The Birth of a Priest

Well, thank you for your singing. Please open your Bibles to Luke chapter 2, please, as we continue our worship, looking at the Word of God together. our bibles open to luke 2 if you remember last week we looked at the first part of luke 2 and we looked at the birth of jesus and his role as king to us we saw luke revealed king jesus and exaltation if you remember in humility as well his exaltation revealed the glory and royal power of Christ, but his humility show his role as king to serve you or to serve his subjects. And this service is seen in the announcement of the angels as we saw in the song of the angels, fear not for I bring you good news that is of great joy for all the people's glory to God in the highest and on earth.

What does he bring for us as king? Peace. Where the testimony of history His power corrupts absolute power, corrupts absolutely. Jesus uses his absolute power for the good of his people. And that good, as we now look in Luke 2, is identified as providing peace to his people as priests for his people. So how does Jesus as king provide for our good and his power?

Well, he does it by being a priest to us. So let's read and pray together. Luke 2, verses 22 through 39. And when the time came for their purification, according to the law of Moses, they brought Jesus up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord, as is written in the law of the Lord, every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord, and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the law of the Lord, a pair of turtle doves or two young pigeons.

Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ. And so he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him according to the custom of the law, he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said, Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace according to your word.

For my eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples. A light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel. And his father and his mother marveled at what was said about him. And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother, Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel. and for a sign that is opposed, and a sword will pierce through your own soul also, so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.

And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Benuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived with her husband seven years from when she was a virgin, and then as a widow until she was 84. She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day. and coming up at that very hour she began to give thanks to God and to speak of him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem and when they had performed everything according to the law of the Lord they returned into Galilee to their own town of Nazareth let us pray oh father we thank you for Jesus Christ our Lord we thank you Lord that even as a babe you revealed him to be a priest for his people, to be pure and perfect, an acceptable sacrifice to you, a pleasing aroma to you.

And we know that this is the only way that we could truly have peace, and we know that this is truly for our good. So I pray, God, that as we look in this Christmas season to the birth and the babe of Jesus, we'd be reminded of his royalty, his priesthood. We'd be reminded of these good things you've laid up for us in him as his exaltation is revealed and his humility for his people.

So we thank you for this promise, this truth. May it comfort us this season and may we worship you as the people of the Lord. In Jesus' name, amen. You know, Christmas season really is a popular season for virtually everyone. Everyone likes the idea of good news. Everyone likes the idea of great joy.

Everyone likes the idea of salvation and peace. Those are all buzzwords that no one is going to put their nose up to. They like it. But once you put definition on those terms and you flesh them out biblically, there's usually a disconnect, a disconnect quickly. For we will say, in order for me to have good news of great joy, I need peaceful circumstances.

I need to be saved from what is going on around me. The problem is out there and I need there to be peace in order to be joyful. Again, I say this often, that's why all of our presidential candidates tell us that they will do that as our Messiah. But the way God defines peace is not necessarily peaceful circumstances, but peace with him that carries you through any circumstances.

Think of an anchor in the waves. The anchor does good things for the boat, but it doesn't take care of the waves. It doesn't get rid of the movement in the water. It just simply anchors the boat while the waves continue Or consider the fact that Jesus did not calm the sea and then told Peter to come out on top of it and walk on the sea to him No the sea kept on raging and Peter came out in faith to Jesus although it faltered a little bit at the end there.

But I want you to consider the fact that peace doesn't necessarily mean peaceful circumstances. The disconnect can get even deeper when people see that peace that we're talking about is peace with God. and it means keeping his law not their own and it means a bloody nasty cruel sacrifice that is lawful the lawfulness and blood seem to be a turnoff to most but the reason why it is good news of great joy is the realization that the king who was born to mary came to be that peace for us through his work as a priest. What Luke lays out for us here in Luke 2 is Jesus is a perfect priest.

