Category: Catechesis

This is most certainly true… We all studied our Catechism’s in Confirmation class, but now as we get older that seems so far away! Revisit your Catechism and learn about all the cool things that still apply to you today!

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Catechesis

The Divine Service: The Hidden Glory of God

17 Rembrandt The Three Crosses (second state) 1653 Drypoint and burin printed on vellum, 381 x 438 mm Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York Rembrandt's romance with drypoint in the 1650s and 1660s is one of the important milestones in the history of printmaking. His inventiveness in this medium led to the creation of compositions that offered more complex visual information and variety of drama than previously had been imagined, and whereas earlier intaglio prints had been translucent and in general rather bodiless, Rembrandt's had a structure and richness of surface that approximate many of his great oil paintings. Moreover, they are illumined by an expressive power that never fails to pierce to the heart of things, whether the subject be, as it is here, a momentous scene from Scripture or the simplest study of still life. ....Web Gallery Of Art

Look around when you enter the sanctuary of your church. What catches your eye? If you were to walk with one of the saints from the Old Testament and go to the divine service in the tabernacle with them, you may have more in common with them than you think.

As you enter the tabernacle one element stands apart. The bronze altar lit up daily with consuming fire. The glory of the Lord came to the people through this altar. On this altar their iniquities went up in smoke. Their sins were burned up. On this altar, the priest made atonement for the transgressions of Israel.

In Leviticus, the Lord instructs the priests through Moses to bring several offerings to this altar.

“Moses said: ‘ This is what the Lord has commanded you to do, so that the glory of the Lord may appear to you. Then Moses said to Aaron: “Approach the altar and perform the ritual for your sin offering and your burnt ofering: make atonement for yourself and for the people. Then perform the ritual for the offering of the people; make atonement for them — just as the Lord has commanded” (Leviticus 9: 6–7)

The Lord commanded these offerings be brought by the people and He commanded the priest to offer these up on the altar, not for the sake of Himself, but for the forgiveness and reconciliation of His people to Himself. The Lord promised that the sins His people committed against Him would be wiped away, destroyed, forgiven.

The sins of Israel would be atoned for and the glory of the Lord would appear to them. This was the center and focus of the Old Testament divine service—and the center and focus of the divine service today.

The Apostle Paul writes, “These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ” (Colossians 2:17). As we come into the sanctuary of our churches, we may not see an altar lit with flames to which we bring beast and grain offerings. But, the divine service remains the same. It is through the sacrifice, the offering of atonement in which we are saved from the penalty of our sins, granted peace, and through which the glory of the Lord appears to us.

On the altar of the cross atonement has been made for our sins, just as the Lord first promised (Genesis 3:15). In Jesus’ death our sins are also dead in their power over us. The glory of God is hidden and revealed to us in Christ. He is the fulfillment of the Law and prophets, including Leviticus!

The holy Lamb undaunted came
To God’s own altar lit with flame;
While weeping angels hid their eyes,
This Priest became a sacrifice. (LSB 624)

The center of Leviticus is Christ, our Priest, crucified for us on the altar of the cross. John Kleinig writes about the divine service, “God had instituted the divine service in ancient Israel so that he could manifest his glory to his people on earth and bless them…In the new covenant, God’s glory is hidden in the humanity of Jesus and revealed to the saints through God’s Word.”

In the divine service we praise God in the Gloria in Excelsis for revealing His glory, His saving work for us in Christ, to us. In the absolution, in baptism, in the Lord’s Supper the atoning work of our Great High Priest is revealed to us. The glory of God dwells among us. Our Lord meets to forgive, sanctify, and bless us. Glory to God in the highest!

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Catechesis

Christ In, With, and Through the Church

“He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 1:6)

The book of Acts begins with these words from Luke, “In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach…” Jesus’ earthly ministry was only the beginning of His work. As we can see in throughout Acts, it is Jesus who is building His church. Jesus is always in His church, with His church, and works through His church. And He continues to be with, lead, and sanctify His church today.

Church is the place where you belong, but not because of the music, activities, or programs that may be offered. You belong in the church because you are a sinner. You belong in the church and have been placed into the church because you are a redeemed and baptized child of God. You belong in the church because God has graciously placed you into His Body through the work of His Son. The church is made up entirely of broken, sinful people who are loved and redeemed by Christ’s life, death, and resurrection. It is the place where peace and forgiveness can be found because the church is where Christ is present through Word and Sacrament.

