Festival of St. Laurence, Deacon and Martyr
Posted on August 10, 2023 by under
Scripture: St. John 5:39-47 (NKJV)
5:39 “You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. 40 But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.
41 “I do not receive honor from men. 42 But I know you, that you do not have the love of God in you. 43 I have come in My Father’s name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, him you will receive. 44 How can you believe, who receive honor from one another, and do not seek the honor that comes from the only God? 45 Do not think that I shall accuse you to the Father; there is one who accuses you—Moses, in whom you trust. 46 For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me. 47 But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?”
Devotion
The Jewish leaders do not have the love of God in them. They were seeking to kill Jesus, God’s Son, for two reasons. First, they wrongly claimed that He had broken the Sabbath. Second, they rightly understood that Jesus made Himself equal with God when He said that God was His Father (John 5:16-18). Thus, their claim to actually “search the Scriptures” and to be following them was bogus. Though they act as if they were zealous to keep the teaching of the prophet Moses, they were lying. They seek to honor the traditions of men, but not the words of God. Moses would have accused them of hypocrisy and unbelief, for Moses believed God’s promises and wrote about Jesus, the Savior who would come.
The Scriptures contain both Law and Gospel. The Commandments of God show us our failure to keep the Law and reveal our sinfulness. The Gospel promises show us the love of God, who sent His Son to secure the substitutionary atonement for the forgiveness of our sins. Those who do not believe in the Gospel message do not have the forgiveness of sins. Jesus said that those who reject Him “do not have the love of God in you.”
Jesus affirms the premise that the teachings of the Scriptures present the promise of eternal life. When we honestly search the Scriptures, we will discover that the prophets and apostles are in full agreement. Through faith in Jesus Christ we receive eternal life.
Prayer: Quench in us, we beseech Thee, O Lord, the flame of vice, even as Thou didst enable blessed Laurence to overcome his fire of sufferings; through our Lord Jesus Christ, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
The Collect for the Ninth Sunday after Trinity Sunday
Let Thy merciful ears, O Lord, be open to the prayers of Thy humble servants; and, that they may obtain their petitions, make them to ask such things as shall please Thee; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
