IV – Infants Can Believe

The most frequent objection to infant baptism is that babies cannot believe. They do not, says the objection, have the intellect necessary to repent and believe in Jesus.

If this is your opinion, Jesus disagrees with you. Luke 18 tells us that certain parents were bringing infants (Greek – brephe) to Jesus, that He might bless them. The disciples rebuked those who brought the babies. Jesus’ response is well known: “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God. Assuredly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it” (Luke 18:15-17). Some have objected that it is “little children” and not infants that Jesus speaks of here. Yet the very little children that the disciples were forbidding were infants. The infants are the focus of the passage. Clearly on this occasion Jesus had babies in mind when He said what He did!

Does this passage speak of infant baptism? No, not directly. It does show that Jesus did not raise the objection that so many do today about babies not being able to believe. According to Jesus, these babies had what it took to be members of the kingdom of God, feeble intellect and all! “Do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God.”

Now Jesus does not contradict Himself. The central message of His ministry (the Gospel) was that there was only way to enter God’s kingdom. There was only one way to be saved. “He who believes and is baptized shall be saved” (Mark 16:16). Repeatedly Christ taught that faith in Him was the one way to become a member of God’s kingdom (cf. John 3:16-18). Therefore, when He says about babies, “for of such is the kingdom of God,” He is telling us that babies can believe (for how else could they enter the kingdom?!).

So if Jesus maintained that babies can believe (though their faith is very simple), who are we to deny it? And who are we to deny baptism to those who can believe? For those still stumbling over infant faith, remember: it is purely by God’s grace that any person, adult or child, can believe. Faith is a gift of the Holy Spirit as much for the adult as for the child (see John 6:44; 1 Cor. 12:3; Eph. 2:1-4). When the adult believes in Christ it is only because the Holy Spirit, working through the Gospel, has worked the miracle of faith in his heart. So with the infant. If faith, then, is always a miracle, why can we not believe that God would work such miraculous faith in a baby?

Someone might ask, “If babies can believe then why do they need baptism?” Answer: it is through baptism that faith is created in the infant’s heart. Baptism, far from being the empty symbolism that many imagine it to be, is the visible Gospel, a powerful means of grace. According to Scripture, baptism “washes away sin” (Acts 22:16), “saves” (1 Peter 3:21; Mark 16:16), causes one to “die to sin, to be buried, and raised up with Christ” (Romans 6:3-4) causes one to be “clothed with Christ” (Galatians 3:27), and to be a member of the body of Christ: “for by one Spirit, were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit” (1 Cor. 12:13). It bears repeating: baptism is a special means of God’s grace by which He gives faith, forgiveness, and salvation to the infant.

V – The Practice of the Early Church

Those who deny infant baptism have a problem. They must explain why the fathers of the Church’s first centuries speak of infant baptism as a universal custom. The Fathers is what we now call Pastors who led the Church after the death of the apostles. When we examine the writings of Irenaeus (d. 202), Tertullian (d. 240), Origen (d. 254), Cyprian (d. 258), and Augustine (d. 430), we see that they all spoke of infant baptism as accepted custom (though Tertullian disagreed with it).

Irenaeus remarks, “For He came to save all through means of Himself all, I say, who through Him are born again to God, infants, and children, and boys, and youths, and old men” (Against Heresies, Book 1, Ch. 22.4).

In his commentary on Romans, Origin writes, “The Church has received from the apostles the custom of administering baptism even to infants. For those who have been entrusted with the secrets of divine mysteries, knew very well that all are tainted with the stain of original sin, which must be washed off by water and spirit” (Romans Commentary, 5.9).

Cyprian writes, “In respect of the case of infants, which you say ought not to be baptized within the second or third day after birth, and that the law of ancient circumcision should be regarded, so that you think that one who is just born should not be baptized and sanctified within the eighth day, we all thought very differently in our council. For in this course which you thought was to be taken, no one agreed; but we all rather judge that the mercy and grace of God is not to be refused to any one born of man… Spiritual circumcision ought not to be hindered by carnal circumcision… we ought to shrink from hindering an infant, who, being lately born, has not sinned, except in that, being born after the flesh according to Adam, he has contracted the contagion of the ancient death at its earliest birth, who approaches the more easily on this very account to the reception of the forgiveness of sins – that to him are remitted, not his own sins, but the sins of another” (Letter 58 to Fidus).

And in his Enchiridion, Augustine declares, “For from the infant newly born to the old man bent with age, as there is none shut out from baptism, so there is none who in baptism does not die to sin” (Enchiridion; ch. 43).

Conclusion

For completeness sake, I have listed five reasons why Christians should baptize infants. The first reason should have been enough. Jesus has commanded His Church to “make disciples of all nations baptizing them . . ..” Christ made no exceptions. Infants are part of all nations, as are every other age group. We do not have to prove this. The burden of proof is on those who deny that infants are to be included in “all nations.” To deny the blessing of infant baptism because you can’t find the words “infant baptism” in the Bible makes as much sense as rejecting the teaching of the Trinity because you can’t find the words “Trinity” or “triune” in the Bible.

As to babies not being of the age of reason and therefore not able to believe, I have shown that Christ disagrees. So in a sense, the teaching of infant baptism reveals who your Lord is. Lord Jesus Christ has commanded us to baptize all nations, has declared that everyone who dies without faith is damned, and has taught us that infants can believe by God’s grace working through baptism. Lord Reason says, “I don’t understand how a baby can believe, therefore I reject infant baptism. It makes more sense to me to do it my way.” Which Lord will you obey? Will you obey Christ and baptize “all nations,” including infants, even though you don’t understand it? Or will you obey Reason and reject infant baptism because you don’t understand how babies can believe? Which Lord will you obey?

See also:

1. Why We Baptize Babies (The Case for Infant Baptism), pt. 1
2. Infant Baptism
3. The Early Church on Infant Baptism
4. Luther’s Sermon On Infant Baptism

Should we baptize babies? The Christian Church continues to be sharply divided over this important question. Those who answer “yes” (Lutherans, Catholics, Episcopalians, Methodists, etc.) claim Biblical support for their position. Those who answer “no” (Baptists, Seventh Day Adventists, many “Bible” or “evangelical,” or “non-denominational” churches) say the Bible is on their side. The pro-infant baptism churches assert that Christ commanded infant baptism. The opposing side asserts that nowhere is such a thing commanded. They hold that at best it is useless and at worst harmful. It is their practice to rebaptize adults who were baptized as babies.

The Lutheran Church has always taught that baptism is for everyone, including infants. We believe that Jesus wants babies to be baptized. We do so for the following reasons.

I – Christ Has Commanded Us

Many raise the objection: “There is not a single example of infant baptism in the New Testament, nor is there any command to do so. Therefore Christians should not baptize babies.”

But Jesus has commanded infant baptism. In Matthew 28:19 He says, “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit . . ..” Before He ascended, the Lord of the Church commanded us to baptize “all nations,” a phrase the Church has always understood to mean “everyone.” Matthew 25:31-32 also uses the phrase “all nations” in this way. All nations are to be baptized, regardless of race, color, sex, age, class, or education. Jesus makes no exceptions. He doesn’t say, “Baptize all nations except . . ..” Everyone is to be baptized, including infants. If we say that babies are not to be included in Christ’s Great Commission, then where will it stop? What other people will we exclude?

It is true that there is no example in Scripture of a baby being baptized. However, to conclude from this that babies are not to be baptized is absurd. Neither are there any specific examples of the elderly being baptized, or teenagers, or little children. Instead we read about men (Acts 2:41; 8:35) women (Acts 16:14-15), and entire households being baptized (Acts 10:24,47-48; 16:14-15; 16:30-33; 1 Co. 1:16). The authors of the New Testament documents didn’t feel compelled to give examples of every age group or category being baptized. Why should they have? Certainly they understood that “all nations” is all-inclusive.

II – Babies Need Forgiveness

The Bible teaches that infants are born sinful and are in need of forgiveness. Scripture says nothing about an “Age of Accountability” that begins at the age of reason. Its message is that accountability begins at conception. David confesses in Psalm 51:5, “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me.” The Bible teaches original sin, that the corruption and guilt of Adam’s sin is passed on to every human being at conception. Jesus affirms this teaching when He says, “Flesh gives birth to flesh” (John 3:5). Paul takes it up in Romans 5:18: “So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men.”

Furthermore, Jesus said, “He who believes and is baptized shall be saved; he who believes not shall be damned” (Mark 16:16). According to Jesus, ANYONE who does not believe in Him will be damned. Jesus makes no exception for infants. Babies will not be saved without faith in Jesus. Parents who think they are placing their children under God’s grace by “dedicating” them are deceiving themselves. The only dedication that the New Testament knows of is the “dedication” that take place via baptism. That is why infants should be baptized. Like everyone else, they desperately need forgiveness. If infants die before they believe in Jesus, they will be eternally condemned. They, like everyone else, need to be baptized so that they can be born again. Jesus said, “unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God” (John 3:5). We believe that baptism is God’s special means of grace for children by which He causes them to be born again. To keep them from baptism is to keep them from forgiveness and to endanger them with damnation.

III – Baptism Replaces Circumcision

God’s covenant with Abraham (Genesis 17:10-14) demanded that every male child was to be circumcised when eight days old. By circumcision, the baby entered into a covenant relationship with the true God.

St. Paul teaches us that in the New Testament baptism has replaced circumcision. “In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, buried with Him in baptism . . .” (Col. 2:11-12).

Given this fact, it would have been natural for first century Jewish believers to baptize infants, since they were accustomed to circumcise their male children at eight days old. It is also logical that if God regarded eight day old male babies as members of His covenant people through circumcision, He will also regard newborn babies to be members of His kingdom through baptism, the “circumcision made without hands.”

See also:

1. Infant Baptism
2. The Early Church on Infant Baptism
3. Luther’s Sermon On Infant Baptism
4. Baptism Is Putting On Christ

The Lutherans of the sixteenth century consistently maintained that their cultus and confession were truly catholic: “…nothing has been received among us, in doctrine or in ceremonies, that is contrary to Scripture or to the church catholic”;1 “…No novelty has been introduced which did not exist in the church from ancient times…”;2 “…our churches dissent from the church catholic in no article of faith but only omit some few abuses which are new and have been adopted by the fault of the times…”3 According to the Lutherans it was Rome, and not Wittenberg, that had departed from the authentic catholic faith of the apostles and Fathers of the Church.

One of the most significant assertions of the Lutheran reformers was that sinners are justified before God by grace through faith alone, and not by human works or merits of any kind. In regard to the Lutheran doctrine of justification, the Apology of the Augsburg Confession makes the following statement:

We know that what we have said agrees with the prophetic and apostolic Scriptures, with the holy Fathers Ambrose, Augustine, and many others, and with the whole church of Christ, which certainly confesses that Christ is the propitiator and the justifier.4

Was this claim valid? Was the Lutheran doctrine of justification truly catholic, or was it (as the Pope and his followers claimed) a sectarian innovation? Since the Lutherans appealed explicitly to the ancient Father St. Ambrose (among others) as one who taught what they were teaching, it will be helpful to examine Ambrose’s writings on justification to determine if the Lutherans really understood his position and if his teaching did in fact confirm theirs.

St. Ambrose (c.338-397), Bishop of Milan, has always been remembered as a courageous churchman, an able teacher, and a faithful shepherd. Christendom has also counted him as one of the eight “Doctors of the Church,” and an examination of his writings readily confirms the appropriateness of this honor.

Ambrose’s theology is first and foremost a Christ-centered theology. According to Ambrose, “where Christ is, there are all things, there is his teaching, there forgiveness of sins, there grace, there the separation of the dead and the living.”5 Ambrose accordingly focuses on the saving work of Christ as the only hope for sinners: “He gave himself to be offered for our sins, that by his blood he might cleanse the world, whose sin could not be abolished in any other way.”6 “The Lord’s death is my redemption, for we are redeemed by his precious blood.”7 Ambrose’s doctrine of the atonement actually includes two facets. The significance of Christ’s suffering and death as an expiatory sacrifice to God is explained in the following words:

Jesus took on himself even death, that the sentence of condemnation might be carried out, that he might satisfy the judgment that sinful flesh should be cursed even unto death. Nothing therefore was done contrary to the sentence of God, since the condition of God’s sentence was fulfilled.8

The significance of Christ’s suffering and death as a ransom to the devil is explained thus:

If we were redeemed not with perishable things – with silver and gold – but with the precious blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, surely the one who sold us had a right to our service in the coin of a now sinful race. And, undoubtedly, to release from slavery those whom he held bound he demanded a price. The price of our freedom was the blood of our Lord Jesus, and it had to be paid necessarily to the one to whom we had been sold by our sins.9

As might be expected, the grace of God has a central place in Ambrose’s theology. He asks,

What can we do worthy of heavenly rewards? By what labours, by what sufferings, can we wash away our sins? Not according to our merits, but according to the mercy of God, the heavenly decrees concerning men are issued.10

According to Ambrose, “the grace of the Lord is given not as a reward which has been earned, but simply according to the will of the giver.”11 Ambrose also writes: “Let no one arrogate aught to himself, let no one boast of his merits or his power, but let us all hope to find mercy through the Lord Jesus.”12 It is indeed God’s gracious call that alone sets the sinner free, and Ambrose therefore prays to his Lord:

Call forth thy servant. Although I am bound with the chains of my sins, being now buried in dead thoughts and works, yet at thy call I shall go forth free and be found one of those sitting at thy feast.13

And how, exactly, is God’s gracious salvation actually received by each individual Christian? According to Ambrose, “God chose that man should seek salvation by faith rather than by works, lest any should glory in his deeds and should thereby incur sin.”14 The evangelical character of Ambrose’s theology is also evident in what he writes in regard to John 3:36:

Let us consider another similar passage: “He that believeth on the Son hath eternal life, but he that believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him.” That which abideth has certainly had a commencement, and that from some offense, viz., that first he not believe. When, then, anyone believes, the wrath of God departs and life comes. To believe, then, in Christ is to gain life, for “he that believeth in him is not judged” [John 3:18].15

The following comparison that Ambrose makes between the woman with the issue of blood (Luke 8:43-48) and the Christian clearly demonstrates that he understands “faith” to be much more than a mere mental acceptance of certain doctrines and facts:

The woman was immediately healed, because she drew to him in faith. And do you with faith touch but the hem of his garment. The torrential flow of worldly passions will be dried up by the warmth of the saving Word, if you but draw near to him with faith, if with like devotion you grasp at least the hem of his garment. O faith richer than all treasures! A faith stronger than all the powers of the body, more health-giving than all the physicians!16

In examining Ambrose’s use of the terms “justification” and “justified,” it becomes clear that he connects justification with forgiveness. Ambrose states that “he is justified from sin to whom all sins are remitted through baptism.”17 According to Ambrose, good works cannot be a cause of forgiveness and justification because in our sinful condition we are simply incapable of producing works that are truly good. He writes that “we are not justified by works but by faith, because the infirmity of our flesh is an impediment to works; but the brightness of faith overshadows the error of works and merits forgiveness of our faults.”18 Again, “Not of works, but of faith, each is justified by the Lord.”19

Sanctification and good works naturally follow justification and are necessary as the fruits of a true justifying faith. However, Ambrose makes it clear that these fruits must not be relied on as in any way earning God’s favor:

I will glory not because I am righteous but because I am redeemed; I will glory not because I am free from sins but because my sins are forgiven me. I will glory not because I have done good nor because someone has done good to me but because Christ is my advocate with the Father and because the blood of Christ has been shed for me.20

The Pauline emphasis on justification as the imputation of Christ’s righteousness to the sinner is reflected in the following statement by Ambrose:

In Adam I fell, in Adam I was cast out of Paradise, in Adam I died. How shall God call me back, except he find me in the Second Adam – justified in Christ, even as in the first Adam I was made subject to guilt and destined to death?21

Ambrose’s most thorough treatment of the doctrine of justification is found in a letter to a layman named Irenaeus,22 which is quoted at length in the Apology of the Augsburg Confession.23 This letter, in which Ambrose also outlines the proper distinction between Law and Gospel, deserves to be quoted at length here as well:

Sin abounded by the Law because through the Law came knowledge of sin and it became harmful for me to know what through my weakness I could not avoid. It is good to know beforehand what one is to avoid, but, if I cannot avoid something, it is harmful to have known about it. Thus was the Law changed to its opposite, yet it became useful to me by the very increase of sin, for I was humbled. And David therefore says: “It is good for me that I have been humbled” [Psalm 119:71]. By humbling myself I have broken the bonds of that ancient transgression by which Adam and Eve had bound the whole line of their succession. Hence, too, the Lord came as an obedient man to loose the knot of man’s disobedience and deception. And as through disobedience sin entered, so through obedience sin was remitted. Therefore, the Apostle says: “For just as by the disobedience of one man the many were constituted sinners, so also by the obedience of the one the many will be constituted just” [Romans 5:19].

Here is one reason that the Law was unnecessary and became necessary, unnecessary in that it would not have been needed if we had been able to keep the natural law; but, as we did not keep it, the Law of Moses became needful to teach me obedience and loosen that bond of Adam’s deception which had ensnared his whole posterity. Yes, guilt grew by the Law, but pride, the source of guilt, was loosed, and this was an advantage to me. Pride discovered the guilt and the guilt brought grace.

Consider another reason. The Law of Moses was not needful; hence, it entered secretly. Its entrance seems not of an ordinary kind, but like something clandestine because it entered secretly into the place of the natural law. Thus, if she had but kept her place, this written law would never have entered it, but, since deception had banished that law and nearly blotted it out of the human breast, pride reigned and disobedience was rampant. Therefore, that other took its place so that by its written expression it might challenge us and shut our mouth, in order to make the whole world subject to God. The world,24 however, became subject to him through the Law, because all are brought to trial by the prescript of the Law, and no one is justified by the works of the Law; in other words, because the knowledge of sin comes from the Law, but guilt is not remitted, the Law, therefore, which has made all men sinners, seems to have caused harm.

But, when the Lord Jesus came he forgave all men the sin they could not escape, and canceled the decree against us by shedding his blood [Colossians 2:14]. This is what he says: “By the Law sin abounded, but grace abounded by Jesus” [Romans 5:20], since after the whole world became subject he took away the sins of the whole world, as John bears witness, saying: “Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” [John 1:29] Let no one glory, then, in his own works, since no one is justified by his deeds, but one who is just has received a gift, being justified by Baptism. It is faith, therefore, which sets us free by the blood of Christ, for he is blessed whose sin is forgiven and to whom pardon is granted [Psalm 32:1].25

It seems fair to conclude that the sixteenth-century Lutheran doctrine of justification was fully congruent with the teaching of St. Ambrose on this subject, and that the Lutherans’ appeals to him were both legitimate and accurate. In those writings in which Ambrose dealt with this matter deliberately and carefully, he taught on the basis of Holy Scripture that sinners are justified before God by grace through faith alone, and not by human works or merits of any kind. On this central article of the Christian faith, the Lutherans were thoroughly “Ambrosian,” and if Ambrose’s views are a reflection of the authentic catholic position, the Lutherans were also thoroughly “catholic.”26

ENDNOTES:

1. Augsburg Confession, epilogue to XXVIII, 5 (Latin), in The Book of Concord, translated and edited by Theodore G. Tappert (Fortress Press, 1959), p. 95.

2. Augsburg Confession XXIV:40 (German), Tappert pp. 60-61.

3. Augsburg Confession, prologue to XXII, 1 (Latin), Tappert p. 48.

4. Apology of the Augsburg Confession IV:389, Tappert p. 166.

5. Epistle 4, The Fathers of the Church, Vol. 26 (Washington: Catholic University of America Press, 1954), p. 104.

6. In ps. 47 enarr. 17; quoted in F. Holmes Dudden, The Life and Times of St. Ambrose (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1935), Vol. II, p. 606.

7. De fide III:36; quoted in Dudden II, p. 607.

8. De Fuga 44; quoted in Dudden II, pp. 608-09.

9. Epistle 72, The Fathers of the Church 26, pp. 93-93.

10. Expos. ps. 118, 20:42; quoted in Dudden II, p. 631.

11. Exhort. virginitatis 43; quoted in Dudden II, p. 632.

12. Expos. ps. 118, 20:42; quoted in Dudden II, p. 631.

13. De Poenitentia II:72; quoted in Dudden II, p. 626.

14. In ps. 43 enarr. 14; quoted in Dudden II, p. 627.

15. De Poenitentia I:53, The Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, Vol. X (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans reprint, 1983), p. 338.

16. De Virginitate 100; quoted in Dudden II, p. 628.

17. Quoted by Augustine in Contra Julianum II:8:23; quoted in turn in Martin Chemnitz, Examination of the Council of Trent, Part I (Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1971), p. 475.

18. Liber de Jacob et Vita Beata, ch. 2; quoted in Chemnitz, Examination I, p. 508.

19. Exhort. Virginitatis 43; quoted in Dudden II, p. 627.

20. Liber de Jacob et Vita Beata, ch. 6; quoted in Chemnitz, Examination I, p. 507.

21. De Excessu Sat. 11:6; quoted in Dudden II, p. 610.

22. Not to be confused with the second-century church Father St. Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyons.

23. Apology IV:103, Tappert pp. 121-22. In the text of the Apology, immediately after the appearance of this quotation, we read: “These are the words of Ambrose, which clearly support our position; he denies justification to works and ascribes it to faith, which liberates us through the blood of Christ. If you pile up all the commentators on the Sentences with all their magnificent titles – for some are called ‘angelic’ [Thomas Aquinas], others ‘subtle’ [John Duns Scotus], and others ‘irrefutable’ [Alexander of Hales] – read them and reread them, they contribute less to an understanding of Paul than this one sentence from Ambrose.” (Apology IV:104-05, Tappert p. 122.)

24. It is at this point that the Apology begins its quotations from this letter.

25. Epistle 73, in The Fathers of the Church 26, pp. 466-68. In the translation of Epistle 73 that is found in that source, Ambrose’s Latin phrase “quia ex praescripto legis omnes conveniuntur et ex operibus legis nemo iustificatur” is rendered inaccurately as “because all are brought to trial by the prescript of the Law, and no one is justified without the works of the Law.” This is corrected in the quotation that appears in this essay.

26. In his “Treatise on the Reading of the Fathers or Doctors of the Church,” Martin Chemnitz offers these very interesting comments about the writings of St. Ambrose in general: “He wrote many things, but best are the commentaries which he wrote on all the epistles of Paul, which can be of great help to the reader. There also is extant his commentary on Luke. He wrote on Isaiah, a work which antiquity held in the highest authority of all his writings. But it no longer is extant. In his Pauline commentaries he speaks most accurately about justification. There are also some other writings by him which are definitely doctrinal. Yet he has some statements which are not so satisfactory, particularly on free will and original sin. These were seized upon by the Pelagians as being his firm opinion. But Augustine, in his Contra Julianum, Bk. 1, shows clearly how these statements are to be understood. Ambrose was held in great authority even among the easterners, who criticized Jerome because in speaking of him he gave him too little honor.” (Chemnitz, Loci Theologici (Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1989), Vol. I, p. 32.) We now know that the Pauline commentaries to which Chemnitz refers were not actually written by Ambrose. Chemnitz’s positive analysis of Ambrose’s teaching on justification would also apply, however, to many of Ambrose’s genuine writings (such as the ones from which the quotations in this essay are taken), where he does indeed speak “most accurately about justification.”

This essay was published in Lutheran Synod Quarterly, Vol. 28, No. 3 (September 1988), pp. 71-80. The printed version differs slightly from the online version that appears here.

See also:

1. Ambrose on Justification
2. How To Study Theology
3. Ambrose of Milan
4. Ambrosiaster on Justification

Walther joined the Saxon Germans who immigrated to the United States in 1839 (the date of arrival), and at the age of 27 found himself leader of the group that settled in Perry County, Missouri. In 1847, Walther played a key role in the founding of the LCMS, which now ranks as one of the largest Christian denominations in the United States with more than 2.3 million baptized members in some 6,200 congregations and more than 9,000 pastors.

