5.4.25 Sunday Drive to Church

[00:00:00] Christ is risen. He has risen indeed. Alleluia. Good morning, dear saints of St. Paul Lutheran Church. This is the Sunday drive to church for the third Sunday of Easter. That's May 4th. [00:00:15] This is the Sunday. This is the day that all the Star wars nerds are always saying, May the fourth be with you. Beware, May the fourth year of our Lord 2025. Let's start with the collect of the day and then get into these three beautiful texts that we have. And some of this. Oh, the psalm of the hymn. It's a great. Another beautiful, beautiful day. Let's pray. Oh, God, through the humiliation of your son, you raised up the fallen world. [00:00:40] Grant to your faithful people rescued from the peril of everlasting death, perpetual gladness and eternal joys through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. It's a beautiful. It's a Raphael painting on the front of the bulletin with Jesus and the disciples fishing. I think it might be the wrong fish miracle in the painting. Don't look too closely, but remember, there's two. This is an interesting point. John 21 is our gospel lesson. And that's the miracle of the fish after. [00:01:24] Well, it's sometime during the 40 days after Easter before the ascension of Jesus. It's one of the. I think we have 14 resurrection appearances of Jesus chronicled in the New Testament. So this is. This is like appearance number 11 or 12 or something like this where he's. They're up in Galilee and Peter says, I'm going fishing. So there's seven of them. They go fishing. And remember, Jesus comes on the shore and says, have you caught any children? You catch anything? No. Throw the net on the other side of the boat. And they catch all these fish. 153 fish. They drag it in. I was just reading Wordsworth commentary on this. And he makes the note. In fact, he has his parallel. The first miracle of the catch a fish. [00:02:08] They fill up two boats. The nets are breaking, and they have all sorts of fish. And they're in the boat, this one. [00:02:18] They don't fill up the boat, but rather they bring them on shore. And there's no mention of breaking nets or struggle at all. In fact, they're right close to the shore. And. And so some of the ancient church fathers saw in these two miracles of the catch a fish the difference between the Church militant and the Church Triumphant. [00:02:42] So now we're catching fish. That is, people are coming into the church, but it's all a mess. You're catching the clean and the unclean. They're all together, the nets are breaking, the church is all torn and struggling and divided by different doctrines and all sorts of stuff. But then this last catch of fish, it's the perfect number. Every fish is great. They're dragged onshore. They come across the lines here, St. Jerome. Okay, so here's Wordsworth quoting St. Jerome. St. Jerome said that the. Oh, no, this is about the fish. Well, I'll read this anyways. St. Jerome says that the ancients supposed that all of the genera of fishes were 153, and that this number indicates that omne genus hominum de mari, that all of the people, all different people from the world can be saved. [00:03:34] But before that, all the fishes were great. [00:03:41] Ah, it's Augustine. Such is the glory of the saints in heaven. This miraculous draught after the resurrection is to be contrasted with the former miraculous draught, Luke 5, 1, 11, etc. See Augustine's sermon. There the fishes are hauled up into the boats on the sea. Here they're drawn to the land. There the net was on the point of bursting asunder. Here it's not torn at all. There the fishermen are called to be fishers of men. Here they sit down and feast with Christ. [00:04:15] The former miraculous draught represents the fishers tossed in the ship of the church on the sea of this world, drawing bad and good fish into the net of the church visible, which is always strained by schisms and ever on the point of breaking asunder. This second miraculous draught that after the resurrection represents her labor done and the good drawn to the land of everlasting life. And the fishers of the gospel sitting down at a spiritual banquet with their Lord on the peaceful shore of life everlasting after their own resurrection through the resurrection of Christ. [00:04:53] Anyway, all that to say, don't look too closely at the COVID Okay, but let's get into it now. Psalm 30. Oh, oh, oh. Psalm 30 is this beautiful psalm. Remember when we were reading the psalm, and this is one of the advantages of this Sunday Drive to Church podcast, we get a little preview before we get there. So we're ready for it. So, a couple of things to notice about, and this is one of these very memorable psalms, but we want to ask who is talking to whom and what's the picture? And I'll tell you that this entire psalm is a prayer, except for verses four to six, four to six. And it's a really interesting section there. It breaks off from prayer to a sermon. And in that sermon there's A confession of sin, which is basically, life got too easy and I got too haughty, and I said, I'll never be moved. But the Lord proved differently. And the whole point of this psalm is that the Lord casts down and lifts up. [00:06:08] So who's talking to whom? The