Transcription

Chris
So, Jeff, do you know anybody today named Simeon?

Jeff
Uh, no, I do not.

Chris
I wonder if in another country somewhere, somebody is named Simeon.

Jeff
Yes, I do. I know a pastor in, uh, Kenya named Simeon. Do you really? Yes I do, yeah, yeah. There you go. Yeah, yeah.

Chris
Well, that’s who we’re talking about today.

Jeff
Okay. Yeah. Well that’s cool. So he’s Chris and I’m Jeff and we’re the Bible guys. Ah, that was a cool way to bring that up.

Chris
Well, you know, it looks like Simon, only they added an E, you know. Yeah.

Jeff
There was a while back we were, um, on a motorcycle trip out in the bush in Kenya. These places, you couldn’t get vehicles or trucks. And when we were done, there was a young pastor who said, hey, I’ll keep reaching out to these villages. If I could just get out here, I’ll find a way to get out here. And we gave him a motorcycle.

Chris
Oh that’s awesome.

Jeff
His name was Simeon. Yeah, yeah, that’s pretty cool. Yeah, yeah. So they kept those churches going deep. Well, hey, uh, what is our our thing today? Yeah. Oh, it’s a social media minute.

Chris
It’s a social media.

Jeff
These are so cool. People are so nice.

Chris
Yeah, they’re very nice. Uh, Michelle B says love this podcast. Thank you, Bible guys, for sharing your passion with us.

Jeff
Oh, Michelle that’s nice.

Chris
And by the way, we would love it for you to comment and interact. If you’re on YouTube, leave comments. If you want to send an email, send it to info at the bible guys.com

Jeff
Yeah, if you’re watching us on on one of the podcast platforms like, um, uh, Spotify or on Apple, make sure for sure that you review, you know, leave a five star review. If you can leave anything less than five stars, leave it on somebody else’s. But, um, if leave us a five star review and then say something, say something about how much you like the podcast, if it’s helpful to you.

Chris
And then Lisa B says thank you. Brought to tears yet again. Love a good old belly laugh. It’s medicinal.

Jeff
Oh good. I thought we made her cry. Yeah, okay. Cheers.

Chris
Cheers, cheers with joy.

Jeff
Tears of joy is.

Chris
What she’s talking about. I hate these guys.

Jeff
It’s terrible.

Chris
It’s so funny. And then David D says, thank you, Jeff and Chris. Hilarious moments to start my day. And some great Bible study too. That’s great.

Jeff
That’s a great way to say that.

Chris
You know what? I’m actually always self-conscious that nobody listens to the first five minutes of the Bible. Guys. Like, every time we do a goofy thing. Yeah, I always think, like, do people just fast forward this? Sure. Right. And so, uh, for somebody to say, hey, I enjoy that portion of it. Yeah. Uh, at least encourages me. So thank you.

Jeff
So there’s a couple things, you know, one, we don’t take ourselves too seriously. We take our faith very seriously. We just don’t take ourselves too seriously. And I think, uh, you know, this is all you and I do just about is church stuff, Bible stuff. Right? So if we’re not having fun while we’re doing this, we don’t get to have fun. That’s right. And so I just figure if people don’t want to have fun with us, they don’t have to watch or listen or listen.

Chris
Yeah.

Jeff
There’s tons of podcasts out there. It’s like the world’s just waiting for one more podcast, right? Right, right.

Chris
You know, you know what we need? Yeah. One more podcast.

Jeff
I did notice, though, today on Spotify, um, I was sitting on the parking lot and I was listening to some music, Brahms. And, uh, then I thought, oh, let me look and see what the recent comments are on, on Spotify about the Bible guys. And then there was a thing and it said related podcasts or podcasts like this. So I clicked that and it said, uh, there aren’t any. What? Isn’t that funny? Yeah, there wasn’t a there’s not a big enough sample to say it’s like the. So I don’t know if they don’t consider us a serious Bible because there’s other Bible podcasts out there. Right, right. But I don’t know why, but, uh, Spotify does feels like we’re one of a kind, I guess.

Chris
I mean, technically, if you look at the frequency of which other Bible Bible podcasts are once a week.

Jeff
Or once a month.

Chris
Um, and then if you look at the length. Right. Yeah. And so the style and the frequency and the length, all three of those things combined, actually, I do believe that we’re sort of unique.

