December 26 2021

 

 

December 26th 2021, Christmas 1 (Martyrdom of St. Stephen)  

Old Testament: Exodus 13:1-3a, 11-15

Psalm: Psalm 111

Epistle: Acts 7:51—8:3 (substitute for Colossians 3:12-17)  

Gospel: Luke 2:22-40

Sermon Text: Luke 2:22-35

Sermon Title:

Grace to you and peace, from God the Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

Just one day after Christmas, and we are already hearing of hardships and sufferings. Today is also the “Feast of St. Stephen” who most consider the first Christian to die for their faith; for bearing witness to Jesus as the world’s only Savior from sin. He is the first of countless faithful Christians in the last 2000 years to be killed; including all but 1 of the 12 disciples of Jesus. In the death of the martyrs, we see “the devils rage on full display, his hatred of God’s Word and God’s people. We see that his rage ultimately comes to nothing, that he is overcome by the blood of the Lamb of God” (Wolfmueller, p. 17) “who takes away the sin of the world”. (John 1:29b)  

Two days from now is the “Feast of the Holy Innocents”, the part of the Christmas story from Matthew chapter 2, that we only hear when that day (the 28th) falls on a Sunday. There we hear of King Herod, who in a jealous Satanic rage, hoping to find and “destroy” the Christ child, orders all the male children under the age of two “in Bethlehem and all that region” (Matthew 2:17) to be killed. These children who were killed may not technically be martyrs, but they did die on account of Christ.  

At the warning of an angel, Joseph and Mary and the Christ child arose in the middle of the night, “and departed to Egypt and remained there until the death of Herod”. (Matthew 2:14b-15a) This was just the first of many examples of suffering and humiliation in Jesus’ earthly life. As Simeon prophesied to Jospeh and Mary; this child Jesus will be “opposed” and through Him, “thoughts from many hearts will be revealed”. (Luke 2:35b) (More on that in a bit.)

“And when the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, they brought Him up to Jerusalem, to present Him to the Lord, as it is written in the law of the Lord, every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord, and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said … a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons”. (Luke 2:22-24)  

This law is found in some detail in Leviticus chapter 12 and was to occur 40 days after the birth of the first-born male child. “She shall bring to the priest at the entrance to the tent of meeting, a lamb a year old for a burnt offering … if she cannot afford a lamb, then she shall take two turtledoves or two pigeons … and the priest shall make atonement for her and she shall be clean”. (Leviticus 12:6b-8)  

God claimed all the first-born as His own because He rescued all the first-born of Israel in the land of Egypt. Remember the 10th plague on the Egyptians, where all the first born in Egypt died, but the Angel of Death “passed over” all the houses of the Israelites that had painted blood “on the two doorposts and the lintels of their houses”. (Exodus 12:7b) Remember “that a strong hand of the Lord brought you out from this place”. (Exodus 13:3)  

Because Jesus was Mary’s first-born son, they brought Him to the temple. This purification ritual and the circumcision of Jesus, which occurred at 8 days, are part of His perfect fulfillment of God’s law on our behalf. Jesus perfectly obeyed all the laws of God and became the perfect sacrifice on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins.  

At the temple, “there was a man … whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him, by the Holy Spirit, that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ”. (Luke 2:25-26) Simeon is called “righteous and devout” because he trusted in the Word and promises of God, found in the Old Testament Scriptures; that God would send the Messiah/Christ to bring redemption and salvation to the people.  

Exactly how the Holy Spirit communicated this to Simeon, Scripture does not say; but he knew without a doubt, that this was the long-promised Christ. “And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for Him according to the custom of the law, Simeon took Him in his arms and blessed God”. (Luke 2:27-28)  

Then Simeon spoke the words that we still sing in our day, after receiving the Lord’s Supper; what is called the Nunc Dimmitis; which simply means “now depart”. “Lord, You are letting your servant depart in peace, according to Your Word; for my eyes have seen Your salvation that You have prepared in the presence of all peoples; a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to Your people Israel”. (Luke 2:29-32) Simeon was now ready for his death, ready “to depart in peace”. (Luke 2:29b)  

In this prayer, Simeon, like the Virgin Mary, calls himself a servant of the Lord; and the Lord has blessed this undeserving servant by letting him see “the Lord’s Christ” before he died; the salvation that would be for all peoples. Jesus’ death on the cross would atone for the sins of all people; both Jew and Gentile. God is fulfilling His promise to Abraham, that through His Christ, “all the nations of the earth would be blessed”. (Genesis 2:18) Isaiah also declared, “the nations shall see Your righteousness”. (Isaiah 62:2a)  

“And His mother and father marveled at what was said about Him. And Simeon blessed them”. (Luke 2:33-34a) Remember that before this day, Simeon was a complete stranger to them, so what he said to them amazed them. However, what Simeon would say next, would really get them thinking and wondering even more.  

“Behold this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed”. (Luke 2:34b) Despite the fact that this child was born to be the world’s Savior, He would not be accepted as such by most people. Spiritually speaking, whether one falls or rises, ultimately depends on one’s reaction to this child Jesus, who is at this point not more than six weeks old. As Isaiah prophesied, Jesus would be “despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrow and well acquainted with grief”. (Isaiah 53:3a) Those who follow Jesus will have many of the same experiences, as Stephen found out.

As David also prophesied and Peter recorded, “whoever believes in Him will not be put to shame … but for those who do not believe, the stone the builders rejected has become a cornerstone … a stone of stumbling, a rock of offense”. (1st Peter 2:6b-8a) It did not take long for Jesus to make enemies, and He warned that sometimes “a person’s enemies will be from his own household”. (Matthew 10:36) Many will be offended and stumble because of Jesus’ cross and His Word. One cannot be neutral about Jesus.

“And a sword will pierce your own soul also”. (Luke 2:35a) Simeon rejoiced in the salvation this child would bring, but he also knew it would come with a terrible price. Mary would some 30 years later witness the death of her Son on a cross; “piercing her soul”. (Luke 2:35) But this is what Jesus came to this earth to do; to suffer and die, to atone for the sins of the whole world. Of course, we know that Christ also rose from the dead on the third day; conquering death itself for us and our salvation. When our own souls are pierced by the trials of this life, we also have the promise of His presence and His peace.

Simeon’s last words to them were, “the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed”. (Luke 2:35b) Christ earned our salvation 2000 years ago on the cross, but it comes to us today through the preaching of the Word of God; which causes some who hear to believe the Gospel and be saved, while causing others to harden their own hearts and reject it.  

We heard this in the reading from Acts; when Stephen preached the word to them, “they were enraged and they ground their teeth at him … stopped their ears, and rushed together at him”. (Acts 7:54b, 57b) As the writer of Hebrews said, “the Word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword … discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart”. (Hebrews 4:12)  

This season, we celebrate the good news that Jesus became one of us and paid the price for our sins, to rescue us by going to the cross, “by becoming a curse for us”, (Galatians 3:13) that we might live forever with Him. He has washed us in the waters of baptism and through faith, “He has clothed us with the garments of His salvation; He has covered us with the robe of His righteousness”. (Isaiah 61:10b) Knowing this, we rejoice at the birth of our Savior Jesus, “who has called us out of (the) darkness (of sin); into His marvelous light”. (1st Peter 2:9b)