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"For faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ." ~ Romans 10:17

April 15th, 2019

4/15/2019

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John 12:12-19 
April 14, 2019 
 
“Are you the King of the Jews?”, Pilate asks Jesus on Friday morning. Jesus replies, “Do you say this of your own accord, or did others say it to you about me?” Well, who told Pilate that Jesus was the King of the Jews? Yes, the chief priests and elders of the people accused Jesus of making this claim. This was the charge they hoped would lead to his death. Yet, just six days earlier large crowds were shouting this very thing as Jesus road into Jerusalem on a donkey with palm branches waving in the air and people singing Hosanna! It is possible that Pilate himself heard the crowds shouting, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!” If not, it is certain that many ran to inform the governor that a man was entering the city, whom the crowds called, “the King of Israel.” This certainly would be unsettling news to a Roman governor ruling over a proud province, which once was a mighty kingdom.  
The crowds declared Jesus the King of Israel. And six days later the inscription above Jesus’ head as he hangs on the cross reads, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.” Oh, the irony! Jesus is proclaimed the king of the Jews by the Jewish people themselves, and for this claim Jesus is crucified. The charge that brought Jesus’ death sentence was shouted with joy just a few days earlier by children and adults alike. Now it is written above his bloody head, so all may know why this man died.  
The chief priests and Jews complained to Pilate and said, “Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews,’ but rather, ‘This man said, I am King of the Jews.’” But Pilate answered, “What I have written I have written.” Now, what Pilate meant by this, one cannot be so sure. Yet, what the Holy Spirit meant by causing Pilate to write these words is clear. Jesus did not die because he said that he was King of the Jews. Jesus died upon the cross, because he is the King of the Jews. Jesus is the King of Israel. And for that, he must die.  
The day before Jesus road into Jerusalem on a donkey he was at a dinner given in his honor at Bethany, because Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead there. And as Jesus ate, Mary, the sister of Lazarus anointed Jesus’ feet with expensive ointment made of pure nard. Now, in the Old Testament two types of people are commonly anointed. One is a king. You might remember that the Prophet Samuel anointed David to be king while he was yet a shepherd boy. And of course, the priests were anointed with oil when they were ordained to perform the services of the temple.  
Yet, this anointing with aromatic oil just the day before Jesus’ kingly procession into the city of the Great King was not Jesus’ anointing to be king. Jesus had already been anointed by the Holy Spirit to be both King of Israel and High Priest. This happened at his Baptism by John in the Jordan River. Jesus tells us why Mary anoints him, “Leave her alone,” he says when Judas complains, “so that she may keep it for the day of my burial.” The sweet aroma coming from Jesus’ body as he rides into Jerusalem is not the ointment of a newly anointed king, but rather the smell of a body fitly prepared for the grave.  
Yet, the shouts of the crowd are not wrong. They are absolutely right when they call Jesus their King. And they are right to shout, “Hosanna,” which means, “Save us now!” Jesus indeed is their king, who comes to save them. But he will not save them in the way many expect. He will not overthrow Herod or Pontious Pilate. He will not unsheathe a sword or draw a bow. Rather, Jesus will go as a lamb to slaughter without complaint. He will die without shedding the blood of anyone else.  
The problem for unbelievers, who think that Jesus failed in his death is the confusion that comes from equivocation. Equivocation is when the same words are used for two different meanings. Jesus is the King of Israel. To Pilate this means that Jesus comes to rules an earthly kingdom from Jerusalem. But that is not what those words mean. Jesus is not a king of this world, but he rules a heavenly kingdom. That means that Jesus does not fight against human foes, but against spiritual foes. Jesus comes to conquer Satan and death itself. Jesus overcomes death by laying down his own life. And Christ’s precious life wins for us eternal life. The Israel of which Jesus is King is not the territory on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean between Europe and Africa. Rather, Jesus rules over a heavenly Israel, which has no end. A nation made up of every people and language on earth, all those who believe in Jesus Christ.  
Jesus is also the High Priest. But not a high priest, who offers sacrifices first for his own sins and then for the sins of the people, sacrifices of bulls and sheep. Jesus, the great High Priest offers himself up as a sinless sacrifice for all people.  
And so, to understand the events from now until Easter, we must look not simply at the physical, but the spiritual. Jesus the King of Israel and High Priest comes to battle and to sacrifice. Without the eyes of faith this looks like an utter failure. Yet, if you believe the words of Scripture, you see how great a victory our King wins for us and how priceless a sacrifice our High Priest offers.  
The crowds shout, “Hosanna” to their king. They were absolutely right to do so. Jesus is the King of Israel. Yet, they didn’t really understand what was happening. Even Jesus’ closest 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.” Does that mean that when they did not understand these things that they did not have faith? Did those who declared Jesus the King of Israel and the Son of David not have faith? Certainly, they did have faith. Yet, they did not know that in six days their king would be nailed to a tree.  
