Texts: Heb. 4:12-13; Luke 2:21-40
·
The word of God
is a discerner of men’s hearts. It’s the only book in the world that reads you
when you read it. The word of God knows what’s in men and reveals it by their
response to it.
·
Notice how the
word is personified in v. 13—“his sight,”
not “its” sight; “the eyes of him,”
not “of it.” This verse is attributing omniscience to the word of God! Gal. 3:8
does the same thing, where it speaks of the scripture “foreseeing” and foretelling something, and Rom. 9:17 attributes
omnipotence to scripture, where the scripture asserts absolutely control over
the mightiest monarch on earth at the time, Pharaoh, and over “all the earth” as well. What a book
you hold in your hands!
·
Now, the Word
(capital W) was also “made flesh, and
dwelt among us” (John 1:14). From our text we see that his appearing also revealed the thoughts in many hearts, and he
knows what’s in men too (John 2:25b, “for
he knew what was in man”). The Word and the word
are so close you can scarcely tell them apart. They’re essentially the same thing, but in different forms, one bodily and
the other written.
·
What I’d like to
look at today is what the incarnate Word’s appearance revealed in certain
hearts, especially the primary figures around him in the first two years of his
life.
·
As we survey these
revelations, think about (1) what they show us about mankind in general; and (2)
what our response should be to the
Lord.
1.
Goodwill of God
a.
His goodwill
toward Israel had been revealed long before (Deut. 33:16), regarding the
kingdom.
b.
Here context
includes salvation (2:11) for all
men, which must precede the kingdom (1 Pt. 1:10-11); can’t be peace on earth
without salvation and glory to God (2:14).
2. Meekness of Christ, Joseph and Mary (“the royal family”)
a. This trio is often called the holy
family, esp. by Catholics, but don’t forget that they were royalty
i.
Christ
himself was God, and humbled himself (Phil. 2:5-8)
ii.
Joseph
was the son of David and rightful heir to the throne, but he also took the
lowly place of carpenter in Nazareth;
iii.
Mary
was royalty—Luke 3 reveals that David was her forefather
iv.
So
these are all noble people, esp. Christ, who took lowly places for God’s sake
b. Shows their meekness
i.
Joseph
submits to Caesar, whom technically he was higher than (Rom. 4:13), and Herod,
an impostor
ii.
If
Joseph knew the law, then he knew that Christ would soon be born, plus the
Romans were lords of Israel and were allowing Herod’s reign; I think all of
this together may have encouraged Joseph to bide his time, and sure enough,
Christ appeared, in his own family to boot!
iii.
Note
also Luke 2:19; wanted to point this out, since it’s only said one other place
(2:51). Luke probably got his material on these events from Mary, because both
passages says that she “kept” them in her heart. I think that both events
attest to her meekness also:
1. She allows the shepherds to broadcast
her son’s birth—could’ve told them to keep it secret, but she didn’t; she knew
who Christ was and let them proclaim him
2.
She doesn’t
dismiss Jesus’ words to her in the temple, but notices his subjection to her
and Joseph; even though she didn’t quite understand what Jesus was saying,
she’s spiritual enough to know that it meant something, so she takes it to
heart, showing her meekness in turn.
3. Wrath of
Satan
a.
If others didn’t
understand, he knew that the promised seed of Gen. 3:15 had finally appeared,
in the fullness of time (Gal. 4:4)
b.
Instead of
seeking reconciliation with his Creator, this fearful being tries to kill that
Creator’s earthly manifestation; he, and “the
children of pride” (Job 41:34), would kill God if they could, and so
destroy themselves, since there can be no life without God
c.
That’s how
depraved Satan and men become in their falls—they’re not only out to destroy
God, but also themselves, and God’s only remedy for this is to put them in
hell. C.S. Lewis wrote a brief but powerful poem about the merciful side of hell that went like this:
God in His mercy made
The fixéd pains of Hell.
That misery might be stayed,
God in His mercy made
Eternal bounds and bade
Its waves no further swell.
God in his mercy made
The fixéd pains of Hell.
d.
Psalm 77:10, “Surely the wrath of man shall praise thee:
the remainder of wrath shalt thou restrain.” Key word is “restrain”; God puts limits on
wickedness, though he may let it progress for a time.
4.
Wickedness of Herod
a.
This reprobate
tries to kill the rightful heir to throne—he knew who Christ was and owed him
worship, but his conscience was seared; see the echo of conscience!);
b.
He goes down in
history as one of the most infamous of men, a type of antichrist who tries to
slaughter Israel in the great tribulation; note prophecy re: Rachel in Mt. 2:17-18;
context of that prophecy in Jer. 31 is you, guessed it, tribulation preceding
restoration of Israel;
c.
That’s what this
massacre in Mt. 2 typifies: Satan’s enmity of the Jews in action
i.
Satan leads
Pharaoh to kill the Israelite babies and is thwarted
ii.
Same true of
Herod
iii.
Power corrupts:
he kills his own countrymen to preserve his place; religious leaders do the
same with Christ (John 11:48-50), and may even have killed Lazarus (John
12:10-11)! When power becomes your god, you will sacrifice anyone to keep it;
so take the low road!
5. Wisdom of
the wise men
a.
