Robert Smith – Page 5 – What Does This Mean?

Sunday School: Come, Lord Jesus, Come

Encore Post: Ever since Jesus ascended to Heaven, Christians have wondered when He would return. We look forward to the day when He will bring an end to sin, sickness, sorrow, grief, pain, and death. Every day horrible things happen and we wonder whether this could be the day He comes back.

In every generation, some people thought that they had figured out the secret. They read the prophecies of the Bible and try to match events in their lifetime to the symbols in them. They do the math and come up with a day. But the Bible is not a giant math problem where you put the right events into the equation and get a date. In fact, all the signs of the end of days were fulfilled at the time the last books of the Bible were written. We are in the last days and have been for 2000 years.

Jesus warned us about such dreaming. He told us that no one knows the day or the hour of his return. So, we are to be ready for him. He will come for us — at the end of time or the end of our times. We do not know which will come first or when it will happen. The reason we do not know when He will return is God wants us always to be ready. He wants us to love Him and take care of each other every day, not just the day we think is the end of time or the day we will die. When things are hard in our lives, Jesus wants us to know that He will fix it all one day. We can then face these things, knowing it will not be forever.

Instead, the sure and certain hope of the resurrection of the dead comforts us. On that day, sin will be removed from us forever. There will be no more grief, sorrow, sickness, or pain. At the call of the voice of Jesus, we will rise from the grave, body and soul reunited, our bodies transformed into a glorious body, like the one Jesus has, fit to live forever. It will be as God intended it forever. It is why we join the church of all times, places, races, languages calling out, “Come, Lord Jesus, come!”

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

Sunday School: Young Pastor Timothy

Encore Post: Timothy was one of the very first Christians to grow up in a Christian family. His grandmother Lois and mother Eunice had faith in Christ before Timothy was born. His father was a gentile, so he was not circumcised. He always had faith in Christ and grew up to be a strong, young Christian leader.

Paul met him in his hometown of Lystra, probably on his first missionary trip. The apostle saw the gifts God had given to the young man and immediately took him along on his journeys. Before traveling with Paul, Timothy was circumcised so as not to offend Jews.

Timothy would be sent on increasingly important missions, including delivering some of Paul’s letters to churches. Paul would eventually leave him in Ephesus as a pastor, to deal with heresies and misunderstandings that had arisen there. Paul would call for him when imprisoned, perhaps for the last time. Later, Timothy was himself in prison and released. He would accompany the author of the letter to the Hebrews on a journey. According to church tradition, Timothy was bishop of Ephesus and died on 22 January 97 as a martyr.

Timothy has become one of the favorite fathers of the early church to seminaries and students studying to be pastors. Paul gives him advice that is very practical, even today. He was one of the important second generation leaders, who passed on the teaching of God’s word to a new generation — and us!

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Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

Michelmas

Encore Post: In the church’s long season of ordinary time (Sundays after Trinity if you are on a one-year cycle, Sundays after Pentecost if you are on a three-year cycle), the Feast of St. Michael and All Angels (September 29) marks a change in the themes of the day. After this day, we turn our thoughts to the Last Day, when Jesus will return to be with us forever. We use the day to thank God for his holy angels, especially Michael the Archangel, whose army of light defeated Satan and his forces, casting them out of Heaven to the earth. In the English-speaking world, it is nicknamed Michelmas (Michael’s Mass), similar to Christmas (Christ’s Mass)

The Holy Angels (מַלְאָךְ, ἄγγελος) are God’s messengers. They were created by God to praise him and bear his messages to his people. After the fall of Satan and his evil angels, they also battle these forces and protect us from harm. Two angels are named in Scripture: Michael (“who is like God?”) and Gabriel (“God is my Strength”). Michael the Archangel is the leader of the heavenly army of Angels that battled Satan and his forces, casting him down from Heaven. Gabriel is the heavenly messenger that interpreted Daniel’s dreams and announced the conceptions of John the Baptist and Jesus.

We thank God for the ministry of angels, who stand by our side, protect us from the evil one and will, on the last of our days, escort us home to Jesus. With Martin Luther, we pray:

I thank you, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have kept me this night from all harm and danger; and I pray that You would keep me this day also from sin and every evil, that all my doings and life may please You. For into Your hands I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let Your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me. Amen.

Rev. Robert E. Smith

Pastor Emeritus

Fort Wayne, Indiana

Citizen Paul

Encore Post: St. Paul had a special privilege by birth. He was a Roman citizen. The Roman general, Mark Anthony, gave his hometown, the city of Tarsus, the right of citizenship, which Caesar Augustus later confirmed. Anyone born in this city was treated as if they had been born in Rome itself. As a Roman citizen, He would have three names — a given name, probably Saulos — Saul — a Roman family name unknown to us and a co-name, Paulos — Paul. He was entitled to a fair trial before any punishment at all. He was exempt from certain punishments — including crucifixion. He had a right to trial by the bearer of imperial authority and to have his case heard before Caesar himself. It gave him status that made travel easier and allowed him influence he would not otherwise have.

