A MAN WHO CRADLED GOD IN HIS ARMS
Dr. Erwin W. Lutzer

Some people have at least one unequaled experience, one monumental moment that defines why they were born. Such a man was Simeon.

Sometimes we miss the mystery of Christmas. The Apostle Paul says, “Great is the mystery of godliness; God was manifest in the flesh...” (1 Timothy 3:16). It seems unbelievable to think that a man could actually cradle God in his arms. And yet that’s what happened, as recorded in Luke chapter 2. Here we find the story of Simeon, a priest who served in the temple at Jerusalem.

Some people think that he was an old man, but that’s only tradition since after he saw Christ and held Him, he said, “Let Thy servant depart in peace.” But whether he was old or not, this much we do know — he was an unusual man.

Now Simeon was unusual first of all because he was taught by the Word of God. “Behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. And this man was righteous and devout, looking for the Consolation of Israel” (Luke 2:25). What does that expression mean? It means the Messianic hope. It means that he was actually believing that God would fulfill His promises and that Christ would be born.

Also, Simeon was led by the Spirit of God. Sometimes we have the impression that the Holy Spirit was not working in the Old Testament. But even before Acts chapter 2, people like Simeon, who were under the Old Testament era, had intimacy with the Holy Spirit. Notice it says in the last part of verse 25, “the Holy Spirit was upon him...”

He knew what it was to walk in the Spirit because it also tells us in the text that “He came in the Spirit into the temple...” (v 27). That means that as he walked in, his life was filled with joy, and not only joy, but praise to God. He was in the Spirit, controlled by the Spirit of God, and he was filled with worship and adoration to God.

You’ll notice also that the ministry of the Spirit was one of revelation. “It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ (v 26). Here’s a man taught by the Word of God, led by the Spirit of God, and he has the privilege of holding the Son of God in his arms.

It’s eight days since Christ was born. Jesus was being taken to the city of Jerusalem by His parents, because there was an Old Testament custom that said every firstborn male shall be called holy to the Lord. “And they came to offer a sacrifice according to what was said in the law of the Lord, a pair of turtledoves and two young pigeons” (v 24). And so this family comes now to the city of Jerusalem and Simeon just “happened” to be on his priestly duty. Mary and Joseph come with a little baby and Simeon knows something; he understood that the child he held was Messiah. The text says “the Lord’s Christ.”

After he cradled Him in his arms, he breaks out in a hymn of praise, and well he might. He says, “Thou hast prepared this salvation in the presence of all people...a light of revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of Thy people Israel.”
Notice that Simeon sees Christ not only as the King of the Jews, but also King to the Gentiles and to the world. And His glory swallows up all the other glories in the world, something like the sun in its brightness swallows up the light of the stars. “We beheld His glory, “ said John, “the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).

Let’s consider Simeon’s words in the three images that he uses to convey what this little baby is all about. First of all, Simeon uses the imagery of a stone. He says, “Behold this child is appointed for the fall and the rise of many in Israel” (v 34). We can’t help but remember the imagery in the New Testament of Jesus Christ being a stone. And that’s really based on an Old Testament prediction. “The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief comer stone” (Psalm 118:22). And then in Luke 22 Jesus says, “Whoever falls on this stone will be broken, but on whomsoever that stone shall fall, it will pind him to powder.”

For those who accept Jesus Christ, He is a stone that leads them another step higher in their walk with God, a stone in which they can take refuge and find strength. But to those who reject Him, He becomes a stone of stumbling, a rock of offense. Simeon said, “Behold, the child is appointed for the fall and the rise of many in Israel. “

Those who come to that stone and recognize Him to be the cornerstone; and those who fall on that stone and crush themselves, recognizing their need, will find He raises them. And even though this is a reference to the nation Israel, the Apostle Paul says that the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the preaching of the cross is to those who perish, foolishness. He says, to the Jews it is a stumbling block and to the Greeks it is foolishness.

Why do people stumble over Christ? Why do they stumble over the cross? Beneath the message of Jesus Christ, there is the awful truth of our own helplessness and sinfulness. And so the imagery of somebody dying on behalf of others seems repugnant to the human mind. We say to ourselves, “If I am to be saved, I want to save myself.” The cross of Christ and the coming of Christ runs cross-grained against all of the high ideals we have about ourselves.

And so, Simeon is saying, this child is like that stone that the builders rejected. For some, He will cause falling. For others, He will cause - and the Greek word means - resurrection.

