“But now, thus says the LORD, who created you, O Jacob, and He who formed you, O Israel: ‘Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; you are Mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you. For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior….’” Isaiah 43:1-3a
There are many who would have us believe that the Christian’s life in this world will be one without trouble and suffering, but God never makes such a promise. In fact, God tells us that our lives in this sinful world will be full of suffering. Not only will we be hated and persecuted because of our faith, but we must suffer pain, sorrow and even temporal death because we are sinners living in a sin-filled world which is under God’s curse (cf. 2 Tim. 3:12; Gen. 3).
But need we be afraid in the troubles of life? God’s Word tells us: “But now, thus says the LORD, who created you, O Jacob, and He who formed you, O Israel: ‘Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; you are Mine.’”
While God does not promise us a trouble-free life in this world, He does promise to be with us and keep us through all the sufferings of this life!
As Christians, we can draw on the comfort of Isaiah 43. Each of us has been created by the LORD God; and He has redeemed us with the holy and precious blood of Jesus, shed upon the cross for our sins. Through the preaching of the Gospel, God’s Spirit called us to faith in Christ Jesus and has made us the beloved children of God (cf. 2 Thess. 2:13-14; Gal. 3:26-29; 1 John 3:1-2). We are God’s own special people (cf. 1 Pet. 2:9-10).
God, who has both created and redeemed us, promises us: “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you. For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior….”
We can think of the examples of Israel passing safely through the waters of the Red Sea and the flooded Jordan (Ex. 14; Josh. 3- 4); and we can think of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, whom God preserved in the fiery furnace (Dan. 3); but this promise of God’s Word applies to the troubles and problems we face in our lives as well. Our Savior, Jesus, is with us always as He promised in Matthew 28:20. He will never leave us or forsake us (Heb. 13:5).
Even though troubles may be all around us, God promises us that “no evil shall befall you” (Psalm 91:10; cf. Ps. 121), and that all will work together for our good (Rom. 8:28).
Even in the valley of the shadow of death we need not be afraid, for our God is with us and will bring us safely through it that we may dwell with Him in the house of the LORD forever (Ps. 23).
Why does God do this for us? He tells us: “for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; you are Mine.” He is JEHOVAH our God. He is the Holy One of Israel, and Israel includes all who share in the faith of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
And, He is our Savior. He has redeemed us from our sins and from everlasting death by His holy life and innocent sufferings and death for us upon the cross, and He will return to take us to dwell with Him forever.
As we suffer in this world, we also remember that “the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us” (Rom. 8:18).
Dear LORD God, our Maker and Redeemer, we give You thanks for the comfort of Your Word and for the assurance that You will be with us and bring us safely through this vale of tears to Yourself in heaven. In the name of Jesus, our Savior, we pray. Amen.
“For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come. Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body.” 1 Corinthians 11:23-29
Under the Old Testament, God’s people each year observed the Passover, in which a lamb, without blemish and without spot, was killed and its blood shed and smeared upon the doorposts and lintels of their homes. And the people roasted that sacrificial lamb in the fire and ate of it in readiness. They were to observe it each year in remembrance of the Lord’s Passover, when the angel of death passed over God’s people and spared their firstborn sons but killed the firstborn of the Egyptians — all who did not have the blood of the lamb upon the doorposts and lintels of their homes. Read Exodus 12.
It was indeed fitting that, during the observance of the Passover, Jesus, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29), the holy and righteous Son of God made man (1 Peter 1:18-19), instituted the New Testament sacrament to show forth His death for the sins of the world until He comes again to receive us to Himself.
As, under the Old Testament, a lamb was sacrificed each year so that the people would remember how the LORD God had delivered them from death and brought them out from the land of their slavery, so, under the New Testament, we are to observe the Lord’s Supper often to remember Christ’s sacrifice upon the cross for our sins and to partake of that sacrifice in faith that we might be spared from God’s judgment upon sin and be delivered from death and hell and given a place in God’s everlasting kingdom.
Jesus said: “This do in remembrance of me” and “For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come.”
But, as Jesus said, when we partake of the bread, blessed and consecrated for this purpose, and when we partake of the cup of wine, we partake not just of bread and wine as mere symbols; we are given to partake of Christ’s body and blood, given and shed for us upon the cross for the remission of our sins. We are given to partake of His atoning sacrifice for sins; and the benefits, through faith in Christ Jesus, become our own.
Thus, according to Jesus’ words, “Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you” and “This cup is the new testament in my blood,” we are given to partake of His body and blood, given and shed for us. We partake of the sacrifice by which God established a New Testament (or covenant) in which He forgives our sins and gives to us eternal life (Cf. Jeremiah 31:31-34; Hebrews 9:11-28). How Jesus gives us to eat and drink of His true body and blood in this New Testament sacrament is beyond our ability to comprehend, but we accept and believe His words.
