John 15,1-8. Jubilate

John 15,1-8 2523

Jubilate 39 

Eutropius, Bishop of Saintes, France. Martyr middle of the 3^rd c.

30. April 2023

1. ℣ Make a joyful noise unto God, all ye lands:

℟ Sing forth the honor of His Name; make His praise glorious (Psalm 66,1-2). 

O Lord Jesus Christ, Thou hast redeemed Thy people; You have risen, so that bound to Your resurrection You will raise us up too on the last day.  Amen. (Psalm 111,9; Luke 24,46 Versicles)

2. »Jesus said to His disciples: „I am the True Vine, and My Father is the Vinedresser. Every branch of Mine that does not bear fruit He takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit He prunes, so that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the Vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in Me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be My disciples.“« 

 3. Jesus spoke these words to His apostles during their final Passover together. There is so much Jesus wants to teach His apostles, but there was so little time left. One of the things Jesus focuses on is His connection to them and their connection to Him: those abiding in Him, and He in them, bears much fruit. This is pure gospel!  

4. Our earthly life is fraught with distractions. Too often we try to do things on our own by our own strength and ability. Often we turn to Jesus after we have no other recourse, or after we have made a shambles of what we tried to accomplish. The apostles were no different. Peter relied on his own courage to stand beside Jesus. Judas thought he could manipulate events to get Jesus to reveal himself as a conquering Messiah. James and John thought they could edge out the others by forthrightly asking Jesus to grant them the places of honor at His side. They each failed miserably. 

5. Many people learn the same lesson over and over again throughout their lives: without Jesus, we are incapable of doing or accomplishing anything. Jesus restores and revives those who have been humbled by failure or sin. Though our sins are like scarlet, they have been washed white as snow. We make ourselves servants to people and ideologies, but Christ has made us sons and daughters. We sacrifice for many things or idols in our lives, but Christ sacrificed Himself for us. There is forgiveness and healing for our sins. Christ has shed His blood, has been crucified, and has risen from the dead to make sinners into siblings (https://youtu.be/uSv4vBcFyvo). 

6. Jesus is the Vine, and we are the branches. We are the people of the cross; we are the people of the resurrection. We have the gospel to share and the love to bring to those separated from Jesus, to those hateful of Him or to those simply hurting without the balm of peace. 

7. Jesus told His apostles on the eve of His crucifixion: »Greater love has no one in this: that someone lay down his life for his friends« (John 15,13). Jesus laid down His life for both His friends and enemies, yes, for the entire world, for those who believed in Him and those who rejected Him. Jesus showed His steadfast merciful love to all people on the cross. He is the first fruits of the resurrection. Those abiding in Him will be raised to live with Him for all eternity. 

8. God’s great, unfathomable love far surpasses all the things we think keep us separated from Him. His mercy and grace overflow upon us, particularly when we feel ourselves suffering or separated from Him. Jesus tells us these things and reminds us of His promises so that we may have peace; in the world we will have tribulation, but we take heart for He has overcome the world (John 16,33). 

9. Jesus, my Savior, does live,

This I know certainly;

Give, you redeemed, give

Praise to His Name thankfully!

Sing Hallelujah joyfully,

Freely shout: „victory“!

Sing and shout in all lands:

Christ now risen stands! (Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen elkg 456,6 2021 Erdmann Neumeister 1718)

This is most certainly true. 

10. The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4,7).  Amen. 

11. Let us pray. O God of hope, fill Thy children with all joy and peace in believing, that we and they may abound in hope in the power of the Holy Ghost. Amen. (Jubilate, Vespers Collect 2. The Daily Office. Copyright © 1965 Concordia Publishing House.) 

To God alone be the Glory 

Gode ealdore sy se cyneþrymm

✠

 

All Scriptural quotations are translations done by The Rev. Peter A. Bauernfeind using the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, 4. Edition © 1990 Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart, Septuaginta, Vol. I and II 2. Revised Edition © 2006 Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart and the Novum Testamentum Graece, Nestle-Aland 28. Revised Edition © 2012 Deutsch Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart. 

