By One Man's Obedience

By One Man’s Obedience 

Romans 5:19

     Basketball season is heating up.  College teams will soon be having their tournament.  High Schools will soon begin March Madness.   The girls’ team from Our Shepherd is playing in a state Lutheran School Tournament in Marysville this weekend.  If you are a basketball fan like me, you try to follow as much of the excitement as you can.  One of the things that can be crucial to a team’s success is the way in which the coach brings in a substitute for a player who needs a rest or for a player that fouls out of a game.  The performance of the substitute can make a big difference especially if the game is close. 

     As we continue our journey through Lent, one of the themes that stands out is the importance of Jesus as our substitute.  The Epistle lesson that we read responsively ended with a statement about how the disobedience of one man made us sinners but then in God’s great love, by the obedience of one man, namely Jesus, many were made righteous.   As we think about that for a few moments today, may we come to appreciate the blessings that we have because Jesus came into the world to be our substitute.

     We can break down that passage into three important parts.  The first is “By one man’s disobedience many were made sinners.”  This takes us right back to the beginning.  In Genesis chapter 3, we hear the account of Adam and Eve and the temptation to disobey God.  Adam and Eve were God’s special creation.  When God created the animals and birds and fish, He did so by His will.  No special acts were necessary in order for those creatures to be brought to life.  God said, “Let there be” and there they were.  But when it came to human beings, God took greater care to form Adam from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life.  To create Eve, God took a rib from Adam and formed Eve around that rib in such a way that she would be the ideal companion and helper for Adam.  He placed them in a wonderful garden and provided all they needed.  They were made in His image, meaning that they were without sin and perfectly dedicated to one another and to God.  Everything was wonderful until Satan deceived them into eating the fruit of the tree that God had commanded them not to eat.  Here we find the meaning of that part of our text that says, by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners.  By the disobedience of Adam, sin came into the world and became part of the reality of life for God’s special creation.  All people since then who were born of a human father and mother  would have that condition of original sin, inherited from Adam and Eve.  In fact the New Testament even refers to our sinful nature as the Old Adam.  By one man’s disobedience many would be made sinners.  It really doesn’t matter much what sins you committed, you are sinful by nature.  That is the truth of God’s Law.  If you aren’t willing to admit that you are sinful by nature and that your sinful nature leads you to all kinds of sinful thoughts, words and actions, you find yourself a lost and condemned creature.  If you are not willing to acknowledge your sinful condition and the sins that follow from that condition, you see no need to for the love of God that is offered through the One Man who came to be your substitute.

     That brings us to the second part of the passage.  “So by the one man’s obedience, many will be made righteous.”  Even when God was confronting the serpent and Adam and Eve in the garden after that first sin of disobedience, He already had a plan for the salvation of His special creation.  Because of their sin they would be unable to make themselves right with God again.  They would need help. It is just like when a basketball player gets in foul trouble early in the game, a substitute has to come in and do what that player is unable to do sitting on the bench.  God spoke about the seed of the woman, a future offspring, who would crush the head of the serpent, destroying his control over God’s special creatures.  That was the first promise of a Savior who would come and rescue mankind from their fallen condition and restore them to their place in God’s eternal kingdom.  He would be your substitute.  He would do for you what you were unable to do because of that condition called original sin. 

     The Apostle Paul describes the action of that Savior by saying, “by one man’s obedience.”  Jesus was totally obedient to the Father when He took on human flesh and blood.  As the Son of God, He was true God from all eternity.  He was a spirit, just as God is a spirit.  But He became a human being, conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary.  Because He was still true God, He was able to live a life without sin.  As we heard a couple of weeks ago, He was subject to temptation by the devil but He had the power to resist.  His perfect life is the perfect substitute for you.  You are unable to live that perfect life because you were born with that inclination to sin, the condition that affects us all.  Jesus was called in to substitute for you under the Law. 

      But that was not all.  He wasn’t a player who just stood along the sidelines in order to avoid getting into any foul trouble Himself.  He got in the game and faced the attacks of the enemy.  He took His role as your substitute all the way to the cross.  There He suffered the pain and agony of a horrible execution for something He did not do.  He took your punishment.  He suffered and died as the price for your sins.  That is what our Lenten observance is all about: One Man’s obedience.

     The last part of that verse then explains for us why Jesus did all this as our substitute.  “By one man’s obedience, many will be made righteous.”  It’s really exciting when a sub comes into a game and is able to make a difference in the outcome.  If the sub can get some important rebounds and score some points down the stretch, the crowd will recognize that and cheer even louder.  The substitute will be recognized as the hero of the game and everyone will feel like a winner.  With Jesus as our substitute, St. Paul concludes that many will be made righteous.  Often when you hear statements that use words like righteous or justification or propitiation like we have heard in our Bible readings lately, you are tempted to just pass them by as nice religious words that don’t mean a lot.  It’s just more theological jargon that preachers use.  But this is the real heart of the message of the Gospel for you.  If you don’t appreciate the importance of a statement like this you have really missed the Good News.  Through Jesus’ obedience under the Law and on the cross, allowing Himself to be nailed to the wood, you have been made righteous before God.  Your sin has been covered over by the robes of Christ’s righteousness.  You are no longer considered guilty because of your sinful condition and because of your many sins of omission and commission, your sins of thought, word and deed.  You are declared righteous because your punishment has been paid.  You are not righteous because of what you have done.  You are made righteous.  It’s almost as if every word of that passage has an important meaning for your eternal salvation.

      One man’s sin brought that sinful condition to you.  One man’s obedience made you righteous.  That is reason for you to praise and thank God for His mercy every day of your life.  It’s like when a team wins a close game over their rival.  More and more you see the fans storm the court and celebrate the victory.  As a child of God, you are in a wonderful position to celebrate the victory over sin, death and the devil every day of your life.  Your attitudes and behaviors, your songs and your words can give glory to God in everything that you do because you know that you have been saved by your substitute, Jesus.  In God’s great love, Jesus came into the game.  He took your place.  By His obedience, you were made righteous.  He is your hero.  To Him be the praise now and forever.  Amen.

Rev. Gerald Matzke

March 3, 2013

The Third Sunday in Lent