Easter Day

St. Mark 16:1–8

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

For the past week we have followed our Lord to Jerusalem and to His cross: from the palms and hosannas, to the instituting of His Supper, to the agony, suffering, beating, crucifying, and dying. All this He suffered for us and we have followed the story once again to hear what our God has done for our salvation. Now, because we have buried the Lord Christ and have heard how He departed this life, we must also see Him rise out of the grave again and celebrate the day of Easter. This day we hear again what our God has done for us, that we might have everlasting life. This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it (Ps. 118:24). For this is the day on which He became Lord over death and over all things in heaven and earth.

And yet I wonder if we don’t skip over too quickly this little phrase in the Apostles’ Creed: He descended into hell. This is actually the first part of our Lord’s victory, but we really know so little about it. Before He rose from the dead and ascended into heaven – while He was still in the grave – He descended into hell so that He might redeem us who lay imprisoned there. All of us are prisoners of hell due to our sins, unless the Lord rescues us. And so we know that our Lord Jesus died for our sins and so rescued us from death and the devil. We can’t say exactly what happened or how His descent into hell occurred. Scripture doesn’t answer all the questions that we ask, and we shouldn’t try to probe into the mysteries of God. But we know what our salvation means to us because God has told us. He has revealed His Fatherly heart through the death and resurrection of His Son. So faith does not scrutinize God, challenging Him to explain Himself. Faith trusts. Faith grasps the simple meaning of the words of Scripture and the simple meaning of the words in the Creed.

Christ descended into hell, broke its gates and destroyed them. Think of nothing else than that Christ has conquered the devil and taken all his power from him. That is the proper, Christian way to think. So let us fix our hearts and thoughts simply on the word of faith: “I believe in the entire person of the Lord Jesus Christ, God and man, body and soul, born of the Virgin, suffered, died and buried, He descended into hell.” He went there with His banner in hand as a victorious hero. He tore down its gates and charged into the midst of the devils, throwing one through the window and another out the door. This is how faith trusts God’s Word. He is our Father and we are His dear children. So let us keep a childlike understanding. Believing His Word is the chief thing. As far as we are concerned, Christ has torn hell apart and the devil’s power has been destroyed. That is why He died, was buried, and descended into hell. And believing in the victorious Christ gives us the power so that neither hell nor the devil can take us captive.

Now I don’t wish to make light of death. We have all lost loved ones, and so we might wonder, if death and hell have been destroyed, why are they not alive? Hell does remain hell and holds unbelievers imprisoned there. And in this fallen world and with this sinful flesh, death, sin, and all evil still have their day. Nonetheless they cannot truly destroy us. Those enemies of Christ and His Christians still rage and carry on because they know they’re finished. Their time is up. Sin, death, and devil have already lost, but they kick and scream and try to do as much damage as they can before the Victor returns. We who believe in the Lord Jesus do not need to fear them. By His descent Christ has quenched all the fires of hell and He has done away with death also. Because not only our did Lord Jesus descend. He also came back from death and hell. He was brought again to life, and He has opened the way to heaven.

On the third day He rose again from the dead. So death can no longer gobble Him up nor hold Him in its grip. The devil cannot bring an accusation against Him anymore. And that means neither death nor devil can do anything against us anymore. Jesus did all this for us sinners. He is the first to rise and live forever and so He has become the firstborn of the dead (1 Corinthians 15). And because He lives, we will live with Him. We were once held captive by sin and death and now we have been redeemed by His blood. And even more, we are already victorious through faith in Him. This is why we shout these words: Alleluia! Christ is risen! (He is risen indeed! Alleluia!). We belong in and with these words. They are about Christ, but because we believe in Him, then they are about us also! And they are about all our loved ones who have died in the faith and are with Him now and will rise with us on the last day.

How do we know this? How can we be so confident? Because we have already shared in Christ’s death and so we already share in His resurrection. We are baptized! We have already risen in faith through Baptism, and even though we wait for our little death at the end of our lives, we know by faith that we already have death over and done with. Christ is living and so will we. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me (Galatians 2). We are baptized and so we daily rise with Him through the Word and Baptism. We celebrate Easter today, but really we have Easter every day.

This is what we sing in our Introit too. I awake, and I am still with You. Alleluia! You lay Your hand upon me. Alleluia! This is the chosen Psalm for today because the first word in Latin is resurrexi – I am risen, or I awake. But the risen Jesus is not the only One to sing these words – we do too. Our crucified and risen Lord is with us and so we are with Him, no matter where we are. If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, that’s hell or the grave, you are there! Even in the depths of the grave your hand shall lead me. Even in the darkness of death your right hand shall hold me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it. The knowledge of the resurrection is astounding. It fills us with overwhelming thoughts that are hard to even put into words.

