Epiphany 5 -Series A study notes

 Isaiah 58:3–9a

1 Corinthians 2:1–12 (13–16)

Matthew 5:13–20

The Righteousness of Christ

O God, our Loving Father, through the grace of Your Holy Spirit You plant the gift of Your love into the hearts of Your faithful people. Grant to Your servants soundness of mind and body, so that they may love You with their whole strength and with the whole heart do these things that are pleasing in Your sight. Amen.

Jesus warns that “unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:20), but He also calls His imperfect people “the salt of the earth” and “the light of the world” (Matthew 5:13, 14). That’s because the Lord Jesus came not to abolish the Law or the Prophets “but to fulfill them” (Matthew 5:17) in perfect faith and love. Since He does and teaches all of God’s commandments, He is “called great in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:19). God manifests His “demonstration of the Spirit and of power” in “Jesus Christ and him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2–4) and through the preaching of the Gospel gives His “secret and hidden wisdom” (1 Corinthians 2:7). Christ gives this perfect righteousness to His people, and it leads them to true fasting, which is “to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free” (Isaiah 58:6) and “to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house” (Isaiah 58:7)

Matthew 5:13-20

Salt and light -

Matthew 5:13

Ὑμεῖς ἐστε τὸ ἅλας τῆς γῆς· ἐὰν δὲ τὸ ἅλας μωρανθῇ, ἐν τίνι ἁλισθήσεται; εἰς οὐδὲν ἰσχύει ἔτι εἰ μὴ βληθὲν ἔξω καταπατεῖσθαι ὑπὸ τῶν ἀνθρώπων. 

You (are these the disciples or all Christians?) are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness (tasteless, a moron) be restored? (be again salted) It is no longer good (has the strength) for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet.

Salt cannot loose itself. Christianity is the preservative of the world. When it is lost it is good for nothing. Salt and light must be seen Christologically. Christ was trampled underfoot. They killed the shepherd. Are these words prescriptive or descriptive? 

Matthew 5:14

Ὑμεῖς ἐστε τὸ φῶς τοῦ κόσμου. οὐ δύναται πόλις κρυβῆναι ἐπάνω ὄρους κειμένη· 

You are the light of the world. (Cosmos) A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 

This light can NOT be hidden. What does light do? 

A candle in total darkness can be seen for thirty miles...

He is the light coming into the world. The city cannot be hidden. It is set on the mountain. This is a promise rather than a demand. It is impossible for the Church to bear witness of Christ. 

Matthew 5:15 

οὐδὲ καίουσιν λύχνον καὶ τιθέασιν αὐτὸν ὑπὸ τὸν μόδιον ἀλλ’ ἐπὶ τὴν λυχνίαν, καὶ λάμπει πᾶσιν τοῖς ἐν τῇ οἰκίᾳ.

Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, (grain measuring) but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house.

What is the house? It is the Church. Christ gives light to those in the church. 

Matthew 5:16 

οὕτως λαμψάτω τὸ φῶς ὑμῶν ἔμπροσθεν τῶν ἀνθρώπων, ὅπως ἴδωσιν ὑμῶν τὰ καλὰ ἔργα καὶ δοξάσωσιν τὸν πατέρα ὑμῶν τὸν ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς.

In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. 

We are not left to ourselves to do anything. This is gospel not law. We have the power to hinder the light but not produce it. Vocation - the place where Christ places you - to present Christ. What is the context into which you have been placed?  

Christ came to fulfill the law

Matthew 5:17 

Μὴ νομίσητε ὅτι ἦλθον καταλῦσαι τὸν νόμον ἢ τοὺς προφήτας· οὐκ ἦλθον καταλῦσαι ἀλλὰ πληρῶσαι·

Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.

Law = the entire OT not as the Pharisees interpret the Law, but as Christ presents it. 

Matthew 5:18

ἀμὴν γὰρ λέγω ὑμῖν, ἕως ἂν παρέλθῃ ὁ οὐρανὸς καὶ ἡ γῆ, ἰῶτα ἓν ἢ μία κεραία οὐ μὴ παρέλθῃ ἀπὸ τοῦ νόμου, ἕως ἂν πάντα γένηται. 

