Easter Sunday: The Feast of
the Resurrection of Our Lord - 2012
Pastor Gregory L. Jackson
The Hymn #191 Christ the Lord 2:97
The Confession
of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16
The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19
The Epistle and Gradual
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16
The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19
The Epistle and Gradual
The
Gospel
Glory be to
Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
The Sermon Hymn #188 Hallelujah 2:20
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
The Sermon Hymn #188 Hallelujah 2:20
Faith versus Feelings
The Communion
Hymn # 206:1-5 Jesus Christ, My
Sure Defense 2:81
The Preface p.
24
The Sanctus p. 26
The Lord's Prayer p. 27
The Words of Institution
The Agnus Dei p. 28
The Nunc Dimittis p. 29
The Benediction p. 31
The Hymn #189 He Is Arisen Glorious Word 4:77
The Sanctus p. 26
The Lord's Prayer p. 27
The Words of Institution
The Agnus Dei p. 28
The Nunc Dimittis p. 29
The Benediction p. 31
The Hymn #189 He Is Arisen Glorious Word 4:77
KJV 1 Corinthians 5:6 Your
glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the
whole lump? 7 Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as
ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: 8
Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven
of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and
truth.
KJV Mark 16:1 And when the
sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and
Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him. 2 And
very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the
sepulchre at the rising of the sun. 3 And they said among themselves, Who shall
roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre? 4 And when they looked,
they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great. 5 And entering into
the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a
long white garment; and they were affrighted. 6 And he saith unto them, Be not
affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is
not here: behold the place where they laid him. 7 But go your way, tell his
disciples and Peter that he goeth before you into Galilee: there shall ye see
him, as he said unto you. 8 And they went out quickly, and fled from the
sepulchre; for they trembled and were amazed: neither said they any thing to
any man; for they were afraid.
Easter
Lord God, heavenly Father, who didst deliver Thy Son for our
offenses, and didst raise Him again for our justification: We beseech Thee,
grant us Thy Holy Spirit, that He may rule and govern us according to Thy will;
graciously keep us in the true faith; defend us from all sins, and after this
life raise us unto eternal life, through the same, Thy beloved Son, who liveth
and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end.
Amen.
Faith versus Feelings
Mark 16:1 And when the
sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and
Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him.
Lenski points out that the
women came to the tomb very early to finish the work they wished to do. Jesus
died on Friday, so sundown was the Sabbath. After the Sabbath was over,
Saturday evening, they had a little time to buy the expensive spices in liquid
form. Powdered spices were used with the linen wraps (also expensive) that
Joseph of Arimathea provided.
KJV Mark 15:43 Joseph of
Arimathaea, an honourable counsellor, which also waited for the kingdom of God,
came, and went in boldly unto Pilate, and craved the body of Jesus. 44 And
Pilate marvelled if he were already dead: and calling unto him the
centurion, he asked him whether he had been any while dead. 45 And when he knew
it of the centurion, he gave the body to Joseph. 46 And he bought fine
linen, and took him down, and wrapped him in the linen, and laid him in a
sepulchre which was hewn out of a rock, and rolled a stone unto the door of the
sepulchre.
The Gospel of John records
that Nicodemus, who came to Him by night (Nick at Night – John 3) was also
involved in the burial, so faith overcame fear, in spite of Nicodemus high
standing with the religious leaders and the criminal reputation of Jesus.
The women came to the tomb
very early on Sunday, before the sun was up. Sunday, in the Jewish reckoning,
began Saturday evening.
Some have trouble with
“after three days” because we think in Western terms, with 24 hours being a
day. Jewish reckoning counted each part of a day as a separate day, so Jesus
died on Friday, was in the tomb Saturday, and rose on the third day, which
could have included Saturday in our time.
That is why many
denominations have an Easter Vigil very late on Saturday, reciting the
Scriptures of the Bible. In Moline we had sunrise services, but the Greek
Orthodox had Easter Vigil, which we attended at least once, as college students
who knew some Greek.
2 And very early in the
morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the
rising of the sun.