The prayer of the father in Mark 9, “I believe, help my unbelief” is a prayer I often find myself praying. It’s honest. It’s a cry to our Heavenly Father asking for the faith that is His alone to give. It’s also a prayer that Jesus loves to answer, and the means by which He often answers this prayer is through the church. It was through the church, through water and the Word, that God baptized you and the Holy Spirit created faith in you. Jesus answers that prayer and fills our unbelieving hearts with faith. Whenever we remember our baptism, whenever the pastor declares the absolution of our sins, whenever we take the Lord’s Body and Blood, God is working in, and softening our hearts of unbelief. It is through the church that Jesus does this. It is through the church that Jesus sustains and feeds our faith through His Word of Absolution and through the Lord’s Supper.

Gene Edward Veith states, “[God] employs certain means by which He converts the lost and sustains His people…God’s grace, the message of His love and forgiveness through Christ, come to people too, through the Sacraments, which are tangible manifestations of the Gospel.” God loves and cares for us and our souls using the church as the means by which He baptizes, communes, and feeds His own. He washes us and places us into a body of believers in order to strengthen and sustain the faith He has created in us. After all, “He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:6).

Kathy Strauch is a member of Faith Lutheran Church in Troy, Michigan and is a graphic designer.

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Catechesis

My Unbelieving Friends

“The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Corinthians 2:14).

Talking to your unbelieving friends can be difficult. The passage above seems to present a problem that makes it harder. How can I get my unbelieving friends to believe when they can’t understand what I am saying? How do they get the Holy Spirit in order to understand the truth, so that I can speak the truth to them?

My framing of the problem is really the problem. There is no sequence of the Holy Spirit coming and then the truth. It does not happen that the Holy Spirit is received and then the truth of God’s Word is received. Rather, Christ gives us his Holy Spirit with his Word. Our Lord’s words are Spirit-filled. Jesus said that his words are “Spirit and life” (John 6:63). Therefore, the Holy Spirit is received with the truth, with God’s Word. In fact, we cannot expect to receive the Holy Spirit apart from God’s Word and the Sacraments, which are God’s “visible” Word. Luther wrote, “We should and must insist that God does not want to deal with us human beings, except by means of his external Word and sacrament” (SA III VIII:10).

When it comes to an unbeliever, God prepares that person for conversion through His law—His commandments. All people have an innate knowledge of God’s law through having a conscience. This is called the natural knowledge of God. However, people deny this knowledge and pervert it. But when God’s law as revealed in Holy Scripture is proclaimed, the Holy Spirit convicts and allows no denial of what is good, right, and holy. It says in our Lutheran Confessions, “The Spirit of Christ must not only comfort but through the function of the law must also ‘convict the world of sin’ [John 16:8]. Thus, in the New Testament the Holy Spirit must perform (as the prophet says in Isaiah 28:2) “alien” work—which is to convict—until he comes to his “proper” work—which is to comfort and to proclaim grace. For this reason, Christ obtained the Spirit for us and sent him to us” (FC SD V:11).

First the law is proclaimed, and then the Gospel. It is through the Gospel that God works conversion, or brings people to faith and life in Christ. Conversion also occurs through Holy Baptism, which is Gospel, as is the case with infants. But for the unbelieving adult, the spoken Word will be the means by which the Holy Spirit penetrates the stony heart. Through the Gospel, sinners who are blind, dead, and enemies of God are given sight, made alive, and turned to love God. This happens by the Holy Spirit acting upon people, for unbelievers cannot understand and cannot help themselves. It says in the Small Catechism’s explanation to the Third Article of the Creed: “I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to him; but the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with his gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith . . .”

This reminds us that you can’t reason someone into the kingdom of grace. It didn’t happen for us that way. Why would we then try to argue our unbelieving friends into a confession of true faith?

So the answer to reaching your unbelieving, undiscerning friends is God’s Word. Speak God’s law and Gospel to them. The Holy Spirit works through the Spirit-filled Word. Bring God’s Word to bear on their lives, and the Holy Spirit will act upon them. The Apostle Paul wrote, “Faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17). Faith does not come from reason, from the best argument, or from the most knowledge. You don’t have to win anyone with your skills. In fact, you can’t.

Let me offer two other important points. First, the Holy Spirit can be resisted (Acts 7:51). Therefore, we are never to judge our confession of the truth by “results.” Second, the Word of God does not return empty (Isaiah 55:11). Therefore, as God gives you the opportunity, continue to speak the Word to your unbelieving friends and bring them to the public proclamation in the Church. There may come a time later in their lives when God brings to mind that Word you spoke.

