Forming Faith Blog

Salvation, Light, Redemption (Luke 2)

Posted on December 17 2024 by Gregory Rawn

As his parents present the infant Jesus at the temple, two faithful Jews are inspired by the Holy Spirit to declare Jesus as the salvation, light, and redemption of Israel.

A black and white photo of an older person's hand holding a baby's feet. Simeon declared Jesus as the salvation of Israel.
Photo by Mario Wallner
Season of Christmas

This reading marks the first Sunday of Christmas and the first Sunday of our theme Revelation of the Son of Man. We chose this theme for the two Sundays of Christmas and the first four Sundays of Epiphany to emphasize one of the purposes of the Epiphany season: to show us who Jesus is. That is, of course, the whole point of the Gospels: narratives showing that Jesus is the promised Messiah and what kind of Messiah he is.

While this revelation begins at (near) the beginning of the Gospel of Luke with the angel Gabriel’s announcement to Mary, it really gets going when Mary and Joseph bring Jesus to be presented before God at the temple. This act itself is a demonstration of Mary and Joseph’s devotion to God, and Jesus being the “firstborn male… designated as holy to the Lord” (Luke 2:23) takes on new meaning as Jesus is not only Mary’s firstborn son, but the firstborn Son of God.

Simeon, Anna, and the Holy Spirit

At the temple, the Holy Family encounters two faithful Jews who are inspired by the Holy Spirit. The Spirit’s work is explicitly stated with Simeon, mentioned three times in as many verses (vv. 25-27). While the Spirit is not mentioned in relation to Anna, she is identified as a prophet, a gift imbued only by the Spirit of God.

Simeon’s speech, Anna’s declarations, and the rest of the Gospels are based on the Scripture they had access to: the Hebrew Bible (our Old Testament). And so, it’s important, and enlightening, to understand them in terms of the Hebrew traditions.

Salvation (Isaiah 52:7-10)

The Holy Spirit told Simeon that “he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah” (verse 26). So, Simeon’s speech would be about Israel’s Messiah.
“for my eyes have seen your salvation” (Luke 2:30)

Simeon is looking at a newborn Jesus, so this “salvation” is both a person (Jesus) and the work this person will do when he grows up. The term “salvation” is a heavily theological term about which much ink and blood has been spilled. Not trying to take away from the spiritual understanding of the concept, it’s important to keep in mind its meaning as grounded in the Hebrew Bible.

How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of the messenger who announces peace, who brings good news, who announces salvation, who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.” Listen! Your sentinels lift up their voices, together they sing for joy; for in plain sight they see the return of the Lord to Zion. Break forth together into singing, you ruins of Jerusalem; for the Lord has comforted his people, he has redeemed Jerusalem. The Lord has bared his holy arm before the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.

Isaiah 52:7-10

This salvation, this rescue and deliverance, relates to the good news (gospel) that our God is king over all and that God brings back the scattered people from their exile. Because of God’s deliverance, the people will once again be free and at peace. Whether Simeon was thinking about deliverance from sin or not, I think that (given the context) it is safe to say that rescue from danger and deliverance from oppression would be included here.

Light (Isaiah 42:5-7)

Probably my favorite image here is that of “a light for revelation” in verse 32. The image of light is used often in Scripture, both as something that reveals the truth and guides our feet. Another illuminating passage from Isaiah about the Messiah is:

Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen in whom my soul delights… I am the Lord, I have called you in righteousness, I have taken you by the hand and kept you; I have given you as a covenant to the people, a light to the nations, to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness.

Isaiah 42:1a, 6-7

The servant here, as far as I understand, was originally interpreted as the whole of Israel, with later interpreters understanding it as the Messiah (specifically Jesus according to Christian interpreters). Through this servant (Israel, Messiah, Jesus), God provides a light to the nations (that is, the Gentiles). This light reveals (opens their eyes to) God’s work with the people of bringing freedom, deliverance, and the end to suffering—with the Romans as the current in a line of oppressors.

Redemption (Isaiah 49:5-6)

The prophet Anna talks to people about Jesus as the redemption of Jerusalem (a synecdoche for all of Israel). What is redemption, literally? Redemption is liberation for slaves by a payment (ransom). This is like “salvation,” a deep term with an adopted, spiritualized meaning (slavery=sin, ransom=Jesus’ death), but on the simplest level, is about the restoration of freedom for the oppressed people of Israel. The passage below from Isaiah represents the work of the servant (Messiah, Jesus) in redemption, and generally Jesus himself.

And now the Lord says, who formed me in the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob back to him, and that Israel might be gathered to him, for I am honored in the sight of the Lord, and my God has become my strength—he says, “It is too light [small] a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the survivors of Israel; I will give you as a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”

Isaiah 49:5-6

As you might see, this is a great quote for Jesus and his work in general: formed in the womb, gathering and restoring Israel (the people of God), and being a light to the nations (Gentiles) for the spread of God’s salvation.

Faith Formation Connection

For many, this is an interesting (hopefully) but irrelevant reflection on a passage assigned for an unusual Sunday. This first Sunday of Christmas is only a few days after the stress of Christmas itself and a few days before New Year’s. Many people skip worship this weekend and pastors and worship leaders are tired. Sunday school and other faith formation classes are on break. A solution many have found for worship is a traditional service of lessons and carols. Perhaps a way to include the assigned reading is to swap a few of the lessons to include the Presentation and even Isaiah 49 instead of one of the other Isaiah passages.

Or, you can do as we do in many of our curriculum resources and combine this lesson with that of Boy Jesus in the Temple on the second Sunday of Christmas.

Christmas blessings,

Gregory Rawn (Publisher)

Download a FREE activity for 12/29/2024
Free Resource

During the main Narrative Lectionary year (September 8 to June 8), we provide a free resource download from one of our products to help you in your faith formation ministry. This week, download the activity “Telling Temples” from our Living the Word: Youth (NL) curriculum. This activity can be adapted for use with most confident readers.

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