1 And it came to pass, as he went into the house of one of the chief Pharisees to eat bread on the sabbath, that they watched him. 2 And behold, there was a certain man before him who had the dropsy. 3 And Jesus, answering, spoke to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath?” 4 And they held their peace. And he took him, healed him, and let him go, 5 And answered them, saying, “Which of you having a donkey or an ox fall into a pit would not immediately pull him out on the sabbath?” 6 And they could not answer him again to these things. 7 And he put forth a parable to those who were invited, when he marked how they chose out the chief places, saying to them, 8 “When you are invited by any man to a wedding, do not sit down in the highest place, lest a more honorable man than you is invited by him, 9 And he who invited you and him comes and says to you, ‘Give this man place,’ and you begin with shame to take the lowest place. 10 But when you are invited, go and sit down in the lowest place, so that when he who invited you comes, he may say to you, ‘Friend, go up higher.’ Then you shall have honor in the presence of those who sit at the table with you. 11 For whoever exalts himself shall be abased, and he who humbles himself shall be exalted. Luke 14:1-11

It was the Sabbath Day and Jesus was invited to a meal in the home of one of the prominent Pharisees, a sect of the Jews who believed one could please God and be acceptable in His sight by a strict and legalistic keeping of God’s commandments. But Jesus, however, was being put to the test in regard to His keeping of the commandment regarding the Sabbath.

The Pharisees and experts in the Jewish law were watching Jesus because a man was there with dropsy, a condition in which fluid would build up in the extremities, causing pain and discomfort. We might call it edema today, a condition often caused by congestive heart failure.

Jesus didn’t have to ask because He most certainly already knew the answer, but He wanted His hearers — experts in the Jewish laws — to consider the truth. “And Jesus, answering, spoke to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, ‘Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath?’” (v. 3).

They didn’t answer Jesus but, quite obviously, they considered it a violation of the commandment for Jesus to heal anyone on the Sabbath because they regarded such acts to be work forbidden by the commandment in Exodus 20:8-11: “Remember the sabbath-day to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD your God. In it you shall not do any work — you, your son, your daughter, your man-servant, your maid-servant, your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day; therefore, the LORD blessed the sabbath-day and hallowed it.”

What they failed to see and understand in their efforts to outwardly obey God’s commandments so that they might be deserving of God’s favor and eternal life is that “The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath” (Mark 2:27). God had commanded man to rest from his labors on the Sabbath in order that he might have time to consider God’s Word and God’s works and ways.

In Isaiah 58:13-14, we read: “If you turn away your foot from the sabbath, from doing your pleasure on my holy day, and call the sabbath a delight, and the holy day of the LORD honorable, and honor him, not doing your own ways, nor finding your own pleasure, nor speaking your own words, then you shall delight yourself in the LORD, and I will cause you to ride upon the high places of the earth and feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father. For the mouth of the LORD has spoken it.”

They were to sanctify and set apart the holy day, but it was never God’s intent that the Sabbath be legalistically observed as nothing more than a day in which all work was prohibited.

And, since the Sabbath served as a shadow of things to come, pointing to the fact that we are justified and obtain eternal rest by faith alone in Jesus Christ and not by our own works and merits (cf. Rom. 4:4-5; Heb. 4:1ff.), Christians are no longer required to observe a specific day.

St. Paul wrote to the Colossians in Colossians 2:16-17: “Let no man therefore judge you in food, in drink, in respect of a holy-day, of the new-moon, or of the sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the body is of Christ.” To the Romans, he wrote in Romans 14:5-6: “One man esteems one day above another, but another esteems every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind. He who regards the day, regards it to the Lord, and he who does not regard the day, to the Lord he does not regard it. He who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks, and he who does not eat, to the Lord he does not eat, and gives God thanks.” (Cf. Gal. 4:10-11.)

And, God said: “For I desired mercy and not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God more than burnt-offerings” (Hos. 6:6). He’s not looking for a legalistic system in which one can commit this sin and offer that sacrifice, but He’s looking for genuine repentance and faith which moves believers to love their neighbors and do what is good for them.

The Bible says in Romans 13:8-10: “Owe no man anything, but to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law. For this, ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ ‘You shall not kill,’ ‘You shall not steal,’ ‘You shall not bear false witness,’ ‘You shall not covet,’ and if there is any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ Love works no ill to one’s neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law.”

So, I ask you, what do you think God desires? To love one’s neighbor and help him on the Sabbath day? Or to refrain from loving and helping a neighbor because it is the Sabbath day?

