Waiting in Hope: The Faith of Simeon and Anna

"At that time there was a man in Jerusalem named Simeon he was righteous and devout and was eagerly waiting for the messiah to come and rescue Israel the holy spirit was upon him and he had revealed to him that he would not die until he had seen the lord's messiah that day and the spirit led him to the temple and so when Mary and Joseph came to present the baby Jesus to the lord as law required Simeon was there he took the child in his arms and praised God saying sovereign lord now let your servant die in peace as you have promised I have seen your salvation which you have prepared for all people he is light to reveal God to the nations and he is the glory of your people Israel." [00:40:05]

"Jesus parents were amazed at what was being said about him then Simeon blessed them and he said to Mary the baby's mother this child is destined to cause many in Israel to fall and many others to rise he has been sent as a sign from God but many will oppose him as a result the deepest thoughts of many hearts will be revealed and a sword will pierce your very soul." [00:47:44]

"Anna a prophetess was also there in the temple and she was a daughter of Phanuel and she was a daughter of the tribe of Asher and she was very old her husband died when they've been married only seven years and then she lived as a widow to the age of 84 so she never left the temple but stayed there day and night worshiping God with fasting and prayer and she came along just as Simeon was talking with Mary and Joseph and she began praising God she talked about the child to everyone who had been waiting expectantly for God to rescue Jerusalem." [00:52:44]

"Jesus would come to create something new, a new covenant, but he would not abolish the past. He's not going to just cut it off and say, I'm not following any of that. They continued to follow what was set before. Baby Jesus is treated as any other poor family child. Our text, it says when they came to the temple, they brought what for sacrifice? Two pigeons. Remember, two pigeons is the sacrifice for a family who could not afford the lamb." [00:58:53]

"So Jesus has come to create something new. He's coming from a poor family in poverty into this world. Not some king, not some ruler, but the average person, the everyday person coming to meet the requirements. And Jesus is brought to be dedicated as firstborn to the Lord, and this isn't bought back with a sacrifice. He was subject under the law so that eventually he could lead both Jew and Gentile to salvation, to a new covenant." [01:01:21]

"Another person has been waiting for a long time. Yet yesterday at Jan's memorial service, there's lots of wonderful people here to see that I hadn't seen for a while. One of which surprised me when we are grabbing food afterwards was one of my professors from Hope, Dr. Gene Sonnenberg. Maybe some of you know who does a lot of teaching at Turner or at Week of Missions. And as far as I remember, I heard he's been a pastor here or involved here in the past. His wife, Linda, was part of this church a long time ago." [01:06:45]

"They hadn't heard from any of the last prophets for almost 400 years. There had been no new word from God since then. They only knew that there was expectation of someone would come and save them. And through that time period, from the end of Malachi until the beginning of Matthew, we've got 400 years of history where the Israelites are kind of passed back and forth between kingdoms. They try and rise up in rebellion to have their own for a little bit, and then that's squashed down, but taken over from Greeks and then Romans." [01:09:30]

"And so obviously they've been waiting much longer than 100 years for something to celebrate. And here is Simeon waiting for the coming Messiah. He's lived through the Roman occupation. He's heard about the past attempts at freedom. He's studied Scripture, learning about the Messiah. He's described as someone who is devout, who is righteous, and who's filled with the Holy Spirit, who is told, you will not die until you see the Messiah." [01:12:00]

"And there had to have been, obviously, expectation, anticipation, but maybe year after year when nothing new is happening, and more and more is getting worse, where he's losing hope. But he hangs in, and he hangs in, and the Holy Spirit leads him to the temple that day. And as he goes to worship, he finds Mary and Joseph and baby Jesus. And he's finally told, this is the one. This is who you've been expecting. This is the one who would save our people." [01:14:30]

"Someone from this long, long time of expectation, but also hopelessness, finally seeing that glimmer of hope, that flame that has started, the king who would come. Again, not writing in, but one coming in the form of a child, and not the child of a king or a ruler, but a child who must be bought back by two pigeons, because they couldn't afford a goat or a lamb for that sacrifice. And he would celebrate." [01:17:00]

"As he's talking with the family, another person, Anna, someone long waiting the Messiah as well, has come. Anna described as a prophetess. Someone who would share the word of God, who would come to the temple. We hear about her story that she was only married for seven years, and then now at the age of 84, she has stayed at the temple day and night in worship and expectation." [01:19:30]

"Jesus is good news for the poor, born into a poor family, and a prophecy about tearing down kings and rulers. Someone who would bring salvation to those in poverty, bring good news to those who are downtrodden. That they're told that they are valuable in God's kingdom. That God's kingdom is upside down. That those on the bottom are actually on the top in his eyes. That those that have nothing in the world obviously have the most to depend in him, the most faith in what God is doing." [01:22:00]