David Bahn - Reflections

How silly it was for these two to ask whether Jesus was the only one who did not know.  Better we remember the saying by Francis Rossow, a professor at Concordia Seminary, " We know precious little about God. But the little we know is precious."

Some say that the church ought to interpret Scripture. Others say the individual should interpret Scripture. I say let Scripture interpret Scripture. And Jesus as the Word made flesh is certainly best qualified to enlighten our understanding of what God's word actually says. Hint, hint...it points to him!

The central message of the Bible is the love of God shown fully and graciously in Jesus Christ. His death was the proof of that grace. His resurrection was proof of his glory. I don't want to miss that. Jesus does not want us to miss it either.

Right now I’m basking in the Easter joy afterglow. But there will come times of confusion, discouragement, and disappointment. Thank God Jesus shows up. Thank God he’s more faithful than my weak faith. Some difficult things may be necessary. But Jesus reigns. For me, now this is enough.

On this Easter Sunday, I offer Walter Wangerin, Jr's allegory of Christ as a ragman. Wangerin is a gifted author who provides in this allegory a picture of Jesus taking our sorrows, sins, shame, and sickness all upon himself. And giving us his righteousness and life in exchange. We who are baptized into Christ have clothed ourselves in Christ ( Galatians 3:27 ). 

Let's look at the Seven Words of Jesus from the cross on this Good Friday: Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. Luke 23:34 Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise. Luke 23:43 Jesus said to his mother: "Woman, this is your son." Then he said to the disciple: "This is your mother." John 19:26-27 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Matthew 27:46 and Mark 15:3...

Wednesday is silent. Thursday bursts with activities. And there are many  things that capture my attention. But I will focus on two mandates of this day. The “Do this“ of the Lord’s Supper, and the “Love one another” of Jesus’ new command.

There is no specific record of Jesus‘ words or actions on Wednesday of Holy Wee. But don’t mistake inaction on his part for complacency or impotence. All is well in hand. Nothing is spinning out of control. Even though it may seem as though God is absent, he is not abandoning either Jesus or his people. That will come on Friday. God will abandon his Son – the horror! But all things are now in moti...

We may wish to join the disciples in marveling at the withered fig tree. We can certainly delight in seeing Jesus answer the criticisms of his detractors. We should hear in our hearts Jesus' teaching in the parables. But we must keep in mind these two commandments: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and fir...

Let's walk with Jesus this Holy Week. Let's see how he lives the last week of his life on earth. To be more precise, let's see how he lives the week of his death on the cross. After his resurrection Jesus appeared to his disciples several times as recorded in the gospels. Those appearances are important in their own right. We'll look at those next week. But for now let's look at the events leading...

What appears to be the irredeemable loss of Jesus' death on the cross gives way to Jesus' resurrection, and ascension. His Great Commission to his disciples. His promised return at the end of all time. What starts here will be fully and eternally expressed for all who believe in Jesus. This will end when the final battle with Satan is consummated and he is thrown into the pit of hell prepared for...

The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price. - Revelation 22:17 Jesus' reign and rule is a glorious, inspiring, delightful place of grace, blessing, joy, and love. And you and I've been invited. Come, Lord Jesus! Bring me into the fullness of your reign and rule!

Jesus is large and in charge here as he begins his ministry. There will come a time, however, when God’s reign and rule looks very different. The King of kings will be enthroned on a cross. He will be hailed by mockery. He will triumph by dying. It will look nothing like Jesus’ glorious moments of power and authority does here. But that is the secret of Jesus’ true power. His outward success doesn...

To the extent we engage our faith, commitment to God's reign and rule, and understanding of God's will (think Romans 12:2 ), we too can be powerful in opposing Satan and his minions. We can even rebuke him. And as to our witness to Jesus' identity and his reign and rule, we will never be perfect. But we certainly would not wish to discredit Jesus. We would never wish to mock him outright. So speak...

We may have to come as dogs getting the scraps from the master’s table. ( Matthew 15:27 ) We may need to call out, “Lord I believe! Help my unbelief!” ( Mark 9:24 ) But we must never be defiant. We dare not use Jesus’ name in vain. We know who he is and what he has done. And we look forward to seeing him again at the end of all days. We know who he is. He is the One who answers our prayers, died f...

I preached at Peace Lutheran Church in Groves, TX on Sunday, February 27. I hope you find this edifying.

Things are not always as they seem. That includes also Jesus' intent in challenging his hometown folks. He isn't interested in inciting a riot. He doesn't want merely to make them angry. He wants to point out their need for a different attitude toward God, faith, repentance, and grace. Sometimes we live under the illusion that we are in control of all things. In fact we have control over very litt...

My question is what do you focus your eyes on as you think of Jesus? What do you hear him say? Do you listen for his word in humility? Do you seek to see who he really is? And when your heart is revealed to be broken, corrupt, and faithless, do you try to throw him off the cliff? Or does this take you to a place of repentance at the foot of the cross? Do you seek his mercy and rejoice in God's fav...

Perhaps that's the lesson we are to learn when our prayers aren't answered while other's are. Our loved one is not healed, and someone far from God is. I don't think this is a punitive thing on God's part. But it may be a lesson to others about the far reach of God's grace and the breadth of his love. When we do receive the special touch of God's grace we can be deeply thankful that God looked upo...

We could spiritualize the things on the list Jesus references from Isaiah: spiritual blindness, captivity to sin, poverty of spirit. These are all real conditions we might consider in an honest moral self-inventory. I'll leave you to consider how that might apply to you. But I want to suggest a different approach to how we hear and respond to Jesus' words here. There are people who are actually op...

I don't know too many people who presume upon God's grace. Or do I? Perhaps you and I do this all the time. Maybe we think we deserve special treatment because we're God's people. We think that because we believe in Jesus we get to go to the front of the line when it comes time for God to hand out favors. We might look at others less deserving in our own estimation thinking God owes us before he g...

Jesus was led into the wilderness, the abode of Satan, the realm of wandering. When the Israelites were led into the wilderness to escape Egyptian slavery, they gave into temptation. They fashioned an idol of gold. They grumbled. They refused to believe. They criticized their leaders. Jesus is being led to face temptation by the devil and he will not give in to it. He will be all that Israel was s...

We don’t have to be always in a defensive posture. It’s not that we wait for Satan to sneak up on us. We’ve got a calling to live under Christ in his kingdom and serve him in righteousness and purity (resisting temptation). But when Satan does come our way, we can stand firm with the armor of God, and fight him just as Jesus did with God’s word. Whether it’s praying the Psalms, reading and memoriz...

Scripture interprets Scripture. There are some difficult passages in the Bible. Some even appear to contradict one another. The rule that Scripture interprets Scripture helps us here, pointing us to the clear teachings of the Bible in place of the sensational or confusing passages. Satan will have none of that. He will use Scripture for his own purposes. He quotes from the Old Testament Scriptures...

We cannot prevent the three enemies of our souls from intruding upon us. There is the devil. He will come and go. But we can use God's word to thwart his ploys. Then comes our own sinful nature, the flesh, in which "nothing good dwells" (cf. Romans 7:18 ). This we must daily drown by contrition and repentance, remembering that we are baptized into Jesus' death and resurrection, remembering th...