Faith does not mean that you understand everything. We usually explain faith as what you believe, and that is what the word means. Yet, saving faith is not simply believing in facts. Saving faith is trusting in Jesus. When you believe that your sins are forgiven for Christ’s sake, then your sins are truly forgiven. That is saving faith. These people did not know all the facts. They didn’t understand what Jesus knew as he entered Jerusalem. Yet, they had saving faith in their Savior, to whom they shouted, “Save us now!”  
Today, two young persons were baptized; one, only a baby, who can’t even talk. Neither of them knows all the facts about Jesus. They have a lot to learn. But do they have saving faith? Does their Baptism do them any good? In our Small Catechism we learn that Baptism “works forgiveness of sins, rescues from death and the devil, and gives eternal salvation to all who believe this, as the words and promises of God declare.” And these words and promises of God are revealed to us in Mark chapter 16, “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.” 
Baptism does not save apart from faith. But this should not trouble those who are baptized as little children. Because baptism is not our work, but God’s work in which he washes away our sins by virtue of Christ’s death and resurrection. Baptism simply joins you to Christ’s work on the cross. And faith is not our work either. Faith is a gift from God. No one can believe in Jesus Christ unless it is given to him from God. And Jesus makes clear that the gift of faith is given even to little children.  
No, these young children do not know all that they should know about Jesus. But they still have faith in Christ. Baptism itself, which is powered by God’s Word, can give faith even to infants. So, we should believe that Gracie and even little Lane, who have been taught God’s Word and who have been Baptized into the name of the Holy Trinity, indeed have saving faith, because they trust in their Savior Jesus Christ, even as baby Lane trusts in his mother without knowing anything about her except that he trusts in her.  
Saving faith does not mean that you know everything about Jesus. But this does not mean that it is not important for you to learn the teaching of Jesus. Jesus’ disciples didn’t understand what was going on that Sunday so long ago. Yet, they eventually did learn it. And had the crowds who declared Jesus the King of Israel not learned how Jesus would reign even from the cross, their faith would have been lost when they saw him die. But they learned that Jesus’ death was for their sake. And many even witnessed the resurrection of Jesus and testified of it to their friends.  
Saving faith involves learning the truth of Jesus. Saving faith does not refuse to learn. Gracie and Lane are going to continue to learn more about Jesus as long as they have saving faith. And so, it is for all of you who trust in Jesus. If you do not continue to hear God’s word and to learn from Jesus, then your faith will die. You cannot keep your saving faith by your own strength. Saving faith is given to you as a gift through the word of God.  
St. Paul teaches us to share in the same mind of Christ Jesus, who though he was in the form of God took the form of a slave and humbled himself to die on the cross for us. You can only share in this mind if you have saving faith. This humility, which Jesus teaches us involves humility toward both God and our neighbor. In humility toward God, we are to repent of our sins and receive forgiveness as a free gift. The Psalmist says, “I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,’ and you forgave the iniquity of my sin.” Only in humility can you receive forgiveness from God. If you do not acknowledge your sin as sin and repent of the wrong you have done, then you cannot receive forgiveness from Christ. Saving faith includes having a humble and repentant heart.  
Christ teaches us to be humble to our neighbors. Jesus is God. He never stopped being God for a moment, even as he suffered like a criminal. And he did so in service to you. This means that there is no service below you. It is good for us to humble ourselves and serve one another. The simplest way to do this is to forgive one another. Christ never sinned against us, yet he willingly covers up our sins with his blood. So, should we, who do sin against one another, willingly cover up each other’s sins. Not by ignoring sin, but through gentle correction and forgiveness for the sake of Christ.  
Jesus told Pilate that his kingdom was not of this world. That means that the faithful who called Jesus the King of Israel in the streets of Jerusalem were citizens of a heavenly kingdom. And so are we! We are citizens of a kingdom not of this world today. And so, we behave as citizens of that heavenly kingdom even as we live here on earth. Christ rules us with his Gospel, forgiving our sins and strengthening our faith. And we repent and believe in Christ and serve one another in love.  
There were two crowds who met to greet Jesus with praise. The one crowd, which followed Jesus were those who witnessed Jesus raise Lazarus from the dead. The second crowd, which came to meet Jesus from Jerusalem, were those who heard the report of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead from these witnesses. And so, this procession into Jerusalem foreshadows our entrance into the heavenly Jerusalem on the Last Day. We have heard the report of Jesus’ death and resurrection from those, who witnessed it in real life. And we are going to meet those witnesses one day in the heavenly Jerusalem and sing praises to Jesus our King. On that day, we who live as citizens of Christ’s kingdom through faith will see this kingdom with our own eyes. And we, who have believed on Christ because of his words spoken to us will see him in the flesh. Our king, who once reigned from the cross will reign over us in heaven. And we will all fully understand the words we speak when we sing, “Behold, the King of Israel.” Amen.  
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Palm Sunday 2018: The King Comes to Reign

