What difference does Christmas make? (Luke 2:22-38)
This sermon was preached to Emmanuel Baptist Church Exeter on 5 January 2025. The audio recording of the sermon can be found below along with the transcript.
Well, have you done it? Have you got round to taking the Christmas tree down yet? Perhaps you are one of those people who has it down before the end of December, packed up and cleaned up, before the New Year even arrives. Or maybe you are the kind of person that clings onto Christmas as long as you can, leaving it up well into January. Either way, I think for all of us, taking down of the Christmas tree is a significant moment in the ritual and rhythm of this time of year. It declares that Christmas is finally over. That it is time for us all to get back to normality, that we need to stop eating cheese and chocolate, listening to Christmas carols, and return to ordinary life again.
Maybe that is what you have had to do this week, as you went back to work after the Christmas break. Or perhaps that is what you are anticipating happening tomorrow, when the kids all go back to school here in Exeter. Christmas is now firmly behind us, and we all are getting back into the normal swing of things. And as you do, you may perhaps find yourself asking, what difference has this Christmas made? Oh yes, we have all put on some pounds, acquired more stuff to fill our houses, perhaps got some rest, and had our hearts warmed by family or friends. But what lasting difference has Christmas made? Has anything really changed now that Christmas has been and gone?
What difference does Christmas make? Does it result in anything more than a few warm feeling in our hearts? Does it result in something that lasts even after the tree comes down? In many ways, I think that is the question our passage answers this morning. If you remember back to what Greg was preaching on last week, you will recall that Luke has just told us the very familiar, and yet always captivating, story of that baby in Bethlehem. Mary and Joseph travel to the city of David, and an angel delivers good news of great joy to the shepherds. There in 2:11, he exclaims: [READ]. So far, Luke has told us that Christ had come. The original Christmas day was here. There may have been no Christmas tree, but this first Christmas caused all who heard of it to wonder in 2:18, and treasure this truth in of it their hearts in 2:19.
But what difference will it really make? Other than giving Mary some warm feelings in her heart, some memorable moments, what will the consequences of this first Christmas be? Will the coming of the Christ actually change anything for the characters in our story? For each of us here today? Well, that is what Luke now goes on to share, as we move from that scene in Bethlehem, to the story of what happens soon after in Jerusalem. At Bethlehem we hear of the birth of this child, the one they call the Christ. However, at Jerusalem we get to see his true significance, we learn that the message and meaning of Christmas continues long after we take down the tree. That Christmas is something that we not only celebrate one day every year, but impacts every day of every year. Or to paraphrase a famous slogan about dogs, through these events at Jerusalem, we learn that this Christ-child is for life, and not just for Christmas.
What lasting difference does Christmas really make? Well, Luke gives us three consequences of Christmas in our passage, three reasons he reveals through the story three people: a priest called Simeon, a parent called Mary, a prophetess called Anna. We will see this morning how these three characters show us the that significance of Christmas, teach that Jesus (1) brings us salvation (2:22-32); (2) bears our suffering (2:33-35); (3) becomes our story (2:36-38) [...]
1. JESUS BRINGS US SALVATION (2:22-32)
Our story begins as the last one ended, with Jesus undergoing the requirements of the Jewish law. Last week in 2:21, it was the act of circumcision. Here in 2:22, it is that of purification and presentation. Just as a male child needed to be circumcised 8 days after birth, the mother had to purified 40 days after birth, appear at the temple to offer up sacrifices to cleanse her from the ritual uncleanness that she underwent as a result of the bloody birth process. However, it was not only the act of purification that caused Joseph to lead his family on that journey to Jerusalem, for it was also the act of presentation. Not only did Mary need to offer up sacrifices for her uncleanness, but both Mary and Joseph had to also offer up their newborn son for service. As the firstborn of this faithful Jewish family, Jesus was required to be presented at the temple, dedicated and devoted to God. These two acts of purification and presentation were set down in the law, as Luke points out by quoting from Exodus 13 and Leviticus 12. To paraphrase Paul in Galatians 4, here we see that Jesus was not only born of a woman, but he was also born under the Law. As Greg drew out last week, Jesus and his parents obeyed every one of God’s commands.