Finally, rejoice in the Gospel of your own forgiveness as you receive absolution and are reminded of your baptism, hear the Word of Christ preached and partake of His body and blood in the divine service. Then by the Holy Spirit you continue to receive for certain the complete forgiveness from the Father for the sake of Christ, which you then declare to others.

Rev. Philip Young is pastor of Redeemer Lutheran Church in Nashville, Tennessee, and he serves as the pastoral advisor to the Lutheran Student Fellowship group at Vanderbilt University.

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Catechesis

The Divine Service: Our Ascended High Priest

Jesus is ascended, He is ascended indeed. We proclaim the ascension of Christ when confessing the creed. But, why did Jesus ascend into heaven? What does Jesus’ ascension mean for us?

In His ascension, Jesus continues His work for us and among us. Jesus, having finished His redemptive work for us, ascended to the Father’s right hand to be our advocate (1 John 2:1–2). He is our great and ascended High Priest (Hebrews 8:1).

We read in Leviticus that the vocation of a priest was to serve as an advocate, an intercessor, between God and the people of Israel. However, this priesthood was incomplete (Hebrews 7:11). The priesthood of Aaron was tainted with sinners. The priest could only bring offerings and intercede for others after they themselves had been cleaned from their transgressions. Even the office of the High Priest was incomplete as he changed with each passing generation.

Albrecht Peters describes Jesus’ work for us in the ascension when he writes, “He has pressed on into the heavenly sanctuary, as the eternal high priest, bearing the sacrifice of His entire life that is all-sufficient.” The Levitical priesthood was inadequate to complete the work they were given. But, Jesus, our great High Priest, finishes the work. He intercedes for us not with the sacrifices of animals or grain but with Himself. He Himself is the peace offering, the sin offering, the fulfillment of the Day of Atonement . He finishes everything in the Law and the prophets with His finished work on the cross (Luke 24:25–27). Now, as our ascended High Priest, He is our defence, our absolution, and peace with our Heavenly Father.

In the Divine Service, Jesus continues to serve us through His priestly work on our behalf. John Kleinig, in his commentary on the book of Hebrews, speaks of Jesus’ being our liturgical minister. Kleinig writes, “As their liturgical minister, [Jesus] brings God’s sanctifying gifts to the people in the Divine Service, so that through him they can present their offerings as sacrifices to God.”

Jesus, our High Priest, washes us from the sin which has made us unclean through the waters of Holy Baptism. He forgives our sins and grants us peace with God through His holy meal in His body and blood in the Lord’s Supper. Jesus sanctifies us through the gifts in the Divine Service and gives us salvation by giving us Himself. As Jesus ascended into heaven He became our eternal advocate. Unlike the Levitical priests, He will never be replaced. He is our eternal High Priest.

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Catechesis

The Divine Service: Amen

If you want to read about the good news of Jesus’ work for you, where do you turn? Your first thought may be to open to one of the Gospel accounts. Maybe you page to one of Paul’s epistles. In all these you will certainly find the wonderful proclamation of Christ who lived, died, and lives again for you. But, would your first choice be a book in the Old Testament? Would you turn to Leviticus?

The same Lord who comes to us in Word and sacrament today is the same Lord who came to His people in the Old Testament. The work of Christ for us is clearly shown in the Gospels and proclaimed in the epistles. In the Old Testament, the Gospel is proclaimed as a shadow of what would come in the incarnation.

The Apostle Paul writes,

“But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the law and the Prophets bear witness to it — the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe”(Romans 3:32–22).

Leviticus bears witness to Christ our great High Priest, our atonement, our sanctification, our holiness. Leviticus is not a handbook of how to earn favor with God through mere sacrificial works and outward acts. Author Chad Bird describes it this way, “The tabernacle of the Old Testament was not a slaughterhouse to satisfy the bloodthirst of an angry diety. It was the Father’s house, where his children came to be redeemed by the death of a substitute.”

Levitical sacrifices had no strength apart from the Word of God and faith. No benefit existed apart from the Holy Spirit worked faith which listen and received the gifts of God. The Apology to the Augsburg Confession states, “Faith is the divine service that receives the benefits offered by God.”

