March Epistle: Eternal Thanks to Thee
The season of Lent runs through the month of March. These forty days in the Church calendar focus our attention on the reason for Jesus’ coming. It doesn’t seem like it was all that long ago that we were singing Advent hymns that reflect the biblical call for the fulfillment of God’s promise to send One who would crush the head of Satan and set us free from bondage to sin. We sang:
Come, Thou long-expected Jesus, Born to set Thy people free;
From our fears and sins release us; Let us find our rest in Thee.
Israel's strength and consolation, Hope of all the earth Thou art,
Dear desire of ev'ry nation, Joy of ev'ry longing heart.
(Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus; LSB 338, v. 1)
We celebrated the miraculous incarnation of Jesus, as the second person of the Trinity took on human flesh and was born of the virgin Mary. For three years, Jesus taught His disciples and revealed Himself to be the true Messiah of God. He was anointed for this work at His baptism in the Jordan River. During these three years Jesus healed the sick and the lame, cast out demons and demonstrated His power and authority. And we recently remembered the stunning revelation of His divinity on the Mount of Transfiguration, as He was seen in all His glory talking with Moses and Elijah. This man, Jesus, is truly the desire of every nation and the joy of every longing heart.
On Palm Sunday we will dance with the elated crowds and sing “Hosanna to the Son of David” with the throngs of people who welcome Jesus into Jerusalem, the holy city and the city of kings. What a celebration! What joy fills their hearts and ours! The promised King has come!
And yet, we know that there is more to the story. It is in a different month, the month of April, that this celebration will be turned on its head. The joyous crowds then will clamor for crucifixion. The celebrated King who had entered Jerusalem in royal fashion will leave the City of Kings bruised and bloodied, bearing His cross to the ignominious hill where criminals are put to death in the most humiliating and degrading manner.
In these days of Lent leading up to Holy Week and the death and resurrection of our Lord, light is cast on the purpose for the advent of Jesus the Christ (Messiah). He came not to be an earthly king, but to establish an eternal kingdom. He came not to garner praise and honor from men, but to do the will of His Father in heaven.
Jesus came to be our Redeemer. He came to conquer death by dying for the sins of mankind. Without the sacrifice of Jesus, unless He takes our sins to the cross, unless the justice of almighty God is satisfied, death reigns as the wages of sin. To remove this death, the eternal death that would rightly be ours, the Son of God came to die. On the cross He was put to death as a result of our sin, and bearing it in our place. And by His death, death was destroyed. In place of condemnation, we receive complete acquittal. In place of God’s animosity, His full and free acceptance is ours. In place of separation from God and eternal damnation, we become His children and are given a seat at His banquet table in eternal peace and joy. The Lent hymn Christ, the Life of All the Living (LSB 420) says it well:
Christ, the Life of all the living, Christ, the death of death, our foe,
Who, Thyself for me once giving To the darkest depths of woe:
Through Thy suff'rings, death, and merit I eternal life inherit.
Thousand, thousand thanks shall be, Dearest Jesus, unto Thee. (v. 1)
Thou hast suffered men to bruise Thee, That from pain I might be free;
Falsely did Thy foes accuse Thee: Thence I gain security;
Comfortless Thy soul did languish Me to comfort in my anguish.
Thousand, thousand thanks shall be, Dearest Jesus, unto Thee. (v. 5)
Then, for all that wrought my pardon, For Thy sorrows deep and sore,
For Thine anguish in the Garden, I will thank Thee evermore,
Thank Thee for Thy groaning, sighing,
For Thy bleeding and Thy dying, For that last triumphant cry,
and shall praise Thee, Lord, on high. (v. 7)
As we continue through the season of Lent toward Holy Week, let us contemplate why Jesus took on our flesh, and the sacrifice that He as the Son of God made for us. Let us confess our sins to our heavenly Father and rejoice in the full and free forgiveness that is ours because of the death and resurrection of our Redeemer.
Thousand, thousand thanks shall be, dearest Jesus, unto Thee!
- Pastor