Behold the Incarnation Is Here :: Luke 2:22-40
[Introduction]
Every year we see drops of blood on our White Christmas. That’s because Christmas highlights the Life and Incarnation of our Lord. To be incarnate means to be in the flesh. Where there is flesh, there is blood.
Today the Incarnation has entered the temple where it was seen by two people just like you and me, a man named Simeon and a woman named Anna. There is nothing special about Simeon and Anna outside of the fact that, unlike you and me, they are in the temple of God every day. These two well-aged people have been constantly waiting ... constantly listening to the Word of God ... constantly receiving God’s gifts ... constantly and and patiently longing to receive the comfort of Israel and redemption of Jerusalem (vv 25, 38). They know that there is no comfort ... there is no redemption ... there is no forgiveness, life, and salvation ... there is no peace ... no unity without the blood of the Incarnate God.
1.
Though he’s an ordinary Joe, Simeon was a righteous and well-received man (v 25). By describing him this way, Luke is telling us that he is a man of true faith. Righteousness comes through faith, and faith comes through hearing. I am sure, therefore, it is no coincidence that Simeon’s name means he has heard and is expressing that faith. In other words, he is a man who believes and receives the promises of the One True God ... just like Abraham before him. He believes and receives the promise that God would send forth his only begotten son, the one he loved, on the mountain of his choosing, to be the sacrifice of sacrifices ... shedding his innocent blood on an altar of wood. Simeon is waiting for Immanuel ... God with us ... who will suffer and die on a cross before rising into eternal life, giving us peace. That is devotion.
Like David, he had a heart for the Lord. He longed to receive the gifts of God every day. His devotion led him to a life of thankfulness and good works ... a life dedicated to worship ... a life dedicated to prayer. He does not despise God’s Word. He holds it sacred and gladly hears and learns it.
It was therefore not by accident that Simeon came to the temple just as the Son of God was presented for the first time (v 22). The Holy Spirit was upon him, and had prompted Simeon to be there ... just like all of us today ... so that we can see and hear and receive the Incarnate God. And no sooner than Jesus had entered his Father’s house, Simeon received him into his arms, spoke well of God and said ... in the song we sing every Lord’s Day ... Now, O Sovereign Lord, you release your servant in peace according to your Word because my eyes have seen your salvation which you prepared in the face of all the peoples, a light for the revelation of the Gentiles and the glory of your people Israel (vv 29-32).
Is there a better song of praise to sing after the Sacrament ... one of the sacred things of God ... when you receive into your arms the very body and blood of Jesus for your salvation?
There is not! The Incarnation is the fulfillment of God’s promise that the virgin would give birth to a son who is holy ... sinless ... the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
And his father and mother were marveling upon the things (Simeon) was saying concerning (Jesus). And Simeon eulogized them, and he said to Mary, the mother (of God), Behold, this one ... (that would be Jesus) ... is set for the fall and resurrection of many in Israel and for a sign that is spoken against (vv 33-34).
2.
And so it has been. Throughout history, men and women alike have been speaking against the Incarnation of God. They have been denying that they are sinners, and therefore need a savior. They have been denying that God himself, in Christ, bled and died on a cross, that he was buried, and that he rose from the dead on the Third Day. They have been denying that the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin, as Saint John says in his first epistle (1 Jn 1:7). Yes, our Incarnate Lord continues to be spoken against.
They do this because they either find the Gospel offensive or don’t even know what it is. The same people who will smile at an inoffensive baby in the manger will walk away in anger when the fully grown Savior bears their sin and shame on a cross. While they long to sing about the little Lord Jesus asleep on the hay, they wince when we sing that it is “not the blood of beasts on Jewish altars slain that could give the guilty conscience peace or wash away the stain” (LSB 431:1).
Brothers and sisters in Christ, there is no forgiveness without the blood of Incarnate One. His blood is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.
Those who trust in their own virtue ... their own faith ... their own tradition ... their own way of life ... their own dedication ... they are those who will fall. But those who hate their own sin, iniquity, and transgression ... those who trust Jesus’ blood and righteousness alone ... those who hear God’s word and receive his sacraments, are those who in the fullness of time will receive the redemption of Israel. As Paul says in Ephesians [1:7]: In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace.
This is why we sing Simeon’s song ... the Nunc Dimittis ... after receiving the Lord’s Supper. Simeon saw his salvation when he held the Incarnate Immanuel in his arms, and we see the same salvation when we eat and drink the body and blood of the Lord Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.
3.
Of course, no sooner had Simeon sung his song of our salvation in Christ, the prophetess Anna heard and believed in Jesus herself. As I said earlier, Anna, in so many ways, is just like you and me and Simeon ... except she did not leave the temple. ... She was fasting and praying, living liturgically night and day (v 37).
Maybe that’s why Luke called her a prophetess. Normally, prophets are those called by God to speak a specific word, to a specific people, at a specific time. In Anna’s case, she had been a widow for the majority of her life ... perhaps 60-some-odd years ... seeing how she had been married for seven years from the time she was a virgin and was 84 when Jesus came. She had been hearing God’s Word every day for decades. It’s no wonder then she knew immediately what to do when she heard Simeon singing that he saw the Incarnate God in the temple. She began to give thanks to God and begin speaking of him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem (v 38). Yes, she spoke a specific message to a specific people in a specific time and place.
[Conclusion]
Brothers and sisters in Christ ... The Incarnate Lord is with you, too! Yes, even now! On account of his life, death, resurrection, and ascension, Jesus himself will always be with us. The Incarnate Word of God continues to nurture your faith in this truth on account of the promised redemption by his blood.
Won’t you now join Simeon and Anna by sharing that with anyone who will listen? Continue returning to the temple. Stay devoted to your prayers. Join us for Bible study. We can see him and behold him and believe in him. And because of the comfort he provides, we can therefore depart in peace ... in Jesus’ name.