When the Fullness of Time Had Come

When the Fullness of Time Had Come 

Galatians 3:23-4:7

     You have probably heard the statement, “timing is everything.”  People will say that about any number of things in this life.  It could be true in the sale of house or a car.  It could be true when you talk about how two people met and fell in love and got married.  It is also true in sports when you see a great play work out just the way it was planned in basketball or football.  Timing is everything.  We hear a version of that statement in our Epistle lesson for today when it talks about God’s plan for our salvation.  St. Paul used the term, “When the fullness of time had come.”  As we consider what that means for our restored relationship with God, may we consider also what it means for us as we think about sharing that Good News with others.

     All of our readings for today, in one way or another, talk about salvation going out to all people.  In the Old Testament lesson the Lord is speaking through Isaiah, the prophet, and condemning the people of Israel for falling away and at the same time He welcomes all people into the kingdom of God.  In the Gospel lesson, Jesus went to the Gentile region across the Sea of Galilee.  The man who had been possessed by demons became a believer and went and told the people of His town about all the good things Jesus had done for him, thus spreading of the Good News to Gentiles.

      In the letter of Paul to the Galatians, he shows the greatness of God’s love that extended beyond the chosen people of Israel to all people who believe the Gospel. All this happened according to God’s plan when the fullness of time had come, in other words, at the proper time according to God’s wisdom.  The key words to understanding all this come in the rest of the sentence.  “But when 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.” This is one of those passages of the Bible that is full of important words that tell us some of the key elements of what we know about God and our relationship with Him. 

     The reference to the time goes back to verse two where Paul speaks about the difference between the heir and the slave in a household.  A child, who would be the heir of his father’s estate at some later date is actually treated not much differently than a slave in the household until he actually does inherit the estate when his father dies.  He has people who watch over him and manage his life until that time comes when he becomes the master of the house.  Paul compares us to the slaves in the household and the child, think Gentiles and Children of Israel, who are enslaved in much the same way by the ways of the world.  But when the fullness of time, God’s time, had come, everything changed.  God sent forth His Son.  The Son, who is true God from all eternity, came into the world, born of a woman.  He became a human being.  He is true God and true man.  It had to be that way so that He could live under the law and keep it perfectly for us.  We certainly could not keep God’s law perfectly and the wages of sin is death.  That’s why Jesus, God’s Son, had to be sent forth to the earth to take our place under the law.  He had to be a human being to really keep the law in the face of all the temptations that human beings face.  What we couldn’t do, he did for us. 

      The next line speaks of the other reason the Son was sent forth.  He came to redeem those who were under the law.  Redeem means to pay a price to get something back.  Sin had separated mankind from God.  The price that needed to be paid for sin was the death of a sacrifice.  Under the old covenant, there were all kinds of animal and plant sacrifices that had to brought for sins.  God’s Son would be the one great sacrifice for all sins.  When Jesus died on the cross, it was the sacrifice of His life that paid for the sins of all people.  He took our sins, yours and mine, to the cross and died.  As a sign of God’s acceptance of that sacrifice, Jesus was raised from the dead. 

     Because of the great sacrifice, we receive the adoption as sons.  Our sin puts us outside the household of God but Christ’s sacrifice for us makes it possible for us to be His by adoption with full rights of sonship.  By the power of the Holy Spirit, we can look to God as our dear Father in love.  No more is God a being to be feared because of  His anger over our sin.  He is our loving Father.  We can call out, “Abba Father.”  Abba is an Aramaic word for Father but in the dearest sense.  It is a title of endearment.  It would much like when you put your arms around your father and say, “I love you Daddy.” 

      In that kind of relationship, you are no longer just a slave in the household of God but you are a son, one who is entitled to the inheritance.  Think of what that means.  The inheritance that God has for those who are His by adoption is His kingdom of heaven.  Sins are forgiven and therefore nothing stands in the way of receiving the inheritance that has been planned for us you.  You have the greatest inheritance that could ever be given.  You have perfect joy in the presence of God forever and nothing can separate you from the love of God that is yours in Christ Jesus. 

     With that blessing assured for you in your Baptism and reinforced for you every time you receive the Lord’s Supper, you can live a life now that truly reflects the joy of knowing that you are a child of God because God’s Son was sent forth, born of a women, born under the law to redeem those under the law so that you might receive adoption into the family of God.  That is Good News that needs to be shared so that others can claim that same adoption that has been prepared for them. 

