Daily Lectionary Biblog

Ac 13-14

(Today don’t forget to read 1 Samuel 2:1-10, the seasonal canticle for May, for which you can find my post with related links here.)

No one likes stepping in gum, whether wearing a sandal or any other type of shoe. The image with this post, one of Jeff Larson’s comics titled “The Back Pew, uses a little levity to refer to Luke 9:5 and indirectly to its parallel in Matthew 10:14 and Acts 13:51, which we read today in the appointed reading of Acts 13-14 (to see a larger version of the image click it, but for the largest and highest quality image see from where we got it). The apostles’ shaking dust from their feet is no laughing matter, however. The action indicated their repudiating and severing responsibility from those who had not only rejected them but also thereby rejected the Lord Who had sent them. In the case of Pisidian Antioch, the apostles’ action in Acts 13:51 is not so much a curse upon the whole place, as Luke 9:5 might be taken as suggesting, since we know some people there welcomed Paul and that he returned to the city and may even have used it as a minor base of operations. Such repudiation of those who did reject Paul and Barnabas is still worth reflecting on, however, for their intent and the intent of any similar severing of responsibility in modern times, such as excommunication, is to lead people to repent. When those who once have rejected the message of the Gospel turn from their sin and believe in Jesus Christ, they, too, receive the forgiveness of sins by grace through faith. (My previous post on Acts 13-14 is here.)

• 13:9 Saul’s and others’ renaming
• 14:8-18 performing miracles and identifying the Savior
• Ac 14:21-23 Paul’s and Barnabas’s practice of establishing local leaders

You are most certainly welcome to ask a question of your own this way.

The historic 1-year lectionary we use at Grace for Sunday and festival services appoints Acts 13:26-33 as the “Epistle” reading for Easter Tuesday, but no hymns in The Lutheran Hymnal are said to refer to Acts 13-14.

God bless your day!

Ps 149 / Ac 11-12

Despite what some political and religious leaders say, the United States of America is not a new Old Testament Israel, nor is today’s nation-state of Israel a new Israel. I’m not denying that the United States or the Israel of today have roles in God’s plan or that their governments are God-given authorities like those Paul describes in Romans 13, but I am making it clear that we cannot read Psalm 149 today and think that its words apply to our government the way its words applied to the Israel of the Old Testament. (My previous post, which overviews the psalm, is here.) The Israel of the Old Testament is equivalent today to the Church of Jesus Christ, and the prophecies concerning Israel are fulfilled in that Church, those whom the Holy Spirit gathers together to receive the forgiveness of their sins by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.

Psalm 149 is included by The Lutheran Liturgy, which we use for Sunday and festival services at Grace, among those psalms appointed for The Anunciation, The Visitation, the Thirteenth Sunday after Trinity, and the Eighteenth Sunday after Trinity. Hymn #43 from The Lutheran Hymnal is said to refer to Psalm 149.

I’ve been reading Neil Postman’s 1985 book Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business, and Postman does not have good things to say about what television does to such things as news, education, and religion. One of Postman’s salient points about religion is that while “Christianity is a demanding and serious religion” when Christianity “is delivered as easy and amusing, it is another kind of religion altogether” (p.121). But, as Postman also points out, television evangelists are not the only ones guilty of delivering Christianity “as easy and amusing” and therefore changing the very nature of Christianity. Few and far between in such easy and amusing versions of Christianity are accounts of martyrdom, like that of St. James that we read today in Acts 11-12, and images of death, like that with this post of the fresco “The Martyrdom of St. James” by Florentine painter Giusto de Menabuoi (c.1320-1391) in the chapel of St. Luca Belludi (to see a larger version of the image click it, but for the largest and highest quality image see from where we got it). We must remember that Jesus not only warned in such passages as Matthew 20:23 of His disciples coming suffering, but Jesus also warns of our coming suffering and perhaps even dying on account of the faith. Christianity is a way of suffering that leads to glory. Jesus’s death led to His glory, and it also leads to ours, as we believe in Him for the forgiveness of our sins. We follow in His steps and are treated the same way. Still want to believe? (My original post overviewing today’s chapters is here.)

The only previously posted question specifically connected to today’s reading has to do with Acts 12:12 and some tradition about Mark’s family (something we also talked at greater length about in our recent study of the resurrection accounts). What isn’t clear to you? Please ask about it!

The historic 1-year lectionary we use at Grace for Sunday and festival services appoints Acts 12:1-11 for the “Epistle” reading on the day of St. Peter and St. Paul the Apostles, and hymn #491 in The Lutheran Hymnal is said to refer to Acts 11:24.

God bless your day!

Ps 148 / Ac 9-10 / Biblog folos

Heaven and earth are to resound with the Lord’s praise, we read today in Psalm 148. You can find my previous overview of the whole psalm here, and my previous post dealing more with verse 4 is here. You might also notice how the psalmist moves from living creatures in heaven to “inanimate” objects there and then from “inanimate” objects on earth to living creatures here. Literary devices are used to refer to everything within the different spheres of existence. Everything and everyone has motivation for praising God. Our chief motivation is, of course, the salvation God graciously gives us by faith in Jesus Christ.

• 148 -- #475
• 148:1 -- #243

Opponents of infant Baptism will often ask for an example from the Bible of an infant being baptized. While there are no such explicit examples, today in our reading of Acts 9-10 we certainly have one of the implicit examples. (My previous post on these chapters, with an overview of the whole reading, is here.) Cornelius had brought his relatives and close friends together (10:24), and, as Peter preached to them, the Holy Spirit came through the Word to them (10:44). Peter called for them all to be baptized (10:47-48), and presumably they all were. The image with this post, a 1625-1630 engraving from Icones Biblicae by Matthaeus Merian the Elder, whom you can read more about here (the first time we used one of his images), does not show anyone other than Cornelius being baptized (to see a larger version of the image click it, but for the largest and highest quality image see from where we got it), but in all likelihood there were infants present and included. We must never forget that all of us, including infants, are sinful from the moment of our conception and in need of the forgiveness of sins, delivery from death and the devil, and eternal salvation given by the water and the Word of Holy Baptism through faith in Jesus Christ.

• 9:1-30 Saul’s renaming
• 9:4, 16 how Christ continues to suffer in us
• 10:11-18 figuring out what “law” still applies to us today

You are most certainly welcome to ask a question of your own this way.

• 9:6 -- #403
• 10:40 -- #202

Today I have a number of Biblog folos, my term in part carried over from TV news (pronounced “follows”) for follow-ups on previous Biblog posts. First, in the May 25 post on Acts 1-2 I linked to this previous Biblog folo and its comment about how we choose pastors. A reader emailed that maybe we should choose our pastors that way, and the reader indicated recalling hearing of a congregation that did something similar for choosing their lay “elders”.

Today’s second Biblog folo has to with the comment in Sunday’s post on Psalm 146. I wrote that God will rescue us from all the situations we face and that one form of His rescue is our death in this world, which is a very good reason to praise the Lord. A reader sent the following comment.

I saw that my Grandmother lost things and people until there was really nothing else she cared much about, on earth. Sometimes I think that’s one way God gets us ready to go, but I suppose we should always “be ready to go”!

We should indeed always “be ready to go”, and we do that by living each day in sorrow over our sin and with faith in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of our sin. Still, God does have ways of helping us be more at peace with the deaths of others and our own impending deaths. My original point was that we want to think of death not as defeat, which is how the unbelieving world views it, but as deliverance and victory, which is what death is for Christians. Death is the transition to eternal life and thus the fulfillment of all God has promised and for which we pray. Why are we so surprised and saddened when it comes?

The third and final Biblog folo has to do with the image included in Sunday’s post on Acts 5-6. I pointed out that the artist read the monk’s tonsured hair style back into Biblical times, and a reader asked if the hair cut wasn’t in fact Biblical and what the point of the haircut actually was. I don't know a great deal about the tonsure, but this informative Wikipedia article on the tonsure is more than I have seen anywhere else. Although Wikipedia must be read critically (sometimes it is just flat out wrong), the article linked generally agrees with the shorter article on the tonsure in my more-reliable Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church.

Thanks for bearing with me last week while I was out of town, and special thanks to our webmaster for his extra work on the Biblog, fixing typos and addressing link problems. Remember your questions and comments about the readings are always welcome! Email them to me; I will not use your name on the site. God bless your day!

