Definitions – What Does This Mean?

Jesus the Good Shepherd

[Eightieth in a series of posts on Bible Stories]

Encore Post:

In the Middle East, shepherds often build a common sheep pen for their town. All the shepherds in the village would keep their sheep together in this pen overnight. They would build a wall to keep the sheep from wandering away and to keep wolves and other predators from attacking them. A watchman would guard the gate or door to the pen so that only shepherds could enter. This discouraged thieves.

When a shepherd was ready to feed his sheep, he would go into the pen and call them by name. A shepherd had an intimate relationship with his sheep. Sometimes they would be as close to them as a pet is to us. So the sheep recognized the voice of the man who cared for them. When he called them by name, they would follow. They would not follow a stranger because they did not know his voice. A thief might try to steal the sheep, but the true shepherd cared for them and kept them safe. The shepherd would take them to good, green pastures and nice, quiet waters. He would keep them from wandering off and would treat any wounds, binding them up. He would protect them from wild animals, often battling them, as King David describes what he did as a young shepherd. True shepherds would risk their lives to save their sheep.

Kings often compared themselves to shepherds. They liked to be seen as caring for them and keeping them safe. They expected their subjects to follow them willingly everywhere they wanted to go.

In the Bible, God tells us He is our Shepherd. He will feed them, gather their lambs in his arms, and hold them close to his heart. (Isaiah 40:11) Most of all, in Jesus, God is our Good Shepherd. He leads us with his word, guides us, and protects us from evil. Like a good shepherd, he laid down his life for the sheep. He died so that we might be saved. On the last day of our lives, he will lead us through the valley of the shadow of death safely home to dwell in his house forever. (Psalm 23)

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substackost Series

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

Parables

[Sixty-ninth in a series of posts on Bible Stories]

Encore Post:

A parable is a story told about very ordinary things and events, but that has a hidden spiritual meaning. Jesus loved to teach using parables. About 35% of his teaching uses them. Jesus used parables to help us understand God, His people, the world, and what God wants us to do. The stories themselves are very easy to understand. Sometimes the meaning is not so clear. In fact, Jesus once said He told parables so that some people would not understand at all. Thankfully, Jesus almost always tells His disciples what the story means.

Most parables make just one point. All the details in these stories serve that one point. For example, the three parables of the Lost Sheep, the Lost Coin, and the Lost Son (Prodigal Son) (Luke 15) are about the joy God wants us to feel when He saves someone, not so much about the grace of Jesus, who seeks and saves the lost.

Allegories are parables in which each character or element in the story has a distinct, independent meaning. These allow for many interpretations. When Jesus wants us to draw more than one point from a parable, He tells us when He explains the story. He tells us what each item in the story stands for. He does this with the Parable of the Four Soils (The Parable of the Sower) (Luke 8:4-15).

Strictly speaking, simple metaphors are not parables, but proverbs or illustrations. Parables are stories. Sayings such as the City on a Hill and the Light of the World are simply metaphors. Sometimes it is difficult to tell whether Jesus is telling a parable or simply speaking about something that actually happened. The Good Samaritan is one such story. (Luke 10:25-37)

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

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

Luke’s Musical

[Fifty-Second in a series of posts on Bible Stories]

Encore Post:

St. Luke wrote his Gospel and the Book of Acts in polished, carefully constructed Greek. The introductions to both books are written in well-balanced, formal language, reminiscent of the best of ancient classical history. But when he begins the story of Jesus, he writes in the Greek of the Septuagint — the translation of the Old Testament read in the synagogues where Jesus and his disciples grew up. It would be like reading a novel that starts in New York, written with a Brooklyn accent, and, when the scene changes to Dallas, it speaks with a Texas twang and vocabulary.

As Luke weaves the story, he recalls several canticles — New Testament psalms, really — sung by various persons in it. The result is much like a modern musical. The Church picked up on this. We sing them in worship and have done so for over 1,600 years.

Called by the first few words of these songs in Latin, they are:

Mary’s song, the Magnificat. We sing it during Vespers.
Zechariah’s song, the Benedictus, is sung in morning services.
The Christmas Angel’s song, the Gloria, is sung in the Divine Service when the Lord’s Supper is served.
Simeon’s Song, the Nunc Dimittis, is also sung during Divine Service.

