Mid-Week Lenten Vespers, 2019
Pastor Gregory L. Jackson
The Hymn #145 - Jesus Refuge of the Weary
The Order of Vespers p. 41
The Order of Vespers p. 41
The Psalmody Psalm 23 p. 128
The Lections The Passion History
The Lections The Passion History
The Sermon – The Gospel of Miracles
The Prayers
The Lord’s Prayer
The Collect for Grace p. 45
The Hymn #660 - Heaven Is My Home
The Hymn #660 - Heaven Is My Home
Reading
Mark 1: 38 And he said unto them, Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also: for therefore came I forth.
39 And he preached in their synagogues throughout all Galilee, and cast out devils.
40 And there came a leper to him, beseeching him, and kneeling down to him, and saying unto him, If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.
41 And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth his hand, and touched him, and saith unto him, I will; be thou clean.
42 And as soon as he had spoken, immediately the leprosy departed from him, and he was cleansed.
43 And he straitly charged him, and forthwith sent him away;
44 And saith unto him, See thou say nothing to any man: but go thy way, shew thyself to the priest, and offer for thy cleansing those things which Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them.
45 But he went out, and began to publish it much, and to blaze abroad the matter, insomuch that Jesus could no more openly enter into the city, but was without in desert places: and they came to him from every quarter.
Background for Sermon
The appointed readings serve well in giving us the basics of God's Word, and there are variations, such as the Eisenach readings (which I have never used). Rome designed a three-year set of readings, and all the mainline Protestants, including ELCA, WELS, and LCMS adopted it.
The readings themselves can be good and worthwhile, but the denominations have made things worse with their Wheel of Fortune translations, sometimes three for the Old Testament, Gospel, and Epistle. Variety is good in the food we eat, but it kills memorization. Those raised on the KJV can recite well. Everyone else has so many gates and switches, it is hard to remember the verses well.
As I have often written, the abandonment of the traditional New Testament text has been a disaster, because it was wrong and fraudulent at the starting gate. Secondly. departing from the text justifies the "Bible is just another human book, not a book that came from heaven."
Solution - only the KJV family of translations sticks to the NT text. Scarcely any other translation does.
The Sermon – The Gospel of Miracles
Mark 1: 38 And he said unto them, Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also: for therefore came I forth.
39 And he preached in their synagogues throughout all Galilee, and cast out devils.
The wonderful thing about going through an entire Gospel is realizing its unique qualities. I do not think any other kind of study is as rewarding for laity and pastors. Oddly enough, I probably spend more time with the Scriptures, week after week, than most divinity and seminary professors, and even more than pastors who copy from the Net, share sermons over a server (WELS) or just make it up that day.
In fact Gettysburg Seminary once had this as its three year study for the ministry: Hebrew, Greek, German. Hebrew, Greek, German, Homiletics. Hebrew, Greek, German, Homiletics, Ugaritic.
The graduates of that era did not take courses in practical subjects, in Church Growth, in Christian education, in management, in counseling. My LCA seminary turned itself into a counseling school, first by stealth, now by open declaration.
Miracles and More Miracles
The Gospel of Mark is a Gospel of Miracles, far less teaching as a percentage of the chapters.
Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also
Jesus' ministry was two-fold, preaching the Gospel and performing great miracles, many focused on ending human suffering - blindness, leprosy, seizures, dropsy.
The concentration of miracles reminds us that Jesus ministry was one of miracles.That is important in this age of scientific rationalism. Jesus assumed (John) that miracles were the easiest to believe. If they did not believe His Word, at least believe His miracles - literally signs.
A miracle does not obey the rules of science and goes against what we think we know. That is because the Creating Word can change the recipe at will. No doctor is ever going to claim - honestly - that he does it all. Doctors tweak nature, or Creation, and God makes the plan final.
We should think of that when we miss an accident by just a second or two. Just luck? I do not think so.
The more we trust God and His mercy, the more we pray to Him in the Name of Christ for all our concerns, anxieties, and health problems.
God's constant supply of genuine miracles is a reason to have confidence in Him. As Luther said, "The older I get, the less I rely on myself, and the more I rely on God."