For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. (Until all comes down)

The Law still stands. When all comes down will the Law come to an end? Not a marker of time.  

"Until whenever..."

The Law is - Indicative "you shall in this life" and imperative "you are in the world to come." 

Matthew 5:19

ὃς ἐὰν οὖν λύσῃ μίαν τῶν ἐντολῶν τούτων τῶν ἐλαχίστων καὶ διδάξῃ οὕτως τοὺς ἀνθρώπους, ἐλάχιστος κληθήσεται ἐν τῇ βασιλείᾳ τῶν οὐρανῶν· ὃς δ’ ἂν ποιήσῃ καὶ διδάξῃ, οὗτος μέγας κληθήσεται ἐν τῇ βασιλείᾳ τῶν οὐρανῶν. 

Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least (last) in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

But you're still in the kingdom is the comfort.  

You're not great in the kingdom because you're great but because your covered in Jesus. 

See Psalm 119:171ff

Matthew 5:20

λέγω γὰρ ὑμῖν ὅτι ἐὰν μὴ περισσεύσῃ [b]ὑμῶν ἡ δικαιοσύνη πλεῖον τῶν γραμματέων καὶ Φαρισαίων, οὐ μὴ εἰσέλθητε εἰς τὴν βασιλείαν τῶν οὐρανῶν. 

For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds (is greater than) that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter (you can't work your way in) the kingdom of heaven.

Pharisees used the law not to serve the neighbor but to live above the neighbor. 

You are salt you are light and when you are not salt or light Jesus is salt and light. 

  

Sources:

The Greek New Testament: SBL Edition. Copyright © 2010 by Society of Biblical Literature and Logos Bible Software

LCMS Lectionary Summary © 2016

Schnorr Von Carolsfeld woodcuts, ‘The Sermon on the Mount’ © WELS permission granted for personal and congregational use

Lutheran Service Book © 2006 Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis

Saturday prior to Epiphany 4

[1]

1John 3:16-19; Hebrews 13:16; Matthew 25:40—Sunday’s Hymn of the Day is Lord of Glory, You Have Bought Us (LSB #851). This wonderful hymn tells the story of salvation and places Christ at the center of everything the Christian does. We are still in a new year. In everything that is begun, continued and ended may Christ be the focus of all that we do.

Lord of Glory, You Have Bought Us

Author: Eliza S. Alderson (1818-89)

Typical Tune: Hyfrydol, Rowland H. Prichard (1811-87)

Alderson was the sister of Rev. J.B. Dykes. Her husband was the chaplain of West Riding House of Correction in Wakefield, England (1833-1876). She was a poet and prolific hymn writer, but only 12 have been published. This hymn is the only one she has published in an LCMS hymnal. 

This hymn is another prayer about Jesus’ holy and blessed sacrifice on the cross. In this prayer, we focus our thoughts and minds on the required payment for our salvation. Jesus had to shed His holy, precious, innocent blood to save you and me from our sins. He willingly came from His heavenly throne, without grudge, to save mankind whom He had created.

We also look at our proper response to Christ’s sacrifice. We should be willing to sacrifice ourselves and our desires for another’s needs. We needed salvation. Christ sacrificed Himself to give it to us. We are to be willing to sacrifice everything to help our neighbor in their need.[2]

Collect for Saturday of the week of Epiphany 3: Grant us, O God, to be mindful now of Thy presence, that what we think and say, and all we do, may learn to arrange itself as before Thy face. Through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen [3]

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[1] Image of the cross © Ed Riojas, Higher Things

[2] http://www.trinityslayton.net/pastors_notes/?p=1796

[3] Collect for Saturday of the week of Epiphany 3, For All the Saints, A Prayer Book For and By the Church, Vol. III © 1995, The American Lutheran Publicity Bureau, Delhi, NY

 

Friday prior to Epiphany 4

[1]

Matthew 5:1-12—The People God Blesses; blessed are those with spiritual qualities

Blessed are those with spiritual qualities. The Beatitudes. They describe the condition of a person in a right relationship with God through faith in Christ. “Blessed” is often translated as “happy.” It is more than what the world considers happiness — possessions, satisfaction, and peace. The blessed one is in favor with God and man. However, the Beatitudes are applicable to the present, their promises look to the future for fulfillment. The Beatitudes are God-oriented: kingdom of heaven, see God, on my account. The blessed estate does not depend upon secular well-being for its fulfillment.