These songs of joy, celebrating the births of the Messiah and the prophet who announced him, are now our songs, too, not just at Christmas, but the whole year.

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

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

Hope

[Nineth in a series of posts on Ephesians 1 & 2]

Encore Post:

Hope is another one of those words that is hard to pin down. In everyday English, it means something like a wish that something we very much want to happen will come true. There is something about it that makes us doubt we will be so lucky.

In the Bible, hope is different. Hope is something you have no doubt will happen, so much so that you can build your life on it. In theological terms, the Christian hope is the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. Because it is God himself who promises these blessings, we can count on it and live our lives knowing it will happen. This is how Christians can suffer and die rather than deny their faith in Christ. It is why the burial service calls it “the sure and certain hope of the Resurrection of the dead.”

Why is the Christian Hope so sure and certain? First of all, because God himself promises it in his Word. Second, because Jesus proved these promises by dying and rising again from the dead. So, he can be trusted to keep his promises that where he is, we will also be. For us, hope becomes reality when we die. He comes to bring us to be with him forever. Exactly what happens then is a mystery.

But this is just the beginning of the blessings kept safe in Heaven for us. On the last day, Jesus will return in glory, and he will bring us with him. He will raise our bodies from the grave and change us to be like him. We will then be gathered before the throne and our names read from the Book of Life. We will then live with him forever in Paradise, where there is no more sorrow, crying, grief, or pain. God will make everything new. He will bring us to the great marriage feast of the Lamb, which will never end. This great hope gives us joy even in suffering, since we know it will pass away.

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith

Pastor Emeritus

Fort Wayne, Indiana

Faith

[Seventh in a series of posts on Ephesians 1 & 2]

Encore Post:

Faith is one of those “church words” that everyone knows and uses, but finds hard to pin down. We use it to mean everything from a family of church bodies to a system of beliefs people hold to trusting in God to accepting that something is true but that we cannot prove. The Greek language uses one word for both faith and belief. (πιστεύω — pisteoo — to believe, πίστις; pistis; Faith) When the New Testament uses the word, it refers to both what we believe and our trust in God to keep his promises to save us.

When the Bible talks about faith in God (Saving Faith, Justifying Faith), it means trusting God to keep his promises, especially his promise to save us. This trust is not something we create by things we do. It is created in us when the Holy Spirit comes to us through the Gospel, Baptism, or the Lord’s Supper. (Romans 1:17, John 20:30-31, Ephesians 1:13, Romans 1:16-17) Our faith clings to Jesus, believing that his sufferings and death on the cross forgive our sins and give us everlasting life. This faith responds to the Grace given to us in God’s Word and the Sacraments. It thanks God for his mercy, praises him, and gives us the desire to serve God and our neighbors. (Much more on this later. For now, see Ephesians 2:10)

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

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

The Bible is All About Jesus

[Second in a series of posts on how to read the Bible]

Encore Post:

When you see a good friend reading a book, so taken by it they shut the whole world out, you ask them, “What’s it all about?” Your friend will sum it up in a few sentences. Of course, there is a lot more detail to the tale, but all the words and images it creates set the mood and move the plot along. Yet no really good story holds our interest if there is not a single central story that we care about.

The Bible is the most important book in the world, because it is God telling the story. This story is more than an enjoyable yarn. It is the story about how God saved us and how he will make the creation new again. Theologians call that Salvation History. So, if someone asks, “What is the Bible all about?” The best answer is “It is all about Jesus.” Jesus himself tells us this. (John 5:39)

Knowing that the Bible is all about Jesus helps us understand its message and the place of each verse within it. On the surface, the Bible is a small library of sixty-six books with different messages. They can seem disconnected and at odds from time to time. By this rule, we come to see the Bible has one story with a beginning, middle, climax, and end, all tied to what Jesus did and will do to save us. It helps us to see that we are actually a part of this story. Unlike good fiction, this story is real news, not fake news. It actually has a two-part message for us — which we’ll take up in the next post.

