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Lectionary Meditations

“No one can serve two masters… therefore I tell you.” A Meditation on Matthew 6:24

By Rev. Eric Brown

“No one can serve two masters… therefore I tell you.” (Matthew 6:24)

The idea that we cannot serve both God and Money is a favorite one of decision preachers. The fellow will stand up there are draw a line – which are you going to choose: God or Money? He might even demand that you put extra money in the offering plate just to show how much you have chosen God.

I suppose there is a bit of truth there; it is good to give an offering, to give money away. It does help keep money from being an idol; you don’t give an idol away. But it misses the point of what Jesus is talking about here and through the rest of the text. This is not a call to make a personal decision. Jesus doesn’t go on to tell us to choose to live like lilies of the field or birds of the air.

Here’s the hinge. You can’t have two masters. You can only have one master. There can be only One whom you listen to, and Jesus says, “Therefore I tell you.” Jesus is the One telling you how things are and how they are going to be. See what that means? Jesus isn’t asking you to vote for God; Jesus is just flat out telling you that He is your Master.

And that’s a good thing. He’s a good Master. He will provide for you. Oh, there will be troubles and hardships and worries, but He will see you through them. Maybe not always in an incredibly comfortable way, but your Master Christ Jesus excels at seeing you through things. He will provide for you all your days. And even when that day comes, when the troubles or hardships of life do their worst, even when the day comes and you die – your Master Jesus will keep on seeing you through things. He will raise you from the dead and bring you to the life everlasting.

You have a master. His name is Jesus, and He gives you everything – even His own life. He is devoted to you and loves you greatly, and He will bless and preserve you not only all your days, but forever and throughout eternity. 

Rev. Eric Brown is pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Herscher, Illinois and the co-host of the HT Gospeled Boldly Podcast.

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Lectionary Meditations

“Rise and go your way; your faith has saved you.” A Meditation on Luke 17:19

By Rev. Eric Brown

“Rise and go your way; your faith has saved you.” (Luke 17:19)

I feel bad for how we treat the other nine lepers. Ten lepers get healed, but only one comes back to praising God and thanking Jesus, and from there we have gotten thousands of finger wagging sermons telling us to be more thankful like the good leper. But here’s the thing we forget. Jesus told them to go to the priest, and they are walking to the priests, and only then are they healed. All ten of them hear Jesus tell them to go, and they went, even BEFORE they were healed. That’s pretty cool. 

But in the midst of all the excitement upon seeing their healing, a healing that takes place then Jesus is off behind them and all their families and loved ones are in front of them, only one thinks to turn back and praise God. And so often we want to categorize the lepers, but the 9 in the bad column and the 1 in the good, but that misses the point. It’s not about whether the lepers are good or bad, the point is how good Jesus is.

The one comes back to Jesus, and he praises God. And Jesus notes that there’s just one – but then He shrugs and looks at the fellow there and says, “Rise and go your way; your faith has saved you.” Rise, stand, go off and enjoy this blessing – because I, Christ Jesus, the One you have faith in, have saved you. And I delight in giving you blessings.

The Leper went to Church. He was gathered to the presence of Christ, and in the midst of his praises, the leper heard the Word of Jesus proclaimed. Life and salvation were given – not just healing of a disease for a lifetime, but salvation unto everlasting life.

God gives blessings. It’s what He delights in doing. And if when you go to Church, you aren’t earning more earthly blessings or what have you. Rather this – when you come into God’s presence, when you hear His Word, receive His Supper, you are given forgiveness and life and salvation over and over again. You are made to understand just how great a giver Jesus. You can’t earn more – Jesus has done it all already for you. And we hear that, and then we rise and go and enjoy the blessings He gives in this life, even until the day Jesus returns and we are raised to life everlasting. This is Jesus’ great love for you.

Rev. Eric Brown is pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Herscher, Illinois and the co-host of the HT Gospeled Boldly Podcast.

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Catechesis

The Eighth Commandment: You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.

Being Instructed by the Ten Commandments

The Eighth Commandment: You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.

