Global Mission

Hey y’all, sorry I have been absent for a considerable amount of time. Sometimes I just can’t find stuff to write, or I forget about this blog. I hope you haven’t forgotten about me. So this morning I was reading in Luke chapter 2 and I noticed something that absolutely astonished me. It occurs in verses 29-32. First a little background, we have just witnessed the birth of Christ, one of the most miraculous and awe inspiring things to happen in history, secondary to the Resurrection. Then the shepherds come and visit the little child, at the calling of the angel of the Lord. When Jesus is 8 years old, his parents take him to the temple to be consecrated and circumcised, where they meet Simeon. Simeon was an old man, devoted to God. The bible says he was “eagerly waiting for the Messiah” and that “the Holy Spirit was upon him.” Obviously, this dude had things together, but one thing lacked in his life, and that was the promise made to him, by God, that he would not die until he saw the Messiah. Now we are at the part that astonished me, upon seeing Christ, Simeon says this

²⁹ “Sovereign Lord, now let your servant die in peace,
as you have promised.
³⁰ I have seen your salvation,
³¹ which you have prepared for all people.
³² He is a light to reveal God to the nations,
and he is the glory of your people Israel!” (NLT)

I like the way the Amplified Bible puts it as well:

9And now, Lord, You are releasing Your servant to depart (leave this world) in peace, according to Your word.

³⁰For with my [own] eyes I have seen Your Salvation,^(A)

³¹Which You have ordained and prepared before (in the presence of) all peoples,

³²A Light for ^[a]revelation to the Gentiles [to disclose what was before unknown] and [to bring] praise and honor and glory to Your people Israel.^(B)

There are two things that I want to mention, that caught me in this passage

1) Simeon recognized upon looking at the child the purpose of Jesus Christ. Somehow, what took the disciples three years or so to understand, took this man a few minutes to realize. As I look back at the passage, I look for things that separate Simeon from the disciples, and notice one defining thing, the Holy Spirit. I’m not sure of the functions of the Holy Spirit before Pentecost, but I’m venturing to say that one of them was revelation. I believe that Simeon was able to deduce the mission of Christ in such a manner because of the revelation of the Holy Spirit. Now why does this man, only mentioned this one time, have the Holy Spirit, while there is never mention of the disciples having the impact of the Spirit upon their lives. I think about this, and see that the world view of the disciples was tainted by the physical present, never the spiritual future. They were always worried about salvation from their present oppression under Roman rule. Constantly Jesus tries pointing them towards the spiritual side of things, trying to get them to be kingdom minded, but they never understand what he is talking about, they never have that spiritual connection. It isn’t until Jesus ascends to heaven, and during Pentecost, that they realize what He was teaching. On the flip side, we have Simeon who was in tune with God. He was led by the spirit, he was righteous and devout. It says in this chapter that the spirit led him to the temple. I think it was because of this “oneness” if I can call it that with God, that Simeon immediately realized the mission of Jesus. Another thing I find funny is, Jesus’ parents didn’t even understand His mission, and an angel even spoke to Mary. Verse 33 says “Jesus’ parents were amazed at what was being said about him” think about that.

2) From these four verses, we realize that God’s mission is not local, but Global. This mission is clearly stated in verses 30-32

³⁰ I have seen your salvation,
³¹ which you have prepared for all people.
³² He is a light to reveal God to the nations,
and he is the glory of your people Israel!” (NLT)

We read that God prepared his salvation for ALL people, not just the Israelites. My favorite part of this passage is verse 32 “He is a light to reveal God to the nations” This verse speaks so much of my life. Now that Christ is no longer physically present with us, as he was with the disciples 2,000 years ago, we are supposed to be that light that reveals God to the nations now, through the power of Christ in us. We have a big task. It isn’t just about your neighbors or the people down the street, it is about revealing God to the nations. That is God’s heart. He wants all the nations to know Him. How is that going to happen, through us, the church. Am I being a light to reveal God to the nations?