Emmanuel Lutheran Church

Revelation 2:8-11

⁸ “And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write,

‘These things says the First and the Last, who was dead, and came to life: ⁹ “I know your works, tribulation, and poverty (but you are rich); and I know the blasphemy of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. ¹⁰ Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.

¹¹ “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death.” ’

Our Lord Jesus Christ, who was dead but now lives, warns the faithful that they are about to suffer for the Faith. They have already suffered tribulation and poverty (although they are rich in spiritual blessings). Now the devil will whip up the Jews of Smyrna to persecute them so that some are imprisoned. The devil does this easily because the Jews are of his synagogue. They think they are God’s people—Abraham’s seed—but do not believe God’s promise as Abraham did or do his works. Instead they do the work of their father, the devil.

Even if these Christians’ imprisonment ends with their executions, the saints are to be faithful until death. The one who is faithful until death will not be hurt by the second death—the eternal suffering and condemnation of Hell.

Christ strengthens them for their imprisonment and the possibility of death by reminding them of who He is. “These things says the First and the Last, who was dead, and came to life.” Their Lord Jesus Christ was faithful until death. He did not succumb to the devil’s temptations. He did not give up in the face of persecution from the synagogue of Satan. He was faithful in the midst of temptation, suffering, and death to pay for the sins of the world. He gives the crown of life to all who remain faithful to His promises, endure persecution, temptation, and tribulation, by the strength the Holy Spirit gives.

The Lord uses the devil’s temptations and the world’s persecutions to test all Christians. Though the devil, the world, and our own sinful flesh mean to destroy our faith, God works all things for the good of those who love Him. Temptations and tribulations try our faith, patience, and perseverance and show the genuineness of our faith. This encourages us in our weakness. It strengthens others to steadfastness. It glorifies God whose strength is made perfect in our weakness.

Let us pray: O Lord, mercifully hear our prayer and stretch forth the right hand of Your majesty to defend us from those that rise up against us; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, Who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, ever one God, forever and ever. Amen.

Luke 9:1-27

9 Then He called His twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases. ² He sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. ³ And He said to them, “Take nothing for the journey, neither staffs nor bag nor bread nor money; and do not have two tunics apiece.

⁴ “Whatever house you enter, stay there, and from there depart. ⁵ And whoever will not receive you, when you go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet as a testimony against them.”

⁶ So they departed and went through the towns, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.

⁷ Now Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was done by Him; and he was perplexed, because it was said by some that John had risen from the dead, ⁸ and by some that Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the old prophets had risen again. ⁹ Herod said, “John I have beheaded, but who is this of whom I hear such things?” So he sought to see Him.

¹⁰ And the apostles, when they had returned, told Him all that they had done. Then He took them and went aside privately into a deserted place belonging to the city called Bethsaida. ¹¹ But when the multitudes knew it, they followed Him; and He received them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who had need of healing. ¹² When the day began to wear away, the twelve came and said to Him, “Send the multitude away, that they may go into the surrounding towns and country, and lodge and get provisions; for we are in a deserted place here.”

¹³ But He said to them, “You give them something to eat.”

And they said, “We have no more than five loaves and two fish, unless we go and buy food for all these people.” ¹⁴ For there were about five thousand men.

Then He said to His disciples, “Make them sit down in groups of fifty.” ¹⁵ And they did so, and made them all sit down.

¹⁶ Then He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the multitude. ¹⁷ So they all ate and were filled, and twelve baskets of the leftover fragments were taken up by them.

¹⁸ And it happened, as He was alone praying, that His disciples joined Him, and He asked them, saying, “Who do the crowds say that I am?”

¹⁹ So they answered and said, “John the Baptist, but some say Elijah; and others say that one of the old prophets has risen again.”

²⁰ He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”

Peter answered and said, “The Christ of God.”

²¹ And He strictly warned and commanded them to tell this to no one, ²² saying, “The Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day.”

²³ Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. ²⁴ For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it. ²⁵ For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost? ²⁶ For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father’s, and of the holy angels. ²⁷ But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the kingdom of God.”

