Wade Johnston, Life Under the Cross: A Biography of the Reformer Matthias Flacius Illyricus, Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis: MO, 2025.
This ancient “tale of two mothers” concerns far more than theological semantics—it is the difference between a God who sends and a God who comes.
This story points us from our unlikely heroes to the even more unlikely, and joyous, good news that Jesus’ birth for us was just as unlikely and unexpected.

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In that moment of greatest despair, we find the antidote for all our fears. We know we are beloved of God and there is salvation in Christ’s atoning death.
Chains may have restricted Paul, but nothing can restrict the gospel.
It was meant to be Karlstadt’s moment to shine, but all anyone remembered was Luther.
As Luther said, “Our Lord has written the promise of the resurrection not in books alone, but in every leaf of spring.”
Church historians attempt to determine why Melanchthon made those controversial decisions.
His successes were not the result of his brilliance, might, and ability as an apostle. They were the result of the all-sufficient grace of God.
God wants his word of promise to be the only thing we bank on, the only thing we have confidence in.
Luther's emphasis on the need for sinners to have preachers who can provide them with the comfort and support they need for their faith in Jesus Christ and life is as relevant today as it was in his time.
What greater legacy could you claim than that of Mark? Listen to the Word. Learn from Jesus.
A father's struggle to pray for his child's healing is one of the most difficult experiences he can face.
This is an excerpt from the introduction of “Common Places in Christian Theology: A Curated Collection of Essays from Lutheran Quarterly,” edited by Mark Mattes (1517 Publishing, 2023).
What we discover in O’Connor’s stories and Martin Luther’s theology is that God’s grace is elusive because the human heart is resistant to it.