Is. 43:1–28
43:1 Now, this is what the Lord says,
the one who created you, O Jacob,
and formed you, O Israel:
“Don’t be afraid, for I will protect you.
I call you by name, you are mine.
2When you pass through the waters, I am with you;
when you pass through the streams, they will not overwhelm you.
When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned;
the flames will not harm you.
3For I am the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your deliverer.
I have handed over Egypt as a ransom price,
Ethiopia and Seba in place of you.
4Since you are precious and special in my sight
and I love you,
I will hand over people in place of you,
nations in place of your life.
5Don’t be afraid, for I am with you.
From the east I will bring your descendants;
from the west I will gather you.
6I will say to the north, ‘Hand them over!’
and to the south, ‘Don’t hold any back!’
Bring my sons from distant lands,
and my daughters from the remote regions of the earth,
7everyone who belongs to me,
whom I created for my glory,
whom I formed—yes, whom I made”.
8Bring out the people who are blind, even though they have eyes,
those who are deaf, even though they have ears!
9All nations gather together,
the peoples assemble.
Who among them announced this?
Who predicted earlier events for us?
Let them produce their witnesses to testify they were right;
let them listen and affirm, “It is true.”
10“You are my witnesses,” says the Lord,
“my servant whom I have chosen
so that you may consider and believe in me,
and understand that I am he.
No god was formed before me,
and none will outlive me.
11I, I am the Lord,
and there is no deliverer besides me.
12I decreed and delivered and proclaimed,
and there was no other god among you.
You are my witnesses,” says the Lord, “that I am God.
13From this day forward I am he;
no one can deliver from my power;
I will act, and who can prevent it?”
14This is what the Lord says,
your Protector, the Holy One of Israel:
“For your sake I send to Babylon
and make them all fugitives,
turning the Babylonians’ joyful shouts into mourning songs.
15I am the Lord, your Holy One,
the one who created Israel, your King.”
16This is what the Lord says,
the one who made a road through the sea,
a pathway through the surging waters,
17the one who led chariots and horses to destruction,
together with a mighty army.
They fell down, never to rise again;
they were extinguished, put out like a burning wick:
18“Don’t remember these earlier events;
don’t recall these former events.
19“Look, I am about to do something new.
Now it begins to happen! Do you not recognize it?
Yes, I will make a road in the wilderness
and paths in the wastelands.
20The wild animals honor me,
the jackals and ostriches,
because I put water in the wilderness
and streams in the wastelands
to quench the thirst of my chosen people,
21the people whom I formed for myself,
so they might praise me.
22“But you did not call for me, O Jacob;
you did not long for me, O Israel.
23You did not bring me lambs for your burnt offerings;
you did not honor me with your sacrifices.
I did not burden you with offerings;
I did not make you weary by demanding incense.
24You did not buy me aromatic reeds;
you did not present to me the fat of your sacrifices.
Yet you burdened me with your sins;
you made me weary with your evil deeds.
25I, I am the one who blots out your rebellious deeds for my sake;
your sins I do not remember.
26Remind me of what happened. Let’s debate!
You, prove to me that you are right!
27The father of your nation sinned;
your spokesmen rebelled against me.
28So I defiled your holy princes,
and handed Jacob over to destruction,
and subjected Israel to humiliating abuse.
(NET Bible)Ps. 26
26:1 By David.
Vindicate me, O Lord,
for I have integrity,
and I trust in the Lord without wavering.
2Examine me, O Lord, and test me.
Evaluate my inner thoughts and motives.
3For I am ever aware of your faithfulness,
and your loyalty continually motivates me.
4I do not associate with deceitful men,
or consort with those who are dishonest.
5I hate the mob of evil men,
and do not associate with the wicked.
6I maintain a pure lifestyle,
so I can appear before your altar, O Lord,
7to give you thanks,
and to tell about all your amazing deeds.
8O Lord, I love the temple where you live,
the place where your splendor is revealed.
9Do not sweep me away with sinners,
or execute me along with violent people,
10who are always ready to do wrong
or offer a bribe.
11But I have integrity.
Rescue me and have mercy on me!
12I am safe,
and among the worshipers I will praise the Lord.
(NET Bible)John 11:45–57
11:45 Then many of the people, who had come with Mary and had seen the things Jesus did, believed in him. 46But some of them went to the Pharisees and reported to them what Jesus had done. 47So the chief priests and the Pharisees called the council together and said, “What are we doing? For this man is performing many miraculous signs. 48If we allow him to go on in this way, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away our sanctuary and our nation.”
49Then one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said, “You know nothing at all! 50You do not realize that it is more to your advantage to have one man die for the people than for the whole nation to perish.” 51(Now he did not say this on his own, but because he was high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the Jewish nation, 52and not for the Jewish nation only, but to gather together into one the children of God who are scattered.) 53So from that day they planned together to kill him.
54Thus Jesus no longer went around publicly among the Judeans, but went away from there to the region near the wilderness, to a town called Ephraim, and stayed there with his disciples. 55Now the Jewish Feast of Passover was near, and many people went up to Jerusalem from the rural areas before the Passover to cleanse themselves ritually. 56Thus they were looking for Jesus, and saying to one another as they stood in the temple courts, “What do you think? That he won’t come to the feast?” 57(Now the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that anyone who knew where Jesus was should report it, so that they could arrest him.)
(NET Bible)
In his lectures on the Psalms Luther regards the ex- pressions, “God speaks,” and, “the Scriptures speak,” as convertible [synonymous]. To hear or to read the Scriptures is nothing else than to hear God. They are His sanctuary in which He is present. Therefore we dare not despise one single word of the Scripture for “all its words are weighed, counted, and measured.” The prophets who spoke or wrote the Word were the organs of the Spirit; that is the precious fact that in them God himself is heard. For this reason we read in the Prophets, “The Word of the Lord came to me.” This is the friendliest and most intimate inspiration there is. Every word of the Scriptures must be precious to us because it comes from the mouth of God, is written for us, preserved for us, and will be proclaimed to the end of days. Why in one place we read so and not otherwise can be understood only by him who will permit himself to be guided by God. How unconditionally Luther accepted the authority of the Scriptures is evident from the fact that he is willing to accept things as true and real which in any legend would be rejected as absurd, if they are covered by a word of Scripture. No one should prefer his own opinion to that of the Scripture even if it seems much more plausible. (14)
–Johann Michael Reu, Luther on the Scriptures
This daily Bible reading guide, Reading the Word of God, was conceived and prepared as a result of the ongoing discussions between representatives of three church bodies: Lutheran Church—Canada (LCC), The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) and the North American Lutheran Church (NALC). The following individuals have represented their church bodies and approved this introduction and the reading guide: LCC: President Robert Bugbee; NALC: Bishop John Bradosky, Revs. Mark Chavez, James Nestingen, and David Wendel; LCMS: Revs. Albert Collver, Joel Lehenbauer, John Pless, and Larry Vogel.