Certain women were named in
this group visiting the tomb. No men were present at this time. They were
anxious to honor their dead Teacher, and they also wanted to speedy due to the
effects of desert heat. (Note the contrast with Lazarus, when Jesus
deliberately delayed His visit, so people feared being near the tomb, due to
rapid decomposition.)
3 And they said among
themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre?
On the way they realized
that they did not make plans for removing the stone lid from the tomb. The
closing of the tomb was more of a lid that rolled in a groove. A boulder to fit
the opening would have defied movement by several men. But a stone lid might be
muscled aside by several men – not by the women.
Luther describes the
condition of the women as being overcome with emotion and grief. When we are in
that condition we are not going to think are plan carefully. The crisis of the
moment fills our minds. They were rushing to do what women normally did at that
time. There were prescribed rituals, which are still followed in many cultures.
Mark does not deal with the
soldiers guarding the tomb. We have four narratives, plus additional details
from Paul, so we have a complete picture from all of them. Roman soldiers were
posted to guard the tomb, but they fled when the earthquake opened the tomb and
showed it to be empty.
Why soldiers? Jesus was far
more dangerous to the leaders than the liberals of today allow. He arrived in
Jerusalem as a king, with the crowds hailing Him as the Messiah. He brought
with Him Lazarus, who was proof of His ability to raise the dead – a claim no
one else could make. The religious authorities were so anxious about Lazarus
that they plotted against him, too.
The guards tell us that the
civil authorities were sufficiently afraid, ironically bearing witness to
Jesus’ power over death. They would make sure that nothing happened.
The litmus test of an
apostate is the denial of the Virgin Birth and the physical resurrection of
Christ. I have used that more than once. In 1987 I found only one ELCA seminary
professor who could support the resurrection of Christ. That man conceded in
print that it “probably happened.” But the fact remains that no one has ever
denied the facts. They simply do not believe in the divinity of Christ, so that
settles the question for them. It does not affect their concept of reality.
They marvel that the disciples loved Him so much that they believed it to be
true.
My favorite response to the
litmus test was from this Disciples of Christ seminary student – “Those are not
important issues.” She bragged that the Unitarians studied at the same school.
I said, “Why not?”
KJV John 12:1 Then Jesus six
days before the passover came to Bethany, where Lazarus was which had been
dead, whom he raised from the dead. 2 There they made him a supper; and Martha
served: but Lazarus was one of them that sat at the table with him. 3 Then took
Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of
Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the
odour of the ointment. 4 Then saith one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot,
Simon's son, which should betray him, 5 Why was not this ointment sold
for three hundred pence, and given to the poor? 6 This he said, not that he
cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what
was put therein. 7 Then said Jesus, Let her alone: against the day of my
burying hath she kept this. 8 For the poor always ye have with you; but me ye
have not always. 9 Much people of the Jews therefore knew that he was there:
and they came not for Jesus' sake only, but that they might see Lazarus also,
whom he had raised from the dead. 10 But the chief priests consulted that
they might put Lazarus also to death; 11 Because that by reason of him many
of the Jews went away, and believed on Jesus. 12 On the next day much people
that were come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to
Jerusalem, 13 Took branches of palm trees, and went forth to meet him, and
cried, Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of
the Lord. 14 And Jesus, when he had found a young ass, sat thereon; as it is
written, 15 Fear not, daughter of Sion: behold, thy King cometh, sitting on an
ass's colt. 16 These things understood not his disciples at the first: but when
Jesus was glorified, then remembered they that these things were written of
him, and that they had done these things unto him. 17 The people
therefore that was with him when he called Lazarus out of his grave, and raised
him from the dead, bare record.
4 And when they looked, they
saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great.
Our prepositions are often
vague, but German and Greek prepositions are exact. The stone lid, very large,
was not rolled aside in the groove, but thrown away from the entrance, flat on
the ground, never to be used again.
