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Sharper Iron, hosted by Rev. Timothy Appel, looks at the text of Holy Scripture both in its broad context and its narrow detail, all for the sake of proclaiming Christ crucified and risen for sinners. Two pastors engage with God’s Word to sharpen not only their own faith and knowledge, but the faith and knowledge of all who listen. Sharper Iron is underwritten by Lutheran Church Extension Fund, where your investments help support the work of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. Visit lcef.org.
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Paul Gerhardt’s marvelous hymn text is fitting both for Lent and Holy Week. We sing of Jesus as the Lamb of God who goes willingly into sacrifice to bear our sin and be our Savior. He gives His spotless life in place of our sinful lives gladly, treating us as His friends. Jesus does this as the true Son of God at the command of His Father, who desi…
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The LORD calls His people to look to the rock from which they were hewn, recalling how the LORD their Rock brought a great nation from the dead rock Abraham. Therefore, Israel must listen to the LORD’s Word, as His righteousness and salvation come near to them. He works this salvation through His holy arm, which is awakened to deliver His people ye…
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The LORD’s Servant speaks again; He does so as One whose tongue and ear have been taught by the LORD. As the Servant speaks faithfully, His Word sustains those who are weary. As the Servant remains faithful to the LORD, He begins to suffer physical pain and public shame. Because He knows that the LORD will vindicate Him, the Servant does not fear. …
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When the LORD’s people claim that He has forgotten them, He proclaims that His memory of them is even greater than that of a mother for her child. He has even engraved them on the palms of His hands. He promises to enlarge the people of Israel so that they will need more room for everyone; this is His doing to draw the nations to Himself through th…
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The Servant of the LORD speaks to the ends of the earth, for He is the One set apart by the LORD from the womb to speak His Word faithfully. Even as He laments in the midst of the suffering He endures, the Servant trusts the LORD to vindicate Him. The LORD commissions His servant not only to bring back the lost sheep of the house of Israel, but als…
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This glorious Palm Sunday hymn places us in the procession of palms to sing praises to Jesus, who entered into Jerusalem as the King of Israel. As we worship Him on earth, we join in the worship of the angels in heaven and the song of all creation that is offered to Christ as the Redeemer of all. As we sing the same songs as the Palm Sunday crowds …
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The LORD again calls His people to listen. Although Israel has not lived up to her name, the LORD has lived up to His; He is faithful to His promises. No idols can do what He has done. Although His people have not heard in the past, He speaks to them again so that they will listen. The LORD promises that He will bring a deliverer to rescue Israel f…
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Babylon will receive the same judgment as its idols; Babylon will be brought low. Their earthly glory will be turned to shame at the hand of the LORD, who is the Redeemer of His people Israel. Though the LORD had made use of Babylon to carry out His righteous anger against His people, Babylon went too far. Babylon became proud and considered hersel…
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The idols of Babylon are powerless to deliver anyone from their burdens. Instead, the idols of Babylon must be carried around as burdens themselves. Therefore, the LORD calls to His people to listen to Him who has carried them from their beginning to their end. No god can be compared to the LORD; idols cannot move or answer any prayer. Therefore, I…
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The LORD has repeatedly declared that He alone knows and accomplishes what will come in the future. He provides further evidence of that reality by naming the Persian king, Cyrus, over one hundred years ahead of time. Through Cyrus, the LORD will deliver His people from Babylon, so that all would know that the LORD alone is God. He is the One who g…
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This marvelous hymn helps us to rejoice in the reality of God's love for us sinners. Through Christ's death, God loves us to the uttermost, even though we were loveless and undeserving. The hymn traces the way that Jesus humbled Himself by taking on our humanity and suffering at the hands of the very people He had come to save. Though Jesus did not…
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The LORD tells His people to listen, for He has formed them from the womb. They need not fear, as the LORD brings even Gentiles to faith in Him so that they see along with Israel that the LORD is the only God who declares and accomplishes what is to come. Isaiah exposes the foolishness of idolatry, as if a statue fashioned by a man could ever be wo…
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The LORD calls out to His people to take away their fear. Even in exile, He is with them as their God and King; He will gather His people together whom He has formed and created. The nations are put on trial, but the LORD brings forth Israel as the witness to His saving acts. Their very existence proves that He is the only Savior and that idols mus…
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The work of the Servant of the LORD brings singing. The choir grows throughout creation and to the ends of the earth as praises resound for what God has done. He shouts aloud in victory like a mighty warrior or a woman in labor, for His deliverance is here. He guides those who are blind and opens their eyes who have been blinded by idolatry. The sh…
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The LORD brings forth His chosen and beloved servant. Although Israel and others have been called the LORD’s servants, the Servant described here is finally Jesus. St. Matthew and the other evangelists quote from this text and allude to it so that we might see Jesus fulfilling it in His Baptism, in His ministry of healing and preaching, in His cruc…
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This Lenten hymn helps us to give thanks for all of the benefits that Jesus has won for us by His suffering and death in our place. Throughout the hymn, numerous pictures are used to help us see the fullness of the Gospel. Christ has accomplished the great exchange for us in so many ways. He was bound to set us free. He was wounded to heal us. He t…
