Luke 2: God's Promise

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God’s promises are often fulfilled in ways we do not expect. For some of us that means we are disappointed but for some of us we experience great joy. The nation of Israel expected a specific type of savior and messiah—one that would deliver them from the hand of Rome. But what they received was a savior who saved them from the tyranny of sin and death but not the hand of Rome. When Christ came some accepted him and experienced great joy while other rejected him and suffer greatly for it. 

God promised that Simeon, a devout and righteous man, would see Jesus Christ before he died. When Christ came, Simeon prophesied that many would rise or fall and that Jesus would reveal what is in the hearts of many (v. 34-35). Jesus’ life and ministry polarized ancient Israel so that many rejected Christ while others accepted God’s promised savior. Jesus shows what was in their hearts by how they responded to him. 

Just as Jesus was then and he still is today a polarizing figure. We react to the Gospel of Jesus Christ in many different ways. We can praise and worship Jesus as our King and live it with passion and joy. We can reject it and claim “total” control over our own life or at least that is what we believe. We can also accept it but only as an intellectual belief (commonly seen in the phrase, “I believe in God”), while our lives never reflect a true and lasting change. How we respond to the Gospel Christ reveals our heart. 

Jesus is a light to us (v. 32) as our guide and our king, and he is what God promised to Israel. He was not what they expected and many stumbled because of it. Let us not make the same mistake that those who stumbled did. We can trust and follow Jesus Christ our Lord with passion and joy, for it is what God requires of us. Let us not reject God’s promise. 

Posted by Aaron Miner