April 26, 2026

Today's Reading: John 16:16-22

Daily Lectionary: Leviticus 8:1-13, 30-36; Luke 9:1-17

“Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy.” (John 16:20)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

It’s Thursday. The Passover is being celebrated. It’s a familiar day—an ancient festival. And yet, there’s something different about this day. This night. This Passover. Jesus teaches. Prays. Eats. Drinks. This is all familiar. But then Jesus does something new. He gives a New Covenant—a new testament—in his Body and Blood. Not only that, Jesus’ words seem to reflect the darkness of this night. Sorrow. Weeping. Lament. Jesus is going away.

What does this mean? They don’t know, but Jesus knows. Jesus looks at their scared, bewildered faces and knows the suffering that’s coming. He knows their fears, uncertainty, and sadness. He knows he is about to endure: jeers, whips, tearing flesh, blood dripping, anguish, pain, and agony. He knows the sorrow that will overwhelm them as they scatter with fear and denial, as the stone is rolled over Jesus’ tomb. “You will weep and lament and the world will rejoice.”

Jesus is speaking about his death and resurrection. A little while, they would see him no more. Crucified. Dead. Buried. But in a little while, they would see him again. Risen. Glorified. Appearing in the Upper Room. Good Friday sorrow gives way to Easter joy. Anguish gives way to cries of “He is risen!”

But Jesus’ words aren’t only for his disciples. Jesus speaks to you as well. As we live in the “little while” between Jesus’ death, resurrection, ascension, and his coming again on the Last Day, life is often full of sorrows, weeping, and lamentation. For you, the baptized Christian, sorrow is not an illusion – it’s real. Sometimes all too real. Sometimes it lasts days, weeks, years. Sometimes suffering doesn't go away with the dawn. Sometimes, time doesn’t heal all wounds.

In this life, sorrow, tears, and lament are real. But so is this: Christ’s Gift of joy that no amount of suffering or sorrow can rob you of. Christ’s dying and rising for you, bringing his suffering into the midst of yours, taking your suffering and sorrow upon himself, and giving you his crucified and risen joy.

So, until the day when Christ returns, when everything sad will come untrue, we live in Jesus’ promise: “You will have sorrow now, but I will see you again and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.”

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Almighty God, merciful Father, since You have wakened from death the Shepherd of Your sheep, grant us your Holy Spirit that when we hear the voice of our Shepherd we may know Him who calls us each by name and follow where He leads; through the same Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

April 25, 2026

Today's Reading: Mark 16:14-20

Daily Lectionary: Exodus 40:17-38; Leviticus 1:1-7:38; Luke 8:40-56

“Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved.” (Mark 16:16)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

What a remarkable promise by Jesus here in Mark 16:16. Baptism saves. How can that be?

We’ll get to that in a moment. But first, let’s review. What makes a Baptism a Baptism? Answer: water and God’s Word. How much water? Jesus never says. Sprinkle? Sure. Immerse? If you want to. As long as you use water. No confetti. No rose petals. Water! Attached or hooked to the water is the all-authority-in-heaven-and-earth-Lord-Jesus’ mandate: “in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,” (Matthew 28:19. Not, “creator, redeemer and sanctifier.” Not “creator, liberator, and sustainer.” You are baptized when the water is applied with the divine mandate Word (“in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit”).

What divine Gift does the Triune God give you in holy Baptism according to Matthew 28:19? It is the divine and saving name! And with His name, the Triune God gives Himself to the baptized. Promises to be God for her. Promises to act as God for her. So, to be baptized in the Triune name is to be baptized by the Triune God Himself.

Baptized in the divine and saving name of the Trinity, it is no surprise that the New Testament extols salvational benefits like Jesus does in Mark 16:16. Check out the following passages and note the benefits such as forgiveness and washing away of sin, Gift of the Holy Spirit, rebirth, justification, sanctification, etc.: Acts 2:38-39; 22:16; Romans 6:3-4; 1 Corinthians 6:11; Ephesians 5:26; Galatians 3:27; Titus 3:5-7; John 3:3-5; 1 Peter 3:18-22. All those benefits flow from the divine and saving name given to the baptized. This is why the Large Catechism correctly taught: “This is the simplest way to put it: the power, effect, benefit, fruit, and purpose of Baptism is that it saves.” Oh, in addition, let’s not forget that Peter declares that Baptism and all its salvific benefits are for “for you, and for your children and for all” (Acts 2:39)! And there’s more: the words “for you” require all hearts to believe. Peter wants you to take this Gift personally.

“Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved,” Jesus promises. Faith does not make a Baptism a Baptism. Faith receives what Baptism gives so that it may be beneficial for the baptized, as Jesus promises. Always use Jesus’ promise of Mark 16 against your sin, Satan, and guilty conscience by saying: “But I am baptized! And if I have been baptized, I have the promise that I shall be saved and have eternal life, both in soul and body,” (Large Catechism).

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

All who believe and are baptized Shall see the Lord’s salvation Baptized into the death of Christ They are a new creation Through Christ’s redemption they shall stand Among the glorious heav’nly band Of every tribe and nation (LSB 601:1)

April 24, 2026

Today's Reading: Introit for Easter 4 - Psalm 66:3, 5, 8-9; antiphon: Psalm 66:1-2

Daily Lectionary: Exodus 39:32-40:16; Luke 8:22-39

“Come and see what God has done.” (Psalm 66:5)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

King Hezekiah is the best king Judah had since David (2 Kings 18:1-3). Like David, he fights the Philistines. He expands Judah’s land and he restores true worship (spelled: F-A-I-T-H) by getting rid of the “high places” forbidden in Deuteronomy 12:10-14. He smashes the Asherah pillars and crushes the bronze serpent of Moses, to which Judah burned incense (2 Kings 18:4).

However, the mighty Assyrians under Sennacherib are on the move. Judah faces the same fate as the Northern Kingdom. In the “fourteenth year” of King Hezekiah (Isaiah 36:1 – a clue that suggests the events of Isaiah 36-39 are similar to Passover – see Leviticus 23:5), the Assyrians taunt the Jerusalemites by contending that they should not expect Hezekiah or the LORD to save them.

Why? Because no gods have been able to stand against Assyria! Sounds like Pharaoh, “Who is the LORD?” (Exodus 5:2). Hezekiah takes the derisive letter into the temple and spreads it before the LORD. He asks God to hear the Assyrian blasphemies Assyrians and defend Himself. “So now, O LORD our God, save us, please, from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you, O LORD, are God alone,” (2 Kings 19:19; also Isaiah 36:18-20; 37:1-10). The LORD humbles the gods of Assyria (Isaiah 37:21-29) just as He did with the gods of Egypt (Exodus 12:12). The “angel of death” passes through the Assyrian camp by night and slaughters 185,000 of them (Isaiah 37:36; cf. Exodus 12:23).

Isaiah 38 tells the story of Hezekiah’s illness and recovery. Hezekiah offers a psalm of thanksgiving (38:19-20). The “angel of death” slaughtered the Assyrians but passed over Hezekiah. In a sense, Judah has experienced a new Passover or a Passover 2.0 with the angel of death delivering her – this time from the Assyrians. No wonder Psalm 66, first written because of what we have just reviewed, exhorts the people of the Old Testament or any Christian to “come and see what God has done.” And to give “him glorious praise.” King Hezekiah sure did!

We pray this psalm in response to the greater exodus (Luke 9:31) that the LORD Jesus did for us and for our salvation when He suffered (including all the mockery), died, and rose on the third day. He crushed the enemy Satan’s head. He achieved and accomplished our salvation through the shedding of His blood from His crucified body. On the night when He was betrayed, during the context of a Passover meal, Jesus instituted His Supper, by which He gives us His crucified, risen, and ascended Body and Blood to eat and drink, with the promise that all our sins are forgiven (Matthew 26:26-28). Jesus is God FOR YOU! In the Lord’s Supper, “come and see what God has done for you” and gives you.

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

LORD Jesus Christ. Thank you for saving me on the cross. I trust You. Amen.

April 23, 2026

Today's Reading: Catechism: Creed Second Article

Daily Lectionary: Exodus 38:21-39:8, 22-23, 27-31; Luke 8:1-21

“Jesus Is My Lord!”