Jesus healed this man “and answered them, saying, ‘Which of you having a donkey or an ox fall into a pit would not immediately pull him out on the sabbath?’ And they could not answer him again to these things” (v. 5-6).

And how could they answer Jesus or accuse Him? Jesus showed their hypocrisy and guilt in regard to God’s law. None of them would even hesitate to pull one of their animals out of a pit on the Sabbath Day, and yet they considered it wrong to help a human being on the Sabbath and were ready to condemn Jesus for showing love and mercy to this man on the Sabbath!

Jesus also told the Pharisees and experts in Jewish law a parable when he noted how they chose for themselves the prominent seats at the table, “saying to them, ‘When you are invited by any man to a wedding, do not sit down in the highest place, lest a more honorable man than you is invited by him, and he who invited you and him comes and says to you, “Give this man place,” and you begin with shame to take the lowest place. But when you are invited, go and sit down in the lowest place, so that when he who invited you comes, he may say to you, “Friend, go up higher.” Then you shall have honor in the presence of those who sit at the table with you. For whoever exalts himself shall be abased, and he who humbles himself shall be exalted’” (Luke 14:7-11).

Not only did this parable have a practical application for them to avoid being humiliated if asked to give place to a more-honored guest, and to be honored before all if asked to move up; it also has a spiritual application: “For whoever exalts himself shall be abased, and he who humbles himself shall be exalted” (v. 11).

If we exalt ourselves before God and seek to enter into the glories of heaven on the basis of our own legalistic system of works and worthiness, we will be humbled when we are removed from our place and it is given to one counted worthy by the LORD God for the sake of the perfect life and innocent suffering and death of Christ Jesus.

If, on the other hand, we count ourselves unworthy sinners and take the lowest seat and trust in nothing but the merit of Christ Jesus, who gave His life a ransom for our sins and the sins of the world, we will be exalted when God graciously receives us into His kingdom and glorifies us for Jesus’ sake!

God calls upon us to humbly confess our sins and receive from Him forgiveness and life for the sake of Jesus’ atoning sacrifice for the sins of the world. Think of the parable that Jesus told in Luke 18:9-14. Who went home justified? Was it the Pharisee who boasted of his own righteousness or the tax collector who begged God to show him mercy and forgive his sin? It was the humble tax collector who went to his house justified.

The Bible tells us: “The LORD is near to those who are of a broken heart and saves those who are of a contrite spirit” (Ps. 34:18); “For you do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it. You do not delight in burnt-offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit. A broken and a contrite heart, O God, you will not despise” (Ps. 51:16-17); and “For thus says the high and lofty One who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: ‘I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also who is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble and to revive the heart of the contrite ones’” (Isa. 57:15; cf. 66:2).

And again, St. John writes (1 John 1:8 — 2:2): “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. My little children, these things I write to you so that you do not sin. And if any man sins, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And he is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.”

Jesus’ point? It will merit us nothing before God to legalistically follow the letter of the commandments when we miss the spirit of the law — love for God and love for neighbor. And, most importantly, rather than depending upon our own works and merits under the law, works that are so far short of what God requires, we would be wise to humble ourselves before the LORD God, confess our utter sinfulness and unworthiness in His sight, and flee to the cross of Jesus, trusting alone in His perfect righteousness in our stead and in His innocent suffering and death on the cross for the sins of the entire world!

Remember: “For whoever exalts himself shall be abased, and he who humbles himself shall be exalted.”

“My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness; I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus’ name. On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand; all other ground is sinking sand.” — The Lutheran Hymnal, Hymn 370

[Scripture quotations are from the Revised Common Version of the Bible.]

I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. Ephesians 4:1-6

As we confess in the Apostles Creed, there is only one body of Christ, one Church — the communion of saints — made up of all who trust in Christ Jesus as Savior. And, there is only one Savior, one Lord, one faith, one baptism and one God and Father of all who dwells in the hearts of His children by the Spirit.

It is the Spirit of God, working mightily through the Word of God and the Sacraments of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper, who brings us to faith in Christ Jesus and keeps us in that faith. He brings us into the family of God and unites us with Christ our Savior. Thus, when we have faith in Christ Jesus and are baptized in His name, we are united to Him and are one with all other true believers in Christ (cf. Gal. 3:26ff.; Eph. 2:11ff.).

We do not create this unity; the Spirit does, through the Word. Such unity does not occur through church mergers and outward cooperation; it occurs where the Spirit brings people to faith in Christ and keeps them in that faith through Word and Sacrament. So then, this oneness, this unity, is of the Spirit’s working, for He brings us to faith in Christ and keeps us trusting in our Savior.

