"A Holy Week for Holy Lives" Palm Sunday Palmarum Sunday of the Passion March 29, 2015 Matthew 21:1–9
At the birth of Jesus Matthew tells us that this took place to fulfill what was prophesied in Scripture. Here at Palm Sunday Matthew tells us the same thing. Jesus coming in humility as a baby and Jesus coming into Jerusalem on a donkey, humbly coming in to suffer and die on the cross. In being born of the Virgin Mary and conceived by the Holy Spirit we are shown that our Lord had a holy life. In riding into Jerusalem as the Savior going to die we see that the week beginning with Palm Sunday was a holy week. His holy life and this holy week came about so that we may live holy lives. It is striking that Matthew tells us that these things came about to fulfill Scripture before Jesus actually rode in on the donkey and was hailed by the crowds. It was in the events of Jesus sending the two disciples and telling them to get the donkey and the colt. Telling them what they should say if someone asked why they were taking the donkey. This was in fulfillment of Scripture because Jesus was bringing it about. His holy life was being lived out by fulfilling the Scripture which prophesied that He would be coming to be the Savior of the world. What Matthew says took place in order to fulfill Scripture is not some grand action of Jesus. It’s not a major miracle. It is a simple preparing of things for Him to ride into Jerusalem on a donkey. This tells us a lot about the Scriptures and a lot about God. What it tells us about the Scriptures is that they are concerned with showing us who God is and how He works. God did not give us the Bible to tell us how great He is and what we must do to make Him love us. The Bible instead shows that God loves us and is concerned with showing us how He loves us. How He does is that He comes to us Himself. He came as a baby. This was in fulfillment of Scripture. He came in a very unassuming way. He came in humility. Not in razzle-dazzle. Not with an awe-inspiring display of power and greatness. Just as a baby. And though He showed plenty of power in miracles and healings, when it came time for Him to do what He came to do, He once again did so in humility. When it came time for Him to accomplish salvation for the world, He prepared things so that He could enter into Jerusalem in humility. Simple, riding on a donkey. Yes, He was hailed as king. And He didn’t dissuade the people from hailing Him as king. But the reason He didn’t is because it was true. He was coming into Jerusalem as king. He was coming, though, not to display power that any nation would desire of sovereignty. He was coming to be the greatest king of all, the one who would save His people from their sin. The only way He could do that was by being humble. He could only save us from our sin by humbly taking our sin upon Himself. That is why He was coming into Jerusalem, humbly, on a donkey. He was coming in order to submit Himself to being betrayed, arrested, mocked, beaten, and crucified. But all of this indignity and suffering was not the extent of His humility. It wasn’t even the extent of His saving us. Experiencing all of that didn’t remove our guilt and sin. It was only by suffering at the hands of the holy God, His Father forsaking Him as though He was the sinner. It sounds cruel. God the Father subjecting His Son to the punishment we deserve for our sin. But it is not cruel. It is God the Father sacrificing His Son in order to save us. But Jesus, His beloved Son, was not a scapegoat. He was not an unwilling pawn. Jesus chose the path of suffering. He chose to enter Jerusalem and be arrested. He submitted to the cruelty of crucifixion and willingly suffered being forsaken by His Heavenly Father. He laid down His life of His own accord. This happened in fulfillment of the Scriptures. The Scriptures were given so that we may know that God loves us and how He loves us. In other words, God told us He loves us and would save us, and in Jesus He saved us. He is the holy God who cannot allow sinners in His presence so He sent His Son to become as we are, human. Because He was conceived by the Holy Spirit He was born without sin. He lived His life in holiness, without sin. When He entered Jerusalem, the events that culminated in His suffering and death were holy as well because He was doing them for our salvation. This Holy Week, along with His holy life, was for us, so that we may be holy and live holy lives. Now that Jesus has come to fulfill Scripture and accomplish salvation He was bringing about new things. They were things that He would give to us so that we may live in the salvation He accomplished in Holy Week. These things He gives to us, then, are in fulfillment of His own instituting of them. He gives us the salvation He accomplished for us in His suffering, death, and resurrection in His gift to us of Baptism. He actually forgives us with the forgiveness He won for us on the cross in the proclamation of the Gospel and the pronouncing of Absolution. His body that was crucified on the cross and His blood that was shed on the cross He gives to us in and with bread and wine in the Meal He instituted the night before He gave His life and shed His blood. What occurred in Holy Week are not events merely to be remembered. They are events which accomplished something. They are events you actually participate in when you hear the Gospel proclaimed and when you live in your Baptism and when you partake of the Lord’s Supper. You become holy in the ways your Lord comes to you because He brings you into His life and those things He accomplished in Holy Week. Just as He used a donkey and the cloaks of people and the acclamations of the people, He uses today in your life water in Baptism, words that are proclaimed, and bread and wine in His Holy Supper. This is why and how Holy Week is for you and for your life as a holy life. In Baptism, the Scriptures say, you are crucified and buried with Christ. You are so because as the Scriptures also say, you are raised with Him to new life. And if you are raised with Him in His resurrection to new life you are raised to eternal life because He rose from the grave to never die again and to always have mastery over the grave. This means for your grave as well. You have died with Christ in Baptism. As your Lord humbly came as a baby and humbly came on a donkey, He humbly comes to you in the waters of Baptism to join your life into His, a holy life; an eternal life. When you hear the Gospel proclaimed and the Absolution pronounced, you are forgiven, because He actually forgives you. The Word He spoke on the cross—Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do—are words spoken directly to you when you hear the Gospel proclaimed and when the pastor pronounces Absolution to you, that your sins are forgiven; you are forgiven. When He rode into Jerusalem on a donkey He knew that on Thursday night He would be handed over and after a long night end up on the cross. That is why as He rode into Jerusalem He knew that in a few days, on Thursday, He would be celebrating the Passover with His disciples. And He knew that it wouldn’t just be the celebration as they always had done it, a remembrance of the salvation of God for His people the Israelites from slavery in Egypt through the Red Sea. He knew that in celebrating this Passover on this night would be one in which He would give His disciples and His Church a Meal in which we no longer would only be remembering, but participating. We would be participating, in eating the bread of His Holy Supper, with the very body of our Lord. And that in drinking the cup we would be participating with His very blood. These holy events of our holy Lord who lived a holy life are given us to participate in through these ways, the Gospel and Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. We are joined to the holy Lord so that we may become holy and live holy lives. Because He brings us into His life we see now that we go about our days and our activities in humility, serving others, loving others, seeking their needs and how we can help them. You are able to do this because, as the Scriptures say, it is no longer you who live but Christ who lives in you. He does because You are Baptized. He does because you are nourished and strengthened by the Gospel. He does because you eat and drink His body and blood for your forgiveness and for sustaining you in faith. This week we are remembering the events of Holy Week. But you are participating in those events throughout your life in the Gospel and the Sacraments, which means that your life is a holy life. Amen. SDG -- Pastor Paul L. Willweber Prince of Peace Lutheran Church [LCMS] 6801 Easton Ct., San Diego, California 92120 619.583.1436 princeofpeacesd.net three-taverns.net It is the spirit and genius of Lutheranism to be liberal in everything except where the marks of the Church are concerned. [Henry Hamann, On Being a Christian] _______________________________________________ Sermons mailing list [email protected] http://cat41.org/mailman/listinfo/sermons
