I was going about my usual business when I felt this inner compulsion that I had to go to the temple. God did not usually speak to me in this way but on this occasion it was just like a voice in my head, go to the temple Simeon, go to the temple, go right now. I knew I had to go. I thought Lord I can go when I’ve finished my work but I knew that would be disobedience. I had to go right there and then. Welcome to Open the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith and Colin this year we’re doing the Christmas story a bit differently. We’re doing it in character. Yeah I have had so much fun trying to think through the Christmas story from the perspective of the people who are actually players in it and I’m thinking today about Simeon. What was it like for that guy, an old man who had followed the Lord faithfully and he gets to hold the promised Christ child in his own arms and he says now I’ve seen your salvation and he has peace in his heart he knows all is well between him and God. Must have been marvellous. Yes every year we tend to hear the Christmas story from the perspective of Luke’s gospel. What has stood out to you as you’ve thought about the Christmas story through the eyes of these different characters? Well of course the significance is that Luke has one of the gospel writers and Matthew, they do record for us the eyewitness stories and they’re there for a reason. We have the words of these folks, the experiences of these folks and they are pointing to the glory of Christ that we want to be able to see ourselves. Well today we’ll see the Christmas story through the eyes of Simeon so if you can I hope you’ll open your Bible to Luke chapter 2 and verses 21 to 40 as we begin the message Simeon’s story. Here’s Colin. Well it really is good to be with you today. The only problem for me coming down here of course is this old body. 2,000 years up there I’ve forgotten how many aches and pains I had. I’d love to tell you by the way what it’s like up there but I’m not allowed to and I couldn’t even if I tried. It’s beyond anything I’d ever imagined and some of you are going to find that out one day. All I can tell you is that being up there for 2,000 years is how I got this accent. By the way the pastor told me that he’s using these newfangled screens up here. I just said to him that’s all right for you son I said but don’t expect anything fancy like that from an old guy like me. But I mustn’t get sidetracked. You know I found that happened more as I got older. I must try and keep to the point. You see up there now my mind is so clear. I’d forgotten how confused my mind sometimes got in this old body. So I’ll try and keep off things that are by the way. I want to tell you my side of the story. I wasn’t in Bethlehem. I didn’t see the angels and I didn’t visit the inn but I did hold him in my arms eight days after he was born. But I need to start a bit further back. Oh by the way you need to know it’s not easy for me to get up and speak in public like this. A lot of people assume that I was a priest because I was in the temple courts. I don’t know where they got that idea. Certainly not from the Bible. I wasn’t a priest. I was what you would call today a layman. I was just an ordinary guy living in Jerusalem. That’s why Luke described me in his gospel as just a man in Jerusalem. A man who happens to be there at the same moment as Mary and Joseph were coming into the temple with Jesus. This was the amazing thing to me. That he was born and yet the king knew nothing of it except when he was told by some foreigners traveling from the east. And he came as a child and a baby into the temple in his mother’s arms. Some priests circumcised him and went through all the rites and did the offerings and didn’t have the slightest idea of who he was. What happened was that God opened the eyes of ordinary people. Shepherds, foreigners, and an ordinary guy like me who just happened to be living in Jerusalem. Let me tell you a little more about myself. The Holy Spirit was on me. Now all of you know what that means because that is true of you if you’re a believer as well. See you folks don’t know how blessed you are. All of you who believe have God’s wonderful gift of the Holy Spirit with you and in you. That’s true of every believer now. But when I lived before Christ came that was not the case. In my lifetime God’s Spirit was given to some but not to all. God gave his Spirit to some people who had special tasks. I guess the fact that he gives his Spirit to all of you means that he has special tasks for all of you. But I enjoyed then what you enjoy now. God’s Spirit was on me. And the other thing that you should know is that I was waiting for the consolation of Israel. Now maybe I should explain what that means. You folks know from the Bible that the Lord Jesus Christ has promised to come back at any time. Now you believe that don’t you? That he can come back at any time. I hope you believe that because I just read it in your statement of faith out there. He can come back at any time can’t he? Good. A lot more people did that in our day. Of course that’s all the talk up there. We will come with him. You’ll come up, we’ll come down and we will meet together and we shall always be with the Lord. And it could happen at any time but you don’t know if you will be alive when it happens or not. By the way we don’t know when it’s going to happen either because even up there we haven’t been told. Now that’s exactly what it was like in my time. You see we had the Old Testament Scriptures. The Old Testament was completed 400 years before my lifetime. The last words written by the last prophet really spoke about a day when God would suddenly come to his temple. We knew it could happen at any time but none of us knew whether we would be alive at the time when God’s Deliverer Redeemer would come or not. So we got into the habit of praying for him to come. I expect now as you think about his second coming that some of you do the same. You should. The first of our Christian family did that. Lord Jesus come quickly they would pray. Well I used to do that about his first coming. By the way it is a wonderful thing that ordinary people like us can pray isn’t it? You don’t need to be a priest or a pastor to pray. You can pray. Well anyway