It is conceivable a Christian can be perfectly miserable on earth and yet blessed. Poor in spirit. Luke omits “in spirit.” Certainly Matthew is not neglecting the physically poor. There is no blessing in poverty. Poor people are not necessarily blessed. The economically poor can be godly or godless. “Poor in spirit,” moreover, does not mean a lack of spirit. Rather, the phrase describes a state of being which we might call humility, unworthiness, a dependence on God for the fulfillment of needs. The New English Bible helpfully translates 5:3: “How blest are those who know their need of God.”

The Beatitudes in verses 3-11 are numbered. Commentators ask us to consider the first seven Beatitudes (Vv.3-9) as a unit and the last three verses as a threefold conclusion describing the response of the world to the Christian brand of citizenship. The first seven Beatitudes can be divided into two groups. The first four describe the internal qualities that characterize the citizens of God’s kingdom and the last three the manner in which the inner dispositions express themselves in the Christian’s relation to his neighbor.

Father, You revealed Your Son to the nations by the guidance of a star. Lead us to Your glory in heaven by the light of faith. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, One God, forever and ever.[2]

Collect for Friday of the week of Epiphany 3: Almighty God, who art away, but not far; and silent except for the sound of footsteps on the path beyond, and this ceaseless knocking at the door of our hearts; do Thou reveal Thyself to us, to each in the way Thou seest fit; that for all our darkness it may be light again, out of our troubles granting us that peace which makes all things peaceful. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen [3]

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[1] Image of the cross © Ed Riojas, Higher Things

[2] An Epiphany Collect, Lutheran Service Book, © 2006, Concordia Publishing House. St. Louis

[3] Collect for Friday of the week of Epiphany 3, For All the Saints, A Prayer Book For and By the Church, Vol. III © 1995 The American Lutheran Publicity Bureau, Delhi, NY

 

Thursday prior to Epiphany 4

[1]

1 Corinthians 1:18-31—The People God Blesses; Blessed are the low and despised people of God.

Blessed are the lowly and despised. Paul reminds the church at Corinth that God chose them when they were of no account in the sight of the world: slaves, women, and children.

They had no education (wisdom), no political power, and no blue blood. This harmonizes with Jesus’ example as friend of publicans and sinners. He did not choose wealthy, high class or scholarly men for disciples, but peasants and publicans. 

Why is God interested only in “down-and-outers” and not in the “up-and-outers?” How can this truth be applied to today’s church members who are generally from the middle to top class, have comfortable incomes, are college graduates and among the socially elite? It may be because the educated are educated out of their need for God. The wealthy need nothing that money cannot buy. The powerful are too self-sufficient and sophisticated to humble themselves before God as suppliants and miserable sinners.

“Christ crucified,” is the “stumbling block” of Jesus, who could not accept a suffering and dying God as the Messiah and “foolishness” to the Greeks, whose love for philosophy saw little value in accentuating a criminal’s crucifixion. By contrast, the Christians based their entire faith on such “nonsense” and no doubt appeared a bit “weak in the head” to those around them, 

What is more, many of the early Christians came from the ranks of the poor (and slaves) and were also considered physically and socially “weak.”  Paul speaks a word of contrast and comfort, highlighted also by the exhortation to humility in the Old Testament reading (Micah 6:1-8) and by the beatitudes in the Gospel. (Matthew 5:1-12)

From a human perspective, God operates in a very strange fashion. He does not prize or value those qualities men and women cherish. Boasting of one’s wisdom, power, and status counts for nothing in the sight of God. In the Old Testament, when He called His people to Himself, He chose a most unlikely and undeserving band of slaves. He molded these “nobodies” into His own nation (Deuteronomy 7:6-8) God’s strategy has not changed in the New Testament. What the human eye vales (v.26) is of no consequence to God. (Vv.27-29) Only in Jesus (V.30) doe we learn of how God perceives the issues of wisdom and power and status. Once we share His world view, we quickly learn that the only cause for boasting is in the Lord Himself. (V. 31)

