The Wait That Did Not Disappoint (Luke 2:22-52)

Are you looking forward to the end of the year when things slow down at work and maybe you can take leave to relax? Or perhaps you are looking forward to resting, and catching up with friends and family?

Yet, we also seem to be ending this year on a muted note. Maybe this is a time of the year that fills you with stress, or that there are really difficult circumstances in your life that does not go away at this time of the year. Perhaps, the world crises also fill you with anxiety.

And maybe you are old enough to realise that no matter what you look forward to, it will surely disappoint. If you realise, this is a pattern of life - there will always be the next thing, and the next thing will always disappoint.

But the Bible holds out a very different narrative. In this passage, we will see how the wait for our Redeemer Jesus was the wait that did not disappoint. We look at Jesus’ childhood. and also how those around boy Jesus responded to him. It is our hope that we can see Jesus for who He is, and in this season of advent, that we respond appropriately as we consider Christ.

(A) Babe at the temple: The promised child who stands with sinners (Lk 2:22-35)

Luke records for us how Joseph and Mary took Jesus to the Jerusalem temple in Luke 2:22-24. This was in accordance to the custom and law of that time, and it is not the first time that Joseph and Mary obeyed the law. In Luke 2:21, we read of Jesus being circumcised at the end of eight days. This was part of Jewish custom to show that you were a Jew — the physical mark on your body indicated that you were set apart for God.

Luke 2:22-24 may be describing a part of Jewish custom that we might not be too familiar with but we can look to other parts of Scripture for help. In Leviticus 12:1-8, we read this section of scripture commonly referred to as the laws of cleanness and uncleanness. A holy God cannot tolerate sin, and there are certain rituals and sacrifices that the people had to abide by to be before Him! 

On first pass we might gawk at the language of menstruation and uncleanness — but what’s important here are three things. Firstly, Jesus and his parents were Jews — Old Testament-believing, law-obeying, ritual-following Jews. What a great reminder that Jesus himself obeyed the laws set out by His Father — He obeyed them fully and perfectly. This calls to mind Matthew 5:17, Jesus came not to abolish the Law and the Prophets but to fulfil it. This speaks of who Jesus is — one who comes not as a haughty or arrogant Saviour, above the law — but one who obeys it and fulfills it.

A side note here, but this is such a fundamental truth to how we understand the Gospel — the Law and the Gospel cannot be separated. Let us be sure to worship all of God, and not just the convenient parts. Let us read and hold out the whole counsel of God and His character for all to see.

Secondly, Jesus and his parents understood what it meant to be clean — to be set apart for God. It meant obeying the ceremonial laws to a T so that they may commune and convene with His people. It meant that Jesus would be circumcised, even though he was not unclean. The chief end of Jesus’ obedience here is cleanness so that he might commune with God’s people and God Himself. The goal of the Law is communion with God -- make no mistake about it.

Finally, Jesus and his parents were poor. They could not afford a lamb for sacrifice for purification, and so they presented two turtledoves instead, one for the burnt offering and one for the sin offering. Jesus was not well off, he did not come from privilege, but He came simply and humbly, and His family brought all that they had and could afford, and offered it to the Lord.

Perhaps we’ve gotten too complicated and proud with how we come before God. Do we think we need to be perfect and put together? Do we feel shame because not everything is according to plan? Imagine Joseph and Mary with what little they have. Come as you are to worship your God.

What is the motivation behind your obedience? Do you seek Gd and desire to be in communion with Him? 

In the temple, they meet Simeon, a man of God and the Holy Spirit was upon him (Lk 2:25). We find out a bit more about who this character is. We know from this passage what he was doing — he was waiting for the consolation of Israel. Greek translations give us comfort, and it speaks of how Simeon was waiting for God to come and rescue His people. He was waiting for the Messiah, the promised king of old. We find out that God had told him he would not die before seeing the Saviour — what a promise (Lk 2:26). We also see he was righteous and devout — truly a godly man.

