Emmanuel Lutheran Church

Revelation 5:6-10

⁶ And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as though it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth. ⁷ Then He came and took the scroll out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne.

⁸ Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. ⁹ And they sang a new song, saying:

Seeing, hearing, and faith. Those themes run through the devotions this week. In today’s Gospel from Luke 18, it’s Jesus in His state of humiliation who showed His disciples what lay ahead for Him: suffering, death, and resurrection. Jesus laid out the plan for them to “see,” but they didn’t understand it at the time. Meanwhile, the blind man trusted even without seeing, which resulted in his sight being granted.

In today’s reading from Revelation, it’s Jesus in His state of exaltation who reveals to His Church the content of the sealed scroll, the decrees and judgments of God concerning what lies ahead for the Church.

Jesus is worthy to know and to reveal the Father’s decrees both as true God and as true Man, and as both the Lion and the Lamb: as the Lamb, because He gave Himself as a sacrifice for the world’s sins and cleansed His Church with the washing of water by the word; as the Lion, because He conquered sin and death and reigns over all things for the Church.

Jesus alone is worthy to reveal the Church’s future, and what He reveals is that the Church’s path resembles the path of Christ Himself. We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God. We must face suffering, rejection, and death. But like Jesus, we, too, will be resurrected and glorified. As with the Head, that is, Christ, so with the Body, that is, the Church.

Having seen the plan, learn from both the disciples and the blind man in Luke 18. You may not understand everything that Christ has revealed about these last days of the earth. But in this case, trust can be blind, because we have already seen the goodness and mercy of God in Christ. Trust in His good and merciful plan for His Church, and eventually, like the blind man whose faith saved him, your trust will be rewarded with sight, too.

Let us pray: O Lamb of God, You are worthy of all honor and praise. When we are unable to see how Your plans fit together, send forth Your Holy Spirit to enlighten our eyes and to strengthen our faith. Amen.

Luke 5:12-39

¹² And it happened when He was in a certain city, that behold, a man who was full of leprosy saw Jesus; and he fell on his face and implored Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.”

¹³ Then He put out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” Immediately the leprosy left him. ¹⁴ And He charged him to tell no one, “But go and show yourself to the priest, and make an offering for your cleansing, as a testimony to them, just as Moses commanded.”

¹⁵ However, the report went around concerning Him all the more; and great multitudes came together to hear, and to be healed by Him of their infirmities. ¹⁶ So He Himself often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed.

¹⁷ Now it happened on a certain day, as He was teaching, that there were Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting by, who had come out of every town of Galilee, Judea, and Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was present to heal them. ¹⁸ Then behold, men brought on a bed a man who was paralyzed, whom they sought to bring in and lay before Him. ¹⁹ And when they could not find how they might bring him in, because of the crowd, they went up on the housetop and let him down with his bed through the tiling into the midst before Jesus.

²⁰ When He saw their faith, He said to him, “Man, your sins are forgiven you.”

²¹ And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, “Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?”

²² But when Jesus perceived their thoughts, He answered and said to them, “Why are you reasoning in your hearts? ²³ Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Rise up and walk’? ²⁴ But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins”—He said to the man who was paralyzed, “I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.”

²⁵ Immediately he rose up before them, took up what he had been lying on, and departed to his own house, glorifying God. ²⁶ And they were all amazed, and they glorified God and were filled with fear, saying, “We have seen strange things today!”

²⁷ After these things He went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, “Follow Me.” ²⁸ So he left all, rose up, and followed Him.

²⁹ Then Levi gave Him a great feast in his own house. And there were a great number of tax collectors and others who sat down with them. ³⁰ And their scribes and the Pharisees complained against His disciples, saying, “Why do You eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”

³¹ Jesus answered and said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. ³² I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”

³³ Then they said to Him, “Why do the disciples of John fast often and make prayers, and likewise those of the Pharisees, but Yours eat and drink?”

³⁴ And He said to them, “Can you make the friends of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them? ³⁵ But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them; then they will fast in those days.”

³⁶ Then He spoke a parable to them: “No one puts a piece from a new garment on an old one; otherwise the new makes a tear, and also the piece that was taken out of the new does not match the old. ³⁷ And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine will burst the wineskins and be spilled, and the wineskins will be ruined. ³⁸ But new wine must be put into new wineskins, and both are preserved. ³⁹ And no one, having drunk old wine, immediately desires new; for he says, ‘The old is better.’ ”

Within this text God demonstrates His authority (as only He has) along with the power to heal (as only He can do)! There are different kinds of healing taking place. Some physical, some spiritual.

