The Branches Band will be appearing at 7:00 PM on June 6, 2012 for an evening concert of Christian Contemporary Music performed in a unique style all their own. The concert will be held at Our Savior Lutheran Church located at 14343 Sprague Road in Strongsville Ohio. The Branches Band is a unique worship band/praise band with an uplifting sound that you can stomp your feet and clap your hands too.

A tree is known by its leaves; but without the roots and main trunk, the leaves would neither bud nor thrive. The leaves identify the tree, but the tree gives life to the leaves. Jesus said, “I am the vine, you are the branches…” Branches Band, a Milwaukee- based music group, uses their love for music to identify the Savior of the world – Jesus! From ancient hymns to modern songs, from guitars and piano to vocal harmonies, the Truth of Godʼs love and grace is at the root of the Branches Band ministry.

Rachel Braun (vocals, percussion, and piano), Andy Braun (guitar, vocals, and harmonica), and Jeremy Bakken (piano, bass, and vocals) travel all over the United States and Canada with their repertoire of over 100 hymns and songs. Branches Band serves congregations by offering Christian concerts, assisting with worship, and developing music resources for todayʼs church leaders and worship teams.

Tickets are Free.

For more information call 440.234.6595.

Text: John 20:19,20 – ¹⁹ On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” ²⁰ After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.

Jesus is risen! We have changed the somber mood of Lent for the joy of Easter. We see it in our worship today. Easter lilies are on the altar, and brilliant white replaces penitential purple of Lent. We sense it also in our hymns. We sing joyful and powerful hymns instead of the sorrowful notes of Lent. Jesus lives, we proclaim. Yet the cross is still before us today. Many Protestant churches place an empty cross in the chancel. It is empty because Jesus is finished with suffering for our sins and because Jesus is alive. He has risen. That is joyful news for us and for all the world. Jesus lives. Because Jesus lives, everything has changed and we look at the cross in a different light. We find comfort, joy, peace, and hope in his cross. “I know that my redeemer lives,” we sing. “What comfort this sweet sentence gives!” Today we see his cross, but we see peace and life there.

See his cross! Peace and life are yours!

I. His wounds bring peace.

The disciples on the evening of that first Easter did not know Easter joy or peace. They had seen Jesus crucified. With his death, they assumed all their hopes and expectations had also died. When Jesus was first arrested in the garden, they had fled into the night, confused and frightened. As the events unfolded, they watched in shock. Peter, who had boasted so quickly that he would die with Jesus rather than deny him, had in fact denied Jesus, not once, not twice, but three times. Peter and the rest saw the One they spent three years with abused by the soldiers and then led out of Jerusalem, too weak to carry his own cross.

It’s no wonder that they were afraid. First, they were afraid that all they had believed about Jesus was a lie. They had confessed Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of the living God. They had signed on to Peter’s confession and agreed. They had been there when the crowds shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” What excitement they must have felt! But they also heard the crowd rant, “Crucify him! Crucify him!” What did all this mean for the promises he had made to Mary and Martha when their brother Lazarus died? Then Jesus had said, “I am the resurrection and the life” (Jn 11:25). But he was dead. Were those just empty words and vain hope in the face of the death of a dear friend?

Second, they were also afraid that Jesus could not care for them any longer. If the Jewish leaders had killed Jesus, his disciples were next, they thought. Jesus had protected them even in the garden. When they were all surrounded by the mob, Jesus asked the mob to let his disciples go if all they wanted was him. Now he could not protect them by his words or even by his power. Jesus was gone, and the miracles they had witnessed were also past and gone. Could Jesus still exercise such power to protect them? They were afraid that he did not have the power to protect them from the Jewish leaders, so they were behind locked doors. They were also afraid of the future. What would happen to them? They had left businesses and families behind to follow Jesus, only to see the reason they had gone brutally killed.

Of course, they had heard the reports of his resurrection. The angels had appeared to the women. But the disciples did not believe the women. Even when some of the women said that they had seen Jesus, the disciples dismissed their reports as hysterical hallucinations. When Peter and John went to the tomb that morning, John believed, but fear still was stronger than comfort and hope for Peter and the others. They were confused about what it all meant. Even though they had seen Lazarus come out of his grave, witnessed the youth of Nain sit up as his body was carried toward burial, and heard how the daughter of Jairus had returned to life; the resurrection of Jesus was just too much to believe.

Then Jesus suddenly stood among them. In spite of the locked doors, he was there with them. Jesus left no doubt about who he was. He showed them his hands and side. They saw and touched the wounds Jesus had suffered only three days earlier. But he was alive. Jesus encouraged them to see the cross differently than they had on Good Friday.

Jesus brought peace to them in that locked room. His presence among them was a confirmation that all he had taught them was true. When he had told Mary and Martha that he was the resurrection and the life, it wasn’t just words to make them feel better. Those words were absolutely true! He was the Anointed One, the Christ whom they had come to trust. His message was true and reliable. And he had the power to care for them. They need not fear. He was not dead. His power had not been removed. In fact, it was even greater because he himself had arisen from the dead—something that no one has ever done or would ever do again.

The peace he brought was tied to the wounds he had received on the cross. He had suffered for the disciples. He paid for their sins with his suffering and death. He accomplished forgiveness for them and all the world. They were at peace with God because of those wounds. As their hesitant fingers traced the wounds of the nails in his hands, they began to understand that the punishment Jesus had endured brought peace. His suffering was now over. His hands, side, and feet were no longer attached to the cross. He was no longer suffering. It was done, finished, over. “Peace be with you!” he said.

That peace is yours too. His wounds were not just for this select group of people in Palestine long ago. His wounds announce to all that he has completed his mission. We have forgiveness—full and free. Because of what Jesus suffered, once and for all, as the writer to the Hebrews announces, we are declared innocent of sin—justified before God. We have peace with God, the peace promised by the angels at Jesus’ birth and now fully assured by the living hands of Jesus, still marked by the suffering he endured to achieve that peace. “Peace be with you!”

Since Jesus was now alive, he could also protect his disciples. Not only were his words true and his mission successfully completed, but Jesus also was there to assure them that he would continue to be with them no matter what the future held.