The LORD God gives us the gift of a tongue. With a tongue, we can speak, talking with God and with each other. With the tongue, we are given to bless God and one another. As baptized children of God, we are called to use our tongue for good. We use it properly when we use it to speak the truth. As the Lord puts His Word in our mouths and upon our lips, we are being instructed in the use of our tongues for the benefit of others. The Holy Spirit teaches us, “The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom, and his tongue speaks justice” (Psalm 37:30).

Christ is the Wisdom of God, and His Word make us wise. He teaches us to speak up for those who do not have a voice. He call us to give true testimony about our littlest neighbors in the womb (the unborn babies who cannot speak for themselves). We are learning to pray on behalf of others. We are learning to explain the words and actions of others in the kindest way. We are learning to defend others. We are learning to speak well of others who are not present to speak for themselves.

But we are tempted to transgress with the tongue. The evil spirits seduce and trick us to use our tongues for falsehood and foolishness. The devil deceives and entices us to “tell lies about our neighbor, betray him, slander him, or hurt his reputation” (Small Catechism, The Eighth Commandment). Satan is the father of lies. It is his nature to speak lies to us, betray us, slander us, and hurt our reputations. He wants us to be like him, dwelling in darkness and deception. His desire is to lead us to speak with the tongue of a serpent and mislead others. As he accuses us of sin, he trains us to accuse others of sin. The old evil foe would like us to give false testimony against our neighbor. In fact, the devil convinced the chief priests and the religious leaders to look for people who would give false testimony against Jesus. Why? They wanted to stop Jesus from speaking the truth. They desired to judge Jesus, condemn Him, and kill Him.

The Apostle Peter describes the false testimony against Jesus in this way: “When He was reviled, He did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but continued entrusting Himself to Him who judges justly. He Himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By His wounds you have been healed” (1 Peter 2:23–24). With these words, we see two things.

First, we see Jesus as the example of the perfect man who was not overcome by the temptation to transgress with his tongue. He was like a mute man who did not open His mouth to quarrel with those who rebuked Him. “He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth….and there was no deceit in his mouth” (Isaiah 53:7, 9).

Second, we see Jesus as the silent sacrificial lamb. He is the Lamb of God who takes away our sins (John 1:29). He bears our sins in His body, including the sins committed and omitted by our tongues. By His wounds we are healed (Isaiah 53:5). We are beginning to die to sin and live to righteousness (1 Peter 2:24).

But in our day to day lives the tongue is not easy to tame. We have teeth to trap the tongue and lips to seal our mouths, but the tongue still manages to escape. We need Jesus to speak up for us. Through the Gospel, we are assured that He is our Advocate with the Father. As the resurrected and ascended Lord, Jesus continues to use His tongue for our good. He is the High Priest who blesses us before the Father. He makes intercession for transgressors. He defends us, speaks well of us, and explains everything in the kindest way.

He also pours out His Spirit upon us as we hear His voice in the Word of God. The Holy Spirit enlightens us to pray: “Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit” (Psalm 34:13). The Holy Spirit even teaches us by giving our tongues this prayer: “Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips!” (Psalm 141:3). He also teaches: “I said, ‘I will guard my ways, that I may not sin with my tongue; I will guard my mouth with a muzzle’” (Psalm 39:1).

We are learning to bite our lips and resist the temptation to transgress with our tongues. The Holy Spirit calls and guides us to use our tongues to confess our sins and proclaim the praise of Christ our Savior. Through the power of the Gospel, the Holy Spirit is renewing us and restoring us into the image of Christ, the perfect man who uses His tongue for the benefit of others.

We pray.

Father, You have given us the gift of our tongues. Keep our tongues from evil and our lips from speaking deceit. Keep watch over the door of our lips and set a guard over our mouths. Put Your Word in our mouths that our tongues may declare Your praise; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Rev. Brian L. Kachelmeier serves as pastor at Redeemer Evangelical Lutheran Church, Los Alamos, NM

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Higher History

Concord #28: Augsburg Confession (Marriage of Priests pt. 1)

Christian priest marriage Augsburg

Article 23: Marriage of Priests, Part 1

An issue facing the Church at the time of the Reformation is whether priests, or pastors, could be married. The tradition that had been received in the medieval Church was that priests and monks were required to take a vow of celibacy and to forsake marriage. Priestly celibacy had a long history, but it was not always so. St. Paul gives instructions that ministers should have one wife (1 Tim. 3:2, 12; Tit. 1:6). While he does not command ministers to get married, it is certainly allowed and even expected as the norm.