Find out more about Walther, “The Father of the Missouri Synod,” and his lasting leadership. Join the celebration.

http://www.lcms.org/walther200

See also:

1. Walther on Communion Fellowship
2. LCMS Bicentennial Lectures
3. Submit a Research Paper on CFW Walther
4. LCMS Convention News from July 13

As described in the Issues Etc. newsletter:

Pastor Matt Harrison is one of the most prolific Lutheran thinkers and writers of this generation. He currently serves as President of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod.

Click here to listen to many of our interviews with Pastor Matt Harrison over the last three years. The topics of these interviews include Prayer, Preaching, Mercy, Christian Joy, the Resurrection of Jesus and the ELCA’s Approval of Gay & Lesbian Pastors.

You can download the interviews in .mp3 format or listen to them online at Issues Etc.’s Matthew Harrison page.

See also:

1. Sermon for the First Sunday in Lent; Matthew 4:1-11
2. Matthew 5:1-12 ~ He Opened His Mouth and Taught Them
3. LCMS Convention News from July 13
4. A Sermon on the Good Shepherd

Click on the images below to read the full reports:

“Among the religious beliefs that have remained relatively constant over the past 20 years were the percentage of adults who describe themselves as Christian (84%); those who say their religious faith is very important in their life today (56%); those who have made a “personal commitment to Jesus Christ that is still important in my life today” (65%); the proportion who agree that Satan is not a living entity but merely a symbol of evil (56%); those who strongly believe that they have a personal responsibility to share their religious beliefs with others who believe differently (25%).”

“No generation has been as widely chronicled as the Boomers, the post-war group born from 1946 through 1964. At every stage of their existence, this generation has redefined America’s ways of life – including its faith and spirituality. Four of their six religious behaviors and two of their eight religious beliefs tracked in this study have undergone statistically significant change since 1991.”

“No population group among the sixty segments examined has gone through more spiritual changes in the past two decades than women. Of the 14 religious factors studied, women have experienced statistically significant changes related to 10 of them. Of those transitions, eight represent negative movement – that is, either less engagement in common religious behaviors or a shift in belief away from biblical teachings.”

“The ethnic group that reflected the most profound level of religious change over the last 20 years was Hispanics. Not only did Hispanics see the greatest number of the 14 religious variables shift, but the magnitude of the changes they have experienced dwarfed the changes relevant to white and black adults.

Of the six religious behavior factors tracked, Hispanics have experienced statistically significant change related to five of those domains.”

“Oddly, there has been limited change in Northeast in the past 20 years.”

“Similar to the Northeast, there was not a lot of religious change in the South over the last 20 years. There were statistically significant changes identified in regard to just four of the 14 items tracked.”

“The region with the greatest degree of religious change since 1991 was definitely the Midwest. Of the 14 religious variables tracked, 10 experienced significant change. Among the six religious behaviors, five saw a serious shift take place.”

“Most Americans – roughly four out of five – consider themselves to be Christians. For that majority, the past two decades have been a time of substantial religious change. Just as American society itself is in a state of substantial upheaval, so are those who declare themselves to be Christian redefining the core practices and beliefs of Christianity in America. Five of the six religious behaviors tracked underwent statistically significant changes since 1991, and five of the seven belief measures also changed notably.”

See also:

1. The State of the ELCA
2. Need Help Finding a Liturgical Church?
3. Church in Kyrgyzstan Celebrates Mission & Outreach Milestones

A Report of the Commission on Theology and Church Relations
of the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod
as preapared by its Social Concerns Committee

May 1983

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS[30]

1. Is it proper for a Lutheran to attend the Lord’s Supper at the altars of churches not in doctrinal agreement with the church body of which he/she is a member?

In accordance with the confessional nature of participation in the Lord’s Supper (cf. pp. 19-23), and in agreement with Lutheranism’s historic position, it is inappropriate to attend the Lord’s Supper at non-Lutheran altars. Since participation in Holy Communion, Scripturally and confessionally understood, entails agreement in the Gospel and all its articles, it would not be appropriate to attend the Lord’s Supper in a church with which such agreement is not shared.

2. Is it proper to celebrate Communion as a device for furthering or attaining pulpit or altar fellowship?

No. The Confessions rightly teach that Eucharistic fellowship is a thankful celebration of that unity which God has bestowed in the Gospel rather than a device to advance Christian fraternity (Ap XXIV, 68-69; cf. discussion above on pages 10-11 and 19-23).

3. Is it appropriate to have Holy Communion in private homes or other settings and at times other than Sunday’s congregational worship?

The early church often worshipped in the homes of its members. Similarly, many contemporary mission congregations originate in the home of a consecrated layperson. More important than the setting is the manner in which the Lord’s Supper is celebrated. If a mission congregation finds a home the most suitable setting for worship, and perhaps can only have a pastor come on Sunday night to celebrate the Lord’s Supper, then such a service surely would be fitting.

At the same time, when groups within a congregation desire to have Holy Communion in special settings, care should be taken to avoid this practice. Dr. C.F.W. Walther’s counsel in this regard is well taken:

In order that the Word of God may have full scope in a congregation, the congregation should lastly tolerate no divisions by way of conventicles, that is, of meetings for instruction and prayer aside from the divinely ordained public ministry, 1 Cor. 11:18; Jas. 3:1; 1 Cor. 12:29; Acts 6:4; Rom. 10:15: “How shall they preach except they be sent?” [31]

Since the Lord’s Supper is the church’s confession of its unity in faith and practice, the whole congregation, in keeping with responsible pastoral care and established practices for admission to the sacrament, is properly invited and welcome at the Lord’s Table. To be avoided are tendencies to regard the sacrament as more meaningful when partaken of in a beautiful setting, such as a mountain retreat or with one’s own family or close friends.

The manifold benefits of the Lord’s Supper are offered to the communicant on the basis of Christ’s word and promise. The church’s focus should remain on the gracious promise of the Savior as He comes in bread and wine to His people.

4. Is it appropriate to have Holy Communion on synodical campuses?

There are no Scriptural or confessional texts which would preclude such a practice. In the case of a seminary or college community, the church in the form of a local congregation can provide for Holy Communion. The same need for pastoral care, for confessional agreement, and for good order exists which was stipulated for any extracongregational service (cf. pp. 23-24).

5. Is it proper to celebrate Communion at a wedding?

While there are no explicit passages of Holy Scripture which would preclude a nuptial Communion, there are weighty reasons to discourage such celebrations under normal circumstances. First, it is clear that the Lord’s Supper is at the center of the public worship of the Christian congregation (cf. discussion on pages 8-9, 23, 28-29). Inasmuch as the marriage ceremony, in the popular mind, would frequently replace the sacrament as the center of the worship, it would not be fitting to multiply settings where this would be a probable attitude. Secondly, it would be logistically difficult to preserve confessional integrity at such a celebration of the Lord’s Supper, since family and friends frequently come from a variety of Christian and even non- Christian backgrounds.

6. When is private Communion appropriate?

Private Communion is the administration of Holy Communion to an individual or group of individuals who cannot attend the regular Eucharistic worship of the congregation. The poor health of those involved or a variety of extenuating circumstances may lead the pastor and congregation to provide these special Communion services. Such worship is to be a miniature of the congregational Communion service, with a devotion from God’s Word, confession and absolution, consecration, distribution, prayers, and benediction.

7. May the elders take the consecrated elements to the sick and to shut-ins after the Communion service?

The chief consideration regarding such a practice is that the role of the pastor in the sacramental life of the church should not be displaced. The opportunity to conduct a brief service of confession and absolution, to involve other family members in the private Communion, and to be a shepherd for the flock suggests that whenever possible the pastor will distribute the elements to the communicants (cf. pp. 13-15).

8. What constitutes worthy reception of the Lord’s Supper?

Luther’s words are as Scriptural and as concise as any which could be written on this point:

Fasting and bodily preparation are indeed a fine outward training; but he is truly worthy and well prepared who has faith in these words, “Given and shed for you for the remission of sins.” But he that does not believe these words, or doubts, is unworthy and unprepared; for the words “for you” require all hearts to believe (SC VI, 10; quoted from 1943 Intersynodical Catechism, p. 21).

Martin Chemnitz amplifies in a pastoral manner as he writes in answer to the question “How, then, should a man examine or look into himself, so that he might eat and drink worthily in the holy Supper?”:

This worthy eating does not consist in a man’s purity, holiness, or perfection. For they who are healthy do not need a doctor, but they who are not healthy (Mt 9:12). But, by way of contrast with the unworthy, one can understand very easily how that examination or exploration is to be undertaken, namely:

First, let the mind consider of what nature the act of this Supper is, who is present there, [and] what kind of food is offered and taken there, so that one might prepare himself with due humility and piety for its reception.

Second, let a man about to approach the Lord’s Table be endowed with the kind of heart that seriously acknowledges his sins and errors, and shudders at the wrath of God, and does not delight in sin, but is troubled and grieved [by it], and has the earnest purpose to amend [his life].

Third, that the mind sincerely give itself to this concern, that it might not perish in sins under the wrath of God, and therefore with ardent desire thirst for and long for the grace of God, so that by true faith in the obedience, passion, and death of Christ, that is, in the offering of [His] body and. shedding of His blood it seek, beg, lay hold on and apply to itself the grace of God, forgiveness of sins, and salvation. He that examines and prepares himself in this way, he truly uses the Sacrament worthily, not unto judgment, but unto salvation. And though all these things are still weak, infirm, and sluggish, yet one should not for that reason abstain from, the holy Supper. Rather on the contrary, this very reason will rouse and impel us the more to partake of it more frequently, especially since we know that the Son of God gradually kindles, increases, and strengthens repentance and faith in us more and more through this means. For this medicine has been prepared and provided for the sick who acknowledge their infirmity and seek counsel and help. [32]

9. Is it appropriate to commune infants?

No. St. Paul says: “Let a man examine himself, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup” (1 Cor. 11:28). Since infants cannot examine themselves, it is inappropriate to commune them. The precise age at which a child can examine himself is not determined in the Scriptures. For the sake of order and to avoid confusion, the practice of a church body should be as uniform as possible in this matter.

10. What special considerations should be taken into account regarding the participation of mentally impaired persons in Holy Communion?

Caution should be employed so that the mentally impaired not be required to communicate their faith in the usual manner. Family, friends, social workers, and others can greatly assist the pastor in communicating with the mentally impaired. It should be kept in mind that there are those individuals who may lack only the usual avenues of expression and therefore may be unable to communicate fully a confession of their faith. When there is in the mentally impaired trust that the body and blood of the crucified and risen Lord is sacramentally present in the elements of the Lord’s Supper, a basic understanding of what the Sacrament offers the communicant, and an ability to examine one’s life (1 Cor. 11:17-34), participation in Holy Communion is to be encouraged.

11. How often should the Lord’s Supper be offered in a congregation?

No fixed number can be given in response to this question. However, it should be remembered that the Lord’s Supper is not to be regarded as an “extra” or an “appendage” to regular Christian worship. While some churches relegate the Lord’s Supper to an incidental and occasional role in the church’s worship, the Scriptures place “the breaking of bread” at the center of worship (Acts 2:42; 20:7; cf. 1 Cor. 11:20, 33).

Similarly, the Confessions regard the Sacrament of the Altar as a regular and constitutive feature of the worship of Christ’s church:

To begin with, we must repeat the prefatory statement that we do not abolish the Mass but religiously keep and defend it. In our churches Mass is celebrated every Sunday and on other festivals, when the sacrament is offered to those who wish for it after they have been examined and absolved (Ap XXIV, 1). [33]

Thus the spoken Word of the liturgy and sermon and the signed Word of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper constitute the two foci of Lutheran worship.

12. How often should one participate in the Lord’s Supper?

The following counsel by Dr. Martin Chemnitz is appropriate:

Christ did not want the use of this Sacrament to be bound either to a certain time or to certain days, except that Paul says that the Lord’s Supper is to be celebrated when the church gathers to commemorate the death of the Lord, 1 Cor. 11:18-26. But it is certain that God wants us to use this Sacrament not only once, as we are baptized once, but often and frequently, 1 Cor. 11:26. … It is not for any man to give a specific answer to this, either with a number or with a certain measure, other than as often as a troubled conscience feels and recognizes that it needs those benefits that are offered in the Supper for comfort and strengthening. Consciences are therefore not to be forced but aroused to frequent use of this Supper by earnest admonition and consideration of how necessary [and] likewise how salutary and profitable the use of this Supper is for us. But he that does not attend this most holy table thereby clearly shows that he is a Christian in name rather than in fact, namely that he is one who neglects and despises the command of his Savior, who says: Eat, drink, and do this as often etc. [34]

13. Can a qualified male assist with the distribution of the elements in the service of Holy Communion?

Yes. A pastor and congregation can mutually designate that a qualified male(s) member of the congregation assist the pastor. Great care should be taken in such cases to educate such an assistant(s) in the proper execution of this function. [35] Adequate instruction will provide the theological rationale for the church’s liturgical traditions. As is appropriate for those who handle holy things, reverence should mark the manner of anyone associated with the administration of the Lord’s Supper.

14. May women serve as assistants in the distribution of the Lord’s Supper?

While some might argue that assisting the presiding minister in the distribution of the elements is not necessarily a distinctive function of the pastoral office, the commission strongly recommends that, to avoid confusion regarding the office of the public ministry and to avoid giving offense to the church, such assistance be limited to men.

15. Is it fitting that noncommuning children join their parents at the Communion rail?

The propriety of this practice is best decided by the local congregation. While it provides an excellent opportunity for parents to educate their children in the meaning of the Lord’s Supper and permits the entire family unit to approach the altar, the practical concerns of decorum and appropriateness for the entire congregation should be considered. The key question should be whether, in a given context, the congregation’s focus on the sacrament is sharpened or blurred by the presence of children. If a blessing is pronounced, perhaps it could be tied to the child’s baptism, lest the impression be given that the benefits of the Sacrament of the Altar are received apart from the reception of the elements.

16. Is Communion in which the communicant receives only the bread or only the wine an adiaphoron in the church?

No. The Lord invites us to partake of both His body and His blood in the bread and wine. The Confessions speak directly to this question when they assert:

There can be no doubt that the use of both kinds in the Lord’s Supper is godly and in accord with the institution of Christ and the words of Paul. For Christ instituted both kinds, and he did not do so only for part of the church, but for all of the church (Ap XXII, 1).

We also hold that it is not to be administered in one form only. We need not resort to the specious learning of the sophists and the Council of Constance that as much is included under one form as under both. Even if it were true that as much is included under one form as under both, yet administration in one form is not the whole order and institution as it was established and commanded by Christ. Especially do we condemn and curse in God’s name those who not only omit both forms but even go so far as autocratically to prohibit, condemn, and slander the use of both as heresy and thus set themselves against and over Christ, our Lord and God, etc. (SA III, vi, 2-4).

17. Does it matter whether a congregation uses individual glasses or the common cup to distribute the consecrated wine?

In the absence of a specific Scriptural mandate, either method of distribution, when performed in a reverent manner, is acceptable. Many Christians prefer the use of the common cup because of its symbolism as representative of the oneness of the body of Christ–the church–and because there is reason to believe that Christ used this method of distribution. Any decision in this area is to be marked by Christian liberty and charity.

18. What is the propriety of intinction?

Intinction refers to the dipping of the consecrated bread into the consecrated wine prior to distribution. While the consecrated elements offer Christ’s body and blood to every communicant, regardless of the method of distribution, our Confessions and practice preserve the model of our Lord’s distribution of the bread and then the wine (Matt. 26:26-29).

19. Is a particular posture to be assumed in the reception of Holy Communion?

No. More important than physical posture is a penitent heart and faith which trusts in the word of Christ.

20. Does the celebration of Holy Communion require a specific liturgical setting?

Lutherans refuse to be bound by the customs of men (Galatians), while at the same time they support good order in the church (1 Corinthians). Clearly, good order in the church is not served when each congregation or organization drafts a different liturgy. Perhaps, especially in this age when novelty is often sought for its own sake, care should be exercised to value highly the worship practices of the church through the ages. The confessors demonstrate great respect for the liturgical traditions of the church when, in the Introduction to Part II of the Augsburg Confession, they write:

However, it can readily be judged that nothing contributes so much to the maintenance of dignity in public worship and the cultivation of reverence and devotion among the people as the proper observance of ceremonies in the churches (AC, Introduction to Part II, 6).

Accordingly, Melanchthon said of the purpose of ceremonies that they are observed “that men may learn the Scriptures and that those who have been touched by the Word may receive faith and fear and so may also pray” (Ap XXIV, 3). Thus all liturgical practices having the appearance of frivolity and causing offense are neither useful nor edifying and should therefore be avoided.

21. How appropriate is a Seder meal in conjunction with Holy Communion?

The Seder–a ceremonial dinner which is held on the first evening of the Passover–can on occasion remind Christians of the Old Testament background and historical setting in which Christ instituted the Lord’s Supper (cf. pp. 5-6). At the same time the pastor should stress the distinctive theological meaning of the Lord’s Supper, for, while the meal probably occurred in the historical setting of the Seder, that of which the disciples partook was the very body and blood of the incarnate Lord. The new covenant had now replaced the old.

NOTES AND CITATIONS:

[1] Luther writes in his Large Catechism: “But outside the Christian church (that is, where the Gospel is not) there is no forgiveness, and hence no holiness. Therefore, all who seek to merit holiness through their works rather than through the Gospel and the forgiveness of sin have expelled and separated themselves from the church” (LC II, 56; cf. AC V).

[2] “Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, ‘Take, eat; this is my body.’ And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink of it, all of you; for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you I shall not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom”‘ (Matt. 26:26-29; cf. Mark 14:22-25; Luke 22:15-20; 1 Cor. 11:23-26).

[3] Ex. 12:2-13. The Lutheran fathers were confident that the sacraments were present, in prefigured form, in the Old Testament. Martin Chemnitz writes: “God in all ages of the world, by giving a certain Word, revealed His will concerning the mystery of redemption to the human race, concerning the gratuitous reconciliation and acceptance of believers to life eternal through faith, because of the sacrifice of His Son as Mediator. He also added to the Word, by His own divine institution, certain external signs, by which to seal and confirm more clearly the promise of righteousness by faith. The institution and use of Sacraments did not, therefore, first begin in the time of the New Testament; but the fathers in the time of the Old Testament, even before the publication of the Law, had their certain signs or Sacraments divinely instituted for this use, which were the seals of the righteousness of faith. Rom. 4. But though it is the same God, the same Mediator, the same grace, righteousness, promise, faith, salvation, etc., yet those external signs or seals are sometimes changed for others, substituted in their place by divine institution, so that the mode of revelation was constantly rendered more clear, which at first was like a lamp shining in a dark place; afterwards the morning star succeeded, until at length, the night being past, the Sun of righteousness arose” (Examination of the Council of Trent, Vol. II, First Topic, Section II, par. 1, quoted in H. Schmid, The Doctrinal Theology of the Evangelical Lutheran Church [Minneapolis Augsburg Publishing House,1961], p. 536; cf. Charles P. Krauth’s “The Passover Is a Type of the Supper,” in The Conservative Reformation and Its Theology [Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House, 1963], pp. 592-97).

[4] Even those scholars of critical persuasion find overwhelming evidence for this Passover setting. For example, Joachim Jeremias writes: “The fourteen observations that have been made above concern not only the framework of the narrative but also its substance. It cannot be said therefore that only later embellishment has made the Last Supper a Passover meal. It is much more the case that the Passover character of the last meal of Jesus is unanimously supported…” (The Eucharistic Words of Jesus [London: SCM Press, 1964], pp. 61-62).

[5] The doctrine of the Real Presence is succinctly confessed in Article X of the Augsburg Confession.

[6] One study stands out in the secondary literature, namely, Hermann Sasse’s This Is My Body (Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House, 1959), passim. Commenting on Luther’s confession of the Real Presence, Sasse writes: “His belief in the Real Presence rests solely on the words of Christ. … It was not stubbornness that moved Luther to retain the words ‘This is my body’ in their literal sense. It was simply reverence for Him who spoke these words and neither gave nor commanded to give another explanation” (p. 107). Other studies which convincingly demonstrate Lutheranism’s reliance upon the verba of Christ include: Martin Chemnitz, Examination of the Council of Treat– Part II, trans. Fred Kramer (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1978), pp. 217-548; Martin Chemnitz, The Lord’s Supper, trans. J.A.O. Preus (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1979), passim; Werner Elert, The Lord’s Supper Today, trans. M. Bertram and R. Norden (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1973), pp. 5-43; Werner Elert, The Structure of Lutheranism, trans. Walter A. Hansen (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1963), pp. 300-21; Holsten Fagerberg, A New Look at the Lutheran Confessions, trans. Gene J. Lund (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1972), pp. 184-205; Charles P. Krauth, The Conservative Reformation and Its Theology (Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House, 1963), pp. 585-830.

[7] John 19:30. The Greek grammars appropriately stress the perfect tense of tetelestai. Cf., for example, C.D.F. Moule, An Idiom Book of New Testament Greek, 2nd ed. (Cambridge University Press, 1968), p. 16; and Nigel Turner, A Grammar of New Testament Greek, Volume III-Syntax, James Hope Moulton, ed. (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1963), pp. 81-89, for a thorough discussion of the perfect and its force in the New Testament period.

[8] 1 Cor. 11:27-34. The public nature of the sacrament and also the implications of doctrinal confession are stressed by the Lutheran Confessions’ exegesis of 1 Cor. 11:26 in Ap IV, 210, and Ap XXIV, 35.

[9] Martin Franzmann, in commenting on “in an unworthy manner” (1 Cor. 11:27), aptly combines these two dimensions when he writes: “As 29 makes plain, the ‘unworthiness’ lies in not discerning the body in its sanctity and significance for man, eating and acting as if the present Lord were not present but had failed to keep His promise, as if His redemptive death did not signify, as if His ‘Drink of it, all of you,’ did not bind all His disciples together” (Concordia Bible with Notes [St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1971], p. 310).

[10] The confessors direct these words to the case of private self- Communion. They would not preclude public self-Communion where the pastor has no assistant. Martin Scharlemann underscores the corporate aspect of the sacrament by focusing on the word koinonia: “When reference is made to the Lord’s Supper, it is spoken of as having both a vertical and horizontal dimension, as is evident from the use of the word koinonia at 1 Cor. 10:16; for this term signifies a sharing in something with others; in this case, in the body and blood of the Lord” (Some Remarks Regarding the Celebration of the Lord’s Supper, Faculty Forum Paper, March 2,1976).

[11] Early Christian Fathers, trans. and ed. Cyril L Richardson, in The Library of Christian Classics, Vol. I (Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1953), p. 175.

[12] Ibid., p 178

[13] Origen, Contra Celsum, III, 51, 10. Tertullian, De Praescriptione Haereticorum, 41:1 ff. Cyril of Jerusalem, Catecheses Mystagogicae, I, 4.

[14] Werner Elert, Eucharist and Church Fellowship in the First Four Centuries (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1966), p. 133. The procedure of excluding the heretics from the Eucharist meant that the early church had devised a means of dealing with the anonymous heretic. The local congregation or bishop personally could indeed impose the regular restrictions. But the anonymous heretic, particularly the layman, was not known locally. As a defense against this sort of thing, the church developed a system of written credentials that were presented. In the year 306, the Council of Elvira used the term “letters of fellowship.” These were certificates intended for travelers to give proof of their identity as they came to another place and there sought to participate in the celebration of the Eucharist. The Council of Carthage (345-48) directed that no person, clerical or lay, could commune in another congregation without a letter from his bishop. Two things were involved in these certificates or letters: first, a declaration that there was no impediment to a man’s being received and that he enjoyed full church fellowship in his home congregation, thereby permitting his admission to the celebration of the Eucharist, and secondly, by presenting his certificate he came under the care of the bishop of the new congregation.