And it is at the temple in Jerusalem, we encounter the person through which we arrive at our first point. For we are introduced to a man called Simeon. He is likely old given the allusion to his forthcoming death, and he is also probably a priest, as he seems to be offering up sacrifices for purification and doing the dedication of the firstborn. However, the most important thing we know about Simeon, the one thing Luke wants us to know for sure is that Simeon is waiting. There in 2:25, Luke tells us ‘this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel...’.
You know, if you are here with us this morning, and perhaps learning about Christianity for the first time, you might be tempted to think that that first Christmas, was the start of the Christian story. That the coming of Jesus Christ as a little baby in Bethlehem, was the very small beginning of the great Christian movement that would spread across the whole world. That the story of Christianity is like a small snowball starting an avalanche. It starts small and slowly builds and builds and builds until a whole mountain is moving.
Is that how you think of Christianity this morning? It began with a remarkable man called Jesus, around whom various myths and legends built up over time, and followers began to flock, until you get something that resembles the global movement you see today. Well, if so, I want you to see here, that as significant as that first Christmas was, it was actually the last piece in a much bigger puzzle. That Jesus was born into a world that was waiting. Came to a people who were told to expect his arrival.
The story of Christianity begins not at the start of the New Testament, but at the start of the Old Testament, with that first promise that God makes in Genesis 3. There, after humanity turn away from God, rebel against his rule, sin against their sovereign, contravene the command of their Creator, evil and death enter our once perfect world, as the source of all the suffering and sorrow we experience today. And yet, there in Genesis 3, God also makes his first promise to send a Saviour for our sin, a deliverer who will defeat death and restore us rebels back to God. And throughout the Old Testament, God continues to make such promises.
If you have just started a new Bible reading plan, make sure you keep your eyes peeled for them as you work your way through the Old Testament over the coming months. Sometimes they are in the forms of patterns, like the sacrificial system or that serpent in the wilderness mentioned in John 3. Sometimes they are in the form of persons, like the temporary deliverance of judges like Gideon or kings like David. Sometimes they are in the form of prophesies, like in Isaiah 40, for example, where Isaiah speaks on God’s behalf and declares, ‘Comfort comfort my people, speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned...’
These different promises permeate the whole of the Old Testament, […] tell us of a Saviour, a deliverer, who would come and bring comfort to God’s people. He was known as the Messiah, or in Greek, ‘the Christ’. And faithful Jews at that time clung onto these promises, were waiting and watching through all those dark and difficult years, for him to come. Indeed, that is what we see here with Simeon. He is waiting for the ‘consolation [comfort]of Israel’, that was long promised by Isaiah. And he is not alone, for at the end of the passage, in 2:38, we learn that there is a whole host of people who like him (and Anna) are waiting for the ‘redemption of Jerusalem.’ Waiting for that day the warfare of that city will have ended. When the great sin of its people against God will be pardoned.
Like many others in those days, Simeon had seen such things in the scriptures. And yet, what is so special about Simeon, is that he had not only seen such things in the scriptures, but he had also heard such things personally by the Spirit. For there in 2:26, Luke tells us that Simeon was told that before he saw death, he would see the deliverer. That the Saviour would come in his lifespan. And that day, when Mary and Joseph entered the temple, the same Spirit prompted him to perceive that it was this little baby boy, this one they called Jesus, who would be the long awaited Christ. Jesus was the person to whom all the promises of God pointed. The one through whom God would comfort Israel, redeem Jerusalem, and even more than that, the one through whom God would save the world.
