The Savior is Prepared

He is risen. He is risen indeed. Well done. Good job. My calendar is not wrong. We are reminded every week as we gather that we celebrate the Completed work of God that he accomplished through sending Jesus into the world from the womb To the manger to the cross and now to glory. It's why we gather every week the decorations And lights may be gone. You can see we haven't quite let go of the songs yet But we gather every week to remember and to anticipate what God has done and is doing through Jesus And I don't know about you, but I've just been so freshly kind of amazed and challenged and encouraged by the story as we've walked through, as we've taken some time away from our normal series to kind of spend time in this Advent narrative in the first couple chapters of Luke. It's just amazing to see how God is at work in this miraculous and yet very subtle way. So you have this whole nation, at least part of a nation, waiting, anticipating the rescuer, someone to come and save them. And then Luke just kind of zooms in on particular individuals who have a unique role to play as the plan of God is being advanced. And so you have Zechariah and Elizabeth, this old and faithful couple, but they're barren. And an angel comes to Zechariah and says, you're gonna have a son. And Zechariah doesn't believe him. He says, how is this going to happen? And he is put on silence until the baby John is born. And then he responds in faith by praising God for keeping his promise. We have Mary, the virgin, who is favored by God, who responds in faith when the angel tells her she will have a son miraculously by the Holy Spirit. We have the baby John being filled with the Holy Spirit and when Mary speaks to Elizabeth leaping in the womb at the sound of the Savior's mother. And then we have the shepherds we thought about last week. Those maybe least likely to hear, at least least likely to be first to hear the news that a Savior has been born and yet they are the first witnesses of this newborn King. We've seen the sovereignty of God on display, initiating a worldwide census to bring this couple to where they ought to be to fulfill the prophecy that the child would be born in Bethlehem. We've seen God opening the womb of an older and barren couple. We've seen God miraculously bringing about a virgin birth. And the key theme throughout all of it has been that God is faithful to keep his promises. Sometimes it takes hundreds of years, but when God says it, his word is as good as done. God doesn't forget. He doesn't run out of time. He doesn't get in over his head and overcommit and realize he can't fulfill it. No, he brings every purpose of his to pass. We've seen kind of interestingly how the narratives revolve around these particular songs. The Magnificat, the Song of Mary, the Song of Zechariah, the Song of the Angels. And they all are highlighting the wisdom and the power of God in what he's doing. He doesn't work according to human standards or expectations. God is faithful and he brings his promises to fulfillment. And so now, as we've heard last week, the Savior is born. So much has been said about this child. We are in great anticipation, wondering, now what? What's going to happen next? What's this young hero going to be like? And that's what we'll be considering in Luke 2, 21 to 52 this morning. Again, that's page 857 of your Pew Bibles. If you don't have a Bible, we would love for you to take that as a gift to you. And what I hope for us to see this morning is that Jesus is the perfect Savior on the basis of His obedience, His glory, and his division. Jesus is the perfect savior on the basis of his obedience, his glory, and his division. As you heard, the passage breaks down into kind of two main scenes. In the first one, the baby Jesus is being presented at the temple according to the law. And with the previous, just like the previous stories that we've considered, the focus of these stories is really on this announcement or song by a particular individual. And then in the second scene, 12 years later, Jesus goes to the temple with his family. Now in this first scene, in 21 to 40, we see Jesus being circumcised and named. We see him being presented at the temple. We see him being greeted by Simeon, who breaks out into the song, and then blessing and warning his parents, and then being announced by the prophetess Anna, and then he returns home and grows up. And the interesting thing about that first section is that Jesus is basically passive, right? He's just a baby, a little over a month old. But this scene is essential for Luke to build the case about who Jesus is. And so again, we'll consider as we look at this first scene, his obedience, his glory, and his division. So let's look first at Jesus's obedience. Verses 21 to 24. And at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb. And when the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord. As it is written in the law of the Lord, every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the law of the Lord, a pair of turtle doves or two young pigeons. Now in this section, we hear an emphasis on the law, the law of Moses, the law of the Lord. Luke wants us to understand that Jesus' parents are being faithful to do exactly what God has commanded for his people. And then if you'll skip down to verse 39, we see the story is actually bookended with this, a similar statement. And when they had performed everything according to the law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee to their own town of Nazareth. So why is that important? Well, first of all, it's because God said it, right? And that's a good reason. God had given the law to Israel to distinguish them as his people, and Israel was supposed to be a