He's perfect under the law. And the longing of the godly for him to be the perfect sacrifice is needed for us in our own hearts so we can be at peace with God. So that the storm may rage and the waves may be high, but with Jesus as our priest, nothing can take away the peace we can have with our God. And this is exactly what's being laid out by Luke. Now, moving on in Luke 2, highlighting the royalty of Christ, now revealing the goodness he has for his people and providing peace between God and his people as being a priest.

Look again at the text. As we're looking at, again, the first part of this text is all about Jesus fulfilling the law, Did you notice that? It's all about Jesus fulfilling the law, starting in verse 21, moving into verse 24. And as we consider that again, remember Galatians 4, 4 through 5, when Paul writes, But in the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.

And so remember the fact that Jesus came to be put under the law so that he'd redeem us who had could not keep the law so that we could be brought near as adopted sons or have peace with God. This is what Jesus has done. He put himself under the law. I want you to consider the facts of being put under the law to redeem us who are under the law and could not keep it. redemption is to buy someone back who's in debt and to be in debt means that we are law breakers indebted to our god and jesus puts on puts himself under that law to redeem us from our lawlessness by his lawfulness it's interesting in the mosaic covenant if you look at that where again we see the shadow of the priesthood that jesus would fulfill it's interesting that in the mosaic covenant that both the sacrifice and the one who's offering the sacrifice had to be lawful.

It had to be perfect and pure for it to be pleasing to God. It had to be lawful. If you look at Leviticus 22, 20 through 21, we see that the sacrifice had to be pure and lawful. and he says you shall not offer anything that is a blemish for it won't be acceptable to you for you and when anyone offers a sacrifice of peace offering to the lord to fulfill a vow free will offering from the herd from the flock to be accepted it must be perfect there shall be no blemish in it highlight perfection no blemish all those things because it is a shadow of the perfection needed from Jesus as our priest or the one who is offering the sacrifice equally had to be pure and without taint so not only the sacrifice but the one offering the sacrifice had to be pure and without taint and we see this in the day of atonement in Leviticus 16 3 through 5 just listen to my words but then in this way Aaron shall come into the holy place with a bull from the herd for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering he shall put on the holy linen coat and shall have the linen undergarment on his body and he shall tie the linen sash around his waist and wear the linen turban these are the holy garments he shall bathe his body in water and then put them on you think Jesus or God is worried about him having bad odor no you think he's worried about the perfect fashion sense of the priest.

No. God is concerned with a perfect and pure priest to offer a perfect and pure sacrifice. So in Luke 2, as Jesus is presented in the temple, Luke is revealing how Jesus is fulfilling the needed requirements to be our priest to deal with our sin so we can have peace with our God. A lawful sacrifice and a lawful person doing the sacrifice. Behold Jesus our priest.

So let's look again. Look at Luke 2 21. And at the end of eight days when Jesus was circumcised he was called Jesus. The name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb when the angel spoke to Mary. And we think automatically. Genesis 17, 14.

Remember, any uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin shall be cut off from his people. He is broken by covenant. So there Jesus is, being circumcised according to the law to be pure or to be in the covenant community. And we go on in Luke 2, 22 and 23. Look at your text in 22 and 23. And when the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses.

Again, highlight all of these laws. Again Jesus his parents ensuring that he obeys or fulfills the law that the first male who opens the womb of a woman needs to be presented in the temple and paid five shekels. And the reason why is because, if you remember, what did God do to the Egyptians when he got the Jews, or the Israelites, out of Egypt? He destroyed all the firstborn.

And so here, all the firstborn of the Jews are to be redeemed by five shekels as a way of showing that as God destroyed the firstborn of our enemies, so he redeems or he protects the firstborn here. And even furthermore, it redeems them from serving in the temple. The Levites did that for them. But the thing to focus on is the fact that Jesus fulfilled even that law. and then in the next in verse 24 and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the law of the lord a pair of turtle doves or two young pigeons and we find this in a leviticus 12 when the woman came back to the temple she was to provide two sacrifices one for her ceremonial uncleanness and the second for a sin offering and we see famously in luke 12 or leviticus 12 that someone who had money, they would provide a goat and then a bird, but someone who was poor could provide two birds.

