Christmas Blog 3 - The Sovereign, the Servant and the Saviour

The final part of our Christmas meditation quite rightly draws our attention to the Saviour. The word that God has spoken to Simeon was that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Christ (Luke 2:26). This was am amazing promise, but God proves true to his word. On the day that Simeon goes into the Temple courts, responding to the impulse of the Spirit, there he sees a young couple with a new born child. They have come to fulfil the ritual requirements of the Law, and Simeon immediately recognises, perhaps to his surprise, that here is the Messiah.

This is a moment of high drama, not only for Simeon, but also for Mary and Joseph. For the first time they will hear confirmation through the lips of another human being that the child born to them really is the Messiah. Their meeting is a divine encounter, another example of the intricate planning of the Sovereign Lord. It reminds us that God can guide our steps in the normal affairs of our lives, and lead us to people in whom he is already at work.

As we imagine the scene in our mind, we can identify three descriptions of the Saviour.

Firstly, the Saviour as a child. By my calculations the baby Jesus is now about 40 days old. He was circumcised after 8 days, and the purification ritual took place after 33 days (see Leviticus 12:3-4). Here is the wonder of the incarnation – God really did appear in human flesh, and not as a grown up but as an ordinary child, subject to all the normal laws of growth and development. He is carried by his parents into the Temple, and held in Simeon’s warm embrace. He is circumcised according to custom, and presented to God as a firstborn male (Exodus 13:1-3). These things are done for him, and to him.

What condescension on the part of God, to be so limited and restricted, to appear in such weakness and vulnerability! Here indeed is a humble God, and here in the form of the Christ-child is a humble King! What an example to us of true servanthood, of placing the interests of others before our own.

Secondly, the Saviour as a light. Simeon is thrilled to have seen the Saviour for himself, but is aware that is coming is not simply for him personally, but for the whole world. This salvation has been prepared ‘in the sight of all people, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.’ (v31-32)

Isaiah the prophet had long ago spoken of the coming of the Messiah in terms of light. ‘The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death, a light has dawned.’ (Isaiah 9:2) No-one lived more deeply in such darkness than the Gentiles, those in the contemporary world who knew nothing of the God of Israel. Now, through the birth of the Saviour, a new day was dawning when they too would be able to know God personally, and people everywhere would have the opportunity to be saved. There is no need for any of us to remain in darkness. The way to God has been opened up for us as well. God wants to shine the light of life into our own personal darkness.

But this was a wonderful day for the Jewish people too, for the Saviour was born through them. Their history and experience as God’s chosen people was reaching its climax at this juncture in time, and they can rightly feel proud of their heritage. All that remains is for them to welcome the Saviour and to recognise their Messiah. This we know, sadly, was not so easy for them, either then or now. The Saviour came to his own people, but remarkably, they did not receive him.

Thirdly, the Saviour as a sign. Simeon’s prayer moves imperceptibly into a prophecy as he speaks words of blessing to the holy couple. Not only will the Child bring salvation, however, he will also bring division. ‘This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign spoken against…’ (2:34). People will have to decide about him; they will either be for him, or against him. To those who believe he will become a cornerstone on which they can build their lives; to those who refuse him he will become a stumbling-block. See 1Peter 2:4-8.

Each of has a choice to make. Will we recognise that Jesus is the Christ, the Saviour of the world? And will we take him into our arms (and into our lives) as Simeon did? Or will we reject him and turn away, as did the innkeeper?

Every Christmas we are reminded of the choice we must make. The carols we joyfully sing provide us with a way of responding: ‘O come to my heart Lord Jesus, there is room in my heart for thee.’

This is no easy choice by the way. Simeon’s blessing contains a warning to Mary. ‘A sword will pierce your own soul too.’(v35) She will know the pain that only a mother can feel as her son is rejected, scorned and crucified; but she will also know the joy of his resurrection and the triumph of the eternal salvation he obtains for the whole world.

‘The child’s father and mother marvelled at was said about him.’(v33) They were filled with wonder and amazement as they began to understand what was happening. Perhaps this Christmas we can ask God to restore to us the sense of wonder and amazement that should rightly accompany our celebration of the birth of Jesus?

Why not ask God to lift your celebrations beyond the material dimension and into the spiritual realm? Be blessed as you share in this special time of year with God’s people around the globe.