The Daily Devotions from Lutheran Hour Ministries by Pastor Ken Klaus, Speaker Emeritus of The Lutheran Hour of Saint Louis, Missouri, United States "Our Whipping Boy" for Saturday, January 23, 2016

The Daily Devotions from Lutheran Hour Ministries by Pastor Ken Klaus, Speaker Emeritus of The Lutheran Hour of Saint Louis, Missouri, United States "Our Whipping Boy" for Saturday, January 23, 2016

Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making His appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake He made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.[2 Corinthians 5:20-21]
There are many Christians who don't know any English history, but still know the name of James I.
That's because James I is the fellow who was responsible for the translation of the Bible that bears his name. If he had done nothing else, for this reason alone, King James would be remembered. But James I is remembered for other reasons too. James, you see, was a double monarch. Not only was he James I of England, he was also James the VI of Scotland.
Wearing two crowns could easily go to a person's head. It certainly could if you believed, as James did, that the Lord had put you on the throne. Now, that's okay for the most part. But, where James' logic took him ... that's where the ice gets thin. James figured if God is behind me, then He is also behind my decisions. If God is behind my decisions, then if somebody doesn't like me or what I've done or what I've said or the laws I've enacted, then they're really not criticizing me, they're criticizing God. To criticize God is a very bad thing, indeed.
Now, that kind of thinking didn't make James the most popular kid on the block.
Because of this "divine right of kings" thing, James was disliked by a lot of common folk. I'm sure he was disliked by William Murray. Let me explain a bit about William Murray. James figured if God was behind him, God was also behind his son, Charles, which brought about a problem.
James didn't want his son to be a spoiled brat, but he also didn't want his son being spanked by some commoner. That's where William Murray came in. William was Charles' whipping boy. When Prince Charles got overly silly, sassy or lazy, William got punished. Then, when the punishment was over, the disciplinarian turned from William to Charles and asked, "Now, don't you feel bad?"
I don't know how Charles felt, but I imagine William Murray thought the whole thing pretty unjust.
What whipping boy wouldn't feel that way?
Actually, I know of one: Jesus Christ.
You see, Jesus Christ was our whipping boy. He is God's Son who was punished for our transgressions, who had to fulfill the Law for us, who gave His life upon the cross so we might be saved.
Yes, Jesus gave Himself so we might be forgiven of our sins and become not just better people, but God's redeemed people. And, amazingly, Jesus did it without complaining.
Go ahead, read the Gospels. Never will you hear Jesus gripe about how unfair His situation was. Yes, He did pray that if it were possible the cup of suffering might pass from Him, but that is hardly the same as accusing the Heavenly Father of being unfair.
Now, Jesus did what He did, He suffered and died as He did, so we might be forgiven, so we might be better. The question is -- are we? Are we better? I pray that each of us can answer that question and say, "Because of Jesus I have been changed. My thoughts, my speech, my actions are different because I have seen mywhipping boy suffer for me.
THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, I give thanks that Jesus gave Himself for me. May my life be lived in appreciation of His suffering and sacrifice. This I ask in His Name. Amen.

In Christ I remain His servant and yours,

Pastor Ken Klaus
Speaker Emeritus of The Lutheran Hour®
Lutheran Hour Ministries
Through the Bible in a Year
Today Read:
Job 36:1 Elihu added:

2 “Bear with me a little, and I will show you

that there is more to say on God’s behalf.

3 I may search far and wide for my arguments,

but I will ascribe righteousness to God my maker.

4 For the fact is that my words are true;

you have with you a man whose views are pure.

5 “Look, God is powerful and despises no one,

powerful in his strength of understanding.

6 He does not preserve the lives of the wicked,

but he gives justice to the poor.

7 He does not withdraw his eyes from the righteous;

but when he sets kings on their throne forever,

they may become proud;

8 if, then, they are bound in chains,

held in oppressive cords,

9 he shows them the results of their doings,

the crimes caused by their pride.

10 He sounds a warning in their ears

and orders them to repent of their evil.

11 “If they pay attention and obey him,

they spend their days in prosperity;

their years pass pleasantly.

12 But if they don’t pay attention,

they perish by the sword

and die without learning their lesson.

13 The godless in heart cherish their anger,

not crying for help when he binds them.

14 Their soul perishes in their youth,

and their life becomes depraved.

15 “God, with his affliction,

delivers the afflicted;

and he gets their attention

by pressing on them.

16 Indeed [Iyov], he is drawing you

away from distress

to an untroubled open place,

with rich food on your table.

17 But the judgment on the wicked

applies fully to you,

judgment and condemnation

take hold [of them].

18 For beware of wrath

when abundance entices you;

don’t let a big bribe

turn you aside.

19 Will your great wealth help you?

or all your efforts, no matter how strong?

20 Don’t desire the night,

when people suddenly die.