And we see here Mary provides two birds, so that reveals that they were probably poor people. But I want you to kind of capture the whole section here. I want you to look at verse 39 in Luke 2. And really Luke is telling us, he's summarizing what he's trying to express in verse 39 of Luke 2. And when they had performed everything, highlight everything in your mind, everything according to the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth.

Luke is trying to highlight the fact that Jesus performed everything according to the law and purity. In fact, let it be ringing in your ear, in the following chapter of Luke, when Jesus is baptized as an adult, God says, the Father says, you are my beloved son with whom I am well pleased. This is Jesus being set up as a priest, a pure sacrifice, a pure person who provides the sacrifice.

It can be daunting reading through all the law of Moses. Right? I'm in the middle of numbers right now. But at the very least, in my own study I'm saying, but at the very least, you need to marvel at the fact that God cares about obedience, purity. And without it, nothing, nothing, nothing pleases him. Two things can be overwhelming when we consider being right with God.

All the different ways we can sin, boundless. And all the different things he requires for purity. These are two things can just be overwhelming for us if we take God seriously and his law. And Luke is revealing to us here how everything to do with Jesus was done in a lawful way. Certainly we are used to seeing Jesus' righteous life as an adult. But Luke is showing us that even when he was a babe, the father was ensuring that Jesus fulfilled the law perfectly to be the perfect sacrifice and sacrificer to administer that sacrifice.

That's an important point for later. Keep that in your mind. That the father is ensuring that this son of his would be a perfect sacrifice even as a babe he's fulfilling the law. So Jesus is our lawful priest as sacrificer and priest as the sacrifice or the one sacrificed. Consider that the next time the Christmas season seems to bring in great stress and a lack of peace in your life.

It's an interesting thing that the Christmas season can be the worst season for feeling peaceful on earth. Perhaps God is making the waves extra large so that you can find your true peace in fixing your eyes on the lawful priest that he's provided for you. And for those who have not bowed the knee to the king and received his priesthood, you must remember there is no peace, says the Lord for the wicked.

You must look to the one who is our proper priest. So may the waves cause you to long for and marvel at Jesus. may you consider the lack of peace in your own life a testimony to how you need to look to the one who was prepared to be a proper priest perfectly lawful which is where Luke goes to next with the two people who come into the temple to see Jesus first Simeon and then we see Anna and we see in both of them I'm going to spend more time on Simeon here because they both kind of tell the same thing Luke is trying to do the same thing here so I'm going to spend more time on Simeon and just see how Anna echoes that. And so we have the establishment of Jesus being our priest, being perfect, right?

Fulfilling the law. And then we see through these two who come into the temple, we see a longing for this priest and we see a praising God for this priest. Look at the longing for Jesus and his priests in Luke 2, 25-27. Now there is a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. And this man was righteous and he was devout and he was waiting for the consolation of Israel and the Holy Spirit was upon him.

And it was revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ. and he came in in the spirit into the temple and when the parents brought in the child jesus due for him according to the custom of the law he held him in his arms we'll go on from there but i want you to notice in those verses there the longing of simeon for jesus as priests notice his righteousness you notice his righteousness and being devoted was revealed and is waiting for israel's consolation You notice that? In verse 25 once more this man was righteous and revealed that righteousness by waiting for the consolation of Israel Consolation there means to be comforted during troubled times So the righteousness of Simeon is revealed in waiting, in waiting, in waiting for Israel to be comforted in troubled times. And the major question is, what is the troubled times Israel was in? and we see what troubled time Israel was in in Isaiah 40, 1-5.

Go there with me. Isaiah 40, 1-5. We see the trouble that Israel was in that they needed comfort from. We see it in Isaiah 40, 1-5. The prophet says, Comfort, comfort my people. Consolation, right?