The Book of Acts mentions several times that Paul claimed his rights as a Roman citizen. He would say, “civis Romanus sum” — “I am a Roman citizen.” When he was in Philippi and the magistrate, having had him beaten and imprisoned, tried to expel him from the city, Paul demanded the Magistrate show him respect due a citizen. He came personally, apologized and asked him nicely to leave the city. When the Sanhedrin tried to execute him, a centurion arrested him and proceeded to question him, intending to torture him by flogging. Paul asked if it was legal for them to do that to a Roman citizen, and one who was born one. That brought an end to the matter, and the Tribune was determined to protect Paul. Paul would remain in the custody of two Roman governors until a trial was formally begun against him. He appealed to Caesar, which brought an end to the trial and sent him to Rome.

In his letters, Paul also talks about being a citizen of heaven. We live our lives on Earth, but this is not our home. We are citizens of Heaven. One day, we will go home to live with God and all Christians forever. In the meantime, we live in this world, but follow the rules of Heaven.

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

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Conversion of St. Paul

Encore Post: Saul, a devout Jew and Pharisee, was born in the ancient city of Tarsus, the Roman capital of Asia Minor (Turkey). His father was likely a prosperous tent maker — a good trade to practice in a colony of retired Roman army officers. He received a fine education in both Greek culture and the Jewish faith. Saul became a convinced Pharisee — a religious movement that believed by observing God’s law as a people, they would speed the return of the Messiah.

So Saul’s father sent him to study with Gamaliel, the greatest rabbi of his time. The great teacher lived in Jerusalem and was a member of the Sanhedrin — the ruling council of the Jewish people. While Saul never mentioned meeting Jesus before his death, he was in the city during Holy Week and would fully know the events of the week. He fully agreed with the condemnation of the Galilean would-be Messiah. Anyone who claimed to be God deserved to die.

So when the cross did not snuff out what he saw as heresy, he volunteered to punish the believers of the Nazarene prophet. When Stephen Martyr witnessed to Christ’s resurrection, he fully consented with the martyrdom. He held the coats of those who stoned the deacon to death. Energized by this success, Saul received credentials from the High Priest to go to Damascus and arrest Christians to be tried in Jerusalem.

Saul persecuted early Christians because they believed Jesus to be God. So, when heaven opened and light shone on him, while on the way there, it caught him by surprise. Yet Saul knew he was in God’s presence. He asked who the figure that called to him was. It was Jesus himself. Now that he was a witness to Christ’s resurrection, a major change began in Saul’s heart and mind. When Ananias healed his vision, Saul was baptized and changed his name to Paul, the Greek form of his name.

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

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Sunday School: Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch

Encore Post: The Holy Spirit sent Deacon Philip to meet a eunuch in the service of Candice of Ethiopia, the mother of the reigning king. In Ethiopian society, she took care of day-to-day duties of the kingdom. Ethiopians believe she was the descendant of the Queen of Sheba and King Solomon. Many believe they are Jewish.

Eunuchs served as assistants for the royal family. They were often castrated so that they could be trusted to guard royal or noble women and provide physical care to kings and emperors. This man appears to have been the treasurer of Candice. He is devout and has been to worship at the temple in Jerusalem. On his way home, the man is reading Isaiah 53, a detailed prophecy of the suffering and death of the Messiah. Puzzled by it, he invited Philip to explain the text to him. With this opening, Philip tells the man the good news that Jesus is the Man Isaiah prophesied. The man responded by asking to be baptized. When the Holy Spirit took Philip away, he rejoiced that salvation had come to him.

This new Christian became, in turn, the evangelist who brought the gospel to Ethiopia. A strong Eastern Orthodox church was born and grew there. Called the Coptic Church, its members still thrive in Muslim Egypt to this day. This man was the first of many Christians to believe in Christ on the continent of Africa.

Rev. Robert E. Smith

Pastor Emeritus

Fort Wayne, Indiana

Sunday School: St. Stephen

Encore Post: The word “martyr” is a Greek word that means “witness” — a person who reports what he or she sees. Just before returning to Heaven, Jesus predicted His disciples would be witnesses of His death and resurrection.

The Apostles appointed Stephen a deacon. It was his task to feed the widows and the poor, using the funds collected for that purpose. God blessed his work by performing miracles as well. When men from the local synagogue asked what he believed, God blessed Stephen’s word, so that his opponents could not find a reply to answer his arguments. They finally silenced him by charging him with blasphemy — speaking lies about God.

The same Sanhedrin which condemned Jesus not more than a few weeks earlier now met to hear Stephen’s case. Stephen told the truth — that the Sanhedrin had handed over Jesus to death falsely. This infuriated them. The last straw came when Stephen related a vision of Jesus standing at the right hand of God in Heaven. For the Jewish people of the time, this was another way of saying that Jesus Himself is God. Jesus said the same thing in that very spot in the early hours of Good Friday. They condemned Stephen to death, too. This time, Pontius Pilate was not in Jerusalem. So they felt safe in defying Roman law and executing Stephen by the method ordered by the Jewish Law. They took Stephen out of the city and stoned him to death. The man who would one day be the Apostle Paul held the coats of those killing Stephen.

