The Shrunken Lutheran (sic) School of Theology at Chicago. Now an All-Girl School. Let the Reader Understand.

 

CHICAGO — The Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago (LSTC) was deeply honored to welcome Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton for her inaugural visit to campus. During her time at LSTC, Bishop Eaton met with institutional leaders, toured the campus, and participated in a profound reflection on the ELCA’s landmark 1994 Declaration to the Jewish Community. Crafted in partnership with the ELCA Consultative Panel on Lutheran-Jewish Relations, this declaration acknowledges Martin Luther’s legacy of anti-Judaic writings, repudiates those views, and emphasizes the ELCA’s commitment to fostering understanding and respect between Lutherans and the Jewish community.

Bishop Eaton’s visit, which took place during the campus community’s commemoration of Kristallnacht, underscored the ELCA’s active dedication to these principles, especially critical in a time that calls for clarity, compassion, and action. Historically, Christian relations with Jewish communities have often been marked by tragedy. For Lutherans, addressing the dark legacy of Luther’s influence and its appropriation to justify anti-Semitism is essential. Recognizing the ways in which these writings were weaponized to perpetuate suffering, the ELCA has made it a priority to promote a path of repentance and mutual respect, as symbolized by the 1994 declaration.

The gathering, which featured reflections from Bishop Eaton, Rabbi Rick Jacobs, President of the Union for Reform Judaism, and Professor Esther Menn, Chair of the ELCA Consultative Panel on Lutheran-Jewish Relations, affirmed the ongoing relevance of the declaration’s mission. Together, they acknowledged the depth of past wounds and renewed their commitment to combating anti-Semitism, affirming that such prejudice contradicts the Gospel’s core message of grace.

“Because Bishop Eaton is so deeply committed to improving relations between Jewish and Lutheran communities, we at LSTC were very glad to host her on campus and join in marking the thirtieth anniversary of the 1994 Declaration to the Jewish Community during our annual commemoration of Kristallnacht,” said President James Nieman of LSTC.

Bishop Eaton’s visit to LSTC, marked by genuine engagement and reflection, stands as a testament to the school’s mission: to oppose bigotry, cultivate dialogue, and live a faith rooted in love and humility. LSTC remains steadfast in its commitment to reconciliation, learning, and transformation and invites its community to join in this journey toward healing and understanding.

PS - ELCA has used up 36 years to embrace Church Growth mixed with Gay-Feminist-Tranny themes. Result? ELCats are a lot like LCMS-WELS and going down the drain even faster.

Episcopal Pastrix Praises Polyamory as ‘Beautiful, God-given shade of the rainbow’
Episcopal Pastrix Rejoices After Receiving ‘Merch’ for Pride Eucharist
Episcopal Church Denomination Introduces Resolution Condemning ‘Pregnancy Crisis Centers’
Episcopal Church declares Bishop to be ‘Apostate’ Because He WON’T perform Gay Weddings
Episcopal Church Releases 2021 Membership and Attendance Numbers. It’s Catastrophic

 ELCA and THE Episcopal Church work well together, counting up the endowment donated by dead churches, which land in their chubby laps.

Tom Fisher - News and Prayer Brief

 

Subject: Tom Fisher Post: Urgent Prayer Request For America

From: Tom Fisher <tomfisher99@yahoo.com>

Date: 11/12/2024, 12:15 PM

To: Pastor Greg Jackson <greg.jackson.edlp@gmail.com>

Dear Pastor Jackson,

Powerful evil government officials are currently plotting to prevent the inauguration of President elect Donald John Trump on January 20.  They even plan to stop the certification of votes on January 6.  

President elect Donald John Trump is our Fredrick the Wise, the protector and defender of God's Word and the Christian Faith in America and throughout the world.  He recently urged all Americans to buy and read the King James Bible. He asserted that the King James Bible is the most trusted and reliable exact translation of God's Word throughout the world. 

So I request my readers to earnestly pray for America the same way Daniel interceded for his nation, confessing their sins and begging God to have mercy and forgive their sins, and deliver them from the wicked unbearable tyranny of Babylon. Much of Daniel's prayer applies to America:

 In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, which was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans;

2 In the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.

3 And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes:

4 And I prayed unto the Lord my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments;

5 We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgments:

6 Neither have we hearkened unto thy servants the prophets, which spake in thy name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land.

