bursting at the seams. There was no room at the inn or anywhere else. The text of Scripture doesn’t say where Joseph and Mary lodged. The only hint we have is that Mary had to improvise an animal’s feed box — a manger — as a crib for Jesus. Thus, the traditional idea that Jesus was born in a stable.

Angels — literally messengers — appeared to shepherds watching their flocks by night in the fields surrounding Bethlehem. The text of Scripture doesn’t tell us what particular specie of spiritual beings these messengers were. It simply calls them by the generic term, angels — messengers. But one thing is clear. Glory — that shiny phenomenon of pure righteousness — surrounded them. Thus, they were from Yahweh Himself.

And their message to the shepherds was clear. The long awaited Messiah had been born.  As we read in Luke 2:10-11, “. . . ‘Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.’” In Greek, the word translated Savior doesn’t give us a hint as to its origin. However, in Hebrew there’s a word that begins to appear in the Psalms that is translated Savior. It’s the root of the name, Jesus. So, in effect, the angel said to the shepherds that a “Jesus/Savior” had been born to them in the city of David.

What’s interesting about the swaddling cloths and manger is that they were identifiers. How many babies in Bethlehem that night were cradling in an animal’s feed box? And where would the most likely place to find a manger with a kid in it be? All the shepherds had to do was go from stable to stable until they found the child.

And then, there’s the psalm chanted by the angelic host before it departed into the unseen realms. Luke 2:14, “‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!’” The peace proclaimed here is not peace among warring people and nations. Rather it is peace between Yahweh and those upon whom His favor rests.

From the moment Adam first sinned, there has been war between Yahweh and His human creatures. The struggle has been over a very crucial point — who will be God? For, Adam’s Original Sin set all humanity free to be our own gods. We are permitted to define good and evil for ourselves and then act on our definitions. Of course, this comes into direct conflict with our Creator’s right to be the only definer of good and evil. Therefore, Yahweh is the punisher of all those who choose evil over His good. He punishes all who choose to be their own god. And that means all of us. This means that without Yahweh’s favor all are condemned. All will be punished. All who hate Yahweh’s justly deserved punishment are at war with Yahweh. The hate and rebellion against Him is quite real. And Yahweh is at war with us rebels.

Therefore, the angelic declaration of peace between Yahweh and humanity is very significant. It was and is a major turn in human events. And the One who is the peace treaty is absolutely important. For this peace treaty is not a piece of paper. It’s a person. It’s a human being — but one who is more than human. This God/man stands as intermediator between as yet unrighteousness humanity and the only source of righteousness in all creation, Yahweh. He makes peace between us and Yahweh through the forgiveness of our sins — so that only righteousness remains.

Because of the forgiveness of sins, a most important thing can happen. Yahweh can come and dwell among us without having to execute His glorious justice against us. For with His sacrifice for sin, the Savior has satisfied Yahweh’s impeccable justice. And we sinners can approach Yahweh through the forgiveness of sins and not have to fear being destroyed or rejected. That’s peace on earth with Yahweh.

It seems that when the shepherd’s found Jesus, they attracted something of a crowd. Because it says in Luke 2:18, “And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them.” Who are the “all?” It must have been more than Mary and Joseph gathered around Jesus to hear what the shepherds had to say. For this didn’t happen after the shepherds went back to the fields, but before. Certainly what the shepherds told all was a wonder.

Moving on to the next verse, we find out the source for all the information in the first and second chapters of Luke’s Gospel. Luke 2:19 “But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart.” Luke either was able to interview Mary extensively or knew someone who had.

But there’s more to the story. We read in Leviticus 12:1-4, “1 The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2 ‘Speak to the people of Israel, saying, If a woman conceives and bears a male child, then she shall be unclean seven days. As at the time of her menstruation, she shall be unclean. 3 And on the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised. 4 Then she shall continue for thirty-three days in the blood of her purifying. She shall not touch anything holy, nor come into the sanctuary, until the days of her purifying are completed.”

All of these rules are part of Yahweh’s commandment to Israel to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and strength. These are rules abrogated by the resurrection of Jesus. For Jesus is now the only way to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul and strength. However, Jesus was born under the Law. Therefore, Joseph and Mary rightly fulfilled their obligations under the Law. Jesus was raised a Jew under the Law.