Those who partake of this sacrament in faith receive the blessings which Christ won for them when He shed His blood upon the cross and died for the sins of the world as our sacrificial Lamb. Those who partake of this sacrament in impenitence and unbelief become “guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord.” Instead of receiving the blessings Christ offers and gives, they partake of His sacrifice to their own condemnation, counting the blood of the covenant by which they were redeemed as an unholy and common thing (cf. Hebrews 10:29).
Dear Lord Jesus, Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, grant that we partake of Your body, given into death for us, and Your blood, shed for the remission of our sins, with penitent hearts and with faith in You as our Sacrifice and our Savior. Amen.
[Scripture quotations are taken from the King James Version of the Bible]
“Who hath believed our report? And to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed? For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: He hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire Him. He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from Him; He was despised, and we esteemed Him not.” Isaiah 53:1-3
Who believes what the Scriptures say of Jesus? Who believes that He is the long-promised Messiah and the Savior of sinful mankind?
Writing some 700 years before the birth of Messiah Jesus, Isaiah the prophet spoke of His coming, His sufferings, death and resurrection, and of His rejection by the people. And these words still hold true today!
Jesus, the arm of the LORD, the promised Messiah and Savior of the world, grew up before the LORD God humbly, “as a tender plant,” and in an unexpected time and place, being born of a virgin named Mary and growing up in Nazareth of Galilee “as a root out of a dry ground.”
His form and appearance was nothing unusual so as to draw people to Him or permit them to recognize Him as the Messiah. And, as Jesus carried out His ministry, calling upon all to repent and believe the good news of forgiveness and life in Him, He was despised and rejected.
The religious leaders of Israel hated Him and viewed Him as a threat to their system of worship and sacrifice. The religiously conservative Pharisees hated Him because He pointed out their inner transgressions and failures to keep God’s law by loving Him first and foremost and then also loving their neighbors as themselves. The liberal Sadducees hated Him, for He pointed out their unbelief and rejection of the teaching of the Holy Scriptures. Many of the common people recognized His great power and longed to see His miracles; but still, for the most part, they failed to recognize Him as the holy Son of God come into this world a true man to save sinners.
And what is different today? Who believes and recognizes that this Jesus is the LORD God Himself in human flesh? Who comes to Him in repentance and trusts that in Him there is forgiveness and life everlasting?
The Jesus of the Bible is a threat to many of the religious leaders of our day for He does not teach that we can get to heaven by our good deeds, our religious works and services, by church membership or by charitable contributions to worthy causes. He still calls upon all to repent of their sinful ways and turn to Him for forgiveness and life!
The Jesus of the Bible is too merciful for many of the religiously conservative, for He associates with the worst of sinners and offers them forgiveness and life through faith in Him. On the other hand, He is too zealous for the truth for the religious liberals of our day for He taught the absolute truth of Scripture and yielded not a jot or tittle of God’s Word to popular opinion, holding to the Genesis creation, a bodily resurrection, a final judgment and a literal heaven and hell.
Though Jesus came into this world to take our place under God’s law, to bear our griefs and sorrows and to suffer and die in our stead, He is still “despised and rejected of men.” We hide our faces from Him and neglect the great salvation He has won for us by His innocent sufferings and death upon the cross.
Instead of taking the time to consider Jesus, who He is, and what He has done for us, we value Him lightly and neglect the gracious gift of forgiveness and life which God desires to give us. Instead of considering the pain and anguish He suffered for us when He bore the guilt and punishment for our sins, we turn our heads and walk away in apathy and unbelief.
Yes, the inspired words of Isaiah the prophet still hold true today; but, more importantly, they reveal to us the truth of who Jesus was and is. They point us to Jesus, the Messiah and Savior rejected by men. They tell us what He suffered for us in order to save us from the punishment we so deserve. They offer to us forgiveness and life in Jesus’ name!
O dear Jesus, forgive me for not recognizing You for who You are and for all that You suffered for me that I might have forgiveness for all my sins and life everlasting with You in heaven. Amen.
“Surely He hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed.” Isaiah 53:4-5
As Isaiah prophesied, some 700 years before the birth of Messiah Jesus, He bore and carried in His sinless body the curse of our sin against the LORD God. He bore our griefs and sicknesses. He carried our pains and sorrows.
Yet the people of His day, and especially the religious leaders of Israel, viewed the sufferings and death He endured as the just punishment of God upon Him for His claims to be the promised “Son of man” (Daniel 7:13-14), the Christ, the very Son of God and Savior of the world (cf. Matthew 26:63ff.). And there are, yet today, many who still view His execution as just because of His messianic claims.
But the real reason for His wounding (literally, his piercing) was our transgression of God’s holy commandments. We have not kept God’s holy and perfect will. We have transgressed in our thoughts, desires, words and deeds. He was bruised and crushed — even forsaken by God the Father — upon the cross because He was bearing in His sinless body the just punishment for your sins, my sins and the sins of the whole world (cf. Matthew 27:46).