It is as Luther says in his explanation to the third article of the Apostles’ 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 Ghost has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith; even as He calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian Church on earth, and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true faith: in which Christian Church He daily and richly forgives all sins to me and all believers, and will at the last day raise up me and all the dead, and give unto me and all believers in Christ eternal life. This is most certainly true.”

The way, then, to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace is to continue in the faith created in us by the mighty working of the Holy Spirit through the Word. If we are one with Christ Jesus and members of His body, the Church, we will also be united to all other true believers of all time (cf. 1 John 1:3ff.).

And, we endeavor to live in this Spirit-created unity by continuing in the Word and holding fast to the truth (cf. Matt. 28:18ff.; Eph. 5:22ff.; 2 Tim. 3:14ff). We are long-suffering, enduring one another’s sins and shortcomings with all patience, forgiving our fellow believers as Christ has forgiven us (cf. Eph. 4:32; Gal. 6:1f.).

We consider and remember that Christ is our Redeemer and that He has brought each and every one of us to faith. Therefore, we encourage each other to continue in that unity by encouraging each other to continue in the Word and hold fast to Christ Jesus, our Head.

O gracious Father, thank You for bringing us into Your family and Church through faith in Your Son and our Savior, Jesus Christ, and for giving us unity with all other true believers. Grant that we continue in that unity in Christ, and move us to dwell within it in patience, with longsuffering and forgiveness, and in the bond of peace with our brethren. Amen.

[Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.]

“Therefore, I will judge you, O house of Israel, each according to his ways,” says the Lord GOD. “Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions, so that iniquity is not your ruin. Cast away from you all your transgressions by which you have transgressed, and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. For why will you die, O house of Israel? For I have no pleasure in the death of him who dies,” says the Lord GOD. “Therefore, turn, and live.” Ezekiel 18:30-32 (Read Ezekiel 18)

Ezekiel was a priest and a prophet, sent by God during the years of the exile to call upon God’s people to repent of their wicked ways and look to God for mercy at a time when the judgment of God was falling upon His people for their turning aside from true worship and service to God into idolatry and disobedience to God’s Word. Ezekiel warned of and illustrated the judgment of God which was coming upon the people for their evil doings — a judgment they would not escape unless they repented and returned to the Lord God!

So also, in chapter 18 of Ezekiel, he warns a people who considered God unfair in His judgments, saying they were suffering for the sins of their fathers and not for their own rebelliousness and sin. They accused God of injustice rather than acknowledging their own wickedness and sin.

Ezekiel’s message? “The soul who sins, he shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him” (Ezekiel 18:20). The father who rebels against the Lord and lives in disobedience and sin will die for his sin. So also the son. But those who repent of their wicked ways, whether father or son, will be pardoned and live!

And these words certainly apply to us today. Every one of us will be judged by God according to our ways. If we turn aside from the Lord God and His Word, we will die in our sins and be judged by God. Even if we have lived good Christian lives all our days but then turn aside and live in sin and disobedience, we will die in our sins. All the good we have done will be forgotten!

If, on the other hand, we see the error of our ways and the sin and disobedience in our lives and repent and turn to the Lord God for mercy and forgiveness in Christ Jesus — trusting in God’s promise of pardon and forgiveness for the sake of Christ and His innocent sufferings and death on the cross for the sins of the world — all our sins will be forgiven of God and we will be counted righteous and holy in God’s eyes for Jesus’ sake. And, if we truly repent, we will, as a fruit of faith, also seek to amend our lives and live for Christ and in accord with His Word.

Again, God calls out to us, warning us that God will judge each of us according to our ways and there will be no escaping His judgment.

But God also tells us: “‘Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions, so that iniquity is not your ruin. Cast away from you all your transgressions by which you have transgressed, and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. For why will you die, O house of Israel? For I have no pleasure in the death of him who dies,’ says the Lord GOD. ‘Therefore, turn, and live.’”

God does not desire to condemn us to eternal death and suffering in hell. Rather, He desires that we repent of our sinful and rebellious ways and look to Him for mercy and forgiveness for the sake of Christ Jesus and His atoning sacrifice on the cross for the sins of all! God grant that we heed His voice!

You are holy and just, O God. I have sinned and gone astray. Forgive my sins for Jesus’ sake and move me to walk in Your ways. Amen.

[Scripture is quoted from the Revised Common Version of the Bible.]

