Bethany Lutheran Church
Sunday worship, 10 AM
Pastor Gregory L. Jackson
The Zoom Link Is Here->https://us06web.zoom.us/j/86211445686?pwd=E3CAJIbElaWYb8I2pvR0Ky4qox2wXH.1
The YouTube link appears after the service.
Oh, deliver me from the deceitful and unjust man: for Thou art the God of my strength.
Psalm. Oh, send out Thy light and Thy truth: let them lead me; let them bring me unto Thy holy hill.
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation p. 19
The Epistle and Gradual
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
The Sermon Hymn #67 The Bridegroom Soon Will Call Us - Loy Translation
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 #410 Jesus Lead Thou On
- Randy Anderson is home; Sarah Buck; Lorie Howell, Dr. Kermit Way, Pastor and Mrs. Jim Shrader.
- Mid-Week Vespers, 7 PM
- Palm Sunday Holy Communion, 10 AM
- Holy Week - Maundy Thursday, Holy Communion 7 PM.
- Good Friday 7 PM.
- Easter Sunday Holy Communion, 10 AM.
KJV John 16:8 And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: 9 Of sin, because they believe not on me;
Luther:
1. This Gospel teaches how hardened persons become the more furious, the more one teaches them and lovingly stirs them to do their duty. For Christ asks them here in a very loving way for a reason why they still disbelieve, since they can find fault neither with his life nor with his teaching.
48 Then answered the Jews, and said unto him, Say we not well that thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil? 49 Jesus answered, I have not a devil; but I honour my Father, and ye do dishonour me. 50 And I seek not mine own glory: there is one that seeketh and judgeth.
The very nature of unbelief stirs up people to doubt, and those reactions are often quite hurtful in many ways - mocking the believing speaker, name-calling, obvious hatred, rejection, and various forms of guilt by association. However, that is where the battle begins, and it can be quite powerful.
The Holy Spirit works through the Word, and the Spirit is God, not something to ignore or dismiss. If people believe the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, they have a counselor (spokesman) who argues the case, which goes back to Creation. Nevertheless, people find escapes and fallacies that permit them - so they think - to oppose faith in the Savior, His Word, and His miracles.
51 Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death. 52 Then said the Jews unto him, Now we know that thou hast a devil. Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and thou sayest, If a man keep my saying, he shall never taste of death. 53 Art thou greater than our father Abraham, which is dead? and the prophets are dead: whom makest thou thyself?
The moderns like to modify Jesus because of their unbelief. But Jesus declared the truth to His opponents because that was His mission, and it meant they had reason to convict Him. Jesus was and is the dual threat, not just a threat. He endangered the Jewish state of that time, which could cause Rome to march in and subdue the land, destroying whatever they wished. Jesus made it possible to engage the Roman rulers to go along with this opposition against Him.
John 11:48 - 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.
The people who live luxuriously have reason to be afraid of losing their power, prestige, and cushy lifestyle. And they did - 30 years after the resurrection of Jesus, the Roman army arrived and leveled the Temple and city, taking away the people as slaves.
The unbelievers think they can stand behind Abraham as the father of faith, getting themselves into a quandary with Jesus, who claims He is before Abraham and all of them, and yet was seen and glorified by Abraham. That was impossible for them, to have Jesus in the past and Abraham glorified this future Redeemer.
54 Jesus answered, If I honour myself, my honour is nothing: it is my Father that honoureth me; of whom ye say, that he is your God: 55 Yet ye have not known him; but I know him: and if I should say, I know him not, I shall be a liar like unto you: but I know him, and keep his saying. 56 Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad.
This is a dialogue where only One is truly present. The scribes and Pharisees have a view of Jesus which is completely human while He is also divine, Two Natures in One, just as He is today with us - human/divine - walking ahead to lead us, bringing us to green pastures and fighting off the wolves.
Jesus aggravated the religious leaders because that was - and is - His mission, to awaken people with the Gospel of Faith in Him. The foundation of the early church was Judaism. They had the Scriptures as the Old Testament alone (for a time), where the historical epochs were described - with the Psalms and prophets. The apostolic age brought out the written New Testament as documents were being compiled. The wolves were present and active. John was perhaps the greatest of the disciples, certainly the longest living one, and yet he was plagued by Cerinthus who opposed him.
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.
This is an impossible statement, unless it comes from God. Only God could say this, and no one can really say or imagine it, Before Abraham - thousands of years ago - I am, or I was. The I AM is the Name of God, in Exodus 3. Moses saw the Burning Bush, which was to be a symbol of the Two Natures of Christ. God is know as the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob - foreshadowing the Trinity. But what is the Name of God? Tell me, Moses says, so I can give your Name. The voice says - I AM. Tell them I AM sent you.
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.
They picked up stones because Jesus was saying, "I spoke from the Burning Bush, just as earlier, Abraham saw My future of millions of people becoming believers and enjoying life eternal."
The stone throwing shows His time had not yet come. Everything was to be revealed in its time. His Two Natures are also implied because He was the center of focus and yet passed through them, just as He entered the locked room (emphasized twice) where the disciples were after His resurrection.
This was very early in the ministry of Jesus, and it shows us how region was filled with anxieties and hopes about the Messiah. Just as those times, we wonder and try to predict, but cannot know the exact future.