Jeff
Yeah, yeah, yeah. And we have a lot of fun doing it. Right. So, so we don’t pretend like we’re theologians. I made a mistake the other day. At first I said Ruth was, uh, not a not a Jew. Then I said she was a Jew. It turns out she was not a Jew. I should have followed my instincts. I also mentioned we’re not sure that they came from Nazareth. We knew that Joseph came from Nazareth. We just don’t know where Mary lived right before they got married. But, uh. So I should have clarified that. So, hey, we don’t set ourselves up as as Bible experts, per se. We’re not theologians. If you’re looking for a seminary level discussion, go listen to seminarians. But we’re a couple guys that we have some ministry experience. We love the Bible. We love talking about it in practical, fresh ways. And, uh, we’re really doing it kind of on a devotional level. Just me and you chit chatting about what we see on the page. Yeah.

Chris
And between us, we have 62 years of ministry experience. Yeah, yeah, yeah, which is a lot for just two people.

Jeff
That’s a lot of time. Yeah, yeah.

Chris
For two people.

Jeff
That just means we’re getting old, dude.

Chris
That’s what it means.

Jeff
Thanks for that. Yeah I appreciate I appreciate it. Yeah, yeah. No problem. So, uh, thanks for listening. Uh, by the way, I did notice this the other day, too. 46% of you listen regularly and have not subscribed on. Is that true? That is true.

Chris
46% of people who listen regularly have not subscribed.

Jeff
That’s correct.

Chris
And they say.

Jeff
They love us. They say they love us. It’s as simple as clicking the little bell on the YouTube page.

Chris
What does subscribe mean?

Jeff
Well, so so on on on YouTube, just push the button. Literally subscribe, touch that word and it’ll subscribe. And then what it’ll do is that that that helps us get the word out more. We’ll be able to help more people if they subscribe on uh, um, I think it’s the same. It’s subscribe on iTunes and on on. Oh yeah. Yeah.

Chris
Because it helps. It helps the metrics.

Jeff
Yeah, it sure does. What it does is it pushes us out further. The more you interact when you give us a thumbs up, when you share, when you make a comment, we get to comment back or communicate with you. And then when you subscribe, the more we do that, the algorithm goes, oh, hey, they’re not just having a thousand listeners there. They have people that are interacting and people really like this. That means other people probably will like it too. And then so then the algorithms send this out further. It’s a free way for you to let other people know that we exist right? And I’m not a big helper.

Chris
I’m not sure I really understood that. Yeah.

Jeff
Oh, it’d be huge if people would subscribe or like or communicate with us in some way. So I guess this.

Chris
Is our big push.

Jeff
That’s it right there.

Chris
We didn’t. We didn’t intend it. Oh, yeah. But hey, there it is.

Jeff
While we’re there.

Chris
Yep.

Jeff
So, uh, we’re going to continue. Jesus has been born. And then now there’s, there’s this whole series. We’ll talk about this in just a second. There’s a whole series of rituals that happen after the firstborn son, uh, comes into a family. And so it’s in that context that these next two events or three events happen here. Yeah. So we’re going to pick up in Luke chapter two and it says this, uh, Luke two 2121, it says eight days later when the baby was circumcised, he was named Jesus, the name given him by the angel even before he was conceived. Then it was time for their purification offering as required by the Law of Moses after the birth of a child. So his parents took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord. The law of the Lord says, if a woman’s first child is a boy, he must be dedicated to the Lord. So they offered the sacrifice required in the law of the Lord, either a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons. At that time there was a man in Jerusalem named Simeon. He was righteous and devout and was eagerly waiting for the Messiah to come and rescue Israel. The Holy Spirit was upon him, and had revealed to him that he would not die until he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. That day the spirit led him to the temple. So when Mary and Joseph came to present the baby Jesus to the Lord as the law required, Simeon was there. He took the child in his arms and praised God, saying, sovereign Lord, now let your servant die in peace, as you have promised. I have seen your salvation, which you have prepared for all people. He is a light to reveal God to the nations, and he is the glory of your people Israel.

Jeff
Jesus parents were amazed at what was being said about him. Then Simeon blessed him, and he said to Mary, the baby’s mother, this child is destined to cause many in Israel to fall. But he will be a joy to many others. He has been sent as a sign from God, but many will oppose him. As a result, the deepest thoughts of many hearts will be revealed and a sword will pierce your very soul. Anna. Uh, let me see. Do we read on from Anna? Yeah. Yeah. Through 38? Yeah, through 38. Anna. A prophet was also there in the temple. And she was the daughter of Phanuel from the tribe of Asher. And she was very old. Her husband died when they had been married only seven years. And then she lived as a widow to the age of 84. She never left the temple, but stayed there day and night, worshipping God with fasting and prayer. She came along just as Simeon was talking with Mary and Joseph. She began praising God. She talked about the child to everyone who had been waiting expectantly for God to rescue Jerusalem. Hmm. How cool. Yeah, it’s very cool. Two old people see in this brand new baby.