Some, effected by the fallenness of this world suffer from maladies in their bodies, and they need healing. God’s Word uses physical maladies to display man’s inner (inescapable) corruption of original sin. God’s Word is revealing that all of mankind is in need of spiritual healing!

Although God can pick choose who He would (or would not) heal physically (as His will is always best), God’s will was also best in that He secured full atonement for the sins of the entire world through the only-begotten Son, Christ Jesus! That salvation is there for man to receive by faith all the time!

The paralytic and his friends demonstrate what God-created faith does — just as it did with the leper and tax-collector. Faith desires Jesus and what Jesus has fully merited to offer out, namely, forgiveness of sins. So the paralytic and his friends, called by the Gospel, decide to go through the roof.

Jesus, being the Good-physician, heals the paralytic’s greatest need first, the need of his soul. His sins are forgiven because Jesus sees the paralytic’s faith. “Only God has the authority to forgive sins!” is grumbled. But since the Son of Man has that authority, He then reveals it by healing the paralytics body.

Rejoice that you have been, and continue to be, called by the Gospel; and that God-created faith continues to brings you to do what faith desires, namely, continually partake of Jesus and the forgiveness that He offers through His means of grace!

Let us pray: O God, the strength of all who put their trust in You, mercifully grant that by Your power we may be defended against all adversity; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

Luke 4:14-44

¹⁴ Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region. ¹⁵ And He taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.

¹⁶ So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. ¹⁷ And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written:

²⁰ Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. ²¹ And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” ²² So all bore witness to Him, and marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth. And they said, “Is this not Joseph’s son?”

²³ He said to them, “You will surely say this proverb to Me, ‘Physician, heal yourself! Whatever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in Your country.’ ” ²⁴ Then He said, “Assuredly, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own country. ²⁵ But I tell you truly, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a great famine throughout all the land; ²⁶ but to none of them was Elijah sent except to Zarephath, in the region of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. ²⁷ And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian.”

²⁸ So all those in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, ²⁹ and rose up and thrust Him out of the city; and they led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built, that they might throw Him down over the cliff. ³⁰ Then passing through the midst of them, He went His way.

³¹ Then He went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and was teaching them on the Sabbaths. ³² And they were astonished at His teaching, for His word was with authority. ³³ Now in the synagogue there was a man who had a spirit of an unclean demon. And he cried out with a loud voice, ³⁴ saying, “Let us alone! What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth? Did You come to destroy us? I know who You are—the Holy One of God!”

³⁵ But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be quiet, and come out of him!” And when the demon had thrown him in their midst, it came out of him and did not hurt him. ³⁶ Then they were all amazed and spoke among themselves, saying, “What a word this is! For with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits, and they come out.” ³⁷ And the report about Him went out into every place in the surrounding region.

³⁸ Now He arose from the synagogue and entered Simon’s house. But Simon’s wife’s mother was sick with a high fever, and they made request of Him concerning her. ³⁹ So He stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. And immediately she arose and served them.

⁴⁰ When the sun was setting, all those who had any that were sick with various diseases brought them to Him; and He laid His hands on every one of them and healed them. ⁴¹ And demons also came out of many, crying out and saying, “You are the Christ, the Son of God!”

And He, rebuking them, did not allow them to speak, for they knew that He was the Christ.

⁴² Now when it was day, He departed and went into a deserted place. And the crowd sought Him and came to Him, and tried to keep Him from leaving them; ⁴³ but He said to them, “I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, because for this purpose I have been sent.” ⁴⁴ And He was preaching in the synagogues of Galilee.

God in His infinite wisdom chose not supply any history about Jesus’ life after His questioning the teachers of the Law when He was twelve years old. He eventually appears before John the Baptist to be baptized (and consequently consecrate all waters of Holy Baptism to be holy through His blood). After having been tempted by the devil for forty days of fasting, the Lord Jesus returns to Galilee and then on to Nazareth where He grew up. God’s Word reveals that He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day and stood up to read. This was Jesus’ custom.

So, what’s the first thing that the Lord reads after His Holy Baptism and temptation? Not coincidentally, He reads the passage from Isaiah which was quoted to the disciples of John the Baptist when they were sent to ascertain whether He was the One sent from God, or if they were to look for another. The very prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled in the midst of those in Nazareth on this Sabbath, and what do they do? They reject Him. They think He cannot be the Messiah, for He is only Joseph’s son. Their reaction was a testament to the lowly upbringing of the Lord — who was born in a humble way and lived a humble life — with parents who were not people of high standing.

