Word of Salvation – Vol. 14 No.51 - December 1968

 

Simeon's Departure In Peace

 

Sermon by Rev. M. P. Geluk, Th.Grad on Luke 2:28-30

SCRIPTURE READINGS: Psalm 90; Luke 2: 22-35

PSALTER HYMNAL: 162; 301; 424; 475; 473

 

Congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ,

In a few hours we will be leaving the year 1968 behind us.  And on this evening, this New Year's Eve, we want to take a look at Simeon, who was ready to leave this present earthly life behind him.

The Bible speaks of Simeon as a man who was righteous and devout.  In our own modern language it means that Simeon was a sincere and earnest Christian.  It is further said of him that he was looking for the consolation of Israel.  In other words, Simeon was looking forward to the time when the Saviour was to be born, and he was hoping that it would be soon.  Jesus was to be a consolation to Simeon, and, of course, to the whole of Israel, or at least to those who wanted Him to come.  God's Son would bring comfort to those souls that were yearning for God's promises of salvation to be realised in the Saviour.

Simeon was also one of those privileged few upon whom the spirit of prophecy had come.  We read here in this account by Luke that the Holy Spirit had revealed to Simeon that he was not going to see death before he had actually seen the Christ.  And sure enough, one day the Holy Spirit led him into the temple and there he saw the Saviour-Child whom Joseph and Mary had brought into the temple when the time had come for their purification.

And so Simeon had his heart's desire fulfilled.  He had actually been able to see the Saviour with his own eyes.  He had even taken the Child in his arms!  And, when he had done that, he could not refrain from praising God in a beautiful doxology.  Now, why have we chosen this passage as a text for our New Year's Eve service, congregation?  Well, there are two reasons.  The first is that with this text we are able to continue our celebration of the birth of Jesus.  We do not have to forget all about Christ's birth as soon as Christmas has passed.  And we can benefit greatly when we see the reactions of an ordinary believer like Simeon to Jesus' coming into the world.

The second reason for having this text for our New Year's Eve service is that we can draw such a close parallel between Simeon and ourselves.  We are told that Simeon departed in peace.  He was ready to leave this life behind him in a state of spiritual happiness.  And now this evening, as we reflect on the year that is drawing to a close, we may ask, "Are we leaving 1968 behind us in peace, in a state of spiritual happiness, as Simeon did with his earthly life?"

This evening then, we want to speak about SIMEON'S DEPARTURE IN PEACE, and from it we see:

            1.  The Manner of such a Departure; and

            2.  The Ground of such a Departure.

1.  Once Simeon had seen the Lord, he felt ready to depart.  Our text itself does not actually state that he did depart in peace.  Our text tells us that Simeon prayed that he may depart in peace.  But we may safely assume that his prayer was heard, and that the Lord took him home to heaven in peace.  For earlier on, the Holy Spirit had revealed to him that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord.  So, once Simeon had seen Christ, he could say to the Lord that he was ready to go.

We do not know if Simeon was an old man, but the context seems to suggest that he was.  All his life he had waited longingly for the Christ to come.  Maybe he had grown old; had even given up hope sometimes of ever seeing the Saviour.  But he was assured by the Holy Spirit that death would not come to him until he had seen the consolation of Israel.  The Lord must have been very real to Simeon.  Of course, there could easily have been other sincere believers like Simeon waiting for the time of Jesus' birth, but only Simeon was told that he would not die until he had seen the Saviour.

Simeon did not die in a state of restlessness or anxiety; as one "tossed about with many a conflict, many a doubt."  No, he went in peace.  When his life came to an end he was satisfied and content.  His life-long wish had been fulfilled, and there was no point in his staying on in this world any longer.  And so he departed, being immensely happy and thankful. 

We must think of this peace of Simeon's as a peace with God, first of all.  Simeon was not afraid to die.  There was no fear in his heart, no conflict within.  He knew that the Lord loved him, he knew that he was a child of God.  And so he could go to his heavenly Father, having that wonderful rest in his heart.

