Reflective Bible Study

As we continue moving through Jesus’ birth story in Luke’s gospel, we arrive at a significant event in the story, but one that doesn’t fit very well if we try to condense and combine Matthew’s gospel with Luke’s gospel describing Jesus’ birth. While I believe both gospels are accurate, where things can get confusing is when we try to squish the details together and make two events into one.

Because of the event our passage includes for this episode, it is best to view Matthew and Luke’s gospels separately, and let Luke describe the events close to the night Jesus was born, and let Matthew fill us in on events that likely happened a few weeks after Jesus had entered this world as a baby.

Actually, it is fascinating to look at the event we are about to read while realizing that Herod was ruling Jerusalem and Judea, and that Herod was in Jerusalem directing the wise men towards Bethlehem not too long after this event happened.

Our passage for this episode is found in Luke’s gospel, chapter 2, and we will read from the Good News Translation. Starting in verse 21, Luke tells us that

²¹ A week later [this would be a week after Jesus was born], when the time came for the baby to be circumcised, he was named Jesus, the name which the angel had given him before he had been conceived.

²² The time came for Joseph and Mary to perform the ceremony of purification, as the Law of Moses commanded. So they took the child to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord, ²³ as it is written in the law of the Lord: “Every first-born male is to be dedicated to the Lord.” ²⁴ They also went to offer a sacrifice of a pair of doves or two young pigeons, as required by the law of the Lord.

²⁵ At that time there was a man named Simeon living in Jerusalem. He was a good, God-fearing man and was waiting for Israel to be saved. The Holy Spirit was with him ²⁶ and had assured him that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s promised Messiah. ²⁷ Led by the Spirit, Simeon went into the Temple. When the parents brought the child Jesus into the Temple to do for him what the Law required, ²⁸ Simeon took the child in his arms and gave thanks to God:

²⁹ “Now, Lord, you have kept your promise,
    and you may let your servant go in peace.
³⁰ With my own eyes I have seen your salvation,
³¹     which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples:
³² A light to reveal your will to the Gentiles
    and bring glory to your people Israel.”

³³ The child’s father and mother were amazed at the things Simeon said about him. ³⁴ Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother, “This child is chosen by God for the destruction and the salvation of many in Israel. He will be a sign from God which many people will speak against ³⁵ and so reveal their secret thoughts. And sorrow, like a sharp sword, will break your own heart.”

^36-37 There was a very old prophet, a widow named Anna, daughter of Phanuel of the tribe of Asher. She had been married for only seven years and was now eighty-four years old. She never left the Temple; day and night she worshiped God, fasting and praying. ³⁸ That very same hour she arrived and gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were waiting for God to set Jerusalem free.

In this passage, Jesus’ parents take Jesus to dedicate Him at the temple. It is amazing in my mind to think that Jesus would have been present in the temple, right under the noses of the religious leaders, Herod, and all the people, and most people simply didn’t pay that close attention.

According to this passage, only two people really take notice: Simeon, who the Bible simply describes as a man who had the Holy Spirit and who God had promised to reveal the Messiah to; and Anna, a widow who had dedicated herself to worshiping God in the temple. For a long time, I had assumed that Simeon was the priest on duty that day, but nothing in this passage implies this to be the case.

Nothing is really mentioned about the priest on duty, about Jesus parents actually giving the sacrifice, or about the response of those that Simeon and Anna told about Jesus.

However, in Simeon’s message to Mary, we can see three huge ideas that are incredibly powerful when we stop and look at what he told her. At the beginning of Simeon’s message to Mary in verse 34, God prophesies about Jesus’ life saying “This child is chosen by God for the destruction and the salvation of many in Israel.”

It would be very easy to latch on to the positive side of this message, but this message contains both positive and negative. Jesus came not only to save people living in Israel, but also for destruction.

To quantify the negative side of this promise, Simeon continues in the last part of verse 34 and into verse 35 saying, “He [Jesus] will be a sign from God which many people will speak against and so reveal their secret thoughts.”

According to this second statement in Simeon’s message to Mary, Jesus is a sign from God that will polarize people and those who speak out against Jesus will reveal the secrets of their hearts. Those who speak out against Jesus show the universe that they have sided against God. It is powerful to realize that what we tell others about Jesus shows how loyal or disloyal we are to God. As we continue in Luke’s gospel, Jesus’ presence clearly separates those who have sided with God vs. those who have decided to set themselves against Jesus.

