Afleveringen
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EASTER - WEEK 3 - TUESDAY
LESSON: HABAKKUK 2:2-4
You have need of endurance, so that you may do the will of God and receive what is promised. “For yet a little while, and the coming one shall come and shall not tarry.” Hebrews 10:36-37
The first “little while” which Jesus mentioned when He said, “A little while, and you will see me no more,” the disciples understood very soon after this when they saw Him taken captive and put to death. But the second “little while” when He said, “Again, a little while, and you will see me,” they could not comprehend. We cannot comprehend this either. Moreover, the explanation He offered, “Because I go to the Father” (v.10), was even less intelligible to them.
This is also our experience. Although we know and hear that trials, misfortune, and sorrow are to endure only for “a little while,” existing circumstances always present a different picture from what we believe. We begin to have doubts and waver and find it difficult to resign ourselves to our allotted obligations. We hear well enough, and we know quite well that it will be only “a little while”; but just how things will turn out we do not know, as was the case with the disciples.
If they cannot comprehend this, why does Jesus mention it to them? He says it so that we should not lose heart, but cling firmly to the Word, as He says, believing that it is quite sure and certain. We should be sure that matters cannot be otherwise than set forth in the Word, however much appearances may be to the contrary. Even if a man cannot at once believe the Word, God comes to his assistance. God does this without assistance from human reason, man’s free will, or any contribution by man.
SL 11:832 (7-8)
PRAYER: Lord God, heavenly Father, to You we look for mercy, grace, and faith, so that we may confidently accept the promises and assurances of Your Word, for the sake of Him who is the Word, Your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Editor’s note: No American Edition (AE) equivalent for today’s sermon excerpt exists at the time of this publication. For an alternate English translation of this sermon, see Lenker, Church Postil—Gospels, 3:72-86.
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EASTER - WEEK 3 - MONDAY
LESSON: PSALM 30:1-5
“A little while, and you will see me no more; again, a little while, and you will see me.” John 16:16
“A little while,” Jesus says, “and you will see me no more.” He is about to be taken captive and put to death on the cross. But this will not be for long. During this “little while” they will certainly be sad. “But cling firmly to Me and follow me,” the Lord means to say to His disciples, “matters will soon take a turn for the better.” He would be in the grave for only three days, during which the world would rejoice as though it had triumphed over Him. And His disciples would mourn and weep.
“Again, a little while, and you will see me,” says Jesus to His disciples, “because I go to the Father” (cf. John 16:10). He would rise again on the third day, and they would rejoice, and their joy no man would take from them. It would not be a joy just for three days like the joy of the world, but eternal joy. In these words, the evangelist John has set forth an excellent summary of the death and resurrection of Christ: “A little while, and you will see me no more; again, a little while, and you will see me.”
The “little while” has special significance for us. Grief is but for a moment, a “little while,” as the Lord also reminds His children through Isaiah, “For a brief moment I forsook you, but with great compassion I will gather you. In overflowing wrath for a moment, I hid my face from you, but with everlasting love I will have compassion on you, says the Lord, your Redeemer” (Isaiah 54:7-8).
SL 11:831 (4-6)
PRAYER: You have assured us, heavenly Father, that You will never lay a cross on us without supplying us with the strength to bear it and that joy will always follow our sorrows. Fix this firmly in our hearts by faith, so that we boldly endure unto the end, in and through Jesus and His love. Amen.
Editor’s note: No American Edition (AE) equivalent for today’s sermon excerpt exists at the time of this publication. For an alternate English translation of this sermon, see Lenker, Church Postil—Gospels, 3:72-86.
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Zijn er afleveringen die ontbreken?
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EASTER - WEEK 3 - SUNDAY
LESSON: JOHN 16:16-23
“Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy.” John 16:20
You see here how Christ announces to His disciples that they will become sad because He is about to leave them. They are still quite simple and unlearned, considerably disturbed by what Jesus said when He instituted His Holy Supper. They cannot understand what He is talking about. Indeed, the subject of Christ’s discussion here is too profound and incomprehensible for our weak, fallen nature. It was necessary for the disciples to be sorrowful before they experienced joy.