Did you notice that from what Simeon says there? This event in Jerusalem will impact those outside Jerusalem. This comforter of Israel will comfort those beyond the borders of Israel. For as he holds this little baby in his arms, he blesses God, and says from 2:29: [READ]. Yes, in those days there was much in the land of Israel that needed to be set right. The Romans ruled the land with an iron fist. And the city of Jerusalem was at the very centre of their occupation, under their constant control. The Jewish nation needed saving from its enemies. And yet, in this baby, Simeon sees someone who accomplishes a far greater salvation than that, a global salvation. This comforter of Israel, will also be the light of the world. The one who would reveal God to nations right across the globe, take the news of who God is and what he has done to the very ends of the earth, reverse the rebellion of this whole world, overcome its opposition and bring us back to God. Jesus had come to bring such salvation. That is the first and foremost consequence of Christmas. Indeed, it is so important, that it was even contained in that short summary of the angels from last week in 2:17. The very centre of this good news of great joy, (this gospel that Christians talk about), is that on that first Christmas day, in the city of David, there was born ‘a Saviour who is Christ the Lord.’ That is the first thing we learn. What lasting difference does Christmas make? Here, in the story of Simeon, we see Jesus brings salvation. Can provide us with a peace that even delivers us from the fear of future death.
Friends, I wonder whether you know this salvation for yourself? Here we are told that because of Christmas, because of this one called Christ, we can know comfort in all the hardships of life, we have revelation, know what God is like, and we can receive salvation, forgiveness for all our sins. Are those the kind of realities that you are experiencing right now?
Friend, if you find Christmas to be a somewhat shallow season, then have you considered the possibility that you aren’t really doing it right? […] That you are entering into the traditional and commercial elements, but ignoring the spiritual reality that is the reason for it all? Christmas was not meant to merely warm our hearts, it was meant to change our hearts. Christmas was not supposed to simply distract us for a week, it was meant to deliver us forever.
If you are here with us this morning and are not yet following Jesus, don’t let another Christmas season pass without taking that step of faith. Before the Christmas tree comes down and you just get on with your normal life again, stop and consider what God says here in his Word, believe in these promises of salvation that we find throughout the Bible, repent of your sin and begin to follow after this Saviour for yourself. For that is what Christmas is firstly and foremostly all about, it is about the fact that Jesus brings us salvation.
2. JESUS BEARS OUR SUFFERING (2:33-35)
Of course, while Christmas is a time of great joy and cheer for most of us, it can also be a time of sadness and hardship for many. Despite what the song says, all is not merry and bright. And perhaps that was your experience this year. It was the first Christmas that you celebrated without a loved one, who passed away in 2024. Or maybe Christmas just brought up the usually family feuds, the same old arguments and awkwardness that you experience at this time every year. One reason Christmas is so remarkable is that the same event can bring so much joy to some, and can also cause so much hurt for others.
In our passage, we see that this strange mix of joy and suffering was also a feature of this very first Christmas. There in 2:33, the baby’s parents marvel at this blessing Simeon gives. We can only imagine what they must have thought, as Simeon stands there in the temple declaring that this baby boy will become the Saviour of the world. What joy and jubilation must have filled their hearts. Above the obvious excitement and joy of having a new baby, they learn that the long-awaited comforter is here! That it is their own child. However, Simeon isn’t finished, for he then turns to Mary and says something that stands in sharp contrast with that news of great joy. For there in 2:34, he says: [READ].
If you are anything like me when I first read this part of the passage, you find this comment to be rather cryptic. Perhaps you kind of sense what he means when he says that Jesus will cause the rising and falling of many. That it means, Jesus will cause much to change. His coming will turn things upside down. Those who are high will be brought low, and those who are low will be raised up high. The coming of Christ, Christmas, will change the fortunes of many.
And Simeon says that this child, Jesus, will be a sign of this coming change, this reversal of fortunes, and that Jesus, this sign of the changing times, will be ‘a sign that is opposed’? That is, as well revealing much to us, Jesus will also receive resistance from us. This one who is the light of the world, this beacon of salvation, will be opposed, resisted, rejected. And as Simeon points out, this will have severe consequences for those closest to him. Specifically, this will result in great sorrow and suffering for Mary. There in 2:34, he explains that as a result of this opposition, she will personally suffer much. Indeed, it will be like her very soul is being pierced through with a sword. Yes, as a young mother, she must have felt so much joy at the birth of this new baby, and yet we see that she will also experience great sorrow. While her heart is warmed that first Christmas, Simeon says that it must also be broken too.