It is as the old hymn states: “The sinless Son of God must die in sadness; the sinful child of man may live in gladness; man forfeited his life and is acquitted — God is committed” (Herzliebster Jesu, Johann Heermann, Tr. Catherine Winkworth).
The chastisement — the punishment — that we deserved on account of our sins was laid upon Him that we might be pardoned of God and forgiven. In Jesus and through faith in His innocent sufferings and death in our stead we have forgiveness for all our sins and peace with God our Father. The stripes we deserved were laid upon His back; and because He suffered the punishment we deserved on account of our sins, we are healed and made whole, forgiven and cleansed!
As the Apostle John writes: “The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin … Jesus Christ the righteous … is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world” (1 John 1:7; 2:1, 2).
While the world passed by the cross of Jesus, seeing only the judgment of God or that of a cruel Roman empire upon a Jewish Rabbi who dared to challenge the existing religious system of the day, Jesus, the very Son of God and promised Messiah and Savior, was suffering and dying to make atonement for the sins of the world. He was paying the price for your sins and mine that we might have pardon and peace and live forever with God our Maker!
Jesus, Son of God and Savior of the world, thank You for bearing in Your sinless body the sufferings and death that I truly deserve on account of my sins and transgressions. Grant to me pardon and forgiveness and a place in Your everlasting kingdom. Amen.
“All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” Isaiah 53:6
This verse sums it all up so well! All of us are like lost and wandering sheep who have turned away from our true Shepherd and Maker. We have each turned aside to go our own way.
What an accurate description! Instead of following the LORD God, our Maker, and living in accord with His perfect will and design for us, we follow our own will and desires, go our own way and direction and rebel against God and His Word. Instead of loving God and living for Him, we love ourselves and do as we please. Instead of listening to God’s commandments and obeying them, we shut our ears, justify our sins and seek to establish our own compromising values in the place of His absolute truth.
Lost, wandering and scattered sheep, each one going in a different direction, is a picture of our world, with people wandering here and there and looking for life, happiness and fulfillment in everything but the LORD God who created them. “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way.”
“And the LORD hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” God took all our sin and all our guilt and punished it in the innocent sufferings and death of His own beloved Son, Jesus Christ! Our sins and iniquities were placed upon Jesus, and He was punished in our stead. That is why darkness covered the earth as Jesus hung there upon the cross; and that is why Jesus cried out, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” which is to say, “My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?” (Matthew 27:46).
Though Jesus died an agonizing and horrible death upon the cross because of our turning away from God and sinning against Him, the beauty in this is that all of our sins and all of our guilt have been punished in Christ Jesus. “It is finished” — the debt of our sins has been paid in full (cf. John 19:30)! Therefore, through faith in Jesus the Messiah and Savior, we have forgiveness and life everlasting! Instead of being judged and condemned for our own sins, God judged and condemned His own holy and innocent Son and offers and gives to us pardon and peace in Christ Jesus. What could be more beautiful to the lost and condemned sinner!
O dearest Jesus, we have, like lost sheep, turned and gone our own way. We have sinned against You. Thank You for bearing upon the cross the just punishment for our sins and iniquities. Grant us forgiveness and life with You in Your eternal kingdom. Amen.
“He was oppressed, and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth: He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so He openeth not His mouth.” Isaiah 53:7
Why is it that Jesus permitted the Jewish soldiers to take Him? Why did He permit them to hit Him and make fun of Him? Why did He permit Pontius Pilate to judge and condemn Him? Why did He permit the Roman soldiers to beat and scourge Him and finally nail Him to the cross and crucify Him? Could He not have walked away through the middle of them all as He had earlier done at Nazareth? Could He not have caused them all to fall to the ground before Him as happened in the Garden of Gethsemane? Could He not have called upon His heavenly Father and been provided with more than twelve legions of angels? He was and is the very Son of God; could He not have come down from the cross?
The Scriptures make it quite clear that Jesus could have walked away from His accusers and the cross. He could have judged and condemned them on the spot. But, He didn’t. He willingly permitted His enemies to arrest, abuse and crucify Him. He didn’t even speak out in His defense. As Isaiah prophesied centuries before, “He was oppressed, and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth: He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so He openeth not His mouth” (Isaiah 53:7).
Why did Jesus willingly suffer and give up His life upon the cross? Why did He go silently, without ever opening His mouth in protest? He did it that He might redeem us from sin and the eternal punishment we deserve. This is why Jesus Christ, God’s own dear Son, came into this world: that He might suffer and die for our sins and rise again on the third day! He came to give His life a ransom for many — to make atonement for the sins of all people. Jesus willingly and quietly went to the cross for you and for me that He might pay the just penalty for our sins and win for us God’s pardon and forgiveness!
