Mid-Week

 Mid-Week Lenten Vespers, 2022

Pastor Gregory L. Jackson

  

Bethany Lutheran Worship

7 PM Central Standard

 Vimeo player will appear here:

 

The Hymn # 240             Father Most Holy     
The Order of Vespers                                             p. 41

The Psalmody            Psalm   14                           p. 124
The Lection             
  
The Sermon Hymn #179   On My Heart  

 I AM the One Witnessing about Myself

The Prayers and Lord’s Prayer                         p. 44

The Collect for Peace                                        p. 45

The Benediction                                                 p. 45

The Hymn # 558            All Praise to Thee

 

In Our Prayers

•  Kermit Way, serious eye problem. Pastor Jim Shrader, Chris Shrader, Peggy and Callie, and C.
• Our country, military justice, and DEP Trump.

 

I AM One that bear Witness of Myself

¹⁸ εγω ειμι ο μαρτυρων περι εμαυτου και μαρτυρει περι εμου ο πεμψας με πατηρ

 

KJV John 8:13 The Pharisees therefore said unto him, Thou bearest record of thyself; thy record is not true. 14 Jesus answered and said unto them, Though I bear record of myself, yet my record is true: for I know whence I came, and whither I go; but ye cannot tell whence I come, and whither I go. 15 Ye judge after the flesh; I judge no man. 16 And yet if I judge, my judgment is true: for I am not alone, but I and the Father that sent me. 17 It is also written in your law, that the testimony of two men is true. 18 I AM one that bear witness of myself, and the Father that sent me beareth witness of me. 19 Then said they unto him, Where is thy Father? Jesus answered, Ye neither know me, nor my Father: if ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also. 20 These words spake Jesus in the treasury, as he taught in the temple: and no man laid hands on him; for his hour was not yet come.

This chapter of John’s Gospel is often given a lot of attention at the beginning, because the much later, dubious codices did not have the story of the adulterous woman. The ending is quite dramatic, with the ultimate declaration, Before Abraham was, I AM.”

In between are two important declarations of divinity – “I AM the Light of the World,” (8:12) and this one.

18 I AM one that bear witness of myself, and the Father that sent me beareth witness of me.

            This is a message about the Holy Trinity, which is abhorrent to the rationalists and apostates. They not only teach the humanity of Jesus without the divinity, but also reject the Trinity and scoff at it. As Jesus said so many times, the Word blinds and deafens the people who resist and reject the truth.

            That is also why the Fourth Gospel is so comforting. Where there could be doubt or puzzlement, John’s Gospel reveals the important points that unify and clarify the message of all four Gospels and the Apostle Paul’s message, plus the other apostolic witnesses. John’s Gospel is easy reading because the vocabulary and words are simple. It can be easily translated into any language. As one of our editors said, “I think God planned it that way.”

            Yes, the Trinity is a difficult topic to teach and discuss, because – like the other mysteries – is apprehended only through faith. Those children are blessed when they are baptized and taught gradually the meaning of these mysteries:

·         The Trinity

·         The divinity and human nature of Jesus Christ

·         Miracles performed by Jesus

·         The cross

·         The Resurrection and Ascension of Jesus

This language of the Son and the Father witnessing together is another example of enraging the opponents. Immediately they begin to ask about His father, lower case, because they want to undermine Jesus.

            If a man heals the sick and raises the dead, performing other miracles as well, the issue is not His power but what the establishment is going to do about that. We have seen a similar reaction to a good leader who improved many things as once, kept the world peaceful, and went after world-network crimes like child trafficking. Somehow that was all evil while a blustering Altzheimer’s patient is a fine president.

            I have seen this many times, when something should be taught, there are angry outcries and personal attacks to change the subject. This will continue, but the Gospel Word breaks through. Every time we understand a Biblical concept better, it enlightens us about so many more.

            Just as many neglect or deny the divinity of Christ, so they also neglect or deny the work of the Holy Spirit. People comment on how the religious of today give no credit to the always powerful and effective Spirit at work in the Word (preaching, teaching, and the Means of Grace). The Spirit is a witness too in this John 8 dialogue. The Spirit directed the Apostles to write down what happened, as Jesus predicted. All things would be remembered. And where is that? – in the latter part of John’s Gospel.

            A simple way of teaching the Trinity is to say – the unity of the Three, the three-ness of the One. St. Patrick is credited with teaching the Trinity with the clover, since there are three leaves, but one clover.