And still, we should get used to thinking such thoughts of faith against what our flesh can see. When we look around and see death everywhere, our body and mind tell us that that’s all there is. We think death is natural. That there’s no escaping it. But that is dead wrong. Instead let us fix our eyes of faith on the living Lord Jesus. Let us fill our minds with the wonderfully high knowledge of His resurrection. And don’t care if it sounds ridiculous to the rest of the world. The wisdom of the world can never understand this. God’s Word contradicts our sinful thoughts. “God dies and mortals live?” It sounds insane. But by faith, we get another point of view. Alleluia! Christ is risen! (He is risen indeed! Alleluia!). Indeed, and not for Himself only but for our sakes. His resurrection is our resurrection. We shall not remain in the grave and in death, but we shall observe the eternal Easter day in our bodies with Him.

It is the knowledge of the Christian, the knowledge of faith in Christ and His resurrection, that in the midst of mourning and lamentation, in the midst of this life where we see so much death, we can draw comforting and joyful thoughts of the life to come. And even more, the risen Christ Himself is with us, proclaiming His victory, giving us a taste of the victory feast with His body and blood. He is risen and He is still with us. Then when our days in this dying world are done, God our Father lets us be buried in the earth and rot for the winter, so that in the summer, that is on the Last Day, we shall once again emerge much more beautiful than this sun. It is as if the grave was not a grave at all, but rather a garden planted with wonderful carnations and roses that will remain green and blossom the whole lovely summer through.

Alleluia! Christ is risen!

He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

In the Holy + Name of Jesus. Amen.

Adapted from Martin Luther’s Torgau Sermon

Easter Vigil

Creation (Genesis 1:1-2:3)

Noah’s Flood (Genesis 7:1-5, 11-18; 8:6-18; 9:8-13)

Israel’s Deliverance at the Red Sea (Exodus 14:10-15:1)

Jesus’ Resurrection & Appearance to Mary Magdalene (John 20:1-18)

In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Alleluia: Praise the Lord! This is the night that we sing again the ancient hymn of praise, a single word of praise, which we don’t even bother to translate. We claim the Hebrew heritage of the Old Testament as our own. Because the Lord, whom they praised, is the same Lord we praise also. Our simplest and greatest confession is, "Jesus is Lord."  Our simplest and greatest praise is, "Alleluia."

            But Alleluias don’t stand alone, nor did we cease to praise God for the 40-plus days of Lent when we set that cherished word aside. To praise God is more than to butter Him up or to say nice things without substance. Empty praise has no place in Christianity. The defining characteristic of a hymn, a praise song, is that it proclaims what God has done. It confesses His work for us, the reason that we praise Him.

            What has the Lord done? I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. He created the world, us and all creatures, and He still takes care of us. By His Word He made light shine where there was only darkness. By the breath of His voice He called man to life. And there was evening, and there was morning, and behold, it was very good.

            He also showed His wrath against the sinful and unbelieving world that ruined His "very good" Creation. But in mercy He has spared His creation from its own destruction. He saved believing Noah and His family, eight souls in all, together with all creatures. Through death they were brought into new life, saved in the ark, like a casket floating on those deadly waters—but brought forth alive, and sealed with a promise and the sign of the rainbow, that water would never again destroy this world.

            Most especially the children of Israel remembered and praised God for His deliverance, culminating in their escape at the Red Sea. The Lord brought them out of Egypt, out from slavery under Pharaoh. This passage through the water spared Jacob's sons and daughters from their enemies and brought them out as a people set apart for God. This was the defining moment and event of God's people. The Lord made a way out, an exodus for them. And He will be their God, and they will be His people.

            But most especially are we bound to praise You, O Father, for the glorious resurrection of Your Son, Jesus Christ, the very paschal Lamb, who was sacrificed for us and bore the sins of the world. By His dying He has destroyed death, and by His rising, He has restored to us everlasting life. What we commemorate tonight is our defining moment. We praise God by proclaiming what He has done for us. And most especially, He has died and He has risen.