And in this, Mary personifies the reality of the true Christian life, captures the contrast that many of us feel at this time of year. For as our Christmas tree comes down, and carol tunes fade from our heads, we are confronted with the difficulties and hardships of our day to day lives. We pick up the burdens we have ignored for a few weeks. Living in light of that painful experience from the past. Coping with an ongoing medical condition. Facing an uncertain future at work. The stress and pressure of upcoming exams. Heartache over a child, or heartbreak caused by a parent. Yes, Christmas declares good news of great joy. And yet, the Christian life is often a mixture of joys and sorrows, blessings and hardships. And this is especially because, on top of all the normal pressures and predicaments, that everyone must face, Christians will also suffer for the sake of their saviour. We must not only suffer like Christ, face our ordinary trial and tribulations (whether medical or vocational) by entrusting ourself to God. But we must also suffer for Christ. Perhaps we must endure that awkward standoffishness, or snide mockery, or even outright opposition from others that comes because of our faith. For Simeon says here that those who are close to Christ must suffer most for Christ.
We see this so clearly with Mary here. Every harsh word that is said against Jesus, will hurt her too. Every public rejection that he receives, will make her feel like she is being rejected too. And worst of all, if we fast forward to the end of Luke, we see her standing at the foot of the cross, watching as those little baby fingers and toes that she played with in Bethlehem, are nailed to a wooden post outside Jerusalem. And as her son’s side is pierced with a spear, it will seem like a sword is piercing through her very soul as well. Simeon says that Mary is going to suffer, because Jesus is going to suffer. And it is not just his mother that experiences this, for during his ministry Jesus is clear that all who follow him, want to be close to him, must be willing to suffer with him. Brothers and sisters, there is a reason that the symbol of Christianity is a cross, not a manger. For at the very heart of our faith is a man suffering for sin. And because Jesus suffered, Mary suffered, and we will suffer too, if we follow after him today.
What comfort do we find in our passage to help us in this reality? How does it help us to practice that great paradox which Paul talks about: being sorrowful yet always rejoicing? Well, we can draw some consolation from the final line of Simeon’s comment, where we are told that this opposition that Jesus faces, and this sorrow that Mary experiences, will reveal the thoughts of many hearts. That is, it is in our moments of suffering and opposition that we get to see the true state of our hearts. It is how we respond to suffering that shows the genuineness of our faith. Do we lash out at others? Grow bitter about our experiences? Indulge in sin to escape? Become cold in our faith? Or do we run for refuge in Jesus? Throw ourselves at his feet in prayer? Feed on his promises by faith? I wonder how you are engaging with your hardships at the moment? And what this says about the true state of your heart? Will you allow the storms of life sweep you away from Jesus? Or will they make you cling more firmly to him?
And if we zoom out from our passage, we find a truth even more comforting than this revealing reality. For that event where Mary experienced her greatest suffering, is also the source of her, and our, greatest comfort. Yes, as Mary stood at the foot of the cross, it was like her soul was pierced through with a sword. And yet the suffering she experienced was nothing in comparison with the suffering that her son faced in that hour. For his soul really was pierced through with a sword, as the storm of God great justice and judgment against sin broke on him, and Jesus bore all the punishment that his people deserved upon his two shoulders. Yes, brothers and sisters, following Jesus will bring us suffering, but it also means that he bears our suffering. How much better is it to suffer for a little while for his sake on earth, than to suffer forever without him in eternity. How much better is it to suffer, even to the point that it is as if our very souls are being pierced with a sword, if it means that our very souls will be saved from that sword of God’s justice. Friends, whatever we must suffer for Jesus, it is nothing to what he had to suffer for us. Whatever cross we must take up and carry for Christ, it will never compare to that cross that he bore for us. Yes, Mary suffered much as the mother of Jesus. But it was nothing to what Jesus suffered as the Saviour of Mary. Brother or sister, if you are [...], think not on how much you must bear, but on how much you have been spared.