We receive and confess this divine service, which God works in us, as we hear the promise of the forgivness of sins in the absolution and respond with one word, “Amen.” This single word is a gift. Faith receives the benefits of absolution and clings to the promise that Christ lived, died, and rose for me, for the forgiveness of my sins.

In the Small Catechism Martin Luther writes, “Confession has two parts. First, that we confess our sins, and second, that we receive absolution, that is forgiveness, from the pastor as from God Himself, not doubting, but firmly believing that by it our sins are forgiven before God in heaven.”

Faith is a gift from our gracious God which receives and holds onto His promised mercy. Faith listens to and firmly believes in God’s Word. Faith sets its eyes and ears on Christ. Jonathan Grothe describes faith in this way, “Faith itself has no strength at all, but it is the channel through which flows all the strength of God himself. Our faith, like Abraham’s ‘comes from what is heard’ and lives by holding to that heard and heeded Word of God.”

Leviticus is all about the work of Jesus for you.It is the liturgy, the divine service of the Old Testament. The same faith the Holy Spirit created in the saints of the Old Testament He creates in us. In God gifted faith, they looked forward to the ultimate Day of Atonement, the ultimate Lamb of God who would take away their sins. In the Divine Service we too look to Christ, the Lamb of God, who has atoned for our sins on Calvary. We can only say, “Amen” through the faith God gifts us. And, with ears of God-given faith, we hear the absolution in the divine service and exclaim, “Amen!”

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Catechesis

Metaphors, Grammar, and Scripture, Oh My!

 

As long as I can remember, I have always loved reading good books. Ironically though, when I was in junior high and high school, whenever grammar, sentence structure, and verb tenses came up in English class my eyes glazed over quicker than a donut on a Krispy Kreme conveyor belt.

It wasn’t until Greek and Hebrew class in college that I began to appreciate and love, those elementary school grammar lessons. Language, grammar, and words are important in our daily life. There’s homework at school, projects at work, and correcting the autocorrect on our text messages. Not to mention, a little comma is all that might stand between a polite dinner reminder and outright cannibalism. “It’s time to eat, Grandma.” or “It’s time to eat Grandma.” You see, grammar saves lives.

Words, grammar, and language are not only important in our daily lives at school or work, but in our Christian lives as well. Words matter. Theological words have important definitions, meanings, and significance in the Christian faith. This is one reason why Martin Luther filled his Small Catechism with a simple, yet memorable question: “What does this mean?”

Think about how important words are in the Christian faith. By His Word, God speaks creation into existence: “Let there be light”, and it was so. By His Word, God promises Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob that all nations of the earth would be blessed through their Offspring, who is Christ. By His Word, God spoke in many and various ways to the prophets of the Old Testament and to the apostles and evangelists in the New Testament. By His Word, God promised that the Word would be made flesh for us in Mary’s womb. By His Word, Jesus raised the dead, and promised to die and rise for you. By his Word, Jesus promises to forgive our sin in Holy Absolution. By His Word and water, Jesus adopts us, clothes us, and cleanses us in Holy Baptism. By His Word with bread and wine, Jesus promises to feed us with His Body and Blood for our forgiveness, life, and salvation.

To communicate this good news, God uses words. “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of Christ,” St. Paul tells us in Romans 10:17. God’s Word comes to us in words. To bear His message of salvation, God uses writers, language, and grammar, all guided by the Holy Spirit. God used the linguistic skills of the prophets and apostles together a rich tapestry of verb tenses, sentence structure, and language that communicates, proclaims, and delivers God’s saving Word to us.

In our Christian life we are called to read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest God’s Word. It is our food, life, and light. We do this when we study the words that are written as well as how they are written. We can better appreciate what God is communicating to us through his Word when we better understand how He is speaking to us through language.

One of the primary ways the Gospel is communicated in the Scriptures is through a rhetorical device known as metaphor. Metaphors are figures of speech—a way we communicate by relating one thing to another. Scriptures and some of our beloved hymns are full of metaphors. The Psalmist declares that our Lord is a shield and buckler, our refuge and strength. Martin Luther used metaphors like these in his famous hymn A Mighty Fortress Is Our God. In the New Testament, John’s Gospel is full of metaphors that Jesus declares about himself. We call these the “I AM” sayings.

I AM the Bread of Life. I AM the Light of the World. I AM the Door. I AM the Good Shepherd. I AM the Vine. I AM the Way, the Truth, and the Life. I AM the Resurrection and the Life.

