Life after Christmas
Luke 2:21-39
Introduction
For many, Christmas begins in October when we start shopping for the big day. We then put up the decorations, organise the food, and attend various parties. Then… it’s over and soon we are back to work, back to school, and back to normal church life. In other words, it is back to reality! With this in mind, we could be encouraged today as we look at life after Christmas. We will do this by seeing what happened to Mary and Joseph, and others after the birth of Christ. This leads to our first point…
Looking for life after Christmas (vs.21-24 and v39)
After his birth Jesus was circumcised
Like all Jewish boys, Jesus was circumcised eight days after his birth—probably while they were still in Bethlehem. Luke 2:21 says, “On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise the child, he was named Jesus.”
Circumcised to identify with us
Jesus means Jehovah shall save. Jesus came to save his people and was circumcised as a symbol of the cutting away of sin. When he was older, Jesus was baptised to symbolise the washing away of sin. Jesus had no need for either, but he did so to identify with those he came to save. Galatians 4:4-5 says, “When the time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law… to redeem those under law.” The need to fulfil the Law of Moses comes out many times in today’s passage. For example, Luke 2:22 says that forty days after his birth, the time came for the purification rites required by the Law of Moses. So Joseph and Mary took Jesus to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord. This fulfils Exodus 13:2, which says, “Consecrate to me every firstborn male. The firstborn of every womb belongs to me.”
Raised in poverty
Leviticus 12:6 says, “When the days of her purification are over, a mother is to bring a year-old lamb for a burnt offering and a young pigeon or a dove for a sin offering. This was the standard offering, but Mary brought two pigeons, which was a concession to the poor. Leviticus 12:8 says, “If she cannot afford a lamb, she is to bring two doves or two young pigeons.” Mary and Joseph were poor. This is the context in which Jesus was raised. Jesus did not grow up in the city of Jerusalem, but in the back streets of Galilee (can any good thing come out of Nazareth). 2 Corinthians 8:9 says though he was rich, yet for our sakes he became poor so that we through his poverty might become rich—rich in spiritual life and vitality. This is what it means to look for life after Christmas, and it leads to a further point…
Longing for life after Christmas (vs.25-35)
The mundane after Christmas
Life can be depressingly mundane after Christmas. Maybe it was the same for Mary and Joseph. Notice, however that as they approached the temple with Jesus, they met a man named Simeon who had been told by the Holy Spirit that he would not die until he had seen the Messiah. Moved by the Spirit, and with immaculate timing, Simeon took the child and praised God saying, “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all people: a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel” (Luke 2:29-32). For Mary and Joseph, and for Simeon, this is life after Christmas.
A prophetic word to Gentiles
As far as we know, Simeon was not a known leader in Israel. He was not a prophet, a priest, or a king. What made Simeon special was his devotion to God. He was in touch with God’s Spirit who led him to Christ. In this context, Simeon gave a prophetic word. So far in Luke, we have noted prophetic utterances from Gabriel, Elizabeth, Mary, and Zechariah. Now there is Simeon, but his word is different. In his prophetic word, Simeon affirms that salvation was not just for Jews but for Gentiles as well. Little wonder that Mary and Joseph marvelled at what was said about Jesus (v33).
In vs.34-35, Simeon said to Mary that her child was destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. Those who accepted Christ would receive salvation—they would rise, but those who rejected Jesus would fall.
We have seen God’s salvation
In vs.30-31 Simeon says, “My eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared before all people.” This should be our focus as we long for life after Christmas. In the birth of Christ and in his subsequent life, death, and resurrection, we have seen God’s salvation and should respond with all our heart, soul, strength, and mind. To do this, however, we need a word from God; we need a wake-up call from God; we need to be righteous and devout like Simeon; we need to change our ways. This should then lead from looking for life after Christmas and longing for life after Christmas to…
Living for life after Christmas (vs.36-38)
Serious rejoicing at Christmas
We can have lots of fun at Christmas, but this is not the same as serious rejoicing. Serious rejoicing leads to living for life after Christmas. This comes out in Luke 2:36-38 when Joseph and Mary met a prophet named Anna. According to this passage, Anna had been a widow for eighty-four years and never left the temple but worshiped there night and day. In this context, and again with immaculate timing, Anna came to Mary and Joseph, gave thanks to God, and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to God’s redemption.
The news is out
Anna is the Greek form of the Hebrew Hannah meaning grace, and she announced to all in Jerusalem that Messiah had come in Jesus. In this context, it is interesting to compare Jesus’ birth with the blessing of Hannah’s birth to Samuel and his ministry in the Old Testament.
Simeon was well on in years and Anna was over a hundred, but God still had work for them. Psalm 92:14-15 says older people can still bear fruit in old age; they can stay fresh and green, proclaiming, “The Lord is upright.” This is what it means to live life after Christmas—no matter how old we are or how mundane life appears!
We have seen more today
We have seen more than Simeon or Anna. We have seen the full revelation of God’s salvation. We have heard about the infant Jesus. We have studied the life of Jesus. We know about the death of Jesus. We have experienced the resurrection of Jesus. We have all this and still we wait. Still we wait to make a full commitment to Christ. John 1:10-12 says, “He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own people did not receive him. Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” Isn’t it time to look for life after Christmas, to long for life after Christmas, and to live for life after Christmas as with Mary and Joseph and Simeon and Anna, we rejoice at the coming of Christ into our time and space.
Bernard Cartledge