other question is, what's the picture? And the picture is that we are being drawn up out of a pit. That's how it starts. Verse 1. I will extol you, O Lord, for you have drawn me up. [00:06:26] Now this. Okay, now this is maybe a. I don't want to stop for too much on this particular verse, but here's just an example of how we want to read the Bible very carefully. Because this psalm in some ways is like a movie that starts not at the beginning, but like in the middle of the action. And then you have to go back to figure out, like, well, what happened. And so. So this person is being the psalmist David. And this is a prayer upon the dedication of his own house. [00:06:56] But it's a prayer that we're to pray as well. It's the prayer of a person who suddenly was thrown down into the pit unexpectedly and then realized they couldn't get out. And yet the Lord comes and helps and has drawn them out. So in a really profound way, this psalm starts at the end, and then it's going to reverse all that drama. And you have not let my foes rejoice over me, oh Lord, my God, I cried to you for help, and you have helped me, oh Lord, you have brought up my soul from Sheol. [00:07:29] You restored me to life from among those who go down to the pit. How did it get so bad? Well, here's the sermon. Verse 4. Sing praises to the Lord, O you his saints, and give thanks to his holy name. His anger is but for a moment, and his favor for a lifetime. Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes in the morning. There's a memory verse for you. As for me, I said, in my prosperity I shall never be moved. And you think, aha, that's where things went wrong, isn't it? Yes, indeed. So things are going pretty good for me, and I started to trust in myself and to forget the Lord. And then everything fell apart, and I was cast into the pit, almost died. And then I realized, boy, I need the Lord's help. So then I cried to the Lord. Verse 7. By your favor, O Lord, you made my mountain stand strong. You hid your face, I was dismayed. [00:08:24] To you, O Lord, I cry, and to the Lord I plead for Mercy. In other words, if the Lord hides his face from us, which is the constant threat of the Psalms, Lord, don't hide your face. Don't turn away from us, look to us. But if the Lord does that, then everything falls apart. [00:08:39] What profit is there in my death? This is verse nine. If I go down to the dust, will the dust. I go down to the pit. Will the dust praise you? Will it tell of your faithfulness? Hear, O Lord, be merciful to me. O Lord, be my helper. [00:08:55] So that we learn to trust in the Lord when he casts us down from our prideful position and causes us to look to him for help and mercy. [00:09:06] Help and mercy. So the Lord will be a helper, the Lord will be merciful. But we have to recognize then that we need help. [00:09:14] So it ends with this great climax of joy and the Lord's help. You have turned for me my mourning into dancing. You've loosed my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent. O Lord, my God, I will give thanks to you forever. What a. An absolute beautiful Psalm 30. If you have time, while you're driving. But if you have time to read Psalm 30 a couple of times before the service, absolutely beautiful. And remember those prayers. What's the. Those questions? What's the picture? And who is talking to whom? Okay, the reading, the first lesson. Remember that the three year lectionary does this funny thing that during the season of Easter. [00:10:03] Is there other times, at least during the season of Easter, the Old Testament is from Acts, which is really not Old Testament at all. They just want to read from Acts. So. So we have the story of the conversion of Saul from Acts, chapter 9, verse 1 to 22. Saul his Hebrew name, Paul, his Greek name. I suppose some people think that it's Saul before he's a Christian and Paul after he's a Christian. But I don't think that's the way to see it. I think it's just Saul, how you say it in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Paul is how the Greeks would say it. And it kind of shifts emphasis. But remember that Saul is there approving the stoning of Stephen. That was Acts chapter 8. [00:10:46] So what a brutal thing to do. To stand there while this precious deacon and servant of the Lord is being crushed to death by stones, holding the jackets of the guys pelting him. It seems like holding the jackets might be a servant thing to do, but it probably indicates that he had some authority over the proceedings. [00:11:11] My friend Pastor Graff thinks that that Day is Paul's thorn in the flesh. The day when he stood there approving of the stoning of Stephen, that that would have haunted him in his dreams and in his quiet thoughts. [00:11:30] Now, I don't think that, but it's an interesting idea. And Paul certainly comes back to it. Even late in his ministry, when he's writing his last letter to Timothy, he talks about it, I'm the chief of sinners. And he's remembering this and his conversion. This is the setup for his conversion. And that's going to become the chief narrative in the book of Acts. It's repeated. I think it's repeated. I know it's two more times. I think It's Acts, chapter 21 and 26, that the story of Saul's conversion