Christ Himself is an example for us, to show us that we cannot enter glory without a cross. That is also why He said to the two disciples on the way to Emmaus, “Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” (Luke 24:26).
If the beloved disciples were about to experience great joy, it was necessary for them to have previously experienced great sadness. This joy, however, came to them from the Lord Jesus, for in the Gospel it is established that outside of Christ there is no joy. On the other hand, where Christ is, there is no sorrow, as we are clearly reminded in the text.
SL 11:830 (2)
PRAYER: In You alone, Lord Jesus, there is the true joy of salvation. Implant this in our hearts in full measure as our greatest treasure, for Your love’s sake. Amen.
Editor’s note: No American Edition (AE) equivalent for today’s sermon excerpt exists at the time of this publication. For an alternate English translation of this sermon, see Lenker, Church Postil—Gospels, 3:72-86.
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EASTER - WEEK 2 - SATURDAY
LESSON: MATTHEW 5:13-16
I am not ashamed of the gospel: it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. Romans 1:16
The source of all power in Christ’s kingdom rests in God’s Word of truth and salvation. Those who hear that Word and believe it are members of God’s kingdom.
Among the members of God’s kingdom, the Word becomes so powerful that it provides them with all that they need and brings them all the blessings they desire. For it is the power of God which both can and does save all who believe it, as Paul reminds the Romans.
If you believe that Christ died to rescue you from every misfortune and cling to the Word on this basis, it becomes so sure and firm that no creature can overturn it. Even as no one can overthrow this Word, no one can really harm you, inasmuch as you believe in it. With this Word, then, you overcome sin, death, the devil, and hell, and eventually you will also find your refuge with the Word in eternal peace, joy, and life. In short, you will become a partaker of all the power and might which the Word contains.
God’s kingdom is really a wonderful kingdom. The Word is in this kingdom and is orally proclaimed before the whole world. But the power of the Word is quite hidden; none become aware of the activity and great importance of the Word except those who believe. This must be experienced and tasted in the heart.
SL 11:781 (7)
PRAYER: Open our hearts by Your Holy Spirit, Lord God, that we always receive Your saving Word for what it is, the source of all our knowledge and power as Your children. Help us through Your means of grace to grow and increase as Your children, in and through Christ Jesus our Savior. Amen.
Editor’s note: No American Edition (AE) equivalent for today’s sermon excerpt exists at the time of this publication. For an alternate English translation of this sermon, see Lenker, Church Postil—Gospels, 3:17-31.
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EASTER - WEEK 2 - FRIDAY
LESSON: PSALM 23
He who descended is he who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things. Ephesians 4:10
You have heard how our Lord Jesus Christ, after His suffering and death, was translated and entered an immortal existence. We must not understand this to mean that Christ is now sitting idly up in heaven and that He is nothing but an object of continual joy to Himself alone. He has taken over the full kingship of His kingdom and is exercising full rule over His kingdom. He is the King of whom all the prophets and the whole of Scripture has so much to tell us. St. Paul says that he now fills all things. And so, we must ever regard Christ as being continually present in His kingdom and exercising the government of His kingdom.
We must not hold the view that He is sitting up in heaven in a state of idleness, but that from heaven above He now rules and fills all things, as St. Paul reminds us. He is especially concerned with His kingdom, which exists wherever the Christian faith exists. Therefore, His kingdom is present in our midst here on earth. In regard to this kingdom, matters have been so ordained that it should improve and become purer from day to day. This kingdom is not ruled by any forms of outward authority and might but by the oral preaching of the Word of God and, more especially, by the preaching of the Gospel.
SL 11:780 (6)
PRAYER: Your presence in our midst, Lord Jesus, is a source of great consolation and joy to us at all times. Continue to bless us, especially in the proclamation of Your Word of salvation. Let it always have free course in our midst, for Your mercy’s sake. Amen.
