But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship. Galatians 4:4-5
The Greatest Christmas Gift
Many people assume Christmas is just a single day, December 25th, or perhaps two if you count Christmas Eve. But it is, in fact, a season of twelve days. Today is the eighth day of Christmas, and God has another present for you to unwrap: the greatest gift of all.
This gift arrives “when the set time had fully come.” Not a moment too late or too soon, the gift came at a specific, perfect moment in history, precisely when it was most needed.
The gift came from God, because “God sent.” He did all the work; all you do is receive it.
What did he send? “His Son, born of a woman.” The eternal God took on human flesh and blood. He who had no beginning suddenly had a birthday, an age, a hometown, and a body confined to time and space. The One who fills heaven and earth humbled himself to dwell among us.
This humbling involved being “born under law.” That means he placed himself beneath the very commandments he authored and lived a life of perfect obedience. Jesus wasn’t your Savior only for the six hours he spent on the cross; he spent thirty-three years before that fulfilling the law in your place, as your Substitute. Every commandment you break, he kept flawlessly for you.
Why this perfect obedience? “To redeem those under the law.” That’s all of humanity, including you. We are all under God’s law and guilty of breaking it. So, Jesus kept that law for us and bore its punishment on the cross, buying our freedom from our slavery to sin.
The glorious result? “That we might receive adoption to sonship.” That’s amazing! In his Son, God the Father has given you the greatest Christmas gift of all: He made you a member of his family. No longer a slave, you are now an heir of forgiveness, peace, comfort, hope, and the everlasting riches of heaven.
Prayer:
Son of God, thank you for being born under the law to redeem me and make me an heir of heaven. Amen.
When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. Matthew 2:16
The Comfort of Christmas
Herod, furious that the Magi left without telling him where Jesus was, went scorched earth and ordered every boy in the vicinity two years old and younger to be killed. Historians estimate that twenty to thirty children were murdered in his desperate attempt to eliminate the Christ child.
It is uncomfortable to read this so soon after Christmas. Wouldn’t it be better to skip this part? Why remember such horror during Christmastime? Because it shows what happens when light enters a world of darkness. When the light arrives, the darkness does not politely step aside. It tries to snuff the light out. This is why Jesus came: to battle the darkness that rejected him from his very first days.
This same battle between light and darkness continues in your own heart. When Christ’s light shines within you, your sinful nature fights against it. Yet God remains on your side—God rescued his Son from Herod’s sword so that his Son could rescue you from eternal darkness. Jesus’ death and resurrection became the ultimate light that conquers the darkness.
And here lies one of the Bible’s hardest truths: though God possesses all power and hates evil, he still permits suffering.
So here is the comfort of Christmas: God may save us from evil, or he may save us through evil. The boys of Bethlehem died tragically, but Christ the Savior was born not to save them from Herod, but from hell, and that is what he did.
With God, wherever there is weeping, comfort follows. The grieving mothers of Bethlehem would see their sons again because their King came to save them through tragedy into heaven’s triumph. This is the comfort of Christmas. That even though the darkness could take the boys of Bethlehem away from their parents, it could not take them away from Christ. It cannot take you away from him either.
Prayer:
Merciful Father, thank you for the comfort of knowing that no darkness can separate me from the light of your Son. Amen.
So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son.” Matthew 2:14-15
Out of Egypt
The words in our Bible reading today show that even as a baby, Jesus was already fulfilling prophecy and establishing his credentials as the promised Savior. When King Herod sought to murder the Christ child, God sent the holy family fleeing to Egypt. Seven hundred years earlier, Hosea had foretold that God’s Son would go there and return—and now Jesus, cradled in his mother’s arms, was living out that prophecy.
To understand this fulfillment, though, we must recall Israel’s story. Over three thousand years ago, God adopted a nation of slaves and called them his son. He brought Israel out of Egypt, led them through the wilderness, and gave them a new home in Canaan.