Comfort for my people, says your God. speak tenderly to Jerusalem and cry to her that her warfare is ended that her highlight this word in her mind iniquity is pardoned that she has received from the Lord's hand double for all her sins a voice cries in the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord make straight in the desert a highway for our God every valley shall be lifted up and every mountain and hill be made low the uneven ground shall become level and the rough places a plain and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together in the mouth of the Lord has spoken what is the comfort is that everything that gets in the way of receiving and Nick uh freedom forgiveness of your iniquity would be done with in Christ that Israel that was plagued with sin that the world that's plagued with sin would receive forgiveness of that iniquity in this one who is coming the high places will be leveled the low places will be brought up so that there would be a free pathway to forgiveness of sins so what's the consolation from isaiah forgiveness of sins a priest who forgives sins and simeon reveals his righteousness and being troubled by israel's sins and was waiting for final redemption where in the temple what an appropriate place to wait for the redemption of Israel where sacrifices were placed that looked to the final sacrifice of Jesus. And so you can learn a lot about yourself by what you are troubled by and what you are longing and waiting for. The religious leaders of Jesus's day were not troubled by sin and waiting for Jesus. they were troubled by their own authority being taken away after jesus rose lazarus from the dead and john 11 you remember what the religious leaders say many of the jews therefore who had come with mary and had seen what jesus did believed in him but some of them went to the pharisees and told them what jesus had done so the chief priests and the pharisees gathered the council and said what are we to do for this man performs many signs maybe you should believe upon him and receive forgiveness of sins.

But no, if we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation. By the way, that happened. But the point is, is that they were not longing and waiting for consolation of Israel. They were concerned about their own power. In fact, Pilate has the same issue. Remember, he thinks Jesus is completely, and he was right, not guilty.

And when the people yelled out, you're no friend of Caesar's if you let this king live, that's when he says, okay, he's condemned. But Jesus tells his people not to be troubled over the things of this world. He tells his people in the Sermon on the Mount, in Matthew 6, remember he says, but seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things will be added to you.

So Jesus says, do not trouble yourself over the things of this world. Trouble yourself over the kingdom of redemption that he has brought. So what are you troubled and anxious over? What are the waves that seem to be too high for you and what you want peace through? Is your peace gone and you long for a change of circumstance that you no longer have to be anxious?

Or do you long for the priest who has done all things well to make you at peace with the father through his righteous blood. Simeon reveals the Spirit working in him, a concern for righteousness. So he looks for, waits for, longs for the consolation of Israel. And he goes to the temple. The temple was a shadow of the sacrifice God was preparing to comfort, to forgive, to provide for Israel's salvation.

And he sees the substance of that shadow in Jesus as he holds the nearly six-week-old in his arms. And so there we see the longing for Jesus as priest. And now we see what he says as he sees his longing fulfilled in Jesus, holding him in his arms as he praises God for Jesus as his priest. Look at verse 28 through 32. So he took him up in his arms and he blessed God, right?

The longing reveals itself in the worship whenever he has his eyes on what he was longing for. And he says, Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace according to your word. For my eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples. A light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people, Israel.

You see, the subject is still Jesus as priest and sacrifice. the subject is still being forgiven of our sins and receiving consolation for from that sacrifice and we see that and i want to focus on one part of this song from simeon look how he says again in verse 30 and 31 at the end of verse 30 he says now my longing right i it's finished as i'm looking at jesus he says i've seen your salvation have prepared in the presence of all the peoples. This is priesthood talk. This is sacrificial talk right here.

He says, I've seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all people. Salvation there is the means of redemption and atonement. That's what salvation is. I've seen your means of redemption and atonement that you have provided, or the means of the consolation of Israel, which I've been longing for. And as Simeon held Jesus in his arms, he was holding the means the father had prepared to offer redemption and atonement, the consolation that Israel needed.

Now that word prepared, you notice who read this morning, I'm forgetting who read 2 Chronicles 35, 4 through 16. You remember that long passage for the Old Testament reading. I'm forgetting who read it now. I usually can remember. Ah, Eric, of course. How could I forget you, Eric?