The last part of Simeon’s message to Mary is directed specifically towards Mary. In the last portion of verse 35, Simeon tells Mary, “And sorrow, like a sharp sword, will break your own heart.”

Whether we like to think of it or not, this statement predicts Jesus’ death. Before Jesus had fully stepped into history, Simeon, led by the Holy Spirit, forewarns Mary that Jesus’ life as a Messiah would end in death. Jesus would die before she would.

However, this message, while it was challenging, does contain the promise that Jesus’ arrival signified the way God chose to open salvation for many people living in Israel. Actually, Jesus’ arrival signified the way God chose to open salvation for all His people living at any point in the history of our human race. Sin came in to this world through the actions of Adam and Eve, and through the actions and sacrifice of Jesus, God has made a way for us to outlast sin.

As we continue through our year focusing in on Luke’s gospel, expect to see this theme show up regularly. Through Jesus, we have the hope and assurance of a new life with God!

As we come to the end of another podcast episode, here are the challenges I will leave you with:

As I always challenge you to do, intentionally seek God first in your life and choose to place your faith, hope, trust, and belief in Jesus. Through what Jesus came to accomplish, we have the hope of salvation and a way out of facing the eternal consequences of sin. Jesus’ entrance into the world gives us an escape for a problem that we cannot solve on our own.

Also, continue praying and studying the Bible for yourself to grow closer to Jesus and to God. Through prayer and study, discover how we can open our hearts, minds, and lives to God and let His Holy Spirit transform us. Through the Holy Spirit, we can discover the truth God wants to teach us and we can discover how important Jesus’ sacrifice is for our future.

And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never stop short of, back away from, chicken out of, or turn away from where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!

As we continue moving through Old Testament prophecies that point forward to Jesus, let’s shift gears slightly to look at a rather unexpected prophecy. Well, this prophecy’s content isn’t that surprising. Instead, it is surprising where this prophecy comes from.

During the time the people of Israel were traveling through the wilderness prior to entering the promised land, one of the nations they came in contact with hired someone to pronounce curses onto the people of Israel. However, without diving too deeply into the back-story of this event, instead of curses, Balaam, the man they hired, pronounced blessing. In one of these blessings, we find a clear prophecy pointing forward to the Messiah.

This prophecy, and our passage for this episode, is found in the book of Numbers, chapter 24, and we will read it using the New American Standard Bible. Starting in verse 15:

¹⁵ He took up his discourse and said,

“The oracle of Balaam the son of Beor,
And the oracle of the man whose eye is opened,
¹⁶ The oracle of him who hears the words of God,
And knows the knowledge of the Most High,
Who sees the vision of the Almighty,
Falling down, yet having his eyes uncovered.
¹⁷ “I see him, but not now;
I behold him, but not near;
A star shall come forth from Jacob,
A scepter shall rise from Israel,
And shall crush through the forehead of Moab,
And tear down all the sons of Sheth.
¹⁸ “Edom shall be a possession,
Seir, its enemies, also will be a possession,
While Israel performs valiantly.
¹⁹ “One from Jacob shall have dominion,
And will destroy the remnant from the city.”

In this prophecy, we find a clear prediction that the Messiah would come from Jacob, who later in his life was renamed to be Israel. In previous episodes, we have uncovered the clear prophecy that the Messiah would be from the line of David, who happens to be a descendant of Jacob.

It is interesting in my mind, because depending on where in the Old Testament one looks, we see God promising a redeemer through a descendant of Adam and Eve, through Abraham, through Jacob, through Judah, through Boaz and Ruth, and through David, just to name a few. While we won’t cover all these genealogical predictions in this year focusing on prophecy, it is worth taking one episode to draw our attention onto them.

Jesus’ genealogy is found in two places in the New Testament. The first place is in Matthew’s gospel. In Matthew chapter 1, starting in verse 1, Matthew opens by writing:

¹ The record of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham:

² Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers. ³ Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, Perez was the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram. ⁴ Ram was the father of Amminadab, Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon. ⁵ Salmon was the father of Boaz by Rahab, Boaz was the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse. ⁶ Jesse was the father of David the king.

David was the father of Solomon by Bathsheba who had been the wife of Uriah. ⁷ Solomon was the father of Rehoboam, Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asa. ⁸ Asa was the father of Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah. ⁹ Uzziah was the father of Jotham, Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah. ¹⁰ Hezekiah was the father of Manasseh, Manasseh the father of Amon, and Amon the father of Josiah. ¹¹ Josiah became the father of Jeconiah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon.

