Sexagesima Sunday 2021, Luke 8:4-15

Video of this service is linked here.

Sexagesima Sunday, 2021

Pastor Gregory L. Jackson

https://video.ibm.com/channel/bethany-lutheran-worship

Bethany Lutheran Worship and Education Videos

The Hymn #318               Before Thee God, Who Knowest All                      

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

O God, who seest that we put not our trust in anything that we do, mercifully grant that by Thy power we may be defended against all adversity; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, who liveth, etc.

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 #339   All Hail the Power              

Keeping the Word of God

The Hymn #312          Lord Jesus Christ, Thou Living Bread                             

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 #46       On What Has Now Been Sown        

 Norma A. Boeckler

Prayers and Announcements

• Treatment and recovery - Rush Limbaugh, Christina Jackson, Mary Howell.
• Pray for our country and our elected President as major trials continue.
• Thanksgiving - Glen Kotten is doing well.
•  Ash Wednesday begins the Galatians study. On Sundays, the Luke Bible study will be followed by Genesis.

SEXAGESIMA SUNDAY

Lord God, heavenly Father, we thank Thee, that through Thy Son Jesus Christ Thou hast sown Thy holy word among us: We pray that Thou wilt prepare our hearts by Thy Holy Spirit, that we may diligently and reverently hear Thy word, keep it in good hearts, and bring forth fruit with patience; and that we may not incline to sin, but subdue it by Thy power, and in all persecutions comfort ourselves with Thy grace and continual help, through Thy beloved Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen.

2 Corinthians 11:19 For ye suffer fools gladly, seeing ye yourselves are wise. 20 For ye suffer, if a man bring you into bondage, if a man devour you, if a man take of you, if a man exalt himself, if a man smite you on the face.  21 I speak as concerning reproach, as though we had been weak. Howbeit whereinsoever any is bold, (I speak foolishly,) I am bold also.  22 Are they Hebrews? so am I. Are they Israelites? so am I. Are they the seed of Abraham? so am I.  23 Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as a fool ) I am more; in labours more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft.  24 Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one.  25 Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep;  26 In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren;  27 In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness.  28 Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches.  29 Who is weak, and I am not weak? who is offended, and I burn not?  30 If I must needs glory, I will glory of the things which concern mine infirmities.  31 The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which is blessed for evermore, knoweth that I lie not.  32 In Damascus the governor under Aretas the king kept the city of the Damascenes with a garrison, desirous to apprehend me:  33 And through a window in a basket was I let down by the wall, and escaped his hands. 12:1 It is not expedient for me doubtless to glory. I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord.  2 I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven.  3 And I knew such a man, (whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;)  4 How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.  5 Of such an one will I glory: yet of myself I will not glory, but in mine infirmities.  6 For though I would desire to glory, I shall not be a fool; for I will say the truth: but now I forbear, lest any man should think of me above that which he seeth me to be, or that he heareth of me.  7 And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. 8 For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.  9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

By Norma A. Boeckler

KJV Luke 8:4 And when much people were gathered together, and were come to him out of every city, he spake by a parable:  5 A sower went out to sow his seed: and as he sowed, some fell by the way side; and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured it.  6 And some fell upon a rock; and as soon as it was sprung up, it withered away, because it lacked moisture.  7 And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprang up with it, and choked it.  8 And other fell on good ground, and sprang up, and bare fruit an hundredfold. And when he had said these things, he cried, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. 9 And his disciples asked him, saying, What might this parable be?  10 And he said, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand. 11 Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. 12 Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. 13 They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away. 14 And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection. 15 But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.

Keeping the Word of God

Introduction to Luke 8:4ff

The parables of Jesus are fictional short stories, designed to convey a message within a picture (like this one, sowing seed) or a plot (the Prodigal Son, the Good Samaritan). They are introduced as parables in some cases and in other cases, they are parables without the title. We take them for granted, but we should not, because they are intended to stick to our memories and to increase in importance as we dwell on their meaning. We can never exhaust the meaning of a given passage, because the Word of God is always energized by the Spirit, always powerful and effective. They are for believers only. Those without faith or who have lost faith will hear them and not grasp the meaning. They will see the words but be blinded by the Word. However, those with sincere hearts who listen to the Word of God will be fruitful from the Spirit at work. We are fickle and easily distracted, so God employs many tools to keep us in His flock. The parables are very powerful in doing that.

KJV Luke 8:4 And when much people were gathered together, and were come to him out of every city, he spake by a parable: 5 A sower went out to sow his seed: and as he sowed, some fell by the way side; and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured it.

If people read one passage or another, they miss the impact of so many crowds gathering to meet Jesus. John the Baptist continued what the Star of Bethlehem promised, announcing the Messiah and His message of repentance and faith in Him.

In each and every case, the crowds alarmed the Roman government and the priestly class. This built up animosity and fear, because a movement so popular was difficult to suppress.

Jesus began with a parable, one which many know by heart. The opening is very much in the Old Testament Hebrew style of using a word to serve as noun and verb, but this is in Greek, which had become the main language. "The seeder went out to seed the seed, and in seeding..." is relatively close to the Greek play on words. 