21 Be careful; turn away from wrongdoing;

for because of this, you have been tested by affliction.

22 “Look, God is exalted in his strength;

who is a teacher like him?

23 Who ever prescribed his course for him?

Who ever said, ‘What you are doing is wrong’?

24 Remember, rather, to magnify his work,

of which many have sung.

25 Everyone has seen it,

[but] humans see it [only] from a distance.

26 Look, God is great, beyond what we can know;

the number of his years is uncountable.

27 “He makes the droplets of water,

which condense into rain from his mist.

28 The clouds pour it down

upon humankind in abundance.

29 Can anyone fathom the spreading of the clouds,

or the crashes that come from his canopy?

30 See how he scatters his lightning over it

and covers the roots of the sea.

31 By these things he judges the people

and also gives food in plenty.

32 He gathers the lightning into his hands

and commands it to strike the target.

33 Its crashing announces its presence

and apprises the cattle of what is coming.

37:1 “At this, my own heart trembles

and leaps out of its place.

2 Just listen to the rumbling of his voice,

to the thunder that comes from his mouth!

3 He sends it out under all of heaven,

his lightning to the ends of the earth.

4 There follows a sound, a roar —

he is thundering with his majestic voice,

and he keeps releasing [the lightning]

even while his voice is being heard.

5 “God thunders wonderfully with his voice,

he does great things beyond our understanding.

6 He says to the snow, ‘Fall on the earth!’ —

likewise to the light rain, also to the downpour.

7 He brings all human activity to a stop,

so that everyone he has made can know it.

8 Then the animals go into their lairs

and hibernate in their dens.

9 “Out of its chamber comes the storm,

with cold out of the north.

10 By the breath of God, ice is given,

and the wide waters freeze over.

11 He weighs the clouds down with moisture,

and they flash forth his lightning.

12 He, by his plans, turns them around,

so they do what he commands them anywhere on earth;

13 he brings them forth on the earth

sometimes to punish, sometimes to express his grace.

14 “Listen to this, Iyov!

Stop, and consider God’s wonders.

15 Do you know how God puts them in place,

how he causes lightning to flash from his cloud?

16 Do you know how he balances the clouds?

These are marvels of him who knows everything!

17 “You, sweltering in your clothing

as the earth lies still under a sultry south wind,

18 can you, with him, spread out the sky,

hard as a cast metal mirror?

19 Teach us what we should tell him,

for the darkness keeps us from organizing our case.

20 Is he to be told that I will speak?

Can a man speak at all when he is already swallowed up?

21 Now people don’t see the light,

which is bright in the sky;

but then the wind blows

and clears [the clouds] away.

22 Out of the north comes a golden glow,

fearsome majesty surrounding God.

23 Shaddai, whom we cannot find,

whose power is immense,

in his great righteousness

does not pervert justice.

24 This is why people fear him;

he does not consider those

who think of themselves as wise.”

Matthew 15:1 Then some P’rushim and Torah-teachers from Yerushalayim came to Yeshua and asked him, 2 “Why is it that your talmidim break the Tradition of the Elders? They don’t do n’tilat-yadayim before they eat!” 3 He answered, “Indeed, why do you break the command of God by your tradition? 4 For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother,’[Matthew 15:4 Exodus 20:12; Deuteronomy 5:16] and ‘Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.’[Matthew 15:4 Exodus 21:17; Leviticus 20:9] 5 But you say, ‘If anyone says to his father or mother, “I have promised to give to God what I might have used to help you,” 6 then he is rid of his duty to honor his father or mother.’ Thus by your tradition you make null and void the word of God! 7 You hypocrites! Yesha‘yahu was right when he prophesied about you,

8 ‘These people honor me with their lips,

but their hearts are far away from me.

9 Their worship of me is useless,

because they teach man-made rules as if they were doctrines.’”[Matthew 15:9 Isaiah 29:13]

10 Then he called the crowd to him and said, “Listen and understand this! 11 What makes a person unclean is not what goes into his mouth; rather, what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him unclean!”

12 The talmidim came to him and said, “Do you know that the P’rushim were offended by what you said?” 13 He replied, “Every plant that my Father in heaven has not planted will be pulled up by the roots. 14 Let them be. They are blind guides. When a blind man guides another blind man, both will fall in a pit.”

15 Kefa said to him, “Explain the parable to us.” 16 So he said, “Don’t you understand even now? 17 Don’t you see that anything that enters the mouth goes into the stomach and passes out into the latrine? 18 But what comes out of your mouth is actually coming from your heart, and that is what makes a person unclean. 19 For out of the heart come forth wicked thoughts, murder, adultery and other kinds of sexual immorality, theft, lies, slanders. . . . 20 These are what really make a person unclean, but eating without doing n’tilat-yadayim does not make a person unclean.”

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