Quinquagesima
Dear friends in Christ. Today we prepare to leave the short season of pre-Lent and during the 40 days of Lent to travel with our Lord Jesus to Jerusalem. It is a path that leads to His crucifixion but ultimately, finally, to the empty tomb, to victory over our greatest enemies, our spiritual enemies—sin, death, devil and hell.
Today is called Quinquagesima. It is a Latin word that tells us that today we are 50 days from Easter. That’s what we have been doing this entire season of Pre-Lent: we have been looking at Easter. As we look ahead to Easter—Jesus’ resurrection victory—we are strengthened in our faith; we are assured that Jesus’ work for us is certain and complete, that indeed our sins are forgiven—a forgiveness won for us by Jesus’ perfect, once for all, suffering and death on the cross.
Assured that Jesus has paid for our sins and that God’s wrath over our sin has been poured out on Jesus and that we are now, in Christ, reconciled to God, forgiven our sins, we can use the 40 days of Lent to seriously and thoroughly examine our hearts and lives, recognize our sin, sorrow over our sin and strive by the Holy Spirit’s power to root sin out of our lives. The examination of our heart and life in the light of the Law that Lent leads us to does not bring us into despair because we have looked ahead toward Easter and saw Jesus’ victory and now are certain of our forgiveness and peace with God and nothing can destroy that. Pondering Jesus’ suffering and death for our sin, seeing what our sins earn us and what we deserve because of them, becomes an occasion for us to see the depths of God’s love for us and leads us to love Him all the more for His grace and mercy.
As we examine our text today, we begin to ponder Jesus’ journey to the cross and see both how difficult the road was for Him but the blessings resulting for us.
1. Our text today is one of those lovely OT prophecies from Isaiah, in which the Holy Spirit has Isaiah record the words that the Father speaks to the Son. In the verses right before our text, the Father calls and recognizes the Son, Christ Jesus, as Servant, the greatest and best Servant, the One who serves Him, perfectly carrying out the will of God the Father; the One who perfectly serves us sinners bringing us the forgiveness of sins by His holy life and His innocent suffering and death. Talking about Himself and His work, Jesus says [Mt. 20.28]: the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many. Jesus was ordained to carry out the work of redemption/ of saving the world from its sin.
In our text God the Father says to God the Son: Thus says God, the LORD, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and what comes from it, who gives breath to the people on it and spirit to those who walk in it: “I am the LORD; I have called you in righteousness.” That’s the whole reason for Jesus’ difficult journey to the cross—He was ordained by the Father/ called by Him to do it. And as the great and faithful Servant that He is, Jesus did it willingly and perfectly, walking the path of suffering to save us from our sins, enduring everything to carry out His saving work. “I am the LORD; I have called you in righteousness.” Jesus came and did it!
Again, the work to which the Father called the Son and which the Son gladly and willingly did meant for Him the greatest suffering and anguish. And Jesus knew it! But in love for us sinners, He did it anyway. In today’s Gospel we read: And taking the twelve, Jesus said to them, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished. For he will be delivered over to the Gentiles and will be mocked and shamefully treated and spit upon. And after flogging him, they will kill him, and on the third day he will rise.” Jesus spells out exactly what will soon happen to Him. It’s not that He went into this blind; it’s not the He was just a victim of circumstance. Instead, He gladly and willingly became that Servant answering the call of His Father to save the lost, sinful human race—to save you and me: I am the LORD; I have called you in righteousness.
Not only here and there, but everywhere throughout the OT the suffering, death and resurrection was prophesied. On top of that, Jesus, as true God, knew precisely what would be happening to Him as shortly before the events, He told the disciples exactly what would happen—like we see in today’s Gospel. Here we see the love of Jesus for us. Knowing everything that would happen—His suffering as the world’s sinners all of God wrath and anger—He still did it.
On top of that, not only did He, the Servant, do it, He did it willingly and in love for us. Hear how St. Luke 9.51 describes Jesus: When the days drew near for [Jesus] to be taken up, He set His face to go to Jerusalem, where He would suffer and die and rise again to fulfill God’s plan of salvation. That’s what we see in today’s Gospel: Jesus’ determination to fulfill God’s plan of salvation, His determination to fulfill everything the prophets wrote.
And why? Because He is the Servant—the Father called Him. And why else? Because of His love for us sinners who, without Him, have no way back to God, no peace, no heaven, no salvation. What a comfort for us Christians! Jesus, the Son of God, whom the Father called to be Servant: I am the LORD; I have called you in righteousness, came and did His work; willingly, nothing stopping Him.
Does this mean that it was easy for Jesus to be the Servant, to come to this earth, to live a holy sinless life, to set His face to go to Jerusalem and go through all He did? No! Not only is Jesus true God, He is true man. How He must have recoiled at the thought of suffering God’s wrath for all sins of all people of all time. Didn’t He fervently pray in Gethsemane that this cup of suffering pass from Him [Lk. 22.42 ff.]? Jesus is not a machine or robot as He, the Servant, carried out the work for our salvation. He is a true human being. But in love for us sinners He came and willingly did this most difficult task, fulfilling every task so we might be saved!