Evangelisch-Lutherisches Kirchengesangbuch. Copyright © 2021 Selbständige Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche, Hannover.

1. Peter 5,1-4. Misericordias Domini

 1. Peter 5,1-4  2423

Misericordias Domini  38 

George, Martyr 303 (Diocletian, 284-311/12; persecution 302-11)

Adalbert, Bishop of Prague, Martyr 997 

23. April 2023

1. ℣ The earth is full of the goodness of Yahweh: 

℟ By the Word of Yahweh were the heavens made (Psalm 33,5.6). 

O Lord Jesus Christ, who is known in the breaking of the Eucharistic bread; provide and protect us, so that we remain safe and sound in Your fold.  Amen. (Luke 24,35; John 10,14 Versicles). 

2. »So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.« 

3. At the end of his Gospel, the Apostle John records the story where 3 times Jesus asked the Apostle Peter: do you love Me? And 3 times Peter replied: yes. After each answer, Jesus exhorted Peter: feed My lambs, tend My sheep and feed My sheep (John 21,15-17). Jesus, the Good Shepherd, called Peter, to be His shepherd. The Apostle Peter would become the first Bishop of Rome; he held that office for about 30 years (ad 33-64/68); the Bishop of Rome is also connected to Paul. All of the apostles were shepherds: the Bishop of Ephesus traces back to the Apostle John, the Bishop of Jerusalem, traces back to the Apostle Peter and James, the brother of Jesus. 

4. The apostles continued the ministry of Jesus. One of their primary tasks was preaching the resurrected Christ. Peter begins his epistle with these words: »Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to His great mercy, He has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time« (1. Peter 1,3-5). The resurrection is the cornerstone of apostolic preaching. The bishops ordained by the apostles preached the Resurrection, and the pastors the bishops ordained likewise preached the resurrection. 

5. Preaching about the risen Christ quickly garnered opposition. »And as Peter and John were speaking to the people, the priests, the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them, greatly annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. Annas the high priest and Caiaphas, John, Alexander and all who were of the high-priestly family called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus« (Acts 4,1-2.6.18). 

6. It should come as no surprise that opposition to Christ’s resurrection is quickly pursued, because as Paul wrote: »If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain in your faith is in vain and you are still in your sins« (1. Corinthians 15,14.17).  

7. Jesus taught His apostles and disciples that He would suffer, die and rise. The apostles preach this message. Pastors 2000 years later preach this message. It is the foundation of the gospel and our faith. Tending and feeding Christ’s people involves preaching and teaching Christ’s resurrection. 

8. In his second epistle, Peter warns that false prophets and false teachers will arise to bring destructive heresies (2. Peter 2,1). In the first century ad, the Docetist heresy arose; the Docetists denied the reality of Jesus’ physical body and thought that He only appeared to be human. They obviously denied the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. Another first century ad heresy was Gnosticism; the Gnostics believed that matter and the body were evil, and they denied Jesus’ resurrection because the physical body was corrupt. The end of the Apostolic Era dealt with both heresies, arguing from Scripture that Jesus’ resurrection is a core doctrine of the faith.

9. „The flesh is not by nature mortal, neither was it originally created so, but it became mortal through the transgression of Adam … and in this flesh Jesus was crucified and died, thus effecting our salvation by His own body. But He rose again from the dead, not as if He had cast aside His body beforehand like a garment, but because He had raised it up again after it had been placed aside in the tomb, leaving behind it the corruption of death“ (Irenaeus Against Heresies 5,1). „The Lord Himself declared: destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. What temple, then, did He mean, if not His own body? … And He says to His disciples: touch Me, and see; for a spirit does not have flesh and bones, as you see that I have. … By these words He showed that it was the same body which had been placed in the tomb“ (Against Heresies 5,7). 