Chris
So, uh, I got a hopefully a relevant and, uh, amusing story, um, when I was a teen. It has relevance, I promise. When I was a teenager, I was really debating whether God was calling me to Kenya, Africa to be a missionary or to be a youth pastor in the United States and work with high school students. Well, it turns out that, like I, I really wrestled with this for months and months and months and end up realizing that, you know, God had me here and everything else. Well, I ended up going to Africa in 2009, and this would have been like 20. 20 something years later after, after, you know. So finally I made it to Kenya, right, right, right. And so I was sitting down and my introduction to the Pokot people, uh, as I was there to, you know, like, uh, we were there for a lot of leadership reasons, uh, looking into diverting water for a well and things like this. So anyway, we were there and, uh, and I was getting ready, I was getting ready to tell my story. And I thought, how cool is it going to be for me to stand up and for me to say to these people, I have had you in my heart, and now I’m here for over 20 years. I feel like maybe this is the culmination of what God was doing in me 20 years ago. This is a good thing to say. I couldn’t wait to say it. And then right before I get up. Uh, they introduce, uh, Craig Wicklund as a friend of mine. Craig goes. I got to tell you a story. And he had the same story as me, and he goes 20 something years ago, I prayed, he goes, and now he goes, and now I’m here.

Chris
And everybody erupts, right? They’re like Cheering. They’re like, whoa! They’re like, this is the most amazing thing ever. And he goes, Chris, your turn. And I stand up and I’m like 20 years ago and now I’m here. Me too. And I got like five claps, you know like like I’m thinking this is unbelievable, right? So he stole my thunder. You never hear about Anna at the temple, do you? Yeah. No. So Anna does the same thing. Yeah, yeah. And she is a side note. She’s a footnote compared to Simeon.

Jeff
Yeah, yeah, I almost didn’t read him.

Chris
Right.

Jeff
She got three verses.

Chris
So think about it. I had three verses. Think about it whenever you hear about the prophecy of the temple, nobody ever says Anna. Right, right, right, right. And yet this woman had only been married seven years. She she remained a widow at the temple until she was 80 something. And she came out doing the same exact thing as Simeon. And yet, you know, and so basically, Simeon is her Craig Wicklund.

Jeff
That’s he sometimes says, stole her thunder, stole my thunder.

Chris
Craig.

Jeff
So you know how we love to highlight and we’re not sponsored by or anything yet, although I think that, uh, uh, Tyndale should consider it. Yeah, for sure. But we love promoting the Life Application Study Bible. And the note for Luke 21 through, uh, 221 through 24. It’s a long note, so I’m not going to read the whole thing, but unpacks what was happening in these first few verses here. Uh, it says that after a brand new baby is born, circumcision happens, right? Yeah. Um, so every boy was circumcised and named on the eighth day after birth. And circumcision symbolized the Jews separation from the Gentiles, uh, and their unique relationship with God. It was also a really difficult recruiting tool, um, redemption of the firstborn. So what they would do is they’d make a, the parents would, for the very first born son, would buy back their child from God with a sacrifice. Right. And it was to recognize the fact that this child really was God’s, and that they then were going to be stewards of what God had given them. And so there would be a kind of this redemption, this buyback, um, which, by the way, Jesus came to redeem us. So this kind of a neat thing. And then the purification of the mother. So there would be this, this sacrifice and this process for purifying the mother. And this is why they were in Jerusalem during that time. But I think it’s interesting because Simeon’s been hanging out here for a long time. The Holy Spirit had told him, you’re not going to die until you meet the Messiah. And so you know what I think of every time? I can’t get the picture in my head, uh, in the, uh, The Last Crusade, uh, so in, in Indiana Jones, that that old knight that’s in there.

Chris
He’s waiting the entire time.

Jeff
He’s just been waiting for like.

Chris
You have chosen poorly.

Jeff
Yeah. That guy. So I think of this guy who just is barely alive, who’s been there forever waiting, right? Because he, he and Anna are just in the temple daily. They’re there all the time. And he’s waiting in. The Holy Spirit has said, you’re not going to die until. So for a long time you’re like, great, I’m not going to die until I see the Messiah. But at a point you get so old. Then finally you’re like, when is this Messiah coming? Right? And he was delighted. This was not a terrifying thing to him. He was delighted to finally be able to see the Messiah.