Simeon is a picture of righteousness and faithfulness. It is faithfulness that bears fruit in waiting on the Lord, not one that grows independently of God. It is one that extends into genuine love and care for neighbour — see His care for the people, the Gentiles and all of Israel. We can easily be selfish, thinking of relationships and cultivating healthy relationships in a self-righteous, self-seeking way. May we be known to be righteous and devout too, 

See the delight and wonder and joy he has when he sees Jesus! He sings, he hugs Jesus, he blesses God. We can see just how happy he is. We hear him sing — commonly referred to as the Nunc Dimittis (Lk 2:29-32). In it, he talks about three types of people, and Jesus as being different things for them. To those who serve Him (Luke 2:29), Jesus is salvation. To the Gentiles (Luke 2:32a), Jesus is a light for revelation, so that we might see and know something which was not previously known or seen. Finally, to Israel (Luke 2:32b), He would be their glory (which is also translated as "weight"), that which is intrinsically valuable and worthy. Christ has come, and we are saved — Hallelujah.

Two things that we can observe about Simeon. Firstly, his theology drove his doxology. His knowledge of who God is, of His promises, of His revelation, drove him to praise God with so much joy we almost don’t know what to do with this. Our knowledge of who God is — what we learn from reading His word, what we learn from experiencing Him and His blessing — the joy and the sorrow, the hope and the promises should all inform how we worship God. We don’t sing mindlessly on Sundays! We sing of God’s promises and what we know of Him, a God who is worthy of praise. 

Secondly, it is a good and godly thing to wait for Jesus. Simeon declares, "Now you are letting your servant depart in peace” (Lk 2:29). He is a picture of waiting faithfully, but purposefully. Simeon waited with hope and kept looking forward to one thing -- to see the promised One. What kept him going all the years? He could wait and he did wait, because Jesus is worth it. Jesus was worth the wait. 

It is a good and godly thing to wait for Jesus. Do you know Jesus in this way? What does Jesus mean to you? If he is salvation, glory, light for revelation, then surely he is worth waiting for. Are you waiting for Jesus Christ? How do you wait? Do we wait with anticipation? This is Jesus Christ for all who long for him and who wait for Him.

Simeon goes on to foretell the life and death of Jesus Christ and this is new information for Joseph and Mary. He tells them that this child is appointed for the fall — the judgement and condemnation, and the rising — the salvation and the comforting or consolation of many in Israel (Lk 2:33). He is appointed for a sign that is opposed — and indeed He was (Lk 2:34), that thoughts from many may be revealed (Lk 2:35). Many opposed Him to His face and rejected Him. That is how we ended up at the cross, and indeed we see the thoughts of the evil are revealed as they come face to face with Jesus. Luke 2:35 points us to how Mary saw Jesus crucified with her own eyes, and the grief and sorrow that came from that like a sword piercing her soul.

There is clarity on what Jesus’ mission here was. Perhaps for the first time, Joseph and Mary have a clear picture of the significance of this child. He is the promised Saviour of the world, the one who will save and deliver sinners like them, like you and like me. But His saving and His deliverance will come at a great cost to Him and to them. It will cause them pain and sorrow and death. But more than that, it will cause Jesus himself pain and sorrow and death.

This is why this revelation is so significant. Where Joseph and Mary came to the temple to be made clean, Jesus came to make us clean. His circumcision and the offerings were not for His cleanness. Rather, in that, Jesus identifies with, stands with His people. He stands with sinners, and not just that, He takes their place. Do we see that beautiful picture of the gospel? That substitution, that payment for a sinful people. This is what the promised son came to achieve. He came for our salvation, to stand with sinners.

(B) Babe at the temple: The promised redeemer who has God’s favour (Lk 2:36-40)

Luke tells us of another person, Anna that they meet in the temple, and she serves as a second witness (Lk 2:36-38). We are told that was a widow for most of her life (either until she is 84 or for 84 years, and lived it in regular prayer and fasting. She committed herself to the temple. Like Simeon, she too, was looking forward to the Messiah and was continually waiting. She consecrated herself for the Lord. 

The purpose of Anna was to point people to Jesus. While Simeon acknowledged and worshipped Jesus, Anna spoke of Jesus to all those who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem. Almost like an announcer, she, too, embraced God’s promise to save His people and like Simeon, she could not hold her joy in. Anna pointed to Jesus as the promised redeemer, showing us the purpose of a prophet — to those seeking redemption, she points them to the promised redeemer.