εξηλθεν ο σπειρων του σπειραι τον σπορον αυτου και εν τω σπειρειν

This repetition of the same word in various forms emphasizes seed, which we know is the Word of God. The first example is seed that falls onto the pathways, is stepped on into the soil, and is eaten by birds. They are very keen about digging up food in shallow soil, so they are a perfect example of the Word being taught but tramped down in various ways and taken by Satan.

The parables are not for everyone to know and believe. That seems to be a contradiction when we first learn it, and that is not an interpretation but the message from Jesus Himself. Those who idly listen or pay attention out of curiosity lose the Word. There might be a beginning of interest, but one of Satan's Little Helpers will come along and trample the Word so his Father Below can keep his kingdom strong. It works like this. There is the Word first, which is God's program to gather and keep His flock. An unbeliever is alerted to this interest in a person and dashes faith with various tools - ridicule, astonishment, pointing out bad experiences:

1. You can't possibly fall for that!
2. You pay attention to him?
3. Remember that church you left 20 years ago? They are all the same.

This is a warning from Jesus. Some think "keeping the Word" can be a casual acquaintance with God's Word. The word for "keep" is used for guarding someone or some precious object. The eternal Word is not sent out by God as something to be dismissed, ignored, or opposed.

"But I thought the Word was always effective!" So the Word is, but that means effective in converting or hardening, effective in enlightening or blinding. A powerline is effective in lighting up part of a city, but also in exploding and starting fires. We watched the Midland flood grow, years ago, and as the water rose, transformers blew up - impressive fireworks - suddenly useless transformers.

Modern rejective of the English Bible began in 1881, when the Revision of the KJV was published. At the same time, the team of Wescott and Hort published their new Greek New Testament, which was designed to set aside the KJV and replace it with the The Revised Version. Never heard of it? That was a total flop, but the anti-KJV (anti-traditional text) gradually took over. All the major modern Bibles - NIV, ESV, Good News, NASB, New Living, etc partake in this travesty. One example is the relatively "conservative" NASB, which includes the story of the adulterous woman in John 7 - but lo - there is a footnote - "

1. John 7:53 Later manuscripts add the story of the adulterous woman, numbering it as John 7:53-8:11. NASB

So this NASB is saying, like the rest, but less boldly - "This does not belong in the Gospel of John or in the Bible. Don't be fooled by the KJV."

Wescott and Hort delighted in removing words and verses from the New Testament, and this really set the stage early for rejecting the divinity of Christ, His Virgin Birth, and His Resurrection. 

6 And some fell upon a rock; and as soon as it was sprung up, it withered away, because it lacked moisture. 

This follows the example of seed growing and withering away from lack of moisture. I had a birdfeeder in New Ulm where the seed fell onto roofing with fine soil and dead leaves, an ideal place for sprouting. Sunflowers germinated quickly in the sun, but that stopped with the steady rains. The power of the sun dried them up and they blew away in the wind.

This happens among temporary believers when they hear the saving Truth of the Gospel, faith in Jesus Christ, and are overjoyed. If someone has never known forgiveness, complete and full and free, from faith in the Savior - it is a great moment. It may last for a while, but when trials come along, people say, "This is not for me. My life is worse than before and I have no friends."

This is what Jesus calls trials, temptations, the way of the Cross. Faithfulness to Christ will always be met by blessings but also by hard knocks on the head. If a minister wants to be comfortable, popular, and wealthy, he has to avoid antagonizing the somewhat faithful with the Gospel. The negative side seems overwhelming because the Kingdom opposite God's - The Kingdom of Satan - is unwilling to give up a single adherent, and they always recruit more. 

Shallow pastors are a great boon to the Kingdom of Satan. They give the impression of Christianity, but they only want the good parts, never the cross.

 8 And other fell on good ground, and sprang up, and bare fruit an hundredfold. And when he had said these things, he cried, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. 9 And his disciples asked him, saying, What might this parable be? 

As many have experienced, when seed falls on good (productive) ground, the fruitfulness is so great that it more than makes up for the losses. "15 But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it [guard it], and bring forth fruit with patience."

So this is not only a parable about the power of the efficacious Word, but also about those who appreciate the Gospel, guard it with their hearts and minds, and patiently bear fruit over all the years, though many years may seem like a fruitless battle.

The scattering of the Word should mean to us that we have such a precious commodity from God that it should be shared in various ways. I know Audio Gutenberg is posted on every possible spot on Facebook.

So is Norma Boeckler's Christian artwork.

Likewise, I separate the introduction to the sermon and post that - and 35 or so people respond to it. There is no waste is sharing broadly.

One person questioned our online services - a mode he does not care for. I pointed the origin of them, among a few scattered families. Now the total is 30,000 views. Not per year, but from the beginning. He was startled by that. So was I. 

I thought we had a good bunch of books to offer free, dozens of free PDFs. Now the total from the Lutheran Library Publishing Ministry is 270+. We can say that free library is an enviable total for any student, pastor, or layman to have on hand. I buy books and obtain free books for projects so I have to send them on. I explained to Christina, "If I kept them all, we would have to pitch a tent in the backyard for sleeping."

The power and efficacy of the Word is shown in our growth in understanding the Scriptures and then our ability to communicate the Word.

