15 John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me.’ ”
16 And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. 17 For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.
In Christ we receive one grace after another. Christ brings us His own righteousness, in what Luther calls the “blessed exchange”—He takes our sin upon Himself, and we get His righteousness. As we receive in faith His atoning death for us on the cross, we also get the forgiveness of our sins; salvation from sin, death and the devil; and a new creation of Christ in us through His Word and Spirit. The final grace is that we are taken to a happy heavenly hereafter to be with Him forever.
“17 For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.”
Through Moses, God gave the revelation of His holy Law, the Torah. Through Christ, God revealed the fullness of His grace and truth. The former made way for the latter—The Law makes way for the Gospel, in that the Law prepares one to receive the Gospel. Without the Law to tell you that you have sin before God, the Gospel of the forgiveness of your sins makes no sense.
“18 No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.”
In the history of God dealing with His people, there are times when some of His servants did get glimpses of Him but never a full vision of Him in His full glory. Jesus has a special relation with the Father, being the “only begotten” of Him, and He is the only one who has fully beheld His glory. This means that Jesus is in a unique position to declare God’s glory to us. Blessed be the revelation of God through His Son!
Let us pray: Almighty God, grant that the new birth of your only Son in the flesh may set us free from our old slavery under sin; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Posted inDevotion|Comments Off on Each Day in the Word, Thursday, December 29th
In today’s Gospel, we’re confronted with terrible pain and suffering, with the horrific massacre of the little boys of Bethlehem—the Holy Innocents, as they’re sometimes called—slaughtered by that monster, King Herod. That slaughter itself is nothing to celebrate, but if we pay attention, we can see God’s wondrous purpose being accomplished through it as we witness His hand guiding the events in this story, exposing the wickedness of man while at the same time protecting the Christ-Child and keeping Him safe from harm—for now—so that the Child could grow up and die a “proper” death, on a cross, for the sins of the world.
We’re confronted here with the stark reality of who God is and how He governs the affairs of man. He is not the God who prevents Herod from carrying out his massacre. He is not the God who always steps in and spares the innocent from suffering. Sometimes He does. But not always. He is the God who sometimes allows wicked men to prosper, and who, in most cases, does not tell us the reason why.
What do we know about this event as it’s laid out in today’s Gospel?
First, we know that God foresaw it, even as He foresees all that happens in our universe, every event, every decision, every act by every man. We’re told specifically that the slaughter of the children of Bethlehem was prophesied by the prophet Jeremiah: Rachel weeping for her children, because they are no more. They’re called “Rachel’s children” because Rachel, Jacob’s wife, died in childbirth right there in Bethlehem some 1900 years earlier. So God knew ahead of time what Herod would do.
Second, we know that, although God knew what King Herod would do, He was not the cause of it. What did God do when His beloved Son was born into the world, after all? He sent His angels to the shepherds to announce His peace and goodwill toward men. No, the ones responsible for the wicked slaughter of Bethlehem’s children were the devil and King Herod, who was already a child of the devil. The devil and Herod brought it about, by their own wicked will, together with the complicit soldiers who shamefully carried out Herod’s wicked orders.
Third, we know that God had already received those little boys into His Church and into His family through the Law of Moses and the sign of circumcision. We call them Holy Innocents, not because they were sinless, but for two reasons: because they committed no crime before men, especially one deserving death; and because, through His Word and signs, God had sanctified them for Himself and brought them to an infant faith by which He made them acceptable to Him and heirs of eternal life, no matter how short their earthly life was.
And fourth, we know that God not only foresaw, not only allowed, but also caused to happen the holy family’s flight to Egypt and the preservation of His Son there. God did intervene in history to protect His Son. He sent His angel to Joseph three times to warn Joseph and to guide him, to see to it that he would protect Jesus, and He used Joseph’s godliness and obedient heart to carry it out. Not only that, but, as we’ll hear next week in our Epiphany service, God saw to it that the star of Bethlehem would guide the wise men to where Jesus was, so that Jesus might receive the gifts of the wise men which would pay for the expenses of their flight to Egypt. And, incidentally, God also saw to it that King Herod would die an excruciating death not too long after the holy family fled to Egypt, ensuring that Israel would again be a safe place for God’s Son to live.
Those are the facts of the story.
Now, some people would say that, since God is omnipotent and the sovereign Ruler over all things, He could have intervened to stop Herod from slaughtering those little children, and therefore, God is ultimately to blame for Herod’s massacre, that God is at fault, because He could have prevented the pain.
Well, it’s very easy to blame God for everything that goes wrong in this world, isn’t it? Because He could step in and prevent it from happening, right? If the wicked prosper, then it’s only because God allows them to prosper!
