The Fifth Word: Thirst

by Rev. Joel A. Brondos

John 19:28 – “I thirst!”

The fifth word from the cross actually was just one word (it takes two words in English to translate διψω). Though it is the shortest of Christ’s sayings from the cross, it is by no means insignificant.

First of all, the Scripture had to be fulfilled (John 19:28). “They also gave me gall for my food, And for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink” (Psalm 69:21). Jesus would not let a jot or tittle pass from the law till all was fulfilled (Matthew 5:18) . . . and just before He spoke the words, “It is finished,” He was also fulfilling the Scriptures.

And there is more.

Roman soldiers were the most crude and cruel of men. We may see the depth of their depravity as they nailed Jesus to the cross, raised Him up, and stood around the crucified Christ. Cicero, the Roman orator, statesman, and philosopher had written that crucifixion was so horrible, that the word “cross” should never be mentioned in polite society: “Let the very word ‘cross,’ be far removed from not only the bodies of Roman citizens, but even from their thoughts, their eyes, and their ears.” (Cicero, [106 - 43BC], Pro Rabirio 16). But Roman soldiers demurred not one bit from crucifying hundreds -- or even thousands -- of men at a time.  For example, in 4 B.C., the Roman general Varus crucified 2,000 Jews.

The lictor had given Jesus forty stripes minus one with a whip of leather strands having pieces of sharp bone at the end which did not merely give welts, but ripped the flesh from His back. They put a purple robe on that back which had the flesh ripped off, they mocked Him – and later they ripped the blood soaked robe from His back in which the blood had no doubt begun to coagulate. They had blindfolded Jesus and struck Him asking Him to prophesy who had hit Him.

And their cruelty did not end there.

A bit earlier, Jesus had refused the drink they had prepared. Jesus had been offered sour wine mingled with gall to drink. “But when He had tasted it, He would not drink” (Matthew 27:34).

But Jesus had a second opportunity to quench the kind of thirst which accompanies the shedding of one’s life blood. He initiated it by saying, “I thirst.” And then we read: “Now a vessel full of sour wine was sitting there; and they filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on hyssop, and put it to His mouth” (John 19:29).

People generally don’t give much thought to this or ask, “How was it that the Roman soldiers happened to have sour wine, a sponge, and a hyssop stick?” but it is noteworthy. The Roman soldiers carried no toilet paper in those days. Archaeology has discovered the xylospongius or tersorius, also known as a “sponge on a stick.” Uncovered in ancient Roman latrines, these wooden sticks with a sea sponge fixed at the end were often cleaned in vinegar. The soldiers likely carried a tersorius in their kit as they traveled about on their various assignments, including the one to Golgotha. They had them on hand, in this case, to add just one more insult and indignity to all the others they had already heaped upon the Lamb of God who had come to take away the sins of the world.

At the institution of the Lord’s Supper the previous day, Jesus had said that He would not drink of the fruit of the vine again until He drank it with them in the kingdom of God. On the cross, Jesus received the sour wine as He was opening the kingdom of heaven to all believers.

With that, we come to another noteworthy aspect of Jesus saying, “I thirst.” It is not uncommon today to see a glass or bottle of water on the pulpit. A pastor’s mouth can dry out while preaching. So, too, for our Lord.

Jesus said, “I thirst,” because He still had something important to say – words for our comfort, joy, and peace. When He had received the sour wine to His parched lips, He was enabled to say audibly, “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit. (John 19:30)

And now, we who with the apostle Paul “die daily” (1 Corinthians 15:31), who have been “crucified with Christ,” (Galatians 2:20), who have “crucified the flesh with its passions and desires” (Galatians 5:24) and who “boast . . . in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ by which the world has been crucifed to [us] and [we] to the world” (Galatians 6:14) – we thirst.

We exclaim with David who, when he was in the wilderness, composed these words: “My soul thirsts for You; My flesh longs for You in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water.” (Psalm 63:1b). Jesus, who knew thirst, invites us: “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink" (John 7:37). And is it not this very same Jesus, who is the One speaking in Revelation 21:6, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts.”

We thirst. And we drink the fruit of the vine with Him in the kingdom of God -- not sour wine or vinegar with gall, but His precious blood shed and His true body given for us in His death on the cross. Thus, when we go to the Lord’s Supper, we go as if going to our death – and when we go to our death, we may go as if to the Lord’s Supper where He “satisfies the longing soul, and fills the hungry soul with goodness” (Psalm 107:9).

The King on a Cross

Now as they led Him away, they laid hold of a certain man, Simon a Cyrenian, who was coming from the country, and on him they laid the cross that he might bear it after Jesus. And a great multitude of the people followed Him, and women who also mourned and lamented Him. But Jesus, turning to them, said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for Me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. For indeed the days are coming in which they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren, wombs that never bore, and breasts which never nursed!’ Then they will begin ‘to say to the mountains, “Fall on us!” and to the hills, “Cover us!”’ For if they do these things in the green wood, what will be done in the dry?” There were also two others, criminals, led with Him to be put to death. And when they had come to the place called Calvary, there they crucified Him, and the criminals, one on the right hand and the other on the left. Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.” And they divided His garments and cast lots. And the people stood looking on. But even the rulers with them sneered, saying, “He saved others; let Him save Himself if He is the Christ, the chosen of God.” The soldiers also mocked Him, coming and offering Him sour wine, and saying, “If You are the King of the Jews, save Yourself.” And an inscription also was written over Him in letters of Greek, Latin, and Hebrew: THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS. Then one of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed Him, saying, “If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us.” But the other, answering, rebuked him, saying, “Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong.” Then he said [d]to Jesus, “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.” And Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise” (Luke 23:26-43).