How many centuries have passed since that Sunday evening encounter with Jesus? Jesus is alive. He has cared for his sheep through those centuries, and he continues to care for them. We are included in his powerful and gentle care. No matter what lies ahead for any of us, Jesus will take care of us. That too brings us peace, comfort, and courage. See his cross. His wounds assure us of so much. We can also see the cross in a little different light. Yes, it was a place of torture, but that’s all over. Jesus lives.

II. His wounds bring life.

His wounds brought another blessing for his fearful disciples. Of course, death was a part of their fear. They had come to Jerusalem with Jesus imagining the worst. Thomas had said, “Let us also go, that we may die with him” (Jn 11:16). When they thought Jesus was dead for good, perhaps they became resigned to their fate—to die like Jesus. They had no hope. The Jewish leaders who it appeared were intent on killing Jesus, obliterating his teachings, would therefore attack the disciples of Jesus too. Even if they escaped the wrath of the Jewish leaders at this point, what hope would they have when death finally caught up to them? Joy and hope were in short supply in that locked room before Jesus came.

But he did come to them! If they imagined that he was only a phantom or an illusion created by their own wishful thinking, Jesus dispelled that thought. He not only asked them to touch his wounds, he also ate some food that first night with them. Just as they had begun to see the cross in the light of the payment for their sins completed, Jesus asked them to see the cross in the light of everlasting life.

His body was the same as it had been at the crucifixion. The wounds were still there. But it was also different. It was glorified. He appeared among them without knocking on the door and waiting for them to open it. He was just there! No one had unlocked the door. Jesus invited them to see his cross and then life and death itself in a different way. Jesus had said, “Because I live you too will live.” Just as he died but then rose again, so would his disciples. Jesus had been dead, but now he was alive. That is what would happen to them too. It was as Jesus had said early in his ministry: “Whoever believes [will] have eternal life” (Jn 3:16). What comfort and peace they had because he was alive! They could face all of life’s challenges, knowing they would live forever. They would be brought back to life with glorified bodies like his and live with him forever in the mansions he prepared for them.

That comfort and peace are yours too. The cross is empty. Jesus endured the pain, suffering, and death, but he did not stay dead. He is the same Jesus who paid the debt your sins deserved. Look at his hands. They move. Look at his feet. He stands among the disciples and walks among them. His hands and feet are not still, quiet, and lifeless. They belong to a risen and glorified Lord. You too will live.

The women had helped with the burial of Jesus. Then his hands had been still and lifeless. But no longer. There will come a time for all of us when our bodies lie still and lifeless in a casket and later in a grave. As Jesus moved among the disciples and they touched his living hands, they found the hope of their own resurrection and eternal life. We find it too. Our hands may be still in death, but they will move again. Jesus will call you and me out of our graves. Then our hands will move again. Jesus will call us from our graves and give us glorified bodies like his.

That hope is based on the living Lord. This Easter hope gives us the courage to face each challenge, each tragedy, and each misery of life. We know we will rise from the dead as he did. Only he has the power to offer such hope. When we face the loss of a beloved believer—a child, a spouse, a parent—we turn to the promises of Jesus for comfort. We need not be afraid as the disciples were before Jesus appeared. He lives! He overcame death! Our sins are forgiven. Peace be with you! Amen.

Text:  John 19:1-16

¹ Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. ² The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head. They clothed him in a purple robe ³ and went up to him again and again, saying, “Hail, king of the Jews!” And they struck him in the face. ⁴ Once more Pilate came out and said to the Jews, “Look, I am bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no basis for a charge against him.” ⁵ When Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, Pilate said to them, “Here is the man!” ⁶ As soon as the chief priests and their officials saw him, they shouted, “Crucify! Crucify!” But Pilate answered, “You take him and crucify him. As for me, I find no basis for a charge against him.” ⁷ The Jews insisted, “We have a law, and according to that law he must die, because he claimed to be the Son of God.”

⁸ When Pilate heard this, he was even more afraid, ⁹ and he went back inside the palace. “Where do you come from?” he asked Jesus, but Jesus gave him no answer. ¹⁰ “Do you refuse to speak to me?” Pilate said. “Don’t you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?” ¹¹ Jesus answered, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.”

¹² From then on, Pilate tried to set Jesus free, but the Jews kept shouting, “If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar.” ¹³ When Pilate heard this, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judge’s seat at a place known as the Stone Pavement (which in Aramaic is Gabbatha). ¹⁴ It was the day of Preparation of Passover Week, about the sixth hour. “Here is your king,” Pilate said to the Jews. ¹⁵ But they shouted, “Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!” “Shall I crucify your king?” Pilate asked. “We have no king but Caesar,” the chief priests answered. ¹⁶ Finally Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified.  So the soldiers took charge of Jesus.

Dear Christian Friends,

“Where do you come from?” Pilate asked Jesus. The Jewish leaders had accused Jesus of claiming to be the Son of God. Pilate had already concluded that Jesus was innocent. He had announced, “I find no basis for a charge against him.” Yet he had humiliated Jesus with a crown of thorns and a robe. His soldiers had beaten him and mocked him as the king of the Jews. When Pilate said, “Here is the man!” what they saw was a captive, bloody, humiliated prisoner. The chief priests and elders saw Jesus and they shouted, “Crucify! Crucify!” Pilate was unmoved until the Jewish leaders accused Jesus of claiming to be the Son of God. That got Pilate’s attention. He was afraid. He went back inside to question Jesus again. After all the humiliation and beating, Jesus still stood before Pilate. He possessed confidence and offered a surprising answer to Pilate’s renewed questioning.

On this Good Friday, we remember the death of the Son of God. Throughout the world, this day is set aside for us to commemorate his crucifixion. We have come here today to do the same thing. Let us sharpen our focus on the cross of Jesus and understand what happened there.

See his cross! Jesus died willingly!