light to the nations. People were supposed to look at the nation of Israel and see them in their worship, in their relationships, in their prosperity, and say, wow, what an amazing God you serve. And we know that didn't happen. And so Jesus is here to be what Israel was supposed to be. As he says in Matthew, he's not abolishing the law, but fulfilling it, completing it, bringing it to its intended purpose. That's why Jesus has come. And so in order for Jesus to be who he was, he had to be circumcised just like every other Israelite male. That was the sign that God had given to the nation of Israel to distinguish them as his people, the people of Yahweh, the people of their God. And as was customary, this is also when he was named. And so Mary and Joseph were just following the instructions that they were given to name him Jesus or Joshua, which means Yahweh saves. And Keith reminded us, we heard that a couple of weeks ago, that this isn't just kind of a memorial name, but this is significant because Jesus is the one through whom God is actually going to accomplish his salvation. And then in 22 to 24, So that was when Jesus was circumcised. Now, 32 days later, Jesus is now 40 years old. I mean, 40 days old. Mary and Joseph are taking him to the temple to present him before the Lord. And there's a couple of things going on with this presentation. So we heard part of that read earlier in the service. According to the law, after giving birth, women were ritually unclean. They had to wait a prescribed amount of time and then come and offer a sacrifice for themselves to be clean and to then resume kind of normal life in the community. So that was one part. That's not what Luke is emphasizing. The other part is what we read from Exodus. Every male that opened the womb was to be redeemed. And this was a law given to Israel to remind them of their heritage and their origin. They were slaves in Egypt when God saved them powerfully. He sent plagues upon Egypt to show his sovereignty over the Egyptian gods. And the last plague was the destroyer who killed every firstborn son in Egypt. of humans and livestock. And God provided a way for Israel warning them and allowing them to slaughter a lamb in place of their sons. And they were to spread the blood across the doorposts so that the angel would pass over them while it went through Egypt. And so this was a reminder That Israel wasn't inherently better than the Egyptians, right? They weren't more valuable, they weren't more righteous than any other nation. They were just as guilty and yet God showed His glory in mercy to Israel by allowing them to have a substitute for their sins. And so it was given to be a permanent custom for Israel to remember God's mercy. Every year they had this Passover celebration, this feast, to remember that day that the Lord passed over. And then every firstborn, each time a child was born, a son was born, that firstborn had to be redeemed. And we saw that even livestock. The firstborn was either sacrificed to the Lord or redeemed by a sacrifice of another animal. And so Jesus comes to be redeemed not because he was a sinner, but because Mary and Joseph were sinners. God had a rightful claim on each successive generation because of the previous generation's sin. And yet in mercy, he allowed for a substitute. So Jesus is here, a baby, being presented in the temple to be redeemed, to have a lamb sacrificed in his place. So let's just stop and think about what's going on here for a second. This practice had been going on for hundreds of years, thousands and thousands of lambs had been sacrificed, thousands of baby boys had been redeemed, and yet here we see the one who would give his life to end all sacrifices, whose death would be the redemption from slavery to sin, who would be the once for all way that opens the way to God for all, once for all. We would think it's cute if we saw a baby picture of an accountant holding a calculator or an athlete with a ball or a carpenter with a hammer or something like that. Think about how amazing this scene is. You have baby Jesus being presented in the temple as the Lamb of God who would take away the sin of the world. It's an amazing picture that God has given us here of who Jesus is and what he would do. But let's notice something else too. The sacrifice that they made according to the law, Luke says, was a pair of turtle doves or two small pigeons. And what's fascinating about that is that's not all that the law says. The law commands that a flock animal, either a sheep or a goat, is what the sacrifice is. But the law allows for the birds a smaller sacrifice in the event that the couple is poor and can't afford the flock animal. So what do we learn from that? Well, I think it's just another way that Jesus is not the kind of king that we're used to. He wasn't born into a wealthy family. Mary and Joseph were poor enough that they couldn't afford that standard sacrifice. And so Jesus came into the world, not as an elite. He came to a below average existence. And so if you're here this morning and you're feeling poor, feeling like you don't compare well to the people around you, there's good news for you this morning. Jesus is your king. He didn't come for those who are healthy and wealthy and strong. No, he came for the sick and the poor and the weak. He didn't come for those who are self-sufficient, but for those who are desperately aware of their dependence upon God. And Paul puts it this way in 2 Corinthians 8, 9. