1. August 4, 2013 Today’s Passage: Luke 2:21-35 (Please read if you have not done so)

3. “On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise the child, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he was conceived.” (Luke 2:21)

4. “When the time came for the purification rites…Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem…” (Luke 2:22)

5. “When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth.” (Luke 2:39) “He sent them to Bethlehem and said, ‘Go and search carefully for the child’…They went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was...On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him…” (Matthew 2:8-11)

6. The Lord said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites: ‘A woman who becomes pregnant and gives birth to a son will be ceremonially unclean for seven days, just as she is unclean during her monthly period. On the eighth day the boy is to be circumcised. Then the woman must wait thirty-three days to be purified from her bleeding. She must not touch anything sacred or go to the sanctuary until the days of her purification are over.’

7. ‘When the days of her purification…are over, she is to bring to the priest…a year-old lamb for a burnt offering and a young pigeon or a dove for a sin offering. He shall offer them before the Lord to make atonement for her, and then she will be ceremonially clean…But if she cannot afford a lamb, she is to bring two doves or two young pigeons, one for a burnt offering and the other for a sin offering. In this way…she will be clean.’” (Leviticus 12:1-8)

8. “When the time came for the purification rites required by the Law of Moses, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the Law of the Lord), ‘Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: ‘a pair of doves or two young pigeons.’” (Luke 2:22-23)

9. “When the time came for the purification rites required by the Law of Moses, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the Law of the Lord), ‘Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: ‘a pair of doves or two young pigeons.’” (Luke 2:22-23) 1) To explain to Gentiles why they did such a thing. 2) To emphasize the righteousness of Mary and Joseph.

10. “…and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: ‘a pair of doves or two young pigeons.’” (Luke 2:24) “But if she cannot afford a lamb…” (Leviticus 12:8a) “He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. ‘Truly I tell you…this poor widow has put in more than all the others.’” (Luke 21:2-3)

11. “But we have the mind of Christ.” (I Corinthians 2:16b) “…and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.” (Colossians 3:10) “All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I had been eager to do all along.” (Galatians 2:10) “But now as for what is inside you - be generous to the poor, and everything will be clean for you.” (Luke 11:41)

12. “Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts.” (Luke 2:25-27a)

13. 1) Named after second son of Joseph; likely of that tribe. 2) Righteous and devout. 3) Waiting for the consolation of Israel. 4) Holy Spirit was “upon” him. 5) Given Divine revelation. 6) Prophet (moved by the Spirit to speak). π αρ ά κλησις (parakeesis) – “consolation” ▪ consolation, comfort, solace. ▪ that which affords comfort or refreshment ▪ of the Messianic salvation (Messiah would be consoler or comforter)

14. “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all nations: a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel.” (Luke 2:29-32) Nunc dimittis (Now dismiss) “Song of Simeon” or “Canticle of Simeon”

15. “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised… (Luke 2:29-32)

16. “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss your servant in peace. (Luke 2:29-32)

17. “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation… (Luke 2:29-32)

18. “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all nations: a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel.” (Luke 2:29-32) “I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.” (Isaiah 49:6)

19. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16) “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation.” (Revelation 5:9) “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” (II Peter 3:9)

20. “…a light for revelation…” (Luke 2:32a) “In the past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future he will honor Galilee of the nations, by the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan - The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.” (Isaiah 9:1b-2)

21. “…a light for revelation…” (Luke 2:32a) “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not understood it.” [Jesus] said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” Then Jesus told them, “You are going to have the light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you. Whoever walks in the dark does not know where they are going.” (John 1:5; 8:12; 12:35)

22. “and the glory of the Lord settled on Mount Sinai…To the Israelites the glory of the Lord looked like a consuming fire on top of the mountain.” “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the Lord rises upon you and his glory appears over you.” “Now the glory of the God of Israel went up from above the cherubim, where it had been, and moved to the threshold of the temple.” (Exodus 24:16-17; Isaiah 60:1-2; Ezekiel 9:3a)

23. “The child’s father and mother marveled at what was said about him.” (Luke 2:33)

24. “Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: ‘This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.’” (Luke 2:34-35)

25. “For in Scripture it says: ‘See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.’ Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,’ and, ‘A stone that causes people to stumble and a rock that makes them fall.’ They stumble because they disobey the message - which is also what they were destined for.” (I Peter 2:6-8) “This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed.” (John 3:19-20) 1) “…cause the falling and rising of many in Israel…” 2) “… and to be a sign that will be spoken against…” 3) “…so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed." 4) “And a sword will pierce your own soul too.” “He will be a holy place; for both Israel and Judah he will be a stone that causes people to stumble and a rock that makes them fall. And for the people of Jerusalem he will be a trap and a snare.” (Isaiah 8:14) “Wanting to release Jesus, Pilate appealed to them again. But they kept shouting, ‘Crucify him! Crucify him!’” (Luke 23:20-21)

