Today's Devotion
Thursday, June 25, 2026 (The Presentation of the Augsburg Confession) - John 21:1-25
In the name of + Jesus. Amen.
St. John concludes his Gospel with a bit of a disclaimer: “Now there are also many other things that Jesus did.” And, in fact, there are incidents in the life of our Lord that are recorded in the other Gospels, and not by John. There are also things that John reports that are omitted in the other Gospels. What we have is what we have: four accounts written by men, each from their perspective; four accounts inspired by the Holy Spirit that give us a fuller picture. Our Lord performed so many miracles and preached so many words concerning the kingdom, that John quips: “Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.”
John himself had to decide what to write and what to leave to fall away with the sands of passing time: a decision ratified by God Himself, the Holy Spirit, who moved John and the other writers – as Peter testifies concerning the prophetic voice: “Men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit (2 Pet 1:21), and as Paul reveals as well: “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness” (2 Tim 3:16).
The Gospels in particular, by revealing the words and works of Jesus in His ministry – have another purpose, as John explains: “Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (John 20:30-31).
Holy Scripture is God’s Word. By the Spirit’s power, the Word creates faith. And the Word of God cannot be denied, distorted, or superseded – not even by an apostle or even by an angel (Gal 1:8). The Scripture is inerrant and inspired. It is prophetic and divine. The confessors at Augsburg presented their clear confession as requested by Emperor Charles V on this very date in 1530. The premise of that confession is that Scripture, being God’s Word, stands above all human reason and authority. Even emperors and bishops must bend the knee to Jesus (Phil 2:10) and must submit to His Word (1 Thess 2:13).
St. Peter, as the leader of the apostles, was not only rebuked by St. Paul (Gal 2:11-13), He was also called to repentance – and forgiven – by Jesus. Our Lord restored Peter to His apostolic and pastoral ministry of feeding the sheep with the Word of God and with the Holy Supper. Even apostles are subject to the Word.
Let us thank God: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; for Holy Scripture, for the prophetic Word written and preserved by, and for, the church. Let us, in the words of the prayer, “read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest” the Gospel of John and all of the inspired works. Let us feed on the Lamb and on His Word. For these things were indeed written that we might both believe, and confess, that Jesus Christ is Lord and God, who was raised from death for us, justifying and saving us, as the Scriptures testify (Rom 10:9-10).
Amen.
In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.