My Eyes Have Seen Your Salvation

Good evening. Merry Christmas. Tonight we'll be in Luke chapter 2, verses 25 through 32. And this is really a sweet passage about Simeon, this man that we don't really know much about, coming and seeing Jesus as Jesus is being presented at the temple. And what Simeon says here is just really, it's really sweet. My desire for us this evening as we consider this passage is that we would share the peace and hope that Simeon had. That just as Simeon saw the salvation of the Lord, I want us to have hope and peace as we consider the salvation of the Lord. I want us to look back at what the incarnation means and I want us to look forward to when our Lord returns and we'll see him face to face just as Simeon saw him face to face.

Now, if you would, please stand for the reading of God's Word from Luke 2, verses 25-32. This is the Word of the Lord, and it is eternally true. And there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. And this man was righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel. And the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ. And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus to carry out for him the custom of the law, then he took him into his arms and blessed God and said, Now, Lord, you are releasing your bondservant to depart in peace. According to your word, for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light of revelation to the Gentiles and the glory of your people Israel. This is the word of the Lord. You may be seated.

So, who was Simeon? When we come to this text, this is the only time that we read about Simeon. We don't read about him anywhere else in Scripture. So we don't know much about him or who he is or his life. But we do know from our text a little bit about him. We know that Simeon was a righteous and a devout man. That he loved the Lord and that he obeyed his word and that he gave himself. In devotion to God. So Simeon isn't well known. He doesn't say or do anything else that we read about in Scripture that makes him stand out or to stand above anyone else in Scripture. He's not what you'd call a main character, right? Simeon was simply a faithful man who sought the Lord. He was a man who loved God. He was a godly man. And he was a man who had the Holy Spirit upon him.

And the Holy Spirit had revealed to Simeon that before he died, he would see the Messiah. He would see the Lord's Christ. That before Simeon would die, he would see the salvation of the Lord. Now think about that. Here's this old man, presumably, older man, righteous, devout, filled with the Holy Spirit, loves, obeys God, and the Spirit reveals to him that he will not see death before he has seen the promised Savior. Simeon believed God's promise to send a Savior. And can you imagine the kind of joy that a man like Simeon would have had when the Spirit revealed this to him? That he would be able to see the salvation of the Lord and know it. Can you imagine this kind of hope that it would give to Simeon? Hope that he would see the promised salvation of the Lord. Look upon him and see him face to face.

Think about the things that we hope for. Or maybe a better way to think about it is the things that we eagerly wait for. What do you eagerly wait for? What do you have hope for? What do you hope for? When I think about this, I think a lot about Christmas. Christmas is a time of hope, right? Christmas has always been my favorite holiday. I love the lights. I love the decorations. I love the music. I love the movies, the TV specials. I love all of it. And I remember as a kid how much hope we had around Christmas. How high our expectations could be between me and my siblings. And I remember the days getting longer leading up to Christmas. And then on Christmas Eve, the hours got longer and they felt like days. And then Christmas Day came. And all the hope and the buildup of that day was realized. And that's just a small example.

of the kind of hope and expectation that I imagine Simeon was filled with when he was told, you'll see your Savior. And so imagine being Simeon. Don't you wonder that, I wonder that he thought about this regularly, this promise, that this came to the forefront of his mind over and over again throughout his life. And imagine the effect that a promise of this magnitude would have on a devout and righteous man like Simeon. It must have been strengthening and encouraging to him. Wouldn't a promise like this change our lives? Wouldn't it change your life? Wouldn't it change the way you lived? Wouldn't it give you such joy and hope for the future? Even if things looked bleak or even if you were in the midst of suffering, you could always go back and you could remember that promise. This promise that Simeon had that he would not see death until he'd seen the Lord's Christ.

That's the kind of hope, the kind of joy we're talking about. The kind of eager expectation that Simeon had. And we know he must have been eagerly waiting for this moment. Because the moment he sees Jesus, he takes him into his arms. And he says, now Lord, you are releasing your bondservant to depart in peace. Essentially, Simeon's saying, now I can die. I can die in peace. I've seen the salvation of my God. He's kept his promise to me that I would see it. He's allowed me to see his salvation, to look on the face of the Messiah. Now I can die. It kind of reminds me of how Paul talks about facing death. They're very different circumstances. But Paul had an incredible amount of peace regarding his work and ministry. He said, I've run the race. I've fought the good fight. I've kept the faith. He had peace about his work. And so that's...