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich. So friends, don't spend your life this morning thinking about Christmas or thinking about New Year's. Don't spend your life seeking after the success that the world has to offer. Spend your life in faithful service to Jesus, trusting that his reward on the last day is infinitely greater than anything else this world could offer. Now before we move on from this section, I just want to take a minute to highlight the mercy of God in this section. So first we see mercy in the law. The law is good. It reveals God's holiness. It reveals his goodness. It tells us what's expected of us, right? It's really helpful to know what's expected of you. But second, we see it in the sacrificial system. God would have been perfectly just to have a one strike and you're out policy, right? One sin, one violation, and then death and condemnation forever. That would have been just. But instead, God made provision for him to continue with a sinful and rebellious people by passing over their sins temporarily. Every sacrifice that was offered in Israel pointed to the need of something greater. Third, we see it in this allowance for poverty. I think this is just amazing that God doesn't just say, something has to die, a lamb has to die, figure it out yourself. No, he says, if you can't afford a sheep, then sacrifice two turtle doves. And in fact, if you can't afford two turtle doves, then sacrifice two quarts of flour. Though his standard, God's standard is perfect holiness. And yet here he holds out the possibility that the poorest of the poor can remain in good standing with him. God doesn't need their stuff, but God wants them to learn to value their relationship with him. And then finally, we see it in Jesus. We see God's mercy so clearly in Jesus. As I said a moment ago, Jesus is here to be the perfect sacrifice that actually removes sin. God's Son came to rescue us because we were helpless. We couldn't rescue ourselves. And so Jesus's rescue involves a life of perfect obedience from circumcision on so that he could offer his life as an appropriate sacrifice for every sin that has ever been or will ever be forgiven by God. Second, let's look at Jesus's glory. So Jesus is the perfect savior because of his glory. Look back to verse 25. Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. And this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ. And he came in the Spirit to the temple. So here we meet a new character, this man Simeon. We don't know a lot about him, but what Luke tells us is that he is righteous, devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. It's a pretty good bio. He's righteous like Zechariah and Elizabeth. He's faithful to the law. He's devout. He's sincere in his obedience to God, and he's waiting for the consolation of Israel. He's taken hold of God's promises that he's going to redeem, and he's looking forward to their fulfillment. And I think the most important thing about him is that the Holy Spirit was upon him. This makes him, for Luke, an authoritative witness. We can trust what he says. And the Spirit's presence in Simeon has a very specific effect. The Spirit tells him he will see the Lord's Christ, the promised King, before he dies. And so Luke is helping us understand something important about what the Holy Spirit does for God's people. The Holy Spirit points people to Jesus. When we saw this a couple weeks ago with John, the infant in the womb of Elizabeth, the Spirit led John to leap, to rejoice at the very presence of baby Jesus in Mary's womb, right? And the Spirit here is leading Simeon to the temple where Mary and Joseph are on the day that they came so that they can see Jesus, so that he could see Jesus. That's what the Holy Spirit does. It's like, I don't know if you've ever looked into water and then put on polarized glasses and looked into the same water, right? You can look into water and see nothing but kind of the reflection, but then if you put on polarized glasses, all of a sudden you can see all the fish underneath the surface. The glasses don't make the fish there, but they let you see the fish that are there. They change your perspective. And that's exactly what the Holy Spirit does. He allows you to see, he gives illumination to see Jesus when you otherwise couldn't see him. So let's look at their interaction, verse 28. He took him up in his arms and blessed God and said, Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word. For my eyes have seen your salvation, that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people, Israel. I want us just to notice the wonder of what's happening here. Simeon took Jesus up in his arms. So Simeon is holding God. Isn't that amazing? Mary was holding God. God the son is a 40 day old baby. This is how real and how human and how poor he's become. This is the one who made all things and yet now he is vulnerable and helpless. He's an infant who can be grabbed and passed around. It's amazing. And so Simeon is holding baby Jesus and he breaks out into this prayer and song of praise. And it's basically this, God, you have kept your promise. You told me that I would get to see your salvation and now here it is. Now I can die complete and filled. This was everything I could have wanted. That's what his song is. Now again, baby Jesus is not healing people in the temple. He's not multiplying formula and puffs. I don't think there's any reason to think he's any different than any baby, at least outwardly, any baby who's already, who has ever been presented in the temple. But because the Holy Spirit has revealed his identity to Simeon, he recognizes him as God's promised Savior. So Simeon praises God because he is faithful to keep his promises. He knows that if God is saying this is the Savior, then the saving is gonna get done. Nothing is going to stop God. If he were saying this today, he might drop the mic, right? There's nothing else to say or do other than worship God for accomplishing what he said he would accomplish. To see