The great crowds of people hailing Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem with palm branches in their hands are gone. As Jesus begins His trek down the Via Dolorosa, the way of sorrow, to Golgotha, the place of the skull, another crowd follows Him. As He struggles to make His way under the burden of the instrument of His own death, women of Jerusalem mourn and lament Him. Jesus tells them not to weep for Him, but rather for themselves and their children. Speaking of the coming destruction of Jerusalem and the temple, Jesus chillingly foreshadows the level of violence and suffering to come: “For indeed the days are coming in which they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren, wombs that never bore, and breasts that never nursed!’”[1] Normally, barrenness would be considered shameful in this culture. Jesus’ statement must have shocked the women. How bad must things get in order for one to say that the curse of barrenness was a blessing? The Roman general Titus would show them, but that would come later.

Jesus is nailed to the cross by the Roman soldiers, and crucified between two criminals. When the soldiers finish their task, they turn their attention to the matter of dividing up Jesus’ belongings. Jesus does not lament His situation; He doesn’t curse the Jews who stood nearby and mocked Him, or the soldiers who murdered Him. He prays to the Father on their behalf: Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.[2] This is indeed what Jesus meant when He said that the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.[3] Jesus, the sinless Son of God dying on the cross, praying for those who literally put Him there, is what St. Paul was describing when he wrote,

“For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”[4]

One of those sinners, one of the condemned men hanging on a cross next to Jesus, repented. He acknowledged his sin, at this, the ultimate preaching of the Law. He acknowledges Jesus’ innocence, and His kingship. He does not deserve to enter into the kingdom of God by his own merits; he relies on the grace of God and the merits of Jesus, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. His prayer to Jesus is one of faith: Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.[5] The criminal’s indefinite, open-ended “when” is met with Jesus’ very definite and specific “today”: Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.[6]

For all sinners in the whole world the Lord has opened the doors of paradise by His life, suffering, and death, and whosoever believeth on Him has complete salvation as soon as he dies. That is the glorious fruit of the Passion of Christ: forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation.[7]

You who think of sin but lightly

Nor suppose the evil great

Here may view it’s nature rightly,

Here it’s guilt may estimate.

Mark the sacrifice appointed;

See who bears the awful load;

It’s the Word, the Lord’s Annointed,

Son of Man and Son of God.[8]

---

[1] Luke 23:28

[2] Luke 23:34

[3] Mark 10:45

[4] Romans 5:6-8

[5] Luke 23:42

[6] Luke 23:43

[7] Kretzmann, Paul E. 1922. Popular Commentary of the Bible: New Testament. Vol. 1. 2 vols. St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House. Page 395.

[8] Kelly, Thomas. "Stricken, Smitten, and Afflicted." In Lutheran Worship. St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 1986. Stz. 3.

Jesus Handed Over to Pontius Pilate

Then the whole multitude of them arose and led Him to Pilate. And they began to accuse Him, saying, “We found this fellow perverting the nation, and forbidding to pay taxes to Caesar, saying that He Himself is Christ, a King.” Then Pilate asked Him, saying, “Are You the King of the Jews?” He answered him and said, “It is as you say.” So Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowd, “I find no fault in this Man.” But they were the more fierce, saying, “He stirs up the people, teaching throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee to this place.” When Pilate heard of Galilee, he asked if the Man were a Galilean. And as soon as he knew that He belonged to Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent Him to Herod, who was also in Jerusalem at that time. Now when Herod saw Jesus, he was exceedingly glad; for he had desired for a long time to see Him, because he had heard many things about Him, and he hoped to see some miracle done by Him. Then he questioned Him with many words, but He answered him nothing. And the chief priests and scribes stood and vehemently accused Him. Then Herod, with his men of war, treated Him with contempt and mocked Him, arrayed Him in a gorgeous robe, and sent Him back to Pilate. That very day Pilate and Herod became friends with each other, for previously they had been at enmity with each other. Then Pilate, when he had called together the chief priests, the rulers, and the people, said to them, “You have brought this Man to me, as one who misleads the people. And indeed, having examined Him in your presence, I have found no fault in this Man concerning those things of which you accuse Him; no, neither did Herod, for I sent you back to him; and indeed nothing deserving of death has been done by Him. I will therefore chastise Him and release Him” (for it was necessary for him to release one to them at the feast). And they all cried out at once, saying, “Away with this Man, and release to us Barabbas”— who had been thrown into prison for a certain rebellion made in the city, and for murder. Pilate, therefore, wishing to release Jesus, again called out to them. But they shouted, saying, “Crucify Him, crucify Him!” Then he said to them the third time, “Why, what evil has He done? I have found no reason for death in Him. I will therefore chastise Him and let Him go.” But they were insistent, demanding with loud voices that He be crucified. And the voices of these men and of the chief priests prevailed. So Pilate gave sentence that it should be as they requested. And he released to them the one they requested, who for rebellion and murder had been thrown into prison; but he delivered Jesus to their will (Luke 23:1-25).

Pontius Pilate knew that what he was doing to Jesus was wrong. He was in a tight spot politically, and he was looking for a way to get out of it. He wanted a solution that would be acceptable to the Jewish leaders who brought Jesus to him, that wouldn’t cause social unrest, and that wouldn’t jeopardize his relationship with the Roman imperial government. He knew that the Jews wanted to get rid of Jesus, but he also understood that, according to Roman law, Jesus had committed no crime. He apparently had some sense of justice. That’s why he tried as hard as he did to get Jesus off the hook. He clearly didn’t believe that Jesus, the annoying Jewish rabbi who claimed to be king, was a serious seditious threat like the other Jewish rebel groups, such as the Zealots. This is why, after Jesus answers Pilate’s direct question, “Are you the king of the Jews,” with a seditious admission, “It is as you say,” Pilate still tells the Jews, “I find no fault in this Man.”[1]

Pilate tries to deal justly with Jesus while still placating the Jews even after Jesus’ treacherous admission. He grabs on to any life line he can find. When he hears Jesus is from Galilee, he tries to pass Jesus off to Herod. Herod and his men question, mock, and beat Jesus but also pass no guilty verdict on Him. Pilate is stuck with Jesus. He continues to rightly proclaim that Jesus is innocent. He hopes to quell the situation by making Jesus the annual olive branch from Rome to Jerusalem; the good-will gesture was that Pilate would release a Jewish prisoner once a year at the feast. Why not release Jesus? Pilate would even beat Jesus a little, just to show Him who was boss and to appease the desire of the Jews to see Jesus suffer, before he let Jesus go. They would have none of it. So, push having come to shove, Pilate’s pragmatism and instinct for self-preservation won out over his sense of justice. Jesus would be crucified.