One thing to notice is how many times they talked about to prepare, to prepare in those verses. Josiah is reforming Israel at this point. Israel had gone the way of paganism and Josiah is reforming that. And so to prepare means is to prepare for the righteous sacrifice and make sure that it's done in a righteous way. Think of priesthood from our Christ.

And so as we read, and I don't have time to read through it again, even read through it in your own time, notice all the times that the writer is saying that they prepared properly for the sacrifice to make sure it was done in a righteous and lawful way. And that's what we see prepare over and over again. They're preparing to make sure that was done appropriately. and each of the gospels i don't know if you ever noticed but you remember they talk about a day of preparation for the feast mark 15 42 matthew 27 62 and john 19 14 it talks about a day of preparation for the feast and what matthew pool says about that day is the preparation to any feast signifies the day before it because on that day they prepared whatsoever according to the law was necessary for the solemnization of it.

So it was a day in which they ensured that everything happened lawfully for that feast. And so, in Hebrews 10, verse 5, it's fascinating that the writer of the Hebrews says, consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said, sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body you have prepared for me. we are used to seeing Jesus living a righteous life that made his atonement acceptable to God. But here in Luke 2, we see the Father preparing the sacrifice by ensuring all the laws were kept for Jesus to be a pure and pleasing sacrifice for you.

If it was not prepared, if he was not pure, there would be no consolation for us. and so Simeon says my eyes have seen your salvation that you God have prepared in the presence of all the peoples this is what our God has done for us even as a babe Jesus was fulfilling the law because he was prepared by the father Jesus then is the perfect answer to our greatest need to be at peace with God He is the only way that was prepared by the Father himself Such a gift offered means the stakes are high as Jesus is offered to the people. In other words, it matters how people respond to such a gift. You imagine when there's a big gift given to someone, for someone to reject it, it becomes even worse for that person.

A minor gift can be rejected with minor consequences, but a major gift given to someone or offered to someone to be rejected means a major consequence to that. And Simeon then turns to the reaction of the people of the consequences of accepting or rejecting this blessing or this gift given by the Father. When he says in Luke 2, 33 through 35, as he gets done blessing God for this gift of consolation now he's going to bless the parents and he's going to talk about the consequences of accepting or rejecting this gift when he says when the text says in verse 33 and his father and his mother marveled at what was said about him and Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother behold this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel and for a sign that is opposed and a sword as a parenthesis statement in parenthesis and a sword will pierce through your own soul also so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed and see what Simeon says to Mary there is that this baby is a sign that's appointed for the fall and rise in a many in Israel the rise is people who are at peace with God through this sign and the fall are those who are at odds or enmity of god uh to receive judgment is their fall and he says it's a sign that is opposed jesus was opposed by being crucified which is what enabled people to rise or fall being that sign and he even says so that um he says that even a sword will pierce through your own soul and commentators believe that's he's talking to mary saying when you see the sign being rejected by men being crucified which is our consolation it's going to pierce your soul you are going to be in torment as you see your son being crucified on the cross the worst fathomable punishment or um um thing that could happen to you for death and so again Simeon is talking about the cross of Christ.

He's talking about the sacrifice that God has prepared. And he's talking about the fact that our rise and fall depends on how we respond to this offer of Jesus as priests. Even so, he says at the end that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed. What man keeps secret will be revealed or exposed in how they respond to Jesus as priest. So notice how the man waiting for the consolation of Israel and holding the means of it in his arms prophesies of the time when this baby would accomplish that sacrificial work as our priest.

Jesus would be a sign opposed by crucifixion. It would pierce Mary very soul as she looks at her son being murdered and it would expose everyone else thoughts And moving on to Anna, as we then make some concluding remarks, I'm not going to spend much time on Anna, only to show how she is really repeating the same thing that Simeon has already shown us. Look at verses 36 through 37.

We're going to see again the longing for Jesus as priest, And then we're going to see again to praise to God for Jesus as being this priest. Look at 36. And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived with her husband seven years from when she was a virgin, and then as a widow until she was 84.