10. Peter quotes Psalm 2 in regards to Jesus’ resurrection: »The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging Him on a tree. God exalted Him at His right hand as Prince and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins« (Psalm 2,7; Acts 5,30-31). Paul refers to Hosea 6: »Draw near, and let us return to Yahweh; … He has struck us down, and He has bound us up. … On the third day He will raise us up, that we may live before Him« (Hosea 6,1.2) when he tells the Corinthians: »Christ was raised on the third day, according to the Scriptures« (1. Corinthians 15,4). 

11. We live in a culture that speaks of religion and the spiritual, but does not comprehend spiritual truths. John tells us: »Everyone who denies the Son does not have the Father; the one who confesses the Son has the Father also (1. John 1,23). To confess the Son is to confess His resurrection. To confess His resurrection is to confess that He has forgiven our sin, and promised us eternal life. Thus we preach Christ risen from the dead. 

12. Lord, to believe, so help us,

And keep us steadfast in it, 

Of hope, let nothing rob us,

Let love be heartfelt.

And will dawn the day

When You the world will see

That we stand on You, the Way

And at Your right hand be (Es kennt der Herr die Seinen elkg 282,6 2021 Philipp Spitta 1843). 

This is most certainly true. 

13. The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4,7).  Amen. 

14. Let us pray. O Lord our God, grant us grace to desire Thee with our whole heart, that so desiring, we may seek and find Thee, and so finding Thee we may love Thee and loving Thee we may hate those sins from which Thou hast redeemed us.  Amen. (Misericordias Domini, Vespers Collect 2. The Daily Office.)

To God alone be the Glory 

Gode ealdore sy se cyneþrymm

✠

 

All Scriptural quotations are translations done by The Rev. Peter A. Bauernfeind using the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, 4. Edition © 1990 Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart, Septuaginta, Vol. I and II 2. Revised Edition © 2006 Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart and the Novum Testamentum Graece, Nestle-Aland 28. Revised Edition © 2012 Deutsch Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart. 

Evangelisch-Lutherisches Kirchengesangbuch. Copyright © 2021 Selbständige Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche, Hannover. 

The Daily Office. Copyright © 1965 Concordia Publishing House. 

Genesis 32,23-42. Quasimodogeniti

Genesis 32,23-32 2323

Quasimodogeniti 37 Low Sunday

Aaron, high priest, brother of Moses 

16. April 2023

1. ℣ As newborn babes:

℟ Desire the sincere work of the Word (1. Peter 2,2). 

O Risen Jesus, who greeted Your disciples in Galilee; give us Your peace, so that believing in Your resurrection we look forward to ours when Your reign of heaven with its eternal peace is fully manifested on the last day.  Amen. (Matthew 28,7; John 20,26 Versicles)

2. »The same night Jacob arose and took his 2 wives, his 2 female servants and his 11 children, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. He took them and sent them across the stream, and everything else that he had. And Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day. When the man saw that He did not prevail against Jacob, He touched his hip socket, and Jacob’s hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with Him. Then He said: „Let Me go, for the day has broken.“ But Jacob said: „I will not let You go unless You bless me.“ And He asked him: „What is your name?“ And he replied: „Jacob.“ Then He said: „Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed.“ Then Jacob asked him: „Please tell me Your name.“ But he said: „Why is it that you ask My name?“ And there He blessed him. So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel [face of God; I have seen God], saying: „For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life has been delivered.“ The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel [face of God; I have seen God], limping because of his hip. Therefore to this day the people of Israel do not eat the sinew of the thigh that is on the hip socket, because He touched the socket of Jacob’s hip on the sinew of the thigh.« 

 3. Jacob’s life was one of struggle. He struggled with his brother Esau. He struggled with His father. He struggled with his Uncle Laban. And he struggled with God. Jacob’s life was also one of deceit. If Jacob could deceive, trick or steal it, he would do so to obtain the blessing God had promised him. Moses tells us that Jacob tricked his brother into selling the birthright. Jacob later deceived his father Isaac into blessing him. Jacob stole the blessing God had promised him.