is going to be told again. And, you know, space on a page is precious space. So to take one story, to tell it three times. [00:12:10] So Saul, it says he's breathing threats and murder against the disciples. He went to the high priest, he asked for permission, official permission, to go up to Damascus, up in Syria and go into the synagogue and find any Christians noted here that they are called people belonging to the Way, which is pretty cool. [00:12:36] So you can imagine in the Jewish synagogues, there would be those who were converting to Christ, saying christ is the Messiah, and others saying, no. And this fight was breaking out in all of the synagogues all over the Mediterranean basin, all over the world. And those who were saying, yeah, we think Christ is the Messiah he's raised from the dead. They were called the Way, followers of the Way, men and women. And he gets permission not only to arrest the men, but also to arrest the women, to bind them, to imprison them, and to bring them to Jerusalem for trial. [00:13:09] Okay, so he's on his way, and they hear about him coming, and he's getting close to Damascus. But then suddenly, the Lord comes and visits him. It says it like this. A light from heaven flash around him. And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? And he said, who are you, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do. And the men who were traveling with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one. It's almost like the voice that came from heaven. When Jesus says, father, glorify your name. And then God, the Father says, I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again. And the men said, they Heard thunder or the voice of an angel. They weren't exactly sure what they heard. Same thing happens here. But Saul hears clearly. [00:14:00] And. Amazing. We don't want to pass this by too quick. So I just made a nice hot cup of coffee, and I keep trying to steal sips, which you guys won't notice. Sorry about that. [00:14:11] But notice how what Jesus says, why are you persecuting me? So that in the stoning of Stephen and in the killing of James and in the persecuting of the church that's happening now, it's Christ himself who is being persecuted. Jesus is always with us in the midst of suffering. He doesn't let us suffer by ourselves, so that he suffered for us, and now he suffers with us. [00:14:38] I am with you always, even to the end of the age. And especially in suffering. He's with us in suffering, so that he's also being persecuted. Amazing. Okay, so Saul goes to the ground. He opens his eyes. He can't see anything. They take him by the hand. They lead him into the city for three days. He can't see anything. He doesn't eat or drink. Then pan to Ananias house. [00:15:01] There's a disciple in Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision. Now, okay, another just utterly amazing thing to me. [00:15:11] So the way that the Lord set it up is that here Saul is blind and is kind of whimpering. He's not eating anything or drinking anything. And then the Lord comes to Saul, Paul, and says, a man named Ananias is going to come to you. And then after that, the Lord goes to Ananias in a vision and says, I want you to go visit Saul. We know that because of what the Lord's going to say to Ananias. We don't have the vision given to Saul here. But listen to how the Lord says it to Ananias. [00:15:47] But this is the point, is that the Lord assumes the obedience of Ananias. [00:15:53] He gave the promise to Saul that Ananias is coming before he sent Ananias. That is an amazing thing. Okay, so the Lord says to him in the vision, ananias. And he says, here I am, Lord. And the Lord said to him, rise and go to the street called Straight. And at the house of Judas, look for a man of Tarsus named Saul. For, behold, he is praying. And he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight. [00:16:29] So the Lord gives the vision to Saul about Ananias before he gives the vision to Ananias about Saul, you think, well, Ananias could say, forget it, and then the vision wouldn't come true. [00:16:42] But the Lord's going to. I mean, he's going to be hesitant. Ananias answered, lord, I've heard from many about this man, how much evil he's done to your saints at Jerusalem. And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on your name. In other words, this guy is on our terror watch list. And he was a terrorist, Saul. This is exactly what he was like. He was trying to caused the Christians to hide and run and be afraid and stop confessing Christ. [00:17:14] But the Lord said to him, go. [00:17:18] And this is an amazing thing. For he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel, for I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name. [00:17:36] So Ananias departed and entered the house. And laying his hands on him, he said, brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road by which you came, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit. So this is. What an incredible story that's so incredible. [00:17:53] So the Lord says to Ananias, no, look, I've appointed him. And he's going to be the one that's going to bear my name before the Gentiles. And he's going to have to suffer a lot for this, for