The Light and Glory: Luke 2:22-40

We have been studying Luke’s Gospel since September. We have learned so much about how God worked in the lives of people to prepare them for the arrival of His greatest Gift, the Gift of His Son, our Redeemer. We see examples of God’s work in the lives of the people that we have encountered so far in Luke’s Gospel. If you will remember the story Luke told about the priest Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth, an old couple who were past their childbearing years. The angel Gabriel announced to Zechariah that the Lord had heard his prayer and his wife would have a son. Their blessing, of finally being able to have a child, was not simply so they could fulfill their longing for children. Zechariah and Elizabeth’s son would be a key part of God’s plan in preparing the people for the arrival of His Son, God’s Son. Listen to what Gabriel told Zechariah about his son, who was to be named John. 

17 And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous-- to make ready a people prepared for the Lord." (Luke 1:17 NIV)

God then sent the angel Gabriel to announce to a young couple, pledged to be married, that Mary would have a child, conceived by the Holy Spirit, and they were to name Him Jesus, which means “Yahweh saves” or “Yahweh is salvation.” It was a stunning announcement because Joseph and Mary were not yet married, and as Mary said to Gabriel, “I am a virgin.” Mary and Joseph were reassured that what was happening to them was the work of God. 

God had been working long before He sent Gabriel to these two couples. He has been working throughout history to prepare His people for the arrival of His Son, the True Redeemer. All throughout the Hebrew Bible, the Old Testament, we read about the sacrificial system God had set up so His people’s sins could be forgiven. The sacrifices, constantly being made, were a reminder of the people’s sins, yet every single one of those sacrifices were ineffective in dealing with sin in a lasting way. Those same sacrifices were also a preview of the One sacrifice which would come one day and would truly deal with our sins once and for all time. All of Israel looked forward to that day, but they had no idea when that day would come. 

After four hundred years of silence, never hearing from God, many began to wonder if God had abandoned them. Their lives were hard, the Romans ruled over them with an iron fist, many of their religious leaders were corrupt and concerned only for themselves. Yet, not all had given up hope that God would be true to His promise to bring the Deliverer. Today, we will learn about two people in Jerusalem who had not given up hope and were looking expectantly for God’s salvation. Their names were Simeon and Anna.  Let’s turn to Luke 1:22 and begin reading there.

22 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 23 (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, "Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord"), 24 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." 25 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. 26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord's Messiah. 27 Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, 28 Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying: 29 "Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss your servant in peace. 30 For my eyes have seen your salvation, 31 which you have prepared in the sight of all nations: 32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel." 33 The child's father and mother marveled at what was said about him. 34 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, 35 so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too." 36 There was also a prophet, Anna, the daughter of Penuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, 37 and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. 38 Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem. (Luke 2:22-38 NIV)

In the first section of our Scripture for this morning we learn that Joseph and Mary had taken Jesus, now 40 days old, to the temple to make their purification offerings and to present Jesus to the Lord. We need to stop right here for a moment and talk about this because it is so foreign to us today. You should notice in verse 22 that the “purification rites were required by the Law of Moses.” Leviticus 12 tells us that after a woman gave birth to a child she was deemed ceremonially “unclean” and unable to visit the temple for seven days. On the eighth day the male child was to be circumcised and then she was to wait thirty-three more days. For the birth of a daughter the time of her uncleanness was twice that of a male child. Then, in Leviticus 12:6-8 we read,

6 "'When the days of her purification for a son or daughter are over, she is to bring to the priest at the entrance to the tent of meeting a year-old lamb for a burnt offering and a young pigeon or a dove for a sin offering. 7 He shall offer them before the LORD to make atonement for her, and then she will be ceremonially clean from her flow of blood. "'These are the regulations for the woman who gives birth to a boy or a girl. 8 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 the priest will make atonement for her, and she will be clean.'" (Leviticus 12:6-8 NIV)

So, the new mother was to bring a year-old lamb for a burnt offering and a young pigeon or a dove for a sin offering unless she was unable to afford a lamb, then she could bring two doves or two young pigeons for her burnt offering and sin offering. This was referred to by the Jews as the offering of the poor. Did you notice what Mary brought with her when she took Jesus to the temple? It was a pair of doves which tells us that Joseph and Mary were a poor young couple.

