“I am the LORD. I have spoken; it shall come to pass; I will do it. I will not go back; I will not spare; I will not relent.”

— Ezekiel 24:14

“I know that You can do all things and that no plan of Yours can be thwarted.”

— Job 42:2

“But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.”

— Galatians 4:4-5

“Let the redeemed of the LORD tell their story— those He redeemed from the hand of the foe.”

— Psalm 107:2

“19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

— Matthew 28:19-20

Thoughts on Today’s Reading

The Lord be with your spirit and peace to you.

God has a grandmaster plan for fallen people that can be fulfilled only through redemption. When Adam and Eve fell into sin, they plunged the world into a catastrophe. In spite of this, God‘s purposes continue to move toward fulfillment, initially through Abraham and the people of Israel, then finally and supremely through God’s Son Jesus.

Jesus came, proclaiming the coming of God‘s kingdom, and gave Himself up as a propitiating sacrifice for the sins of the whole world. He came for the fulfillment through redemption. His death halted the dark kingdom and dead tracks. After His glorious resurrection, Jesus commissioned His followers, supercharged by the Holy Spirit, to go and make disciples of all nations. God’s kingdom spread across the Roman world in one generation. The kingdom continued to advance when Jesus’ disciples went into the world and brought people of all nations to faith in the Messiah.