7 O Lord, righteousness belongeth unto thee, but unto us confusion of faces, as at this day; to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and unto all Israel, that are near, and that are far off, through all the countries whither thou hast driven them, because of their trespass that they have trespassed against thee.

8 O Lord, to us belongeth confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against thee.

9 To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against him;

10 Neither have we obeyed the voice of the Lord our God, to walk in his laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets.

11 Yea, all Israel have transgressed thy law, even by departing, that they might not obey thy voice; therefore the curse is poured upon us, and the oath that is written in the law of Moses the servant of God, because we have sinned against him.

12 And he hath confirmed his words, which he spake against us, and against our judges that judged us, by bringing upon us a great evil: for under the whole heaven hath not been done as hath been done upon Jerusalem.

13 As it is written in the law of Moses, all this evil is come upon us: yet made we not our prayer before the Lord our God, that we might turn from our iniquities, and understand thy truth.

14 Therefore hath the Lord watched upon the evil, and brought it upon us: for the Lord our God is righteous in all his works which he doeth: for we obeyed not his voice.

15 And now, O Lord our God, that hast brought thy people forth out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and hast gotten thee renown, as at this day; we have sinned, we have done wickedly.

16 O Lord, according to all thy righteousness, I beseech thee, let thine anger and thy fury be turned away from thy city Jerusalem, thy holy mountain: because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and thy people are become a reproach to all that are about us.

17 Now therefore, O our God, hear the prayer of thy servant, and his supplications, and cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord's sake.

18 O my God, incline thine ear, and hear; open thine eyes, and behold our desolations, and the city which is called by thy name: for we do not present our supplications before thee for our righteousnesses, but for thy great mercies.

19 O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, hearken and do; defer not, for thine own sake, O my God: for thy city and thy people are called by thy name. Daniel 9:1-19

Yes, God has clothed us in the righteousness of Christ in our Baptism in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. He has made us His children, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ. 

 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.

27 For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. Galatians 3:26,27

So pray in faith, remembering God's promise to hear and answer our prayers.

23 And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you.

24 Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.          John 16:23,24

God hears our prayers and sets His face against those who do evil.

12 For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil.

13 And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good? 1 Peter 3:12,13

Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?

Reformation Seminary - John 11 - Part 2 - Lazareth

YouTube -

KJV John 11 - Part Two - Some overlap

43 And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth.

44 And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go.

45 Then many of the Jews which came to Mary, and had seen the things which Jesus did, believed on him.

46 But some of them went their ways to the Pharisees, and told them what things Jesus had done.

47 Then gathered the chief priests and the Pharisees a council, and said, What do we? for this man doeth many miracles.

48 If we let him thus alone, all men will believe on him: and the Romans shall come and take away both our place and nation.

49 And one of them, named Caiaphas, being the high priest that same year, said unto them, Ye know nothing at all,

50 Nor consider that it is expedient for us, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not.

51 And this spake he not of himself: but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus should die for that nation;

52 And not for that nation only, but that also he should gather together in one the children of God that were scattered abroad.

53 Then from that day forth they took counsel together for to put him to death.

54 Jesus therefore walked no more openly among the Jews; but went thence unto a country near to the wilderness, into a city called Ephraim, and there continued with his disciples.

55 And the Jews' passover was nigh at hand: and many went out of the country up to Jerusalem before the passover, to purify themselves.

56 Then sought they for Jesus, and spake among themselves, as they stood in the temple, What think ye, that he will not come to the feast?

57 Now both the chief priests and the Pharisees had given a commandment, that, if any man knew where he were, he should shew it, that they might take him.

Next - more about Lazarus and his sisters

Daily Luther Sermon Quote - Trinity 25 - "The other treats of the abomination of desolation. Here Christ now says, When ye shall see this one standing in the temple, then take heed (he wants to say) for that is a sure sign from Daniel’s prophecy that his kingdom is now at an end; and do not let yourselves be deceived because the Jews and weak Christians think that it shall never be destroyed."