¹² After the deportation to Babylon: Jeconiah became the father of Shealtiel, and Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel. ¹³ Zerubbabel was the father of Abihud, Abihud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor. ¹⁴ Azor was the father of Zadok, Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud. ¹⁵ Eliud was the father of Eleazar, Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob. ¹⁶ Jacob was the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, by whom Jesus was born, who is called the Messiah.

¹⁷ So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; from David to the deportation to Babylon, fourteen generations; and from the deportation to Babylon to the Messiah, fourteen generations.

In Matthew’s gospel, we get the picture that there was a very orderly, structured, and clear pattern in Jesus’ ancestry. Not only that, but Matthew draws our attention very clearly that Jesus was a descendant of Abraham, of Jacob, and of David.

In Luke’s gospel, a different genealogy is present. While Luke’s genealogy is similar, it also has some unique qualities, one of which is that it goes back further than Abraham. Luke also chose to include Jesus’ genealogy, not at the beginning of his gospel letter, but right before transitioning into Jesus beginning His ministry.

In Luke, chapter 3, starting in verse 23, Luke writes:

²³ When He began His ministry, Jesus Himself was about thirty years of age, being, as was supposed, the son of Joseph, the son of Eli, ²⁴ the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of Jannai, the son of Joseph, ²⁵ the son of Mattathias, the son of Amos, the son of Nahum, the son of Hesli, the son of Naggai, ²⁶ the son of Maath, the son of Mattathias, the son of Semein, the son of Josech, the son of Joda, ²⁷ the son of Joanan, the son of Rhesa, the son of Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, the son of Neri, ²⁸ the son of Melchi, the son of Addi, the son of Cosam, the son of Elmadam, the son of Er, ²⁹ the son of Joshua, the son of Eliezer, the son of Jorim, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, ³⁰ the son of Simeon, the son of Judah, the son of Joseph, the son of Jonam, the son of Eliakim, ³¹ the son of Melea, the son of Menna, the son of Mattatha, the son of Nathan, the son of David, ³² the son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz, the son of Salmon, the son of Nahshon, ³³ the son of Amminadab, the son of Admin, the son of Ram, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah, ³⁴ the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor, ³⁵ the son of Serug, the son of Reu, the son of Peleg, the son of Heber, the son of Shelah, ³⁶ the son of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son of Lamech, ³⁷ the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Mahalaleel, the son of Cainan, ³⁸ the son of Enosh, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.

While this is one really long, 341 word, run-on sentence that took a ridiculous amount of recording and editing of audio to get through, Luke draws our attention not just to Jesus being the descendant of all those people who God promised to send His Messiah through, but also as being a son of God.

In our next episode, we will transition onto the prophecies about Jesus’ birth being extraordinary, but even if we have trouble believing in any special or extraordinary birth, we can fall back on Luke’s description of Jesus’ ancestry for validation that He is God’s Son, even if Luke describes this connection being a little over 75 generations apart.

However, Luke’s framing of Jesus’ genealogy opens up another powerful truth that’s relevant for our lives. With how Luke frames Jesus’ genealogy pointing back to God, we can know and understand that each of our genealogies does the exact same thing. If we go back far enough, we will discover we are sons and daughters of God, if for no other reason than we are sons and daughters of Adam and Eve, and also of Noah and his wife.

This understanding of our ancestry, while obvious on one hand, is amazing to actually apply into our lives. If we understand ourselves to be children of God, how might this impact how we live on a daily basis?

While I cannot answer this question for you, when I ask myself this question, it challenges me to live with greater visible faith, with less worry, and with more confidence that God is interested in my situation. By thinking of myself as a son of God challenges me to live my life in a way that brings honor and glory to Him, even if I feel at times like I am constantly failing in this goal.

As children of God, whether we frame ourselves like Luke framed Jesus’ genealogy, or whether we frame ourselves as being adopted into God’s family, let’s move forward each day living our lives for God and giving Him glory through the tasks He has placed before us.

As we come to the end of another podcast episode, here are the challenges I will leave you with:

As I always open by challenging you, intentionally seek God first in your life and choose to see yourself as a child of God. Live your life in a way that brings glory to Him and a way that honors other people as also being children of God. While this isn’t easy to do, it is very worthwhile.

Also, as I regularly challenge you to do, pray and study the Bible for yourself to learn and grow closer to God each day. Through prayer and Bible study, discover a God who loves you more than you can imagine, and a God who wants you in His family more than you might want this for yourself.

And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never stop short of, back away from, chicken out of, or abandon where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!