Considering what He has done, it is also time for us to turn to Him in silence — not proclaiming our own goodness or speaking of all that we have done for Him or our fellowman — but rather to silently lament o’er all our sins and failures to keep God’s law, for which He willingly suffered and died. It’s time to turn to Him in silence and trust not in ourselves, but in Him alone. He has done it all! He has paid in full! Let us come to Him in silent awe of His love and mercy toward us and boast of nothing but His blood and righteousness!
Dear Lord Jesus, I have sinned and done amiss. You are all my righteousness. I deserved God’s wrath and woe. You took my place, You loved me so. I stand in awe below Your cross, silently, for words at loss. Amen.
“He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare His generation? for He was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of My people was He stricken. And He made His grave with the wicked, and with the rich in His death; because He had done no violence, neither was any deceit in His mouth.” Isaiah 53:8-9
By force and tyrannical injustice Jesus was arrested, beaten and sentenced to death on a Roman cross; and no one spoke up in His defense. No one considered His potential life which they were cutting short through their illegitimate trials and accusations against Him. Why? Why was Jesus crucified and “cut off out of the land of the living”?
“For the transgression of My people was He stricken.” It was not for anything He had done amiss. “He had done no violence, neither was any deceit in His mouth.” But it was for our sins, yours and mine, that Jesus suffered such agony and died upon the cross.
Indeed, “He made His grave with the wicked.” He was hung upon a cross between two thieves and thus died with the wicked, although one of the malefactors repented of his sins as he hung there upon the cross and he received mercy and forgiveness from the Lord Jesus (cf. Luke 23:39-43). But, in His death, Jesus was buried in the new tomb of Joseph of Arimathea, a council member of the Jews who had not consented to Jesus’ condemnation by the Jewish Council. Thus the ancient prophecy was fulfilled: “and with the rich in His death.”
What is the significance of all this for you and for me? Jesus’ death was not for any fault of His own, for He was without sin and holy. His sufferings and death was for your sins and mine! It was all a part of God’s plan to redeem us and make us His own! Like the dying thief on the cross, we ought also turn to Jesus and acknowledge that He is the sinless Son of God who came into this world to die in our stead and for our sins. We ought turn to Him in repentance and ask Him to mercifully remember us and receive us into His everlasting kingdom.
Dear Lord Jesus Christ, graciously remember us and receive us into Your eternal kingdom for the sake of Your holy and precious blood shed for us upon the cross. Amen.
“Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise Him; He hath put Him to grief: when Thou shalt make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in His hand. He shall see of the travail of His soul, and shall be satisfied: by His knowledge shall my righteous Servant justify many; for He shall bear their iniquities.” Isaiah 53:10-11
Have you considered that it was the will of God the Father to bruise His own Son — to have Christ Jesus take our place upon the cross and suffer and die for our sins? Jesus was offered up a perfect sacrifice to make full atonement for our sins and for the sins of the whole world.
And, yes, Isaiah the prophet also foretold the resurrection of Jesus some seven hundred years before Jesus’ death and resurrection: “When Thou shalt make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in His hand. He shall see of the travail of His soul, and shall be satisfied.”
Jesus not only died for our sins according to the Scriptures; He also rose again on the third day. Jesus saw the results of His atoning sacrifice. He saw His seed — those who would obtain the right and privilege to be called children of God through faith in Him and His atoning sacrifice. His days are indeed prolonged — He is risen from the dead and lives and reigns forever! And the will and pleasure of the LORD is prospering in His hand as He brings sinners to repent and trust in Him for full pardon and life everlasting. Jesus sees the labor of His soul and is satisfied. He has joy over every sinner who repents of His sinful ways and trusts in Him for forgiveness and a place with Him in paradise.
“By His knowledge shall my righteous Servant justify many; for He shall bear their iniquities.” Having taken our sins and iniquities upon Himself and having paid in full by His innocent sufferings and death, the risen Christ justifies many. Christ Jesus makes us sinners acceptable in God’s eyes through faith in His shed blood (cf. Ephesians 1:6-7). Through the preaching of the Gospel, He reaches out to us in mercy, offering us forgiveness and life through faith in His name. Even yet today, Christ Jesus justifies many by calling sinners to repentance and proclaiming to them forgiveness of sins and life everlasting through faith in His atoning sacrifice for the sins of the world (cf. Luke 24:46-47)!
O dearest Jesus, thank you for bearing upon the cross the guilt and punishment for my sins. As You have risen from the dead, so raise me up to faith in You and to life everlasting. Amen.
“Therefore will I divide Him a portion with the great, and He shall divide the spoil with the strong; because He hath poured out His soul unto death: and He was numbered with the transgressors; and He bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.” Isaiah 53:12
Because Jesus Christ suffered and died upon the cross, shedding His holy and precious blood for our sins and rising again in victory, He spoils the dominion of darkness and executes judgment upon this earth.
The Apostle Paul writes of Jesus’ victory in this way: “Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; and having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it” (Colossians 2:14-15).