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The LORD calls the nations and their idols into the courtroom and challenges to bring forth any compelling testimony. Can idols tell what things will happen in the future and bring those things to be? Can idols correctly interpret all of history? Can idols do anything at all? The LORD gives the answer: “No! Idols are nothing, and all who trust in t…
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The nations have not heeded the LORD’s call to repentance over idolatry, and so He turns to strengthen His people Israel as His servant. They need not fear, because the LORD is their God who defeats the enemies who strive against them. Though Israel has been a helpless worm, the LORD promises His help and deliverance. He will answer His people’s pr…
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The LORD calls even the coastlands to hear the testimony of who He is. As evidence, the LORD presents Himself as the One who stirs up someone from the east who will be victorious at every turn. Although Cyrus of Persia will fulfill this promise in part, ultimately, the LORD speaks here of Jesus Christ, our Savior. He is the first and the last who r…
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The LORD makes it plain that He alone has created and sustains all things. No one showed Him how to do His work. The nations are nothing before the LORD, and idols are human creations that have no power to move. The LORD alone rules over all creation and over all human empires; no one can compare to Him. Therefore, His people must not think that He…
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This Lenten hymn helps us to meditate on the magnitude of Christ’s sacrifice for us in fulfillment of all the Old Testament sacrifices. The blood of bulls and goats all alone could not atone for human sin; only the divine blood of the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, can give us peace. For that reason, we go to Christ in repentance and lay our hands on H…
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To the Babylonian exiles, the LORD has a word of double comfort. Their warfare is over; their sins are forgiven. A voice crying in the wilderness first announces this good news, preparing the way for the LORD to come to His repentant people. This good news is ultimately for all flesh, so that they would see the LORD’s glory revealed. Although peopl…
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Isaiah had an extensive ministry as a prophet to the people of Judah, proclaiming God’s Word under the reigns of four kings. He was called into the heavenly throne room of the Holy One of Israel. There, the LORD absolved Isaiah of his sin and sent him as a proclaimer of His Word. Isaiah’s preaching spanned key historical events, as he proclaimed Go…
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"The Fifth Evangelist” is a series on Sharper Iron that goes through Isaiah 40-66. Though Isaiah lived one hundred years beforehand, he writes to the people of God in exile in Babylon to assure them that their God reigns and will rescue them through the work of His servant. These promises are fulfilled in Jesus Christ, whose work Isaiah proclaims v…
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Although most of the letter to the Galatians was physically written down by a scribe according to St. Paul’s dictation, the Apostle now picks up the pen himself to write the conclusion of the letter. His large letters authenticate the letter as coming from him, as he emphasizes once more to the Galatians the necessity of holding onto the true Gospe…
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St. Paul calls the Galatians to care for each other when sin rears its head within the congregation. The goal of calling a brother to repentance is restoration. Those who exercise such care for others should exercise appropriate care themselves, lest they deceive themselves and fall into their own unrepentant sin. The standard for the whole congreg…
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This Lenten hymn is full of beautiful imagery that teaches us of Christ and His work for us. He is the living water given by God Himself to provide life and rest for us sinners. Though our sin has offended Him, yet God has willingly taken our pain upon Himself on the cross. When we consider Christ crucified, the Lord brings us to repentance over ou…
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As those set free by Christ, the Galatians have been placed by God on the way of walking according to the Spirit. However, the sinful flesh wars against those desires of the Spirit, and so the Christian is engaged in a constant struggle. On the one hand, the works of the flesh are readily evident. Whether “big” or “small,” all of these works of the…
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St. Paul urges the Galatians to live in the freedom that Christ has given them from the law, rather than submitting again to slavery. By viewing even only circumcision as necessary for salvation, the whole law must then be kept. If the Galatians pursue that path, they are cutting themselves off from Christ, as even just a little leaven of false tea…
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St. Paul turns to a text from Genesis that the opponents were attempting to use to lead the Galatians astray. He goes through the account of the two sons of Abraham, Ishmael and Isaac, and proclaims the free salvation that comes from Christ. Those who seek their salvation in works of the law belong to the son of slavery, Ishmael; those who have the…
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St. Paul entreats the Galatians that they would not return to the slavery of idolatry of their former way of life. To look for salvation under works of the law is nothing else than such slavery. The Apostle reminds the Galatians of his faithful ministry among them and their faithful reception of the gospel he preached to them. Why would they now re…
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Even as the hymns for the season of Lent are penitential in nature, they also point us to the joy that is ours in justification by grace through faith in Christ. Martin Luther’s hymn on Psalm 130 is a marvelous example of this truth. We cry out to our God from the depths of our sin because we know that He is faithful and just to forgive our sins an…
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St. Paul continues to speak of the Law as our guardian. When we were under the Law as guardian, we were no different than slaves. However, the Law was not to be our guardian forever. At the time appointed by the Father, He sent His Son into our humanity in order to fulfill the Law in our place and redeem us from that Law. Through the work of the So…