Does this mean that the Gospel itself is metaphorical, or somehow untrue? By no means. To say that God communicates His Word to us through parts of speech, such as metaphor, doesn’t mean that the Gospel is fake, false, or that God doesn’t mean what He says. Quite the opposite. The historical events of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection for us are communicated to us through language. Inspired by the Holy Spirit, the prophets and apostles make use of rhetorical devices, such as metaphor, simile, and many others, to communicate the very real, historical, and true Good News, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself.

Jesus truly is our Bread of life who gives us His body in the bread of Holy Communion. Jesus truly is the Light of the world who has called us out of darkness into His marvelous light. Jesus truly is the Door, who gives us access to the Father. Jesus truly is the Good Shepherd who laid down His life for us, His sheep. Jesus truly is the Vine who grafts us wild branches into His tree of life, and pours out His saving blood for wine. Jesus truly is the Way, the Truth, and the Life for us. Jesus truly is the Resurrection and the Life in His death and life for you.

So, it’s not just good English grammar that saves lives. God’s Word is unlike any other word. When God speaks, our sins are forgiven, the dead are raised, and new life is given, all through the blessing of his Word. God’s divine grammar saves us.

 

Metaphors, Grammar, and Scripture, Oh My!
By Rev. Samuel Schuldheisz

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Catechesis

The Divine Service: Absolution in the Wilderness

Leviticus. It’s a messy book. Open up to Leviticus and you’ll find pages bleeding with words of bloody sacrifices. Goats, bulls, and rams all give their lives for the sins of Israel.

Leviticus drips with the blood of beasts. But, why is this particular book in the Bible filled with so many sacrifices and so much blood? The writer to the Hebrews states, “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins” (Hebrews 9:22). In other words, sin must be accounted for, a price must be paid to atone for sin. Forgiveness cannot be dispensed without a blood sacrifice. The wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23).

Sinners cannot commune with a holy God. So, in His gracious mercy, the Lord provided a way in which to cover and cleanse Israel of their sins. In Leviticus chapter sixteen we read about the Day of Atonement, the day the Lord appointed for the whole of Israel to be absolved of their sin every year.

“For on this day shall atonement be made for you to cleanse you. You shall be clean before the Lord from all your sins” (Leviticus 16:30).

There were two important elements specific to this Day of Atonement. On this day of sacrifice, two goats were to be selected. One of these goats was to be a blood sacrifice for the sins of the people. The other would be brought alive to Aaron, the High Priest. The High Priest then confessed all the transgressions of Israel, placing them on the head of this goat. Now, bearing the full weight of the iniquities of Israel, the goat would be cast into the wilderness where it would die along with sins of the people. Instead of Israel paying the pentalty for their own sin, a substitute was given to them.

Leviticus is not filled with laws, commands, and ordinances so much as it is filled with promises. Israel is passive on the Day of Atonement. Their sin is taken from them and placed on the shoulders of another. God, Himself, cleanses them of their iniquities and provides a way to graciously be with and bless His people.

Martin Luther once remarked, “Wherever you cut the Bible open, it bleeds Christ.” Here, in Leviticus chapter sixteen, the Scriptures point to the blood of a greater substitute.

The hymn, In the Shattered Bliss of Eden, points us to that greater substitute when we sing,

“What these sacrifices promised
From a God who sought to bless,
Came at last — a second Adam —
Priest and King of righteousness:
Son of God, incarnate Savior,
Son of Man, both Christ and Lord,
Who in naked shame would offer
On the cross His blood outpoured.” (LSB 572, 3)

Just like Israel, we do not answer for our own sin. We do not clean ourselves and atone for our own sin, we cannot. Jesus, as our Great High Priest, cleanses us of our sins through the sacrifice of Himself once and for all (Romans 6:10). He took up the full weight of all our transgressions and iniquities. Our confession fell on Him as He traveled into the wilderness of Calvary to be a sin offering in our place.

As we enter into the divine service, we confess our sins to our High Priest confident that His blood now covers and absolves us of our guilt. He has answered for our sins on the altar of the cross.

The Lord commanded that the gift of absolution through the Day of Atonement be delivered to His people. After His resurrection, Jesus sends His Apostles out to deliver the gifts He won for you and me on the cross. Jesus sends out His disciples to be priests absolving the sins of the penitent.

 “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld” (John 20: 21–23).