            When any aspect of the Trinity is slighted or removed, the entire nature of the mystery, the Biblical doctrine, is lost. And that is what the apostates want. What they cannot have – faith – is to be filtered into believing hearts so the faithful become faithless.

            George Barna, the PR guy for Fuller Seminary and others, has released a poll saying only 40% of parents teach their children about God. (Public polls are bought for a reason, to create opinion. Private polls with the facts are kept secret.) Although I think it is an attempt to increase enrollment at Fuller Seminary, there could be truth to these so-called facts. How could there be parents teaching children about faith in God if the clergy are faithless themselves. That is not only clear in the mainline denominations of the National Council of Churches (the same ones who own the RSV and ESV paraphrases) but also in the “conservative” groups where the clergy and professors are infected with the same rationalism and apostasy.

            What is simple to teach and believe in the Gospel of John is too difficult and opaque for the clergy and seminary professors. We deal with the older Lutheran writers all the time and with the change in Bibles. There is a chasm between one age, which began in the 1800s and now, where we think we know so much.

·  

Reminiscere Sunday, 2022.

Hymn # 151        Christ, the Life of All the Living - Winkworth translation          

The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16

Remember, O Lord, Thy tender mercies and Thy loving-kindnesses: for they have been ever of old.

Let not mine enemies triumph over me: God of Israel, deliver us out of all our troubles.

Psalm. Unto Thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul: O my God, I trust in Thee; let me not be ashamed.

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

O God, who seest that of ourselves we have no strength, keep us both outwardly and inwardly that we may be defended from all adversities which may happen to the body and from all evil thoughts which may assault and hurt the soul; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, who liveth, etc.

The Epistle and Gradual  

The troubles of my heart are enlarged: 

oh, bring Thou me out of my distresses.

V. Look upon mine affliction and my pain: 

and forgive all my sins.

Tract. Oh, give thanks unto the Lord; f

or He is good: for His mercy endureth forever.

V. Who can utter the mighty acts of the Lord?

Who can show forth His praise?

V. Blessed are they that keep judgment: 

and he that doeth righteousness at all times.

V. Remember me, O Lord, with the favor that 

Thou bearest unto Thy people:

Oh, visit me with Thy salvation.

     

The Gospel              

Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
Sermon Hymn #142    A Lamb Goes Uncomplaining - Gerhardt  

I AM  the Light of the World

 

Hymn #457          What a Friend We Have in Jesus              

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
Hymn # 50      Lord Dismiss Us with Thy Blessing

Prayers and Announcements

• Medical care - Pastor Jim Shrader, Christ Shrader, Doc Lito, Pastor K, Callie and her mother Peggy, and C.
• Wednesday, 7 PM - MidWeek Lenten service,

  

• Thank you for the donation of the Cambridge Lectern KJV Bible. One year anniversary.

Lutheran Library - Gerhardt's Biography

KJV 1 Thessalonians 4:1 Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more. 2 For ye know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus. 3 For this is the will of God,even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication: 4 That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour; 5 Not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles which know not God: 6 That no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter: because that the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also have forewarned you and testified. 7 For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness.

KJV Matthew 15:21 Then Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon. 22 And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil. 23 But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us. 24 But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 25 Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. 26 But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs. 27 And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table. 28 Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.

Second Sunday In Lent

Lord God, heavenly Father, grant us, we beseech Thee, by Thy Holy Spirit, that He may strengthen our hearts and confirm our faith and hope in Thy grace and mercy, so that, although we have reason to fear because of our conscience, our sin, and our unworthiness, we may nevertheless, with the woman of Canaan, hold fast to Thy grace, and in every trial and temptation find Thee a very present help and refuge, through Thy beloved Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.

I AM  the Light of the World

KJV Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. 2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. 4 And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.

5 And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.

KJV John 8: 12 Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. 13 The Pharisees therefore said unto him, Thou bearest record of thyself; thy record is not true. 14 Jesus answered and said unto them, Though I bear record of myself, yet my record is true: for I know whence I came, and whither I go; but ye cannot tell whence I come, and whither I go. 15 Ye judge after the flesh; I judge no man. 16 And yet if I judge, my judgment is true: for I am not alone, but I and the Father that sent me. 17 It is also written in your law, that the testimony of two men is true. 18 I am one that bear witness of myself, and the Father that sent me beareth witness of me. 19 Then said they unto him, Where is thy Father? Jesus answered, Ye neither know me, nor my Father: if ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also. 20 These words spake Jesus in the treasury, as he taught in the temple: and no man laid hands on him; for his hour was not yet come.