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St. Paul brings up a human example of a last will and testament to distinguish between God’s law and promise. The promise that God made to Abraham and his offspring, who is Christ, is not annulled by the law given at Sinai. This does not mean that the law is unimportant or bad; rather, the law was given to show transgressions and make people ready …
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St. Paul calls the Galatians away from their foolishness. False teaching has taken their eyes off Christ crucified so that they think that they can somehow be perfected by works of the Law, even though the Holy Spirit was given to them when they heard the Word of God with faith. Though the Judaizers claim that being a son of Abraham is a matter of …
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St. Paul comes to the thesis of the letter to the Galatians. Whether a person is a Jew or a Gentile, that person will be declared righteous not by works of the law, but only through faith in Jesus Christ. This is what St. Paul, St. Peter, all the apostles, and all Christians believe. The fact that Christ forgives sinners does not make Him a servant…
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St. Paul recalls another visit he made to Jerusalem. On this occasion, he was with Barnabas, and Titus accompanied them. They confirmed with those who seemed influential there that together they had true fellowship in the only Gospel that saves. When false brothers attempted to take away Christian freedom by forcing circumcision upon Titus, St. Pau…
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St. Paul makes sure that the Galatians know that the Gospel he preached was not one that he made up, nor did any man. Rather, he received this Gospel through a revelation from Jesus Himself. St. Paul recounts his former way of life in Judaism as a zealous keeper of the Law and a persecutor of the Gospel. By grace alone, God called Paul to the truth…
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St. Paul identifies himself to the Galatians as one sent by the God who raised Jesus from the dead. He writes to the Galatians in the grace and peace that come from Jesus, who has given Himself for our sins to deliver us from this present evil age. Without any further pleasantries, St. Paul launches into the reason for his letter. He expresses amaz…
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“No Other Gospel” is a series on Sharper Iron that goes through the epistle of Galatians. St. Paul writes an urgent letter to the Galatians lest they forsake the one true Gospel. The apostle calls the Galatians away from the teaching of the Judaizers, because salvation does not come when we add any sort of works to what Jesus has done for us. We ar…
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St. Paul continues to speak about his planned upcoming visit to Corinth. As he had warned those who sinned before, he is prepared to deal with their sin in person, if needed, according to the power of the Word of Christ crucified and risen. In preparation for his visit, he calls the Corinthians to test themselves to see whether or not they hold to …
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St. Paul continues his boasting. He speaks about a revelation that he received from Christ when he was caught up into heaven. However, he relates the account from a distance, remaining vague in details, in order to continue to boast not in his strength, but in his weakness. That weakness was evident in a messenger from Satan, a thorn in his flesh, …
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Even if St. Paul seems a little foolish to the Corinthians, he begins to boast a little, but in unexpected ways. While the false apostles have been strong to enslave the Corinthians in false teaching, St. Paul was far too weak for that. He is Hebrew, and Israelite, and an offspring of Abraham. He is a better servant of Christ for all of the sufferi…
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St. Paul calls upon the Corinthians to bear with him in a little foolishness, both the foolishness of the Gospel and the foolishness of speaking about himself a bit more than he would like. The Corinthians have been bearing with the false teaching of so-called “super apostles,” but they should instead bear with the true teaching of God from the aut…
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As St. Paul looks forward to a visit to the Corinthians, he entreats them to respond to his teaching so that his visit can be joyful rather than painful. Although some accuse the apostle of being forceful in his writing but weak in his presence, St. Paul admits no such thing. Rather, he takes all things captive under the Gospel of Christ and lives …
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St. Paul uses an agricultural image to encourage the Corinthians toward generosity. Because God makes grace and sufficiency abound for His people, the Corinthians can participate in the offering for the saints cheerfully. This will enrich the Corinthians and those receiving the offerings, leading to thanksgiving and glory to God throughout the Chur…
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St. Paul commends Titus to the Corinthians as one who earnestly participates in the ministry to the Corinthians. Along with two other faithful brothers, Titus is coming to assist with the offering being received from the Corinthians so that it will be done honorably before God and men. St. Paul knows the Corinthians’ readiness to participate in thi…
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As those reconciled to God and to each other, Christians support each other in their physical needs. St. Paul returns to this topic from his first letter to the Corinthians as he speaks about their participation in the offering for the saints in Jerusalem. Out of their joy and poverty, the saints in Macedonia have given generously according to thei…
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As St. Paul continues to assure the Corinthians of his great love and joy for them, he calls them to the same love and joy for him. His ministry among them was one of hard work and suffering, sustained by God’s own comfort. Yet even as St. Paul’s previous letter had caused grief among the Corinthians, he rejoices that it was a godly sorrow that led…
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Because now is the day not to receive God’s grace in vain, now is also the day to flee from sin and defilement. Righteousness and lawlessness have no partnership. Light and darkness have no fellowship. Christ has no accord with the devil. Believers and unbelievers have a different inheritance. Christians are the temple of the living God, not of ido…
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