LENT - WEEK 3 - MONDAY

LESSON: COLOSSIANS 4:2-6

But some of them said, “He casts out demons by Be-elzebul, the prince of demons” [...] But he, knowing their thoughts, said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and house falls upon house. And if Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that I cast out demons by Be-elzebul.” Luke 11:15,17,18

What did these slanderers reply to this clear logic of Jesus? Their mouth was stopped, and their heart was hardened so that they put forward no more questions. For a hardened heart is no longer open to instruction, no matter how brightly and clearly the truth is set forth. But the faith of the godly is strengthened hereby when they see that the ground for their faith is true and good.

For the sake of the godly, answers must at times be given to those who are hardened, and their mouths stopped. Even though they are not converted or silenced, it serves a good purpose to have their stubborn folly revealed, showing that the longer they speak the more their folly increases.

From this it also can be deduced that their cause does not even have the appearance of being good and true, as Solomon also says, “Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own eyes” (Proverbs 26:5). His meaning is to shame, for the sake of others, so that they do not follow him and are not deceived by him, as though he were in the right.

Otherwise, where there is no such special reason, it is better to be silent, as Solomon says in the same context, “Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest you be like him yourself” (Proverbs 26:4).

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PRAYER: O Lord, give us at all times the courage to speak out boldly for the sake of others and wisdom to be silent lest we increase the folly of others by our speaking. Amen.

LENT - WEEK 3- SUNDAY

LESSON: LUKE 11:14-28

He was casting out a demon that was dumb; when the demon had gone out, the dumb man spoke. Luke 11:14

This is a beautiful Gospel in which we learn a great deal about many different things, and in it there is portrayed almost all that Christ, His kingdom, and Gospel are. We learn what the Gospel achieves and how it makes its way in the world.

First of all, as do all the Gospels, it teaches us faith and love, for it holds up Christ before us as a savior and help in all needs, out of His great love. He who believes this is saved.

Here we see also that He has nothing to do with those who are well but with the poor man who is ailing under many troubles. He was blind, as Matthew tells us (12:22), and dumb and possessed by a demon, as Luke says. Most of the deaf are also dumb, so that in Greek the same word is used for deaf and dumb.

The concern of Jesus for this poor man is an incentive for us to turn to Him in every need, expecting from Him all that is good. After experiencing good at His hands, we should follow Him in love and do good to others, as He has done good to us. This is the common and most delightful teaching of this Gospel and of all the Gospels throughout the whole church year.

This poor dumb man, moreover, did not come to Jesus without the Word. Those who brought him to Jesus must have heard of Christ’s love, and this moved them to put their trust in Him. Let us always remember that faith comes through the Word.

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PRAYER: Lord Jesus, your love and compassion for men in their trials and troubles was truly wonderful. Be to us a helper and savior also today, for your mercy’s sake. Amen.

LESSON: PSALM 33:13-22

Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you. Psalm 55:22

That God nourishes the whole world by means of bread, and not only through the Word without bread, has its special reason. God is concealing His work under this procedure in order to exercise our faith.

In the case of the children of Israel also, He issued orders for them to arm themselves and fight, but He did not want them to gain the victory through their sword and their own deeds. He Himself wanted to defeat their enemies and gain the victory under their sword and through their deeds. Here He could also have said, “The warrior does not gain the victory through his own sword alone, but through every word which proceeds from the mouth of the Lord.”

David also says, “Not in my bow do I trust, nor can my sword save me” (Psalm 44:6). “His delight is not in the strength of the horse, nor his pleasure in the legs of a man” (Psalm 147:10).

He still makes use of man and horse, sword and bow, but He fights and He accomplishes everything without the power and might of the man and the horse. The latter are merely curtains and coverings for His might and power. This is proved by the fact that He has often acted, and still often acts daily, without man and horse where necessity demands it and where there is no possibility of a temptation of Himself being involved.

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PRAYER: Lord God, heavenly Father, our stay and support in all our needs, grant us such an understanding of your Word and trust in its teachings that we always accept all its consolations in firm assurance, in and through Christ our Lord. Amen.

LESSON: PSALM 46

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without waver, for he who promised is faithful. Hebrews 10:23

What we are told about the Canaanite woman and her faith (Matthew 15:21-28) has been written for our comfort and instruction, that we may learn how deeply God at times hides His grace from us. We should not form our estimate of Him according to our feelings and speculations but hold absolutely and completely to His Word.

Here we see that, although Christ takes up a very inflexible position, He does not make any final judgements by expressly saying “No.” His replies all seem to be negative, but they do not contain a final “No.” They hang and float in the air.

He does not say, “I will not listen to her,” but remains silent, saying neither “Yes” or “No.” Nor does He say that she is not from the house of Israel. He simply states that He is sent only to the house of Israel. He lets the matter hang and float between “Yes” and “No.” Nor does He say, “You are a dog; you should not receive any of the children’s bread.” He says, “It is not fair to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” He lets it hang and float whether she is a dog or not. But all his replies seem to imply a “No” rather than a “Yes,” and yet there is more of “Yes” in his replies than “No.”

There is “Yes” here and nothing but “Yes,” but it is deep and hidden and seems to be “No.”

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PRAYER: There are times, heavenly Father, when we feel that you are far away from us and that your grace is hidden from us. Open our eyes at such times with the light of your truth so that we see clearly that your grace and love are steadfast and unchanging and ever available to us in and through our Savior. Amen.