     This past week, the children of our Vacation Bible School experienced the joy of being a child of God as they heard about five different mountain-top experiences in the Bible.  The theme of the week was “Go Tell It On the Mountain where Jesus Christ is Lord.”  The first mountain-top experience was at Mt. Sinai where God made it clear that He is with His people.  He gave His people the Law on two tablets of stone.  It is that Law that establishes God’s will for His people and shows us how much God loves us.  Our Bible verse for the day was Romans 13:10b “Love is the fulfilling of the Law.”

     The second day we journeyed to Mt. Carmel where the prophet Elijah laid down a challenge to the prophets of Baal.  He would show that our God is the one true God.  Only the true God could send fire from heaven to consume the sacrifice that was placed on the altar.  Our verse for the day was from Psalm 31:14  “I trust in You, O Lord; I say, “You are my God.”

     Day three took us to the Mount of Transfiguration”  There Jesus appeared before Peter, James and John along with Moses and Elijah. 
There was no doubt in their minds that Jesus is God’s Son.  The memory verse for the day is from that story in Luke 9:35, where God the Father says, “This is My Son, My Chosen One; listen to Him.”

     Day four took us to Golgotha where Jesus showed us that He is our Savior.  By His death on the cross we are redeemed and He gives us eternal life.  The memory verse is from I John 5:11, “God gave us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.”

     On day five we went up on the mountain with Jesus and His disciples where He told them that they were make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey all that He has commanded.  The Good News that we are to tell is that Jesus Christ is Lord.  The memory verse for the day was, “Jesus says, “You will be my witnesses…to the end of the earth,” from Acts 1:8.  Our Vacation Bible School was a mountain-top experience.  We pray that through it the hearts of our students were touched by the Good News of Jesus and that they come to know the blessings of the inheritance that is theirs as children of God through their adoption in Christ.  We pray that for all of you who have been touched by the Holy Spirit through the Means of Grace, the Word and the Sacraments, and who await your final inheritance in the fullness of time.  Amen.

Rev. Gerald Matzke

Zion Lutheran Church

Painesville, Ohio

June 23, 2013 

God Has Visited His People

God Has Visited His People 

Luke 7:11-17

     Our Gospel lesson for today presents one of the most dramatic scenes in the New Testament.  It is dramatic on two levels.  For one thing the story is filled with emotion.  You can feel the sorrow of the widow who has lost her husband and her sorrow is doubled because she has lost her only son.  For a woman at that time, the loss of a husband and her only son meant that she no longer had a means of support.  She was now in a desperate situation. 

     As the funeral procession came to gate of the city, they encountered another large group of people.  In the lead was Jesus.  We might be tempted to say that it was just a coincidence that Jesus happened to be there at just the same time that this funeral procession was approaching the gate of the city.  Of course, it was not just coincidence.  This was all part of God’s plan to show people that Jesus was truly the Promised One.  When Jesus saw the woman, His heart went out to her.  He told her not to cry and then said to dead man, “Young man, I say to you arise.”  With that the widow’s son sat up and began to talk.  The raising of someone from the dead is certainly dramatic and astounding.  The people who witnessed this were amazed.  They called Jesus a great prophet and they said, “God has visited His people.”

     The raising of the widow’s son was dramatic on another level.  It shows us something about Jesus’ purpose in coming to the earth.  As the two groups of people came together at the town gate, we had a meeting of life and death.  Death came into the world as the result of sin.  The burial of this young man attested to the power of sin in our lives.  Jesus, on the other hand, is the Lord of life.  He has come that we might have life.  Jesus, as true God, has the power of life and death.  In a preview of His own resurrection, Jesus brought the young man back from the dead.  He demonstrated His power and by that sign, He showed the crowd that He was more than just an interesting teacher.  He had already shown them that He could heal diseases but the raising of someone from the dead showed that He has a power that had only been demonstrated a few times in the Scriptures.  Our Old Testament lesson for today is one of those examples.  Knowing that story, the people thought that Jesus was another great prophet like Elijah. 

     It would be the coming of a great prophet that would signal for them the coming of the Messiah.  What they didn’t realize was that Jesus, Himself, was the Messiah.  What they did recognize was that this was a mighty act of God and they proclaimed that God has visited His people.  He has visited them with the purpose of helping His people.  He certainly helped that widow in dramatic fashion.  Imagine the roller coaster of emotion that the widow must have felt.  She went from the depths of despair to the highest peaks of joy in just a few seconds.  Her tears of sorrow were changed into tears of joy. 