The historical circumstances of forbidding priests to marry probably has more to do with keeping church property from being inherited by a pastor’s children than it has to do with a sexual ethic. But regardless of how it started, it had become a big problem by the time of the Reformation. Forbidding marriage doesn’t eliminate the nature human desire for intimacy, and there were notorious cases of fornication and adultery by priests. As St. Paul writes, the Law also has the function of increasing sin (Rom. 5:20), and the forbidding of marriage in particular is a teaching of demons (1 Tim. 4:1-3).

 

The Goodness of Marriage

In answer to the question of whether priests can marry, the Augsburg Confession first points to the goodness of marriage. It is good because God created humans as man and woman in order to be fruitful and multiply (Gen 1:28). This is part of human nature. Marriage is good because God instituted it as the proper place for this procreation to take place. There is no inherent sin in sexual desire and activity; it’s only a sin when it becomes disordered.

This basic goodness of marriage is affirmed in the New Testament, where Jesus blesses marriage with a miracle at Cana, and St. Paul recommends it. Although he also says that it is good for a person not to marry, he admits that this is difficult and can only be done with a special gift from God (see 1 Cor. 7).

To impose a law where God has not is an offense to God. To impose a law that goes against what God has instituted and built into creation is disastrous. “For no man’s law, no vow, can annul the commandment and ordinance of God. For these reasons the priests teach that it is lawful for them to marry wives,” (AC XXIII.8-9). Priests, pastors, and ministers can make use of marriage because marriage is good.

You can read the Book of Concord at http://www.bookofconcord.org

 

“Concord” is a weekly study of the Lutheran Confessions, where we will take up a topic from the Book of Concord and reflect on what we believe, teach, and confess in the Lutheran Church. The purpose of this series is to deepen readers’ knowledge and appreciation for the confessions of the Lutheran Church, and to unite them “with one heart” to confess the teachings of Holy Scripture.

 

Rev. Jacob Ehrhard is pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in New Haven, MO.

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Lectionary Meditations

“But he, desiring to justify himself…” A Meditation on Luke 10:29

By Rev. Eric Brown

“But he, desiring to justify himself…”

He had asked a law question. He has asked what he had to do to inherit eternal life. It was a silly question: you don’t do much to inherit. Someone else dies and then they give you something; that’s not really you doing something. But since this lawyer asked a law question, Jesus pointed to a Law answer – love God and your neighbor.

But here’s the things with Law answers. They are always beyond us. To fully love God, to fully love the neighbor – sinful folks like us can’t do that perfectly or completely. So this fellow, desiring to justify himself as best he could, tries to dodge. “And who is my neighbor?” Who do I get to not love, Jesus? Whom can I look at and say, “this person doesn’t need my love and compassion.” Who are the people that I can safely and happily hate and still feel good about?

And it is then that Jesus tells the story of the Good Samaritan. There’s a lot of fear and hate in this simple story that we overlook. We forget how scary the man beaten on the side of the road would be. If you saw some dude who had just been beaten by robbers, you’d want to hurry on by to safety too. And then the Samaritan – we are so used to saying “Good Samaritan” that we forget how hated the Samaritans were. If you want to impact, read the story again, but instead of Samaritan think of the sort of person you most dislike – a terrorist or a neo-nazi or antifa or some skin color or sexuality. That’s the impact of the story. Jesus plays upon every fear this lawyer has.

Of course He does. The law doesn’t give you an out. You don’t get to justify yourself by the Law. You don’t get to cut corners. And that lawyer failed, and we fail. We run in fear, we look down upon people with disdain. But Christ doesn’t. He calmly goes and cares for all. He doesn’t fear any robbers who might come; in fact He willingly takes up His cross and suffers, even as He is utterly disdained and reviled by those around Him.