Jesus, even baby Jesus, was to see God's salvation because God will keep his promise. Now notice too that Simeon seems to have some sense of the kind of salvation that Jesus is bringing. He's not just here to free Israel from the tyranny of Rome. Instead he is a light of revelation to the Gentiles. That is everyone who's not Jewish. He's the Jewish king who's going to shine and illuminate in a way that invites all people to see and celebrate the glory of the one true and living God. And I think this is actually what's picked up in the next scene. If we can kind of bracket 33 to 35 for a minute, we'll come back to that. And I want us to look at the other interaction he has here in the temple. There was a prophetess, Anna, verse 36. And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phineul, the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived with her husband seven years from when she was a virgin, and then as a widow until she was 84. She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day. And coming up that very hour, she began to give thanks to God and speak of Him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem." So with Anna, we actually have some background and some personal history. She's a prophetess. Again, she's an authoritative witness. She's someone who speaks on God's behalf that we can trust. And she's a godly woman. She's an older woman. She was married for seven brief years and then a widow for decades. I think she must have been a well-known fixture in the temple. She's worshiping and fasting and praying there daily. And at the same time that Simeon is making this declaration of Jesus and worshiping and praising God for him, she begins to thank God and declare Jesus to everyone who's around her, to those waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem. Again, that's those who understand the condition of bondage and their need to be delivered, set free. They know that God has promised to save them and they've been waiting a long time and now at last the promised savior has been born, he's here. And what I think is interesting about the way that Luke lays out these two scenes is that Simeon's reaction is upward and inward. We'll look at that in just a second. But Anna's is upward and outward. She's announcing Jesus to all those who are around her. And if we can think about the temple structure for a second, we can remember who her audience was, right? So the temple, the main actual temple building is at the center, and only the priests are allowed to go in there, right? And then there's a court around that, and only Israelite males are allowed to go in there. And then there's another court around that, and only Israelite women can come that far. And then finally on the outside, there's a court for the Gentiles that everyone can come into. And so it feels like Luke is laying out the story like Anna is sort of seeing and witnessing Simeon's blessing. And then she's going out to the other women and the Gentiles around her to let them know what's happening. And so these encounters are to leave them and us with all eyes on Jesus, right? Though he is just a baby, he is the promised savior. He's the rescuer. He is the hero. So again, in some ways, even though the story is just beginning, it's already over. We already know the outcome. God has spoken. God has acted. God will bring about his purposes. And this is not just good news for ethnic Israel, but all those who see their helplessness and look to the one true God for salvation. He is the savior for all, both Jews and Gentiles. And so there's this collective sigh of relief that the time of waiting is over, that things will get worked out, even if they don't quite know how. Jerusalem will be redeemed. And so you can imagine the feeling of relief as if you kind of went on a hike with a group of people and somehow you got separated and you're lost. National forest lost, nowhere, no idea where to go. And the feeling sinks in that like you're out of resources. You don't know which way to move, you're cold, you're hungry, and you're sitting there and you know that unless somebody else comes to get you, you're done for, right? And so there's despair and hopelessness set in, and then all of a sudden you hear voices. You hear familiar sounds of people coming toward you, and so you make contact. And even though you're not home yet, you're not fed yet, you may still be wet and cold and all those things, you know that you're okay. You know you're going to get home. You know you're going to make it. That's a bit like what's happening with these faithful saints in Jerusalem that day. They don't know exactly how this is gonna happen, but they know that the Savior is here. They know they're going to be saved. I wonder this morning, do you know that feeling? Do you know that? Do you have a deep confidence that because you know Jesus and he knows you that everything's gonna work out? And I don't mean that the bills are going to get paid or you're going to patch things up relationally. I mean the sense that it is well with your soul. That Jesus stood condemned in your place and sealed your pardon with his blood. That your biggest problem was God and that Christ has reconciled you to him so that he has become your father. That if your biggest issue has already been dealt with, that everything else in this life is gonna work out. That if God is for us, who can be against us? That the one who didn't spare his own son but gave him up for us all will also with him graciously give us all things. That's the kind of peace that Jesus offers this morning. He doesn't just come to get us out of jams and make our lives a little bit easier and more comfortable. He comes to rescue us from ourselves, from our sin, from the wrath of