Drawing Closer to an Unchanging Christ

Drawing Closer to an Unchanging Christ


Drawing Closer to an Unchanging Christ

Do the words of Hebrews 13:8 “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and always” refer to the constancy of the second person of the Trinity or to His constancy in our lives? In this article from the December 2020 issue of Concordia Seminary Magazine, Dr. Jeffrey Oschwald compares two interpretations and comes to a surprising conclusion


Proper 15 • Luke 12:49–53 (54–56) • August 14, 2016


Proper 15 • Luke 12:49–53 (54–56) • August 14, 2016

Jeffrey A. Oschwald As if the themes of this Gospel weren’t challenge enough, two significant exegetical/translational questions must also be addressed. Luke 12:49b is “a passage of well-known difficulty, the translation of which remains doubtful.”1 Just presents the case for the translation “How I wish that it were already kindled,” but the parallels are not ..


Advent 3 • Luke 7:18–28 (29–35) • December 13, 2015


Advent 3 • Luke 7:18–28 (29–35) • December 13, 2015

By Jeffrey A. Oschwald Luke 7:18?35 presents the preacher with a challenge: although unified by references to John, the three subsections are diverse in topic and style. As Fitzmyer notes, the passage deals with (1) John’s question and Jesus’s answer, (2) Jesus’s testimony concerning John, and (3) Jesus’s judgment of his generation’s assessment of himself ..


Advent 2 · Mark 1:1-8 · December 7, 2008


Advent 2 · Mark 1:1-8 · December 7, 2008

By Jeffrey A. Oschwald Advent 2 presents us with the New Testament doorkeeper par excellence: John. This should make it very easy for the preacher to connect this week’s message with the previous week’s and so build on the theme. Instead of using the same format for these “Helps,” however, I would like to focus ..


Advent 1 · Mark 13:24-37 · November 30, 2008


Advent 1 · Mark 13:24-37 · November 30, 2008

By Jeffrey A. Oschwald One of my greatest Advent frustrations over the years has been an ongoing encounter with a fundamental misunderstanding of the season’s purpose. Whether introducing the season to people unfamiliar with it, searching for materials to use in the classroom, or planning our own family Advent celebrations, I have for years seen, and ..