[15] Hermann Sasse writes: “Perhaps nothing reveals the profound difference between Luther’s and Zwingli’s understanding of the sacramental words more than the fact that for Luther and the Lutheran Church the words of institution have always been also the words of consecration, while Zwingli and all Reformed churches reject the idea that the elements are consecrated by reciting the words of Christ” (This Is My Body, p. 164). In keeping with the centrality of the sacramental verba, the consecration should be spoken over all the elements. To separate, by distance or liturgical action, a portion of the bread or of the wine from consecration moves in the direction of a Protestantism wherein the verba need not be held in sacramental proximity to the elements (cf. FC SD VII, 75-84).

[16] Martin Chemnitz’s reply to the question of whether the body and blood of Christ are present in the consecrated elements if they are laid up, enclosed, or carried about, and not used and distributed, is most appropriate: “Christ did not institute this Sacrament in such a way that, even if no one uses it, or if it is changed into something else than He Himself commanded, it nevertheless is His body and blood, but in the very words of institution He prescribed the form of that which was commanded, how it is to be observer and used, and that not only for a time but to the end of the world, 1 Cor. 11:26. And use surely does not make a Sacrament, but the Word, ordinance, and institution of Christ. And there is a difference between the essence of a Sacrament and its use. But Christ so ordered and arranged the words of institution in the form of a testament, as He wanted the Sacrament to be an act in which bread and wine are taken, blessed, or consecrated, as they say, then offered, received, eaten, and drunk. And Christ says of that which is blessed, which is offered, received, eaten and drunk: This is My body; this is My blood. Therefore when the bread is indeed blessed but neither distributed nor received, but enclosed, shown, and carried about, it is surely clear that the whole word of institution is not added to the element, for this part is lacking: He gave [it] to them and said, Take and eat. And when the word of institution is incomplete there can be no complete Sacrament. In the same way it is also no true Baptism if the Word is indeed spoken over the water, but if there is no one who is baptized” (Ministry, Word, and Sacraments, trans. Luther Poellot [St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1981], p. 121).

[17] Representative of such a consensus are the following commentaries: A. Schlatter, Der Evangelist Matthaus (Stuttgart: Calwer Verlag, 1948), pp 741-45; William L. Lane, The Gospel According to Mark (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1974), pp. 504-09; I. Howard Marshall, The Gospel of Luke (Grand Rapids: Wm. B Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1978), pp. 792-807; C.K. Barrett, A Commentary on the First Epistle to the Corinthians (New York: Harper & Row, 1968), pp. 264-70; Joachim Jeremias, The Eucharistic Words of Jesus, trans. Norman Perrin (Philadelphia Fortress Press, 1966), pp. 41-88.

[18] Walter Bauer, William F. Arndt, F. Wilbur Gingrich, and Frederick W. Danker, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1979), p. 110.

[19] “Fruit of the vine” is, exegetically, synonymous with wine. Cf. H. Buechsel, “genema,” Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, I (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1965), p. 164; W. Lane, The Gospel According to Mark (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1974), pp. 508-09; H. Seesemann, “oinos,” Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, V (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1967), p. 164; Vincent Taylor, The Gospel According to Mark (London: St. Martin’s Press, 1966), p. 547.

[20] Martin Luther, Luther’s Works, American Edition, 36 (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1959), p. 231.

[21] The problem with the “consecrationist-receptionist” discussion is that each side runs the risk of separating in one direction or the other what has been Biblically joined together.

[22] Edmund Schlink, Theology of the Lutheran Confessions, trans. Paul F. Koehneke and Herbert J.A. Bouman (Philadelphia: Muhlenberg Press, 1961), p. 245.

[23] The Greek Word in 1 Cor. 11:29 is krima. The term used by Paul of wrongful participation in the Lord’s Supper is the equivalent of our English “condemnation.” cf. Bauer, Arndt, Gingrich, Danker, pp. 450-51. For additional material on the force of this word see Friedrich Bueschel “krino,” Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, III (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1965), pp. 921-54.

[24] While the term “closed Communion” has a longer history (cf. W. Elert, ch. 7) and is regarded by some as theologically more proper than “close Communion,” the latter term, which has been used in more recent history by writers in The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod, may also properly be employed as a way of saying that confessional agreement must precede the fellowship of Christians at the Lord’s Table. Whatever term is used, it is clear that the LCMS’ official practice is consistent with the historic practice of the church, which has regarded unity of doctrine as a prerequisite for admission to the sacrament (cf. 1967 Res. 2-19).

[25] Martin Chemnitz, The Lord’s Supper, trans. J.A.O. Preus (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1979), p. 21.

[26] H.P. Hamann, Studies in Holy Communion (LCA, S.A. District: Church Development Committee, 1977), p. 12.

[27] Donald Deffner, “Why Close Communion?” Berkeley, Calif., 1955, p. 14.

[28] 1967 Res. 2-19. See also 1969 Res. 3-18 and 1981 Res. 3-01. Cf. Francis Pieper, Christian Dogmatics, III, p. 381. Pieper begins his discussion concerning who is to be admitted to the Lord’s Supper by stating: “Christian congregations, and their public servants, are only the administrants and not lords of the Sacrament. … On the one hand, they are not permitted to introduce ‘Open Communion’: on the other hand, they must guard against denying the Sacrament to those Christians for whom Christ has appointed it.” To be sure, a heavy responsibility rests on pastors in making decisions as they evaluate those exceptional cases of pastoral care where persons who are members of denominations not in fellowship with the LCMS desire to receive the Lord’s Supper. However, part of the pastor’s responsibility in such situations involves informing individuals desiring Communion also of their responsibility regarding an action which identifies them with the confessional position of the church body to which the host congregation belongs and their willingness to place themselves under the spiritual care of the pastor in that place.

[29] An announcement in the service folder may request those who wish to commune as guests to speak with the pastor prior to the service. Elders or ushers may be instructed to provide guidance to visitors regarding the Communion practices of their congregation. Members of the congregation should be instructed to encourage relatives and friends to indicate in advance their desire to commune.

[30] The questions which follow have been selected in response to the specific assignment given to the commission to deal with the questions of close Communion and extra. congregational Communion services, and in response to inquiries often received from members of the Synod on other matters of concern.

[31] Thesis 25 in C.F.W. Walther’s Proper Form of a Lutheran Congregation in Walther and the Church, trans. Th. Engelder (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1938), p. 101; also found in Selected Writings of C. F. W. Walther, Aug. R. Suelflow, Series Editor, Walther on the Church, trans. John M. Drickamer (CPH, 1981), p. 140.

[32] Martin Chemnitz, Ministry, Word, and Sacraments, pp. 131-32.

[33] The term “Mass” was used in the Reformation period to designate the service of Holy Communion. The Confessions, of course, removed all the connotations of propitiatory sacrifice in their usage of the term.

[34] Martin Chemnitz, Ministry, Word, and Sacraments, p. 128.

[35] With respect to the distribution of the sacrament, attention may be called to Rubric 28 in the Altar Book of Lutheran Worship, pp. 31- 32. For instance, it may be well to point out that “Since the administration of the Lord’s body is the decisive act of admission to the Sacrament, the presiding minister, as the responsible minister of the Sacrament, distributes the body of the Lord. The assisting minister(s) may distribute the blood.”

See also:

1. It’s Not Ours but the Lord’s Supper!
2. Free Book on the Lord’s Supper
3. Confession & the Lord’s Supper
4. Luther on the Lord’s Supper

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1. Paulson Lectures
2. More Cowbell

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Lecture 5

Lecture 6

Lecture 7

Lecture 8

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See also:

1. Paulson Lectures
2. The Only Prescription for Theology of Glory Is… More Cowbell?

Further encouragement: V. 18. I will not leave you comfortless; I will come to you. V. 19. Yet a little while and the world seeth Me no more; but ye see Me. Because I live, ye shall live also. V.20. At that day ye shall know that I am in My Father, and ye in Me, and I in you. The Lord repeats His comforting assurance from another angle. He promises not to leave His disciples orphans, without a guide, deprived of all comfort. In addition to the fact that He will provide the Comforter for them, He Himself will not abandon them and leave them to the fate of children bereft of their parents. It may seem to them that His departure means as much, but because of this very fact that He is entering into His glory, He will be able to be present with them just as surely as before, and for all times. He will return to them in the means of grace, where His presence is always certain, and He will shortly return to them in person. It is but a little while, and the world, the unbelieving, hostile children of unbelief, would see Him no more, neither with the eyes of the body nor with those of the spirit. But His disciples would and will see Him, the eyes of their understanding being enlightened; they would understand Him, His person and work, better than ever before. For with His resurrection His human body would enter into a new mode of existence, His mortal body would be transfused with divinity, it would be transfigured for all times. Jesus lives, and they shall live. When Christ comes to them in the spirit and they learn to know and understand Him better with each new day, then they become partakers of the new spiritual life of Jesus. They will also understand more and more what that wonderful union and communion means which obtains between Father and Son, between the believers and Christ. And the day will come when the last shred of the veil will be taken from their eyes, and they will know their Savior and the mystery of the Triune God even as they are known. In the mean time they should rest assured that the relation between the Savior and the believers is just as intimate and blessed as that between the Father and the Son. The presence of Jesus in the believers assures them of the fulness of both His grace and power in them, grace and mercy for their sins and power for their sanctification.

The effects of the mystical union: V. 21. He that hath My commandments and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me; and he that loveth Me shall be loved of My Father, and I will love him, and will manifest Myself to him. V. 22. Judas saith unto Him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that Thou wilt manifest Thyself unto us and not unto the world? V. 23. Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love Me, he will keep My words; and My Father will love him, and We will come unto him, and make Our abode with him. Not the having only, but the keeping of the commandments of Christ is an evidence and proof of faith. For the love of Christ, which grows from faith, is a principle prompting obedience. There must be evidence and expression of faith by observing the commandments of Christ in life. But where a person is found with such proofs of the faith of his heart, he would receive a wonderful proof and manifestation of the love of both Father and Son. The love of the Father will rest upon, be communicated to, such a one. And Jesus Himself will show the greatness of His love by appearing and manifesting Himself to the believer as the Son of God and the Savior of the world. This is a most comforting promise. For a believer does not always live and move in blissful emotions, but is troubled more or less often by doubts concerning His salvation and other matters pertaining to His Christian life. In such cases, however, he must cling firmly to the Word and its promises, continue his work for Christ with undiminished vigor, and know that Christ is his Savior in spite of all attacks. Judas Jacobi here interrupted the Master. He had understood so much from the exposition of Jesus that the hope of the disciples for a temporal Messianic kingdom would not be realized. He wanted to know now why Christ intended to manifest Himself only to His believers, and not to the whole world, perhaps in the form of a conquering hero. Judas (Lobbies or Thaddeus) had always held that opinion concerning Messianic glory that it would be in the nature of a great demonstration, with much display of temporal power. He could not understand what had prompted Jesus to determine it otherwise. Once more Jesus, therefore, patiently explains. It is impossible for Him to reveal Himself to the world, because the world rejects Him and His Word. But if any man, filled with true faith toward Him, now also shows his faith in love, the proof will be found in the fact that he keeps His Word, that he clings to the Gospel of grace and mercy. To him Jesus and the Father will come, in him They will make Their abode, through the Spirit; his house and table Companions They will be forever. That is the mystery and the beauty of the mystical union. The Triune God Himself, personally, lives in the hearts of the believers, not only with some manifestation of His power and strength, but with His actual essence. There is no need for the Christian to sigh longingly for the union with the Triune God in heaven, for His throne is also right here on earth, wherever his Word is preached and He enters into the hearts of the believers. That is a blessed mystery and a glorious fact.

from Paul Kretzmann, ‘The Popular Commentary of the Bible’

See also:

1. The Love of God
2. The Love of God
3. What Wondrous Love is This
4. The Law of Christ is the Law of Love

V. 38. Jesus, therefore, again groaning in Himself, cometh to the grave. It was a cave, and a stone lay upon it.

V. 39. Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto Him, Lord, by this time he stinketh; for he hath been dead four days.

V. 40. Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?

V. 41. Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, Father, I thank Thee that Thou hast heard Me.

V. 42. And I knew that Thou hearest Me always; but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that Thou hast sent Me. When Jesus was aware of the bitter mockery which His enemies were trying to heap upon Him even at this time, He was again strongly agitated, filled with indignation, but this time over their unreasonableness and blindness. That is the height of hypocrisy, when people assume a pious behavior, but incidentally are full of enmity and hatred toward Christ. Meanwhile they had come to the grave, which was an opening hewn into the rock, upon which a large stone had been laid. When Jesus told some of the men present to lift off the stone, Martha interposed. The body was now, literally, one of four days; it had lain in the grave for four days, and therefore she knew that decay had progressed to such an extent as to make the odor extremely unpleasant. In the greatness of her grief Martha was not using her spiritual mind. She probably thought that Jesus merely wanted to take a last look at the face of His friend. Thus the believers, in the bitter hour, when they see the evidences of death and decay before their eyes, are so absorbed in the contemplation of their terrors that they no longer lift up their minds to the King of Life. The Lord reproved Martha for the smallness of her faith, for He had held out to her the certainty of seeing the glory of God before her eyes. In the resurrection of the dead the glory of God is revealed. If we but believe with all our hearts in Christ, who is the Resurrection and the Life, we shall see the glory of God, when He raises the dead from their graves. When the stone had then been lifted off, Jesus raised His eyes to heaven and spoke a prayer of thanksgiving, indicating the intimacy of the union between the Father and Himself. The Lord had repeatedly said that He had been sent by the Father to perform certain works and miracles, and that He did nothing without the Father, and this prayer again gave evidence to that effect. He spoke with full confidence as though the soul of Lazarus had even then returned to his dead body. He thanked His Father for hearing Him; He expressed the certainty of His knowledge that He would always be heard in the same way; and He stated that He made His prayer for the sake of the people present, that they might see the intimacy obtaining between them, and that they might believe in His mission from the Father. Jesus here appears as true man, who, before undertaking a difficult task, looks up to God and pleads for His help. And the Lord’s prayer is a model also in this respect, that true faith thanks God for the receipt of His gifts and mercies even in advance, knowing that the granting of the petition is certain.

The miracle and its effect:

V. 43, And when He had thus spoken, He cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth.

V. 44. And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with grave-clothes; and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go.

V. 45. Then many of the Jews which came to Mary, and had seen the things which Jesus did, believed on Him.

V. 46. But some of them went their ways to the Pharisees, and told them what things Jesus had done. After Jesus had spoken His prayer to His heavenly Father, He did not delay. Addressing Himself to the corpse in the grave, He commanded the dead man with a loud voice: Lazarus, come forth; literally: Hither, out! And the almighty word caused the miracle to happen, brought the man upon whom the process of decay had begun back to life, and gave him the strength to leave the grave, though he was still bound with the customary grave-clothes and had his face covered with a sudary. Jesus merely told the bystanders to remove the confining bandages which hindered the man’s movements, and then to permit him to leave, as the curious glances of the multitude would be most embarrassing to him. There can be no doubt as to the reality of the miracle. The man Jesus Christ has power over death; He calls the dead back to life at will. The human nature was the means and instrument of Christ, of His almighty, divine power, it partakes of the divine majesty. This is the greatest miracle which Christ performed, so far as is recorded in Scripture, with the exception of His own resurrection. It is the guarantee of our hope and belief in the resurrection on the last day, when His almighty voice will call our bodies forth from the graves. The effect of such an exceptional miracle was twofold. Some of the Jews that had come to the sisters now were fully convinced as to the truth of Christ’s words and works; they believed in Him. But others there were whose hearts had even then been hardened beyond recall. They took occasion to report the miracle to the Pharisees, in order that these arch-enemies might make their plans accordingly. It was the fate of Christ, as it is that of His Gospel and its proclamation, to be to some a savor of death unto death, to others a savor of life unto life. Blessed are they that put their trust in Him!

from Paul Kretzmann, ‘The Popular Commentary of the Bible’

See also:

1. The Call
2. Ain’t No Grave
3. A Call for Prayer from Mekane Yesus Church in Ethiopia
4. Comfort when Facing Grave Temptations

Jesus said that Moses had written of Him (John 5:46). Jesus said that all of the Old Testament Scriptures “testify of Me” (John 5:39). Before His ascension, Jesus again taught His disciples everything “in all the Scriptures” that spoke of Him (Luke 24:27). Jesus exposition of all the things “in the Law of Moses, and the Prophets and the Psalms” that spoke of Him and his saving work was a Bible class that assisted the disciples in their ability to understand and comprehend how the Old Testament Scriptures spoke of Christ’s suffering, death, and resurrection. Christ also taught them the need to evangelize the world with the gospel message of salvation from sin in Jesus Christ (Luke 24:44-48). Here follows some glimpses of the portrayal of Christ in the Old Testament.

Genesis proclaims Jesus the “Seed of the woman” (Gen. 3:15; Matthew 1:22-23), our Creator God (Genesis 1-3; John 1:1-5), the Descendant of Abraham in Whom all the nations of the earth will be blessed (Genesis 22:18; Acts 3:24-26; Galatians 3:8-9, 27-29). It is Christ Who passes through the sundered parts of the animals and brings down on Himself the curse of death in order to pay for the broken promises of sinful human beings (Genesis 15:7-21; Galatians 3:10-14). For God to die He needed to become a human being. Thus the incarnation of Christ, His birth, the shedding of His blood, and His sacrificial testamentary death are here prophesied (Luke 1:26-33; 2:25-35; Hebrews 9:11-28). Jesus is the only Son Who like Isaac is a willing sacrifice, and Who carried the wood of the sacrifice (the cross) on His back, and Who unlike Isaac truly dies as the sacrificial Lamb provided by God (Genesis 22:1-19; John 1:29; 19:17-19).

Exodus portrays Christ “the Passover Lamb” (Exodus 12; I Corinthians 5:7).

Leviticus reveals Christ our “Great High Priest” (Leviticus 8-10; Hebrews 1:17-2:6; 4:15-16), Who is the “Atoning Sacrifice” (Leviticus 16 & 23:26-32; Hebrews 9) for our sin.

Numbers speaks in prophecy about the Christ Who will be “lifted up on the cross” like the “Brass Serpent” was lifted up in the wilderness (Numbers 21:4-9; John 3:14-15).

Deuteronomy proclaims Jesus Christ as the “Prophet like unto Moses” (Deuteronomy 18:15-19; John 6:14; Acts 3:17-26).

Joshua preaches Jesus, the “Captain of our Salvation.” (Joshua 5:13-15; Hebrews 2:10 KJV) Who will lead us into the Promised Land of heaven.

Judges reveals Christ our Judge & Deliverer (Judges 2:16-19; John 5:21-23 & Acts 10:42-43). Judges also reveals Christ as the Angel of the Lord present with His people (Judges 2:1-5; 6; 13; Acts 7:30-34).

Ruth proclaims the Kinsman-Redeemer of all the world, Who is a descendant of a Gentile woman (Ruth 4; Matthew 1:1-6 – note also here the tie to Rahab the harlot in Joshua 2 & 6:22-25. She is Boaz’s mother & great great grandmother of David.).

I Samuel speaks of Jesus the King anointed by the Holy Spirit (I Samuel 10 & 16; Matthew 3:13-17).

II Samuel reveals that Christ the Messianic King will be a descendant of David. He is our Rock, Deliverer, Horn of Salvation & Savior (II Samuel 7 & 22; Matthew 21:1-11; Luke 1:30-25; 68-75; 2:10-14; Matthew 7:24-25; I Corinthians 10:4).

I Kings speaks in prophesy of Jesus as the kingly descendant of Solomon the Temple-Builder Who has an eternal Kingdom (I Kings 2:45; 8:1-26; John 2:13-22), and of John the Baptist as the Second Elijah Who will come (I Kings 17-22; Malachi 4:5-6; Matthew 11:7-15). Moses and Elijah appeared with Christ on the Mount of Transfiguration (Luke 9:28-36). Their prophetic work pointed to the Messiah they appeared with on this holy mountain.

II Kings portrays Christ as the Prophet Who having completed His work ascends into heaven (II Kings 2:1-14; Luke 24:50-53; Acts 1:9-11). The Messiah’s work of saving even Gentiles is seen in the healing and conversion of the Gentile soldier Naaman (II Kings 5:1-19; Matthew 8:5-13; John 3:16; Acts 10; Romans 3:9-4:25; 15:7-13).

I Chronicles shows the Messiah to be the promised Descendant of David Who would have an eternal throne (I Chronicles 17; Luke 1:30-33).

II Chronicles proclaims Jesus Christ as the faithful kingly descendant of David in contrast to the imperfect kings who sat on Judah’s throne. Unlike Joash who was murdered because of his sins (II Chronicles 24:23-25), Jesus the King dies bearing our sins, and His death saves sinners from their sins (Matthew 1:21; John 1:29; Luke 23:6-12, 36-38; John 18:33-19:22). We also see mourning like the mourning at Jesus’ death (II Chronicles 35:23-25; Luke 23:48; Zechariah 12:10-14).

In speaking about the temple rebuilt in Jerusalem, Ezra reveals Christ our Messiah. Just as the physical temple in Jerusalem was rebuilt so the Temple of Christ’s body died and was “rebuilt” (resurrected) (Ezra 5 & 6; John 1:14; 2:18-22).

Nehemiah speaks of the Christ as the Savior God Who is merciful and kind (Nehemiah 9:31 ). Just as Jerusalem and its walls were rebuilt under Nehemiah, so Christ rebuilds lives broken by sin. Mary Magdalene & Paul are notable examples (Nehemiah 9:31; Luke 8:2; John 20:1-2, 11-18; Acts 9).

Esther is someone who puts her life on the line to protect and preserve the lives of the Jewish people. So Christ laid down His life for all people – Jew and Gentile alike (Luke 2:29-35; Romans 9:22-33). Wicked Haman plotted to wipe every Jew from the face of the earth. This would have destroyed God’s plan of salvation for salvation was to come from the Jews in Jesus Christ (John 4:22). Thus working through Esther & Mordecai, God delivered the Jews to bring salvation to all (John 3:16).

Job speaks of the Messiah Who is our living Redeemer, the One Who is able to raise us from the dead (Job 19:23-27; John 11:1-44; Galatians 3:13-14; I Peter 1:18-21; Revelation 5:1-14). In the sufferings of Job we also see the sufferings of Christ.

The Psalms proclaim Christ as our Good Shepherd (Psalm 23; John 10:1-18), the Crucified and pierced One for Whose robe lots were cast, the One Who cried out “My God! My God! Why have You forsaken Me?” (Psalm 22; Mark 15:34; John 19:24, 33-37). He is the Priest like Melchizidek (Psalm 110; Hebrews 5:1-12; 6:17-8:2), the One who like David was betrayed by His good friend Ahithophel – so Jesus was betrayed by His friend Judas. Just as Ahithophel hanged himself when his plans came to naught, so Judas hanged himself in despair over his sin (II Samuel 15:10-17:23; Psalm 49:1-9; Matthew 26:47-50; 27:3-5; Acts 1:16-20). Jesus is prophesied to be the Messiah Who would rise, Whose body would see neither corruption nor decay (Psalm 16:5-11; Acts 2:25-33; 13:26-39). Jesus is the Lord’s Anointed against Whom the heathen would rage (Psalm 2; 132:10-18; Acts 4:24-28).

Proverbs proclaims Christ the Messiah as Wisdom personified (Proverbs 8:1-9:10; Matthew 13:54; Luke 2:40-52; I Corinthians 1:17-3:20).

Ecclesiastes reminds all that life is vanity, and that life is empty without God/Christ in one’s life. All need to heed God’s wise words that tell us to “Fear God and keep His commandments” for God will judge all human works (Ecclesiastes 12:1-14). Jesus was the only one to perfectly “fear God and keep His commandments,” for He lived sinlessly under the Law “fulfilling all righteousness” (Matthew 3:15; I Peter 2:19-25; 3:18). He will judge all people’s secret deeds with righteousness and truth (Matthew 10:26-27; Mark 4:22; John 5:30; 17:17; 21:25).