 Norma A. Boeckler designed the Bethany altar
and created this photograph of it.

Luther's Sermon on the Parable of the Sower, Luke 8, Sexagesima Sunday

SEXAGESIMA SUNDAY.
   


TEXT:

Luke 8:4-15. And when a great multitude came together, and they of every city resorted unto him, he spake by a parable:

The sower went forth to sow his seed: and as he sowed, some fell by the way side; and it was trodden under foot, and the birds of the heaven devoured it. And other fell amidst the thorns; and the thorns grew with it, and choked it. And other fell into the good ground, and grew, and brought forth fruit a hundredfold. As he said these things, he cried, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

And his disciples asked him what this parable might be. And he said, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to the rest in parables; that seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand. Now the parable is this: The seed is the Word of God. And those by the way side are they that have heard; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the Word from their heart, that they may not believe and be saved. And those on the rock are they who, when they have heard, receive the Word with joy; and these have no root, who for a while believe, and in the time of temptation fall away. And that which fell among the thorns, these are they that have heard, and as they go on their way they are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection. And that in the good ground, these are such as in an honest and good heart, having heard the Word, hold it fast, and bring forth fruit with patience.


I. THE NATURE OF THE WORD SPOKEN HERE.

1. This Gospel treats of the disciples and the fruits, which the Word of God develops in the world. It does not speak of the law nor of human institutions; but, as Christ himself says, of the Word of God, which he himself the sower preaches, for the law bears no fruit, just as little as do the institutions of men. Christ however sets forth here four kinds of disciples of the divine Word.

II. THE DISCIPLES OF THIS WORD.

2. The first class of disciples are those who hear the Word but neither understand nor esteem it. And these are not the mean people in the world, but the greatest, wisest and the most saintly, in short they are the greatest part of mankind; for Christ does not speak here of those who persecute the Word nor of those who fail to give their ear to it, but of those who hear it and are students of it, who also wish to be called true Christians and to live in Christian fellowship with Christians and are partakers of baptism and the Lord’s Supper. But they are of a carnal heart, and remain so, failing to appropriate the Word of God to themselves, it goes in one ear and out the other. Just like the seed along the wayside did not fall into the earth, but remained lying on the ground in the wayside, because the road was tramped hard by the feet of man and beast and it could not take root.

3. Therefore Christ says the devil cometh and taketh away the Word from their heart, that they may not believe and be saved. What power of Satan this alone reveals, that hearts, hardened through a worldly mind and life, lose the Word and let it go, so that they never understand or confess it; but instead of the Word of God Satan sends false teachers to tread it under foot by the doctrines of men. For it stands here written both that it was trodden under foot, and the birds of the heaven devoured it. The birds Christ himself interprets as the messengers of the devil, who snatch away the Word and devour it, which is done when he turns and blinds their hearts so that they neither understand nor esteem it, as St. Paul says in 2 Timothy 4:4: “They will turn away their ears from the truth, and turn aside unto fables.” By the treading under foot of men Christ means the teachings of men, that rule in our hearts, as he says in Matthew 5:13 also of the salt that has lost its savor, it is cast out and trodden under foot of men; that is, as St. Paul says in 2 Thessalonians 2:11, they must believe a lie because they have not been obedient to the truth.

4. Thus all heretics, fanatics and sects belong to this number, who understand the Gospel in a carnal way and explain it as they please, to suit their own ideas, all of whom hear the Gospel and yet they bear no fruit, yea, more, they are governed by Satan and are harder oppressed by human institutions than they were before they heard the Word. For it is a dreadful utterance that Christ here gives that the devil taketh away the Word from their hearts, by which he clearly proves that the devil rules mightily in their hearts, notwithstanding they are called Christians and hear the Word.

Likewise it sounds terribly that they are to be trodden under foot, and must be subject unto men and to their ruinous teachings, by which under the appearance and name of the Gospel the devil takes the Word from them, so that they may never believe and be saved, but must be lost forever; as the fanatical spirits of our day do in all lands. For where this Word is not, there is no salvation, and great works or holy lives avail nothing, for with this, that he says: “They shall not be saved,” since they have not the Word, he shows forcibly enough, that not their works but their faith in the Word alone saves, as Paul says to the Romans: “It is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth.” Romans 1:16.

5. The second class of hearers are those who receive the Word with joy, but they do not persevere. These are also a large multitude who understand the Word correctly and lay hold of it in its purity without any spirit of sect, division or fanaticism, they rejoice also in that they know the real truth, and are able to know how they may be saved without works through faith.

They also know that they are free from the bondage of the law, of their conscience and of human teachings; but when it comes to the test that they must suffer harm, disgrace and loss of life or property, then they fall and deny it; for they have not root enough, and are not planted deep enough in the soil. Hence they are like the growth on a rock, which springs forth fresh and green, that it is a pleasure to behold it and it awakens bright hopes. But when the sun shines hot it withers, because it has no soil and moisture, and only rock is there. So these do; in times of persecution they deny or keep silence about the Word, and work, speak and suffer all that their persecutors mention or wish, who formerly went forth and spoke, and confessed with a fresh and joyful spirit the same, while there was still peace and no heat, so that there was hope they would bear much fruit and serve the people. For these fruits are not only the works, but more the confession, preaching and spreading of the Word, so that many others may thereby be converted and the kingdom of God be developed.