With the death of Stephen and others that followed, the word “martyr” took on new meaning. Now it meant to die for witnessing to the truth about Jesus and for preaching the good news. The martyrs’ deaths impressed Romans. If you believe in something strongly enough to risk death by torture, they thought, then perhaps the martyrs might be right. Many were baptized because of such witnesses. That is why the church likes to say: “The blood of the Martyrs is the seed of the Church.”

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

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Sunday School: The Change in St. Peter

Enore Post: On Maundy Thursday, Jesus told His disciples that they would abandon Him and that St. Peter would deny Him three times before the rooster crowed. Peter swore he would rather die than betray his Lord. Later, Peter denied he knew Jesus — three times.

When Jesus rose from the dead, Peter began to change. Jesus asked Peter three times if Peter loved Him. Three times Peter said he did. Jesus showed He forgave Peter when He commanded Peter three times to feed God’s sheep. From then on, Peter was no longer a fisherman. He was now a pastor — a shepherd — to care for God’s people with God’s word and His sacraments.

On the day of Pentecost, Peter preached to the crowd. Three thousand people were brought to faith and baptized that day. Peter went everywhere preaching, teaching, healing the sick and suffering for His Lord. Later, Peter would write two letters that comfort God’s people to this day.

According to tradition, Peter would tell the story of Jesus to a younger companion, John Mark, who would write it down. He would die by the order of Nero Caesar, crucified upside down because he didn’t feel worthy to die the way his Lord did. In his confession of faith, Jesus would build his church.

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Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

Pentecost

Encore Post: The Feast of Pentecost is the Greek name (πεντηκοστή) for the Jewish Feast of Weeks (Shavuoth, in Hebrew שָׁבוּעֹות ). The day celebrated the harvest of the barley crop and the planting of the wheat crop in Israel. This thanksgiving day was established by God on the fiftieth day after Passover and was one of three that the Torah commanded Jews celebrate in Jerusalem if at all possible. In the days following Jesus’ ascension into heaven, the city was still crowded with Jews from around the world, who stayed after Passover to celebrate this feast as well in the Holy City.

The Christian Church remembers the day as a kind of birthday of the Church. On this day, God poured out the Holy Spirit on the whole church and not just the prophets he called to proclaim his word.

Both the Hebrew and Greek word for Spirit means “Wind.” The Holy Spirit, or Holy Wind, hovered over the chaos before God created the Heavens and the Earth. During the Exodus, the Holy Spirit appeared visibly as a pillar of cloud by day and pillar of fire by night. When Solomon built the temple in Jerusalem, the Holy Spirit settled into the Holy of Holies in the form of a cloud. When the Prophet Elijah fled to Mount Sinai, God sent a mighty wind, an earthquake, and a fire to get his attention. On Pentecost, the wind got the attention of the crowd and the wind and tongues of fire witnessed to the presence of the Holy Spirit.

The pouring out of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost fulfilled prophecy in Old Testament (Joel 2:28-32), by John the Baptist (Matthew 3:11) and by Jesus (Acts 1:5). By baptizing His people with the Holy Spirit, Jesus gave them the power to witness to God’s love. He provided them with a counselor to lead and guide them. Just like the prophets of the Old Testament, every one of God’s children now can proclaim His praises to everyone.

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

Sunday School: Matthias the Twelfth Apostle

Encore Post: After Jesus ascended into Heaven, St. Peter gathered the eleven Apostles and others. The betrayal of Jesus by Judas and his suicide left a vacancy among them. The number twelve was important. After all, there were twelve tribes of Israel. In Biblical numerology, the number stands for the whole people of God. When Jesus established the church, the number twelve came to stand for the church. They chose two men as candidates who had been with them from the very beginning and thus witnessed everything Jesus said and did — including the resurrection and ascension. They prayed and chose Matthias by lot.

We know little about Matthias. He appears only once in the Bible and that is in the first chapter of Acts. We know he was a disciple of Jesus from the time that he was baptized by John until the Ascension. He was probably one of the seventy men Jesus sent out two by two to preach the coming of God’s kingdom. All the disciples respected him enough to pick him as one of two men to take Judas’ place as an Apostle. We do not even know what happened to him later. Church tradition has stories: he went to Northern Turkey and set up the church there, or to Ethiopia or that he died in Jerusalem.

We might think that he and other little known Apostles really were not important. Yet God used them to build his church. No one is too small or unimportant in God’s eyes. He has a plan for everyone’s life and uses whatever they do to serve him and to take care of people. Even children can do important things for God, no matter how little those things seem.

Rev. Robert E. Smith

Pastor Emeritus

Fort Wayne, Indiana