3/26/2018

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Zechariah 9:9-12 
Philippians 2:5-11 
John 12:12-19 
March 25, 2018 
 
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. 
 I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim 
    and the war horse from Jerusalem; 
and the battle bow shall be cut off, 
    and he shall speak peace to the nations; 
his rule shall be from sea to sea, 
    and from the River to the ends of the earth. 
As for you also, because of the blood of my covenant with you, 
    I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit. 
Return to your stronghold, O prisoners of hope; 
    today I declare that I will restore to you double. (Zech. 9:9-12) 
 
The New is in the Old concealed; the Old is in the New revealed. This pithy statement expresses for us the relationship between the Old and the New Testaments in the Bible. All Scripture speaks of Christ. And all of the prophets of the Old Testament prophesied of Christ, as Jesus himself said. (Luke 24:44) If you do not know Christ as he is revealed in the New Testament, the prophecies of the Old Testament will make no sense and the Old Testament will remain a closed book to you. But if you do know Christ, then the Old Testament becomes an endless fountain of knowledge, that teaches of Christ Jesus and his salvation on every page. Our Gospel lesson tells us this when it says that Jesus' disciples did not understand what was going on, but after Jesus was glorified they remembered that these things had been written about him and had been done by him. (John 12:16) Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem to the waving of palm branches and shouts of "Hosanna!", were written about in Zechariah chapter 9. And since Christ has been revealed to us in faith, this Old Testament lesson reveals to us much about our king.  
​

Jesus is the king prophesied of by Zechariah, who rode into Jerusalem on a donkey. Yet, it is important to know what type of king he is and what kind of kingdom he will rule. It is clear from Zechariah's words and through Jesus' fulfillment of these words that Jesus is a spiritual king and his kingdom is a spiritual kingdom.  