6. The third class are those who hear and understand the Word, but still it falls on the other side of the road, among the pleasures and cares of this life, so that they also do nothing with the Word. And there is quite a large multitude of these; for although they do not start heresies, like the first, but always possess the absolutely pure Word, they are also not attacked on the left as the others with opposition and persecution; yet they fall on the right side, and it is their ruin that they enjoy peace and good days. Therefore they do not earnestly give themselves to the Word, but become indifferent and sink in the cares, riches and pleasures of this life, so that they are of no benefit to any one. Therefore they are like the seed that fell among the thorns. Although it is not rocky but good soil; not wayside but deeply plowed soil; yet, the thorns will not let it spring up, they choke it. Thus these have all in the Word that is needed for their salvation, but they do not make any use of it, and they rot in this life in carnal pleasures. To these belong those who hear the Word but do not bring under subjection their flesh. They know their duty but do it not, they teach but do not practice what they teach, and are this year as they were last.

7. The fourth class are those who lay hold of and keep the Word in a good and honest heart, and bring forth fruit with patience, those who hear the Word and steadfastly retain it, meditate upon it and act in harmony with it.

The devil does not snatch it away, nor are they thereby led astray, moreover the heat of persecution does not rob them of it, and the thorns of pleasure and the avarice of the times do not hinder its growth; but they bear fruit by teaching others and by developing the kingdom of God, hence they also do good to their neighbor in love; and therefore Christ adds, “they bring forth fruit with patience.” For these must suffer much on account of the Word, shame and disgrace from fanatics and heretics, hatred and jealousy with injury to body and property from their persecutors, not to mention what the thorns and the temptations of their own flesh do, so that it may well be called the Word of the cross; for he who would keep it must bear the cross and misfortune, and triumph.

8. He says: “In honest and good hearts.” Like a field, that is without a thorn or brush, cleared and spacious, as a beautiful clean place: so a heart is also cleared and clean, broad and spacious, that is without cares and avarice as to temporal needs, so that the Word of God truly finds lodgment there. But the field is good, not only when it lies there cleared and level, but when it is also rich and fruitful, possesses soil and is productive, and not like a stony and gravelly field. Just so is the heart that has good soil and with a full spirit is strong, fertile and good to keep the Word and bring forth fruit with patience.

9. Here we see why it is no wonder there are so few true Christians, for all the seed does not fall into good ground, but only the fourth and small part; and that they are not to be trusted who boast they are Christians and praise the teaching of the Gospel; like Demas, a disciple of St. Paul, who forsook him at last, 2 Timothy 4:10; like the disciples of Jesus, who turned their backs to him. John 6:66. For Christ himself cries out here: “He that hath ears to hear, let him hear,” as if he should say: O, how few true Christians there are; one dare not believe all to be Christians who are called Christians and hear the Gospel, more is required than that.

10. All this is spoken for our instruction, that we may not go astray, since so many misuse the Gospel and few lay hold of it aright. True it is unpleasant to preach to those who treat the Gospel so shamefully and even oppose it. For preaching is to become so universal that the Gospel is to be proclaimed to all creatures, as Christ says in Mark 16:15: “Preach the Gospel to the whole creation;” and Psalm 19:4: “Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world.” What business is it of mine that many do not esteem it? It must be that many are called but few are chosen. For the sake of the good ground that brings forth fruit with patience, the seed must also fall fruitless by the wayside, on the rock and among the thorns; inasmuch as we are assured that the Word of God does not go forth without bearing some fruit, but it always finds also good ground; as Christ says here, some seed of the sower falls also into good ground, and not only by the wayside, among the thorns and on stony ground. For where-ever the Gospel goes you will find Christians. “My word shall not return unto me void.” Isaiah 55:11.

III. THE FRUIT OF THIS WORD.

11. Here observe that Mark 4:8 and Matthew 13:8 say the seed yielded fruit some thirty, some sixty and some a hundredfold, which according to all interpretations is understood of three kinds of chastity, that of virgins, married persons and widows; and virgins are credited with a hundredfold of fruit, wedded persons with thirtyfold, the least of all, and widows with sixtyfold. But this is such coarse and corrupt talk that it is a sin and a shame that this interpretation has continued so long in Christendom and has been advocated by so many noted teachers, and criticized by none of them. In this one perceives how many wide-awake, well-armed and faithful teachers the church has had heretofore, and how one blindly believed another, and how God allowed many noted saints and people to play the fool so completely in these important matters pertaining to the soul that he warned us to believe no teacher, however saintly and great he may be, unless he comes with the pure Word of God.

12. First, it would be doing the Word of God injustice to hold that it brings forth no other fruit than chastity, since St. Paul boasts quite differently in Galatians 5:22. In brief, the Word of God accomplishes all good, it makes us wise, sensible, prudent, cautious, pious, kind, patient, faithful, discreet, chaste, etc. Hence this comment referring only to three kinds of chastity is wholly unchristian. The heathen and wicked people, who neither possess the Gospel nor persecute it, have also virgins, widows and married persons. Doubtless Anna and Caiaphas had been properly married. Thus there were virgins, widows and consorts before the Word of God; for virgins were born, and when the Gospel comes it finds virgins, widows and wives; the Gospel did not first make them virgins, widows or wives.