God. If you do know that feeling this morning, I wonder if you're helping other people to know it. What is it that occupies your time and attention? This, friends, is the greatest news that anyone could hear or know. And so why would we spend our lives pursuing lesser things? Why would we be content to watch others live comfortable and happy lives now as they proceed into eternity of ruin and misery apart from God? Why would we watch other Christians languish in uselessness rather than exhorting each other so that we hear, well done, good and faithful servant on the last day? That's what the church is all about. It's a group of people who come together committed to exhorting one another to that end. I think in this section, Luke gives us really good examples to aspire to. Simeon was just a man, no pedigree, no qualifications, just a godly, faithful saint. And yet his whole life was fulfilled the moment that he saw baby Jesus. All right, that was it. God, you promised I would see it. Now I've seen it. Now I'm good. Now maybe Simeon was old like Anna and he was on the verge of death. But if not, would you be surprised to find out that Simeon spent the rest of his life on the golf course or on the lake? I would. I think Luke is telling us not just that Jesus was a thing on Simeon's bucket list, but that he was the list, right? Jesus was his list. And I assume that Simeon spent the rest of his days, however few they may have been, telling people about this day when he saw God's salvation. Simeon was known for being righteous and devout, for waiting for the consolation of Israel. And I wonder this morning, what is it that you're known for? Is it your character? Is it your faith in Jesus and your hope in his return? If someone who knows you well were writing your obituary today, what are the four things they would say about you? Or think about Anna. I think we can't help but in some ways feel bad for Anna, right? This is not a woman who probably life didn't go the way she expected. She got married, lived seven years with her husband, and then now decades as a widow. And yet she persevered in faithfulness. And as a result, she was able to see and tell of Jesus firsthand. She was there in the temple that day to see God's salvation. Even before John the Baptist was the one preparing the way of the Lord, Anna, the prophetess, was declaring the good news that the Savior was here. That was what she got to participate in. So what about you? Are you content to be used for Jesus? in whatever ways he sees fit? Are you deeply committed to Jesus's cause? Does your life demonstrate that Jesus is your sole priority, or does he just kind of fit conveniently among a list of other things? It's a great privilege for us as Christians to get to know people like Simeon and Anna. I want to be a Simeon when I get old. I want to be worn by the fight of holiness, calloused to the allures of the world, but vibrant with a hope firmly in heaven, encouraging and challenging others to rely more heavily on Jesus. I want to look back on my life like the Apostle Paul and be able to say, I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race. I have kept the faith. And Jefferson Park, for those of you this morning who are old and faithful, we praise God for the example you have set and for the legacy you've left for us. Keep it up. For those of you who are older and less faithful, maybe convicted at the sound of these words this morning, friends, it's not too late. Remember that heaven rejoices when one sinner repents, confess to God, and resolve to go out with a bang, making much of Jesus. And for the rest of us, let's resolve to be Simeons and Annas, to remember that to live is Christ and to die is gain. He is gloriously worthy. Third, we see Jesus is the perfect savior because of his division. So now we'll go back up to this, the rest of the encounter with Simeon. Verse 33. And his father and his mother marveled at what was said about him. And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother, behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel and for a sign that is opposed. And a sword will pierce through your own soul also. so that the thoughts from many hearts may be revealed. So here, we're back to Simeon. He's there holding baby Jesus. He's praising God because he's fulfilled his promise to send a savior. And then he turns to Mary and Joseph. They're marveling, they're beaming their new parents. And Simeon's blessing them. This is all probably very normal. It's normally how we react with a baby born. We're excited. And then Simeon kind of looks in, seems to zero in right on Mary and says, Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed, and a sword will pierce through your own soul also, so that the thoughts from many hearts may be revealed. Maybe not what you're expecting to hear as a new parent, but Mary already knows something about the kind of Messiah her child is gonna be because she said in her own song, if we go back to chapter 1, 51 to 53, he has shown strength with his arm. He has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. He has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate. He has filled the hungry with good things and the rich he has sent away empty. So it's not surprising her that the Messiah is going to be a sort of lightning rod kind of figure, shaking things up. That he's going to expose the thoughts of proud hearts and reverse the world's values. Those who think they've arrived, who stand on their own strength, he's going to humble. But those who are needy and dependent, he will satisfy. That's the kind of king everyone wants, right? But then he says something else, verse 35, and a sword will pierce through your own soul also. Probably not what a first-time mother