And why do the wicked prosper? Couldn’t God give us a world without wickedness in it, and a fountain of youth, and a cure for every disease? Of course He could. In fact, He did. It was called the Garden of Eden, where the Tree of Life grew long ago. But He took that garden and that tree away from our race when our parents, Adam and Eve, sinned, just as He warned them ahead of time He would do. But they sinned anyway. So God’s reason for allowing pain in childbirth, or death by old age, is the same reason for which He allows all the pain and suffering that men endure, including allowing wicked men to prosper in their schemes to bring harm to others, even to God’s believing children: mankind is under a curse.
Do we deserve our curse? Yes, we do. Even little children? Yes, they do. They bear, right now, the same sinful nature that you still bear, a sinful nature that’s full of evil desires and that’s hostile to God. Couldn’t God remove the curse from mankind? Well, yes, He could. But there’s only one way in which He could do it. By sending His Son into this world and making Him a curse for us. As St. Paul writes to the Galatians, Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”), that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. The blessing of Abraham, when God said to him: in your Seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed. That’s what we celebrate at Christmas, isn’t it?, and at the circumcision of Christ, and also in the flight of the holy family to Egypt: the unfolding of God’s plan to send His Son into the world to remove our curse from us and to bring the blessing of salvation to us through His death on the cross. That was His wondrous purpose.
Christ suffered for our sins and has removed the curse of God’s wrath from all who believe in Him. He hasn’t yet removed us from this world with its curse or freed us from the outward effects of that curse. But He has forgiven us our sins and given us eternal life in Christ, so that, no matter what bad things happen to us in this world, they are temporary hardships and crosses for us to bear, but they are not permanent, and they are not punishments from an angry God. At the end of this life’s suffering, whether long or short, is eternal life and joy in His presence, as the little children of Bethlehem have experienced ever since Herod’s sword took them away from the suffering of this world.
And soon God will completely and permanently remove the curse of sin and death and suffering from all who believe in Christ. Even now, He reigns over human history. He preserves and protects, directs and defends us, and sometimes He intervenes, not always allowing wicked men to get away with their schemes. Sometimes He intervenes with punishment for the wicked and with miraculous deliverance for the godly. We have the assurance from Holy Scripture that all things must work together for our good, and that the sovereign God will not allow anything or anyone to harm us beyond the limits set by His wisdom and by His fatherly will, as He demonstrated in the deliverance of the Christ-Child from Herod’s wicked hand.
The truth is, the wicked only seem to prosper. In reality, the will of our Father is being done, His children are being saved, and the wicked are being prepared for judgment. As we heard tonight in our Psalm, Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass…For evildoers shall be cut off; but those who wait on the LORD, they shall inherit the earth. Amen.
13 Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him.”
14 When he arose, he took the young Child and His mother by night and departed for Egypt, 15 and was there until the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, “Out of Egypt I called My Son.”
16 Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry; and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men. 17 Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying:
18 “Avoice was heard in Ramah, Lamentation, weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weepingforher children, Refusing to be comforted, Because they are no more.”
Today the church commemorates the death of the Holy Innocents who died at the hands of Herod during the time of Jesus birth. It hardly gets more evil, crueler, or more heartbreaking than this event. “Rachel weeping for her children, Refusing to be comforted, Because they are no more.”
The skeptic (or we, in our weakness) will ask: “Could God not have saved them?” Certainly. “Then why didn’t He?” There are no easy answers that fully satisfy our hearts. This fallen world is full of evil, cruel, and heartbreaking events—any one of which or all of them—God could at any time prevent. Yet He does not. Why? Well, it does far better to speak of God’s use rather than His purpose. How does God use these events?
Tragically, King Herod has these innocent infants killed, but the infant Jesus escapes. In God’s plan for our salvation Jesus needs to escape death at this time because He is scheduled to die later. And as the death of these holy innocents happen in the stead of Jesus’ own death at this time, later Jesus’ death will be as a substitute for all mankind. He will suffer and die in the place of all sinful humanity. Anyone who receives this in faith is saved from their sin.
This does not somehow make the death of these innocent infants an “acceptable loss” or mere “collateral damage.” God desires that all people will be saved, and the death of His saints especially is precious in His sight. However, we walk by faith, not by sight. How can faith be strengthened if it is not tested, and how can it be tested if there is no opposition in this world? God uses these calamities in the world to test and strengthen our faith in Him. So, we trust Him and His promises despite all the evil we see, because we know that He “works all things for our good” and we know that He will eventually take us to be with Him in heaven. Until then, we focus on His Word and walk in faith.
