Transcribed from the Words of Life Radio Program
I thank you for being able to be together for this Bible lesson as we consider the Word of God and apply it to our lives. The title for the lesson is “Dismiss Your Servant in Peace.” And our study text is taken from the New Testament Luke chapter 2 verses 25 through 32. We will get to the text in the body of our lesson.
We are all aging. Yes, some of us are farther along in aging than others – but on the clock, so-to-speak we are all aging together.
Someone has said: “It’s attitude, not arteries, that determine the vitality of our maturing years.” I like that.
I read about a robot suit that gives super strength to the elderly. Imagine that. It’s a heavy-duty suit weighing 66 pounds! Question: “How many of us senior citizens have the desire or strength to carry around 66 pounds for half an hour, an hour, much less all day?” My question, how can an exoskeletal suit made of metal and plastic give strength? According to the manufacture and I’m quoting: “Eight electric motors and sensors responding to a person’s commands through a voice-recognition system, enables the body to lift and bend without strain!”
Really? We shouldn’t be wasting our precious time thinking about how to overcome the inevitable weaknesses in our current bodies. Instead, as Christians, we should think more about our God, and how strong He is and the inner strength that we need to age. Just as sensors built into a power suit respond by voice recognition, we as believers, should ask our God to be our strength and strengthen us, when we are weak physically, mentally, emotionally, or spiritually. God, individually and intimately knows and recognizes our voices and He can prompt us with his will through the indwelling Holy Spirit for the born-again baptized believer.
Consider Psalm 73 and verse 26 which states “My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” Are we depending on God or struggling to go it alone? Are we in God’s word recognizing His voice to us personally or not? The apostle Paul intimately knew has dependence on God. He wrote: “To this end I labor, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me.” (Colossians chapter 1 and verse 29)
Let’s remember, God did not create these bodies we now have to live forever in them in this old bodies, in these deteriorating mortal bodies, all believers are getting new, glorified, immortal, perfected bodies, no robotics necessary. Regarding our new, glorified bodies the apostle Paul also wrote: “For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality.” (First Corinthians chapter 15 verse 53)
The cure for discouragement in the meantime involves continued interest, continued enthusiasm, and effort in our Lord through His Word by surrendering to the Holy Spirit, to be filled with the Holy Spirit as we go through this life. Some of us may not be up to strenuous physical activity but prayer, Bible study is do-able for many of us maybe for most of us as we age.
The first half of our lives may well have been romantic and the last half rheumatic, nevertheless, it’s about proper attitude. Pearl Buck, the first American woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, and the daughter of missionaries wrote: “I have reached an honorable position in life, because I am old, and no longer young. I am a far more useful person than I was 50 years ago, or 40 years ago, even 10 years ago. I have learned so much since I was seventy.” Never stop learning; let’s keep our minds active, engaged, and curious to learn more. Especially about God and how to help others. That will help us all in a proper attitude as we all age. The best need not be behind us, our attitude can be the best is in front of us.
Why does God let His sons and daughters get old, weak, physically and often hurt so much? Plus, what doesn’t hurt doesn’t work anymore. The gleam in your eyes is from the sun hitting your bifocals. Perhaps your knees buckle, and your belt won’t buckle. Your children begin to look middle-aged. You decide to procrastinate, but never get around to it; or forget you decided to do it in the first place. You get winded playing cards.
You know all the answers, but nobody asks you any more questions. Your back goes out more than you do. A fortune-teller offers to read your face. You’ve got way too much room in your house to keep up with, but not enough room in your medicine cabinet. On and on it goes…Okay this positive attitude thing is good in theory but…
And yet, our minds can also get weaker but stimulating our minds can be encouraging. We as Christians have great promises in Scripture to keep us hopeful. Two senior citizens in Scripture had great hope in their LORD and God.
Listen to Luke chapter 2 verses 36 through 38 “There was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Penuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.”