What, then, does the Lord do after His rejection? He continues to do the things that Isaiah said He would do — He casts out demons and heals the sick — destroying the kingdom and stronghold of the devil. He completed the defeat of the devil’s kingdom with His death on the cross — and He did it for you!

Let us pray: O God, the strength of all who put their trust in You, mercifully grant that by Your power we may be defended against all adversity; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

Mark 12:13-44

¹³ Then they sent to Him some of the Pharisees and the Herodians, to catch Him in His words. ¹⁴ When they had come, they said to Him, “Teacher, we know that You are true, and care about no one; for You do not regard the person of men, but teach the way of God in truth. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not? ¹⁵ Shall we pay, or shall we not pay?”

But He, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, “Why do you test Me? Bring Me a denarius that I may see it.” ¹⁶ So they brought it.

And He said to them, “Whose image and inscription is this?” They said to Him, “Caesar’s.”

¹⁷ And Jesus answered and said to them, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”

And they marveled at Him.

¹⁸ Then some Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Him; and they asked Him, saying: ¹⁹ “Teacher, Moses wrote to us that if a man’s brother dies, and leaves his wife behind, and leaves no children, his brother should take his wife and raise up offspring for his brother. ²⁰ Now there were seven brothers. The first took a wife; and dying, he left no offspring. ²¹ And the second took her, and he died; nor did he leave any offspring. And the third likewise. ²² So the seven had her and left no offspring. Last of all the woman died also. ²³ Therefore, in the resurrection, when they rise, whose wife will she be? For all seven had her as wife.”

²⁴ Jesus answered and said to them, “Are you not therefore mistaken, because you do not know the Scriptures nor the power of God? ²⁵ For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. ²⁶ But concerning the dead, that they rise, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the burning bush passage, how God spoke to him, saying, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? ²⁷ He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living. You are therefore greatly mistaken.”

²⁸ Then one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, perceiving that He had answered them well, asked Him, “Which is the first commandment of all?”

²⁹ Jesus answered him, “The first of all the commandments is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. ³⁰ And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. ³¹ And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

³² So the scribe said to Him, “Well said, Teacher. You have spoken the truth, for there is one God, and there is no other but He. ³³ And to love Him with all the heart, with all the understanding, with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, is more than all the whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.”

³⁴ Now when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, He said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.”

But after that no one dared question Him.

³⁵ Then Jesus answered and said, while He taught in the temple, “How is it that the scribes say that the Christ is the Son of David? ³⁶ For David himself said by the Holy Spirit:

³⁷ Therefore David himself calls Him ‘Lord’; how is He then his Son?”

And the common people heard Him gladly.

³⁸ Then He said to them in His teaching, “Beware of the scribes, who desire to go around in long robes, love greetings in the marketplaces, ³⁹ the best seats in the synagogues, and the best places at feasts, ⁴⁰ who devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. These will receive greater condemnation.”

⁴¹ Now Jesus sat opposite the treasury and saw how the people put money into the treasury. And many who were rich put in much. ⁴² Then one poor widow came and threw in two mites, which make a quadrans. ⁴³ So He called His disciples to Himself and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all those who have given to the treasury; ⁴⁴ for they all put in out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all that she had, her whole livelihood.”

A question is posed to Jesus, by the Pharisees, about paying taxes to Caesar. They were scheming to get the Lord to admit to paying the tax, that way they could say He was not really the Messiah — because the Messiah would not hold allegiance with Caesar. The irony in this, however, comes later when, in order to get the Lord Jesus crucified, they themselves claim they have no king but Caesar.

The Sadducees similarly try a scheme of their own. They question Jesus about the resurrection — something they do not even believe in. They only read the Torah, the five books of Moses, and disregarded the rest of the Word of God. Just as He did with the devil in the wilderness when he was tempting Him, the Lord Jesus refutes the Sadducees with the proper use of God’s Word. He is the God of the living. Even after Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were many years in the grave, they were still living in Heaven when the Lord spoke to Moses.

As Scripture reveals Scripture, this explains how the Son of David can be the Lord of David, because David was still living in Heaven. The Lord Jesus was Lord over David because He was both God and man. He was the Son who was the Lord. And by His sacrifice on the tree of the cross (which He made holy through His precious blood) He made sin, death, and the devil—His enemies— to serve as His footstool and give you freedom from their power over you. Thanks be to God, indeed!

Let us pray: O God, the strength of all who put their trust in You, mercifully grant that by Your power we may be defended against all adversity; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.