     That is exactly what happens to all of us when we realize how the Lord has visited us.  When we look at the whole life of Jesus we see Him as more than just a great prophet.  He is the true Son of God who came into the world to be our Savior.  He is the Messiah, the Anointed One, the Christ, who came to help His people by giving His own life as the punishment for our sins and as a result we are raised to new life with Him.  We, who were dead in sin, have been touched by His compassion and given new life now as well as eternal life with Him in heaven.  We have been taken from the depth of despair because of the guilt of our sin to the joy of being rescued.  The joy that we express in our celebration of Easter is just a small example of unimaginable joy in heaven that will be ours through our Savior Jesus Christ.

     As the account of the raising of the young man from Nain concludes, we are told that the news about Jesus spread all over the countryside.  The woman and her son are not mentioned again but we can imagine what this miracle meant to them.  The words of the people in their response to this event can have several meanings.  Recall that they said, “God has visited His people.”  For one thing, the widow would not be alone.  Jesus gave her son back to her.  He would be able to provide for her in her old age.  She would not be left to fend for herself.  God was providing for her though this miraculous sign.  There were some very practical, economic benefits for this poor woman as a result of the raising of her son. 

      This event in the life of Jesus also shows about the way in which the Lord provides for you.  Through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, you are assured that God’s love extends to all people and that includes each one of you.  God provides for you with all that you need for your life.  As the people who saw Jesus raise the widow’s son said, “God has visited His people,” so you too can proclaim in your life that God has visited His people today.  The evidence is seen in the fact that God sacrificed His own Son.  The risen Savior then promised his disciples that He would be with them always.  That promise is still true for you today.  You have the assurance that you are never alone.  Loneliness is one of the great fears in life.  It is one of the greatest challenges that you may have to face.  But you know that the Savior is always with you.  The Lord is your Shepherd.  He leads and guides you throughout your life.  When the world around you seems to forget about you, your Lord is always there.

     There are all kinds of loneliness in the world.  Some are lonely when people they love are no longer with them.  Some are lonely even in a crowd because they feel they are being ignored by everyone around them.  Some are lonely because they have never had the opportunity to build a close relationship with someone else.  In all those situations, the Lord still visits His people.  He reminds us of His love and His presence.  In the Gospel lesson, in verse 13 we hear this description, “When the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her.”  His heart went out to her and His heart still goes out to those who are in despair.  He brings strength and encouragement.  The new life that you have in Christ helps you to find new hope and meaning to your life that helps to overcome loneliness.

     God has also visited His people to help them overcome temptation.  Christ’s victory over death was also a victory over sin and the power of the devil.  His victory becomes your victory through the power of the Holy Spirit working in you through the Means of Grace, the Word and the Sacraments.  You are given the power to recognize the tricks that the devil uses to get you to fall into sin.  By the power of the Word and the daily renewed strength from your Baptism and the ongoing power of the Lord’s Supper, you can resist the influence of the devil, the world and your sinful nature.  In addition to that you are given the power to use your energy, your talents and your spiritual gifts to serve the Lord in positive ways that benefit others.

     One of the most important benefits of the Lord’s visitation among us is that you are given the forgiveness of your sins through the merits of Jesus.  It is that forgiveness that breaks down the barrier that sin erected between you and God.  It is also the forgiveness from God that helps you to show that same kind of forgiveness to others.  Your selfishness wants you to hold grudges and wants to get even, to have the last word.  Just as God helps you to overcome temptation, He also helps you to forgive others.  You pray for that in the Lord’s Prayer, don’t you? “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”  Your forgiveness of others is evidence of your faith and trust in God’s love and forgiveness for you.  You might argue that it is not natural for you to forgive.  That may be right but your forgiveness comes from a supernatural source.  The power of the Holy Spirit makes it possible then to forgive others in the undeserved way that God forgives you.  It is that forgiveness then that is the beginning of the healing of relationships that have been broken by sin.

      When you see how God has blessed you, the response is like the people of Nain who witnessed Jesus’ raising the young man to life.  “God has visited His people.”  He has brought you salvation through Jesus and has given you new life.  That new life is empowered by the Holy Spirit to overcome loneliness and temptation and gives you the opportunities to show love and forgiveness to others.  May you be filled with joy because the Lord has visited you.   Amen.

Rev. Gerald Matzke
The Third Sunday After Pentecost
Zion Lutheran Church
Painesville, Ohio