Be Still And Know

Luke 2:37-38 [Anna] 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, and she began praising God. She talked about the child to everyone who had been waiting expectantly for God to rescue Jerusalem. In this part of Luke’s gospel, our eyes are focused on Jesus and his young parents. A new day had dawned that was full of hope for the future. It is important, however, that it was two old people, Simeon and Anna, who recognised the significance of his birth. They had lived so close to God that they were ready for this moment. Age can change people in very different ways. Anna had only been married for seven years before her husband died. She was now an old woman and had been a widow for many decades. She could have become sour and cynical with the passing of time, but her life was clearly focused upon God. She spent her days in the temple worshipping God, and this meant she was spiritually alert and qui

Luke 2:28-31 [Simeon] 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.” Simeon was clearly an old man and had spent years waiting for this moment. When he saw baby Jesus, he recognised that this was the one who had been the focus of his prayers for all that time. The Messiah had finally come. Simeon had lived a good life. Luke described him as “righteous and devout” (v25), and that tells us that he had lived in the right way towards the people around him and had been committed to God. Now, as his life ebbed away, he found fulfilment in holding Jesus in his arms and bringing his praises to God. Simeon’s prayer is known by its Latin name as the [itals]Nunc Dimittis[end itals] and is used by many churches as part of evening worship. It is also often used in funeral services, and that’s easy to understand – here was a man who came to the end of his days at peace beca

Luke 2:21 Eight days later, when the baby was circumcised, he was named Jesus, the name given him by the angel even before he was conceived. Three ceremonies took place after the birth of Jesus, just as they did for every Jewish baby boy. Firstly, he was circumcised. This practice dates right back to the time of Abraham and was a sign of the covenant between God and his people. It was absolutely essential for every little Jewish boy to be circumcised. A failure to do so was believed to lead to the extinction of the soul and the denial of a share in the life to come. It was such an important ceremony that it could take place on any day of the week, including the Sabbath. The Jews believed that every firstborn male, whether human or cattle, was sacred to God. They belonged to him, so they needed to be bought back from God. This was done for the cost of five shekels and could not be paid sooner than 31 days after the birth of the child. The third ceremony was the purification of the mother. In Jewish law, a

Luke 2:21 Eight days later, when the baby was circumcised, he was named Jesus, the name given him by the angel even before he was conceived. My wife Sue and I have three children, and I well recall the long conversations about names which took place before they were born. We talked about names that had been important in the family, biblical names and others that we simply liked. The naming of Jesus was a very different matter. This was the name Gabriel had given to Mary when she had first been informed of her miraculous pregnancy. Jesus was actually a very popular boy’s name at the time and was a shortened form of the name Joshua, which means “the Lord saves”. Because most people at the time only had one name, they were often known by the place from which they came or the name of their father, so Jesus was variously known as Jesus of Nazareth or Jesus, the son of Joseph. There would probably have been many children around in Nazareth with the name Jesus, but only one who had come to bring salvation. In Jes

Luke 2:18-19 All who heard the shepherds’ story were astonished, but Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often. People greeted the birth of Jesus in very different ways. The shepherds were thrilled that they had been given front row seats for this wonderful occasion. It was the last thing that they would ever have believed would happen to them. Having seen the baby just as the angel had promised, they rushed back to their village with the news. The people were astonished. Then there was Mary. Her reaction was very different. She’d had nine months to prepare for this remarkable moment, but even so, she had a lot of adjusting to do. Not only was her way of life completely changed, just as it is for any mother after the birth of her firstborn child, but she also needed to reflect on the awesome implications of bringing up the Saviour of the World. She had a lot to reflect upon, and it’s no wonder that, in Luke’s thoughtful words, “she kept all these things in her heart and thought ab

Luke 2:10-11 “Don’t be afraid!” [the angel] said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Saviour – yes, the Messiah, the Lord – has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!” The news of Jesus’ birth would have been a shock to the shepherds for many reasons. We know these accounts so well that there isn’t any surprise for us, but we need to remember that although the prophet Isaiah had spoken clearly about the coming of a Messiah, that was more than 700 years ago for the shepherds. Over the past 400 years, there hadn’t been a prophet in the land. There was nothing that would have led them to believe that this would be the moment of the Messiah’s birth. Additionally, they were shepherds. They were not seen as responsible members of the community and were generally excluded from religious life. They were outsiders, and would hardly have expected to be the first people to receive news of Jesus’ birth. It was also the middle of the night, and you needn’t be surprised that the

Luke 2:6-7 And while they were there in Bethlehem, the time came for her baby to be born. She gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them. The birth of Jesus was such an incredibly important moment in the history of the world that the circumstances of it are deeply shocking. This was no way to welcome the Son of God, but all of this serves to remind us of the love of God in sending his Son to be part of our broken and disordered world. Many people have questioned why Joseph took Mary on the journey to Bethlehem. He himself was obliged to go because his family line came from that town, but it is unlikely that Mary needed to be there. So why did he take his heavily pregnant wife along with him on the arduous and dangerous 80-mile journey? It is quite likely that he did so because Joseph knew the people of Nazareth might cause problems for Mary due to the unusual circumstances of her pregnancy. Joseph did

