LESSON: JOHN 17:1-5

“Truly, truly I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.” John 8:51

Jesus really spoils things for His enemies when He not only offers a good and stout defense of His doctrine but ascribes such might to it that it holds full sway over the devil, death, and sin, imparting eternal life and preserving men therein.

See here how divine wisdom and human reason come into conflict! How can any man comprehend that a word spoken physically from a human mouth can save from death eternally?

But away with blindness! We want to deal with this beautiful passage. He speaks here not concerning the word of the Law but concerning the word of the Gospel, which is a discourse concerning Christ who died for our sins. God did not want to impart Christ to the world in any other way but by including Him in His Word and thus spreading Him out and setting Him forth. Otherwise, Christ would have remained completely isolated by Himself and would never have become known. And thus, He would have died for Himself alone.

Because the Word portrays Christ for us, it portrays for us Him who conquered sin, death, and the devil. Hence, anyone who grasps and holds the Word, grasps and holds Christ, and through the Word he also becomes freed from death eternally. Thus, it is a Word of life. It is true that he who keeps this Word will never see death eternally.

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PRAYER: Thanks and praise be to You, O God, for the riches of Your grace and mercy revealed to us in Your holy Gospel, culminating in the assurance of eternal life and salvation in and through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.

LESSON: ROMANS 12:14-21

“I do not seek my own glory; there is One who seeks it, and he will be the judge.” John 8:50

Why does Jesus not say in John 8:49, “I honor my Father and you dishonor Him”? He says, “You dishonor me.”

In a veiled manner, He indicates that His Father’s honor and His own honor are identical, one and the same thing, just as He is one God together with His Father. At the same time, however, He wants to remind us that if our ministry in praise of God is to obtain its due honor, it must also suffer shame.

We should also keep this in mind in our dealings with rulers and priests. When they question our lives, we will put up with it and repay them with love for hate and good for evil; but when they attack our doctrine, they are attacking God’s honor.

Here there must be a limit to love and patience. We must not remain silent but say, “I honor my Father, and so you dishonor me. It does not matter much that you dishonor me, for I am not seeking my own honor. But at the same time take warning! There is one who is seeking my honor and judging it. The Father will demand it from you and not leave you unpunished. He does not only seek His honor, but mine as well, for He has declared, ‘Those who honor me I will honor’ (1 Samuel 2:30).”

This is our consolation, so we can be quite joyful. Even though all the world casts shame on us and dishonors us, we are certain that God requires our honor and will punish, judge, and avenge. O that we would only believe it and wait upon Him! He is certainly coming!

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PRAYER: You have assured us, both by much instruction and many examples, O Lord, that You will adequately defend the honor of Your Word and those who proclaim it. Fill our hearts with courage and confidence so that we never lost heart, in and through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.

LESSON: JOHN 8:45

“Because I tell the truth, you do not believe me.” John 8:45

It is true that no pastor’s life is ever so good that it is without sin before God. And so, it is enough if he is blameless in the eyes of his people. But his doctrine must be so good and pure that it stands up not only before men but also before God.

A godly preacher may well find himself in a position to ask his hearers, “Who from among you is going to find fault with me? From among you, I say, my fellow human beings! But before God I am a sinner.”

Moses does the same thing when he claims that he had not taken anything from them or harmed any one of them (Numbers 16:15).

Samuel, Jeremiah, and Hezekiah could also appeal to their blameless lives before the people to stop the mouths of slanderers.

Christ does not speak about His doctrine here. He does not say, “Who among you can fault my doctrine.” He says, “because I tell the truth.”

One must be sure that one’s doctrine is the truth and right before God and must not be concerned only how it is regarded by men.

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PRAYER: Grant us at all times such conviction of faith, heavenly Father, that we never have the slightest doubt that the whole truth of salvation has been revealed to us in and through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.