Anna and Simeon both give us a helpful picture of what it looks like to be a faithful saint. They were both old, they were both devoted to God, righteous and devout, prayerful and full of praise. They were both prophets, they were both steeped in God's word, they both pointed people to Jesus. Notice how Anna was a widow and an old woman! Praise God that He used both men and women and calls them both to praise Him! 

They were both filled with expectancy — looking forward with hope and certainty that their God who has promised to save, will make good on His promise. As young people, we may be tempted to do a lot in our young age, but we can so easily fizzle out. See how God’s Word also provides us models of Christian faithfulness! It shows us the importance of being faithful, even to old age.

This is all that we ever read of Simeon and Anna. Simeon and Anna were never mentioned elsewhere. The only time they are mentioned, we are given a picture of what it means to wait longingly and in anticipation of Jesus' appearance. We have so much that we can look to as see on this side of the cross. Have we consecrated ourselves to the Lord, or are we living for ourselves? Are we using and committing our dreams, fears, our sleeping and waking, our time, money and effort and energy to looking forward to the day when we see Him again? 

May their examples encourage us in the coming year. 

After this encounter in the temple, Luke records for us something ordinary and mundane — they go home, back to their lives in Nazareth (Lk 2:39). And Jesus grew and became strong, filled with wisdom. And the favour of God was upon Him.

What a stark difference from the verses before — from praise and glory and worship and joy, to the mundaneness of life. But isn’t this such a comfort as well? That Jesus is wholly God and wholly man, to grow up in a little town of Nazareth, to do what normal kids do — to grow. And then some more — He became strong, He became wise, and Hae had God’s favour. 

Luke emphasises for us just how special this Saviour is. Jesus, the promised redeemer, has God’s favour even as he grows up. What a comfort we have in Christ who condescends to be flesh, yet fully fulfills the Law and Prophets and is the promised redeemer who came to save.

(C) Boy at the temple: The Son of God growing in wisdom and favour with God and man (Lk 2:41-52)

Years pass and again, the family travels to Jerusalem for the Passover feast (Lk 2:41). The stage is set — Jesus sees the rituals and sacrifices, celebrates the feast, hears God’s word read and taught, prepares himself for adulthood. Similar to a bar mitzvah, Jewish custom dictates that boys become sons of the covenant when they turn 13 — so Jesus was brought along to learn as much about Jewish custom and life.

As his family heads off, he stays without their knowledge, there is a bit of drama and they eventually find him three days later sitting in the temple. And what do we see? The teachers were amazed at His knowledge and understanding of Scripture. We see years of faithful parenting, years of devotion to scripture and obedience to laws and following of rituals bear fruit — in Jesus’ youth, He was sinless, intelligent, well studied in the Scriptures, and illuminated by his Father. 

Jesus’ response here is his first recorded words in Luke 2:49 — “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” Jesus is clear about who He is as the Son of God, and He is clear about His mission — to be in His Father’s house, to teach and preach salvation and redemption. He returns with them, submits to their human authority over him as parents, and over the years, he increased in wisdom and in stature and in favour with God and man.

We come to a somewhat muted end to this study and this Advent series — and Jesus grew up. There are things we can reflect on as young adults ourselves as we observe Jesus’ life. What would it look like for us to grow in wisdom, stature and in favour with God and man? What would it mean for us to live faithful, righteous lives? 

But at this point we might be wondering — what is the great reveal? What exactly were we waiting for that was so worth it?

We started this study seeing how Jesus was circumcised and offerings were made in tradition and obedience to the ceremonial laws so that He may be clean even though He was not unclean. The perfect obedience He came to achieve in God’s law, He did for us, that we may be reconciled to God, who is holy. Years later, He would be baptised by one less than Him, John the Baptist, being baptised into our sin, so that we may be baptised into His righteousness. And yet some more — at the end of His ministry here, He was crucified on the cross, bearing the sin and shame that is rightfully ours, so that God’s wrath against a sinful people can be propitiated.

Christmas means that Christ came to die for us. He is the long-expected Jesus who is worth waiting for. And we are still waiting for Him to return, this time in glory.