But you can’t patch the old with a little grace. You can’t pour the new life of Christ into the old self that wants to run the show. The old self has to die. The old wineskin has to burst. That’s what happens in Baptism. The old Adam is drowned. The new man rises. That’s what happens in Absolution. The old guilt is forgiven. The new life begins again. That’s what happens in the Supper. The old hunger is met with new wine—Christ’s own Blood poured out for you, filling you with His forgiveness and His life.

And here comes Jesus—with no lecture, no conditions, no delay— “Take heart, son. Your sins are forgiven.” That’s not just a kind word. That’s a word that changes everything. That’s a word that moves you from death to life. We might think Jesus got it wrong—this man came for healing, and Jesus gave forgiveness. But that’s the point. Forgiveness is the healing. The real sickness isn’t in the legs; it’s in the heart. It’s the sin that separates us from God. And Jesus cuts straight to it. This isn’t Jesus showing off for the Pharisees or using the man as an object lesson. No, He loves him. He loves him enough to give him what matters most: peace with God.

The Marks of a Living Church

1. Faith – receiving the Word with the Spirit’s power.

2. Love – laboring for neighbor amid affliction.

3. Hope – steadfastly waiting for Christ’s return.

4. Election – grounded in Christ, not in speculation.

5. Conversion – turning from false gods to the living God.

As Gerhard writes, “Where these three—faith, love, and hope—flourish, there the Church is alive, for Christ Himself dwells there through the Spirit.”

You want to talk about weeds? Look at the cross. There’s the Lord of the harvest—hanging among the weeds, counted as one of them, so He could raise up a field of wheat. He took our impatience, our distrust, our self-appointed judgment. He took it all into the ground, and on the third day, the true Wheat sprouted from the soil—first-fruits of a new creation. Now He’s at work in you. In this messy, mixed-up field we call the church, He’s working through His Word, watering you with baptism, feeding you with His body and blood, forgiving, pruning, reshaping, keeping the wheat alive until harvest.

Now you belong to that love. You live from that love. You give what you’ve received — not perfectly, but faithfully. Because the one who loves you doesn’t keep score. He doesn’t measure your worth. He gives Himself to you over and over — in preaching, in baptism, in the Supper — until His love fills every empty space in your heart.

That’s how you learn to love your neighbor — not by trying harder, but by being filled with Christ. You can’t give what you don’t have. You can’t love from emptiness. But Christ gives you Himself — His body, His blood, His forgiveness, His Spirit — so that His love becomes yours.

Thessalonica, a thriving port city and capital of Macedonia (modern Greece), was a Roman provincial capital—wealthy, diverse, and deeply pagan.. Paul had preached there for only a few weeks (Acts 17:1-9) before being driven out by persecution. Many Gentiles and some Jews had converted and were now suffering opposition. Persecution quickly forced Paul to leave. Later, Timothy brought news of their endurance, and Paul wrote this letter to encourage, instruct, and comfort them in their faith.

Because the truth endures when the world forgets. The Word stands firm when everything else falls. And the glory of God — the crucified, risen, forgiving Jesus — is still shining, still calling, still healing, still saving. So look to Him. Not to the crowd. Not to the opinions of others. Look to the One Isaiah saw, the One lifted up for your salvation. Look to His cross, His wounds, His mercy. That’s the glory that matters. That’s the glory that lasts.

Up is down. Down is up. That’s not a clever riddle. That’s how the kingdom of God works. When you keep climbing, you’ll fall. When you bow low, you’ll be lifted high. “Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Thesis X — To the preaching office, according to divine right, belongs also the office to judge doctrine, but laymen also possess this right. Therefore, in the ecclesiastical courts and councils they are accorded both a seat and vote together with the preachers.

Follow him, and you’ll lose some things—your pride, your self-importance, your false security. But you’ll gain everything. Because when you have Jesus, even with nothing at all, you are complete. The rich man walked away sad. But you don’t have to. You can walk away free—free to give, free to love, free to live like someone who already owns heaven. Because Christ, the only One who is good, has called you his own.

Death still stings, but it cannot keep you. The grave still claims the body, but not the soul. Christ has made death a servant of life, turning the enemy into the doorway through which He brings His saints home. And so, when the day comes—and it will—when your strength fails and your eyes grow dim, do not be afraid. Christ will be there, as He was at Nain, as He was at the tomb, as He is here now. And He will say to you, not as a command of judgment but as a word of promise: “I say to you, arise!”

Thesis IX — To the preaching office there is due respect as well as unconditional obedience when the preacher uses God’s Word. Yet the preacher has no dominion in the church. Therefore, he has no right to introduce new laws or arbitrarily to establish adiaphora or ceremonies in the church. The preacher has no right to inflict and carry out excommunication alone, without the preceding knowledge of the whole congregation.

And when He gives us Himself, He frees us. He frees us to live differently. Not in fear. Not in bitterness. Not always guarding what is ours. But in charity. In truth. In love. Because we know that nothing we give up is ever lost in Him. Because we know that nothing taken from us can rob us of His kingdom. Because we know that every insult, every slight, every injustice we endure for His sake will be made right in His resurrection.

Thesis IX — To the preaching office there is due respect as well as unconditional obedience when the preacher uses God’s Word. Yet the preacher has no dominion in the church. Therefore, he has no right to introduce new laws or arbitrarily to establish adiaphora or ceremonies in the church. The preacher has no right to inflict and carry out excommunication alone, without the preceding knowledge of the whole congregation.

You cannot serve God and mammon. One gives death, the other gives life. One enslaves, the other frees. One deceives, the other tells the truth. One ends in the grave, the other opens the grave to eternal life. So do not despair. Do not lose hope. The world may cling to mammon, but Christ clings to you. He is not letting go. He has fought for you, He still fights for you, and He will not stop until you are safe in His kingdom. And in the end, that is all that matters.

The Church falters when Christians refuse to pray, confess, and reconcile in conflict, but Christ’s unyielding mercy calls them to lay their grievances at the altar and be made whole.

So when Jesus touches the leper, He gives a preview of the cross. There, He Himself will become the leper. He Himself will be numbered among the unclean. He Himself will be cut off, forsaken, and condemned. He will cry out, not “Unclean!” but “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” And in that moment, He bears your uncleanness so that you may be clean. That is what He gives you even now. Jesus still reaches out and touches you. He does it in the means He has appointed—His Word and His Sacraments.

Thesis VIII — The preaching office is the highest office in the Church, from which flow all other offices in the Church.

The call was not complicated. It was simple: “Follow me.” No explanation, no conditions, no delay. And Matthew rose and followed. That is how Christ works. He does not wait for the righteous to come to Him. He comes to the unrighteous. He does not gather the clean, but the dirty. He does not call the healthy, but the sick. He calls sinners. And when He calls, His Word creates what it commands.

This is Jesus: the Spirit-anointed Servant, chosen and beloved of the Father, who does not conquer by shouting, does not redeem by politicking, does not establish His kingdom by power plays. He redeems by mercy. He conquers by weakness. He saves by suffering.