Pastor Norman Nagel describes the working of our Great High Priest when he says, “He is the One who, by the marks of Calvary on Him, is the One who has answered for our sins and therefore is the One who can give the forgiving words to the apostles to speak. And His words are alive with the Spirit to bestow the gifts that they bring, here, the forgiveness of sins in Holy Absolution.” Leviticus, just like the divine service, is all about the Gospel gifts.

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Catechesis

Did the Resurrection Really Happen?  

By Rev. Jonathan Fisk

It’s kind of an important question.  I mean, if the resurrection didn’t happen, what on earth are we Christians doing?  It’s not like its gaining us any power or money or anything.  But if the resurrection did happen, then how come so many people in the world don’t believe it?

The resurrection did happen, and I can tell you how you can be certain of it.  More than that, I can do it without telling you that you have to believe it just because the Bible says so.  That’s the key thing.  A lot of non-Christians in our world think that Christians are just a bunch of willfully ignorant nincompoops who believe in some book that fell out of the sky.  But nothing could be further from the Truth.  Christians are Christians because something happened in history unlike any other thing ever: A guy named Jesus was murdered, but refused to stay dead.  It’s not a leap of faith.  It’s a historic fact that is as easy to prove as any other bit of history, that is, if you aren’t too close-minded to consider the evidence.

  1. Jesus was a real human.  Even without the Bible, modern scholars have to admit that there was a Jewish man named Jesus who lived in the first century.  Non-biblical writings like Flavius Josephus, Mara Bar-Serapion, and the Jewish Talmud all mention Him as a real, historical figure.
  1. The real human Jesus died by crucifixion and was buried.   In the same way, some of these extra-biblical texts mention that Jesus was killed.  They don’t go into detail, but only an ignorant person who gets all their information from internet forums will try to tell you that the real Jesus didn’t die, and wasn’t even buried.
  1. This Jesus had real followers who took his death very hard.  At this point, we have to start trusting the books of the Bible as eyewitness accounts.  We don’t have to believe they are true.  We just have to trust that they tell us what the people who wrote them actually thought.  That’s what we do with every historical document about any piece of history, at least, until we find other histories that tell us something different.  So the guy who wrote John’s Gospel around 90 AD also claims he followed this real guy Jesus and believed He was the Savior of the world before He was murdered, watched Him die, and then fell into despair.
  1. Jesus’ tomb was found empty three days later.  Next, the followers of Jesus who despaired after his death also tell us that they stopped despairing because He appeared to them risen.  But not just to them.  Extra-biblical sources from Roman historians tell us that after Jesus was killed, “a most mischievous superstition…again broke out.”  Yet another document, traced to Jewish sources, tells of a gardener named Juda who stole Jesus’ body.  When you put all of these pieces of history together, and combine it with the fact that Christian belief in Jesus’ resurrection all started within walking distance of His tomb, there is only one reasonable historical answer: Somehow, some way, that tomb was empty.
  1. The disciples stopped despairing and started preaching, even though it meant their own deaths.  Both biblical and extra-biblical documents tell us that Christianity came from the meeting together of these followers, in order to worship their leader “Christ” and listen to his teachings.  Rather than give this up, the same disciples who once fled, willingly faced gruesome and painful deaths.
  1. Antagonists convert.  James, Jesus’ brother by blood, and Saul, a man who made a business of killing Christians, were among these converts.  More so, Saul’s own writings claim his reason for conversion was a face to face meeting with the risen Jesus.
  1. This is the event upon which Christianity is founded.  Christianity is not direct proof that Jesus rose, but it is proof that people who knew Jesus personally before His death believed that He rose.
  1. Christianity was founded in Jerusalem.  No one in the town where all this was happening could present the dead body so as to put a stop to it.  Instead, the “stolen body theory” is preached even by the first skeptics.
  1. They worshiped on Sunday.  These new Christians, a bunch of Jews (whose religion insists they worship on Saturday) start worshiping on Sunday because Sunday is the day when they believe the resurrection happened.
  1. Do the math.  The challenge for the non-Christian or the skeptic (which they are usually unwilling to take up) is to find an alternative historical explanation for where this Christianity came from which also fits all of these simple, documented facts.  What could make orthodox Jews change their most sacred rituals, and go to the ends of the earth to tell others about it even though it only gets them killed?  They say it was because they themselves saw this man risen from the dead.  On top of this, the tomb was clearly empty and the man was nowhere to be found.  So, what other explanation for all the facts can you come up with?