4. At 40 years of age, Jacob had to flee the fierce anger of his twin brother Esau who wanted to kill him. Jacob ran so far away that he went to Haran that is the land of his mother Rebekah’s family and her brother, Laban. Jacob stays with his Uncle Laban for 20 years. During that sojourn God showers Jacob with every blessing and makes him a wealthy man: he has 2 wives, 11 children and flocks of goats and lambs that span the horizon by Chapter 32. 

5. At 60 years of age Jacob is returning to the land of his grandfather Abraham, his father Isaac and his brother Esau. Jacob had struggled with his brother, and won. Jacob had struggled with his uncle, and won. Now Jacob will finally struggle with God, and win! All night long Jacob and God wrestle; it is almost certainly Jesus whom Jacob wrestled. At daybreak Jesus dislocates Jacob’s hip. It’s over; God has surely won. But Jacob won’t let go!He is exhausted. He is in pain. But Jacob is tenacious and will not stop wrestling with God. What will it take for Jacob to finally submit? Jacob says: „I won’t let You go until You bless me.“ What more does this man want? God has been blessing him his entire life! But Jacob fears Esau. What good are his blessings if he is dead? So he wants another blessing; he wants Divine protection from Esau. Jesus tells Jacob: „Your name will no longer be Jacob but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men.“

6. 1500 years later another Jewish man wrestled with Jesus: Thomas was a disciple, an apostle and a friend of Jesus for 3 miraculous years. He had witnessed Jesus betrayed, arrested, condemned to death, crucified and buried. People at the cross were saying that Jesus had cried out right before He died that God had forsaken Him! Then Thomas heard from the women and the apostles that the tomb is now empty and that they had seen Jesus with their own eyes and verified with their own hands that this was a bodily resurrection with a whole and healthy body. 

7. Thomas wrestled mentally and spiritually with what he was being told. He did not believe, could not believe, until he himself declared: »Unless I see in His hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into His side, I will never believe« (John 20,25). Thomas was asking Jesus for a blessing that would confirm His resurrection. 

8. Jesus is gracious with His blessings. Ask, and you shall receive, Thomas: »Put your finger here, and see My hands; and put out your hand, and place it in My side. Do not disbelieve, but believe« (John 20,27). Thomas then answered Jesus: »My Lord and my God!« Thomas gives a confession of faith that is simple yet profound; it is a confession that is born from Jesus’ blessing.

9. We have struggles in our life; we wrestle to understand the Bible and God. And Jesus gives us a twofold blessing. First, »Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed« (John 20,29). This is directed to us nearly 2000 years removed from Jesus’ resurrection. „This is what it means to have faith: to believe that you have been received into grace for Christ’s sake. This faith comforts you and brings peace to your conscience. It gives you joy and makes you a child of God“ (AE 26,123). „Faith is a living, daring confidence in God’s grace, so sure and certain that we could stake our life on it a thousand times“ (AE 1,155). 

10. Second, Jesus blesses us with His real presence in the Lord’s Supper. The Apostle Paul told the Corinthians: »For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when He was betrayed took bread, and when He had given thanks, He broke it, and said: This is My body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of Me. In the same way also He took the cup, after supper, saying: This cup is the new covenant in My blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me. For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He returns« (1. Corinthians 11,23-26). 

11. Luther often made the connection between the Lord’s Supper and Christ’s resurrection. The sacrament of the altar shows Christ’s resurrection, and therefore it is called the „Easter Sacrament“ (AE 37,347). The Lord’s Supper is a visible sermon of the resurrection of Christ (AE 22,308). The Lord’s Supper is a testimony and a sign of the resurrection of Christ, by which we are assured that He has conquered death and sin, and that we too will be raised from the dead to live with Him forever (AE 35,143). 

12. The Lord’s Supper was instituted to connect us to Christ and to strengthen our faith in Him. Like Thomas we reply: My Lord and my God!! 

13. Death, sin, life and grace,

All in His hands is traced;

He can save all, 

Who near to Him draw.