Luke 2:4 Because Joseph was a descendant of King David, he had to go to Bethlehem in Judea, David’s ancient home. Jesus was born in the little town of Bethlehem. Even today, it’s not a particularly large town with only about 30,000 people – the size of a small market town. However, Bethlehem was full of significance – it was here that Samuel anointed David. The prophet visited the town on God’s instruction to find a king to replace Saul. God told him to visit the family of Jesse, and the proud father happily presented his sons to the prophet. One by one, they met with Samuel, but, impressive as they were, God didn’t consider them suitable. The prophet had to learn that: “People judge by outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7). David was the youngest of the sons, and such an unlikely choice. They hadn’t even bothered to invite him in from the fields where he was watching over the sheep and goats, but as soon as he came in, the Lord identified him as the new king. David may not

Luke 2:1-3 At that time the Roman emperor, Augustus, decreed that a census should be taken throughout the Roman Empire. (This was the first census taken when Quirinius was governor of Syria.) All returned to their own ancestral towns to register for this census. A friend of mine once commented to me that he wasn’t bothered whether the story of Jesus’ birth was historically accurate or not. He was happy to accept it as simply a beautiful story. Dr Luke, who wrote this gospel, would have profoundly disagreed. For Luke, the historical context of Jesus’ birth was of crucial importance, so he supplied us with more information than any of the other gospel writers. It was typical of the Romans to conduct censuses. They liked to have a clear account of what was going on throughout their vast empire. Joseph and Mary made the long and arduous journey from Nazareth, in the north of the country, to the ancestral home of Joseph in Bethlehem, not far from Jerusalem in the south. The meticulous historical details are of

Luke 1:78-79 “Because of God’s tender mercy, the morning light from heaven is about to break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, and to guide us to the path of peace.” There is something very exciting about the start of a new day. I love those times when I am up early in the morning, long before most people are awake. The streets are empty, and you feel that you have the place to yourself, but you know that the day is just about to begin and, within a short time, children will be going to school and the streets will be filled with vehicles. A new day is underway. In this wonderful song of praise, Zechariah recognises that with the coming of the Messiah, a new chapter of history is just about to begin, and his son John will be preparing the way for him. Jesus’ ministry brought light to the world. For hundreds of years, the Jews had been waiting for this moment. There had not only been no prophet in the land, but they had passed through some times of terrible pers

Luke 1:76-77 “And you, my little son, will be called the prophet of the Most High, because you will prepare the way for the Lord. You will tell his people how to find salvation through forgiveness of their sins.” In his song of praise, Zechariah makes an incredible claim. There had been no prophet in the land for about 400 years, but he claimed that his little son would fulfil that role. More than that, he declared that John would be preparing the way for the long-promised Messiah who would bring salvation to the world. What an amazing moment this was for Zechariah, the elderly priest, who had long believed that he would never be a father! God had very different plans for him. The importance of John the Baptist was not in himself, but in the one to whom he pointed. His role was to prepare the ground for the coming of the saviour of the world. The context may be different, but that is precisely our role. God doesn’t call us to draw attention to ourselves, but to prepare the way for others to meet Jesus. Th

Luke 1:74-75 We have been rescued from our enemies so we can serve God without fear, in holiness and righteousness for as long as we live. The whole Bible speaks about salvation, and that comes to a climax in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. So, we need to be absolutely clear what salvation is all about. God’s intention for us is to live our lives to the full. His desire is to rescue us from our enemies so that we can live in partnership with him free from fear, sin and anything else that might spoil life. Living with fear totally distorts life. If you are fearful of what others will say and think of you, you will be reluctant to take risks, and every day will be a trial. If you are fearful of medical, financial or relationship difficulties, it will lay a heavy burden on you and change the way you head into every morning. God doesn’t promise to take all our difficulties away from us, but he does promise to set us free from fear as we place our lives into his hands. Sin always spoils. It doesn’t

Luke 1:72-73 “He has been merciful to our ancestors by remembering his sacred covenant – the covenant he swore with an oath to our ancestor Abraham.” Zechariah’s beautiful song of worship after the birth of his son, John the Baptist, celebrated how God had led his people in the Old Testament. Fundamental to God’s dealings with his people was his covenant. This was the understanding that underpinned God’s relationship with the people of Israel. Importantly, a covenant is two-way. God made certain promises about what he would do, and then he expected the people to fulfil their side of the relationship in response. Although he longed for them to live in partnership with him, he never imposed it. Zechariah pointed back to the covenant that God established with Abraham. To show the intense seriousness of the covenant, God made it with an oath. That might seem strange, since we are used to people using oaths in order to appeal to a higher authority. Clearly, God is in a completely different position as he is the

