Revelation

 The Revelation of John

Title: The title of the book has its own interesting story. Most of the older books has something like The Revelation of St. John the Theologian. The last years there is a tendency to abrogate and adjust the title into either The Revelation TO John or simply Revelation. In reality, it is the revelation of Jesus Christ (1:1) for transmission to His servants. The first level of transmission was completed by the angelic intervention to St. John.        

Date of writing: As of right now there are three main theories on the date of writing: around 300 AD, 96-98AD, and 64-65AD [or 68AD]. The first one is based on the idea that it was not an apostolic writing but was written based on the celestial events being presented symbolically to the Roman Imperial Community. The second view was held by many godly people – Martin Franzmann being one of them and the editorial board of TLSB (p. 2195 – 95AD). It is based on the notion that John should be old (cp. 2 and 3 John) and the life of the Church was mostly disturbed by Romans. The last [the correct one :)] is based on the understanding that the great tribulation is not a persecution of Roman on Christian, but a persecution Christian Jews endured by non-Messianic Jewish community during The Jewish War (66 – 70AD).   

Structure: (for a possible structure see the insert on Leviticus).

a. ch. 1, Introduction in the Revelation

 b. ch. 2 – 3, 7 Churches 

  c. ch. 4 – 5, Ascension of Jesus

   d. ch. 6 – 8:5, 7 Seals

   d’. ch. 8:6 – 12, 7 Trumpets

  c’. ch. 13 – 15, Ascension of the Church

 b’. ch. 16 – 17, 7 Bowls

a’. ch. 18 – 22, Conclusion of the ministry

Main themes: Most often Revelation is taken as a scary and depressing book full of tragic or traumatic description. For sure, there are pages and pages of martyrdom stories. At the same time, Revelation is the book of hope and comfort. As usual, one needs to read it to the End. The Church – represented by the seven churches – is enduring the troublesome time of great tribulation. To a point everything looks bad, devastating, and even ruined. Yet, at the very end the wave of repentances begins (ch. 18) which leads to the everlasting marriage feast of the Lamb.      

Main Characters: Jesus, John, representatives of the 7 churches, 24 elders, 4 living creatures, beast of the sea, beast of land etc.

Reflection in other parts of the Bible: To fully comprehend the content of Revelation the listener/reader need to have a deep understanding of the previous 65 books of the Bible. Apart from seeing Jesus as the King of kings and the LORD of lords, one needs to see the mese of creation (1:17 – Gen. 2:21); sacrificial system with its ministers, calendar, and sacred spaces; role of angels; symbolism of land and sea etc.    

Lutheran teaching: The Book of Concord uses 12:9 – Satan, ancient serpent – as a description of rebellion against the ministry of the Word of God [SA III, VIII:5; LC III:65; 111].

The usage of Sunday as the Day of the Lord – worship day – is based on Rev. 1:10 [AC XXVIII:60].

Lutheran hymnody:

LSB 676 – Behold a Host, Arrayed in White.

LSB 395 – O Morning Star, How Fair and Bright

Relevancy of the Book: Reading the Book of Revelation has many benefits for a believer. First, we always need to remember that the Judgement will begin from the Church – Jesus addresses 7 churches and only after that His judgement goes into the world. Second, this judgement/evaluation process is eminent. Regardless of our level of symbolic readings into the meaning of the Book, He is coming, He is coming for sure. Third, however troublesome, scary, and dangerous the great tribulation looks like, the faithful ones will be delivered. Sometimes they will be delivered from troubles, sometimes God will stay with the believers through persecutions and will greet us at the entrance to the Marriage Feast of the Lamb.   

Memory verses: 1:17b-18: When I saw him, I fell at His feet as though dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying, “fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forever more, and I have the keys of Death and Hades”. 

Jude

 Letter of St. Jude   

Title: There are a few Judas in the NT. Curtis P. Giese provides a helpful layout to all the possibilities for the authorship (2 Peter and Jude, CHP, 2012, pp. 16-18). He settles on the Jude, brother of James, and, actually, a half-brother of Jesus. Yet, being reluctant to claim his special relational connections with the LORD, he identifies himself as a brother of James (Mt. 13:55; Mk. 6:3).          

Date of writing: It is one of the later epistles. The conundrum that should be solved is the relationship between Peter and Jude. Different schools of thought give priority to one over the other (See Giese, pp. 1-6, 11-12, 17-18). IMHO – I believe that Jude “polishes” the statements of Peter, therefore, Jude should be written around 64-65 AD or ca 68AD (as TLSB and TLRB [The Lutheran Reader’s Bible] states).   