Jesus paid in full the just punishment for our sins and the sins of the whole world when He was numbered with the transgressors and nailed to the cross to suffer and die in our stead. He there poured out His soul unto death that He might redeem us and bring us back to God.
In the Garden of Eden, Satan used the commandment of God to bring sin and eternal damnation upon all mankind (Genesis 3). “The handwriting of ordinances … was against us,” for mankind through Adam broke God’s holy commandment.
On the cross, Jesus Christ the righteous made atonement for our sins and the sins of the whole world and satisfied God’s just wrath against us (1 John 2:1, 2). Thus Satan’s work and power over us was defeated and cast off, and a door was opened unto us to receive pardon, forgiveness and everlasting life through faith in Christ Jesus (cf. Hebrews 2:14-17).
As a result of Jesus’ work when He suffered and died upon the cross and then rose again from the dead to intercede for us before the Father with His shed blood, those who by God’s grace and mercy are brought to repentance and faith in Christ Jesus are delivered from the power of darkness and conveyed into the eternal kingdom of Jesus, the Son of His love (cf. Colossians 1:12-14). Thus, Christ Jesus spoils Satan’s kingdom and delivers those who place their trust in Him and His blood shed upon the cross for the sins of the world.
But those who spurn God’s gift of salvation and continue on in disobedience and rebellion shall be judged and condemned on the Last Day when the crucified and risen Christ returns to judge this world in righteousness and equity (cf. 2 Thessalonians 1:7ff.; Hebrews 2:3). Why? Because they have not believed on the name of Christ Jesus, God’s only begotten Son and their only Savior (cf. John 3:18)!
O crucified and risen Savior, grant that I not continue on in my disobedience and rebellion but truly repent of my evil ways and trust in You and Your redeeming work for my salvation. Amen.
[Scripture quotations are from the King James Version of the Bible.]
Hymn “All Glory, Laud, and Honor,” by Theodulf of Orléans, c. 762-821
Refrain:
All glory, laud, and honor
To You, Redeemer, King,
To whom the lips of children
Made sweet hosannas ring.
1 You are the King of Israel
And David’s royal Son,
Now in the Lord’s Name coming,
Our King and Blessèd One. [Refrain]
2 The company of angels
Is praising You on high,
And we with all creation
In chorus make reply. [Refrain]
3 The multitude of pilgrims
With palms before You went:
Our praise and prayers and anthems
Before You we present. [Refrain]
4 To you before Your passion
They sang their hymns of praise;
To You, now high exalted,
Our melody we raise. [Refrain]
5 As You received their praises,
Accept the prayers we bring,
O Source of ev’ry blessing,
Our good and gracious King. [Refrain]
Invocation
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. +
Confession
Beloved in the Lord! Let us draw near with a true heart, and confess our sins unto God our Father, beseeching Him, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to grant us forgiveness.
Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord; and You forgave the iniquity of my sin.
Almighty God, our Maker and Redeemer, we poor sinners confess unto You, that we are by nature sinful and unclean, and that we have sinned against You by thought, word and deed. Therefore, we flee for refuge to Your infinite mercy, seeking and imploring Your grace, for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Then the Minister shall say: Almighty God, our Heavenly Father, has had mercy upon us, and has given His only-begotten Son to die for us, and for His sake forgives us all our sins. To those who believe in His Name, He gives power to become the sons of God, and has promised them His Holy Spirit. He that believes, and is baptized, shall be saved. Grant this, Lord, unto us all. Amen.
Psalm: Psalm 118:19-29NKJV
19 Open to me the gates of righteousness; I will go through them, and I will praise the Lord. 20 This is the gate of the Lord, through which the righteous shall enter. 21 I will praise You, for You have answered me, and have become my salvation. 22 The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. 23 This was the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes. 24 This is the day the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it. 25 Save now, I pray, O Lord; O Lord, I pray, send now prosperity. 26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! We have blessed you from the house of the Lord. 27 God is the Lord, and He has given us light; bind the sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar. 28 You are my God, and I will praise You; You are my God, I will exalt You. 29 Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.
Gloria Patri
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Kyrie
Lord, have mercy upon us. Christ, have mercy upon us. Lord, have mercy upon us.
Collect
Almighty and everlasting God, who sent Your Son, our Savior Jesus Christ, to take upon Himself our flesh and to suffer death upon the cross that we should look to Him in faith and be saved; grant unto us such faith and preserve us through all we must suffer in this life that we may be raised up and reign with Him in life everlasting; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, ever one God, world without end. Amen.
Catechism Lesson
85. What does God threaten upon all who hate Him and transgress His Commandments? His wrath and displeasure, temporal death, and eternal damnation.
139) Deut. 27:26. Cursed be he that confirmeth not all the words of this Law to do them. And all the people shall say, Amen.
140) Rom. 6:23. The wages of sin is death.
