“Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness” (Matt.3:15).   Luther writes “do you think it was a joke that the heavens opened when Christ was baptized, that the Holy Spirit descended visibly, and that the divine glory and majesty were manifested everywhere?” (Large Catechism, “Baptism” 21).   God’s approval shines in the baptism of His only begotten Son, as Luther also points out: “God Himself has honored it by both words and deeds and

“A voice was heard in Ramah, Lamentation, weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, Refusing to be comforted, Because they are no more” (Matt.2:18).   This verse from Jeremiah 31:15 is fulfilled in the slaughter by Herod over his terrific fear of Jesus, the One born “King of the Jews” (Matt.2:2). The deranged King unleashes a murderous rampage on all male children in Bethlehem and its surrounding districts two years old and under. His rage has no bounds, j

“Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?” (Matt.11:2).   Jeffery Gibbs writes “John’s question has occupied interpreters for centuries.” Taken at face value, it means the Baptist is seeking some sort of confirmation on Jesus’ identity in a time of doubt, an interpretation that’s not easy to stomach. Wasn’t John the fulfillment of Malachi 3:1, “Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, Who will prepare Your way before You”? How could the one who once preached “B

“Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.”   Jesus lays out ways to handle sin in Matthew 18:15-20. This isn’t about that, but the aftermath once the dust has settled. You start afresh only to find the pain remains and some memories just won’t die.   This idea needs attention, “I forgive them, but I won’t forget what they did.” Just what ar

The Beatitudes of Jesus: Matthew 5:1-12   A quick glance might conclude the Beatitudes are just more ethical requirements for Christians seeking blessing before God. This would make them Law, another “do this and you shall live” demand on the Christian. We can’t dismiss this entirely, for their function as Law really hits home when we see our failures to be meek, pure, or peacemakers. However, a simple reduction of the Beatitudes to pure Law might be missing much of what our

Do not exalt yourself in the presence of the king, And do not stand in the place of the great; For it is better that he say to you, “Come...

“Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”   The Holy Scriptures record numerous bouts between Jesus and His opponents over the Sabbath....

“The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified” John 12:23   The crucifixion is coming, as Jesus is like a grain of wheat...

“And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according...