The NT refers to Christians as the heirs of the OT promises to Israel (Gal 3:26-29; 6:16) and as “the twelve tribes scattered in the diaspora” (James 1:1; cf. 1 Pet 1:1)

The Son of David goes off to war with the Evil One, who tempts and assaults God’s people night and day. He fights to win and defend you, God’s people. Jesus is a man after God’s own heart, that is, doing the Father’s will. All the might of God’s enemies comes unraveled in Israel’s eternal Messiah king, Jesus.

The indwelling of the Glory of Yahweh in the temple was necessary for the life-giving water to flow from the temple, and that indwelling points to the incarnation of Christ, “in whom all the fullness of the Deity dwells bodily” (Col 2:9). The water flows past the altar because the sacrificial atonement by Christ was necessary for the new life brought by the river to come to the dead and barren creation. The river is a prefiguration of Christian Baptism, following the LXX “water of forgiveness.” The same word for brook or stream can be translated as “release” and is used in the NT for forgiveness or remission of a debt, as in the Words of Institution and Baptism proclamation.

When we pray the Kyrie during the Divine Service or privately, we can think of Jesus asking us this same question: “What do you want Me to do for you?” We don’t pray the Kyrie idly or mechanically, with nothing in particular in mind, but we trust that the same Lord who stopped this entire procession so that He could inquire of a blind beggar stops before us poor beggars and inclines his ear to us, too. It won’t be long before our eyes will sleep the sleep of death. What’s important is that our faith saved us, that our eyes will open again on the Last Day, and behold the same Lord who stands before us when His Word opens our eyes. It is this faith that we desire: saving faith that sees Jesus.

All the rest of the book is a vision of the new land, confirming that 40-48 has been otherworldly and eschatological. The vision shown by Ezekiel is nothing that could be implemented by Ezekiel’s fellow Israelites after the exile, nor could it be implemented by Christians during the millennial reign of Christ on this earth. Only God Himself can bring about the rejuvenation of the land to a new Eden, as He promised to do after the return of Jesus Christ (Revelation 21–22). Ezekiel 47-48 depicts the new heavens and new earth in which all God’s redeemed believers will dwell for eternity. See also Romans 8:10-23 which promises that after the return of Christ, all believers will be raised bodily to eternal life, and even “the creation itself will be freed from its slavery to decay into the freedom of the glory of the children of God” (Rom 8:21).

Jesus is letting you see that the work of His kingdom given to us in the church is exercised by the office of the Holy Ministry and every Christian as an officeholder in the priesthood of the faithful. We are called to preach, instruct, and apply God’s Holy Word, written for our use in the codex of the books of the Bible. Like Jesus, we are given to speak God’s Word in truth and love to everyone with no thought of what we think it’s going to quote-unquote “work” or whether they’ll like it, receive it, or believe it. 

What is said of the Prince and the people in v. ten can be applied to Jesus Christ and the Christian church. It also has application to the pastor as he leads the congregation in worship. Especially on festival days, traditional Christian worship can begin with a processional into the nave with a cross, representing the presence of Christ, which is then placed in the chancel. Usually, an Introit or entrance hymn is sung near the service's start. During the service, Christ comes to his people through His Word and Sacraments and bestows his gifts of forgiveness, life, and everlasting salvation. After the service, the cross is carried out during a recessional. Christ goes with his people as they leave and perform their vocations during the week. He continues to abide with his people, who have been edified by God's Word and fed in the Holy Supper. In that way, Christ can be said to enter and leave the church with his people.

The keyword is that Jesus says, “The kingdom of heaven is the same as...” He says this describes our whole life, body and spirit, with God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We are given to live in this world but not of this world. Our lives are lived now under the meaning of the story. We are given to understand everything in and outside the church according to the truth revealed in this crazy story. God cares for all people according to His good and gracious will. This grace is not comprehensible to reason and flesh, but it is good.

Moses and Elijah, like John the Baptist, all had their given role to play. But once the promised Messiah Christ has come, they must decrease that He increases. Indeed, now that you have Jesus, you can finally escape the past and nostalgia for what once was. Yes, God used those prophets and everyone and everything that has happened for this moment. But this moment can’t be caught in a bottle, any more than you can go back to what was or make any guarantees about what will be. Lift up your eyes and see Jesus only. Hear Him and follow Him wherever He takes you.

All of the five major kinds of sacrifice prescribed in the Torah (Lev 1–7), including the three mentioned here, were part of God’s overarching purpose (fulfilled in Christ): “to make atonement,” sin, and reparation offerings specifically. All the various OT sacrifices and all their specific purposes and promises are fulfilled in the perfect, all-availing sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

The Christian church celebrates on January 18th the Confession of St. Peter. On this day, Jesus asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” And we hear the Apostle confess to Jesus, “You are the Christ.” Exactly right! Jesus is the Christ, or if you prefer, in Hebrew, the Messiah, or simply the Anointed One. This refers to the anointing of oil God prescribed for priests, prophets, and kings. And Jesus fills all those offices and fulfills them, too. 