13. Secondly, thus marriage, virginity and widowhood are not fruits, nor virtues, nor good works; but three stations or states in life created and ordained by God, and are not creatures of our power. They are divine works and creations like all other creatures. For if it should be valid to interpret a station or state in life as good fruit, one would have to say the state of a lord, a servant, a man, a child and of officers was only fruit of the Gospel; in this way there would be no fruit at all left for the Gospel, since such states or callings are found everywhere regardless of the Gospel. But the chastity of virgins is paraded thus for the sake of a show, to the great danger and injury of immortal souls; just as if no virtue adorns a Christian but virginity.

14. I will say further, that chastity is a different and a far higher thing than virginity, and is nothing more than that a woman has never been under any obligation to a man. Besides, however, it is possible that a virgin has not only a desire and a passion for man, in harmony with the character and nature of her female body; but she must also be full of blood and life in order to bear children and multiply the race, for which God created her, and that creation is not her work but God’s alone. Therefore that woman may not hinder God’s work, nature as created by God must take its course, whether children be born or not. But chastity must indeed be a state of a woman’s mind that has no or little desire for man, and has in her body also little or no seed to bear fruit or children.

15. Now it is generally the case that a married woman does not so often experience such desire and lust, such a flow of love or life; for she will be relieved of the same by or through her husband; and besides, where a virgin has only passion in the thoughts of her heart and in the seed of her body, a married woman has much displeasure mingled with the pleasure of her husband, so that to speak in common terms, the high and best chastity is in the married state, because in it is the least lust and passion, while the least chastity is in the state of virgins, because in it there is much more lust and passion. Therefore chastity is a virtue far above virginity; for we call a bride still a virgin, although she is indeed full of desire, passion and love for her bridegroom. Chastity waves high over all three states, over marriage, over widowhood and over virginity. But when God does not work wonders it sinks low and exists most in the married state and least in the state of virgins, and there are not three kinds of chastity, but three states of chastity.

16. True, when we consider virginity according to its outward appearance, it seems great that a woman restrains herself and never satisfies her desires with a man. But what does it help if persons restrain their passions longer without a man or a woman and then satisfy them more than with a man or woman? Is there not more unchastity where there is greater lust, love, lewdness and sensation than where there is less? Therefore to calculate according to the amount of lust and sensation, as unchastity should be considered, virginity is more unchaste than the state of marriage. This is very apparent among prostitutes, who are virgins and yet are very forward and obscene, and cherish greater thoughts of the sin than the sin itself is. In short, I wonder if there is a virgin twenty years of age, who has a healthy, perfect female body.

17. This is enough concerning chastity, that we know how the fruits of the Word must be understood differently and in a wider sense than pertaining to chastity, and be applied especially to the fruits, by which many are converted and come to the knowledge of the truth. For although works are also called fruits, yet Christ speaks here especially of the fruits the seed of the Word brings forth in hearts that become enlightened, believing, happy and wise in Christ, as St. Paul says in Romans 1:13: “That I might have some fruit in you also, even as in the rest of the Gentiles;” and Colossians 1:6: “Even as the Gospel is also in all the world bearing fruit and increasing, as it doth in you also;” that is, many will be made alive through the Gospel, delivered from their sins and be saved; for it is the characteristic work of the Gospel, as the Word of life, grace and salvation to release from sin, death and Satan. In harmony with this fruit follow the fruits of the Spirit, the good works of patience, love, faithfulness, etc.

18. Now that some seed brings forth thirty, some sixty, and some a hundred fold, means that more people will be converted in some places than in others, and one apostle and minister may preach farther and more than another; for the people are not everywhere alike numerous and do not report the same number of Christians, and one minister may not preach as many sermons or cover as great a territory as another, which God foresaw and ordained. To the words of St. Paul, who preached the farthest and the most, we may indeed ascribe the hundredfold of fruit; although he was not a virgin.

IV. WHY CHRIST CALLS THE DOCTRINE CONCERNING THE DISCIPLES AND THE FRUITS OF THE WORD A MYSTERY.

19. But what does it mean when he says: “Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of Gad”, etc.? What are the mysteries? Shall one not know them, why then are .they preached? A “mystery” is a hidden secret, that is not known: and the “mysteries of the kingdom of God” are the things in the kingdom of God, as for example Christ with all his grace, which he manifests to us, as Paul describes him; for he who knows Christ aright understands what God’s kingdom is and what is in it. And it is called a mystery because it is spiritual and secret, and indeed it remains so, where the spirit does not reveal it. For although there are many who see and hear it, yet they do not understand it. Just as there are many who preach and hear Christ, how he offered himself for us; but all that is only upon their tongue and not in their heart; for they themselves do not believe it, they do not experience it, as Paul in 1 Corinthians 2:14 says: “The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God.” Therefore Christ says here: “Unto you it is given”, the Spirit gives it to you that you not only hear and see it, but acknowledge and believe it with your heart. Therefore it is now no longer a mystery to you. But to the others who hear it as well as you, and have no faith in their heart, they see and understand it not; to them it is a mystery and it will continue unknown to them, and all that they hear is only like one hearing a parable or a dark saying. This is also proved by the fanatics of our day, who know so much to preach about Christ; but as they themselves do not experience it in their heart, they rush ahead and pass by the true foundation of the mystery and tramp around with questions and rare foundlings, and when it comes to the test they do not know the least thing about trusting in God and finding in Christ the forgiveness of their sins.