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

The Creed faithfully gives the biblical facts. All the historical events of Jesus’ life, from “conceived by the Holy Spirit,” to “from thence he will come to judge the living and the dead,” come straight from the Bible. When you confess that Jesus is the Father’s only Son and your Lord, what do you mean? It means that Jesus is true God and true man in one person. How do you know that? Because He is begotten of the Father from eternity (true God) and born of the Virgin Mary (true man). Jesus is the God-man. The eternal Word made flesh: Immanuel, God with us. Unlike us, Jesus is a human conceived without sin and who never sinned (Hebrews 4:15; 1 Peter 2:22; 1 John 3:5; 2 Corinthians 5:21).

And the God-man Jesus, the Father’s only begotten Son, is your Lord! What does that mean? It means that Jesus redeemed you, a lost and condemned person (Titus 2:14; 1 Peter 1:18). Lord Jesus is Savior Jesus. Lord Jesus redeems. From the Second Article, “we get to know,” as the Large Catechism teaches, “how he [Jesus] has given himself completely to us, withholding nothing.” This is salvationally huge! Christianity is all about Jesus giving Himself, His life, and His heart to you in order to save you!

This is what it means that Jesus is your Lord. As Lord, He has purchased and won you from all sin, from death, and from the power of the devil. When you say “Jesus is my Lord,” you are saying, “Jesus is my REDEEMER.” He brought me back from the devil to His Father, from death to life, and from sin to righteousness.

But how did Jesus do this for you? By making a payment with silver or gold? No! He did it with His holy, precious blood and with His Good Friday innocent suffering and death (1 Peter 1:18-19; 2:21; 3:18; Hebrews 9:26). He is Lord over your sin. His Good Friday death made satisfaction for all your sin. He paid what you owed. And when He rose on Easter Sunday, He defeated death, devoured death— put death to death. This is what it means that He is your Lord! He is Lord FOR YOU and for your salvation!

You belong to Lord Jesus. You trust in Him for your salvation, and as you receive the salutary benefits that He won for you in His death through His Word and Sacrament, you “live under Him in His kingdom.” He lords His forgiveness over you so that you live by faith in His “everlasting righteousness, innocence and blessedness” and so that you too will be raised bodily on the Last Day. Lord Jesus is the first fruits of those that sleep (1 Corinthians 15:20).

What a Lord! What a Redeemer!

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Lord Jesus, thank you for giving yourself completely to me to be my Redeemer.

April 22, 2026

Today's Reading: Luke 7:36-50

Daily Lectionary: Exodus 34:29-35:21; Exodus 35:22-38:20; Luke 7:36-50

“He who is forgiven little, loves little.” (Luke 7:47)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Pharisee Simon has invited Jesus to his house for a dinner party. Jesus is perhaps even the honored guest.

Usually, in the ancient East, as a guest arrived, he would be given water to wash his feet, a kiss as a warm welcome (an equivalent to our handshake), and, for VIPS, olive oil for personal sprucing up. Shockingly, Jesus receives none of these kind courtesies from Simon. Or to put it this way: Simon shows no love whatsoever to Jesus. Zilch. Zero. Nada.

All of a sudden, a “woman of the city, a sinner, [i.e., prostitute]” shows up. Crashes the affair. What is she doing? Plying her trade? Is she putting the moves on Jesus? It sure looks like it! Get the kids out of the room! It’s about to get R-rated at Simon’s house. Check it out! Tears flow from her eyes. Behind Jesus and at His feet, she washes His feet with her tears and dries them off with her hair. Then she dares to kiss Jesus’ feet and anoint them with ointment from her alabaster flask!

Simon, of course, is appalled. Horrified that Jesus lets this woman, a hardcore sinner, do this to Him or for Him. Simon snarls to himself: “If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner.”

Jesus picks up on Simon’s thinking and tells a quick parable about two men being forgiven debts that they could not repay. One man had an enormous debt cancelled, whereas the other had a small debt forgiven. Jesus asks Simon: “Now which of them will love him more?” To which Simon begrudgingly answered, “The one that had the bigger debt cancelled.” Get it? Simon has no use for Jesus as Savior for the forgiveness of sins. Simon would certainly say: “I’m not perfect, but I am certainly not like this woman!” So he showed no love for Jesus. That is precisely why Jesus tells him: “He who is forgiven little, loves little.”