We should view the Gospel of John as the fulfillment and the commentary on the Books of Moses. When we see the obvious parallels, the more subtle ones become clearer. In this case, the statement - I AM the Light of the Word - takes us back to the beginning of time. Believe or not, one "lifelong Lutheran" was shocked that the Son existed from eternity. This reference to Creation makes that clear, and the chapter builds upon that.

As Luther observed, God created light before the sun, moon, and the stars. Thus light is first of all that truth belonging to God and the Son is that light. As spectacular as the creation of the universe is, calling forth the Light is even greater. Every step of the Creation, each 24 hour day, shows the Son as the Logos (John 1, interpreting Genesis 1) executing the commands of God the Father.

The nit-picking nannies of fake scholarship want to find differences and contradictions everywhere, but this is another example of the Father and Son in perfect harmony with the Holy Spirit witnessing.

The emphasis on I AM is not minor but major as the rest of the chapter shows. Jesus declared His divinity to the Jewish opponents, and their opposition is clearly stated in the Fourth Gospel. 

I AM the Light of the world

God teaches us here that there is only one Truth, just as the Bible, as the Trinitarian revelation, is the one true Book, which is not judged by any book and judges all book. I have tell some Biblical students - "No, this man is not the last word in what the Bible says, the Bible is the last word. One passage illuminates another, and we are continuously learning. The Holy Spirit is the professor, teaching through the Word."

The experts would have us thing there are many truths, many perspectives. They long to fuse all religions together. The often overlooked part of Westcott-Hort has been overlooked. He was deeply involved in teaching that Christianity and Hinduism should be one religion, together, that the Incarnation would be complete when every person on earth was someone in every person (not through faith). 

As many atheist world religion professors have proven, there is no way to integrate darkness and light, except to have even more darkness.

he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

Lenski noted that following the Light means the Light is moving. Jesus reveals the truth as we move through life. We can see what a difference that makes when we rely on His Truth as the Light of the world. Darkness seems to loom all around us, but light eliminates darkness. The smallest light will show what is in a darkened room.

KJV Psalm 119:105 Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.

We have this constant reminder, when we use a lamp to find our way (or our keys or wallet or part from the computer) in the darkness. The everyday use of light in darkness reminds us that Jesus as the divine Word lights our path.

The Canaanite Woman

Some people like to portray this Gospel text for today, this miracle of healing as Jesus being mean. He does not listen. His disciples urge Him to act! - Send her away with a miracle!

He seems to try hard to insult the woman by using the term "dogs."

But this is really a miracle about faith in spite of all our emotions, fears, and rational judgements. First of all, her faith is so great that she as a pagan approaches the Jewish Messiah, because she has heard the Report (Isaiah 53, Romans 10) and believes.

Second, her faith is revealed in how she persists in view of Jesus' total silence, a silence so great that the disciples want her gone, dismissed with the miracle she wishes.

Third, her faith is shown in that Jesus rebuffs her with words that could be taken as insulting, just as people say to Christians, "Where is your Jesus now? Why does He treat ministers and members so badly? Look at us!" Some of those taunters are busy in many congregations, where the insults smart the most.

Finally, her faith is shown in her being willing to accept anything that Jesus will offer. She may be a dog, but "even the little pet dogs eat the crumbs that fall from the Master's table."

Jesus played the foil so that this woman's faith, which He knew by divine intuition, would be revealed outwardly and recorded for all time. This pagan turned believer through the Gospel Word is our example in remaining full of trust in Christ, no matter how:

1. God seems to be silent.
2. God seems absent for a long time.
3. God lets us take insulting abuse and worse...

This is the key example of faith in Jesus resulting in blessings, rejoicing - even in the crumbs that fall from the Master's table.

Friday Mid-Week Service

 Mid-Week Lenten Vespers, 2022

 

Pastor Gregory L. Jackson

This will be the Vimeo encoder tonight.

We are working on a camera upgrade to make RESI work.