Matthew tells us that an angel
rolled the stone away and sat on it. It was not rolled aside in its groove in
the regular way so as to be rolled back again to shut the entrance. No, it was
hurled out of its groove by some tremendous power, thrown flat upon the ground
in front of the tomb, thus making a seat for the angel who waited until the
women drew near and then went inside the tomb. This stone was not again
to be rolled in front of the entrance. It had been laid flat so that the tomb
should stand wide open for all men to see that it was emptied of the body of
Jesus, the bodiless wrappings lying undisturbed and flat just as they had been
wrapped, mute but mighty evidence of the resurrection, John 20:5–10.
When the women looked up they saw
the stone in this condition; note the change of prepositions, not ἀπό in the verb
as in v. 3 but ἀπά;
not “away from” in the regular way, in the groove, but “back,” rolled violently
from the cliffside. To have all this understood properly Mark explains (γάρ) that the
stone in question was “very great.” Poorer tombs had small openings and needed
smaller stones to close them; but this rich man’s tomb had an opening that was
of full height and needed a stone of proportionate size for its closing. Gordon’s Tomb,
described in 15:46, agrees perfectly with all that the evangelists say about
the stone and the door.
The opening of the tomb by the
angel has been misunderstood by some interpreters. When the angel opened the tomb,
Jesus had already risen. None of the evangelists describes the resurrection
proper; it had no witnesses, it was wholly miraculous. Jesus left the tomb
silently. His dead body was suddenly quickened (1 Pet. 3:18), filled with life,
and in the same instant passed out of its funeral wrappings and out through the
walls of the sealed and guarded tomb invisible to the eyes of men. Then, when
the tomb was empty, the angel came and opened the tomb to show that it was
indeed empty. At this coming of the angel and the earthquake he caused the
Roman guard fell prostrate and, recovering somewhat, fled. Those paintings
which portray the glorious Savior coming out of the opened door of the tomb
while the guard falls in dismay at the sight of him are not in accord with the
facts of the case. Silently, invisibly, wondrously, gloriously the living body
passed through the rock.
This mode of being is described
well in Concordia Triglotta, 1004, 100: “The
incomprehensible, spiritual mode, according to which he neither occupies nor
vacates space, but penetrates all creatures, wherever he pleases; as, to make
an imperfect comparison, my sight penetrates and is in air, light, or water,
and does not occupy or vacate space; as a sound or tone penetrates and is in
air or water or board or wall, and also does not occupy or vacate space;
likewise, as light and heat penetrate and are in air, water, glass, crystal,
and the like; and much more of the like. This mode he used when he rose from
the closed sepulcher, and passed through the closed door, and in the bread and
wine in the Holy Supper.”
Lenski, R. C. H.: The
Interpretation of St. Mark's Gospel. Minneapolis, MN : Augsburg Publishing
House, 1961, S. 740.
5 And entering into the
sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long
white garment; and they were affrighted. 6 And he saith unto them, Be not
affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is
not here: behold the place where they laid him.
This was a large tomb, which
meant a very expensive one. They went in, so this was not an economy-sized
carved tomb, but a large one. They saw an angel in a long white garment,
sitting on the right side. Two angels were present, but one spoke.
Their immediate reaction, on
seeing the stone lid thrown down, would have been to assume that tomb robbers
had been there. Many people are buried with precious objects, or there is the
hope that this would be true of a rich man’s grave.
The women rushed in afraid
and anxious about what they would see, because their emotions and experience
told them they were doing the proper work of honoring the dead Master. That
turned into an obvious robbery, and then an angelic message. In short order
grief turned to terror, and terror into an astonishing revelation.
The angel’s message was
brief, concise, and stunning in its content.
Fact – You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, the
crucified. They are in the right place and this stranger knows who they
are.
Revelation – He is risen, which is one word in the text.
This word cannot be misunderstood. It means He is risen from the dead.
These women were followers, so they knew Jesus raised
- the widow’s son,
- the young girl,
- and Lazarus.
The previous miracles now
make sense of the resurrection of Christ. He is risen because He is far more
than their concept of the Messiah. He is the Son of God, the only One capable
of being both the High Priest and Lamb of God.
