Christ's birth is presented not merely as a holiday, but as a pivotal event that divides humanity, bringing both revelation and judgment. Simeon's prophecy highlights Jesus as a 'light to lighten the Gentiles' and the 'glory of thy people Israel,' but also as a 'sign which shall be spoken against,' causing many to fall or rise. The sermon emphasizes that Jesus' coming reveals the thoughts and intents of the heart, making individuals accountable for their response to Him. Ultimately, the message urges listeners to move beyond observing Christmas as a mere holiday and to truly embrace Christ as their Savior, lest they stumble over Him to their condemnation.
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Now, just about a year has passed since we began having Sunday school here, which was something new. And we began the first Lord's Day in January of nineteen eighty-eight. Now, I've always hoped that we could have a class on church history, which would be an elective for anyone who would want to study the subject of church history. It's one of the most intriguing subjects you can ever study. Our brother David Lyons has offered to teach the subject of church history. And anyone who is interested, that class will begin, if there are enough interested, on the fifteenth of January.
That gives you, that's about the third Sunday in January. So see brother David about it. We got to find a room for him for everyone who would like to take that class. And I know that he can't be here every large day. There are times when he'll be away. He's talking of going to Italy this summer. And those times would just permit those to come into the regular other classes that we have. And the class will just continue then when he's returned. So if you're interested in church history... I'd like to sit in in that class, by the way.
That's one of my favorite subjects, church history. And I'd love to study it by someone who knows how to teach. And I thank God for this young man. And I'm not going to say any more. Keep it before you. And if you're interested, see him. Now from the Gospel by Luke, chapter two, verse twenty five. And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. And the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Spirit that he should not see death before he had seen the Lord Christ.
And he came by the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him after the custom of the law, then took him up in his arms and blessed God and said, Lord, Now let us thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word. For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, which thou hast prepared before the face of all people. A light to lighten the Gentiles and the glory of thy people Israel. It was that verse that we dealt with last week, that the three things that our Lord is going to do to his birth, he's going to bring a glorious revelation.
A light to the Gentile. And for us who appreciate the second chapter of Ephesians, that tells us who are Gentiles, that we were once Gentiles, alienated from the Commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise without hope and without God in the world. All friends, that's good news. A light to lighten the Gentiles. There's revelation for the Gentile. And I'm a Gentile who has been brought in by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. And then he adds, And the glory of thy people, Israel. All the glory of Israel is their Messiah. Salvation is of the Jews.
But notice verse thirty-three. And Joseph and his mother marveled at those things which were spoken of him. And Simeon blessed them and said unto Mary his mother, Behold! this child is set for a fall and the rising again of many in Israel and for a sign which shall be spoken against. Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed. Now may the Lord bless his word. Let us again look to him. Our Father, as we would speak of thy dear son this morning, we first of all want to thank you for his blood and his righteousness that is given even to Gentiles.
We were without hope and without God, but all we thank you, that we can say with Zinzendorf of old Jesus, thy blood and righteousness, my beauty are my glorious dress. Mid-flaming worlds in these arrayed, with joy shall I lift up my head, what a portion is ours. And we pray that we may be able to so speak that thy people may believe and rejoice in this great salvation. Speak to us in this hour and bless thy word for Jesus' sake. Amen. Benjamin Franklin noted that how many observe Christ's birthday, how few observe his precepts.
It's easier to keep holidays than commandments. Last week we talked about smothering the baby under the clothes of the attendant, which happened to a child when it was christened in Great Britain. How few keep the precepts of God. It is easier to keep a holiday than commandments. And yet we know that we are born of God by keeping commandments. First John chapter two and verse four says, Hereby we do know that we know him if we keep his commandments.
Our Lord not only came in order that he might bring revelation to the Gentiles and glory to Israel, but our Lord came to bring division. In verse thirty four, Simeon said of him, Behold, this child is set for the fall and the rising again of many in Israel. This child is set for the fall and the rising again. That means this child is set for division. And when we think of division, we don't like the word, but it is a word that is necessary to understand. Our Lord said to the people in Matthew chapter ten, think not that I am come to bring peace on earth.
I'm not come to bring peace for the sword. That's what he said. And the reason he said it is because there are many who are going to fall and there are those who are going to rise again. He's going to be the reason for their fall and he's going to be the reason for their rising again. And Simeon puts the fall first. And you're going to deal with the fall first. Because there are many who are going to stumble over Jesus Christ. And they're going to stumble into the lake of fire. The Bible says that our Lord Jesus is a stone of stumbling. And a rock of offense.