            O sing a new song unto the Lord, for He has done marvelous things. The new song, which never gets old, is the song of the death and resurrection of Jesus. The retelling of the Lord's rescue, the epic story of His love for His people, comes to its culmination in Holy Week. It comes to its fulfillment when He cries, “It is finished.” But on Easter, the Lord’s rescue comes most especially into our praise. Now light shines on the cross and we see it as the beautiful image it is. Now the Crucified lives, never to die again. And now light shines also on each and every story of the Old Testament, all the accounts we heard this night, and we see that they foreshadow, they prophesy Christ and His work. Now light shines on the baptismal font, and we see that everything the Lord has done has been done for us and given to us in Baptism.

            Amber and Rose, this is the night that that the Spirit of God hovered over the face of the Baptism waters, calling you out of the darkness and making you a new creation. This is the night that the consuming Flood of Baptism drowned your sinful nature, but you have been raised up and carried aloft in the holy ark of the Christian Church. The Lord’s promise and the sign of the water has sealed you, marking you as protected by God, never to be destroyed. This is the night that the Lord has made an Exodus for you, bringing you out of slavery to sin. You have safely passed through the waters of your very own Red Sea, while your enemies, sin, death, and the devil have been drowned. Now that you are baptized into Christ, He is your God and you are His holy people.

            And Allison, you are also rejoicing in all this by your confession of faith. This is the night that you remember what the Lord has done for you in your Baptism and what He does for you again, bringing and keeping you in the Holy Church. Your words of “Yes, I believe” are just as joyous and praise-filled as all the Alleluias.

            The same is true for all of us, baptized children of God. This is the night we remember our Baptism and rejoice in being united to Christ in His death and resurrection. We rejoice in our adoption as sons and daughters of God, hearing our risen Lord address us as His brothers and sisters, for He tells Mary Magdalene, “Go to My brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, to My God and your God.’”

            O Father, most especially are we bound to praise You for the glorious resurrection of Your Son, Jesus Christ, the Crucified. The marvelous works you did of old have been topped forever. Our Lord became a man, died for our sins, and was raised for our justification. So Rejoice now, O Church of Christ, clothed in the brightness of this light; let all this house of God ring out with rejoicing, with the praises of all God's faithful people. Proclaim the triumph of our King. Tell what God has done in Christ, and how it was all for us.

Alleluia, Christ is risen!

            He is risen indeed, Alleluia!

In the Holy + Name of Jesus. Amen.

Adapted from Rev. Sean Daenzer (2016)

Good Friday

St. John 18:1–19:42

In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

There was an old Jewish tradition that the great patriarchs and prophets died on the same date as their conception. Some early Christians believed that Jesus died on March 25 and so concluded that He had been conceived on March 25 some 33 years earlier when the angel Gabriel made his announcement to the Virgin Mary. Therefore, March 25 became the date for the Annunciation of our Lord and, nine months later, December 25 became the date for the Nativity of our Lord. But this year, Good Friday, the commemoration of Jesus’ death, and the Annunciation, the commemoration of Jesus’ conception, coincide. This coincidence will not occur again until the year 2157. This confluence of holy days, a feast and a fast, a day of heavenly light and a day of deathly darkness, should call us to pause in holy awe and remember: Jesus, our God, came to die.

This tremendous truth was revealed to sinful men long ago, even long before our Lord’s incarnation. On the first day of sin, the date that marked death’s entrance into God’s good creation, the Creator made a promise against the serpent, a promise for our parents and for us: I will put enmity between you and the woman, between your seed and her seed; He shall crush your head, and you shall bruise his heel. The seed of the woman is the son of a virgin – a man born of a woman without a human father – that is the Lord Himself, the very Son of the Father. God would come to die, but by dying He would crush the devil and save His people from their sin. So through the centuries the calendar pages turned, marking the passing of generation after generation, each man in his time returning to the dust. No day dawned with the arrival of a Savior, but the Lord’s promise to come and save remained.

Then a certain day arrived along with the arrival of the angel Gabriel who came with an announcement that the promise was about to be fulfilled. He delivered his annunciation to a virgin called Mary and the Lord came to her, was conceived in her womb, and was made man. “How can this be?” she wondered. “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God.” And you shall call His name Jesus.

Jesus. It means, “the Lord saves.” In the womb of Mary and on the cross of Calvary is the Lord who saves His people from their sins. This man called Jesus, the Son of Mary, was born to die. He lived a sinless human life until it was time for Him to be slaughtered as a sacrifice for the sins of the world. He began His life in the womb as all humans do, but He began it in order to end it, suffering the pains hell, thereby emptying death of its power.