Revelation – He is not here. So many religious phonies
talk like witch-doctors, impossible to understand. Here is a momentous
revelation in the simplest possible words – He is not here, three simple words
in the original text. The grave is not a place for the triumphant Son of God.
Neither would it be for the followers and disciples. They would not dwell on
the grave or mark it with a bronze plaque. They had to see the proof of the
grave first, but they also saw the risen Christ Himself. That is why we
concentrate on His Word rather than shrines to Him, whether historical or not.
Fact - Look at the place where they laid Him.
A thorough-going doubter might say, “Well, this could be a robbery of a tomb,”
but that was not consistent with the proven ability of Jesus, His power over
death. And it now made sense to those who believed in Him that this power extended
to His own life as well. The Bible emphasizes two aspects of this – that the
Father raised Him from the dead, and also that He gave up His life and took it
up again (John 10).
KJV Mark 16:7 But go your
way, tell his disciples and Peter that he goeth before you into Galilee: there
shall ye see him, as he said unto you.
Why is Peter named
separately from the disciples? A Roman Catholic would say it is because Peter
was the first pope. But if Peter was to be singled out as the most eminent, the
first among equals (as the pope says today), it would have been, Go tell Peter
and the disciples.
Just previously Peter had
denied Jesus three times, as Jesus warned he would. Peter vociferously said
that would never happen, and yet it did happen. Jesus was not one to shun Peter
for the man’s impetuous weakness. If Jesus had done that, He would have
included everyone except John, the only disciple present at the crucifixion.
Instead Jesus gave Peter a
time of confession (Yes, Lord, I love You) and absolution “Feed my sheep.”
Jesus also built up the
remaining disciples, so their failings and forgiveness became the foundation of
their Gospel proclamation. The exception was Judas, who betrayed Jesus and lost
hope.
KJV Mark 16:8 And they went
out quickly, and fled from the sepulchre; for they trembled and were amazed:
neither said they any thing to any man; for they were afraid.
One of those saint books
would have had the women walking away in peace and joy, performing miracles and
becoming nuns. No, they were ordinary people like us. They were still in shock,
still afraid, beside themselves. There are four descriptions of their state:
- Trembled
- Amazed
- Silent
- Afraid.
The first half of Mark 16 is chosen for Easter Sunday, by
tradition, because the rest of the Easter season fills in all the other
details, including Mark 16:9-20.
Bible Butchers
But the liberal versions of the Bible have this, following
the NIV, RSV apostasy –
NIV Mark 16:9 [The most
reliable early manuscripts and other ancient witnesses do not have Mark
16:9-20.] When Jesus rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared
first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had driven seven demons.
The most reliable early and
other ancient witnesses are not reliable at all. They are the creation of one
man and accepted ever since, following the example of the two weirdos, Wescott
and Hort, who began this travesty.
Here is ESV information - http://www.jesus-is-savior.com/Bible/esv.htm
Would you hand over Bible translations, like the NIV, to
proud homosexuals? - http://www.jesus-is-savior.com/Bible/NIV/worship.htm
Wescott and Hort - http://av1611.com/kjbp/articles/young-examination1.html
Application – Faith versus Feelings
One of the characteristics
of Mark’s empty tomb account is the list of emotions experienced by the women.
Luther went over the text rather quickly in one sermon and concentrated on a
major theme in his sermons.
Feelings are just the
opposite of faith. That is good to consider in an era where feelings are
sacred, useful in clobbering other people too. Someone can start a lawsuit by
saying, “He made me feel uncomfortable.” That happened with us when we were
followed by a man down the street in Chicago, late at night. We were afraid,
pure and simple. He made us uncomfortable. But when I turned around I could see it was the president of the LCMS,
Jack Preus (1978) and I was no longer afraid.
Our feelings are based upon
all our experiences and our rather volatile emotions. Experiences themselves
can generate emotions that move us forward or block us. If someone breaks
things and blows out circuits doing repairs, as I have done, he is not likely
to start any repair job.