The people cried out for Pilate to give them a murderer, Barabbas, and to crucify their Messiah. The guilty would go free, and the innocent would die in his place. But this is what Jesus came to do in the first place. He came into human flesh, the sinless Son of God, to die on the cross. He told His disciples this bluntly several times: Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man will be accomplished. For He will be delivered to the Gentiles and will be mocked and insulted and spit upon. They will scourge Him and kill Him. And on the third day he will rise again.[2]

But Jesus’ sacrifice is no mere morality play. It is not simply an example for men to follow, to show us how to be loving and self-sacrificial. His death is the atoning sacrifice for the sins of the world. All of mankind, including us, are sinners. We are Barabbas, guilty of the crimes of which we are accused and sentenced to eternal death. We are murderers. We are adulterers. We are liars and slanderers. We are covetous thieves. We are idolaters. We are ungodly. Because of our sin we are as responsible for Jesus’ crucifixion as the Jews who handed Him over to Pilate, and even Pilate who gave the order that Jesus should die:

But God demonstrated His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.[3]

His death paid the penalty for our sin, and we are justified by His resurrection. His death and resurrection set us free from our prison; we did not deserve such treatment any more than Barabbas did. Jesus did it because He loves us. His favor is undeserved. There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.[4]

Whence come these sorrows, whence this mortal anguish?

It is my sins for which, Thou Lord, must languish,

Yea, all the wrath, the woe, Thou dost inherit,

This I do merit.[5]

I’ll think upon Thy mercy without ceasing,

That earth’s vain joys to me no more be pleasing;

To do Thy will shall be my sole endeavor

Henceforth forever.[6]

---

[1] Luke 23:4

[2] Luke 18:31-33

[3] Romans 5:8

[4] Romans 8:1

[5] Heermann, Johann. "O Dearest Jesus, What Law Hast Thou Broken." In The Lutheran Hymnal. St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 1941. Stz. 3.

[6] Heermann, Johann. "O Dearest Jesus, What Law Hast Thou Broken." In The Lutheran Hymnal. St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 1941. Stz. 12.

Greatness Is Serving

For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many (Mark 10:45).

Read Mark 10:32-45 here.

Jesus explains to the Twelve exactly why He has come into the world. He has come to be betrayed, to be condemned, and to rise again, because He is God incarnate. He has come to suffer these things, not for His own benefit, but for ours: For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.[1]

The Twelve do not understand this.  From our perspective, reading Mark’s Gospel, we might find it difficult to understand why the disciples don’t understand what Jesus is telling them. They were the ones who heard John the Baptist call Jesus the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. They were with Jesus when He forgave the sins of the paralyzed man, and healed his physical infirmity.[2] They saw Jesus heal the man with the withered hand;[3] they saw Him raise the dead,[4] feed 5,000 people with five loaves and two fish,[5] and walk on the sea.[6] They were His hand-picked students who were given to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven;[7] they heard Jesus declare that He was the fulfillment of God’s promise to send His people a Savior of King David’s line; they saw the people to whom Jesus preached, the ones to whom He was sent,[8] reject Him.[9] Why, when Jesus explicitly predicts His impending death, can they not understand what He is telling them?

The Twelve, like the Pharisees, Sadducees, and the Teachers of the Law, were expecting a different kind of savior. They were expecting the Messiah to be a political leader who would come and rescue the nation of Israel from the oppression of the Gentiles, and restore the kingdom. They did not understand that Jesus’ kingdom was not of this world.[10] Mark records proof of this when he tells us of James and John, the Sons of Thunder,[11] ask Jesus if they can sit at His right and at His left in His glory. They want, to put it in modern terms, to be appointed to high level cabinet positions in the kingdom’s government. The other disciples are not better in their thinking; they want the same thing. This is why, when the others heard what James and John ask for, they were upset.

Jesus doesn’t become angry with His disciples, however. He explains to them again what kind of kingdom the Kingdom of God is. It isn’t like the kingdoms of the Gentiles, where the high positions were for the benefit and glorification of those men who held them: Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant. And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all.[12] Jesus came, not be served, but to serve. His service to mankind culminated in Him giving His life as a ransom for many. He died on the cross as the propitiation – the atonement, or the satisfaction – for the sins of the world.[13]

And what is good for the goose is good for the gander. Jesus’ disciples are also called, not to be served, but to serve. They will have prestigious posts in the Kingdom of God; they will be ministers in Christ’s government, so to speak. They will be servants. They will serve by preaching the Gospel and administering Christ’s sacraments as He has given them to His Church. In doing so, they will be bringing Jesus’ promises of the forgiveness of sins and eternal life to all who believe, and calling all men to repent of their sin. Jesus continues to serve us today in the same way. Through His Word proclaimed and taught, through the washing of rebirth and regeneration that is Holy Baptism, through the eating and drinking of Christ’s body and blood in the bread and wine of the Lord’s Supper, Christ serves us. Through these means He grants us repentance and faith in Him, and we receive His promised gifts of forgiveness and life. Jesus will continue to extend His Kingdom in this way until He returns in glory to judge the living and the dead, when those who believe will be raised to everlasting life, and those who have rejected Christ and His gifts to everlasting shame and contempt.[14]

