LESSON: MATTHEW 16:21-23

Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. 1 Peter 2:21

Jesus spoke the words of Matthew 16:21-23 before He entered upon His suffering, as He was on His way to Jerusalem. His immediate purpose was to celebrate Easter at Jerusalem. In all probability, the disciples had not the slightest idea of His impending sufferings at this time. They thought that they would have a joyful time at the festival.

Christ mentions His sufferings on this journey so that the faith of His disciples might be strengthened later on when they recalled His words in which He had told them of His sufferings. He had submitted to these sufferings willingly and was not simply crucified through the power and cunning of the Jews.

Isaiah had long foretold that He would willingly and gladly offer Himself (Isaiah 53:7). The angel, on Easter morning, also reminded the women to remember the words He had spoken to them (Luke 24:6) that they might know and more firmly believe that He suffered all this willingly and for our good.

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PRAYER: Lord Jesus Christ, thanks and praise to You for Your willingness and readiness to suffer and die on our behalf and for our good, for Your mercy’s sake. Amen.

PALM SUNDAY

LESSON: MATTHEW 13:45-46

“If anyone keeps my word.” John 8:51

It is quite clear from the context in which these words stand what Jesus means here by “keeping” His Word. He does not mean “keeping” in the sense that “keep” has when one speaks about “keeping” the Law. One “keeps” the Law by means of works. When Christ speaks here of “keeping” His Word, He means “keeping” it in one’s heart by faith, not keeping it with the fist or with works.

This is the wrong idea that the Jews have when they rage in such a horrible fashion against Christ and say to Him, “Now we know that you have a demon. Abraham died, as did the prophets; and you say, ‘If anyone keeps my word, he will never taste death’” (John 8:52). They do not know what “keep,” “dying,” and “living” mean in this context.

It is not without good reason that Jesus employs the word “keep” here, because keeping His Word involves a struggle and a battle, for sin bites, death exerts its presence, and hell threatens. Under such conditions we must “keep” Christ’s Word, cling to it firmly, and not let ourselves be parted from it.

Note how Christ replies to the Jews in praise of His doctrine. “You claim,” He says, “that my Word is from the devil and you want to suppress it even beneath hell. But I say that it has divine power within it and exalt it above all the heavens and all creatures.”

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PRAYER: Lord Jesus, You have clearly shown us in our Gospel that Your teaching is the most precious thing we can ever learn in our earthly lives. Grant us Your grace to appreciate this fact at all times so that we keep Your Word, for Your truth’s sake. Amen.

LESSON: HEBREWS 1:1-13

Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” John 8:58

Jesus gives the basis and reason why it is just His Word and not that of anyone else which makes men live. It is simply this: that He “was” even before Abraham. “Before Abraham was, I am.” Jesus is the one true God.

If the person who offered Himself for us were not God, it would help and avail nothing before God that He was born of a virgin or had suffered a thousand deaths. But the fact that the seed of Abraham, who gives Himself for us, is also the true God makes His sacrifice such a blessing for us and conquers sin and death for us.

Jesus is not speaking here of His human nature which could be seen and felt. From His human aspect, it could be seen that He was not yet fifty years old and, hence, could not have seen Abraham. But with the nature by which He infinitely antedated Abraham, He also antedated all other creatures and the whole world.

According to His spiritual essence, He was also man before Abraham; that is, in the word and knowledge of faith, He was in the saints who all knew and believed that Christ, God and man, would suffer for us. The writer of Hebrews says, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). In the Revelation of John we read of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world (Revelation 13:8). Here Jesus is speaking of His divine nature.

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PRAYER: Lord God, heavenly Father, fill our hearts with such faith and knowledge that we always fully appreciate the precious gift of Your only begotten Son, and all the blessings of salvation You have so richly bestowed on us in and through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.

LESSON: GALATIANS 3:15-18

“Your father Abraham rejoiced that he was to see my day; he saw it and was glad.” John 8:56

Christ here declares in opposition to the Jews that Abraham and the prophets still live and never died, but that in the midst of death they have life. But they lie and sleep in death. “Your father Abraham,” He says, “rejoiced that he was to see my day; he saw it and was glad.” The prophets also saw Him.

Where and when did they see Him? Not with bodily eyes, as the Jews understood Him to say, but with the vision of the faith which they had in their hearts. Abraham recognized Christ when He said to him, “By your descendants shall all the nations of the earth bless themselves” (Genesis 22:18). At that time, he saw and understood that Christ was to be born from his seed through a pure virgin and suffer for the whole world. He would not be cursed along with Adam’s children but remain blessed. He knew that his message would be proclaimed in all the world and bestow a blessing on the whole of mankind.

Christ’s “day” is the time of the Gospel, which is the light of this day which shines with Christ, the sun of righteousness, and lights up all the world.

This is a spiritual “day,” but it had a historical beginning in Christ’s time, which Abraham also “saw.”

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PRAYER: Open the eyes of our faith and understanding by Your Holy Spirit, O Lord, that with Abraham of old we always rejoice to have seen Christ’s day, the day of salvation, and are really happy and joyful in our knowledge of Christ. Amen.