Secondly, Simeon says He is a sign. In the last part of verse 34 we read, “...and for a sign that shall be opposed.” The Greek word means “miracle.” Jesus Christ is going to be a miracle. In fact, He is a miracle worker. And many shall oppose Him. Now you read the text of the New Testament and you find out that He is being opposed all the time. There is something within us that says, we do not want to accept a miracle worker, because if He is who He claims to be, we need to make a decision about Him.

You may say, “People today don’t oppose Christ. They love Him.” That’s because the world has interpreted Him in such a way as to make Him lovable. That’s why the world loves the baby in the manger, because He is so harmless. He is so distant. He is so cuddly. And He would never think of interfering in our lives. But when you think of all that Christ is, the risen Christ, the triumphant Christ, the Judge who is about to come, then you find the world immediately withdrawing.

The first symbol is that of a stone; the second is a sign; and the third element comes to us in verse 35: a sword. This is, of course, directed specifically to Mary. Simeon says, “Behold this child is appointed for the fall and rise of many in Israel and for a sign to be opposed and a sword will pierce even your own soul to the end that the thoughts from many hearts will be revealed.”

Here Simeon is saying to Mary that a sword is going to enter into her heart. When she was accused of fornication as an unwed mother, her soul was pierced by the sword of shame. When Herod slew the children while searching for the Christ Child, her soul was pierced by the sword of blame; after all, it was her son Herod sought.

And then, of course, we come to the cross. And we think of Jesus being crucified there, and Mary sitting at the foot of the cross, watching her oldest Son die. And there she was, the sword of sorrow having pierced her own soul. Mind you, her suffering was great, but it could not somehow help anyone’s salvation. She was at the cross as a sinner like all the rest of us, knowing that it would be through her Son that she personally would be redeemed.

And so we have the stone, the sign, and the sword. Lets look at three very important lessons that will tie together the strands that we have uncovered in the life of Simeon.

Number one. Those who look for Christ’s appearing can see more than those who don’t. Simeon, bless his heart, was looking for the Consolation of Israel. And God graciously and wondrously said, “Simeon, you are looking for it. You shall see it. And you shall hold the consolation of Israel in your very arms.” In the same way, the Apostle Paul says that there is a crown of righteousness awaiting those who love the Lord’s appearing. Look for Christ and you will find Him.

Lesson number two. In this life, blessings sometimes have burdens connected with them. We’re told through Jewish literature that every Jewish maiden wished and hoped and prayed that she would be the one chosen by God to bear the Messiah. And Mary herself said, “All generations shall call me blessed. “

So when the angel had come to Mary, and she knew that she would conceive by the Holy Spirit, no wonder she broke out in a song of joy. But oh, little did she know that along with that blessing there would be a burden. Along with that honor, there would be a horror, because the sword would pierce her heart, even though she was right in the middle of the will of God.

And lesson three. All who hear about Christ are affected by Him. You’ll notice that everyone that confronted Jesus Christ in the New Testament either embraced Him and was exalted, or rejected Him and was debased. What is it that Simeon said? “This child is set for the rise and the fall of many in Israel.”

You know, it’s not true that everybody is better off because Jesus came. For many people, the coming of Jesus Christ is going to cause them to fall; because having been confronted with the Son of God, if they should reject Him, oh how great their fall will be. The Bible says that Jesus is coming someday in judgment, “in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and the glory of His power” (2 Thessalonians 1:7-9).

Eventually everybody is going to confront Him. And in the end, I believe that every knee shall bow, every tongue that God created shall give Him glory—some in this life and they shall be saved; others in the life to come. But those who do it in the life to come, who did not do it in this life, shall do it and nevertheless be lost forever.

God in Simeon’s arms has grown to be a man, died, raised, ascended, and will return in great glory, and great power. We can sing today, “Silently, how silently the wondrous gift is given.” But that’s because we look at the past. In the future, it will be very, very different.

And so, when you think of Christ, is He the one who has caused you to rise, or are you stumbling over Him? Are you falling? Do you say to yourself, “I will not let this Christ break into my life?” If you come that way, you will fall. But if you come with an open heart and say, “I receive Him as God of very God, as my Savior,” then you shall rise.

Neither you nor I will ever hold God in our arms, but we will one day see God face to face if we know Christ. The glory of Christmas is the glory of God’s Son, and that glory is endless.

Don’t wait to open your heart to the Christ that Simeon once embraced in his arms!

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