this office that I'm giving to him. I was thinking about it today. I wonder if Ananias is like, well, okay, if he's going to suffer, I'll go help. But I don't think that's it at all. Because look how he. Even before he's baptized, he calls him Brother Saul. Because Saul already is a Christian. The Lord has already appeared to him. [00:18:20] And now he's going to not only strengthen his faith, but give him the gift of the Holy Spirit, lay hands on him so that he's ordained. And now he's going to be baptized. Immediately, something like scales fell from his eyes. He regained his sight, he rose, he was baptized, he took food, he was strengthened, and he immediately preaches Jesus in the synagogue, saying he's the Son of God. [00:18:43] So it's one of these reverse order things. You're supposed to be baptized first and then ordained. But Ananias ordains him, lays hands on him, fills him with the Holy Spirit, gives him the office of preacher. That's what he was called to do. He's baptized and he starts preaching immediately. [00:18:59] Anytime. By the way, you see the laying on of hands in the book of Acts, you should assume, unless otherwise, that it is an ordination. Because always when people have hands laid on them, then they start preaching. [00:19:12] All who heard him were amazed and says, isn't this the man who made havoc in Jerusalem? [00:19:16] He's come here for this purpose to bring them bound before the chief priests. But Saul increased more and more in strength and confounded the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus was the Christ. [00:19:26] And it says in the very, I think, next verse that we don't have in our reading that they sought to kill him. Oh boy. The murderous plotting of the Sanhedrin and the synagogue. So Paul is part, Saul is part of the plotting. And as soon as he's not part of the plotting, then he's the object of the plotting. Are you part of our plot to kill the Christians or are you part of those who want to be killed by us? It's an amazing thing. [00:19:59] So he has to be let out of Damascus in a basket through the wall. Oh boy. [00:20:07] That is what first text, okay, that's Acts, chapter nine. And if that's not enough for you, just wait because we go on to Revelation chapter 5. Now we start in verse 8. And this is so in the book of Revelation, remember, we start with the inaugural vision of Revelation, chapter 1. The Son of Man coming in glory with a two edged sword coming out of his mouth. And he's in the midst of the seven lampstands, this amazing picture of the glory of Jesus. And then Jesus writes seven letters to his churches, to Ephesus and then the six other churches that are right around there, Thyatira and Philadelphia and Sardis and the others that I'll remember in a little bit. So we have the seven other seven churches first, first three chapters of the book of Revelation, and then chapter four and five is the initial vision of the heavenly court. [00:21:00] Now the book of Revelation itself is structured in this beautiful way that we get a little glimpse into how things are in heaven and then a little glimpse into how things are on earth. And what we see in the whole thing is that the glory of heaven is being aped and mocked by the devil on earth. So the lamb sits on the throne and the beast is running roughshod over the world. And in heaven is the bride of Christ adorned for her husband. And on earth is the prostitute who's becoming drunk, drinking the blood of the saints. So that the whole kind of rhythm of Revelation is this glimpse into the beauty of the Heavenly throne room, and then a glimpse into the spiritual forces on this earth, which are the opposite of that. [00:21:55] It's Antichrist, anti lamb, anti throne, anti glory, anti life, this ugliness. So Revelation 4 and 5 is that first glimpse into the heavenly throne, and there's the God is being worshiped. But then this. This thing happens is that there's a scroll that has seven seals. [00:22:15] And there's this question that's asked to everyone in the Heavenly throne who can open the scroll. You have to picture one of these ancient scrolls and seven big wax seals that's holding it shut. And it says, no one was found worthy to open the scroll. And John says, I started weeping because there was no one to open the scroll. Now, this scroll is salvation of the world. This scroll is probably the theological story of all history. I don't know what better way to think of this scroll. But at least in the story here in Revelation, it is important that this scroll gets opened. And so the angel says to John, don't worry. And then he announces the one who can open the scroll. [00:23:03] And here something incredible happens. Here's a little bit of homework. If you want to read the first few verses of Revelation chapter 5, because we skip ahead to Revelation 5, 8 in our reading. But if you read the first few verses. In fact, let me just get my Bible here and I'll do that right now. Okay? It's not your homework anymore. I'm about to do it for you. You are welcome. [00:23:24] But here's this thing that happens in Revelation a number of times. And again, it's one of these important things, how to read the Bible carefully, because John will hear in his ear the announcement of