LESSON: JOHN 7:14-24

“If I cast out demons by Be-elzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out?” Luke 11:19

Jesus certainly confronts His enemies here with a telling and crushing question when He asks them, “If I cast out demons by Be-elzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out?” He means to ask them, “Is it not rabid hatred to condemn in me what you praise in your own children? When your children do something, it is from God; but because I do a thing, it must be from the devil.” That is how the world must react to Christ. What Christ does is of the devil; if someone else did it, it would be right.

This is also the reasoning of the tyrants and enemies of the Gospel today. They condemn in us what they praise in themselves, and they confess it and teach it. This is how they must act, so that the judgment passed on them is publicly approved, namely, that their condemnation is correct. The “sons” who cast out devils, whom Christ mentions here, were, I believe, exorcists who functioned among the people. God bestowed many spiritual gifts on His people from of old. He calls them their “sons” as though He meant them to understand, “I am God’s son and yet I must belong to the devil; but those who are your ‘sons’ born from you do the same as I do but must not be regarded as belonging to the devil.”

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PRAYER: Lord Jesus, You suffered scorn, mockery, contempt, and blasphemy for us, and men turned a deaf ear to Your testimony and proclamation. In all this we know, O Lord, that You have set a pattern for us to follow in Your name. Amen.

LESSON: ROMANS 6:1-11

“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears my word and believes Him who sent me, has eternal life; he does not come into judgement, but has passed from death to life.” John 5:25

The meaning of Jesus is that he who clings to the Word will not feel or see death, even in the midst of death, as He also declares later on: “He who believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, for I am the life” (John 11:25).

Here we see what a wonderful thing the Christian faith really is, for it already saves us from death eternally and brings it to pass that we never die. The death and dying of a Christian is just like that of an unbeliever externally, but inwardly there is as much difference here as the difference between heaven and earth. For the Christian sleeps in death and passes through it to life, but the unbeliever passes from life to experience death eternally.

We also see this from the way in which some shake in terror, are full of doubt and even despair, and completely lose all reason and sense in the throes of death.

This is why Scripture also calls death a sleep. For just as the one who falls asleep does not really know what is happening to him and recovers consciousness quite suddenly in the morning when he wakes up, so we, too, will arise on the last day without any knowledge how we died and passed through death.

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PRAYER: Lord Jesus, draw us ever closer to You in true and living faith so that we firmly believe that, whether we live or die, we are Yours and the heirs of eternal life and blessedness with You, the Father, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

LESSON: PSALM 36

Thy steadfast love, O Lord, extends to the heavens, Thy faithfulness to the clouds. Psalm 36:5

God’s power and might is in the very bread we eat. He is present in this bread and nourishes us through it and under it, but in an invisible manner. We think that it is the bread that does it all! But where no bread is available, He nourishes men without bread by His Word alone. He acts here also as He acts under the bread, invisibly. The bread is His “fellow worker,” as Paul says, “We are fellow workers for God” (1 Corinthians 3:9).

Through and under our external office of the ministry, He gives His grace inwardly—that grace which He could actually give without our office and does give without it. But while the office is there, one should not despise it or tempt God.

So also He nourishes us through bread externally, but inwardly He alone gives the growth and digestion which the bread cannot give. In short, all creatures are God’s masks and mummers, whom He wants to work along with Him and help Him to accomplish all sorts of things, which He could certainly accomplish without their co-operation and also does accomplish without them.

This is what He has ordained so that we should learn to cling to His pure Word alone. If there is bread, do not put all your confidence in it; if there is no bread, there are still no grounds for despair. Use the bread when it is available and do without it when it is not available.

But at all times we should be certain that we are nourished by the Word of God, whether bread is available or not. With this faith, one conquers greed, bodily indulgence, and temporal concern for our nourishment.

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PRAYER: Keep us ever alert, heavenly Father, to the fact that we continually need the blessing of Your Word in all that we do in our daily lives, even in our eating and drinking, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

LESSON: PSALM 121

My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. Psalm 121:2

There are situations in life when God really strips us bare and we suffer want, even in regard to such matters as clothing, housing, and the like. But before very long, clothing has to be found, otherwise the very leaves would have to be plucked from the trees and become coats and cloaks for us to wear, just as it happened to the children of Israel in the wilderness, whose clothing and shoes remained intact (Deuteronomy 8:2,4). So also the wild deserts became their houses and provided ways for them where there were no ways and water where there was no water; indeed, stones became water for them.

God’s Word stands fast, which says, “He cares about you” (1 Peter 5:7). What Paul says to Timothy is only too true: “God [...] richly furnishes us with everything to enjoy” (1 Timothy 6:17).

Christ’s own words in His Sermon on the Mount also apply here: “Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well. Therefore, do not be anxious” (Matthew 6:33,34). Such words must remain true and stand fast into all eternity.

It is quite a common sight that poor people and their children are better conditioned and that their provisions seem to go further and to be more beneficial than is the case with the wealthy and their rich supplies. In many ways, we are reminded that earthly provisions are not the only matter of importance. God’s Word nourishes all men.

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PRAYER: Lord Jesus, our Savior and Redeemer, you have assured us that you will be with us always, even to the end of time. For this reason, we now turn to you in the faith and conviction that you will always hear us, for your truth’s sake. Amen.

