Confessional Lutheran Ministerium

Psalm 122:1-9 (NKJV)

¹ A Son of Ascents. Of David.
I was glad when they said to me,
“Let us go into the house of the Lord.”
² Our feet have been standing
Within your gates, O Jerusalem!

³ Jerusalem is built
As a city that is compact together,
⁴ Where the tribes go up,
The tribes of the Lord,
^[a]To the Testimony of Israel,
To give thanks to the name of the Lord.
⁵ For thrones are set there for judgment,
The thrones of the house of David.

⁶ Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
“May they prosper who love you.
⁷ Peace be within your walls,
Prosperity within your palaces.”
⁸ For the sake of my brethren and companions,
I will now say, “Peace be within you.”
⁹ Because of the house of the Lord our God
I will seek your good.

Psalm 122 expresses King David’s heartfelt love for Jerusalem. But the Jerusalem that David loved and for which David prayed for peace has almost nothing to do with the modern city of Jerusalem.

What was it about Jerusalem that David loved? It was the fact that God had established His anointed king there and had chosen that place for His house, for the temple, for the ministry of the priests, for hearing the prayers of His people, for receiving the sacrifices that maintained Israel’s covenant relationship with Him. Under the Old Testament, Jerusalem and her temple were the only place on earth where God promised to be present to hear and to help His people. “Because of the house of the LORD our God I will seek your good.”

What else did David love about Jerusalem? It was where the people of God came together to worship the Lord, “where the tribes go up, the tribes of the LORD…to give thanks to the name of the LORD.”

But Old Testament Jerusalem was a temporary location for a temporary temple, a temporary gathering place for the people of God. The city still exists on our maps, but the house of the LORD is no longer there, or is not exclusively there. Now the house of the Lord is present wherever two or three are gathered in the name of Christ. Now the ministry of the Lord takes place wherever the ministers whom Christ has sent preach His Gospel and administer His Sacraments. Now the people of the Lord—believers in the Lord Jesus—gather all around the world to hear His Word, to sing His praises, and to encourage one another.

So, yes, pray for the peace of Jerusalem! Not the city on the other side of the world, but the true City of God, the Holy Christian Church, where God daily forgives sins to all believers, and where believers, as brothers and sisters in God’s house, give thanks to the Lord for bringing us into the Jerusalem that is above!

Let us pray: O God, we pray for the peace of Your beloved Church, that Your people may be kept safe from harm and that Your Gospel may be freely proclaimed. Amen.

Hebrews 7:20-28 (NKJV)

²⁰ And inasmuch as He was not made priest without an oath ²¹ (for they have become priests without an oath, but He with an oath by Him who said to Him:

“The Lord has sworn
And will not relent,
‘You are a priest forever
According to the order of Melchizedek’ ”),

²² by so much more Jesus has become a surety of a better covenant.

²³ Also there were many priests, because they were prevented by death from continuing. ²⁴ But He, because He continues forever, has an unchangeable priesthood. ²⁵ Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.

²⁶ For such a High Priest was fitting for us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and has become higher than the heavens; ²⁷ who does not need daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the people’s, for this He did once for all when He offered up Himself. ²⁸ For the law appoints as high priests men who have weakness, but the word of the oath, which came after the law, appoints the Son who has been perfected forever.

The writer to the Hebrews offers in these verses even more reasons why Christ is the greater Priest—greater than all the Levitical priests, with a priesthood greater than theirs.

First, Christ is greater because His priesthood was established by an oath of God. The Levitical priests did not have such an oath. Concerning the Christ, “The Lord has sworn…You are a Priest forever!” This makes Him the surety or the guarantor of a better covenant, that is, of the New Testament in His blood.

Second, Christ is greater because His priesthood remains forever, whereas the Levitical priesthood kept changing hands, because all the Levitical priests eventually died. But Christ lives forever, making Him “able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.” This is the powerful effect of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. He now continues forever as our Mediator and Intercessor at the right hand of God the Father.

Third, Christ is greater, because He is sinless. Earthly priests can err. Earthly priests can mislead or even be wicked. And, because they are sinful, they have to devote some of their time to making atonement for their own sins. But Christ, being sinless, cannot err or mislead.

