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May 29th, 2021

5/29/2021

The focus for the first Sunday after Pentecost is dedicated to a significant teaching in the Christian Church, that of the Trinity. One Old Testament passage that has been connected to the Trinity is in Isaiah, chapter 6[:1-8], since there is a threefold call from one angel to the other.

The topic of angels is often popular, and the word ‘angel’ appears in many places in scripture. We will be looking at some more of them in the weeks ahead. This angelic appearance in Isaiah 6 is a significant one, since it is actually the Hebrew word ‘seraphim’ that appears here. And that word seems to describe a unique type of angel that is only found here.

You might think that this word for angels appears at least a few more times in the Bible, since it appears in SEVEN hymns within the Lutheran Service Book [507:2, 624:7, 670:2, 939:1, 940:2, 941:1, 960:1, and if you include the word in the singular of the Hebrew—the word ‘seraph(s)’—then you may also add two more hymns, 621:4 and 670:1]!

You can probably imagine that people have guessed throughout the centuries about what these seraphim looked like. This particular Hebrew word appears at other times in the Bible, but it means ‘to burn’. This is certainly significant. And it also seems to be the case that its use is somewhat negative.

In the discussion of this word in the Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament, [volume 14, article by Rüterswörden, William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, page 219], the author writes the following concerning Genesis 11:3, the burning of bricks to make the tower of Babel: ‘This is the only passage using the verb to write about a constructive rather than a destructive act.’ But a point could also be made that this action was ultimately and definitely destructive to the human race. Either way, one of the common negative uses is that of a snake which, after biting someone, causes a ‘burning’ sensation, and this is quite understandable—although, thankfully, I have never experienced such a thing.

Some have said that these ‘burning ones’ are snakes with six wings. There is some archaeological evidence to make this a possibility. If this interests you, and if you are familiar with the German, you may wish to look at the following book: Othmar Keel, Jahwe-Visionen und Siegelkunst: Eine neue Deutung der Majestätsschilderungen in Jes 6, Ez 1 und 10 und Sach 4 (Stuttgart, Germany: Verlag Katholisches Bibelwerk, 1977).

What these particular angels are looking like does not seem to be important in the text. The first thing that seems important in this text is the contrast between the king, Uzziah, who just died (and is probably lying down in a grave somewhere), and THE King, the Lord, who is described as sitting on a throne (see verse 5). In the twenty-first century, the idea of sitting does not mean a position of authority to us; it usually means a position of rest. But the idea of sitting is an important one and should not be forgotten.

The second thing that seems to be important in this Isaiah 6 text is the position of the others who are involved. After a quick description of the Lord, there is some detail as to the position of the seraphim, and note that they are described in relation to the Lord. The following is the first part of that Isaiah text, in a somewhat-literal translation, but the positions of those involved are capitalized:

In the year of the death of the king, Uzziah, and I saw the Lord, sitting upon a throne, HIGH, and LIFTED UP, and his robes, ones filling the temple. Seraphim, ones STANDING, FROM ABOVE TO HIM, six wings, six wings to each, with two, he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he FLEW.

Being high and lifted up, like the position of the Lord, is a pretty amazing thing. But then, the seraphim are still above him! That position above the Lord does not seem to be a position of authority, since they are covering some significant body parts. The head is important as the highest thing on a person’s body; the feet are important as the lowest thing. In Joshua 10:24 there is the time that the feet of those who won the battle were placed on the necks of those who lost. The Lord is definitely in charge, and those particular angels, the seraphim, were definitely subject to him.

We will be looking at another type of angel, the cherubim, next time.

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May 22nd, 2021

5/22/2021

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This Sunday starts the season of Pentecost, and we will again turn out attention toward the Old Testament. And we will stay there for a while. Looking at the Old Testament is helpful for seeing the great significance of Jesus’ humble activity while in this world.

The text for Pentecost Sunday is from Ezekiel 37[:1-14]. With this chapter, we are not only near the end of the Old Testament and near the end of the section of so-called Major Prophets, but we are also near the end of the book of Ezekiel. This is the last reading that is taken from that book that contains forty-eight chapters. It is also the most popular reading, and the same text will appear, not only within the Easter Vigil, but also in the Fifth Sunday in Lent in the ‘A series’.

The text that we have here is sometimes connected to the end of time, since it speaks of a resurrection from the dead, and this is sometimes connected to the end of the book, since it deals with a significant vision of a ‘new temple’, and this is often connected to the new heavens and the new earth.

I have mentioned at other times the importance of the Greek translation of the Old Testament, usually called the Septuagint. A comment could be made about it here as well, since in some manuscripts, this chapter is right before the section on the new temple in chapter 40. But this resurrection is also appropriate here since the bodies that are resurrection are called a very great ‘army’ (in verse 10), and this fits well with the ‘final battle’ that is described in chapters 38 & 39.

