When the time came
Today we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. The angel of the Lord appeared to the shepherds and said to them: "Do not be afraid, for I bring you good news of great joy." Heaven burst into rejoicing and a heavenly choir raised a powerful hymn in honor of God. The Star of Bethlehem shone in the sky and led people to the newborn child. The eternal God took on the form and nature of his creation and became man. Immanuel, God with us! The Epistle to the Galatians provides the basis for this sermon:
Galatians 4,4-5 "But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons."
The sermon is entitled: When the time had come. The sermon text answers three central questions: When did God send his son? Who did God send into this world? And for what purpose did God send his son?
First, when did God send his Son?
Let's start with the first question of this sermon: When did God send His Son? The birth of Jesus occurred at a specific time. The constellation of planets and stars was right. The culture and educational system had to be prepared. The governments of the earth, especially the Romans, were in service at the right time. At that specific moment, God said to His Son: Go! I am sending you into this world.
Galatians 4,4 Hope for All "But when the time had come, God sent his Son to us"
Why did God need a time set by God for the salvation of mankind? Sin entered the world when Adam and Eve rejected God's faith and acted disobediently. By rebelling against God, they brought darkness, destruction, war, violence, hatred, strife, disease, abuse and death into the world. We still feel the consequences of this today. God has a plan to save mankind. The promise of sending the Messiah to this earth was prophesied from generation to generation and for centuries ahead. We will look at these promises in detail.
Adam and Eve
The first promise of the coming Messiah took place in the Garden of Eden. There God said to the serpent:
1. Mose 3,15 "I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed: he (Jesus) will bruise your head, and you will strike his heel"
God promised the woman a descendant who would rise up and defeat the serpent! This descendant, Jesus Christ, will overcome evil and death. He will restore once and for all what was destroyed by the Fall. The devil will be defeated by God's Son, born of the Virgin Mary. God declared that He would send His Son, but not immediately.
Abraham
God chose Abraham, who, at God's command, was ready to sacrifice his son Isaac - a powerful symbol of the later sacrifice of Jesus Christ. God prevented the sacrifice and gave Abraham a great promise:
1. Moses 22,16-18 (Schlatter 2000) «I have sworn by myself, says the Lord, Because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will bless you and multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven and as the sand on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies and enter into your seed (singular) all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice!»»
Paul interprets the descendant of Abraham as the promised Savior, namely Jesus Christ:
Galatians 3,16 "Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his descendants. It does not say, 'And to his descendants,' as if it meant many, but it is to one, 'And to your descendants, who is Christ.'"
In due time, God would send his Son, born of a woman and a descendant of Abraham, through whom salvation would come to all the peoples of the earth. But the time for his sending had not yet come.
Very
God revealed further details about the coming Messiah through Judah. In a significant family gathering, Jacob, the grandson of Abraham, gathered his twelve sons. Although traditionally the firstborn received the blessing and inheritance, Jacob told his firstborn son Reuben: It will not be you.
To Simeon and Levi, his second and third sons, he said: You have used too much violence. Neither are you. Then Jacob turned to his fourth son Judah and prophesied to him:
1. Moses 49,9-10 "You, Judah, are he! Your brothers will praise you. Your hand will be on the neck of your enemies; your father's sons will bow down before you. Judah is a lion's whelp; you have risen up, my son, from the prey. He lies down like a lion and lies down like a lioness. Who will disturb him? The sceptre will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until his owner comes; and the peoples will cling to him."
The words: "Until he comes whose it belongs" point to the Messiah. The future ruler from the tribe of Judah, who has the right to the scepter and who all nations will obey, is Jesus Christ. He is the descendant of the house of Abraham and specifically of the tribe of Judah. But the time for his coming had not yet come.
David
God revealed further details about the coming Messiah through King David. After Abraham and Judah had already received promises, God spoke directly to David and said to him:
2. Samuel 7,12-14 "When your days are fulfilled, and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up a descendant of your own, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish his throne forever. I will be his father, and he shall be my son."
The author of Hebrews confirms that Jesus is the Son of God and that the statement “I will be his Father, and he shall be my Son” refers to Jesus:
Hebrews 1,5 "For to which of the angels did God ever say, 'You are my Son, today I have begotten you'? And again, 'I will be his father, and he shall be my son'?"
This prophecy is not about an earthly king, but about Jesus as the Son of God. The Messiah will be a direct descendant of David, whose kingdom will last forever. The angel Gabriel announces the same message to Mary:
Lukas 1,31-33 "Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David. And he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end."
Jesus is the promised descendant of David, whose eternal kingdom was foretold to him. But the appointed time for his coming had not yet come.
Isaiah
A few hundred years later, God revealed to the prophet Isaiah that the Savior would be born of a virgin:
Isaiah 7,14 "Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel."
The name Immanuel means "God with us." The newborn child, the Messiah, is to be called Immanuel. The angel of the Lord spoke to Joseph: "Mary will bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus." What matters is not the name, but its meaning: God is with us. God himself is coming! The wait would soon be over.
Simeon
Simeon was a God-fearing man who, along with many other believers, was waiting for the consolation of Israel. He knew the promises of God and believed in them firmly. Simeon was able to experience that the time set by God had come and God was sending his Son to us. When Jesus was brought to the temple by his parents, Simeon took him in his arms and said:
Lukas 2,29-30 «Lord, now you let your servant depart in peace, as you have said; for my eyes have seen your salvation»
God has set the time for the coming of Jesus Christ and Simeon knew that all the prophecies were fulfilled. He saw Jesus Christ, the Redeemer and Savior, with his own eyes and carried him with his hands. God's promises remain, they never waver.