86. Upon what children will God visit the iniquity of the fathers to the third and fourth generation? Upon such as likewise hate Him and follow their parents in their transgression.
141) Ezek. 18:20. The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.
B.H. Gen. 9:25. Canaan. — Matt. 27:25. The unbelieving Jews.
87. Whereunto should this threat induce us? That we may fear His wrath and not act contrary to His Commandments.
B. H. Gen. 7. The Deluge. — Gen. 19. Sodom. — Luke 19:43-44. The destruction of Jerusalem.
88. What does God promise those who love Him and keep His Commandments? Grace and every blessing.
142) Luke 10:28. This do, and thou shalt live.
143) 1 Tim. 4:8. Godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.
89. Whereunto should this promise tenderly invite us? That we may love God and trust in Him, and willingly do according to His Commandments.
Scripture Readings Zechariah 9:9-12NKJV
9 “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, lowly and riding on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey. 10 I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the horse from Jerusalem; the battle bow shall be cut off. He shall speak peace to the nations; His dominion shall be ‘from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.’ 11 “As for you also, because of the blood of your covenant, I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit. 12 Return to the stronghold, you prisoners of hope. Even today I declare that I will restore double to you.
Philippians 2:5-11NKJV
5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. 9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Matthew 21:1-9NKJV
1 Now when they drew near Jerusalem, and came to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Loose them and bring them to Me. 3 And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of them,’ and immediately he will send them.” 4 All this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying: 5 “Tell the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your King is coming to you, lowly, and sitting on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey.’” 6 So the disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt, laid their clothes on them, and set Him on them. 8 And a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road; others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying: “Hosanna to the Son of David! ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’ Hosanna in the highest!”
Apostles’ Creed
I Believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of Heaven and earth. And in Jesus Christ His only Son, our Lord; Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, Born of the Virgin Mary; Suffered under Pontius Pilate, Was crucified, dead and buried; He descended into hell; The third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into Heaven and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; From thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost; The holy Christian Church, the Communion of Saints; The Forgiveness of sins; The Resurrection of the body; And the Life everlasting. Amen.
Hymn “Ride On, Ride On in Majesty” by Henry H. Milman, 1791-1868
1. Ride on, ride on in majesty!
Hark! All the tribes hosanna cry.
O Savior meek, pursue Thy road,
With palms and scattered garments strowed.
2. Ride on, ride on in majesty!
In lowly pomp ride on to die.
O Christ, Thy triumphs now begin
O’er captive death and conquered sin.
3. Ride on, ride on in majesty!
The angel armies of the sky
Look down with sad and wond’ring eyes
To see the approaching sacrifice.
4. Ride on, ride on in majesty!
Thy last and fiercest strife is nigh.
The Father on His sapphire throne
Awaits His own anointed Son.
5. Ride on, ride on in majesty!
In lowly pomp ride on to die.
Bow Thy meek head to mortal pain,
Then take, O God, Thy pow’r, and reign.
The Sermon
Dear fellow-redeemed sinners, ransomed by the shed blood of Christ Jesus, our Savior. Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
‘Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!’
Palm Sunday (Palmarum)
“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, lowly and riding on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey.” Zechariah 9:9 (Read Matthew 21:1-9)
These words of the prophet Zechariah were fulfilled when Jesus rode into the city of Jerusalem on a donkey colt and “the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying: ‘Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!’” (Matt. 21:9).
And we too each Sunday, and especially on this day, offer up the same praises to Jesus, our Savior and King. We did so in the words of our first hymn when we sang: “All glory, laud, and honor to Thee, Redeemer, King, to whom the lips of children made sweet hosannas ring. Thou art the King of Israel, Thou David’s royal Son, who in the Lord’s name comest, the King and Blessed One.”
In the Sanctus, sung during our Communion liturgy, we sing with the angels, archangels and all the company of heaven: “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of Sabaoth; Heaven and earth are full of Thy glory; Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.”
These words are taken from the praise of the followers of Jesus on that first Palm Sunday, as well as from the vision of the Lord God in His holy temple, recorded in Isaiah 6:1-3: “In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one cried to another and said: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!’”
Isaiah recognized His unworthiness to stand in the presence of the Lord. He said, “Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts” (v. 5). It was not until one of the seraphim took a coal from the altar and touched Isaiah’s lips that he could stand before the Lord God and be a messenger and spokesman for the Lord (v. 6-7).
We might wonder why Jesus’ followers sang such words of praise, echoing the word of Psalm 118:25-26: “Save now, I pray, O Lord; O Lord, I pray, send now prosperity. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! We have blessed you from the house of the Lord.”
And why do we sing such praises to Jesus on Palm Sunday and in our Communion services when we know that He entered into Jerusalem that He might go to the cross and suffer and die — that He might be betrayed, forsaken, denied, condemned, nailed to the cross, forsaken and condemned by God the Father, and die in bitter pain and agony of both body and soul? How can we rejoice when we see Him ride into Jerusalem, hailed as the Son of David and the Son of God, as Zechariah prophesied, when we know that He was entering Jerusalem to die?