Structure:

a. 1-2, Greeting

  b. 3-4, beloved, hold faith once delivered to the saints

    c. 5-7, 3 negative examples from Biblical history

      d. 8, takeaway 1

        e. 9-11a, Positive example (Michael)

     c’. 11b, 3 negative examples

       d’. 12, takeaway 2

         e. 13-16, Positive example (Enoch)

  b. 17-23, beloved, hold to the prediction of the apostles

a. 24-25, Conclusion with Doxology

Main themes: Not giving in to the evils of the world. It tries to penetrate the church and corrupt the church from within.

Imminent judgement on the ungodly. Though it looks like the wicked prevail (at times and places), there is a greater judgement that is ultimately coming to the world (cp. Ps. 73).   

Main Characters: Jude and the beloved

Negative examples	Positive examples
(1) Unbelievers in the time of Exodus, Fallen angels, Sodom and Gomorrah; (2) Kain, Balaam, Korah	Michael   Enoch

 

Reflection in other parts of the Bible: Angelic rebellion is presented in Job 1 and 2: Isaiah 14:13-15; Zech 3:1-2. Comparing the last passage with Jude might help us to identify the figure of Michael – the one at the right side/hand of God – as the second person of the Trinity.

Importance the apostolic authority in the Church over self-achieved “intimate relationship with God”. Same as 2 and 3 John – theme of “face to face”.

Jude brings up 8 examples from the Pentateuch assuming that his readers and listeners immediately catch the connection for a deeper reflection. He simply mentions them without any long description. 

Lutheran teaching: The Book of Concord quotes Jude [11] only once – discussing the Third use of the Law (FC SD VI:16). Authors of the Formula made a connection between Pauline usage of “works of the Law” (Rom. 3:20) as “works of the slaves”.   

It is not a “Lutheran teaching” per se, but for many years the President of the LCMS A.L. Barry would sign his devotional remarks in every issue of Lutheran Witness with the concluding words of Jude v.24-25.

Lutheran hymnody:

LSB 518:28 – For All the Saints in Warfare (v. 28 – St. Simon and St. Jude, Apostles)

LSB 508 – The Day is Surely Drawing Near

Relevancy of the Book: As long as the Church is present on earth, the forces of evil will attack her from the outside and try their best to penetrate corrupting from the inside. The Letter of Jude is very helpful with the identification of these attempts, encouraging the “beloved” to hold fast to faith once delivered to the saints. Also, regardless of the difficulty and severity of the spiritual and life combat, we eagerly await the Second Coming of Christ which will complete the ultimate deliverance.   

Memory verses: 20-21: But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourself in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life.

3 John

3^rd Letter of St. John   

Title:  This time [unlike the unidentified 1 John] St. John identifies himself as “the elder” (cp. 2 John). Looks like he sent a general “sermonic” epistle to establish the theological frame of refence, then he sent to letters: this one, to one of the members of the congregation, and another one (2 John) addressed to the church. 

Date of writing: If these two epistles (2 and 3 John) are written at the same time, then we can assume that later date of writing (still prior to 70 AD). The reasoning is based on the usage of names: Gaius and Demetrius (3 John 1, 12). Gaius was a prominent member of the congregation in Corinth (1 Cor. 1:14; cp. Rom. 16:23). Demetrius was a silversmith in Ephesus who rioted against St. Paul (Acts 19:23-27, Gaius was present at the riots together with Sp. Paul, Acts 19:29).   

Structure:

a. 1, Greetings

 b. 2-4, testimony of truth

  c. 5-8, receiving and sending out brothers

   d. 9, I wrote to the church, resistance of Diotrephes

  c’. 10, I’ll bring up his rejection of brothers  

 b’. 11-12, Good testimony of Demetrius

a’. 13-15, Final greetings

 

Main themes: Testimony. Sending. Beloved.

Testimony. It is a two-folded theme. First the testimony should be true. At times it is expressed directly in the letter connecting both parts together (v. 3). But the very next verse brings up a similar idea using other words – great joy to hear [testimony] that my children walk in the truth. The second part is that the testimony is done by other people. Similar to 2 John and the final greetings of this epistle the idea of face to face comes to mind. There is someone who you know or do not know is ready to testify for you…       

Sending out brothers. It is very important to notice that from the very beginning the Church had a component of outward orientation. As it should be – there is brotherly love among the members (see more on beloved), at the same time this love should “spill out” (cp. Ps. 23:5c) into the relationship with the outsiders. It is not either or, it is BOTH.      