 

Bethany Lutheran Worship, 7 PM Central Time

The Hymn #523    Why Should Cross and Trial Grieve Me

         
The Order of Vespers                                                p. 41

The Psalmody                          Psalm 24                  p. 128
The Lections                            The Passion History

                                                 
The Sermon Hymn #345   Jesus Lover of My Soul

 

The Sermon –    I AM the Bread of Life

 
The Prayers

The Lord’s Prayer

The Collect for Grace                                            p. 45

The Hymn #554         Now Rest Beneath Night's Shadows

The Name of God is unique and should fill us with wonder and praise. The thousands if not millions of divine names in paganism are connected with animals and many kinds of gross, human references. I AM is all-encompassing and puts to shame all the local gods and goddesses. This Name unites the Old and New Testaments because Jesus Himself employed it in His Gospel of John sermons. Unworthy scholars would make Jesus in the Fourth Gospel to be Gnostic – occultic – and not Jewish. Nothing is truer to Israel than Jesus as the human face of God, using His Name again from the Burning Bush – I AM.

            John was the disciple Jesus loved. He was present at the cross, when he was given the honor of taking care of Mary, the mother of Jesus. He was one of the first the empty tomb, and the risen Christ came to him and the disciples while they were fishing, providing a cooked meal before they could bring their catch ashore.

            The hot air merchants of rationalism have much to say about the Four Gospels, mostly wrong. One thing is very clear – the Fourth Gospel is the capstone of the Gospels. John’s Gospel completes and comments upon the events we know from Matthew, Mark, and Luke. The Fourth Gospel also preserves unique sermons and narratives, and reveals the public ministry of Christ as three years with the disciples.

            Those who want to understand the Torah, the Five Books of Moses, whether they are Jews, Christians, or non-aligned, should study the Gospel of John. The Fourth Gospel is a commentary on the Books of Moses, revealing to us that many unusual stories from that era foreshadowed the Christ of the New Testament. By reading and meditating on John, we see the Christian Faith in Moses, and by reading the Torah again, we understand how God fashioned the future to fulfill the Promises of the past.

 

Chapter 6 of John’s Gospel is rich with lessons, starting with the feeding of the multitude, followed by Jesus coming to the disciples as they were dealing with a great windstorm at night on the sea.

KJV John 6: 19 So when they had rowed about five and twenty or thirty furlongs, they see Jesus walking on the sea, and drawing nigh unto the ship: and they were afraid. 20 But he saith unto them, “It is I; be not afraid.” εγω ειμι μη φοβεισθε – Literally – I AM, do not be afraid.

Some would take issue with that, but the disciples, knowing Greek, also knew the language of Exodus 3, when the Angel of the Lord named Himself as I AM, εγω ειμι. Who but the Word incarnate could walk on water?

            People came looking for Jesus, after the great miracle of healing, and He challenged them about their motives, which anticipated the last few decades of the Gospel bringing material success instead of the cross. After this miracle, the people wanted even more, so Jesus questioned their motives.

KJV John 6: 26 Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled. 27 Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed. 28 Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? 29 Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.

This is a fine example of Jesus teaching something that would have enormous importance if it were not ignored. How do we work the works of God? On the Roman Catholic side, there is a long list of works, including praying for the dead to stay a shorter time in Purgatory. Money given to the priest helps too. That is a “reparation offering,” meaning literally in Latin that they are paying for sins – reparations. But this also addresses the limit of works.

            The work of God is to believe on Him He has sent – Jesus Christ, the Son of God. The Midwestern Objective Justification scheme has clergy wildly and dramatically saying, “You are making faith a WORK!” The Bible does not speak about works on their own but the works which are the fruit of Gospel faith. This faith does not happen as a decision or an effort of intelligence but develops from the Spirit conveying Jesus to the individual. What is spoken is heard and understood, even by babies. Anyone can see that when the baby moves his head to hear his mother’s voice and cries when seeing a stranger the first time. When nurses tried to teach Jesus to Erin, her response (without words) was, “I know Him.” She was baptized and brought into the Kingdom of God as a tiny baby.

            In viewing this accusation of faith being a WORK – that is exactly what Jesus said, and it is sad that clergy do not know or believe that. The effective Work works on those who have been taught error. It is not the speaker but the Word that converts.

            The Gospel of John especially emphasizes faith in Jesus Christ as the One who teaches His Father’s teacher and does His Father’s will. Faith – as trust in the Savior – is powerful because it gives us access to God’s grace through faith in Him. (Romans 5:2) Those who oppose this are against the Fourth Gospel and the Apostle Paul. Faith in Him must be first or else human solutions and attitudes will prevail with bad consequences. The religious opponents then, like those today, knew the truth enough to hate it and remove it, any way possible.

