Mid-Week Lenten
Vespers, 2020
Pastor Gregory L.
Jackson
The Psalmody
Psalm 24
p. 128
The Lections The Passion History
The Lections The Passion History
The Sermon – Before Abraham Was, I AM
The Prayers
The Lord’s Prayer
Jesus Is I AM
Exodus 3 13 And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them?
14 And God said unto Moses, I Am That I Am: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I Am hath sent me unto you.
15 And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, the Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.
John 8:56 Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad.
57 Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham?
58 Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I Am.
59 Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.
The Burning Bush had two natures, the bush and the fire, but the fire did not consume the bush. Lutherans have viewed this by itself as symbolic of the Two Natures of Christ, His human and divine natures, united in One Person. The Angel of the Lord was not simply an angel but the Son of God before His incarnation. Exodus 3 clearly states that God spoke to Moses.
The Gospel of John is especially clear about Jesus being the Son of God working in harmony with the Father. The divinity and power of the Savior are testified in many different passage, in many ways.
Thousands of people had a chance to see and hear Jesus speak these clear words in His travels. There were many reactions:
- Some became followers and remained with Him.
- Others started out as followers and walked away.
- Still others became enemies and planned to kill Him.
The connection in this passage should be compelling to people, especially to Lutherans, even more so to the ones who call themselves the pure, the conservative, the orthodox Lutherans.
Abraham is a key figure for the Jewish people. This is brought up with the leaders claiming Abraham as their father and mocking Jesus for saying Abraham believed in Him.
John 8:56 Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day: and he saw it, and was glad.
Abraham believed in Jesus the Messiah, long before His birth, and because he believed, he was justified. God counted this faith as righteousness.
This passage shows the harmony between Paul's Gospel, Genesis and John. In this case, it is Jesus looking backward in time. Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it, and was glad.
Paul wrote almost the same words, quoting Genesis 15:6, and taught exactly the same thing as John's Gospel.
How can three books be in complete harmony when they span so much time and different human authors? When we deal with people who invent dogma and stick to that dogma, they constantly contradict each other or themselves.
This is what Henry Eyster Jacobs called the internal evidence of the divine origin of the Scriptures.
Second Greek Lesson
ΚΑΤΑ ΙΩΑΝΝΗΝ 1 1550 Stephanus New Testament (TR1550)
1 εν αρχη ην ο λογος και ο λογος ην προς τον θεον και θεος ην ο λογος
2 ουτος ην εν αρχη προς τον θεον
3 παντα δι αυτου εγενετο και χωρις αυτου εγενετο ουδε εν ο γεγονεν
4 εν αυτω ζωη ην και η ζωη ην το φως των ανθρωπων
5 και το φως εν τη σκοτια φαινει και η σκοτια αυτο ου κατελαβεν
ην - six times, was, 3 person s. imperf.
red indicates base for English words
Basic rules for translating:
1. Do not have an English Bible open.
2. Look for words you know - this list will grow.
3. Never write in any English words - that decreases the words we know.
4. Read passages out loud to grow familiar with the words.
5. Study some Greek each day.
6. Use Paine. Paine and Greek go together.