something, and then he'll look with his eye and see the same thing. But the way that he hears it and the way that he sees it are almost opposite of one another. And yet they're two ways of describing the same reality. I'll give you an example. In Revelation 7, it says, I heard, heard the number. So here he hears the number 144,000, 12,000 from each tribe. But then he looks, and what does he see is an uncountable multitude from every tribe, tongue, people, and nation. Now, that's the same reality, the 144,000 and the uncountable multitude, 12,000 from each tribe and millions from every tongue and tribe and nation. It's the same reality. It's the church, but it's described in these two different ways. One, from kind of God's Old Testament perspective, the perfect number and the other from the New Testament looking in on it. Well, the same thing is going to happen at the beginning of chapter five. He says, I wept much because no one was found worthy to open and read the scroll and look at it. One of the elders says, don't weep. Behold and listen. The lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and loose its seven seals. And I looked, okay, so he hears, who's going to open the scroll? The lion of the tribe of Judah. And then verse six. And I looked. And behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures and in the midst of the elders stood a lamb as though it had been slain with seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out to all the earth. So now you say, okay, you say, hold on. Then what is it? Is it a lion or is it a lamb? And the answer is, yes, it's Jesus, who is the lion of the tribe of Judah, who is the lamb of God who's taken away the sins of the world. [00:25:31] He is the lion and he is the lamb. Even though those are just about as opposite as animals as you can get. You say, pick two different animals. Well, lion and lamb, they're pretty far apart. And yet they both are beautiful descriptions of Jesus, who is the king who rules and reigns because he was the lamb who was sacrificed and slain. [00:25:56] And then what happens in our text is all of heaven overflows with praise for the Lamb. [00:26:08] And that's what we have in our Epistle text. [00:26:12] And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the 24 elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song, saying, worthy are you to take the scroll and open its seals. Why, for you were slain and by your blood. You ransomed people from God for God, from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth. [00:26:42] And I looked. [00:26:45] I looked and I heard around the throne the living creatures and the elders, the voice of many angels, dumb ring, myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing. And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea and all that's in them, saying to him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb, be Blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever. And the four living creatures said amen. And the elders fell down and worshiped. [00:27:22] And this is the view of the ascension of Jesus from the heavenly perspective. [00:27:31] So this is Jesus 40 days after the resurrection, on that ascension day, when he disappears from the side of the disciples. Well, where does he go? He goes into the heavenly throne room, and he sits down at the right hand of the Father, and he takes this sealed scroll. And all the company of heaven lauds and magnifies his name. [00:27:55] Oh, that's so good. [00:28:00] And we're not even. What are we doing on time? We're not even at the Gospel, although we talked about it a little bit already. The gospel is the last chapter of. Oh, boy of John. The Gospel of John, chapter 21. It's the appearance of Jesus to the disciples. [00:28:14] Seven of the disciples, we don't know where, so four are missing. [00:28:18] We know where Judas is, but he's buried by now. [00:28:22] Who's there? Simon, Peter, Thomas, Nathaniel, sons of Zebedee, James and John, two others. So two unknowns, seven disciples. [00:28:32] Peter says, I'm going fishing. They said, all right, we'll go. And all night they fish. And then they. They don't catch anything. So Jesus does this repeat miracle. Look on the other side, and they find 153 fish, which is curious. We mentioned before, Jerome thinks that's a signal of. [00:28:46] Jerome thought that that's as many fish as there were as many kinds of fish. And so that Jesus had them catch one of every different kind of fish. And this is a sign of how the Lord will have people from every place come and have breakfast. And then we have this restoration, which is so beautiful. So Jesus comes to Simon. He's got this little charcoal fire. So remember the last time Peter was hanging around a charcoal fire was when he three times denied the Lord. [00:29:15] I don't know him. I don't know what you're talking about. I don't know him. But now the Lord Jesus is bringing him back not only to faith, but also to his office. Comfort. When you are repented, you'll comfort the brothers. [00:29:28] So he's restoring Peter to his office as preacher here. Do you love me? Yes, Lord. You know I love you. It's interesting that there's different words for love in these three questions in the