There is a second reason they made the journey to the temple in Jerusalem and it was to present Jesus before the Lord. The presentation of the firstborn son goes back to the book of Exodus where we read,

1 The LORD said to Moses, 2 “Consecrate to me every firstborn male. The first offspring of every womb among the Israelites belongs to me, whether human or animal.” (Exodus 13:1–2)

The firstborn son in ancient cultures, and even in some cultures today, were very important. God’s purpose in consecrating, or setting apart, the first born son was intended to demonstrate God’s ownership, not only of the firstborn, but of the entire family. The firstborn son represented the whole family in the same way a captain of a team represents the team. The setting apart of the firstborn son was an act of offering God the child He had given back to the Lord for His purposes and glory. What’s so interesting about Jesus is that He was set apart before He ever arrived at the temple with Mary and Joseph. Gabriel had told Mary about the son to be born to her before she was even pregnant,

32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.” (Luke 1:32–33)

As we move into the next section of Luke’s story we run into a man named Simeon. We don’t know much about Simeon. This is the only time he appears in Scripture. We don’t know what kind of family he had, if he had a family at all. We don’t know what he did for a living. People assume that he was old, but Luke never tells us that. Luke doesn’t tell us what most people want to know about others they meet in our day, but what he does tell us speaks volumes about Simeon. First, Luke tells us that Simeon was “righteous and devout.” There are others in Luke’s Gospel who are described as “righteous.” Zechariah and Elizabeth are both described as righteous. Later on, in Luke 23, we will run into a man named Joseph of Arimathea who is also described as righteous. Dr. Darnell taught me a long time ago a very simple definition of righteousness, it means “to be rightly related.” Simeon was rightly related to those around him as well as to God. Simeon was also εὐλαβής (eulabes) or “devout.” The literal meaning of the Greek word is “cautious.” We might say Simeon was mindful in living his life so as to honor God in everything he did.

We can learn two more things about Simeon in verse 25: “He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him.”  The Greek word translated “consolation” is the word, “παράκλησις” (paraklesis) and it can mean either “comfort or exhortation.” In this verse there is no doubt that Simeon was looking for the comfort, the deliverance of God’s people, from the troublesome existence they had known for so long at the hands of their enemies. John MacArthur writes,

The Messiah was the embodiment of the nation’s hope of consolation; the only one who could bring consolation to Israel was the Consoler. Thus the rabbis sometimes referred to the Messiah as Menachem, which means “Comforter” or “Consoler.” Isaiah in particular emphasized Messiah’s role as a comforter. In Isaiah 40:1, he wrote, “Comfort, O comfort My people,’ says your God.” (MacArthur, John. Luke 1–5, MacArthur New Testament Commentary (Chicago: Moody Publishers, 2009), 177–178)

The second thing we noticed was that the Holy Spirit was on him. Isn’t that interesting? Many of us were taught that the Holy Spirit didn’t come until Pentecost, but in the first two chapters of Luke we have seen the Holy Spirit at work over and over again. In Luke 1:15 we were told that John the Baptist would be filled with the Holy Spirit before he was born. In Luke 1:35, Gabriel told Mary, "The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.” (Luke 1:35 NIV) Just six verses later, when Mary arrived at Elizabeth’s home we read, “When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.” (Luke 1:41 NIV) The last instance in the first chapter of Luke’s Gospel happened when John was born and Zechariah spoke for the first time in nine months. We are told Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied. Now, in chapter two we learn that the Holy Spirit was on Simeon. In verse 27, the Holy Spirit moved Simeon to go into the temple courts and there He was–the Consolation of Israel! The Holy Spirit did come in a unique way in Acts 2 as He is now not just “on” believers, but He indwells all of the followers of Jesus, but make no mistake about it, the Holy Spirit has always been at work in God’s people. 

