“God Exalted Jesus To Be Glorified Above All for the Father’s Glory”
In the name of the Father and of the X Son and of the Holy Spirit.
[Amen.]
Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our
Lord [Amen.]
“Jesus! Name of wondrous love, Name all other names above,
Unto which must ev’ry knee Bow in deep humility.”
(Lutheran Service Book, © 2006 Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, MO.
900:1)
Old Testament Reading.....................................................
Philippians 2:5-11 (esp. 9-11)
9Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is
above every name, 10so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in
heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11and every tongue confess that
Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Prologue: A brief summary of what begins [tomorrow/today]
reveals in less than 250 words that “The week before Easter is called Holy
Week and culminates the preparation time of Lent. This week begins on Palm
Sunday and ends on Holy Saturday. During these days, we focus on the events
of Jesus’ life from His entrance into Jerusalem until His glorious
resurrection from the dead. Palm Sunday, the first day of Holy Week,
commemorates the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem (Matthew 21:9).
Because the complete account of the Lord’s Passion from Matthew, Mark, or
Luke is often read, this Sunday is also called the Sunday of the Passion.
“On Holy Thursday, the Church gives thanks to Jesus for the institution
of the Lord’s Supper. The Holy Thursday service closes with the stripping
of the altar while Psalm 22—a prophecy of the crucifixion—is read or sung.
This reminds us of how our Lord stripped to the waist to wash His disciples’
feet—and how He was stripped and beaten before His crucifixion.
“Good Friday is the most solemn of all days in the Christian Church,
yet a note of joy remains, as the title of the day indicates. On Good
Friday, as we remember that on account of our sin the Lord was crucified and
died, we give joyful thanks to God that all sin and God’s wrath over sin
falls on Jesus and not on us, and that by His grace we receive the benefit
of this most sacrificial act.” (Treasury of Daily Prayer. Scot A. Kinnaman,
Gen. Ed. Copyright © 2008 Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, MO. Pages
10f.)
What that summary didn’t say is that the sorrowful wretched events
that capture your attention during this week will all be washed away next
Sunday when you gather together for the annual joyful celebration of your
Savior’s resurrection victory over Satan, sin, and death itself. You see,
your heavenly Father consigned His only begotten Son to such torturous
treatment and cruel death as the substitute sacrifice for the sins of all
people of all time. In view of that, today’s Epistle Reading from the
Spirit-inspired Saint Paul’s pen reveals that the ultimate wonder of wonders
is that …
“God Exalted Jesus To Be Glorified Above All for the Father’s Glory.”
Many of you by now realize that my sermons are, using a fancy
word, “didactic” in nature. That means that they’re educational,
instructive, and informative; they’re designed to teach you something
significant about Jesus and the Christian faith that the Holy Spirit gave
you and you confess in every Divine Service here. Well, this one’s
certainly no different as you celebrate Palm Sunday. What I prayerfully
want you to take away from this sermon is the simple catechetical teaching
that the Scriptures distinguish between the two states of humiliation and
exaltation in Christ’s work of salvation. That is, “Christ’s humiliation
was that as man He did not always or fully use His divine powers.” On the
other hand, “Christ’s exaltation is that as man He now fully and always uses
His divine powers.” (Luther’s Small Catechism with Explanation. Copyright ©
1986, 1991 Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, MO. Pages 130 & 137.) In
order to hopefully accomplish that, please realize first of all that …
I. Jesus Both Taught and Exemplified Humility. (5-6)
5Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6who,
though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to
be grasped, …
In His familiar Sermon on the Mount Jesus stated the paradox:
“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” (St Matt 5:5 ESV)
The word that Saint Matthew used in the original Greek text that’s
translated with our English word “meek” is defined as gentle, kind, and
mild, that is, humble. At another time Jesus invited His hearers then and
you today to “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle […
humble …] and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” (St
Matt 11:29 ESV)
In fact, in his parallel account of today’s Gospel Reading, in
which Saint John wrote that “Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it” (St
John 12:14 ESV), Saint Matthew explicitly quoted from today’s Old Testament
Reading, where Zechariah prophesied: “Behold, your king is coming to you;
righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a
colt, the foal of a donkey.” (Zech 9:9b ESV)
You see, He had every right as the King of kings and Lord of lords
(or as we sang in today’s Introit Hymn, “You are the King of Israel And
David’s royal Son, Now in the Lord’s name coming, Our King and Blessed One”
[Lutheran Service Book. 442:1]) to show forth His might and majesty by
riding into Jerusalem on a magnificent and richly-adorned white stallion.
Instead, He entered that highly revered and sacred city of the Jews on the
same kind of humble beast of burden that carried His mother and Him to the
safe haven of Egypt when wicked King Herod sought to prematurely kill Him
shortly after His birth. But in addition to those accounts, …
II. Jesus Ultimately Taught and Exemplified Humility by His Crucifixion
Death. (7-8)
… 7but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the
likeness of men. 8And being found in human form, he humbled himself by
becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
That was the meaning behind the words that compose today’s
Collect: “You sent Your Son, our Savior Jesus Christ, to take upon Himself
our flesh and to suffer death upon the cross. Mercifully grant that we may
follow the example of His great humility and patience and be made partakers
of His resurrection.” The very purpose for Christ coming into this
sin-filled world clothed in your human flesh and bleeding your human blood
was to bear the sins of all sinful people of all time on Calvary’s cross.
When you once again visit that humiliating public execution this coming
Friday, you will recognize, be reminded of, and acknowledge that He was
truly the sacrificial Lamb of God, whose blood that He shed on Golgotha’s
cross “cleanses us from all sin.” (1 John 1:7 ESV) Today’s Gradual, which
quoted from the Books of Psalms and Hebrews, said it this way: “[Christ]
entered once for all into the holy places, by means of his own blood, thus
securing an eternal redemption. Therefore he is the mediator of a new
covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal
inheritance. He sent redemption to his people; he has commanded his
covenant forever.” (Heb 9:12a, c, 15a; Ps 111:9a ESV) That very same blood
that Jesus shed for you is the very same blood that was poured over you in
the water that’s “included in God’s command and combined with God’s word” of
Holy Baptism and that God gives you in the consecrated wine of Holy
Communion. Those Blessed Sacraments along with the reading and hearing of
God’s Holy Word and the announcement of Holy Absolution remind you with
certain Spirit-given assurance that you are forgiven, rescued, and have
eternal life with your Savior in heaven.
Recall now the loud shouts by the people who that first Palm
Sunday “took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him” and cried out:
“Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of
Israel!” (St John 12:13 ESV) You joined your hearts and voices with them
when you sang in today’s Introit Hymn: “The multitude of pilgrims With palms
before You went; Our praise and prayer and anthems Before You we present.”
(Lutheran Service Book. 442:3.) Why did they and you do so? Simply
because not only did Immanuel humble Himself by enduring cross-death for
you, but …
“God Exalted Jesus To Be Glorified Above All for the Father’s Glory.”
Having done so for you, you respond with additional words from
today’s Introit Hymn: “To You before Your passion They sang their hymns of
praise; To You, now high exalted, Our melody we raise. As You received
their praises, Accept the prayers we bring, O Source of ev’ry blessing, Our
good and gracious King.” (Ibid. 442:4-5.) Do so ever remembering and never
forgetting that …
I. Jesus Both Taught and Exemplified Humility. (5-6)
and …
II. Jesus Ultimately Taught and Exemplified Humility by His Crucifixion
Death. (7-8)
God grant it all for the sake of Jesus Christ, His humble Son, our
holy Savior. [Amen.]
In the name of the Father and of the X Son and of the Holy Spirit.
[Amen.]
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