Eastertide Devotion – May 24

(Jesus said to him,) “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.” John 14:9

Martin Luther writes so winsomely about these words, I could never hope to improve. Here are his comments for you to savor. May they speak to your heart of Jesus’ love.

“The first thing you see in this Person of Christ is that He does not look at anyone with a sour face, treat anyone in an unfriendly manner, or frighten and drive anyone away from Him; He invites and draws all men to Him in the kindliest manner, both with His words and with His bearing. He shows Himself as a servant who wants to help everybody. Furthermore, He lets Himself be crucified for you and freely sheds His blood. All this you see with your eyes; and with your ears you hear nothing but friendly, sweet, and comforting words, such as: “Let not your hearts be troubled”; “Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy-laden” (Matt. 11:28); “Whoever believes in Me shall not be lost, but have eternal life” (John 3:16), etc., etc. The Gospel of St. John is full of such verses. From this you can infer with certainty that He is not hostile to you but wants to show you all grace and goodness. Cling to this; hold firmly to it; do not permit your eyes and your thoughts to stray beyond this; and let nothing else that occurs to you lead you off the right path.

“And as you now hear and see Christ revealing Himself to you, you can rest assured that the Father is disposed toward you in like manner. For a little later (v. 10) Christ states: “The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own authority,” but they are the Father’s words. And at another place we read (John 6:40): “This is the will of My Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him should have eternal life.” He who grasps this in faith cannot think that God is angry with him or will reject and condemn him. For here there is neither a word nor a sign of disfavor, but only friendly, gracious words, a loving and kind look, in short, sheer fervor and ardor of ineffable, fatherly, and sincere love.” (Luther's Works, 24:60-61)

Prayer: Lord, let me never doubt your kindness and love. Grant that I will always trust your friendly, sweet and comforting words. Amen.

The Isenheim Altarpiece

Unterlinden Museum 

Colmar, Alsace, in France.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Mathis_Gothart_Gr%C3%BCnewald_030.jpg

God’s richest blessings in Christ,

Pastor Philip Quardokus