June 25, 2025

Today's Reading: Galatians 3:23-4:7

Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 31:10-31; John 21:1-25

“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)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. 

Did Paul just say I don't need to listen to my parents anymore?

No-no. Paul said we don’t need to live captive under the Law anymore. 

What does that mean? For us foolish Galatians, it means we must stop trying to make the Christian life a life under the Law. Jesus did that for you. Jesus was born under the Law and perfectly fulfilled it. There is nothing that you and I could do to make that better. In fact, to do so would be to reject what Jesus has done and accomplished for us.

This is what Paul is trying to make absolutely clear to the Galatians. You are free from the Law and its guardianship. You are freed by the one who fulfills the Law. Jesus’ obedience to the will of His Father, even to the point of death, is given to you as a Gift. We are purely passive in this.

How can you be sure of this? You are baptized. In your Baptism, when those words were proclaimed and the water was poured, you were no longer a slave of the law but a son of God. You are a son by faith and an heir of eternal life. There is no reason to return to the Law to establish yourself before God. God has put His Name upon you and claimed you as His beloved child, who He sent His Son Jesus to die for. 

There is no partiality here, not to the Jew or the Greek. To the man or woman. For we are all one and are free to be in Christ Jesus.

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

In Baptism we now put on Christ—Our shame is fully covered With all that He once sacrificed And freely for us suffered. For here the flood of His own blood Now makes us holy, right, and good Before our heav’nly Father. (LSB 596:4)

- Justin Chester is a seminary student at Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, IN.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, KY.

In Clarifying the Great Commission, Rev. Daniel Christian Voth identifies common omissions from our collective understanding of Jesus’ farewell discourse—omissions that turn Christ’s promises of forgiveness, life, and salvation into a legalistic command. Come and discover a richer understanding of The Great Commission.