Ps 147 / Ac 7-8

Astronomer Carl Sagan may make us think that there are “billions and billions” of stars, but no matter the number Psalm 147 today tells us in verse 4 that God determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name. In the context of the psalm, God’s power and understanding are being emphasized, but the verse itself can remind us both of God’s promise to Abraham that his descendants would be as many as the stars (Genesis 15:5) and of Jesus’s description of Himself as the Good Shepherd Who calls His sheep by name and leads them out (John 10:3). There may be a large number of believers, but each of us is important to our Lord Who died for us and has redeemed us with His blood. When we humbly repent, He forgives and sustains us (v.6). You can find my original post overviewing the psalm here, and my subsequent post on the psalm is here. To that second post I might add that God chooses to work faith through means that are resistible. His Word and Sacraments theoretically could force people to believe and keep them from ever falling away, but, for reasons He has not made clear to us, God chose to let people be able to reject the faith and fall away. We are tempted to probe deeper into such matters, but we do better to remember how such considerations led St. Paul to doxology (Romans 11:33-36).

Psalm 147 is included by The Lutheran Liturgy, which we use for Sunday and festival services at Grace, among those psalms appointed for the day of St. John the Baptist, the Twelfth Sunday after Trinity, the Twenty-third Sunday after Trinity, and the day of St. Bartholomew. (No hymns from The Lutheran Hymnal are said to refer to Psalm 147.)

There is a lot in Acts 7-8 today, and you can find a good overview of the chapters in my previous post, which includes a Biblog folo about deacons and pastors that also refers to verses from today’s reading. The Baptism of the Ethiopian eunuch is an important highlight of the reading, and the image with this post depicts that event. The image is of a 1626 oil panting by Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (1606-1669) titled “The Baptism of the Eunuch”, which today is in the Het Catharijne Convent, Utrecht, Netherlands (to see a larger version of the image click it, but for the largest and highest quality image see from where we got it). Remember that like the Ethiopian Eunuch you are not without a guide for your reading to help you understand, especially how all of Holy Scripture relates to the good news about Jesus, Who suffered and died to save us from our sins.

• 7:22 did Moses have trouble speaking or not?
• 7:23-29 what Moses was thinking
• 8:1 Saul’s renaming

You are most certainly welcome to ask a question of your own this way.

• 7:59 -- #259
• 8:15 -- #411

God bless your day!

Ps 146 / Ac 5-6

Have you ever relied on someone to do something for you and been disappointed when he or she fails to follow through? I expect we all have. Does verse 3 of Psalm 146 tell us we should not rely on or trust other people? Well, not quite. The psalm seems to be contrasting the trust we place in other people with the trust we place in the Lord. We can call on others to help us, but they may or may not. When we call on the Lord, we can be sure He will help us, even if His helping us is not precisely what we want. Through His Son’s death and resurrection the Lord has rescued us from the eternal condemnation our sins deserve, and He will rescue us from all other situations we face, even if that rescue is to bring about our deaths. Praise the Lord indeed! (You can see my previous posts on this psalm here and here.)

Psalm 146 is included by The Lutheran Liturgy, which we use for Sunday and festival services at Grace, among those psalms appointed for Quinquagesima (the Sunday that falls in the fifth period of ten days before Easter), Jubilate (the Second Sunday after Easter), Exaudi (the Sixth Sunday after Easter), the Seventh Sunday after Trinity, and the Fourteenth Sunday after Trinity. Hymn #26 from The Lutheran Hymnal is said to refer to Psalm 146.

As I read Acts 5-6 today I noticed both the increasing contention over the Gospel and also the flow of thought from the sharing in the community of believers, to the increasing number of people in material need, and finally to the ordaining of the deacons to handle those material needs, which ordination left the apostles and their successors free to handle the people’s spiritual needs. The image with this post is Domincan Fra Angelico’s “Ordination of St. Stephen by St. Peter”, painted from 1447-1449 in the Capella Nicolina of the Vatican, and you can see how the monk’s tonsured hair-style is read back into Biblical times (to see a larger version of the image click it, but for the largest and highest quality image see from where we got it, and you can read more about Fra Angelico here). I think the left side of the fresco shows the ordination and the right side the deacon’s work. For more on today’s reading, you can read my previous post on these chapters and this Biblog folo about deacons and pastors (see also the Q&A linked below).

• 5:29 figuring out what “law” still applies to us today
• 6:1-6 more about “deacons”
• 6:5 a potential link between “Nicolas” and the “Nicolaitans” of Revelation

You are most certainly welcome to ask a question of your own this way.

The historic 1-year lectionary we use at Grace for Sunday and festival services appoints Acts 6:8-15 as part of the “Epistle” reading for the day of St. Stephen the Martyr, but no hymns in The Lutheran Hymnal are said to refer to Acts 5-6.

God bless your Pentecost day, and may you let Him make it holy for you by using His Word and Sacraments!

Ps 145 / Ac 3-4

Alleluia! He is risen!
He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

When we say “people” should do something, how often do we include ourselves in that group of “people”? I daresay that more often than not we mean other people should do something. Today in reading Psalm 145 I noticed in verses 5 and 6 how both “they” and “I” are included. (My first post on Psalm 145, which overviews the psalm, is here, and my subsequent post, which focuses in on verse 3, is here.) The psalmist began the psalm speaking of himself praising God (vv.1-2), and then he spoke of one generation telling another (vv.3-4). But, then he makes it clear that he is also meditating on God’s works and proclaiming His deeds. Although preaching and administering the Sacraments is just for pastors to do, the telling others about God’s salvation is not just for pastors. The Holy Spirit gives each and every believer opportunities to give an answer for the hope that they have in Christ. The question is not whether we witness for Christ but what kind of witness we are. Do not leave the speaking of the splendor of God’s majesty or the telling of the power of God’s awesome works to others. You and I do the same things, for God’s awesome work of righteousness for all people in Christ affects us, as it also affects those around us. Jesus not only died for you and for me, but He also died for those around us, whether or not we particularly care for them otherwise.

• 145:1 -- #575
• 145:15 -- #542
• 145:15, 16 -- #659

If a church official tells you to do something, generally, I suppose we’d say, you should do it. Today in our reading of Acts 3-4, however, we see an example where Peter and John refused to do what they were directed to do by the “church” officials because what the church officials directed Peter and John to do went against what God directed them to do (see especially Acts 4:19). The leaders of the Sanhedrin before whom Peter and John appeared did not want them to keep spreading the message of salvation in Jesus Christ alone. As hard as it may be to believe, some leaders in our church body today are just about as much against such a message of salvation in Jesus Christ alone as were the leaders of the Sanhedrin back then. (The image with this post is by an unknown illustrator of Petrus Comestor's “Bible Historiale”, which is held by the Museum Meermanno Westreenianum in The Hague and dates from about A.D. 1372; to see a larger version of the image that we got from Mnemosyne just click it.). Keeping commitments or obeying directives is never binding on us if those commitments or directives would lead us to sin. How do we know such would be a sin? The Holy Spirit guides us through God’s Word, those who teach us in it, and directs our sanctified conscience so that we can make such determinations. As in all aspects of our lives as Christians, however, we will never do so perfectly, and so we remember that we live in a state of grace where all our sins are forgiven through faith in Jesus Christ, that only way of salvation. (You can find my previous post, which overviews all of today’s reading, here.)

• 3:1-10 authority over demons and the identity of the Savior
• 4:11 cornerstones and capstones

You are most certainly welcome to ask a question of your own this way.

• 3:15 -- #167
• 4:12 -- #114, #116, #360, #383

May the joy of our Lord’s Resurrection fill your heart and comfort you today and always, and may you tomorrow receive through Word and Sacrament the great gift of forgiveness Jesus won for you by His death and resurrection.

Ps 144 / Ac 1-2 / John wrap-up

Alleluia! He is risen!
He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

I know a little ten-year-old who recently did not have the kind of particular athletic success both that she wanted to have and that her friends had. Such disappointments can be crushing! I tried to remind her that her value as a person did not depend on her athletic abilities, especially not what other people thought of them. Today in Psalm 144 the psalmist in effect asks in verse 3 what gives people their value. (You can read my previous post here, which has comments on more of the psalm.) Ultimately, our value as children of God comes from God’s regard for us in Christ. (I’ve posted before on self-esteem versus Christ-esteem.) Whether or not we think we are loved or otherwise regarded by people in this world, we can know from God’s Word and Sacraments that we are loved and highly regarded by God for the sake of Jesus Christ, Who would have died for you or for me if we were the only sinful person on earth. Such great love of God for us in Christ should comfort us whenever we are crushed and disappointed, although I don’t know how much it helped the little ten-year-old.

Psalm 144 is included by The Lutheran Liturgy, which we use for Sunday and festival services at Grace, among those psalms appointed for the Third Sunday after Epiphany and a Day of National Thanksgiving. (No hymns from The Lutheran Hymnal are said to refer to Psalm 144.)