The NT fulfillment is also accomplished through the Sacrament of Christian Baptism, the antitype of circumcision (Col 2:11-13). Through baptismal incorporation into Christ, the division between Israelite and (Gentile) foreigner is overcome so that both, as baptized believers, may approach God in holiness as his justified children (e.g., Acts 2:38-39; Gal 3:26-29; Eph 2:11-22; 4:5). The prohibition here of access to the temple by the uncircumcised may be compared to the eschatological banishment of unbelievers from the new Jerusalem in the eternal state in Rev 22:15.

Then He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was subject to them, but His mother kept all these things in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.

“The eighth day” would be the first day of a new week. In biblical usage, this day can indicate a new creation, the start of a new era in God’s work of redemption. Thus, circumcision took place on “the eighth day” (Lev 12:3; Gen 17:-14), that is, the same day as the birth but in the next week, and circumcision marked the entrance of the infant into God’s gracious covenant and kingdom. The corresponding NT sacrament is Baptism, through which one is buried and raised with Christ so that anyone in Christ is a new creation (Rom 6:1-4; 2 Cor 5:17; Col 2:11-13). Of course, Christ’s resurrection took place on the first day of the new week (Mt 28:1), thus indicating a new era of salvation through faith in His accomplished work, and this “eighth” day, our Sunday, became the traditional “Sabbath” for Christian worship (Jn 20:19; Acts 20:7; Rev 1:10).

The Lord’s Christ, the Consolation of Israel, and the redemption of Jerusalem, Jesus, comes to you today in Word and Supper. The Spirit is upon you that you would receive Him as He comes. You have not seen death before you have seen your Savior. One of our teachers remarked, “When we go to the Lord’s Supper, we go to our death. And when we go to our death, we go to the Lord’s Supper.” Your eyes have seen and will receive again your salvation in Christ’s body and blood, given and shed for you. This table is prepared for you in the presence of your enemies, before the face of all peoples. May Christ’s visitation today for you in Divine Service bring you the revelation of His grace and mercy and glory for you, His restored Israel. Amen.

Every word of the Bible should be read as though it were written with the ink of the blood of Jesus. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. What a glorious thing this is! By becoming man, Jesus assumes everything you are—your body, your spirit, your soul, your emotions, your vocation. He even redeems your pain, loss, suffering, and grief. What a wonderful thing that everything you are except sin, says Hebrews. Everything you are has been assumed by Jesus in the Incarnation and redeemed by Him. The word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have beheld his glory full of grace and truth for you today.

The shepherds proclaimed what the Lord had done. Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart, later delivering them to St. Luke so that we, too, would hear and believe. So, all of it: the message of the Angel, the song of the heavenly host, the sign of the promise, and the promise Himself, Jesus, is given today for you, too. It all rings out in your ears, that you would hear, come, and see. Now, He wrapped up for you in bread and wine, but is the same Savior given to save you.

My brothers and sisters, as we ponder this mystery again, we are invited to also embrace the divine reversal, recognizing that in our lowly estates, we, too, are recipients of the angelic proclamation. The God who chose shepherds on the outskirts and the Magi from distant lands chooses us to partake in His grand narrative of rescue and respite. 

God’s good calling to every father is to teach the faith, defend, protect, love, and show mercy to the children entrusted to him. At first glance, it may seem as if Joseph’s role is second-fiddle to Mary, the mother of God, and her Son, Jesus Christ. But there is no bit part within the Christmas story. He is the noble defender, bold confessor, and sacred protector of woman and child that Jesus be given to us. From him, we learn that everyone is given vocations by God by which the Word made flesh, Jesus, is given, preserved, and protected. All of you are knit together into one holy communion, the mystical body of Christ, joined in love for love. May God illuminate your hearts with the gracious visitation of Jesus, reveal to you by His angels what He would have you do, and give you the Spirit to strengthen you in your sacred calling to confess Jesus.

Ezekiel is commanded to “narrate, preach” the temple. In part, it connects the sanctuary’s structure with the history of salvation, of which it is a part. All its laws, including cultic ones, are subordinated to the narrative of creation and redemption, meaningful as they contribute to the proclamation and sacramental distribution of the Gospel: justification, the forgiveness of sins, and life everlasting, all furnished as God’s free gifts because of the atonement of Jesus Christ. The “backspin” is that eyes are opened to the extent that idolatrous “spirituality” had been a sacrilege. Thus, Law-Gospel preached together.