So, by knowing that the Bible is all about Jesus, or said in more formal language, all theology is Christology, we can unlock the treasures of the Holy Scriptures. The Bible is not all about how to live a happy life in this world, although it can help us with that. It is not about predicting the future, like some giant puzzle or math problem. It is not the key to success and riches, nor is it about what we should do to be good people. In fact, it is not so much about what we do, but what God has done: In Christ, he made the world, sorrowed over its sin, set out to save the world, was made man in the womb of the Virgin Mary, lived a perfect life in our place, suffered, died, rose again, ascended into heaven and one day will return to raise us from the dead to live with God forever. As you read the Bible, then, ask yourself: what does this have to do with Jesus? You’ll be surprised how much it helps to hear what God is saying to you in his word.

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

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

Half Time in the Church Year

Encore Post: As a liturgical church, the Lutheran Church organizes its worship life around the church year, a calendar of themes, Scripture readings, worship services, practices, symbols, and prayers. It shares much of this organization with other liturgical churches and even some non-liturgical faith traditions.

The most general division in the Church Year is the semester. Tradition divides the church calendar into two parts. The first begins with the first Sunday of Advent and ends with the Day of Pentecost. It is known by several names. Most often, it is called either the Festival Season or the Semester of our Lord. During this half-year, the church focuses on the life and earthly ministry of Jesus.

After the Day of Pentecost, the second half of the year, known as the Semester of the Church, begins. It is also called Ordinary Time, the Season of Pentecost or the Season of Trinity. The focus is on how Christians should live in this fallen world. Some pieces of the liturgy change at about week ten in the season of Pentecost and then again after the Feast of St. Michael and All Angels. The list of readings, known as the lectionary, shifts from a list geared to the reading’s place in the season (nth Sunday in Lent, etc.) to one based on its position on secular calendars. These sets of readings are called Proper 1, Proper 2, Proper 3, etc. This is to keep the readings on the same Sunday, more or less, each year.

This means that a bit of variety is always part of our worship, even in its most traditional forms. As we receive God’s gifts, we hear most of the Scripture read to us. At the same time, we study and pray in unity with the church in every time and place.

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

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

©2018-2023 Robert E. Smith. All rights reserved. Permission granted to copy, share, and display freely for non-commercial purposes. Direct all other rights and permissions inquiries to cosmithb@msn.com

Church Words: Salvation

[Twenty-Fifth in a series of posts on church words]

Encore Post:

One of the most used words in the church’s vocabulary is salvation. We sing about it; we preach about it. It is the goal that every Christian aims for. You can ask even a child what it means. It means that we go to heaven when we die. Right?

Not really. Salvation is not about what we are saved for. It is about what we are saved from. The Hebrew word ישׁע (yasa) and the Greek word σῴζω (sozo) mean “to help, to make whole, to save, to deliver” and similar things. The Hebrew word is behind the names Joshua, Jesus, and Isaiah, and many others. It is used to save people from disasters, sickness, enemies, and oppression. God saved his people from slavery in Egypt. He saved and preserved his people countless times, not because they deserved it, but because he loved them.

It is also used by the prophets for the ultimate rescue from sin, death, and the devil’s power. These begin with the promise to Adam and Eve that their Seed would crush the head of the serpent, Satan, and he would bruise the heel of the Seed. (Genesis 3:15) The promised Messiah would bear our sins, atone for them, and intercede for them. (Isaiah 53) Finally, he would be born of a virgin at just the right time. (Galatians 4:4-5) The Angel announced to Joseph that he would name the Messiah “God saves” (Jesus) because he would save his people from their sins. (Matthew 1:21) Jesus was the Lamb of God, who bore the sins of the world to the cross. (John 1:29) His death destroyed death, and his resurrection won the victory for us, opening the grave for us on the last day. (1 Corinthians 15:55-57)

Ultimately, then, what Jesus saves us from is sin. Sin threatened to destroy us and separate us from God forever. Therefore, we do not return to sin, now that we are baptized. It would be like having a firefighter carry us out of our burning home, only to try to go back to get our favorite pictures. There is no point in being saved when you are going to put yourself in danger. When we were baptized, we died with him. When he rose, we rose to new life.

