“Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry” (Matthew 4:1-2).
Just when we are seeing signs that spring is coming soon, as the days are getting longer and warmer, we begin what may seem to be a darker, colder journey—the journey of Lent. We follow Jesus into the wilderness.
Written by: Nathan Pfeiffer pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Spokane, Washington.
What if I told you that the President of the United States was going to come to visit you personally, and needed you to pick him up at the Greyhound bus station? It would never happen, right? He’s too busy to visit you personally and too powerful to ever ride a bus!
Observing how today’s powerful people get around and who they spend their time with makes the events of Palm Sunday all
Written by: Thomas Schuetze pastor of St. Paul Ev. Lutheran Church in Lakewood, Colorado.
“While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, ‘Take and eat; this is my body.’ Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, ‘Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins’” (Matthew 26:26-28, NIV).
Written by: Jay Hartmann pastor of Faith Lutheran Church in Coloma, Michigan.
“For who, having heard, rebelled? Indeed, was it not all who came out of Egypt, led by Moses? Now with whom was He angry forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose corpses fell in the wilderness? And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who did not obey? So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief” (Hebrews 3:16-19).
Written by: Frank Gantt pastor of St. Luke’s Ev. Lutheran Church in Lemmon, South Dakota. “Since it has pleased Almighty God in His good providence to call this brother out of this present life, it is proper…
“Now Jacob went out from Beersheba and went toward Haran. So he came to a certain place and stayed there all night, because the sun had set. And he took one of the stones of…
Written by: James Naumann pastor of Our Savior’s Ev. Lutheran Church in Jamestown, North Dakota. Introduction Abraham Calov was born in 1612 at Mohrungen, a small town in the Duchy of Prussia. Today this town is…
NOTES FROM THE FIELD (THIRD IN A SERIES) In this series, those involved with CLC foreign missions profile one area of our overseas endeavors. Written by: Pastor Todd Ohlmann of Faith Lutheran Church in Manchester,…
Fairchild lies thirty miles southeast of Eau Claire at the junction of Highways 12 and 10 among the woods, hills, and farmland of northwestern Wisconsin. Fairchild was founded in the 1870’s and became a thriving…
The Transfiguration:
The last painting by the Italian High Renaissance master Raphael. Commissioned by Cardinal Giulio de Medici (the later Pope Clement VII [1523-1534]) and conceived as an altarpiece for the Narbonne Cathedral in France, Raphael worked on it until his death in 1520.
He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light” (Matthew 17:2).
Suddenly Jesus was dazzling—His face, His clothes! Then, He was speaking with Moses and Elijah, prophets of long ago! Astounding! Why was this happening?
I. Was it for Jesus’ benefit? Yes. Did not angels minister to Him after Satan tempted Him? Did not an angel strengthen Him in the Garden of Gethsemane while He earnestly prayed to His Father? Surely it was for Jesus’ benefit that Moses and Elijah came to speak with Him about His “decease,” His departure, His end. Moses and Elijah had labored among God’s people many years earlier to point them to God’s merciful and gracious atonement through the Messiah to come. Salvation through Christ was their “work.”
II. Was the transfiguration of Jesus for the benefit of the disciples (Peter, James, and John) who were with Him? Yes. They had heard Jesus speak wonderful words of forgiveness and compassion. They had seen Him work miracles of love and of might. They had heard Him soundly refute the Pharisees. Jesus was their Messiah, the “Christ,” the “Anointed One!”