wants to hear. So what does that mean? This is the Savior. This is supposed to be the people's champion. So why is his sword piercing Mary's soul? Well, I think this means two things, at least. First, for Mary, I think it is a foretelling of the unique kind of pain she will face as the mother of the Savior. There's going to be confusion and difficulty as she misunderstands who Jesus is and exactly what it is that he's come to do. We'll see a glimpse of that in the next story. We see times during his ministry that his own family seems farthest away from understanding him. There's confusion on their part. And then Mary will face the terrible pain of outliving her son. Many of us have experienced that in miscarriage or tragedy, and we still carry soul-deep scars from losing a child. The Gospel of John tells us that Mary was one of the witnesses to Jesus' death on the cross. It's hard for us to fathom what it would be like to watch our child suffer so horrifically. So I think that's at least one sense in how Jesus' sword pierces Mary's soul. But I think there's something else there too. Because it's not just that Jesus wasn't the kind of Savior that the world expected. He's not the kind of Savior anyone expected, right? Just when we think we have Jesus figured out, He adds a twist, right? He welcomes the children and He eats with tax collectors and sinners. Talk to him about keeping the law and he tells you to sell all of your possessions. You talk to him about sexual purity and he tells you that the one without sin has to be the one to cast the first stone. You invite him to your house and he praises a prostitute. You ask him to define neighbor and he says it's the person that you hate the most. He comes to the temple and he's turning over tables. He says that to follow him you have to hate your father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters and even your own life. Every one of us who has had an encounter with Jesus is confronted with the reality that we don't measure up. If we really understand who Jesus is, then in some way, his sword has pierced our soul as well. He's convicted us of some sin, he's exposed some inner doubt of God, some sense of pride and self-sufficiency. It has to be that way, otherwise he wouldn't be here. If the world wasn't hopelessly lost, if each one of us were not deeply flawed and unable and dead, then Jesus wouldn't have needed to come into the world. But since he has come, he has come with his sword to pierce and expose so that those who believe in him can be healed. There's no other way. The surgeon can't fix you unless he cuts you. And so it is with Jesus. So let's talk honestly this morning. Some of you could be here because you like Jesus. You think he's interesting. You think he has some helpful things to say, but let me say this as clearly as I can. If Jesus has not pierced you and you don't know Jesus. It's easy to think of Jesus like our favorite author, right? To find something he said that we really like to put it in fancy writing on our walls, maybe, but that's not a relationship with Jesus. Jesus is real and living, so we can't reduce him to our favorite quote, right? He is holy, and we are not holy. In his mercy, he came to heal us of the soul disease of sin, to free us from the soul bondage of sin, and the way he does it is by his sword. So if you think you're okay with Jesus this morning, let me just encourage you to take up a gospel and read it this week. Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, it doesn't matter. And read it with just you and Jesus in mind. Don't have a family member or friend or co-worker, anybody else in view. Just you and Jesus. And let Jesus speak to you. And see where he cuts you. Because he will cut you. but don't let it stop there. Keep reading all the way through to the end. See that he cuts so that he can heal. See that he goes to the cross to be cut himself, to be pierced to the heart by God the Father, to pay the penalty for your sin and your rebellion against God. He gets cut off from God because that's what our sin deserves. But see that he doesn't stay dead. See that he rises again to offer healing and life to anyone who asks for it. That's the beauty and the wonder of the gospel. But you have to see this morning that this warrior king is not someone that you ask into your life to be your personal assistant. His cutting isn't something he does one time, but it's a lifelong process of pruning us like a vine dresser prunes a vine. He cuts away what is lifeless in order that we bear more fruit. And Jesus calls us to consistent repentance, to turn away from sin and to consistently depend upon him by faith. And so if you're a Christian this morning, I just ask you, where is Jesus cutting you? Where has he pierced and exposed so that you can repent and believe in him more faithfully and be more fruitful for his kingdom? That's what it means to be a Christian. Not that something happened 40 years ago, but daily, weekly, Jesus is speaking to me and actively working on me, molding me, cutting me, so that I become what he wants me to be. And if you're not a Christian this morning, I just ask you to consider the kind of claim that's being made about Jesus, right? This isn't someone that you just have warm feelings about. He's either crazy, or he's a liar, or he is exactly as Simeon says he is, the one on whom all history turns. And if that's really who it is, that's really who he is, and it is, it's worth orienting your life around him. Now the section ends, verse 40, with a summary of Jesus' childhood. It says, they returned to Nazareth, the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom, and the favor of God was upon him. And that's what's supposed to happen in