I. He became subject to human authority.

Jesus stood before Pilate, but it was not his first appearance before those in authority. He had been arrested and brought to the high priest’s quarters. First he had appeared before Annas, the father-in-law of Caiaphas, and then he was brought before Caiaphas the high priest. Caiaphas was the highest Jewish authority. He had been appointed by the Romans to his position. As the head of the Jewish high council, the Sanhedrin, he was a powerful and important figure. He was a politician who knew how to get things done, and he was ruthless and clever.

But, of course, he was an enemy of Jesus. Along with others, he had watched the ministry of Jesus with growing fear. The prophet from Galilee had gained a wide following and had accused the Jewish leaders, calling them a brood of vipers and hypocrites. The Jewish leaders were concerned that what Jesus had started would bring an end to their power and influence, including their national identity as Jews. At the raising of Lazarus, these leaders had seriously begun to plot the death of Jesus. In the discussion they wondered, “Here is this man performing many miraculous signs. If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.” Caiaphas had advised, “You know nothing at all! You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish” (Jn 11:47-50). Sacrifice Jesus, they concluded, and all the commotion about him would disappear. Life would go on as before. They would still be in power.

When they finally arrested Jesus, their indictment of him was the conclusion of that plot. The Jewish leaders believed that sacrificing Jesus was in the national interest. If they did not bring the death penalty to bear on Jesus, the consequences would be worse for them and their country. The Romans would bring their national identity to an end. But although they could not carry out the death penalty because of the Roman occupation, they were clever enough to bring Jesus to Pilate and force him to carry out the death penalty.

So Jesus stood before Pilate. He had been arrested quietly and without incident except for the ear of Malchus. Jesus had been under the control of the Jewish leaders who had turned him over to Roman control at the first light of day on Friday. Pilate himself was a powerful man. He had been appointed governor by the emperor Tiberius Caesar. And that appointment gave him power over the entire province, including control of the army of occupation. He had the power to execute and the power to pardon. He was the power of imperial Rome in Jerusalem and Judea.

The Jews hurled their accusations against Jesus, and the one that caused Pilate fear was the accusation that he was the Son of God. When Pilate questioned Jesus, at first, Jesus remained quiet. Pilate’s anger flared and he asserted, “Do you refuse to speak to me? . . . Don’t you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?” Pilate must have been surprised at the response of Jesus: “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above.”

Jesus was not the helpless victim he appeared to be. He had preformed miracles. He had raised the dead. He had walked on water and calmed the sea. When they came to arrest him, he told his disciples that he could have been protected by 12 legions of angels (Mt 26:53), about 72,000 angels. That’s more angels than Pilate had soldiers. Jesus had firmly told Peter to put away his sword and then healed the ear of Malchus. Jesus had willingly submitted to the arresting mob in the garden, the Jewish leaders’ questions and mistreatment, and now to Pilate. He was accused of making himself a king and claiming to be the Son of God. Pilate and the Jewish leaders might have thought those accusations were trumped up charges to bring Jesus to his execution, but Jesus is both a King and the Son of God.

In this interview with Pilate, Jesus was bold and self-assured. He expressed no hint of helplessness or weakness. There was no plea for mercy, no attempt to defend himself against the charges, and no explanations for his actions. When Jesus said that Pilate would have no power over him unless it had been given to him from above, Pilate might have concluded that Jesus was talking about Caesar. But Jesus made it clear that there was a higher judge to whom the Roman governor was accountable. Caiaphas was also subject to that judge and would be accounted “guilty of a greater sin.” The reason was clear enough. As the highest religious leader of the Jews, Caiaphas knew the Scriptures. He had read the prophecies but had rejected Jesus as the fulfillment of those prophecies and rejected Jesus’ clear admission that he was the Messiah. He knowingly and willingly rejected Jesus—a greater sin than Pilate’s ignorant blunder and miscarriage of justice.

Jesus had submitted himself willingly to a cunning and powerful Jewish high priest and a powerful and ignorant Roman governor. Why? The answer is really quite simple. The Son of God loves us. He stood before the Jewish leaders because he wanted to be there. He stood before Pilate because he wanted to be there. Jesus knew what was going to happen. He calmly awaited the abuse, the crown of thorns, the ridicule, and the crucifixion. He willingly endured it because he chose to obey his heavenly Father, who had “so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son” (Jn 3:16).

The reason for all the pain for the Son of God is because it was the way God had determined to reclaim sinners. He sent his Son as a substitute for all humanity and sacrificed him as payment for the sins of the world. We did not deserve this willing sacrifice. Yet, “while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Ro 5:8). We are rescued from sin by God’s grace. The sacrifice of Jesus was for you and for me. Yes, he is the Son of God, and his sacrifice was enough to pay for the sins of all the world for all time. We are redeemed by his holy, precious blood and his innocent suffering and death. Jesus willingly became subject to flawed human authority so we might be forgiven.

II. Jesus understood his mission.

From Pilate’s perspective, the idea that Jesus was the “Son of God” no doubt caused some superstitious fear in him. His gods were everywhere. Even if he was not particularly religious, he was superstitious. He had no understanding of the Old Testament and no appreciation for what the Lord God Jehovah had planned as the mission of his one and only Son. But Jesus understood his mission.

Pilate had reservations about the death penalty for Jesus. He was afraid that Jesus just might be one of the gods standing before him. He had received a note from his wife warning him not to have anything to do with Jesus. She had suffered in a bad dream about Jesus. Pilate wanted to release Jesus. But the Jews kept screaming for the crucifixion of Jesus and warned Pilate, “If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar” (Jn 19:12). Pilate was in a corner with no escape. If he let Jesus go, these rabid Jews would make waves for Pilate all the way to Rome. He crumbled under the pressure and issued the order to crucify Jesus.

On the other hand, Jesus had no reservations before Pilate at all. He was not a helpless victim whimpering and whining about the injustice of the entire procedure. Instead, he displayed a bold self-assurance—a kind of surprising chutzpah before Pilate. He laid down his life willingly. Pilate’s order applied to the soldiers, but Jesus willingly gave his life. It was just as Jesus had said, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father” (Jn 10:11,17,18).