Of the disciples who had been hearing the word of Christ, Jesus chose twelve and sent them out to preach His word, adding also the power to heal disease and to drive out demons. And they fulfilled their first mission admirably, preaching, teaching, and performing miracles by the power of Jesus’ word.

Isn’t it strange, then, that none of them could even imagine where they could possibly get food for those thousands of people who had spent the day with them? Isn’t it astonishing that they so quickly went back to relying on their own power and resources, causing them to despair? Isn’t it amazing that they didn’t immediately look to Christ Himself for help? “Lord, we are unable to do this thing. But You can!”

No, they had heard and seen so much from Christ, but in the moment, they still wavered. That turned out to be for their good and ours as it allowed Jesus to provide even more words and signs to bolster our shaky faith so that we do not waver quite so much.

In spite of their pattern of hearing and then forgetting, the word of God was still powerful and effective in them. They made the good confession upon which the Church is built: “You are the Christ of God.”

Of course, that confession has implications. If Jesus is the Christ of God, then surely we must follow Him! Surely we must hear Him and do as He says! And what does He say to those who confess Him? “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.” Yes, we are called to follow Jesus along the path of self-denial, suffering, and death, where all appears hopeless and bleak. But if we are listening, if we are willing to see with the eyes of faith, then we know that nothing is hopeless and nothing is bleak, for there is life and light and victory on the other side of the cross.

Let us pray: Father in heaven, in the midst of our weakness and in the face of the cross, fix our eyes on Jesus and open our ears to His word, that we may be victorious over this world and become participants with the King in His glory. Amen.

Luke 8:16-56

¹⁶ “No one, when he has lit a lamp, covers it with a vessel or puts it under a bed, but sets it on a lampstand, that those who enter may see the light. ¹⁷ For nothing is secret that will not be revealed, nor anything hidden that will not be known and come to light. ¹⁸ Therefore take heed how you hear. For whoever has, to him more will be given; and whoever does not have, even what he seems to have will be taken from him.”

¹⁹ Then His mother and brothers came to Him, and could not approach Him because of the crowd. ²⁰ And it was told Him by some, who said, “Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, desiring to see You.”

²¹ But He answered and said to them, “My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it.”

²² Now it happened, on a certain day, that He got into a boat with His disciples. And He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side of the lake.” And they launched out. ²³ But as they sailed He fell asleep. And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water, and were in jeopardy. ²⁴ And they came to Him and awoke Him, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!”

Then He arose and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water. And they ceased, and there was a calm. ²⁵ But He said to them, “Where is your faith?”

And they were afraid, and marveled, saying to one another, “Who can this be? For He commands even the winds and water, and they obey Him!”

²⁶ Then they sailed to the country of the Gadarenes, which is opposite Galilee. ²⁷ And when He stepped out on the land, there met Him a certain man from the city who had demons for a long time. And he wore no clothes, nor did he live in a house but in the tombs. ²⁸ When he saw Jesus, he cried out, fell down before Him, and with a loud voice said, “What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg You, do not torment me!” ²⁹ For He had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For it had often seized him, and he was kept under guard, bound with chains and shackles; and he broke the bonds and was driven by the demon into the wilderness.

³⁰ Jesus asked him, saying, “What is your name?”

And he said, “Legion,” because many demons had entered him. ³¹ And they begged Him that He would not command them to go out into the abyss.

³² Now a herd of many swine was feeding there on the mountain. So they begged Him that He would permit them to enter them. And He permitted them. ³³ Then the demons went out of the man and entered the swine, and the herd ran violently down the steep place into the lake and drowned.

³⁴ When those who fed them saw what had happened, they fled and told it in the city and in the country. ³⁵ Then they went out to see what had happened, and came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid. ³⁶ They also who had seen it told them by what means he who had been demon-possessed was healed. ³⁷ Then the whole multitude of the surrounding region of the Gadarenes asked Him to depart from them, for they were seized with great fear. And He got into the boat and returned.

