Emmanuel Lutheran Church

 Hebrews 2:5-18

⁵ For He has not put the world to come, of which we speak, in subjection to angels. ⁶ But one testified in a certain place, saying:

For in that He put all in subjection under him, He left nothing that is not put under him. But now we do not yet see all things put under him. ⁹ But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone.

¹⁰ For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. ¹¹ For both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of one, for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren, ¹² saying:

¹³ And again:

And again:

¹⁴ Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, ¹⁵ and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. ¹⁶ For indeed He does not give aid to angels, but He does give aid to the seed of Abraham. ¹⁷ Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. ¹⁸ For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted.

The writer to the Hebrews tells us, “But now we do not yet see all things put under Him.” As we focus our gaze on the world around us, we see very little physical evidence of Christ’s reign and rule here below. Corruption runs rampant among our elected political leaders and evil rears its ugly head in all kinds of other ways: unbridled abortion, unchecked crime, ungodly marriages and relationships, open scoffing of Christianity and Christians everywhere, the gross over-commercialization of all that is holy, and many other abominations.  The unbelieving world mocks and says, “There really is no God since all these things *could* be stopped *if* there was a God.”

You and I as Christians all too often shake our heads at these things and find ourselves wondering along with the world where God is in all this earthly mess.  The devil whispers – and sometimes yells – in our ears that all is lost, that God doesn’t really care about us, and we may as well throw in the towel in defeat.  God simply cannot or will not come through.

Although those wonderings are understandable and we are too often tempted to listen to the devil’ lies, we must repent of wallowing in the world’s sorrow.  For “we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone,” and “He is able to aid those who are tempted.”  There is our hope and strength: Jesus our Savior tasted death for us!  Jesus our Savior also defeated death for us by His resurrection!  Even if this evil world takes us out, we, by God-given faith and trust in Christ, still win the ultimate battle because we are with Him and in Him.  He saved us in our Baptism and continually feeds us with Himself through His Gospel and Sacraments.  His victory over sin, death, and the devil is ours. And that is more than enough reason and strength for us to persevere and look forward with absolute certainty to the life of the world to come.

Let us pray: O Holy Child of Bethlehem, descend to us we pray. Cast out our sin and enter in, be born in us today. Amen.

Revelation 10:7-11

⁷ but in the days of the sounding of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, the mystery of God would be finished, as He declared to His servants the prophets.

⁸ Then the voice which I heard from heaven spoke to me again and said, “Go, take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel who stands on the sea and on the earth.”

⁹ So I went to the angel and said to him, “Give me the little book.”

And he said to me, “Take and eat it; and it will make your stomach bitter, but it will be as sweet as honey in your mouth.”

¹⁰ Then I took the little book out of the angel’s hand and ate it, and it was as sweet as honey in my mouth. But when I had eaten it, my stomach became bitter. ¹¹ And he said to me, “You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, tongues, and kings.”

Here John quite literally eats the Word of God to “read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest” it. God’s Word contains both Law and Gospel, so it is both bitter and sweet. The bitterness of the Law is all the threats of judgement, and the sweetness of the Gospel is all the promises of grace through Christ in faith.

God calls and commissions John to “prophesy again”—that is, to proclaim the Law to an impenitent world, and to proclaim the Gospel to those who repent.

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.

Revelation 10:1-6

10 I saw still another mighty angel coming down from heaven, clothed with a cloud. And a rainbow was on his head, his face was like the sun, and his feet like pillars of fire. ² He had a little book open in his hand. And he set his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land, ³ and cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roars. When he cried out, seven thunders uttered their voices. ⁴ Now when the seven thunders uttered their voices, I was about to write; but I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, “Seal up the things which the seven thunders uttered, and do not write them.”

⁵ The angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land raised up his hand to heaven ⁶ and swore by Him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and the things that are in it, the earth and the things that are in it, and the sea and the things that are in it, that there should be delay no longer,

St. John says in our text that he saw “another mighty angel.” The description here reminds us of Exodus and the description of God among His people. Also, the word “angel” simply means messenger, and Christ is the messenger of God, par excellence. Therefore, some take this to be a representation of Christ, even as many times in the Old Testament “the angel of the Lord” refers to the pre-incarnate Christ.

This messenger of God has a “little book open in his hand.” Previous scrolls were sealed, opened, and then the contents revealed. Here, however, even though this “little book” is open, the contents are not revealed at this time. Instead, John is told to “seal up” even what the seven thunders are saying. This is revelation for a later time.

The “seven thunders” is part of the apocalyptic language of the book of Revelation. Many places in Scripture, thunder is associated with God’s voice.

“⁵ The angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land raised up his hand to heaven ⁶ and swore by Him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and the things that are in it, the earth and the things that are in it, and the sea and the things that are in it, that there should be delay no longer.”

Here the messenger of God swears on oath, in John’s hearing (and ours) that there will be no delay any longer. At this point, God’s judgment is indeed coming—it is imminent. For the unrepentant, this means that the wrath of God and His judgement will be poured out on them. For the believer, who receives Christ’s forgiveness in faith, this means that our full salvation from this fallen world is at hand.

Christ has indeed triumphed over this fallen world, and He is about to share His triumph with us—we who receive Him in faith. Until then, we walk by faith, trusting in His Word: “³³ These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (Jn 16:33).

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.

John 1:15-18

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.