When Pilate brought Jesus out to the crowd he said, “Behold, the Man.” He didn’t realize it, but he was pointing back to Genesis where the Lord promised a New Man, a Savior, to come. This Man standing before Pilate with thorns on His head, He is the Second Adam, the Second Man. By the one Man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one Man’s obedience the many will be made righteous. (Romans 5:19) Where the First Adam failed, the Second Adam lived the perfect life of faith and love for God and neighbor and died in the place of sinners. This man on the cross with bruised and pierced heels and hands, He is the One who crushed the serpent’s head.

“How can this be?” we wonder. How can this death mean our life? Because it was not merely the death of a man from Nazareth. This Man is the Lord. The Power of the Most High overshadowed the cross. The Glory of the Lord was revealed there on that rough wooden altar as the blood of God was poured out in payment for the sins of all. No mere human death could accomplish what was needed. Only God’s death could pay the penalty for all sinners and earn forgiveness for the world. Only God’s death could count for an eternity in hell. That is why our God became a Man. And He did all of that for you.

What’s more, He did it with joy. For the joy that was set before him, He endured the cross, despising the shame. (Hebrews 12:2) We celebrate and proclaim His death because of the joy that comes from His cross. He endured it all because He wants us. He is on our side and He will have us with Him. He would not let the Devil take His creatures captive. He wants us and He will have us in this way: by laying down His life, canceling out our sin, and silencing the accusations of the Devil, the demands of the Law, and the sentence of Death. He silenced them once and for all with His holy blood. There is no greater joy for the Lord, or for us, than the joy of sins forgiven by the blood of Jesus.

In the end, the calendar dates are not the most important thing. It’s unlikely that Jesus actually died on March 25 and just as unlikely that He was conceived on this day. But the dates do teach us who our God is. If you want to know who God is, look first for His name. His name was given by the angel Gabriel. And His name was posted on the cross. Jesus of Nazareth. The Lord who saves His people from their sins. Martin Luther once said, “I do not know of any God except Him who was made flesh, nor do I want to have another. And there is no other God who could save us, besides the God Incarnate.” (Sasse, This Is My Body, 203)

The Annunciation and Christmas tell us who that man on the cross is. That Man is our God. The God who entered time and space on a particular date and in a particular place. The God who spent nine months in a young virgin’s womb and was laid in a manger. The God who walked on this earth for 33 years, preaching His Gospel. The God who suffered at the hand of sinners. The God who was nailed to a cross and pierced with a spear. The God who poured out His blood and died so that we might be spared and live.

Upon the cross extended

See, world, your Lord suspended.

Your Savior yields His breath.

The Prince of Life from heaven

Himself has freely given

To shame and blows and bitter death. (LSB 453:1)

Our God is that Man who died and rose again.

Joy to the world, the Lord is come! (LSB 387:1)

In the Holy + Name of Jesus. Amen.

Tre Ore Service on Good Friday

Clinton Circuit Service hosted at Immanuel, Grand Mound, IA

St. Matthew 27:11–23

In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

He came to His own, and His own people did not receive Him. (John 1:11) He was despised and rejected by men. (Isaiah 53:3) The people who had waited all their lives for the Messiah, the people who had waited through the centuries for the promise to be fulfilled, turned on the Promiser and handed over the fulfillment to be killed. Their high priestly forefathers were Moses, Aaron, and Levi. But here we see the descendents of those forefathers who have sunk so low that they presume to betray Christ and condemn Him to death! The council’s forefathers were Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Judah; now such noble people have fallen so low that they betray and dispose of their God, who had been promised to them. (Luther Sermons, V:391) They spurned the promises that had been given them to treasure and trust in, and like their great-uncle Esau they sold their birthright for the pottage of power and influence. They had received all of God’s blessings, but now they curse Him, demanding the most cursed death for their Lord. For it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree.” So they shouted, “Let Him be crucified!”

The Jews are no longer the chosen people of God because they have rejected His Word and His Christ. They have no claim to His promises and blessings. God will not be held accountable to those who refuse to believe in Him. His promises are only received by faith, just as our father Abraham received them. The true sons of Abraham are not, and never were, his blood relatives. It has always been that the sons of Abraham are all people who trust in his promised offspring, Jesus.

However, that also means the Jews are not the only ones who reject the Christ. Each of us, by our sin, has rejected Him. We are Barabbas in our rebellion against God and His commandments. We are murderers of the Truth, with our sins and our excuses.