Let us pray: Almighty God, grant that the new birth of your only Son in the flesh may set us free from our old slavery under sin; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Posted inDevotion|Comments Off on Each Day in the Word, Wednesday, December 28th (Holy Innocents)
19 This He spoke, signifying by what death he would glorify God. And when He had spoken this, He said to him, “Follow Me.”
20 Then Peter, turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following, who also had leaned on His breast at the supper, and said, “Lord, who is the one who betrays You?” 21 Peter, seeing him, said to Jesus, “But Lord, what about this man?”
22 Jesus said to him, “If Iwill that he remaintill I come, what is that to you? You follow Me.”
23 Then this saying went out among the brethren that this disciple would not die. Yet Jesus did not say to him that he would not die, but, “If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you?”
24 This is the disciple who testifies of these things, and wrote these things; and we know that his testimony is true.
Today we commemorate St. John the evangelist. He writes his Gospel account of Christ much later (c AD 90) than the other Gospels were written (Mt c AD 50, Mk c AD 50-60, Lk c AD 55-60). Writing between 30 and 40 years later, John is able to focus on events and sayings of Jesus that are not contained in the other Gospels. With Paul Harvey, one might say that John’s Gospel is “the rest of the story.” For example, John spends four whole chapters (13-16) telling us what Jesus told His disciples in the upper room but leaves out the institution of the Lord’s supper. Why? Most likely because it was already covered in the other three Gospel accounts.
One other thing that John seems keen on, in our text today, is dispelling the rumor that John would never die. “22 Jesus said to him [Peter], ‘If I will that he [John] remain till I come, what is that to you? You follow Me.’ 23 Then this saying went out among the brethren that this disciple [John] would not die. Yet Jesus did not say to him that he would not die, but, ‘If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you?’”
Now, of course, Jesus can do whatever He wants—“for nothing will be impossible with God.” However, we base our hopes and expectations on the clear Word of God. Since we have no clear Word from God that John would live forever, but we actually have this clarification in our text, we do not “believe, teach, and confess” that John is still physically alive, walking this earth. Would it surprise you to know that there are actually people who believe he is? Probably not. Would it surprise you that 7% of all adult Americans actually believe that chocolate milk comes from brown cows? It’s true; just Google it.
What a blessing then for us, that we are not left to our own ignorance or gullibility, but given a sure and certain Word from God, as inspired by the Holy Spirit, and recorded for us by God’s servants like St. John.
Let us pray: Almighty God, grant that the new birth of your only Son in the flesh may set us free from our old slavery under sin; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Posted inDevotion|Comments Off on Each Day in the Word, Tuesday, December 27th (St. John)
34 Therefore, indeed, I send you prophets, wise men, and scribes:some of them you will kill and crucify, andsome of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city,35 that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth,from the blood of righteous Abel tothe blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.36 Assuredly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.
37 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophetsand stones those who are sent to her! How oftenI wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicksunder her wings, but you were not willing!38 See! Your house is left to you desolate;39 for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say,‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’”
“Good King Wenceslas look’d out, On the Feast of Stephen.” That’s today, the Feast of St. Stephen. The carol is based on a legend about a very real king, a good king (and he was called good because he showed care for his people). And the Feast of St. Stephen commemorates a very real servant of God, a martyred servant. Our very real and good king, Jesus Christ, foretold in our text today that there would be martyrs. In the church year we celebrate the festival of the birth of Christ, and then the very next day we commemorate the death of St. Stephen (and shortly thereafter the death of the holy innocents at the hands of Herod during the time of Jesus’ birth, which we’ll get to on Thursday this week).
No time to linger at length in festivals, the servant of God must be up and moving! Ready to do as the Master tasks us, and ready to endure what He sends our way. Jesus, our good and gracious King, goes before us to Jerusalem, lamenting the fact that the people of this world and even some of the so-called people of God, do not receive the message of God’s Law and Gospel as they should, and at times they also do not receive the messengers of God’s Word as they should. The result is what Jesus laments—at times there will be martyrs for the sake of the Gospel—“from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah,” and the blood of righteous Stephen, and the blood of all the saints martyred in the name of the Lord. These are all precious in God’s sight.
And precious in our sight, is Jesus our king—our good king who cares for His people—who lives the perfect life, fulfilling all of God’s holy requirements in His Law, and then goes to the cross to pay for all our sins. The sweetness of the Gospel then is ours as we receive it in faith—forgiveness of our sin, a new creation of Christ within us, and the promise of heaven. Gifts so precious that even the threat of martyrdom does not dissuade. “O Lord, gather your children under Your wings, for we are willing!”
Let us pray: Almighty God, grant that the new birth of your only Son in the flesh may set us free from our old slavery under sin; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Posted inDevotion|Comments Off on Each Day in the Word, Monday, December 26th (St. Stephen)