childhood, right? Physical, intellectual, spiritual growth, human maturity, that's what Jesus is experiencing. And God's favor was on him. He is God's son, fulfilling God's mission. As the father says at his baptism, he is well pleased with him. And so we've seen here Jesus' perfection as a savior because of his obedience, because of his glory, because of his division. And I want us to turn now and look at this scene of the 12-year-old Jesus at the temple. So I think it's Luke's way of highlighting these same themes in a different light. So we think about hero stories, right? Often hero stories will look back on the life of the young hero to some defining moment that turned out to be kind of capture exactly who that person was, right? So a life of great strength, restraint of great strength only to save the sinking school bus from the river or something like that. There's a commercial. out now of a Marine Corps officer who's in elementary school defending a peer from a bully and then kind of dominating on the lacrosse field and then leading other troops in training and then finally like heroically leading on the battlefield. Or we think about a story of our particular sentiment in our country, George Washington chopping down the cherry tree, right? He can't tell a lie. And apparently it was that combo of honesty and edged weapon proficiency that made him perfectly suited to lead our nation. So I think that is sort of what Luke is giving us here in our text this morning. There's lots of buildup about who Jesus is gonna be, and you can almost feel this section, Luke's conversation with Mary. Luke, the investigative reporter, talking to Mary. What was Jesus like as a child? And maybe she told lots of stories, but this one so captured who he was that it was something Luke had to include. So let's look again at 41 to 52. Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the Passover. And when he was 12 years old, they went up according to custom. And when the feast was ended, they were returning. The boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents did not know it. But supposing him to be in the group, they went a day's journey. But then they began to search for him among their relatives and acquaintances. And when they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem, searching for him. After three days, they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard them were amazed at his understanding and his answers. And when his parents saw him, they were astonished. And his mother said to him, son, why have you treated us so? Behold, your father and I have been searching for you in great distress. And he said to them, why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my father's house? And they did not understand the saying that he spoke to them. And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them. And his mother treasured up all these things in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man. And so again, I think we see the same themes of division, glory, and obedience played out here. First, notice the division. The families travel to Jerusalem. They're headed home. Jesus stays behind. Now we know Jesus is perfect, right? So he didn't ignore them, they didn't say, Jesus, it's time to go, and he just was distracted and stayed there. No, apparently it was a big enough group that it was natural to kind of leave without accounting for him. But they lose him. Now what's going through your mind if you're Mary and you've lost the Savior, right? You had one job. But after three days, they find him in the temple. And notice Mary's response here. Son, why have you treated us so? Behold, your father and I have been searching for you in great distress. Why did you do this to us? They've taken it personally. Right, but Jesus, it had nothing to do with them. Jesus responds, why were you looking for me? Did you not know I must be in my father's house? They were going home, right, but for the Son of God, the temple is home. It's the closest place to home that he knows. It's the place where God meets with man. And so for 12-year-old Jesus, there was no more natural place for him to be than the temple. To take him to the temple, that's where he's gonna be. It's where he had to be. His parents didn't understand. They didn't get it, right? Now, I think it's easy for us, kind of this far removed, to have the story as Luke has laid it out and think, should have been so obvious, right? All that's been said about Jesus, of course, the holy place is where he belongs. But I think what this gives us is a little bit of insight into Jesus's humanity, right? For 12 years, this family had been together and Jesus is just their son. Right? He's unremarkable enough that even this explanation didn't immediately make things click for Mary and Joseph. They didn't immediately say, oh yeah, that's right, Savior, you belong here. Right? They're still, they don't understand. Side application, for those of us who are parents, I think this tells us how careful we've got to be in confronting our children, doesn't it? It's not uncommon that our relational failures with our children are on us, right? Mary and Joseph have a perfect son, and they're still getting it wrong. But I think the main thing that we're supposed to learn from this story is that we have to adjust to Jesus. He doesn't adjust to us. Right? You take the 12 year old son of God to the temple, he's going to recognize that he belongs there. You can't assume that he's naturally going to want to leave. And maybe this was the first prick of the sword into Mary's soul, driving home the reality that Jesus is on God's agenda and not hers. But if we're going to follow Jesus, we should expect again and again to be pierced, divided, exposed, corrected. It's His