Beloved. John calls Gaius beloved at least three times (v. 2,5, 11). Again, we can see a cross-shaped meaning of the word. He is loved by God and by John.   

Main Characters: three groups:

a. John/the elder and Brothers (who testified about Gaius)

b. Gaius, friends (should be greeted each by name), brothers/strangers, Demetrious

c. Diotrephes 

Reflection in other parts of the Bible: Putting together the description of the Garden (Gen. 1 and 2) and typology of the righteous man as a fruitful tree, we can see that John (the elder) presents himself as the tree of Life, Gaius and many others in the letter are fruit trees, while Diotrephes is the tree of knowledge of good and evil. This is a great example of God using “difficult” people in our lives to help us grow in godliness.  

Lutheran teaching: BoC does not have references to 3 John. Though, it has the valuable implications in theology of the church and mission work. 

Lutheran hymnody:

LSB 835 – On Galilee’s High Mountain

LSB 760 – What God ordains is Always Good

Relevancy of the Book: The letter shows John as a very persistent teacher, shepherd, and brother. He wants to make sure that leaders of (and everyone in) the Church know the truth. At the same time, he cares for the emotional and spiritual being of his “children”; his reoccurring phrase “beloved” attests to a caring pastoral heart. His brotherly qualities are displayed through the desire of maintain peace in the family of God. It is a great example of the current social and political environment the Church finds herself in. Same qualities are still valuable for the advancement of the Gospel from heart to heart.        

Memory verses:  

11 Beloved, do not imitate evil but imitate good. Whoever imitate good is from God; whoever does evil has not seen God. 

2 John

 2^nd Letter of St. John   

Title:  This time [unlike the unidentified 1 John] St. John identifies himself as “the elder” (cp. 3 John). Looks like he sent a general “sermonic” epistle to establish the theological frame of refence, then he sent to letters: this one, addressed to the church, and another one (3 John) to one of the members of the congregation. 

Date of writing: If these two epistles (2 and 3 John) are written at the same time, then we can assume that later date of writing (still prior to 70 AD). The reasoning is based on the usage of names: Gaius and Demetrius (3 John 1, 9, 12).

Structure:

a. 1-3, Greetings

 b. 4-6, walking in the truth

  c. 7-8, deceivers/watch yourselves

 b’. 9-11, abide in the teaching

a’. 12-13, Final greetings

Main themes:

Truth – used 5 times in the letter. Twice he connects love and truth (v. 1 and 3). Also, he personifies the truth [v. 2] which “will be with us forever” making an allusion to John 14:6.

The deception – the rejection of Jesus Christ in the flesh (beginning of gnostic theology). This rejection had both historical and eschatological application.  

The Elect Lady has children (Cyprian, d. 258: No one can have God for his Father, who does not have the Church for his mother).

Priority of a meeting-in-person over a correspondence or a “meeting on-line”.

This small letter also testifies to the concept of a house as a micro-church – the need to notice who comes in and who does a Christian should “greet”.

Main Characters:

The elder, elect lady (or Donna), her children, and the children of her elect sister. That needs an identification: if the epistle is addressed to the congregation in Corinth (community of Jewish and Gentile’s believers in a pagan environment), then the elect sister can/should be the messianic congregation in Jerusalem.     

Reflection in other parts of the Bible: The concept of “from the beginning” is a hallmark of St. John’s appropriation of Genesis and Creation theology.

It is very important notice the close relationship between 2 John and Song of Songs. In both cases we have a female figure as a representation of the Church.

The idea of meeting face-to-face corelated with Pauline concept one-another (cp. Col. 3:16 etc.).  

Lutheran teaching: The Book of Concord quotes 2 John only once – during the discussion of the Power of Jurisdiction of Bishops (Tr. 60-62). The fact that St. John identifies as the Elder, shows that St. Peter did not have a superiority of ruling over the Church – both St. John and St. Peter are called the elders in their respective epistles. Also St. Paul charges Titus to set the Elders in every town of Crete (Tit. 1:5-6).   

Lutheran hymnody:

LSB 571 – For All the Saint in Warfare (v. 8 – St. John, Apostle and Evangelist).

LSB 878 – Abide with Me.

Relevancy of the Book:

There are (at least) three points which make the 2nd letter of John carry a relevant message for today. First, it is very important for a believer to understand himself/herself as a part of the Church: both Universal church and a local congregation (see the quote for Cyprian above). Second, the basis for the unity within the church is the acceptance of the Triune God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – and the ministry of the incarnate Son Jesus Christ for redemption of the world. Third, this unity of believes (communion of saint) is not a couple of hours a week entertainment, it is reflected in our daily (24/7) walk with God. The way we deal both with follow believers and non-churched people should be an example for all around us to give thanks to the Father for His love given in Jesus Christ.               