But Israel did not always return their Father’s love. The people he rescued turned to false gods and sacrificed to idols. Through prophets like Hosea, God warned his disobedient children what would happen if they refused to repent. They deserved punishment for their idolatry. Yet God could not stop loving his son.
That is the backdrop for Matthew’s quotation. Jesus is the perfectly obedient Son of God—so fully identifying with God’s people that his life mirrors theirs. As Israel once went down to Egypt, so he went down to Egypt. As Israel was called out, so he was called out. Where Israel failed, Jesus succeeded; where Israel rebelled, Jesus obeyed.
And he obeyed for you! When the time had fully come, God sent his beloved Son to be born in Bethlehem, to live as the obedient child you were meant to be, to die on the cross, and to rise again so you could be brought into God’s family. He loved you so much that he poured out his Spirit into your heart so you can cry, “Father!” and know that the Almighty delights to hear you, protect you, bless you, and save you.
Even though you have been a rebellious child, God’s grace is greater than your guilt. His love at the manger and the cross is more than enough to bring peace on earth and good will to men.
Prayer:
Father, thank you for fulfilling your Word by calling your Son out of Egypt, so that I am your own dear child. Amen.
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The one who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars says this:
I know your works. You have a reputation for being alive, but you are dead. 2 Wake up, and strengthen what is left, which is about to die, for I have found that your works are not complete in the sight of my God. 3 Therefore remember what you received and heard. Hold on to it and repent! If you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come upon you.
4 Yet you have a few names in Sardis, people who have not defiled their clothes. They will walk with me in white clothing, for they are worthy.
5 The one who is victorious in this way [1] will be clothed in white clothing. I certainly will not erase his name from the Book of Life, and I will acknowledge his name before my Father and his angels.
6 Whoever has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
Footnotes
Revelation 3:5 Some witnesses to the text read he or this one instead of in this way.
18 To the messenger of the church in Thyatira write:
The Son of God, whose eyes are like fiery flames and whose feet are like polished bronze, says this:
19 I know your works and love and faith and service, as well as your patient endurance, and that you are doing more now than you did at first.
20 But I have this against you: You allow that woman Jezebel, the one who calls herself a prophetess, to deceive my servants and to teach them to commit sexual immorality and eat things offered to idols. 21 I gave her time to repent, but she is not willing to repent of her sexual immorality. 22 Look, I am going to throw her onto a bed and throw those who commit adultery with her into great suffering, if they do not repent of her [1] works. 23 And I will put her children to death. And all the churches will know that I am the one who searches hearts and minds, and that I will give to each of you according to your works.
24 To the rest of you in Thyatira, who do not hold to this teaching, who do not know Satan’s “deep things,” as they call them, I say that I will not lay any other burden on you. 25 Only hold fast to what you have until I come.
26 To the one who is victorious and continues to do my works until the end, I will give him authority over the nations, 27 and he will rule them with an iron staff and shatter them like clay pots, 28 just as I myself have received authority from my Father. I will also give him the morning star.
29 Whoever has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
Footnotes
Revelation 2:22 Some witnesses to the text read their.
The First and the Last, who was dead and came to life again, says this:
9 I know [1] your suffering and your poverty—but you are rich. And I know the blasphemy that comes from those who say they are Jews but are not; rather, they are a synagogue of Satan. 10 Do not fear anything that [2] you are about to suffer. Look, the Devil is about to throw some of you into prison so that you will be tested, and you will suffer for ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.
11 Whoever has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who is victorious will not be hurt at all by the second death.
Letter to the Church in Pergamum
12 To the messenger of the church in Pergamum write:
The one who has the sharp, two-edged sword says this:
13 I know [3] where you live—where the throne of Satan is. And I know that you hold fast to my name. You did not renounce your faith in me even in the days when Antipas, my faithful witness, [4] was put to death near you, the place where Satan lives.