Finally, Christ is greater, because He doesn’t need to spend each day offering sacrifice after sacrifice to atone for sins, as the Levitical priests did. No, by offering Himself on the cross once for all, Christ has actually accomplished what none of the Old Testament sacrifices could: He has provided atonement for the sins of the world.

That sacrifice “perfected Him forever.” Christ was always sinless, but until He offered the sacrifice of Himself on the cross, He wasn’t yet the “perfect” High Priest. Now He is! And He will be forever! Let us pray: Heavenly Father, we praise You for making Your Son into the perfect High Priest to reconcile us to You and to bring us into Your presence as Your beloved children. Amen.

Hebrews 7:11-19 (NKJV)

¹¹ Therefore, if perfection were through the Levitical priesthood (for under it the people received the law), what further need was there that another priest should rise according to the order of Melchizedek, and not be called according to the order of Aaron? ¹² For the priesthood being changed, of necessity there is also a change of the law. ¹³ For He of whom these things are spoken belongs to another tribe, from which no man has officiated at the altar.

¹⁴ For it is evident that our Lord arose from Judah, of which tribe Moses spoke nothing concerning priesthood. ¹⁵ And it is yet far more evident if, in the likeness of Melchizedek, there arises another priest ¹⁶ who has come, not according to the law of a fleshly commandment, but according to the power of an endless life. ¹⁷ For He testifies:

“You are a priest forever
According to the order of Melchizedek.”

¹⁸ For on the one hand there is an annulling of the former commandment because of its weakness and unprofitableness, ¹⁹ for the law made nothing perfect; on the other hand, there is the bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God.

The Levitical priesthood and the Law of Moses were never intended to last. That fact can be understood from just the one verse about the coming Christ in Psalm 110, “You are a Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.”

The writer to the Hebrews walks us through the argument. The Law of Moses, the Levitical priesthood, and the high priesthood of the sons of Aaron (also of the tribe of Levi) were established at Mt. Sinai, in roughly 1500 BC. But King David wrote Psalm 110 five hundred years later, prophesying that the coming Christ would have a special priesthood, a special role as Sacrifice-Bringer and Mediator, that had nothing to do with the Levitical priesthood, because His priesthood would be according to the order of Melchizedek. Like Melchizedek, the Christ would be a priest, but also a king, descended from King David himself, of the tribe of Judah.

As for the Levitical priests, their official ministry in the temple lasted only 25 years (cf. Num. 8:23-25), at most. And all the Levitical priests died, ensuring the temporary nature of their ministry. But the Christ would be “a priest forever.”

Therefore, since the Christ’s ministry would not be governed by the Law of Moses, and since the Christ would be a priest forever, the Law of Moses and the Levitical priesthood were destined to be replaced by Christ’s ministry. The Old Testament was temporary. The New Testament is eternal.

Yes, the inspired writer makes a very bold statement in this reading, testifying that God had annulled the old commandment of Moses, due to its “weakness and unprofitableness.” Why weak and unprofitable? Because “the Law made nothing perfect.” It didn’t actually provide atonement for sins. It didn’t transform hearts. It still required separation from God. But now there is a better hope through which we draw near to God: the hope given to us by Christ Jesus, our Priest forever!

Let us pray: Lord Jesus, our great High Priest, we thank You for Your sacrifice and intercession on our behalf. Sanctify us by Your Spirit, that we may serve You faithfully in all things. Amen.

Hebrews 7:1-10 (NKJV)

For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, ² to whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all, first being translated “king of righteousness,” and then also king of Salem, meaning “king of peace,” ³ without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God, remains a priest continually.

⁴ Now consider how great this man was, to whom even the patriarch Abraham gave a tenth of the spoils. ⁵ And indeed those who are of the sons of Levi, who receive the priesthood, have a commandment to receive tithes from the people according to the law, that is, from their brethren, though they have come from the loins of Abraham; ⁶ but he whose genealogy is not derived from them received tithes from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises. ⁷ Now beyond all contradiction the lesser is blessed by the better. ⁸ Here mortal men receive tithes, but there he receives them, of whom it is witnessed that he lives. ⁹ Even Levi, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham, so to speak, ¹⁰ for he was still in the loins of his father when Melchizedek met him.

