Thirty-Third Meeting
(March 1, 1964 A.M.)
Will you
please turn to the Gospel by Luke, chapter two, verse
twenty-five: "And behold, there was a man in
Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon." And verse
thirty-five, "Yea and a sword shall pierce
through thine own soul; that thoughts out of many hearts
may be revealed." I want to add verse
thirty-four to that verse thirty-five, "This
Child is set for a sign which is spoken against."
"Yea and a sword shall pierce through thine own
soul; that thoughts out of many hearts may be
revealed."
Now turn
to the last chapter of the Book of the Acts, chapter
twenty-eight, and verse twenty-two, "But we
desire to hear of thee what thou thinkest; for as
concerning this sect, it is known to us that everywhere
it is spoken against." "This Child is set for a
sign which is spoken against." "Concerning this
sect, it is known to us, that everywhere it is spoken
against" (ASV).
We do
not worship or pray to Mary, the mother of Jesus. We do
not ask things from her as though she were God. We do not
put her alongside of the Divine Trinity. But we do honor
her. We give her respect and honor because of the great
service which she rendered unto God. And we find some
real help from some of the things which have come to us
through her. Some of the things which were said to her by
the angel, by Simeon, by others, have very real value in
them for us. Some of these helpful things are in the Word
which we have read; in the prophecy of this old man
Simeon. And we shall this morning seek to draw from what
he said about some of the helpful implications.
Here is
a conversation between Simeon and Mary, the mother of
Jesus. And it is perfectly clear that Mary was
recognizing that something of very great importance to
God, was being entrusted to her. This was something of
great value to God Himself. Then Simeon said, it was
something of great value to the world, "A light
to lighten the nations." Then it was
something of great value to the Lord's people, Israel, "And
the glory of Thy people, Israel." All this
was bound up with the little baby now in the arms of
Simeon. And Mary realized that she had been chosen by God
to serve Him, to serve the nations, and to serve His
people in some special way. This little Child was set for
a sign; and all peoples would come to recognize what
Jesus signified.
So Mary
had been the vessel chosen by God for that great purpose
- an angel had come from heaven and told her of the great
vocation to which she was called. Mary was just a simple
country girl, who had with her husband been living in a
small house in a far away city of Nazareth. Then a little
while after Jesus was born, she came up to the city of
Jerusalem, took the Child to the temple and we have this
further wonderful thing said by Simeon: "This
Child is set for the falling and the rising of many in
Israel; and for a sign which is spoken against." As
she listened to these things, no doubt her heart was
filled with wonder. What a wonderful thing it is that the
Lord has called me to! What a great purpose God has
called me to serve. It is something far too big for me. I
have no natural qualifications for this. I am only a
simple country girl. I am the wife of an ordinary
carpenter in a little town, and that town is a very
despised one. One man said, "Can any good thing come
out of Nazareth?" And yet the Lord has called such a
one as I to serve Him in this great world purpose.
Perhaps there was some fear in her heart, but undoubtedly
her heart was thrilled when she listened to these things.
She would be saying inside herself, "Can it be
possible that I have been called to this?" And then
as she looked at her little baby in the arms of Simeon,
she would say in her heart, "Little Baby, these are
great things that are coming through You. These very
wonderful words that Simeon is saying. It must be a
marvelous Life that is here given to us. God must have
some very great things that He is going to do through
You." So she listened to these words of Simeon, and
astonishment and amazement filled her heart.
While
she was listening to those wonderful things, suddenly a
cloud came over the whole situation, and already she felt
something like a stab at her heart. Because Simeon
finished with these words: "And a sword shall
pierce through thine own soul; that thoughts out of many
hearts may be revealed." Wonderful things,
mighty things, precious things, most important things -
but a sword. With them all, a sword shall pierce thine
own soul.
I expect
Mary often wondered about that in the following days. But
we know how this prophecy of Simeon was fulfilled. The
day came when she saw that Son of hers despised and
rejected of men, taken to the judgment hall and accused
of the worst sins; and then led to calvary to be
crucified. It says that Mary stood by the Cross of Jesus.
Yes, she lived to know the meaning of, "A sword
shall pierce through thine own soul."
Now our
word has got to be a very brief one this morning. I have
about seven minutes left. But perhaps you already can see
the meaning of what we have said. Was Mary called to be
the vessel and instrument of this great world purpose of
God? Mary was a woman, a simple woman, without any great
qualifications, but chosen of God for this great purpose.
Do you know that the Church is always spoken of in the
feminine? The Church is always represented as a woman.
"Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also
loved the Church." And always, the Church is spoken
of as a woman.
But this
Church, the bride of Christ, this Church, the wife of the
Lamb, is called and chosen for this self-same purpose:
That through this Church, this CHRIST of God shall be
manifested to the whole world. That through this Vessel,
CHRIST may be a blessing to all the nations, and a
blessing to all God's people. Mary was not called for a
greater purpose than the Church is called for. You and I,
who form part of the Church of Christ, are called for
this very purpose. Paul says, "We are called
according to His purpose," and the purpose is
exactly the same as that one spoken of by Simeon to Mary.
We are called to be a light to lighten the nations, and a
blessing to God's new spiritual Israel. Wonderful things
are bound up with the Christ Who is entrusted to His
Church. If the little Baby was entrusted to Mary, the
great eternal Christ is entrusted to His Church. He is
committed to us for this great world purpose. If it was a
great honor to Mary, it is an even greater honor to us.
If it was a wonderful thing to Mary, it ought to be a
more wonderful thing to us. Yes, wonderful things,
precious things, glorious things - but a sword.
Anything
that is really precious to God will have suffering
associated with it. Perhaps the first thoughts of Mary
about Jesus were - He is going to be a great public
figure whom everybody thinks wonderful things about. What
a wonderful Man He is going to be, everybody will think
highly of Him. All people will speak well of Him; but she
lived to find it just the other way. A sign that shall be
spoken against. And these Jewish leaders in the prison of
Paul were saying, "This is something that is
everywhere spoken against."
We are
called to the fellowship of the great purpose of Christ
in this world. We are called into the greatest things
that ever God has done for this world. Ours is not less
an honor and glory than that of Mary. But we are also
called into the fellowship of His sufferings. However
great this Christ is, and however great the honor
entrusted to us in having Him, strangely to say this
great preciousness to God will never be popular in this
world: there will always be the sword to pierce our
souls; there will always be the sign that is spoken
against. The Cross of the Lord Jesus is not a popular
thing. Man has tried to make it popular, but it is never
popular.
So I say
to you all this morning, and especially to the younger
people here, you are called to a very great purpose. God
has called you to a service for Him that is the greatest
service in this universe. God has entrusted into your
hands His Own wonderful Son. But remember, however
wonderful it is, it will never be popular; there will
always be suffering attached to it.
In a few
minutes, you are coming to the Lord's Table. Is that
table the symbol of something popular? No, it is the
symbol of the most unpopular thing in this world, Jesus
Christ, and Him crucified. He said, "Do this in
remembrance of Me. As often as ye eat this loaf and drink
this cup, ye do show forth the Lord's death." When
we take these symbols, we are only saying, "We
come into the fellowship of His sufferings." To
be a blessing in this world, a sword shall pierce
thine own soul, a sign that is everywhere spoken against.
May we be given the grace to share with Him
His sufferings.