Manufactured miracles come from fake ministers who manipulate people to produce fake healing. God punishes the followers by letting them fleeced of their money and flayed to the bone.
Jesus preached everywhere and cast out demons as well. They opposed Him and "confessed" Him. As James wrote (and we see today) - They believe and their hides bristle.
40 And there came a leper to him, beseeching him, and kneeling down to him, and saying unto him, If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.
41 And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth his hand, and touched him, and saith unto him, I will; be thou clean.
The miraculous healings show us that Jesus as the Creating Word had the advantage over every disease and demon, even life itself.
That is the power of the Word. How much time is spent on proclaiming the Word? If most of the time and energy is spent on busy-work, then what will be accomplished for the long run?
The Word is divine protection and divine warfare. Those who would rob us of faith by their scheming dogma are stopped by just one passage in God's Word. And they are destroyed by a second Word from the same source.
What is the worst, most debilitating affliction? It is emotional - guilt, self-doubt, feelings of being worthless. The ancients saw that, with their gods and semi-gods reacting with human emotions. The strongest or materially richest person can be tied down by those emotions.
But God's Word destroys those attacks by showing us that we are the sheep of His pasture being led to green pastures and still waters.
42 And as soon as he had spoken, immediately the leprosy departed from him, and he was cleansed.
43 And he straitly charged him, and forthwith sent him away;
44 And saith unto him, See thou say nothing to any man: but go thy way, shew thyself to the priest, and offer for thy cleansing those things which Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them.
45 But he went out, and began to publish it much, and to blaze abroad the matter, insomuch that Jesus could no more openly enter into the city, but was without in desert places: and they came to him from every quarter.
How is this different from absolution? Not at all. God's continuous forgiveness of sin through the Gospel is a daily work He accomplishes through the Word.
Though the Gospel is steadfast, we are not, so we need regular reminders of its healing and peaceful message. I have been in several meetings where the esteemed clergy might as well have worn red union suits and carried pitchforks. Their behavior was so evil that it was laughable. I got used to rebuking them, which only made them more vindictive.
I told one clergy couple who was treated worse, in ways clearly illegal and despicable, "Sometimes the tornado lands you in paradise." As bad as it was, God worked out a plan for them.
That is something we can count on - wherever we are, whatever troubles assail us at the moment (emotional, economic, physical), God will use them for His glory among those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose.
Part Two Greek
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| Norma A. Boeckler's art is here. |
Parser - tells us the I.D. of the word
Lenski's Mark Commentary - download as a PDF
Copy and paste a Greek word into Google, add "Strong" and "Thayer" - you will get an instant word study about that Greek word. This is modestly called "The Ichabod Greek Treasure Hunt."
English derivatives of Greek words
Mark 1:39-46
39 και ην κηρυσσων εν ταις συναγωγαις αυτων εις ολην την γαλιλαιαν και τα δαιμονια εκβαλλων
40 και ερχεται προς αυτον λεπρος παρακαλων αυτον και γονυπετων αυτον και λεγων αυτω οτι εαν θελης δυνασαι με καθαρισαι
Monothelites - Jesus had one will, an old heresy.
41 ο δε ιησους σπλαγχνισθεις εκτεινας την χειρα ηψατο αυτου και λεγει αυτω θελω καθαρισθητι
42 και ειποντος αυτου ευθεως απηλθεν απ αυτου η λεπρα και εκαθαρισθη
43 και εμβριμησαμενος αυτω ευθεως εξεβαλεν αυτον
44 και λεγει αυτω ορα μηδενι μηδεν ειπης αλλ υπαγε σεαυτον δειξον τω ιερει και προσενεγκε περι του καθαρισμου σου α προσεταξεν μωσης εις μαρτυριον αυτοις
45 ο δε εξελθων ηρξατο κηρυσσειν πολλα και διαφημιζειν τον λογον ωστε μηκετι αυτον δυνασθαι φανερως εις πολιν εισελθειν αλλ εξω εν ερημοις τοποις ην και ηρχοντο προς αυτον πανταχοθεν