We were buying our limo when
one of the Duggars had to substitute. He could not do the paperwork. He was in
a panic. Later a TV revealed that he could fix anything. His sister-in-law did
the paperwork in record time, but I doubt that she could overhaul a bus, as he
did with ease. Thus our feelings reflect our past experiences.
Faith in God’s Word means
letting go of our human wisdom, human experiences, and our emotions.
One good example is regret.
We regret our past sins, and that can nag at us. However, that does negate our
forgiveness through faith in Christ. Those who place an emphasis upon emotions
make it seem as if we are forgiven when we feel forgiven. That makes our emotions
our Savior instead of Jesus.
That also makes people
vulnerable to clever manipulation, so they do things to earn that forgiveness,
until they feel they have earned enough.
That is why John 16:8 is the
foundational statement about the Christian faith – the Holy Spirit convicts us
of not trusting completely in Christ for our forgiveness. His triumph over
death is a victory over sin at the same time.
He is all forgiveness, so
doubting that complete and free forgiveness is a denial of His work as our great
High Priest. No sin is so great that He cannot forgive, and no work by man is
great enough to earn forgiveness. Therefore the sin against the Holy Spirit is
not believing in Christ, rejecting forgiveness through Him, trusting in some
other means.
Sure enough, the skeptics
often rail against the atonement of Christ. They attack justification by faith.
They mock the Means of Grace and make fun of a child-like faith.
Faith is the opposite of
fear, which is probably our dominant emotion. Many of our actions and behaviors
are the product of fear. Sometimes we need a healthy fear (electricity) but
often we have morbid or irrational fears.
Faith is not an emotion, but
it guides our emotions. Trust in God’s Word means we can say “God will provide”
and “God will care for us as He always has.” It also means that negative experiences
can be completely positive when transformed by the Holy Spirit through the Word.
I know many people who have
been through the wringer with bad congregations, apostate denominations, and
false teachers. That shows us the constant we need, the anchor of the Word of
God. How can that be bad, to know what the pitfalls are, to treasure the
treasure of the Gospel?
The anti-Book-of-Concord
people taught me the Book of Concord. They made every page come alive.
The happy-clappy whoopee
worship gurus motivated me to turn hymn verses into graphics for everyone to
use.
The translation-du-jour salesmen
taught me to look over the issue of translations and texts, to have a new
appreciation of the KJV and the traditional text.
That is far better than
being rocked to sleep by ease, luxury, and calm.
If we are a bare minority in
each denomination, mourning the loss of confessional integrity, especially in
the Lutheran Church, is it so bad to hold out hope and education for those who
might also care in the coming years?
The disciples could have reckoned
that they were against 99.9999999% of humanity, but they felt, they knew that the
Word of God put them in the majority.
The seed of the Word grows.
The yeast of the Word
leavens the batch.
KJV Matthew 13:31 Another
parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a
grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field: 32 Which
indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest
among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge
in the branches thereof.
 |
| Johann Gerhard worked with Chemnitz and taught justification by faith. He was a prolific, orthodox Lutheran theologian. |
EASTER SUNDAY
"When Christ arose, He brought with Him complete
righteousness. For He arose for the sake of our righteousness, Romans 4:25. So
then, when you, in a similar fashion, arise from sin through true repentance,
you are justified from sins, for faith lays hold of this completed
righteousness in Christ, by which we are enabled to stand before God."
Johann Gerhard
Eleven Easter and Pentecostal Sermons, Malone: Repristination Press, 1996, p.
80. Romans 6:3-4; Romans 4:25. [Note: order the Gerhard sermons from
Repristination Press, hunnius@aol.com
"That the Lord Christ, after His resurrection, wishes peace
to the disciples and eats the broiled fish and honey comb in their presence, and
thereby portrays the benefit and fruit of His resurrection. For through His
death and resurrection He has reconciled us with God, His heavenly Father, so
that we may from now on, through faith in Him, have peace with God, have peace
in our hearts, and have peace against the accusations of the devil and our
conscience. When a war lord victoriously overcomes the enemy, peace follows
after. So also, since Christ has overcome all His and our enemies in His
victorious resurrection, He can thereafter wish [us] peace...Through Him,
Samson's riddle was fulfilled: From the eater came something to eat and
sweetness from the strong one...He is the powerful Lion from the stem of Judah,
Rev 5:5, which mightily fought and overcame so that ours souls find honey-sweet
food in Him."