³⁸ Now the man from whom the demons had departed begged Him that he might be with Him. But Jesus sent him away, saying, ³⁹ “Return to your own house, and tell what great things God has done for you.” And he went his way and proclaimed throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him.

⁴⁰ So it was, when Jesus returned, that the multitude welcomed Him, for they were all waiting for Him. ⁴¹ And behold, there came a man named Jairus, and he was a ruler of the synagogue. And he fell down at Jesus’ feet and begged Him to come to his house, ⁴² for he had an only daughter about twelve years of age, and she was dying.

But as He went, the multitudes thronged Him. ⁴³ Now a woman, having a flow of blood for twelve years, who had spent all her livelihood on physicians and could not be healed by any, ⁴⁴ came from behind and touched the border of His garment. And immediately her flow of blood stopped.

⁴⁵ And Jesus said, “Who touched Me?”

When all denied it, Peter and those with him said, “Master, the multitudes throng and press You, and You say, ‘Who touched Me?’ ”

⁴⁶ But Jesus said, “Somebody touched Me, for I perceived power going out from Me.” ⁴⁷ Now when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling; and falling down before Him, she declared to Him in the presence of all the people the reason she had touched Him and how she was healed immediately.

⁴⁸ And He said to her, “Daughter, be of good cheer; your faith has made you well. Go in peace.”

⁴⁹ While He was still speaking, someone came from the ruler of the synagogue’s house, saying to him, “Your daughter is dead. Do not trouble the Teacher.”

⁵⁰ But when Jesus heard it, He answered him, saying, “Do not be afraid; only believe, and she will be made well.” ⁵¹ When He came into the house, He permitted no one to go in except Peter, James, and John, and the father and mother of the girl. ⁵² Now all wept and mourned for her; but He said, “Do not weep; she is not dead, but sleeping.” ⁵³ And they ridiculed Him, knowing that she was dead.

⁵⁴ But He put them all outside, took her by the hand and called, saying, “Little girl, arise.” ⁵⁵ Then her spirit returned, and she arose immediately. And He commanded that she be given something to eat. ⁵⁶ And her parents were astonished, but He charged them to tell no one what had happened.

“Take heed how you hear,” Jesus says in today’s reading. Hearing the word of God is good, but simply hearing the sounds is not enough. He calls on us to pay attention to what we hear, to meditate on it, to believe it, to remember it, and to put it into practice. Those who do are as close to Him as His mother and brothers and sisters. In fact, they become His mother and brothers and sisters!

The disciples ought to have taken heed to how they heard  when they got into the boat with Jesus that day. “Let us cross over to the other side of the lake,” He said. Could they have perished before reaching the other side? “From now on you will be fishers of men,” Jesus had told them earlier on. Could they have perished before their fishing for men even began?

No. But they lost sight of Jesus’ promises. They forgot His word. The storm arose, and all they could think about was the storm. “Where is your faith?” Jesus asked them after calming the storm with a word. Faith in what? That God must always protect His children from perishing in a storm? No, but faith in the word of Jesus that had already promised them a safe arrival on the other side. The disciples should have taken heed how they heard the word of Jesus.

And not as the demons do! The demons, as demonstrated by our reading, know full well the power of Jesus’ word. They do not forget His word or think little of it. No, they believe with full assurance that Jesus has the power to do with them as He pleases. But, being demons, they place no trust in Jesus and do not believe Him to be good. They do not rely on His word or love His word or yearn to hear it.

No, take heed how you hear as did the woman with the flow of blood and Jairus. They sought out Jesus, yearning for His help, yearning for a word of healing, and trusting in both His power and His goodness, and they were not disappointed!

Let us pray: O Lord Christ, be merciful to us in our weakness and help us to hear Your word rightly. Amen.

Luke 7:18–8:3

¹⁸ Then the disciples of John reported to him concerning all these things. ¹⁹ And John, calling two of his disciples to him, sent them to Jesus, saying, “Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?”

²⁰ When the men had come to Him, they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to You, saying, ‘Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?’ ” ²¹ And that very hour He cured many of infirmities, afflictions, and evil spirits; and to many blind He gave sight.

²² Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and tell John the things you have seen and heard: that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the gospel preached to them. ²³ And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me.”

²⁴ When the messengers of John had departed, He began to speak to the multitudes concerning John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? ²⁵ But what did you go out to see? A man clothed in soft garments? Indeed those who are gorgeously appareled and live in luxury are in kings’ courts. ²⁶ But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I say to you, and more than a prophet. ²⁷ This is he of whom it is written:

²⁸ For I say to you, among those born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.”

²⁹ And when all the people heard Him, even the tax collectors justified God, having been baptized with the baptism of John. ³⁰ But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the will of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him.

³¹ And the Lord said, “To what then shall I liken the men of this generation, and what are they like? ³² They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another, saying:

³³ For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ ³⁴ The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ ³⁵ But wisdom is justified by all her children.”

³⁶ Then one of the Pharisees asked Him to eat with him. And He went to the Pharisee’s house, and sat down to eat. ³⁷ And behold, a woman in the city who was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at the table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of fragrant oil, ³⁸ and stood at His feet behind Him weeping; and she began to wash His feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head; and she kissed His feet and anointed them with the fragrant oil. ³⁹ Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he spoke to himself, saying, “This Man, if He were a prophet, would know who and what manner of woman this is who is touching Him, for she is a sinner.”

⁴⁰ And Jesus answered and said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.”

So he said, “Teacher, say it.”

⁴¹ “There was a certain creditor who had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. ⁴² And when they had nothing with which to repay, he freely forgave them both. Tell Me, therefore, which of them will love him more?”

⁴³ Simon answered and said, “I suppose the one whom he forgave more.”

And He said to him, “You have rightly judged.” ⁴⁴ Then He turned to the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has washed My feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head. ⁴⁵ You gave Me no kiss, but this woman has not ceased to kiss My feet since the time I came in. ⁴⁶ You did not anoint My head with oil, but this woman has anointed My feet with fragrant oil. ⁴⁷ Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.”

⁴⁸ Then He said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”

⁴⁹ And those who sat at the table with Him began to say to themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?”

⁵⁰ Then He said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.”

8 Now it came to pass, afterward, that He went through every city and village, preaching and bringing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with Him, ² and certain women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities—Mary called Magdalene, out of whom had come seven demons, ³ and Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod’s steward, and Susanna, and many others who provided for Him from their substance.

As John the Baptist sat in prison, his faith needed strengthening, so he wisely turned to Jesus for help, and he was given exactly the help he needed. John’s disciples were to see the miracles Jesus was performing, hear the message Jesus was preaching, and report what they saw and heard back to John. That report, that word about Jesus, which was also connected to the Old Testament word about the Messiah, would give John all the strength he needed to be faithful unto death.

Jesus also reminded the crowds who were with Him of the power of the word as preached by John. It wasn’t his fine appearance or fancy clothing or elegant preaching that brought tax collectors and sinners to faith. It was the simple word of God, the Law that exposed their sins, and the Gospel that promised the forgiveness of sins through Christ.

Of course, not everyone saw and heard and then believed. Most did not receive the word humbly. Most were like children in the marketplace who made up their own rules for how John and Jesus were to behave and preach. But their unbelief is contrasted in today’s reading with the faith and gratitude of the sinful woman who anointed Jesus’ feet. His preaching of free forgiveness to all who came to Him for it was enough to persuade her that even her many sins would be forgiven by Him. And she was not alone. While the leading men of Israel mocked Jesus and rejected Him, many women were brought to faith by His word and devoted themselves to serving Him in whatever way they could.

May all these examples move us to hear the word of God humbly, not placing ourselves and our reason above it, but always beneath it. Consider the goodness and mercy of Christ that you have heard reported in Holy Scripture, and may His great love for you move you to great acts of love for others.

Let us pray: Heavenly Father, keep us focused on the words and works of Your beloved Son. Grant that we may always receive Your word humbly and believe it steadfastly. Amen.