In the latter half of the 1800s, Friedrich Lochner was pastor at Trinity Lutheran in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he also helped to start the Synod’s teacher training program. Harvey Peters, a vicar from Concordia Theological Seminary – Fort Wayne serving in Iowa, has been a member at Trinity, Milwaukee, since 2019 when his own father was installed as pastor there. It was around that time that Matthew Carver’s translations of Lochner’s works began to be published (including Apostolic Agenda, EP, 2020), which sparked in Harvey a particular interest in Lochner’s life and work. His endorsement follows:
“Pastor Friedrich Lochner’s Passion-Book is a magnificent resource and guide for faithful Christian meditation on the suffering and death of our Lord Jesus Christ. Drawing upon the treasures that he had found in the devotionals of Lutheran orthodoxy, Pastor Lochner brought the clarity, depth, and piety of our fathers in the faith into his age; thanks to this translation by Matthew Carver, his work has now found new life in our day as well.
“The reader will find a thorough exposition of Christ’s Passion, accompanied by the richest of hymnody and prayer from the Lutheran tradition. You will see the Scriptures find their complete fulfillment in the crucified Lamb of God, and learn of the countless benefits which are now bestowed upon those who seek solace in the sacred wounds of Christ. While we cannot fully exhaust the rich bounty of God’s wisdom and grace found in the cross of Christ, this Passion-Book from Pastor Lochner will serve any Christian reader well as you begin to ponder the depths contained in our Lord’s holy Passion.”
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PDFs are now available of the Table of Contents and the entirety of Devotion 12: Jesus Reveals His Betrayer.
We also recommend this article released by the LCMS in honor of its 175th anniversary. It highlights the course of Lochner’s life from Germany to America: “Motivated by reports of spiritual conditions in America and especially by hearing a lecture of F.C.D. Wyneken, a missionary on furlough from the States and a future founder of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, Lochner resolved to go to America and preach the Gospel.”