Luther's Sermons - Matthew 24:15-28.
Twenty-Fifth Sunday after Trinity

7. The other treats of the abomination of desolation. Here Christ now says, When ye shall see this one standing in the temple, then take heed (he wants to say) for that is a sure sign from Daniel’s prophecy that his kingdom is now at an end; and do not let yourselves be deceived because the Jews and weak Christians think that it shall never be destroyed.

8. But the abomination of which Daniel writes is that the Emperor Cajus, as history tells, had put his image in the temple at Jerusalem as an idol, for the people to worship, after everything there had been destroyed. For the Scriptures call idolatry really an abomination, because God abhors and abominates it, inasmuch as he is the enemy of no sin so much as of this.

The others he does truly punish, but he does not cast the people away if they repent, as he says in Psalm 89:31-34: “If they break my statutes, and keep not my commandments; then will I visit their transgression with the rod, and their iniquity with stripes. But my loving kindness will I not utterly take from him, nor suffer my faithfulness to fail. My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips.” But this sin, called idolatry, which is really unbelief and denial of God, which he cannot at all endure, condemns man completely. For where this remains in the heart of man, so that he teaches and believes correctly, indicates that our works are nothing, and that we shall be acceptable to God and serve him aright alone through faith, then there will be a truly godly character; there light and truth abide. Although along side of faith there runs a sense of the weakness of the flesh. It is not an abomination before God, but only a daily sin that God will punish unto repentance; yet he keeps the people, spares them and forgives them, when the people turn to him and learn to acknowledge his goodness. On the other hand, where this faith and doctrine do not exist, everything is lost; for it is impossible for man not to establish for himself a false worship and choose his own opinion and work, and worship it, so that he really denies God and his Word, and God is entirely turned aside; so that his grace cannot operate. Such abomination is generally the most beautiful and the greatest holiness in the eyes of the world, which outwardly appears in beautiful works and customs; but inwardly is full of filthiness, as we can see at the present day in our orders and church services where they are at their best. However there are again some Christians who are not like these in their works and ways; but are truly holy before God.

9. Now Christ says, when the abomination, that is, this idol, shall stand in the temple, the kingdom shall finally be made desolate and destroyed, so that it can never be rebuilt again, as Luke expresses it clearly in these words, Luke 21:20f: “But when ye see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that our desolation is at hand. Then let them that are in Judea flee unto the mountains; and let them that are in the midst of her depart out; and let not them that are in the country enter therein. For these are days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled.”

And further, “Woe unto them that are with child and to them that give suck in those days! And pray ye that your flight may be not in the winter, neither on a Sabbath: for then shall be great tribulation, such as had not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, nor ever shall be.”

10. All this pertains still to the Jewish nation. For if this should come upon us at the end of the world, then would we, according to the text, have to be in the land of Judea, because he really points to that country. It is also true, when he says that no greater calamity has been or can be upon the earth than was at the time of the destruction of Jerusalem; as we see in history, how unmercifully they were slaughtered and even killed one another, cast themselves into the fire, and permitted themselves to kill one another. Yea, the famine was so great that they ate the strings of cross-bows and even their own children. It was so shameful and abominable that like pity and distress shall never be heard again.

11. But they themselves wanted it, hence God permitted them to be thus blighted and destroyed. He would gladly have had mercy upon them and preserved them, but they brought themselves to such distress with their stiff-nakedness, that they killed and consumed one another; that as they began it, all such murder and bloodshed had to increase. Thus the death of Christ and of all the prophets is most abominably avenged on them, and that without ceasing, they raged against the Word of God, and persecuted and drove away the Apostles, as St. Paul says in Thessalonians 2:15-16, that the wrath of God finally came upon them.