Editor’s note: No American Edition (AE) equivalent for today’s sermon excerpt exists at the time of this publication. For an alternate English translation of this sermon, see Lenker, Church Postil—Gospels, 3:17-31.
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EASTER - WEEK 2 - THURSDAY
LESSON: ROMANS 2:19-26
The law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. John 1:17
You have often heard how God sent a twofold proclamation into the world. The one is to proclaim God’s Word as Law and tell men: “You shall have no other gods before me.…You shall not kill, commit adultery, steal” (Exodus 20:3,13-15). In this proclamation, men also hear the threat that if they do not keep this Law they will die. This proclamation never succeeds in making a man truly righteous in his heart. For although a man is compelled by this proclamation to live a pious life outwardly before his fellow men, in his heart of hearts he is hostile to this Law and would prefer that it did not really exist.
The other form in which God’s Word is proclaimed is the Gospel. This tells us where a man must look for the ability to do what the Law demands. The Gospel does not drive a man on with threats; it coaxes men in all friendliness. The Gospel does not say, “Do this; do that!” but, “Come, I will instruct you where you can receive and obtain the wherewithal to become truly acceptable to God. See, here is the Lord Jesus Christ. He will give you all this.”
These two forms of proclamation are in opposition to each other, like taking and giving, demanding and donating, and one must get a good grasp of this distinction. This distinction has always played a very important role in God’s government of the world and still does. The Law must be preached to rough, uncouth men who have no knowledge at all of the Gospel. These men must come under the compulsion of the Law until they are mellowed and acknowledge their weaknesses. When they reach this stage, they are ready for the Gospel.
SL 11:778 (2-3)
PRAYER: Lord God, our heavenly Father, continue to show us by Your holy Law that we are poor, lost, and condemned sinners when judged by our works, but above all, continue to let the light of Your wonderful Gospel shine into our hearts with its message of salvation, for Christ’s sake. Amen.
Editor’s note: No American Edition (AE) equivalent for today’s sermon excerpt exists at the time of this publication. For an alternate English translation of this sermon, see Lenker, Church Postil—Gospels, 3:17-31.
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EASTER - WEEK 2- WEDNESDAY
LESSON: PSALM 85
The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love. Psalm 103:8
In preaching Christ, it should be made quite clear that Christ rejects no one, no matter how weak he may be, but readily accepts everyone. He comforts and strengthens His sheep, like the good shepherd that He always is.
If Christ is proclaimed in this way, as He really is, the hearts of men will incline to Him of their own accord. There will be no need to use compulsion or force in bringing men to Christ. The Gospel coaxes men and makes them willing so that they get real pleasure and satisfaction in serving Christ.
A confident attitude also results from all this. Men begin to love Christ so that they gladly do all that He wants them to do. Confident obedience supplements all forces and compulsion. When we come under compulsion, we render obedience only with ill-will and reluctance. God does not want this. It is all wasted effort.
When I begin to realize that the Lord is dealing with me in such a friendly manner, He takes hold of my heart so that I render Him ready obedience. Pleasure and real joy of heart follow.
SL 11:786 (20)
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, You are always ready to pardon and forgive us our sins rather than bring us to the judgement we so richly deserve. All this You have made very clear to us in the salvation which Your own Son, Jesus Christ our Savior, accomplished for us. Amen.
Editor’s note: No American Edition (AE) equivalent for today’s sermon excerpt exists at the time of this publication. For an alternate English translation of this sermon, see Lenker, Church Postil—Gospels, 3:17-31.
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EASTER - WEEK 2- TUESDAY
LESSON: 1 TIMOTHY 2:1-6
A bruised reed he will not break, and a dimly burning wick he will not quench. Isaiah 42:3
Matthew declares that these words of Isaiah were fulfilled in Christ (Matthew 12:20). A bruised reed is a reed very close to breaking point. One who has received a very serious injury or is carrying a very heavy wound—that is, a Christian who is not only weak and stumbling, but who is overwhelmed in temptation, actually breaking a leg, so to say. It may be that he has fallen so deeply that he denies the Gospel, as Peter did when he denied Christ.