In the Concordia Commentary on Ezekiel 21-48, Dr. Horace D. Hummel puts together how this new temple also and especially points to Christ. He quotes various commentaries. He also points out that the guide Ezekiel has as he shows him this new temple calls Ezekiel ‘son of man’, and this is the same title that Yahweh calls Ezekiel. [For more details, see page 11149-1160 et al., but especially 1158; St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 2007.]

For the next few weeks we will be looking at the ways in which the Lord has chosen to deliver his messages. Sometimes we pass over the mention of an ‘angel’ all too quickly. A messenger has a critical job. The gospel is a critical message.

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May 15th, 2021

5/15/2021

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t is the last, the Seventh Sunday of the Easter season, but, in a way, the Easter season will continue every Sunday until the end of time. The Lord will continue to meet with his people, as the resurrected Lord met with his followers on Sunday, and that is called, in some languages, the Lord’s Day, and that is for a good reason. The term ‘lord’ shows authority, and it would be good to remember who is really in charge of that day and what is truly important. Jesus showed his authority over sin, death, and hell.

The First Reading, for the last time, is from the book of Acts, chapter 1[:12-26]. The text moves in a positive direction, despite Jesus having just ascended. You get the idea that Jesus is still involved and giving his input. The apostles want to bring their number back up to twelve, and, by the end of the chapter, the twelfth one is in place, and he is doing his job—although we do not hear anything more about Matthias specifically—that is a good thing. That is the way the flow of the text seems to be moving within this entire book, the Acts of the Apostles, although a better title may be ‘the Acts of the Risen Lord’. Throughout the chapters there are some difficulties, but those difficulties are handled. And the Lord’s Church continues to grow.

This seems to be a stark contrast to what is considered the end of the Gospel according to Mark, in its most reliable manuscripts. There, the women have just talked to the ‘young man’ at the empty tomb of Jesus. He tells them to tell Jesus’ disciples that Jesus will see them in Galilee, just as he had promised. Then what follows is this last verse, in a somewhat-literal translation, of the most ancient manuscripts of this gospel account:

And [the women] going out, they fled from the tomb, for trembling and ecstasy had them, and they said nothing to no one, for they feared.

Much has been written about this ending. Some people insist that this cannot be the ending of a gospel account. [For more details in a recent writing, see Excursus 19: A Consideration of the ‘Long Ending’ of Mark: 16:9-20, in Concordia Commentary: A Theological Exposition of Sacred Scripture, Mark 8:27-16:20; Mark 8:27-16:8, James W. Voelz; Mark 16:9-20, Christopher W. Mitchell; Concordia Publishing House, Saint Louis, 2019; pages 1222-1237.]

Such a negative reaction regarding this ending usually comes from a negative reaction to fear, the last description of the women who went away from the tomb. But, as Rev. Dr. James Voelz points out in the commentary mentioned above, fear is not always a bad thing.

Dr. Voelz references these verses below that are also in the Gospel according to Mark. They are somewhat literally translated below, and they have fear mentioned somewhere in them, but it is not an exclusively negative fear. Along with the fear is some action that is far more important. For the first three, it is some sort of miracle, but for the second two, it goes to a much more important issue of Jesus’ main purpose on earth:

5:15     Jesus just healed the man who had a ‘legion’ of demons. The demons went into some nearby pigs, and those pigs died. Those who were watching the pigs told what happened in the nearby town, and then there is this verse: ‘And they come toward Jesus, and they behold the one having been demon-possessed, sitting, and having been robed, and being in his senses, the one having the legion, and they feared.’

5:33     A woman who had a flow of blood was just healed by Jesus, because she believed that she will be healed if only she touches his clothes, but Jesus wants her to say something about it. Then there is this verse: ‘And the woman, fearing and trembling, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell before him, and she told him all the truth.’

6:50     Jesus is walking on the water, and the disciples think that he is a ghost, and they cry out. Then there is this verse: ‘For all saw him and were troubled. And immediately he talked with them, and he says to them, ‘Have courage; I AM; do not fear.’

10:32   Jesus has already predicted twice before that he will be going to Jerusalem to die, and he is about to predict this one more time. Then there is this verse: ‘And they were in the way, going up into Jerusalem, and Jesus was going before them; and they were amazed, and, those following were afraid; and taking again the twelve, he began to tell them the things about to happen to him.’

11:18   Jesus just cleansed the temple, and he would not allow anyone to carry anything through the temple. He was being so strict! And he was saying that people have made ‘his house’ a ‘den of robbers’. And then there is this verse: ‘And the scribes and the chief priests heard, and they sought how they might destroy him, for they feared him, for all the crowd was astonished at his teaching.’