There was another important person who was present when Mary and Joseph came to present Jesus at the temple that day and her name was Anna. We can learn about Anna in verses 36-38. In these verses we learn that Anna was a prophet or prophetess as some translations have it. Anna was the daughter of Penuel, of the tribe of Asher. Luke tells us she was “very old” and a widow. She had been married for seven years when her husband died. From that time forward she never missed church. Luke says, “She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. It is interesting that her dad’s name, Penuel, means “face of God.” That is exactly what Anna was doing at the temple night and day as she prayed and fasted–she was seeking, intimately seeking, the presence of God. There is no doubt the Holy Spirit also moved Anna to be in the right place at the right time so that she was present as Simeon held Jesus in his arms and praised God! Anna not only praised God, but she also spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem. Philip Ryken writes,

As soon as Anna saw Jesus, she did what everyone who comes to Christ should do. She thanked God for the gift of her salvation in Christ, the consolation of her widow’s heart. Then she began to tell other people about Jesus and his redemption. The news was too good for Anna to keep to herself: she had to share it with everyone she knew. So like the shepherds, she became one of the first evangelists. (Ryken, Philip. Luke: Vol. 1. pg. 99). 

How can we come to know Jesus and not tell others about what He has done in our lives? I know many of you have experienced wonderful moments in your lives. There have been some extraordinary things that have come your way, but there is nothing that has or will ever happen to you that is as marvelous, as overwhelming as the moment the Lord opened your eyes and made you aware of your need for Him. You called out to Him. He saved you. And He has never stopped working in your life from that moment until this moment right now. He will never stop working. The moment you take your last breath He will be there to take you home! Now, if you know all of this, if you have experienced His tender mercy and His glorious grace, then you must tell others they can experience the same joy, the same peace, the same comfort, and expectation as well. 

I want us to read Luke 2:28-35 once again so Simeon’s song will be fresh before us as we talk about the light and glory of God demonstrated in Jesus. Let’s read together.

28 Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying: 29 "Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss your servant in peace. 30 For my eyes have seen your salvation, 31 which you have prepared in the sight of all nations: 32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel." 33 The child's father and mother marveled at what was said about him. 34 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, 35 so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too." (Luke 2:28-35 NIV)

Everything Simeon had ever longed for in life was resting comfortably in His arms and Simeon said, “Sovereign Lord…you may now dismiss your servant in peace.” In verse 26 we learned that the Holy Spirit had revealed to Simeon that he would not die until he had seen the Messiah. Now the time had come and there was not one thing more this world had to offer Simeon. 

We were talking about this in Bible study on Wednesday night. I told the class that when I was young my grandmother told me she was praying the Lord would let her live long enough to see me graduate from high school. I did graduate and then she told me she was praying the Lord would let her live long enough to see me graduate from college. I did graduate and then she said she was praying the Lord would let her live long enough to see her first grandchild. She did see her first grandchild and then…You get the picture. There was always the next thing. For Simeon, once he held Jesus in his arms nothing else mattered. 

Simeon’s words are the last of the four Christmas songs that are included in Luke 1-2. This fourth song is titled “Nunc Dimittis,” a Latin phrase which means, “now let depart.” Have you noticed that every time someone has spoken about Jesus in these first two chapters of Luke we’ve learned something new about Jesus? From Gabriel to Zechariah to Mary to the shepherds and now Simeon we learn that He will be the Son of the Most High, the Son of God, He will inherit the throne of David and reign forever, He will bring down the powerful and lift up the humble, and He will be the fulfiller of God’s promises to David and Abraham. It is Simeon who expands on all of these descriptions and announces that His salvation will be global. He will not just be the Deliverer of God’s people in Israel, but He will be salvation “in the sight of all nations: a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel.” 

We need to stop right here and point out something that is very important for us to keep in mind. All of Israel understood that God was going to raise up a Deliverer one day, but they misunderstood the kind of Deliverer God was preparing for them. They were looking for a Messiah, and continue to look for a Messiah, who would come in and crush their enemies so they might be free. They thought their enemies were the Assyrians, the Babylonians, the Greeks, the Romans, and every other group of people who oppressed them. They misidentified their greatest enemy and therefore they misinterpreted the meaning of God’s Messiah. Alistair Begg says, “Here’s the issue: the deliverance the people desired was not the deliverance the people required. The deliverance they desired was not what they required.” 