Even if such a man has stumbled, suffering a reverse and a complete upset, you should not reject him as though he never belonged to Christ’s kingdom. You must allow Christ to retain His peculiar characteristic, that in His kingdom there is nothing but grace and mercy, pure and abounding. He is ever ready to help those who realize their wretchedness and misery, and who would be glad to get rid of it.
Christ’s kingdom is a kingdom where men find true comfort and consolation. He is a consoling, friendly shepherd, coaxing and encouraging every man to draw close to Him. Christ alone is the one true, good shepherd who heals all ills and helps the fallen to rise again. He who does not do that is no shepherd.
SL 11:785 (16-17)
PRAYER: It is Your declared will, heavenly Father, that all men should learn to know Your mercy, grace, and salvation. Grant that we, too, may become entrusted to help fallen sinners to find real help and consolation, for Christ, our Savior’s sake. Amen.
Editor’s note: No American Edition (AE) equivalent for today’s sermon excerpt exists at the time of this publication. For an alternate English translation of this sermon, see Lenker, Church Postil—Gospels, 3:17-31.
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EASTER - WEEK 2 - MONDAY
LESSON: LUKE 5:27-32
“Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.” Matthew 9:12
Even though we are weak and sickly, we should still not lose heart and begin to think that we do not belong to the kingdom of Christ. The more we become aware of our infirmities, the closer we should walk with Christ. For it is His office to heal us and to make us well.
If you are sick and a sinner and feel your need, you have all the more reason to come to Him and say, “I come to you just because I am a sinner so that you may help me and rescue me from my sins.” In this way, your need drives you to Christ. For the greater your weakness, the more necessary it is for you to seek help and healing. That is also what He desires, and hence He coaxes us so that we joyfully approach Him.
Those who are not such shepherds suppose that they can lick people into a godly shape by shouting at them clamorously in hostile fashion and bringing force to bear on them. They succeed only in making matters worse.
One sees the result of this on all sides in today’s conditions. Matters have reached such a pass through the activity of hirelings in the Church that utter confusion prevails everywhere. “He who is a hireling and not a shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf snatches them and scatters them” (John 10:12).
SL 11:784 (15)
PRAYER: Lord God, our heavenly Father, give us shepherds who really care for Your sheep and protect them from all hirelings, for Christ’s sake. Amen.
Editor’s note: No American Edition (AE) equivalent for today’s sermon excerpt exists at the time of this publication. For an alternate English translation of this sermon, see Lenker, Church Postil—Gospels, 3:17-31.
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EASTER - WEEK 2- SUNDAY
LESSON: JOHN 10:11-16
“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” John 10:11
Pastors can never become any more than the mouth of our Lord Jesus Christ and the instruments whereby He continues to proclaim His Word visibly here on earth. He permits His Word to go out into public so that all may heart it, but the inward acceptance of the Word in the heart is a spiritual experience that takes place through faith. It is a hidden work of Christ. Christ accomplishes this work where He recognizes that it must be accomplished in accordance with His divine discernment and pleasure. That is why He also calls Himself “the good shepherd.”
What is a “good shepherd”? “The good shepherd,” says Christ, “lays down his life for the sheep … And I lay down my life for the sheep.”
This one great act really covers everything. To impress all this upon us, Christ uses a very pleasing illustration. A sheep is really a very foolish creature and usually regarded as a very simple creature. It is proverbial to say of a simple man, “He is a real sheep.” But the sheep possesses one very outstanding quality. It quickly learns to obey the voice of its shepherd, and normally follows no one but its shepherd. It is so constituted that it clings to its shepherd and looks to him for all help and assistance. It cannot help itself, provide pasture or any healing. It is powerless against wolves and is dependent entirely on the help of others.
In this respect, the members of Christ’s kingdom are His sheep. In all their needs, they are dependent on Him and look to Him alone for needed help, support, protection, and their whole welfare.