Because while Jesus will give the Law answer on how you can try to inherit eternal life, that’s not really what He’s interested in. He’s interested in winning you eternal life with His death upon the Cross. Winning it for you and for your neighbor, whoever they might be, however you might fear them. That is the depth and perfection of Jesus’ love for God and for His neighbor. That is His love for you which will never fail you. That is what you inherited from Him when He had you joined to Him in baptism. 

Rev. Eric Brown is pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Herscher, Illinois and the co-host of the HT Gospeled Boldly Podcast.

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Lectionary Meditations

How Jesus Deals With You – A Meditation on Mark 7:33

By Rev. Eric Brown

“And taking him aside from the crowd privately, He put His fingers into his ears, and after spitting touched his tongue.” – Mark 7:33

The deaf man was probably utterly confused. He couldn’t hear; couldn’t talk either because he was mute. But the people had seen Jesus of Nazareth coming, so they bundled the deaf man up and brought him to Jesus. Think about how confusing and bizarre this could have been for that poor fellow!

But then Jesus pauses and pulls the fellow away from the crowd, away from all that hustle and bustle. Then, privately, directly, Jesus deals with the deaf man. Remember, there’s no sign language. The guy is mute, so he probably doesn’t read lips either. So Jesus deals with him directly – puts His fingers in the ears and pops them out. I’m going to pop open these ears. Jesus grabs the guys tongue – I’m going to fix this thing. 

Do you see what Jesus does here, how gentle He is? He not only is going to do a great and wonderful good for this deaf man, but He takes the time to make sure the guy knows what is going on. Jesus takes the time to explain, come to the deaf man in a way that He can handle so that he is ready to receive Christ’s love.

This is how Jesus deals with you. Jesus has and does and will continually pour His love and mercy and forgiveness upon you, even until He raises you from the dead. But Jesus also knows that life in this world is harsh and cruel and confusing, so He pulls you out and away from the crowd and He deals with you privately, and directly. Of course He does! He’s already baptized you, marking you as His own. So He calls you to His Church, where He has a pastor stick not his finger but the Gospel of Christ Jesus into your ears. Jesus even touches your tongue with His own Body and Blood in the Supper. And why? Not only to give you forgiveness and life, but to do so in a way so that you understand His love for you, so that you aren’t terrified by what’s going on around you in the world.

This week, there will be plenty of strange, hard, and difficult things in your life. They might bug you, but they won’t throw Jesus off-stride. Jesus will still call you aside to come to His house, and there He will place Himself into your ears and upon your tongue, so that you know you have life everlasting in Him.

Rev. Eric Brown is pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Herscher, Illinois and the co-host of the HT Gospeled Boldly Podcast.

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Catechesis

The Divine Service: Confession and Absolution… Every Week?

by Kathy Strauch

Do we have to go through the confession this week? It makes me uncomfortable and I’d much rather skip it. And, why do we begin the Divine Service in this way? 

“If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. But if we confess our sins, God who is faithful and just, will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” — 1 John 1:8–9

We begin the Divine Service confessing that we have sinned. We confess the problem actually runs much deeper than sins we commit outwardly. We have not only sinned but we are, at the root, sinners. We are sinners because we are sinful. Outside Baptism, sin is all that defines us.

That’s the reason why I would rather skip this part of the Divine Service. It reveals my Old Adam. My sinful nature would rather run than be confronted with the truth. 

God’s Law is a mirror that shows me who I really am—I am by nature sinful and unclean. I have sinned against God in thought, word, and deed, by what I have done and by what I have left undone. I have not loved God with my whole heart; I have not loved my neighbor as myself. I justly deserve His present and eternal punishment. 

If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us, says John. The truth is that we are dead in our transgressions. The power of sin that rules over us means that we are by nature enemies of God. 

That’s why, as Dr. Norman Nagel writes: “Confession is facing up to God with no fudging. Confessing is as He says it is: “You sinner.” Yes, me — sinner.”

God’s Divine Service gifts flow from the beginning to the end of the service. Although my Old Adam may fight against and despise it, my new nature in Christ sees confession only as a gift of faith. It is faith that hears the Word of God declaring us sinful and confesses the same. Yes, we are sinners, but more importantly, we are forgiven sinners. This is the dynamic of repentance. Sinners confessing their sin because they yearn for comforting absolution.

