14.02.07 exegesis epiphany 5

Fifth S. a. the EpiphanyThe Righteousness of Christ

Is. 58:3–9a; 1 Cor. 2:1–16; Matt. 5:13–20; Psalm 112:1–9

Exegesis of the LectionaryStudying, expounding, and interpreting the Bible readings through the Church Year

THE FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER THE EPIPHANY

Isaiah 58:3–9a

1 Corinthians 2:1–12 (13–16)

Matthew 5:13–20

The Righteousness of Christ

Jesus warns that “unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 5:20), but He also calls His imperfect people “the salt of the earth” and “the light of the world” (Matt. 5:13, 14). That’s because the Lord Jesus came not to abolish the Law or the Prophets, “but to fulfill them” (Matt. 5:17) in perfect faith and love. Since He does and teaches all of God’s commandments, He is “called great in the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 5:19). God manifests His “demonstration of the Spirit and of power” in “Jesus Christ and Him crucified” (1 Cor. 2:2-4) and through the preaching of the Gospel gives His “secret and hidden wisdom” (1 Cor. 2:7). Christ gives this perfect righteousness to His people and it leads them to true fasting, which is “to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free” (Is. 58:6) and “to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house” (Is. 58:7).

This week:

Righteousness

Discuss an unrighteous situation that needed your salt and light this week.

LSB 578Thy strong Word did cleave the darkness; At Thy speaking it was done. For created light we thank Thee While Thine ordered seasons run. Alleluia! Alleluia! Praise to Thee who light dost send! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia without end! Lo, on those who dwelt in darkness, Dark as night and deep as death, Broke the light of Thy salvation, Breathed Thine own life-giving breath. Alleluia! Alleluia! Praise to Thee who light dost send! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia without end! Thy strong Word bespeaks us righteous; Bright with Thine own holiness, Glorious now, we press toward glory, And our lives our hopes confess. Alleluia! Alleluia! Praise to Thee who light dost send!

Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia without end! Give us lips to sing Thy glory, Tongues Thy mercy to proclaim, Throats to shout the hope that fills us, Mouths to speak Thy holy name. Alleluia! Alleluia! May the light which Thou dost send, Fill our songs with alleluias, Alleluias without end! God the Father, light-creator, To Thee laud and honor be. To Thee, Light from Light begotten, Praise be sung eternally. Holy Spirit, light-revealer, Glory, glory be to Thee. Mortals, angels, now and ever Praise the Holy Trinity!

Use your prayer notes. Use a verse from the

bible to reflect on. Pray about how

righteoussness. P raise

R epentanceA ppreciationY ouE veryoneR esolve

Prayer Activity

Let us pray for the whole Church of God in Christ Jesus and for all people according to their needs. Heavenly Father, You have appointed Your Church to be a city on a hill, shining the light of Your mercy into the world and gathering Your own to receive Your precious gifts of forgiveness, life and mercy. Use us joyfully to invite and welcome our neighbors, co-workers and acquaintances to join us in receiving Your gifts. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer. Heavenly Father, Your Son commanded us to pray to the Lord of the harvest to send laborers into the field. In answer to that prayer, You raise up men to serve Your people with Your Word and Sacraments. You raise up teachers, deacons, deaconesses, directors of

Christian education and others to catechize and carry out works of mercy in the world. Bless all those who study for church vocations in our seminaries and universities, that their studies might build them up in the joy of Your Gospel and prepare them to share Your Word with confidence and love… Heavenly Father, through the prophets You declare that the fasting You accept is to share our food with the hungry and our homes with the homeless. Guard us from self-absorption, gluttony and other vices that prevent us from extending Your bounty to those less fortunate. Grant shelter to those who have none, food to those who hunger and honest work to the unemployed. Use Your people to extend Your mercy, and lift us to the joy of sharing our daily bread…

Use your prayer notes. Use a verse from the

bible to reflect on. Pray about how

righteousness. P raise

R epentanceA ppreciationY ouE veryoneR esolve

Prayer Activity

Heavenly Father, Your mercies are new to us every morning, and yet we often know the pain of sickness, injury, sorrow and other frailties. In Your never-failing mercy, remember those who have requested our intercessions, [especially ________________,] that they might have healing and wholeness according to Your will and grace to entrust themselves to Your merciful hands as they endure with courage and hope whatever crosses and afflictions You are pleased to allow… Heavenly Father, Your Son came to perfectly fulfill Your holy Law. Give us confidence and faith in His unfailing obedience as we approach Your altar today, that we might receive His true body and blood for forgiveness and depart

with renewed love for our neighbors… Lord of life, receive our thanks for Your faithful servants who now rest in Christ. Bring us with them to the light and joy of Your eternal kingdom and to the feast that never ends… Into Your hands, O Lord, we commend all for whom we pray, trusting in Your mercy; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord. Amen.

Meet w/teams3-5 min per box

What are the major points of your text? How does your topic fit the pericope

theme? How does it connect to the other texts?

How is it unique?

