Song Of Simeon

What this episode covers

Christmas builds up a great amount of anticipation, and sometimes it ends in disappointment. We set our expectations on certain things only to find that what we got was not as nice as we envisioned. We all know what it is like to wait for something that fails to live up to our expectation. Or, we immediately desire something else that makes the previous object less satisfying. This happens a lot with goal setting. The reward for reaching a goal quickly diminishes so we have to set a new goal to keep us motivated. Could you imagine waiting a lifetime for the gift or reward to arrive? That is what we see in this passage. Simeon and Anna, both exemplify faithful waiting. Luke repeatedly reminds his readers just how awe inspiring the event of the incarnation is. Why? The reminder is necessary, because unfortunately, for most people, Christ’s first coming was almost entirely inconsequential. Or its value had completely diminished after generations of unfulfilled waiting. When Jesus was born, few were waiting in anticipation. Those that were, like Simeon and Anna, had lived lifetimes filled with suffering. What Luke makes clear, here and throughout his gospel, is that: Jesus was born to relieve the suffering of his people, by entering into that suffering himself. Read Luke 2:21-38 The Dedication of Joseph and Mary (21-24) In accordance with the law, Jesus was circumcised and named on the eighth day (21, cf. Gen. 17:12). Joseph and Mary call him Jesus in obedience to the angel’s earlier pronouncement (1:31). I never really understood the point of circumcision until I started studying covenant theology. It did not seem relevant anymore. I figured it was another example of the strange commandments of the Old Testament. Have you ever wondered why Jesus was circumcised? Circumcision was instituted with Abraham (Gen. 17), but that was fourteen years after he believed the covenant promise (Gen. 15:6). He was declared righteous on account of his faith, prior to his circumcision (Rom. 4). Circumcision was given to Abraham and all of the males within his household—from eight-days-old and up—as a sign and seal of the covenant of grace (and all of the benefits that accompany salvation). But the Old Testament saints were never to glory in their fleshly obedience. It signified the spiritual circumcision of their heart that only God could accomplish for them (Deut. 10.16; 30:6). Bavinck The covenant of grace finds its realization then in the families of the patriarchs. These families are separated from the other nations by circumcision as a seal of righteousness, and by faith as a sign of the circumcision of the heart. Circumcision certainly had religious significance under the Old Covenant, but a richer fulfillment of the covenant of grace would arrive under the New Covenant. The Apostle Paul makes it clear that circumcision no longer means what it used to mean (Gal 5:6). Its religious purposes have been satisfied and abrogated. Jesus inaugurated the new covenant at the end of his first coming, but prior to his death, he perfectly fulfilled the righteous requirements of the law. Luke makes Christ’s fulfillment of the law evident throughout his gospel. In the following verses we will see the phrase, “according to the Law of Moses/the Lord” five times (vv.22, 23, 24, 27 39). Jesus received the sign of circumcision in order to fulfill the law. Circumcision graphically signified the need for bloodshed in order to cover or atone for sin. If Jesus was born of a virgin then he was unstained by original sin. Throughout his life he perfectly obeyed the law. Thus, he never had any sin to cover. Circumcision was not personally applicable to Christ, but he fulfilled the law’s demands for sinners. Even the sign of circumcision points us to the gospel. The bloodshed at his circumcision foreshadowed his crucifixion. Circumcision was the sign of the covenant, now replaced by baptism (Col. 2:11-12). Both signs pointe

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