Pastor Marshall Ochs | December 24, 2023
In this message, Pastor Marshall teaches from Luke 2:21-40. These verses track the faithful obedience of God’s people during the first advent. Mary, Joseph, Simeon, and Anna are all portrayed as obeying God’s word and receiving a reward for their faithfulness. The picture Luke paints is an invitation to consider our obedience to God’s word on the eve of the second advent.
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Read Luke 2:21-24
We begin today, one week after Jesus was born, first reflecting on the ceremony of circumcision. As we dive into this, we see lessons for us today. According to Leviticus 12:3, a male child was circumcised eight days after birth. This act was not a mere tradition but a divine commandment from God. It was a sign of obedience. The act of circumcision symbolized something profound. It marked God's people as a set-apart community, a people who had undergone a literal cutting away of flesh. It reminded them they were to be holy and distinct from the world. As Christ's followers, we are called to live lives set apart for God's purposes, to cut away the fleshly desires and selfishness that can entangle us.
Read Colossians 3:1-10
It is true that we no longer need to fulfill the sacrificial laws as Christ, through His ultimate sacrifice on the cross, has accomplished redemption for us. His atonement cleanses us from sin, offering us salvation through faith in Him. This is a cornerstone of our faith, and we should hold fast to it, recognizing the completeness of Christ's work.
However, even though we no longer need to follow the Mosaic laws, we have commands to obey as believers. Colossians 3:1-10 guides how we should live as people of the Second Advent. It encourages us to set our minds on heavenly things, to put off the old self with its sinful nature, and to put on the new self, which is being renewed in the knowledge of God. These commands remind us to live lives characterized by love, compassion, humility, and forgiveness.
Read Luke 2:25-40
In this passage, Luke tells us about a man named Simeon, who was described as righteous and devout, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. The Holy Spirit revealed he would not die before seeing the Lord's Christ.
Simeon possessed the Spirit of God, a guiding light that led him. And so, when the Spirit stirred within him to go to the Temple, Simeon obeyed without hesitation. Walking in obedience that day, he beheld the Messiah. There, in the arms of humble parents, rested a child. Yet this was no ordinary child; it fulfilled a promise made to all humanity. Simeon's unwavering faith in the promise, obedience to the Spirit's leading, and reward of beholding the Messiah testify to the importance of obedience in the First Advent.
As we reflect on this passage, we are reminded that obedience is not confined to the pages of Scripture but remains a cornerstone of the Second Advent, as John 14:15-31 reminds us of Jesus' teachings on obedience.
Obedience is not a mere adherence to rules; it is the revelation of what we truly love. Just as Simeon's love for God and his unwavering faith led him to the Messiah, our obedience reveals the depths of our love and devotion.
Today, as we reflect on the birth of Jesus, we must ask ourselves: What does it mean for us to prepare for the second coming of Christ? Our response should mirror the gratitude, awe, and obedience of those who witnessed His first coming.