SL 11:781 (8-9)
PRAYER: We know very well what rich blessedness is ours, Lord God, in being sheep of the Good Shepherd. Preserve us amidst all trials and difficulties here on earth by keeping us ever close to our Good Shepherd, Jesus our Savior. Amen.
Editor’s note: No American Edition (AE) equivalent for today’s sermon excerpt exists at the time of this publication. For an alternate English translation of this sermon, see Lenker, Church Postil—Gospels, 3:17-31.
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EASTER - WEEK 1 - SATURDAY
LESSON: COLOSSIANS 3:12-17
“Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” John 20:22-23
This is a great and powerful authority which no one can adequately praise, bestowed upon poor mortal man and valid over sin, death, hell, and all things. The pope boasts that Christ has given him authority over all earthly and heavenly matters in the spiritual domain. This could be quite right, correctly understood. But he applies all this to the earthly sphere and government. This is not what Christ means.
He is here conferring spiritual authority and government, and He means to say: “When you speak a word over a sinner, this word has also been spoken in heaven, and it avails as much as if God Himself had spoken it in heaven. For when you speak this word, God is in your mouth, and hence, this work is as powerful as a word spoken by God Himself.”
It follows, therefore, that when Christ speaks a word because He is Lord over sin and death, and say to you, “Your sins are forgiven you,” then your sins must be gone, and nothing can gainsay it. On the other hand, if He declares, “Your sins are not forgiven you,” then they must remain unforgiven, and in this case not even an angel, or a saint, or any creature can forgive you those sins, even if you martyr yourself to death over them.
It is this power to forgive sins that Christ confers on every individual Christian inasmuch as Christ has made all authority in heaven and on earth available to us (Matthew 28:18). Here Christ rules not in any material manner, but spiritually, and He also rules His Christians spiritually.
SL 11:731 (15-16)
PRAYER: Grant us Your Holy Spirit, heavenly Father, the Spirit of truth and understanding, so that we may fully appreciate the very great authority which we enjoy to proclaim forgiveness to our neighbor, in and through our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
Editor’s note: No American Edition (AE) equivalent for today’s sermon excerpt exists at the time of this publication. For an alternate English translation of this sermon, see Lenker, Church Postil—Gospels, 2:352-63.
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EASTER - WEEK 1 -FRIDAY
LESSON: EPHESIANS 4:9-16
“As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.” John 20:21
The most important work of love that any Christian can perform after coming to faith in Christ is to bring others to faith in the way he was brought to faith. In this connection, Christ lays an obligation upon every individual Christian and sets up the office of ministering the external Word. He Himself came to the disciples with this office and the external Word
Let us grasp this clearly, for we must be told about it, and the Lord wants to tell us here, “You have enough from me: peace and joy, and all that you should have. For your own persons you need no more. Hence, get busy; take a close look at the picture and do as I have done to you! My father sent me into the world for your sakes alone, to help you, not to benefit myself. I have carried out His will, died for you, and given you all that I am and have. Think of this and do likewise. From now on, serve and help everyone else. Otherwise, there is nothing here on earth for you to do. Through faith, you already have enough of everything. And so, I send you out into the world as my Father has sent me. Every single Christian should instruct and teach his neighbor in order to bring him to faith.”
This authority has not only been given to the pope and his bishops; it has been entrusted to all Christians. They should openly confess their faith to bring others to that faith as well.
SL 11:730 (13)
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, give us at all times a joyous faith and a ready tongue to confess You before men and to lead them to the joy of the salvation which is ours in and through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
Editor’s note: No American Edition (AE) equivalent for today’s sermon excerpt exists at the time of this publication. For an alternate English translation of this sermon, see Lenker, Church Postil—Gospels, 2:352-63.