Sin, the sin of the people, was and remains the greatest enemy. This is true not just for the people of Israel, but for people in every nation around the world. Israel denied her sin and we continue to do the same to this very day. We know we don’t do everything right, but we aren’t that bad. We can always find people that are far worse than we are. Because we deny the severity of our sin, the fact that our sin separates us from God, we see no need for Jesus. We are deluded and deceived because we reject what God says about us and trust our own best thinking. God has diagnosed our condition, but we are like the patient who walks away and says, “I don’t think there’s anything wrong with me.” 

God has not only diagnosed our condition, but He has provided the Remedy for our greatest ailment through His Son, our Deliverer from sin and death. Through Jesus we can be forgiven for our sin, have the shackles of sin broken, and be empowered by the Holy Spirit to live lives that honor and please the Lord. The prophet Isaiah saw the day coming when those who were walking in darkness would have their eyes opened and they would see a great light. Read Isaiah 9:2 with me. 

2 The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned. (Isaiah 9:2 NIV)

That day came when Simeon held God’s Salvation in his arms and announced that the baby was God’s salvation for people in all of the nations of the world: “a light for revelation to the Gentiles and the glory of your people Israel.” 

God’s gift of salvation for you and me, His Son, would come at an excruciatingly painful price. Jesus would suffer the most horrific of deaths, death on the cross, and a sword would pierce His mother’s heart. Don’t you know Mary thought about Simeon’s words as she stood there at the foot of the cross and looked at the blood-smeared body of her Son? 

Why? Why would He do that for you and me? He did it because sin is our great enemy. Remember, it is our sin that separates us from God. It seems like such a shameful and humiliating thing to confess that we are hopeless sinners and yet it is the first step of our redemption. 

Through the years I have had so many people tell me, when I share with them the Bible’s teaching about the doctrine of original sin, that it isn't fair. To think that because Adam and Eve sinned and therefore I inherit their sin nature is just not fair. I’m not suggesting it is fair or unfair. What I am saying is this: “It is true.” Learning this truth about who I am is vitally important information to help me determine how I will proceed in life. Let me give you an example of what I am talking about from my own family. 

Seventeen years ago Connie was diagnosed with cancer, uterine cancer. It was a scary time. Annie was only 11 at the time. The surgeon removed the tumor and she didn’t have to have chemo or radiation. Brian Geister, who is one of our elders at BCC, and an oncologist, knew Connie’s family's history. Connie’s dad had cancer more than once and her younger brother Mike had cancer for the first time at 29. Brian told Connie to get genetically tested. After the test we found out Connie has something called Lynch Syndrome, which is a genetic predisposition for cancer. Brian shared with Connie that Lynch Syndrome manifests the cancer in women in different ways than men. He gave her the list of doctors she needed to see every year. 

Brian then told us we needed to get our kids tested. Both of our sons tested negative, but Annie, who was a sophomore in college when she was tested, tested positive. Annie was devastated of course. She had her first colonoscopy as a sophomore in college. The doctors found precancerous polyps. Annie was devastated again. We told her, “We need to be thankful that you got tested and found out you have Lynch Syndrome. If you didn’t have that information those precancerous polyps would have grown into cancer and you would have never known.” 

Is having Lynch Syndrome fair? For Connie and Annie it isn’t a matter of fairness, it simply is, it is what they have. Having that information has helped them know how to proceed in living life. Is being told you and I are sinners fair? It isn’t a matter of being fair or unfair…it is. And there is a Doctor for you and me. He not only has the remedy for what will kill us, but He is the Remedy. He is the light of the world and He wants to shine His light upon you this morning. Won’t you call out to Him? Tell Him you are a sinner and you believe that He alone can save you from your sin, forgive you, and enable you to walk in His light. 

Mike Hays

November 9, 2025