Sermon: The Presentation of Messiah

Scripture Text: Luke 2:22-38

Quotes for Reflection

R. Kent Hughes
Simeon and Anna represented all who saw that their only hope was in the mercy and grace of God. Along with the poor carpenter and his wife and the outcast shepherds, they were flesh-and-blood examples of those to whom Christ comes. They personified the paradox of being profoundly empty and profoundly full—“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled” (Matthew 5:6). They longed for the righteousness and consolation that would come only through the Messiah. They came to God’s house hungry, and they received as few others have in the history of the world.

J. C. Ryle
And now what do we think of Christ? This is the question that ought to occupy our minds. What thoughts does he call forth in our hearts? This is the inquiry which ought to receive our attention. Are we for him, or are we against him? Do we love him, or do we neglect him? Do we stumble at his doctrine, or do we find it life from the dead? Let us never rest till these questions are satisfactorily answered.

John Piper
The more deeply you walk with Christ, the hungrier you get for Christ . . . the more homesick you get for heaven . . . the more you want “all the fullness of God”…the more you want to be done with sin…the more you want the Bridegroom to come again . . . the more you want the Church revived and purified with the beauty of Jesus . . . the more you want a great awakening to God’s reality in the cities . . . the more you want to see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ penetrate the darkness of all the unreached peoples of the world . . . the more you want to see false worldviews yield to the force of Truth . . . the more you want to see pain relieved and tears wiped away and death destroyed . . . the more you long for every wrong to be made right and the justice and grace of God to fill the earth like the waters cover the sea.

Application Questions

1. What hunger in your heart has Christ satisfied, or what hunger do you want him to satisfy?

2. What are your “inner thoughts” about the person of Jesus?

3. Would your life look different if it were characterized by waiting for the appearing of Jesus (i.e., his second coming)? How so?