The prophet tells the daughter of Zion to rejoice and the daughter of Jerusalem to shout. Zion is the mountain on which the city Jerusalem is seated. The daughters of both are the same citizens of this city. And they did in fact rejoice and shout as Jesus entered on a donkey. Yet, there is also a spiritual fulfillment of this prophecy, which transcends its physical manifestation. For Jesus does not enter Jerusalem to rule as a physical king over Israel. As Jesus says to the Samaritan woman in John chapter 4, "Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. … But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth." (John 4:21, 23) And St. Paul makes a distinction between the physical Jerusalem, which corresponds to slavery under the Law and the free Jerusalem above, who is our mother. (Galatians 4:25-26) And the author to the Hebrews speaks of a spiritual Jerusalem when he declares to those of faith, "But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the first born who are enrolled in heaven..." (Hebrews 12:22-23) 

And Zechariah makes clear that Jesus comes not to rule a physical, but a spiritual Jerusalem by the manner in which he describes his conquest and rule. He comes lowly on a donkey, not upon a war horse. Neither does he threaten any of the political leaders of Jerusalem. Zechariah does not say that he will put an end to Roman military rule, but rather he says, "I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the war horse from Jerusalem." Ephraim represents the northern kingdom of Israel. Jerusalem represents the capital of the southern kingdom and the true capital of the united nation of Israel. Zechariah tells us that he will cut off their military might, that is, God will put an end to the political and earthly kingdom of Israel and replace it with a spiritual kingdom. Jesus does not conquer with the use of military might, he even leaves his twelve legions of angels in heaven (Matthew 26:53). Rather, he speaks peace to the nations. He conquers the nations by the word of his mouth.  
This brings us to another proof from Zechariah that Jesus' kingdom is spiritual. "His rule shall be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth." Jesus' kingdom will not be confined to the borders of Israel but will rule over the entire earth! If this were a prophecy of a physical kingdom, it certainly would have failed, since the kingdom of Israel no longer exists and the nation of Israel only rules a sliver of land. This prophecy is shared by Psalm 72:8, "May he have dominion from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth!" Psalm 72 also makes clear that the Christ's kingdom will have no end, "May they fear you while the sun endures, and as long as the moon, throughout all generations! … May his name endure forever, his fame continue as long as the sun!" (vss. 5, 17a)  

Today the Church recognizes the Annunciation of Jesus' Birth to the Virgin Mary. Exactly nine months from today is Christmas. At the annunciation the angel Gabriel spoke to Mary as recorded in Luke chapter 1, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end." (Vss. 30-33) The angel Gabriel makes clear before the conception of Jesus in the womb of his mother that his kingdom shall be an eternal, spiritual kingdom.  

And this tells us a lot about what Jesus is doing as he rides into this holy city. Jesus does not come to battle earthly armies. He comes to wage a war within our hearts! We are captives to sin and death, under the constant threat of God's Law. Satan is constantly assaulting our hearts with temptation and doubt and our hearts themselves are by nature tainted with sin. And the Ten Commandments, which we have not kept constantly threaten death and eternal punishment. This is the task at hand. No amount of chariots or swords or tanks or nuclear missiles can solve this dilemma. Rather, Jesus, who was appointed by God to live under the Law perfectly in our stead must sacrifice himself as our scapegoat. As Jesus rides weaponless upon a donkey into his city he comes fully armed to win the day and set his people free.  

And this makes the betrayal, the beating and spitting, the scourging, the willing ascent to the cross all make sense. It is by this punishment upon his body and soul that he removes our sin from our consciences, disarms the devil and removes the threats of the Law from us. The Prophet says, "As for you also, because of the blood of my covenant with you, I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit." Not the blood of the thousands upon thousands of lambs to be sacrificed that week for Passover. That is the blood of the old covenant. No, by the blood of the new covenant, which Jesus will shed, he sets the prisoners free from the waterless pit. We are the prisoners. The waterless pit is the threat of the Law upon all sinners. Just as a waterless pit cannot offer life, so the Law promises only death to us sinners. We are left to suffocate in our own sins, until Christ comes to rescue us through his blood! 