20. But Mark says, Mark 4:33, Christ spake therefore to the people with parables, that they might understand, each according to his ability.

How does that agree with what Matthew says, Matthew 13:13-14: He spake therefore unto them in parables, because they did not understand? It must surely be that Mark wishes to say that parables serve to the end that they may get a hold of coarse, rough people, although they do not indeed understand them, yet later, they may be taught and then they know: for parables are naturally pleasing to the common people, and they easily remember them since they are taken from common every day affairs, in the midst of which the people live. But Matthew means to say that these parables are of the nature that no one can understand them, they may grasp and hear them as often as they will, unless the Spirit makes them known and reveals them. Not that they should preach that we shall not understand them; but it naturally follows that wherever the Spirit does not reveal them, no one understands them. However, Christ took these words from Isaiah 6:9-10, where the high meaning of the divine foreknowledge is referred to, that God conceals and reveals to whom he will and whom he had in mind from eternity.

Clogged Sink

Some Additional Quotes from Westcott and Hort, Maybe Some Repeats

Wescott and Hort are the founding fathers of the modern Bible translation, because their attitude toward the Scriptures shaped their disgraceful, bigoted, faithless editing.

Quotes from 

http://www.alcorne.free-online.co.uk/w_and_hQ.htm

"I reject the word infallibility of Holy Scriptures overwhelmingly." (Westcott, The Life and Letters of Brook Foss Westcott, Vol. I, p.207).

"Our Bible as well as our Faith is a mere compromise." (Westcott, On the Canon of the New Testament, p.vii).

"Evangelicals seem to me perverted. . .There are, I fear, still more serious differences between us on the subject of authority, especially the authority of the Bible." (Hort, The Life and Letters of Fenton John Anthony Hort, Vol. I, p.400)

Dr. Wilbur Pickering writes that, "Hort did not hold to a high view of inspiration." (The Identity of the New Testament Text, p.212)

Perhaps this is why both the RV (which Westcott and Hort helped to translate) and the American edition of it, the ASV, translated 2 Timothy 3:16 as, "Every scripture inspired of God" instead of "All scripture is given by inspiration of God," (KJV).

"He never speaks of Himself directly as God, but the aim of His revelation was to lead men to see God in Him." (Westcott, The Gospel According to St. John, p. 297).

"(John) does not expressly affirm the identification of the Word with Jesus Christ." (Westcott, Ibid., p. 16).

"(Rev. 3:15) might no doubt bear the Arian meaning, the first thing created."(Hort, Revelation, p.36).

"No one now, I suppose, holds that the first three chapters of Genesis, for example, give a literal history. I could never understand how anyone reading them with open eyes could think they did." (Westcott, cited from Which Bible?, p. 191).

"But the book which has most engaged me is Darwin. Whatever may be thought of it, it is a book that one is proud to be contemporary with..... My feeling is strong that the theory is unanswerable." (Hort, cited from Which Bible?, p. 189)

"I wish I could see to what forgotten truth Mariolatry (the worship of the Virgin Mary) bears witness." (Westcott, Ibid. )

"The pure Romanish view seems to be nearer, and more likely to lead to the truth than the Evangelical." (Hort, Life and Letters, Vol. I, p. 77)

This comment is from the website

No less significant is the fact that both men were members of spiritist societies (the Hermes Club and the Ghostly Guild).

The Man Who Shaped Your Precious NIV and ESV

The following is quoted directly from Christian Forums

https://www.christianforums.com/threads/interesting-quotes-from-westcott-and-hort.7307183/

Brooke Foss Westcott (an Anglican bishop and professor at Cambridge University) and Fenton John Anthony Hort (also an ordained priest and professor at Cambridge) produced a Greek New Testament in 1881 based on the findings of Tischendorf. This Greek New Testament was the basis for the Revised Version of that same year. They also developed a theory of textual criticism which underlay their Greek New Testament and several other Greek New Testaments since (including the Nestle-Aland text).

Their interpretation is the basis of many New Testament bibles. but these two adhere to textual criticism which, in their judgement, invalidated certain passages of the bible. Textual Criticism referencing only these five sources:

Codex Vatican (B)
Codex Sinaiticus (Aleph)
Codex Alexandrian (A)
Codex Ephraemi (C)
Codex Bezae (D)
Whereas the KJB that isn't translated from the Westcott-Hort translation refences around 5000 original manuscripts.

Anyway see if you would want these men doing a Greek translation for you. Here's some of their own quotes from their own writings.

Concerning the Deity of Christ:​

"He never speaks of Himself directly as God, but the aim of His revelation was to lead men to see God in Him." (Westcott, The Gospel According to St. John, p. 297).

