The Christmas Cross

Holy Gospel: Luke 2:22-40

²² 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 ²³ (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”) ²⁴ and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the Law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.” ²⁵ Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. ²⁶ 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. ²⁷ 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, ²⁸ he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said,

²⁹  “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace,

according to your word;

³⁰  for my eyes have seen your salvation

³¹  that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,

³² a light for revelation to the Gentiles,

and for glory to your people Israel.”

33And his father and his mother marveled at what was said about him. 34And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed 35(and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.”

36And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived with her husband seven years from when she was a virgin, 37and then as a widow until she was eighty-four. She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day. 38And coming up at that very hour she began to give thanks to God and to speak of him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.

39And when they had performed everything according to the Law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. 40And the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom. And the favor of God was upon him.

Christmas 1| Luke 2:22-40| Pastor James Preus| Trinity Lutheran Church| December 29, 2024

A couple weeks ago, we had our Children’s Christmas Program after church. The children did a marvelous job singing the Christmas hymns and reciting their Scripture passages, which told us the Christmas story. And of course, the little children were adorable. There is perhaps nothing that brings more joy to a Christian heart than to hear little children confess their Christian faith. Yet, on this first Sunday in Christmas, we see that Christmas is not only for little children, but also, even especially for the aged. Geriatric Simeon and Anna join the shepherds and little children in celebrating the birth of Christ the Savior. Simeon takes the Christchild in his arms, blessing God and prophesying about the child. Anna, an eighty-four-year-old widow rejoices at Simeon’s words, as this is what she too has been waiting for. She has been waiting for the Savior to be born. She then spends the rest of her time telling all those waiting for the consolation of Jerusalem about this child.

Simeon is a prophet. Anna is a prophetess. Some confuse the office of prophetess with the office of pastor, but they are not the same. Scripture prohibits women from being pastors, who are charged to publicly preach and teach God’s Word. A prophetess speaks God’s word directly, but she does not publicly preach. We see other such examples of prophetesses in both the Old and New Testament. Would to God that every woman were a prophetess like Anna, eager to share her faith with others. Would that every old widow would tell everyone she encounters about Jesus and the Salvation He has won for us.

Through Simeon and Anna, we learn that Christmas and the Christchild are not only for little children, but also for the elderly and everyone in between. We also learn from these elderly Christians about the Christmas cross. There is a cross appointed for that little baby Jesus. And there is a cross appointed for every Christian who sojourns in this life following Jesus (Luke 9:23). But first, let’s look at the cross of Christ.

We are saved from eternal damnation in hell, because God forgives us and declares us righteous for Christ’s sake. That is why Simeon says when he holds Jesus in his arms, “Lord, now let your servant depart in peace, for I have seen your Salvation.” Christ Jesus is our salvation, because through Him we are declared righteous, that is, justified before God. We are not righteous of ourselves. We are sinners. But God gives us righteousness that is not our own as a gift to be received through faith, so that we may be saved. But what is this righteousness, which God credits toward us? It is Christ’s righteousness. Not Christ’s eternal essential righteousness which He has always had according to His divine nature, but the righteousness of the Godman Christ Jesus, which He acquires for us in human flesh. The righteousness Christ gives to us by grace to be received through faith is the righteousness that all humans should have had, but failed.

This righteousness comes in two parts, both of which are taught in this Gospel lesson. First, is Christ’s active righteousness. Even as an infant, Christ fulfills the law in our stead, as St. Paul declares in Galatians 4, “God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, to redeem those who were under the Law…” We know already at eight days old; Jesus was circumcised in obedience to the Law. Here, at 40 days old, Jesus is presented at the temple, as the Law prescribes, every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord.”. And Joseph offers the sacrifice prescribed for Jesus’ mother’s purification. Even as an infant, Jesus submits Himself to God’s Law in human flesh for us. He earns a righteousness; we have failed to earn.

Yet, in order to justify us before God, Christ does not only need to earn righteousness in human flesh for us. He must also make atonement for our sins in human flesh. Luke meticulously describes the details of Jesus’ first visit to the temple. He explains the purpose for the journey. First, to offer the prescribed sacrifice for Mary’s purification. He even details that they offered a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons. This indicates that Mary and Joseph were poor and that the Wise Men had not yet visited them with their gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh, because the Law actually prescribes that she offer up a lamb a year old for a burnt offering and a dove or pigeon for a sin offering, but if she could not afford a lamb, she could offer two doves or two pigeons (Leviticus 12).