Greek. [00:29:44] And it would have been very difficult for there to have been different words for love in the original Aramaic that Jesus uttered, just because the Hebrew or the Aramaic doesn't have these different Greek words. [00:29:58] And so again, I was looking at Wordsworth. He says that we have an indication from the Holy Spirit who inspired John to use these different words with different nuances to get at the emphasis that Jesus was putting on. On them. So that we have an ins. We have an inspired translation of the original Aramaic that Jesus would have spoken. Amazing. So the first time, Simon, son of John, do you agape me more than these? [00:30:26] I think the more than these refers to the other apostles because remember how. How Peter said, even though they deny you, I won't. So Jesus says, really, do you love me more than these guys? [00:30:37] And then Peter answers, yes, Lord, you know that I fleo you feed my lambs. Second time, Simon, son of John, do you agape me? Yes, Lord, you know that I phileo you tend my sheep. Then a third time, Simon, son of John, do you phileo me? [00:30:54] Peter was grieved because he said to him a third time, do you phileo me? And he said to him, lord, you know everything. You know that I flew you. Jesus says, feed my sheep. [00:31:03] I think, Peter, we see here a deep humility in Peter who is ashamed of, well, his over promising. All these will fall away. I won't. He knows his own weakness and his own failures. And so before he pledged agape and he couldn't reach phileo, here he's pledging phileo. But he will reach agape because Jesus is going to promise. Truly. I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself, walk wherever you wanted. When you're old, they'll stretch out your hand and another will dress you and carry you where you don't want to go. Especially to be crucified upside down on a cross. [00:31:37] He showed this to show what kind of death he was, to glorify God. And then after saying this, he said to him, follow me. [00:31:46] So back from the nets like he did last time. You're fishers of men now. Get after it. Don't turn back to that old. [00:31:54] Don't turn back to that old way of life. [00:31:59] You're still my man. Let's go. Get out there and preach. Now, it's interesting to note that apart from the Holy Spirit, the best the disciples can do is go fishing. The worst is huddle and fear. But then once the Holy Spirit comes, then they are out there preaching and baptizing and getting after it. And this is also a good thing to see this contrast of how it is with the disciples between the resurrection and ascension of Jesus. [00:32:32] Jesus is already in this victory over death mode. And the disciples are still very unsure. They don't enter into that victory over death Mode until Pentecost, 50 days after the resurrection, and Jesus has sent the Holy Spirit, and then they are ready to go. Okay, maybe we'll talk a little bit about that in the sermon. The sermon hymn, the hymn of the week is with high delight let us unite. It's an old German hymn translated by Martin Franzman, who's one of the greatest. [00:33:03] He died not terribly long ago. When did Franzman die? I bet it says it in here. [00:33:09] He died in 76, so he's one of our modern hymn writers. Beautiful. Exegete Franzman. He translated this from the old German and it's a packed Easter hymn. [00:33:22] It joins the Paschal themes, the resurrection themes, all together with high delight. Let us unite in songs of great jubilation. You, pure in heart, all bear your part. Sing Jesus Christ, our salvation. Now I want you to pay attention especially to the second stanza, because something interesting happens and you have to know it's going to happen before it happens to get it, because it happens so fast. So in the second stanza we're singing about how Jesus has overcome death. And then all of a sudden, Jesus is talking to us about our own death. [00:34:01] And it's beautiful. But this is. If you don't. If you don't listen to Sunday drive to church, you might miss it. Here's second stanza. True God, he first from death has burst forth into life, all subduing. His enemy doth vanquished lie. His death has been death's undoing. And then here's the quote. And yours shall be like victory over death. And grave, saith he who gave his life for us, life renewing. [00:34:33] So that Jesus who overcomes death, now says to you, your death will be like victory over death in the grave. [00:34:44] That's the one who gave his life for us to renew our lives. That's what he says to us. [00:34:49] True God, he first from death hath burst forth into life, all subduing. Here's how it sounds. His enemy doth vanquished lie. His death has been death's undoing. And yours shall be like victory or death and grave saith he who gave his life for us, life renewing. That's how fast it happens. But all of a sudden you're hearing and you're singing into your own ears the words of Jesus, that your death will be like victory over death in the grave. Wow. [00:35:26] That. [00:35:27] That is good. [00:35:29] Let praise is reign, give thanks and bring to Christ our Lord. Adoration. [00:35:35] All right, that's probably enough for today. Christ is risen. He has risen indeed. Hallelujah. See you soon.