Kyrie eleison. (Jesus Christus, unser Heiland elkg 438,3 2021 Martin Luther 1524)

This is most certainly true. 

14. The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4,7).  Amen. 

15. Let us pray. O Lord our God, grant us grace to desire Thee with our whole heart, that so desiring, we may seek and find Thee, and so finding Thee we may love Thee and loving Thee we may hate those sins from which Thou hast redeemed us; for the sake of Jesus Christ. Amen. (Quasimodogeniti, Vespers Collect 2. The Daily Office. Copyright © 1965 Concordia Publishing House.) 

To God alone be the Glory 

Gode ealdore sy se cyneþrymm

✠

 

All Scriptural quotations are translations done by The Rev. Peter A. Bauernfeind using the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, 4. Edition © 1990 Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart, Septuaginta, Vol. I and II 2. Revised Edition © 2006 Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart and the Novum Testamentum Graece, Nestle-Aland 28. Revised Edition © 2012 Deutsch Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart. 

Evangelisch-Lutherisches Kirchengesangbuch. Copyright © 2021 Selbständige Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche, Hannover.   

1. Corinthians 15,1-11. Easter

1. Corinthians 15,1-11  2223

Ostersonntag  35 ad ecclesiae et mundo (to Church and world)

Mary Clopas, sister of the Mother of God, John 19,25

Dietrich Bonhöffer, Pastor and Confessor, 1945 

Coptic Martyrs (44+) in Alexandria and Tanta, Egypt by ISIS on Palm Sunday, ✠ 2017 

9. April 2023

1. ℣ When I awake, I am still with Thee. Hallelujah!: 

℟ Thou hast laid Thine hand upon me. Hallelujah! (Psalm 139,18b.5b). 

O Christ Jesus, this is the day of Your resurrection; we rejoice and are glad in it, for we give thanks to You, for You are good; for Your merciful steadfast love endures forever.  Amen. (Psalm 118,24.1 Gradual). 

2. »Now I would remind you, brothers and sisters, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you – unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received.« 

3. The Apostle Paul summarizes the gospel with 3 points: 

I. Christ crucified for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures,

II. He was buried and

III. He was raised on the 3. day in accordance with the Scriptures.   

Paul grounds this gospel with firsthand eyewitness testimony. He lists the people who saw and spoke to the resurrected Christ: Peter (Cephas), James and Paul, all the apostles and 500 disciples. Most of these people were still living when Paul wrote his epistle in ad 55; if the Corinthians had any questions they can ask any of these people and hear their testimony of the resurrection. 2000 years later we can’t ask these people for they have gone on to be with Jesus, but we have the written testimony of the apostles in the Gospels and the New Testament that have preserved in writing their testimony to the resurrection. 

4. Paul also grounds the crucifixion and the resurrection of Christ with the Scriptures; he says the Torah and the Prophets speak of Jesus’ death and resurrection before they occurred. Paul does not give specific Scriptural references in his epistle, but we can deduce which Scriptures he most likely had in mind. Three particular Old Testament passages speak of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ. »For You will not abandon My soul in Hades nor let Your Holy One see destruction/corruption« (Psalm 15,10 lxx; 16,10). »But He was pierced for our transgressions; He was crushed for our iniquities; upon Him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with His wounds we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and Yahweh has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. And they made His grave with the wicked and with a rich man in His death, although He had done no violence, and there was no deceit in His mouth. Yet it was the will of Yahweh to crush Him; He has put Him to grief; when His soul makes an offering for guilt, He shall see His offspring; He shall prolong His days; the will of Yahweh shall prosper in His hand. Out of the anguish of His soul He shall see and be satisfied; by His knowledge shall the Righteous One, My Servant, make all to be accounted righteous, and He shall bear their iniquities. Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the many, and He shall divide the spoil with the strong, because He poured out His soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet He bore the sin of all, and makes intercession for the transgressors« (Isaiah 53,5-6.9-12). »After 2 days He will restore us to health; on the 3. day He will raise us up, that we may live before Him« (Hosea 6,2 lxx). 