So we read in Luke 2:21, “And at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.” The name Ye’Shua is more properly translated Joshua. However, going from Hebrew to Greek to Latin and then to English it becomes Jesus. Don’t worry, Yahweh knows who we mean. So do the devils. They have to leave at the sound of that name when invoked in faith.

Now, it says in Leviticus that thirty-three more days must be counted out after circumcision. And that brings us to today’s Gospel reading. Bethlehem is nearby Jerusalem. Mary and Joseph must have found a place to stay so that they could return to the temple in Jerusalem when the time for Mary’s purification came. In addition, since Jesus was their firstborn, they had to perform the rite over Jesus that we read about in our first lesson today — the redemption of the first born.

And it was while they were at the temple for these rites that two more events happened. First, was Simeon. Before the Day of Pentecost 33A.D. Yahweh, the Holy Spirit, only rested on certain individuals and not on all of God’s people. In the Old Testament, we see that these individuals are usually Prophets, Priests, Kings and Judges. So, if the Holy Spirit was resting on Simeon, he was a minor prophet.

Luke tells us that Simeon was waiting for the consolation of Israel. The Greek word translated consolation is Paraclesis. This is the same word Jesus used to describe Yahweh, the Holy Spirit, in John chapters 14-16. It literally means “one who comes alongside” as a helper. So, here the Messiah Himself is described as a Paraclesis — one who will come alongside to the aid of Israel.

Luke also tells us that Simeon had been told by Yahweh, the Holy Spirit, that he would see the Messiah before he died. What a privilege. And so, when Joseph and Mary brought Jesus into the temple to perform the proper rites, Lord Holy Spirit led Simeon to Jesus. And that’s what the Holy Spirit has been doing ever since — leading people to Jesus.

Simeon was privileged to cradle month-old Jesus in his arms. But when doing so, Lord Holy Spirit gave Simeon a prophecy. This prophecy is like a psalm that can be sung. In fact, for centuries the church has sung Simeon’s prophecy immediately following communion.

First, Simeon says that he can now die in peace. Luke 2:29, “‘Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word. . .’” By departure, Simeon means his death. But notice. Simeon says he will die in peace. Simeon represents the long line of Old Testament people, both Jew and Gentile, who knew of Yahweh’s promise of Messiah to Adam and Eve in Genesis 3:15, and had believed that promise. For, Simeon was not saved by faith in the knowledge of what Jesus has done. Rather, he was saved by hope in what Messiah Jesus would do. And that’s how all the Old Testament saints before him were saved — by their hope in the Messiah. That’s how Simeon died in peace with Yahweh.

But then Simeon goes on. Luke 2:30-32, “30 ‘for my eyes have seen your salvation 31 that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, 32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel.’”

With his own eyes Simeon saw the baby Jesus. There was all kinds of future in that infant child that Simeon would not get to see and hear on earth. Simeon would never get to experience the New Birth in Jesus. But, then, neither would John the Baptist. It would be the Apostles who first experienced the New Birth. 

Nevertheless, seeing the infant Jesus was sufficient for Simeon. In the person of that infant Simeon was privileged to see his personal salvation. But not only his own personal salvation — the salvation of the world.

For, by what he prophesied, it’s apparent that Simeon was given the correct interpretation of the prophecy about Messiah in Isaiah 49:5-6, “5 And now the LORD says, he who formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob back to him; and that Israel might be gathered to him — for I am honored in the eyes of the LORD, and my God has become my strength — 6 he says: ‘It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel; I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.’”

In this complex statement, first Messiah is talking about Himself. He will be a human, formed in the womb. Yahweh will be His God. But then Yahweh states about Messiah, through Messiah, that Messiah won’t just bring salvation to Israel (the too “light” thing). Messiah will do a heavy thing — namely bring the whole world to salvation. That’s the light to the Gentiles. And that’s why and how we’re here today — both Jew and Gentile. That’s how we’re baptized into one Lord, Jesus Christ (the Messiah).

But after announcing that Jesus would bring salvation to both Jew and Gentile, Simeon prophesied several more things. Luke2:34-35, “34. . . ‘Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed 35 (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.’”

The fall and the rising. The Greek is more poignant. The ruin and the resurrection of many in Israel. This proved to be the case in Israel following the ministry of Jesus. It’s still so today. And this has proven to be the case among the nations of the Gentiles as well.