The Song of Solomon reveals Christ as the Husband to His Bride the Church. It also reveals the blessedness that should exist in the love of husbands and wives which is to reflect the perfect love Christ has for His Bride the Church (Ephesians 5:21-33; I Corinthians 13).

Isaiah is often described as the Gospel of the Old Testament because it prophetically reveals so much about Christ – His Virgin Birth as Immanuel the God Who is with us (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:22-23); His being God’s Son, the kingly Prince of Peace Who sits on David’s eternal throne (Isaiah 9:6-7; Luke 1:32-33; 2:14). Jesus is seen as the Stone of stumbling and the Rock of offense (Isaiah 8:13-15; Matthew 21:42-44; Romans 9:32-33; I Peter 2:7-8). Jesus ministry in Zebulun & Naphtali are prophesied in Isaiah 9:1-2; Matthew 4:12-16. Jesus is described as the Root of Jesse Who will be anointed by the Holy Spirit and will save even Gentiles (Isaiah 11:1-16; Matthew 3:13-17; Romans 15:12; Revelation 5:5; 22:16). We see Christ as our Suffering Servant, the Man of Sorrows Who carries our sins and sorrows and is acquainted with our griefs, the One by Whose stripes we are healed (Isaiah 52:13-53:12; Matthew 8:17; Matthew 26-28; Acts 8:30-40). Jesus is the Light to enlighten the Gentiles (Isaiah 42:6; 49:6; Luke 2:27-32; Acts 13:46-49).

Jeremiah reveals Christ as the Righteous Branch, the Lord our Righteousness, Who will pardon sinners from their sins (Jeremiah 23:5-6; 33:14-15; Matthew 5:6; Luke 23:47; Romans 5:18-19; I John 2:1-2).

Lamentations reveals the Christ Who weeps over Jerusalem as Jeremiah wept for that same city (Lamentations 3:48-49; Matthew 23:37-38). It is only by God’s abundant mercies in Christ that come to us new every morning that we are redeemed rather than being consumed in our sins (Lamentations 3:22-26, 58; Ephesians 2:4-7; Hebrews 4:14-16).

Ezekiel reveals Christ as the true Shepherd Who will feed His flock (Ezekiel 34:11-31; John 10:1-18). Our resurrection from the dead is seen in the resurrection of the dry bones in Ezekiel 37:1-14; I Thessalonians 4:16-17. Ezekiel reveals the loving God Who performs heart surgery on sinners – removing from them the dead stony heart of sinful unbelief, and giving sinners a living heart that beats with the joy of faith in the Messiah (Ezekiel 36:24-28; II Corinthians 3:2-3).

Daniel reveals Jesus as the Son of Man Who rules with the power of the Ancient of Days (Daniel 7:13-14; Matthew 12:40; 16:13-16; 17:9, 22-23). This title, “son of man” is also used to refer to the prophet Daniel (Daniel 8:17). This phrase is also used to identify the prophet Ezekiel (Ezekiel 37:3, 9, 11, 16). These references point to Christ’s prophetic office (Ezekiel 36:25-28; Romans 2:29; II Corinthians 3:2-3), and to Him being the Son of Man (Matthew 8:20; 12:8, 32, 40; 16:13). Just as God delivered His servants Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego from the fiery furnace to we are delivered from the fires of hell by the grace of our God and Savior Jesus Christ (Daniel 3; Revelation 20:14-15).

Hosea refers to Jesus as the beloved Son Who is called out of Egypt (Numbers 24:8-9; Hosea 11:1; Matthew 2:13-15). Christ’s redemption of His Bride the Church is seen in Hosea’s redemption of his faithless wife, Gomer (Hosea 1-3; Ephesians 5:21-33).

Joel speaks about the promise of the Messiah to send the Holy Spirit in His fullness to His Church (Joel 2:28-32; Acts 2:1-21)

Amos speaks of the Messiah Who raises up the fallen Tabernacle of David and Who brings Gentiles to His Church (Amos 9:11-15; Acts 15:13-18).

Obadiah points us to the deliverance and salvation God provides on Mount Zion through the kingly Messiah (Obadiah 17 & 21; Revelation 11:15; Revelation 21-22).

Jonah points to the Messiah Who dies, rests in the tomb for three days and then rises again (Jonah 1:17-2:10; Matthew 12:39-41). Jonah also proclaims the Messiah Who is the Savior of all, even terrible Gentile sinners like the Assyrians, the Samaritan woman, Roman soldiers, and even of publicans and tax collectors (Jonah 3 & 4; Luke 7:1-10, 34, 39-50; 15:1-2; John 4).

Micah prophesies about the Savior’s birth in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2; Matthew 2:1-11). Micah also portrays the Messiah as a God of mercy Who in compassion pardons the iniquity of sinners (Micah 7:18-19; Romans 15:8-9; Titus 3:5-7; Hebrews 5:1-2).

Nahum speaks about the beauty of the feet of those who bring the Gospel of peace in Christ to the nations (Nahum 1:15; Acts 10:36; Romans 10:15).

Habakkuk is known as the prophet of the Reformation for he speaks emphatically about justification by grace through faith in the coming Messiah (Habakkuk 2:4; Romans 1:17; Galatians 3:11; Hebrews 10:37-39).

Zephaniah speaks about the Christ Who comes to judge the living and the dead and encourages the meek to seek the righteousness that can only be found in the Messiah (Zephaniah 2:3; Matthew 5:6; 6:33).

Haggai speaks about the Messiah as the Desire of the nations Who will come and fill the rebuilt temple with His glory (Haggai 2:7; Luke 2:25-35). Zerubbabel, a descendant of David who rules as governor, is described as the signet ring, the seal of God to reassure His people that the promises about the kingly Messiah and Descendant of David’s Descendant Who is to come are still in effect and that all those promises will come to pass (Haggai 2:20-23; Matthew 1:12-13; Luke 1:67-79).

Zechariah is the most Messianically dense book in the Old Testament. The Holy Spirit led Zechariah to provide a “Reader’s Digest” condensed summary of all previous Old Testament prophecy which then is seen fulfilled in the New Testament books. Christ’s work as the High Priest Who cleanses His penitent people from the filthy robes of their sins and dresses them in His righteous white robes is seen in the cleansing of Joshua the High Priest (Zechariah 3:1-10; Revelation 4:4; 7:9-17). Jesus is again described as the Servant Branch (3:8) and as the Stone (3:9). The Messiah is the Branch, a kingly priest Who will build a temple (6:9-15; John 2:19-21). The Messiah’s fountain for cleansing from sin is seen when Jesus side is pierced by the spear and out comes blood and water (Zechariah 13:1; John 19:34-35). We receive cleansing from sin in the waters of Baptism and in the body and blood of Christ in the Lord’s Supper (Acts 2:38; Colossians 2:11-14; Matthew 26:26-28; I John 5:6-9)

Christ’s entrance into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday is prophesied in Zechariah 9:9 (cf. Matthew 21:1-5). The Messiah will be a Man of peace Who rules as a King (Zechariah 9:10; Luke 2:14; John 14:27; 16:32-33). The shed blood of the Messiah will free sinners who are imprisoned by their sins (Zechariah 9:11-12; I John 1:7). Jesus is prophesied to be the Cornerstone (Zechariah 10:4; Matthew 21:42; I Peter 2:6-8). The betrayal price paid to Judas was 30 pieces of silver – Zechariah speaks of them and of the potter’s field in 11:12-13. The Holy Spirit combined this prophecy with God’s command to Jeremiah to buy some of the “potter’s field” (Jeremiah 19:1; 32:6-10) and these prophecies come to fulfillment in Matthew 27:3-10. The impartation of the Holy Spirit on Christ at His Baptism, His being pierced on the cross, and the great mourning at His death are seen in Zechariah 12:10-14; Matthew 3:13-17; John 19:33-37; and Luke 23:48.

Jesus is the Shepherd Who is stricken and the sheep are scattered at His death (Zechariah 13:7-9; John 10:11; Matthew 26:31 & 56). The Messiah will be the King of all the earth (Zechariah 14:9; I Timothy 1:17; Revelation 19:16).

Malachi proclaims the coming of the Second Elijah, John the Baptist, the messenger who prepares the way before the Messiah (Malachi 3:1; Matthew 11:7-15). Malachi also proclaims the Christ Who is the Sun of Righteousness Who arises with spiritual healing in His wings (Malachi 4:2; Matthew 17:1-2; Acts 26:12-18; Revelation 1:16; 21:23; 22:5 Romans 1:16-17; 3:21-26; I Corinthians 1:30; II Corinthians 5:21).

Luther and Althaus on the Christological nature of the Old Testament

“There are some who have little regard for the Old Testament. They think of it as a book that was given to the Jewish people only and is now out of date, containing only stories of past times. They think they have enough in the New Testament…But Christ says in John 5[:39], ‘Search the Scriptures, for it is they that bear witness to me.’ St. Paul bids Timothy attend to the reading of the Scriptures [I Tim. 4:13], and in Romans 1[:2] he declares that the gospel was promised by God in the Scriptures, while in I Corinthians 15 he says that in accordance with the Scriptures Christ came of the seed of David, died, and was raised from the dead. St. Peter, too, points us back, more than once, to the Scriptures. They do this in order to teach us that the Scriptures of the Old Testament are not to be despised, but diligently read. For they themselves base the New Testament upon them mightily, proving it by the Old Testament and appealing to it…The ground and proof of the New Testament is surely not to be despised, and therefore the Old Testament is to be highly regarded. And what is in the New Testament but a public preaching and proclamation of Christ, set forth through the sayings of the Old Testament and fulfilled through Christ?”

“In order that those who are not more familiar with it may have instruction and guidance for reading the Old Testament with profit, I have prepared this preface to the best of the ability God has given me…Here [in the Old Testament] you will find the swaddling clothes and the manger in which Christ lies, and to which the angel points the shepherds [Luke 2:12]. Simple and lowly are these swaddling cloths, but dear is the treasure, Christ, who lies in them.” [Luther's Works – Volume 35 - Word and Sacrament I (Philadelphia: Muhlenberg Press, 1960), pp. 235-236]

“It [the Old Testament] not only offers to lead men to Christ but is itself already filled with him. This is true first because Christ is always present in the God of the Old Testament, in his activity and promises, and in his relationship to the godly…These promises, ultimately, are all promises of Christ. The God who speaks in them is the God who is already at work fulfilling them and saving the world through Christ…Christ is promised in the prophets, in the Psalms, and in the well-known messianic passages of the historical books-but also in many places beyond these…Like the prophets, the Psalms are filled with prophecies of Christ, his person, his suffering, his death and resurrection, his ruling as king, the gospel, the kingdom, and Christianity, or the church. Not only the Psalms, however, are to be interpreted in a christological and prophetic sense but also much in the historical accounts of the Old Testament and in the books of Moses…[for] he ‘prophecies powerfully of Jesus Christ our Lord’…the Old Testament [also] offers figures of Christ and of his church.” [Paul Althaus, The Theology of Martin Luther, trans. Robert C. Schultz (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1966), pp. 93-95.]

See also:

1. In Defense of the Old Testament Prophecy of the Virgin Birth of the Messiah
2. Our Defining Center
3. The Immovable Center
4. Is the New Testament Reliable?

by Brian Edwards
March 8, 2011

In a culture where God’s Word is constantly under attack from those both inside and outside of the church, we must always be ready to give a defense for the hope that is in us. This web series on Apologetics is designed to give you the tools required to defend the faith.

Introduction

Why Read the Bible?

Some years ago, I informed my congregation that over the next few months something would happen in our church that the world would find strange. In the first place, I proposed to preach on a book that was more than 3,000 years old, and second, I knew the whole congregation would be there each week to listen. And they were there—for the 30 weeks as we worked our way through the Old Testament book of Deuteronomy.

Across the world every week, millions of Christians listen to thousands of sermons from the Bible, a book that begins at the dawn of history itself. Why do they listen? The answer is that Christians believe the Bible to be both reliable and relevant to the need of twenty-first century people to learn about their God and how they should live to please Him.

But must they have blind, unreasonable faith to believe the Bible to be true? Or are there sound reasons that the Bible, and specifically for this chapter, the Old Testament, can be accepted as reliable in every part?

What the Bible Writers Believed

The Old Testament writers believed their message was God-breathed and, therefore, utterly reliable. More than 400 times from Exodus 4:22 to Malachi 1:4, they declared, in just three Hebrew words, “Thus says the Lord.”
To emphasize this divine authority many of the prophets received God’s message through a powerful experience. For example, the prophet Jeremiah recorded that at the beginning of his ministry, “The Lord put forth His hand and touched my mouth, and the Lord said to me: ‘Behold, I have put My words in your mouth’” (Jeremiah 1:9).

The prophets so identified themselves as God’s spokesmen that they frequently spoke as though God Himself were speaking. In Isaiah 5:1–2 the prophet spoke of God in the third person—He—but in verses 3–6 Isaiah spoke for God in the first person—I. Isaiah had become the actual spokesperson for God. No wonder King David spoke of the word of the Lord as “perfect” (2 Samuel 22:31; see also Proverbs 30:5. The NIV translates this word as “flawless”).

The New Testament writers did not doubt that the Old Testament prophets spoke for God. Peter and John saw the words of David in Psalm 2, not as the opinion of a king in Israel, but as the Word of God: “You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David” (Acts 4:25, NIV). Similarly, Paul accepted Isaiah’s words as God speaking to men: “The Holy Spirit spoke rightly through Isaiah the prophet to our fathers” (Acts 28:25).

The New Testament writers were so convinced all the words of the Old Testament Scripture were inspired by God that they even claimed, “Scripture says,” when the words quoted came directly from God. For example, “The Scripture says to the Pharaoh” (Romans 9:17).
Clearly, the Lord Jesus Himself believed the words of the Old Testament were God-breathed. In John 10:34 (quoting from Psalm 82:6), He based His teaching upon a single phrase: “I said, ‘You are gods.’” In Matthew 22:43–44 He quoted from Psalm 110:1 and emphasized a single word, “Lord,” to reveal Himself as the Son of God.

Where Are All the Gods?

The entire history of Israel covered by the Old Testament took place under the shadow of at least four major empires across the Fertile Crescent: Egypt, Assyria, Babylonia, and Persia. Their influence is seen throughout the Old Testament record, and the religious life of each of these powers was dominated by a vast pantheon of gods and goddesses. The Egyptian collection included at least 1,500 gods, a number nearly matched by the Assyrians, Babylonians, and Persians. They had gods for the land and sea, hills and valleys, planets and seasons, birth and death, and everything in between. The pantheon of the Greeks and Romans who carried us into the New Testament was equally numerous. Their collection included the same gods with different names as centuries and empires rolled by.

In staggeringly marked contrast to this polytheism, the Israelites, from their earliest history, were taught to believe in one God and one
alone. Moses fixed this truth in the mind of the nation: “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one” (Deuteronomy 6:4). Other ancient peoples of the world were polytheistic, so where did this “strange” idea come from? And why did the prophets of Israel hold to monotheism so firmly? The often quoted idea that Israel garnered its religious ideas from the surrounding nations is completely toppled by the fact that Israel stood alone as a people who believed there was only one God, the God of the whole universe. Jonah’s God of “heaven, sea, and land” (Jonah 1:9) was a radical idea to the sailors on the Phoenician ship as well as to the citizens of Nineveh.

Tell It like It Is

Another unique feature of the Old Testament is its ruthless honesty in the records of Israel. In the ancient world, bad things were not recorded. If a king lost a battle, either government spin would turn it into a victory or else the defeat would simply be left unstated in the records. The fifty year struggle between the Egyptians and the Hittites, in which both sides were frequently bested in the fight, is vividly recorded in the temple of Ramesses II at Abu Simbel as a great victory for the Pharaoh. Similarly, when recording the ancient dynasties of Egypt, this king deliberately omitted the dynasty of Amenhotep IV, who was considered the “heretic king” for elevating the god Aten above all others in the pantheon.2 The Romans followed suit with purposeful omissions from the record, and they had a phrase for it: damnatio memoria (the damnation of memory). To record it was to perpetuate it; to ignore it meant that it never happened.

Contrast this with the authenticity of the Old Testament. If Israel lost a battle, it was recorded. When Israel’s hero King David committed a terrible double crime of adultery and murder that was also recorded. Even the godly King Hezekiah, in whose reign a spiritual revival took place, is on record as failing in his latter days and committing an act of foolish pride that brought disaster on the nation in years to come (2 Kings 20:12–18).

Why did the Israelites buck the majority vote of the nations and refuse to censor their history?

Tell It like It Will Be

The fulfillment of biblical prophecy has always been a great embarrassment to the critics of the Bible, and their only escape route is to believe that the prophecies were written long after the event predicted. One significant problem with this conjecture is that no one has been able to explain how the “prophetic con men” managed to pull off their “deception” so consistently, convincingly, and completely over so many centuries!

One writer on this subject has concluded that “the number of prophecies in the Bible is so large and their distribution so evenly spread through both Testaments and all types of literary forms that the interpreter is alerted to the fact that he or she is dealing with a major component of the Bible.”3 With that amount available, we can only toe the water here.4

The prophets of God challenged the false prophets of the nations to tell something prophetic: “‘Present your case,’ says the Lord. ‘Bring forth your strong reasons,’ says the King of Jacob. ‘Let them bring forth and show us what will happen; let them show the former things, what they were, that we may consider them, and know the latter end of them; or declare to us things to come.’” (Isaiah 41:21–22).
The punishment for a prophet who gave false predictions was death. Conversely, the prophet Ezekiel, when prophesying of the coming destruction of Jerusalem, could claim with confidence, “When this comes to pass—surely it will come—then they will know that a prophet has been among them” (Ezekiel 33:33). For an Israelite it was unimaginable that a prophet would write up his “prophecy” after the event! A prophet would be stoned for such deceit.

The Prophecy of Nahum

The small book of Nahum in the Bible contains a clear prophecy of the final destruction of Nineveh, the capital of the powerful Assyrian empire. If the prophet had written his prophecy after the event, it is hardly likely that the Jews would have been so gullible as to have accepted the retrospective prophecy of a prophet they knew to be still among them.

The argument most favored by scholars who will not accept Bible prophecy is that the author, under the pseudonym of Nahum, wrote many years beyond the lifetime of any who could have witnessed the fall of Nineveh. The problem with this argument is that Nahum records the precise way in which this impregnable city would eventually fall: primarily through fire and water (see Nahum 1:10, 2:4, 6–8, 3:8, 13, 15). Archaeologists have discovered how accurate his descriptions are, and some of the fire-burnt palace reliefs can be seen in the British Museum in London.5 The city was so utterly destroyed in 612 BC that two centuries after its destruction, the Greek historian Xenophon sat on top of the ruins and had no idea what city it had been. It would be another 2,246 years before the site was positively identified!
Attempts to deny Nahum’s accurate prophecy of the destruction of Nineveh in 612 BC are more difficult to accept than believing real prophecy took place.

The Prophecies About Christ

The clearest and most challenging evidence of the reliability of the Old Testament is its consistent promise of the coming of the Messiah. Not even the most liberal critic of the Bible will doubt that Micah 5, Zechariah 9, Psalm 22, and Isaiah 53, to take four examples among many, were written centuries before Christ was born. Yet the details of His birth, triumphal entry, Crucifixion, and burial are too close to doubt the connection. The suggestions that either Jesus deliberately arranged to fulfill the prophecies (including His place of birth and the soldiers casting lots for His clothes) or that the accounts were written two or three centuries after the events have themselves long been consigned to the stuff of myth.6

The Voice of Silent Stones

Archaeology is rubbish, but sometimes it turns up gold. Archaeology searches through yesterday’s trash to discover how people lived, worked, fought, and died, as well as what they believed. The mantra that “archaeology disproves the Bible” is simple to refute if only people would check out the evidence. Archaeology is a big subject, so we can focus only on a few illustrations. But remember that the purpose of archaeology, as James Hoffmeier comments, is not to prove the Bible but to improve it.7 By this he means that archaeology can throw new light on old accounts and help us understand the Bible better.

Many details of the Bible, once rejected as fanciful at best or in error at worst, are now accepted by biblical scholars. Here are three of many.

David Who?

Critics once claimed King David did not ever exist since they could find no record of him outside the Bible. The common idea was that sometime after the Persians came to power in the sixth century BC, he and Solomon were invented by Jewish scribes in order to boost the morale of the Jews in exile.

In July 1993 at Tel Dan in northern Israel, a broken basalt inscription was found, which is dated by archaeologists to the eighth century BC. The inscription claims that the king of Damascus (Ben-Hadad of Syria) killed the king of Israel (that would be Jehoahaz) and the king of the “house of David” (that would be Joash of Judah). The account is found in 2 Kings 13:1–25. This means that the dynasty of King David was known 250 years before the scribes supposedly invented him in the sixth century BC!8 Few now deny the existence of David as a figure of history.

The King Who Never Existed

For a long time the only reference to an Assyrian king by the name of Sargon was found in Isaiah 20:1. It was therefore assumed that no such king existed and that the writer had made up the name. In 1843 Paul-Emil Botta, the French vice-consul and archaeologist in Mosul (northern Iraq), uncovered the great city of Khorsabad, and Sharru-kin (Sargon) is now one of the best known Assyrian kings in the ancient world.

Be Patient, Herr Hitzig

In 1850 German scholar Ferdinand Hitzig wrote a commentary on the book of Daniel and boldly declared that Belshazzar was “a figment of the writer’s imagination.”9 Hitzig’s reasoning was that the only references in known history to a king called Belshazzar were found in the book of Daniel.

Four years later, the British Consul in Basra, J. E. Taylor, discovered four identical time capsules from building works of King Nabonidus of Babylon in which he offers a prayer for himself and “Belshazzar my firstborn son, the offspring of my heart.” Today, no one doubts the existence of Belshazzar.

Some archaeological discoveries may appear to clash with the biblical record. Yet conclusive archaeology consistently confirms the Bible. For example, evidence of the conquest of Canaan in the time of Joshua is slowly coming to light.10 Also, the absence of evidence of the Hebrews in the land of Goshen has been answered by the Egyptologist Kenneth Kitchen, who asks what evidence we would expect to find from a people who, 3,500 years ago, lived in mud brick houses in an area frequently flooded. In fact, virtually all Egypt’s administrative records of the Delta area have been lost.11

On the other hand, a comparison of the names of foreign kings known from inscriptions and those in the Bible is “impeccably accurate.”12 In brief, it is simply false to claim that “archaeology disproves the Bible” when every year something new is turned up out of the ground that authenticates the biblical record. While there are still some unresolved issues, nothing in archaeology contradicts the Bible.

The Big Picture

Oxford lecturer Richard Dawkins dismissed the Bible as “a chaotically cobbled-together anthology of disjointed documents.”13 Any well taught Bible student will know that far from being “chaotically cobbled-together,” one of the hallmarks of the Bible as a trustworthy book is its progressive unfolding of one great theme from beginning to end.

We know the second part of the Bible focuses on Jesus Christ, but it is not always appreciated that the first part of the Bible is also consistently about Christ. While the Old Testament explores many subjects, the grand theme is Christ. Jesus called attention to the numerous Old Testament passages that spoke of Him (Luke 24:27, 44).

The first reference to Christ is made to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Shortly after they fell, God promised that the day would come when the offspring of a woman would crush Satan (Genesis 3:15). The whole of the Old Testament nudges history closer to the fulfillment of that promise. We have no space here to explore this in detail,14 but the record of Noah and the Flood, the life of Abraham and the patriarchs, the accounts of Joseph and Israel in Egypt, the Exodus, Sinai and the moral and ceremonial law under Moses, the monarchy from Saul to Zedekiah, and all the prophets in between, nudge the big picture forward until the climax: “when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son” (Galatians 4:4). Every book, even the small ones like Ruth and Esther, plays its part in the big picture.
This perfect harmony of the 39 books in the Old Testament is as unique as it is remarkable and stands as one of the great witnesses to the divine authorship, not only of the books, but of the record they relate.