When we see Jesus riding in on a donkey we see the Lamb of God being led to slaughter silently and willingly. He humbles himself to the point of death upon the cross. "Therefore, God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." Jesus won for himself an eternal kingdom inhabited with citizens, who will live forever. He couldn't do this with military might. He had to do it through humble sacrifice.  

This message is difficult to accept, even for us, who have no hope like the Jews for the re-establishment of the kingdom of Israel. We are earthly minded. We want a powerful earthly king. We want God to work for us on our terms, make us rich and healthy and successful and happy. We make God out of our own image and demand that Jesus ride in on his war horse and solve the earthly problem we deem to be the most important. But God reveals to us through Scripture that the spiritual is more important than the physical and the eternal is far greater than the temporal.  

This means that Jesus will serve you in a different way than you would expect, if you simply want him to solve your earthly problems. We are the daughter of Zion and Jerusalem. We are citizens of Jesus' spiritual kingdom. And Jesus comes to us even today, bringing salvation for us. But you will only recognize him if you recognize your greatest need: the forgiveness of sins and eternal life. And you will only recognize him if you pay attention to his word as it is revealed in Scripture.  

Mary was rightly perplexed by the message of the angel. Yet, when Gabriel told her this was from God and her son would be the Son of God, she responded, "Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word." (Luke 1:38) And so our mother in the faith teaches us how to live in Christ's kingdom today: by trusting in the word that comes from God. God's Word reveals to us that the lowly rabbi who rides in on a donkey and is beaten and crucified to death does so to bring salvation to you. God's Word reveals to you that Jesus comes to you today with words of peace, the forgiveness of sins, and even his body and blood, which sets prisoners free. God's word reveals to you that you live now in a spiritual kingdom you cannot see, which grants you peace with God and eternal life by grace apart from your works. Through physical eyes this is impossible to see. But with spiritual eyes of faith, you can with confidence say to God, "Let it be according to your word." Amen.  ​
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Palm Sunday: Christ Humbles Himself For You

4/13/2017

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"His disciples did not understand these things at first." The Pharisees didn't understand Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem either. Not even the crowd laying down palm branches and shouting, "Hosanna" and even calling Jesus "the King of Israel" really understood what was going on. Do you? Do you really understand what's happening here? Jesus, riding on a young donkey, entering Jerusalem to observe the Passover, greeted by ecstatic crowds. These crowds will be nowhere to be seen come Thursday night, instead a band of armed thugs. Come Friday a bloodthirsty crowd shouting, "crucify him!", will replace the crowd shouting, "Hosanna!" And the only ones calling Jesus king are mocking him.  

It sure is a bizarre event. The crowds claim him to be king, yet he rides on a lowly donkey. He's too humble to be a real king. And in just a few short days he'll be murdered and buried, like so many other flash in the pan revolutionaries entombed in the history books. But Jesus is no flash in the pan revolutionary. He truly is a king. But he's not the king anyone would expect or ask for.  

Jesus is not an earthly king, who enters with pomp and circumstance and rules with physical force. Jesus is a spiritual king and he rules a spiritual kingdom. He fights not against Romans, but he wages spiritual warfare. And he is indeed marching off to war. He goes to fight your battle, a battle you would surely lose.  

Jesus' march into Jerusalem seems peculiar to all who witness it, yet this very event has been prophesied for ages. Zechariah wrote: 
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. (Zechariah 9:9) 

Scripture does not promise a mighty Caesar or an Alexander the Great. Rather Scripture promises a poor man riding a borrowed animal. Scripture promises a man led to slaughter like a lamb and like a sheep silent before its shearers. And yet, this lowly prophesied king brings righteousness and salvation. If you expect an earthly king or earthly power, you won't find it here. But if you want the Savior, prophesied by seers of old, behold your King! 