Second, who did God send into this world?
We will look at the second question of this sermon: Who did God send to this world? When the time was fully come, God sent the Savior Jesus Christ to earth. Who exactly is this Savior? We will look at three aspects.
The Son is sent by the Father
First, let us consider that the Son was sent by the Father:
Galatians 4,4 "But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son"
This term encompasses the entire work of Jesus Christ. Everything Jesus did in his life as a human being was done on behalf of and under the authority of his Father. When Jesus took on the nature of man in Bethlehem, he did it with divine authority. As he grew up and later spread blessings among people, he acted as a messenger and ambassador of God. The Son did nothing of himself; the Father worked through him and with him. Jesus said to the Jews:
John 8,28-30 "When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, and that I do nothing on my own initiative, but as the Father has taught me, so I speak. And he who sent me is with me. He will not leave me alone, for I always do what pleases him. When he said this, many believed in him."
After his resurrection, Jesus commissioned his followers to act in his authority and continue his work. He said:
John 20,21 "Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, so I send you"
Jesus has also instructed us to carry his message of love and salvation into the world, to make disciples of others and to live according to his commandments. He has promised us that he is with us through the Holy Spirit so that we can work in his authority.
Jesus exists from eternity
In the second aspect, we recognize that Jesus existed before his birth in Bethlehem. Through him everything we see was created. He is the origin of everything:
Colloser 1,15-17 "He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created: in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things consist."
God did not send an angel or any other creature, but his Son, who existed from eternity. The Father could only send the one who already existed.
John 1,1-3 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made."
Jesus is the Almighty, the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.
Fully Human and Fully God
In the third aspect we consider that Jesus is fully human and fully God. Who did God send? His Son, who is Himself God:
John 1,14 "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth."
John saw and touched Jesus. Therefore, he writes: Jesus became flesh. He was born in a completely normal way and grew up normally. He was hungry, thirsty, and tired, and he ate and drank. He looked and spoke normally like us. He had emotions like compassion, anger, wonder, sadness, and fear. He, who came to this earth to redeem humanity, had to become human by nature, as the author of Hebrews writes:
Hebrews 2,14 "For as the children are of flesh and blood, he himself shared in the same, so that through death he might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil."
God sent His Son, who is God Himself. The Bible testifies several times that Jesus is God:
Isaiah 9,5 Eberfelder Bible "For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulder; and his name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."
Who is Jesus? Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. Whom did God send? His Son, true man and true God!
Third: Why did God send his Son?
Let us come to the third question of the sermon: Why did God send his Son? There are two answers.
deliverance from the curse of the law
God sent Jesus to redeem us from the curse of the law. We find the answer in our sermon text:
Galatians 4,5 "That he might redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons."
The law of God was given to the people of Israel. Jesus was sent by God to redeem us from the curse of the law. The law is good, as it is described in the Psalms: "The commandments of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart. The commandments of the Lord are pure, enlightening the eyes" (Psalm 19,9). The problem lies with us humans. We are not able to keep God's law perfectly. This began with the Fall! Adam and Eve did not keep God's commandment not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The following applies to everyone: The wages of sin is death. No man is righteous by his own strength – not one. The law shows us our sins. The law reveals our inability to live righteously before God. Therefore the law becomes a curse for us:
Galatians 3,10-11 "For those who live by the works of the law are under the curse. For it is written, 'Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them.' But that no one is justified in God's sight by the law, it is evident, for the righteous will live by faith."
The punishment for breaking the law is irrevocable. This is where God's plan of salvation comes in. Jesus Christ redeemed us by becoming a curse for us:
Galatians 3,13 "But Christ has redeemed us (from what?) from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us - for it is written: Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree"
Jesus, the lawgiver and judge, voluntarily placed himself under the law. In our sermon text we read: He was born of a woman and placed under the law (Galatians 4,4). Through his perfect and righteous life, Jesus fulfilled the law in every way:
Matthäus 5,17 "Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill"
We are redeemed by faith. Does that mean that we no longer have to keep the commandments? Have the Ten Commandments lost their meaning because Jesus fulfilled them? In the new covenant, Jesus gives us, through the Holy Spirit, the ability to love the law from the heart and to live by it. It is no longer a matter of keeping the law through our own efforts, but of living in His will through the inner guidance and power of Jesus Christ.
receiving the childship of God
The second reason why God sent his Son is so that we may receive his adoption:
Galatians 4,5 "That he might redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons."
This liberation from the curse of the law does not happen through human works, but only through the faith of Jesus Christ. In him we receive the blessing of Abraham and the Holy Spirit:
Galatians 3,14 "That the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, and that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith."
We who were not previously part of God’s people were Gentiles.
God has given us the Holy Spirit through rebirth:
Galatians 4,6-7 "Because you are children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, 'Abba, Father!' So you are no longer a slave but a child; and if a child, then an heir through God."
God has put the Spirit of his Son in our hearts. As a result, we are no longer dead servants of a legal letter, but made alive by the Holy Spirit. We now serve the commandments of God in the power of his Spirit. Christmas - the birth of Jesus Christ - is a celebration of liberation. It reminds us that we are no longer slaves, but children of God. As sons and daughters of the heavenly Father, we can experience a complete joy that goes far beyond Christmas and fills our hearts with Jesus for all eternity.
by Pablo Nauer
More articles on this topic:
