Devoted From the Heart • Luke 2:21-52

57:00 Teaching begins

Notes

The Son of God has been born into the world. He’s come to be a light of revelation of who God is. What kind of person is He? We only get a glimpse of His development as a young boy and it shows us a heart devoted to God that is like no other.

There are other devoted people in this section and they show us where you can arrive after years of seeking the Lord, and battling yourself, disciplining yourself for the purpose of holiness.

But this Child is way beyond that. He is the very zeal of God. Our salvation is certain to be completed by this person whose heart is fully devoted to God.

I’m reading in Luke 2 from verse 21 (to 24).

1. Jesus is devoted by His parents to the Lord, vv. 22-24.

A. Circumcision is the sign of being in covenant relationship with God.

1. In Genesis 17 God gave that to Abraham when he was ninety-nine years old. It is the sign of the covenant between Abraham and his descendants, that they would be God’s people, and God would be their God, forever. Also that they would inherit the land He would give them. Relationship and inheritance forever. The symbolism is that the outer skin, naturally insensitive and tending to accumulate uncleanness, is cut away That leaves the area highly sensitive and automatically clean, because there’s no place for uncleanness to build up.

2. Jesus as a human being is entering into that covenant relationship with God.

3. Paul points out in Galatians 5:3 that the one who receives circumcision is under obligation to fulfil the covenant of God. That’s why the Son of God came, to fulfil all obedience to the law and also fulfil all punishment for disobeying the law.

B. Then Mary and Joseph present Jesus as holy to God in the temple.

1. Exodus 13:1-2 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “Sanctify to Me every firstborn, the first offspring of every womb among the sons of Israel, both of man and beast; it belongs to Me.”

2. The firstborn son was to be without blemish, like a priest. God took the tribe of Levi to be His priests instead of the firstborn of Israel. That means all God’s priests are to be like His firstborn. God’s firstborn is a priest, and Jesus is the great High Priest of God.

3. To present Jesus as holy to God meant that He would be redeemed. The parents had to pay five silver shekels, silver being the metal of redemption. God redeemed Israel from slavery to Egypt to be His slaves, slaves of righteousness, completely swallowed up in His will, which is holiness, purity, life with God. That’s a good will, to free His people from sin and enslave them to righteousness. That’s eternal life.

C. Finally they offer the sacrifices for Mary’s purification.

1. The laws on circumcision and these sacrifices are both found in Leviticus 12. If the woman bears a son she shall be unclean seven days as in the days of her customary impurity, that is, her monthly period. The son is circumcised on the eighth day. Then she is unclean for another 33 days. After that she offers a sacrifice of a one-year old lamb and a pigeon or turtledove. If she can’t afford the lamb she can offer another pigeon or turtledove.

2. You notice that’s what they do here. I wonder if it took most of their money to redeem Jesus, and that’s why they offered the poor person’s sacrifice.

3. Mary offers the sacrifice acknowledging that she needs the cleansing. Jesus didn’t require it, she did.

D. Now the parents have completely devoted their firstborn Son to God, according to the requirement of the law. The outward symbolism of the law is carried out, and Jesus has been devoted as holy to the Lord, separated for God’s purposes.

2. While in the temple they encounter two people whose hearts are completely devoted to God. The first of these is Simeon, vv. 25-38

A. The word that describes Simeon is devout.

1. Righteous is according to the law. He carries out those requirements blamelessly. But you could do that even if your heart wasn’t into it.

2. Devout goes further than an outward requirement. It literally means someone who has properly received someone or something, because they know the value of it.

3. Simeon rightly estimates who God is and knows His value: the Almighty, the God of Israel, his God. He is the life.

4. Because he knows God’s value he has also properly received God.

a. He has received God’s word, because he is looking for the consolation of Israel. That’s the fulfilment of all God’s promises for Israel, salvation, redemption, freedom from all their enemies, eternal life.

b. You notice that the Holy Spirit is upon him. He has received God Himself to live in Him. Here’s a man upon whom the Spirit rests. It’s a mutual choice. Can two walk together unless they’re agreed? Simeon receives who God is: He is God, I am His bondslave. May it be done to me according to His will.

5. The Holy Spirit gives heightened knowledge and understanding to Simeon. That consolation of Jerusalem—you won’t die before you see Him.

B. God is faithful in His promise to Simeon.

1. On this day the Holy Spirit says to Simeon, “Go to the temple.” Simeon doesn’t question or say I’m tired. This is the Lord. He obeys. He sees a couple offering their firstborn as holy to the Lord, and the Spirit says, “That’s Him right there.”

2. He’s never met this couple, they don’t know him. But he comes up and says, “May I?” And they say, “Okay.”

3. Now he is holding the Messiah is his arms. Can you imagine his joy? Realise that he is blessing the Lord, He is still greater than even the fulfilment of His promise.

C. He worships and thanks God in the Spirit.

1. Now You are letting Your servant depart in peace according to Your word. You fulfilled Your word to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David, and me.

2. I’m going to die now, but I die expecting the glory of God. I will be raised from the dead because Your Messiah is the guarantee, and here He is. He’s not dreading death. He’s looking forward to life.

3. He understands that God is interested in saving all mankind, Gentiles as well as the Jews. He blesses God for His mercy to all peoples.

D. But, with salvation, redemption, revelation, light, there’s also judgment.

1. Many will rise and fall because of this Child.

2. A sword will pierce your own soul. You’ll experience pain and suffering.

3. Many will rise and fall because the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed.

a. The thoughts are not visible. You can cover up evil thoughts by good looking actions. You can fulfil the requirement of the law and still violate the intent of the law. When the outside looks good and the heart is the opposite, that’s hypocrisy.

b. But thoughts are going to be revealed. That inward sin and rebellion against God is going to come out at the Messiah. They will hate Him because He is good and reveals good-looking people to be complete sinners. Instead of repenting and turning to God they’ll decide to kill that Man.

c. Judgment divides inward devotion from merely outward devotion.