Memory verses:

4: I rejoiced greatly to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as we were commanded by the Father.  

 

1 John

The First Letter of John  

Title: St. John (unlike St. Paul, St. James, or St. Peter) does not name himself (cp. 2  & 3 John, where he uses “elder” as an authorship title). The author identification come from three “source”: (1) language similarities to the Gospel of John and the Book of Revelation; (2) themes of the letter are similar (if not identical) to the Gospel of John; (3) testimony of the Church.          

Date of writing: The honest answer is we don’t know. TLSB follows the older tradition putting AD 85 – 95. I agree with those who believe that the NT was completed before the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple in 70 AD. IMHO – it was written rather early for the Jerusalem messianic (Christian) community right after the Pentecost (cp. 2:20) and before the initial trials fell upon the Church.            

Structure: (by William Ramey )

A. 1:1-4, Manifestation of Messianic Age Life

 B. 1:5 – 2:2, Three Witnesses to a Believer’s Life

  C. 2:3-11 Believer’s Love for One Another

   D. 2:12-17, Believer’s Victory over the World

    E. 2:18-27, AntiChrist

     F. 2:28-29, Believer’s Confidence before the Son

      G. 3:1-3, Believer’s true Nature Revealed in the Future

       H. 3:4-10, The Source of Righteousness and Sin

      G’. 3:11-18, Believer’s true Nature revealed in the Present

     F’. 3:19-24, Believer’s Confidence before the Father

    E’. 4:1-3, The False Prophets

   D’. 4:4-6, Believer’s Victory over the World

  C’.4:7 – 5:5, Believer’s Love for One Another

 B’. 5:6-12, Three Witnesses to Jesus’ Life

A’. 5:13-21, Acquisition of Messianic Age Life

Main themes:

True testimony about the Word of Life.

Confidence in the love of God.

Love as the basis for relationship with One Another.

Spiritual discernment – recognition of the antichrist and false prophets.

Main Characters: I or We,

Then, “You”:

  Little children (used 8 or 9 times). 

  Beloved

Also “them”:

  Of the World, led by the spirit of error.

  Children of the devil.

Reflection in other parts of the Bible: It is very interesting that St. John does not come up with a quote from the OT. The single reference to the previous stories is naming of Cain (3:12). At the same time his letter is full of allusion to the writings of both Old and New Testament (to name a few):

  The beginning

  Being “children of God”

  Commandments          

Lutheran teaching: Just one example: 1 John 1:7 is a very important verse for the discussions that preoccupy the Formula of Concord: the relationship of a person in respect to the original sin (FC SD I:45); how faith relies on God (FC SD III:57); discussing the person of Christ (FC SD VIII:59); the universal promise of the Gospel (FC SD XI:28).    

Lutheran hymnody:

LSB 573 – Lord, ‘Tis Not that I did Choose Thee (1 John 4:10, 19)

LSB 948 – All Glory be to God Alone (1 John 2:2)

Relevancy of the Book: Sometimes with the flow of time we tend to believe that the world has changed (for better or worse). We can observe the technological advancement of our society and the changes in the types of government. On the other hand, the rule of Love which strives to obey God holds the same authority. We still need to recognize the false prophets and resist “the children of devil” walking in light. Also, the foundation for our forgiveness – the propitiation by the blood of Jesus – never can be replaced. We confess our sins and we are forgiven for the sake of His sacrifice.        

Memory verses: 1:8-9 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

 

2 Peter

 The Second Letter of Peter  

Title: Both authorship (1:1) and the number (3:1) can be attested from the letter itself. The fact that he presents himself as Simeon Peter brings up the memories of the First Jerusalem counsel (Acts 15:14).      

Date of writing: Apparently, this is one of the later writings. There are few factors to consider: he never says anything bad about gentiles (unlike in the First Epistle); he mentions St. Paul – our beloved brother Paul (3:15) – and his writings; regularly he goes to the theme of Parousia (eminent and soon-to-be second coming of Christ). The idea of suffering is not dominant (thou present, cp. 2:9), while the notes on behavioral godliness can be found throughout the letter. Therefore, it should be dated around 64-65 AD.        