14 But I have a few things against you: You have some people there who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who instructed Balak to put a stumbling block in front of the children of Israel so that they would eat things offered to idols and commit sexual immorality. 15 Likewise, you also have some people who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. 16 Therefore, [5] repent! If not, I will come to you soon, and I will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.
17 Whoever has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious I will give some of the hidden manna. [6] I will also give him a white stone with a new name written on it, which no one will know except the one who receives it.
Footnotes
Revelation 2:9 A few witnesses to the text add your works.
Revelation 2:10 Some witnesses to the text read Do not fear what.
Revelation 2:13 A few witnesses to the text add your works and.
Revelation 2:13 Or martyr
Revelation 2:16 Some witnesses to the text omit Therefore.
Revelation 2:17 A few witnesses to the text add to eat.
1 To the messenger of the church in Ephesus write:
The one who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven gold lampstands, says this:
2 I know your works, your [1] labor, and your patient endurance, and that you are not able to tolerate evil people. You have tested those who say they are apostles, but are not, and have found them to be liars. 3 Indeed, you do have patient endurance. You have endured hardships on account of my name and have not become weary.
4 But I have this against you: You have forsaken your first love. [2]5 Remember, therefore, the state from which you have fallen! Repent and do the works you did at first. Otherwise I will come to you [3] and remove your lampstand from its place, if you do not repent.
6 But you do have this: You hate the actions of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
7 Whoever has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious I will give the privilege to eat from the tree of life, which is in [4] the paradise of God.
Footnotes
Revelation 2:2 Some witnesses to the text omit your.
Revelation 2:4 Or You have lost the love you had at first
Revelation 2:5 A few witnesses to the text add quickly.
Revelation 2:7 A few witnesses to the text add the middle of.
9 I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingship and patient endurance in Jesus, [1] was on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony about Jesus. [2]
10 I was in spirit on the Lord’s Day, and I heard a loud voice behind me, like a trumpet, 11 saying, “Write what you see on a scroll and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.”
Jesus Appears
12 I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me. When I turned, I saw seven gold lampstands, 13 and among the lampstands was one like a son of man. He was clothed with a robe that reached to his feet, and around his chest he wore a gold sash. 14 His head and his hair were white, like white wool or like snow. His eyes were like blazing flames. 15 His feet were like polished bronze being refined in a furnace. His voice was like the roar of many waters. 16 He held seven stars in his right hand. A sharp two-edged sword was coming out of his mouth. His face was shining as the sun shines in all its brightness.
17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet like a dead man. He placed his right hand on me and said, “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last— 18 the Living One. I was dead and, see, I am alive forever and ever! I also hold the keys of death and hell. [3]
19 “So write what you have seen, both those things that are and those that will take place after this.
20 “The mystery of the seven stars, which you saw in my right hand, and the seven gold lampstands is this: The seven stars are the messengers of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.”
Footnotes
Revelation 1:9 Some witnesses to the text read Christ.
Revelation 1:9 A few witnesses to the text add Christ.
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Tornadoes, hurricanes, heavy rainfall, forest fires—it’s been a busy fall for WELS Christian Aid and Relief, which responds on behalf of WELS members to reflect Christ’s love to people facing […]
Julie K. Wietzke Different histories, one future When we talk about reaching out to other cultures in the United States, we can’t ignore the amazing opportunities God is providing for […]
The synod’s new long-range plan, entitled “Christ through us,” has four main priorities. One of those four involves bringing Christ to the nations through our world mission efforts. Rev. Larry […]
Leaders from The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS), the Evangelical Lutheran Synod (ELS), and the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS) gathered last week near Jacksonville, Fla., for two days of theological […]
During 2025, WELS has commemorated the 175th anniversary of its founding, 175 years of God’s work among us and through us. Resources have been produced and presentations given. This year […]
The Synodical Council met Nov. 7–8 for its fall meeting at the Center for Mission and Ministry, Waukesha, Wis. The Synodical Council (SC) is the group of lay leaders and […]