Luther for the Busy Man

THE WEEK OF TRINITY XI - TUESDAY LESSON: 2 CORINTHIANS 4:13‒15 “I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other.” Luke 18:14 The tax collector’s faith certainly proves itself by its fruits. How do we explain Christ’s statement here that he “went down to his house justified rather than the other”? We have suggested that this tax collector was justified before the happeni...

THE WEEK OF TRINITY XI - MONDAY LESSON: 1 PETER 5:6‒11 “The tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’” Luke 18:13 It seems that the tax collector must have heard something of God’s Word beforehand, that he believed this Word and became a godly man as a result of this, as Paul says, “Faith comes from...

THE WEEK OF TRINITY XI - SUNDAY LESSON: LUKE 18:9‒14 “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.” Luke 18:10 You have already heard that before any man can do what is good and pleasing in God’s sight he must already be a pious man, that is, he must be accounted as justified and righteous before God by faith in Christ. At all times it remains universally...

THE WEEK OF TRINITY X - SATURDAY LESSON: LUKE 21:21‒24 “They will not leave one stone upon another in you.” Luke 19:44 Jesus becomes angry at the desecration of His temple by these greedy money-grubbers. They not only despise and neglect the true worship of God but turn it completely upside down and trample it under foot. Out of the temple which God set up to teach men God’s Word and bring them in...

THE WEEK OF TRINITY X - FRIDAY LESSON: 2 THESSALONIANS 2:12‒17 And He entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold, saying to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be a house of prayer’; but you have made it a den of robbers.” Luke 19:45‒46 The temple and the whole priesthood was established to promote God’s Word and for the praise of His grace and mercy. This was to be attested with t...

THE WEEK OF TRINITY X - THURSDAY LESSON: 1 PETER 4:12‒19 “Everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for My name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life.” Matthew 19:29 In many ways we resemble the Jews. They were more concerned about their bellies than about God, more intent on filling their bellies than on learning God’s pla...

THE WEEK OF TRINITY X - WEDNESDAY LESSON: PSALM 19:1‒4 Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may speed on and triumph, as it did among you. 2 Thessalonians 3:1 In our day, praise God, the Gospel is being proclaimed with a fullness and clarity that has not been known since the days of the apostles. We should appreciate this time of visitation and pray earnestly to God to continu...

THE WEEK OF TRINITY X - TUESDAY LESSON: PSALM 95:6‒11 “The days shall come upon you, when your enemies will cast up a bank about you and surround you, and hem you in on every side, and dash you to the ground, you and your children within you, and they will not leave one stone upon another in you; because you did not know the time of your visitation.” Luke 19:43‒44 These words of Jesus were fulfill...

THE WEEK OF TRINITY X - MONDAY LESSON: ROMANS 13:11‒14 “Would that even today you knew the things that make for peace!” Luke 19:42 There are many ways in which God can punish men for despising and neglecting the Gospel and His Word. He can send them false prophets and sectarians who preach with such assurance that one would imagine they had swallowed the Holy Spirit. Even men in whom we had every...

THE WEEK OF TRINITY X - SUNDAY LESSON: LUKE 19:41‒48 When He drew near and saw the city, He wept over it. Luke 19:41 The events described in this Gospel occurred on the day we usually call Palm Sunday when Jesus, amidst public acclaim, entered Jerusalem as the king of grace. On that occasion He proceeded at once to the temple, and there He preached for three days on end. This He had never done bef...

THE WEEK OF TRINITY IX - SATURDAY LESSON: MATTHEW 25:31-46 And the King will answer them, “Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me.” Matthew 25:40 How will the people whom we help by means of the unrighteous mammon receive us into the eternal habitations? Will they take us by the hand and lead us in? By no means! When we come before God’s judge...

THE WEEK OF TRINITY IX - FRIDAY LESSON: HEBREWS 12:18-24 Enter not into judgement with thy servant; for no man living is righteous before thee. Psalm 143:2 It seems, on the surface, that Christ in this week’s Gospel (Luke 16:1-9) actually suggests that we should do good works by means of unrighteous mammon, so that we may obtain eternal life thereby and that those whom we have helped with our mamm...