We know next to nothing about the Old Testament figure named Melchizedek. He was a king and a priest of the true God who had a brief encounter with Abraham as Abraham was returning from his victory over the kings who had kidnapped his nephew Lot. We are told nothing in Holy Scripture of the origin of this priest-king and nothing of his end.

Melchizedek’s name isn’t mentioned again in Scripture until he is mentioned in a cryptic prophecy in Psalm 110, speaking about the coming Christ: “The LORD has sworn and will not relent: You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.” The writer to the Hebrews explains this verse for us and demonstrates throughout this chapter that Melchizedek’s priesthood was greater than the Levitical priesthood, and, therefore, Christ’s New Testament priesthood, being in the order of Melchizedek, is also far greater than the priesthood of those who served under the Old Testament.

How was Melchizedek greater than the Levitical priests? He was a king; they were not. He “lives,” that is, his death is not recorded in Scripture, nor are there any limitations placed on his priesthood by God, whereas the Levitical priests all die, making their ministry temporary. Melchizedek received tithes from Abraham, and blessed Abraham, and paid tithes to no one, proving that he was greater than Abraham, whereas the Levitical priests, being descended from Abraham, were lesser than he and even paid tithes to Melchizedek through their ancestor, Abraham.

In other words, the inspired writer is starting to make the case, based on the Old Testament, that the Old Testament was always pointing ahead to its own replacement by the New Testament to be instituted by the coming Christ, who is greater than the Old Testament priests in every way. Therefore, the Hebrew Christians had not lost anything by giving up their Old Testament priesthood and ceremonies. If they had Christ, they had something far better!

Let us pray: Father in heaven, we thank You for giving us Your beloved Son to be our perfect Mediator and Priest. Amen.

Hebrews 6:11-20 (NKJV)

¹¹ And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end, ¹² that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

¹³ For when God made a promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself, ¹⁴ saying, “Surely blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply you.” ¹⁵ And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise. ¹⁶ For men indeed swear by the greater, and an oath for confirmation is for them an end of all dispute. ¹⁷ Thus God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath, ¹⁸ that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us.

¹⁹ This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil, ²⁰ where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.

The Lord encourages us in today’s verses to “imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.”

Faith and patience go together. Faith hears a promise of God and says, “Yes, I believe in God to be true to His word and to do as He says.” But the things God promises are often to be sought in the future, and so patience is required.

This was the case with most of the promises made to Abraham. He was promised offspring, for which he had to wait 25 years. He was promised descendants as numerous as the stars—something he never saw during his earthly life. He was promised the “Promised Land” of Canaan, but he was told from the start that it would be 400 years before the promise would be fulfilled. He was promised that all nations would be blessed through him and his offspring, which began to be fulfilled when Christ came and won’t be completely fulfilled until all the elect from all the nations are brought into the Holy Christian Church.

Abraham clung in faith to the word of God, to the point that he was ready to sacrifice his promised son, Isaac, fully believing that the Lord would raise him from the dead in order to fulfill his unbreakable promises. And as a reward for Abraham’s faith and patience, God made the promises even stronger by adding an oath to them, swearing by Himself that He would indeed fulfill them all. That oath added yet another solid layer to the already-solid foundation God had already laid in His promises, so that Abraham had all the more reason to keep believing and keep waiting patiently.

New Testament Christians have good reason to imitate the faith and patience of Abraham and all the Biblical saints, and to hope for all the good outcomes God has promised us. Not only do we have His inspired promises to rely on for the present and future, but we also have the record of God’s faithful fulfillment of every promise made along the way. So let us trust in the word of our God, wait patiently for the help and deliverance He has promised from sin and every evil, and let us “flee for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us.” Let us pray: Lord God, increase our faith, hope, and love, and grant us the gift of patience, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.

Hebrews 6:1-10 (NKJV)

Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, ² of the doctrine of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. ³ And this we will do if God permits.

⁴ For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, ⁵ and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, ⁶ if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame.

⁷ For the earth which drinks in the rain that often comes upon it, and bears herbs useful for those by whom it is cultivated, receives blessing from God; ⁸ but if it bears thorns and briers, it is rejected and near to being cursed, whose end is to be burned.