Chris
Yeah. Of course. You know, uh, when when you talk about the rituals of, of of what happens when a first baby is born. Yeah. You said one of the first things that happens is, is circumcision. Uh, and first of all, that was a Jewish thing and then later on became a proper thing. Yeah. Do you remember that old movie with Jack black? He was brand new. It was like a caveman movie. It was like called, like first year or something like this. And, uh, and, uh, he was, he was talking about circumcision and he had, like, this really sharp knife. And he goes, yeah, he goes, uh, he goes, we’re going to do this thing called circumcision. The guy says, what’s that? And he goes, yeah. He goes, trust me. He goes, it’s really fashionable. I think it’s going to catch on.

Jeff
Oh, no.

Chris
Yeah, but the idea that, uh, uh, you know, that, uh, a baby had to go through certain things. And one of the things was to offer an offering. So not only was the circumcision, but also we had to do a sacrifice to the Lord. And so you had turtle doves and you had pigeons, right? Right. That’s right. And, uh, and so think about that. Think about, like, uh, how pigeons were a, uh, symbol of peace. Turtle doves. Pigeons. Yeah. Right. Because turtle doves are peace, right? And then pigeons was a symbol, I think, with, uh, Noah’s. Noah’s Ark. Right. Did he send out a pigeon? And he came back with a with a dove. Oh, was a dove. It was a turtle dove. Okay, so so it was, uh, he came back with a twig in his beak. Yes. Yeah. So I think that’s cool. You know, just the symbolic, the symbolism.

Jeff
I don’t know what the symbolism of the pigeon be. I do know that in Egypt they eat pigeons. I eat pigeons in Egypt. Yeah. Stuffed pigeon. What? Yeah.

Chris
I’ve never had pigeons.

Jeff
It’s pretty good. Tastes like chicken. Does it really? Yeah.

Chris
Yeah, yeah. Everything tastes like chicken.

Jeff
Everything tastes like chicken.

Chris
Yeah. Um. Yeah. So I’ve never. Had pigeons. Wow. That’s interesting.

Jeff
Stuffed pigeon. There’s not much to it. Right? I’ll tell you, it’s not very big, but. Yeah. Anyways, um, it’s like frog legs.

Chris
It’s like frog legs.

Jeff
Yes. Yeah, it’s a lot of work for what you get out of it. It’s more about the experience. So then he. Simeon just praises the Lord. He recognizes that God’s in control. And then he knew that God had kept his promises. And because God keeps his promises, you can rest in peace, right? And that’s what he says. Let me die in peace, as you’ve promised. And then he knew that he had seen the salvation of God. What an incredible thing. You know, this should give us all peace when we lie down at night and go to sleep. When it’s time for us to take our last breath, when we are going through the difficult times in our life, the fact that we have access to seeing who Jesus was, this is letting us. Jesus is is God’s way of letting us see who God is and how God acts. Um should give us peace. We should have, because he’s recognizing the two things I’ve seen the Messiah, and you are the sovereign Lord. And because those two things he said, I can I can die in peace. And I just think, man alive. I can’t imagine anything that could give me more confidence and more peace in my life. If I didn’t know Jesus, I think I would be highly stressed out person.

Chris
Hey, by the way, did you know this is the first evidence that we have that somebody else? Obviously the shepherds, uh, recognized Jesus’s birth, right? The the the wise men come later, don’t they? Yeah, yeah, they come. They come down the road. Even though we place them at the manger scene. They come later on. Right. But the shepherds came. Uh, but but the.

Jeff
Shepherds came to an event because of an announcement. I’m not sure they knew who he was. Correct. Other than the angels have said, a savior is born today. But I don’t know that they had a concept of who he was like. So like Simeon did.

Chris
I guess my my thinking is going to this reality that can you imagine what Mary and Joseph must have felt like? Because it does say they were amazed at what was being said about their son. And so they presented to Simeon. And then Simeon starts to predict and saying, this is what’s going to happen. Many will rise, many will fall, many are going to reject him and many are going to embrace him. And he starts prophesying and then talking about how this is the Messiah and he could die peacefully. Yeah. Well, can you imagine if you’re Mary and Joseph, like, this is the first time where you just sort of wandering into a strange, you know, area and meet somebody that you don’t know and they immediately recognize, you know, your son is the savior. That’s got to be wild.

Jeff
Yeah. An amazing.

Chris
Yeah.