What the Wise Men Say

Many able archaeologists and Old Testament scholars, both past and present, have accepted the historical accuracy of the Old Testament record.

Robert Dick Wilson was Professor of Semitic Philology at Princeton Theological Seminary during the 1920s. His knowledge of languages (he learned 26 languages, both ancient and modern) was phenomenal and his understanding of the biblical text equally so. He concluded, “No man knows enough to assail the truthfulness of the Old Testament. . . . I try to give my students such an intelligent faith in the Old Testament Scriptures that they will never doubt them as long as they live.”15

Kenneth Kitchen, Professor Emeritus of Egyptology and Honorary Research Fellow at the School of Archaeology, Classics, and Oriental Studies, University of Liverpool, England, has made the point that in the ancient world, “people did not write ‘historical novels’ with authentic research . . . in Near Eastern antiquity, as we do today.”16

James Hoffmeier, Professor of Old Testament and Ancient Near Eastern History and Archaeology at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, while borrowing a phrase from his mentor Alfred Hoerth that archaeology “improves” rather than “proves” the Bible, nevertheless rigorously defends the historical accuracy of the Old Testament.17

Donald J. Wiseman, who, until his death in 2009, was Professor Emeritus of Assyriology at the University of London, has claimed that archaeology, “correctly understood, always confirms the accuracy of the Bible.”18

Alan Millard, Rankin Professor Emeritus of Hebrew and Ancient Semitic Languages at the University of Liverpool, wisely reminds us that archaeology can never prove or disprove the important message of the Bible, but it does “provide a good basis for a positive approach to the biblical records” and thus “enable its distinctive religious message to stand out more boldly.”19
While archaeology can never “prove the Bible true” in that the Bible’s most important message is about God’s promise of the Savior Jesus Christ, the accuracy of its historical data confirms the integrity of its message.

Footnotes

Creative Commons Attribution—Share Alike 2.5 Generic, 2.0 Generic and 1.0 Generic license.
See The Egyptian King List in the British Museum, London (EA117).
Walter Kaiser, Back Toward the Future. (Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock Publishers, 2003), p. 20.
For more detail on this subject, see Brian Edwards, Nothing but the Truth. (Darlington, England: Evangelical Press, 2006), pp. 76–96. Back
Accession no.WA 124785, for example.
See for example Redating the New Testament. John A. T. Robinson. S C M Press. (London) 1976, where Robinson (a liberal critic) concludes the entire New Testament was completed before 70 AD.
The Archaeology of the Bible. James K. Hoffmeier. Lion Hudson, Oxford (2008). Preface.
George Athas, The Tel Dan Inscription, (London: T & T Clark, 2003). See also K. A. Kitchen, On the Reliability of the Old Testament, (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2003), p. 92.
Das Buch Daniel. Ferdinand Hitzig. Weidman (Leipzig) 1850.
The Archaeology of the Bible. p. 76.
Professor Kitchen comments, “Those who squawk intermittently ‘No trace of the Hebrews has ever been found’ (so, of course, no exodus) are wasting their breath.” Kitchen, On the Reliability of the Old Testament, p. 246.
Ibid., 62
Richard Dawkins, The God Delusion (London: Transworld Publishers (Bantam Press), 2006), p. 237.
For more detail on this theme see Edwards, Nothing but the Truth chapter 3, “The Master Plan.”
Robert Dick Wilson, Is the Higher Criticism Scholarly? 1922. See also Wilson, A Scientific Investigation of the Old Testament, p. 8.
Kitchen, On the Reliability of the Old Testament, p. 188.
James Hoffmeier, The Archaeology of the Bible. Preface and throughout this excellent volume.
In private conversion with the author, and this faithfully represents his view.
Alan Millard, Treasures from Bible Times. (Lion, 1985), p. 14.

http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/2011/03/08/is-old-testament-reliable

See also:

1. Is the New Testament Reliable?
2. The New Testament
3. In Defense of the Old Testament Prophecy of the Virgin Birth of the Messiah
4. “Lost” Books?

by Brian EdwardsMarch 15, 2011

In a culture where God’s Word is constantly under attack from those both inside and outside of the church, we must always be ready to give a defense for the hope that is in us. This web series on Apologetics is designed to give you the tools required to defend the faith.

Introduction

In the seventeenth century William Googe, preaching at Blackfriars in London, spent 32 years and 1,000 sermons on the New Testament book of Hebrews. That may appear excessive, but he did this because he and his congregation believed the New Testament to be both reliable and relevant to their day. It still is. Every week, millions of Christians in tens of thousands of congregations listen to sermons based upon the life, death, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ and the work and teaching of His followers. Can we trust the New Testament as a reliable record of what actually happened, and do we possess what was actually written in the first century?

What the Writers Believed

Two important verses in the New Testament are 2 Timothy 3:16 and 2 Peter 1:21. The first tells us where the Scriptures came from—they came from God—and the second informs us how they came to us—through men moved by God. In their immediate context, of course, these verses refer to the Old Testament, but this inspiration is also what these men claimed for themselves and for each other. Let’s quickly examine some of the evidence.

Paul wrote to the Corinthian Christians “not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches” (1 Corinthians 2:13), and similarly, Peter encouraged the young churches to recall “the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us, the apostles of the Lord and Savior” (2 Peter 3:2). The translators handled well an unusual form of Greek in these passages; the emphasis is not that the apostles merely passed on the commands that Christ had given during His earthly ministry but that they now spoke the words of Christ Himself.

In his first letter, Peter was even more direct. He claimed that the Old Testament prophets spoke of the coming of Christ by the power of “the Spirit of Christ who was in them,” and then he turned his attention to the apostles “who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven” (1 Peter 1:11–12). What the Holy Spirit was to the prophets, so He was to the apostles; the authority of the prophets is equal to the authority of the apostles.

Paul challenged the Thessalonians, “You know what commandments we gave you through the Lord Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 4:2). Earlier in the same letter, Paul had reminded his readers how they first responded to his message: “When you received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God” (2:13).

Because Paul was convinced that his teaching carried the authority of God, he claimed that his preaching was the standard of the truth and that other preachers could be tested and measured by it (Galatians 1:6–12). Paul’s gospel was not “according to man,” but was received “through the revelation of Jesus Christ” (Galatians 1:11–12; see also Ephesians 3:3). For this reason obedience to Paul’s teaching became the measure of a spiritual life: “If anyone thinks himself to be a prophet or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things which I write to you are the commandments of the Lord” (1 Corinthians 14:37).

What’s the Problem?

A few phrases used by Paul present a problem to some. In 1 Corinthians 7:10 he claimed, “Now to the married I command, yet not I but the Lord.” Paul meant nothing more than that on the particular subject with which he was dealing, Christ had already left instructions—see for example Matthew 19:1–9. On the other hand, when Paul declared in 1 Corinthians 7:12, “But to the rest I, not the Lord, say,” he meant that on this part of the subject Christ had nothing directly to say. We can understand verse 25 in the same way. The phrase, “I think I also have the Spirit of God,” found in verse 40, is not a statement of doubt. Paul is either making a mocking jibe at those in Corinth who claimed to be full of spiritual gifts and wisdom (1 Corinthians 14:37), or else he is making a positive statement in the same way that we might affirm the truth of a statement with the positive claim, “I think I know what I am talking about.”

How Their Letters Were Received

Paul did not expect his letters to be read once and then destroyed. The letter addressed to the Colossian church was to be read and passed on to the church at Laodicea; similarly, the letter he had written to Laodicea (long ago lost) was to be read at Colossae (Colossians 4:16). The apostle was so insistent that his letter to the Thessalonian church should be read by everyone that he placed them under an obligation to the Lord Himself to make sure that “all the holy brethren” had it read to them (1 Thessalonians 5:27). There is no doubt that after the death of the apostles, the early church leaders accepted the apostles’ letters, and no others, as equal in authority to the Old Testament.1
Peter gave Paul’s letters the same authority as the Old Testament Scriptures (2 Peter 3:16), just as Paul gave the words of Christ recorded in the Gospels equal authority with the Old Testament. For example, in 1 Timothy 5:18 Paul introduced both Deuteronomy 25:4 and Luke 10:7 by saying, “the Scripture says.” Therefore, when we use the “all Scripture” in 2 Timothy 3:16 to refer to both Old and New Testaments, we are following the example of the apostles.

The Authority Christ Gave to His Disciples

The words of Matthew 16:18–19 (and Matthew 18:18) have often been the cause of debate and argument, but the passage is straightforward. The promise, “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven,” must be understood in the Jewish context. When scribes were admitted to their office, they received a symbolic key of knowledge (see Luke 11:52). The duty of the scribes was to interpret and apply the law of God to particular cases. When the scribes bound a man, they placed him under the obligation of the Law, and when they loosed him they released
him from the obligation.

Similarly, the Lord had been training His disciples to be stewards of His teachings. In this promise in Matthew 16:19, He referred to their future writing and preaching as scribes of the New Testament and promised divine help to His disciples in those tasks. In John 14:26 He gave His disciples two promises: a divinely aided understanding and a divinely aided memory. “But the Helper [Counselor], the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.” John 16:13 adds to this a divinely aided knowledge: “He will tell you things to come.”

In order that the disciples might recall accurately all that Christ had said and done, instruct the Christian church in the way of truth, and write of things still in the future, Christ promised the help of the Holy Spirit. The apostles would be writing with no less authority than the Old Testament prophets. This is confirmed in Revelation 22:6: “The angel said to me, ‘These words are trustworthy and true. The Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, sent his angel to show his servants the things that must soon take place’” (NIV).

The Authority of Christ Himself

Nowhere did Christ more plainly express His belief in the authority of Scripture than in Matthew 5:18: “For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.” Later in His ministry, Jesus applied the same authority to His own words: “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will by no means pass away” (Matthew 24:35).

Written or Oral?

It is often assumed that the records in the Gospels circulated only as oral traditions for some 40 years. One critic’s claim is typical: “It is incontrovertible that in the earliest period there was only an oral record of the narrative and sayings of Jesus.”2 Thus, it was concluded that the Gospels are not history as we know it. But consider the following:

Get That Down

Although the Jewish rabbis and Greek and Roman philosophers preferred oral teaching, we know that students of both kept notes of the instruction they received. Notice the “writing tablet” in Luke 1:63. It was also common for civil servants and others (like Matthew, Zacchaeus, and the man in Luke 16:6) to use a “notebook” for their work. This was an early form of book made of parchment sheets fastened together with a primitive spiral bind. The Greek language borrowed the Latin name for it, which is membranae. This is exactly the word translated “the books” in 2 Timothy 4:13. Paul used a notebook.3

The Gospels record 21 Aramaic words used by Jesus, and we may therefore assume that Jesus generally taught in Aramaic. Professor Alan Millard comments, “The simplest explanation for the presence of these foreign terms in the Greek text is accurate reporting.”4 In Galilee, where Hebrew was little used, Jesus may have taught in Greek. A leading Jewish authority on the rabbis of this time concludes, “We would naturally expect the logia [teaching] of Jesus to be originally copied in codices.”5
We are not suggesting that all the Gospels were written “on the hoof” as the disciples accompanied Jesus, but it would be natural to expect some listeners to write down His teaching and parables. This would be fully in keeping with what we know of the literacy and note-taking of first century Palestine. There is no reason the Gospel writers would not have had access to written records.

And Get It Down Now!

The idea that the Gospels and epistles were not written down until two or three centuries after the death of Jesus is yesterday’s “scholarship.” Ignatius, who was martyred around the year AD 115, wrote of the apostles’ letters and the Gospels as the “New Testament.”6 This was typical of all the early church leaders who acknowledged only the four Gospels for the life and teaching of Jesus. By AD 150 the Muratorian Canon listed the books accepted by the “universal church,” and it includes the four Gospels and all thirteen letters of Paul.7
In 1972 a liberal scholar, John A. T. Robinson, published a detailed study of each of the books of the New Testament and concluded that every one must have been completed before the year AD 70.8 In addition he condemned the “sheer scholarly laziness” of those who assume a late date for the New Testament and added, “It is sobering too to discover how little basis there is for many of the dates confidently assigned by modern experts to the New Testament documents.”9

We may confidently claim that the Gospels and letters of the New Testament were written down by the traditionally accepted authors who lived in the first century.

Authentic Narratives

The Gospel records bear all the hallmarks of authentic eyewitness accounts. Here are three examples.

Philip told Nathanael about Jesus by stating, “We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph” (John 1:45). No one writing in the second or third century would have invented that. Nazareth is not even mentioned in the Old Testament, and the Jews never associated it with the coming Messiah. The most natural introduction would have been “Jesus of Bethlehem”— since that town had strong Messianic connections (Micah 5:2). Besides, why say, “the son of Joseph,” when well before the second century, only the heretics doubted that Jesus was really the Son of God? The only explanation for these “second century gaffes” is that the New Testament accurately records what Philip actually said.

One day, Jesus visited the home of Lazarus, Mary, and Martha. John reported that “Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil” (John 12:3). Why does the author even mention the fragrance of the oil? Surely, there is no great theological truth to be learned from this statement; however, the mention of this detail testifies to the account’s authenticity. C. S. Lewis stated that “The art of inventing little irrelevant details to make an imaginary scene more convincing is a purely modern art.”10 He added, “As a literary historian, I am perfectly convinced that whatever else the Gospels are, they are not legends. I have read a great deal of legend and I am quite clear they are not the same sort of thing.”11
If later writers wanted their readers to believe that Jesus is the Son of God and Lord of life, then His journey to Golgotha appeared to be a disaster. He stumbled and fell and was too weak to carry the crossbeam; and why make up that seemingly despairing cry from the Cross: “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Matthew 27:46). So many details of Christ’s final week—the entry into Jerusalem, the beating and Crucifixion, and the claim of a resurrection—opened Christians up to ridicule. The Jews were offended, the Greeks mocked, and the Romans drew graffiti of a donkey-headed man on a cross. Why make it all up?

A witness has a right to be believed unless he is proved to be false. And if the quality of his life matches the high morality of his teaching, then we must have strong reasons before we malign the integrity of his account.

The Stones Cry Out

As with the Old Testament, archaeology continually confirms the accuracy of the New Testament historical record.

Augustus Issued a Decree

The account of the Roman census recorded in Luke 2 is well known. What is not so well known is that it was assumed by some that a Roman emperor would never issue an order for a census where “all went to be registered, everyone to his own city.” Then, a papyrus decree was discovered in Egypt that was an order for a Roman census in Egypt at the time of Trajan in AD 104, which mirrors the order of Augustus recorded in Luke 2. The Prefect Gaius Vibius Maximus ordered all those in his area to return to their own homes for the purpose of a census.12

Pilate Who?

Believe it or not, it was at one time suggested that Pilate was not a real figure of history because the only known reference to him came from the New Testament. Then, in the late 1950s an inscription was found at Caesarea that dedicated a theater built by Pilate to the honor of Tiberias. Although half the stone tablet is destroyed, the rest is clear: “The Tiberius which Pontius Pilate, the Prefect of Judea dedicated.” The stone had been recycled to be used as part of a stairway for the remodelled theater in the third century.13 But that is not all. The British Museum in London displays a small bronze coin minted by Pontius Pilate while he was governor of Judea; it carries the date of the 17th year of Tiberius, which would be AD 30/31—perhaps the very year of the Crucifixion of Jesus.14

Dr. Luke and the Polytarchs

At the time of Paul’s travels, each city had its own town council, known by different titles from town to town; only a contemporary and
careful writer would record them accurately. An example of the accuracy of Luke (the writer of Acts) as a historian was found in 1877 when a block of marble—rescued from becoming builder’s rubble at Thessalonica—proved to be an inscription of the civic leaders in the city sometime in the second century. They are referred to as polytarchs. This is exactly the word translated as “rulers of the city” in Acts 17:6.15

A Final Word from Sir William

Much more about the stones could be added, but let a scholar have the last word. Sir William Ramsay was a bucket-and-spade archaeologist who spent his life digging around in modern day Turkey, the land of Paul’s travels. He was a bright man with three honorary fellowships from Oxford and nine honorary doctorates from British, Continental, and American universities. He was at one time professor at Oxford and Aberdeen universities, was awarded the Victorian medal of the Royal Geographic Society in 1906, and was a founding member of the British Academy. He was knighted in 1906 for his service to archaeology.

After a lifetime of painstaking research as a historian and archaeologist, this was his conclusion: “You may press the words of Luke in a degree beyond any other historian’s and they stand the keenest scrutiny and the hardest treatment.” He added, “Christianity did not originate in a lie; and we can and ought to demonstrate this as well as believe it.”16

Footnotes

Brian H. Edwards, Why 27? (Darlington, England: Evangelical Press, 2007), pp. 89–106. Back
W G Kümmel, trans. Introduction to the New Testament (London: SCM Press, 1975), p. 55. Back
Alan Millard, Reading and Writing in the Time of Jesus (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 2000), p. 63. Back
Millard, Reading and Writing in the Time of Jesus, p. 142. Back
S. Lieberman in Millard, Reading and Writing in the Time of Jesus, p. 211. Back
Ignatius, Epistle to the Philadelphians 5, and Epistle to the Smyrnaeans 7:4. Back
Edwards, Why 27? pp. 89–90. Back
J. A. T. Robinson, Redating the New Testament (London: SCM Press, 1972). Conservative Christians agree that all of the New Testament was completed by the close of the first century AD. Back
Robinson, Redating the New Testament. p. 341. Back
C. S. Lewis, “What Are We to Make of Jesus Christ?” Essay. 1950. Back
Ibid. Back
Papyrus 904 in the British Library, London. Back
Yosef Porath, “Vegas on the Med: A Tour of Caesarea’s Entertainment District,” Biblical Archaeological Review. September/October 2004, p. 27. Back
British Museum accession no. CM 1908.01–10–530. Back
British Museum accession no. GR1877.5–11.1. Back
William Ramsay, The Bearing of Recent Discovery on the Trustworthiness of the New Testament (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1915), p. 89.

http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/2011/03/15/is-new-testament-reliable

See also:

1. The New Testament
2. The Testament of Jesus
3. In Defense of the Old Testament Prophecy of the Virgin Birth of the Messiah
4. Treatise on the New Testament

Possibly his most important work was his translation of the New Testament into Hebrew, an endeavor he undertook with deep evangelical conviction that only the Word of God could bring the Messiah to God’s chosen people.

It was said of Delitzsch that, “The ideal aim of his spirit was to awaken a dead people, to strengthen the dying in Israel.” And that, “His Hebrew New Testament was the most effective missionary among the Jews … he was the soul of missions among Israel in all of Christendom.”

As an accomplished Hebraist and student of rabbinic literature, Delitzsch was able to re-contextualize the Gospels back into their Hebraic matrix. He understood and revealed the Hebrew / Jewish underpinnings of the Gospels. He devoted his entire life to restoring Yeshua back to his people. Delitzsch wrote, “We have cause to say, that our new translation has contributed somewhat to bring the New Testament nearer to the Jews as a prominent work of their literature…the New Testament [is] the highest work that the Jewish genius has produced.”

You can find Delitzsch’s translation online here.

The text continues to be used today, particularly among Messianic Jews–although some groups claim the work is impure due to its reliance on Greek manuscripts as opposed to Aramaic ones like that used to create the Aramaic English New Testament. Educational ministry First Fruits of Zion, for instance, is working on a project to create an English translation of Delitzsch’s Hebrew translation, which includes his critical notes and is accompanied by a 24 minute introduction to his life and work. You can find additional information on the project at FFOZ.

Here is the video introduction, divided into three parts.

Nota bene: This is a Messianic Jewish scholar speaking, so the language and theological interpretation should be taken with appropriate caution. Just the way he says “Lutheran” makes him seem suspect :)

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Citation via FFOZ / Image via Wikipedia

See also:

1. Iniquity – What’s In A Word?
2. To The Fools Who Deny the Virgin Birth of Jesus
3. Forgive – What’s In A Word?
4. Say – What’s In A Word?

In Roman Catholicism the Mass is equivalent to The Lord’s Supper, the communion offering. The word “mass” is derived from the Latin missa. The mass is a series of rituals centered around the communion supper. It is also called the Eucharistic Supper. According to the New Saint Joseph Baltimore Catechism, vol 2, question 357, “The mass is the sacrifice of the new law in which Christ, through the Ministry of the priest, offers himself to God in an unbloody manner under the appearances of bread and wine. The mass is the sacrifice of Christ offered in a sacramental manner…the reality is the same but the appearances differ.” Question 358 asks “What is a sacrifice?” The answer given is “A sacrifice is the offering of a victim by a priest to God alone, and the destruction of it in some way to knowledge that he is the creator of all things.” From the Baltimore catechism we can conclude that the mass is the offering of Christ, by a priest.

According to Roman Catholicism, Christ instituted the Mass when he said, “This is my body,” (Matt. 26:26) and “This is my blood,” (Matt. 26:28). Furthermore, Roman Catholicism teaches that when Jesus said “Do this in remembrance of me,” he gave the apostles and hence his future priests the power to change bread and wine into his body and blood, (Baltimore Catechism, Vol. 2, Q. 354). Therefore, during the ceremony of the Mass during the part of the liturgy known as the consecration, the priest changes of bread and wine into Christ’s body and blood (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1105).

In checking out the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC), The Catholic Encyclopedia, and The Council of Trent, we find the following: The Eucharist is referred to in several ways.

As a sacrifice: “the holy sacrifice of the Eucharist,” (CCC, 1055) and “the Eucharist is also a sacrifice,” (CCC, 1365).

As a divine sacrifice: “For it is in the liturgy, especially in the divine sacrifice of the Eucharist, that “the work of our redemption is accomplished,” (CCC, 1068).

As a representation of the sacrifice of Christ: ”The Eucharist is thus a sacrifice because it re-presents (makes present) the sacrifice of the cross,” (CCC, 1366).

Is ‘one single sacrifice’ with Christ’s sacrifice: “The sacrifice of Christ and the sacrifice of the Eucharist are one single sacrifice,” (CCC, 1367).

It is the same sacrifice of Christ: “And since in this divine sacrifice which is celebrated in the Mass, the same Christ who offered himself once in a bloody manner on the altar of the cross is contained and is offered in an unbloody manner,” (CCC, 1367).

It is propitiatory (removes the wrath of God): “…this sacrifice is truly propitiatory,” (CCC, 1367).

To all who deny its propitiatory nature Trent pronounces anathema: “If any one saith, that the sacrifice of the mass is only a sacrifice of praise and of thanksgiving; or, that it is a bare commemoration of the sacrifice consummated on the cross, but not a propitiatory sacrifice; or, that it profits him only who receives; and that it ought not to be offered for the living and the dead for sins, pains, satisfactions, and other necessities; let him be anathema.” (Trent: On the Sacrifice of the Mass: Canon 3);

It is called the sacrifice of Christ which is offered via the priest’s hands: ”The sacrifice of Christ the only Mediator, which in the Eucharist is offered through the priests’ hands,” (CCC, 1369).

It is capable of making reparation of sins: “As sacrifice, the Eucharist is also offered in reparation for the sins of the living and the dead,” (CCC, 1414).

It is to be considered a true and proper sacrifice: ”The Church intends the Mass to be regarded as a ‘true and proper sacrifice’”, (The Catholic Encyclopedia, topic: “Sacrifice of the Mass”).

Is the Mass a re-sacrifice of Christ?