LESSON: ROMANS 9:14-24

She came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” Matthew 15:25

The Canaanite woman came to Jesus in a house, as Mark tells us, “and fell down at his feet,” Mark 7:25, and made her plea; “Lord, help me!”

It was now that she received the mortal blow. Before all present, she was told in so many words that she was a dog, not worthy to partake of the children’s bread. What will she say to this? Here she has heard the very worst. She is one of the lost who have been damned, who are not to be reckoned with the elect.

This is a final, irrevocable reply, and no one can debate it. But she does not desist. She concurs with Christ’s judgement and agrees with it. She is a dog, and she wants no more than a dog, namely, to eat the crumbs which fall from the master’s table.

Is this not a master-touch? She takes Christ captive with His own words. He compares her with a dog. She accepts the comparison and asks for no more than permission to be such a dog, as He Himself has judged her to be. Where was He to turn? He was caught. One lets a dog have the crumbs under the table; these are his right.

He now opens up to the woman and grants her what she wishes. She is now not a dog but also a child of Israel.

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PRAYER: Thanks and praise be to you, our loving heavenly Father, for the mercy and grace which brought us to faith in you and your promises and which has kept us in this faith, in and through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.

LESSON: LUKE 11:5-13

We share in Christ, if only we hold our first confidence firm to the end. Hebrews 3:14

When we hear how Christ answered the Canaanite woman in the Gospel (Matthew 15:21-26), we are in a way reminded of quite a number of remarkable statements that He made to His disciples on various occasions. He said to them, “If two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven” (Matthew 18:19). In Mark we read, “Whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you receive it, and you will” (Mark 11:24). There are also many other passages of this kind.

What has come of all these promises here? He soon answers and says, “It is true that I hear all prayers; but such promises I have made only to the house of Israel.”

Is this not a real thunderclap which shatters both heart and faith into a thousand pieces? The Word of God, on which the woman has built her faith, is not spoken to her; it concerns others. Here all saints and all intercession must become silent; here the heart must let the Word go, if it is to allow the feelings to decide the matter.

But what does the woman do? She does not give up. She still clings to the Word, even though it seems that an attempt is being made to force her to give it up. She does not heed the stern words of Christ. She still has the firm conviction that somehow or other Christ’s goodness is still concealed under all this. She is still not prepared to form the judgement that Christ is ungracious or that He can be ungracious. This is what it means to hold fast!

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PRAYER: Grant us a full measure of your grace, heavenly Father, so that, despite all the obstacles our faith meets in a world where there is much sin and opposition to your holy will, we may still maintain a firm and unwavering faith in and through our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

LESSON: COLOSSIANS 1:21-23

His disciples came and begged him, saying, “Send her away, for she is crying after us.” He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” Matthew 15:23,24

When the cries and faith of the Canaanite woman prove fruitless, the disciples of Christ lodge an appeal on her behalf in the belief that they will certainly be heard. But when they suggest that Christ should become more lenient, He actually becomes harder and renders the faith and prayer of both parties ineffective—as it seems to their feelings. For he does not remain silent here and leave them in doubt; He declines their plea and declares, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”

This rebuff is even more severe, for not only are our own persons rejected, but the only consolation still available to us is also cut off, namely, the consolation and intercession of godly and holy people on our behalf. For when we feel that God is no longer gracious to us, and we find ourselves entangled in a very distressing situation, it is our last resort to turn for counsel and help to godly men who are led by the Spirit of God. If these men are willing to do for us what love demands of them, but nothing comes of all their efforts, and they have not even been given a hearing, we really find ourselves in a worse plight than before their intervention on our behalf.

Even this rebuff did not weaken the faith of this Canaanite woman. She still believed and trusted in the good report she had heard of Christ.

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PRAYER: Your promises and assurance to us, O Lord, are true and steadfast. Grant us at all times such confidence in the declarations of your Gospel that we never waver in faith but ever stand fast in your grace, for Christ’s sake. Amen.

LESSON: 1 PETER 1:16-21

Behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and cried, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely possessed by a demon.” But he did not answer her a word. Matthew 15:22,23

Note how Christ hammers and drives faith into His believers so that it becomes strong and firm! First, when the Canaanite woman follows the good report she has heard about Christ and cries to Him in the sure confidence that, in accordance with this report, He will also treat her graciously, Christ presents a completely different picture to the woman.

She soon had grounds for believing that her faith and good confidence in Him were quite misplaced. She had every reason to ask: “Is this the good, friendly man?” or “Are these the good words I heard reported of Him and on which I relied? It cannot be true. He is your foe. He does not want to have anything to do with you. He might as well tell me outright: I don’t want to have anything to do with you! But now He is as silent as a stone.”

This is a heavy rebuff when God presents such a stern and angry face and completely hides His grace, as those well know who feel and experience in their hearts the thought that God will not keep what He has spoken and will allow His Word to prove itself false. This happened to the children of Israel at the Red Sea. In other ways, it has been the experience of many other saints.

What does this woman do in such a situation? She simply disregards the unfriendly countenance of Christ and does not let any of this lead her astray. She does not take it all according to the letter. She remains absolutely firm in her reliance on the good report she has received and will not be removed from it.

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PRAYER: Heavenly Father, we thank and praise you for the certainty of truth and salvation which you have revealed to us in your Gospel of salvation. We pray for the grace to keep us ever firmly fixed in our faith in you and your Gospel, in and through Jesus our Savior. Amen.