It is said that the key to telling a joke is timing and there are some comedians that are better at such timing than others. As we have studied in Bible Class, there are some who would question the meaning of the time word “day” in Genesis and yet, as we studied the word “day” in Genesis we came to the conclusion that the definition of a “day” was a twenty-four hour period of time. Of course, we also asked the question, if we question the meaning of the word “day” in Genesis, why not question its meaning in the rest of the Bible, and for that matter, when someone who questions the meaning of the word “day” tells you they want to see you in a few days, ask them if they mean literal days? Anyway, our Christmas fact for this morning is God’s perfect timing in His intervening in human history. Our text says, “6And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth” (Luke 2:6). So, let us look at how we understand this fact of timing, i.e., “the time came.”
Our text says, “6And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth” (Luke 2:6). The time came, that is the conditions for the spread of Christianity were very favorable in the Mediterranean at this time. The Romans ruled the world. The Jews had returned to Jerusalem. The temple had been rebuilt. The Jews had some freedoms. The Gentiles were open to God’s intervening in human history. All of these social events were such that the time was “ripe” as we might say, the time was ready for something to happen, namely for God to do something.
Our text says, “6And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth” (Luke 2:6). A broad understanding of the time to give birth could refer to the whole of God’s timing in history; the fact that Herod was King, the fact that Caesar Augustus was governor, that a census was called to be taken and remember, this census was a law that every fourteen years it was to be taken, the fact that Pontius Pilate would be serving in Jerusalem in thirty years, that there would be a star appearing in the heavens to mark Christ’s birth and to lead the magi from the east. The time to give birth could refer to the fact that in thirty years the feast of Pentecost would be fifty days after Easter. The time to give birth certainly includes all these possibilities. Again, the time was “ripe” so that all the events about which God promised and prophesied throughout the Old Testament were able to come to fruition.
Our text says, “6And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth” (Luke 2:6). Certainly, the time to give birth could be the forty weeks of gestation. Mary had conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit. The baby grew in her womb, as a normal human baby, so that now, forty weeks after her conception it was time for the baby to be born and to be born in a natural way, after all, even though this Child is truly God, being conceived by the Holy Spirit, He is also truly human, being born of the human woman, the virgin Mary. The time was “ripe” so that all these events would come to pass at just the right time.
Our text says, “6And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth” (Luke 2:6). The time came according to God’s plan, will and foreknowledge, just as He foresaw from before He began creating the world, and the fall into sin and the promise to send a Savior. Remember, God does not live in time as you and I do, rather He created time for us. When God looks at time it is something like taking a movie film and laying it from end to end, God can and does see the whole movie at one time. We have to look at it frame by frame, day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute, even second by second. Not so with God. God sees the whole as one. So, as God, being outside time, looks at our time, which He created for us, He knows what is the right time and so at just the right time, He puts into process His intervening into human history.
Our text says, “6And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth” (Luke 2:6). Again, looking through the lens of God’s eye, being outside of time, the time of these events came according to the history of the world. The perfect timing of these events followed the events of the fall into sin and the promise to send a Savior, the sending of a flood to cleanse the earth and the time of the tower of Babel and the spreading of the cultures and languages around the world to the undoing of this at Pentecost.
Our text says, “6And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth” (Luke 2:6). The time came according to God’s plan to fulfill all the law of the Old Covenant and all the promises concerning the Messiah. Although God’s promise to send a Savior was first given in the Garden of Eden, to Adam and Eve, before there was a Jew and a Gentile, so, although the fulfillment of God’s promise was narrowed so that the Savior would be born through the line of Abraham, Israel, Judah, David, etc, the promise was never changed nor its fullness narrowed, nor was another promise given, but the promise always was and always remained that God would send a Savior for all people of all places of all times, and that fulfillment would be through God Himself intervening in human history in the person of Jesus, whose birth happened at just the right time.
Our text says, “6And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth” (Luke 2:6). The time is now as we celebrate Jesus’ birth. And why was Jesus born? The most difficult part of this season is to remember that Jesus was born for us, because of our sin, sin born in us and our own sins which we commit. It was because of us and for us that Jesus was born at such a time as He was born. Jesus was born because of God’s great love for us. Jesus was born to do for us what we are unable to do for ourselves. Jesus was born to live in perfection and to take our sins and the sins of all people of all places of all times on Himself in order to suffer and pay the price of eternal spiritual death for our sins. So, this morning, it is Jesus’ birth which reminds us of His death for us and ultimately our celebration of His resurrection for our forgiveness and life.
As we begin our Christmas celebration, remember that the time is now and the time is that we celebrate for the twelve days of Christmas. God’s timing is always the best timing, always the right timing. We may have difficulties in life because we do not see life as God does. God sees our lives outside our perspective of time and so He does know what is the best and most perfect timing for all the events of our lives and so He works in and through the events of this world to work out the best for us. And no, that does not mean that God has our lives planned out so that we might have an attitude and belief in fatalism, that is that it does not matter what we do, because God already has our lives planned. That idea would be to misunderstand God and His perfect timing. Although God knows what is going to happen, since He lives outside of time and sees all time in the eternal present, that does not mean that God makes things happen. God has given us each a mind in order to look at life and make decisions. And in all things, for those who love God, He works them out to our best.