Luke 1:67-70 Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and gave this prophecy: “Praise the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has visited and redeemed his people. He has sent us a mighty Saviour from the royal line of his servant David, just as he promised through his holy prophets long ago.” The birth of John the Baptist was a momentous moment in many ways. John’s mother, Elizabeth, had been astonished to fall pregnant at her advanced age, but also had to cope with the shock of a mute husband. When the baby arrived, neighbours and relatives came together to celebrate. The big question was how the child would be named, and the crowd of well-wishers expected that he would be called Zechariah after his father. But no, Elizabeth had become convinced that his name should be John. They then needed to find out Zechariah’s opinion and, still unable to speak, he wrote down on a writing tablet to everyone’s surprise: “His name is John.” The great joy for this elderly and godly couple was that in their son, John, G

Psalm 90:10,12 Seventy years are given to us! Some even live to eighty. But even the best years are filled with pain and trouble; soon they disappear, and we fly away. Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom. It’s wonderful that so many people are living to the age of 100. In the UK, there are more than 15,000 centenarians, and that figure is about double the number of 20 years ago. However, such long lives are as nothing when placed on the timeline of history, or when we think of our God, for whom 1,000 years are like a day. It is important for us all to listen hard to the psalmist. He observes that 70 years is a typical lifespan, and that some reach 80. In the light of this, he asks God to teach us to realise that life is brief. That could sound sad and morbid, but that would be to forget that every single day of life is a gift that we couldn’t possibly deserve. Facing up to our mortality is actually a very positive thing to do. When we accept that our number of days is lim

Psalm 89:8 O LORD God of Heaven’s Armies! Where is there anyone as mighty as you, O Lord? You are entirely faithful. Faithfulness is a wonderful word. To find someone who is absolutely trustworthy and dependable is an incredible blessing, and the psalmist is convinced that God is exactly that. He looks into the heavens and reflects on the awesomeness of creation and concludes that God is entirely faithful, unlike anyone else. I am happy to be the owner of lots of insurance policies! I like the security that insurance gives and am more than happy to pay up, but we only need insurance because we live in a world where there is so much uncertainty. Things break and people let us down, and we need to have the cushion of insurance to keep life going. However, when we look to God, we need to take out no insurance against the possibility that he might let us down. We can lean with all our weight on him, knowing that he will never fail us. I love Deuteronomy 33:26-27, where Moses, like the psalmist, speaks of God

Revelation 21:3-4 [John wrote:] “I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.” Here, John gives us a wonderful vision of heaven. If our present world is characterised by the gap between God and humankind, heaven is the place where no such gap exists. God will live with his people with an intimacy that we cannot fully experience here on earth. In consequence, it will be a place where death, sorrow, crying and pain have come to an end. All four have to do with separation, and when we are in the nearer presence of God, there will be no separation. What a joy and relief that will be! Christians have varied enormously in their thinking about heaven. Some have devoted so much time and energy to focusing on heaven that they have been distracted from the

Revelation 5:12 “Worthy is the Lamb who was slaughtered – to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honour and glory and blessing.” Life is full of mysteries. The evil of our world is agonising, and the innocent suffer in ways that continually horrify and distress us. In this chapter, John shares his vision of a scroll which held the answers to the mysteries of the world, but there was a problem. There were seven seals to this scroll, and nobody could be found to open it. John wept bitterly at this, but the 24 elders pointed out that somebody had been found who was worthy to break open the seal. He was the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the heir to David’s throne, none other than Jesus Christ himself. Jesus was the victorious lion but also the lamb. He had only won his great victory because he had been willing to become a sacrificial offering. In response, millions of angels burst out in song, praising him. This takes us to the heart of this amazing book. It recognises the terrible evil of the w

Revelation 4:8 “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty – the one who always was, who is, and who is still to come.” During the last few days, we have been challenged by the risen Lord’s messages to the seven churches. They have been extremely down-to-earth and have spoken directly into the lives of those very different churches. We have been given a very clear insight into their strengths and weaknesses and the sharp challenges that they had to face. Now, our attention is moved from earth to heaven, and the language is dramatic and amazing. In this chapter, we meet the risen Christ sitting on a throne, surrounded by 24 thrones on which sat 24 elders. We are then introduced to four living beings, which had eyes both back and front. They had the appearance of a lion, an ox, a human face and an eagle, and they each had six wings. It’s all utterly amazing and quite unlike being on earth, but what matters is that they spent all day and night declaring: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty—

Revelation 3:20 “Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends.” Holman Hunt’s painting [itals]Light of the World[end itals] is probably the best known of all biblical pictures. Jesus stands outside a door which is overgrown and clearly hasn’t been opened for a long time. Hunt painted no handle on the door. Jesus has to wait for the person inside to open it up. The risen Lord was standing outside the church in Laodicea. Although the people were self-confident and believed that everything was fine, Jesus hadn’t been admitted to the church. He had to ask to be let in. Could there be a greater tragedy than this? The whole point of a church is that it is the community where people can meet Jesus, but this powerful letter tells us that it is actually possible for a church to exclude Jesus. Churches can degenerate into being nothing more than a social club, or a social action organisation. There’s nothing wrong with thes