In fact, we just sang such words in our last hymn: “Ride on, ride on, in majesty! Hark! all the tribes hosanna cry. 0 Savior meek, pursue Thy road, with palms and scattered garments strowed … Ride on, ride on, in majesty! In lowly pomp ride on to die. Bow Thy meek head to mortal pain, then take, 0 Christ, Thy power and reign.”
Though the world may rejoice at Jesus’ crucifixion because it rejects Jesus’ doctrine — His call to turn from our sinful ways to Him for mercy and forgiveness, and for the needed help and strength to amend our lives and live for Him — we too, the daughters of Zion and daughters of Jerusalem, Christ’s church, true believers of all time, can shout for joy and rejoice at Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem because He went there to atone for the sins of the world by His innocent sufferings and death on the cross. He went to atone for our sins and win for us forgiveness and life eternal!
Jesus entered Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover with His disciples but also to institute a new Sacrament by the shedding of His blood in which He gives to His disciples to partake of His sacrifice — of His body given into death for our sins and of His blood shed upon the cross for the sins of the entire world. He is our Passover Lamb, “a lamb without blemish and without spot” (1 Pet. 1:19); and when we trust in Him, His blood is upon us and shields us from the coming judgment of God upon this sinful world (cf. Exo. 12:1ff.; 1 Cor. 5:7; 1 Pet. 1:18-19).
We rejoice and shout His praises because our “King is coming … He is just and having salvation, lowly and riding on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey.”
“Christ Jesus … being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross” (Phil. 2:5-8).
Jesus humbled Himself and went to the cross to redeem us and to win for us salvation.
And Jesus still comes to us today, “lowly” and “having salvation.” He comes to us through the preaching of the Gospel and through the administration of the Sacraments — humble means — and offers to us and gives to us the salvation He procured for us upon the cross.
God’s law condemns us and reveals to us our failures to keep God’s commandments; it reveals to us the just punishment demanded on account of our disobedience and sin. But, Christ Jesus, through the preaching of the cross, comes to us and offers and promises to us God’s pardon and forgiveness through faith in His name. In our Baptism and in the Lord’s Supper, He assures to us the new covenant promises of forgiveness of sins and eternal life when we look to Him in faith.
That is why St. Paul could write in Rom. 1:16-17: “I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, ‘The just shall live by faith.’”
The Gospel preached to us assures us that “He made us accepted in the Beloved. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself…” (Eph. 1:6-9).
Why do we “rejoice greatly” and “shout” for joy at Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem? “Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, lowly and riding on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey.”
We pray: O gracious and merciful Savior, we praise Your name for willingly entering Jerusalem that You might go to the cross, die for our sins and make full atonement for the sins of the entire world. And we thank You for coming to us humbly through Your Word and Sacrament that You might convey unto us mercy and forgiveness and the eternal joys of heaven, which You won for us on the cross. Grant us Your Holy Spirit and faith to believe. Amen.
The peace of God, which passeth all understanding, keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Offertory
Create in me a clean heart, O God: and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from Thy presence: and take not Thy Holy Spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation: and uphold me with Thy free Spirit.
General Prayer
Almighty and most merciful God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ: We give Thee thanks for all Thy goodness and tender mercies, especially for the gift of Thy dear Son, and for the revelation of Thy will and grace: and we beseech Thee so to implant Thy Word in us, that in good and honest hearts we may keep it, and bring forth fruit by patient continuance in well-doing. Most heartily we beseech thee so to rule and govern Thy Church universal, with all its pastors and ministers, that it may be preserved in the pure doctrine of Thy saving Word, whereby faith toward Thee may be strengthened, and charity increased in us toward all mankind. Grant also health and prosperity to all that are in authority, especially to the President and Congress of the United States, the Governor and Legislature of this state, and to all our Judges and Magistrates; and endue them with grace to rule after Thy good pleasure, to the maintenance of righteousness, and to the hindrance and punishment of wickedness, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life, in all godliness and honesty. May it please Thee also to turn the hearts of our enemies and adversaries, that they may cease their enmity, and be inclined to walk with us in meekness and in peace. All who are in trouble, want, sickness, anguish of labor, peril of death, or any other adversity, especially those who are in suffering for Thy Name and for Thy truth’s sake, comfort, O God, with Thy Holy Spirit, that they may receive and acknowledge their afflictions as the manifestation of Thy fatherly will. And although we have deserved Thy righteous wrath and manifold punishments, yet, we entreat Thee, O most merciful Father, remember not the sins of our youth, nor our many transgressions; but out of Thine unspeakable goodness, grace and mercy, defend us from all harm and danger of body and soul. Preserve us from false and pernicious doctrine, from war and bloodshed, from plague and pestilence, from all calamity by fire and water, from hail and tempest, from failure of harvest and from famine, from anguish of heart and despair of Thy mercy, and from an evil death. And in every time of trouble, show Thyself a very present Help, the Savior of all men, and especially of them that believe. Cause also the needful fruits of the earth to prosper, that we may enjoy them in due season. Give success to the Christian training of the young, to all lawful occupations on land and sea, and to all pure arts and useful knowledge; and crown them with Thy blessing. These, and whatsoever other things Thou wouldest have us ask of Thee, O God, grant unto us for the sake of the bitter sufferings and death of Jesus Christ, Thine only Son, our Lord and Savior, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end.