In a fairly-timely reading, Acts 1-2 today tells us, among other things, of the events of Pentecost, which this year is Sunday. The image with this post is the popular 1865 depiction of the coming of the Holy Spirit on that first New Testament Pentecost by French artist Gustave Doré (1832-1883) from “La Sainte Bible” (to see a larger version of the image that we got from Christians Unite [Pentecost images] click it, and see here for more on Doré), which I think is fair to say heavily influenced the artist who did Grace's stained-glass windows. My post overviewing today’s reading is here, but in it I don’t mention much about the Old Testament Pentecost as background for the New Testament Pentecost. The Old Testament festival of Pentecost celebrated the close of the wheat harvest with a collection of its firstfuits. On the first New Testament Pentecost Day, the Holy Spirit through St. Peter’s sermon harvested 3 thousand into the Church as its firstfruits. We who believe today are later but no-less-important fruit that the Holy Spirit has also harvested into the Church. Praise God for the work of the Holy Spirit in bringing us to faith and preserving us in that faith until our eternal end! (By the way, there’s a question related to Acts 1:23-26 about how we choose pastors in this Biblog folo’s discussion about trial by ordeal.)

• 2:34-25 New Testament uses of Psalm 110:1
• 2:46 more about the Temple and its courts
• 1:5 a distinction between John the Baptizer’s baptism and Christian baptism?

You are most certainly welcome to ask a question of your own this way.

• 1:9 -- #213 (you'll have to see your hymnal for this one)
• 1:11 -- #212
• 2:3 -- #504
• 2:4 -- #224
• 2:17 -- #228
• 2:24 -- #195
• 2:32 -- #207
• 2:38 -- #428

Today I have a John wrap-up. Such a summary of a recently completed book was requested in our survey at the end of Year 1 of our Daily Lectionary reading.

Who was the author? St. John the apostle was inspired by the Holy Spirit to write this book that bears his name.
What is the book? The book of John is an account of the Holy Gospel, or “good news”, of Jesus Christ.
Where was it written? St. John is thought to have written this Gospel account from Ephesus, and the Gospel account is said to reflect some of the conflicts and temptations facing believers then, although those conflicts and temptations really face believers of all earthly times and places.
When was it written? There are two views of when St. John wrote, one that would suggest it was relatively early and independent of the other Gospel accounts, about A.D. 50-70, and the other more-usual conservative dating that puts the date after A.D. 85, possibly between 90-100, and assumes John knew of the other “synoptic” Gospel accounts (namely, Matthew, Mark, and Luke).
Why? St. John makes explicit his purpose for writing what he did in the Gospel account: “that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (John 20:21). The “believe” may also be “continue to believe”, making John’s purpose winning and strengthening converts.
How? Unlike the other accounts, which tend to see Jesus’s life with roughly the same eye, St. John’s account is said to soar theologically higher than the others. John begins with a statement of his theme that is then unpacked in a spiral that rises higher and grows wider but often returns to the same points of emphases.

• Lenski, R. C. H. The Interpretation of St. John’s Gospel. Columbus, OH: Lutheran Book Concern, 1942. (This lengthy volume of 1444 pages, like the other Lenski commentaries, is a bit dated in terms of modern scholarship but nevertheless a good, helpful Lutheran commentary, one that you can find in Grace’s library.)
• Ridderbos, Herman. The Gospel according to John: A Theological Commentary, tr. John Vriend. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1997. (This commentary was used by the Rev. Dr. William Weinrich of the Ft. Wayne seminary when he taught the continuing education class in Austin a number of years ago. I have other John commentaries on my shelf that I also like, but this is the newest and, like the others, must be read with the special discretion needed for a book that comes from outside the Lutheran tradition.)

Our webmaster is making the short summaries like this one a part of the Daily Lectionary - Biblical Index page for each book, which you can find linked here.

May the joy of our Lord’s Resurrection fill your heart and comfort you today and always!

Ps 143 / Jn 20-21

Alleluia! He is risen!
He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

They say time is relative. The same period of time can pass slowly for one person and quickly for another. Outside of Jesus Christ, of course, God is essentially outside of time, so what does it mean when, like the psalmist today in Psalm 143, we ask God to hear and answer us quickly? Obviously the relative time is from our perspective, not God’s. The Bible speaks of all sorts of things hastening or happening speedily, such as people quickly forgetting God’s deeds, turning away from Him, and doing evil. That sounds like us, and we are in need of forgiveness for our sins. The psalmist’s distress and our own prompts prayers for the prompt replies, but we can draw comfort that God will answer all our prayers in His way and when the time is just right. That’s when He sent His Son, when the time was right, made of a woman, to redeem us, so that we might be adopted as God’s children (Galatians 4:4-5). We can trust that, as God sent Jesus to die to save us from our sins when the time was right, so all of God’s acts to help us will similarly be at the right time, whether they seem to us to come slowly or quickly. (You can find my previous posts on Psalm 143 here and here.)

• 143:4 -- #322
• 143:8 -- #424 (not available on-line, sorry; see your hymnal)

Hopefully you’ve been participating, if you were able, in the recent Adult Bible Class discussion of the Bible’s accounts of our Lord’s resurrection. (If you’ve missed them, you can find the two class handouts here.) As important as Jesus’s resurrection is, it would do us little good if we could not hear about it or otherwise receive its benefits. Today in our reading of John 20-21 we not only hear about the resurrection, but we also hear about how its benefits are given to us: through what is called the Office of the Keys. (My original post, which overviews these chapters, is here, and here is a Biblog folo on the authoritative nature of the sending in John 20:21, and another one related to John 20:22-23, discussing what comes out of Jesus’s mouth, is here.) The image with this post, a portion of the Catechism Window in Martin Luther Chapel at Concordia Lutheran Theological Seminary in St. Catharines, Ontario, depicts the authority to forgive sins with the gold key pointing the way to heaven and the similar authority to retain sins with the subordinated silver key pointing the way to hell (to see an image of the whole window click it, or for a higher quality image see from where we got it). The apostles exercised this Office, or this authority to either forgive or retain sins, and so do their successors, pastors today. We also hear today of Jesus’s including in His sending of the apostles and their successors the commands to feed and take care of His lambs and sheep. Through pastors Jesus Himself feeds and takes care of you and me, forgiving our sins with Word and Sacrament by grace through faith in Him.

• 21:15-17 Peter’s “absolution” (but don’t forget Jesus’s resurrection-day appearance)
• 20:19, 26 precedents for our observing Sunday as the day of rest
• 20:1-18 reconciling the resurrection accounts
• 20:30-31; 21:25 recorded miracles and John’s purpose

You are most certainly welcome to ask a question of your own this way.

• 20 -- #208
• 20:15 -- #188
• 20:19-26 -- #65
• 21:15 -- #648
• 21:19-24 -- #401
• 21:20 -- #271

May the joy of our Lord’s Resurrection fill your heart and comfort you today and always!

Ps 142 / Jn 19

Alleluia! He is risen!
He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

As I read Psalm 142 today, I reflected on the first part of verse 3. (You can read my previous post on the whole psalm here and my post focusing more on verse 7 here.) When we are in desperate need and overwhelmed by our situations, the Lord is not ignorant of our needs. Especially when we feel as if we cannot go on another day, hour, or even step, remember the Lord is there to strengthen, to guide, and even in some sense to carry out what we need to do or to pray for us (for example, Romans 8:26-27). No matter how desperate our need or how bleak our situation, we can rely on the Lord’s help. He will see us through and shower us with His goodness, even as He has done already by forgiving our sins through faith in Christ Jesus our Lord.

• 143:4 -- #322
• 143:8 -- #424 (see your hymnal for this one)

Somewhat continuing the focus yesterday on Jesus before Pilate, today’s post on John 19 reflects on Pilate’s having the title “King of the Jews” placed on the cross where Jesus was crucified. (You can find my previous post, overviewing the whole chapter, here.) In chapter 18 yesterday we heard Jesus deny to Pilate that He was the King of the Jews. So, why does Pilate put that title on the cross over the objections of the Jews? (The image with this post is an unidentified artist’s depiction of that title; to see a larger version of the image click it, but for the largest and highest quality image see from where we got it, and you can find some explanation of the picture, to be read with discretion, here.) At least one commentary suggests Pilate needed to justify the crucifixion, and, indeed, the charges against people executed supposedly were fastened to their crosses. Again, we do not know exactly what Pilate was thinking, and I invite you to join me in thinking about the bigger picture. Jesus, God’s Lamb without blemish, was sacrificed for you and for me, on account of God’s charges of crimes against us. Jesus, Who had no sin, was made to be sin for us, so that we might be made righteous (2 Corinthians 5:21). Thank and praise God for finding a way to execute His justice that saved us by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.

