“He is a light to reveal God to the nations, and He is the glory of your people Israel!”
- Luke 2:32
Merry Christmas!!!
Before I jump into this, go worship our savior being born:
There are so many amazing passages perfect to use for a Christmas day devotional! I could go with my favorite story with the shepherds, or the birth of Jesus himself, or the coming of the wise men. This time around though I wanted to highlight when they present Jesus at the Temple in Jerusalem, as is a Jewish custom.
While they are there in Jerusalem, they encounter a couple of prophets who immediately recognize that infant Jesus is the Messiah. One of those prophets is Simeon, who God promised He would not die until he encountered the Messiah. Upon meeting the child, Simeon gets down on his knees and arms and praises God, saying;
“Sovereign Lord, now let your servant die in peace, as you promised.
I have seen your salvation, which you have prepared for all people.
He is the light to reveal God to the nations, and He is the glory of your people Israel!”
- Luke 2:29-32
This story is beautiful for many reasons.
God’s fulfills His Promises:
Both in the grand picture of things and the specific, God fulfills His promises. In the specific’s of things, God fulfilled His promise to Simeon. We are not told how long Simeon has awaited. We don’t know his age when the promise was made or fulfilled. Let’s just assume though, given how he says he can die in peace, that he is really old. Maybe in his 70’s or 80’s which is pretty high in those days. Let’s also assume Simeon was given this prophecy when he became a prophet of God, let’s say his 20’s or 30’s. Simeon, at most has waited and hoped for 50 years for the birth of the savior and His arrival in Jerusalem.
In the grand picture of things, God has fulfilled His promise of a Messiah. The prophets who helped rebuild Jerusalem around 500 years earlier knew of Jesus. Others who saw the fall 700 years earlier knew of Jesus. King David knew of Jesus. Moses and Joshua knew a Messiah would come. Abraham was promised as well. It all traces back to Adam and Eve and the promise that a man would crush under his heel a serpent. Jesus’ birth, life, death, and resurrection fulfill all this.
Light of the World:
This text also reveals that Jesus is the Light of the World. It doesn’t take much to see the evil and darkness that exist in this world. It's all around us. Yet, every fragile person also harnesses the possibility to receive and live out of the light of Christ.
Jesus’ purpose was to reveal the true heart of God to the world. Israelites and others have twisted it and became pale in comparison. Jesus did perfectly what we never could. Only He could do what every Israelite king, Israelite priest, Israelite ruler ever could. He is perfectly God in human flesh was the only man who could live perfectly for God, making a way for every one of us to do so as well through Him.
This drives every single one of us out to the world. That everyone around us may come to know Christ as we do. That His light may shine so perfectly there isn’t even a shadow in this world. A world where grace is as abundant as the air we breathe and love like endless flowing streams. It’s a world where peace is ringing like church bells and joy the horns we blow.
Final Blessing:
So as to not take any more of your Christmas, praise is to the Lord, Jesus our Messiah. Humbly He came, born in a feeding trough in a cave. Yet praise abounds for Him from shepherds, wise foreigners, and prophets. He is the hope of the world, a life lived for our sakes, and the to be, the Light of the World.
Now may the Lord of Life and Redemption be with you in every step, every breathe, and every heartbeat of your journey!
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