Jesus did not come to die and rise again so that we would live our best lives now in this world. In fact, if in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.[15] That means that we will suffer the effects of sin while we live in this fallen creation, in this corrupt and perishable body. We will struggle with all manner of trial and tribulations; we are not, by any means, guaranteed health, wealth, or success. But when He raises us from the dead on the Last Day, we will live under Him in His Kingdom with imperishable bodies like His. We will serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness, even as He is risen from the dead, lives and reigns to all eternity. This is most certainly true.[16]

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[1] Mark 10:45

[2] Mark 2:1-12

[3] Mark 4:35-41

[4] Mark 5:21-43

[5] Mark 6:30-44

[6] Mark 6:45-52

[7] Matthew 13:10

[8] John 1:11

[9] Luke 4:16-30

[10] John 18:35-37

[11] Mark 3:17

[12] Mark 10:43-44

[13] 1 John 2:2

[14] Daniel 12:2; John 3:15-16, 36; 5:24, 29

[15] 1 Corinthians 15:19

[16] Luther, Martin. "The Small Catechism." The Book of Concord: The Confessions of the Lutheran Church. September 2008. Accessed February 27, 2019. https://www.bookofconcord.org/smallcatechism.php#creed. From the explanation of the Second Article of the Apostle’s Creed.

The Death of Jesus

Isenheim Altarpiece Detail
Matthias Gruenewald

It was now about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour, while the sun’s light failed. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father into your hands I commit my spirit!” And having said this he breathed his last. Now when the centurion saw what had taken place, he praised God, saying, “Certainly this man was innocent!” And all the crowds that had assembled for this spectacle, when they saw what had taken place, returned home beating their breasts. And all his acquaintances and the women who had followed him from Galilee stood at a distance watching these things (Luke 23:44-49).

 

People love a show. More accurately, people love to gawk at a spectacle and, the gorier the better. I don’t know why this is, but we know it to be true. Think about the times you have been driving down the highway and traffic slows to a crawl. There has been an accident, and a particularly gruesome one at that. In the distance you can see the smoke, and perhaps even the flashing lights of the emergency vehicles that have responded to the scene. As you get nearer, though, you realize that the crash happened, not on your side of the expressway, but on the opposite side. Traffic on your side had been free to travel all the while you were delayed, but people slowed down just to get a look at what had happened. Traffic reporters even have a name for this phenomenon. They call these “gapers delays”. It was always frustrating to me, when I had experienced a so-called gaper’s delay on the expressway, to find that there was no good reason for the hold-up. My first thought was, “Wouldn’t people rather get to where they were going faster, than slow down to look at a traffic crash?” Apparently not. People will go out of their way to gape at a spectacle.

 

This is what happened on Calvary the day Jesus was executed. Scripture tells us that crowds had assembled to watch the spectacle. There was plenty of “spectacle” for the people to gape at. At least three men were being put to death in a most gruesome fashion. Certainly the Roman government wanted the people over whom they ruled to come out and watch the crucifixion. That is the whole point of a public execution. Not only do they appeal to that grisly thing inside of us that makes even modern-day motorists stop to look at an accident on the road, but they are intended also to keep people in line. Public executions, like those administered by the Romans, showed people the consequences of breaking the law, and that they could not escape the government’s justice. These displays of the government’s power were intended to show that the arm of the Law was, indeed, long, and that one could not escape its reach.

 

The crowds, however, seem to get more than just the show. A number of other happenings are recorded by Luke, and the writers of the other gospels, which seem to cause the people watching to understand that something momentous was taking place. Luke writes that it was about the sixth hour, which would be 12:00 noon. He says that, “…there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour (3:00 PM).[1]” For Luke to note this darkness in such a manner indicates that it was something more than the result of a cloudy day. The darkness could also not have been the result of a solar eclipse, as some have suggested. The Passover, which would begin at sundown, occurs during a full moon, and this would prevent a solar eclipse (Engelbrecht, et al., 2009). This darkness is supernatural. As the death of Jesus approaches, darkness over the land indicates God’s judgment, just as the sight of the crosses on the hill indicated Roman judgment. Kretzmann describes the meaning of the darkness recorded by Luke this way:

 

“Suddenly, not only in Judea, but over the whole earth that was just then enjoying the blessing of sunlight, an abnormal, inexplicable darkness fell, one that was mentioned even by heathen writers[2]. The sun simply failed the people of the world; his light was shut off. All nature was mourning at the climax of the suffering of Jesus. This darkness was a picture of the greater, deeper darkness that had fallen into the soul of the Redeemer. He was literally forsaken by God, given over into the power of the spirits of darkness, to suffer the indescribable agonies of hell. Christ, in these three hours, had to bear and feel the full strength, the full terror of the divine wrath over the sins of the world” (Kretzmann, 1921).

 

Luke records also that, upon Jesus’ death, the curtain of the temple in Jerusalem was torn in two, from top to bottom. Matthew writes that there was also an earthquake that accompanied this event[3]. If the abnormal darkness had not gotten the people’s attention, these two things surely would have. The curtain mentioned here was the curtain of the Most Holy Place. This was the part of the temple where God’s presence resided. No one except the high priest was allowed to enter the Most Holy Place, and he could only go into it once a year on the Day of Atonement to sprinkle the blood of the sacrifice and make atonement for the sins of Israel as God had commanded in the Old Testament. The curtain of the temple, sometimes referred to as the veil, separated the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place. It separated the people from God and could only be circumvented by the high priest, and only according to God’s prescription. It wasn’t a curtain such as modern minds might conceive. This curtain was tall and thick, not simply piece of fabric. The curtain of the temple was described in Talmudic sources in the following manner:

 

“Three hundred priests were told off [sic; the idea is that they were designated] to draw the veil (of the Temple) aside; for it is taught that Rabbi Shimon ben Gamliel declared in the name of Rabbi Shimon the Sagan (or high priest’s substitute), that the thickness of the veil was a handbreadth. It was woven of seventy-two cords, and each cord consisted of twenty-four strands. It was forty cubits long and twenty wide. Eighty-two myriads of damsels worked at it, and two such veils were made every year. When it became soiled, it took three hundred priests to immerse and cleanse it” (Harris, 1901).