LESSON: 1 CORINTHIANS 15:51-56

I shall not die, but I shall live, and recount the deeds of the Lord. Psalm 118:17

How does it come to pass that one does not see death or taste it when Abraham and all the prophets died, who certainly had the Word of God, as the Jews also maintained? Here we must pay close attention to what Christ actually says and note that He makes a distinction between death in the ordinary common sense and not seeing death or tasting death.

We must all pass through death and die. But a Christian does not taste death or see death, that is, he does not feel death. He is not terrified in the face of death. He enters it quietly and softly, as though he is falling asleep and not dying at all. But the godless man must feel death and be terrified by it eternally.

To taste death means to experience the power and might or the bitterness of death and, indeed, eternal death and hell. God’s Word makes this distinction. The Christian knows this, and it helps him in the hour of death. He does not see heat. He sees nothing but life and Christ in the Word, and so he does not feel death. But the godless man does not have this Word; he has no life, but sheer death. So, he feels death, and eventually this is also the bitterness of eternal death.

With the believer it is all so very different. He knows the Word of Christ: “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and whoever lives and believes in me shall never die” (John 11:25,26).

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PRAYER: Be with us, dear Lord Jesus, especially in the hour of our death, that, firmly relying on Your promises, we may not taste death but pass through death into life eternal, as You have assured us. Amen.

LESSON: JOHN 17:1-5

“Truly, truly I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.” John 8:51

Jesus really spoils things for His enemies when He not only offers a good and stout defense of His doctrine but ascribes such might to it that it holds full sway over the devil, death, and sin, imparting eternal life and preserving men therein.

See here how divine wisdom and human reason come into conflict! How can any man comprehend that a word spoken physically from a human mouth can save from death eternally?

But away with blindness! We want to deal with this beautiful passage. He speaks here not concerning the word of the Law but concerning the word of the Gospel, which is a discourse concerning Christ who died for our sins. God did not want to impart Christ to the world in any other way but by including Him in His Word and thus spreading Him out and setting Him forth. Otherwise, Christ would have remained completely isolated by Himself and would never have become known. And thus, He would have died for Himself alone.

Because the Word portrays Christ for us, it portrays for us Him who conquered sin, death, and the devil. Hence, anyone who grasps and holds the Word, grasps and holds Christ, and through the Word he also becomes freed from death eternally. Thus, it is a Word of life. It is true that he who keeps this Word will never see death eternally.

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PRAYER: Thanks and praise be to You, O God, for the riches of Your grace and mercy revealed to us in Your holy Gospel, culminating in the assurance of eternal life and salvation in and through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.

LESSON: ROMANS 12:14-21

“I do not seek my own glory; there is One who seeks it, and he will be the judge.” John 8:50

Why does Jesus not say in John 8:49, “I honor my Father and you dishonor Him”? He says, “You dishonor me.”

In a veiled manner, He indicates that His Father’s honor and His own honor are identical, one and the same thing, just as He is one God together with His Father. At the same time, however, He wants to remind us that if our ministry in praise of God is to obtain its due honor, it must also suffer shame.

We should also keep this in mind in our dealings with rulers and priests. When they question our lives, we will put up with it and repay them with love for hate and good for evil; but when they attack our doctrine, they are attacking God’s honor.

Here there must be a limit to love and patience. We must not remain silent but say, “I honor my Father, and so you dishonor me. It does not matter much that you dishonor me, for I am not seeking my own honor. But at the same time take warning! There is one who is seeking my honor and judging it. The Father will demand it from you and not leave you unpunished. He does not only seek His honor, but mine as well, for He has declared, ‘Those who honor me I will honor’ (1 Samuel 2:30).”

This is our consolation, so we can be quite joyful. Even though all the world casts shame on us and dishonors us, we are certain that God requires our honor and will punish, judge, and avenge. O that we would only believe it and wait upon Him! He is certainly coming!

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PRAYER: You have assured us, both by much instruction and many examples, O Lord, that You will adequately defend the honor of Your Word and those who proclaim it. Fill our hearts with courage and confidence so that we never lost heart, in and through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.

LESSON: JOHN 8:45

“Because I tell the truth, you do not believe me.” John 8:45

It is true that no pastor’s life is ever so good that it is without sin before God. And so, it is enough if he is blameless in the eyes of his people. But his doctrine must be so good and pure that it stands up not only before men but also before God.

A godly preacher may well find himself in a position to ask his hearers, “Who from among you is going to find fault with me? From among you, I say, my fellow human beings! But before God I am a sinner.”

Moses does the same thing when he claims that he had not taken anything from them or harmed any one of them (Numbers 16:15).

Samuel, Jeremiah, and Hezekiah could also appeal to their blameless lives before the people to stop the mouths of slanderers.

Christ does not speak about His doctrine here. He does not say, “Who among you can fault my doctrine.” He says, “because I tell the truth.”

One must be sure that one’s doctrine is the truth and right before God and must not be concerned only how it is regarded by men.

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PRAYER: Grant us at all times such conviction of faith, heavenly Father, that we never have the slightest doubt that the whole truth of salvation has been revealed to us in and through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.