• 19:26-27 who all betrayed Jesus (don’t forget about our betrayal and about Jesus’s resurrection-day appearance to Peter)
• 19:34-35 crucifixion and Baptism

You are most certainly welcome to ask a question of your own this way.

• 19:16, 17 -- #150 (see your hymnal for this one)
• 19:26, 27 -- #182
• 19:28 -- #184
• 19:30 -- #170, #185

May the joy of our Lord’s Resurrection fill your heart and comfort you today and always!

Ps 141 / Jn 17-18

Alleluia! He is risen!
He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

You’ve seen muzzles on animals, such as pit bulls, right? Imagine such a contraption on human beings in order to control what comes out of and goes in to our mouths. That type of contraption is almost what the psalmist and we pray for today in Psalm 141, especially in verses 3-4. (You can read my previous post, on the psalm as a whole, here.) All too often we say things that we should not say, or at least to people to whom we should not say them. What business is it of the person to whom we speak? Are those people in positions to do something about the situations of which we often complain? Are we unwilling to directly confront the person with whom we have a concern or to speak to someone who can do something about a given situation? Would that the Lord did keep an irresistible guard and watch over our mouth and lips. Today I especially thought about the inward flow. My study Bible refers to food set from the proceeds of the wicked’s ways, but I think we might also be able to think about partaking of sacramental meals of which we should not partake. Thanks be to God that for all our outgoing and incoming sins of the mouth and lips, as for all our sins, there is forgiveness by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.

Psalm 141 is included by The Lutheran Liturgy, which we use for Sunday and festival services at Grace, among those psalms appointed for Reminiscere (the Second Sunday in Lent). Hymn #562 from The Lutheran Hymnal is said to refer to Psalm 141:2.

This past Lenten season I especially appreciated the opportunity to preach on Jesus’s Lenten words before Pilate, which are a part of our reading today of John 17-18. (My previous post on all of today’s reading is here.) The study of the Biblical text in preparing for a sermon is always a personally enriching experience as God works through His Word. In this case, I especially appreciated seeing how Jesus subtly pointed out to Pilate that since the Jews turned Jesus over to Pilate it would essentially be ridiculous for Jesus to be their king. Of course, Jesus did not deny that He was a king, as Pilate rightly perceived before making his statement about the nature of truth. That statement about the nature of truth, as I mentioned in the sermon, is variously interpreted, including an interpretation given by Tim Rice in the rock opera “Jesus Christ Superstar” (the image with this post is a picture of Jesus before Pilate in the Quincy [Florida] Music Theatre’s February-March 2005 production of that musical; to see a larger version of the image click it, but for the largest and highest quality image see from where we got it). Precisely what Pilate meant mattered only to Pilate; what matters to us is that we confess Jesus as the Truth (John 14:6), receive the forgiveness of our sins by faith in Him, and let Him be our King.

• 18:3, 10 more about Malchus
• 18:10-11, 15-16 who all betrayed Jesus (don’t forget about our betrayal and about Jesus’s resurrection-day appearance to Peter)

You are most certainly welcome to ask a question of your own this way.

The historic 1-year lectionary we use at Grace for Sunday and festival services appoints John 18:1-19:42 for the Gospel reading on Good Friday, but there are no hymns in The Lutheran Hymnal said to refer to verses from John 17-18.

May the joy of our Lord’s Resurrection fill your heart and comfort you today and always!

Ps 140 / Jn 15-16

Alleluia! He is risen!
He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

“What do you know?” Even that question can mean a variety of different things depending on how it is asked and the context in which it is asked. Can we “know” things without really “knowing” them? As I read Psalm 140 today, I reflected on the psalmist’s statement in verse 12, the beginning of the psalm’s conclusion, about “knowing” the Lord secures justice for and upholds the cause of the poor and needy. (You can read my previous two posts on Psalm 140 here and here.) The psalmist certainly seems confident that the Lord will secure justice for the poor and uphold the needy’s cause, even if the Lord has not yet done so. We, too, can know that God, Who even now forgives our sins for the sake of Jesus Christ, will also with Christ give us all that we need, and we can know that all God’s plans for us are good and gracious in Christ. But, often that “knowledge” is more in the sense of “belief”, because we are waiting for those things to happen. Sometimes, our heads “know” those things to be true and just need to convince our hearts. That process of convincing is brought about by the Holy Spirit working through God’s Word, as we study and meditate upon it and hear it from pastor and friends. That process of convincing is also brought about by the Holy Spirit working through the Sacraments, as we recall our Baptisms, return to them in confession and absolution, and feast on the life-sustaining Body and Blood of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, until at last we see, with our glorified eyes, all such things to be eternally true.

Psalm 140 is included by The Lutheran Liturgy, which we use for Sunday and festival services at Grace, among those psalms appointed for Maundy Thursday, the Eighth Sunday after Trinity, the Twenty-third Sunday after Trinity, and for the day of St. Matthias. (No hymns from The Lutheran Hymnal are said to refer to Psalm 140.)

I don’t have much of a green thumb. That any of my plants survive is more a credit to their creator than to my care. The same is true spiritually when it comes to us, as we read today in John 15-16. (You can find my previous post on these chapters here.) Jesus is the vine, and we are the branches. We will only be healthy and productive branches if we remain in Him. When we receive salvation by grace through faith in Jesus, God goes to work in us and produces the fruits of faith. Such fruits of faith necessarily follow our coming to faith. We are saved by faith alone, but faith, as Dr. Luther rightly says, is never alone. Jesus’s focus, however, is not just on the fruit we bear but also on our remaining connected to Him and thereby to one another and to all true believers of all times and places. Such is the nature of our union brought about and expressed, for example, in the Sacrament of the Altar. The image with this post is of an icon depicting Jesus as the vine and the disciples as the branches (to see a larger version of the image click it, but for the largest and highest quality image see from where we got it, and you can read one person’s interpretation of the icon here).

There are no previously posted questions and answers on these chapters, but, if you’ve got one, you are certainly welcome to ask it! Your question will be posted anonymously when it is answered.

• 15:4 -- #125
• 15:5 -- #594
• 15:16 -- #37
• 15:26 -- #230
• 16:13 -- #231
• 16:23 -- #21
• 16:27 -- #42
• 16:33 -- #413

Thank you to everyone who this past weekend joined in celebrating, on campus or at church, the conferral of my doctoral degree from the University of Texas at Austin! I am going to be somewhat disconnected the next few days. Please continue to comment and ask questions, but know that I might not get to them as quickly as I would otherwise like. And, if you have technical problems or typos to note, you might send one email to me and to our webmaster. May the joy of our Lord’s Resurrection fill your heart and comfort you today and always!

Ps 139 / Jn 13-14

Alleluia! He is risen!
He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

As you read Psalm 139 today and think of God searching you (v.1), what do you think of Him finding and therefore knowing? Stop and think about it for a moment. What does He find when He searches our thoughts, words, and deeds? I reflect on His knowing that I remain far too great of a sinner, one who does not love Him or my fellow human beings as I should. What about you? If you thought of God searching you, finding faith, and knowing you are a believer, that’s well and good, too. (If you thought of all the good you do that somehow merits God’s favor, well, that’s another story.) We should expect God to find not only the sinfulness that remains now and will remain throughout this life but also the faith He created through His Word and Sacraments, which faith trusts in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of our sin. That faith also produces a new spiritual nature that attempts to love God and fellow human beings as we should. (My previous posts on Psalm 139 are here and here.)

• vv.7-10 -- #326
• v.11 -- #554
• v.12 -- #561

In my Maundy Thursday sermon this past Holy Week, I mentioned that, if the command that gave the day its name was to wash people’s feet, then most of us were in trouble. Today in John 13-14 we read about Jesus washing the disciples’ feet and telling them to do likewise (John 13:14), and the image with this post gives evidence that at least some still practice some form of footwashing (but you can see what one blogger made of the event here, from where we got the picture). The mere fact that footwashing has not meaningfully survived in the history of the church, however, indicates that some other “command” is the day’s real namesake. The “command” that has survived is the “do this” in the institution of the Sacrament of the Altar, as the Epistle reading for Maundy Thursday makes clear (see 1 Corinthians 11:24, 25). As we read today, Jesus alone is the Way to the Father, and that “way” is not a direction we can go on our own. Rather, the Spirit of Truth guides us in that way, so that we receive by faith the forgiveness of sins that gives a peace that is out of this world. (You can read my post that overviews these chapters here, and there’s a little more about Maundy Thursday in this post.)

The only previously posted question specifically connected to today’s reading has to do with John 13 and other care for the feet. What isn’t clear to you? Please ask about it!