But even more evil than that, any one who teaches falsely and persecutes the Gospel is serving in the office of Caiaphas, rejecting the Christ and leading others to do the same. Barabbas was a notorious criminal, but the priests and Jewish rulers were the ones who let him go free and condemned an innocent man by their lies. In the end, false teachers, be they pope or pastor, dictator or president, they will be judged and destroyed.

So let us turn from the wicked accusers and look to Jesus who doesn’t answer a single charge. He allows the accusations and rejection to be heaped on Him, rather than anyone else. For as the High Priest unwittingly said, “It is better that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish.” He did not say this of his own accord, but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation.” (John 11:50–51) It was the eternal plan and purpose of the Messiah to be rejected and condemned. Not only was Jesus rejected by His people, rejected by the priests and teachers of Israel, and even rejected by us, but He was ultimately rejected by His Father. The rejection that Christ suffered in His soul came from His God’s Law and wrath, and that was far worse than any rejection from men. He suffered the pains of hell and was cursed by His Father. But He endured this so that even our sins of rejection would be atoned for and forgiven.

Human reason, like the Jews, reproaches and ridicules us Christians for worshiping a God who was executed as an insurrectionist and blasphemer. But we Christians exult in this, because Christ, true God and man, gladly suffered of His own will. He did not defend Himself or demand their acceptance. What He did, He did for us and for the world, so that He might break the stranglehold, which sin, death, and the devil had on us. He was rejected so that those who rejected Him might be accepted. The innocent One was condemned so that the guilty could go free. He was killed so that the murderers might be spared, and His enemies made His friends. And so to all who receive Him, who believe in His name, He gives the right to become children of God. (John 1:12)

In the Holy + Name of Jesus. Amen.

St. Matthew 27:45–56

In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

O sorrow dread! Our God is dead.

Who died on the cross? Not a mere man. It was not just a human heart that stopped beating or human lungs that stopped breathing. Death is the tearing apart of body and soul. The death on the cross was just that for the God who is a Man. His divinity was not separated from His humanity. But God’s human soul was torn away from God’s human body. God died on the cross.

Did the Father also die for you? He did not. The Father is God only, as is the Holy Spirit; but the Son is both true God and true man. He died for me and shed His blood for me. (Christian Q&A 10) The perfectly united Person who is true God and true Man died. The incarnate God, the eternal Word that became flesh, He died. How can this be? Who could have guessed that the One who created life would lose His own? It is the deepest of mysteries that caused the sun to veil his face and the earth to be shaken with fear.

We fear death, but our physical death is nothing now that eternal death has been dealt with by Christ. To be forsaken by God is much worse than death. And that is what Christ endured. “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” He cried. This does not mean His deity was separated from His humanity… but the righteous and innocent Man had to tremble and fear like a poor, condemned sinner and in His tender, innocent heart had to feel God’s wrath and judgment over sin, taste for us eternal death and damnation, and suffer all that a condemned sinner has deserved and must suffer eternally. (Luther, Pieper 2:312) He suffered all that for you. No human death could accomplish what was needed. Only God’s death could pay the penalty for all sinners and earn forgiveness for the world. Only God’s death could count for an eternity in hell. How can this be? Who could have guessed that the One who demands the wages of sin, would die for His enemies and pay their debts? It is the deepest of mysteries that causes sinners to veil their faces with tears and to be shaken by fear and love.

But Christ did not die in despair. If He suffered eternal death in our place, He also showed us how to endure physical death with patience and trust. “Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit!” And having said this He breathed His last. (Luke 23:46) Christ died commending Himself into the Father’s hands, knowing that His Father’s love for Him does not fail and that the Father would raise Him up to life again. The soul of Christ our God left His body, but rested in His Father’s loving hands. So also Christians commend their souls into their Father’s hands, with faith that His love for them in Christ does not fail. They are pure and holy in their Father’s eyes because of Christ’s death, so at their deaths Christians can be confident that the Father will receive them in heaven. And they die with the certain hope of the resurrection when the Father will bring soul and body back together. The terrors of death are gone. For those who believe in Christ, death is but a slumber. Who dieth thus dies well. (LSB 450:7)

O sorrow dread!

Our God is dead,

Upon the cross extended.

There His love enlivened us

As His life was ended. (LSB 448:2)

In the Holy + Name of Jesus. Amen.

