Judica Sunday, 2023.

 

Bethany Lutheran Church

Sunday worship, 10 AM

Pastor Gregory L. Jackson

The Hymn #12     This Day at Thy Creating Word                                     

The Absolution

The Introit p. 16

Judge me, O God: and plead my cause against an ungodly nation.

Oh, deliver me from the deceitful and unjust man: for Thou art the God of my strength.

Psalm. Oh, send out Thy light and Thy truth: let them lead me; let them bring me unto Thy holy hill.

The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation p. 19

The Collect, p. 19

We beseech Thee, Almighty God, 

mercifully to look upon Thy people, 

that by Thy great goodness 

they may be governed and preserved 

evermore both in body and soul; 

through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, who liveth, etc.

The Epistle and Gradual       

The Gospel              

Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
The Sermon Hymn #67     The Bridegroom Soon Will Call Us - Loy Translation

The Word We Have

The Communion Hymn #307      Draw Nigh

The Preface p. 24
The Sanctus p. 26
The Lord's Prayer p. 27
The Words of Institution
The Agnus Dei p. 28
The Nunc Dimittis p. 29
The Benediction p. 31
The Hymn #410    Jesus Lead Thou On    

       

Prayers and Announcements

• Dr. Kermit Way, Pastor and Mrs. Jim Shrader, Callie.
• Mid-Week Vespers, 7 PM
• Palm Sunday Holy Communion, 10 AM
• Holy Week - Maundy Thursday, Holy Communion 7 PM. 
• Good Friday 7 PM. 
• Easter Sunday  Holy Communion, 10 AM.
• Edersheim - Bible History - Look for Exodus.

       

KJV Hebrews 9:11 But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; 12 Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. 13 For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: 14 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? 15 And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.

KJV John 8:46 Which of you convinceth me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe me? 47 He that is of God heareth God's words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God. 48 Then answered the Jews, and said unto him, Say we not well that thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil? 49 Jesus answered, I have not a devil; but I honour my Father, and ye do dishonour me. 50 And I seek not mine own glory: there is one that seeketh and judgeth. 51 Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death. 52 Then said the Jews unto him, Now we know that thou hast a devil. Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and thou sayest, If a man keep my saying, he shall never taste of death. 53 Art thou greater than our father Abraham, which is dead? and the prophets are dead: whom makest thou thyself? 54 Jesus answered, If I honour myself, my honour is nothing: it is my Father that honoureth me; of whom ye say, that he is your God: 55 Yet ye have not known him; but I know him: and if I should say, I know him not, I shall be a liar like unto you: but I know him, and keep his saying. 56 Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad. 57 Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham? 58 Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I AM. 59 Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.

 Norma A. Boeckler

KJV Exodus 3:2 And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.

6 Moreover he said, I AM the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God.

13 And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them?

14 And God said unto Moses, I Am That I Am: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.

KJV Genesis 15:6 And he [Abraham] believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness.

Prayer

O Lord Jesus Christ, we thank Thee, that of Thine infinite mercy Thou hast instituted this Thy sacrament, in which we eat Thy body and drink Thy blood: Grant us, we beseech Thee, by Thy Holy Spirit, that we may not receive this gift unworthily, but that we may confess our sins, remember Thine agony and death, believe the forgiveness of sin, and day by day grow in faith and love, until we obtain eternal salvation through Thee, who livest and reignest with the Father and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.

The Word We Have

KJV John 8:46 Which of you convinceth me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe me?

This shows the union of 

1. the divinity of Jesus Christ and 
2. His miracles.

The two belong together, which confronts the apostates as well as the blasphemers. They want a Messiah who is only human, not divine. Philosophy majors delight in ignoring Jesus as the Son of God, and that has a great impact on everything they say and do. The truth is - Jesus performed many miracles far beyond the expectations of the doubters, so they were left with no argument about His claims about truth. Even today there is truth as debated by us humans and the divine truth that never changes. The daffodils will grow at the right time, no matter what we think, so we must subordinate our opinions to the revelation of the truth. 

His miracles prove the eternal truth of everything He says, and that is still true today. The lack of belief comes from the opponents who dare not accept the Word of Jesus Christ, much like today. Every day I can pick up news articles on the collapse of the denominations, which once were vibrant and healthy, but now are diseased and conflicted - working against their own charters so they can undermine the Word of God.

47 He that is of God heareth God's words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God.

Individuals either belong to God or not. Belonging to God means listening to His powerful, always effective Word. Hardened hearts hear the words but oppose them, and the effect of opposition is to worsen the hardening effect. People get confused because the effect of God's Word is in the Scriptures but seldom taught. Many assume a neutral position that only needs the addition of faith, or "making a decision." But Jesus is speaking of the divine Word, the eternal truth, that necessarily removes the falsehoods that accumulate. No deals can be made - it is all or nothing.