 

A handbreadth is four inches. That means the curtain was four inches thick. A cubit is approximately the length of a person’s forearm, typically about 18 inches. That makes the curtain 60 feet long and 30 feet wide. The word myriad comes from classical Greek and means 10,000. That would mean that, according to this source, 820,000 young women worked on its fabrication. The point is, this was a big, thick curtain. It would not have been easily cut or torn.

 

The people witnessing the crucifixion would not have immediately known that the temple curtain had been torn, though, as they were outside the city. Matthew, however, writes that there was an earthquake:

 

And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split (Matthew 27:51).

 

This earthquake sort of puts God’s stamp on the events of Good Friday. Earthquakes were often associated with manifestations of God, and considered a sign of the end and the final judgment (Engelbrecht, et al., 2009). Though they may not have realized it at that moment, this was the end and final judgment of sin, death, and Satan.

 

Luke writes that, after witnessing Jesus’ death and the other strange happenings at the site of the crucifixion, the people returned to their homes “beating their breasts”. This action would be considered a sign of repentance or mourning. Luke differentiates between the people, and the people who knew Jesus (his acquaintances). This indicates that, rather than repenting of their sin and unbelief and becoming followers of Jesus, the people who were beating their breasts were mourning because of the appalling nature of what they had seen. Kretzmann describes it this way:

 

“And likewise all those that had come together near the place of the crucifixion and had remained to see this climax of the work of Christ, beat upon their breasts and turned to go back home, moved in a way which they could hardly explain to themselves. God had spoken, and men were filled with dread” (Kretzmann, 1921).

 

We living today should be filled with dread at this scene as well. We are guilty of breaking God’s law. We, like criminals under the sentence of death, cannot escape the long arm of the Law. Because of our sin we deserve what Jesus endured on the cross. All human beings have inherited from Adam a nature that is inclined in every way against God. We are infected with a “horrible, dreadful hereditary sickness” that causes us to flee from God and commit all manner of actual sins[4] (McCain, Baker, Veith, & Engelbrecht, 2005). Left in this natural state we are all in God’s displeasure and are, as St. Paul writes, children of wrath:

 

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience – among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind (Ephesians 2:1-3).

 

No one wants to hear or believe this about themselves. We like to think that we are basically good people. Scripture paints a far bleaker picture of mankind and human nature, however. God’s word teaches us that our human nature, created perfect by God in the beginning, has been so deeply and utterly corrupted by sin that nothing good remains in us, nor are we capable of doing any good to please God:

 

For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Against you, you only have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment. Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me...None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one. Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive. The venom of asps is under their lips. Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood; in their paths are ruin and misery, and the way of peace they have not known. There is no fear of God before their eyes (Psalm 51:3-5; Romans 3:10-18).

 

Left on our own, we could not make up for our total lack of fear, love, and trust in God. God, however, has not left us alone. He has come after us. He has done the work that needed to be done for us. The author of life was executed in our place. Before we were even able to do anything good – while we were still dead in our transgressions, enemies of God – Jesus, true God, took on human flesh and became man[5]. He reconciled the whole world to God by living a perfect, sinless life under the law. And, after fulfilling the law, the sinless Son of God bore the guilt and punishment that rightly belonged to mankind as he hung on the cross. Jesus was declared guilty of all sin and evil in the world (Engelbrecht, et al., 2009). He was made to be sin[6]. Scripture says:

 

Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil...For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly (Hebrews 2:14; Romans 5:6).

 

As our sins were credited to him, so is his righteousness credited to we who believe. As God’s law reveals your sin and shows your good works to be nothing but filthy rags, look at Jesus on the cross, and repent. Christ himself calls us all to repentance; to faith in the Gospel. That is, to become different, act differently, and believe his promise[7] (McCain, Baker, Veith, & Engelbrecht, 2005). Through Jesus there is forgiveness of sins, and the hope of eternal life with God.

 

 

 

End Notes

 

[1] Luke 23:44

 

[2] Thallus wrote a history of the eastern Mediterranean world since the Trojan War. Thallus wrote his regional history in about AD 52.6 Although his original writings have been lost, he is specifically quoted by Julius Africanus, a renowned third century historian. Africanus states, ‘Thallus, in the third book of his histories, explains away the darkness as an eclipse of the sun—unreasonably as it seems to me.’ Apparently, Thallus attempted to ascribe a naturalistic explanation to the darkness during the crucifixion (Anderson, 2007).

 

[3] Matthew 27:51

 

[4] FC SD I 5, 12

 

[5] Galatians 4:4-5

 

[6] 2 Corinthians 5:21

 

[7] SA III III 4

 

 

 

Works Cited

 

Anderson, D. (2007, April 06). Darkness at the crucifixion: metaphor or real history? Retrieved March 16, 2013, from creation.com: http://creation.com/darkness-at-the-crucifixion-metaphor-or-real-history

 

Engelbrecht, E. A., Deterding, P. E., Ehlke, R. C., Joersz, J. C., Love, M. W., Mueller, S. P., et al. (Eds.). (2009). The Lutheran Study Bible. Saint Louis, Missouri, USA: Concordia Publishing House.

 

Harris, M. H. (1901). Hebraic Literature: Translations from the Talmud, Midrashim and Kabbala. Washington: M. Walter Dunne.

 

Kretzmann, P. E. (1921). Popular Commentary of the Bible (Vol. 1). St. Louis, MO, USA: Concordia Publishing House.