getting back to my story I mustn’t keep getting distracted. One day something quite extraordinary happened. All I can tell you is that it was revealed to me that the Christ would come before I died. Now don’t ask me to explain that. God didn’t see fit to tell us in the Scriptures and I’m not going to go into it right now. All I can tell you is that it was revealed to me. I knew beyond any shadow of a doubt that I would not die until I had seen the Deliverer for whom the whole world had been waiting. By the way it is an interesting experience to know that you will live to see a future event. There were times of course when I was quite ill and people were worried about whether I would ever recover. Well I was never in any doubt. One time I was in an accident. I knew I would pull through. God had promised that I would see Christ. I was immortal until he came. I sometimes wondered of course how I would know him when I saw him but somehow deep down inside I just knew that I would know. Well let me tell you how it happened. It seemed like the whole of my life was a preparation for that day. Strange thing was it was a day like any other. I was going about my usual business when I felt this inner compulsion that I had to go to the temple. God did not usually speak to me in this way but on this occasion it was just like a voice in my head. Go to the temple Simeon. Go to the temple. Go right now. I knew I had to go. I thought Lord I can go when I’m finished my work but I knew that would be disobedience. I had to go right there and then and I’m so glad I did. I arrived in the temple and of course crowds of people as there always were. That place was a constant hive of activity just like your church really except you don’t have the animals. People were making offerings and children were being circumcised. People asking priests for prayers, confessing sins. Others just looking around at the building. I got there just as a young couple were standing before the priest with their baby. They handed over an offering of two young pigeons. Priest circumcised the baby. Must have done that a hundred times. Went through the whole routine like nothing really mattered but as I watched I just knew that this was the one. Don’t ask me how I knew. I cannot tell you except to say that the Holy Spirit of God revealed it to me. God led me to make the identification. I was never more sure of anything in all my life. He was the one that the whole world had been waiting for. I don’t know if you’ve ever noticed that as you’ve read the story. Nobody worked it out on their own. The angels had to tell the shepherds. The wise men had to be led by the star. Even John the Baptist said I wouldn’t have known him except that the dove came down upon him when he was baptized. Peter said you are the Christ and Jesus said you didn’t work that out on your own. He said blessed are you Peter because the Father in heaven has revealed this to you. The women went and found the tomb empty. Didn’t have the faintest idea what it meant. It was God who had to tell them through the angel he is risen. Oh you see all the evidence for Jesus is there for anyone to examine and you should. But it is God who opens your eyes to the truth. You’re listening to Open the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith and today you’re hearing Simeon’s story and that’s the Christmas story through the eyes of Simeon. And if you ever miss one of the broadcasts you can always catch up or go back and listen again online. Come to our website openthebible.org.uk or you can find us as a podcast if you go to your favorite podcast site search for Open the Bible UK and then subscribe to receive regular updates on that podcast. Back to the message now here’s Colin. Oh you see all the evidence for Jesus is there for anyone to examine and you should. But it is God who opens your eyes to the truth. And if you know who Jesus Christ is today you give thanks to God because he has opened your eyes. Well anyway I walked up to the family. Just a little crowd that were gathered round them for this ceremony and when the priest was finished he passed the baby back to Joseph. That was when it happened. I knew that God was giving me words that had to be spoken at that moment. So I just tapped Joseph on the arm. I told him I felt God had some words he wanted me to say and I asked if I could hold the baby. He seemed rather surprised. I mean me a stranger, a man in Jerusalem, not even a priest. But he agreed and I found myself, think of it, looking into the eyes of this child. And then the words came. I was speaking but the words I spoke were given. So it never happened to me before but I knew instinctively that this was what happened when prophets spoke. God was giving me words. By the way I had a bit of a discussion with Peter about this up there and he described it rather well. He said to me, Simeon, men spoke from God when they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. Then he laughed and he said I know that’s definitely right because these are the very words that God gave me to describe it and I wrote them down in the second letter in the New Testament. Well that’s exactly what happened to me. They were not my words. I can only say that I spoke from God as I was carried along by the Holy Spirit. I held him in my arms and then I said, Sovereign Lord, my eyes have seen your salvation which you have prepared in the sight of all people, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory for your people Israel. Well of course Mary and Joseph were absolutely astonished at this. What surprised them was not that I should make these great statements about their child. They already knew his greatness. What surprised them was that a complete stranger, a layman should walk into the temple, ask for permission to hold their baby in his arms and then prophesy the very words of God over him. Because I’ve enjoyed talking with Mary about it up there too. She told me, I wondered who on earth you were but we knew that God was speaking through you. I was about to hand the baby back to Mary and then more words came like wind blowing into your body on a cold day. You folks should know what that’s like. Words forcing themselves on me and I knew that there was more that God had for me to speak. Still