When did God create the heavens and the earth? Again, the Bible answers that question for us when it says: “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth…” (Genesis 1:1).

Though some would attempt to extend the six days of creation into long periods of time or ages and others would introduce a gap between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2 with the claim that the angels were a part of an earlier failed creation, the Bible is quite clear that the six days are literally six days.

“And the evening and the morning were the first day” (Genesis 1:5), with the same parameters mentioned of each day. “And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day” (Genesis 1:31).

The Bible also makes clear that all things were created within the six days when it says: “For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day” (Exodus 20:11); and, “Thou, even thou, art LORD alone; thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth, and all things that are therein, the seas, and all that is therein, and thou preservest them all; and the host of heaven worshippeth thee” (Nehemiah 9:6).

When did the six days of creation occur? While it would be a mistake to make a doctrinal issue out of a specific date or year, the Bible’s genealogical records indicate that creation occurred approximately 4,000 years before Christ, or approximately 6,000 years ago – numbers which can be calculated based on the ages of the patriarchs when sons were born to them, the lengths of kings’ reigns and other dates or events in the Bible, such as the exile and destruction of the temple (e.g., Genesis 5 and 11; 1 and 2 Kings; 1 and 2 Chronicles).

Though the Bible contradicts modern so-called “scientific” theory regarding the age of the earth, there is no contradiction with the true evidence which suggests a young earth and a catastrophic and universal flood (Genesis 6-8). Believers accept the accuracy of God’s account of creation which is recorded for them in the pages of the Bible.

[Scripture is quoted from the King James Version of the Bible].

“And it came to pass the day after, that he went into a city called Nain; and many of his disciples went with him, and much people. Now when he came nigh to the gate of the city, behold, there was a dead man carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow: and much people of the city was with her. And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not. And he came and touched the bier: and they that bare him stood still. And he said, Young man, I say unto thee, Arise. And he that was dead sat up, and began to speak. And he delivered him to his mother. And there came a fear on all: and they glorified God, saying, that a great prophet is risen up among us; and, that God hath visited his people. And this rumour of him went forth throughout all Judaea, and throughout all the region round about.” Luke 7:11-17

Travel to any city, town or community and you will likely find a cemetery filled with headstones marking the graves of those from that locale who have died, whose bones or ashes are buried there. In fact, many times, the cemetery is the first thing you will see because they often lie on the outskirts of the city or town. And when funerals take place, the processions often lead from a church or the funeral home out to the cemetery.

When Jesus arrived at the city of Nain with His disciples. He encountered just such a procession. Luke tells us: “Now when he came nigh to the gate of the city, behold, there was a dead man carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow: and much people of the city was with her” (Luke 7:12).

This was an especially sad funeral because the man who had died was still a young man, and he was the only son of his mother, who also was a widow. What a tragedy! How sad! Imagine the loneliness this mother must have felt, having lost her husband in the past and now her only son. She was, no doubt, heartbroken, and probably also destitute.

And death is sad and tragic! It is not natural. God created us for life but, as a result of sin and disobedience to God’s good commandments, we have brought the curse and condemnation of God’s law upon ourselves and have brought upon ourselves death!

The Bible tells us, “The soul that sinneth, it shall die”; and “the wages of sin is death” (Ezek. 18:20; Rom. 6:23).

To Adam, God said, in Genesis 3:17-19: “Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.”

Notice that Jesus didn’t try to comfort this woman with words about her son being in a better place. He didn’t tell her to think about all the good times they had together, and He certainly did not tell her that she would always carry her son with her in her heart! Jesus knew and recognized that this young man’s death was the result of sin in the world and that death is sad, devastating and tragic.

And, because we are sinful human beings who have not measured up to God’s holy law, we too will face death. Our souls will be taken from our bodies and our lifeless and decaying bodies will be laid in the ground to return to dust. “Dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.” Unless Christ Jesus returns soon, none of us will escape. Hebrews 9:27 tells us: “It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.” We will all die and then stand before the judgment seat of God.

But what did Jesus do? Luke 7:13-15 says: “And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not. And he came and touched the bier: and they that bare him stood still. And he said, Young man, I say unto thee, Arise. And he that was dead sat up, and began to speak. And he delivered him to his mother.”

Jesus had compassion on this woman in her hopeless and helpless situation which was the result of sin. We are not told that this young man’s death was the result of some sin in this woman’s life or that it was the result of some particular sin in the life of her son, but it was the result of sin in the world and in them in the same way as we must all die because of the sin which infects us all (cf. Ps. 90:3ff.).