St. Matthew 27:57–64

In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

At the tomb faith triumphs over all evil and darkness. Jesus is now crucified, dead, and buried, and a stone blocks the tomb. But in spite of all this death for the eyes to see, there was Mary Magdalene, and the other Mary, sitting opposite the tomb. How faithful these women were! In spite of all the grief that this experience and sight gave them, they remained faithful to their Lord and His Word, for He had told them to be watchful.

So there they sit – there faith sits – keeping watch in the time of darkness. And so faith triumphs over darkness and the grave. On whose behalf do these women sit and keep watch? On behalf of all faithful ones – the whole Church – you and me. No darkness can daunt them, no grief or sorrow can discourage them, for in spite of their weeping they remain faithful, even now, to their dead Lord. Somehow they still know that He is the Resurrection and the Life.

In a similar way Christians go out to the cemetery and lay their brothers and sisters in the grave. We go sit in front of the grave, in spite of the fact that the person is dead. In spite of all our grief and sorrow we remain faithful. We don’t go there in despair. And we don’t go there to put on a show. It’s very simple really, almost pathetic when you look at it: a man says a few words and puts a handful of dirt on the casket. But in spite of the sad look of it all, we remain faithful to our Lord and His Word. For He has told us that He is the Resurrection and the Life. He has told us that at the last trumpet we shall be raised. He has told us that death has lost its sting. He has told us, “Death is swallowed up in victory.” And so we remain faithful to those words, even if our sight tells us the opposite.

The faithful women went to see the tomb because their Lord was there. And by His three-day rest in the tomb He hallowed the graves of all believers, promising resurrection to our mortal bodies. So the Christian sleeps in his grave, like a peaceful bed. His soul resides in heaven with Jesus, carried to Abraham’s side by the angels. And his body is laid to rest in the grave until his Lord awakens him to glory, when he will see Jesus face to face and know the splendor of the eternal God. This why we go out to the grave. Jesus has gone there before us and we follow after Him. He is our greater Jonah, spending three days and nights in the belly of the fish called Death, only to rise up again from the depths. He is our greater Daniel, descending into the lion’s den, but He has shut the gaping mouth of Death, shattering its teeth. The grave could not hold Him and so it cannot hold you. Christ has made your death a portal From the strife of this life to His joy immortal. We cannot see this yet, just like those women at the sealed tomb. But one day we will. For now we go to the tomb in the triumph of faith – Faith that expects Easter.

In the Holy + Name of Jesus. Amen.

This final sermon was adapted from Rev. Burnell Eckardt’s meditation in Every Day Will I Bless Thee, p.181.

Maundy Thursday

Introit (Psalm 67; Antiphon: Galatians 6:14)

St. John 13:1–15, 34–35

In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Poor Simon Peter. He can never quite seem to get it right, can he? When Jesus asked, “Who do you say that I am?” He boldly answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” But just a bit later Jesus told His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. And Peter took Jesus aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.” But Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.” Poor Simon Peter. He gets things so right and also so wrong.

Now Jesus, Peter, and the other disciples are in the Upper Room. It is the night when Jesus would be betrayed, the night when Peter would deny Him, but still Jesus loved them to the end. So to demonstrate that love, He took up the job of the servant and washed His disciples feet. But when He came to Simon Peter He got an objection again: “Lord, do You wash my feet?” Peter thinks he’s being humble, right? Who is he to have the Lord wash his dirty feet? But when the Lord offers to do something for you or to give you something, who are you to correct Him? Really, Peter is being quite boastful. His question becomes another rebuke: “You shall never wash my feet!” Now, why didn’t Peter object when Jesus washed the other disciples’ feet? If Peter is so humble, why didn’t he jump up, grab the basin and towel and start washing their feet? Is he too good for such a lowly task? Luke’s Gospel tells us that even during this last supper with Jesus the disciples were still arguing about who is the greatest, boasting about their qualities. No doubt, Peter thought he was the greatest. And perhaps, Peter even thought “The others might need this foot washing from Jesus, but not me. I’m not so bad as them. I certainly don’t need it enough to sit here and be embarrassed while the Master washes my feet.”

Jesus’ response here doesn’t sound quite so harsh as His previous, “Get behind Me, Satan!” but it is no less damning: “If I do not wash you, you have no share with Me.” So Peter exclaims, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!” It is good, but almost comical, how quickly Peter changes his mind.            Poor Simon Peter. Even when he’s right, he gets it wrong. Jesus replies, “The one who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but is completely clean. And you are clean.” Peter’s desire for Jesus to give him a bath comes from good intentions, but he’s still trying to tell Jesus what to do. It would be better if Peter simply received what the Lord wanted to give. Peter’s coming around, but he’s still confused.