And peace with God will give peace with one's neighbours.  Peace with God always results in having peace with one's fellow men in the sense that you do not nurse feelings of hate and bitterness against him.  Thus Simeon could face the Lord, confident that the Lord would accept him out of grace.  He was at peace with God, and there was peace in his heart because of the peace he had with God.

It is remarkable that our text actually does not say that Simeon died; it speaks of his death as a departure.  Simeon was departing from one place to another.  He was departing from life on earth and he was going to a new life in heaven forever, in the fellowship of his Lord.

And this, of course, is true of every believer.  The death of a Christian is not the end of his conscious existence.  He, in fact, departs from earth to heaven, and he is fully aware of his transition.

Some time ago, a number of articles appeared in some daily newspapers about the immortality of the human soul.  Our text does not permit us to go into details here, but it may be helpful to state one or two facts.

It is quite true that the Bible never speaks of the immortality of the soul as such.  Only God has immortality – the Bible says in 1Tim.6:16 – and the believer receives immortality as a gift, for he is saved from eternal death.  And the Bible shows very convincingly that, when a believer dies, he does not disappear into nothingness while he waits for the Lord's second coming, at which time the dead shall be raised again.

No, the Bible tells us that as soon as a believer dies, his soul or his spirit goes to the Lord in heaven.  And in heaven the soul is fully conscious of being with Christ.  It knows and experiences the fact that heaven is a place of joy.  Yet, this joy is not fully perfect.  This fullness comes when the body is raised at the Lord's return and is re-united with the soul.

And so, contrary to some statements that have been made in the press, the Bible definitely indicates that, while a believer's body goes into the grave, his soul immediately goes to heaven.

Paul, on more than one occasion, speaks of himself as longing to be with the Lord in the spirit (Phil.1:23; 2Cor.5:8).  And Jesus said to the thief dying next to Him on the cross: "Today you shall be with me in Paradise."

There is no indication whatsoever of some kind of a long, unconscious sleep.  For the Christian, dying means moving on to fuller glories in heaven.  For the Christian death is gain, for after death, he is with the Lord immediately.

And so it is here with Simeon.  His request to the Lord to allow him to depart from this life would not make much sense if he was going to disappear into nothingness or a state of unconscious existence.  No, Simeon could depart in peace because he knew there were better things waiting for him.  He was going home; he was going to be with the Lord.

And Simeon could praise God in all this.  As he held the baby Jesus in his arms, he came to the wonderful realization that God's promises to him, and to all of God's people, had come to fulfilment.  Thus he blessed God.  To bless God means to speak well of Him and to give Him heartfelt praise for all His blessings.  A believer who blesses God gives evidence of a thankful attitude, And this is how Simeon felt over against God who had brought His promises into effect; yes, over against the covenant-God who remembered His people.

And so, congregation, as the year 1968 comes to an end, we must ask: Do we have that same thankful attitude to God as Simeon had?  Can we bless God?  Can we speak well of Him?  Can we leave 1968 behind us with peace in our hearts?  Is there confidence in your hearts that the Lord will be with us in the year that now lies before us?

Now is the time, congregation, when we let our minds roam over the year that is passing, to see whether or not there has been spiritual progress; whether or not we have come to live closer to the Lord; whether or not the Lord's salvation has taken on a deeper meaning for us.

2.  We now turn to our second point, and look at the ground of Simeon's departure in peace.  It is all very well to speak of the way Simeon departed from this life in peace, and then to say that we must be able to leave 1968 behind us in a similar way.  It is all very well to say that, congregation, but it won't help us much.

We could point to many, many more believers besides Simeon, whose lives have been fine examples for us to follow.  But we would not be helped a great deal really, for the simple reason that man in himself, in his nature, is just unable to live a life pleasing to God if he has not first seen Jesus Christ as His Saviour.

That is the whole reason.  We must first look upon the Saviour before we can look upon His followers.  Mind you, all that we have said about the way Simeon departed in peace has not been a waste of time.  Not at all.  Look at Simeon, and learn from him – but don't forget to look at Christ first.