• 13:7 -- #514
• 14:3 -- #216 (sorry, but the website doesn't have the lyrics, so you'll have to check your hymnal for this one)
• 14:6 -- #355, #433
• 14:15 -- #349
• 14:23 -- #399
• 14:26 -- #233

May the joy of our Lord’s Resurrection fill your heart and comfort you today and always, and may you today receive through Word and Sacrament the great gift of forgiveness Jesus won for you by His death and resurrection.

Ps 138 / Jn 11-12

Alleluia! He is risen!
He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

Do you remember the Bette Midler song “From a distance”? As I read Psalm 138 today, I stopped and reflected on verse 6, and that song came to my mind. (You can find my original post overviewing the psalm here and my comments more specifically on verse 7 here.) What does it mean in verse 6 that the Lord knows the proud from afar? At first I thought the verse had to do with where the Lord keeps Himself in relationship to the proud in contrast to the humble, but a closer look indicates something else may at least be included. Verse 6 begins by saying “Though the Lord is on high”, so there is a “from a distance” idea already in the first part of the verse (possibly in the Bette Midler sense, although I’m not sure I really understand what she’s on about in the song). The idea regarding the proud apparently is that even from on high, from afar, the Lord sees through them or sees them for what they are. The proud may not think themselves observed or answerable to anyone, but they are, and ultimately the Lord will execute His judgment upon them for their impenitence and unbelief. Even though the Lord is on high, He looks “with favor” (implied) upon the humble, whom He makes His special object of regard. We know His loving and gracious regard for the penitent, sending His Only-begotten Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. Humble or proud: which are we?

Psalm 138 is included by The Lutheran Liturgy, which we use for Sunday and festival services at Grace, among those psalms appointed for the Second Sunday after Christmas, Easter (the Feast of the Resurrection of Our Lord), the day of St. Simon and St. Jude, and the Dedication of a church. (No hymns from The Lutheran Hymnal are said to refer to Psalm 138.)

Jesus’s resurrection from the dead was not the only resurrection miracle He performed, of course. The other one that certainly got the most attention from the Jews of that day and was in some ways inextricably bound up with Jesus’s own resurrection was the raising of Lazarus, about which we read today in John 11-12. Italian Renaissance painter Sebastiano del Piombo (1485-1547) depicted that resurrection in the well-known painting shown with this post (to see a larger version of the image click it, but for the largest and highest quality image see from where we got it, and read here for more on the artist and the painting). Sometimes we do well to reflect on the fact that, even though Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead as described in our reading today, Lazarus (and the others Jesus similarly raised) still died the kind of earthly death we all will die, unless Jesus returns in glory before then. I’m sure Mary and Martha were happy to have their brother back, but he didn’t stay around forever. Although there’s nothing wrong in general with prayers for a miraculous healing of a loved one or ourselves, sometimes we might be forgetting that an earthly death is nevertheless still ahead for that person, too. The life of this world is transitory, especially in the senses that it is temporary and a transition that leads to the life of the world to come. The person for whom we pray may well have responsibilities and loved ones in this world, but the person for whom we pray, if he or she is a believer, certainly is better off in the world to come. And, since Jesus rose victorious over death and stayed alive, we, too, can look forward to an eternal bodily resurrection from the dead on the Last Day, after which we, too, in body and soul, will never die again. Such are the blessings of receiving by faith the forgiveness Jesus won for all with His death and resurrection from the dead. (You can see my previous post, with its comments on the whole reading, here, and there’s a Biblog folo that mentions John 12:47-48 here, regarding the breath of Jesus’s mouth and His words that in judgment divide as a sharp sword.)

• 11:55 the third Passover in John’s account
• 12:3 and its relationship to Mark 14:3 and Matthew 26:7 (although I might answer both questions a little differently today)
• 12:25 loving and hating your life

You are most certainly welcome to ask a question of your own this way.

• 11:16 -- #409
• 11:25 -- #196
• 11:26 -- #602
• 12:32 -- #390

May the joy of our Lord’s Resurrection fill your heart and comfort you today and always, and may you tomorrow receive through Word and Sacrament the great gift of forgiveness Jesus won for you by His death and resurrection.

Ps 137 / Jn 9-10

Alleluia! He is risen!
He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

How often do we sing hymns outside of the Divine Service and the church building? There’s nothing wrong with doing so, despite what we read today in Psalm 137, for our singing hymns in our daily lives is not the same situation as that which the psalmist describes. You can find my previous posts on Psalm 137 here and here, but today I want to comment further on this matter of singing hymns in our daily lives. Hymnals are properly called the prayer-book of the church, and they should find use in personal and family devotions (one of the reasons why we list hymns that pertain to the Daily Lectionary readings), the bedsides of the sick and dying, and the like. Like you are probably finding with reading the Psalms, so you likely find with reading or singing the hymns: there are some more familiar than others and some of the unfamiliar ones can teach us much and help shape our faith. All of the psalms and the better hymns not only point to salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, but they also describe how that salvation affects our lives now and for eternity.

Psalm 137 is included by The Lutheran Liturgy, which we use for Sunday and festival services at Grace, among those psalms appointed for the Twentieth Sunday after Trinity and the day of St. Matthew. Hymn #462 from The Lutheran Hymnal is said to refer to Psalm 137.

On “Good Shepherd Sunday” this year, I commented to Pastor Sullivan that one of the things I like about the three-year series of readings for church services is that they generally expose us to more of the teaching about Jesus, our Good Shepherd, that we read in John 9-10 today, than we otherwise get in the one-year series of readings we use at Grace. (You can see below that John 10:1-10 is the Gospel reading for the Tuesday after Pentecost in the one-year series, but who today has church services on that day?) There is plenty to reflect on, however, even in just the section we do use every year (vv.11-16). Five times in those six verses Jesus refers to laying down His life for the sheep (and note how He also twice mentions taking it back up, the resurrection). Clearly the self-sacrificing nature of the Good Shepherd is important, vitally important, to the life and well-being of the sheep. Yet, strangely enough, when I looked for images to accompany today’s post about John 10, none of those I saw gave any indication of the Good Shepherd’s great love in this way. Yes, there are lots of warm fuzzy aspects of Jesus’s being our Good Shepherd (such as those aspects evoked by the unidentified artist's image that I used with today’s post, which image I chose for that reason; to see a larger version of the image click it, but for the largest and highest quality image see from where we got it). But, Jesus’s being our Good Shepherd can never become only warm and fuzzy without the sacrifice He makes for us sheep, or else we will lose the very salvation by grace through faith in Jesus that should give us the most warmest and fuzziest aspect of all. (You can find my previous post on John 9-10 here, and be sure not to miss what I noticed for the first time reading these chapters today, namely, the close connection between chapters 9 and 10.)

There are no previously posted questions and answers on these chapters, but, if you’ve got one, you are certainly welcome to ask it! Your question will be posted anonymously when it is answered.

The historic 1-year lectionary we use at Grace for Sunday and festival services appoints John 10:1-10 for the Gospel reading on Whit-Tuesday (the Tuesday after Pentecost) and John 10:11-16 for Misericordias Domini (the Second Sunday after Easter, also known as “Good Shepherd Sunday”). Hymn #631 in The Lutheran Hymnal is said to refer to John 10:11.

May the joy of our Lord’s Resurrection fill your heart and comfort you today and always!

Ps 136 / Jn 7-8 / Biblog folo

Alleluia! He is risen!
He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

“Give thanks” is the recurring exhortation we hear in Psalm 136 today. You can find my first post on Psalm 136 here, a subsequent post on the psalm’s lasting relevance for us here, and a Biblog folo about Psalm 136:1’s use in the liturgy here. Today I just want to add two things. First, while we in November set aside a Day of National Thanksgiving, we can and should give thanks to God every day. Second, while we can and do thank God for all His blessings, as the Proper Preface for the Easter season reminds us, “chiefly are we bound to praise [God] for the glorious resurrection of [His] Son, Jesus Christ our Lord; for He is the very Paschal Lamb which was offered for us and hath taken away the sins of the world; who by His death hath destroyed death and by His rising to life again hath restored to us everlasting life.”

Psalm 136 is included by The Lutheran Liturgy, which we use for Sunday and festival services at Grace, among those psalms appointed for Cantate (the Fourth Sunday after Easter) and the day of St. John the Baptist. Hymn #570 from The Lutheran Hymnal is said to refer to Psalm 136.