Structure:

a. 1:1-4 Greetings.

  b. 1:5-12, godly qualities

    c. 1:13-16, I send you a reminder.

      d. 1:17-21, glory of Christ and truth of the Biblical prophecy.

        e. 2:1-3, False prophets.

          f. 2:4, angels

            g. 2:5-10, salvation of the fallen world

          f’. 2:11, angels

        e’. 2:12-16, prophetic madness, like irrational animals.

      d’. 2:17-22, knowledge of Christ and the truth of the parable. 

    c’. 3:1-13, this is the second letter. 

  b’. 3:14-16, be without spot or blemish. 

a’. 3:17-18, conclusion.

Main themes: Getting ready for the Second Coming of Christ. This theme has two important parts: (1) the coming is imminent; (2) the evildoers will be judged.

The second important theme is the false teachers who deny the security of Second Coming. It can include the false prophets (old and new), disobedient angels, and preachers of lawlessness (those of propagate anti-nomism).

Assurance is the divine nature of the Scriptures – the words of godly man (authors of Old and New Testaments) were guided by the Holy Spirit. 

Main Characters: Peter; Jesus Christ (he refers both to the experience of Transfiguration [“we” should include also John and James (Mt. 17:1)] and his own deep understanding of Lord’s glory); Noah; Lot; Balaam, son of Beor, and his donkey; “our beloved brother Paul”.   

Reflection in other parts of the Bible: Old Testament – Noah, Lot, and Balaam (all three stories have moral degradation component); Proverbs 26:11 does not give a “wise saying” on a dog, but also delivers a teaching on foolish behavior.

Gospel texts – Transfiguration (Mt. 17:1-8; Mk. 8:2-8; Lk. 9:28-36).

Other NT: reference to St. Paul; morning star (cp. Rev. 22:16).       

Lutheran teaching:

The hallmark of the Lutheran church is salvation only by God’s grace without any of human works (Ap. XX:12-13; FC SD IV:1-22,33) based on 2 Pet. 1:10.  

The Doctrine of Free Will and Election (FC Epitome XI:14; SD II:49; XI:28, 83-84) is heavily based on the epistle.  

Lutheran hymnody:

LSB 873 – Christ, Whose Glory Fills the Skies

LSB 416 – Swiftly Pass the Clouds of Glory

Relevancy of the Book: The letter has at least two important messages for a modern man. The course of the world’s history sooner or later will come to its end. Christ will come to evaluate the deeds of people: righteous will be transformed into His glory and evil doers (especially false teachers) will reach their ugly end. The knowledge about this is based on written, inerrant, and inspired Word of God.     

Memory verses: 

2:19-21: And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamb shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your heart, knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

 

1 Peter

First Letter of St. Peter   

Title: First letter of St. Peter. There are doubts among liberal scholars. They are based on usage of complex theological and profound grammatical constructions. Taking into an account that he was “a simple fisherman”. Reading the Bible carefully, shows that this simple fisherman knew 4 languages (to some extent).        

Date of writing: TLSB tells before 67AD. It can be right. The reason for the date is also supported by the naming of Sylvanus (2 Cor. 1:19) and Mark (Acts. 12:35; 13:13; 15:36-40). On the other hand, the Gentiles in the letter are painted only negative. It is very difficult to imagen St. Peter doing this after the conversion of Cornelius (Acts 10 – 11). Therefore, it is better to place it at the beginning of Church history (30-33 AD).       

Structure:

a. 1:1-3a, Greetings

  b. 1:3b-9, faith and trials  

    c. 1:10-25, Good news and it’s impact on life   

      d. 2:1-10, put away deceit, hypocrisy, envy etc.

        e. 2:11-12, call to good conduct

          f. 2:13-17, obedience to the authorities (v 13 and 17 – emperor/king)

            g. 2:18-25, servants

            g’. 3:1-6, wives

          f’. 3:7, husbands

        e’. 3:8-22, zealous for good

      d’. 4:1-11, gentiles live in sensuality, passions, drunkenness etc..

    c’. 4:12-19, blessing in suffering for Christ

  b. 5:1-11, care and submission

a’. 5:12-14, Final greetings

Main themes: Faith in Christ (1:8 – without seeing, cp. John 20:24-29, story of Thomas). Apparently, St. Peter addresses people who have only heard about the Cross, Resurrection, and Pentecost. Therefore, he brings up the “job description for the Messiah” idea grounded in the words of the prophets (1:10-12).     

Sufferings as a participation in the sufferings of Christ. Three main reasons for suffering : (1) form us into the image of Christ; (2) devil’s hate of the Word effects those who are faithful to the Word; (3) keep us on our toes – disciple’s factor.   