As we celebrate Christmas, we celebrate God’s working out all things for our best, for those of us who love God. He worked out the perfect timing to send Jesus to pay the price for our sins. He worked out the perfect timing to give us life at conception, to give us new life through His Word and Holy Baptism, and He will work out the perfect timing as we await the fulfillment of His promise to return or our going to Him at our own passing. Until then, His return, we live lives of faith giving glory to His holy name. This morning we celebrate the birth of Jesus, God in flesh and we celebrate for twelve days. To God be the glory, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.
Our text says, “6And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth” (Luke 2:6). The time came, that is the conditions for the spread of Christianity were very favorable in the Mediterranean at this time. The Romans ruled the world. The Jews had returned to Jerusalem. The temple had been rebuilt. The Jews had some freedoms. The Gentiles were open to God’s intervening in human history. All of these social events were such that the time was “ripe” as we might say, the time was ready for something to happen, namely for God to do something.
Our text says, “6And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth” (Luke 2:6). A broad understanding of the time to give birth could refer to the whole of God’s timing in history; the fact that Herod was King, the fact that Caesar Augustus was governor, that a census was called to be taken and remember, this census was a law that every fourteen years it was to be taken, the fact that Pontius Pilate would be serving in Jerusalem in thirty years, that there would be a star appearing in the heavens to mark Christ’s birth and to lead the magi from the east. The time to give birth could refer to the fact that in thirty years the feast of Pentecost would be fifty days after Easter. The time to give birth certainly includes all these possibilities. Again, the time was “ripe” so that all the events about which God promised and prophesied throughout the Old Testament were able to come to fruition.
Our text says, “6And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth” (Luke 2:6). Certainly, the time to give birth could be the forty weeks of gestation. Mary had conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit. The baby grew in her womb, as a normal human baby, so that now, forty weeks after her conception it was time for the baby to be born and to be born in a natural way, after all, even though this Child is truly God, being conceived by the Holy Spirit, He is also truly human, being born of the human woman, the virgin Mary. The time was “ripe” so that all these events would come to pass at just the right time.
Our text says, “6And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth” (Luke 2:6). The time came according to God’s plan, will and foreknowledge, just as He foresaw from before He began creating the world, and the fall into sin and the promise to send a Savior. Remember, God does not live in time as you and I do, rather He created time for us. When God looks at time it is something like taking a movie film and laying it from end to end, God can and does see the whole movie at one time. We have to look at it frame by frame, day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute, even second by second. Not so with God. God sees the whole as one. So, as God, being outside time, looks at our time, which He created for us, He knows what is the right time and so at just the right time, He puts into process His intervening into human history.
Our text says, “6And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth” (Luke 2:6). Again, looking through the lens of God’s eye, being outside of time, the time of these events came according to the history of the world. The perfect timing of these events followed the events of the fall into sin and the promise to send a Savior, the sending of a flood to cleanse the earth and the time of the tower of Babel and the spreading of the cultures and languages around the world to the undoing of this at Pentecost.
Our text says, “6And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth” (Luke 2:6). The time came according to God’s plan to fulfill all the law of the Old Covenant and all the promises concerning the Messiah. Although God’s promise to send a Savior was first given in the Garden of Eden, to Adam and Eve, before there was a Jew and a Gentile, so, although the fulfillment of God’s promise was narrowed so that the Savior would be born through the line of Abraham, Israel, Judah, David, etc, the promise was never changed nor its fullness narrowed, nor was another promise given, but the promise always was and always remained that God would send a Savior for all people of all places of all times, and that fulfillment would be through God Himself intervening in human history in the person of Jesus, whose birth happened at just the right time.
Our text says, “6And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth” (Luke 2:6). The time is now as we celebrate Jesus’ birth. And why was Jesus born? The most difficult part of this season is to remember that Jesus was born for us, because of our sin, sin born in us and our own sins which we commit. It was because of us and for us that Jesus was born at such a time as He was born. Jesus was born because of God’s great love for us. Jesus was born to do for us what we are unable to do for ourselves. Jesus was born to live in perfection and to take our sins and the sins of all people of all places of all times on Himself in order to suffer and pay the price of eternal spiritual death for our sins. So, this morning, it is Jesus’ birth which reminds us of His death for us and ultimately our celebration of His resurrection for our forgiveness and life.
As we begin our Christmas celebration, remember that the time is now and the time is that we celebrate for the twelve days of Christmas. God’s timing is always the best timing, always the right timing. We may have difficulties in life because we do not see life as God does. God sees our lives outside our perspective of time and so He does know what is the best and most perfect timing for all the events of our lives and so He works in and through the events of this world to work out the best for us. And no, that does not mean that God has our lives planned out so that we might have an attitude and belief in fatalism, that is that it does not matter what we do, because God already has our lives planned. That idea would be to misunderstand God and His perfect timing. Although God knows what is going to happen, since He lives outside of time and sees all time in the eternal present, that does not mean that God makes things happen. God has given us each a mind in order to look at life and make decisions. And in all things, for those who love God, He works them out to our best.
As we celebrate Christmas, we celebrate God’s working out all things for our best, for those of us who love God. He worked out the perfect timing to send Jesus to pay the price for our sins. He worked out the perfect timing to give us life at conception, to give us new life through His Word and Holy Baptism, and He will work out the perfect timing as we await the fulfillment of His promise to return or our going to Him at our own passing. Until then, His return, we live lives of faith giving glory to His holy name. This morning we celebrate the birth of Jesus, God in flesh and we celebrate for twelve days. To God be the glory, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.