The big-time notorious sinner, the woman, had enormous use of Jesus – FORGIVENESS, LIFE, AND SALVATION. That is why she showed and gave Jesus so much love. She wasn’t trying to seduce Him. She was there giving her Savior the highest worship any sinner could give: F-A-I-T-H! Her trust in Jesus as Savior begged for His total and complete forgiveness for her sins. She who is forgiven much loves much! Jesus says so: “Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven – for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.” And as she believed she had. Jesus absolved her: “Your sins are forgiven…. Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Lord Jesus Christ, I believe in You. Forgive me. And may my love for you and for others be abundant. Amen.

April 21, 2026

Today's Reading: 1 Peter 2:21-25

Daily Lectionary: Exodus 34:1-28; Luke 7:18-35

“...leaving you an example…” (1 Peter 2:21b)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Peter preaches Jesus in two ways. The first and foremost way is that Jesus, “the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls,” is the SALVIFIC GIFT for you. You were like “straying sheep,” as Peter quotes Isaiah 54, but Good Shepherd Jesus “bore our sins in his body on the tree.” This is so deliciously wonderful! Jesus was completely pure and holy, and yet on the cross, He carried all your sin. He answered or atoned for it all as He sacrificially in love shed His blood FOR YOU. The blood that gushed from His crucified body is the blood that cleanses and purifies from all sin (1 John 1:7). So, your sin does not belong to you anymore. All of it and all of its hellacious punishment was reckoned to Jesus in His very good, Good Friday death. “By his [Good Friday] wounds you have been healed.” This is Peter’s preaching of Jesus as GIFT for you and for your salvation. To which faith says: “Amen.”

Then Peter preaches Jesus as EXAMPLE, namely, how you are to live before others, especially those who want to or actually harm you. Christians suffer for confessing Jesus as “the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.” It goes with the territory. So, learn how to suffer discrimination, hate, injustice, and injury from Jesus because you are a Christian. “For this you have been called,” Peter declares. Jesus suffered for you, “leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps.” The Shepherd has taken the lead. Willingly, for your salvation, He marched to the cross. So, then, His sheep will follow and bear their crosses following His example.

As Jesus Good Friday-ly suffered, He didn’t sin. He didn’t argue or complain. He did not appeal to justice as He stood before the High Priest and Governor Pilate, and He “committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth.” Moreover, when Jesus was reviled, He did not berate back. As He suffered, He did not say: “Just wait until I rise from the dead! I’ll get you!” Instead, Jesus, “entrusted himself to him [His Father] who judges justly.”

FOR YOU and for your salvation, Jesus permitted Himself to be viciously demonized, scorned, mocked, and brutally murdered. And yet He only opened His mouth to pray: “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do,” (Luke 23:34)! Stephen prayed that way in Acts 8:60, and Mrs. Erika Kirk recently prayed that way for the murderer of her husband Charlie: “that man, that young man, I forgive him.”

So, follow Jesus’ example, dear disciple. Do not argue and complain when you are wronged. Have compassion on those who hurt you. Suffer it, forgive, and leave the matter to God the Father just as Jesus did. In such living, you “die to sin and live to righteousness.”

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.

April 20, 2026

Today's Reading: Ezekiel 34:11-16

Daily Lectionary: Exodus 33:1-23; Luke 7:1-17

“I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep.” (Ezekiel 34:15a)

In the Name of Jesus.

Shepherds. Israel’s history is full of them: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. When Jacob moved his family to Egypt, they were segregated to Goshen because Hebrew shepherds were considered an abomination to the Egyptians (Genesis 46:34; cf. 43:32). Moses and David were shepherds (Exodus 3:1; 1 Sam 17:34-36). Joshua would shepherd Israel so that “the congregation of the LORD may not be as sheep that have no shepherd” (Numbers 27:17; cf. 1 Kings 22:17; Ezekiel 34:5). Additionally, the prophets, particularly Ezekiel, speak of Israel’s kings as shepherds. Most of these king-shepherds abused the flock. King Ahab was one of the worst in the Northern Kingdom, and Manasseh was one of the worst in the Southern Kingdom. The children of Israel were like sheep without a shepherd. These king-shepherds did not strengthen, heal, and bind up the weak and sick. Instead, they ruthlessly subjected them. Preyed on them. Exposed them to wild beasts.