And look at this and highlight this in your mind. She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day. Do you see the longing there? Do you see the longing there? We're going to see in a moment how she's waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem or the consolation of Israel. And so where does she go?

She goes to the temple where sacrifices are being done because she's longing for the priest work of Jesus. And in that longing, she does not depart from the temple, but instead she worships there and fasts in prayer night and day. Oh, Lord, come, save us. And then look at, again, the praise to God for Jesus as priest as she sees the consolation of Israel.

Look at verse 38. And coming up at that very hour, she began to give thanks to God and to speak of him to all who were, what? Waiting, longing for the redemption of Jerusalem or what Simeon said, the consolation of Israel or what was said about him at least. So again, notice the praise to God and to speak into all who were waiting for the same thing, for the redemption or the purchasing back of people in sin, back to be with God as a priest would do.

As Simeon waited in the temple for the consolation of Israel, so Anna waited in the temple for the redemption of Jerusalem. Redemption, a purchasing slaves of something to be freed. Which brings us back to Galatians. Remember what Paul says, but at the fullness of time, God sent forth his son, born of a virgin, born under the law to redeem those who are under the law so that we might receive adoption as sons, so that our troubles might cease in him.

So in conclusion, how does Jesus as priest affect you this Christmas season? What are you waiting or longing for? What are you waiting, what are you longing for? It speaks volumes of your spiritual condition this morning, of what you're waiting, of what you're longing for. Every one of us wants peace, but whose definition? The devil's definition is to have circumstance that allows everything that our hearts desire.

For the waves and the storms to just cease so I can just have my peace. Or, in other words, we like to set ourselves up as our own priests. It's very interesting. You look at scripture, you see people set themselves up as their own priests. And we are very good at setting ourselves up as our own priests. God, I know what's lawful.

I know what needed I know it all Just let me have it But Jesus as king gives you something better Peace with God in every circumstance of life As priest Jesus was the perfect sacrifice to provide you forgiveness of sins and peace with God. And it's a fascinating thing. As Ambrose wrote of Christians, the early church father, they sung hymns of redemption as they walked to their martyrdom.

They sung hymns of praise and worship because they had been redeemed from sin, redeemed from wrath, and to grace and mercy by the high priest of Jesus. And so even as they walked to their martyrdom, you can imagine the most tumultuous time in your very soul that you know you are about to be burnt, drowned, or whatever it is. They sang hymns of praise for the redemption of Christ. so let us be a people who have peace with God that overcomes any and all circumstances of life and anchor in the ground because Jesus is that anchor let us pray oh father I thank you for the work of Jesus as priest Lord we know as your people that our greatest problem is that we are at odds with you until a sacrifice is made for us and Lord we also know that not just any sacrifice will work.

You see, the history of the Old Testament is the history that you demand a specific sacrifice and for anything else to happen displeases you. And Lord, we know that this reveals how only Jesus is pleasing in your sight. We see him fulfill the law perfectly, both as a babe and as an adult, and we hear what you say and testify about him that this one is pleasing to you.

And so I pray, God, that as people who know our sin, who know the error of our ways, I pray that as we see a lack of peace in our lives, a lack of peace around us, we would be reminded of our need to find the peace that Jesus has provided by his perfect sacrifice to forgive us of our sins and to bring us near to you once more so that whatever may happen in this world, we go through it at peace with you, as Paul talks about in Romans. So as we look at the peace on earth, as we look at the king that was born, may we see that he's filled with goodness for his people because he has sacrificed himself to be a perfect sacrifice for us. So would you help us to believe and trust in him today?

May it give us peace within our souls that is indescribable. For those who are in turmoil right now, whether as an unbeliever or as a believer, would you point them to Jesus and the peace they can have with you, even despite their circumstances. God, we know that you don't take away tumultuous times because you show us that in you we can have peace in it because Christ is a powerful and able priest of our souls.

So we thank you and praise you for the work of Jesus. May our hearts be full. May we long for him. and may we be satisfied and marvel at him because he has done this thing very well. In Jesus' name, amen.