"(John) does not expressly affirm the identification of the Word with Jesus Christ." (Westcott, Ibid., p. 16). ​

Concerning the Scriptures:​

"I reject the infallibility of Holy Scriptures overwhelmingly." (Westcott, The Life and Letters of Brook Foss Westcott, Vol. I, p.207).

"Our Bible as well as our Faith is a mere compromise." (Westcott, On the Canon of the New Testament, p. vii).

"Evangelicals seem to me perverted. . .There are, I fear, still more serious differences between us on the subject of authority, especially the authority of the Bible." (Hort, The Life and Letters of Fenton John Anthony Hort, Vol. I, p.400) ​

Concerning Hell:​

"(Hell is) not the place of punishment of the guilty, (it is) the common abode of departed spirits. (Westcott, Historic Faith, pp.77-78). ​

"We have no sure knowledge of future punishment, and the word eternal has a far higher meaning." (Hort, Life and Letters, Vol. I, p.149). ​

Concerning Creation:​

"No one now, I suppose, holds that the first three chapters of Genesis, for example, give a literal history. I could never understand how anyone reading them with open eyes could think they did." (Westcott, cited from Which Bible?, p. 191).
"But the book which has most engaged me is Darwin. Whatever may be thought of it, it is a book that one is proud to be contemporary with..... My feeling is strong that the theory is unanswerable." (Hort, cited from Which Bible?, p. 189)

Concerning the Atonement:​

"I think I mentioned to you before Campbell's book on the Atonement, which is invaluable as far as it goes; but unluckily he knows nothing except Protestant theology." (Hort, Life and Letters, Vol. I, p. 322)
"The popular doctrine of substitution is an immoral and material counterfeit...nothing can be more unscriptural than the limiting of Christ's bearing our sins and sufferings to His death; but indeed that is only one aspect of an almost universal heresy." (Hort to Westcott, Life and Letters, Vol. I, p. 430)
"I confess I have no repugnance to the primitive doctrine of a ransom paid to Satan. I can see no other possible form in which the doctrine of a ransom is at all tenable; anything is better than the doctrine of a ransom to the father." (Hort, The First Epistle of St. Peter 1:1-2:17, p. 77).

Concerning Man:​

"It is of course true that we can only know God through human forms, but then I think the whole Bible echoes the language of Genesis 1:27 and so assures us that human forms are divine forms." (Hort to Westcott, August 14, 1860)
"Protestants (must) unlearn the crazy horror of the idea of Priesthood." (Hort, Life and Letters, Volume II, pp. 49-51)

Concerning Roman Catholicism:​

"I wish I could see to what forgotten truth Mariolatry (the worship of the Virgin Mary) bears witness." (Westcott, Ibid. )
"I have been persuaded for many years that Mary-Worship and Jesus-Worship have very much in common." (Hort, Life and Letters, Volume II, pp. 49-51)
"The pure Romanish view seems to be nearer, and more likely to lead to the truth than the Evangelical." (Hort, Life and Letters, Vol. I, p. 77)
"I agree with you in thinking it a pity that Maurice verbally repudiates purgatory . . . the idea of purgation, cleansing by fire, seems to me inseparable from what the Bible teaches us of the Divine chastisements." (Hort, Life and Letters, Vol. II, pp. 336,337)

Concerning the Cumulative Effect of Multiple Changes to the Manuscripts:

​

"It is quite impossible to judge the value of what appear to be trifling alterations merely by reading them one after another. Taken together, they have often important bearings which few would think of at first. . . The difference between a picture, say of Raffaelle, and a feeble copy of it is made up of a number of trivial differences. . . We have successfully resisted being warned off dangerous ground, where the needs of revision required that it should not be shirked. . . It is, one can hardly doubt, the beginning of a new period in Church history. So far the angry objectors have reason for their astonishment." (Hort, Life and Letters, Vol.I, pp. 138,139)

Unbelievable Biblical Text Rules - From The Bible Book

VI. Unbelievable Biblical Text Rules

from https://www.skypoint.com/members/waltzmn/CanonsOfCrit.html

            The Greek text behind the modern New Testaments does not exist anywhere except in the ever-changing minds of the text experts. The modern Greek New Testament is a jigsaw puzzle, not a uniform document. This approach goes back to text criticism in general and the Wescott Hort approach in particular. They kept their invented text a secret to all but the KJV Revision Committee, against the established rule for an unchanging text and modest editing of the English. They did not invite the world of Greek scholarship to see their work - until the moment the Revision was published in English. They published their new text the same year, and we are expected to think this was happenstance rather than a carefully constructed plan.

            However, we should look at the text editing rules, which are far more compelling than biographical information. When I was in seminary, I found a number of books on the topic in the clearance section of a Christian bookstore. I was intrigued by these rules at first, but soon I realized how self-serving and irrational they were. The apostates like to say, “The Bible did not float down from heaven. It is a man-made book.” There is no better description of the artificial, modern, man-made text and its editors.

The Text Editing Rules – in English

 

The shorter text is better.