            The curious then said to Jesus – show us a miracle (literally a sign, which meant much more then than our watered-down idea – “I saw… it was a sign from heaven.” These signs in John are divine miracles to be seen and experienced, not a daydream. They went on to brag about Moses providing bread in the desert (Exodus again). “What can you do?”

KJV John 6:31 Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat. 32 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world. 34 Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread. 35 And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life:

εγω ειμι ο αρτος της ζωης he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. 36 But I said unto you, That ye also have seen me, and believe not.

I AM the Bread of Life:

he that cometh to me shall never hunger;

and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.

Our tendency is to focus on the bread of life. Since this is about His divinity, I AM is more appropriate for emphasizing the meaning of the Bread of Life. One of the Beatitudes is – He who hungers and thirsts for righteousness shall be satisfied. Faith in Him means that hunger and thirst will be satisfied, just as food and water take care of us when we are faint with hunger and dehydrated.

            This is the dramatic difference between the opponents dealing with material things and relying only on their reason and senses. What Jesus teaches is intangible and eternal.

Midweek

  24                  p. 128

The Lections                            The Passion History

                                                 
The Sermon Hymn #345   Jesus Lover of My Soul

 

The Sermon –    I AM the Bread of Life

 
The Prayers

The Lord’s Prayer

The Collect for Grace                                            p. 45

The Hymn #554         Now Rest Beneath Night's Shadows

Invocavit 2022

 Invocavit, The First Sunday in Lent, 2022

Pastor Gregory L. Jackson

Bethany Lutheran Church, 10 AM Central Standard Time

The Hymn #312            Lord, Thou Living Bread

The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16

He shall call upon Me, and I will answer Him: I will deliver him and honor him.

With long life will I satisfy him: and show him My salvation.

Psalm. He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High: shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

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

O Lord, mercifully hear our prayer and stretch forth the right hand of Thy majesty to defend us from them that rise up against us; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, who liveth, etc.

The Epistle and Gradual      

For He shall give His angels charge over thee: to keep thee in all thy ways. 

V. They shall bear thee up in their hands: lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.

Tract. He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High: shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

V. I will say of the Lord, He is my Refuge and my Fortress, my God: in Him will I trust.

V. He shall cover thee with His feathers: and under His wings shalt thou trust.

The Gospel              

Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
The Sermon Hymn #146    Lamb of God                       

I AM

The Hymn #524        In Thee Lord I Have Put My Trust - Winkworth trans.                

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 #154        Alas and Did My Savior  

  

Prayers and Announcements

• Treatment - Pastor Jim Shrader, Chris Shrader, Doc Lito, 
• Our family friend and helper Dottie Hagar - her grand-niece is in the hospital from a respiratory infection.
• Pray for our country and duly elected President.
• Thanksgiving - Mary Howell.
• Wednesdays are Vespers at 7 PM.
• The new KJV book is at the finishing editor's place, - Janie Sullivan. The usual suspects will get a free copy. Write if you want multiple copies and if you want the final PDF.

         

KJV 2 Corinthians 6:1 We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain. 2 (For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.) 3 Giving no offence in any thing, that the ministry be not blamed: 4 But in all things approving ourselves as the ministers of God, in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses, 5 In stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labours, in watchings, in fastings; 6 By pureness, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Ghost, by love unfeigned, 7 By the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armour of righteousness on the right hand and on the left, 8 By honour and dishonour, by evil report and good report: as deceivers, and yet true; 9 As unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and, behold, we live; as chastened, and not killed; 10 As sorrowful, yet alway rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.

KJV Matthew 4:1 Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. 2 And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred. 3 And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. 4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. 5 Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, 6 And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. 7 Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. 8 Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; 9 And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. 10 Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. 11 Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.

First Sunday In Lent

Lord God, heavenly Father, inasmuch as the adversary doth continually afflict us, and as a roaring lion doth walk about, seeking to devour us: We beseech Thee for the sake of the suffering and death of Thy Son, Jesus Christ, to help us by the grace of the Holy Spirit, and to strengthen our hearts by Thy word, that our enemy may not prevail over us, but that we may evermore abide in Thy grace, and be preserved unto everlasting life; through the same, Thy beloved Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.

Invocavit

 

KJV Exodus 3 Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb. 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. 3 And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt. 4 And when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I. 5 And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground. 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.