Johann Gerhard, Eleven Easter and Pentecostal
Sermons, Malone: Repristination Press, 1996, p. 52. Judges 14:14,18.
"Furthermore, another reason for stating that the Lamb of God
was slain from the beginning of the world is that God the Lord, soon after the
Fall in the beginning, made the promise that He wanted to have the Seed of the
woman step on and crush the head of the hellish snake; and, it would also occur
that the snake would bite the woman's Seed in the heel. This stinging of the
heel is none other than that Devil's inflicting himself on the woman's Seed and
bringing Him to the cross."
Johann Gerhard,
Eleven Easter and Pentecostal Sermons, Malone: Repristination Press, 1996, p.
60. 1 Corinthians 5:7-8; Genesis 3:15.
"He who follows his feelings will perish, but he who clings
to the Word with his heart will be delivered."
Sermons of Martin
Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House,
1983, II, p. 245. Mark 16:1-8.
"For when the heart clings to the Word, feelings and
reasoning must fail."
Sermons of Martin
Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House,
1983, II, p. 246. Mark 16:1-8.
"Therefore the Holy Spirit must come to our rescue, not only
to preach the Word to us, but also to enlarge and impel us from within, yea,
even to employ the devil, the world and all kinds of afflictions and
persecutions to this end. Just as a pig's bladder must be rubbed with salt and
thoroughly worked to distend it, so this old hide of ours must be well salted
and plagued until we call for help and cry aloud, and so stretch and expand
ourselves, both through internal and through external suffering, that we may
finally succeed and attain this heart and cheer, joy and consolation, from
Christ's resurrection."
Sermons of Martin
Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House,
1983, II, p. 253. Mark 16:1-8.
"If I do not believe it, I will not receive its benefits; but
that neither renders it false nor proves that anything is lacking in Christ."
Sermons of Martin
Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House,
1983, II, p. 258. Mark 16:1-8.
"For this reason one should not be too credulous when a
preacher comes softly like an angel of God, recommends himself very highly, and
swears that his sole aim is to save souls, and says: 'Pax vobis!' For those are
the very fellows the devil employs to honey people's mouths. Through them he
gains an entrance to preach and to teach, in order that he may afterward
inflict his injuries, and that though he accomplish nothing more for the
present, he may, at least, confound the people's consciences and finally lead
them into misery and despair."
Sermons of Martin
Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House,
1983, II, p. 322. Luke 24:36-47.
"Thus we have two parts, preaching and believing. His coming
to us is preaching; His standing in our hearts is faith. For it is not
sufficient that He stand before our eyes and ears; He must stand in the midst
of us in our hearts, and offer and impart to us peace."
Sermons of Martin
Luther, 8 vols., xd., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House,
1983, II, p. 355. John 20:19-31.
"The first and highest work of love a Christian ought to do
when he has become a believer, is to bring others also to believe in the way he
himself came to believe. And here you notice Christ begins and institutes the
office of the ministry of the external Word in every Christian; for He Himself
came with this office and the external Word."
Sermons of Martin
Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House,
1983, II, p. 359. John 20:19-31.
"Now God drives us to this by holding the law before us, in
order that through the law we may come to a knowledge of ourselves. For where
there is not this knowledge, one can never be saved. He that is well needs no
physician; but if a man is sick and desires to become well, he must know that
he is weak and sick, otherwise he cannot be helped."
Sermons of Martin
Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House,
1983, II, p. 370. John 20:19-31.
"Who are the people, therefore, to whom God makes known the
resurrection of His Son? Women of little learning and poor fishermen."
Sermons of Martin
Luther, The House Postils, 3 vols., ed., Eugene Klug, Grand Rapids: Baker Book
House, 1996, II, p. 22. Luke 24:13-35.