As the Augsburg Confession [XII:2-6] affirms: “repentance consists properly of these two parts: One is contrition, that is, terrors smiting the conscience through the knowledge of sin; the other is faith, which is born of the Gospel, or of absolution, and believes that for Christ’s sake, sins are forgiven, comforts the conscience, and delivers it from terrors. “

Repentance consists of two parts, confession and absolution. Just as the processional was all about Jesus, so repentance, confession and absolution, is all about Jesus. 

Confession is all about Jesus who became our sin for us. When confess, we place our sins on Christ. Our sins have been given to Christ and done away with. We no longer carry the guilt, shame, and death sin once rightly held over us. 

We are, like the Israelites, placing our sins on the One who can take that sin away. As it is written: “He is to lay both hands on the head of the live goat and confess over it all the wickedness and rebellion of the Israelites — all their sins — and put them on the goat’s head.” (Leviticus 16:21)

 We place our sins on the Lamb of God who took away the sins of the world in His death. The goat spoken of in Leviticus is a shadow of Christ. It was Christ who carried our sins to His death. 

The gifts of grace and peace from absolution flow;
The pastor’s words are Christ’s for us to trust and know,
Forgiveness that we need is granted to us there;
The Lord of mercy sends us forth in His blest care.
(The Gifts Christ Freely Gives, LSB 602)

The Divine Service begins with forgiveness. Sinners cannot enter or stand in the presence of a holy and righteous God. We do not have a God who is only holy and righteous, we have a God filled with compassion and mercy for sinners. 

Absolution is peace gifted in forgiveness. Absolution brings us life when we are dead in sin. This gift is delivered to us in the words of our pastor who speaks the words of Christ to us. The absolution are life-filled Gospel words. 

We are free to confess because we no longer bear the punishment for our sins. That punishment was placed on Jesus. He took responsibility for the wrong we have done and the good we have left undone. Jesus has freed us from working for our salvation. We are given the gift of faith to believe the words of absolution from our pastor. Because we are forgiven, we have peace to live a life of thankfulness in service to our neighbor. 

We are forgiven. It’s who we are. We are redeemed, forgiven, baptized children of our God. The absolution is a promise — you are forgiven for Christ’s sake.

Kathy Strauch is a member of Faith Lutheran Church in Troy, Michigan and is a graphic designer.

 

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Higher History

Concord #27: Augsburg Confession (Both Kinds)

bread and wine for christian communion

Article 22: Both Kinds in the Sacrament

The first 21 articles of the Augsburg Confession dealt with various topics of doctrine. The final 7 are about abuses that have been corrected in the churches of the Lutheran Reformation. While these concluding topics are concerning practical issues, that doesn’t mean that they have nothing to say to us today. The abuses may have been corrected, but the theological arguments that underlie them still speak to us. And we must also be on guard so that these abuses—or ones like them—do not creep back into the Church.

 

Concomitance

The first abuse that is considered is both kinds in the Sacrament. This refers to both of the elements in the Lord’s Supper—the bread and the wine. In the medieval Roman Church, the blood of Christ in the chalice was withheld from the laity. Only the priests would partake of the wine. The laity were only offered Christ’s body in the bread. The theological reason for this practice is something known as concomitance. Concomitance is the teaching that Christ’s whole self is present in both the bread and the wine. That means that it was only necessary to receive one element to receive Jesus’ body and blood.

 

Eat AND Drink

However, the Lord’s Words say, “Take, eat, this [bread] is My body…Drink of it all of you, this [wine] cup is the New Testament in My blood.” The Lord’s command is to eat and to drink. But there’s also much more than His command in the Lord’s Supper. He also gives His body specifically with the bread and His blood specifically with the cup. It’s not up to us to divide or combine what Jesus has neither divided nor combined. If we do something other than what Jesus has given us to do, we cannot be sure that we are doing it for our good.

 

Reintroduction of Both Kinds

There’s an interesting historical note with respect to how this change was introduced. While Luther was in hiding for fear of being executed for his teaching, one of his colleagues decided to reintroduce the chalice of wine to the laity along with the bread. The story goes that he shoved the chalice in their faces and said “Das Blut Christi!” (The blood of Christ—imagine it said with an angry German accent). The people were so frightened of this new practice, they didn’t know what to think. Luther returned to the parish for a short time and returned to their old practice so that there was time to teach the people concerning the true nature of the Sacrament.