Tom Fisher Asks People To Respond to the Attacks Against Farmers Selling Their Own Produce

 

Please pray for renowned Constitutional lawyer, Robert Barnes. He is in the hospital recovering from a certain medical emergency. Robert Barnes is a critical part of returning America to being governed by the Constitution and Bill of Rights. Robert Barnes is indirectly representing Amish farmer Amos Miller in Pennsylvania against the EVIL Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture who is using dishonest UNCONSTITUTIONAL law fare to destroy his farm business and literally throw him in jail. The Pennsylvania judges and courts are also extremely corrupt and seem more eager to jail an innocent productive Amish farmer than follow the Constitution and rule of law. They have hysterically raided his farm with heavily armed SWAT teams, destroyed and seized hundreds of thousands of dollars of his wonderful perfectly healthy meat, dairy, fruits, and vegetable food products. 

Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky is working on legislation to protect all small farmers like the Amish and myself from EVIL hysterical unconstitutional SWAT team attacks on farmers who sell directly to the public. 

Again please pray for Constitutional lawyer Robert Barnes' recovery and health.  Pray God will have mercy on small farmers like myself and especially Amos Miller.

Daily Luther Sermon Quote - Trinity 25 -"Notice therefore that Matthew unites the two and at the same time conceives the end, both of the Jewish nation and of the world. He therefore cooks both into one soup. But if you want to understand it, you must separate and put each by itself, that which really treats of the Jews, and that which relates to the whole world. This we wish to do now."

 

Luther's Sermons - Matthew 24:15-28.
Twenty-Fifth Sunday after Trinity

KJV Matthew 24

15 When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) 16 Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains: 17 Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house: 18 Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. 19 And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! 20 But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day: 21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. 22 And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened. 23 Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. 24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. 25 Behold, I have told you before. 26 Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not. 27 For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. 28 For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.

1. In this chapter there is a description of the end of two kingdoms; of the kingdom of the Jews, and also of the kingdom of the world. But the two Evangelists, Matthew and Mark, unite the two and do not follow the order as Luke did, for they have nothing more in view than to relate and give the words of Christ, and are not concerned about what was said either before or after. But Luke takes special pains to write clearly and in the true order, and relates this discourse twice; first briefly in the 19th chapter, where he speaks of the destruction of the Jews at Jerusalem; afterwards in the 21st chapter he speaks of both, one following the other.

2. Notice therefore that Matthew unites the two and at the same time conceives the end, both of the Jewish nation and of the world. He therefore cooks both into one soup. But if you want to understand it, you must separate and put each by itself, that which really treats of the Jews, and that which relates to the whole world. This we wish to do now.

3. Notice, first, how Christ prophecies in this chapter concerning the final destruction of the Jewish nation, which the Jews did not at all believe, even though they had been dearly told through great signs and words, the promises of God which he made to the fathers, like unto which had happened to no other people upon the earth. For this reason they strongly insisted and depended upon it, thought it will continue forever, as they think even at the present time; that their kingdom is not destroyed but has only disbanded a little and shall be re-established. They cannot get it out of their minds that they are not completely ruined.

4. For this reason God announced besides his miracles with clear and plain prophesies that their kingdom shall have an end and that God had abolished the external reign of the law, meats, offerings, etc., and would establish another which shall endure forever, as the angel announced to the virgin concerning Christ, as recorded in Luke 1:33. “And he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.”

5. Among the various passages which treat of the end of Judaism there is especially one that is introduced by Christ, namely: the prophet Daniel, 9:25f, speaks of the terrible abomination, standing where he ought not, when he says concerning the Jewish nation, “Know therefore and discern, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the anointed one the Prince, shall be seven weeks, and three-score and two weeks,” that makes together seventy weeks or years, “And after the three-score and two weeks, shall the anointed one be cut off, and shall have nothing: and the people of the Prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and even unto the end shall be war; desolations are determined. And he shall make a firm covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease; and upon the wing of abominations shall come one that maketh desolate; and even unto the full end, and that determined, shall wrath be poured out upon the desolate.”