Roman Catholics are quick to say that the Eucharist is not a re-sacrifice of Christ. They want to make it clear that Christ was offered once for all and that the Mass is not a re-sacrifice but a “re-presentation” of the sacrifice. We certainly do not want to misrepresent Roman Catholic theology, but we must ask how it is possible for the Mass to not be a re-sacrifice of Christ when the Mass is called a divine sacrifice (CCC, 1068) that is done over and over again. We are told that “the sacrifice of Christ and the sacrifice of the Eucharist are one single sacrifice”; (CCC, 1367); that it is an unbloody offering that is proptiatory, (CCC, 1367); that it can make reparation of sins, (CCC, 1414); and is to be considered a true and proper sacrifice (The Catholic Encyclopedia, topic: “Sacrifice of the Mass”). We must conclude that it is a sacrifice that occurs over and over again and since it is said to be a true and proper sacrifice that is propitiatory, then logically it must be a re-sacrifice of Christ. If it is not, then how can it be called a sacrifice of Christ? Also, how could it be propitiatory if it is not a sacrifice of Christ since it is Christ’s offering on the cross that is itself propitiatory?

“Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people,” (Heb. 2:17).

“and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world,” (1 John 2:2).

Biblical Response

We risk the Roman Catholic saying that the biblical response to their position is a response to a straw man. Typically, the Roman Catholic will say that the Mass is not a re-sacrifice. But it is difficult to conclude otherwise when we examine what the official Roman Catholic documents say. Therefore we surmise that if it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, and looks like a duck, it must be a duck. Likewise, if the Mass is said to be a sacrifice of Christ and is repeated, then we must conclude that it is a continuing sacrifice, a re-sacrifice of Christ since the Catholic Church says that this very sacrifice is propitiatory (removes the wrath of God) and it is only the actual sacrifice of Jesus that can accomplish propitiation.

The Bible tells us plenty about the sacrifice of Christ. Please consider the following verses:

Sacrifice offered once:

“For it was fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens; 27 who does not need daily, like those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins, and then for the sins of the people, because this He did once for all when He offered up Himself,” (Heb. 7:26-27).

“So Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, shall appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him,” (Heb. 9:28).

“By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all, 11 And every priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins; 12 but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God,” (Heb. 10:10-12).

Sacrifice repetition of no value:

“For the Law, since it has only a shadow of the good things to come and not the very form of things, can never by the same sacrifices year by year, which they offer continually, make perfect those who draw near,” (Heb. 10:1).

“And every priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins,” (Heb. 10:11).

We can see that the Bible tells us Christ offered himself once and that there is no need for repetition of his sacrifice. The failure of the Roman Catholic Church has been to distort the biblical doctrine of the Lord’s Supper into a constant and repetitious sacrifice of Christ. It should be plain to the reader that the Roman Catholic position is not only unbiblical but anti-biblical.

See also:

1. Luther on the German Mass
2. Christ Our Great High Priest
3. Reconciled in Fact, not in Theory

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From Luther’s Prayers

Give us true obedience and perfect resignation in all things temporal and eternal. Preserve us from the cruel voice of slandering, defaming, judging and condemning others.

O that the great misery and harm caused by such tongues were far from us! When we see or hear anything of others that seems blamable and disagreeable to us teach us to cover it up, and to keep silent about it. Help us to complain to you alone and leave all to your will, and so gladly to forgive all our debtors and sympathize with them. Amen.

From Luther’s Small Catechism

The Lord’s Prayer: The Third Petition

Your will be done, on earth as is heaven.

What is this?

In fact, God’s good and gracious will comes about without our prayer, but we ask in this prayer that it may also come about in and among us.

How does this come about?

Whenever God breaks and hinders every evil scheme and will of the devil, the world, and our flesh that would not allow us to hallow God’s name and would prevent the coming of his kingdom. And God’s will comes about whenever God strengthens us and keeps us steadfast in his Word and in faith until the end of our lives. This is God’s gracious and good will.

Gospel: Matthew 4:12-23

Now when Jesus heard John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. 13 He left Nazareth and made his home in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Nephtali, 14 so that what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:

15 “Lord of Zenulun, land of Naphtali,
on the road by the sea, across the Jordan,
Galilee of the Gentiles—
16 the people who sat in the darkness
have seen a great light,
and for those who sat in the region and
shadow of death
light has dawned.”

17 From that time Jesus began to proclaim, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”
18 As he walked by the sea of Galilee, he saw two bothers, Simon who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea—for they were fishermen. 19 And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.” 20 Immediately they left their nets and followed him. 21 As they went from there, they saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John, in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets, and he called them. 22 Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed him.
23 Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and curing every disease and every sickness among the people.

What does this mean?

Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you. (John xv. 16)

This cuts off and condemns at a stroke all the presumptions of spurious saints, who want to do and deserve so much, even to reconciling God and making Him their friend. For what do they do but make the choice and seek to be first, in that their merits precede and God’s grace toddles on behind? It is not He who chooses us, but we seek Him and make Him our friend, that we may glory in that He has received much good from us. That is what all the world does in seeking to merit God’s grace by previous works. But the Gospel says, ‘Ye have not chosen Me’. That is, you are My friends not because of what you do, but because of what I do. If it were because of what you do, I should have to regard your merit, but it is because of Me and through Me, because I draw you to Me and give you all that I possess, so that your glory is in nothing but My grace and love, and not your own nor all the world’s work or merit. For I have not let Myself be found by you; rather have I had to seek you and bring you to Myself, when you were afar off, without knowledge of God, and were held in the grip of error and condemnation like the rest. But now I am come, and I have called you out of the darkness, before you prayed or did anything about it. Thus you are My friends in that you have received all good from Me, and know that you have received it all for nothing and out of sheer grace.

Via Luther’s Exposition of John xv. [W.A. 45. 697 ff.] taken from Day by Day We Magnify Thee, p. 101.

See also:

1. Epiphany II
2. Epiphany III
3. Epiphany IV
4. Epiphany V

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From Luther’s Prayers

O Father, grant us also that we may be your heavenly children. Teach us to be mindful only of our souls and our heavenly heritage, so that our earthly country and inheritance may not deceive, nor limit, nor hinder us. Neither make us mere children of this world, so we may in reality call you our heavenly Father and may truly be your heavenly children. Amen.

From Luther’s Small Catechism

The Lord’s Prayer: Introduction

Our Father in heaven.

What is this?

With these words God wants to attract us, so that we believe he is truly our Father and we are truly his children, in order that we may ask him boldly and with complete confidence, just as loving children ask their loving father.

Gospel: Matthew 3:13-17

13 Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him. 14 John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?”15 But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented. 16 And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. 17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.”

Psalm 29

1 Ascribe to the LORD, you gods,
Ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.
2 Ascribe to the LORD the glory due His name;
Worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.
3 The voice of the LORD is upon the waters;
the GOD of glory thunders;
The LORD is upon the mighty waters.
4 The voice of the LORD is a powerful voice;
The voice of the LORD is a voice of splendor.
5 The voice of the LORD breaks the cedar trees;
The LORD breaks the cedars of Lebanon;
6 he makes Lebanon skip like a calf,
And Mount Hermon like a young wild ox.
7 The voice of the LORD splits the flames of fire;
the voice of the LORD shakes the wilderness;
The LORD shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.
8 The voice of the LORD makes the oak trees writhe
And strips the forest bare.
9 And in the temple of the LORD
All are crying, “Glory!”
10 The LORD sits enthroned above the flood;
The LORD sits enthroned as king forevermore.
11 The LORD shall give strength to his people;
The LORD shall give his people the blessing of peace.

What does this mean?

This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. (Matthew iii. 17)

With these words He says to us naught else than this; there I give unto you all My grace, love, and blessing, which I have in My heart and My power. For, that you may not and cannot doubt it in your minds, I offer unto you here—not Moses, not a prophet, nor an angel, nor a saint, nor a treasure of gold and silver, nor great earthly or heavenly gifts—but My beloved Son, that is; My very heart, the true, eternal fountain of all grace and good, which no angel nor any creature in heaven and on earth can fathom. He shall be the token and pledge of My grace and love against your sin and fear. And inasmuch as He is by birth and right the true heir and Lord of all creatures, so shall ye in Him become my children and joint-heirs, and inherit all that He possesses in His power. For in addition to giving us His privilege, and inheritance which are His by nature, He has merited and bought us through suffering and death as our priest and bishop, that we may be His chosen children, and eternally joint-heirs of all His goods. What more could He have given or done for us, and what greater or better thing could man’s heart desire or conceive?

Via Luther’s “Sermon on Holy Baptism” (Epiphany, 1535) [E.A. 16. 85] taken from Day by Day We Magnify Thee, p. 38.

See also:

1. Baptism of Our Lord
2. On Baptism & Salvation
3. The Lord Will Make a Way
4. Be Praised Now, Lord Jesus

Has archaeology unearthed ancient biblical texts that cast doubt on the current canon of Scripture? Is it possible that Christians don’t have the true Bible?

… and responds,

This can’t be true for two very good reasons. There are no “lost” books of the Bible. In the January Enhanced Solid Ground, I explain why you can have confidence – and explain to others – that we have the complete Bible God intended.

You can access the full article here

See also:

1. Luther’s Treatment of the Disputed Books of the New Testament
2. Rejoice with me, because I have found my sheep, the lost one!
3. The Parable of the Lost Sheep
4. The Parable of the Lost Sheep

Habakkuk 1:12-17

V. 12. Art Thou not from everlasting, O Lord, my God, mine Holy One?

To this certainty the prophet clings, from it he derives consoling confidence. We shall not die, the people of the Lord would not be wholly exterminated. O Lord, Thou hast ordained them, the children of Israel, the Lord’s people, for judgment, to carry out His judgment of punishment upon them, and, O mighty God, literally, “Thou Rock,” Thou hast established them for correction, to be chastised and thus brought to the realization of their sins.

V. 13. Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, too pure to endure to behold it, and canst not look on iniquity, the wickedness and distress which men inflict upon others, wherefore lookest Thou upon them that deal treacherously, the violent Babylonian conquerors, and holdest Thy tongue when the wicked devoureth the man that is more righteous than he,  for the children of God in the midst of Israel gave them a higher moral standing than that which the Chaldeans possessed,

V. 14. and makest men as the fishes of the sea, helpless in the face of the fisherman’s net, as the creeping things that have no ruler over them, one who might act as their protector and defender in times of peril?

V. 15. They take up all of them with the angle, they catch them in their net, and gather them in their drag, in the largest kind of fishnet, therefore they rejoice and are glad, the enemies being pleased with the ease with which they overcame the Lord’s people.

V. 16. Therefore they sacrifice unto their net and burn incense unto their drag, a custom which was actually found among some heathen nations, because by them their portion is fat and their meat plenteous, present in rich and great quantities.

V. 17. Shall they therefore empty their net, namely, with the intention of casting it out again for a new draught, and not spare continually to slay the nations? or, “and always strangle nations without sparing?” The enemies angles, or hooks, nets, and drags are clearly his great and powerful armies, with which he has conquered nations and brought the treasures of the world to Babylon. Mark: He who puts his trust in anything on earth and glories in it to the exclusion of God makes this creature his idol.

- from Paul Kretzmann, ‘Popular Commentary of the Bible’

See also:

1. Luther’s Preface to the Prophets
2. Beware of False Prophets
3. A Flood Prayer & Exorcism for Use in Baptism
4. Morning Prayer Before Worship – Psalm 5

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From Luther’s Prayers

Lord Jesus Christ, hurry. Do not delay in bringing the blessed day when the hope of happy redemption will be fulfilled. For this reason you have asked us to pray: Thy kingdom come. Since you have so commanded us to pray, give us grace and help to pray diligently, firmly believing that we shall finally come to such glory. Continually mortify this old body that we may finally receive a new body not so full of sin nor so inclined to all manner of evil as the life we now live. Give us bodies that will not become sick, nor suffer persecutions, nor die. Give us bodies redeemed from all temporal and spiritual misery, like your own glorified body, dear Lord Jesus Christ. Grant that the glad and blessed day of our redemption and glorification may come soon, and that we may realize it as we now hear and believe your word. Amen,

Hymn

Refrain: Oh, come, oh come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear.
Rejoice ! Rejoice ! Emmanuel Shall come to you O Israel.

Oh, come, oh come, great Lord of might,
Who to your tribes on Sinai’s height
In ancient times once gave the law
In cloud, and majesty, and awe. Refrain

Oh come, strong Branch of Jesse, free
Your own from Satan’s tyranny;
From depths of hell your people save
And give them vict’ry o’er the grave. Refrain

Oh come, blest Dayspring come and cheer
Our spirits by your advent here;
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
And death’s dark shadows put to flight. Refrain

Oh, come, O Key of David come,
And open wide our heav’nly home;
Make safe the way that leads on high,
And close the path to misery. Refrain

Gospel: Matthew 1:18-25

18 Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit; 19 Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly.

20 But just when he had resolved to do this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” 22 All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet:

23 “Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and they shall name him Emmanuel”

which means, ‘God is with us’” 24 When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife, 25 but had no martial relations with her until she had borne a son; and he named him Jesus.

Isaiah 7:14 – 17

“Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, a young woman shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. 15 He shall eat curds and honey when he knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good. 16 For before the child knows how to refuse the evil and choose good, the land before whose two kings you are in dread will be deserted. 17 The Lord will bring upon you and upon your people and upon your father’s house such days as have not come since the day that Ephraim departed from Judah – the king of Assyria.”

What does this mean?

. . . I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. (Revelation iii. 20)

He cometh, cometh unto thee. Yea, verily, thou goest not to Him, neither dost thou fetch Him. He is too high for thee, and too far away. All thy wealth and wit, thy toil and labour, will not bring thee near Him, lest thou pride thyself that thy merit and worthiness have brought Him unto thee. Dear friend, all thy merit and worthiness are smitten down, and there is on thy side nothing but sheer undeserving and unworthiness, and on His side is pure grace and mercy. Here come together man in his poverty and the Lord in His unsearchable riches.

Therefore learn from the Gospel what happens when God begins to build us into the likeness of Him, and what is the begining of saintliness. There is no other beginning than that thy king comes unto thee, and begins the work in thee. Thou dost not seek Him, He seeks thee; thou dost not find Him, He finds thee; thy faith comes of Him, not of thyself; and where He does not come, thou must stay outside; and where there is no Gospel, there is no God, but sheer sin and destruction. Therefore ask thou not where to begin a godly life; there is no beginning but where this king comes and is preached.

Via Luther’s “Sermon for the first Sunday in Advent” (1522) [W.A. 10. I (ii). 78 ff.] Taken from Day by Day We Magnify Thee p. 3.

See also:

1. Advent I
2. Advent II
3. Advent III
4. Advent Devotion

Handel’s Messiah: Comfort for God’s People

Handel’s Messiah is a staple of the classical music repertoire during the Christmas season. Composed in 1741, George Frideric Handel’s oratorio tells the story of the birth, miracles, crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus. In this audio book music expert Calvin Stapert provides a historical background of Messiah along with a scene-by-scene musical and theological commentary on the whole work. Included in the audio book is the NAXOS classical music recording of Handel’s Messiah so you can hear the work as it is being discussed. ChristianAudio is offering this audio book for free on audio download through the month of December. Also their checkout process no longer requires entering in a coupon which makes it even easier to download. Download Handel’s Messiah during this Christmas season.

See also:

1. The Words of Christ
2. Letter to the People of Hippo
3. The People of God
4. Comfort for Women who have had a Miscarriage

The reply of Jesus: V. 4. Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and show John again those thing’s which ye do hear and see: v. 5. The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the Gospel preached to them. V. 6. And blessed is he whosoever shall not be offended in Me. Jesus shows a tactful kindness in dealing with the questioners: No sharp rebuke for their tardiness in acknowledging Him, no dogmatic reply to cause resentment. He appeals to their and their master’s knowledge of the Old Testament prophecy concerning the characteristic work of the Messiah. They could believe the evidence of their eyes and ears: The blind were receiving sight, the lame were cheerfully walking about, the deaf were enabled to hear, the dead were being awakened, the poor were being gospeled, were receiving the glad message of their salvation through the preaching of Jesus, Is. 35, 4—6; 61, 1. 2; Ezek. 36 and 37. This was literally true and was being demonstrated before the people from day to day. But it was true also in the spiritual sense, as becoming the spiritual kingdom of the Messiah: The blind were having the eyes of their understanding opened, Eph. 1, 18. 19; the limping and halting were taking certain steps with their feet, Heb. 12, 12. 13; those infected with the uncleanness of sin and every spiritual evil felt the healing power of the Gospel, Acts 15, 8; 1 John 1, 9; those whose ears had been stopped up by the traditions of men were being healed of this spiritual malady. Matt. 13, 16; the dead in trespasses and sins were realizing the fullness of life, Eph. 2, 1. 5; Col. 2, 13. And all this is summarized in the last sentence. Note: The disciples of Christ are recruited mainly from the poor and weak and base in this world, 1 Cor. 1, 26—29. But their most indispensable quality is poverty of the soul, that they despair of all their own riches in spiritual matters and rely entirely upon the free grace and the unsearchable riches of Christ, Rev. 3, 17; 2, 9; Eph. 3, 8. “To the poor is proclaimed the divine promise of all grace and comfort, offered and brought forward in Christ and through Christ, that whosoever believes shall have all sins forgiven, the law fulfilled, his conscience delivered, and finally have eternal life donated to him. What happier news may a poor, wretched heart and afflicted conscience hear? How could a heart become more defiant and courageous than by such comforting, rich words and promises? Sin, death, hell, world, and devil, and all evil is despised when a poor heart receives and believes such comfort of divine promise; to make the blind see and to raise the dead is rather a simple thing beside preaching the Gospel to the poor, therefore He places it last, as the greatest and best of all these works.” 96) There is a distinct warning in Christ’s final sentence, against taking offense in Him and His work, for him that expected a temporal kingdom as well as for him that was not satisfied with His patience, tolerance, gentleness, and sympathy, as shown in His words and deeds. “Natural man said: Should this be the Christ of whom the Scripture speaks? Should this be He whose shoes John did not think himself worthy to unlace, since I hardly deem Him worthy of wiping my shoes? Truly it is a great mercy not to take offense in Christ; and there is no other counsel nor help here but that one look upon the works and compare these with Scripture; otherwise it is impossible to hinder the offense. The form, the appearance, the behavior are all too lowly and contemptible.” 97)

- excerpt from Paul Kretzmann, ‘Popular Commentary of the Bible’

See also:

1. The Comfort Christ Imparts

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From Luther’s Prayers

O Lord, even though I were John the Baptist, I could not give you an account of my life and deeds. I consider myself to be devout and your servant, not because of my own life and work, but because you have promised to be, and you continually are, merciful to me through Jesus Christ. If I am unholy, he is holy; if I am not a servant of God, he is God’s servant; if I have cares and fears, he is free from all cares and fears. Therefore I will come in his stead and be glad that in and through him I am holy. Lord God, I am sure that I am holy in your sight, and a servant of yours. Not through myself, for I feel the guilt of my sin, but through Jesus Christ who has pardoned my sin and who has settled all for me. Praise be to you in eternity. Amen.

From Luther’s Small Catechism

The Apostles’ Creed: The Third Article: On Being Made Holy

I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen

What is this?

I believe that by my own understanding or strength I cannot believe in Jesus Christ my Lord or come to him, but instead the Holy Spirit has called me through the gospel, enlightened me with his gifts, made me holy, and kept me in the true faith, just as he calls, gathers, enlightens, and makes holy the whole Christian church on earth and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one common, true faith. Daily in this Christian church the Holy Spirit abundantly forgives all sins-mine and those of all believers. On the last day the Holy Spirit will raise me and all the dead and will give to me and all believers in Christ eternal life. This is most certainly true.

Gospel: Matthew 11:2-11

2 When John heard in prison what the Messiah was doing, he sent word by his disciples 3 and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?” 4 Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see:
5 the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news brought to them. 6 And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me.”

7 As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to look at? A reed shaken by the wind? 8 What then did you go out to see? Someone dressed in soft robes? Look, those who wear soft robes are in royal palaces. 9 What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet.
10 This is the one about whom it is written,

‘See, I am send my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way before you.’

11 Truly, I tell you, among those born of women no one has arisen greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.”

What does this mean?

The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. (Matthew xi. 50

We should diligently mark these words of Christ and His kingdom, and should let their peal ring on amongst us, namely, that Christ has such a kingdom and is such a King that He wills to help poor wretched people in body and in soul, and without Him not all the world with all its might and means can help. For never before has there been such a doctor with such skill, that he could make the lepers clean, and cause the blind to see. Just as there was never before a preacher who could preach the Gospel to the poor, that is, who could turn and point to himself the sad and wretched, and affrighted souls, and succour them and give them comfort, and fill with joy the fearful hearts, which before were drowned in heaviness and sorrow.

This is the good and happy news, that Christ has paid for our sin, and through His suffering has redeemed us from eternal death. It is His kingdom and His ministry, to preach the Gospel to the poor; that is His purpose. For to the great and holy He cannot come. They do not wish to be counted sinners, and therefore do not need His Gospel.

Via Luther’s “Sermon for the third Sunday in Advent’ (1544) [W.A. 52. 24 ff.] taken from Day by Day We Magnify Thee p. 15.

See also:

1. Advent II
2. Advent II
3. Advent IV
4. Advent I

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From Luther’s Prayers

Graciously hurry the coming of that day. Bless and prepare us with wisdom and strength that in the meantime we may walk wisely and uprightly. May we joyfully wait for the coming of your dear Son and so depart blessed from this valley of sorrow. Amen.

From Luther’s Small Catechism

The Apostles’ Creed: The Second Article: On Redemption

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord.
He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit
and born of the virgin Mary.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended into hell.
On the third day he rose again.
He ascended into heaven,
and is seated on the right hand of the Father.
He will come again to judge the living and the dead.

What is this?

I believe that Jesus Christ, true God, begotten of the Father in eternity, and also true human being, born of the virgin Mary, is my Lord. He has redeemed me, a lost and condemned person. He has purchased and freed me from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil, not with gold or silver but with his holy, precious blood and with his innocent suffering and death. He has done all this in order that I may belong to him, live under him in his kingdom, and serve him is his kingdom, and serve him in eternal righteousness, innocence, and blessedness, just as he is risen from the dead and lives and rules in eternity. This is most certainly true.

Gospel: Matthew 3:1-12

In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, 2 “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” 3 For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said,
“The voice of one crying in the wilderness:

Prepare the way of the Lord,
make his paths straight.”

4 Now John wore a garment of camel’s hair, and a leather girdle around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey.
5 They went out to him. Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about Jordan, 6 and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.

7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Bear fruit that befits repentance, 9 and do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father’; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. 10 Even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

11 “I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier that I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry; he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. 12 His winnowing fork is in hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the granary, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”

What does this mean?

Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. (Matthew iii. 3)

This, then, is the way made straight for Christ, and this is the true ministry of John, that he shall humble men and tell them that they are all sinners, lost, and condemned, poor miserable creatures, and that there is no life, nor work, nor standing so holy, great, and good, that it not under condemnation, unless Christ dwell, and work, and walk therein, and both is and does all things through His faith. And they all need Christ Jesus and should earnestly desire to partake of His grace.

Behold, where this is preached, that all the work of man and all his life is counted nought, there sounds the true voice of John in the desert, and the pure and full truth of Christian teaching, as Paul says (Romans iii. 23): ‘They have all sinned, and come short of the glory of God’, which means that man is completely humbled, that his pride is cut out from his heart and altogether abolished. And this may truly be called the straightening of the path for our Lord, making the rough places plain for Him, and making way for Him.

“Sermon for the fourth Sunday in Advent,” 1522 [W.A. 10.I (ii). 198], via Day by Day We Magnify Thee, p. 24.