Jesus was ready and willing to finish his mission. He was our substitute. No one can redeem himself or herself. We cannot remove the sins from our loved ones and make them live, as much as we might wish to make that happen. Only one could do that—this Son of God who willingly laid down his life for us. The nails were driven into his flesh, and his cross was raised on Calvary. We see his cross, and we hear his words: “It is finished” (Jn 19:30). It’s done. Our salvation is a completed fact because the Son of God laid down his life for us. See his cross and understand what it means. Praise God that Jesus, the Son of God, willingly died for us. Amen.

TEXT:  ¹⁹ And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” ²⁰ In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.

Dear Friends in Christ,

Jesus taught in the temple on Monday and Tuesday of Holy Week. On Wednesday, he stayed away from public gatherings. He sent Peter and John back into Jerusalem to prepare for the Passover meal. On Thursday he quietly reentered Jerusalem with his disciples. Together they would celebrate the Passover in the upper room. His last hours were spent with his disciples. When the meal was finished, they left the upper room and walked to the Garden of Gethsemane. There Jesus would be arrested. All the events Jesus had foretold to his disciples would then begin. Those events would end with his crucifixion on the next day. Lent is a time when we turn our attention to our Lord’s passion. This week is Holy Week, and Thursday—Maundy Thursday—is the day we traditionally set aside to mark the institution of the Lord’s Supper—
Holy Communion. The Sacrament is tied to the events of Holy Week. The apostle Paul reminds us that the Lord’s Supper is tied to the cross of Jesus. He wrote, “Whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes” (1 Co 11:26). We are to see the cross when we come together to receive the Lord’s Supper.

See his cross! Receive the blessings of the cross!

I. Jesus tied his blessings to the Sacrament of the Altar.

The Passover meal was an important event for devout Jews. Orthodox Jews still celebrate the Passover today. God commanded his Old Testament people to hold this festival every year in order to commemorate their deliverance from Egypt. Each feature of the meal was to remind them of the events of that great deliverance from the bondage of slavery. They purged the house of all leaven, or yeast, in preparation of the festival. Removing yeast was a reminder that the Jews left Egypt in a hurry and could not wait for their bread to rise. The Seder meal includes bitter herbs, such as horseradish, to remind the Jews of their bitter sufferings. Wine and unleavened bread are significant parts of the Passover meal, which Jesus and his disciples celebrated in the upper room.

The Passover meal begins with a blessing over a glass of wine and ends with another blessing over wine. Jesus and his disciples ate this Passover meal, but on this night it became different. Jesus made something new and changed the celebration. He took the unleavened bread from the table, broke it apart, and distributed it to his disciples. Then Jesus took the wine from the Passover table and passed it on to the disciples. These two acts were new and different for all of them, and they realized that what they witnessed and received was different and new.

From that moment, these Jewish believers would not eat the Passover in the old way any longer. Certainly they may have celebrated the Passover, but it would always have a new dimension and new reference point in Jesus, the Messiah. After Pentecost, the believers used this new command of Jesus as part of their worship. The book of Acts tells us that these disciples “devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer” (Ac 2:42). The apostle Paul gave directions to the Corinthians concerning the Sacrament too. It has remained an important part of Christian worship since the moment Jesus instituted it.

Jesus made something new on that Maundy Thursday, and he tied the unleavened bread and wine to his cross. He said, “This is my body given for you.” The disciples had grown accustomed to seeing Jesus. He had a human body just as they did. He was born of the virgin Mary. They knew her; she would be there at the crucifixion, where Jesus would tell John to take care of her. Jesus was a human in every way. The body he had would be “given for you.” Jesus knew what that meant; the disciples didn’t fully understand it at that moment, but they would soon understand. In just a few hours, Jesus would be arrested and beaten by soldiers. When he was turned over to Pilate, his body would be beaten again, scourged, and crucified.

His body was given for them and for all humanity. He endured all these things because he took our place and suffered what we deserved to suffer for our sins. He was innocent of any sin, but he assumed our sins and the sins of all the world. “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Co 5:21). Isaiah had seen it long before it happened: “By his wounds we are healed” (Isa 53:5). Yes, his body was “given for you.” By that, Jesus clearly meant it was given for the disciples in the upper room and for you and me here today.

The second part of this special new command involved the wine. Jesus also tied that to his cross. He said it is “my blood, which is poured out for you.” In the events of the next day, Jesus certainly would bleed. The scourging opened wounds on his back. It was a cruel and bloody punishment. The soldiers beat Jesus and made a crown of thorns for his head. Then they mocked him and beat the thorns of that crown into his head. Blood flowed down his face from those wounds Good Friday morning. And, of course, nails pierced his hands and feet. Then after he died, the soldier pierced Jesus’ side with his spear and out of that gash came blood and water. Jesus was dead.

His blood was poured out for us. The comment of Jesus tied this part of the Sacrament to his cross and his passion. He would bleed for these disciples and also for us. The bread and wine Jesus took from the Passover table now were filled with new meaning and significance. He tied them to his cross. Make no mistake about that.

Jesus also indicated that this was not a onetime symbol or word picture. He said, “Do this.” The disciples of Jesus were to do it after this night with Jesus. And they did. And we do too. We do it as Jesus directed: “Do this in remembrance of me.” We remember his body and blood. We go back to the cross and think of what he accomplished there. His body and blood achieved forgiveness. When we come to the Sacrament, we remember the great sacrifice Jesus made for us: his pain, his suffering—giving his body for us so we might be forgiven, shedding his blood so that we might be cleansed. Come, Jesus invites us. Do this. Eat his body with the bread and drink his blood with the wine. Do it in remembrance of him. This Sacrament is tied to his cross for you and for me.

II. Jesus gives you the blessings of his cross.

We might spend so much time thinking about the word remembrance that we might fail to see one more essential feature of the Sacrament. It is his body and blood with the bread and wine. It is not simply a memorial meal for us to remember his cross. It’s even more than that.

Jesus said, “This is my body.” The words are clear. He has tied the unleavened bread to his body in a way we do not fully understand. It is not a symbol of his body or a representation of his body. It “is,” he said—his “body given for you.” When we come to the Lord’s Table, we receive the body of Jesus that was beaten and crucified for us. Because we receive his body given for us, we receive the forgiveness he has gained for us. In the same way, he says that the wine is his blood—the blood shed for you during his passion. It is the blood shed to win forgiveness. It’s not a symbol of his blood. It is his blood. That’s what Jesus said, and we have no reason to change his words.

