Evangelical Lutheran Diocese of North America

Thursday after Jubilate

Posted on April 26, 2018 by Pastor Dulas under Devotions
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Scripture: St. John 7:25-36 (NKJV)

7:25 Now some of them from Jerusalem said, “Is this not He whom they seek to kill? 26 But look! He speaks boldly, and they say nothing to Him. Do the rulers know indeed that this is truly the Christ? 27 However, we know where this Man is from; but when the Christ comes, no one knows where He is from.”

28 Then Jesus cried out, as He taught in the temple, saying, “You both know Me, and you know where I am from; and I have not come of Myself, but He who sent Me is true, whom you do not know. 29 But I know Him, for I am from Him, and He sent Me.”

30 Therefore they sought to take Him; but no one laid a hand on Him, because His hour had not yet come. 31 And many of the people believed in Him, and said, “When the Christ comes, will He do more signs than these which this Man has done?”

32 The Pharisees heard the crowd murmuring these things concerning Him, and the Pharisees and the chief priests sent officers to take Him.

33 Then Jesus said to them, “I shall be with you a little while longer, and then I go to Him who sent Me. 34 You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come.”

35 Then the Jews said among themselves, “Where does He intend to go that we shall not find Him? Does He intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks? 36 What is this thing that He said, ‘You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come’?”

Devotion

Jesus is bold in the face of His enemies and persecutors. Some in the crowd said, “Is this not He whom they seek to kill? But look! He speaks boldly, and they say nothing to Him.” Christ is bold to speak because His message is not His own, but His heavenly Father’s words.

This same boldness possesses the apostles after Pentecost. How often in the book of Acts did Peter, John, and others speak boldly before the crowds of people and the Jewish authorities who had rejected and murdered Christ? Yet they did not shrink back or waver with fear and cowardice before the enemies of the gospel. Filled with the Holy Spirit, the apostles became embodiments of Psalm 27:1, “The LORD is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid?”

God gives the same Holy Spirit in baptism which was poured out upon the apostles, so that we are bold to trust God’s promises in the face of trial, cross, and persecution. It is written in Hebrews 10:23, “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.” Like Christ speaking in John 7, we know that the One in whom we trust is faithful to all His promises. He forgives our sins when we repent and flee to Christ. He has made us sons in holy baptism. He has promised to never leave or forsake us. “Therefore, since we have such hope, we use great boldness of speech” (2 Cor. 3:12) whenever the Lord gives us opportunity to confess Christ before men.

We pray: Almighty God, grant us boldness to trust Your sure and certain promises, and boldness to confess Your Son before men for the sake of their salvation. Amen.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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