Jeff
And then and then I think it’s interesting to you’ve got these two old people and, and this is I every time I read this passage, these two stories, I laugh because it’s so the an old man is just so typical. Like my dad. My dad’s 84 years old now. Yeah. And he is your typical old guy. He selectively hears what he wants to hear and then suddenly can’t hear when he doesn’t want to participate. He just says the most blunt things. And you’re like, dad, I don’t think you can say that anymore. He’s like, say whatever I want to say. You know what I mean? You’re all old guys are kind of the same way. And then but he’s kind of a man of few words. So when my dad does speak up, we all pause. We want to listen, want to hear what he has to say. And, um, you know, when he tells you he loves you or whatever, man, that’s a really powerful moment because he doesn’t say tons of words all the time. And then you have Anna and and the the difference between the two. He’s the one who proclaims this. He is the light of the world that’s coming as a messiah. And then the Bible says that Anna, um, she talked about the child to everyone who’d been waiting expectantly for God to rescue Jerusalem. So this old lady’s running around just telling everybody.

Chris
About everything, right? Right, right. Yeah, right. Which is pretty typical for an old guy in a woman, right?

Jeff
Yeah, it’s the old guy. It’s like, hmm, this is good. I can die now. This is a good thing. I can die now. And she’s like, I gotta tell everybody.

Chris
I’m not sure I’ve ever humanized this to this level.

Jeff
But that’s the last phrase ever mentioned about Anna.

Chris
Right?

Jeff
Was that she went and just told everybody about this amazing thing. She’d been waiting for it. You know, you ever get around, uh, grandparents, and they just want to show you pictures of all their grandkids, all that kind of stuff. Oh, yeah. This is Anna, right? Can’t you just imagine this, this old Jewish grandmother running around?

Jeff
Let me tell you about my grandchildren.

Chris
You know it. For some reason. I don’t know what. I’m not a grandparent yet. And I know that everybody always says it’s different, right? Yeah I am. Oh, it’s so different. It’s so different. Wait, you become a grandparent? Yeah. Um, but when when parents show me their babies, I have a little bit of tolerance because I’m like, hey, I get it, right. Like, this is your first child or your second child or it’s a newborn, you know, especially if it’s the mom. It’s like the mom had to labor, you know? Right. Yeah. You’re like, oh, she’s so cute. Aw, he’s so cute, right? Even though, you know, guys don’t typically like looking at pictures of babies. But when a grandparent that sometimes I barely know in the lobby comes up to me and they go, wait till you see this, and then they show me, I’m just like, let me guess, it’s going to be a picture of a infant that looks like every other infant, right? You know, just for some reason, I apologize. That makes me sound terrible. It does. But but but it’s just. It’s just what.

Jeff
You’re a horrible human.

Chris
I’m terrible. I’m a terrible human. But I think that I think, like, okay. Like. So you have a grandchild. That’s great.

Jeff
Uh, another cool thing this is just a side note is, again, the precision of Luke. Luke told Theophilus, I’m writing these things so that you can know that they’re true. That’s right. Right. And he said, I’m investigating these. And he said, I was doing this. I was doing this investigation while these people are still alive. So an interesting thing that you and I just blow over Anna, a prophet who was also there in the temple. She was the daughter of Phanuel from the tribe of Asher. She was very old. So you could go back and figure out who this Anna was, all the people, because it mentions who her father was and mentions what tribe she’s from. All these kinds of things. There’s no reason for you and me, 2000 years later to know these things, other than the fact that what Luke was trying to say is, I’m not making these things up. These people are still alive. Or, um, this family still exists in the tribe of Asher. And so the precision of Luke, if you ever ask me who my favorite New Testament writer is, Luke is my favorite New Testament writer. It’s because of his his historical accuracy and his placement in time and space. Really a big deal. But yeah, I love these two old people and what a delight that God brings them because we don’t ever get a story of Jesus grandparents.

Chris
Oh yeah, that’s true.

Jeff
There’s there’s never a story of Jesus grandparents here. And, uh, life spans were short for the most part. That’s why even at 84, she was considered very old. Right. Um, so, uh, life spans were short. You don’t see that. But you do see here, even at the very beginning, you have these these young parents, you have these very old people delighting over, over Jesus. And, you know, the message is for everybody. It’s not just for one culture or another. It’s not just for one generation or another. Uh, Jesus ministry and Jesus, the experience of Jesus has been for every culture and every generation, everywhere. That’s right.

Chris
It’s like that clip of Billy Graham that says, Jesus is for the world. That’s right. Don’t ever consider this a white man’s religion. That’s right. He belongs to the world.

Jeff
That’s right.

Chris
By the way, uh, seriously, if you don’t know that clip, if you’re if you’re listening right now and you don’t know that clip, it is one of the most inspiring clips. Google. Uh, Billy Graham. Jesus is for the world. And listen to that one little clip because it’s amazing. Yeah. So all right, well, listen, that’s probably a good place to wrap up. And we will see you next time on The Bible Guys.