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EASTER - WEEK 1 - THURSDAY
LESSON: 2 CORINTHIANS 2:14-17
I can do all things in him [Christ] who strengthens me. Philippians 4:13
If I really believe from the bottom of my heart that my Lord Jesus Christ, by His resurrection from the dead, has gained the victory over all that can distress me (sin, death, and all evil); that He wants to be close to me and with me so that there is nothing lacking to me in body and soul; that in Him I have enough of everything and that no misfortune can harm me; if I really believe all this, it becomes impossible for me to become faint-hearted and weak, no matter how heavily sin or even death press upon me.
Faith is an ever-present reality telling me, “If sins oppress you and death terrifies you, fix your whole attention on Christ. He died and rose again for your sake; He has overcome all misfortune; what can really harm you?”
If any other misfortune, such as sickness or poverty, presses heavily upon you, close your eyes to it and do not let your reason gain the upper hand. Cast yourself upon Christ and cling to Him; in this way, you will be strengthened and comforted. If you look to Christ and rest your faith in Him, no evil that you may encounter is so great that it can really harm you and make you despondent. Where true faith exists, peace must also follow. It cannot be otherwise.
SL 11:728 (9)
PRAYER: Thanks and praise be to You, heavenly Father, for the riches of all the blessings available to us in and through the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, especially the wonderful peace of heart and mind which is ours even in the midst of trial and tribulation. Keep us ever in Your love and grace, in and through Jesus our Savior. Amen.
Editor’s note: No American Edition (AE) equivalent for today’s sermon excerpt exists at the time of this publication. For an alternate English translation of this sermon, see Lenker, Church Postil—Gospels, 2:352-63.
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EASTER - WEEK 1 - WEDNESDAY
LESSON: ACTS 14:19-22
We rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character. Romans 5:3-4
True Christian peace, which calms the heart and brings contentment to the soul, is not necessarily the accompaniment of a time when no misfortune is at hand, but it can come to men in the midst of misfortune, when all without is anything but peace. This is the difference between earthly peace and the peace of Christ.
Earthly peace arises from the removal of the external evils that have destroyed peace. When foes assemble before a city, there is no peace; but if the foes are removed, peace is restored. The same hold for poverty and sickness; when they press upon you, you are discontented. But when they are removed and you are rid of your misfortune, you once again enjoy external peace and quiet. Such an alteration of fortune does not necessarily change a man; after his troubles are gone, he can remain just as dejected as he was before their removal. The only difference is that he felt them and was disturbed by them when they were present.
Christian or spiritual peace brings about a change. Outwardly, misfortunes in the shape of enemies, sickness, poverty, sin, the devil, and death can certainly continue to press upon you without intermission. In spite of all that, as a Christian you have peace, strength, and consolation inwardly in your heart. A Christian heart is never unduly disturbed by misfortune, and indeed, it is even more courageous and joyful in the face of misfortune than when the latter is absent. That is why it is called by St. Paul a peace which passes all understanding (Philippians 4:7).
SL 11:726 (7-8)
PRAYER: Grant us Your grace, heavenly Father, so that we may never waver in our faith but ever stand fast in the peace and hope secured for us and assigned to us in and through the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Editor’s note: No American Edition (AE) equivalent for today’s sermon excerpt exists at the time of this publication. For an alternate English translation of this sermon, see Lenker, Church Postil—Gospels, 2:352-63.
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EASTER - WEEK 1 - TUESDAY
LESSON: PSALM 27
The peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:7
The fruit of Christian faith is peace, not merely the outward peace which we sometimes enjoy here on earth but the peace which Paul mentions in the Epistle to the Philippians, the peace “which passes all understanding.” Where this peace reigns, one should not and cannot apply the standards of human reason. This is also clear from the Gospel under consideration (John 20:19-21). At first, the disciples sit behind locked doors in great fear of the Jews. They cannot go abroad; death stares them in the face on all sides. There is external peace here. No one is really harming them. But inwardly their hearts are floundering and have no peace or rest.
The Lord comes to them in the midst of their fear and terror, calms their hearts, and makes them joyful. He takes away their fear.