The prophetess Anna (in the Hebrew language her name is Hannah) notice in her old age is characterized with worship, fasting, and prayer. Can Christians worship God at home if need be? Absolutely! What forms of worship do we do when assembled in God’s house of worship? Prayers, singing, communion, and time in the Scriptures learning more about God. Can we do all of this at home, if we cannot physically make it to church building for services? Absolutely! (We have many old hymnals, no longer used and you can probably get one from your church.) Anna was in the temple “Coming up to them (in verse 38 refers to Joseph, Mary, and the baby Jesus. How did Anna know that the infant Jesus was Messiah? She was God’s prophetess to forth-tell others as she gave her testimony. An example to each of us, note verse 38 “She gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.” And we can give thanks to God as we speak about the name Jesus to those who are looking forward hopefully to their redemption in Christ Jesus.
God had promised Israel a Messiah-Savior. Anna, overjoyed, she had this promise fulfilled, this hope realized, as she beheld her Messiah. And Anna, “very old” (verse 36) nevertheless she remained active, involved in her spiritual life, and had her greatest hope fulfilled in a most wonderful way – meeting, perhaps holding her Messiah in her arms! Also listen to Luke chapter 2 beginning in verse 25 “Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:
“Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss your servant in peace.
For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all peoples: a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel.” What a beautiful passage.
It is revealed in Scripture that this Simeon was “righteous and devout” which made him spiritually motivated to also testify about his Messiah-Savior. To be “devout” means to be “reverent” toward God. It conveys the idea of being careful to obey and honor God so as to lead an exemplary life before God and others. Certainly what, today, all Christians should stive to be and live out before others.
Like the rest of the faithful remnant of Jews in the first century AD, Anna, and Simeon eagerly, expectantly awaited the coming Messiah, who would bring “the consolation of Israel.” “Consolation” in this context means: the comfort, encouragement, or solace to Israel. They lived in troubled times under the yoke of the Romans.
By application today, as born-again, baptized believers we eagerly await the second coming, the return of our Savior. Titus chapter 2 and verse 13 “While we wait for the blessed hope – the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.” As we also live in troubled times.
Simeon was given a great promise and hope in Luke chapter 2 verse 26 “It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.” Our passage reveals this promise and hope fulfilled. God always keeps His promises which are believer’s hope, and being with our Lord will be fulfilled one glorious day. Moreover, Christians today, greatly desire that they would be alive when the Lord returns for His church.
First Thessalonians chapter 4 verses 16 and 17 says in part “and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so, we will be with the Lord forever.” That’s our great promise and hope. Whether raised for dead or alive will come to pass as surely as the promise and hope of Messiah were wonderfully realized by Anna and by Simeon.
A few main points regarding what Simeon was led to state as he “took him in his arms and praised God.” As it states in verse 28. Imagine holding the baby Jesus in your arms! And he praised God saying: “you now dismiss your servant in peace.” Verse 29. “Dismiss” here means die in peace. Simeon was already saved having made his peace with God through faith proven as revealed as “righteous and devout.” Therefore, the context here of “in peace” refers to his hope in the promise of God having been fulfilled, his joy was complete, his heart was at peace. With his own eyes he had seen God’s “consolation of Israel” personally personified embodied in the infant Jesus. (verse 30)
Christians today await our similar consolation, which is promised us, in Christ, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.” Matthew chapter 5 and verse 8 and in First John chapter 3 verse 2 which says in part “But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.” And all of this marvelous praise from this devout Jew, is not just for Israel but also “a light for revelation to the Gentiles.” Luke chapter 2 verse 32 that also includes us, most of us as Gentiles over 2000 years later!
Simeon and Anna, both aged believers remained active, involved, and hopeful especially in their faith.As we all age let us not become inactive, reclusive, nor constantly discouraged, we all have great value even physically when people diminish us as just being old. Humor them with this: “Older people are worth way more than younger folks. We have silver in our hair, gold in our teeth, stones in our kidneys, lead in our feet, and natural gas in our guts. We’re all worth a whole lot more than youngsters!
That’s not even mentioning being well-experienced, mature and wiser, and certainly always include, as Christians at peace with God and having the peace of God whether alive when Jesus returns for us or when He, God dismisses us from this life.
David Johnson is Minister of the Sellersburg Church of Christ in Sellersburg,IN.