Another positive connection can also be made by comparing this account to the other gospel accounts—this is something that is difficult to do when studying a biblical text from just one gospel account or when studying a commentary. But such a study can be very helpful. And such a study can be easy since these accounts are not in four large scrolls, but they are in a ‘codex’, a book, so that comparisons can easily be made. If taken with the other gospel accounts, to see this in light of a fourfold gospel, then the ramifications are much more positive.

There is a somewhat similar resurrection account in the Gospel according to Matthew, and the women are running from the empty tomb, but then these words are included, and this is, again, in a somewhat-literal translation [28:9-10]:

And, behold, Jesus met them saying, ‘Hail!’ And those approaching him held his feet, and they worshipped him. Then Jesus says to them, ‘Do not fear; go, announce to my brothers that they may go away into Galilee, and there they will see me.’

In the Gospel according to Matthew, this message is set up in strong contrast to the message that the soldiers passed on to others, that Jesus really did not rise from the dead, but that his disciples came and stole his body. The Jewish leaders are trying to calm the soldier’s fears, assuring them that they will not get into trouble.
This is such a strong contrast to the positive fear within those five texts above. This fear is within the context of something very good happening, something that was strongly connected to Jesus’ role on earth of savior from sin.

This ending may have been this short to remind people that, when we look at what we see, it is not always good. Within a larger context, this fear is a positive one, especially in light of what the Lord has already promised and done.

The Lord appeared to those women who were afraid. The Lord will return again at a time in which some Christians may be afraid. There will always be interruptions in our lives, both good ones and bad ones. But no matter what happens, the Lord always keeps his promises.

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May 10th, 2021

5/10/2021

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The First Reading for the Sixth Sunday of Easter is again from the book of Acts, and we get to the farthest point in that book during this ‘B-series’ season of Easter. We are at Peter’s speech to Gentiles and its great results in Acts 10[:34-48]. Within the text (see verse 44), there is this great interruption, and then there is this great ‘Gentile Pentecost’.

Whether or not Peter’s first Pentecost speech in Acts 2 was interrupted by the hearers being ‘cut to the heart’ (verse 37) and responding (‘What shall we do?’) is unclear. But there is a clear interruption in the second speech of Peter, in Acts 3, and this time, it is a terrible interruption. The authorities come upon Peter and John while they were still speaking, and they are arrested (see Acts 4:1).

Many things can be interrupted, and interruptions can seem either good or bad. I thought it would be nice to look at other interruptions of one or more persons talking, but especially in the Gospel according to Luke. If there are significant interruptions in Acts, there might be a hint of why they appear in the gospel account by the same writer.
Sometimes there are interruptions in more than one account, and this heightens their importance. Interruptions appear in Matthew 9:18, Mark 5:35, and Luke 8:49, and all three deal with the raising of Jairus’ daughter, but they appear at two different points in the story. What is the same in all three stories is that, at the point of the interruption, the news that the daughter has just died has just been shared. The news of a death is definitely worth an interruption.

Another interruption that appears in the Gospel according to Luke deals with the so-called transfiguration of Jesus (Luke 9:34), and this one also appears in the Gospel according to Matthew (17:5). Peter has some ideas of what should be done with this Jesus who looks so brilliantly white, and who is with Moses and Elijah, and Peter is interrupted by God the Father with some more important information. It seems like interruptions have to do with some important death and life issues.

The importance of interruptions continues as Jesus gets closer to the cross and the empty tomb. In all of the three most-similar accounts (Matthew 26:47, Mark 14:43, and Luke 22:47), Jesus, of all people, is interrupted this time, as the religious leaders are coming to arrest him.

It is interesting that, at this point in the Gospel according to John, there is not an interruption, but there is Judas who KNOWS the place where Jesus was and Jesus who KNOWS literally all the things that are about to happen (18:2 & 4). There is essentially no interruption when it comes to the Lord’s perspective. Interruptions are things that are unexpected, but that is not an issue when it comes to the Creator of the universe. All interruptions, whether they seem good or bad, have been brilliantly planned.

The great contrast between Jesus and us is seen in the last interruption of simple speech in the Gospel according to Luke. In Luke 22:60, Peter is interrupted by the rooster crowing, and this worked out exactly as Jesus said it would happen—with only seconds away from him being wrong! While Peter was still speaking and denying that he knew Jesus for the third time, that rooster crowed, and Jesus was in the right.