 

McCain, P. T., Baker, R. C., Veith, G. E., & Engelbrecht, E. A. (Eds.). (2005). Concordia: The Lutheran Confessions. (W. H. Dau, & G. F. Bente, Trans.) St. Louis, MO, USA: Concordia Publishing House.

It Is Finished - Good Friday

When he [Jesus] had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up His spirit (John 19:30).

A criminal stands before a judge and awaits his sentence. The judge pronounces the man acquitted, bangs his gavel and tells the man he is free to go. If this man returns to the judge six months later and asks him to pronounce the judgment again because he doesn’t “feel” acquitted, the judge would probably have the man committed to an institution. The judgment has been made. It is finished.

What was it, exactly, that Jesus declared to have been “finished” while hanging on the cross? Certainly Jesus’ physical suffering was now at an end. He endured the pain of being cruelly mocked and beaten; of having to carry his own cross to the place where he would be killed. He endured the unimaginable horror of being nailed alive to the cross and set in place for all to see and, in the midst of this pain, as his life left him he endured the insults hurled at him by those who watched, and even from among the other condemned men.

Some writers suggest that what is finished is the fulfillment of Scripture. This is true as well, at least in some measure. It was part of Jesus’ mission to fulfill every command of the Father, and every prophecy of the Holy Scripture. Verse 28 of this very chapter of John’s Gospel confirms this for us with the words, “...Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the scripture), ‘I thirst.’” Beyond the physical thirst caused by dehydration, Jesus sought to fulfill his Father’s plan foretold in Scripture in every detail (Engelbrecht, 2009).

Verse 28 is an example of the intricacy of God’s working, and how He has caused all things in his plan of salvation to fit just-so, and point us to the Christ. One of the soldiers is prompted by Jesus’ words to give him some of the sour wine to drink. Jesus’ words and the soldier’s actions direct our attention to the words of Psalm 69:21 – and for my thirst they gave me sour wine to drink. As Jesus is the promised Son of David, the afflictions of King David recorded in Psalm 69 foreshadow what was to happen to Christ – great David’s greater son.

This, however, cannot be all that Jesus means when he says, “It is finished.” There are still other prophecies to be fulfilled, most notably, the resurrection.

No, what Jesus means when he cries out, “It is finished!” is this one thing more than any other – the death of Jesus finishes his redemptive work, the work of reconciliation and atonement:

This specific work is now brought to a close. The Lamb of God has made his great sacrifice for the world. It is this that is now done. Our great Substitute has paid the great price of ransom, paid it to the uttermost farthing. “It is finished” indeed! Others will yet preach and teach, and Jesus will work through them; as the King on David’s throne his regal work will continue forever; but the redemptive shedding of his blood, done once for all, is finished and stands as finished forever (Lenski, 1959).

Having fulfilled every command of the Father and every prophecy of Holy Scripture, with the exception of the resurrection which was yet to come, Jesus voluntarily died. “It is finished,” was not whispered from Jesus’ dying lips on his last weak and hard-fought breath. It is not a cry of exhaustion. Jesus declares that his redemptive work is finished in a voice loud enough for all of mankind to hear. John describes this utterance of Jesus using the words, “...he said...” Matthew, while he does not record the words Jesus uttered as John did, does tell us the tone in which they were spoken:

And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit (Matthew 27:50).

Jesus’ final words, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” are recorded for us in the Gospel of Luke[1]. From John we learn that Jesus made his declaration that his work was now finished with a loud voice just before he spoke his last; John expands on Luke’s earlier record (Lenski, 1959). Likewise, though they do not record Jesus’ words as Luke does, John and Matthew both say that Jesus gave up, or yielded up, his spirit, alluding to Luke’s account. Jesus yelled, “It is finished,” and spoke to his father saying, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.”

Jesus’ final words from the cross are a confirmation that all Jesus had been sent to do to seal our salvation had been completed. It is finished and the verdict has been rendered – we, though guilty of sin, have been set free, solely through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Kretzeman writes:

And now, the great work having been accomplished and even the last passage of Old Testament Scripture having been fulfilled, Jesus Himself made the announcement of the redemption’s completion by calling out: It is finished. All that the Messiah was to endure and suffer, everything that belongs to the work of salvation, was finished (Kretzmann, 1921).

He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he offered up himself...he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption...for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself (Hebrews 7:27; 9:12, 26).

There is nothing we have to do – there is nothing we are able to do – in order to set our relationship with God right. Paul tells the Ephesians, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast.[2]”

No amount of so-called “good” things that we do can earn us God’s grace. God gives us His saving grace as a gift, through faith in Jesus Christ, based on the atoning sacrifice Jesus made on the cross. He has redeemed me, and all people, as Luther writes, “...not with gold or silver, but with His holy, precious blood and with His innocent suffering and death (Luther, 1986).[3]”

Good works do have their place in a believer’s life – they are a response to the awesome gift God has freely given us through His Son. As Martin Luther explained, “A man is justified by faith alone, not by a faith that is alone.” A faith that is alone – that does not respond to God’s good news of salvation and forgiveness by producing good works – is no faith at all. Know, however, that all that needed to be accomplished to defeat sin, death, and the power of the devil, and to set mankind right with God, has been accomplished by the work of Christ Jesus. It is finished. We who believe must reflect to the world the love God has shown us, and wants to show to them, through everything that we say and do.

Works Cited

Engelbrecht, E. A. (2009). The Lutheran Study Bible, English Standard Version. Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House.

Kretzmann, P. E. (1921). Popular Commentary of the Bible (Vol. I). St. Louis, MO, USA: Concordia Publishing House.

Lenski, R. C. (1959). the Interpretation of St. John's Gospel. Columbus: The Wartburg Press.

Luther, D. M. (1986). Luther's Small Catechism with Explanation. St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House.

