Archive for the ‘Baptism’ tag
February 7, 2010: Jesus Calls the First Disciples
The text for this lesson is Luke 5:1-11.
Key Points
- Jesus chose ordinary, sinful men to follow Him and be His disciples. In Baptism, Jesus chooses us to be His children.
- Law: In my sin, I want to hide from Jesus. Because of sin, I doubt that Jesus is who He says He is. Because of my sin, my work is hard and often unfruitful.
- Gospel: In Jesus’ forgiveness, I find peace and favor with God. Jesus shows His power over sin and makes my work productive, giving forgiveness, new life, and salvation through His Word and Sacraments. God’s Word testifies repeatedly and consistently that Jesus is God’s Son.
Discussion Points
1. Read Matthew 4:18–22. Does Matthew refer to the same event as Luke 5:1–11? What are the key differences between these stories? What is the difference between Jesus saying, “I will make you fishers of men” (Matthew 4:19) and “From now on you will be catching men” (Luke 5:10)?
2. The people had been astonished by the authority with which Jesus proclaimed the Word (Luke 4:32). Note that in Luke 5:1, the people are gathered around Him to “hear the word of God.” Luke is making it clear that, from Jesus’ time onward, hearing the Word of God is the same as hearing the Word of Jesus. Read Luke 8:21 and 11:28. What does Jesus say about those who receive His Word in faith? How does this message apply to us?
3. Read Isaiah 6:1–7. How was Isaiah’s experience similar to Peter’s? How were Isaiah and Peter both comforted? What do these stories tell us about God?
4. In Luke 5:10, Jesus tells Simon that he will begin catching men. In order to catch fish, you need a net and a boat. To catch men, Peter needed a means of catching people and a way to keep them alive. Read Acts 2:14, 36–42. What net does Peter use to catch people? Where were the people kept alive? How does this fishing expedition continue today?
5. Read Matthew 13:47–50. Though this parable is not a direct parallel to the story in Luke 5, it uses similar fishing imagery. What sobering fact does it teach us about the Church’s catch of men?
6. In today’s story, the fishermen fished with nets, not lines and hooks. Why is the image of a net bringing us into the Church more comforting than a hook?
7. Jesus brought about the miraculous catch of fish by His almighty power. In fact, the Greek does not say that the fishermen caught the fish but that the nets enclosed them. It was not an active accomplishment on the part of the fishermen. What comforting fact does this tell us about the mission of the Church?
8. Why would it not make much sense if every person was a professional fisherman? Why isn’t every Christian specifically called to be a fisher of men in the Office of the Holy Ministry?
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).
May 10, 2009: Lydia
The text for this lesson is Acts 16:11–15.
Key Points
- Just as God worked His miracle beside the river, clothing Lydia with Christ in Baptism, so God works His miracles in pulpits and fonts around the world today, destroying the work of Satan, ripping believers from the jaws of death, washing away sins in water tinged with Jesus’ blood, and clothing believers with His righteousness.
- Law: Full of pride and guided by my emotions and experiences, I look for God and His works where I think He is, instead of humbly following His Word.
- Gospel: Christ locates Himself and His saving gifts for me in specific places: His baptismal font, His pulpit, His altar—wherever His Word is spoken, sung, poured, eaten, or drunk.
Context
On his second missionary journey, while in Troas, Paul saw a vision of a man urging him to come over to Macedonia and help him (16:9). Heeding the call, Paul and his companions crossed the Aegean Sea, bringing the Gospel to modern-day Europe. He made his way to Philippi, an important city of the day. As we’ll learn next week, his initial welcome there by Lydia and others was short-lived, for soon he and Silas were arrested, beaten, and jailed (Acts 16:16–40).
January 11, 2009: The Baptism and Temptation of Jesus
The text for this lesson is Mark 1:1–13.
Key Points
- Jesus takes on our sin at His Baptism, facing our temptations that we, in turn, might be baptized into His goodness, His holiness, and His purity. In exchange for our sewer of sin, He gives us the fountain of life.
- Law: Repentance is not an emotion but a motion, a constant moving away from sin and into Christ, from death to life. To repent is not to “feel bad” but to confess that one is “bad”—a lawbreaker, one who fears, loves, and trusts things above God. It is to see in the lifeless wilderness around John an emblem of one’s soul, divorced from faith.
- Gospel: Jesus is baptized for us. All our transgressions cascade into Him. He also baptizes the water, as it were. He puts Himself into the water so the water, joined to Him, might join us to Him in Baptism. Once baptized, He takes down the devil for us by fearing, loving, and trusting His father above all things.