3. JESUS BECOMES OUR STORY (2:36-38)
Here in the last few verses of our chapters, we meet our final character, the aged prophetess Anna, who is certainly no stranger to suffering. Like Simeon, she too is old. She is 84 by this time, and Luke explains that her life so far has been a hard one. In 2:36, we discover that after marrying young, she lost her husband, and lived as a widow for about 60 years. You can imagine how hard that must have been. Anna has passed through circumstances that could shape her whole life. It is a tragedy that could have overshadowed the rest of her days. And yet, as Simeon has just said, this suffering has simply served to show the reality of her faith. For how has she spent the previous 60 years? What has she devoted herself to after the death of her husband? Well, in 2:37, Luke tells us that: [READ]
Isn’t that incredible? Rather than being consumed by bitterness, she is overwhelmed with thankfulness. Instead of being overcome by grief because of what has happened in the past, she has been consumed by longing for what is going to happen in the future. She has been fasting night and day, decade after decade, anticipating the arrival of Christ. She has spent her days worshipping alongside others, like Simeon, who were waiting for the consolation of Israel and redemption of Jerusalem, just like her. Yes, the loss of her husband at such a young age had the ability to overshadow and dominate the rest of her life, but instead she chose to build her life around something, someone else. She has found a new family there in the temple, and a new purpose for her life in the promised Messiah. Rather than letting God’s strange providence shape her existence, she has fixed her faith on his gracious promises instead. The death of her husband may be the backdrop to her life’s story, but the spotlight is shining on something else. It is the coming of Christ, and the community of his people, that takes centre stage. And so, when she realises that day, that Christ has finally come, that he is in the very same temple, she can’t contain herself, but bursts into praise and thanksgiving, and goes around talking and telling all the others about it.
Anna refused to let her difficult circumstances write her story. She centred her life on Christ, and found a place among his people, even in the midst of sorrow and suffering. Brothers and sisters, I wonder if you will do the same this year? Whether you have taken your Christmas tree down yet or not, soon we will all re-enter normality and encounter whatever 2025 has in store. Perhaps some of us will have a quiet year, continuing in university, or at work, or with family, in the same way as we have in previous years. But I imagine that some of us will face new challenges, perhaps even pass through a tragedy as significant as the one that Anna once faced. We might lose a loved one, or experience great changes at work or home that threaten to overwhelm us and redirect our lives. Friend, if that does happen to you, if 2025 turns out to be a year of difficulty, I want you to remember Anna.
I want you to recall how even the most tragic and trying circumstances need not alter the overall plot of our lives. For as Christians, our life is built on, around, Jesus, who will not, cannot, change. One of the lasting differences that Christmas makes is that it provides us with a centre point, a firm foundation, an anchor in all the storms of life. It turns our life from being a story about ourselves and our circumstances, into a story about Jesus and his people. Friend, no matter what 2025 holds in store for you, make sure that your story this year is about growing in love for Jesus, despite your circumstances, and in your devotion to his people, this new temple that is the local church.
CONCLUSION
As we close, I want to tell you the story of another baby, this time not a boy born in Bethlehem 2000 years ago, but rather a baby girl born in New York 200 years ago.
While she was born healthy and well, 6 weeks old caught an eye infection that so badly damaged her optic nerves, she became blind, and remained blind the rest of her life. Hardship didn’t end there. At 6 months old, her father died, and she would experience povrty for many years to come, as her mother and her moved around from one family member to another. When she grew up, she never had enough money to buy her own house. She eventually married, but it was always a strained relationship and it became a source of much hurt for her over the years. She had one child, who sadly died at birth.
This lady lived a hard and difficult life, experienced blindness and encountered much sorrow in different forms. What was her name? It was Fanny Crosby, one of the most prolific hymn writters in history. She wrote, despite her blindness and hardships, more than 8,000 hymns in her lifetime. One of the most famous of course being To God be the Glory, the old hymn, Blessed Assurance:
Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine, O what a foretaste of glory divine, heir of salvation, purchased of God, born of his Spirit, lost in his love. This is my story, this is my song, praising my Saviour all the day long...
When it came to summarising the story of her life, Fanny Crosby could have said many things, but in the end she centred her story on Jesus.
No matter what happens this year, don’t let circumstances write your story. Make Jesus and his people the story, the centre of your life, and you will find that like Anna and Fanny, rather than growing bitter and resentful as years go on, you will only grow more thankful and grateful for Jesus, the one who came that first Christmas to bring us salvation, bear our suffering, and become our story.