When I think about what Simeon's experiencing, I've served the Lord and he promised that I'd see the Savior and he fulfilled it. And now I have peace. The way Simeon expresses this fulfillment of his hope and expectation is very grandfatherly. Now I can die in peace. Why? Why is it that Simeon can depart in peace? Because his hope has been realized. He's been waiting and hoping for the day to come that he would see the Messiah, and now it's here. He's not just waiting for it and looking for it. It's here. He's got the Messiah in his arms. He sees the Lord Jesus. His expectation has become reality. I imagine how strengthened Simeon would have been, but I also wonder if there were days that Simeon's hope faltered before this. I wonder if sometimes he forgot his hope. If he forgot about...

God's promise that he would see the Messiah. And the reason I wonder this is because my hope falters all the time. And I don't think I'm alone in that. I think a lot of us are hope falters. I know that I'm guilty of losing sight of the hope that I have in Christ. And so I wonder if Simeon never had moments when he lost hope. But then imagine he saw Jesus and he had peace. And when he saw Jesus, he might have even thought about all the times that he lost hope. He saw Jesus, and he didn't have to hope for it anymore. God's salvation had come to the world as a man taking on flesh, being born of a woman. Here's this baby, and this is God's Messiah, and Simeon knows it immediately. Simeon knows that this baby is the fulfillment of his hope. Everything that he's longed for, this is the fulfillment. And it's no longer hope, it's reality.

I mentioned this earlier, but Christmas is a hope-filled holiday. And one of the things I've always loved about Christmas is that it's typically a hope-filled holiday. And that hope, or the message of hope, is all over the place around this time of year. Christmas influences our society, or at least it used to. If you just think about the overall themes of some of the older Christmas specials that you might see on TV, those themes are typically hope or giving. Christmas joy. People tend to have overall better attitudes around Christmas time. I think about the old movie, It's a Wonderful Life. And if you haven't seen it, you should watch it. It's really good. It's a really sweet movie. And in that movie, the main character, George Bailey, finds himself in a really terrible situation. So I'm going to spoil a little bit of the movie. So if you haven't seen it, I apologize. But I mean, it's old. So you should have seen it by now.

So the main character, George Bailey, finds himself in a really hard spot where not only might he lose everything that he's worked for, but he also might find himself in jail if he can't remedy the situation. He's caught in the throes of despair, and he's thinking about taking his own life. And then this angel shows up, and through certain events, George Bailey gets to see what life would be like if he wasn't around. if he was never born. What it would be like for the people that he's helped and loved. And you probably know the rest of the story, but eventually his lesson is over. He goes back. He goes back home. And what you realize is that throughout the movie, or at least at that point, when he was in despair, he had no hope. And at the end of the movie, all of his friends find out about his hardship, about his suffering. And they come to his house and they help him.

and it's kind of slow at first, and there's little bits of money to help for the, and then there's lots, and then there's more than what he needs. And you can see as it's progressing, George Bailey's hope rising, the hope that he's getting help to get out of this bind that he's in. And so It's a Wonderful Life is a movie about a lot of things, but the main theme throughout it is about having hope and not giving in to despair. And so typically we look around and we see everyone around Christmas either has a little more hope or is looking for a reason to have hope. People cling to this idea of hope. It's almost like throughout the rest of the year we're hope deficient. And then Christmas comes along and either gives us a reason to hope or reminds us that we need hope. Another theme we often see around Christmas, just as an example, is the Christmas miracle.

And this is over all sorts of TV specials and shows. It's all in society. Even unbelievers want to see those kind of things. Even unbelievers want or they look for hope or reasons to have some kind of hope. And so that's why I say Christmas is the season for hope. It's the season of hope. But really, Christmas is the season for the believer's hope. That of all people, we have the greatest reason to hope this time of year. Those who trust in Jesus, those of us who seek to be like Simeon, to be godly and devout, we have the greatest reason for hope. Tonight and tomorrow, we celebrate and remember that God fulfilled his promise to send a Savior who would be a light of revelation to the Gentiles and the glory of Israel. Christmas is about the Savior God sent to redeem his people. And in some ways, we share Simeon's hope. But in other ways, our hope is greater.