Submission as the main paradigm of relationship. Social, trade, and family relationship are based on the example of Christ and godly people (Sarah, 3:6).   

Main Characters: Peter writing to the Elders – representatives of the churches in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia (very prominent settlements of Jews in the Roman empire). 

Reflection in other parts of the Bible: Call of the holy people is based on the story of Exodus and the Sinai covenant (Ex. Ch. 19 – 20; Lev. 11). The separation of the people of God is reflected in every aspect of life.   

Theology of Zion is very important part of the Letter. Zion as a fortress, place of worship etc. with the LORD Himself as the cornerstone (Isaiah + Psalms).

Lutheran teaching: The theme of repentance, faith, and love as the fulfillment of the Law is discussed with the support from the Second and Fourth chapters of the Letter (Ap. V (III):117, 118; XII (V):65; XXI (IX): 31; LC, I:272, 285).

At least twice we find the passages from 3^rd chanter of the epistle in the Large Catechism explaining the sacrament of the Holy Baptism (LC, IV: 24, 82). Main idea: baptism saves!

Lutheran hymnody:

LSB 616 – Baptismal Waters Cover Me

LSB 770 – What a Friend We Have in Jesus

Relevancy of the Book: Reading the First Letter of St. Peter is beneficial on at least three levels. First, the apostle presents very deep theological ideas connecting the sacrifice of Christ with the rituals of OT institutions. Second, he prepares us for the proper understanding of suffering (very important for our pain-avoiding culture). Third, the guidelines for godly conduct are described as a pattern of servitude – as Christ served us submitting to the Father, we can serve each other and the world. This is a radical teaching for our power struggle-based society.   

Memory verses:  

1:18-19: you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.

JAMES

Letter of James   

Video: (YouTube) is here.   

Title: Letter of James should be called Letter of Jacob. This might bring up many associations of Jacob the Patriarch who had his fair share of trials, defending himself against the rich, relying on the wisdom from above.    

Date of writing: very early (30-33 AD), probably before St. Paul came to prominence. This is the reason why James 2:14-26 should not be read as a polemic against Rom 4 and 5. Unlike St. Paul, James had a very different audience in mind (the people who actually were brought to diaspora because of Saul [St. Paul], cp. Acts 7-8).   

Structure:

a. 1:1 Greeting to 12 tribes in dispersion.

  b. 1:2-15 Trials, wisdom, and riches

    c. 1:16-25, good gifts from above.

      d. 1:26 – 2:13, bridle the tongue.

        e. 2:14-17 faith without works is dead (v.17).

        e’. 2:18-26, faith without works is dead (v.26).

      d’. 3:1-12, taming of tongue.

    c’. 3:13 – 4:12   wisdom from above. 

  b’. 4:13-18, trials, riches

a’. 5:19-20, saving the wanderer.

Main themes:

Trials. How do we perceive them: is it God who smacks us, or our own lifestyle got us in trouble (1:13-15). Also, an important issue, how to respond if we are persecuted unjustly: push back or bear with patience? (5:7-11)  

Wisdom. The Letter of James sometimes is seen as a collection of random wise sayings, something like a NT reflection on the Book of Proverbs. Yet, both of them have a deep structure. Also, both bring up the fact that the Wisdom comes from above (3:13,17; cp. Prov. 8).

Relations with the rich. It is important to identify the rich. On the one hand James speaks of people in fine clothing with golden rings. It points to the earthly riches. At the same time these signs can point to “covenantal riches” (cp. Rom. 9:4-5).   

Order in the congregation achieved by the control of the tongues, by the leaders or teachers (rabbis) and the lay members of the community.     

Main Characters: Jacob; Brothers/my beloved brothers (he is not addressing a company or a firm, he appeals to the family); “rich” and traders (4:13-17). Historical examples: Abraham and Isaac, Rahab, Job, Elijah. 

Reflection in other parts of the Bible: God Who created everything, knows all things, controls everything, and guides our lives to the proper End. (Gen. 1:1 – 2:3). It can be seen in the times of trials – Job is sustained by his faith in his Redeemer (Job 19; 42:10-17; cp. James 4:10).

There are a few exiles in the Bible. Adam and Eve are “exiled” from the Garden (Gen. 3:23-24), Israel got into the Babylonian captivity. Yet, God always provided a “comforter” – Jeremiah sent a letter to the ones in diaspora (Jer. 29:1-23).    

Lutheran teaching: Luther is very often quoted for his “rejection” of the Epistle. It is true that at the time of translation of the New Testament, he used the analogy of “straw” to describe James. On the other hand, in his later works Dr. Luther stated that the Epistle is ‘a good book, because it sets up no doctrine of men but vigorously promulgates the law of God (LW 35:395).