He does not do this by removing the danger but by changing their hearts so that they cease fearing. This does not change or remove the animosity of the Jews, because they are angry and wrathful just as much as before. Outwardly, everything remains as it was. But the disciples are changed inwardly; they gain so much boldness and confidence that they joyfully declare, “We have seen the Lord.” Christ calms their hearts so that they become courageous and bold. They are no longer concerned how much the Jews may rage against them.
SL 11:726 (5-6)
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, fill our hearts at all times with such boldness and confidence that we never compromise our faith because of the fear of men, but speak out clearly, loudly, and joyfully, for Christ sake. Amen.
Editor’s note: No American Edition (AE) equivalent for today’s sermon excerpt exists at the time of this publication. For an alternate English translation of this sermon, see Lenker, Church Postil—Gospels, 2:352-63.
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EASTER - WEEK 1 - MONDAY
LESSON: ROMANS 10:14-17
“He who hears you hears me, and he who rejects you rejects me, and he who rejects me rejects him who sent me.” Luke 10:16
Christ enters our hearts and takes His stand there through the office of the ministry. Since God has given orders that His Word should be preached, we should never in any manner despise the mortal man in whose mouth that Word has been placed, so that we do not form the opinion that each individual must wait for a special sermon from heaven which God Himself preaches to him verbally.
Therefore, if God grants faith to anyone, He employs the regular means which He has appointed for this purpose. He accomplishes His end through the preaching of men, through an external, human word.
He enters through a closed door when He enters a human heart by means of the Word without smashing or disturbing anything. When God’s Word comes, it does not injure the conscience, disturb the understanding of the heart, or upset the external senses as those false teachers do who smash all doors and windows, break in like thieves and leave nothing whole and undisturbed, and bring it to pass that the whole of life, conscience, understanding, and the senses become completely unhinged and lose all rhyme or reason. Christ does not do this.
God’s Word proclaimed by men converts sinners. There are two factors involved: preaching and faith. His coming to us is the preaching or proclamation. His standing in our hearts is faith. It is not enough for Him to stand simply before our eyes and ears; He must stand in our midst, in our hearts, with His gift of peace.
SL 11:726 (4)
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, awaken and increase in us a true reverence for Your saving Word proclaimed to us by the ministers of Your Word, so that, in this manner, Christ our Savior may take His stand in our hearts with His message of peace and joy as a result of His glorious resurrection from the dead. Amen.
Editor’s note: No American Edition (AE) equivalent for today’s sermon excerpt exists at the time of this publication. For an alternate English translation of this sermon, see Lenker, Church Postil—Gospels, 2:352-63.
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EASTER - WEEK 1 - SUNDAY
LESSON: JOHN 20:19-31
On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” John 20:19
As Christians, we must apply the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ to ourselves individually. It is not enough simply to believe that He rose from the dead, for such a faith in itself will not mean peace and joy for us, nor power and might. You must also believe that He rose for your sake and for your benefit. He was not raised into glory for His own sake alone but that He might help you and all who believe in Him and that through His resurrection He might overcome sin, death, and hell.
This is also indicated by the way in which Christ enters through the locked doors and steps forth and stands in the midst of His disciples. The manner in which He stood here in the midst of the disciples resembles that manner in which He also stands in our hearts. In this way, He is also in our midst, just as He was standing there among the disciples.
When He stands in our hearts in this manner, we hear His loving voice speaking to our conscience, “Be at your ease: there is no need at all for any anxiety. Your sins are forgiven you and removed from you and nothing can henceforth harm you.”
SL 11:725 (2-3)
PRAYER: Lord God, heavenly Father, in Your great love for us, You gave Your Son to suffer and die for our sins. By His glorious resurrection from the dead, You have demonstrated that the sacrifice of Your Son has been accepted and that now all is well with us in time and eternity, in and through our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
Editor’s note: No American Edition (AE) equivalent for today’s sermon excerpt exists at the time of this publication. For an alternate English translation of this sermon, see Lenker, Church Postil—Gospels, 2:352-63.