Jesus told this woman to stop crying because He had a solution to this tragic death. He intervened by stopping the funeral bier and saying, “Young man, I say unto thee, Arise.” Luke tells us that this young man sat up and began to speak. And Jesus gave him back to his mother.

What does this have to do with you and me today? you might ask. Everyone in the history of the world, with the exception of Enoch and Elijah, had to die, and Jesus only called a few people back to life — we think of this young man, Lazarus, the daughter of Jairus and those raised by His prophets in the Old Testament and His apostles in the New.

Though Jesus does not intervene at every death and call the dead back to life, He has intervened for all of us in a much greater way.

Remember that the cause of death is sin, and sin brings about not only physical death but eternal death and damnation! To be raised back to life in this sinful world is not a lasting solution — as far as we know, this young man has since died. So has Lazarus and the daughter of Jairus.

Jesus had compassion on us in our hopeless and helpless situation and tells us to stop crying because He is our solution. As God promised in the garden the Seed of the woman who would undo the work of Satan (cf. Gen. 3:15), Jesus is that promised Seed, our Messiah and Savior.

The Bible tells us in Galatians 4:4-5: “But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.”

The Bible tells us: “Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them”; and, “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree” (Gal. 3:10, 13; cf. Heb. 2:14-17).

Jesus Christ, God the Son, intervened by taking on a human body and soul and being born of the Virgin Mary — true God and true man — and He fulfilled all the demands of God’s law perfectly in our stead and then suffered our punishment, the just punishment for the sins of all mankind, when He was crucified and died on the tree of the cross. And He rose again from the dead on the third day, proving that the debt of our sin is paid in full, that God accepted the sacrifice of His Son for the sins of the whole world (cf. 1 Cor. 15:3ff.; Rom. 4:23ff.; Isa. 53:6ff.; 1 John 2:1-2).

And Jesus intervened by raising us up from spiritual death and condemnation to spiritual life and justification through faith in His name (cf. Rom. 1:16-17; 3:21ff.; 2 Cor. 5:18ff.). He did this by sending His servants to preach and proclaim to us the Gospel and also to assure us of pardon and forgiveness through faith in Christ by means of our Baptism into Christ and our partaking in the Lord’s Supper of Christ’s body and blood which were given and shed for us for the remission of our sins.

Jesus said in John 5:24-26: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live. For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself” (cf. Eph. 2:1ff.; 2 Thess. 2:13-14).

How much better this is than the temporary intervention of Jesus when He raised this young man in Nain and restored him to his mother! This young man was raised up yet a sinner in a sinful world. Because of Jesus’ death and resurrection, all who trust in Him will be raised up from death to life eternal with Christ where there is no more sin or death!

The Bible tells us in 1 Cor. 15:51-57: “Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

And in Revelation 21:1-4, we read: “And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.”

Because Christ Jesus intervened, all who repent and look to Him in faith have God’s pardon, forgiveness and everlasting life. We read in John, chapter three: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).

And, as believers in Christ, we don’t have to sorrow like the rest of this world which has no hope, for Christ will come again with the souls of those who have died trusting in Him and will raise up all the dead and give to all who have trusted in His name everlasting life!

St. Paul wrote to the Thessalonians in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18: “But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent [precede] them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.”

And we can share in the confidence of the patriarch Job, who said: “For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me” (Job 19:25-27).

God grant to us such faith in Christ Jesus, that death becomes for us the gateway to life everlasting, for Jesus’ sake! Amen.

[Scripture quotations are from the King James Version of the Bible.]

We All Believe in One True God
German Title: Wir glauben all’ an einen Gott
Author: Martin Luther (1525)

1 We all believe in one true God,
Who created earth and heaven,
The Father, who to us in love
Has the right of children given.
He in soul and body feeds us;
All we need His hand provides us;
Through all snares and perils leads us,
Watching that no harm betide us.
He cares for us by day and night;
All things are governed by His might.

2 We all believe in Jesus Christ,
His own Son, our Lord, possessing
An equal Godhead, throne, and might,
Source of ev’ry grace and blessing;
Born of Mary, virgin mother,
By the power of the Spirit,
Word made flesh, our elder brother;
That the lost might life inherit,
Was crucified for all our sin
And raised by God to life again.

3 We all confess the Holy Ghost,
Who, in highest heaven dwelling
With God the Father and the Son,
Comforts us beyond all telling;
Who the Church, His own creation,
Keeps in unity of spirit.
Here forgiveness and salvation
Daily come through Jesus’ merit.
All flesh shall rise, and we shall be
In bliss with God eternally. Amen.