Simeon could only depart the way he did because his eyes had seen the salvation that God had prepared.  Simeon did not want to see the child Jesus in the way that some elderly people want to see their first grandchild and then feel they can die happily.  No, Simeon was waiting for the consolation, the hope of Israel.  For Christ was no ordinary Child; He was salvation.

Simeon was not just a kind, sentimental old man.  No, as a believer, he was sober and realistic; fully aware of the fact that, unless Christ had come, there would simply have been no salvation and, therefore, no peaceful departure.

Simeon could die in peace because he realized that Christ would bring peace with God – and peace within man's heart.

So, let us not forget it, congregation; in this text, the ground of Simeon's departure is of prime importance: it is the ground of Simeon's departure that really determines the manner of it.  We can never hope to die in peace like Simeon, if we have not first seen Jesus as Saviour; as our Saviour from God's punishment upon sin.

So, looking back over 1968, we should first ask ourselves, have we seen God's salvation in Jesus Christ?  Have we really seen it?  Have we experienced the wonder of it?  Have we been made joyful by it?  If we have, then we can leave 1968 behind us in a state of spiritual happiness.

But if we have not really seen the Saviour this year, then we are not leaving 1968 behind us in peace.  And if we don't have that peace next year, then next year won't be very meaningful either.

Yes, any year, in fact, any day, is a lost year, a lost day if we do not know the peace of God.  For, unless the Saviour has been seen by us for what He did and for what He is, then there will never be peace within us.  We may think that we have peace, but if this peace is not a real knowing that our sins have been forgiven for Jesus' sake, then our peace is false.  It is the peace of the cemetery.  It is a false security.

So we had better spend the last few moments of this year examining ourselves.  Looking at ourselves in the light of God's Word.  Reading what it says about us, especially in the Sermon on the Mount – which we find in chapters 5, 6, and 7 of Matthew's Gospel.  And... doing some hard thinking.

Actually, self-examination or reflection is quite a difficult thing to do.  If we are completely honest with ourselves, then reflection can be most disturbing, no matter when we do it – be it at the end of the day or at the end of the year.  When we look back upon our lives to see if we have loved and served the Lord as we should, then we can't help thinking that the Lord has been saddened by our behaviour and the smallness of our faith.

The year 1968 is almost gone now.  How many people in the Church have really grown in faith, and in the blessed knowledge of the Saviour?  Do you hate sin more now than you did at the beginning of the year?  Oh, congregation, let us never pat ourselves on the back and say we have done well spiritually.  From God's point of view there is still so much lacking in our lives of faith.

But let us be looking ever onward to Jesus.  Keeping our eyes fixed on Him, for He is salvation.  If we do that with our whole heart, then we can't go wrong.  For when it is all said and done, our only real hope for the new year, 1969, or any year is, Christ.

With the end of an old year there must come a sincere confession of sins.  Let us not forget this, congregation.  And at the same time we must also pray that we may grow nearer to the Lord in the year before us.  Confession and petition should always be part of our prayers at the end of a year, or at the beginning of one.

And if we do this from the depths of our hearts, then there will be peace in our hearts, because Jesus is there to cover all our failures.  He is our consolation, our hope, and our salvation.  Without Him all would be empty and comfortless.  There- fore, give the Saviour the most important place in your life, and begin doing this in 1969.  Treat Him seriously and remember Him always, especially this evening.

May our prayer show that same humble attitude which we find in the words of the well-known hymn:

            "Another year is dawning!
             Dear Father, let it be,
             In working or in waiting,
             another year with Thee;
             Another year of leaning
             upon Thy loving breast,
             Another year of trusting;
             of quiet, happy rest.

             Another year of service,
             of witness for Thy love;
             Another year of training
             for holier work above.
             Another year is dawning!
             Dear Father let it be,
             On earth, or else in heaven,
             another year for Thee." (461:1,3).

Amen.