Titus 2:11-14 When Grace Appeared

Titus 2:11-14 (Evangelical Heritage Version)

11For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all people. 12It trains us to reject ungodliness and worldly lusts and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in this present age, 13while we wait for the blessed hope, that is, the glorious appearance of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. 14He gave himself for us, to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people who are his own chosen people, eager to do good works.

When Grace Appeared

I.

What do you expect? Most families have their Christmas traditions. You probably have come to expect nearly the same things every year. You play the same music; the same cookies are baked; the tree is decorated in roughly the same way. Without asking, the family members know when the gifts will be exchanged. There might be trouble if things are changed too much.

It’s the same thing for a congregation. Take this congregation. The church is decorated similarly every year. This year, when the tree was put up, we didn’t put the star at the top of the tree. Look at it now; the missing star wasn’t appreciated, so it suddenly appeared. There can be a few changes, but don’t change things too much.

There they were, out in the fields. You just heard about them in the previous reading. They didn’t expect anything other than another ordinary, boring night.

The changes weren’t minor, like some decorations that moved a little bit, or something being left out. It was a radical change. There wasn’t anything that was the same old boring routine about that night for the shepherds. The skies lit up. The glory of the Lord shone; that is terrifying, since no one can handle being around the glory of the Lord—the perfection of the Lord. What do you know about the story of the angels and the shepherds? A whole choir of angels started singing in the night sky.

“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all people” (Titus 2:11, EHV). That was the message the shepherds heard from the angel. The long-promised Savior had come; he had been born that night in the little town of Bethlehem. He had been born to bring salvation to all people.

We didn’t read the whole account about the shepherds, but you know the rest of the story. They knew what they had been told was incredible news, so into town they went to see the baby Jesus.

II.

The changes weren’t minor for the history of the human race, either. Jesus came into the world in all humility, but he came for a purpose. Paul says: “He gave himself for us, to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people who are his own chosen people, eager to do good works” (Titus 2:14, EHV).

It would be years later—33 of them, to be exact. Jesus came for Good Friday. Redeem means to “buy back.” Ever since Adam and Eve fell into sin, sin dominated human existence. No person has ever been able to break free of its grasp. Sin has consequences. Sin separates people from God.

The situation after sin entered the world was bleak; it was hopeless; it was as dark as midnight. But in the midst of the deepest gloom of Good Friday, Jesus said from the cross: “It is finished!” (John 19:30, EHV). The work of salvation he was born to do was complete. Sin was paid for. He had redeemed us—Jesus had bought us back from the lawlessness of sin.

III.

What happens when your world has been turned upside-down with news like this—with news unlike any you have ever heard before? “When they had seen him, they told others the message they had been told about this child” (Luke 2:17, EHV). The shepherds knew right away that this message wasn’t just for them—it was for everyone. They just had to tell the people they met.

But then what? “And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told” (Luke 2:20, EHV). They went back to their job—back to the fields—back to the sheep. Did some of them change vocations and make a full-time career of talking about the angles appearing over the fields that night? Maybe, but it doesn’t seem like it. On the other hand, the message they heard was probably something they talked about regularly. It was life-changing.

After the words of Paul to Titus in our text today, he says: “Keep telling people these things” (Titus 2:15, EHV). No doubt the shepherds did. So should you. So should I.

Keep telling people these things. It won’t be as dramatic as angels lighting up the night sky every day, but it’s always true: “The grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all people” (Titus 2:11, EHV).

Jesus brought salvation to all people. That’s why we’re here tonight; to be reminded of that; to revel in God’s grace given to you, given to me, given to all. Amen.