5. About 100 years after Paul, Tertullian (155-220) wrote a treatise called On the Resurrection of the Flesh. Three of his many points are: 

I. the resurrection of the dead is a central doctrine of the faith, and it is based on Christ’s bodily resurrection;

II. the resurrection of the dead is a source of hope and comfort for Christians; and

III. the resurrection is necessary for justice to be done. 

Tertullian writes: For it is unjust that the good should suffer and the wicked prosper (Chapter 23). Therefore, Tertullian argues that Christ’s resurrection had to happen. The cross unjustly punished and killed an innocent and righteous Jesus. Pilate himself had affirmed Jesus’ innocence. In order for Good Friday to be vindicated, Easter Sunday had to occur. The righteous Jesus had to rise from His tomb to prove His innocence. This is why Good Friday and Easter Sunday are always spoken as a couplet: you can’t have one without the other. Jesus took upon Himself our guilty verdict, shed His blood to redeem us and died in our place. He purchased the forgiveness of sin on Good Friday. Jesus overcame death by descending into hell, returning from it and rising up from His grave. The Apostle Peter preaches this on Pentecost: »Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works, wonders and signs that God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves know—this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. God raised Him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for Him to be held by it. Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified« (Acts 2,22-24.36). 

6. About 50 years after Tertullian’s treatise, Cyprian of Carthage (210-58) wrote a lengthy essay on 1. Corinthians 15 titled Treatise 36 On the Resurrection of the Flesh; 3 of his main points are: 

I. the resurrection of Christ is the foundation of our faith and hope; 

II. the resurrection of Christ is the victory over death; and 

III. the resurrection of Christ is the promise of our own resurrection. 

Good Friday and Easter Sunday are what sets Christianity apart from every other religion. Christ’s death and resurrection is the gospel that is preached and what we believe. Tertullian and Cyprian were expounding upon what Paul wrote in 1. Corinthians: »But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a Man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, then at His advent those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule, every authority and power. For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death« (1. Corinthians 15,20-26). 

7. On Good Friday we bow our head before the crucified Jesus in sorrow and shame for our sin; on Easter Sunday we kneel before the risen Jesus in adoration and thanksgiving for the salvation He brings. The Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles tell us the following: 

I. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary took hold of Jesus’ feet and worshipped Him (Matthew 28,9)

II. Mary Magdalen, Joanna and Mary the mother of James told the apostles that Jesus’ tomb was empty and that He had risen from the dead (Luke 24,10)

III. Mary Magdalen announced to the disciples that she had seen the Lord (John 20,18)

IV. Thomas exclaimed: My Lord and my God! (John 20,28)

V. Paul saw the risen Jesus whose appearance was brighter than the sun (Acts 26,13). 

8. Our faith is trustworthy and true. Jesus’ tomb is empty, and He is risen. Our sins are forgiven. Jesus’ crucifixion is vindicated by His resurrection. Jesus had told Martha that He is the Resurrection and the Life; whoever believes in Him shall live, yes, live eternally with Him (John 11,25). On Friday, Death had seized our Lord Jesus Christ, but on Sunday it could not keep its hold on His Life; today Death has lost its dominion and has suffered a kind of death itself; on Friday creation mourned and the sun darkened, but on Sunday the people who walked in darkness have seen a great light [Isaiah 9,2; Matthew 4,16] (Amphilochius of Iconium Homily 5: For Holy Saturday). Rejoice, for Christ is risen, and He brings with Him the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 4,17)! 

9. Christ brings me to the portal, 

Which to heaven leads,

At which with words immortal

The rhyme thus reads:

»Who there My praise has shared,

Will have a crown prepared;

Who there with Me dies, 

Will here also arise.« (Auf, auf, mein Herz, mit Freuden elkg 453,9 2021 Paul Gerhardt 1653). 

This is most certainly true. 