Simeon was looking forward to the salvation the Messiah would bring. And we live after that's been accomplished. We know through God's word that Jesus came and lived the perfect life and died in our place and accomplished salvation for his people. He took on flesh, lived the perfect life, died the death we deserve, paid the penalty for our sin, and then he rose again. And he conquered sin and the grave. And so our hope is greater than Simeon's. as we look back and remember the birth of our Savior, because he has already accomplished salvation for us. And so in one sense, our hope like Simeon's has already been realized, because Christ accomplished what he promised, what he accomplished salvation through his death, burial, and resurrection. And in another sense, we have even greater hope and expectation that has not been realized yet, because we have the privilege of looking forward to Christ's return. We still eagerly wait to see Jesus ourselves. And isn't it an incredible thing that though we've never seen Jesus, yet if you're a Christian, you love Him. You've never seen Him, yet you love Him. And all your hope and all your expectation is on Him. It's in Him. And what He has accomplished and what He will accomplish when He comes back. 1 Peter 3.9 says it this way.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to his great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice. even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold, which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. And though you have not seen him, you love him. And though you do not see him now, but believe in him, you greatly rejoice with joy, inexpressible and full of glory.

obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls. We have hope that Christ will return. This is our hope today, that we will see Jesus, that he will return, that he has not abandoned his people, but he will come again at the proper time. This is our hope. This is the believer's hope. Our hope is like Simeon's in that we hope to see our Savior face to face just as he did. But our hope is different because when Jesus returns, it won't be like the first time he came. The first time, he came humbly as a baby. But when he returns and he comes the second time, he'll come as a triumphant king. And this is our hope, the hope of his return, the hope of resurrection. And I mentioned, now I mentioned earlier that there are some around this season who are looking for reasons to hope. For various reasons, Christmas is often an occasion of sadness and hardship for people.

And not just unbelievers, but believers as well. I think there are all kinds of hardships that we deal with. I don't think I know that. There are all kinds of hardships that we deal with in this life. And sometimes Christmas is often an occasion for that. Sometimes that's because of decisions that we've made, and sometimes it's through no fault of our own. And sometimes these hardships often come in the form of tensions within families or hurt feelings within families. I was talking with the stylist who cut my hair this last week, and I asked her if she had any plans for Christmas. And she said, no, not really. Christmas is kind of a sad time because I don't get to see my family. I haven't actually seen my son in years. And I didn't know how to respond to her other than to say that I'm sorry and that I'd pray for her. My point is that while Christmas is typically a season of joy and hope,

there are still hardships that we face. Tensions might be so bad in your extended family that even thinking about Christmas gives you a headache. Or maybe you've lost someone around Christmas time. Maybe you've lost your job recently. Maybe you have loved ones you won't see because they don't want to have anything to do with you. Or maybe you've just encountered a dozen different kinds of hardship. These are the kinds of things that hinder our hope, that give us reason to doubt. But these are also the kind of sufferings that Paul says can't compare with the joy that's coming. And what is that joy? It's the joy of seeing our God face to face. It's the joy of the resurrection. So I just want to encourage you, even though this life is full of hardships, and sometimes those hardships are intensified during the Christmas season, we do have a great reason for hope. Our Savior, who has already saved us from sin and death, will return.

And we'll get to see him face to face just as Simeon did. And when you see him, he will make everything right. He will execute justice. And he will wipe away the tears from your eyes. And we have to remember to live and walk in this hope, in the hope of our Savior. Just like Simeon, our eyes will see the Lord's salvation. Jesus didn't just come here to live, die, rise again, ascend to his throne, and then leave us here and abandon us. No, no, he didn't. He came. He is coming again. He came to save us and he's going to come again. And all the suffering and all the hardships of this life will be done away with. And even better, we'll be in the presence of our Savior forever. So have hope. Have hope this Christmas. Have hope that God has already fulfilled his promise to send his Savior the first time and that he will be faithful to return to us and to bring us to him. Remember your hope in Christ.

Remembering your hope in Christ will help you fight against your sin and temptation. And it will help you process and work through the various hardships that you'll face in your life. Trust God. Hope in Him. And have faith that you will see His face. Let's pray.