⁹ But, beloved, we are confident of better things concerning you, yes, things that accompany salvation, though we speak in this manner. ¹⁰ For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister.

We tend not to speak of “fundamental doctrines,” because people tend to think wrongly of such doctrines as “the really important ones,” while other doctrines of Scripture, they think, are less important. But the writer to the Hebrews speaks of fundamental doctrines in a different way.

In today’s reading, the inspired writer is ready to move on from the fundamental or “foundational” doctrines of the Christian faith, since they have already been laid down and discussed at length by him and by the other apostles. Such doctrines include the basic teachings of right and wrong, the call to repentance and faith in Christ, justification by faith, sanctification and good works, the Sacraments, the office of the ministry, and Christ’s return for judgment. Christians need to review these doctrines often, but the inspired teacher wishes to teach some deeper things in this letter, namely, matters of Christology and the relationship between the Old Testament and the New.

But before he does that, he issues a warning: It’s possible to fall away from faith. And what a horrific thing that would be, to know the goodness and mercy of God, to receive forgiveness through Christ, to receive His Holy Spirit—and then to turn one’s back on it all, rejecting and bringing shame to the One who died for them, whose name they bore for a time! The good tree produces good fruit and receives praise from God, while the bad tree produces bad fruit and, in the end, is uprooted by God.

The inspired writer is not accusing his readers of such apostasy, as he makes clear in vv. 9-10. No, but he wants them to beware. His warning calls Christians to sober reflection, to repentance and a renewed faith in Christ, to yearn for further instruction in the Word, and to pursue God’s will diligently. Let us take his words to heart and give thanks that God has allowed us to taste the heavenly gift!

Let us pray: Heavenly Father, we thank You for laying the foundation of sound doctrine for us through Your Word and through the faithful preachers of it. In Your mercy, preserve us in faith until the end, for the sake of Your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Psalm 121:1-8 (NKJV)

A Song of Ascents.
I will lift up my eyes to the hills—
From whence comes my help?
² My help comes from the Lord,
Who made heaven and earth.

³ He will not allow your foot to be moved;
He who keeps you will not slumber.
⁴ Behold, He who keeps Israel
Shall neither slumber nor sleep.

⁵ The Lord is your keeper;
The Lord is your shade at your right hand.
⁶ The sun shall not strike you by day,
Nor the moon by night.

⁷ The Lord shall preserve you from all evil;
He shall preserve your soul.
⁸ The Lord shall preserve your going out and your coming in
From this time forth, and even forevermore.

Psalm 121 is a beautiful song of comfort for the Christian. The central theme of it is conveyed in the central verse, “The LORD is your keeper” (v.5).

Six times in these eight verses a form of the word “keep” is used in Hebrew, translated in the NKJV as either “keep” or “preserve.” It means to keep safe, to watch over, to preserve, to protect. This is what God promises to do for Israel, that is, for the members of His beloved Church, throughout this Psalm.

He who keeps Israel, that is, He who keeps the Church, never falls asleep, never takes a break, never stops watching over His children. He promises in this Psalm to keep His people safe from all harm and danger.

This is what we ask for when we pray in the Lord’s Prayer, “Deliver us from evil.” We’re asking the Lord to keep His promise to “keep” us, and we can be confident that He will. In this life, which is often a valley of sorrow, He does this keeping, either by preventing harm, or by causing painful things to serve us for good. After this life, the Lord assures us that those whom He has preserved in the midst of sorrow here will be kept and preserved in perfect safety and peace in our heavenly home. As John writes in Revelation 7, “They shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any heat; for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes” (vv.16-17).

Where do we turn when fears and doubts arise? To whom shall we look when danger looms on the horizon and we are unable to help ourselves? Lift up your eyes to the hills—to the LORD God, your heavenly Father. He will watch over you and protect you in every place, in every activity, throughout your life and into the next life. And you will praise His gracious keeping. Let us pray: O Lord, I lift up my eyes to You, our Keeper and our Helper. According to Your promise, preserve me from all evil. Preserve My soul. Preserve my going out and my coming in from this time forth, and even forevermore. Amen.