Lord’s Prayer
Our Father, who art in heaven; Hallowed be Thy Name; Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven; Give us this day our daily bread; And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil; For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen.
Benediction
The Lord bless thee, and keep thee. The Lord make His face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee. The Lord lift up His countenance upon thee, and give thee peace. Amen.
Hymn “Christ Is the World’s Redeemer” by Columba, 521-97; tr. Duncan MacGregor, 1854-1923
1 Christ is the world’s Redeemer,
The lover of the pure,
The font of heav’nly wisdom,
Our trust and hope secure,
The armor of His soldiers,
The Lord of earth and sky,
Our health while we are living,
Our life when we shall die.
2 Christ has our host surrounded
With clouds of martyrs bright,
Who wave their palms in triumph
And fire us for the fight.
This Christ the cross ascended
To save a world undone
And, suff’ring for the sinful,
Our full redemption won.
3 Down in the realm of darkness
He strode in victory,
And at the hour appointed
He rose triumphantly.
And now, to heav’n ascended,
He sits upon the throne
Whence He had ne’er departed,
His Father’s and His own.
4 Glory to God the Father,
The unbegotten One,
All honor be to Jesus,
His sole begotten Son,
And to the Holy Spirit—
The perfect Trinity.
Let all the worlds give answer:
Amen! So let it be.
“7 But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. 8 Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; 10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, 11 if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. 12 Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. 13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:7-14 (Read 1-21)
Why did Christ Jesus come into the world and suffer and die on the cross for our sins? Why did He send men to preach the Gospel to us and then give us His Holy Spirit to bring us to know and trust in Him? Why has He “laid hold of” and saved you and me?
We are not saved by our own righteousness under the law, for even our best righteousness does not measure up. “All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23); and even our best righteousnesses “are like filthy rags” in His sight (Isa. 64:6).
That is why the Apostle Paul, even though he more than anybody could boast of his righteousness under the law, ceased trying to be counted righteous by his own works and placed his confidence in the perfect righteousness of Christ and in Christ’s atoning sacrifice upon the cross for the sins of the entire world of sinners.
Paul wrote: “If anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I more so: circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; concerning the law, a Pharisee; concerning zeal, persecuting the church; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless. But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith” (Phil. 3:4-9).
Yet, though Paul placed no confidence in his own works for salvation, he knew that Christ had taken hold of him and saved him that he might live for Christ. Christ “died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again” (2 Cor. 5:15).
To the Ephesian believers, he wrote: “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them” (Eph. 2:8-10).
And so, Paul, knowing that Christ died for him and redeemed him that He might live for Christ in accord with God’s perfect will, sought to live for Christ — to attain the holy and sinless life for which Christ had redeemed him and which he will have in the resurrection (cf. v. 20f.).
Neither the Apostle Paul nor any believers today have attained perfection already in this world. We continue to come short. That is why we do not trust in our own works but continue to trust in Christ as our Savior, that we might be clothed in His perfect righteousness (cf. 1 John 1:5 – 2:2).
The apostle writes: “Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me” (v. 12).
Paul had a goal in mind. Christ died for his sins that He might walk in fellowship with God and do that which is pleasing in God’s sight. Paul knew his failures and shortcomings and trusted in Christ Jesus, his perfect Savior. But Paul also sought to live for Christ and walk in righteousness and holiness already now in this world. Why? Because that is the reason for which Christ laid hold of him through the preaching of the Gospel and saved him from sin and the eternal torments of hell.
Rather than dwell on his sins and failures, Paul left them at the cross of Jesus and moved forward in living for his Savior. He pressed on toward his goal of being like Christ.
“Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (v. 13-14).
And Paul urges us to think in the same way. “Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you” (v. 15).
You and I are redeemed by Christ. Being sinners, we trust in Christ alone for our salvation. We seek to be found clothed, not in our own works and righteousness, but in the perfect righteousness of Christ.
But at the same time, we know that Christ redeemed us that we might live for Him. We long for the day when we are changed and become like our Savior, but even now we press toward that goal and seek to live for Him, leaving our sins and failures at the cross of Jesus and pressing on toward the goal — “for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”
O Lord Jesus Christ, let us be found clothed in Your perfect righteousness, but also move us to live for You and seek to lay hold of that for which You have laid hold of us. Amen.