So, what are you saved from? From sin, death, and the power of the devil. Why? So that you can live as his child, redeemed, forgiven, and be with him forever.

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

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

Church Words: Compassion

[Twenty-Fourth in a series of posts on church words]

Encore Post:

After Jesus was baptized and tempted by the devil, he went from town to town, mostly in Galilee, near the Sea of Galilee. He preached, taught, and healed the sick. The longer he did this, the more people came to see him. What he saw moved him deeply. He had compassion on them. They were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. So he sent seventy disciples out to care for them. (Matthew 9:35-38)

The English words compassion and sympathy are very similar in meaning. Compassion is from Latin and sympathy from Greek. Both are from words that mean “to suffer with.” The word used for compassion in the Gospels and St. Paul is σπλαγχνίζομαι (splagchnizomai — a feeling of sorrow over the suffering of others that comes from deep inside [literally, the liver, stomach, heart, etc., move with concern]). Compassion is a feeling that moves you to action. You just can’t watch such suffering and not do something.

True compassion begins with God himself. When God finished creating the world, he looked at everything he had made, and he called it all “very good.” He knows what life was like for Adam and Eve before they sinned and what life would have been like for us if sin never existed. He knew how sin would ruin everything. He warned them, “In the day you eat of it, you will surely die.” (Genesis 2:17) It is no surprise, then, that he became very angry when Adam and Eve fell. Death colors everything in our world. Sickness and suffering are the beginning of death in our lives as they seek to tighten their grip on us.

So God, in his love, shares our pain at the effects of sin in our lives. In the person of Jesus, he experienced all of its effects and died to break its power over us. The Holy Spirit suffers along with us, praying for us even when we cannot pray. (Romans 8:23-26) One day, Jesus will return to bring an end to sin, death, and the power of the devil forever.

God, in his compassion, does not wait for the end of time to help and to save. Today, he calls on us to be compassionate, as he is compassionate. He sends us to where people need his presence and his help. He especially sends pastors with his gifts and spirit, and deaconesses, to meet people’s physical needs. We are then, his heart to suffer with others, his hands to care for them, and his feet to go where others will not go. Through us, he shows his own self-description: the Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in faithful love.

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

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

©2019-2025 Robert E. Smith. All rights reserved. Permission granted to copy, share and display freely for non-commercial purposes. Direct all other rights and permissions inquiries to cosmithb@gmail.com

Church Words: Redemption

[Twenty-Third in a series of posts on church words]

Encore Post:

One of the most common stories of redemption in the Old Testament comes to us in the book of Ruth. That whole book is about her redemption. Remember, Boaz was her kinsman’s redeemer. There are redeemers in the Old Testament, but the story of Ruth and Boaz has always caught my attention. By that act of redemption, Ruth is grafted into the genealogy of Jesus, the redeemer of the world! But what do we mean by “redemption”?

Redemption is one word that dutifully describes the work of Christ’s atoning sacrifice for us. Redemption involves gaining possession of something in exchange for payment. Dr. Luther is a master at discussing the term “redemption” when speaking about the meaning of the second article. There, Luther says in line with Scripture, “[Jesus Christ] has redeemed me, a lost and condemned person, purchased and won me from all sins from death and the power of the devil, not with gold or silver, but with His innocent sufferings and death….”

It is not like, however, that Jesus is paying Satan, as if Satan has power over Jesus. No, it’s not like that at all. While humanity was in the grasp of sin and death, it was not Satan who needed the payment of Christ’s blood. Rather, it was Holy and Righteous God.

God, who is indeed Holy and Righteous, could not be in the presence of sin. Therefore, He certainly could not be in the presence of sinful man, and allow them to live. However, by the work of the Son, Jesus Christ, He came to redeem sinful man. He came to gain possession of humanity from the grips of everlasting death for himself.

Jesus pays what we owe to God, who has been gracious and merciful to us, having sent his own Son into the world to be our redeemer. Jesus is the bridegroom is who pays the dowry to have His bride. And He pays that price with His own body and blood at the cross. Christ’s bride is the Church. And He dresses her in his own clothing and presents her to Himself. Redeemed and a possession of Christ forever.

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Jacob Hercamp
Christ Lutheran Church
Noblesville, Indiana