LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 2004, Page 103

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CONVENTION BIBLE STUDIES
have to go and give the Good News to people who were not
of his ilk! He did not like people who could not speak Hebrew, die Mutter Sprache, with no accent.
God picked Big Fish to help Him out.
“Go swallow that rascal,” God said to His servant Big
Fish.
“Gee whiz, do I have to? That guy will make me sick.”
“Just do it,” God said, and the magnificent creature of
the sea, swished into action and took the grouch into his
cavernous stomach!
Interesting, is it not, to see in Scripture how the other
“living creatures” (by the way, that’s the same word, khahnephesh used in Genesis 2 about Adam who received the
“breath of God” and became a “living creature!”) obey the
Creator:
Noah’s “two by two” cargo, the returning dove, the
great fish, Balaam’s ass, the beast of burden who was
fortunate enough to bear the Christ into the Holy City,
the cock that crowed at that dark hour for Peter, the
153 fish who jumped with the joy of resurrection into
Peter’s net.

These “living creatures,” animal and mammal alike,
may not be expressing the Gospel per se, but they are obedient to the call of the Lord of the Gospel!
The story of Nineveh’s repentance at the call of the recalcitrant prophet is stirring. Hearing the witness of Jonah,
the hearts of Nineveh are turned. They repent in sackcloth
and ashes. The king calls for a fast and the people pledge
their loyalty to the God whose Word Jonah had preached!
But, oh, the prophet! He is angry, pouting and sputtering about the grace of God for funny looking people who
can’t even speak English! What a tiresome man.
Earlier, even Big Fish, surely sick of his complaining,
with relief and relish spits him out at the welcome command of his Creator.
How intriguing it is! God uses the witness of imperfect
people to bring others around to Him! We praise God, for
surely He can effectively use cantankerous Lutherans like
me too—and you too.

IV. THE LORD JESUS: SEEKING,
SAVING THE LOST
“When the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born
of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the
law, that we might receive the full rights of sons” (Galatians 4:4).
The woman’s Seed is here! Behold Him as He witnesses
of the Father’s love to a torn and broken world.
The Widow of Nain: Luke 7:11–17
Look at Him! He sees the weeping widow woman of
Nain who is burying her only son. Moved with compassion,
Jesus stops the procession of the sorrowful who have been
beaten down by death. “His heart went out to her,” Luke
says.
Placing His hands on the coffin, Jesus gives life back to
the son, and the son back to his mother. The people are
filled with awe and praised God: “A great prophet has appeared among us. God has come to help His people!” The
Gospel-bearer is seeking, saving the lost.

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Jairus: Mark 5:22–43

Jairus cries out to Jesus at the death of his precious
daughter. Lord Jesus shares the hope and healing of His
presence in the midst of the most tragic death of a little
child. “Talitha koum!” “Little girl, I say to you, get up!” He
says tenderly, and the twelve-year-old got up immediately
and walked around.
Lazarus: John 11:1–44
The Lord Jesus, God’s Word in the flesh, weeps tears for
His friend, Lazarus, brother of Mary and Martha. “If You
had only been here,” they lamented. The Word of God in the
flesh stands before the door of death and looks up to heaven
with groans of anger against the ravages of death and challenges the ancient demon death, “Lazarus, come forth!” He
cries out. The dead man comes out, bundled up in His death
clothes. “Release him and let him go!”
“Lazarus, come forth!” This cry is indeed just for
Lazarus. But a cry like it will come from the mouth of the
risen Lord again at the Last Day. When the Enemy hears
that cry, Death will be compelled to give up all who have
died, for the Word of God which brings forth what it says,
will call us all from our graves! We will hear that call, assuredly so!
One remarked, “It is a good thing that Jesus said,
‘Lazarus, come forth!’ or all the dead in every part of the
world would have come out of their graves at that command.” Yes, indeed, and so it will be one day!

V. JESUS CALLS US TO
CONTINUE HIS MISSION
The Great Commissions:
Isaiah 49:7 and Matthew 28:19
This Word of God in the flesh calls out to all of us today,
“Dear brothers, sisters, tell the Good News. Share the victory that I would give to all people who are in the throes of
death and sin, so that they can be released from it as you
are. I have given you the authority to be the sharers of the
Word to all” (as in Matthew 28:19–20).
Our Convention Theme is Isaiah 49:7. It is referred to
also as “The Old Testament Great Commission.” It says,
“And now,” God says, this God who took me in hand
from the moment of birth to be His servant, to bring
Jacob back home to Him, to set a reunion of Israel—
What an honor for me in God’s eyes! That God should
be my strength! He says, “But that’s not a big enough
job for My servant—just to recover the tribes of Jacob,
merely to round up the strays of Israel. I’m setting you
up as a light for the nations so that My salvation becomes global!” (The Message)

The Great Commission of Isaiah 49 is fully realized in
Matthew 28 as the Servant of God, the risen Lord Jesus
stands in majesty and power before the disciples. He tells
them that all authority is given to Him in heaven and
earth! The prophecies of Daniel (Daniel 7) have now been
fulfilled, all things are under his footstool. And now, this
powerful one, the Son of God and Son of Man stands with
all this authority and says, “THEREFORE.”
That’s a grand conjunction. It is the Lord of authority
who calls us into His service to preach the Good News of
the Gospel to all people. This Lord was there in the begin2004 Convention Proceedings