See also:

1. Advent I
2. Advent II
3. Advent IV
4. Advent I

by Martin Luther (1533)

First Sunday In Advent

And when they drew nigh unto Jerusalem, and were come to Bethphage, unto the mount of Olives, then sent Jesus two disciples, saying unto them, Go into the village over against you, and straightway ye shall find an ass tied, and a colt with her: loose them, and bring them unto me. And if any man say aught unto you, ye shall say, The Lord hath need of them; and straightway he will send them. All this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, Tell ye the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt, the foal of an ass. And the disciples went, and did as Jesus commanded them, and brought the ass, and the colt, and put on them their clothes, and they set him thereon. And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way; others cut down branches from the trees, and strewed them in the way. And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest. (Matt 21, 1-9)

The Jews had many beautiful and glorious promises concerning the Messiah or Christ, how He should appear on earth, establish an everlasting kingdom, redeem His people from all evil, and help them forever; as we see in all the writings of the prophets, that they speak beyond measure gloriously concerning the future kingdom of Christ. And these writings were well known to the Jews. But false preachers and carnal teachers arose, who taught the people the opinion, which they gladly received and to which their hearts were inclined, that Christ would come in worldly glory, and make an entry in power, as other worldly kings are accustomed to do, so that everything should be most grand and gorgeous; that He would make the Jews powerful princes and rulers all over the world; as they think even to-day, that when their Messiah shall come, they shall be lords of all the world, and the heathens their servants. After such a Messiah or Christ they are still gaping, but do not long for the Messiah, i. e. the Lord Christ, that He should deliver them from sin and eternal death.

That the Jews might be warned and not permit themselves to be deceived by such carnal teachers, God long before proclaimed in plain words through the prophet Zechariah that Christ would not come as a temporal king in great pomp and splendor, but that He would enter Jerusalem, in which, as the capital of the country, was the temple and its service, without all worldly grandeur, riding upon an ass, as the Gospel relates.

And that the Jews might not excuse themselves and say : If we had known that He would come in such poverty, we would have looked for it and received Him, the prophet told them this very clearly so long a time before. And the event took place in the full light of day, that the Savior rode upon the borrowed ass, without saddle or anything else, the apostles laying their clothes upon it, so that the poor king could sit thereon.

Therefore the Jews can by no means excuse themselves. For here is clear and plain prophecy: When Christ shall ride into Jerusalem, He will not come, as worldly kings are wont, on a proud steed, clothed in armor, with implements of war, but He will come, as the Evangelist says, meek, or as the prophet terms it, lowly. It is as if the prophet would thus warn every one, saying: Mark well the ass, and know that He who comes on it is the true Messiah. Therefore, beware; do not look for a golden crown, sumptuous apparel or costly ornaments, or any great display. For Christ will come poor, with a meek and lowly heart, and will not be seen otherwise than riding upon an ass. This is all the pomp and glory He will show the world at His entry into Jerusalem.

This prophecy induced our Lord now to make this entry, and He attaches much importance to it. Therefore He also gives the disciples such strict command about this matter; and will not enter Jerusalem by night, or secretly, but openly in the full light of day; not alone, but in the midst of a great multitude of. people going before and following after, calling aloud to Him as the true Son of David, and wishing Him great prosperity in His kingdom. Jerusalem must know of this entry, must see and hear the ass and this poor King, concerning whom Zechariah had prophesied, warning the Jews not to be offended at His poverty and humble entry, but to dismiss their idea that Christ would come with great worldly pomp. He will indeed be a king, says Zechariah, but a humble, poor king, who has nothing of the appearance of a king, judging by the outward pomp which worldly kings and princes usually show before men.

On the other hand, says Zechariah, this poor and humble King will have a power greater than that of all emperors and kings who have ever lived on earth, great as their power may have been. For He is called Justus et Salvator. Not a rich, noble and mighty king before the world, but the Just One and Savior, who shall bring with Him righteousness and salvation, attack sin and death, be the enemy of sin and destroyer of death ; for He comes for the purpose of saving from sin and eternal death all who believe in Him, receive Him as their king, and are not offended at the poor borrowed ass. Those who receive Him in faith and find their consolation in Him, receive forgiveness of sins, and shall not die, but live forever. And though after their bodies they must die and be buried, it shall be to them, and be called by them, not death, but only a sleep.

This the prophet would teach us of this King, when he gives Him these two glorious, nay divine, titles and names, calling Him the Just One and Savior, who shall rob death of his power, hell of its destruction, tread the devil under His feet, and thus deliver us who believe in Him from sin and death, and introduce us to the society of angels, where there is eternal life and salvation. He leaves other kings in possession of their external government, authority, pomp, castles, houses, money and goods, allows them also to eat, drink, clothe themselves, and build in a more costly manner than other people; but this art they do not understand, this work they cannot do, which this poor and humble King, Christ, understands and does. For no emperor, king or temporal authority, with all their power, can deliver you from one sin, or with their money and goods heal the least disease, much less afford help against eternal death and hell. But this lovely King, Christ, delivers me, not only from one sin, but from all my sins, and not me only, but the whole world. He comes to take away not only sickness, but death, and not only from me, but from the whole world.

This is what the Evangelist desires to have announced to the daughter of Zion from the prophet; not to be offended at His lowly coining, but to close the eyes and open the ears, that she may not see in what poverty He rides, but hear what is said of this poor King. Reason looks only on this poor and humble form, that He rides upon an ass without saddle or spurs, like a beggar, and is offended at it; but does not see that He can deliver us from sin, destroy death, and give us everlasting holiness, righteousness, eternal salvation and eternal life. Therefore we must tell and proclaim it, that the people may hear and believe. This is what the Evangelist means when he says: “Tell ye the daughter of Zion.” Why ? In order that she may know it, and not heed, nor be offended at this, that He comes in such poverty and soon after dies ignominiously. For all this takes place for your good, in order that He, as a Savior, may help you against the devil and death, to sanctify and deliver you from sin. Whoever will not receive this with his ears and heart, but would see it with his eyes and feel it with his hands, deprives himself of this King; for it is very different from what we find it with other kings. What they do, they do with pomp, and everything has a grand, imposing appearance. In Christ we do not find this; His office and work is to help us from sin and death, and this He does in no other external manner but through His word and gospel, which He orders to be told and preached to us, and through the signs which He gives besides the promise, through which also He works and shows His power; as that He first plunges us into baptism, where our eyes see nothing but simple water, like other water. Likewise, He has comprehended it in the word we are preaching, where our eyes see nothing but man’s breath. But we must beware and not follow our eyes here, but shut our eyes, open our ears and hear the word. This teaches us how our Lord Jesus shed His blood for the forgiveness of our sins, that we might live. These gifts He would bestow upon us in holy baptism, in the Lord’s Supper, in the preaching and absolution; there we certainly find them. Now it is true, it seems small matter that through the washing of water, through the word and sacrament, such great things should be accomplished; but do not let your eyes deceive you. There also it seemed a small matter that He who rode on a borrowed ass, and afterwards suffered Himself to be crucified, should take away sin, death and hell. No one could see it in His appearance; but the prophet says so. Therefore we must simply receive it with our ears, and believe it with our hearts; with our eyes we cannot see it. Hence the Evangelist says, as already mentioned : ” Tell ye the daughter of Zion.” And the prophet says: “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion, behold thy King cometh unto thee,” as if he would say: This is told to you, and God wishes to have it proclaimed to you, that you may find consolation in Him by faith, and be defended by such faith against doubt and despair on account of your unworthiness and sins. What is it that is told, and on account of which she is to rejoice ? It is this: “Behold thy King cometh unto thee.” (7) What kind of a king? A holy and just King, a Physician and Savior, or Helper, who would heal and save you. He would give His glory and righteousness to you, that you may be free from your sins; His life also He would lay down for you, that through His death you may be delivered from eternal death. Therefore be not offended at His lowly and humble form, but thank Him for it, and comfort yourself in Him. For all that He does and accomplishes in His coming, is done for your good; thus He would deliver you from your sins and from death, and justify and save you.

This now is our King, the dear Lord Jesus Christ, and this is His kingdom and office. It deals not with golden crowns and kingdoms, or with great worldly pomp; no, but when we must die, and cannot retain this life any longer, then it is His office and work to deliver us from sin, death and the power of hell; and through the preaching of the gospel He announces to us that we shall certainly receive this gift or benefit from Him, so that when we are in trouble on account of our sins, or in danger of death, we can comfort ourselves by faith and say: Now help is afforded me through my dear King, Jesus Christ, the Just One and Savior ; to this end He came, so lowly and poor, and suffered Himself to be nailed to the cross, that He might justify and sanctify me; in Himself He hath destroyed my sin and death, gives me His own righteousness and victory over death and hell, and gives me also His Holy Spirit, that I might have in my heart a sure seal and witness of His help. See now, whoever believes this as he hears it, and as it is preached in the gospel, he also has it. For to this end holy baptism was instituted by our Savior that He might clothe you with His righteousness, and that His holiness and innocence should be yours. For we are all poor sinners, but in baptism, and afterwards in our whole life, if we turn unto Christ, He comforts us, and says : Give me your sins and take my righteousness and holiness; let your death be taken from you, and put on my life. This is, properly speaking, the Lord Jesus’ government. For all His office and work is this, that He daily takes away our sin and death, and clothes us with His righteousness and life.

This announcement we should indeed hear with great joy, and every one should thereby be bettered and made more holy. But alas, the contrary is true, and the world grows worse as it grows older, becoming the very Satan himself, as we see that the people are now more dissolute, avaricious, unmerciful, impure and wicked than previously under the papacy. What causes this? Nothing else than that the people disregard this preaching, do not use it aright for their own conversion and amendment, that is, for the comfort of their conscience, and thankfulness for the grace and benefit of God in Christ; but every one is more concerned for money and goods, or other worldly matters, than for this precious treasure which Christ brings us. For the most of us, when we do not feel our misery, the fear of sin and death, would rather, like the Jews, have such a king in Christ as would give us riches and ease here on earth, than that we should comfort ourselves in Him in the midst of poverty, crosses, wretchedness, fear and death. The world takes no delight in this, and because the gospel and Christ do not give it what it desires, it will have nothing to do with Christ and the gospel. Therefore our Lord in turn rebukes this world and says: Do you not rejoice in this, nor thank me, that through the sufferings and death of my only begotten Son, I take away your sins and death ? Then I will give you sin and death enough, since you want it so; and where you were possessed of and tormented by only one devil, you shall now be tormented by seven that are worse. We see farmers, citizens and all orders, from the highest to the lowest, guilty of shameful avarice, inordinate life, impurity and other vices. Therefore let every one who would be a Christian be hereby warned as of God himself, joyfully and thankfully to hear and receive this announcement, and also pray to God to give him a strong faith, that he may hold fast this doctrine; then surely the fruit will follow, that he will daily become more humble, obedient, gentle, chaste and pious. For this doctrine is of a character to make godly, chaste, obedient, pious people. But those who will not gladly receive it, become seven times worse than they were before they heard it, as we see everywhere. And the hour will surely come when God will punish this unthankfulness. Then it will appear what the world has merited by it. Now, since the Jews would not obey the prophet, it is told to us that our King comes meek and lowly, in order that we may learn wisdom from their sad experience, and not be offended by His poverty, nor look for worldly pomp and riches, like the Jews; but learn that in Christ we have a King who is the Just One and Savior, and willing to help us from sin and eternal death. This announcement, I say, we should receive with joy, and with hearty thanks to God, else we must take the devil, with walling, weeping and gnashing of teeth.

The example of the Apostles and others who here enter in with our Savior, admonishes us to the same. For since the Lord Jesus is a King, He must also have a kingdom or people, and these must render Him, as their King, becoming service. What this service is, this history tells us. For here we find people who acknowledge Christ as King, and are not ashamed to walk by the side of the ass, on which this King rides. Among these the Apostles are the first who acknowledge this Lord as the true Messiah that justifies sinners, and is a Savior from death. Therefore ” they bring the ass,” that is, they direct the Jews, who have hitherto lived under the law and borne its burden, to Christ. Besides the ass they bring to Christ also the young colt, the heathen, who were yet unbridled and not under the law. For Christ is a Savior of all men; all preachers and teachers must lead every one to Him. This is one becoming service we should render this King, that we acknowledge, receive, praise and glorify Him as the Just One and Savior, and direct every one to Him.

Another service is that we also “sing hosanna” to this Christ, that is, that we wish prosperity to His kingdom, let our confession of Him be heard publicly, and do everything we can for the growth and promotion of His kingdom. For the word ” hosanna” means as much as : “O Lord help, Lord give success to the Son of David,” as we pray also in the Lord’s prayer: “Thy kingdom come.” For the devil and his servants will not fail to make every possible effort to hinder this kingdom, and either to destroy or adulterate the word. We must therefore wish and pray, that God would hinder and repel the will of the devil.

The third is, that we “take our garments and spread them in the way” for the Lord Jesus, which is done when we, to the best of curability, help the office of the ministry with our money and goods, in order that good, learned and pious men may be educated to teach in the Church; and when we support those who are in this office in such a manner, that they can wait on their office and studies, and not neglect them. In short when we use our money and goods to the end that the offices in the Church may be well filled, and the people provided with good officers, then we spread our garments in the way for Christ, that He may ride along with all the more honor. Thus we ought to serve the King, and not pay any heed to the High Priests and Pharisees, who look with no favor on this entry with so little pomp and display, and are full of anger and impatience because He is called a King, and received and honored as such, desiring to prevent it if they could. But Christ will not allow them to prevent it. For since He is a King, He must also have His courtiers and court-service. And happy are they who serve Him, for He is a King who will serve us again; yea, He comes for the sole purpose of serving us, not with money and goods, but with righteousness against sin and help against death and eternal damnation.

Therefore we should be ready and willing to serve Him, and pay no heed to the vain talk and example of the pope, bishops and others, who do not, like the Apostles, lead the ass to Christ and set Him thereon, but wish to throw Him off and rule over the people themselves, after their own pleasure, with doctrines of men; who cannot endure it that He should ride with His gospel and be seen or heard. These false teachers also have their disciples, who play the hypocrite for them and strew palm and olive branches in the road before” them, but throw stones at Christ; for they persecute His gospel and all who preach it. Such will at last become conscious, with the Jews, that they have despised the just King and Savior, whilst those who have received and confessed Him, and turned their poverty to His service, will receive from Him eternal life and glory.

V. 1. The word, the prophetic oration, that Isaiah, the son of Amoz, saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem, the revelation here recorded extending to the end of the fourth chapter.

V. 2. And it shall come to pass in the last days, in the Messianic age, which precedes the end of the world, that the mountain of the Lord’s house, that is, Zion or Jerusalem, the kingdom of God, shall be established in the top of the mountains, towering high above every human and, especially, every idolatrous organization, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it, seeking the city of God in large streams. This is said of the Church in the time of the New Testament, when it is established in every part of the world, high above all false religions and churches, its beauty serving as a lodestone drawing men from all nations to seek the true God.

V.3. And many people shall go and say, in encouraging one another to seek the truth of the Gospel, Come ye and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, to become members of the true Church, such zeal in coming and inviting others being a sign of real conversion; and He will teach us of His ways, literally, “out of His ways,” so that the instruction will be most thorough, and we will walk in His paths, in the willing obedience of faith; for out of Zion, from the midst of God’s holy congregation, shall go forth the Law, the word here designating the law of the New Covenant, the Gospel of God’s mercy, and the Word of the Lord, of Jehovah, the God of grace, from Jerusalem. This explains the manner in which the Gentiles come to the city of God, to His holy Church, namely, by and through the preaching of the Gospel, which is brought to them and accepted by them.

V. 4. And He shall judge among the nations and shall rebuke many people,stating His decisions, performing the functions of King and Judge in governing the people under His spiritual rule; and they, under the influence of the Lord’s Spirit, who lives in them, shall beat their swords into plowshares, the broad knives fastened to the shaft of the plow by Oriental farmers, and their spears into pruning-hooks, that is, vine-dressers’ knives. Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more, for in the Church of God as it really exists, under the government of the Prince of Peace, there is nothing but peace, unity, and love. It is a wonderful description of the Messianic kingdom and its beauties which is here given.

V.5. O house of Jacob, the children of Israel, specifically the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem being here addressed, come ye and let us walk in the light of the Lord, an urgent appeal to heed the prophetic message, to know the Lord as He has revealed Himself in the Word, and to give proof of this knowledge in their entire conduct and life.

- Paul Kretzmann, ‘Popular Commentary of the Bible’

See also:

1. The Kingdom of Christ
2. Kingdom or Confession?
3. Now Come the Gentiles’ Savior
4. The Mysteries of the Kingdom

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From Luther’s Prayers

Help us to remain so steadfast that your coming kingdom will include and complete your kingdom begun here. Lead us out of this sinful and dangerous life. Help us to hate this life and to long for the life that is to come. Enable us not to dread death but to welcome it. Release us from the love and attachments of this life, so that your kingdom may be totally completed in us. Amen.

From Luther’s Small Catechism

The Apostles’ Creed: On Creation

I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.

What is this?

I believe that God has created me together with all creatures. God has given me and still preserves my body and soul: eyes, ears, and all limbs and senses; reason and all mental faculties. In addition, God daily and abundantly provides shoes and clothing, food and drink, house and home, spouse and children, fields, livestock, and all property – along with all the necessities and nourishment for this body and life. God protects me against all danger and shields and preserves me from all evil. God does all this out of pure, fatherly, and divine goodness and mercy, without any merit or worthiness of mine at all! For all of this I owe it to God to thank and praise, serve and obey him. This is most certainly true.

Gospel: Matthew 24:36-44

[Jesus said to the disciples] 36 “But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 37 For as the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, 39 and they knew nothing until the flood came and swept them all away, so too will be the coming of the Son of Man. 40 Then two will be in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. 41 Two women will be grinding meal together; one will be taken and one will be left. 42 Keep awake therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. 43 But understand this: if the owner of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 Therefore you also must be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour”.

Second Reading: Romans 13:11-14

Besides this, you know what time it is, now it is now the moment for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now then when we became believers; 12 the night is far gone, the day is near. Let us then lay aside the works of darkness and put on the armor of light; 13 let us live honorably as in the day, not in reveling and drunkenness, not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarreling and jealousy. 14 Instead, put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.

What does this mean?

Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. (Matthew xxiv. 42)

No man is rightly prepared for the Last Day except he who desires to be free from sin. If that is your desire, why are you afraid? For on this account you are in agreement with it. It comes in order to set free from their sins all who desire it, and you too long to be thus free. Give thanks into God and continue in that opinion. Christ says that His Advent is your redemption.

But take care that you do not deceive yourself when you say that you would be free from sin and do not fear that Day. Perhaps your heart is false and you do fear it. Perhaps you do not truly desire to be free from sin. Perhaps you are deterred from sinning freely and confidently because of that Day. Take heed that the light that is in you not be darkness. For a heart which truly desires to be free from sin rejoices in the expectation of the day when this desire will be fulfilled. If it does not rejoice in it, then is there no true longing to be set free from sin.

Therefore we must, above all, lay aside hatred and fear of this Advent, and be diligent and earnest in our desire to be set free from sin. If we do that, we may not only await that Day with confidence but pray for it with great joy and with ardent hope.

Via Luther’s “Sermon on the second Sunday in Advent” (1522) [WA 10.I (ii). III], taken from Day by Day We Magnify Thee p. 422.

See also:

1. Advent I
2. Advent II
3. Advent IV

The crucifixion: V. 32. And there were also two other, malefactors, led with Him to be put to death. V. 33. And when they were come to the place which is called Calvary, there they crucified Him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand, and the other on the left. V. 34. Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted His raiment and cast lots. At the same time that Jesus was led out of the city to be crucified, and in accordance with the word of prophecy, two other men were taken to the same place. But these men were really malefactors, they had done something wicked, which merited death. They were to be lifted up at the same time with Him, they were also to suffer death by crucifixion. Jesus was placed on the same level with them, Is. 53, 12. They came to the place which was called Calvary, the place of the skull, very probably from the shape of the hill, which resembled the upper part of a skull. There they crucified the Lord in the midst between the two malefactors; they stretched out His arms on the cross-pieces, pierced His hands and feet with nails to hold His body in place. Thus did Christ suffer the punishment for our sins, thus did He bear our sins in His own body on the cross, 1 Pet. 2, 24; Is. 53, 5. The cross was a wood of cursing and shame, Heb. 12, 2; Gal. 3, 13. He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities, Is. 53, 5. And still, there was no bitterness, no resentment in the heart of Jesus, not even against those that were carrying out the sentence, none too gently, if the usual cruelty was practiced. With His Savior’s heart going out to them in the blindness of their crime, Jesus calls out over the heads of His tormentors: Father, forgive them, for they know not what they are doing! He prayed for the criminals, for His enemies that caused His death. They did not know the Lord of Glory, for His glory was hidden under the guise of a lowly servant. But they did it in ignorance, Acts 3, 17. And therefore the Lord prayed for them all here, and He had patience with them once more afterwards. He had His apostles go and preach the Gospel of His resurrection to them. And it was only after they had rejected this Gospel absolutely and finally that He carried into execution upon them the sentence of destruction. This first word of Christ from the cross is full of comfort for all sinners. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, Eph. 1, 7. But of all these wonderful facts the Roman soldiers at that moment knew nothing. For them such occurrences were all in the day’s work. They calmly sat down under the cross, where some of them remained as guards, and divided the Lord’s garments by casting lots; they passed the time away in gambling. In the same way the children of the world, that are daily crucifying Christ anew, sit in the shadow of Christian churches, and play and gamble away the time of grace until, in many cases, it is too late for repentance.

The mocking of the people: V. 35. And the people stood beholding. And the rulers also with them derided Him, saying, He saved others; let Him save Himself, if He be Christ, the Chosen of God. V. 36. And the soldiers also mocked Him, coming to Him, and offering Him vinegar, V. 37. and saying, If Thou be the king of the Jews, save Thyself. V. 38. And a superscription also was written over Him in letters of Greek and Latin and Hebrew, THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS. The anticlimax of the people’s frenzy had now been reached. Their bloodthirstiness had been satisfied, and it was only their curiosity that kept them at Calvary. They watched the soldiers in their gruesome work until the crucifixion had been completed. Then, however, they did not remain idle. No other distraction offering itself, they joined the rulers. For these worthies, who would at any other time have felt it a disgrace to mingle with the vulgar crowd, could not deny themselves the joy of coming out from the city and expressing their satisfaction over the success of their plan. They turned up their noses in token of utter contempt of the Lord, and sneeringly remarked: Others He saved; let Him save Himself, if this be indeed the Christ of God, the Chosen One. What they had formerly denied with all the bitterness of their envious hearts they now confessed, showing that they were hypocrites and rotten to the core. They had seen and heard a large enough number of evidences of His Godhead to satisfy any ordinary person, but here they again cast doubt upon the entire matter by challenging Him to come down from the cross to save Himself. Cp. Ps. 22, 6-8. 17. But the Lord did not return the insults in kind. When He was reviled, He reviled not again; when He suffered, He threatened not, 1 Pet. 2, 23. The soldiers also, tiring of their game of dice, joined in the mockery, making fun especially of the appellation “King of the Jews.” That seemed to them the height of ridiculousness, that this man should have aspired to be the ruler of the despised Israelites. The occasion for using just this name was given by the fact that Pilate had had a superscription placed over the head of Jesus, at the top of the cross, naming the cause or reason for His condemnation: The king of the Jews is this man, or, as it read literally: Jesus of Nazareth, the king of the Jews. In Greek, the language commonly spoken on the street and in business, in Latin, the official language of the Romans, and in Hebrew, or Aramaic, the home language of the majority of the Jews, the superscription had been written out. Note: Jesus here became, as Luther says, the rock of offense before the whole world, every class of people and the most representative languages of the world being here represented. Also: Pilate undoubtedly wanted to express his contempt both for the Jews and for Jesus by choosing the superscription in that form. But his words were actually true and should be a comfort to this day to all that are children of Abraham in the real, the spiritual sense. The King of Grace, the King of Glory, that is the Savior in whom we place our trust.