10. The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4,7).  Amen. 

11. Let us pray. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, according to His abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not away, to joy and rejoicing unspeakable and full of glory in Him.  Amen. (Easter, Vespers Collect 5. The Daily Office.)

To God alone be the Glory 

Gode ealdore sy se cyneþrymm

✠

 

All Scriptural quotations are translations done by The Rev. Peter A. Bauernfeind using the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, 4. Edition © 1990 Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart, Septuaginta, Vol. I and II 2. Revised Edition © 2006 Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart and the Novum Testamentum Graece, Nestle-Aland 28. Revised Edition © 2012 Deutsch Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart. 

Evangelisch-Lutherisches Kirchengesangbuch. Copyright © 2021 Selbständige Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche, Hannover. 

The Daily Office. Copyright © 1965 Concordia Publishing House. 

Matthew 21,1-9. Palmarum

Matthew 21,1-9 2123

Palmarum 30 

Theodosia, Virgin on Tyre, Martyr at Caesarea Palestine, † 308 (Diocletian, 284-311/12; persecution 302-11)

John Paul II, Bishop of Rome (1978-2005) (Karol Wojtyła, Polish), † 2005 

2. April 2023

1. ℣ Be not far from me, O Yahweh:

℟ O my Strength, haste Thee to help me (Psalm 22,19). 

O Lord Jesus Christ, Thou our Guide and Counselor; inspire us to receive Thee in glory, so that we are strengthened in our knowledge that you are pure in heart an good to Thy Church.  Amen. (Psalm 72,23b-24,1 Gradual)

2. »Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and arrived at Beth-phage, at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them: „Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to Me. If anyone says anything to you, you shall say: ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.“ This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying: »Say to the daughter of Zion: Behold, your king is drawing near to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden. [Zechariah 9,9] The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and He sat on the cloaks. Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. And the crowds that went before Him and that followed Him were shouting: „Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who arrives in the Name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!“« 

 3. Palmarum begins Holy Week, and this week starts with Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem and ends with Him buried outside of Jerusalem. The entire Church Year involves a processional to this week or a recessional from it. 

4. Matthew 21 tells us 3 things about Jesus: He is  

A. a humble King (Zechariah 9,9),

B. the Son of David and

C. the prophet. 

5. Matthew points us to the Prophet Zechariah and his words that Jesus fulfilled with His Palmarum entrance into Jerusalem. In Jewish tradition, riding a donkey rather than a horse was associated with humility and peace rather than power and war. Donkeys were beasts of burdens and were considered a mode of humble transportation. This image is connected to 2 of Israel’s kings: Saul and Solomon. Saul was looking for some of his father’s missing donkeys when he met the Prophet Samuel who anointed him to be the first Jewish king (1. Samuel 9). Before David died, Solomon was put on David’s mule, was anointed king by Zadok the priest and the people shouted: Long live King Solomon! (1. Kings 1). Zechariah’s prophecy associates the riding on a donkey to the Messiah. Thus, Jesus is acclaimed by the crowds to be their King and Messiah. 

6. The title Son of David signifies one who was a descendant of David and the proper heir to his throne. Since a descendant of David was prophesied to be the Messiah, the title Son of David became a Messianic title. Several people in the Gospels call Jesus Son of David, thereby proclaiming Him to be the Messiah (12 times: Matthew 1,1; 9,7; 12,23; 15,22; 20,30-31; 21,9.15; 22,15.41-46; Mk 10,47-48; Lk 3,31; 18,38-39; John 7,42). 

7. There were in Jesus’ day at least 4 interpretations of what type of Messiah God would send: 

A. Political savior who would free Judea from Rome and rule as a king like David.

B. Spiritual redeemer who would bring salvation, redemption and usher in an era of peace, justice and moral renewal. 

C. Heavenly figure and Divine messenger sent to save humanity. 

D. Apocalyptic figure who would usher in the last day with the final judgment and usher in a new age of righteousness. 

8. The Palmarum crowd seemed to hold in tension the view that Jesus as their Messiah was both a political savior (Son of David) and spiritual redeemer (prophet). Jesus’ own disciples and apostles seemed to also hold these 2 opinions in tension. A 3. century theologian, Origen, proposed the idea that Judas Iscariot’s motivation behind his betrayal of Jesus was his intention to put Jesus in a position to reveal Himself as a political savior who had arrived to overthrow Roman occupation of Judea and reestablish the Davidic kingdom. 

