Eckhardt's Homiletisches Reallexikon, 1907–1917

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Essays. Süd. 95, 83-93. Intercession.

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1. Christians should pray not only for themselves, but also for their fellow men, a. parents for their children, see Upbringing. b. the pastor for the congregation. 2 Thess. 1:11: praying always for you. Eph. 3:13-21. Phil. 1:3-4: in every prayer of mine for you. Col. 1:9: we do not cease to pray for you; c. the congregation for the pastor. Rom. 15:30: that ye strive together with me in your prayers to God for me. Col. 4:3: withal praying also for us. Eph. 6:18-19: and for me, that utterance may be given unto me, etc. 1 Thess. 5:25: pray for us. 2 Thess. 3:1. 2 Cor. 1:9-11: by the help of your prayer for us. — If a congregation neglects intercession for its pastor, it need not be surprised if the pastor's work does not properly prosper. d. We should all pray 1. for the Church, Matt. 9:38: Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest; 2. for all saints, Eph. 6:18; 3. for the congregation. Phil. 1:3-11. We should seek to heal the congregation's ills through diligent prayer; 4. for missions. He who diligently prays for missions will also diligently work for them; 5. for enemies, Matt. 5:44: for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you. Christ: Luke 23:34: Father, forgive them. Isa. 53:12: made intercession for the transgressors. Stephen: Acts 7:60: Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. — Is this intercession not often forgotten? 6. for the sick, Jas. 5:14-16; 7. for the city, Jer. 29:7: pray unto the Lord for it; 8. for the civil authority. 1 Tim. 2:2: for kings, and for all that are in authority. Konk. 476, § 73. Hymn 167:3. Peace also for the police. 293:2; 9. for the ungodly, Isa. 53:12. 10. for all men. 1 Tim. 2:1. The litany and the general church prayer were already customary in the first centuries. Note a. Therefore we pray: Forgive us our trespasses, give us this day our daily bread. Note b. Christians are spiritual priests. As such they must make intercession. Note c. Through this, true brotherly fellowship in the faith is properly cultivated, in that one makes the fellow believer's distress one's own. Note d. A Christian does not step before God alone with his request, but millions of Christians stand with him in rank and file. Note e. We cannot believe for one another. Each one must believe himself. But we can pray for one another, that God would give us faith. Note f. This intercession can also happen in common. See under "Prayer." — Then each one should also pray along and not merely listen devoutly. Neb. 98, 76. Note g. Here belong the special intercessions from the pulpit for a bridal couple, for the newborn, etc. (not for the excommunicated, Luth. 28, 131). Acts 12:5: the congregation for Peter. If one member suffers, all the members suffer with it. Note h. Encouragement to intercession, Ma. 11, 252. 2. Examples: a. Christ. Father, forgive them. A testimony of his love for sinners. Isa. 53:12. John 17. The high-priestly prayer. b. Paul. Eph. 3:13: that he would grant you, etc. c. Abraham's intercession for Sodom. Gen. 18:16-33. Lot's rescue was in part a fruit of this intercession. d. Moses. Exod. 32:11. Num. 14:19. e. Stephen. f. Nehemiah for the Church. Neh. 1. g. The people. Mark 7:32.

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3. What should move us to this? To this we should be moved by a. God's will and command. Jas. 5:16: Pray one for another. b. Love for one's neighbor. He who diligently prays for another surely loves him. We should let the distress of our fellow men touch our hearts. Note a. Intercession is a duty of love toward our fellow men. No one should say: Am I my brother's keeper? Note b. Intercession is an effect of the love that is poured out in our hearts. c. God's pleasure in it. d. The glorious blessing of intercession: 1. it redounds to the blessing of the one who prays, 2. it is heard. Mark 7:33-35. Jas. 5:16. — Monica. See Prayer. Note a. Christ unites his high-priestly intercession with our human intercession. As often as we make intercession, he stands at our side and supports our petition. Note b. If, indeed, a people continues to harden itself, then God's wrath becomes unavoidable and all intercession no longer helps. Jer. 15:1: Though Moses and Samuel stood before me, yet my mind could not be toward this people. Ezek. 14:14. Note c. Only a Christian who recognizes Jesus as Savior and helper can offer true intercession.

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4. Intercession for the dead. For the departed one should not pray, since a. one has for it neither command, promise, nor example; b. intercession for them is useless. The believers are blessed and need nothing more. The ungodly are damned. Intercession no longer helps them. Prov. 11:7: When a wicked man dieth, his expectation shall perish. Luke 16:26: a great gulf fixed between us and you, etc. John 3:18: he that believeth not is condemned already. — Today shalt thou be with me in paradise. Note a. One may indeed remember the dead in prayer, that God may faithfully keep his promise to them, but it is something else to pray for them in the sense that something could still be changed about their eternal fate. Note b. When we pray at funerals, we only give thanks for the benefits God has shown the departed, and ask for comfort for the bereaved. Min. 86, 96. Süd. 95, 88-89. S. Dak. 1907, 65. Answer. The Catholics also pray for the dead, the Mass, purgatory. They also appeal to 2 Macc. 12:46: Therefore he made a reconciliation for the dead. — But this passage belongs to the Apocrypha and reports only what Judas did with good intentions. 5. The intercession of the blessed in heaven for us. That the saints in heaven intercede for us is an opinion found among some Lutheran theologians, e.g., Prince Bernhard of Anhalt. — Essays on this: A contribution to the assessment of the question of the intercession of the blessed for the church militant on earth. L. W. 14, 245-253. On the assessment of the opinion that the saints in heaven intercede for the church here on earth. L. W. 14, 150. Note a. Such an intercession could not be 1. mediating, 2. specific, which would presuppose knowledge of the persons here on earth. Nor should it be set forth as an article of faith, but at most as a good human opinion, or an open question. Note b. Scripture says nothing about it. On the contrary, it says clearly: Abraham is ignorant of us. Isa. 63:16. It says that blessedness is a perfect state, that all wishing and asking ceases. Note c. The Book of Concord leaves open only the possibility of such an intercession. Konk. 305, § 26. Homiletics. 12th Sunday after Trinity — Gospel. On Christian intercession. a. By whom it can be made, b. for whom it should be made, c. why it should be made. — Ma. 7, 251. Incentive and encouragement to intercession. a. Why, b. how. — Ma. 11, 246. 16th Sunday after Trinity — Epistle. Paul, a glorious example of right intercession. a. How one should pray for others, b. for what one should pray for others. — Ma. 30, 279. The apostle's intercession for the Christians at Ephesus. a. Content, b. purpose; or: a. how he prays, b. for what he prays. — Ma. 11, 281. 14, 286. 22nd Sunday after Trinity — Epistle. A Christian's prayer for the congregation. a. A joyful thanksgiving, b. a fervent petition. — Ma. 23, 310. 24th Sunday after Trinity — Epistle. Why has the apostle given this report of his intercession for the congregation? a. To make clear to the congregation how necessary for them are the things for which he prays, b. thereby to spur the congregation on to their own prayer, petition, and thanksgiving. — Ma. 23, 339. Free Texts. Gen. 18:16-33. Abraham's intercession for Sodom. a. How Abraham humbly and confidently entreats the Lord, b. how the Lord hears Abraham's prayer. — Ma. 26, 187. 2 Thess. 3:1. The apostle's exhortation to intercession for missions. a. How he exhorts to intercession, b. why he especially exhorts to intercession for missions. — Ma. 11, 162.