The penitent malefactor: V. 39. And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on Him, saying, If Thou be Christ, save Thyself and us. V. 40. But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? V. 41. And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man hath done nothing amiss. V. 42. And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when Thou comest into Thy kingdom. V. 43. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with Me in paradise. During the first hour of the excruciating agony of the crucifixion, both malefactors had joined the surging throngs in reviling and cursing and mocking the man hanging in the middle between them, Matt. 27, 44. But the example of wonderful patience, together with the words which fell from the lips of the Sufferer, gradually caused one of the criminals to become silent. His heart was pierced by thoughts of sorrow and repentance, he acknowledged Jesus as his Savior. When, therefore, the other malefactor continued his objurgations, sneeringly asking Jesus to save Himself and them also, the man on the right hand rebuked him. It is difficult to say in just what way he brought out the emphasis, but he probably meant to express: Isn’t there even fear of the holy, just God in thy heart, not to speak of any other feeling of commiseration and sympathy! He reminded the other that they both were suffering justly, receiving payment in full for the sins which they had committed, exactly what their deeds were worth. But they were the only ones in that class; for this Man, this Jesus, had done nothing out of place, nothing wrong, nothing wicked. So this malefactor acknowledged his great guilt before God and accepted his punishment as a just payment of divine wrath. He was heartily sorry for his sins. And this sorrow was supplemented and completed by faith. Turning to Jesus, he begged Him: Remember me when Thou enterest into Thy kingdom. The Lord should in grace and mercy think of him and receive him into His kingdom, at the time when the Messiah would return in glory. The poor outcast thus made a splendid confession of Christ; he recognized in Him the King of heaven. He knows that he is not worthy of the mercy of this King, but upon this very mercy he relies, his trust in that gives him the strength to make his petition. This faith was a miracle of divine grace. It is always a triumph of grace if God gives to a poor criminal and outcast of human society who has served sin all his life, grace unto repentance in the very last hour of his earthly existence. And Jesus bestowed upon this malefactor the very fullness of His divine pardon. He gave him the assurance, with solemn emphasis, that he would be with Him in paradise that very day. There was no waiting for a future glory necessary, neither was there a purgatory for him to pass through, but the glory, the happiness of paradise would be his as soon as he had closed his eyes in death. For all sinners in the whole world the Lord has opened the doors of paradise by His life, suffering, and death, and whosoever believeth on Him has complete salvation as soon as he dies. That is the glorious fruit of the Passion of Christ: forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation.

- from Paul Kretzmann, ‘Popular Commentary of the Bible’

See also:

1. Oh How Blessed Are You
2. How Blessed, From the Bonds of Sin

V. 1. God is our Refuge, under whose protection the Church and every individual believer is safe, and Strength, the Source and Fountain of all true strength, whose almighty power can overthrow all enemies, a very present Help in trouble, a Helper in the oppressions and anxieties, in the fightings and fears, with which the children of God must ever contend.

V. 2. Therefore, because God is our great and invincible Champion, will not we fear, though ever inclined to do so on account of the smallness of our faith, though the earth be removed, be changed entirely, receive an entirely different form, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea, sinking down into the depths from which they rose at the almighty power of God’s word, Gen. 1, 9. 10;

v. 3. though the waters thereof roar, as in fierce anger, and be troubled, rushing, foaming, and frothing like fermenting wine, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof, as from the impact of a mighty tidal wave which threatens to undermine them. Selah. Such is the picture of the catastrophes which threaten the existence of the Church, but in whose midst the believers wait quietly for the Lord, knowing that the gates of hell shall not prevail against His Church. The reason for this simple trust is now given.

V. 4. There is a river, a mighty stream, rich in water for purposes both of drinking and irrigating, the streams whereof, the various channels of which, shall make glad the city of God, the Holy Place of the Tabernacles of the Most High, where the great Ruler of the universe, the King of His Church, resides, that is, His strong city, with the walls and bulwarks of His salvation, Is. 26, 1. 2. It is the stream of the fullness of God’s mercy, dividing into so many channels, in order to gladden the many congregations of the Church, wherever they may be found, including the fellowship with the Triune God in the beauty of His revelation.

V. 5. God is in the midst of her, as her Protector and Savior; she shall not be moved, not be made to totter and fall; God shall help her, and that right early, literally, “before the face of morning,” before break of day, no matter how dark the night of tribulation may have seemed. The help of Jehovah is sure in spite of all enemies.

V. 6. The heathen raged, now foaming in terror over the deliverance which the Lord sends to His people, the kingdoms were moved, all their bulwarks tottering and falling with a mighty, booming noise; He uttered His voice, shouting in anger, the earth melted, dissolving before the devouring heat of His wrath, Amos 9, 5; Nah. 1, 5.

V. 7. The Lord of hosts, the supreme Commander of all the heavenly armies, is with us; the God of Jacob is our Refuge, a high and safe Stronghold, which no enemies can storm and capture. Selah. Jehovah is with His Church, He is Immanuel, God-with-us, not only as trusted Ally, but as our Leader and Hero, before whose almighty power all enemies are as chaff before the wind. Therefore the challenging cry of the believers rings out:

v. 8. Come, behold the works of the Lord, what desolations He hath made in the earth, in overthrowing the buildings and the enterprises of puny men, in punishing the world by bloody and destructive wars.

V. 9. He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth, in the interest of His Holy City, in carrying out His plans for the deliverance of His saints; He breaketh the bow and cutteth the spear in sunder; He burneth the chariot in the fire, all instruments of the enemies employed in attacking the work of the Church, all the weapons of Satan intended for the overthrow of God’s Zion. The kingdom of the Prince of Peace is established in the midst of all adversaries, and the Church Militant will become the Church Triumphant. The Church, therefore, issues a final solemn proclamation.

V. 10. Be still, desist from making war upon Jehovah’s Zion, and know that I am God, the God of the Church, the only true God; I will be exalted among the heathen, the great Victor on the field of encounter, I will be exalted in the earth, even the enemies being obliged to acknowledge His glory and majesty, forced to give Him the honor due Him as the Ruler of the universe.

V. 11. The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our Refuge. Selah. That is the confident Amen of the Christian Church and of every believer, in the trust of a world-conquering faith; for “the kingdom ours remaineth.” 2) With Christ on our side, we remain victors.

- from Paul Kretzmann, ‘Popular Commentary of the Bible’

See also:

1. The Comfort Christ Imparts
2. Comfort For Women Who Have Had A Miscarriage
3. Comfort For Those Near Despair

V. 13. Your words have been stout against Me, salth the Lord, namely, in the murmuring which He has rebuked above. Yet ye say, What have we spoken so much against Thee? The Lord’s answer through His prophet is,

V. 14. Ye have said, It is vain to serve God, it does not pay, just as scoffers in our days say; and what profit is it that we have kept His ordinance, and that we have walked mournfully before the Lord of hosts? with all indications of deep sorrow and mourning over their sins. Their complaint was that it was poor business, that it did not pay.

V. 15. And now we call the proud happy, they had actually reached the stage when they praised the wicked, with their apparent happiness in matters of this world; yea, they that work wickedness are set up, they are the lucky ones, in their opinion; yea, they that tempt God are even delivered, they have no misfortune, they have everything that their heart desires. This is ever the accusation which the backsliders try to bring against the Lord.

V. 16. Then, namely, when the scoffers were making these blasphemous remarks, they that feared the Lord spake often one to another, they made it a practise to encourage one another over against such blasphemous talk; and the Lord hearkened and heard it, He paid attention to their remarks, and a book of remembrance was written before Him for them that feared the Lord and that thought upon His name, the subject of their conversations being things which pertained to His glory.

V. 17. And they shall be Mine, saith the Lord of hosts, the precious people of His inheritance, 1 Pet. 2, 9, in that day when I make up My jewels, when He would impart to them the fulness of His glory; and I will spare them, in manifesting His tender mercies upon them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him, ready to show his love and goodness in such an instance. V. 18. Then shall ye, those who were now grumbling, return and discern between the righteous and the wicked, noting the difference between the two classes, also in the manner in which God dealt with them, between him that serveth God and him that serveth Him not. The time of grace is still at hand, but infidels and scoffers will do well not to delay repentance.

- from Paul Kretzmann, ‘Popular Commentary of the Bible’

See also:

1. Two Ways of Being a Theologian

As concerns the elevation of the Sacrament in the Mass, this is an optional ceremony and no danger can come to the Christian faith as a result of it, provided nothing else is added. Accordingly you may lift up the Sacrament in God’s name as long as it is desired.

We had ample cause to abolish the elevation here in Wittenberg, and perhaps you do not have such cause in Berlin. Nor shall we restore the ceremony unless some urgent reason requires us to do so, for it is an optional thing and a human exercise rather than a divine commandment. Only what God commands is necessary; the rest is free. (Letter to George Buchholzer [December 4, 1539], pp. 306-07)

I confess that I am not favorably disposed even toward necessary ceremonies, but that I am opposed to those that are not necessary. Not only have I been (and still am) incensed by my experience under the papacy, but the example of the Ancient Church is also disquieting to me. It easily happens that ceremonies become laws, and after they are established as laws, they quickly become snares to men’s consciences. Meanwhile pure doctrine is obscured and buried, especially if those who come after are indifferent and unschooled folk who are more concerned about ceremonies than they are about mortifying the lusts of the flesh. We see this even among those who are now living; strife and divisions arise when everybody follows his own opinion. In short, contempt for the Word on our side and blasphemy on the side of our opponents seem to me to point to the time of which John prophesied when he said to his people, “The ax is laid unto the root of the trees” [Matt. 3:10], etc.

At all events, since the end is close at hand, it does not seem to me that it is necessary (at least in this blessed time) to be too concerned about introducing ceremonies, making them uniform, and fixing them permanently by law. The one thing that needs to be done is this: the Word must be preached often and purely, and competent and learned ministers must be secured who are concerned above all else that they be of one heart and one mind in the Lord. If this is achieved, it will undoubtedly be easy to secure uniformity in ceremonies, or at least to tolerate differences. Without such internal unity, on the other hand, there will be no end to differences and no way to deal with them, for those who come after us will claim the same right that we exercise, and flesh will be set against flesh, a consequence of corrupt nature.
Accordingly I cannot advise that ceremonies be made uniform everywhere. Diversity may be tolerated – provided that manifestly godless and foolish ceremonies are abandoned. For example, if some ceremonies have been discontinued in certain places, they should not be restored, and if some ceremonies have been hitherto retained, they should not be given up. This applies to the customary location of altars, to the sacred and secular vestments of the clergy, and to other similar things. For if heart and mind are one in the Lord, one man will readily allow another’s ceremonies to be different. On the other hand, if there is no seeking after unity in heart and mind, external agreement will achieve little. Nor will such agreement last long among those who come after us, for observances are subject to places, times, persons, and circumstances. The Kingdom of God does not depend on them. Moreover, they are by their very nature changeable…

After all, why should one wish to make everything uniform when even under the papacy there was great diversity, which reached into every province? And how great are the differences that have always divided the Greek churches from the Latin!

This is why we insist on the establishment of schools, and especially on purity and agreement in doctrine, which will make hearts and minds one in the Lord. (Letter to Prince George of Anhalt [July 10, 1545], pp. 311-13)

From Luther: Letters of Spiritual Counsel (Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1960).

V. 5. And as some spake of the Temple, how it was adorned with goodly stones and gifts, He said,

V. 6. As for these things which ye behold, the days will come in the which there shall not be left one stone upon another that shall not be thrown down.

V. 7. And they asked Him, saying, Master, but when shall these things be, and what sign will there be when these things shall come to pass? The evening was drawing near, and Jesus was on the point of leaving the Temple for Bethany, where He lodged with friends. But while they were walking out through the courts, some of His disciples remarked in admiration on the Temple itself, on its various buildings, porticoes, halls, and chambers, and especially did they mention the beautiful stones, the huge marble monoliths, which formed the Corinthian columns, and the gifts that were consecrated to the Lord, the many articles of adornment which were so conspicuous throughout the Temple. Among the votive gifts of the Temple were some very costly ones, such as a table from King Ptolemy of Egypt, a chain from Herod Agrippa, a golden vine from Herod the Great, which made the Temple famous for its wealth as far as Rome. But Jesus told them: As to all these things which ye see, the enormous wealth, the gorgeous beauty of the Temple, the days will come in which not one stone will remain upon the other that would not be utterly cast down in the general destruction. It was an announcement which must have filled the disciples with the greatest consternation and surprise. They may now have thought the matter over or discussed it among themselves for a part of the trip across the valley of the Kidron and up the slope of Mount Olivet. But when Jesus had then sat down opposite the city, where He and His disciples had a full view of the wonderful edifice, which, by Christ’s word, was marked for destruction, some of the disciples approached Him with a double question. They wanted to know the precise time, and also to recognize the special tokens of the approaching catastrophe. In their question they connected the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple with the end of the world. And this is altogether in accordance with the prophecies which make the judgment upon Jerusalem the beginning and the introduction of the judgment of the world. Matt. 16, 27. 28; 1 Thess. 2, 16.

Tokens of the end:

V. 8. And He said, Take heed that ye be not deceived; for many shall come in My name, saying, I am Christ; and the time draweth near; go ye not therefore after them.

V. 9. But when ye shall hear of wars and commotions, be not terrified; for these things must first come to pass; but the end is not by and by.

V. 10. Then said He unto them, Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom;

V. 11. and great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven. It is a characteristic of prophecy that there is rarely an exact division of time according to human standards, for there is no time before the eternal, omniscient God. Whether things will happen a thousand years hence or within a few years does not influence the Lord’s time. For all things before Him are happening and taking place in the great present. And so in this case the Lord speaks of the two impending catastrophes, the destruction of Jerusalem and the end of the world, in almost the same breath, connecting them in such a way that the signs foretelling the one must be taken in a measure to refer to the other also. The Lord’s first warning is against deception. In the days before the calamity which wiped out Jerusalem, false Christs arose, and in the name of the true Christ, the Messiah, at that. Deceivers of that kind appeared often in the decades after Christ’s ascension, and always did they find people willing to listen to them and to cast their fortunes with that of the fraudulent impersonator. Even so the false Christs and false prophets of our days are multiplying with great rapidity; in Eddyism, in Russellism, in Dowieism, and in scores of minor sects they arise to deceive the people of God. Their call and promise invariably is: Here is Christ; here is the full truth; the time is near. They have even, repeatedly, fixed the date of Christ’s coming to Judgment. But the believers should pay no attention to them nor follow after them as their disciples, for they are deceivers. As in the days before the destruction of Jerusalem there were wars and uprisings throughout the Roman Empire, but especially in Palestine, so the terrible World War of these last days and the uprisings throughout the world are speaking a strong language to them that heed. As in those days people rose against people and kingdom against kingdom, making it necessary for the Roman legions to be on the move continually, so, while the world stands, neither the most rosy nor the most practical dreams of diplomats will succeed in eliminating war. At the very moment when they are shouting peace with a voice calculated to drown opposition, they are trying to hide the selfishness of their plans which will plunge the world into further wars. As there were great earthquakes in many parts of the world in those days, in Asia Minor, in Italy, in Syria, so the recent terrible catastrophes in Italy, in Alaska, in Java, in Central America have filled the world with horrified astonishment. As great famines and pestilences visited various countries, especially Palestine, in those days, so the pestilence which recently swept the world and even now baffles science in certain of its aspects, and so the famines that have been reported from large areas of Europe and Asia, are God’s reminders of the end. As there were terrifying phenomena and fearful portents from heaven in those days, some of which are told by Josephus, so the science of astronomy is unable to account for many things out in the universe today and will be utterly helpless before the manifestations of the last great day.

Earlier signs:

V. 12. But before all these they shall lay their hands on you, and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogs and into prisons, being brought before kings and rulers for My name’s sake.

V. 13. And it shall turn to you for a testimony.

V. 14. Settle it therefore in your hearts not to meditate before what ye shall answer;

V. 15. for I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist.

V. 16. And ye shall be betrayed both by parents, and brethren, and kinsfolks, and friends; and some of you shall they cause to be put to death.

V. 17. And ye shall be hated of all men for My name’s sake.

V. 18. But there shall not an hair of your head perish.

V. 19. In your patience possess ye your souls. Here are some of the signs which concern the disciples of Christ in the interval between His ascension and the destruction of Jerusalem in particular, but which find their application to the treatment and fate of the believers of all times. The enemies would lay their hands upon them and persecute them, as was done to the apostles almost from the beginning, James being the first one out of their midst to suffer martyrdom; and Stephen had been stoned even before that. They would be delivered to the councils of the synagogs for judgment, whose sentence would commit them to prison, as in the persecution in which the unconverted Paul was so active. They would use the legal machinery to have the confessors of Christ hauled before kings and rulers on account of the name of Christ which they confessed, Paul himself experiencing this several times, before Felix, before Festus, before Agrippa and Bernice, before Nero. The history of the early Church is full of stories which fully substantiate every word of the prophecy of the Lord. And that the hearts of the enemies of the Gospel today are no different than at that time has been shown during recent developments, where attacks were not directed against a language, but against the confession of faith. But Christ’s comfort stands today as it did then. All these things turn out for a testimony in favor of the believers and the truth which they profess. Not only do they receive credit and honor for their fearless confession of Christ, but their testimony has the effect which the proclamation of the Word of God always has: it influences the hearts and minds of men. To His disciples the Lord therefore gave instructions not to premeditate, to work out carefully in advance, their apology or defense. The best and highest efforts of mere human wisdom and skill will avail nothing unless the Lord Himself opens the mouth of His confessors and believers and gives them the proper wisdom from on high. Jesus and His Spirit, the Spirit of the Father, they are the invincible allies of all true believers, with whose aid they can cheerfully take up the apparently unequal battle against the powers of darkness in the persons of the enemies and detractors of the pure Gospel. More than once, as the example of John and Peter, of Paul, of Polycarp, of Luther, and of others show, the enemies have not been able either to withstand. or to contradict the testimony of the servants of Christ. All that make it their aim to oppose the preaching of the Gospel-truth may be overcome and silenced by a simple and unequivocal confession of the truth of the Gospel as it is contained in the Word of God. The disciples should therefore not be deterred or discouraged even by the fact that there will be dissension in families, that the bonds of both relationship and the nearest friendship will be torn asunder by questions concerning the Gospel. Parents, brothers and sisters, near relatives, friends: they all will forget the duties and obligations of their station in their hatred of the Word of Salvation; they will deliver the Christians into the hands of their enemies, and in some cases they will not rest until they have caused them to be put to death. The believers will, in fact, be continually hated of all men on account of their confession of Christ’s name. This is the cross of the Christians, the prospect which they must face. There is neither compromise nor mitigation. And yet, in the midst of these prophecies which might well make the stoutest heart quail, the Lord promises His disciples that not a hair of their heads should perish without His will, Matt. 10, 30. So long as the Christians are necessary for the service of the Lord, their bodies. are inviolable, the enemies dare not touch them. They may, therefore, in their patience possess their souls. By faithful perseverance, by undaunted continuance in the confession of Christ’s Word and doctrine, they will preserve their souls. Even if they should lose the life of their mortal body, they will save their true life, that of the soul, by such faithfulness to the end. Their soul, and the eternal life of their soul, will then be for them a glorious prize or treasure, which they will carry off for eternal enjoyment in heaven.

A special prophecy concerning Jerusalem:

V. 20. And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh.

V. 21. Then let them which are in Judea flee to the mountains; and let them which are in the midst of it depart out; and let not them that are in the countries enter thereinto.

V. 22. For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled.

V. 23. But woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck, in those days! For there shall be great distress in the land and wrath upon this people.

V. 24. And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations; and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled. Here is valuable advice for the Christians of Judea at the time of the great catastrophe, which they should heed and follow to the letter. The armies of the Romans would surround the city, coming upon her from all sides. And. this should be the final point of time for the believers to escape out of the city, since this would be at least one of the manifestations of the abomination of desolation. Cp. Matt. 24, 15-21; Mark 13, 14-19. The fact of the presence of the armies in the act of surrounding the city would be the last definite sign of her desolation and destruction, including the ruin of the Temple. At that time those that were in Judea, the believers that lived in this country, should flee to the mountains, for flight was the only means of their deliverance. In the hiding-places of the mountains, in the insignificant villages that were hidden away far from the beaten paths, there would be an opportunity for saving their lives. For those that were in the city of Jerusalem precipitate flight would also be a necessity; for they should not depend upon the strength of its walls or defenses. Those people also that lived in the suburban district or within easy reach of the capital should not be tempted to take refuge within the city to escape the invaders. For such precautions would prove utterly useless in this emergency. For the days that the Lord refers to are the days of vengeance of the Judge of the world. The many warnings that had been sounded by the prophets of old, the repeated admonitions by the preachers of righteousness, had not been heeded, and so the vial of the wrath of God would be poured out in full measure. The stamp of divine retribution was impressed upon the fate of Jerusalem and the Temple, even for heathen eyes. It was a case of the mill’s grinding slowly, but with such terrible thoroughness that not one guilty one escaped. But alas for those that are about to become or have just become mothers! Bitterly the Lord laments their fate, for their condition at that time will not provoke compassion, neither on the part of their friends that might help them to escape, nor on that of the enemies, for they would destroy without mercy. Distress in great measure would be upon the whole land, since everything suffers under the ravages of an invasion; but the wrath of God would strike the people without mercy. His patience was exhausted, and the full bitterness of His just sentence would be carried out upon a foolish and gainsaying generation. The Lord tells exactly how the wrath of God would be manifested. Some of them would fall by the edge, literally, by the mouth of the sword, which would pounce upon them to devour them. Others would be led into captivity among all nations, for a reproach and shame to them until the end of time. According to the account of Josephus, over a million Jews were slaughtered during the siege of Jerusalem and after its fall, and 97 ,000 were dragged into the provinces as prisoners, mainly into Egypt and Italy. It was a judgment of God without parallel in the history of the world. And Jerusalem, the glory of Israel, was occupied by Gentiles at that time, and has been trodden under foot by strangers to this day. And this will remain so until the times of the Gentiles have been fulfilled, until the full number of the elect from the great mass of the heathen has been gained, until the end of time. The Zionist movement of our days is not taken seriously even by the Jews themselves. The Word of God must stand true. Note: The destruction of Jerusalem by the Gentiles is a type of the attempted destruction of the Church of God by the Antichrist. The Antichrist, the Roman Catholic Pope, has been revealed. He has rendered desolate the temple of God, the Church of Christ, by abrogating true worship, by establishing various kinds of idolatry, by filling the Church with many abominations and offenses, and by shedding the blood of thousands of confessors of Christ. But he has now been set forth in his true colors; the Church has been purged of his errors by the work of the great Reformer, Martin Luther.

Signs which will accompany the coming of Christ:

V. 25. And there shall be signs in the sun and in the moon and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring;

V. 26. men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth; for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.

V. 27. And then shall they see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. Here some of,. the signs that will usher in the great Day of Judgment are enumerated. The laws of nature, which have been fixed by the Creator, will be repealed, and in consequence the universe will dissolve in chaos. Unusual, unheard-of signs will take place in sun, moon, and stars, not those of the regular eclipses or similar phenomena which are governed by fixed laws, but such as will cause fearful consternation from the start, and oppressive distress experienced by the people of the world, together with a helpless perplexity, caused in part also by the noise and billows of the sea. So indescribably dreadful will be the dissolution of the bonds that hold the universe together that the hearts of men will fail them, will be taken out of their bodies for fear and for expectation of the things that are coming and are threatening to engulf the world; for the very powers of the heavens that hold the machinery of the vast sky in place will be moved and shaken. And then, in the midst of all this turmoil, while the cataclysmic disturbances are tossing the world and the entire universe about in utter helplessness, then they, all men, will see the Son of Man, the great Judge of the earth, coming in a cloud, with power and great glory. The despised and rejected, the meek and humble Prophet of Galilee will then have stripped off all evidences of the former humiliation, and all men will be forced to recognize Him as the Lord of all.

- from Paul Kretzmann, ‘Popular Commentary of the Bible’

See also:

1. Cyril of Jerusalem on the Canon
2. Lenski on Luke 10
3. Luke 12:29
4. Luke 17:15