Day 17 of Advent

A DONE DEAL

TEXT:  And his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying, “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for He has visited and redeemed His people and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of His servant David.”  (Luke 1:67-69)

Take a close look at what Zechariah says to his newborn baby John.  Speaking by the Holy Spirit, he says, “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for He has visited and redeemed His people …”  Wait a minute.  Has visited, has redeemed?  Why are we in the past tense here?

I can only think of one reason:  Zechariah is using the past tense because it’s already a done deal.  Jesus has visited His people—at this very moment His mother Mary is three months pregnant with Him—and all the rest of it is going to follow just as surely as the sun comes up in the morning.  Has God visited His people?  Then He has redeemed them, too.  Has He raised up a strong Savior (that’s what “horn of salvation” means) in the house of David?  Oh yes, even if that baby won’t reach the cross for another 30-some years.  It’s a done deal.  Jesus our Savior is with us now and always.  As the writer of Hebrews says, “He is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them” (Hebrews 7:25).

Sometimes when we look at our lives we see only the unfinished business—the trouble we deal with daily, the sins still tripping us up.  The finish line, when we are with Jesus forever, seems so far away.  But that’s not how it is in God’s eyes.  As Paul explains, “For those whom [God] foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, in order the He might be the firstborn among many brothers.  And those whom He predestined He also called and those whom He called He also justified, and those whom He justified He also glorified” (Romans 8: 29-30).  Paul knows it, too.  Our salvation—and even our sanctification—is not some far-off, way-in-the-future thing.  In Jesus, it’s a done deal.

THE PRAYER:  Lord, help me to trust in You with my whole heart, because I know that my salvation is complete in You.  Amen.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS:

In your daily life, what kinds of guarantee s do you count on?  Which make you feel the most secure, and why

When you were a child, who was the most trustworthy person you knew?  What kinds of promises did you have from that person?

What is your favorite promise from God, and why?

Copyright is owned by the International Lutheran Laymen’s League, and used with permission of the Lutheran Hour Ministries, all rights reserved. Lutheran Hour Ministries:   https://www.lhm.org/ 

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