1 00:00:01,130 --> 00:00:04,100 In the name of Jesus, amen. 2 00:00:07,530 --> 00:00:12,970 So when does Christmas end and Easter 3 00:00:12,970 --> 00:00:13,370 begin? 4 00:00:16,170 --> 00:00:18,970 Well to judge what goes on in the 5 00:00:18,970 --> 00:00:20,530 department stores and the radios, 6 00:00:20,730 --> 00:00:23,200 Christmas is pretty much over by December 7 00:00:23,200 --> 00:00:25,470 26th, that's when the music stops playing. 8 00:00:27,270 --> 00:00:29,330 And you know some places at the church 9 00:00:29,330 --> 00:00:31,430 there are like 12 days of Christmas and 10 00:00:31,430 --> 00:00:33,370 those are heartily celebrated including a 11 00:00:33,370 --> 00:00:35,600 wonderful fifth night celebration. 12 00:00:37,800 --> 00:00:39,630 And in many parts of the world Christmas 13 00:00:39,630 --> 00:00:41,570 doesn't even get rolling until the 14 00:00:41,570 --> 00:00:47,070 epiphany of our Lord January 6th. So when 15 00:00:47,070 --> 00:00:49,270 does Christmas begin and the road to 16 00:00:49,270 --> 00:00:53,270 Easter begin? Well it begins, I'm going to 17 00:00:53,270 --> 00:00:56,670 guess right about now according to our 18 00:00:56,670 --> 00:01:01,570 text, 40 days after the birth of our Lord. 19 00:01:01,730 --> 00:01:04,270 That's when they brought Jesus to 20 00:01:04,270 --> 00:01:07,700 Jerusalem and presented Him to the Lord 21 00:01:07,700 --> 00:01:11,970 according to the law of the Lord. And 22 00:01:11,970 --> 00:01:15,170 rather than a young lamb, the normal 23 00:01:15,170 --> 00:01:18,930 sacrifice, they opted for the poor man's 24 00:01:18,930 --> 00:01:23,070 sacrifice, a pair of turtle doves or two 25 00:01:23,070 --> 00:01:27,070 young pigeons. The point being whether it 26 00:01:27,070 --> 00:01:30,700 was a little sacrifice or a big sacrifice, 27 00:01:32,100 --> 00:01:37,830 blood had to be shed for sins. Indeed the 28 00:01:37,830 --> 00:01:39,730 writer to the Hebrews confirms this when 29 00:01:39,730 --> 00:01:44,300 it says, under the law almost everything 30 00:01:44,300 --> 00:01:48,030 is purified with blood. Without the 31 00:01:48,030 --> 00:01:50,630 shedding of blood there is no forgiveness 32 00:01:50,630 --> 00:01:58,530 of sins. Almost everything it says. For 33 00:01:58,530 --> 00:02:02,630 Jesus, the spotless Lamb of God, the one 34 00:02:02,630 --> 00:02:06,670 who needed no purification for Himself was 35 00:02:06,670 --> 00:02:11,500 nevertheless brought to the temple. And we 36 00:02:11,500 --> 00:02:14,170 observe that Jesus is the first and only 37 00:02:14,170 --> 00:02:18,000 male in Hebrew history to open the womb as 38 00:02:18,000 --> 00:02:23,470 a firstborn, be presented to the Lord and 39 00:02:23,470 --> 00:02:28,970 to be called holy. The Holy Spirit's 40 00:02:28,970 --> 00:02:31,170 editorial addition here to the quote from 41 00:02:31,170 --> 00:02:33,970 Exodus which I suppose he's entitled to 42 00:02:33,970 --> 00:02:37,730 edit his own material. But it also echoes 43 00:02:37,730 --> 00:02:40,870 what happens in Luke at the annunciation 44 00:02:40,870 --> 00:02:44,930 when the angel says to Jesus, or the angel 45 00:02:44,930 --> 00:02:48,670 says to Mary about Jesus, the child to be 46 00:02:48,670 --> 00:02:53,470 born will be called holy, the son of God. 47 00:02:55,600 --> 00:03:00,500 Big sacrifice or little sacrifice, blood 48 