A Collect for Epiphany: Lord God, on this day you revealed your Son to the nations by the leading of a star. Lead us now by faith to know your presence in our lives and bring us at last to the full vision of your glory.[2]

Collect for Thursday of the week of Epiphany 3: O Thou Father of the spirits of all flesh, we remember before Thee Thy children once with us in the world, but who have departed this life and sleep in Thee. Thou who keepest in perfect peace all minds and hearts that are stayed on thee, we rejoice for ever with them in the love that casts out fear. We also remember those who have been faithful workers, but are more weary of well-doing, and who faint because of the burden and heart of the day. Help them to possess their souls in patience and to persevere unto the end, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen [3]

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[1] Image of the cross © Ed Riojas, Higher Things

[2] An Epiphany Collect, Lutheran Service Book © 2006, Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis

[3] Collect for Thursday of the week of Epiphany 3, 

 

Wednesday prior to Epiphany 4

[1]

Micah 6:1-8—The people God Blesses – Blessed are those who fulfill God’s requirements

In response to the LORD’s blessing; the faithful fulfill the LORD’s requirements.

Blessed are they who walk with God.  Micah pictures God as suing his people. He takes Israel to court. The people are the defendants. The prophet is God’s defense attorney. The cosmos consists of the witness. God has something against His people: they have been unfaithful to the covenant, played the harlot with pagan gods, and broke His commandments. They have been a disobedient, faithless, and rebellious people. God has a right to a controversy with His people.

Micah pictures God suing His people. He takes Israel to court. The people are the defendants. The prophet is God’s defense attorney. The cosmos consists of the witnesses. God has something against His people. They have been unfaithful to the covenant, played the harlot with pagan gods, and broke His commandments. They have been a disobedient, faithless and rebellious people. God has a right to controversy with His people.

The reading is easily divided into three sections:

1.      Vv. 1-2 the calling of the Heavenly court to order.

2.      Vv. 3-5 The Plaintiff’s (The LORD_ Suit (heightened by a review of salvation history.)

3.      Vv.5-8 A Proper and Improper Response.

God’s complaint is that His people have forgotten what He has done for them in the past.  Pathetically God asks His people; “What evil have I done to you? How have I wearied you?”  It sounds as though God is to blame. He asks His people to remember His past dealings with His people; acts of mercy, loyalty, and deliverance – brought out of the slavery of Egypt, and conquest of the Promised Land. These are the wonderful acts of God’s faithfulness and love for His people. 

Collects for Epiphany 4: Almighty God, You know we live in the midst of so many dangers that in our frailty we cannot stand upright. Grant strength and protection to support us in all dangers and carry us through all temptations through Jesus Christ Your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God now and forever.

 

O God, you know that we cannot withstand the dangers, which surround us. Strengthen us in body and spirit so that with your help, we may be able to overcome the weakness that our sin has brought upon us.[2]

Collect for Wednesday of the week of Epiphany 3: Hear us, O God, in all our deep desires; some we can put into words, most of them we can’t because we are strangers even to ourselves. Of Thy mercy answer us, after Thy will and wisdom, not after ours. Through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.[3]  

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[1] Image of the cross © Ed Riojas, Higher Things

[2] Collects for Epiphany 4, Lutheran Service Book, © 2006 Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis

[3] Collect for Wednesday of the week of Epiphany 3, For All the Saints, A Prayer Book For and By the Church, © 1995, The American Lutheran Publicity Bureau, Delhi, NY 

 

Tuesday prior to Epiphany 4

[1]

Psalm 15 — This psalm gives instruction to those who wish to have access to God at His temple. Thomas Jefferson called this psalm the picture of “a true gentleman.” This is a testimonial of the man of God. What does God require of the individual who seeks his company?

He expects right conduct, right speaking (verses 2-3a), right relationships with others (verses 3b-4), and a right use of wealth (verse 5) See also Psalm 24. Who swears… (Verse 4) i.e. who keeps his word whatever the cost; Verse 5, one of the Jewish laws, see Leviticus 25:36-37. It was not a total ban on lending at interest, but applied to fellow Israelites.