Even to those who stumble over the word. Even though he's a chief cornerstone. He is a stone of stumbling. When we think of that expression, the chief cornerstone, we're thinking not primarily of the stone that he's set in the corner of a building because he is that. But we're thinking especially of that stone that he's called in Pennsylvania, the keystone. If you look at a bridge that is built like an arch in the very center of the bridge is a stone that is called the keystone. It holds the arch together. You remove the keystone and the arch tumbles down.
And men who were stone masons would set aside a stone. Here is a stone that is a perfect stone for the keystone. That headstone in the corner. But then they might find another stone and throw the first stone away and it tumbles and weeds grow up around it. And men walking through the field stumble over that stone. And that's a thought in First Peter chapter two. Our God has set our Lord Jesus Christ as a keystone, the chief cornerstone. But men have found other stones they like better.
And they stumble over him to hell. This child is set, Simeon said, for the fall. and he has become the fall of many. What a tragedy it is that it was Jesus Christ who brought so much light into the world also brought condemnation. In John's Gospel chapter three, after you read those glorious verses, John three, fourteen through sixteen, then we read, this is the condemnation, that light is coming to the world. And men love darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil.
But the problem is, the more light we have, the more severe the judgment will be. The more light we have, the greater our responsibility is for the Lord. In Matthew chapter eleven, our Lord pronounced woes upon the cities that had seen most of his wondrous works. And I often think of Capernaum. Capernaum was a city in which our Lord lived. He stayed there. And our Lord looked at Capernaum, and he said, And now Capernaum, which art exalted to heaven, shall be brought down to hell. For if a mighty works which were done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.
And I'll be honest with you, I shake in my shoes when I think of those words of our Lord. The people of Capernaum could say to other Christians, not other Christians, but other people, you ought to live in our town. The Lord Jesus lives here. Did you ever hear anybody say, oh, you ought to come to our church. We really preach the gospel. And if there's anything that we preach, it's the gospel. And we want people to come. But you're coming here, friends. Makes you awfully responsible. You can't hear the kind of preaching you get here and not be responsible. Capernaum could say to others, you ought to be in our group.
You ought to come to our university. You ought to come to our college. Now Capernaum, which ought to exalted to heaven, the Lord Jesus says, Shall be brought down to hell. The mighty works which were done in you. More of our Lord's miracles were performed in Capernaum than anywhere else. The mighty works which were done in you had been done in Sodom. Sodom would have repented. But it's going to be more tolerable for Sodom in the day of judgment than for you. You see, people resisted the revelation of God.
My friend, have you received this? Have you vowed to the Lordship of Jesus Christ? Let me say this. The Lord Jesus is going to hold you responsible. That's what Old Simeon is saying. This child, that eight-day-old baby, is set for the fall of many. I want you to read two verses with me in the Gospel by Luke chapter twelve. Luke's Gospel chapter twelve. When we talk about the responsibility that he's ours, in Luke twelve... Our Lord has something so definite to say. Verse forty-seven. It says, And that servant which knew his Lord's will, you see, that's right.
And prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he that knew not and did commit things worthy of stripes shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given. of him shall be much required, and to whom men have committed much, of him they shall ask the more. You see what I mean? Why light brings responsibility? What has been committed to you? What have you learned? Jesus Christ can cause you to stumble unless you are prepared to receive him just as a little child.
would receive him. Put away your religious trinkets and trust the Son of God. Jesus Christ brings division. Now there are some people who are going to be against him. They're going to be near to him. They're going to hear him. There are those who saw him and there are those who are going to believe. And because there are some who will believe, it will condemn all those who will not believe. This child is set for the fall. But then our Lord not only is a cause of the fall, he's a cause of the rising again of many.
Why do they rise? Our Lord Jesus picks them up. That's why they rise. And I'm thinking of John's Gospel chapter four. In John's Gospel chapter four, you have a woman who is adulterous. She meets the Lord at a Jacob's well in Sychar. Here's a woman who had five husbands, and she's living with another who's not her husband. They're living in what we call common law. That's how they're living together. But she meets the Savior, and she becomes a child of God. Our Lord Jesus Christ explains something to her. He explains to her the water of life and that he is a giver of the water of life.
And he said to her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again. That's what I said to someone this morning taking a drink of this fountain. It's here in the vestibule. I said, Whosoever drinketh of that's going to thirst again. But oh, it's a drink of that water. The Lord Jesus said, But whosoever shall drink of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst. Here's something that one drink forever satisfies. It is the water of life. And our Lord explained what it meant. And all of that water of life was given to an outcast woman. Why? Because God elevates people.