Jesus told him, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand.” After what? After Jesus’ cross and resurrection. After Peter’s denial and forgiveness. Only the cross and resurrection of Jesus can make sense of everything else He said and did. Only the knowledge of sin and forgiveness that comes from the cross and resurrection can make sense of everything for us. Only after Jesus dies, rises, and restores Peter to the fellowship of the disciples, can Peter truly understand the Lord’s service and stop boasting in himself. Only after that can Peter truly sing the Introit with us: Far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Then Peter can let Jesus serve him, not only by washing His feet, but also by dying for Him on the holy cross, and serving him the holy body and blood. The Lord’s cross and the Lord’s Supper go hand in hand. With both the Lord takes up the job of a servant. On the cross Jesus won salvation, life, and resurrection from the dead; by Him we are redeemed and set at liberty. In the Lord’s Supper Jesus delivers to us salvation, life, and resurrection from the dead. In His Supper He feeds those He has redeemed, and He serves the slaves whom He has set at liberty. We boast in the Lord’s cross and we boast in the Lord’s Supper. He is all we have, because everything in us is unclean with sin. And if we boast in ourselves, then the Lord does not wash us and we have no share with Him. But by His cross and Supper He makes us clean.

Sometimes we are tempted to be like Peter and ask, “Lord do you wash my feet?” Not because we’re so humble, but because we are proud and in our heart of hearts we detest being served. We refuse to be beggars. We think we can get by on our own. Or we think we’ve already got baptism, we’ve already heard the Word, why do we need the Lord’s Supper too? But when the Lord says, “Take, eat. Drink of it all of you. My body and blood are for you.” Can our reply ever truly be: “I don’t need that.” If the Lord offers to do something for you or to give you something, who are you to correct him? Don’t you think He knows you better than you know yourself? Don’t you think He knows your sin and He knows what you need for it? Yes. He knows you and He loves you. He loves you to the end. Even foolish Peter, even you and me. It’s best to simply receive with thanksgiving what the Lord wants to give.

Far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Is it strange to boast in the cross of Jesus? No stranger than to say, As often as we eat this bread and drink this cup we proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes. By the cross our God was gracious to us and blessed us with His death. By the cross He made His face to shine upon us, that His way would be known on earth, His saving power among all nations. And it is known on earth. In His Word and in His Supper we see the shining face of God. Let the peoples praise You, O God; let all the peoples praise You! With His holy body and precious blood, God, our God, shall bless us. Let the Lord clean you and serve you and let all the ends of the earth fear Him! In His body and blood is salvation, life, and resurrection from the dead; by Him we are redeemed and set at liberty.

In the Holy + Name of Jesus. Amen.

Palm Sunday

St. John 12:12–19

In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

When the crowd saw Jesus riding a donkey and greeted Him as King, they didn’t actually know how right they were. Or they didn’t know why they were right. They had their reasons for acclaiming Jesus as King, but I doubt they were the right reasons. We probably find Jesus’ choice of mount a strange one for a king – a donkey hardly commands awe and respect. But Jesus was not the first King of Israel to ride a beast of burden. Take that fact along with the title the crowd gives Jesus: the Son of David, and it is quite natural to assume that the crowd was actually reminded of another King and Son of David: Solomon.

In First Kings, chapter 1, we hear of Solomon’s anointing as king after his father David. Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet… went down and had Solomon ride on King David's mule and brought him to Gihon. There Zadok the priest took the horn of oil from the tent and anointed Solomon. Then they blew the trumpet, and all the people said, “Long live King Solomon!” And all the people went up after him, playing on pipes, and rejoicing with great joy, so that the earth was split by their noise (1 Kings 1:38–40). I don’t think it was a mere accident that David and his sons rode mules. I don’t think it can simply be dismissed as a peculiarity of the Israelite people. For the king of Israel to ride a lowly animal while other kings ride magnificent steeds or are carried on the backs of slaves, it seems to send a message, and so it should. There was only ever one true king over Israel and that was the Lord Himself. Originally, Israel didn’t have an earthly king. The King of Heaven sent judges to lead and protect His people. But soon they wanted to be like the other nations surrounding them. They hungered for power and respect, for the glory that comes with earthly might. And God let them have their way for a time. But perhaps the sight of David or Solomon riding a mule was just the thing to remind the people who their true King was.