6. The Prophet Daniel desired to know the definite time when this should come to pass, but he could not learn it, and although the angel pointed out a definite time, it was nevertheless too dark for the prophet to understand, hence he said before: But at last, at the last time, you shall see everything, that is, your prophecy, that is to be revealed to you, shall transpire at the end of time. For when Christ sent out the Gospel through the ministry of himself and of the Apostles, it lasted three or three and a half years, that it almost amounts to the calculation of Daniel, namely the 490 years. Hence he also says, Christ shall take a half a week, in which the daily offerings shall cease; that is, the priesthood and reign of the Jews shall have an end; which all took place in the three and a half years in which Christ preached, and was almost completed in four years after Christ, in which the Gospel prospered the most, especially in Palestine through the Apostles (that when they opened their mouth, the Holy Ghost fell as it were, from heaven, as we see in the Acts of the Apostles), so that a whole week, or seven years, established the covenant, as Daniel says; that is, the Gospel was preached to the Jews, of which we spoke before. Now, when the time came that a new message or sermon began, there must also begin a new kingdom, that is, where Christ rules spiritually in our hearts through the Word and faith.

If this is now to continue, then the other must be set aside and has no more authority and must cease. This is the part of the prophecy of the prophets, which Christ is explaining.

7. The other treats of the abomination of desolation. Here Christ now says, When ye shall see this one standing in the temple, then take heed (he wants to say) for that is a sure sign from Daniel’s prophecy that his kingdom is now at an end; and do not let yourselves be deceived because the Jews and weak Christians think that it shall never be destroyed.

The 24th Sunday after Trinity - 2024.

YouTube

 

The Hymn #  577                 God Bless Our Native Land                      

The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16

Introit

Oh, come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker.

For He is our God: and we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand.

Psalm. Oh, come, let us sing unto the Lord: let us make a joyful noise to the Rock of our salvation.

The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19

Collect

Stir up, we beseech Thee, O Lord, the wills of Thy faithful people that they, plenteously bringing forth the fruit of good works, may of Thee be plenteously rewarded; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, who liveth, etc.

The Epistle and Gradual   

Gradual

Thou hast delivered my soul from death: mine eyes from tears, and my feet from falling.

V. I love the Lord: because He hath heard my voice and my supplication. Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

V. With Thee is the fountain of life: in Thy light shall we see light. Hallelujah!

    

The Gospel              

Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed             p. 22

The Sermon Hymn #236                Creator Spirit By Whose Aid         

              

Two Examples of Faith and Power

The Communion Hymn #  307            Draw Nigh and Take the Body of the Lord   

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 #240      Father Most Holy

Prayers and Announcements

• Tomorrow Is Veterans Day.
• Anita Engleman's birthday is Tuesday.
• One year ago. Our Biblical doctrine series has a name - Reformation Seminary.
• Medical care - Pastor Jim Shrader and Chris; Sarah Buck;  Dr. Lito Cruz and his grandson. 
• Those suffering from emotional and metabolic stress.

Colossians 1:9 For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; 10 That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness; 12 Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: 13 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: 14 In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:

Matthew 9:18 While he spake these things unto them, behold, there came a certain ruler, and worshipped him, saying, My daughter is even now dead: but come and lay thy hand upon her, and she shall live. 19 And Jesus arose, and followed him, and so did his disciples. 20 And, behold, a woman, which was diseased with an issue of blood twelve years, came behind him, and touched the hem of his garment: 21 For she said within herself, If I may but touch his garment, I shall be whole. 22 But Jesus turned him about, and when he saw her, he said, Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole. And the woman was made whole from that hour. 23 And when Jesus came into the ruler's house, and saw the minstrels and the people making a noise, 24 He said unto them, Give place: for the maid is not dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed him to scorn. 25 But when the people were put forth, he went in, and took her by the hand, and the maid arose. 26 And the fame hereof went abroad into all that land.

Matthew 9:18 While he spake these things unto them, behold, there came a certain ruler, and worshipped him, saying, My daughter is even now dead: but come and lay thy hand upon her, and she shall live.

Matthew 9 begins with a number of episodes and sayings, then  a father fearing he had lost his daughter but asking Jesus to bless the girl and give her life. The father has great faith in Jesus, asking that He lay His healing hand on the girl so that she might live.

19 And Jesus arose, and followed him, and so did his disciples. 

They were together but all of them responded to the request, Jesus rising up and the disciples following. This beginning of a miracle is framed by another request for healing, the woman with an extended, painful, and difficult disorder. We can see from the Gospel of Mark that Jesus performed miracles, and they were so many that they were grouped together. 