THE WEEK OF TRINITY IX - THURSDAY LESSON: PSALM 15 Faith working through love. Galatians 5:6 Scripture also speaks of our walk of life externally, of how we are to walk with our fellowmen as human beings made up of flesh and blood. That I am accounted truly righteous before God is something that you do not know, and I myself cannot simply take it for granted. I must make my faith sure and certain...

THE WEEK OF TRINITY IX - WEDNESDAY LESSON: MATTHEW 12:33-37 “The good man out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil man out of his evil treasure produces evil; for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.” Luke 6:45 When Christ declares that we should make friends for ourselves by means of the unrighteous mammon, it is quite clear that He means that we should do...

THE WEEK OF TRINITY IX - TUESDAY LESSON: MATTHEW 10:16-23 “The sons of this world are wiser in their own generation than the sons of light.” Luke 16:8 To understand the story in this week’s Gospel (Luke 16:1-9) correctly, consider St. Paul’s statement, “Adam…was a type of the one who was to come” (Romans 5:14). Adam was a type of Christ. How can the apostle compare Adam with Christ when Adam broug...

THE WEEK OF TRINITY IX - MONDAY LESSON: 1 TIMOTHY 6:17-19 “The master commended the dishonest steward for his prudence; for the sons of this world are wiser in their own generation than the sons of light.” Luke 16:8 We shall understand the story by which Jesus makes his point in this week’s Gospel (Luke 16:1-9) in its simple meaning, without introducing a large number of subtleties into it, as Jer...

THE WEEK OF TRINITY IX - SUNDAY LESSON: LUKE 16:1-9 He who trusts in his riches will wither, but the righteous will flourish like a green leaf. Proverbs 11:28 In this Gospel, “mammon” means surplus sustenance, including money, with which one can help others without injury to oneself. It is called “unrighteous mammon” by our Lord because of its daily use for unrighteous purposes and because it inci...

THE WEEK OF TRINITY VIII - SATURDAY LESSON: LUKE 6:46-49 No other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 3:11 We must remain free judges with authority to judge, accept, or reject even what popes or councils decide. If we accept anything, we should accept it because it agrees with our conscience as instructed by Holy Scripture, not just because pope...

THE WEEK OF TRINITY VIII - FRIDAY LESSON: 1 JOHN 4:1-6 “He who is of God hears the words of God; the reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.” John 8:47 Do not let yourself be persuaded to believe in all simplicity what the pope says or what the councils have decided. If you recognize God in the truth of His Word, you have the rule, the measure, and the yardstick whereby you may...

THE WEEK OF TRINITY VIII - THURSDAY LESSON: PSALM 119:105-112 Even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to that which we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to that which you received, let him be accursed. Galatians 1:8-9 In regard to God’s Word, you must reach the point...

THE WEEK OF TRINITY VIII - WEDNESDAY LESSON: PSALM 119:89-96 We also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers. 1 Thessalonians 2:13 God makes His Word known to us through men, and He proclaimed it and had it written down especiall...

THE WEEK OF TRINITY VIII - TUESDAY LESSON: 2 PETER 1:19-21 Whoever speaks, [speak] as one who utters oracles of God. 1 Peter 4:11 You must be just as sure and certain about the Word of God as you are sure and certain that you live, and even more so. For on this Word alone your conscience must take its stand. No matter how many men come along, or even angels and the whole world, with some sort of c...

THE WEEK OF TRINITY VIII - MONDAY LESSON: ROMANS 11:17-20 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.” Matthew 7:15 We should note very carefully that the Lord Jesus orders Christians and gives them authority to be judges over all doctrine, to pronounce judgement on whether it is correct or not. This authority was filched from us by false Christ...

THE WEEK OF TRINITY VIII - SUNDAY LESSON: MATTHEW 7:15-23 “Whatever you wish that men would do to you, do so to them; for this is the law and the prophets.” Matthew 7:12 After explaining the commandments of God as reported in Matthew, chapters five and six and in the earlier part of chapter seven, the Lord concludes His discussion with the words, “Whatever you wish that men would do to you, do so...

THE WEEK OF TRINITY VII - SATURDAY LESSON: COLOSSIANS 1:15-20 He [Christ] is before all things, and in him all things hold together. Colossians 1:17 This Gospel (Mark 8:1-9) sets Christ before us as a rich, powerful lord and steward. To be sure, He is a rich miller and baker in one, better than any other that the world has ever seen, and He has learnt His trade very well. He really draws on a numb...