9. What was Jesus’ opinion of His Messiahship? Throughout the Gospels He speaks about aspects of all 4 of the prevalent Messianic hopes of His day. This is why He preferred the title Son of Man because as a Messianic title it had no assumptions and Jesus could use the title and teach the crowds and and His disciples what the Biblical Messiah was truly sent to do. So when the people now heard Son of Man they thought of all the Messianic teachings Jesus had attached to it.

10. The primary teaching Jesus connected to the title Son of Man is that the Messiah is a Suffering Servant. Matthew points to 3 specific instances when Jesus did this, and He probably repeated this teaching often. »From that time Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders, chief priests and scribes, be killed and on the third day be raised« (Matthew 16,21). »As they were gathering in Galilee, Jesus said to them: „The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him, and he will be raised on the third day.“ And they were greatly distressed« (Matthew 17,22-23). »When Jesus had finished all these sayings, He said to His disciples: „You know that after two days the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified“« (Matthew 26,1-2). 

11. Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem on Palmarum set in motion the final stage of His ministry as the Suffering Servant. His triumphant entry is a prophetic sign that Christ will conquer not by force but by His own death and resurrection (Luther Commentary on Matthew 1522). Christ’s victory was not over Rome or His Jerusalem adversaries, but over sin, death and the Devil. He died to redeem all of us, including Pilate and the Pharisees. 

12. Jesus is not merely a Prophet but the Messiah. He is not only the Son of David but the Son of Adam who is the world’s Messiah. »It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of Yahweh shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and it shall be lifted up above the hills; and peoples shall flow to it, and many nations shall come, and say: „Come, let us go up to the mountain of Yahweh, to the house of the God of Jacob, that He may teach us His ways and that we may walk in His paths.“ For out of Zion shall go forth the torah, and the word of Yahweh from Jerusalem. Who is a God like You, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of His inheritance? He does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in merciful steadfast love. He will again have compassion on us; He will tread our iniquities underfoot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea« (Micah 4,1-2; 7,18-19). 

13. On Palmarum we recall and rejoice in the words of the Prophet Isaiah: »Behold, Yahweh has proclaimed to the end of the earth: Say to the daughter of Zion: „Behold, your Salvation arrives; behold, His reward is with Him, and His recompense before Him“« (Isaiah 62,11). This Savior is Jesus Christ our Lord. Hosanna! 

13. Let Your wounds 

Heal our transgressions,

Let us find consolation 

Upon Your deathly impressions. 

O Jesus, let not 

Your cross, anguish and pain

Your suffering, death and agony 

Be in vain (Du großer Schmerzensmann elkg 415,7 2021 Adam Thebesius 1638)

This is most certainly true. 

14. The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4,7).  Amen. 

15. Let us pray. O Lord Jesus Christ, who didst humble Thyself to become man and to be born into the world for our salvation, teach us the grace of humility, root out of our hearts all pride and haughtiness, and so fashion us after Thy holy likeness in this world that in the world to come we may be made like unto Thee.  Amen. (Palmarum, Vespers Collect 2. The Daily Office. Copyright © 1965 Concordia Publishing House.) 

To God alone be the Glory 

Gode ealdore sy se cyneþrymm

✠

 

All Scriptural quotations are translations done by The Rev. Peter A. Bauernfeind using the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, 4. Edition © 1990 Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart, Septuaginta, Vol. I and II 2. Revised Edition © 2006 Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart and the Novum Testamentum Graece, Nestle-Aland 28. Revised Edition © 2012 Deutsch Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart. 

Evangelisch-Lutherisches Kirchengesangbuch. Copyright © 2021 Selbständige Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche, Hannover.