"Though he was in the form of God, [he] did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a slave, 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." (Philippians 2:6-8) 

Jesus truly is God from all eternity. St. Paul writes, "He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible." (Colossians 1:15-16a) and St. John writes of him, "All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made." (John 1:3) Jesus is fully God and he has the right to take that form, to be worshipped by angels and feared by the children of men. He did not need to grasp at equality with God, he owned it. Yet he empties himself of all that. He doesn't cease to be God! No. He could never stop being God. Jesus is and was and always will be God. Even nailed to the blood stained cross, breathing his last breaths he remains God. Even cold and still as clay, laid in the tomb, he remains God. But he hides it. He hides his divine majesty, for a time, he humbles himself.  

Jesus took on the form of a slave, 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 the cross. Jesus' becoming a human being is not his humiliation. If it were, Jesus would forever be humiliated. But our Lord currently risen and seated on his throne of glory is a man. Yet, he is not humbled. And he will not come in humility to judge the living and the dead, but he will most certainly come as a man.  

Yet, as a man, Jesus humbles himself below all men. No one was despised as Jesus was. In fact, the Lord spoke through the Prophet David in Psalm 22, "But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by mankind and despised by the people." (vs. 6)  

And so here in just a few short words, St. Paul shows us the extremity of God's love, and the great lengths he went to save us sinners. There is no higher position than God himself. No one could be exalted as highly as God. And no one could humble himself so lowly as our king, who rode on to his own slaughter. And even if we could join his wormhood, it would not be such a great leap as it was for him; no, simply a step into our true form, if we were judged rightly for our sins.  

And yet how difficult it is to humble ourselves in our own eyes, to step down from our own contrived eminence. Each of us is a god in our own eyes! Look out for number one! How difficult is it for us to look at our peers as our equals, or even our superiors as anything other than the accidents of inequality. How difficult it is for us to look to the needs of others, as St. Paul wrote immediately before our Epistle lesson, "But in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others." (Philippians 2:4)  

Indeed our Lord desires us to follow his example as surely as he said, "Love your neighbor as yourself." (Matthew 22:39) And Christ does empower you through the Gospel to love others, even against your natural pride. But this is not the purpose of Jesus' humiling march to the cross. Jesus emptied himself of the form of God and became obedient to death for your sake. Jesus was looking after your interests long before you could have ever asked him to do so or even knew what your best interests were.  

Even today, people want to trade in Jesus for some more attractive king. A powerhouse. A king loved by the world. A king, who isn't so divisive or controversial. A king, who boosts our self esteem and pride. A king, who makes us rich. If you want such a king, you sure can find him. But don't look to Jesus.  

In Jesus you will not find what you think you need, but what you really need. And there's a big difference. Take whatever is stressing you out right now, be it your health, money, relationships, job, children, whatever. Take the headlines in the news, the threats of war from North Korea, the uncertainty of health care reform or the success of the economy. None of these things is most important. Even if God grants all you want concerning these things and you live to be a hundred years old, never suffering pain or anxiety or want, you will still die and be met with your sins and your judge.  

But upon that donkey we see a man, who enjoyed the worship of angels, humbly and obediently advancing to his own punishment. He bears the sins of the world. He carries your sins, even before you yourself felt their weight. And he suffers the price to remove them from the sight of your God. Jesus frees you from eternal humiliation and pain. He releases you from judgment. He exalts you higher than any position you could ever contrive for yourself, even in your imagination.  

It is in Jesus' passion on the cross for sinners that we understand the odd festivities of his entrance into Jerusalem. We see him fulfill God's will, not for his own sake, but for us. We see upon that foal of a donkey our salvation and our king. Indeed this is how we understand this Holy Week into which we now embark.  
​

And so we meet our king in humility as he taught us. We don't prop ourselves up to some lofty position. Rather, we bring our sins and our sorrows and lay them on Jesus. In humility we meet our king in his humility, so that we might be exalted in his exaltation. Everyone who humbles himself in such faith will surely be exalted. May God bless you as you ponder the passion of your King this Holy Week. And may you rise with him next Sunday and forever free from sin and death. Amen. ​
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    Rev. James Preus

    Rev. Preus is the pastor of Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church in Ottumwa, IA. These are audio and text of the sermons he preaches at Trinity according to the Historical Lectionary. 

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