Even if we don’t understand how it can be, we take Jesus at his word. Consider the events in the upper room. Jesus was with his disciples at the end of his public ministry. He would die in less than a day. This was the last moment he spent with his disciples before his death. What Jesus did was institute something new and different. It is his last will and testament. Just as we do not change anyone’s last will and testament, we do not change Jesus’ words even if we do not fully understand them. Jesus was not mentally unbalanced here in the upper room. He knew exactly what was waiting for him. The conversations were not incoherent. His words are all clear, including his words about this Sacrament. Why would we change his words? Remember that the words of Jesus had healed the sick and raised the dead. No one could understand those things either; they were miracles. This is no less a miracle—a repeating miracle every time we “do this in remembrance” of him. Our human minds are too small to grasp it fully, but the Sacrament does not depend on whether we understand fully. It depends on the words of Jesus and his power.

For us, this Sacrament is a special assurance of our forgiveness. Jesus was thinking of us on this night in the upper room. He knew that we would need the assurance of forgiveness on our journey through life. How often haven’t we struggled with questions and doubts about so many things? Think also about the challenges you have faced or are facing now. What pains? What heartache? What guilt nags at your heart? What fear of the future? What anguish over past events and past sins? Jesus understood all of those human challenges. He was thinking of all of your challenges when he told his disciples, “This is my body . . . this is . . . my blood.”

He knew that in times of doubt, fear, and anguish, we would need the assurance of his words to give us comfort and encouragement. But he also knew that we would sometimes need more than just words. So he gave us this Sacrament! It is words, and each time you receive the Sacrament, you hear those words: given and poured out for you for the forgiveness of sins. But it is also his true body and blood under the bread and wine to assure us that we are included in the deep love of Christ for sinners like us and that we have forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation.

The Sacrament takes us back to the cross of Jesus in a most wonderful and comforting way. We receive his body and blood and with it the forgiveness of our sins. The Sacrament calls us back to the cross each time we come to the Lord’s Table. It draws us together as his believers here in this challenging and chaotic life and centers us on what is most important: Jesus suffered and died for us. We are forgiven. We receive the blessings of his cross for our daily struggles. Amen.

¹ As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples, ² saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and just as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. ³ If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ tell him, ‘The Lord needs it and will send it back here shortly.’” ⁴ They went and found a colt outside in the street, tied at a doorway. As they untied it, ⁵ some people standing there asked, “What are you doing, untying that colt?” ⁶ They answered as Jesus had told them to, and the people let them go. ⁷ When they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks over it, he sat on it. ⁸ Many people spread their cloaks on the road, while others spread branches they had cut in the fields. ⁹ Those who went ahead and those who followed shouted, “Hosanna!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” ¹⁰ “Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!” “Hosanna in the highest!”

Hosanna – Save Us Now

Dear Friends in Christ,

It wasn’t September.  It was early April.  It wasn’t the Feast of Tabernacles.  It was the feast of Passover.  During the Feast of the Tabernacles it was the custom of the Jews who gathered in the city of Jerusalem to chant the Hallel (Psalms 113-118).  As one of the priests chanted the Hallel, the people joined in the responses at certain intervals, waving their branches of willow and palm, and shouting as they waved them “hallelujah,” or “hosanna” or “O Lord, I beseech thee, send now prosperity.”  (Psalm 118:25)  On each of the seven days during which the feast lasted, the people thronged in the court of the temple, and went in procession about the altar, setting their boughs bent toward it, the trumpets sounding as they shouted hosanna.  It was not uncommon for the Jews in later times to employ the observances of this feast, which was preeminently a feast of gladness, to express their feelings on other occasions of rejoicing.  Our text was one of those occasions.  It was the Sunday before our Lord’s death on the cross.  Word went out that he and disciples were entering the city.  It was a time of great hope, expectation and joy.  The Messiah was coming to the city of peace.  The chanting of this Messianic psalm by the people, the palm branches used to pave the road to the city, the coats strewn before the Lord to make a carpet of honor and the shouting of the word, “Hosanna!” by the people including the children gathered that day were a natural because they had done this before.  At the same time this was a one of a kind event.  For they were now welcoming thee Messiah.  Their “Hosanna” prayers were about to be answered!

The word, “Hosanna” comes from Psalm 118:25.  In Hebrew it is pronounced Hoshiah-na.  The Greek rendering of this word is Hosanna.  It means, “Save us now, O Lord.”  Even though they may have been thinking about a different kind of salvation, Jesus was indeed coming to Jerusalem to save his people.  In just five days his death would save them from sin, death and hell.  This morning let’s review the events of that day which we now call Palm Sunday and note how appropriate that word, “Hosanna,”  “save us now,” was.

He has the love to save us.

One event of this day that most of us do not think about often happened before Jesus and his disciples entered Jerusalem.  Luke tells us that as he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it and said, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace – but now it is hidden from your eyes.  The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side.  They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls.  They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you.”  (Luke 19:41-44) Jesus wept because of the hardness of the people’s hearts, because they didn’t want what he had to offer.  They had no interest in what they needed.  They didn’t want the forgiveness, peace and life he had to offer through the blood he would shed and the punishment he would endure.  They wanted guilt instead of peace, pain instead of joy, death instead of life.  Their King was coming for them, but they rejected him.  Because of that they would soon receive the guilt, pain and death they deserved.  The Roman legions would destroy them and their city in 70 A.D.

Why would Jesus even want to come to Jerusalem to save his people if he knew that they rejected him as the spiritual Messiah he was?  Only his grace and love can explain why Jesus willingly rode into harm’s way that day.  He was showing us the full extent of his love.  Why would God the Father let his Son fall into the hands of his enemies?  Once again love is the answer.  As Paul wrote, “God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)  Paul wrote to the Ephesians, “But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, ⁵ made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.” (Ephesians 2:4,5)  If only the people that day who were shouting Hosanna knew how his great love for them intensified with each step he took closer to Jerusalem.

