The Sunday of the Passion Palm Sunday
Read: Luke 23:1-49 (or Luke 22:1-23:56)
And the people stood looking on. But even the rulers with them sneered, saying,"He saved others; let Him save Himself if He is the Christ, the chosen of God."(Lk. 23:35)
This is the final Sunday in Lent, doing double-duty as both Palm Sunday and
the Sunday of the Passion. For a dose of Palm Sunday, you are invited to review
devotions 15 and 33. For now, we turn again to the appointed Gospel lesson for
the day. Jesus is present there. Whatever He is doing, He is doing for you.
So there He is, standing on trial before Pilate. There, Jesus freely confesses
the truth of who He is—the King of the Jews. But when He is accused of all
sorts of dreadful sin, He doesn't say a word. When the notorious Barabbas is
released and His death is thus assured, Jesus still says nothing in His defense,
but goes to the cross as a sheep before its shearers is silent (Is. 53:7). Why?
Because while He is completely innocent of sin, He is taking the blame for it.
When accused of sin, He accepts the accusation and the guilt. He does not
object when Barabbas is spared because He goes to the cross for Barabbas. He
does not object to have your sins placed upon Him; that is why He is there, to go
to the cross and suffer God's judgment. Because He is there, He is also there in
His Word of Absolution, announcing God's verdict of you: "On the cross, I was
made guilty so that I could declare you 'not guilty.' The price for your sin has
been paid, and your sentence has been served. Therefore, you are forgiven."
There He is, beside Pilate as the Roman addresses the crowd. No less than
three times during the trial, Pilate declares Jesus to be innocent, guilty of no
wrongdoing whatsoever. Each time he seeks to release Jesus, the crowds call for
the crucifixion of the Christ. His death on the cross is no mistake, no
misunderstanding: mankind puts Jesus to death because He is the sinless Son of
God. They cry out, "His blood be on us and our children." God makes His
sinless Son to be sin for you, so that you might be the righteousness of God in
Him (2 Cor. 5:21). There He is, body nailed to the cross, blood shed. And
because He is there, He is also in His Supper, giving you His body and blood for
the forgiveness of your sins.
There He is, on the cross, forsaken by His Father as He is damned for the
sins of the world; and as He makes this ultimate sacrifice, the crowds jeer, "He
saved others, Himself He cannot save." How blind! He wills not to save
Himself in order to save others, for He undergoes that death to defeat death and
rise again. Because He is there, He is also present in Holy Baptism, giving you
His death and resurrection (Rom. 6:1-4).
There He is, lifeless. It is finished, and His death is enough to accomplish
completely your salvation. Here on the cross, He doesn't look more than a
battered corpse. But, miraculously, the centurion gets it right: "Certainly this
was a righteous Man!" (Lk. 23:47)
There He is, on the cross, for you.
There He is, in His means of grace, for you.