Midweek Lenten Service,
7 PM Central Daylight Savings Time
Pastor Gregory L. Jackson
Bethany Lutheran Worship,
The Hymn #479 Zion Rise
The Order of Vespers p. 41
The Hymn #479 Zion Rise
The Order of Vespers p. 41
The Psalmody
The Lection The Passion History
The Sermon Hymn # 657 Beautiful Savior
The Lection The Passion History
The Sermon Hymn # 657 Beautiful Savior
The Sermon – Jesus, Son of David, the Messiah
The Prayers
The Lord’s Prayer
The Collect for Grace p. 45
The Hymn #49 Almighty God Thy Word Is Cast
The Hymn #49 Almighty God Thy Word Is Cast
Romans 1King James Version (KJV)
1 Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God,
2 (Which he had promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures,)
3 Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh;
4 And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead:
5 By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name:
6 Among whom are ye also the called of Jesus Christ:
7 To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.
8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world.
9 For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers;
10 Making request, if by any means now at length I might have a prosperous journey by the will of God to come unto you.
11 For I long to see you, that I may impart unto you some spiritual gift, to the end ye may be established;
12 That is, that I may be comforted together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me.
13 Now I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that oftentimes I purposed to come unto you, (but was let hitherto,) that I might have some fruit among you also, even as among other Gentiles.
14 I am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the Barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise.
15 So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also.
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
17 For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;
19 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.
20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
23 And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.
24 Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:
25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.
26 For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:
27 And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.
28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;
29 Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers,
30 Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,
31 Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:
32 Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.
The Sermon – Jesus, Son of David, the Messiah
Romans 1
Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God,
2 (Which he had promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures,)
The Christian Faith is rooted in history, from Creation to the end of time. We do not have a fairytale religion where people can pick and choose which fable they like best.
I had a much better grasp of the Old Testament and New Testament when I read the Lord of the Rings to our son, many years ago. In those books are a prologue to all of English history, with LOTR ending where English history begins.
This struck me because the Old Testament is the foundation for everything in the New Testament. One little mention of the mysterious Melchizedek becomes a major section of Hebrews.
Everything in the Old Testament points toward and explains the New Testament, because, as Luther wrote, the entire Bible is a sermon about Jesus.
In Old Testament class we study the advent of the kings. The people demanded a king like other people, and God gave them a king, although this demand came from coveting and a lack of trust.
The first king Saul was a great warrior, but he was several fries short of a Happy Meal. He liked having David the shepherd boy near to calm his nerves, but he was also insanely jealous of David's abilities and popularity.
David came from a little village called Bethlehem, which was nothing as a place, but became famous enough for Wise Men to travel to see the Savior, for the Star of Bethlehem to shine down upon it. And the prophets knew this through the Spirit.
"Although Bethlehem was overshadowed by other more prestigious places, its Old Testament prominence is primarily the result of its association with David, as well as being the predicted birthplace of the Messiah. With respect to David, Bethlehem was his home (1 Sam. 17:12,15; 20:6,28); the scene of his anointing by Samuel (1 Sam. 16:1-13); "
King David was anointed with oil (Messiah King - anointed with oil king; Christos - anointed with oil). This took place in Bethlehem, whose fame is directly tied to King David.
The Jewish people got the king they wanted, clever, powerful, and talented, yet he was subordinate to his Lord, who is named in a Psalm.
The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool. Psalm 110
The most important title for the Savior in the New Testament is Messiah, Christ, Son of David.
The Jewish people got their Son of David, as promised, but more than that. Many believed, but many rejected Him and looked for future saviors among the warrior class. One rose up in the Zealot revolt, about 70 AD. Another anointed himself and was called Bar Kokba. Both of these false saviors brought horrible destruction, slavery, famine, and cannibalism to their people.
3 Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh;
But the Christian Faith was growing outside of this fetish about Jerusalm and a kingdom of the Jews.
Jesus was and is the true Son of David, the one described in Isaiah 53, Psalm 22, and Psalm 23.
If we make up a set of data, the false messiahs fit none of the Old Testament data from the Psalms and prophets. However, Jesus fits all of them, especially those matters passed by as people dreamt about their future glories. The real glories came from God in the flesh, born of the Virgin.
The greatest kingdom came from the kingdom of righteousness established by His death and resurrection. It is a kingdom that continues to grow, even when persecuted and set back (in our eyes).
4 And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead:
5 By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name:
1 Timothy 3:16 is often misunderstood or misinterpreted by those who have an agenda or suffer from short-sightedness.
16 And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.
This phrase in verse 4 is quite similar to 1 Timothy 3:16 - justified in the Spirit, which is so clear from the unified view of the Gospel
Was Jesus seen as the Son of God during His earthly ministry? No. He was seen as a man. He displayed His divine power at times, but very little during Passion Week. He caused the tree to be withered as a sign to Israel, and He bowled over the soldiers by saying "I AM." He identified Himself as the Son of God and told them what He could do, but He remained just a man to them and they rejoiced.
The resurrection of Christ from the dead declared the Sonship, His innocence, His divinity - to the entire world.
So we can say that Jesus is both the promised Messiah, and far more than what anyone hoped or deamt about as they read the prophets and Psalms. He is the Son of God, the Savior of the world. always glorifying God the Father in His Gospel work.
When things seem so bad in the world that people say, "This cannot be real," we are really living in a time of great peace because of the Christian Faith. As bad as things are, the world evils are suppressed by what has happened through Christianity and through the freedoms established by Protestantism, which began of course in the Reformation.
