7th Day of Lent
Dear friends in Christ. In today’s reading of our Lord’s Passion Drawn From The Four Gospels, we hear the Passover meal readied and eaten; and here we are pointed to the fact that the Passover finds its fulfillment in Christ. The OT Passover, which was the Lord delivering the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, points forward to Jesus delivering us from our slavery to sin, death and devil. The Passover Lamb that was killed and its blood spread on the doorposts of the house thus sparing those inside from the angel of death is a preaching about Christ that His blood cleanses us from all sin [1 Jn 1.7]. Just as the Israelites ate that Passover Lamb, so also that night Jesus gave us the Blessed Sacrament in which we eat His body and drink His blood, thus, in a sense, smearing the doorposts of our heart with His blood forgiving and cleansing us from our sin, granting us life. To bring this all about our Lord both knew and yet permitted Judas to betray Him.
What Jesus is here doing for us and our salvation He pictures to the disciples by washing their feet—serving them in the most humble way. By this He fleshes out what He had said earlier about Himself [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. Yet even at this most solemn time—a time filled with such great importance—the disciples were “not getting it.” Jesus was talking about service—His service to sinful humanity—but the minds of the disciples were different, as right before the words of our text we read [Lk 22.24]: A dispute also arose among them, as to which of them was to be regarded as the greatest. That’s why our text is so vital. It teaches us that the world “doesn’t get” Jesus; and since it doesn’t, we Christians shouldn’t expect any favors from it.
1. Our text is part of Jesus’ farewell speech as the Last Supper draws to a close. In it, Jesus tells the disciples what the future holds for them. This, too, is part of His love and concern for His disciples. He tells them that from then on, things will be different. He said to them, “When I sent you out with no moneybag or knapsack or sandals, did you lack anything?” They said, “Nothing.” He said to them, “But now let the one who has a moneybag take it, and likewise a knapsack. And let the one who has no sword sell his cloak and buy one.
Jesus here refers to a previous time when He had sent the Twelve out [Lk 9.1,2] and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases. He sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. During His earthly ministry, Jesus was with His disciples in a wonderful way—bodily, physically. They were the recipients of His watchfulness, faithfulness and loving care. Even when they were in the boat on the Sea of Galilee and that terrible storm arose in which the disciples thought they were all going to die, Jesus was there, asleep, and they woke Him to calm the storm. Jesus so wonderfully protected the disciples. The disciples’ trust in Jesus was not in vain—as they themselves said: they lacked “Nothing.” But the peaceful times of the Lord physically with them and providing for them would be ending.
He said to them, “But now let the one who has a moneybag take it, and likewise a knapsack. And let the one who has no sword sell his cloak and buy one.” Why? Jesus tells them: For I tell you that this Scripture must be fulfilled in me: ‘And he was numbered with the transgressors.’ For what is written about me has its fulfillment.” Why would things change for the disciples? Because [Is 53.11] Jesus would—in fulfillment of prophecy—be numbered with the transgressors.
What does this mean? Among other things, it means that the world doesn’t get Christ. The world would consider Jesus one of the transgressors, one of the lawless ones, one worthy of and deserving death. This was prophecy recorded by the prophet Isaiah was fulfilled not only by Jesus’ death on the cross but by the fact that He was literally placed between two criminals. Jesus truly was numbered with the transgressors.
What exactly was it that Jesus did? The very same prophecy [Is. 53.9] says of Jesus: He had done no violence, nor was any deceit in His mouth. Even Pilate three times [Lk 23.4, 14, 22] said he found no fault in Jesus. The world “doesn’t get” and although He is sinless—and in fact the only person ever on the face of the earth without sin—here Jesus was numbered with the transgressors and put to death. So why would the good times be coming to an end for the disciples so that Jesus now has to tell them “But now let the one who has a moneybag take it, and likewise a knapsack. And let the one who has no sword sell his cloak and buy one”? Not only was Jesus branded as an evil-doer but so too would the world brand His disciples, His followers, as evil-doers too.
But notice here what Jesus tells them—buried and seemingly lost in the statement that the disciples would/ could expect hostility is Jesus’ word: For I tell you that this Scripture must be fulfilled in me: ‘And he was numbered with the transgressors.’ For what is written about me has its fulfillment.”, that is, Jesus knows this prophecy and He willingly is numbered with the transgressors–all for us and our salvation. There we see the great value and worth of Jesus’ sacrifice—He willingly becomes the world’s sinner as the sins of the whole world are placed on Him as He goes to the cross. The apostle tells us [2 Cor 5.21]: For [God] made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. When Jesus suffered on the cross, it wasn’t as if He were tricked, or helpless in the situation. Instead, He willingly fulfilled this prophecy and was numbered with the transgressors; He was there numbered with the transgressors instead of us, suffering on the cross God’s wrath and punishment over our sin so that we sinners might be reconciled to the holy God, as in Christ our sins are forgiven and His perfect holiness credited to us.