What about us?  Do we understand his love for us?  On this day we should see our Lord doing something we do not deserve.  For our apathy toward his spiritual gifts, for being more concerned about our bodies than we are about our souls, for being more concerned about taking care of our bodies than we are concerned about taking care of our souls, the Lord should turn away from us and let us suffer and die alone forever in hell.  But in his love he wants all to be saved and to come to the truth.  Your presence here shows his love toward you.  For after dying for you he also made you alive in Christ by giving you the gift of faith.  With that faith comes the salvation we prayed for.

Jesus has the power to save us.

Jesus did not have any legions following him to conquer his enemies.  He didn’t need them because he is God.  His disciples and we were reminded of that when everything he said would happen that morning did.  “Jesus sent two of his disciples, ² saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and just as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. ³ If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ tell him, ‘The Lord needs it and will send it back here shortly.’” ⁴ They went and found a colt outside in the street, tied at a doorway. As they untied it, ⁵ some people standing there asked, “What are you doing, untying that colt?” ⁶ They answered as Jesus had told them to, and the people let them go.”  It’s not a miracle on par with raising Lazarus or calming storms or feeding 5000.  The man’s objections to their taking the colt simply cease and he seems ecstatic that Jesus honors him by using his humble property.  It was a miracle plain and simple.  Another example of Jesus’ almighty power and omniscience.  He is God.  He had to be God to save us.  For only a spotless lamb, one without blemish, without sin could satisfy God’s justice.  Because Jesus was God, his blood could purify us from all sin.  (1 John 1:7).  Only God has the power over death and can destroy death.  Death has been swallowed up in victory by Jesus.  His resurrection from the dead showed his almighty power.  We rejoice in his resurrection for it is the reason we have the hope of the resurrection from the grave.

Because Jesus is the loving, all-powerful Son of God we gladly offer what is ours for his use.  Why did that man let strangers take his colt after they said “the Lord needs it.”  Could it be that this person had already given the most important thing to Christ first?  Could it be that he had been led to give himself to Jesus?  Once a person, under the Spirit, is led to give his heart to Jesus, then colts, burros, possessions or whatever—come easily.  Then, when the disciples of the King sound the phrase, then gladly does one put that which is necessary into the King’s service.  For he is the one who has saved us.  (Example of a member responding to the church’s need)

Jesus has the humility to save us.

It wasn’t a white stallion he rode into Jerusalem on.  It wasn’t a red carpet that paved the street for him.  They were branches from the fields close by that they cut and threw along his path, not special ones from a royal garden.  In every way this humble march into the city symbolized what Jesus was about to do to save us.  He was about humble himself and become obedient to death to save us.  Legions of angels could have been summoned to guard and protect him.  With his own almighty power he could have destroyed his enemies with a word, but laid aside the full use of his divine attributes and privilege to die for our salvation.  The Bible says, “And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself
and became obedient to death— even death on a cross!” (Philippians 2:8)  He died on a cross, a symbol of shame!  But by that cross we were saved.  By his wounds we are healed!  (Isaiah 53:5)

For all of this Jesus deserved the praise the people sang to him on that day.  “Hosanna!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! ¹⁰ “Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!” “Hosanna in the highest!” The people knew that these words could only be fulfilled by the promised Messiah, the one who is the Lord, the one who would rule as a descendant of the great King David, whose kingdom would last forever, the one who would be the Son of the Highest.  They knew what those words meant and who they pictured, but on this day the elephant that was in the room was the false interpretation of what Messiah’s mission was to be.  They did not see him as one who was coming to save them from sin, death and hell, but as a King who had come to lead them to victory and freedom over their physical oppressors.  That was their hope and dream.  When Jesus disappointed them, they turned on him and called for his death!

So today we sing our Hosannas.  They are just as important today too.  Hosanna – save us now, O Lord, from the thinking that you are our Lord to just take care of our earthly needs.  Help us focus on our spiritual needs and how you saved us spiritually.  Hosanna—save us now from our sinful pride.  Pride which sees other peoples’ sins but not one’s own sins, pride which doesn’t see the reason for the humility of our Lord and isn’t humbled by his cross.  Pride which sees oneself as greater than others and is puffed up by their own accomplishments, but does not see the glory of the Lord and boast in it.  Hosanna—save us now from unbelief that stiff arms the blessings of your cross and depends on ones’ own deeds to save.  Hosanna!

Palm Sunday is this Sunday.

A Record to Lose

TEXT:  If you, O Lord, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand?

Do you hold any records of which you’re particularly proud?   Perhaps you were a very gifted student and got straight A’s all the way through school.  Maybe as a driver, you have never had a speeding ticket or a citation of any kind.  Maybe you have never been involved in a car accident.  Perhaps you were part of a safety record in a manufacturing plant or another place of employment-hundreds of days of operation without any accidents of any kind.  Could it be that you were part of a team that amassed a flawless record over the course of a season.  Or maybe your record is that you’ve gone without a cigarette for 24 months now or you’ve been sober for 20 years now.

Records are often a source of pride, and rightly so.  Other records, however, are noteworthy for less appealing reasons.  Mankato, Minnesota was the sight of the largest mass execution in United States history (that record still stands).  Frank Tanana, a long-time Detroit pitcher, is in the record books as third on the all-time list of “home runs allowed” in a career.  When I was in high school a little college nearby hadn’t won a game in over 7 seasons, a new collegiate record.  That dubious distinction even earned them some ink in Sports Illustrated that year.  My own home town high school basketball team, Roscoe, South Dakota, still hold the record for most consecutive losses by a boys high school basketball team in the state of South Dakota.

Some records are much better when they are lost.  That is the kind of record the psalmist speaks about – a record of sins against the Lord God.   Can you imagine what your and my rap sheet would look like?  We should pause to consider, with the psalmist, all of the sinful thoughts that have entered our minds, the wicked words that have toppled off of our tongues, the atrocious actions that have been produced by our hands – and not just today, but every day – our life-long record.  And then there are all those sins we have committed that we have no idea we have committed, our hidden faults.   How many sins have we committed?  The question requires no answer, of course.  Even a record tsunami could not produce a fraction of the destruction that our record of sin deserves.  There would be no one left standing before God.