You see, the Lord Jesus is the great divide. He is a dividing line among men. Simeon says that all humanity is divided by him. Either men fall over him or they're raised by him. And thanks be unto God for everyone who has been raised by our Lord Jesus Christ. You see, the commercial aspect of Christmas is not really Christmas. We have to put the birth of Christ in perspective. Jesus Christ did not come into the world that The merchants would make a lot of money. That's not why he came. The Lord Jesus didn't come into the world in order that people put up a Christmas tree, although many do.
That was not his purpose in coming. Our Lord Jesus did not come into the world to bring people good cheer so that they have a few days off from college or a few days off from work. That's not why he came. Our Lord Jesus came to put a sword through humanity. That's why he came. And blessed is everyone who has been raised by him. And that's why the message of the angel is so important. Unto you is born this day in the city of David. A savior. That's what lost men need. They don't need an engineer who can change the wheels.
So that this old world runs a little better. They need a savior. Man is lost. and man's lossness is in far worse shape than we ever can imagine. But not only did our Lord Jesus come to bring division, to put a sword to humanity, he also said something else, old Simeon, he said to Mary, yea, a sword, shall pierce thy own soul also, that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed. Our Lord here was speaking to Simeon, concerning that time when Mary would stand before the cross and she'd see her son, this baby, crucified.
And if you think a sword didn't go through Mary's soul, you think again. I was one of the most bitter days in Mary's life. All her life, she knew he was the son of God. Mary, above all else, knew how he was conceived. She knew. Now, multitudes didn't believe her. The people made songs about the Lord as the illegitimate son of Mary and Joseph. And there are some preachers even believe it today. I don't know why they're preachers. I'd get a job that would be in line with what I believe.
I can't understand a preacher who denied a virgin birth and who would take the platform in a Christian church or a so-called Christian church. I can't understand that. I couldn't do it. I couldn't do it. Mary knew he was a son of God. Can you imagine what it was like to stand there before the cross and see your son crucified? And you knew that he was without sin. You knew that he was innocent. You knew that he was holy, righteous, harmless, undefiled.
A sword shall pierce through thine own soul also. Why? That the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed. And that's why this all happened. Our Lord Jesus not only came to bring revelation for him, Not only did our Lord Jesus come to put a sword to humanity, our Lord Jesus came to bring judgment to men. As thoughts are brought to the light, the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed. God is in a position to judge them because of what took place at the cross. And man will either be acquitted because of their faith in Jesus Christ, or they will be condemned because of their thoughts of Jesus Christ.
For man is responsible even for his thoughts. The Lord Jesus is dealing with the motives. You and I only see, only see what people do. Our Lord knows why they do it. The cross of Christ reveals the inner side, a man. when our Lord performed a miracle of the feeding of the five thousand they wanted to come and make him a king but he knew that the only reason they wanted to make him a king is they liked a free meal he knew on the inside they had never truly been converted there had been no genuine regenerating grace he knew this you see and he he now sits as a judge of the thought of mankind.
Now, when I was a young person, I thought, ah, God, how can God know what I'm thinking? My parents never knew, and you don't know what I'm thinking at this very moment. And I don't know what you're thinking. How can God know what I thought? If I can hide my thoughts from my parents, and if I can Hide my thoughts from other people. Certainly you can too. How could God ever get into my little head and know what I'm thinking? You see, and it's precisely here in the realm of our thought life that God exists.
For if your thoughts don't occupy space as we think of occupying space, I can't think a thought that's a eighteenth of an inch long or a half an inch long. Our thinking does not occupy space, you see. It would be foolish to say that. Why? Because my thoughts exist in a spiritual world. And that's exactly where God dwells. That is exactly where God dwells. God knows our thoughts. Hebrews chapter four verse twelve says the word of God is living and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit of the joints and the marrow and is a discerner of the thought and the intent of the heart our thoughts are more like God than anything else about us what do you think about when Jesus Christ comes He not only knows all our thoughts, and when he presents himself to the world, the very thoughts of man are revealed, and Calvary stands.
The cross on Calvary's Hill stands as a monument to the inner thought life of mankind, and this is why we say that man is hopelessly ruined by sin. It doesn't take a person long to live until their thoughts of sin. Now, these thoughts of sin are confessed by some people when they come to the Lord as a sinner for salvation, and they're forgiven. There are other people who say, I'm not going to let anybody know what I'm thinking about or what wicked thoughts I've had.