Apology of Augsburg Confession has the whole section on relationship between faith and works based on the Epistle (Ap. V:123-132).  

Lutheran hymnody:

LSB 528 – Oh, for a Thousand Tongues to sing (1:26-27)

LSB 846 – Your Hand, o Lord, in Days of Old (5:14-16)

 Relevancy of the Book: The epistle is important to us for at least three reasons. It sets the patterns of order in the congregation – not quarrelling, but relying on the wisdom from above, all matters should be solved in peace and reason (3:17). Second, the orderly life also can be reflected in the way the church treats the powerful figures of this world. James/Jacob argues for avoiding partiality. Which leads to the third lesson of the Epistle. The rich will assault the church, therefore, in the light of forthcoming tribulations, we need to learn and train ourselves to set aside zealotry, but practice patience in sufferings, confessing our sins, and calling back the wanderers.   

Memory verses:  

4:7 Submit yourselves therefore to God, resist the devil, and he will flee from you.  

Hebrews

 Letter to Hebrews  

Title: The title “to Hebrews”, unlike many of Pauline letters, is taken from the traditional listings of the letters (at least by the second half of the II century AD by Clement of Alexandria). Yet, the text for sure was known earlier. Clement of Rome [who died in 96 AD] quotes the passages it the “letter.” The letter also is a conditional title. There is a final greeting (13:22-25), but there is none in the beginning of the letter, which is a strong sign against epistolary genre. I personal idea (IMHO): it was a presentation (13:22, exhortation) for the gathering of overseers/bishops (12:15) that later was distributed or sent to other regions (13:22 could be translated as “sent” not “written”).     

Date of writing: Nowhere else in the Bible we hear about the imprisonment of Timothy – it should happen after or during his deployment to Ephesus. On the other hand, it should be completed at least a couple of years before 70 AD, overwise the comparison with the sacrificial “current” system (9:25, notice the present tense) would not make any sense. Therefore, connecting the great anti-Roman revolt of 66-70 AD in Jerusalem with 12:4, the letter was written 67-68 AD.           

Structure: adapted (and improved) from TLSB, p. 2104:

A. 1:1-3a, Intro: Christ is the true and final revelation

  B. 1:3b – 10:18, Superiority of Jesus

a. 1:3b – 2:18, superiority over angels

b. 3:1 – 4:13, superiority over Moses

c. 4:14 – 7:28, superiority over priesthood, Jesus is new Melchizedek.

d. 8:1 – 10:18, superiority of His sacrifice

  B’. 10:19 – 13:19, Exhortation to Faithfulness

a. 10:19-39, invitation to faithfulness

  b. 11, OT examples of faithfulness

    c. 12:1-13, Jesus the faithful

  b’. 12:14 – 13:29, warning based on OT examples of disobedience

a’. 13:1-19, final exhortation   

A. 13:20-21, Final blessings

    C. 13:22-25, “Epistle” greeting attachment

Main themes: As one can see from the structure, there are two MAIN themes: superiority of Jesus and, based on the confidence of access to the holy place because of Him, exhortation to faithfulness.

Main Characters:

As presenters:	As characters:
author/presenter (I believe – St. Paul) Timothy, leaders, all the saints, Italians	Angels, Moses, Melchizedek, Aaron, priests, list of the OT saints (both man and women).

Reflection in other parts of the Bible: to understand and fully appreciate the Letter to Hebrews one needs to know:

Story of Creation (Gen. 1:1 – 2:3)

Angelic role in the world (Gen. 3:22-24; Ps. 8, 91; Job 1-2; Is. 6:1-6; Lk. 1:19, 2:13-15; 1 Cor. 6:3 etc.)

The story of Moses (Exodus, Numbers, Deuteronomy)

Structure of the OT liturgical system: priests, sacrifices, calendar etc.

Story of the Patriarchs (Gen. 11 – 50) 

There are many things that are good to know, but it’s too long of a list for us.

Lutheran teaching: It is a well-known fact that Luther had “suspicions” on place of the Epistle in the Canon of Scripture. Yet, holding his reservations to himself, Luther wrote on the author and the content of the Letter, “we should be satisfied with the doctrine that he [author] bases so constantly on Scripture. For discloses a firm grasp of the reading of the Scriptures and of the proper way of dealing with them” (LW 35:395).   

OT sacrificial system was transformed through the sacrifice of Christ. Pastors are not the mediators but the ministers of grace (AC XXIV:36).    