LESSON: MATTHEW 7:7-12

Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated; so also the fish, as much as they wanted. And when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples, “Gather up the fragments left over, that nothing may be lost.” John 6:11,12

In taking the five loaves and blessing them, Jesus gives us to understand that there is never anything so insignificant that it cannot be of some use for His disciples. He can bless even a little for them, so that they eventually have more than enough, whereas those who are rich often do not have enough with all their riches.

“Those who seek the Lord lack no good thing,” as the Psalmist declares, but the rich often suffer hunger. “The young lions suffer want and hunger” (Psalm 34:10). In her Magnificat, Mary also reminds us that “He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent empty away” (Luke 1:53).

On the other hand, in giving the order that the fragments should be gathered up, Jesus teaches us to be saving, to look after His blessings, to make good use of them so that one never tempts God by the misuse of His blessings.

Just as He wants us to have faith when we have nothing and to be quite sure that He will provide for us, so also He does not want us to tempt Him by despising the blessing He has given us or by letting them lie to rot away while awaiting others from heaven by way of a miracle.

What He has provided, we should accept and use. What He has not provided, we should wait for with firm faith.

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PRAYER: You have often shown us in your Word, O Lord, that your children will never lack any good thing. We trust you to provide all the “good things” we need as your children. Grant us your grace that we never misuse any of these good things, for Christ’s sake. Amen.

LESSON: JOHN 15:12-17

“As the Father has loved me, so have I love you; abide in my love.” John 15:9

In His feeding of the five thousand, our Lord gives us a splendid example of His manifold love for men. In the first place, His miracle in providing so much food is not performed only for the benefit of His godly followers who followed Him for the sake of His works and words. It benefited also those who were concerned only about their bodily welfare, who sought only food, drink, and temporal honor from Him.

Soon after this, Jesus set some of these people straight at Capernaum when He said, “You seek me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves” (John 6:26). They actually wanted to take Jesus by force and make Him their king (John 6:15).

Here, on the other side of the Sea of Galilee, Jesus sends His rain and lets His sun shine on the evil and on the good (Matthew 5:45).

In the second place, we should note how Jesus, in a most friendly manner, bears with the crudeness and weak faith of His disciples. His testing question to Philip and his apparent appeal to reason, and Andrew’s rather childish contribution to the matter under discussion, are recorded here to bring to light the imperfection of the apostles. Over against all this, His own love and friendly treatment of them shines forth even more beautifully and with greater love.

All this should stimulate our faith and act as an example for us to follow. The members of our body and all creatures also offer us common instruction. For all that God has created is full of love; the one creature bears, helps, and rescues the other.

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PRAYER: Lord Jesus, your love for us was truly wonderful and passing knowledge. Let this love always be aglow within us so that we accept it in true faith for our salvation and practice it for the benefit of all our fellowmen, for your love’s sake. Amen.

LESSON: JOHN 6:1-15

“Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well.” Matthew 6:33

In the Gospel of the feeding of the five thousand, Christ once again teaches us the need for faith without anxious worry about food and clothing. Then He stirs us up with a miracle in which He actually demonstrates in deed what He says in words in the Sermon on the Mount, “Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well.”

We see here that the people follow Him to hear God’s Word and to witness signs. They are seeking God’s kingdom. Jesus does not forsake them but provides them richly with food. He shows quite clearly that before those who seek God’s kingdom should suffer want, the grass in the wilderness should rather become corn and one piece of bread should rather become a thousand loaves, so that what He declared to the devil at the time of His temptation would stand fast, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4).

So that this principle of God’s Word should be confirmed and stand fast, He proceeds to provide for these people what they should eat. He consults Philip about the matter even before they make any complaints and ask for food.

From this we also should learn to let Him do the worrying for us, and we should realize that He thinks about us more and sooner than we think about ourselves.

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PRAYER: You know all our needs, O Lord, even before we think about them ourselves. You have promised never to leave or forsake us. Be with us then, O Lord, at all times, for the sake of your truth and mercy. Amen.

LESSON: LUKE 9:46-50

“He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters.” Luke 11:23

The Gospels are replete with many fine sayings which set forth very important teachings. This is also the case in Christ’s words at the end of the Gospel concerning the healing of the dumb demoniac: “He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters.” “The devil is not with me, for I drive him out. And so, he must certainly be against me.”

However, this saying refers not only to the devil, but to the blasphemers on whom also He passes sentence and condemnation here. They are against Him because they are not with Him.

To be with Christ means to think with Christ, that is, to believe in Christ, to believe that His works and not our works help us. That is Christ’s position, and that is what He teaches. To “gather” with Christ is to do good in love and to be rich in good works.

He who does not believe in Christ is compelled to rely on his own works. Such a man is not with Christ but against Christ. He denies Christ because he builds on his own works. A man who does not love does not gather with Christ but performs vain works, whereby he becomes worse and gets further away from faith.

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PRAYER: Lord God, our loving, heavenly Father, grant us at all times such an understanding and clarity of faith that we are always absolutely with Christ and not against Him, gathering with Him and not scattering. Amen.