But the operative word in our text today from the psalmist is the little word, “if.”  “If you, O Lord, kept a record of sins…”  Did the Lord God lose his homework somewhere?  Did he misplace his log-book, His record of sins.  While it is true that the record is gone, it certainly wasn’t lost or misplaced.  It was the Lord’s good and gracious purpose that it be lost.  “With the Lord there is forgiveness.”  Forgiveness speaks not to an accidental losing – not to an absent-minded misplacing.  Forgiveness says the Lord arranged for this devastating record to be taken away to spare sinners like you and me from destruction and death.

Paul elaborates a bit on the Lord’s forgiveness plan, saying, “God made you alive with Christ.  He forgave you all your sins…that stood opposed to you; He took it away, nailing it to the cross” (Colossians 2:13-14).  Our record of sin wasn’t lost, but the punishment of its guilt was lost to you and me.  Jesus, the Christ, took it upon himself.  Like the Israelites’ scapegoat, Jesus took that sin and guilt away from you and me to a solitary place, to the cross.  There he willingly absorbed the punishment of sin for you and me.  Your record of sins did not get lost.  Look to Christ and His cross – that is where you’ll find your record.  It has been taken away by the Lamb of God (John 1:29).  Amen.

Psalm 103

  Of David.

¹ Praise the LORD, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
² Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits—
³ who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases,
⁴ who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion,
⁵ who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

⁶ The LORD works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed.

⁷ He made known his ways to Moses, his deeds to the people of Israel:
⁸ The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love.
⁹ He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever;
¹⁰ he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities.
¹¹ For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him;
¹² as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
¹³ As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him;
¹⁴ for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust.
¹⁵ As for man, his days are like grass, he flourishes like a flower of the field;
¹⁶ the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more.
¹⁷ But from everlasting to everlasting the LORD’s love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children’s children—
¹⁸ with those who keep his covenant and remember to obey his precepts.

¹⁹ The LORD has established his throne in heaven, and his kingdom rules over all.

²⁰ Praise the LORD, you his angels, you mighty ones who do his bidding, who obey his word.
²¹ Praise the LORD, all his heavenly hosts, you his servants who do his will.
²² Praise the LORD, all his works everywhere in his dominion.

Praise the LORD, O my soul.

Where did we come from? How old is the earth? Was there an Adam and Eve? Did God create the universe or was it an act of random chance? Explore the questions and review the evidence from all sides of the Creation versus Evolution debate. Join us for 3 engrossing sessions that will inform and enlighten you. There is no cost to attend.

Session 1: Wednesday, April 4 from 7:00-9:00 PM
Session 2: Wednesday, April 11 from 7:00-9:00 PM
Session 3: Wednesday, April 18 from 7:00-9:00 PM

(Optional: Trip to the Creation Museum in Petersburg, Kentucky on May 11,12, Cost $150)

Refreshments will be served.

Where: Our Savior Ev. Lutheran Church
Address: 14343 W. Sprague Rd., Strongsville,
Register at 440-234-6595 or 440-334-8721

There is a book available which contains all the information of the sessions for the cost of $10. Order this book at the time of registration if you want it.

The sessions are free!

The children will hear the story of the resurrection of Jesus, learn a song and do a craft to reinforce the truths of Jesus’ resurrection, enjoy some games, a candy hunt and a snack provided by the Our Savior church family. It will be great time for fun and fellowship as we look forward to Easter morning. Everyone is welcome.

When March 31, 2012 from 9:30-11:30 AM

Who’s invited All children from Preschool – 8^th Grade

What we will do  Easter candy hunt, Easter story, Easter song, Easter craft, Easter treat, etc.

What will it cost It’s FREE!

Where

Our Savior Lutheran Church
14343 W Sprague Rd
Strongsville, OH  44136
440-234-6595

Call 440-234-6595 today to let us know you’re coming! Or use our handy online form!

Invite your friends to come with you!

¹ After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed:

“Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. ² For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. ³ Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. ⁴ I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. ⁵ And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.

Dear Friends in Christ,

The Medal of Honor is the highest honor a member of the American armed services can receive. Some medals are awarded posthumously because the service members died on the field of battle during their acts of courage. Those awarded the glory of such a distinction went beyond the call of duty to save their comrades and advance the military objective of their units. Their stories are preserved as an inspiration to others, including future generations. Such honor, such glory!

We have come here into this house of worship to hear a story of unbelievable courage on a different kind of battlefield. Jesus suffered, died, and rose again in order to rescue all of humanity. The story of his cross brings us comfort and encouragement in our own battles with sin, death, and hell.

See his cross! Glory be to Jesus!

I. He completed his Father’s work.

Jesus was sent to earth with a mission. Even from the beginning it was clear. When the angel appeared to Joseph and explained Mary’s pregnancy, the angel said, “She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins” (Mt 1:21). Then at the birth of Jesus, the glory of the Lord broke into the Bethlehem night and the angel left no doubt about what had just happened: “Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord” (Lk 2:11).

Of course, even before Jesus came, the mission of this baby was clear to anyone reading the Scriptures. God had said that a virgin would give birth to a son and his name would be Immanuel, which means “God with us.” His purpose was to preach the good news, bind up the brokenhearted, proclaim freedom, and comfort those who mourn (Isa 61:1,2). All the sacrifices of the Old Testament law pointed not only to his coming but also to the bloody end of his mission. He would be sacrificed as the Lamb of God who would take away the sin of the world, just as John the Baptist had also announced.

All of that is precisely what Jesus did. He spent his ministry proclaiming the gospel, healing the sick, and even raising the dead. But the final chapter of his mission was in Jerusalem. He had told his disciples of these events before they happened. And even if they did not fully understand, Jesus saw his mission clearly. When he prayed to his heavenly Father, “Glorify your Son,” he was ready to embrace his cross and all that it meant—the suffering, the abuse, the ridicule, and his death. While on the cross just before his death, Jesus announced, “It is finished” (Jn 19:30). All that God had planned for his Son to suffer and endure was complete. His resurrection three days later was a glorious confirmation of his mission. Glory be to Jesus! He has completed his mission.

