“I promise” is an everyday expression. People use it to make a special commitment to another person: “I promise to mow the grass tomorrow,” “I promise I will remember our anniversary next year, ” and the like. This two-word linguistic prefix is intended to add strength to the commitment. This is a stronger pledge than simply saying, “I will.”

In this letter, Peter sends greetings to his readers from her “who is at Babylon, who is likewise chosen” (1Pt 5:13). This no doubt refers to a church (the Greek word for church is feminine), and the church referred to is in all probability the church at Rome. Christianity seems to have taken over this name for Rome from late Judaism. Babylon had been branded by Old Testament prophecy as the embodiment of world power at enmity with God and His people. Peter is, in using this name for Rome, reminding his readers that the hostile world, which now has power to impose the fiery ordeal upon the scattered and homeless people of God, is doomed to destruction under the judgment of God. The letter was thus written at Rome.

In the Letter of James, we see most clearly how constant and severe the struggle for renewal of strength and purpose must have been among the first Christians. The high qualities of this new life were not the once-for-all and static possession of the Church. They had to be constantly reclaimed and reasserted in repentance under the implanted Word of the Lord. The letter also shows how vigorously the leaders of the Judaic churches aided those churches in that struggle, with what agonized and conscientious consecration they strove to keep the Word once implanted in the Church implanted and active in the hearts of the members of the Church. We see what a concentrated energy of inspired pastoral wisdom, “wisdom from above,” went into the human word that ensured the growth of the Word of the Lord and gave it firm and deep roots in the lives and words and deeds of people.

Peter, James, John, and Paul wrote letters to individual Christians, churches, regions, and groups of Christians to give encouragement, correct errors, and help Christ’s people better understand the faith. The book of Hebrews is one of those letters, meant to strengthen the faith of those who receive it and quell any fear or unease amongst believers. Discover the academic discussion surrounding the claims of authorship, historical setting, and key points from each chapter in this blog post adapted from Lutheran Bible Companion, Volume 2: Intertestamental Era, New Testament, and Bible Dictionary. 

Some of the most well-educated people in the world are not Christians. In fact, some of the best minds on the subject of Christianity are not Christians. How can this be? A talented mind can grasp the breadth and depth of Christianity’s history, literature, customs, languages, and even theology without ever truly knowing Christ as the believer does. Many Lutheran pastors, myself included, draw upon expertly researched books and articles written by intelligent, well-trained unbelievers. This is possible because there is a sharp distinction between understanding Christianity and trusting in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

“When you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers. … You received from us how you ought to walk and to please God. … For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 2:13; 4:1, 2).

Paul’s experience under house arrest at Rome is well described by his frequent companion, Luke, in the last chapter of Acts (cf Phm 24). Paul had to pay his own expenses for the house while being allowed to receive guests and to teach them about Jesus, the Messiah. He wrote this letter to Philemon, who lived in Colossae, Asia Minor. One of Paul’s prison companions, Epaphras, was also from Colossae.

Nicopolis was a Roman colony on the west coast of Greece, on the isthmus separating the Ambracian Gulf from the Ionian Sea. The city would serve as winter quarters for Paul and his colleagues in AD 68 before his arrest and second imprisonment at Rome. Paul was on his way to Nicopolis, perhaps along the road from Macedonia, when he paused to write this letter to Titus, his representative serving congregations on the island of Crete. Paul urged Titus to sail to Nicopolis and join him for the winter (3:12).

While searching for Paul, Onesiphorus would tread the broad streets of Rome, passing beneath the archways of its aqueducts and walking beside its grand colonnaded porticos. But the prison where Paul was held would be out of the way, along an alley or even in a cave, requiring all of Onesiphorus’s diligence to find his colleague.

Let the kingdom of heaven be proclaimed! Jesus has chosen the Twelve, and their instructions are clear: Preach and heal so that the world knows the Kingdom has come. The proclamation of the Kingdom continues today, and so God continues to send and protect His disciples.

This blog post is adapted from Matthew 1:1—11:11 in the Concordia Commentary Bible Study Series.