Archive for July, 2009
August 2, 2009: The Parable of the Good Samaritan
The text for this lesson is Luke 10:25–37.
Key Points
- Jesus calls us to show mercy to everyone in need because He Himself is the Good Samaritan to us.
- Law: We are in desperate need of forgiveness because we have often passed by on the other side when we have seen our neighbor in need.
- Gospel: We are forgiven because Jesus had mercy on us, paying for our sins with His life.
- Law: We are sometimes selective in whom we love, loving those like ourselves but keeping our distance from those who are different.
- Gospel: Jesus equally loves Jew and Gentile, slave and free, male and female, young and old, and even each of us.
- Law: We are commanded to help and support our neighbor in every physical need.
- Gospel: We truly desire to love and serve our neighbor because Jesus first loved us.
Context
When the Lord revealed Himself to Moses, He described Himself as “a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness” (Exodus 34:6). His covenants with Israel were motivated by His grace, mercy, and love. Therefore, the love shown by individuals in Israel was to be understood as a gift from the Lord; any mercy they showed was animated by the mercy already shown by God.
When Jesus came, He found that many Jews were getting things backwards. Instead of saying, “God has been merciful to us, so now we live grateful lives of limitless mercy toward all others,” they said, “Let’s codify how much mercy we need to show—and determine to whom we need to show it.” The lawyer in the story of the Good Samaritan was a legalistic Pharisee and held to the latter attitude. Jesus used the story to call Israel back to the proper attitude.
July 26, 2009: Joseph, the Father
The text for this lesson is Matthew 2:13–15, 19–23; Luke 11:11–12; Ephesians 6:1–4; 1 Thessalonians 2:11–12.
Key Points
- The heavenly Father used dutiful Joseph to deliver His Son from death at the hands of Herod to preserve Him for death in due time on the cross.
- Law: Countless children today are in danger because men and women—including government officials—see them as a problem rather than a blessing.
- Gospel: Jesus’ death—not as an infant but far more painfully on the cross—has redeemed each of those children and the adults who threaten them.
- Law: Raising a family demands sacrifices of money, time, and freedom—sacrifices many men make in word only.
- Gospel: Since the heavenly Father sacrificed His Son, we are able to make great personal sacrifices willingly, knowing we still have everything we truly need.
- Law: Being a father is often a thankless job that is not highly honored in today’s world.
- Gospel: God honors men highly by allowing them to raise His dear children in faith.
Context
Joseph was Mary’s husband and a carpenter by trade, who was thought by many to be the biological father of Jesus (Luke 4:22; John 1:45, 6:42). The Gospels testify that Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit; therefore, God was His Father (Matthew 1:18–25). Nonetheless, Joseph faithfully cared for Jesus as his own son. Though Jesus knew that His Father was God, He loved and respected Joseph and fulfilled the Fourth Commandment (Luke 2:41–52).
Mary appears alone at the wedding at Cana (John 2:1–12) and throughout the Gospels, so we do not know what happened to Joseph.
Jesus is the Son of God by birth (His human nature) and God the Son in essence (His divine nature). The Baptism of Jesus (Matthew 3:13–17) shows His unique relationship with the Father. Through our Baptism into Christ and faith in Him, we become children of the heavenly Father (Galatians 3:26–27; John 3:5).
July 19, 2009: Joash Repairs the Temple
The text for this lesson is 2 Kings 12:1–16.
Key Points
- Because the temple was the place of God’s faithful dealings with His people, Joash, his workers, and their donors dealt faithfully in repairing it.
- Law: We often allow God’s house and worship to be a low priority in our lives.
- Gospel: Being with His people by Word and Sacrament is always God’s highest priority.
- Law: Too often we fail to bring God the first and best of our treasure—sometimes because we disagree with how it is being used.
- Gospel: God did not withhold His own Son, but freely gave Him up for us.
Context
Lesson 5 described the building of the Lord’s temple (1 Kings 5–6). There He dwelled in the midst of Israel to hear prayers, receive sacrifices, and bless His people. By the time of Joash, the temple had fallen into a state of disrepair on account of aging, neglect, and abuse.
Joash (also known as Jehoash) ascended the throne of Judah at the age of seven and reigned forty years (2 Kings 11:21–2:1). Prior to this, the wicked queen mother Athaliah sought to wipe out all of King David’s lineage (the Messianic line) so that she could control the throne, but the Lord rescued Joash from her hand (2 Kings 11:1–3). The godly high priest Jehoiada anointed Joash and secured the throne for him.
Joash reigned well as long as his counselor Jehoiada lived, but later the king backslid into idolatry (2 Chronicles 24:15–27). Joash’s life reminds us to live each day in repentant trust in the grace which God delivers in His Word and Sacrament, knowing that we can lose our salvation by leaving the church or living in persistent, intentional sin (Hebrews 10:23–27).
July 12, 2009: Naaman’s Servant Girl
The text for this lesson is 2 Kings 5:1–14.
Key Points
- Just as the Lord used an ordinary servant girl and ordinary water to heal Naaman, He cares for us through the ordinary people and ordinary means He chooses.
- Law:We may consider ourselves to be too young, too unimportant, or too poorly prepared to do anything valuable for God’s kingdom.
- Gospel: God constantly creates opportunities for us to share His love with others, and He brings miraculous results from our small efforts.
- Law: We may delude ourselves into thinking we are so important that God owes us special attention.
- Gospel: Though we do not deserve it, God cares for each one of us.
- Law: We too often want or even expect God to work in dramatic and exciting ways, such as pulsating worship, spectacular results to our witnessing, or giving us personal signs.
- Gospel: God gives forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation through ordinary water, through bread and wine, and through the voice of humble servants, all by the power of His simple Word.
Context
Elisha succeeded Elijah as Israel’s chief prophet. They both worked great wonders, but their main purpose was to exhort people to trust in and worship the Lord alone. Their miraculous signs were meant to turn people from false gods and lead people like Naaman to the conclusion, “Behold, I know that there is no God in all the earth but in Israel” (2 Kings 5:15).
In the Old Testament, leprosy describes various skin conditions that made a person ceremonially unclean (Leviticus 13–14). A common misunderstanding of the Old Testament ritual system is that “uncleanness” equates to sinfulness or condemnation. The book of Leviticus shows that this was not so; states of cleanness had to do with determining which people were eligible to enter God’s holy presence in the sanctuary.
Leprosy caused discomfort and had serious social consequences. People avoided lepers and considered them cursed by God for some particular sin. Elijah’s healing of Naaman previews Christ’s healing of lepers, which fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah, “He took our illnesses and bore our diseases” (Matthew 8:17). Jesus accomplished eternal healing for all people when He died for the sins of all (2 Corinthians 5:14).