Why were they
wise? They knew the scriptures (Num. 24:17—his Star and Sceptre; Dan. 9:24-25),
but not perfectly; OT revealed place of his birth (Mic. 5:2), which the
religious leaders filled in (Mt. 2:4-8).
b.
Who were they?
Three kings; no—that’s tradition.
i.
I believe they
were Jews that remained in Babylon in the days of Cyrus; not all Jews went
back; actually a remnant; many, if not most, stayed in the east;
ii.
1 Pt.
5:13—apostle Peter actually visits them during the Acts period, and a church of
kingdom believers is formed
c.
Lord also gives
them wisdom in dealing with Herod
i.
They don’t
realize how wicked he is, but their obedience to light, either by scripture or
dream, steers them clear of his wickedness
ii.
He probably
would’ve killed them too for thwarting him, but “the right road leads out at
the right place”; if you are earnestly seeking God’s will, he will take care of
you; doesn’t mean you won’t have trouble, but he will look after you and lead
you where you need to go
6. Zeal of the
shepherds
a.
This stood out to
me in this study more than ever. Keeping watch, just like Simeon and Anna later
on
b.
God speaks to
watchful and employed: Simeon was “devout”
(2:25) and Anna “served” (2:37)
c.
Likely these
shepherds were also of those “waiting
for the consolation of Israel” (2:25) and “look[ing] for redemption in Jerusalem” (2:38), since they don’t
balk at the announcement but rather run to confirm it and then to proclaim it. Praise
God, there was a remnant waiting for the Lord to arrive, when their might have
been none.
d.
Not sure what the
impact of their testimony was, but I think that God meant to use it like John’s
(which it preceded by 25-30 years): to prepare the people for their king
e.
Curious, if not
sad, that despite the shepherds’ zeal, none of the people who “wondered” (2:18) go to seek the child,
only Jews from outside the land. Strange indeed, but often those nearest us
physically are farthest from us spiritually; one of those ironies of life that
only God understands.
7. Patience of
Simeon and Anna
a.
The Lord had not
spoken to Israel for 300-350 years when these two were born, yet they believe his
word and spend their entire lives waiting for Messiah
b.
While Anna may
have been widowed longer, the dominant
thing about both of their lives was their faithful
waiting
c.
Isn’t that the
same for us? Rom. 8:23-25; Gal. 5:5; 1 Thes. 1:10
d.
It takes grace to
wait—notice in Gal. 5:5 that it’s the Spirit that enables us to wait for the
Lord’s return; you can’t maintain that hope in your own strength; you will turn
to the world like Demas did, because your old man still loves this world and
always will; that’s why he must be mortified by “set[ting] your affection on things above” (Col. 3:2-3).
e.
Couldn’t Simeon
and Anna given up and settled down in the world? Couldn’t Anna have found
herself another husband and “lived the American dream”? No, instead she chose
solitude, “fastings and prayers night
and day” (2:37).
f.
She lived for a
dream way beyond the silly American dream. She lived for a “blessed hope” like ours (though not the same): “redemption in Jerusalem” (2:38). As a
heavenly people, we look for the “redemption
of our body” (Rom. 8:23) that will prepare us for our heavenly reign, while
she, Simeon, and the other faithful “looked
for redemption in Jerusalem,” the “city
of the great King” (Mt. 5:35), to restore Israel’s earthly reign over the
nations (Acts 1:6).
Conclusion
·
Today we saw
seven different things that the Word revealed when he appeared. So much was
brought to light wasn’t it? I didn’t mention the joy and praise of the angelic
host, the ignorance of the religious leaders, and no doubt there are many
others.
·
But I think these
seven prove that the birth of Christ was a huge event in the history of the
universe. The Creator was “found in
fashion as a man” (Phil. 2:8) in an “evil
world” (Gal. 1:4) “to save sinners”
(1 Tim. 1:15), both Jew and Gentile. Some had the right spirit about this, and
some did not, just like they do with the written word. Contrast the Bereans and
Athenians in Acts 17: one group are “noble”
and “receive the word with all readiness
of mind” (Acts 17:11) while the Athenians, for the most part, mock or balk
at the word (Acts 17:32-33).
·
What has the
Word/word, in both its forms, revealed about your heart?
o
Is it revealing
your sin and need for salvation? You can have that today by simply believing in
your heart that Jesus Christ, the Word of God in flesh, died for your sins and
rose again the third day to give you salvation as a free gift.
o
Or has the word
revealed the need for changes in your heart as a believer? Don’t be surprised
if it has: we’re all works in progress (Eph. 2:10; Phil. 1:6), and if you go on
with the Lord, you’ll have many changes of heart, not just a few. Beware of people
who pride themselves on not changing their views: mature believers don’t waver
on their fundamental beliefs, but they do maintain a readiness to learn and
grow in their understanding of things, even if that means changing views
previously held, even for a long time. You need to be stubborn about your
foundation, but not about everything. That will stifle your spiritual growth.
·
So let the word
reveal what it will in you, and respond to what it shows you. If you’re a
sinner in need of salvation, please respond by trusting Christ today. If you’re
a saint in need of change, don’t resist it to save face or because it’s inconvenient: obey, and let the Lord’s life develop in you even further.