End Notes

[1] Luke 23:46

[2] Ephesians 2:8-9

[3] 2 Corinthians 5:15, 19; 1 Peter 1:18-19; 1 John 1:7; 2:2

Christ Died For Us

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8)

What does it mean to be a sinner? The Webster Comprehensive Dictionary – encyclopedic edition defines sin as, “A lack of conformity to, or a transgression, especially when deliberate, of a law, precept, or principle regarded as having divine authority. 2) The state of condition of having transgressed; wickedness.” This definition tells us two important things: 1) To sin is to be in deliberate violation of divine law, and 2) to be in such a state of non-conformity is to stand in a state of wickedness. Therefore to be a sinner is to be one who deliberately violates Gods law and because of this is reckoned wicked. Such is the state of man.

Because our common ancestors, Adam and Eve, transgressed by deliberately violating God’s command in the Garden of Eden, sin entered God’s perfect creation and the nature of man was changed. Scripture tells us, “…then the eyes of both of them were opened…” (Gen. 3:7a). Our first parents willfully crossed a line over which they could not retreat. They, and we, would pay the price for this wickedness by being separated from the relationship with God for which humans had been created. There was nothing they could do to fix the situation and they knew it.

There was something, however, that God could do, and He assured his unruly children that, in His own good time, He would fix what they had put so wrong. "And I will put enmity between you and the woman,” God told the serpent in the garden, “and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel” (Genesis 3:15).

Adam and Eve many not have understood exactly how God would work out His plan to restore creation to the perfect state it was in before the fall, but they trusted Him and His promise. And, while they may not have understood the details, we can – through the New Testament, which shows us the completion of God’s plan in Jesus Christ. “For God so loved the world,” Scripture tells us, “that He gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).

The really amazing thing though, is that God undertook and completed His plan of salvation before we humans did any “good” thing to earn God’s love. While God was still sorting things out in the Garden of Eden with Adam, Eve and the serpent, He already had a plan. I imagine that Adam and Eve were probably trying to come up with something else to say to God – some explanation or excuse – while he was talking to the serpent. But, before He even talked to them again, God announced His plan, “I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your seed and hers…” God would save mankind, not because of anything we could, would, or even promise to do. He would save us out of His own divine goodness.

According to St. Paul, we were “dead” in our trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1). Just as a corpse cannot do anything to make itself live again, so we can do nothing to resurrect ourselves spiritually. God had to do that for us all by himself. Scripture says:

But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions – it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2: 4-7).

How then do we respond to God, who has kept His promise to save us, in Christ Jesus? Surely our response cannot be to act and live the way we did when we were “dead” in our sins. St. Paul tells us in Romans, chapter eight:

Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation – but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God (Romans 8: 12-14).

We need to live according to the Spirit, and by the power of God, cultivate the fruits of the Spirit. St. Paul tells us to test our actions, in Galatians chapter six:

Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. Each one should test his own actions. Then he can take pride in himself, without comparing himself to somebody else, for each one should carry his own load (Galatians 6: 4-5).

We need to take care not to gratify the desires of our sinful nature and live according to something that we no longer are, for in Christ, as St. Paul says, we are a new creation. The sinful nature is hungry – we should starve it. In place of the food we would give it, we should feed ourselves, by God’s power, with His Word, His Holy Supper and regular worship and fellowship with other Christians. As a result, God will cultivate in us the fruits of the Spirit – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control – and by these fruits we will not only be a blessing to others, but God will also use us to show others His saving Grace in Jesus Christ.

The Judgment of This World

Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out (John 12:31).

This verse is compact, but quite significant to God’s salvation plan. When viewed in light of the rest of the New Testament, it is intensely comforting to Christians. Jesus tells the people and his disciples that Satan, the ruler of this world, the power of the air[1], will shortly be condemned by Jesus’ death on the cross. Christ’s death may have appeared to earthly eyes, blinded by the darkness of sin, as Satan’s victory; it was, in fact, Satan’s overthrow (Engelbrecht). This brings the discussion to an interesting place. This judgment of Satan pronounced by God the Father through the work of His Son should give the Christian hope, comfort, and peace. It also sheds light on one of the most analyzed and debated passages in the entirety of Holy Scripture – Revelation 20: 1-3:

Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain. And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he might not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were ended. After that he must be released for a little while.

According to the four gospels[2] Satan was bound, conquered, judged, and cast out as a result of Jesus’ ministry. If this is the case, then the 1,000 years described by St. John in Revelation 20 begins with the end of Jesus’ earthly ministry – his death, resurrection and ascension (Brighton). Lutherans believe that Jesus has bound Satan and severely limited his power in this Millennium, the New Testament period, sometimes referred to as the “church age”, and that this is what he is speaking of in John 12:31.

Other churches teach that the Millennium will be a literal 1,000 year period when Jesus will set up his kingdom on earth. Along with this view, it is also taught that, at some point before the Millennium, Jesus will return secretly to resurrect or rapture all true Christians. There will then be a seven year “tribulation”, where Christians are persecuted. The battle of Armageddon will take place, culminating in Christ’s visible return to bind Satan, and the beginning of the Millennium. Following the Millennium, Satan will be released from the pit. The wicked will be resurrected for final judgment, Satan will be cast into the lake of fire, and the new heavens and the new earth will enter into eternity with Christ (Millennialism, 2011) (Engelbrecht, 2009).

Lutheran theology concerning the End Times is "A-Millenialist", because we do not teach that the 1,000 years described in Revelation 20 is a literal perfect 1,000 year long kingdom on earth. We also reject a “Left Behind” style rapture. Here's how we get there...

For a thousand years in your sight are but as yesterday when it is past, or as a watch in the night. You sweep them away as with a flood; they are like a dream, like grass that is renewed in the morning: in the morning it flourishes and is renewed; in the evening it fades and withers (Psalm 90: 4-6).

But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed (2 Peter 3: 8-10).