If after reading John 7-8 today you were to search for an Old Testament quotation that Jesus could be taken as making in 7:38, you would search in vain. However, that fact should only trouble you and me if Jesus had said He was quoting the Old Testament, which obviously He does not say. Rather, Jesus can be taken as referring to all of the Old Testament Scriptures that prophecy the dispensing of living and life-giving water. We can also rightly connect the other New Testament references to such water and locate Jesus as the source of all such water of life. But, where do you find Jesus today in order to receive such water? Where is water that works the forgiveness of sins, delivers from death and the devil, and gives eternal salvation to all who believe? In a fountain like that pictured with this post from a city square in Kiev, Ukraine? (To see a larger version of the image by an unidentified photographer click it, but for the largest and highest quality image see from where we got it.) No, we find that water of life in the Baptismal Font (or “fountain”). There water is used with God’s Word to bring about the very things He promises in His Word. Jesus’s statements in John 7 not only came at the occasion of the Feast of Tabernacles, but they were also saturated with imagery from Feast of Tabernacles, when trumpets would sound and the people would sing words recorded in Isaiah: “With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.” May our response each and every day be to meaningfully remember our baptisms and with joy draw water from the wells of salvation! (Be sure to see my previous post on these chapters and this reference to John 8:44 and the “lines of descent” of unfaithful people.)

• 8:12 light and lampstands
• 8:44 the fall of the angels

You are most certainly welcome to ask a question of your own this way.

• 8:12 -- #277, #413, #550, #559
• 8:31 -- #261

Today's Biblog folo comes in response to the reading of John 6 yesterday and a comment I made in the related post a year ago about the use of John 6:68-69 as the Alleluia verse in newer liturgical orders in our more recent hymnals. A reader, who also appreciated the picture with the post and the site from which it came, made the following comment.

That verse was one of the few things I appreciated about Lutheran Worship, but we usually sang it as we were getting up for the Gospel instead of before, or after we were standing, so it seemed to "get lost".

I know the feeling from congregations where I have worshipped, and not just those with LW! Sometimes even the Hallelujah verse from The Lutheran Hymnal gets lost or misunderstood. The verse is not a response to the Epistle reading but an anticipation of the Gospel reading, and so I think standing before the verse is preferable. The rubric to stand comes later, but, from what I can tell, that's due to longer versions of the verse being sung by the choir and the desire to keep the congregation seated for those. Incidentally, even at Grace we stand before the actual rubric to stand.

Thanks to another reader email, there are two new questions and answers posted, beginning with this one (the other is right below it). Incidentally, although the Paschal (Easter) Candle is normally extinguished at the readings of our Lord’s Ascension in services this day, the Easter season technically continues until Pentecost. So, we can continue the Easter greeting at the beginning of these posts, and at their end I can continue to say, May the joy of our Lord’s Resurrection fill your heart and comfort you today and always!

Ps 135 / Jn 5-6

Alleluia! He is risen!
He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

God is truly a loving God Who not only wants to save all people but has also acted to save them; however, His wrath on those who refuse His plan of salvation is also equally unmistakable. Psalm 135 today puts that wrath somewhat cleverly, saying that those who trust in idols will be like them: unable to speak, unable to see, unable to hear, and unable to breathe (vv.15-18). Those who trust in the Lord have been enabled by the Spirit to speak, see, hear, and breathe. By grace through faith in Jesus Christ, they receive the Lord’s blessings of forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation, and they praise Him now in this world and for eternity in the next. (You can see my first post on Psalm 135 here and a subsequent post here.)

Psalm 135 is included by The Lutheran Liturgy, which we use for Sunday and festival services at Grace, among those psalms appointed for Easter (the Feast of the Resurrection of Our Lord) and The Feast of the Holy Trinity. Hymns #248 and #363 from The Lutheran Hymnal are said to refer to Psalm 135:1.

Does it seem to you that in my Biblog posts there’s an undue emphasis on Holy Baptism, Individual Absolution, and the Sacrament of the Altar? If so, you’ve picked up on what I am intending as an emphasis, but I pray that you do not consider the emphasis undue, as what I am emphasizing is what Scripture and the Lutheran Confessions emphasize, namely the very ways that we receive the forgiveness of sins from God’s grace. Today’s reading of John 5-6 provides a good example. (You can find my previous post commenting on these two chapters here, and there’s a reference to John 6:53 in my comments discussing a believer’s participation in the believing community’s worship here.) As Jesus had emphasized the “necessity” of Holy Baptism to Nicodemus in John 3:3, so Jesus in John 6:53 emphasizes the “necessity” of the Sacrament of the Altar. Jesus in John 6 clearly teaches that He is the bread of life (or “living bread”) and that He gives His flesh for the life of the world. (The image with this post is of part of the Bread of Life window at the Church of Scotland’s Kilmore Church in Dervaig on the Isle of Mull; to see a larger version of the image click it, for the largest and highest quality image see from where we got it, and for more of the window and its history see here.) We receive Jesus’s true flesh and blood in the Sacrament of the Altar, and with them forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation. Now, we do not say that Baptism and the Supper are so necessary that one who has not had the opportunity to receive them will be kept out of heaven because they are absent. Rather, the strict necessity applies to those who have had the opportunity to be Baptized or to receive the Bread of Life but have despised these means of grace and what they offer. May God forbid that such condemnation ever apply to us!

• 6:4 the second Passover in John's account
• 6:69 the “Holy One” in Old and New Testament use

You are most certainly welcome to ask a question of your own this way.

• 5:24 -- #596 (you'll have to see your hymnal for this one)
• 6:35 -- #277
• 6:37 -- #276, #330, #388
• 6:48 -- #312

May the joy of our Lord’s Resurrection fill your heart and comfort you today and always!

Ps 134 / Jn 3-4 / Biblog folo

Alleluia! He is risen!
He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

There is always the danger that people directly involved with church work are thought to somehow live more-holy lives, or at least have more-holy vocations, than those not directly involved with church work. I suppose Psalm 134 could be taken to reinforce that notion, but it need not. You may want to see my previous comments on Psalm 134 before you continue reading this post. The worshippers’ farewell to the Levites encourages them to be about their duties, but the Levites are not the only ones who praise the Lord. All those whose duties are not such churchly work still please God as they live as Christians in whatever vocation they have. The Levites’ benediction on the departing worshippers helps remind us all that the real blessing comes from God and is the forgiveness of sins granted not because of what we do in our vocations but by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.

Psalm 134 is included by The Lutheran Liturgy, which we use for Sunday and festival services at Grace, among those psalms appointed for The Presentation of Christ and the Purification of Mary and Quasimodogeniti (the First Sunday after Easter). (No hymns from The Lutheran Hymnal are said to refer to Psalm 134.)

Teachers are expected to know everything! I suppose that expectation is increased, if it were possible, for teachers with their Ph.D.s. I think I already instinctively knew and practiced it, but I remember being told at seminary that if we ever did not know the answer to say so but then also to find the answer, if one existed. In John 3-4 that we read today, Jesus in 3:10-12 somewhat chastises Nicodemus, a teacher of Israel, for not understanding something so basic as the birth from above in Holy Baptism, or for at least not accepting Jesus’s testimony about it. (You can read my previous post overviewing today’s reading here; the image with this post is of a woodcut by Julius Schnoor von Carolsfeld, and you can read more about him and the source of the image where we used his work last; to see a larger version of the image click it, but for the largest and highest quality image see from where we got it.) As a teacher, Jesus knew all things, of course, but that doesn’t mean that He taught everything to everyone. There are things that God chooses not to reveal to us, so there will be questions that even the best earthly teachers cannot answer. However, everything we need to know for our salvation has been revealed, and we pray that God would enable even the worst earthly teacher to make clear such basic things as the forgiveness of sins by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. We know from elsewhere in St. John’s account that Nicodemus ultimately accepted Jesus’s testimony and came to faith. What about us? Do we accept what faithful followers of Jesus teach?

• 3:17-18 reconciling the loving and wrathful God
• 3:18 judged now and the Day of Judgment
• 3:22-36 John the Baptizer’s imprisonment
• 3:26; 4:1-2 Jesus’s involvement in Baptisms

You are most certainly welcome to ask a question of your own this way.

• 3:16 -- #245, #297
• 4:14 -- #277
• 4:35 -- #502

Today’s Biblog folo comes in response to the image with yesterday’s post. A reader emailed the following.

That is not a comfortable picture. Devils are undoubtedly active! Do you suppose it is because this is a “do it yourself” vision that the angels are pictured far away and kind of “hands off”? I’d like to think that the “holy angel” in Luther’s Morning and Evening Prayers really is between me and trouble.