That leaves Jesus with the potential for ‘showing off’ and for us of only being reminded of how sinful and selfish we are. But the final interruption changes all of that. In Luke 24:51, Jesus is interrupted and is taken up into heaven while he is not simply speaking, but when he is blessing the disciples. That cannot be a mistake. There is no better occasion for Jesus’ ascension into heaven than that of being in the midst of blessing his followers, his disciples, his witnesses, his martyrs (that is the Greek word for ‘witness’). And the great thing is that he did not have to stop what he was doing.

Interruptions are not always bad. No interruptions happen without the Lord’s knowledge. Until that Final Interruption, the Lord continues to bless his people.

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May 1st, 2021

5/1/2021

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The Fifth Sunday of Easter continues with the First Reading from the book of Acts, this time from chapter 8[:26-40]; and the texts will continue to move toward the end, until the last Sunday of Easter, when we will go back to chapter 1 to prepare for Pentecost. The gospel text is again from the Gospel according to John; this time it also progresses farther along in Jesus’ life [15:1-8], and Jesus is about to be arrested.

The differences between the first three gospel accounts and the Gospel according to John have, for a long time, been the source of some long discussions. Questions related to this issue are difficult to answer because the issue has recently been framed with a chronological question, rather than a theological, literary, or even a general historical one. Usually the question is asked, ‘Which account was written first?’ Unless there is some exceedingly strong evidence, it will always be hard to answer that question.

It is also very hard to say when the writing of the four accounts started. Perhaps just one or two of Jesus’ disciples were adept at writing. Jesus certainly was! (See John 8:6 & 8.) And since he was literally the ‘perfect teacher’, he certainly could have taught ALL of his disciples how to write. But that is not in ANY text.

There MAY be a hint of something being written down in Acts 6. William Farmer writes about this ‘principle’ in his book, The Formation of the New Testament Canon:

The first evident need for writing down the words of the Lord may have been in connection with the need for the oral tradition to be translated in a reliable way into languages other than that spoken by Jesus, or other than that spoken by Christian prophets speaking in the spirit and name of Jesus [William R. Farmer and Denis M. Farkasfalvy, The Formation of the New Testament Canon: An Ecumenical Approach, New York: Paulist Press, 1983; page 50].

The first thing to note is that the author writes that the words of the Lord MAY have been written down at this particular point. There is no guarantee of this. But, within Acts 6, it looks like there is a desire for the words of the Lord in the Greek language.

This is the start of talking about the ‘seven’ who helped the twelve. From the names of the seven, it looks like they were Greek, or at least they had some Greek connections. How these ‘seven’ got started is given in the following verses [6:1-4], and this is in a somewhat-literal translation:

And in these days, the disciples being multiplied, there was a murmuring of the Hellenists toward the Hebrews, because the widows of them were overlooked in the service, the daily one. And the twelve, having called the multitude of the disciples, said, ‘Not pleasing it is for us, leaving the word of God to serve tables. But look out, brothers, for men from you, being witnesses to seven full of Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint over this office. But we, ourselves, will keep to the prayer and to the service of the word.

Usually it is thought that these Hellenistic widows were overlooked in terms of receiving food. While that was probably the case, the way in which they were overlooked could have been more multifaceted.

The twelve said that they did not want to be leaving the word of God to serve tables. The phrase ‘word of God’ is used here and tends to appear more in the first part of Acts; it also has more of a Jewish connection; the phrase ‘word of the Lord’ will become more popular in the latter part of the book of Acts, and that phrase has a more Gentile connection. (You might wish to note a gradual transition from the use of the word ‘God’ to ‘Lord’ in Acts 8.)

With all that in mind, perhaps you can imagine what it might have been like for one of the twelve to visit a Greek widow. While at the Jewish widow’s house, this man who followed Jesus around for three years may have related a lot of things that Jesus did, but for the Greek widow, that person may have basically just dropped the food and left; he may not have even stepped inside of the house. Very little was probably said, especially if it was spoken in Greek. Very little COULD be said, especially since the numbers of followers were increasing dramatically. There was very little time to do anything. So this may be what was meant by ‘to serve tables’.

A Greek widow who was a follower of Christ would no longer have a man as the spiritual leader of her household, and these Greek men could have been placed into that role. And these seven may have been asked by these widows for some of the things that Jesus said and did. These men would want to get the details correct, and so, some of these events and words of Jesus MAY have been written down in Greek.

The false witnesses that speak against Stephen, later in the chapter [6:13-14], say this about him; this, again, is a somewhat-literal translation:

This man does not cease speaking words against the place, the holy one, and the law. For we have heard him saying that this Jesus, the Nazarene, will destroy this place and will change the customs which Moses delivered to us.

It seems that the message he was preaching was about Jesus. If he had just continued to deliver the food and kept his mouth shut, it seems like there would have not have been any trouble. But there will always be trouble for the Lord's Church ... until the Final Day.

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A Sabbath Day's Journey

May 29th, 2021

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