Ezekiel correctly makes the case that Judah’s shepherds consumed their flock instead of feeding it. Instead of protecting, they slaughtered. Instead of gathering, they scattered. Consequently, the LORD takes His stand. He will “destroy” and “feed” the voracious-feeding-themselves “fat and strong” unfaithful shepherds “in justice.” They will get what they want as their punishment for their stubborn unbelief, corruption, and unrepentance. In addition, the LORD Himself promises to do what Israel’s predatory shepherds will not and cannot do. He will be Israel’s shepherd. “I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out … I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep.” He will rescue and gather the scattered. He will “feed them with good pasture” – even on the mountain heights. He will “seek the lost … bring back the strayed … bind up the injured, and … strengthen the weak.”

Connect the dots. Ezekiel 34 is to the Old Testament what John 10 and Luke 15:3-7 are to the New Testament. Jesus— Immanuel / God with us— is the Good Shepherd of Ezekiel’s prophecy! God the Father sends His only-begotten Son “to seek and save the lost” (Luke 19:10). David was both “shepherd” and “prince” of Israel. As such, David prefigures Jesus, who is the greater salvational Shepherd-King! So, when Jesus identifies Himself as “the good shepherd,” He categorically proclaims Himself as the fulfillment of Ezekiel’s prophecy. And in Good Friday sacrificial love for you, His sheep, He “lays down his life” (Jn 10:15) and then takes it up again on Easter Sunday (Jn 10:17-18) to win your salvation by His blood as the sacrificial lamb who “takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Good Shepherd Jesus, continue to shepherd and pasture us in Your kingdom as we live in and from our Baptism as You repent, faith, and lead us in Your Word. Amen.

April 19, 2026

Today's Reading: John 10:11-16

Daily Lectionary: Exodus 32:15-35; Luke 6:39-49

“I am the Good Shepherd.” (John 10:11a)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Sheep need a shepherd. Sheep depend on a shepherd who will lead, provide, and protect. Otherwise, sheep wander, get lost, and in their lostness can be easy prey for the wolves.

Isaiah says: “all we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned – every one – to his own way,” (53:6). It is as if we were in a race to see who could rebel and sprint from God the fastest! Green pastures? Still waters? Soul restoration? Righteous paths? Guiding presence in the very deep shadow of death? Comforting rod and staff? A banquet table? A divine home? No thanks! We will go it alone! We will be independent and self-sustaining. We will follow every false path. We will chase down every poisoned weed and lap up every polluted puddle.

And to top it off, we will put ourselves under a hired hand, who doesn’t give a farthing about us. He will let us do anything that floats our boats. And we won’t even notice the hireling as he hightails it as the wolf creeps, snarls, and attacks. This scenario of sheep insisting on their own waywardness will not end well. It will end hellishly! Damnationally!

So it is time to repent. Turn from such sinful straying. Turn from going our own independent way. And then be turned to THE GOOD SHEPHERD – the Lord Jesus Christ in faith who does what it takes to salvationally find and rescue us, His wandering sheep, so that we will be totally dependent on Him. Why? Because “the good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep … I lay down my life for the sheep.” He is preaching His Good-Friday-on-the-cross death. This is the only death that atones for all sin, including yours.

Here is the bottom line. Your salvation as a sheep all boils down to dependency. Or to put it quite bluntly: you cannot save yourself, no matter how hard you try. You need THE GOOD SHEPHERD, Jesus, the Bishop of our souls (1 Peter 3:25), who laid down His life into death – His Good Friday death on the cross FOR YOU. Dependent on Good Shepherd Jesus, we listen to His voice that categorically proclaims: “I died and rose FOR YOU. At My Table, I give you My Body and Blood, and I promise all your sin is forgiven. You’re in my flock. I’ve got you.” To which faith-full sheep say: “Amen. Thank you. Thank you, Jesus!”

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Almighty God, merciful Father, since You have wakened from death the Shepherd of Your sheep, grant us Your Holy Spirit that when we hear the voice of our Shepherd we may know Him who call us each by name and follow where He leads; through the same Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.