For Jesus is a sign spoken against. And His cross is a sign spoken against in particular. This is because the Original Sin in every heart is terrified of the cross. For wherever the cross is accepted in a heart by faith, it absolutely puts to death all of Original Sin’s aspiration to be God and play God. The cross means that Yahweh is God, and the human creature can never be God. This is why the cross is a sign spoken against for all time and in all places. Indeed, there’s Roman graffiti that shows a crucified man with the head of a donkey. Under it are the words, “Jason [I think that’s the name] worships his God.” The Koran says that Allah tricked everyone by having a Jesus doppelganger crucified in Jesus’ place. 

Jesus’ virgin birth is also spoken against. Just in time for Christmas, the New York Times ran an article that repeated the old lie that Jesus was conceived when Mary of Nazareth was raped by a Roman soldier. There’s a theory that the Gospel of Mark is the oldest of the gospels. And since Mark doesn’t have a birth narrative, Luke and Matthew supposedly added very different fictional birth narratives to cover the embarrassment of Jesus’ origin. The Times article relied on this theory. But the theory itself is fictional nonsense. Didn’t you see that Luke had access to Mary or someone who knew Mary well? Also, at the time Luke wrote his gospel, enough people still would have been alive who had had access to Mary to dispute any fictions Luke might have added about Jesus’ birth.

The cross itself is a sign that Jewish leaders rejected the claims of Jesus, even though the events of His life fulfill the many prophecies about Messiah. Jesus was crucified by Romans only because the Jewish leadership cleverly arranged it. And as for the hostility of the leadership, it all came down to this exchange at Jesus’ trial before the Sanhedrin: Matthew 26:62-66, “62 And the high priest stood up and said [to Jesus], ‘Have you no answer to make? What is it that these men testify against you?’ 63 But Jesus remained silent. And the high priest said to him, ‘I adjure you by the living God, tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.’ 64 Jesus said to him, ‘You have said so. But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.’ 65 Then the high priest tore his robes and said, ‘He has uttered blasphemy. What further witnesses do we need? You have now heard his blasphemy. 66 What is your judgment?’ They answered, ‘He deserves death.’”

As I’ve often said, someone blasphemed at Jesus’ trial. Was it the high priest or was it Jesus? That’s a decision that everyone has to make — including all of us here. Blasphemy is speaking evil against Yahweh. Which one spoke of the two spoke evil that night?

This morning’s Gospel speaks of one final person. It’s a woman named Anna. She’s recognized in the text as an eighty-four year old prophetess who inhabited the temple day and night. We’re not told what she actually said over Jesus. But it’s significant that a woman was also present to testify that Jesus was the Christ, the Messiah.

Finally, we learn in Luke 2:39 that once the holy couple had performed what was required by the Law they returned to Nazareth. However, Matthew adds a different detail. At some point after Jesus’ birth, Magi from the East came to Jerusalem, having seen Messiah’s star. Their search for the Messiah got the powerful figure, King Herod the Great, all upset. He tried to destroy the Messiah. So being warned in a dream, Joseph fled with Mary and Jesus to Egypt for a short period of time until Herod died. Then, they returned to Nazareth.

Matthew and Luke don’t necessarily contradict each other. Matthew adds the fact that Herod ordered the destruction of all male children two years and under. So, Jesus may have been beyond infancy when the Magi showed up. Mary and Joseph may have been back in Bethlehem for other reasons when this event happened, and fled from there to Egypt. But, however it happened, both Matthew and Luke agree that Jesus wound up in Nazareth where He grew into adulthood.

Indeed, Herod’s actions were just another fulfillment of Simeon’s prophecy that Jesus would be a sign opposed by the rulers of this world. And as for Mary’s heart being pierced by a “sword,” certainly the flight to Egypt would have been stressful for the new mother. But the real test came at the foot of Jesus’ cross where she watched the mortal, yet sinless, Son she had borne into the world die.

Are all these things real history? Do they make a difference in the world? Do they make a difference in your world? That’s the question. And that’s why the church in its wisdom goes through a half year cycle of remembering the most significant events in Jesus life and ministry. May your Christmas be merry because you have been given insight by Yahweh, the Holy Spirit, to see that the things written about Jesus are true — even His unusual birth — and that He is your Messiah, able to rescue you from sin, death and the power of the devil. Amen.

All Bible quotes are from the ESV.