Worship Helps for Epiphany 3
Artwork: Synagogue During Torah Reading
Artist: Edward Moyse
Worship Theme: Jesus’ “going public” should not have
surprised his Jewish countrymen. They had known of the coming Messiah for a
long time, dating back to the promise given Abraham (Genesis 12:3), even to Eden (Genesis 3:15). Yet, when
Jesus finally arrived, “his own did not receive him” (John 1:10). He was not the
kind of Savior that many were looking for. That too was foretold: “He was
despised and rejected by men” (Isaiah 53:3).
Old Testament: Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10 All the people assembled as one man in the square
before the Water Gate. They told Ezra the scribe to bring out the Book of the
Law of Moses, which the LORD had commanded for Israel . 2 So on the
first day of the seventh month Ezra the priest brought the Law before the
assembly, which was made up of men and women and all who were able to
understand. 3 He read it aloud from daybreak till noon as he faced the square before
the Water Gate in the presence of the men, women and others who could
understand. And all the people listened attentively to the Book of the Law. …
5 Ezra opened the book. All the people could see him because he was
standing above them; and as he opened it, the people all stood up. 6
Ezra praised the LORD, the great God; and all the people lifted their hands and
responded, "Amen! Amen!" Then they bowed down and worshiped the LORD
with their faces to the ground. … 8 They read from the Book of the
Law of God, making it clear and giving the meaning so that the people could
understand what was being read. 9 Then Nehemiah the governor, Ezra
the priest and scribe, and the Levites who were instructing the people said to
them all, "This day is sacred to the LORD your God. Do not mourn or
weep." For all the people had been weeping as they listened to the words
of the Law. 10 Nehemiah said, "Go and enjoy choice food and
sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is
sacred to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your
strength."
1. In today’s gospel Jesus opens the scroll of Isaiah and
reads. In this lesson, from what books did Nehemiah read as he stood in Jerusalem and opened the
scroll?
2. How did the people respond to what Nehemiah read?
3. Why were the people not to weep, but to celebrate?
Epistle: Acts 4:23-31 On their
release, Peter and John went back to their own people and reported all that the
chief priests and elders had said to them. 24 When they heard this,
they raised their voices together in prayer to God. "Sovereign Lord,"
they said, "you made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and everything
in them. 25 You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your
servant, our father David: "'Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot
in vain? 26 The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers
gather together against the Lord and against his Anointed One.' 27
Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people
of Israel
in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed.
28 They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should
happen. 29 Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your
servants to speak your word with great boldness. 30 Stretch out your
hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your
holy servant Jesus." 31 After they prayed, the place where they
were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and
spoke the word of God boldly.
4. When Peter and John were released from imprisonment,
the believers in Jerusalem
responded with prayer. Why did they begin by reminding God of all he had made?
5. Why did the believers turn next in their prayer to what
God had said in Psalm 2, about a thousand
years earlier?
6. Were Herod and Pilate helpless pawns on God’s
chessboard?
Gospel: Luke 4:14-21 Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of
the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside. 15
He taught in their synagogues, and everyone praised him. 16 He went
to Nazareth ,
where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the
synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read. 17 The scroll
of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where
it is written: 18 "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he
has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim
freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the
oppressed, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."
20 Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat
down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, 21
and he began by saying to them, "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your
hearing."
7. What Scripture did Jesus read in Nazareth ’s synagogue?
8. What amazing words did Jesus use to conclude his
reading?
Answers:
1. Nehemiah read from the law of Moses, the first five
books of the Bible. (We are not sure whether he read from all the books, some
of the books or perhaps just the book of Deuteronomy, the last book of Moses.)
2. The people responded by lifting their hands and saying,
“Amen. Amen.” Then they bowed low. “They worshiped the LORD with their faces to
the ground.”
3. Nehemiah told them to celebrate, not weep, “for the joy
of the LORD is your strength.”
4. The believers did not need to help God with his
forgetfulness; he is not forgetful. By mentioning all God had made, they were
praising him and reminding themselves that God is all-powerful, so he could
handle their frightening situation.
5. When the believers quoted Psalm 2, they were praising
God and reminding themselves that God always keeps his promises. He fulfills
his Word. What he had done in the past, he would do again in the future.
6. No. Herod and Pilate were not helpless pawns on God’s
chessboard, though they did what God had decided ahead of time. They conspired
against Jesus. (The fact that God runs all things, yet people are responsible
for their own evil deeds, will always mystify us.)
7. In his hometown’s synagogue, Jesus read the scroll of
the prophet Isaiah, chapter 61.
8. After Jesus read from Isaiah 61, he explained:
“Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” In other words, Jesus was
emphatically declaring that he was the fulfillment of the words of Isaiah, that
he was our long-foretold Savior. The people who first heard Jesus make this
claim were furious (Mark 4:28-29).
Putting your faith
into action
Jesus
used Isaiah 61:1-6 as his sermon in Nazareth, recorded in Luke 4. After so many
centuries the prophet’s words were finally being fulfilled! He is the Servant
of the LORD that Isaiah foretold. He had come to free us from our sin. Instead
of cowering prisoners, we are now towering oaks! Isn’t it sad that the people
of Nazareth rejected him and even tried to kill him? How many countless
millions have done the exact same thing? May we always take the prophet’s words
seriously, so that we hold Jesus in our hearts as our one and only Savior.
Keeping of the Sabbath is not
restricted to a certain time, as with the Jewish people. It does not have to be just on this or that
day. For in itself no one day is better
than another. Instead, this should be
done daily. However, since the masses of
people cannot attend every day, there must be at least one day in the week set
apart. From ancient times Sunday ‹the
Lord’s Day› has been appointed for this purpose. So we also should continue to do the same, in
order that everything may be done in an orderly way.
This is the simple meaning of
the commandment: People must have holidays.
Therefore, such observances should be devoted to hearing God’s Word so
that the special function of this day of rest should be the ministry of the
Word for the young and the mass of poor people [Nehemiah 8:2–3, 8]. Yet the resting should not be strictly
understood to forbid any work that comes up, which cannot be avoided.
When someone asks, “What is
meant by the commandment: You shall sanctify the holy day?” Answer like this, “To sanctify the holy day
is the same as to keep it holy.” “But
what is meant by keeping it holy?”
“Nothing else than to be occupied with holy words, works, and life.” For the day needs no sanctification of
itself. It has been created holy in itself. But God desires the day to be holy to
you. It becomes holy or unholy because
of you, whether you are occupied with things that are holy or unholy. – Large
Catechism, Ten Commandments (paragraphs 85-87)
Hymns for this Sunday: 353; 85; 310; 496
353 Praise the One Who
Breaks the Darkness
1 Praise the one who
breaks the darkness With a liberating light;
Praise the one who frees the pris’ners, Turning blindness
into sight.
Praise the one who preached the gospel, Healing ev’ry dread
disease,
Calming storms and feeding thousands With the Father’s word
of peace.
2 Praise the one who
blessed the children With a strong, yet gentle, word;
Praise the one who drove out demons With the piercing,
two-edged sword.
Praise the one who brings cool water To the desert’s burning
sand;
From this well comes living water, Quenching thirst in ev’ry
land.
3 Let us praise the
Word incarnate, Christ, who suffered in our place;
Jesus died and rose victorious That we may know God by grace.
Let us sing for joy and gladness, Seeing what our God has
done;
Let us praise the true Redeemer, Praise the one who makes us
one.
Text:
Rusty Edwards, b. 1955, alt. © 1987 Hope Publishing Co., Carol Stream, IL
60188.
All
rights reserved. Used by permission.
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