ODJ: here comes . . .


September 17, 2013 

READ: Galatians 3:26-4:7 

When the right time came, God sent His Son, born of a woman, subject to the law (4:4).


I was driving my family to a relative’s home when I was pulled over for speeding. I had been driving faster than the suspiciously low speed limit, so there wasn’t much I could say. But when I learned that my insurance rate would skyrocket due to the ticket, I contacted the prosecutor and asked for a compromise. He agreed, and soon a court document arrived in the post. It began, “Here comes Mr. Wallace, prosecutor,” and explained that he would charge me with a lesser offence.

I laughed at the oddly informal opening line, “Here comes”. It seemed out of place in a legal document. But the more I think about it, the more it seems right. I was caught in a legal fix. There wasn’t anything I could do except pay the fine and warn my friends to avoid the speed trap that got me. But then the prosecutor came to my aid and found a way to honour the law without causing me ongoing financial woes.


This is roughly parallel to my relationship with God. I had recklessly blown past all His warning signs when He graciously stopped me in my tracks. I was in a legal jam, cursed along with “everyone who does not observe and obey all the commands that are written in God’s Book of the Law” (Galatians 3:10). But here came Jesus, the willing substitute who “took upon Himself the curse for our wrongdoing” (v.13).


Unlike the prosecutor, who only partially came to my defence, Jesus’ sacrifice is complete. Justice was entirely served upon Him so that I could go free—not to sin again, but to celebrate my new life as His son. And since I am His son, here comes His Spirit too! (4:5-6).


Yes, here came Jesus, taking our sin and giving us life. —Mike Wittmer