That’s the reason why the world “doesn’t get” Christ. People instinctively, by nature, know that there is a God, a holy God who has given us His holy Law to keep but we sin against it. But the “natural” sin-corrupted way around this is to think that if we do enough good things, or more good than bad, or if we really try hard enough, then that’s good enough for God. To put it all differently, the world doesn’t think sin is all that bad or that big of a deal. And that’s why the world “doesn’t get” Jesus—it “doesn’t get” Him precisely because He was numbered with the transgressors. Because as we see Jesus hanging there on the cross numbered with the transgressors there is the sharpest preaching of God’s holy Law: this is what you deserve/ earn for your sin; you cannot earn your way into heaven; there’s nothing you can do to save yourself. Sin can’t be that bad says the lost, condemned world deceived and deluded by the devil; and so it hates/ wants nothing to do with our one and only Savior from sin, death and hell. A people spiritually blind and dead “doesn’t get” Christ because it thinks it doesn’t need Him, a Savior from sin.
Jesus being numbered with the transgressors is also the greatest Gospel preaching. Jesus is reckoned as the transgressor, the evil-doer—for us; in our place. He was cursed for us/ in our place. He reconciled us sinners to the holy God. This is what we do well to ponder this Lenten season—that for us and our salvation Jesus was numbered with the transgressors. By this we see the seriousness of our sin and as we recognize the seriousness and enormity of our sin—that our sin could only be forgiven through the holy life and innocent suffering and death of the very God Himself—how then we are led to earnestly mourn over our sin! After all, to undo the result and effects of sin, Christ Jesus, the Son, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, the holy and sinless God-man had to be numbered with the transgressors. As we ponder what our sins are and that now in Christ we are reconciled to God, forgiven our sin, and heaven is opened to us, how we now, led and empowered by the Holy Spirit, love the Lord, seek to do His will and fight against sin and temptation. That’s the effect of Lent now and throughout the year; it’s the effect on us personally that Jesus was numbered with the transgressors.
And why? Because by the work of the Holy Spirit, we “get Christ.” We “get” what He and His work is all about. The faith we have in Christ and His saving work, the love we have for Him is because the Holy Spirit in word and sacrament created that faith and love in Christ in our hearts so we “get it.”
2. Because most reject the Spirit’s work, because most remain under the devil’s lies and delusions and do so willingly because of our sinful corrupt human nature in which we are conceived and born, because the world “doesn’t get” Christ, we Christians should not expect any favors from the world. There is a consequence of following Christ. In a number of places in the NT Jesus tells of the hostility His disciples will face from an unbelieving world. Our text is one: He said to them, “But now let the one who has a moneybag take it, and likewise a knapsack. And let the one who has no sword sell his cloak and buy one. Perilous times were ahead for these apostles of Christ and His disciples down through the ages. Future opposition to them would require a new modus operandi. Before, they had Jesus’ physical presence and care accompanying them. Where there before was hospitality, they would now have to expect hostility—and why? Because the world “didn’t get” Jesus—He was numbered with the transgressors; His disgrace and the world’s hatred of Him falls to His disciples, to His dear Christians and the word of Christ we proclaim.
In our Western world where every religion except for Christianity is accepted/ embraced, the Church’s Gospel proclamation is regarded as foolishness. And the Church’s proclamation of calling sinners to recognize that they are sinners and to turn to Christ the Savior of sinners brands us by the world as trouble makers and intolerant. Our call to repentance is ultimately meant to drive home a person’s need for Christ; but notice how the world reacts when its evil is brought to light and exposed—with ridicule, scorn and contempt of Christ and His Church. The Christians’ lives of holiness and striving to live according to the holy Ten Commandments are seen and felt by the world to be an affront and rebuke.
The world—and rightly so—lumps Christians together with Christ who was numbered with the transgressors and sees that our gaze and attention is focused on Christ and our true heavenly home. So yes, like Jesus tells the disciples that Maundy Thursday evening—from now on don’t expect any favors from the world: But now let the one who has a moneybag take it, and likewise a knapsack. And let the one who has no sword sell his cloak and buy one. We see here a glorious promise of our Lord: although Jesus’ physical presence and care wouldn’t be with the disciples like before—after the resurrection, things would be different—yet He would still take care of them and all Christians down through the ages. The disciples were to use ordinary forethought in their labors and Christ would be with them and work to provide through the care and prudence He has them and us exercise. Jesus would work through ordinary means to provide for His Christians.
The disciples had learned in the past that Jesus would provide for them so that they lacked nothing; they learned to trust Him. As we rely on the Lord Christ, we see how He provided for us in the past, even working through the ordinary prudence we would use; and in all faith and confidence we know He will continue to do so. He will bring us safely through our earthly lives also providing spiritually for us through His holy word and sacrament to strengthen us and keep us from falling away. As Jesus says at the end of our text: It is enough! INJ Amen