As Mary and Joseph enter...
Illustration
Object:
As Mary and Joseph enter the temple they encounter two people who have been anticipating the coming of the Messiah. They would discover a personal hope and a worldwide hope for a supernatural life and redemption.
The Jews desperately wanted to believe that the sovereign God would deliver them from the Romans so that one day they would be masters of the world and lords of all nations. Many believed that a supernatural champion would arrive on the scene to take the nation to the fullest extent of power... even if force was involved. The messiah would lead armies with all the drama that heaven would provide. They could hear the shouting of hallelujah and amen reverberating throughout the world because their God provided their champion.
By contrast to the "hawks" of the nation, there were the "doves," known as "Quiet of the Land" according to William Barclay. He observed that "they had no dreams of violence and of power and of armies with banners; they believed in a life of constant prayer and quiet watchfulness until God should come. All their lives they waited quietly and patiently upon God." Simeon was one of them. He was a man of prayer, worship, expectation, and hope.
When Mary and Joseph walked into the temple with Jesus, Simeon's heart gave a leap as he recognized that this baby was the anointed king sent by God to save Israel and the world.
A prophetess by the name of Anna then arrives on the scene, and like Simeon, she too had a hope centered in God. As a widow she had dedicated herself to fasting, praying, and worshiping in the temple for decades. She patiently waited decades to catch a glimpse of the redeemer and now he had come. She rejoiced, knowing that the deliverer of Jerusalem (and the world) had arrived on earth.
Thirty-three years later this child would die on the cross at Calvary to redeem the world. Is it any wonder that a sword would pierce the heart of his mother?
Have we recognized that the baby Jesus who would die on the cross for our sins is the anointed king sent by God to save us? He truly is the redeemer of life!
The Jews desperately wanted to believe that the sovereign God would deliver them from the Romans so that one day they would be masters of the world and lords of all nations. Many believed that a supernatural champion would arrive on the scene to take the nation to the fullest extent of power... even if force was involved. The messiah would lead armies with all the drama that heaven would provide. They could hear the shouting of hallelujah and amen reverberating throughout the world because their God provided their champion.
By contrast to the "hawks" of the nation, there were the "doves," known as "Quiet of the Land" according to William Barclay. He observed that "they had no dreams of violence and of power and of armies with banners; they believed in a life of constant prayer and quiet watchfulness until God should come. All their lives they waited quietly and patiently upon God." Simeon was one of them. He was a man of prayer, worship, expectation, and hope.
When Mary and Joseph walked into the temple with Jesus, Simeon's heart gave a leap as he recognized that this baby was the anointed king sent by God to save Israel and the world.
A prophetess by the name of Anna then arrives on the scene, and like Simeon, she too had a hope centered in God. As a widow she had dedicated herself to fasting, praying, and worshiping in the temple for decades. She patiently waited decades to catch a glimpse of the redeemer and now he had come. She rejoiced, knowing that the deliverer of Jerusalem (and the world) had arrived on earth.
Thirty-three years later this child would die on the cross at Calvary to redeem the world. Is it any wonder that a sword would pierce the heart of his mother?
Have we recognized that the baby Jesus who would die on the cross for our sins is the anointed king sent by God to save us? He truly is the redeemer of life!