Over the last several hundred years the skeptics have tried.  There’s the hallucination theory, and the swoon theory and that good ol’ stolen body theory.  But none of those theories explain all of the above facts.  You can’t steal a swooned body that gets up and walks away.  Separate groups of people don’t experience the same hallucination.  A Jesus who needed to be taken to the hospital would hardly have convinced terrified disciples to go out and die for him.

The simple reality is that there is only one explanation of the evidence that fits all the facts.  It might be unbelievable, but it is anything but unreasonable.  So put it in your pocket for the next time a skeptic attacks you with his claims about you being ignorant.  Ask him how he explains what Tacitus says.  Ask him why the Talmud called Jesus a sorcerer.  Ask him to explain all the historical facts.  Then, when he won’t (since he can’t), feel free to go right on believing the truth: that the resurrection did happen.  Not only is it the best explanation for all of the real historical evidence, it also happens to be what the Bible says was God’s plan for the precise purpose of saving you.

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Catechesis

Going to Hell with Jesus

by Rev. Shawn L. Kumm

Hell. Who wants to go there? Jesus tells us just enough about heaven that we know we want to be there. Jesus tells us just enough about hell that we know we don’t.

The word hell was spoken at your baptism. Right smack dab in the middle of the Apostles’ Creed, there it is: Jesus descended into hell. Big deal, right?

Yeah, hell is a BIG deal. Misery loves company, and Satan desires nothing more than to have lots of company. That is why Jesus suffered on the cross so that you wouldn’t ever have to. You don’t need to worry about hell.

But did Jesus descend into hell in order to suffer—or did He go there for another reason? There are those who understand these words to mean that after Jesus died upon the cross He wasn’t quite finished with His work, so He needed to suffer in hell. This doesn’t make sense, since Jesus exclaimed on the cross, “It is finished.” This literally means, “It is finished and stands finished forever” (John 19:30). On the cross, Jesus has already suffered hell. Period.

The Apostles’ Creed summarizes the Christian faith in the tightest, shortest language possible. There are churches that confess creeds. There are churches that do not confess creeds. There are churches that sort of confess creeds.

The sort-of-confessing-creeds churches omit the words, “He descended into hell.” Since the phrase doesn’t show up until later in history, these folks believe the words shouldn’t be said.

But a later addition to this creed shouldn’t bother us. The words may very well have been added to combat the wrong teaching that the effect of Jesus’ death and resurrection wasn’t as far-reaching as everyone thought. Even now it appears Satan is still in control and hellish things still happen in this world.  So some conclude that Jesus’ work on the cross just wasn’t quite enough. But remember Jesus said, “It is finished.” His devil-defeating work reached the very pits of hell. In fact, Jesus descended there to tell Satan himself.

At least two passages of Scripture teach us this:

“For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, in which He went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison . . .” (1 Peter 3:18-19).

“He [that is, Jesus] disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in Him” (Colossians 2:15).

In all of His resurrected glory, Jesus descended into hell so you wouldn’t have to. If Jesus’ death is your death and if Jesus’ resurrection is your resurrection (see Romans 6:3-11), then Jesus’ descent is your descent. There is great comfort in that for you. Who of us could stand face-to-face with Satan and proclaim such Good News? Not a single one of us. I know I wouldn’t want to and I don’t have to. Neither do you.

But there is the pesky question about timing. We know when all but one of the events of Holy Week happens. But the one event we wonder about is Jesus’ descent into hell. Does His descent happen as soon as Jesus says, “It is finished?” Does Jesus go to hell when the sun rises on Easter morning? We simply do not know. God, in His wisdom, chooses not to say much of anything about the invisible world. Think about, for example, how He does not tell us during which of the six days of creation the angels were made. There is a curiosity on the part of God’s people to have answers about angels and demons. But God’s Word tells us just enough to know they exist.

So why don’t we know when Jesus descends?  Perhaps, just as in the same way when we focus on what we know about the angels or demons, the more we are tempted we will be to know less about Jesus. Jesus wants us to focus on Him and no one else. Jesus goes victoriously to hell for us so that we don’t.

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Catechesis

Judgment Day: You’re Ready

Judgment Day is coming. It is! You can’t escape it. One day it will be here, and then what? What ever will you do? What will you hear? How can you stand? What will the Judge say when you stand before Him on that day? You know, don’t you? What you’ve done, haven’t done; said, haven’t said; even what you’ve thought.  All of it condemns you. There’s no escaping it. There’s no putting your head in the sand like there’s no Last Day—as if not thinking about it means it won’t come. But it will. It’s inevitable.

