Seeing God's Salvation

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This sermon was given during Advent and it discusses the words of Simeon that were spoken when he saw the baby Jesus in the temple as he was being presented by Joseph and Mary. The message emphasizes the necessity for every one of us to see Jesus as our only salvation.

Written Excerpts:

Luke 2:30 ^(NKJV) For my eyes have seen Your salvation

Introduction:

What is the one thing in your life that you passionately hope you get to do or get to see before you die?

We’ve heard of people who create their “bucket list.”

Some people really hope to:

·     Do something dangerous like skydiving or bungee jumping;

·     Do something extravagant like traveling to every country in the world;

·     Experience some new ability like learning another language; publishing a book;

I haven’t really created a list myself, but if I were to make a list I think a couple of things I might put on it would be:

·     Take a trip to Israel

·     Go big game hunting out west

Is anyone here today willing to reveal 1 item you have on your bucket list?

I think the person we heard about in our Scripture reading today might have had a “bucket list.” The main item on his list was an experience that God had already revealed would actually happen to him before his death. Why do I think that? Because his words recorded in the Bible are: “Now, you are letting your servant depart in peace…”

Bible scholars tell us that his words describe a slave being released by his master. It might mean that Simeon is ready to die now since he has experienced this great privilege. Or, it simply could mean that he is released from the “search” because he has seen the Messiah. We usually understand the meaning to be, “now I’m ready to die” because a previous verse states that God had revealed to him that he would not see death until he had seen the Lord’s Christ.

As Simeon holds this child in his arms, he immediately becomes aware that this is the person he’d been searching for. He makes an interesting statement in his response. “My eyes have seen your salvation.”

During the next several minutes I want to explore with you the meaning of this statement as well as some of its implications.

The meaning of the statement

Salvation is a major theme throughout the Bible. All through the prophets God had repeatedly promised salvation for His people. Salvation or deliverance is depicted both in a political / military sense and in a spiritual / moral / eternal sense. One major example of God’s salvation in a literal political sense is the deliverance of the Israelites from Egypt. That historical event was used repeatedly to illustrate God’s redemptive power. It was also used to illustrate the spiritual deliverance God gives from bondage to sin.

If we compare v. 30 with v. 26 “…before he had seen the Lord’s Christ” then we can conclude that he expected salvation to come through a person, and that person is the child lying in his arms. Simeon is testifying to the fact that he has now witnessed the One through whom God would bring salvation to the Jews and to the whole world. In this holy child, he sees the redemption of his own soul and the redemption of the entire human race.

Important Implications of the statement

1. Salvation was His primary purpose/mission.

Not only did Simeon understand that Jesus was to be a savior, but many others understood that as His primary role as well.

Mary:

Luke 1:46-47 (NKJV) And Mary said: "My soul magnifies the Lord, ⁴⁷  And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. 

Zacharias: 

Luke 1:69-75 (NKJV) ⁶⁹  And has raised up a horn of salvation for us In the house of His servant David, ⁷⁰  As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets, Who have been since the world began, ⁷¹  That we should be saved from our enemies And from the hand of all who hate us, ⁷²  To perform the mercy promised to our fathers And to remember His holy covenant, ⁷³  The oath which He swore to our father Abraham: ⁷⁴  To grant us that we, Being delivered from the hand of our enemies, Might serve Him without fear, ⁷⁵  In holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life. 

The angel to Joseph:

Matthew 1:21 (KJV) And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. 

Notice that the primary emphasis here is salvation from sins, not salvation for oppressive political enemies.

Jesus:

Matthew 18:11 (KJV) For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost. 

Luke 6:9 (KJV) Then said Jesus unto them, I will ask you one thing; Is it lawful on the sabbath days to do good, or to do evil? to save life, or to destroy it? 

John 12:47 (KJV) And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world. 

Paul:

1 Timothy 1:15 (KJV) This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. 

Hebrews 7:25 (KJV) Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them. 

2. To understand the significance of salvation, we must understand our own need of it.

You’ve heard me say before: In order for the gospel to truly seem like “good news” (which is what the word “gospel” means), then we have to understand what the “bad news” is first. In order to see that salvation is great and wonderful, we must see that we are helplessly lost and doomed for hell. We must see our selfishness and self-will as it truly is – rebellion against God’s will, design and purpose. We must understand our failure to obey His Word is sin; a violation of His purpose and will.

So many offenses are sugar-coated these days and are not understood for what they really are. We don’t need to “turn over a new leaf,” we need to turn our hearts and lives over to the control of Jesus. We do not often hear people use the term “saved” these days. Instead, they use phrases such as: “accept Christ;” “put faith in Christ;” etc. These are fine and accurate descriptions to a degree, but when we say, “I have been saved,” it implies the fact that I came to the realization that I was lost, condemned, and bound for judgment, but Jesus saved me from that awful condition.

3. To understand the significance of salvation is to realize that it is for the whole world.

Luke 2:32 (KJV) A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.

“Gentiles” – a word that could be translated “nations.”

Simeon knew that God not only wanted to save/redeem Israel, but God intended to save the Gentiles as well.

4. It takes certain kind of people to recognize God’s salvation when they see it.

Faith – being able to “see” the invisible. (Heb. 11)

Luke 2:25 (NKJV) And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was just and devout, waiting for the Consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.

Have you recognized the Son of God who was born in Bethlehem as the only Savior of the world? Do you truly believe that apart from Him there is no salvation, and we are all condemned?

If you have confessed your sins and put your trust in Jesus Christ to be saved from judgment, are you now looking forward to His return? We need that expectation for His second coming just like Simeon and Anna had for His first coming.

Let us close the service by standing together and singing:

I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day