00:03:00,500 --> 00:03:04,930 had to be shed for sin. Only now the 49 00:03:04,930 --> 00:03:09,230 parents offer the little sacrifice of 50 00:03:09,230 --> 00:03:11,400 turtle doves and pigeons and bring with 51 00:03:11,400 --> 00:03:17,200 them the bigger sacrifice. Bigger and 52 00:03:17,200 --> 00:03:19,730 better than all the turtle doves and all 53 00:03:19,730 --> 00:03:22,930 the lambs sacrificed but for all the 54 00:03:22,930 --> 00:03:25,700 firstborn of all the people of God, they 55 00:03:25,700 --> 00:03:29,870 bring with them the Lamb of God who takes 56 00:03:29,870 --> 00:03:35,670 away the sin of the world. Big sins, 57 00:03:37,070 --> 00:03:46,170 little sins. Your sins, my sins. All sins. 58 00:03:49,770 --> 00:03:53,270 Luther preached, the deeper we plunge 59 00:03:53,270 --> 00:03:57,430 Christ into the flesh of mankind, the 60 00:03:57,430 --> 00:03:58,730 better it is for us. 61 00:04:01,370 --> 00:04:04,770 Old Man Simeon understood this. Like all 62 00:04:04,770 --> 00:04:06,570 the faithful he had been waiting for the 63 00:04:06,570 --> 00:04:11,670 consolation of Israel, spirit filled and 64 00:04:11,670 --> 00:04:13,870 spirit led, he had been uniquely promised 65 00:04:13,870 --> 00:04:16,400 that he would not see death until he had 66 00:04:16,400 --> 00:04:22,530 seen the Lord's Messiah. So there that day 67 00:04:22,530 --> 00:04:27,330 in the temple, in the ruddy flesh of a 68 00:04:27,330 --> 00:04:30,700 smelly little six week old, our Lord's 69 00:04:30,700 --> 00:04:34,030 body was laid into the arms of Old Man 70 00:04:34,030 --> 00:04:39,630 Simeon and there it says he blessed God, 71 00:04:40,070 --> 00:04:44,030 he praised God and declared, now O Master 72 00:04:44,030 --> 00:04:46,500 you are setting your servant free 73 00:04:46,500 --> 00:04:48,900 according to your word. 74 00:04:51,830 --> 00:04:54,730 Like Simeon, this little child has set you 75 00:04:54,730 --> 00:05:00,430 free from sin and from death just as he 76 00:05:00,430 --> 00:05:04,630 promised. In your baptism he sets you free 77 00:05:04,630 --> 00:05:09,600 forever for we know that in baptism our 78 00:05:09,600 --> 00:05:12,700 old self was crucified with him, says 79 00:05:12,700 --> 00:05:16,600 Saint Paul, in order that the body of sin 80 00:05:16,600 --> 00:05:20,130 might be brought to nothing so that we 81 00:05:20,130 --> 00:05:22,600 would no longer be enslaved to sin. 82 00:05:25,170 --> 00:05:28,370 Like Simeon, your eyes have beheld the 83 00:05:28,370 --> 00:05:33,700 body and blood of the Lord in flesh. For 84 00:05:33,700 --> 00:05:36,030 the same flesh and blood of God's own Son 85 00:05:36,030 --> 00:05:39,600 laid into the faithful arms of Simeon is 86 00:05:39,600 --> 00:05:42,430 placed into your mouth to eat and to drink 87 00:05:42,430 --> 00:05:47,430 for the forgiveness of your sins. No doubt 88 00:05:47,430 --> 00:05:51,770 about that. And where there is forgiveness 89 00:05:51,770 --> 00:05:57,530 of sins, there also is life and salvation. 90 00:06:00,070 --> 00:06:05,470 Yes, the deeper we plunge Christ into the 91 00:06:05,470 --> 00:06:09,570 flesh of mankind, the better it is for us. 92 00:06:11,170 --> 00:06:16,370 On this day, this 40th day of Christmas, 93 00:06:18,070 --> 00:06:25,870 or is it the first road toward Easter? In 94 00:06:25,870 --> 00:06:27,370 the name of Jesus, amen.