Lutheran hymnody:

LSB 834 – O God, O Lord of Heaven and Earth

LSB 520 – Stars of the Morning, So Gloriously Bright

Relevancy of the Book: The author shows with depth the superiority of Jesus as the Messiah over any created element of the world, be it angels, humans, rituals, or sacred space. He Himself created the world and paid the price to redeem the brokenness of the world. Now we are invited to enjoy the benefits of this redemption and follow His footsteps as the agents of the world’s transformation.       

Memory verses: 9:27 “As it is appointed for man to die once, and after that judgement comes”.   

Philemon

 Letter of St. Paul to Philemon   

Title: The title is given based on the main recipient of the epistle. Philemon come from Greek Philéo (to love, to show signs of love [Mt. 26:48]). The name can be translated as “the affectionate one” or “the one who kisses”.                         

Date of writing: The epistle should precede or have the same date as the Letter to Colossians (cp. 1:10 and Col.4:9). It depends on our understanding of the “negotiations” between St. Paul and Philemon – either apostle settles the matter before sending Onesimus or sends him hoping for/relying on the godliness of his addressee (1:21).

Also, having Timothy and Demas in one letter temporal conundrum (cp. 2 Tim. 4:9-10). This challenge can be solved through assumed repentance and return of Demas to “team Paul”. This proposition of later date (after 2 Tim.) can give an explanation to a better mood in comparison to 2 Tim. – St. Paul asks Philemon to prepare a room for him (1:22) for he is ready to be released and travel again.                           

Structure:

a. 1:1-3, Greetings

 b. 1:4-7, Example of Philemon’s love and faith

  c. 1:8-12, I, Paul, appeal

   d. 1:13-14, he served me/on your [possible] consent.

  c’. 1:15-19, I, Paul, write.    

 b’. 1:20-22, Philemon’s [expected] obedience.

a’. 1:23-25, final greetings (a+a’=10 people total)  

 

Main themes: The main theme is a complex understanding of slavery in Ancient World and theology of St. Paul. There is a need to reconcile Gal. 3:28 and 1 Cor. 7:21-22. We do not know the final status of Onesimus in the household of Philemon and can rely only on Paul’s encouragement in 1:16.

The theme of father-son and brotherly relationship instituted via sacrament of the Holy baptism. The apostle sends Onesimus as his son which he begot through the conversion (and assumed baptism) of the latter. He also writes to the congregation in Colossae that from now on Onesimus is their brother (Col. 4:9).

Taking into consideration the timely matters (see Date of Writing) one needs to pay attention to the theme of repentance and acceptance back into a ministerial collegiate of failed fellow workers. Both Demas (2 Tim. 4:9-10) and Mark (Acts. 12:25; 13:13; 15:37-40) ended up being reunited with the Apostle.             

Main Characters: St. Paul to Philemon

Co-signers	Receivers
Timothy Epaphras, Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke	Apphia (most likely Philemon’s wife), Archippus, Church in Philemon’s house

        

Reflection in other parts of the Bible: The epistle can be seen as a NT commentary on the progression we see first in Torah (Ex. 22:20; Deut. 23:15-16). From “no murdering of a slave” and “no ill treatment to a foreigner” (Ex. 21:20-21; 22:21) through “no ill treatment to a slave” (Deut. 23:16) to receive him “as a beloved brother” (Phil. 1:16).

Family-based relationship within the Church also presented in Gal. 4:19 where St. Paul presents himself as a woman in the pains of child-baring (cp. Gen 3:16; Num.11:11-12; Lk. 13:34).

The theme of hospitality is an important part of Pauline epistles within the Canon of Scriptures (cp. Rom. 12:13; 1 Tim. 3:2; Tit. 1:8; Heb. 13:2 and Gen. 18; Ex. 2:15b-22; 1 Kg. 17:8-24; 2 Kg. 4:1-7, 8-37).          

Lutheran teaching: Book of Concord has only one reference to the Epistle as an illustration on obedience to God’s will (FC SD IV: 17).

Lutheran hymnody: LSB 845 – Where Charity and Love Prevail

Relevancy of the Book: In our world of social distress the Epistle to Philemon gives us the paradigm for the reconciliation between different groups: masters and servants, leaders and the flock, colleagues. The unity given to the people in Christ is the perfect unity of sinful people around forgiving God. As a result, we have an example of encouragement to share the faith not only through the preaching the Word (which is very important), but also by means of social actions.                

Memory verses: 1:6 and I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective for the full knowledge of every good thing that is in us for the sake of Christ.