A delightful German woman in Ontario had this to say to people who never went to church. "So you are better than Jesus?" The targets would say, "Oh no. I am not saying I am better than Jesus." She always responded, "You must be better than Jesus because he prayed in the synagogue." Jesus' prayers are emphasized in all four Gospels. Miracles are offensive among the modernists, who want the blessings of the Gospel but not faith of Jesus. Others take these celestial matters for granted, as if everything else was important but not what belongs to God Himself.

20 And, behold, a woman, which was diseased with an issue of blood twelve years, came behind him, and touched the hem of his garment:

This is the well known miracle concerning the woman who was suffering from a long-lasting disorder - 12 years. She had so much faith in Jesus - faith comes from hearing the Gospel - Romans 10 - that she was confident of His healing power. On the other hand, Jesus knew the thoughts and understanding of all those around Him. She did not need to touch His robe, but it was good for the crowd to realize what was happening. That spread the Gospel but also incited the works-righteous who found many ways to be offended.

22 But Jesus turned him about, and when he saw her, he said, Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole. And the woman was made whole from that hour.

Luke 8:43ff has a lot more details.

Mark 5:25ff has details similar to Luke.

This collection of three stories annoys the skeptics because they want everything smooth and rational. Their little-faith content concerns the Son of God having this power, so the writers and editors want to make it smooth and not offensive in any way. That leads to people changing the facts and also exaggerating what they want to enlarge. As Nils A. Dahl said, "What do we know for certain? The text! That is what we know."

The text is the very Word of God, and we should honor that and be patient with the difficulties of life. When we are young, we are impatient about everything. Decades later, we marvel at how fast things went and even how well the worst situations turned out.

23 And when Jesus came into the ruler's house, and saw the minstrels and the people making a noise, 

This is especially dramatic. Everyone is already in mourning and certain of the facts. The young lady has passed away and they are engaged in carrying out their duties. The noisy mourners are completely wrong, relying on the problem rather than the divine solution. We can glean quite a lot from a few Biblical miracles:

1. They may not happen immediately.
2. They can take a very long time to reveal themselves.
3. They can take place anywhere .
4. They can be expressed in many ways.

24 He said unto them, Give place: for the maid is not dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed him to scorn. 

The truth of Jesus the Messiah is met by laughter and scorn. That is how the Gospel moves forward. Those who harden themselves against the Savior may see their foolishness at times and repent. Here the mourners make matters worse by being coarse and obnoxious. 

Luke 8:47 And when the woman saw that she was not hid, she came trembling, and falling down before him, she declared unto him before all the people for what cause she had touched him, and how she was healed immediately.

48 And he said unto her, Daughter, be of good comfort: thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace.

49 While he yet spake, there cometh one from the ruler of the synagogue's house, saying to him, Thy daughter is dead; trouble not the Master.

50 But when Jesus heard it, he answered him, saying, Fear not: believe only, and she shall be made whole.

Luke 8:51 And when he came into the house, he suffered no man to go in, save Peter, and James, and John, and the father and the mother of the maiden. 52 And all wept, and bewailed her: but he said, Weep not; she is not dead, but sleepeth. 53 And they laughed him to scorn, knowing that she was dead. 54 And he put them all out, and took her by the hand, and called, saying, Maid, arise. 55 And her spirit came again, and she arose straightway: and he commanded to give her meat.

25 But when the people were put forth, he went in, and took her by the hand, and the maid arose. 26 And the fame hereof went abroad into all that land.

Jesus response was not to bring fire and brimstone down on the scornful noise-makers. He shocked them the greatest possible way, by taking the young girl's hand so they could feel the sting of their foolishness, the joy of her parents.

America is going through a chastening. People laughed with scorn over a real estate tycoon running for president. His faults were piled up to heaven, but he won the first election. The second election had 15 million (or more) extra votes - higher than either 2016 or 2024. People laughed that he could get past all the obstacles on his way to the 2024 election, including a bullet wound and another attempt.

If we continue on this course of promoting trafficking, abortion, toxic drugs, and every style of life except the traditional family, we will experience fire come down from heaven, as it did before, with Sodom and Gomorrah, Genesis 13 - and Romans 1:28-32.