I would love to know more about the icon, such as who is in that group near the lower right corner, but I guess I agree with you that the group in the upper left appears to be angels. Scripture certainly does suggest that angels are more actively involved in our day to day lives than a group of spectators watching from the sidelines. And, if the “holy angel” in Luther’s Morning and Evening Prayers is, as at least one Lutheran author has suggested, a reference to Christ, I can assure you He’s more involved than just watching the devils assault and assail us. As for the depiction and its “do it yourself” salvation, I do know one of the web author’s comments about the icon that I read referred to the people on the ladder having the choice as to whether or not they continued on that path, and I think that’s something with which we’d agree. God will preserve us in the faith and protect us from our evil adversary’s attacks, as long as we don’t turn away from His preservation and protection.

May the joy of our Lord’s Resurrection fill your heart and comfort you today and always!

Ps 133 / Jn 1-2 / Three wrap-ups

Alleluia! He is risen!
He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

“Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!” That’s what we hear in the opening verse of Psalm 133 today. (You can find my previous post on this psalm here.) I never had a brother, but I don’t think we need to have had brothers to know that by nature “brethren” do not want to dwell together in unity. Our sinful human nature shows itself in all sorts of ways that keep us from living together in unity, whether brothers and sisters, husbands and wives, parents and children, or just friends. The first thing we want to do is receive God’s forgiveness for the sake of Jesus Christ, so that we can be at peace with Him and within ourselves. Then, we want to forgive those who have sinned against us, as God has forgiven us. Only in the forgiveness of sins can we who are sinners live with other people who are sinners. Then, forgiven by God and forgiving one another, we can both be united in the one confession of the faith and truly live together in unity in a good, pleasant, and God-pleasing way!

Psalm 133 is included by The Lutheran Liturgy, which we use for Sunday and festival services at Grace, among those psalms appointed for the Twenty-second Sunday after Trinity. (No hymns from The Lutheran Hymnal are said to refer to Psalm 133.)

I am glad that we are reading John 1-2 today and thereby beginning the Holy Gospel according to St. John. (My original post with comments introducing the book and overviewing today’s chapters is here, and there’s a passing comment on John 1:3 in a Biblog folo here.) I mentioned yesterday in church that the account is straightforward, but there admittedly are some things that are less-straightforward, although if you’ve been reading along you will certainly understand more of them. For example, In John 1:51 Jesus tells Nathanael that Nathanael will see heaven open and angels ascending and descending on the Son of Man. Remember Jacob’s dream of a ladder back in Genesis 28:10-15? Jesus is clearly identifying Himself as that ladder. Jesus is the means by which God’s blessings come into the world and through which we have access to the Father. Now, the image with this post is a popular depiction of a ladder to heaven, the Christian life as it was supposedly seen in a vision of St. John of Climacus about A.D. 600 (to see a larger version of the image click it, but for the largest and highest quality image see from where we got it). You might notice that the ladder is not in any way identified with Jesus, however. St. John of Climacus in a book described salvation, or religious perfection, as a 30-rung process that people, especially monks or nuns, can work through themselves. That understanding is all law, and it fails to consider John 1:51 and horribly overstates human ability. Thinking we can save ourselves by what we do, ultimately we will be led to despair. We can only find true peace and comfort recognizing Jesus as the ladder, the only Way to the Father. While I wish the image would identify our Lord as the ladder, one thing I especially do like about the image is the vivid depiction of the agents of the devil working to get people off their heavenly path. Lord, deliver us from evil!

• 1:1-13 Jesus the Light and the lampstand
• 1:3 Jesus as the Agent of creation
• 1:33 a possible distinction between John the Baptizer’s baptism and Christian baptism
• 1:42 the apostles’ varying names
• 2:13-25 the first Passover in St. John’s account
• 2:19 Jesus as the Temple
• 2:23 Jesus’s miracles

You are most certainly welcome to ask a question of your own this way.

• 1:1-14 -- #508
• 1:9 -- #101
• 1:14 -- #80, #95
• 1:16 -- #277
• 1:29 -- #142, #146, #147, #165, #328, #652
• 1:40 -- #270
• 2:1-11 -- #620, #624

Today I have Three wrap-ups: 2 John, 3 John, and Jude. Such summaries of recently completed books were requested in our survey at the end of Year 1 of our Daily Lectionary reading. First is the summary of 2 John.

Who was the author? The Divinely-inspired author of 2 John is the apostle and evangelist St. John, who in the book refers to himself as the “elder”, perhaps as the youngest apostle has outlived his generation.
What is the book? The book of 2 John is an apostolic epistle or “letter” written to the whole church, or any congregation, which he refers to as “the elect lady and her children”, and so is classified as a “catholic” or “universal” letter.
Where was it written? The book of 2 John was likely written from Ephesus, although St. John’s reference to “the children of your elect sister greet you” could refer to the believers in any church.
When was it written? The book of 2 John probably was written around the same time as 1 John, between A.D. 90 to 100 or 85 to 95.
Why? The epistle sternly warns against believers showing hospitality to or otherwise supporting false teachers and thereby being a part of those who pervert the Gospel.
How? The book of 2 John emphasizes many of the same themes as 1 John: the commandment of love, the reality of Jesus’s incarnation, the designation of the false teaching as the work of the antichrist, and the insistence that the Father can only be accessed through the Son.

• Kretzmann, Paul E. Popular Commentary of the Bible: The New Testament, Volume II, The Epistles of the Apostle Paul, The Epistle to the Hebrews and the Catholic Epistles, the Book of Revelation. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1922. (There are 4 pages of comments on 2 John in this commentary.)
• Lenski, R. C. H. The Interpretation of the Epistles of St. Peter, St. John and St. Jude. Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Publishing House, 1961. (There are 20 pages specifically on 2 John in this commentary.)

Next is the 3 John wrap-up.

Who was the author? The Holy Spirit inspired the book of 3 John through St. John, apostle and evangelist, who again refers to himself as “the elder”.
What is the book? The book of 3 John in at least some sense is a “catholic” or “universal” apostolic epistle. Despite the fact that it was directly addressed to a Christian named Gaius (probably not the same as the other New Testament figures with this name), the letter is indirectly addressed to a church’s leader named Diotrephes and his whole congregation.
Where was it written? Like the other two epistles of St. John and the Gospel account that bears his name, 3 John was likely written from Ephesus.
When was it written? The somewhat wide range of dates for 3 John is the same as for John’s other two epistles, A.D. 90 to 100 or 85 to 95, with some theorizing that the letter referred to in 3 John 9 is in fact 2 John.
Why? John had been warning the believers not to welcome false teachers, but, when Gaius welcomed a true teacher sent by John, Diotrephes tried to put Gaius out of their congregation. John writes to support Gaius and warn Diotrephes.
How? John’s support for Gaius and warning to Diotrephes is quite clear. If indeed 2 John and 3 John were written and delivered at the same time, John quite shrewdly exercises his apostolic authority, even promising to visit in person.

• Kretzmann, Paul E. Popular Commentary of the Bible: The New Testament, Volume II, The Epistles of the Apostle Paul, The Epistle to the Hebrews and the Catholic Epistles, the Book of Revelation. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1922. (There are 3 pages of comments on 3 John in this commentary.)
• Lenski, R. C. H. The Interpretation of the Epistles of St. Peter, St. John and St. Jude. Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Publishing House, 1961. (There are 17 pages specifically on 3 John in this commentary.)

Finally, we have the Jude wrap-up.

Who was the author? While the Holy Spirit is the ultimate author of the book of Jude, the human author identifies himself as “Jude” a “brother of James”, presumably both were “kinsmen” of our Lord, which could mean half-brothers, step-brothers, cousins, or as simple believers.
What is the book? The book is a letter to Christians troubled by false teachers; the specific recipients of the letter are not identified.
Where was it written? We do not know from where Jude was written, nor are there apparently enough clues to even make an educated guess.
When was it written? The dating of Jude depends in part on the dating of Peter and the decision as to which, if either, is depending on the other. Jude could have been written as early as A.D. 65 (or earlier) or as late as A.D. 80.
Why? Much like with 2 Peter, the letter targets false teachers, in this case specifically those who taught that Christian freedom included the freedom to sin.
How? Jude begins by assuring his hearers that they have been called by God, and he finishes by giving glory to the God who can keep them from departing that calling. In between Jude attacks the false teachers’ impious life and otherwise encourages the believers.

• Kretzmann, Paul E. Popular Commentary of the Bible: The New Testament, Volume II, The Epistles of the Apostle Paul, The Epistle to the Hebrews and the Catholic Epistles, the Book of Revelation. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1922. (There are 6 pages of comments on Jude in this commentary.)
• Lenski, R. C. H. The Interpretation of the Epistles of St. Peter, St. John and St. Jude. Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Publishing House, 1961. (There are 55 pages specifically on Jude in this commentary.)

Our webmaster is making the short summaries like this one a part of the Daily Lectionary - Biblical Index page for each book, which you can find linked here.