Not only was it difficult for Jesus to be that Servant to come and to give His life to save the world from sin, death, and devil—especially as true God knowing exactly what was before Him—but certainly the devil would make it hard for Jesus to carry out His saving work. Next week we will hear that the devil himself came to tempt Jesus to sin and try to get Him off the path to the cross and empty tomb; and all throughout His earthly ministry the devil was doing the same thing—trying to get Jesus off that path, placing obstacles before Him. At another occasion when Jesus announced His betrayal, suffering, and death, Mt.16.22 ff.: Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, "Mercy on You, Lord; in no way shall this happen to You!" But He turned and said to Peter, "Get behind Me, Satan! You are a trap to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men." The devil even used our Lord’s own disciples as his instruments to get Jesus off that journey to the cross.
All this to say what? Jesus’ journey to the cross was not a walk in the park. It was the most difficult servant’s work. Would Jesus falter? Would He stumble along the way and not make it? Absolutely not! The Father gives Him that guarantee/ promise in our text: “I am the LORD; I have called you in righteousness; I will take you by the hand and keep you.” Although it is the most difficult task ever that the Father entrusts to His Son, the Son/ the Servant, will be successful. He will carry out the work for our salvation. What a comfort these words were for the OT saints—the Savior/ the Servant will come and will be successful. That’s what their faith clung to: the coming Savior and His Saving work! These words of promise the Father gave to the Son “I am the LORD; I have called you in righteousness; I will take you by the hand and keep you” are also comforting and assuring words to us today. Let there never be any doubt in our mind that our sin is forgiven, that heaven is opened to us and a glorious eternity in heaven awaits us soul and body. As difficult as Jesus’ work was, the Father would be with the Son guarding and protecting Him as He carried it out: I will take you by the hand and keep you. Here we also see how perfectly the Persons of the Trinity work together in unison; there is a glorious unity, because there is that one Divine will.
Jesus’ journey to the cross, His role as Servant to which the Father called Him, was truly difficult, but it was one which the Father would sustain and strengthen Him —all for us and our salvation! Under that protection, and in love and joy, Jesus, as the apostle tells us, Hb.12.2: for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. And as Jesus Himself tells us through St. Isaiah, the prophet [Is. 50.7]: But the Lord God helps Me; therefore I have not been disgraced; therefore I have set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be put to shame.
2. What a great blessing for us that Jesus endured the cross, despising the shame! The Father called His Son, Jesus: in righteousness. In His holiness, God could not have sin stand. He could not stand to have His holy Law broken. Sin is an affront to God’s righteousness. So what does a holy and righteous God do? I am the LORD; I have called you in righteousness. God the Father called/ appointed the Son in righteousness to restore righteousness. So that God’s holy Law would be kept, the Servant, the Son, came in righteousness to do what we sinners can’t—obey perfectly God’s holy Law. He did this, though tempted in every way we are [Hb. 4.15]. And because a righteous and holy God cannot let sin remain unpunished, He placed our sins upon His Son, Jesus, and on the cross punished the holy, sinless one for us. Now, all of God’s righteous anger over sin has been appeased; we sinners are now reconciled to the holy God; we now have peace with God because Jesus’ perfect righteousness has been given to us. I am the LORD; I have called you in righteousness.
Jesus—the Son of God, the Servant—His mission was rooted and grounded in God’s righteousness—who requires His righteous law to be obeyed and demands punishment—damnation—when it is disobeyed. Jesus came, in righteousness, to fulfill all righteousness and to endure God’s righteous wrath for us. And He did it! That’s His journey to the cross. He carried it out perfectly; the Father took Him by the hand and guarded/ kept Him. And now what? I will give you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations, to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness. Jesus, the Servant, is the covenant. That means that in Jesus God’s grace is given to us. He is the covenant —all the blessings that God promises—the covenant—they are in Jesus: their root and origin are in Him and they are given out by Him. Jesus set up this covenant and confirmed it by His blood. Is it any wonder that when Jesus gave His Church the Blessed Sacrament He said [Mt. 26.28]: this is my blood of the covenant which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sin? So when we partake of the Blessed Sacrament we are receiving Jesus—His very body and blood—and as we receive Jesus we are receiving His blessings of forgiveness of sin, life and salvation.
In baptism, where the Holy Spirit worked faith in our hearts and brought us into the Church and we through that faith received the blessings of the forgiveness of sin and the righteousness of Christ, there we received Christ. Dear Christian, Jesus has come to us and in baptism became our light, giving us the light of the saving knowledge of Him, our God and Savior; He has opened our eyes blinded by sin and given us true freedom rescuing us from our sin, damnation and hell.
That’s all because of His journey to the cross. Yes, it was difficult for Him but resulted in great blessings for us! We will retrace His journey to the cross again this upcoming Lenten season so that we may all the more rejoice and eagerly grab hold of His blessings He pours out to us in His word and Sacrament. INJ Amen