The second purpose for the trip to the temple was to present Jesus before the Lord as the firstborn. Yet, despite Luke meticulously mentioning that they offered a couple pigeons for Mary’s purification, he doesn’t mention Joseph paying the five shekels to redeem Jesus. You see, every firstborn male was presented as holy to the Lord, because God killed the firstborn sons of Egypt to redeem Israel from slavery. He then said that every firstborn male of man and beast must be dedicated to the Lord as holy. For the clean animals, this meant that they were sacrificed. For donkeys, which couldn’t be offered as a sacrifice, they were either redeemed by a lamb, which could be sacrificed, or their necks were broken. For the sons of men, they were redeemed with five shekels (Numbers 18:15-16).

So why wasn’t Jesus redeemed? Does this mean that he failed to fulfill the Law? No. He did fulfill the Law. He was presented to the Lord as holy, just as Samuel was presented to the Lord as holy. Yet, like Samuel, instead of being redeemed, He was dedicated to the Lord for service. Jesus is not redeemed, because He Himself is our Redeemer. He is sacrificed for the sins of all people. This is what Simeon indicates when He prophesies that Christ is appointed for a sign which is opposed. Christ Jesus is the stone, which the builders rejected, which has become the chief cornerstone. That is, Jesus was crucified by His own people, but He has risen as the source of salvation for all who believe in Him.

So, while still in Christmas, we can see the cross of Christ. This is why He was born. He has been prepared as a spotless lamb for slaughter. And when He has accomplished all He needs to accomplish for us, He will lay down His life for our salvation. Yet, there is a second cross we see in this first week of Christmas. It is the cross every Christian must bear as we sojourn as pilgrims on earth. Simeon speaks of this cross when he says to Mary, “Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.” This of course, speaks of the sword of grief which pierced through Mary’s soul as she knelt at the foot of her son’s cross watching him writhe in pain before taking his last breath. Yet, Mary also serves as a type of the Christian Church. And so, a sword pierces through the soul of Christ’s bride the Church, as His Sign, that is, the Gospel is opposed by many.

As we see that Christmas is celebrated by the young and aged, so we see that Christians bear the cross from cradle to grave, as Jesus says, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” (Luke 9:23) We see this in Simeon and Anna. Simeon, who did not want to die, simply because he wanted to see the Lord’s Christ first. Yet, when he saw Christ, he was content to depart this life in peace. Anna, who did not pity herself in her long widowhood, but devoted herself to the Lord in prayer, anxious to tell anyone about the promised Christ. And her joy was fulfilled when she finally saw the Consolation of Jerusalem.

And so, we have a cross to bear in our pilgrimage. This cross comes in the form of a heightened awareness of our sin and the unbelief around us. It comes from the hatred from the world, which wants us to be silent toward God’s Word, especially of Christ and His Gospel, which is the sign to be opposed. It comes in the form of mockery, the loss of family and friends, and witnessing apostasy around us. For many it even comes in the form of prison and death, as we see from our brothers and sisters in Christ overseas. Yet, as we see from Simeon and Anna, our elderly participants for today’s Christmas pageant, this cross is worth it. The Lord gives us this cross according to His discretion, always to direct us toward Jesus’ cross, where alone our atonement was made.

We learn from Simeon and Anna to rejoice under the weight of our cross, because we get to see the fruit of Jesus’ cross. Simeon rejoiced in the Lord as he held Jesus in his arms, asking the Lord to let him depart in peace, because he had seen His Salvation in the baby Jesus. To the casual observer, it appears that Simeon is presenting Jesus to the Lord. Yet in truth, it is the baby Jesus presenting Simeon to the Lord, having prepared Him for temporal death and eternal life. We have borrowed Simeon’s song of rejoicing for our Communion liturgy. After eating Christ’s true body and blood in the Sacrament, we sing, “Lord now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace…” We say this, because having received Christ and the benefits of His cross, we are ready to die. Simeon has taught us that there is nothing in this life worth living for except for the salvation of Christ. And if you have Christ’s salvation, you are prepared to die. As Simeon did not present Jesus to the Lord, but the Lord presented Simeon to God, prepared for salvation, so when we receive Communion, we are not offering Christ to the Lord, but Christ is offering us to God. He does not offer us as an atoning Sacrifice. Christ alone is an atoning sacrifice. He offers us to God as those prepared for salvation. We are ready to depart in peace. We have tasted salvation and found it good.

The cross God lays upon us always directs us to Christ’s cross, where our Salvation is won for us. Therefore, it always directs us to Christ’s Word and Sacrament, where we receive the benefits of that cross through faith and are ready to depart this life. Christmas teaches us that the life of a Christian is a lifelong pilgrimage under the cross. Yet, this is a joyful pilgrimage to be celebrated by young and old and everyone in between. Amen.