5. The Light and Glory of God
Question 1:
What are some things you look forward to
in the new year?
THE BIBLE MEETS LIFE
One of my favorite parts of Christmas are all the lights. Lights on the tree. Lights on the house. Christmas lights throughout the city. My family loves looking at lights in parks and neighborhoods all over our city. Something about lights adds to the celebration of Christmas.
But then January arrives, and the lights come down. In my part of the country, that leaves us with the cold, dreary month of January. It may be a new year, but we drift back to our old ways and habits. We are reminded that darkness defines the world we live in.
We may have taken down all the Christmas lights, but the light of Christ is not gone. Christ came into the world to be the light we need. Light shines brightest in the darkness, and Christ shines brilliantly into our lives, revealing God’s glory and love for us. To whatever you may be anticipating in 2022, add this: let the love of God and the light of Christ shine in your life.
THE POINT
Jesus reveals God’s glory and love.
WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY?
Luke 2:25-27a
25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him. 26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. 27 Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts.
We know little about Simeon, the man we are introduced to in the passage, but what we know is significant.
- He was righteous and devout. Simeon is not identified as a priest, a scribe, a Pharisee, or any other type of religious leader. He appears to be just an ordinary Jewish man, but he took his faith and belief in God seriously and lived them out. His love and fear of God were evident.
- He looked forward to the consolation of Israel. “Consolation” is tied to the same Greek word for comfort; Isaiah frequently prophesied a time of comfort, renewal, and hope for God’s people.1 This consolation is tied to the arrival of the Messiah who would comfort the people by bringing deliverance.
- He was guided by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit ultimately came to all followers of Christ (Rom. 8:8-9), but prior to the events in Acts 2, the Holy Spirit only came to select people, such as leaders and prophets. For this reason, some people think Simeon may have been a prophet.
One thing the Holy Spirit had revealed to Simeon was that he would live to see the Messiah—the very consolation and deliverer of Israel he longed for. It was not clear whether Simeon knew he would encounter the Messiah that day when he came to the temple, but as a righteous and devout man, he was obedient to the Holy Spirit’s guidance. For Simeon, a divine appointment was about to take place.
Question 2:
How would you describe Simeon’s walk with God?
In these few verses, we learn enough about Simeon to know he is the kind of person we should view as a pattern for our own lives. When we seek to live lives of righteousness and devotion, looking to Christ and letting Him fill us with His Holy Spirit (Eph. 5:18), we will become increasingly sensitive to the leading and gentle nudging of His Spirit. We rarely know beforehand what “divine appointments” are before us, but we should consider every interruption and interaction we have with another person as having the potential to be an appointment from God.
Luke 2:27b-32
27b When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, 28 Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying: 29 “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss your servant in peace. 30 For my eyes have seen your salvation, 31 which you have prepared in the sight of all nations: 32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel.”
The Jewish law required Jesus to be circumcised eight days after His birth; thirty-three days after that, Mary was required to return to the temple when her days of purification were complete (Lev. 12:2-4). At that time, she was to bring an offering to the priest at the temple. This is exactly what they did (Luke 2:21-24), but notice they also brought Jesus. Because He was their firstborn son, the law also required them to dedicate Him to the Lord and pay the required “redemption price” (Ex. 34:19-20).
When Jesus and His family entered the temple, they encountered Simeon. We read earlier of God’s promise that Simeon would encounter the Messiah before he died (Luke 2:26). That moment was now at hand. We don’t know how he knew to approach Mary and Joseph, but we know he had been “moved by the Spirit” (v. 27a).
This meeting in the temple was a highly significant moment for Simeon. When he saw Jesus, he burst into praise. He could die a blessed man because he had seen God’s promise fulfilled. Simeon was a servant who lived to further God’s purposes, and even now he carried out that purpose as he held the infant Jesus and proclaimed God’s salvation.
Question 3:
How has Jesus brought light to your life?
JESUS IS THE LIGHT
Use the acrostic below to record ideas or characteristics that are true of Jesus.
(An example has been provided.)
L ord
I
G
H
T
“The stone the builders rejected has
become the cornerstone.”
PSALM 118:22
Simeon’s praise didn’t just point to the Messiah; his words pointed to the Messiah as God’s “salvation.” He knew that he held in his arms the deliverance he and so many other Jews had longed for. But Jesus would not grow up to be solely a Messiah for the Jews, one who would deliver only the Jews from oppression. Simeon announced, “You have prepared in the sight of all nations” (v. 31). On the stage of world history, God sent His Son, Jesus, to be “a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel” (v. 32). Jews and Gentiles alike would benefit from the Messiah!
What an amazing psalm of praise! Salvation had come to all the world. Jesus is the Messiah and the source of salvation to all who would believe and trust in Him. Jesus would provide a way for people of “every nation, tribe, people and language” (Rev. 7:9), not just Israel, to receive salvation.
Jesus came to be the light of the world. As followers of Jesus, we are called to shine His light around the world. Simeon’s joy wasn’t just because he had met the Messiah. His joy was because that Messiah would be salvation for all the world.
Question 4:
What do these verses teach us about God’s heart for the nations?
Luke 2:33-35
33 The child’s father and mother marveled at what was said about him. 34 Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, 35 so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.”
Mary and Joseph were aware that their child was uniquely the Son of God, but even so, they were struck again by the role and mission their infant son would ultimately carry out.
Even as Simeon offered his blessing on the family, he delivered a troubling prophecy.
- Jesus would cause the fall of many. Simeon spoke specifically about Israel. Not everyone would accept the truth that Jesus is the Messiah long prophesied in the Hebrew Scriptures.
- Jesus would cause the rise of many. Others in Israel would rise as they embrace Jesus as the Messiah. The word rise is the same Greek word used elsewhere to refer to resurrection. Those who trust in the work of Christ—His death and resurrection—are freed from their sin and resurrected to a new life.
- Jesus would be a sign that will be opposed. Simeon referred to Jesus as “a sign.” This likely refers to the prophecy in Isaiah 7:14: “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.” How people respond to this sign is a watershed moment. Regardless of the miracles and evidence of His deity, many will do more than reject Jesus; they will oppose Him. That opposition would lead to Jesus’ crucifixion and death.
The truth Jesus proclaimed is often comforting yet also convicting. How we respond to the truth of Jesus reveals the spiritual condition of our hearts. As God, Jesus knows us better than we know ourselves and reveals who we are.
How we respond to Jesus reveals our thoughts. When we accept the truth about Jesus, that belief reveals a heart that will trust Him. And with that trust comes the salvation and deliverance Jesus came to earth to give us. We must decide whether we will trust in the truth of Jesus as Savior and walk with Him, or decide to walk away from Christ and stumble in the darkness of a sin-filled world.
Question 5:
How does Jesus simultaneously cause the fall and rise of many?
LIVE IT OUT
Jesus reveals God’s glory and love. Choose one of the following applications:
- Remember. Take a moment and think about how Jesus’ life and ministry revealed the light and glory of God to you. How can you remind yourself of Jesus’ example daily?
- Reflect. Consider some people in your life who need to know that Jesus has revealed God’s glory and love. Spend some time in prayer asking God for an opportunity to share the gospel with one of them in the coming week.
- Redeem. Just as Jesus reveals the light and glory of God to us, we are called to follow His example and share the light and glory of God with others. Find a place in your community that needs to see God’s light. Invite some friends to go along with you to minister to that community.
The time comes at the end of our Christmas season for us to take down the lights and return to the dark of winter. But as we do, let’s allow the love of God and the light of Christ to shine in our lives all the more.
