Jer. 17:19–27
17:19 The Lord told me, “Go and stand in the People’s Gate through which the kings of Judah enter and leave the city. Then go and stand in all the other gates of the city of Jerusalem. 20And then announce to them, ‘Listen to the Lord’s message, you kings of Judah, and everyone from Judah, and all you citizens of Jerusalem, those who pass through these gates. 21The Lord says, Be very careful if you value your lives! Do not carry any loads in through the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. 22Do not carry any loads out of your houses or do any work on the Sabbath day. But observe the Sabbath day as a day set apart to the Lord, as I commanded your ancestors. 23Your ancestors, however, did not listen to me or pay any attention to me. They stubbornly refused to pay attention or to respond to any discipline.’ 24The Lord says, ‘You must make sure to obey me. You must not bring any loads through the gates of this city on the Sabbath day. You must set the Sabbath day apart to me. You must not do any work on that day. 25If you do this, then the kings and princes who follow in David’s succession and ride in chariots or on horses will continue to enter through these gates, as well as their officials and the people of Judah and the citizens of Jerusalem. This city will always be filled with people. 26Then people will come here from the towns in Judah, from the villages surrounding Jerusalem, from the territory of Benjamin, from the foothills, from the southern hill country, and from the southern part of Judah. They will come bringing offerings to the temple of the Lord: burnt offerings, sacrifices, grain offerings, and incense along with their thank offerings. 27But you must obey me and set the Sabbath day apart to me. You must not carry any loads in through the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. If you disobey, I will set the gates of Jerusalem on fire. It will burn down all the fortified dwellings in Jerusalem and no one will be able to put it out.’”
(NET Bible)Ps. 137
137:1 By the rivers of Babylon
we sit down and weep
when we remember Zion.
2On the poplars in her midst
we hang our harps,
3for there our captors ask us to compose songs;
those who mock us demand that we be happy, saying:
“Sing for us a song about Zion!”
4How can we sing a song to the Lord
in a foreign land?
5If I forget you, O Jerusalem,
may my right hand be crippled.
6May my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth,
if I do not remember you,
and do not give Jerusalem priority
over whatever gives me the most joy.
7Remember, O Lord, what the Edomites did
on the day Jerusalem fell.
They said, “Tear it down, tear it down,
right to its very foundation!”
8O daughter Babylon, soon to be devastated,
how blessed will be the one who repays you
for what you dished out to us.
9How blessed will be the one who grabs your babies
and smashes them on a rock.
(NET Bible)Acts 10:34–48
10:34 Then Peter started speaking: “I now truly understand that God does not show favoritism in dealing with people, 35but in every nation the person who fears him and does what is right is welcomed before him. 36You know the message he sent to the people of Israel, proclaiming the good news of peace through Jesus Christ (he is Lord of all)— 37you know what happened throughout Judea, beginning from Galilee after the baptism that John announced: 38with respect to Jesus from Nazareth, that God anointed him with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil because God was with him. 39We are witnesses of all the things he did both in Judea and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a tree, 40but God raised him up on the third day and caused him to be seen, 41not by all the people, but by us, the witnesses God had already chosen, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. 42He commanded us to preach to the people and to warn them that he is the one appointed by God as judge of the living and the dead. 43About him all the prophets testify, that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”
44While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell on all those who heard the message. 45The circumcised believers who had accompanied Peter were greatly astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles, 46for they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God. Then Peter said, 47“No one can withhold the water for these people to be baptized, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we did, can he?” 48So he gave orders to have them baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to stay for several days.
(NET Bible)Luther did not first come to realize in 1522 that everything in Scripture depends upon that which teaches Christ. He expressed this view already in his first exposition of the Psalms, 1513-1514. Already there we read, “I see nothing in Scripture but Christ crucified” (Ego non intelligo usquam in Scriptura nisi Christum cruci xum); and in a fragment of a sermon delivered on November 11, 1515, Luther says: “He who would read the Bible must simply take heed that he does not err, for the Scripture may permit itself to be stretched and led, but let no one lead it according to his affects but let him lead it to the source, i.e., the cross of Christ. en he will surely strike the center;” and in his Exposition of the Penitential Psalms, 1517, he says in conclusion: “This I confess for myself, whenever I found less in the Scripture than Christ I was not satisfied; whenever I found more than Christ, I never became poorer myself, so that even that seems true to me, that God, the Holy Spirit, does and will know no more than Jesus Christ, as he says of Him, He will glorify me.” And according to Luther also in the Old Testament writings Christ can be found. (28)
–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.