These two passages also illustrate something which I think is important to consider when dealing with this issue. These are the only two references in Scripture (that I could find) that refer to "1,000 years" as Revelation does in chapter 20. These passages use the phrase symbolically, speaking of the timelessness of God (Brighton). We understand that grass doesn't grow in one morning, only to wither that same evening. We understand that death, though referred to as a "sleep", is something quite different. It is logical to assume that in Psalm 90, the psalmist is using this long, perfect (10 X 10) number to show that God does not look at time the same way humans do. St. Peter, quoting this passage, uses it in the same way. If we are willing to accept this rather conservative interpretation for the usage of this phrase in a book of poetry (Psalms), as well as in a document of correspondence (2 Peter), would it not also be logical to apply this to an book consisting, almost entirely, of apocalyptic visions? Of course, I also understand that God isn't the biggest fan of human logic, so I'm open to being flexible.

Lastly, concerning the Rapture, I just don't see evidence for it. The texts used to provide a basis for this teaching, however, seem only to make sense if you believe in the Millennial Kingdom. I guess that the most important one that has been cited to me is St. Paul writing to the Thessalonians:

For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord (1 Thess. 4: 16-17).

Lutheran theology presents this passage, from St. Paul’s context, as a glimpse of the Last Day/Final Judgment. It certainly will not be something that happens secretly. Everybody will know what's going on when they hear the "loud command" and the "trumpet call of God". I have always sort of associated this passage with my favorite verses in Scripture, from 1 Corinthians:

Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed (1 Cor. 15: 51-52).

Again, St. Paul mentions the trumpet call that will herald the resurrection. Jesus mentions it as well in Matthew 24:31, after describing the increasing turmoil and tribulation in the world, as well as the "abomination that causes desolation" - the Antichrist. In this discourse, far from describing how believers will be removed from the world, Jesus tells us:

Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come (Matthew 24: 9-14).

In the same vein as Our Lord, St. Peter describes an end that comes after increasing trials in the world. He likens it to the Flood:

Knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God, and that by means of these the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished. But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly (2 Peter 3: 3, 5-7).

Peter describes the end, and he says it's going to be like the time of the Flood, only with fire instead of water. God set a time for the flood, he warned Noah, and Noah built the Ark. There was no break before the rain started for people to be converted.

He answered, "The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good seed is the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the close of the age, and the reapers are angels (Matthew 13: 37-39).

Jesus said the "wheat" and the "weeds" are to grow up together until the harvest (Matthew 13:30), and Jesus defined the timing of the harvest as the end of the age (Matthew 13: 39, 49). He not only presented the parable, but He explained it. It seems as though, if there were to be a removal of Christians from the earth, either pre or post-tribulation, Jesus would have adapted his parable accordingly.

Finally, to bring things back to the apocalyptic writings we began with, St. Peter has this to say:

But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed (2 Peter 3:10).

Again, whether or not you believe Revelation 20 literally makes a big difference in what you get out of 2 Peter 3. Bottom line, Peter uses apocalyptic language, the figure of the thief and the dramatic description of the earth's demise, to illustrate that the end is going to come suddenly and without warning to us, other than the general warning that there is increasing turmoil in the world. He is trying to describe the indescribable, and he uses symbolism to do it.

And, whether or not we agree on this peripheral theology, as Christians we should take Peter's advice:

Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace…You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen (2 Peter 3: 14, 17-18).

To discuss and debate the teachings of Holy Scripture is good, when done in love, without malice and anger. What binds the body of Christ, that is, the church, is not when Christ is coming, or how, but that he is coming. And that, if one is to appear before God to give account, as every man will, he needs to acknowledge his sin, repent, and cling to Christ before that day, if he hopes to stand.[3] This is what we can all agree on concerning the end: Christ will return visibly and with great glory on the Last Day.[4] Christ will return to judge the world.[5] Christ will return on a specific day known only to God alone.[6] Before Christ returns, there will be increasing turmoil and distress for the church and the world.[7] The return of Christ is a source of hope and joy for the Christian.[8]

On May 12, 1865, over one month after Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomattox, the battle of Palmito Ranch was fought in Texas. The battle was essentially pointless, as it was clear with Lee’s surrender that Confederate defeat was unavoidable. However, when the Union Army attacked Confederate forces inside Ft. Brown, not far from Brownsville, the fight was on. Though the Confederacy’s condition was terminal these Confederates repulsed the Union attack. They won the day despite the fact that the war was lost (Battle of Palmito Ranch, 2011).

When we face evil in this world, we must understand that Satan and the forces of darkness may win the battle that day, as they seemed to on Good Friday. However, just like the Confederacy in May 1865, Satan’s defeat is a foregone conclusion. Therefore, because of Jesus, Christians can live victoriously in this sinful, hostile world, even when it looks as though Satan has won the day. Jesus Christ has promised us final victory.

---

Bibliography

Battle of Palmito Ranch. (2011, February 27). Retrieved February 27, 2011, from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Palmito_Ranch

Brighton, L. A. Concordia Popular Commentary: Revelation. Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House.

Engelbrecht, E. A. (2009). The Lutheran Study Bible - English Standard Version. Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House.

Millennialism. (2011, February 27). Retrieved February 27, 2011, from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millennialism



End Notes

[1] Ephesians 2:2; Revelation 9:11


[2] Mat. 12:29; Mk. 3:27; Lk. 11:21


[3] 2 Cor. 5:10


[4] Matt. 24:27; Lk. 21:27; Acts 1:11; 2 Peter 3:10; Rev. 1:7


[5] Matt. 25:31-32; John 12:48; John 18:36; 2 Cor. 5:10


[6] Matt. 24:44; Mark 13:32; Acts 17:31


[7] Matt. 24:7, 22; 1 Tim. 4:1


[8] Lk. 21:28; Heb. 9:28; Titus 2:13; Rev. 22:20