agenda, not ours. Second, we also see His glory. So Mary and Joseph are so blinded in their panic that they seem to miss what's actually going on in this scene, right? This is no place for a child. And yet Jesus is obviously no ordinary child. Here's their 12-year-old boy playing stump the chump with seminary professors. It's effectively what's happening here, right? These are the top religious scholars of the day and Jesus is amazing them in the crowds with his wisdom, his questions and answers. He's already showing that he is not from this world. He can't hide it. And so we have right before us this reminder that Jesus is God's son. He is wisdom incarnate. He's looking at his earthly parents and telling them that he's home. He's in his father's house. Mary and Joseph seem to have forgotten that this is God's son, the one who came into the world to bring about the salvation of God's people. And here we have just a glimpse of his glory and his wisdom displayed to the teachers of Israel. And so I think that the moral of that story is that God's glory can be quite subtle. There are times when it confronts us like the blinding light of the angels coming to the shepherds in the night. But sometimes it comes in the form of the wisdom of a 12-year-old boy. And if we're gonna see and celebrate what God is doing, we have to get out of ourselves. We have to remind ourselves over and over again that our story is grounded in God's grand story of redemption. So before we ask, how does this affect me? We have to stop and ask how we can play a part to advance God's name and his agenda, even in mundane moments of life. Before we can see and celebrate the glory of another, we have to give up the quest for glory ourselves. And finally, we see Jesus' obedience. Verse 51, and he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them. So here we have Mary and Joseph arguing with God. Jesus is obviously right, and yet he submits to them and goes back to Nazareth with them. And this is why Jesus is such a perfect savior. He understands us. He knows what it's like to be misunderstood and falsely accused, even by his parents. He knows what it means to obey them and go back to Nazareth, even when the temple is right where he ought to be. So if you're a child here this morning, I want to speak to you. So wake up, put your coloring things down, listen. Pastor Sam wants to speak to you. Children, I want you to see that your parents' failures do not excuse your disobedience. Nothing that your mom or dad or any other authority in your life does makes you respond rudely or disrespectfully to them. Okay, that's on you. And all of us are gonna have to stand before God one day to give an account for ourselves. And God's not interested in how terrible our parents are. but how we chose to respond to them, right? So as long as we are children, what God's word tells us that we are called to honor and obey our parents as an expression of our obedience to God. The way that we love God is by obeying mommy and daddy. That's what God expects. And children, I also want you to see that faith and following God and loving Jesus is not just for adults. In fact, if you're old enough to be here to listen to parts of a sermon, you're old enough to follow Jesus. Don't think it's something that you'll do when you're older, when you go to college, or when you have a family, when you're a mommy and daddy yourself. No, if you put it off, if you decide to wait to follow Jesus, it's just gonna be harder to follow Jesus when you're older. Following Jesus begins today. It begins right now with a decision to listen to his word and to do what he says. That's what Jesus models for us as a child, what it means to obey God. Now the passage ends in verse 52. Everybody, you can listen now, not just for children. And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man. Now, this is all that we know about Jesus for the next 18 years of his life. If we think back to the words of Gabriel, he will be great, and he will be called the son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end. So what gives? For the next 18 years there is relative silence. We have physical and spiritual growth, relative obscurity, submission to imperfect parents, learning to be a carpenter, likely burying his earthly father. And yet all of this is in preparation to do exactly what Jesus has come to do. Hebrews 5 tells us, although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him. Now we know this morning that the cross is the supreme example of Jesus' suffering, but I think this story reminds us that his whole life was suffering. Jesus' life was one of regularly encountering the devastating effects of sin on the world, but persevering through it by obeying God and accomplishing the rescue that he was sent to accomplish. And it's Jesus's perfect obedience that makes him the glorious Savior, the source of eternal salvation for those who would be pierced by his sword and follow him in obedient faith. Let's pray together. Our Father in heaven, we stand in awe this morning of Jesus. We praise you for your plan, for your wisdom to bring about salvation in such an amazing and yet subtle, hidden way. We thank you for the things that Luke has showed us this morning, that even as a baby and even as a 12-year-old, Jesus was glorious, he was obedient. And God, we confess the division that he brings about even in our own souls. He exposes our sin. and renders us helpless, God, and we thank you that he cuts, not just to cut, but to heal. And so, God, we pray that your word would have its intended effect to pierce, to expose, but to position us to turn and repent and be forgiven and healed and set free and changed by Jesus, our Savior and King. And we pray this in his name, amen.