holding the baby and standing right next to his mother, I said, This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel. The word seems strange to me. Rising I understood, but why falling? The words kept coming and to be a sign that is spoken against so that the thoughts of the hearts of many will be revealed. I could hardly believe the words I was speaking now. How could this child be a light to the Gentiles and the glory of Israel and then be spoken against? I looked at Mary at that moment. There was a beauty in her eyes that spoke of the depth of her soul. And as I looked at her still holding the child, these words came, and a sword will pierce your soul too. We all stood rooted to the spot. We understood every word that had been spoken. We could not begin to fathom what they meant. Just at that moment, an old lady arrived. Just as I’d spoken these words to Mary. Her name was Anna, and anyone who was regularly around in the temple knew her well. She was from the tribe of Asher. Now, by the way, very interesting. Asher was one of the so-called Lost Tribes. You know, the ten tribes in the north that were scattered when the king of Assyria invaded, and they were referred for years after that as being the ten Lost Tribes. Well, Anna was from the tribe of Asher, and she was a reminder that they were not totally lost. God knows his own people, you see, and he does not lose any who have faith in him. Well, Anna was known as a woman of prayer. She gave herself to worship and fasting, and she went into the temple. You knew that you could count on finding her there. Wonderful lady, never underestimate the prayers of older people. And she was a prophetess, which is interesting because, of course, a true prophet could only speak words that came from God. And the fascinating thing is that there had not been a true prophet for 400 years. Well, here we are, standing the group of us. I’ve just been given these extraordinary words about a sword piercing Mary’s own soul. We’re all rooted to the spot, wondering what on earth this could mean, and up comes old Anna. And as she approaches us, she begins speaking out words of praise and of thanksgiving, and it’s so obvious that she’s prophesying. These words, again, are coming from God, and they’re welling up in her soul and being expressed to his praise and his glory. And I’m thinking to myself, God’s just given me words that indicate a sword will pierce Mary’s soul. And now God’s giving her words that are words of praise and of thanksgiving, and I can’t hold these two things together in my mind. How can it be that this child who’s a light and the glory of Israel will be spoken against, and that a sword will pierce Mary’s soul, and yet that this can be an occasion of praise and of thanksgiving at the same time? You know, I think Anna knew then what I understand now. I knew that the Lord’s Christ had come to deliver us, but now I know that he delivered us through his suffering. You’ve been listening to Open the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith and a message, Simeon’s Story. It’s a first-person account of what it would have been like to be there, to be Simeon, holding Jesus just eight days after he was born. And this series of Christmas stories, it continues with the viewpoints of several other people, Joseph, Herod, the angel Gabriel, but also Adam, Abraham, King David, all reflecting on the Christmas story from their points of view. And if you do miss any of the broadcasts, or you want to go back and listen again, you can do that by coming online. Come to our website, openthebible.org.uk. You can listen to any of our messages after they’ve been first broadcast. You can also find the messages as podcasts. Go to your favourite podcast site, search for Open the Bible UK, and subscribe to the podcast to receive regular updates. And don’t forget, other resources on our website include Open the Bible Daily. That’s a series of short two to three minute reflections, with a new one posted every day, based on Pastor Colin Smith’s teaching, and read in the UK by Sue McLeish. You can find that on our website, and also as a podcast in the same way as our broadcast messages. Open the Bible is supported entirely by our listeners, that’s people just like you. And if you’re able this month to set up a new donation to the work of Open the Bible, in the amount of £5 per month, or more, we’d love to thank you by sending you a gift. It’s a book called The Valley of Vision. It’s a book of prayers. And Colin, what makes this book so special? Well, it is a profoundly helpful book of prayers. And you know, sometimes when we pray we have words, and other times, you know, words don’t come so easily, and you know, what am I going to say to God today? And I find that when you feel dry in that way, it’s useful to reach for something that will help you. Sometimes a hymn book may be helpful, and just using these words will stimulate the mind and the heart. The Valley of Vision is an absolute gem for stimulating prayer when you feel dry. And it is beautiful. These are prayers that were crafted by believers in earlier centuries, and they bear not only reading and praying, but going back to again and again and again. That’s why they have stood the test over hundreds of years. They have continued to provide value to Christian believers. Let me just read from the first prayer here, speaking about the Lord Jesus Christ. Let me find your light in my darkness, your life in my death, your joy in my sorrow, your grace in my sin, your riches in my poverty. You know, this is a book full of wisdom, and a beautiful expression of prayer to God. I think it’s very rich. And I think anyone who has this book will find that they’d return to it and use it again and again. Well, we’d love to send you a copy of this book. And we’ll do that as a free gift. If you’re able to set up a new donation to the work of Open the Bible in the amount of £5 per month or more. Full details of this offer and lots more resources on our website, that’s openthebible.org.uk. For Open the Bible and Pastor Colin Smith, I’m David Pick, and I very much hope you’ll join us again soon. An ordinary person was given extraordinary words about Jesus just a few days after he was born. Find out what he had to say next time on Open the Bible.