And I'm never going to confess them to God. You see, God knows your thoughts. And you can stumble over him to hell. And you may keep all your thoughts. And all the skeletons in your own closet. And carry them with you to the lake of fire. Or you can bring them out in the open. And let them be judged by God. That baby. That baby is set for the fall and the rising again of many. That baby is going to reveal the thought life of individuals in our coming days.
Now the thoughts of many are going to be revealed. They're going to be brought into life. There may be self-righteous thoughts. There may be thoughts of pride. There may be thoughts that we hang on and we say, oh, I have to keep my reputation. I can't afford to let that come out into the light. Why better to get it into the light now and to come into God's judgment court with the cross on Calvary Hill. You want to know what the good news of the cross is. It is that God has settled my case out of court. My case has been settled out of court.
I won't have to stand before the judge. Oh, John five, twenty-four says, Verily, verily, I said to you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me half everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but he's passed out of death and into life. Been settled out of course. Oh, in closing, I'd like to ask you a few questions. One of the sad things about my conclusions are there as long as a sermon. Question number one. Since the Bible says that Jesus Christ will bring revelation, division, and eventually lay the foundation for judgment, how do you stand in relation to Jesus Christ?
That is the most important question you must ever face. One day our Lord said to the religious leaders of Israel, what think ye of Christ? Whose son is he? Now, what is your relation to Jesus Christ? Now, it's all used to pretend in God's presence. Now, you can pretend in mine, and you want to know something. You can even get away with it. You can fool me easily, but you can never fool God. There's no need to pretend in His presence. Our Lord Jesus Christ sees you this very moment exactly as you are.
Not as you think other people see you, but as you are. That's how He sees you. Oh, let me ask you another question. Will you allow Him to be the one over whom you stumble? Oh, I don't want to stumble over it. He's the one who can lift me up. I want to be lifted up by him. Are you going to reject him? Or are you going to respond to him like old Simeon did? Oh, Lord, I thank you that you've given me the privilege to behold your salvation. Well, that's what he said.
When he took the baby Jesus in his arms, he said, Mine eyes have seen thy salvation. I got it. I got it. I beheld the salvation of God. Now that can be your portion today. Oh, what a privilege it is to know the purpose for which Christ came. You see, beloved, it's a lot easier to keep a holiday than commandment. But our Lord isn't nearly as interested in you keeping a holiday as he is in your keeping commandment. Multitudes. Remember Christ's birth, but few care for his precepts. Even friend Franklin, the deist, said that.
He had more insight than a lot of people who sit in church. You see, wrapped in that baby was a problem, the answer to the problem of sin. It was God's answer to the problem of rejection. Did you ever feel rejected? It was the answer to the problem of anxiety. It was the answer to the problem of frustration. All there wrapped in that baby, in that little boy. It was all that is necessary and qualified to bring us to God. This is the salvation of the Lord.
Simeon could say, and this puts the birth of Christ in perspective. Now let us thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word, for mine eyes have seen thy salvation. Friend, just now your heart is revealed. Jesus is the one who causes you to rise or to fall. And it could be just now. You're weighing in the balance. What am I going to do with Jesus Christ? He's a divider of humanity. And you know, this is being determined right now, right where you sit.
It's being determined. What's your response? Final question. What's your response to Jesus Christ? See, Christmas is Christ. You can respond to him like the world. You can have a holiday and know nothing of keeping commandments. But hereby we do know that we know him if we keep his commandments. You know what that word if means? Know what it means? It means if. That's what it means.
You know that there are at least twenty-seven commandments in the New Testament that begin with the form of the verb be. Be ye therefore ready, for in such an hour as you think not the Son of Man cometh. Be ye holy, for I the Lord your God am holy. Hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandment. Beloved, I enjoy the season of the year. I revel in the fact that our Lord Jesus came. Mine eyes are beheld the salvation of the Lord by faith.
For he came, and he took not on him the nature of angels, but he took on him the seed of Abraham. And that expression, the seed of Abraham, thrills me through and through. It just doesn't simply mean that he was born a Jew. It means that he took on him the elect people of God in a great redemption for those who are the Lord's are children of Abraham. Are you his? I think we should sing a hymn in closing today that speaks of the greatness of the person of Christ. Hymn number twenty in our hymn book. I think I remember correctly.
Yes, fairest Lord Jesus, ruler of all nations, O thou of God and man the Son, thee will I cherish, thee will I honor, thou my soul's glory, joy and crown. And then the last stanza, I love this one, beautiful Savior, Lord of all nations, Son of God, and Son of man. He came and he brought revelation. He came and he brought division. And he brings judgment. He knows your thoughts. Is he yours?
Let's stand together and sing the first and last of Brother David Leeson.