December 15
Confirming witnesses
Luke 2:33
And Joseph and His mother marveled at those things which were spoken of Him.
The annual recounting of the birth narratives from the Gospel records of Matthew and Luke are so familiar that after a while we stop discovering anything new. Our focus was predetermined and is maintained on a fixed set of issues and events. We even make assumptions about some of the characters in the story that have no validity in the actual scriptural account, rather they are the subject of folklore and products of popular entertainment.
Yesterday we looked at one of the forgotten people of the ‘Christmas’ Story, Simeon. Simeon and another forgotten character, Anna, appear only in Luke’s account towards the end of his version of the birth narrative. (The popular story of the birth of Jesus is actually a combination of the accounts of Matthew and Luke and represent a collapsing of years of action into one short tale.)
Simeon and Anna, among the forgotten in the ‘Christmas’ story, seem to be just incidental. They seem to have been two old people who just happened to be in and about the Temple when Joseph and Mary took Jesus to be presented to the Lord in the Temple, forty days after His birth. The timing of this five-mile journey from Bethlehem to the Temple in Jerusalem was of course based on the Jewish Law which determined when she, Mary, was ceremonially clean to be allowed into the Temple. See Leviticus 12:6-7 for the position on this.
It should be noticed here that Joseph and Mary are doing their level best, in spite of the circumstances, to comply with the requirements of the Jewish Law. Jesus was to say later that He came to fulfil the Law, and later His followers totally ‘abandoned’ the Law. However, at the time, this is all that Mary knew.
There is a popular Christmas song these days, ‘Mary, did you know?’ that asks a series of questions of Mary with respect to what she actually knew at the time of most of these events at His nativity. In the song, there are questions that surround many of the signs and wonders that He later performed. The last verse goes deeper, “Mary did you know that your baby boy is Lord of all creation? / Mary did you know that your baby boy will one day rule the nations? / Did you know that your baby boy is heaven’s perfect Lamb? / This sleeping child you’re holding is the great I am”
In our version of the ‘Christmas’ story Joseph and Mary quickly comply with the declarations of the angelic messenger and events in a dream and all was well. We never see them grappling with the actual things that were taking place and trying to make sense of it all. We never see them express doubt about what is taking place. Doubt demonstrated might tarnish their characters in our minds and maybe shake of faith.
I wish to suggest that if your faith cannot handle a little doubt in the reality of people’s lives then your faith is shaky indeed. A man looked at Jesus Himself one day and said, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!” Mark 9:24. Jesus did for that man what the man had asked and in the process built up the man’s faith.
Joseph and Mary were faithful to God, they obeyed His commands but they did not understand everything at the time and spent a lot of time in deep reflection over what was being told to them. Mary is especially portrayed as very contemplative. A bunch of shepherds show up soon after she gave birth. These shepherds had just been the only audience to the most outstanding choir ever, a choir of angels announcing and celebrating the birth of Jesus. They arrive at the manger and were excitedly declaring to everyone in earshot what they were told by these angels. Luke records that, “Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart.” Luke 2:19, even after the noisy shepherds left.
So let’s come back to Simeon and Anna, the two old people who get forgotten in the story, they each have brief biographies in the account. Simeon was an ageing but devout intercessor on behalf of the Jews, and Anna was an ageing prophetess who was widowed early in life and sent a lifetime in the Temple. They both meet baby Jesus and make declarations about Him. Their declarations address the Child’s particular future in the redemptive plan of God. Read Luke 2:25-38. These declarations seem to cause Joseph and Mary to marvel, as our key verse, Luke 2:33 says.
Simeon and Anna devout people in the temple serve as corroborating witnesses. Joseph and Mary believed that they had heard from God, however, they had now, earthly witnesses to corroborate what they believed and to help with any unbelief that lingered. This idea of two and three witnesses helping to corroborate and establish something that we are being told is not new and is all through the Scriptures, see, in various contexts, Matthew 18:16, 2 Corinthians 13:1, and Hebrews 10:28.
I was speaking with someone recently who is about to make some big life decisions, she is contemplating and praying about these decisions and has been for a while. A number of events, outside of her control, along with news and statements from other people in her life, all seem to be helping her shape the decision. She reflected to me that this is how God’s direction to her is confirmed.
Think on these things:
- Do you hear from God?
- Do you sometimes have doubts about what God would have you do?
- In your experience, have you ever received confirmation of what God is saying to you through the witness or testimony of others?
Prayer focus:
Let us pray today that we, as we pray, would receive confirmation of those things we have sensed and heard in the spirit.
In His Grace
Pastor Alex