Preparing for Worship - February 18, 2024

The Old Testament lesson for this week is Genesis 22:1-22. Abraham had waited so long for a son, promised by God as the beginning of a great nation and a future blessing to all nations. Now God told him to sacrifice that son, his only son, Isaac. Abraham obeyed God and took his son to a place that would later be the site of the temple in Jerusalem, as God directed him. He was about to kill his son when God stopped him, knowing that he would be willing to give up his only son if that was really God’s will. It was not, and instead, God provided a ram for Abraham to sacrifice instead of his son. And again, God renewed His promise that in Abraham’s offspring, all nations of the earth would be blessed. That offspring was, of course, Jesus our Savior, who would willingly sacrifice His life for us all, as the Father gave up His Son, His only Son, into death for us.

The Psalm is Psalm 25:1-10. David is the author and was in the line of promise from Abraham, and Jesus would be a “Son of David” many generations later. David trusted the Lord God and waited upon Him as “the God of his salvation.” He knew that the Lord had been “merciful” and full of “steadfast love” “from of old.” He asked forgiveness for his past sins and that the Lord would teach and lead him in His ways. He approached God as a “humble sinner” and asked that the Lord look upon him with His goodness and mercy. And the Lord did so, by His grace.

James, too, in our Epistle lesson, James 1:12-18, calls upon people not to be tempted by their own sinful desires, but to trust the Lord and “His good and perfect gifts, coming down from above from the Heavenly Father,” the “Father of Lights.” “Of His own will," "He “brings us forth by the Word of Truth,” our Lord Jesus Christ, to a whole new life. We are “blessed,” as we remain steadfast in faith in Him, even if there are trials, and we “will receive the crown of Life,” everlasting life, as we have been brought to love and serve Him.

The Gospel lesson for this Sunday, the first Sunday in Lent, is always the story of Jesus being tempted by Satan in the wilderness, immediately after His baptism and anointing by the Holy Spirit for His ministry as “the Word of Truth.” This year’s Gospel is very short, Mark 1:9-15, with a special focus on v.12-13. We pray “Lead us not into temptation,” but “the Holy Spirit drove Jesus out into the wilderness to be tempted by Satan.” He had to face Satan “head-on” and resist all that Satan threw against Him for 40 days, and throughout His life and during the three years of ministry that were coming, too. Other Gospels give details of some of this particular time of testing for Jesus, but Mark especially reminds us in his Gospel, inspired by the Holy Spirit, of the many other times Jesus battled “demons,” evil spirits, evil angels, opposed to God and His will. We have already, in past weeks, heard of some of these. See Mark 1:21-27, 1:32, 1:34, and 1:39. This was a very important part of Jesus’ saving work for us. None of this was easy, but Jesus perfectly did His Father’s will, for us, in our place, and the Lord and His good angels strengthened Him. (See also passages like Hebrews 2:14-18 and 4:15-16, which talk about some of this victorious battle against Satan, for us.)