THE SALVATION THAT GOD PREPARED BEFORE ALL THE PEOPLE
LUKE 2:25-32
Introduction:
Simeon was a man in Jerusalem who was righteous and devout and who was looking for “the consolation of Israel,” the Lord Jesus Christ. He was a godly man “and the Holy Ghost was upon him.” Luke 2:26 says, “And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.” So he waited patiently for the Lord’s coming.
When he saw Jesus as a baby he recognized Him and said in verses 30-32, “For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, 31 Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people; 32 A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.”
I. WHEN THE FULLNESS OF THE TIME WAS COME
A. God sent forth His Son, Galatians 4:4, “But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.”
1. Made of a woman, the God-Man, Isaiah 9:6-7, “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.”
a. Born of a virgin, Isaiah 7:14, “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”
b. The mighty God in human flesh, Hebrews 10:5, 10, “Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me: 10 By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”
2. Made under the Law, to redeem…
a. Those under the Law, the Jews, Galatians 3:13, “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:”
b. His people, Luke 1:68, “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people,”
c. The Gentiles, Titus 2:14, “Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.”
B. God sent forth His Son to be a Propitiation [removal of wrath] for our sins, Romans 3:25-26, Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; 26 To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.”
1. Through Faith in His Blood, v. 25; Romans 5:9, “Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.”
2. To become the justifier of him which believes in Jesus, v. 26; Romans 4:5, “But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.”
II. GOD SENT FORTH HIS SON TO MAKE PEACE
A. Through the blood of His Cross, Colossians 1:19-20, “For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell; 20 And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.
B. To reconcile to Himself all things…
1. Those alienated from Him being enemies, Romans 5:9-10, “Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. 10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.”
2. He has made us alive unto God, Ephesians 2:1-2, 12, “And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; 2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: 12 That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:”
a. We were dead in sins, Ephesians 2:5-6, “Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) 6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:”
b. To us God was a Stranger, Jeremiah 14:8, “O the hope of Israel, the saviour thereof in time of trouble, why shouldest thou be as a stranger in the land, and as a wayfaring man that turneth aside to tarry for a night?”
c. Now He has raised us from the dead by faith in Christ, 1 Peter 1:3, 21, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 21 Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God.”
CONCLUSION
Simeon saw the Salvation of the Lord in Jesus Christ. God had showed it to him and the entire world openly. Yet man cannot see it for the blindness of his sin. The Gospel has been preached here and abroad and continues to be until this day. O that men might open their eyes to see and their ears to hear the truth before it is too late.