26. “‘Woman, why do you involve me?’ Jesus replied.” (John 2:4a) “Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother…When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, ‘Woman, here is your son,’ and to the disciple, ‘Here is your mother.’” (John 19:25-27a) “[Jesus] replied, ‘My mother and brothers are those who hear God’s word and put it into practice.’” (Luke 8:21)

27. “Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts.” (Luke 2:27a)

28. “The duty of the Levites was to help Aaron’s descendants in the service of the temple of the Lord: to be in charge of the courtyards, the side rooms, the purification of all sacred things and the performance of other duties at the house of God.” (I Chronicles 23:28) “Then Solomon said, ‘The Lord has said that he would dwell in a dark cloud; I have indeed built a magnificent temple for you, a place for you to dwell forever.’” (I Kings 8:12-13) 1) It was a place between heaven and earth. 2) It was the place of God’s presence. 3) It was where God’s people came to meet with him. 4) It was the place where sin was atoned for. 5) It was the center of life and faith and worship. “When you come to appear before me, who has asked this of you, this trampling of my courts?” (Isaiah 1:12) “May your eyes be open toward this temple night and day, this place of which you said, ‘My Name shall be there,’ so that you will hear the prayer your servant prays toward this place.” (I Kings 8:29) “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.” (Luke 18:10)

29. “Some of his disciples were remarking about how the temple was adorned with beautiful stones and with gifts dedicated to God. But Jesus said, ‘As for what you see here, the time will come when not one stone will be left on another; every one of them will be thrown down.’” (Luke 21:5-6)

30. “One of the soldiers…snatched a blazing piece of wood and, climbing on another soldier's back, hurled the flaming brand through a low golden window that gave access to the rooms that surrounded the sanctuary. As the flames shot up, the Jews let out a shout of dismay that matched the tragedy…for the sacred structure that they had constantly guarded with such devotion was vanishing before their very eyes…Most of the slain were peaceful, weak and unarmed, butchered where they were caught. The corpses mounted; a stream of blood flowed down the Temple steps…

31. “…Caesar entered the building with his generals and looked at the holy place of the sanctuary and all its furnishings, which exceeded by far the accounts current in foreign lands and fully justified their splendid repute in our own…While the Temple was ablaze, the attackers plundered it, and countless people caught by them were slaughtered. There was no pity for age; children and old men, laymen and priests, alike were butchered; every class was pursued and crushed in the grip of war, whether they cried out for mercy or offered resistance.

32. “Through the roar of the flames streaming far and wide, the groans of the falling victims were heard…There were the war cries of the Roman legions as they swept onwards en masse…The Temple Mount, everywhere enveloped in flames, seemed to be boiling over from its base; yet the blood seemed more abundant than the flames and the numbers of the slain greater than those of the slayers. The soldiers climbed over heaps of bodies as they chased the fugitives.” ---Josephus, Wars of the Jews (Book VI, Chapter V, Section 4)

35. 1) It was a place between heaven and earth. 2) It was the place of God’s presence. 3) It was where God’s people came to meet with him. 4) It was the place where sin was atoned for. 5) It was the center of life and faith and worship. 6) It had become an idol. “Do not trust in deceptive words and say, ‘This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord!’” (Jeremiah 7:4)

36. “The Spirit lifted me up between earth and heaven and in visions of God he took me to Jerusalem, to the entrance of the north gate of the inner court, where the idol that provokes to jealousy stood…I went in and looked, and I saw portrayed all over the walls all kinds of crawling things and unclean animals and all the idols of Israel…He said to me, “Have you seen this, son of man? Is it a trivial matter for the people of Judah to do the detestable things they are doing here?...Therefore I will deal with them in anger; I will not look on them with pity or spare them.” (Ezekiel 8:3, 10, 17-18) “Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst?” (I Corinthians 3:16) “They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator…” (Romans 1:25a)

37. “And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.” (Matthew 5:30) “Then he said to them all: ‘Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.’” (Luke 9:23) “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other.” (Matthew 6:24a)

38. “Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness.” (Romans 6:13) “Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry.” (I Corinthians 10:14) “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.” (Galatians 2:20a)

39. “I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.” (Revelation 21:22)