No medal could adequately honor Jesus for what he has done. He has rescued us by his cross. We were born in sin and by nature are captives of sin and death. It is as Jesus said, “Everyone who sins is a slave to sin” (Jn 8:34). Our lives are broken by the oppression of guilt and sorrow. We mourn life’s tragedies and become brokenhearted at what we must endure here. The world might offer us some pleasures, and we might even revel in those pleasures: sexual immorality, selfish ambition, drunkenness, and a host of other vices. But our pleasure changes nothing. We cannot change our situation. All we might do is to make life a little more comfortable, but guilt and death remain.

Jesus has set us free. He suffered for our sins; we are forgiven because of his cross. That was God’s plan from the beginning. Glory be to Jesus! What we could not do, he did. We did not and could not deserve any of the blessings. They were given to us by grace through the cross of Christ. Jesus has completed his mission. He came to preach the good news, bind up the brokenhearted, proclaim freedom, and comfort those who mourn. He has finished that task. Praise him for his efforts for you. Glory be to Jesus! As we focus on his cross, we have one more blessing to consider.

II. By his cross, he brings eternal life.

God has not hidden the result of sin from us. We experience its cruel force as we see family members breathe their last and then disappear into their graves. We know that we too will come to that end. Not only does God remind us of sin and death with each edition of the obituaries, he has also clearly said, “The wages of sin is death” (Ro 6:23). Death is the one constant in human history. We come here, we live, and we die. You can’t change that. I can’t change that. No leader, except one, has changed the formula. Muhammad, Confucius, Buddha, Lenin, Washington, and Lincoln were all great leaders, but they have not altered God’s announcement, “The wages of sin is death.” It’s worse than the obituary pages because God reminds us that the death he speaks about is eternal separation from him and the blessings of heaven.

The cross of Jesus has changed that forever. What wonderful news we find in the cross of Christ! God’s Word says, “The blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin” (1 Jn 1:7). The cross of Jesus brings justification—a declaration that we are innocent and forgiven. All are “justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood” (Ro 3:24,25). Glory be to Jesus! We stand acquitted before the court of God’s justice.

Is it too much to believe that with the forgiveness of sins also comes life? That’s also what God says. Since the wages of sin is death, “the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Ro 6:23). Eternal life is our gift of grace through the cross of Jesus. We are encouraged to see his cross and raise our voices in praise! Glory be to Jesus!

Yes, eternal life is yours through the cross of Christ. Your sins are forgiven, and Jesus promises you life, “God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (Jn 3:16). You know that passage. How often it seems to recede into the background when we experience life’s tragedies. When we sense our own aging process and come to the realization that we are no better than any other human being, we need to see the cross of Jesus. We will die. We will shed this corrupt flesh. Yet we shall live. We will even arise with glorified bodies, no longer handicapped by the corruption of sin. So Jesus, who died and rose again, says, “He who believes in me will live, even though he dies” (Jn 11:25). The mission of Jesus was to die for our sins and rise again. He finished his mission. Glory be to Jesus!

III. Jesus has eternal glory.

Let’s not forget who Jesus is. He is the Lord of glory from eternity. We confess in the Nicene Creed that he is “God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God.” Jesus himself claims he is the Lord of glory from eternity. In the prayer in our reading, he says, “Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.” What a claim! Before Adam and Eve, Jesus had glory with his Father. Yes, he is God. He also claimed that he should be honored as God. He said clearly that “all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him” (Jn 5:23).

There were glimpses of that eternal glory while Jesus was here on earth. His miracles demonstrated that he was certainly more than just a great teacher. He took Peter, James, and John to a mountaintop and met with Moses and Elijah. On that transfiguration mount, they saw more than just a human teacher. They saw that “his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light” (Mt 17:2). Most of the time his glory and majesty were hidden, but they were hidden only so that he could accomplish his mission.

When we see the cross of Jesus, we should remember that there too he hid his eternal glory. He appeared as a helpless victim executed at the hands of Roman soldiers. No one could see eternal glory in a bloody man accused of being a traitor to Rome, condemned unjustly, and crucified. Yet, at the death of Jesus, one of those Romans was moved to confess, “Surely he was the Son of God!” (Mt 27:54). That Roman did not see the eternal majesty and glory of Jesus, but he saw the cross, endured the darkness of Good Friday, and felt the earthquake at the death of Jesus.

The glory of Jesus is his cross. It’s still hidden from the world around us. The world wants pizzazz, celebration, lights, awards, and glitz. The lowly cross seems out of place. I think sometimes that even we are tempted to minimize the cross of Jesus. We think that the church should be prominent and should influence society and the world. We are at times disappointed by the way the visible church today is despised and even persecuted in our world. Ridicule and disgrace are the daily lot of Christianity, rather than acclaim, glory, and honor. We may be tempted to abandon the disgrace of the cross and its hidden glory.

But see the cross of Jesus clearly. This world will all disappear. Satan even tempted Jesus with “all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor” (Mt 4:8). But Jesus resisted because he knew that all those kingdoms and their glory were already his. He knew they would soon be gone. All the fame, power, influence, and importance of those nations and people would be gone except in the history books and the broken monuments left behind. That stark reality is true even in our own lives. All we count today as our accomplishments, prize possessions, glory, and fame will disappear.

Jesus is the eternal Son of God. He came to claim you for his eternal kingdom. He humbled himself to accomplish his mission. His lowly bloodstained cross is your hope for life beyond the dusty history books and the crumbling monuments of great civilizations. He wants you with him eternally, and he came to redeem you for his kingdom. Remember that he has eternal glory—a glory he had before the world began. When the last page of this world’s history is written, he will still be here. He tells us that he will come in glory on the clouds of heaven to claim us from our graves and from this world of sorrow and misery. Then he will welcome us to heaven where we shall sing, “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!” (Rev 5:12). For now let us see his cross clearly and praise him. Glory be to Jesus!   Amen.