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THE WEEK OF EASTER - SATURDAY
LESSON: MATTHEW 27:1-14
In this is love, not that we loved God but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the expiation for our sins. 1 John 4:10
You must learn to look right through the sufferings of Christ and see His friendly heart, how it is filled with love for you, and how it moved Him to assume the heavy load which your conscience and sins laid on Him. In this way, your heart will be warmed towards Him, and your confidence and faith will be strengthened. Thereupon you should mount even higher through Christ’s heart to God’s heart and see that Christ would never have manifested His love for you if God in His eternal love had not willed it. Christ rendered obedience to God’s love in His love for you.
In this way, you will discover the fatherly heart of God in its wonderful goodness, and, as Christ Himself declares, you will be drawn to the Father through Him. Then you will also understand Christ’s saying that “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).
To come to a true knowledge of God, we must not try to find Him simply in His power of wisdom, which can be bewildering, but we must grasp Him in His goodness and love. In this respect, faith and confidence have something to cling to, and man becomes truly born anew in God.
SL 11:581 (14)
AE 76:431PRAYER: Make it ever more clear and certain for us, heavenly Father, that in all that Christ our Savior bore and suffered for us sinners, love was operating and that in this manifestation of love You have clearly revealed our inner and true nature to us, for Christ’s sake. Amen.
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THE WEEK OF EASTER - FRIDAY
LESSON: MATTHEW 26:69-75
Jesus our Lord … was put to death for our trespasses and raised for our justification. Romans 4:25
You cast your sins from yourself on to Christ when you firmly believe that His wounds and sufferings are your sins, that He bore them and paid for them as Isaiah declared: “The Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:6). Peter also says: “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree,” that is, the cross (1 Peter 2:24), and St. Paul wrote to the Corinthians: “He hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him” (2 Corinthians 5:21, AV).
On this and similar passages you must stake everything in full reliance, and the more so if your conscience is giving you serious trouble. If you do not do this but presume to quieten your conscience by way of your own penitence and satisfaction, you will never find peace and end up in despair. It does not matter how much penitence and satisfaction we have to offer; our sins keep on piling up and gaining the upper hand. But when we see them borne by Christ and conquered by His glorious resurrection from the dead and we have boldness of faith, our sins are dead and blotted out. For they could not remain on Christ. They have been swallowed up by His resurrection. Now you see no wounds, no pains in Him, that is, no signs of sin.
SL 11:580 (13)
AE 76:430PRAYER: Thanks and praise be to You, Lord Jesus, for the complete victory over sin which You gained for us when You bore our sins on the cross and destroyed them in Your glorious resurrection from the dead. Amen.
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THE WEEK OF EASTER - THURSDAY
LESSON: 2 CORINTHIANS 4:13-15
Jesus said to her, “Do not hold me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brethren and say to them, I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.” John 20:17
In these words of Jesus to Mary Magdalene, as reported in John’s Gospel, Jesus sets forth a very clear explanation of the benefit and profit of His death and resurrection. “Go to my brethren and say to them, I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.”
This is one of the great consolatory passages of the Gospel at which we can knock with all boldness and confidence. It is as though Christ is saying here, “Go, Mary, and tell my disciples, those deserters, who really merited punishment and eternal damnation, that my resurrection will redound to their great advantage. Through my resurrection I have brought it about that my Father is your Father and my God your God.”
A few brief words! But they contain a very important truth, namely, that we have a trust and confidence in God which is the equal of that which Christ, the very Son of God, Himself has.
Who can grasp such boundless joy? Who can explain how a poor, miserable sinner can call God his Father and God, even as Christ Himself does?
SL 11:606 (9)
PRAYER: Dear heavenly Father, Your ways in Jesus Christ our Lord are beyond all our powers of understanding and telling. Grant us the faith to cling with all our hearts to the benefits and profits of our Lord’s resurrection, that with Him You are our Father and our God in and through Jesus our Savior. Amen.
Editor’s note: No American Edition (AE) equivalent for today’s sermon excerpt exists at the time of this publication. For an alternate English translation of this sermon, see Lenker, Church Postil—Gospels, 2:215-221.
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