The Wait is Over (Luke 22:5-35) (December 25, 2025)

The Wait is Over (Luke 22:5-35) Living Life 12/25/2025 Daily Devotional Bible Study

The Wait is Over (Luke 225-35) Living Life 12252025 Daily Devotional Bible Study

Merry Christmas and the Question of a Normal Life

Merry Christmas to you all and I pray for God's blessings upon you this Christmas.
May you see Christ almost as if he was born again in your heart today we also we all have heard and seen of this American dream that many people work so hard in order to try to gain for themselves to to be married happily married to have a little house to have children that play in the yard to be able to have a decent car and to just live that life of work of play of enjoyment of family.

We all want that sort of normal life.
But the problem is is that the moment you give your life to Christ things seem to be anything but normal.

A Life That Did Not Go as Planned

My life was not normal at all.
I thought that I would maybe study in school and then I'd be a teacher for a few years and I would then go back and I would

get my seminary degree and then pastor at church.
And maybe if it was a small church I could teach and pastor or if it was a large church I could just focus on pastoring and maybe teach a little bit on the side.
And none of my dream happened.
I didn't teach in high school for more than a year.
I ended up being a missionary for five years.
I then got married and then went back to seminery and and then served as a professor and pastor not as a teacher and pastor

and and then became more of a professor than a pastor and then now I'm more of a pastor than a professor and just my life has been anything but normal.

Is There a “Normal” in God’s Economy?

Is there a normal in God's economy if we sign up to follow Christ are we sort of destined to lose that kind of American dream?
It forces us to ask the question Well what about Jesus?
What was normal about Jesus's early life?
And in order to answer that question let's look at Luke Chapter two verse twenty one through thirty five.

The Wait is Over

Scripture Reading: Luke Chapter Two Verses Twenty Five to Thirty Five

Luke Chapter two verses twenty five to thirty five.

Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simon who was righteous and devout.
He was waiting for the consolation of Israel and the Holy spirit was on him.
It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord's Messia moved by the spirit he went into the temple courts when the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the law required Simian took in his arms and praised God saying

Sovereign Lord as you have promised you may now dismiss your servant in peace for my eyes have seen your salvation which you have prepared in the sight of all nations a light for revelation to the gentiles and the glory of your people Israel The child's father and mother marvelled at what was said about him.
Then Simian blessed them and said to Mary his mother

This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel and to be a sign that will be spoken against so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed and a sword will pierce your own soul too.

Nothing Was Normal About Jesus’s Early Life

So what was normal about Jesus's early life?
The answer is nothing nothing was normal not a wit.
You already know and remember that Jesus was born not in a hotel hospital but he was born in a major he was visited by shepherds and everything after that just continued to be abnormal.
Even though Mary is hiding all of these things in her heart she's continuing to see that this Jesus is nothing like what anyone expected.

The Naming of Jesus Was Not Normal

Let's take a look at that more closely look at verse twenty one

What is normal in terms of naming a child?
Well back then you named a child according to someone in your family your family history a respected leader a patriarch If you will especially the first born son which Jesus was they would receive a family name But what was the name that they gave to Jesus?
It's the Hebrew name Yeshua We translate that as Jashua it's the Greek name Hesus We trans that we translate that as Jesus.
This wasn't a family name it was the name given by the angel so

he didn't have a normal naming.

The Temple and the Encounter with Simeon

What about his circumcision that comes at day eight when the child is eight days old they take him into the temple in order to go through the purification ritual for the first born son and to circumcise the child.
Was that normal? Nope not at all.
Let's take a look at verses 22 through 25 Jesus came into the temple at the right time for the purification of the sacrifice.
This is in verse 23 and 24

But then there's this man by the name of Simon there or Simian what is happening with him?

A Promise Revealed by the Spirit

Verse 26 The spirit revealed that he meaning Simon would not see death until he saw the lord's messiah.
Wow well how does that work?
Does that mean? He sees this messiah coming in as a conquering king that's what Israel thought they would see.
But it says verse 29 through verse 32 that he is led by the spirit

into the temple just as Mary and Joseph are bringing Jesus in and he receives this child into his arms And what does he say?

Salvation Held in His Arms

Let's read carefully. He says this The sovereign lord has promised that you may now dismiss your servant in peace for my eyes has seen your salvation my alight for the revelation to the gentiles and the glory of your people.
Israel that's a little disconcerting if you think about it

he has a knife in one hand in order to perform the circumcision.
And what does he say? You can release your servant in peace meaning I can die now okay if I'm Marian Joseph I might be thinking okay put the knife down all right you don't need to do anything.
You're sounding a little crazy but yet he is praising God because of the salvation of the glory that is being brought through this child.

A Sword That Will Pierce Mary’s Soul

And it says in verse 33 that Mary and Joseph were wondering about the things that were spoken.
Maybe they were a little shocked maybe they were a little surprised maybe they were really thinking about it.
What is going on here when then Simian focuses in on Mary as they're wandering and says that a sword a spirit like sword is going to pass through his heart through her heart through her own heart namely through her soul because of what they will do to Jesus That's not normal

and of course we know when that happened we know that Mary was there when Jesus saw her son crucified on that cross and she was so distraught that John records Jesus had to say Mary This is John This is my replacement.
He will take care of you as I was supposed to take care of you but I can't because I'm dying.

Following Jesus Means an Unnormal Life

Jesus's life was anything but normal and we, as Christians who follow Jesus, we need to recognize that about ourselves.
Our lives will be like Jesus who is our exemplar our example

so you might say, why why does God make life so challenging?
And the answer is because we're at war.
This is a spiritual war and you have forces of darkness that are trying to stamp out God's light.
Do you really think it's supposed to be that easy?
If you live for Christ, then you have to be aware that this sinful world will do anything and everything to silence you because there is nothing normal about Jesus nor is there anything normal about those who follow him.

Would ou say that you are at peace in this season?

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A Different Kind of Christmas Prayer

I know this is not your normal Christmas greeting but it's still important for us to recognize that this Jesus, who we love, who we serve, doesn't want to give us a life with a little house and a picket fence and children out playing in the yard.
He wants to give us a good life of obedience and submission to him.
So let us pray that we can have a wonderful Christmas filled with God's goodness rather than this seeking for the world's view of what's normal Let's pray Lord

May we release this pursuit of the normal, of the good job, of the good money, of the good home, of the good car, of the good family Instead May we pursue you a life that is anything but normal So may we give ourselves fully unto you so that we can see your goodness reign in us and that we can be children who follow you and even that example of not wanting the normal, but wanting your best instead

we are at war and so may we, like Jesus, like Paul, like so many of the disciples, fight the good fight, finish the race, and keep our faith may this Christmas, and all of twenty, twenty six be filled with the church doing that for you in Jesus name we pray Amen.