LESSON: MARK 16:1-8

Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brethren to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.” Matthew 28:10

Jesus Himself pointed out the benefit of His suffering, death, and resurrection when He said to the women, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brethren to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.”

This is the first word that they heard from Jesus after His resurrection from the dead. He hereby confirms all His former teachings, as well as the blessings He had already conferred on them. They are reminded here that they will now indeed be the recipients of all these blessings. Not only this but He also intimates that the Christians who believe His words are His “brethren” even though they do not see like the apostles did.

He does not wait until we beg or beseech Him that we may become His brethren. All ideas of meritorious services are completely ruled out here.

What did the apostles merit? Peter denied the Lord three times; the other disciples all fled from Him; they stayed with Him like a hare stays with its young. He should have called them deserters, traitors, and scoundrels rather than brethren. So, this word was sent to them through these women by sheer mercy and grace.

The apostles could not help feeling this. We feel it, too, when we are held fast in sins, temptations, and damnation.

SL 11:603 (2-3)

PRAYER: We thank and praise you, dear Lord Jesus, for the wonderful grace and mercy which You have so richly bestowed upon us unworthy sinners in demonstrating by Your resurrection that we are Your brethren, with all the privileges of brethren. Amen.

Editor’s note: No American Edition (AE) equivalent for today’s sermon excerpt exists at the time of this publication. For an alternate English translation of this sermon, see Lenker, Church Postil—Gospels, 2:215-221.

LESSON: 1 JOHN 5:6-12

The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ … destined us in love to be his sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace which he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace which he lavished upon us. Ephesians 1:3, 5-8

When we discover what the Gospel of God’s free and unmerited love really is, we see how foolish it is to teach that people should bear suffering and death patiently to atone for their sins and to obtain grace. Some claim that if one bears all this patiently and willingly, all one’s sins will be forgiven accordingly. These people are seducers, because they conceal Christ with His death upon which our comfort depends. They induce people to rely on their own suffering and death.

This is the very worst thing that can befall anyone in the end, because it is a way that leads straight into hell. You must learn to say, “What is my death and patience? Nothing at all! I will have nothing at all to do with it and will close my ears to it as far as any consolation is concerned. Christ’s suffering and death is my one consolation. On this I place my reliance and trust that through it my sins are forgiven. I will gladly suffer death for my God’s praise and honor freely, gratuitously, and in my neighbor’s service, but place no reliance on it for myself.”

SL 11:527 (5)
AE 76:351-52

PRAYER: Lord Jesus Christ, thanks and praise be to You for the completeness of Your work of salvation for us and for making this known to us in Your holy Gospel for our eternal comfort and consolation. Amen.

LESSON: 2 CORINTHIANS 5:14, 15

Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God. 1 Peter 3:18

Thorns pricked the sacred head of Christ, but you have actually deserved the pricks of more than a hundred thousand thorns. To be sure, you have deserved to be pricked by such thorns in all eternity, and much worse than He was pricked. Christ had to suffer the agony of having His hands and feet pierced with nails; you have deserved to suffer from much worse nails in eternity.

This is what will indeed befall those who disregard Christ’ suffering on their behalf. In this grim reflection, Christ does not lie or scold; what He indicates must surely follow. St. Bernard says, “I thought I was secure and knew nothing of the eternal sentence passed upon me in heaven until I saw that the only-begotten Son of God had mercy on me, stepped forth, and submitted to the sentence of condemnation on my behalf. If there is such seriousness here, it is not for me to play around any longer and to be secure.”

This also explains Christ’s words to the women of Jerusalem: “Do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children.… If they do this when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?” (Luke 23:28, 31). Jesus means to say: “From my sufferings, learn what you have deserved and what will befall you.”

Christ’s sufferings should always be pondered with the greatest of seriousness on our part. They are written for our warning to teach us the awful and horrible nature of sin.

SL 11:577 (6-7)
AE 76:427

PRAYER: Lord God, our heavenly Father, let the awful sufferings and death of our Lord Jesus Christ be for us a continual reminder of the horrible nature of all sin in your sight. Move us at all times to a serious consideration of our Savior’s passion and death on our behalf. Amen.