May the joy of our Lord’s Resurrection fill your heart and comfort you today and always!

Ps 132 / 2 Jn, 3 Jn, Jude / 1 John wrap-up

Alleluia! He is risen!
He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

How often do we want something that we are convinced would be to God’s glory but God does not let us have it, at least not when we want? I reflected on this question today in reading Psalm 132, where the psalmist recalls David’s vow to build a dwelling for the Lord. The Lord did not let David build the Temple, however; fulfilling that vow fell to David’s son Solomon. If someone like David, who despite his sins is often held up as such a great saint, had to wait, how much should we also expect in some cases to have to wait for things that we are convinced would be to God’s glory to come about? Or, maybe the things we want won’t come about at all, but God will work something better instead. We can read how none of Jesus’s disciples wanted Him to suffer and die in Jerusalem, but that was the best thing that God could have done, as it accomplished their and our salvation by grace through faith in Jesus. Our will needs to conform to His, not the other way around. To use the clichéd expression, often we need to let go and let God. (For additional comments related to Psalm 132, see my first post, my second post, and this Q&A on the “lampstand” mentioned in verse 17.)

Psalm 132 is included by The Lutheran Liturgy, which we use for Sunday and festival services at Grace, among those psalms appointed for Christmas (the Feast of the Nativity of Our Lord), Easter (the Feast of the Resurrection of Our Lord), The Visitation, the day of St. Matthew, and the Dedication of a Church. Hymn #490 from The Lutheran Hymnal is said to refer to Psalm 132:9.

There are several figures in the New Testament who have names deriving from the Hebrew name “Judah”. Those Greek names include “Judas” (as in Judas Iscariot, the other apostle named Judas, and a “kinsman” of our Lord), or “Jude” as in the author of the epistle we read today in our reading of 2 John, 3 John, and Jude. Different traditions identify the author of the epistle with one either the other apostle named Judas or the “kinsman” of our Lord or both. That the other apostle named Judas and the “kinsman” were one and the same person seems unlikely, however, since Jesus’s “brethren” did not believe in Him (John 7:5) and presumably the other apostle named Judas did (see John 14:22, although that could arguably be taken either way). That the author of the epistle is Judas the other apostle also seems unlikely, as the author of the epistle does not identify himself as an apostle and speaks of the other apostles in a way that seems to separate himself from them (Jude 17). We would say that the author of the epistle “Jude” is the “kinsman” of the Lord, someone other than the other apostle Judas, who was also named Thaddaeus and is pictured with this post (to see a larger version of the image click it, but for the largest and highest quality image see from where we got it). That other apostle, as near as I can tell, is the “forgotten” or “lost” apostle who was often forgotten because of the similarity of his name to the one who betrayed Jesus. And although, as I mentioned, some identify that other apostle and the author of the epistle, it is the author of the epistle that calls for perseverance in the face of desperate circumstances who is the “patron saint” of desperate and “lost” causes and thus the namesake of such things as Danny Thomas’s research hospital for children’s cancer. (In Peoria where I grew up we had an affiliate of St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital, and the TV station for which I first worked did an annual telethon to raise money for the affiliate; we got to hear some amazing stories of courage in the face of devastating illnesses and of God’s blessings of healing through modern medicine.) For comments on today’s readings themselves, see my previous post on these books.

• 2 Jn 10-11, 3 Jn 7-10 traveling teachers of false doctrine
• Jude short little books in the canon
• Jude 1 the author’s relationship to the Lord

You are most certainly welcome to ask a question of your own this way.

• 3 -- #472
• 20, 21 -- #264 (see your hymnal)

Today I have a 1 John wrap-up. Such a summary of a recently completed book was requested in our survey at the end of Year 1 of our Daily Lectionary reading.

Who was the author? The book of 1 John was authored by the Holy Spirit through the apostle and evangelist St. John.
What is the book? The book is an apostolic letter, or “epistle”, written to the Church in general, thus its placement in the category of “catholic”, “universal”, or “general” letters.
Where was it written? John apparently lived for an extended period of time in Ephesus, from where he is thought to have written this epistle.
When was it written? The book of 1 John is thought to have been written between A.D. 90 and 100, or perhaps between 85 and 95.
Why? John seems to write to combat an early form of Gnosticism, one of the most dangerous false teachings of the early church period. Gnosticism considered the spirit good and matter evil and thus taught falsely about human beings, salvation, Christ, and the Christian life.
How? The book of 1 John is said to exhibit a “white-hot passion for the truth”, summoning the church to penitence as it reflects on the antitheses of truth-lie, Christ-antichrist, and God-devil. In brief and pointed statements, John makes it clear where the church can and must stand enabled by God. No other similar book is said to furnish so many brief sayings that people can keep in their hearts “to live by and to die on.”

• Kretzmann, Paul E. Popular Commentary of the Bible: The New Testament, Volume II, The Epistles of the Apostle Paul, The Epistle to the Hebrews and the Catholic Epistles, the Book of Revelation. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1922. (There are 22 pages of comments on 1 John in this commentary.)
• Lenski, R. C. H. The Interpretation of the Epistles of St. Peter, St. John and St. Jude. Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Publishing House, 1961. (There are 183 pages on 1 John in this commentary.)

Our webmaster is making the short summaries like this one a part of the Daily Lectionary - Biblical Index page for each book, which you can find linked here.

There is a new Q&A posted here. May the joy of our Lord’s Resurrection fill your heart and comfort you today and always, and may you today receive through Word and Sacrament the great gift of forgiveness Jesus won for you by His death and resurrection.

Ps 131 / 1 Jn 4-5

Alleluia! He is risen!
He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

We often want to know things. We often want to know things right now that God will reveal to us later. We often want to know things right now that God does not choose to reveal to us at all. Today Psalm 131 expresses in its first verse what should be our statement in faith: “I do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me.” (You can find my previous post on this psalm here.) There’s nothing wrong with wanting to know things, and, in fact, we are expected to use our sanctified reason in applying God’s law and Gospel. At the same time, however, there are limits! Our reasoning cannot go against what God has revealed to us in Holy Scripture, and we cannot probe more deeply into some areas than what God has chosen to reveal to us. For example, why are some saved and not others? Those who are saved by the Holy Spirit’s leading believe that Jesus Christ died for the forgiveness of their sins; those who are not saved by their own rejection do not believe that Jesus Christ died for the forgiveness of their sins. Much beyond that we dare not go, as in reasoning, because some are saved by the Holy Spirit’s leading, that those who are not saved are lost by the Holy Spirit’s failing to lead them. So that we think and reason where we should, we can pray with the hymn writer, as we did at the funeral yesterday, “Take my intellect and use / Every power as Thou shalt choose” (The Lutheran Hymnal #400:4:3-4).

Psalm 131 is included by The Lutheran Liturgy, which we use for Sunday and festival services at Grace, among those psalms appointed for the Eleventh Sunday after Trinity. (No hymns from The Lutheran Hymnal are said to refer to Psalm 131.)

“They’ll know we are Christians by our love”, the song says, and I suppose it is true to a point, and it is probably based in part on today’s reading of 1 John 4-5. (You can find my previous post on the reading here.) Christians will show God’s love to them in what they think, say, and do with regard to their neighbors. However, we never do that perfectly. If God’s identifying us depended on our showing love, we would be in big trouble. God’s identifying us depends on His making us His children by the water of Holy Baptism and sustaining our faith by the blood of the Sacrament of the Altar. The water and blood are how Jesus comes to us and, along with the Holy Spirit, testify to us about Him. Since God knows all things perfectly and doesn’t need anything to tell Him about what is in our hearts I don’t think they necessarily testify to Him about us, but I think we can say that the water and the blood testify about us to the world. The water and the blood are foundational to the Church, something the image with this post depicts, showing Mary, a figure of the Church, gathering in her left hand the water and blood flowing from Christ’s pierced side (to see a larger version of the image click it, but for the largest and highest quality image see from where we got it).

• 4:2-3 Lutherans and the office of the pope as that of the antichrist
• 4:8, 16 reconciling our good, loving, and forgiving God with His destruction, vengefulness, and anger
• 5:6-8 water and blood as the Sacraments that testify
• 5:10 “record” and “testimony”
• 5:16 praying for the conversion of unbelievers

You are most certainly welcome to ask a question of your own this way.

• 4:2 -- #100
• 4:16 -- #397

May the joy of our Lord’s Resurrection fill your heart and comfort you today and always, and may you tomorrow receive through Word and Sacrament the great gift of forgiveness Jesus won for you by His death and resurrection.

Ps 130 / 1 Jn 1-3 / 2 Peter wrap-up

Alleluia! He is risen!
He is risen indeed! Al