7 And the Lord said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows; 8 And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 9 Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come unto me: and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them. 10 Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt. 11 And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt? 12 And he said, Certainly I will be with thee; and this shall be a token unto thee, that I have sent thee: When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain. 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. 15 And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, the Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.

 

The name of the LORD is unique and remains mysterious. The four Hebrew letters are called the Tetragrammaton (meaning four letters). The vowel pointing is not intended to fill out the Name, but indicate instead that the sacred Name is not to be used and abused for many reasons – sacrilege, holiness, and withholding it from those who want its power, to abuse it.

When Job’s wife said, “Curse God and die!” the Hebrew is written “Bless God and die” because it was not proper to “curse God.” Believing Jews today will say “The Name” in Hebrew rather than using the formal name.

The name Jehovah is used in the King James (though rarely). Another version uses it frequently and that one is loved by the Jehovah’s Witnesses.

Yawweh was claimed by the modernists who assumed that they knew the real Name of God, but that was only another example of their hubris (Greek for overweening pride).

 

This Exodus 3 passage is well known and yet not given the significance it deserves in unifying the Old and New Testaments’ message of faith in Jesus Christ. The Old Testament is not a history book we skip through to read the familiar stories or comforting Psalms. The Old Testament is the proclamation of the Gospel before His incarnation to serve as the foundation and fulfilling of His work. Modernists separate the Testaments, as if they are accidentally put together. Those raised in Judaism are shocked and exhilarated by the knowledge that they were reading the Gospel all along, though their eyes were closed to it (see Emmaus, KJV Luke 24:31).

The concentration of spiritual wisdom in the Testaments is shown by how much is revealed in such few words in Genesis 3.

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.

Lutherans have taught the Burning Bush represents the Two Natures in Christ, human and divine, united by the Incarnation and united ever since.[1] This event, vision, or miracle is similar. The Bush burns but it is never consumed, so its herbal nature remains while it continues to burn.

            The Angel of the Lord appeared, but look at the identity of this Angel. In many places, the Angel of the Lord is the Son of God before His Incarnation. Jacob wrestled with the Angel, but referred to Him as God.

KJV Genesis 32: 30 And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.

The Speaker is the Lord (not all caps) and the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob – an indication of the Trinity.

KJV Exodus 3:13 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. 15 And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, the Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.

I AM – the Tetragrammaton – is the unique Name of God, though many other names are used in the Bible.

            The Tuebingen School promoted the idea of the Fourth Gospel centuries later and Gnostic, so the Gospel of John has been neglected and ignored. We know that Jesus was deliberately using the Name of God in John 8, where we find this taught and strengthened by the additional points of doctrine.

KJV John 8: 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.

1.      The point is Jesus proclaiming His Messianic title and His divinity because He was talking about the distant past and the present at the same time. Only God can exist that way, which the Pharisees quickly saw and opposed. In fact, in John, that was their final accusation against Jesus – He claimed to be God.

2.      The second point is that Jesus openly declares His existence in the past and now, more significantly, He calls Himself – I AM. No Jewish leader would miss that explosive statement.

3.      Finally, that claims spurs the opponents to pick up rocks to kill Him, yet He revealed His Two Natures by passing through this angry mob without being harmed, unlike the martyr Stephen in Acts.

Readers and listeners should count the number of times Abraham is named in this one chapter, emphasizing Abraham as the Father of Faith in Jesus, not Moses the Law-giver. One of Luther’s great insights was that people made Jesus into Moses the Law-giver, and Moses into the Savior.

            This use of I AM in the Gospel of John binds the Fourth Gospel to the Books of Moses, showing how the glimmer of gold in the Torah was so much a part of teaching the divinity of Jesus for the future:

1.      The sacrificial Lamb.

2.      The water from the rock. John 4.

3.      The bread from heaven. John 6.

4.      Most of all the bronze serpent used to heal. John 3:15-16. Numbers 21.

The Fourth Gospel is the ultimate book about Jesus because it was written by His beloved disciple and written, through the Spirit, with the thought of us already knowing Matthew, Mark, and Luke fairly well. So we see two major emphases in the Fourth Gospel. One is detailing with sermons what the prose narratives taught in Matthew-Mark-Luke. Another is teaching about future errors, correcting them in advance – such as Mariolatry.

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[1] The Two Natures in Christ, Martin Chemnitz, is good reading for everyone, from the laity on down to scholars.