Psalm 15 – This psalm is simply titled A Psalm of David. In it, David meditates over the character of the man received into the presence of God. We have no precise occasion for this psalm, but it may well have been on the bringing of the Ark of the Covenant into Jerusalem (2 Samuel 6). This was a time when David was very much concerned with the questions asked and answered in this psalm.[2]

Collect for Psalm 15: Lord Jesus, You first chose to live among us, and in returning to Your Father You made an eternal home for us. Help us walk blamelessly in You ways and bring us at last to Your holy mountain, where You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen [3]

Collect for Tuesday of the week of Epiphany 3: Give us grace, O lord, to answer readily the call of our Savior Jesus Christ and proclaim to all people the Good News of his salvation, that we and the whole world may perceive the glory of his marvelous works, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen [4]

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[1] Image of the cross © Ed Riojas, Higher Things

[2] https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/psalm-15

[3] Collect for Psalm 15, For All the Saints, A Prayer Book For and By the Church, Vol. III © 1995 The American Lutheran Publicity Bureau, Delhi, NY

[4] Ibid, Collect for Tuesday of the week of Epiphany3

 

Monday prior to Epiphany 4

[1]

Psalm 1:1-5; antiphon, Psalm 1:6—In the Introit for Sunday, we pray, For the Lord knows the way of the righteous but the way of the wicked will perish. This Psalm speaks of the blessedness of those who derive their ideas of life from God’s Word rather than from their worldly neighbors. Happiness and prosperity is theirs. Not so with the wicked. Repeatedly the godly and the wicked are contrasted.

Thus the book of Psalms opens with an exaltation of God’s Word. If David so loved the brief writings that then constituted God’s Word, how much more should we love that same Word, which has not been brought to completion, headed up around the beautiful story of Christ. Other Psalms of the Word are Psalm 19 and Psalm 119. Note also the Psalm’s first word is “blessed.”  Blessed is Beatitude: like the Sermon of the Mount in Matthew’s Gospel.

Epiphany season continues its revelation of the glory of God in Jesus. We saw his glory at his baptism (Epiphany 1). John the Baptist witnessed to His glory as Messiah (Epiphany 2). Through His ministry, His glory was revealed as the light in a dark world. Now, we see the glory of God in Jesus by His attitude and grace toward the outcasts of society: the spiritually poor, the humble, and the despised. His glory is seen in His love and concern for sinners. Though He is the Son of God, He does not cater to the religious elite, the highly educated and the economically rich. What a glorious God we see in Christ who humbles Himself to serve the unfortunate and the spiritually impoverished!

Psalm 1 – The way of the righteous and the way of the ungodly

Verse six presents a key to understanding Psalm 1 “For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish.” In this psalm, the way of the righteous and the way of the ungodly are contrasted.

The LORD knows the way of the righteous. The righteous can have peace because a loving God in heaven knows their way, and will protect and preserve them.

Or, as the Hebrew has it yet more fully, ‘The Lord knows the way of the righteous.’ He is constantly looking on their way, and though it may be often in mist and darkness, yet the Lord knows it.

The way of the ungodly shall perish. The way of the ungodly leads to destruction. They are on a broad path that may seem comfortable now and the path gives them lots of company, but in the end they shall perish.

At least four times in the Book of Acts, Christianity is called the Way. Certainly, it is the way of the righteous, not the way of the ungodly. Which way are you on?[2]

Collect for Psalm 1: Lord God, in your loving wisdom you have set us beside the fountain of life, like a tree planted by running streams. Grant that the cross of your Son may become our tree of life in the paradise of your saints, through Jesus Christ our Lord.[3]

Collect for Monday of the week of Epiphany 3: Almighty Father, the love you offer always exceeds the furthest expression of our human longing, for you are greater than the human heart. Direct each thought, each effort of our life, so that the limits of our faults and weaknesses may not obscure the vision of your glory or keep us from the peace you have promised. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen[4]

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[1] Image of the cross © Ed Riojas, Higher Things

[2] https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/psalm-1

[3] Collect for Psalm 1, For All the Saints, A Prayer Book For and By the Church, Vol. III © 1995 The American Lutheran Publicity Bureau, Delhi, NY 

[4] Ibid, Collect for Monday of the week of Epiphany 3