48 Then answered the Jews, and said unto him, Say we not well that thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil? 49 Jesus answered, I have not a devil; but I honour my Father, and ye do dishonour me. 50 And I seek not mine own glory: there is one that seeketh and judgeth.

This is a doubly insulting attack, first accusing that Jesus is really a Samaritan in spirit and even a devil. The attacks show the fury of opponents. Those who follow their Father Below are quick to show their holy outrage. They point from the pulpit as false ministers, or do the same to ministers as faithless laity. 

51 Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep [GJ - guard] my saying, he shall never see death. 

The verb keep is used for guarding a treasure or an item locked up. We do that all the time with objects - important documents, keys, credit cards, cash, children's keepsake items, like the tiny palm print from kindergarten. Divine truth is what we guard to keep the ways of the world from oppressing us. Today's sermon from Luther is very good at that. All the wisdom of this world is nothing compared to the power God gives us in trusting His Word.

52 Then said the Jews unto him, Now we know that thou hast a devil. Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and thou sayest, If a man keep my saying, he shall never taste of death. 53 Art thou greater than our father Abraham, which is dead? and the prophets are dead: whom makest thou thyself?

People need to remember that the Gospel was not foreign to the Jews at this time. They were well aware of the signs - the Star of Bethlehem 30 years before, the preaching of John the Baptist directly quoting Isaiah 40, the miracles of Jesus. Two leaders of Judaism helped in the burial of Jesus, risking their lives. Did Jesus visit the Temple and have no effect? 

The purpose of the Talmud is to enclose the Word of God (center, just a few Biblical words), "to build a fence," - their object - using many layers to obscure the Word. For modern examples, see Concordia Publishing House, Northwestern Publishing, and Fortress Augsburg Press.

Fears of the fossilized leaders caused them to start up the Talmud, much like what we have today in Lutherdom. Why is something so? They have layer upon layer of "experts" from the past who all agree on their false doctrine, and these hardened, blind leaders force this on the rest, using the money of laity to promote anti-Christian doctrine (Unitarianism, Universalism, Calvinism, evolution, Marxism, and crimes against the family, along with associations of Lutherans who are even worse).

The opponents in this passage are using their own history to prove that Jesus is evil and crazy, and they cite the evidence  to Jesus who was not that old at the time.

54 Jesus answered, If I honour myself, my honour is nothing: it is my Father that honoureth me; of whom ye say, that he is your God: 55 Yet ye have not known him; but I know him: and if I should say, I know him not, I shall be a liar like unto you: but I know him, and keep his saying.

Did these Jewish leaders know the Trinity - which is all over the Old Testament. This is clearly a case of the Son declaring His relationship with the Father and the Holy Spirit conveying this truth to us through the Apostle John. We still have nominal Christians (often the professors and clergy too) who do not comprehend the Trinity or openly oppose it. Do not be shocked - I sat with a Calvinist minister on the plane who was indifferent about the Apostolic KJV New Testament and could recite the worst examples of passages removed - but did not care. However, he said, "We must reach the next generation." I thought - "We"? I responded by saying, "You only need to preach and teach the Word of God. That is the only necessity. God works through His Word alone."

56 Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad.

This reveals that Jesus was revealed to Abraham, long before Moses, Genesis 15:6. At the same time, the Son has always existed, just as the Holy Trinity has. We are finite - God is infinite. 

57 Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham? 58 Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I AM.

This is only confusing if we assume or imagine Jesus was human alone and not divine. As Luther would say, that old harlot Human Reason, is always fooling us with anti-Biblical notions.

We can look at it another way - where everyone agrees that Jesus was gentle, kindly, loving, and gracious. Why would anyone want to execute Him? Roman and Jewish authorities agreed on doing this heinous deed and cooperated with each other in doing it. This horrible penalty can only be explained by both parties being terrified of His divine power, the proof in the raising of Lazarus just a few miles away, everyone knowing about it and seeing him with Jesus.

I AM is God's Name and the present tense, rather than "I was" reveals to us that the Son of God is eternal, so the tenses we use as humans are far below the meaning we find in the Triune God.

59 Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.

This is another example of His divine nature not being hindered by His human nature. The appearance in the locked room twice (the doors blocked) are two more examples, plus the time the crowd wanted to throw Him off the cliff. Luke 4:28-29. "His himself" can be interpreted as not making Himself seen - He certainly did not need to "hide."

Therefore we can see that revealing His divine power also enraged those who feared and hated it. Thus the final episodes in Holy Week teach us the difference between faith and opposition.