Sinaiticus-Aleph and Vaticanus-B are the two manuscripts loved by Westcost and Hort, and they tend to drop words or shorten verses. If the shorter text is better, then we should drop words, phrases, and sections from the new Bibles. That facilitates the removal of the ending of Mark, the Johannine Comma, and the woman caught in adultery in John. Dropping of individual words is far more frequent than most people imagine, because we soon become used to what is missing or placed in a footnote. The favorite sources of Wescott Hort were Sinaiticus-Aleph and Vaticanus-B.

The best reading comes from the best source.

This issue was already decided, because the Minority Text with the fewest copies – now conveniently called The Standard Text – is constantly promoted by text critics, so the results are the best. This is circular reasoning, to say that readings that agree in Sinaiticus-Aleph and Vaticanus-B are the best because those two sources are known as the best.

The more difficult reading is preferred.

Difficult is defined as difficult for the traditional Christian, the believer. That makes any heretical text preferred because Christians have not taught that doctrinal lesson. Here we must draw aside the wizard’s curtain and expose him for pulling levers, blowing smoke, and shouting through loudspeakers. The activist Hort despised the Majority Text and loved finding samples that did not agree with traditional Christianity. This rule also assumes that Christianity was invented after a good teacher, a nice man, was killed by Roman soldiers and buried for good.  His disciples and Paul turned this into an ancient religion of miracles because Jesus rose from the dead “in their hearts.” That perfectly explains the ending of Mark at 16:8 – “for they were afraid.”

Manuscripts are weighed, not counted.

Does anyone see what they did with this? The vast majority of all New Testament texts belong to the Majority Text for a reason. Since “the best readings come from the best texts,” every modernist knows where to look and what to avoid. Thus the Majority Text is rejected by Wescott Hort and disciples for being the most accepted, the most used, the most familiar.

The Nestle-Aland GNT

This changes constantly, something Aland took pride in, perhaps because it is the toy of a few and no one can stop its influence now.

More of The Bible Book Christian Faith and the Greek Text Problem

 

 Lenski was replaced by a liberal at Cap Seminary.

III.  Christian Faith and the Greek Text Problem

           

The sole purpose of the Bible is to teach faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Word Incarnate. Long ago, Yale University taught the Scriptural revelation of the Virgin Birth of Christ and His Resurrection. However, rationalism grew in Europe in the 19^th century, and American academics trained in Germany brought back these ideas as  the new intellectual leaders of their denominations. A good example is Walter Rauschenbusch, whose epic 1917 Social Gospel lectures at Yale re-interpreted the ministry and message of Jesus. They changed the eternal Gospel into political and social activism. Every miracle had a rationalistic explanation, and Jesus was divine only in the way God shown through His transparency.

Two Biblical Views

            There are only two basic views of the Bible. One holds that the Spirit reveals God’s will, from the Creation to the end of time. The Scriptures are infallible and inerrant, the inerrancy term used recently because infallible was re-interpreted to mean “fallible in Biblical history and geography,” thanks to the influence of rationalism. This divide became more apparent as people were promoted or shunned for their views on the Bible. R. C. H. Lenski was silenced, shunned, and replaced as the New Testament Professor at the Capital University Seminary, for teaching inerrancy and insisting on it in the 1930 merger. Although Lenski remains one of the most respected New Testament scholars in print, he was followed by a professor who taught the opposite to the seminarians. Thus, inerrancy was retired with Professor Lenski although the ALC/TALC retained an image of conservatism until it merged with the AELC and LCA in 1987 to form ELCA (Every Left-wing Cause in America).

            As the Lutheran Library Publishing Ministry has shown, the Lutheran authors of the 19^th century were believers who taught faith in Christ and maintained an unequivocal trust in the truth of the Scriptures. That is what makes the books of Krauth, Jacobs, Schmauk, and many others so valuable today. They explain the Scriptures rather than substituting their own evasions for the truth.

            This change in Biblical views, so easily seen in all denominations today, is directly involved in replacing the faithful Greek text – the Majority Text or Traditional Text  of the KJV– for a constantly changing version of the Wescott Hort jigsaw puzzle. Wescott Hort, under the management of Nestle Alan, is now accepted as universal for all denominations. This Universal Bible Society text was marshaled by appealing to cooperation among Protestants and Roman Catholics and creatively paraphrased by the Eugene Nida translation theories. Now the present many versions of the Bible God Would Have Revealed If He Were As Wise as Wescott, Hort, Alan, and Nida.

            We are living in the Age of the Great Apostasy, the visible Church ruled by those who once believed the basics of the Christian Faith but now resent those blockheads who insist on the King James Version, the classic hymns, the historic liturgy. Apostasy is far more dangerous than atheism, because the liberated minds and consciences bitterly resent the old ways and those who represent them. Guided by their Father Below, they have systematically destroyed church music, the sermon, the liturgy, the Creeds, and the gracious message of forgiveness and salvation through Christ the Savior.

            This should alarm some people – those who attend seminary and college in their denomination are quietly guided to use every translation except one with King James in the title. Divinity schools offering genuine PhDs are even more exacting. The publication houses, hymnals, and educational materials are established in the same Wescott Hort world view, with great riches enjoyed by constantly replacing hymnals and other materials.

            Why do the denomination leaders go radical on books that advocate for the King James Version? If they want to use guilt by association, a logical fallacy treasured by many today, do they dare look closely at their heroes of text and Biblical scholarship?