Group Time The Righteousness of Christ

Isaiah 58:3-93 ‘Why have we fasted, and you see it not?    Why have we humbled ourselves, and you take no knowledge of it?’Behold, in the day of your fast you seek your own pleasure,[a]

    and oppress all your workers.4 Behold, you fast only to quarrel and to fight    and to hit with a wicked fist.Fasting like yours this day    will not make your voice to be heard on high.5 Is such the fast that I choose,    a day for a person to humble himself?Is it to bow down his head like a reed,    and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him?Will you call this a fast,    and a day acceptable to theLORD?6 “Is not this the fast that I choose:    to loose the bonds of wickedness,    to undo the straps of the yoke,

to let the oppressed[b] go free,    and to break every yoke?7 Is it not to share your bread with the hungry    and bring the homeless poor into your house;when you see the naked, to cover him,    and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?8 Then shall your light break forth like the dawn,    and your healing shall spring up speedily;your righteousness shall go before you;    the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.9 Then you shall call, and the LORDwill answer;    you shall cry, and he will say, ‘Here I am.’If you take away the yoke from your midst,    the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness,

1 Corinthians 2:1-16

Proclaiming Christ Crucified

2 And I, when I came to you, brothers,[a] did not come proclaiming to you the testimony[b

] of God with lofty speech or wisdom. 2 For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 3 And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, 4 and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men[c]but in the power of God.

Wisdom from the Spirit6 Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away. 7 But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. 8 None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 9 But, as it is written,

“What no eye has seen, nor ear heard,

    nor the heart of man imagined,what God has prepared for those who love him”—10 these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. 11 For who knows a person's thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. 13 And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.[d]

14 The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. 15 The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. 16 “For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.

Matthew 5:13-20

Salt and Light13 “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet.14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that[a] they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

Christ Came to Fulfill the Law17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have

not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. 19 Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

Psalm 112:1-9

The Righteous Will Never Be Moved

112 [a] Praise the LORD!Blessed is the man who fears theLORD,    who greatly delights in his commandments!2 His offspring will be mighty in the land;    the generation of the upright will be blessed.3 Wealth and riches are in his house,    and his righteousness endures forever.4 Light dawns in the darkness for the upright;    he is gracious, merciful, andrighteous.5 It is well with the man who deals generously and lends;    who conducts his affairs with justice.

6 For the righteous will never be moved;    he will be remembered forever.7 He is not afraid of bad news;    his heart is firm, trusting in theLORD.8 His heart is steady; he will not be afraid,    until he looks in triumph on his adversaries.9 He has distributed freely; he has given to the poor;    his righteousness endures forever;    his horn is exalted in honor.

Sixth Sunday in Epiphany: Christ Sets Life before Us so that We Can Walk in His Ways

Deuteronomy 30:15–20 The Choice of Life and Death

1 Corinthians 3:1–9 Divisions in the Church

Matthew 5:21–37 Anger; Lust; Divorce; Oaths

Psalm 119:1–8 Your Word Is a Lamp to My Feet

Next Week…

Deuteronomy 30:15–20; 1 Corinthians 3:1–9; Matthew 5:21–37; Psalm 119:1–8

Deuteronomy 30:15-20

15 “See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil. 16 If you obey the commandments of the LORD your God[a] that I command you today, by loving the LORD your God, by walking in his ways, and by keeping his commandments and his statutes and his rules,[b] then you shall live and multiply, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to take possession of it. 17 But if your heart turns away, and you will not hear, but are drawn away to worship other gods and serve them, 18 I declare to you today, that you shall surely perish. You shall not live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to enter and possess. 19 I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live, 20 loving theLORD your God, obeying his voice and holding fast to him, for he is your life and length of days, that you may dwell inthe land that the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.”

1 Corinthians 3:1-9

Divisions in the Church

3 But I, brothers,[a] could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. 2 I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready, 3 for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way?4 For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not being merely human?

5 What then is Apollos? What is Paul?Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. 6 I planted,Apollos watered, but God gave the

growth. 7 So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. 8 He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor.9 For we are God's fellow workers. You are God's field, God's building.

Matthew 5:21-37

Anger

21 “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ 22 But I say to you thateveryone who is angry with his brother[a]will be liable to judgment; whoever insults[b] his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell[c] of fire. 23 So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. 25 Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison. 26 Truly, I say to you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.[d]

Lust

27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28 But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.29 If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown intohell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell.

Divorce

31 “It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ 32 But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

Oaths

33 “Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.’ 34 But I say to you, Do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, 35 or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. 36 And do not take an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. 37 Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil.[e]

Psalm 119:1-8

Your Word Is a Lamp to My Feet

Aleph

119 [a] Blessed are those whose way is blameless,    who walk in the law of the LORD!2 Blessed are those who keep histestimonies,    who seek him with their whole heart,3 who also do no wrong,    but walk in his ways!4 You have commanded yourprecepts    to be kept diligently.5 Oh that my ways may be steadfast    in keeping your statutes!6 Then I shall not be put to shame,    having my eyes fixed on all your commandments.7 I will praise you with an upright heart,    when I learn your righteous rules.[b]

8 I will keep your statutes;    do not utterly forsake me!