Sermon Text: Romans 16:25-27
Date: December 24, 2023
Event: The Fourth Sunday in Advent, Year B
Romans 16:25-27 (EHV)
Now to him who is able to strengthen you—
according to my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ,
according to the revelation of the mystery that was veiled in silence for long ages past, 26but now has been revealed through the prophetic Scriptures and made known to all the Gentiles, in keeping with the command of the eternal God, resulting in the obedience of faith—
27to God, who alone is wise, be glory forever through Jesus Christ. Amen.
The Mystery Is Revealed!
Do you like mysteries? Maybe a book or movie, maybe a real-life unsolved mystery is really exciting. There’s something special about the unknown—especially if later you can know it. Perhaps you’ve watched a movie with a twist ending and then watched it again but with a friend who hadn’t seen it. It’s kind of a neat feeling to know something they don’t know, to watch them learn the secrets you came in knowing.
As we arrive at the end of the Advent season, we can reflect on the mysteries of God’s revelation and how he gave us a full understanding of it. The mystery of what God would do was never a complete secret. Right from the beginning in the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve sinned, God promised a Savior. The fate of mankind’s eternal well-being was never in doubt. God promised to deal with it right from the start.
But how he would deal with it, what that would look like, and when? Well, that was all unknown to Adam and Eve and for a long time afterward. The line of the Savior was narrowed down to Noah’s family at the time of the flood, as they were the only human beings left on earth. And then, a long time later, God narrowed it down again to the descendants of Abraham.
Slowly, but surely, as time marched on, more and more details were revealed. The Savior would be descended from Judah, specifically King David’s line. The Savior would suffer in his work to atone for the world’s sins. He would have a forerunner to prepare the way before him. He would be born of a virgin. God eventually revealed that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem, in Judea, in the region of Ephrathah.
And while we could see many more details about the coming Savior throughout the Old Testament, we still needed the answer to that key question: when? When is this going to happen? There’s no question that it would happen—God promised it, so it is as good as done—but still, people longed to know when God would follow through on those promises.
In our Gospel this morning, we saw the switch flip. Once Gabriel appears to Mary, the wheels are all in motion. We will have the opportunity to celebrate this fulfillment in full tonight and tomorrow morning, but for now, let us take a birdseye view via Paul’s observations in our Second Reading. As he closes his letter to the Romans, written 50 or 60 years after Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem, he says this: Now to him who is able to strengthen you— according to my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was veiled in silence for long ages past, 26but now has been revealed through the prophetic Scriptures and made known to all the Gentiles, in keeping with the command of the eternal God, resulting in the obedience of faith— 27to God, who alone is wise, be glory forever through Jesus Christ. Amen.
Paul is writing to people that he’s mostly never met before. Eventually, Paul will make it to Rome, but he hasn’t been there yet when he’s writing this letter. So he’s writing this tremendous outline of the Christian faith to strengthen the recipients and to show that what God had revealed to them is the same gospel God was sharing through Paul elsewhere.
Earlier, we mentioned that some of the how and nearly all of the when of the Savior’s arrival and work remained largely unknown for many, many years. That’s what Paul means when he says according to the revelation of the mystery that was veiled in silence for long ages past. At this time, the message of Jesus was relatively new. We’re only about 30 years removed from Jesus’ death and resurrection. So the fulness of what is being preached was new for Jewish believers who had been waiting for the promised Messiah, and it was certainly new for the non-Jewish people who were learning about God’s promises and their fulfillments all at the same time.
But Jesus had been clear before his departure and in his work after his ascension: this message is for everyone. Everyone had to hear what had happened; everyone needed to hear this gospel message that Paul and the others had been entrusted with.
Why? Because God commanded it because the stakes are so high. This is not like the twist ending to a book that you don’t share with a friend to let them experience it. No, this is somewhat akin to having the cure for a terminal disease. Not sharing it is unconscionable! Think of how many people could be helped—could be saved! And yet, the gospel is so much more important because this isn’t just for a subset of people with a specific disease; it addresses everyone’s need. And it’s not “merely” about preserving our physical lives from a specific disease while knowing something will bring about the end of that person’s life at some point. No, the gospel gives eternal life free from any hardship or trouble. As Gabriel assured Mary, the Savior’s kingdom will never end.
And so the message of the gospel had to go out. Mary heard that the one promised for ages was coming by God’s work through her. We’ll hear tonight the angel also gave Joseph the name for this child and explained that he was to be named Jesus because he would save his people from their sins. Jesus’ name literally means, “The Lord Saves.”
From the fall into sin onward, God has had one specific goal: that mankind not suffer in hell for their sins. And so the message about Jesus has one goal: the obedience of faith, not a work to earn forgiveness, but a faith that acknowledges what God has promised is true, which clings to those promises as sure and certain.
God strengthens you through this gospel message. When your conscience weighs you down with guilt and shame, the message of sins forgiven in Jesus unburdens your heart. When you feel weak and powerless, the gospel reminds you that God takes care of you and has done everything for you, in your place. When doubt creeps into your mind about whether or not God could ever truly love someone like you, the gospel takes you to his promises and assurances never to leave us nor forsake us, that Jesus’ suffered hell in your place and in my place, and that from God’s perspective, our sins are gone, buried in the depths of the sea and forgotten about.
And so when you feel weak and burdened, look at God’s promises and his track record. Is there any promise he has not kept? Is there any possibility that he might change his mind and abandon you? No! The mystery is revealed in Jesus. The love of God that goes beyond all our understanding is shown to us in the fact that while we were still sinners and rebellious enemies of God, Jesus died for us.
This was not something we could have guessed or come up with. God’s wisdom, shrouded in mystery to us, has been revealed in the gospel message. We were lost on our own, but with God, who alone is wise, we are saved.
As we approach our Christmas celebrations tonight and tomorrow, remember this perspective: These celebrations are really never simply about the birth of Jesus but what Jesus would accomplish. We do not worship just a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger, but a man crushed for our sins and triumphantly raised to life. We sing with the angels about the peace that has come to earth, peace between God and sinful mankind in the life, death, and resurrection of our Savior Jesus. Thanks be to God that he has revealed this mystery to all people in his Word that his long-promised mission to save has been accomplished. Thanks be to God that he has chosen to save all people, even you and me! Amen.
