Elements of this sermon were taken from a brother pastor whose name I
cannot now recall.
Pr. Ron Rock
"IT BEGINS - FOR US!"
Palm Sunday (B)
April 1, 2012
Zion Lutheran Church, Beecher, IL
Sermon Text - Mark 15:1-47
Old Testament Reading - Zechariah 9:9-12
Epistle Reading - Philippians 2:5-11
Gospel Reading - Mark 15:1-47
Grace mercy and peace to you from God our Father and from our blessed
Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. [Amen] The sermon for today is based on
the Passion narrative just read.
Dear Friends in Christ Jesus,
Our Lord entered Jerusalem the Sunday before the betrayal
before the
thorns and the nails
as a King.
But
He didn't come on a war horse in a great procession. He wasn't met
by heads of state and dignitaries. He didn't go to a palace or a throne.
None of that happened - because His Kingdom isn't of those things.
Rather
He came in humility.
Instead of fine clothes
He wore a servant's garb. Instead of being
honored by the movers and shakers of the town... by and large
He was
greeted by children. He humbly rode into Jerusalem that Holy Day to
answer their prayer: "Hosanna" which means: "Save Now!"
He came not by Jewish treachery
not by Roman hatred
but solely of His
love. He came to fulfill His Father's will
and save His people. His
suffering and death is called "the Passion" because it's His passionate,
intense love that drove Him to the cross.
The penalty for eating the forbidden fruit was death. Someone had to
die
there was no other way around that. And so, the King, Himself,
came to Jerusalem to submit to His own Law. He breathed His last and He
died.
He died for rebels who mock His royalty and His divinity. For rebels who
think that they knew better than He what makes for happiness. For rebels
who drink too much
or put substances into their bodies that have no
godly reason for being there. He died for rebels who lust with their
eyes and then
sadly, allow their bodies to follow suit. He died for
rebels who tell lies
who gossip and who are lazy
who are racist
who
hold grudges
who view pictures and movies that demean other human
beings.
He died for rebels who tell lies
who steal
who neglect their
neighbors
and even their own children.
He died
this King who entered Jerusalem
He died
for us! For us He
is King. For us He came, He died, and He rose.
We had no other help
no other hope. We were struck down in our guilt
and dead in our trespasses. But His love for us
who rightly should be
considered UNlovable
His love for us is intense.
It's so intense
so passionate
that His love compels Him to go to the
extreme
to buy us back from hell itself. His love caused Him to
undergo a tortuous, agonizing death for the full guilt of sins that He
didn't commit. His love took Him willingly to a shameful execution
a
death reserved for rebels
for those who have shown
time and time and
time and time again
that they have no honor
and deserve only death
because of their self-centered, callous, vulgar ways.
People of God
that was our crime
that
was our penalty. But He took
it upon Himself and voluntarily paid the penalty - for us!
His Kingly love is so intense
that because of it
He forgives us all
our sins. It removes every not-so-nice thought
every bad deed
and
every shameful, despicable act
that we hope our dear mothers never come
to know!
The ransom price to buy us back from hell itself
He gladly paid.
Incredibly, His Kingly love has deemed you - worthy of the price of His
life.
His passion that we'll consider again during this most holy of weeks
is
about His love
and the lengths to which He went
to rescue you
and
me
and the whole world from our well-deserved death in hell!
He laid down His life of His own accord
on purpose
to set you free.
He knew the cost
and did it anyway. The cross is His glory. For the
cross is where His love is seen by sinful men
and He draws them unto
Himself.
>From your mother's womb you came forth into this world through water and
blood. And from the side of Christ water and blood gushed forth
signifying how sinful men are re-born in Baptism
and sustained in that
new life in the precious Sacrament of the Altar. From the cross
through faith in what happened on that cross
you are a new creation
beloved of the eternal God, Himself!
And so
today
it begins
for us!
Together as His people, we begin our observation of Holy Week
certainly
unable to lead
but by God's grace
able to follow Him to that holy
cross
where our eternal destiny was changed by God in Christ Jesus.
Let no one here
let no one anywhere who claims to be a child of God
take this week for granted. May we all - from the youngest to the oldest
- consider the events of this next week in awe
in wonder
and in
thanksgiving.
For behold, Sons and Daughters of Zion, your King comes to you in love!
Thanks be to God! [Amen.]
May the peace of God which passes all human understanding keep your
hearts and minds in Christ Jesus unto life everlasting. [Amen.]
`
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