3. Then at the same time Anna joins them.

A. She is a prophetess. The Lord is no respecter of persons. She also is in agreement with God and utterly submitted to Him. The Holy Spirit is upon her in the same way as Simeon.

B. She is advanced in years. If you figure she was 15 when she got married, lived with her husband for seven years, she was 22 when he died. Then she was a widow for 84 years. That makes her 106 years old.

C. She wouldn’t be able to live full time in the temple, but it means she is there consistently, constantly. She’s worshipping God and praying and fasting. She’s praying for the redemption of Jerusalem, waiting and longing like Simeon.

D. She comes up, she sees and knows. She begins to tell everyone looking for the redemption of Jerusalem, “He’s here! It’s about to happen.”

E. Is this a life? It is toward God.

1. Some might look at that and say, well, she’s 106. That’s all she has to live for. What else has she got?

2. What does she say? “I just got to see the Messiah! It’s worth my life to see Him and speak His word.”

3. She understands that her life is to serve God as His bondslave, to pour out her life serving Him. And then she gets the desire of her heart—to be with Him in eternal life. She would agree, what else is there? Like Psalm 73:25-26 Whom have I in heaven but You? And besides You, I desire nothing on earth. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

4. We see the devotion of Jesus in the only incident we have from His childhood, vv. 41-52.

A. The point of this episode is not that Jesus wandered off, or that His parents assumed something that wasn’t true, that He was somewhere in their traveling group. Somehow the wires got crossed. Jesus was on His own in Jerusalem, the parents do not know where. Shock! They go back to find Him.

B. They rack their brains for three days trying to find Him.

1. What would He be interested in that distracted Him so He missed leaving with us? What would interest a 12-year old? They are looking in every attraction, every marketplace, every notable interesting place. Is He kidnapped? Is He helpless?

2. They have been looking and exhausting themselves. Finally they think, “What about the temple?” “Well, it’s the last place we have to look. What do we have to lose. Let’s go see.”

C. And there He is, not only in the temple, but in the midst of a group of teachers.

1. These men are teachers of the law of God. Their job and their life is to learn the law so they can teach God’s people. When you bring the people understanding they can apply it to their lives and live with God. They give their whole lives for this understanding.

2. Here is a 12-year old boy listening to them and asking them questions to stimulate their thinking. They might think, well, this is cute. But they quickly realise this boy has depth and knowledge and understanding. He’s not educated in their schools, that they can see. He doesn’t quote Rabbi so-and-so for his answers, He goes right to the text itself and says, how do you read that? They know that you do not arrive at where He is by accident. You give your whole life to know God and His ways. What a tremendous heart to know and serve God. Who is this boy? He is a teacher, like them!

D. Mary and Joseph interrupt this. Their reunion with Jesus is not the usual parent-catches-up-to-missing-child meeting.

1. Mary is Standard Parent: “Why did you do this to us? We’ve been anxiously looking for you everywhere!”

2. Jesus is not Standard Child who is making excuses when he knows he’s wrong. He wonders at his parents. He says, “Why did you take three days to find Me? Didn’t you know I had to be in My Father’s house?” As if to say, “Have I been with you twelve years and you still don’t know Me?” There is only one place in Jerusalem that has any attraction for Him at all: His Father’s house. Zeal for His Father’s house will consume Him.

E. Jesus continues in subjection to His parents even though they don’t understand. Life is not about getting everyone to understand you. You are the bondservant of the Lord, He is God. It’s enough that the Father knows who He is and that He knows the Father. That is the first and essential relationship. That is humility.

5. So what?

A. Jesus will fully complete our salvation because He is completely devoted to His Father. HIs food is to the will of Him who sent Him and to finish His work. That’s not in doubt.

B. We’re in doubt sometimes. We wonder if we’re going to make it to heaven because we’re not always devoted to following Jesus. The main problem is that we run out of heart. It’s not that we can’t obey Jesus. We just don’t want to.

C. Nobody has to know this, because we can still be outwardly devoted and do things like go to church and tithe, and we are doing a lot for God in comparison to many people.

D. Jesus is still revealing the thoughts of our hearts, to us, so we get to see what we’re made of, what we’re really like.

E. He is set for the rise and fall of many in Israel and in the world and us. The difference between rise and fall is to say “No” to Jesus in our hearts. You draw the line at what you will obey and what you won’t obey. You don’t want to forgive that person. You are scared to trust Jesus. You are scared to let Him have full control. “What will He do to me? I’m going to lose my life. Maybe when I’m old and can’t do anything else, sure, but not when I’m young and have so much life yet to live.”

F. Look at Simeon and Anna, two old people who are bondslaves of God. Did they lose out? The slave of God gets intimacy with God. That’s the major advantage. God speaks to you, He tells you things, He makes you promises and He keeps them. You won’t fear death, because it’s the door to eternal life, not to death.

G. Here’s Jesus as a twelve year-old boy, and He is completely devoted to His Father from the heart. Did He lose out? Actually, yes. He lost out. Obedience to God cost Him everything.

1. It’s already cost Him to leave His position as God Almighty to be born as a human being. He knows obeying the Father is going to cost Him His life. Even as a young boy He knows what life is about: serving the Father as a bondslave right to the death. What about Him?

2. He is going to rise from the dead with all glory and honor and power and authority. He is not going to lose, He is going to gain.

H. Do not be afraid to receive Jesus as your Lord and Saviour. And do not be afraid to lose your life for Him. Obey Him to the death and you will receive the crown of life which He promised to those who love Him with all their heart, mind, soul, and strength.

Let’s pray.