Yes, there is a Last Day—a day not when all good things come to an end, but a day when all evil, wicked, and sinful things, and when all sinners will come to an end. That end is the second death—eternity in hell. When will that day be? “Of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” (Mark 13:32 NKJV) So what will you do? How can you prepare for something that’s coming at an unknown time—a time even Jesus  doesn’t know?

Well, that’s the rub of it, isn’t it? What to do? People out in the world—and we do it, too—think that if there’s a Last Day coming when all people will be judged, then they need to get some good to balance out the bad. If we’re kind enough, then God might be merciful, which might mean He’ll give us a pass on our misdeeds because of our good deeds. This sort of thinking pops up when we think, “Well, I’m not that bad of a person.” “I’m not as bad as she is.” “At least I don’t do what he’s doing.” We treat God on Judgment Day as if He were a bear: You don’t have to outrun the bear, just run faster than the other guy! “I don’t have to be perfect. I just need to be better than you, and thank God I am!” But no one else will be there with you when you stand before God’s throne. Each person will face the Judgment Seat of God. So what are you doing to prepare?

Repent of such a thought! That’s not how Judgment Day works at all! You don’t get yourself ready for Judgment Day. Jesus gets you ready for that Last and Final Day. What else is there for you to do for Judgment Day that Jesus hasn’t already done? Answer: Nothing! That’s right. Nothing. Zip. Nada. Zilch. Jesus’ Word from Calvary rings true, not only then, but now, and even forever and ever. “Tetelestai! It is finished!” The holy, precious blood and the innocent suffering and death of Christ cleanses us from all sins. There isn’t a single sin that He hasn’t paid for. Jesus finished it all. He drank the cup of the Father’s wrath for sin and every sinner down to the dregs. There’s nothing unfinished. That’s why Jesus said, “It is finished!”

Yes, it’s all finished. Good Friday became Judgment Day—God’s wrath satisfied. Jesus’ work is finished and complete, but now He’s about the business of delivering it. In delivering it, Jesus gets you ready for Judgment Day.

How can you stand on that great day? You shall boldly stand “on that great day, Cleansed and redeemed, no debt to pay.” (“Jesus, Thy Blood and Righteousness” LSB 563:2) Jesus gave you this in the waters of your Baptism. He washed your sins away that day. His death and resurrection are yours. You’re justified, “declared innocent” in Him. That’s what your Holy Baptism delivers as Paul says, “He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by His grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life” (Titus 3:5–7 NIV).

What will you hear on that day? You will hear Jesus say what He’s been saying your whole life and what He said from the cross on Good Friday:  Not only “It is finished!” but also, “Father, forgive them.” And Jesus doesn’t just say this from His cross. He says this to you, too. He says, “I forgive you all your sins.” He sent His preachers, His pastors to say that very thing. He said to them, “As the Father has sent me, I am sending you…Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you retain them, they are retained.” (John 20:21–23 NKJV) What your pastor says to you, you will hear again. How can you not? The very one who will be your Judge on that Day is the one who was crucified and raised, who sent your pastor to say, “Your sins are all forgiven you.”

What will you do on that day? Well, Judgement Day isn’t a scary day for you, dear Christian. No, not one bit! It’s party day! It’s the wedding party of the Lamb which has no end. You’ve feasted on the flesh and blood of that Lamb in His Supper. Through giving those to you to eat and drink Jesus is getting you ready for the eternal party by forgiving your sins, giving you new life, and awarding eternal salvation. All that is yours. He dwells in you and you in Him by the eating and the drinking of His Body and Blood. Now that you’re in Him, you won’t be locked out of the party. You’ll get to celebrate with Jesus forever.

Judgment Day is coming. It is! You can’t escape it. Yes, there is a Last Day—a day when all good things will continue and begin for you, dear Christian. There’s nothing you have to do. Jesus has already done it all. “Tetelestai! It is finished!” He delivers the benefits of His cross and empty tomb to you. So? Well, that means you receive the benefits of Judgment Day beforehand! You have a clean garment for Judgment Day, with Christ’s righteousness splashed over your forehead at the font. You’ve already had the judgment ring in your ears—“I forgive you all your sins.” You’re ready for Party Day. You’ve already feasted on Jesus’ Body and Blood!

Eternal life awaits you on the Last Day because of Jesus—what He’s done and delivered to you. You’re ready. You have to be! Jesus your Judge, your Savior made sure of that on Good Friday and every day thereafter!