So when the crowd saw Jesus riding a donkey, they knew what they were doing by calling Him the Son of David, the King of Israel. He was a Son of David like Solomon, riding a beast of burden like Solomon, and yet Jesus is greater than Solomon. He is not merely anointed with oil but with the Holy Spirit. He’s not just one more chosen, anointed king in a long list of chosen, anointed kings, but He is the one true, chosen, anointed one – the one true final Messiah and King who would reign on His throne forever. The Palm Sunday crowd got it more right than they knew. This King of Israel, this Son of David, is also the Blessed One, the One who comes in the name of the Lord. That means He is the only one true king over Israel, the Lord Himself.

Now His disciples did not understand these things at first, but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written about him and had been done to him. It’s impossible to say what was going on in the minds of all the people in that crowd. Perhaps there were some believers who really knew who the Messiah was, what He had come for, and what kind of King He would be. But if the disciples were confused, most of the others were probably confused too. They were still looking for a new earthly king, a conquering hero, the kind of leader that can get things done and make Israel great again. But after Jesus’ death and resurrection, after they saw and heard and learned the whole story from their crucified and risen King, then the disciples remembered and understood. And then they went back to the Scriptures and saw how everything that Jesus did had been promised. And they saw that the promise of the Messiah was not a promise for a popular, mighty earthly king who brings success, wealth, and earthly security. The promise of the Messiah, written in Holy Scripture and fulfilled by Jesus, is for a meek and humble King, a servant who brings forgiveness and heavenly peace.

So the Gospel writers didn’t quote First Kings and make Jesus just another Solomon. He is a different Solomon, the greater Solomon. Instead they quoted the Prophet Zechariah: Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. This Scripture says why He is King and what He does as King. This King is humble, what some might call a loser. He emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. He didn’t stand up for Himself or fight for His rights. But He suffered because that is how He fought for us and for the world. He took the shame here so that He could honor us in heaven. This King is righteous and having salvation. That means He has righteousness and salvation to give away. He gives His righteousness to sinners in order to save them. He forgives them, paying their debts, covering them with His precious blood.

When the angry crowd on Friday shouted, “His blood be on us and on our children!” they meant that they would take the blame for His death. Ironically, their statement is true but in reverse for believers. We cry out, “His blood be on us and on our children to cleanse and forgive!” His blood does just that. It was poured out for the sins of the world and it is poured into our mouths for the forgiveness of our sins. What a strange King we have. What a humble, loving, and generous King. Instead of ordering His subjects to lay down their lives for Him, He laid down His life in order to turn His enemies into friends and to make His subjects His brothers and sisters.

This kind of King isn’t going to win any popular elections or be named most handsome man of the year. He isn’t going to get the kind of results that you can see with your eyes or measure in your bank account. If all you really want is a happy life with no conflict, then He’s probably not the King for you. After all, during His life in this sinful world He was a man of sorrows and conflict followed Him everywhere He went. He really doesn’t look like a very good king. When Pilate asked Him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” Jesus gave less than satisfactory answers – certainly not the kind of answers you would hope to hear from your leader. In Matthew’s Gospel He said, “You have said so.” This “King of the Jews” claim wasn’t His idea, at least not in the way that most people meant it. In John’s Gospel Jesus gives a longer explanation: “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.” Then Pilate said to him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.” He is not a king of money, power, or fame. He is the King of Love by sacrificing Himself for us. He is the King of Truth by the Word that He speaks. He is the King of Peace by declaring our sins forgiven.

Jesus’ kingdom is not of this world. So also Israel’s hope was not supposed to be in earthly glory like the other nations. They were called to hope in the Lord and trust in Him alone. Our hope is not for this life either. However pleasant or miserable your life is here, the kingdom to come is where we put our hope. We are called to hope in the Truth that our Lord speaks and to trust His Word even in the darkest moments. That’s what it means to live by faith and not be sight. We are pilgrims, sojourners in this world, looking forward to the kingdom where we hold citizenship and have a place in the King’s own palace. In this world, the church is a foreign embassy. When we gather as the Body of Christ in His name, we are standing on the sovereign soil of heaven. And when we hear His Word read, preached, and declared, we are ushered into the presence of the King to receive His blessing. He bids us come to His royal Table and graciously serves us Himself: “This is My body and this is My blood. Take, eat, and drink.” And so at each banquet we still sing the Palm Sunday song to our King: Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord. Hosanna, hosanna, hosanna in the highest.

In the Holy + Name of Jesus. Amen.