 

Today

So what about today? There probably exists no Lutheran Church today that gives only the bread and not the wine. In fact, many Roman Catholic churches today also offer both kinds to the laity (though not as often). But also of concern is that, at the time of the Reformation, many people weren’t even receiving the bread! They didn’t go to communion at all. They might go to church and watch other people commune, but they did not themselves participate at all. Today there are many people who do not make use of the Sacrament frequently. It’s not that the Church removes the cup, but that the people removes themselves from both bread and wine, body and blood of Christ.

The same thing that eventually returned both kinds to the Church is also what draws you to frequently commune—the Lord’s words. “Given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.” “This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”

You can read the Book of Concord at http://www.bookofconcord.org

 

“Concord” is a weekly study of the Lutheran Confessions, where we will take up a topic from the Book of Concord and reflect on what we believe, teach, and confess in the Lutheran Church. The purpose of this series is to deepen readers’ knowledge and appreciation for the confessions of the Lutheran Church, and to unite them “with one heart” to confess the teachings of Holy Scripture.

Rev. Jacob Ehrhard is pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in New Haven, MO.

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Lectionary Meditations

I tell you, this man went down to his house justified… – A Meditation on Luke 18:14

By Rev. Eric Brown

“I tell you, this man went down to his house justified…”

The Pharisee had much to be thankful for. Or maybe much that he could have been thankful for. It’s a good thing not to get caught up with the mob. It’s a good thing not to be cruel or to get caught up in affairs; that stuff is painful. He had clearly been taught the Word and raised in the Church. God had even blessed him with wealth enough to be casually generous. God had given him so many things for which he could have been thankful!

But there was a problem. The Pharisee didn’t thank God for what God had given him. Nope, the Pharisee saw all these gifts from God as though they were things the Pharisee had done, was responsible for. And so he strode into the temple all proud of himself, strutted his stuff before God, and then went home, never thinking to ask for anything else. In pride, arrogance, and folly, the Pharisee turns his back on God.

The Tax Collector, though, his day in the temple is different. I’m sure he had plenty of things he could have been thankful for, but he wasn’t there to brag. No, he was in the temple because he saw he had nothing to brag about. God had richly blessed him, and yet he has blown it. Repeatedly. He has nothing that he can brag about before God; instead he simply cries out for mercy. I have blown it God, be merciful to me, a sinner.

And God is merciful. Of course God going to give mercy to the tax collector! God delights in giving good things to people. The Tax Collector goes home justified, forgiven, redeemed – because that’s what God does. The Pharisee though didn’t think he needed any of that mercy – and so he walked away from it.

We always need mercy. We do. Now, Satan will try to make us forget this. Satan will try to tempt us into be so proud of what we think we’ve done that we forget our need for mercy. But you know who God is. God isn’t like some holy scholarship committee that you have to impress with a list of all your accomplishments; He is the very same Christ Jesus who came to go to the cross to give you forgiveness, life, and salvation through His death and resurrection. You don’t need to try to impress God; in fact that’s dangerous to your faith! Rather, it’s good to know that you need mercy; after all, being merciful is Jesus’ specialty. Lord, have mercy upon us!

Rev. Eric Brown is pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Herscher, Illinois and the co-host of the HT Gospeled Boldly Podcast.

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Lectionary Meditations

Would that you, even you, had known the things that make for peace – Meditation on Luke 19:42

By Rev. Eric Brown

“Would that you, even you, had known the things that make for peace” – Luke 19:42

So there is Jesus, riding on a donkey on Palm Sunday with crowds praising Him and shouting Hosanna. Yet, when He comes up to Jerusalem, He weeps. Jesus knows what’s going to happen and is driven to tears. Jerusalem will end up being destroyed. 70 AD by the Romans. It would be and was brutal. Horrific. And so Jesus has sorrow.

But this sorrow isn’t something Jesus has because the people have earned it. It isn’t just because some of those in that crowd shouting Hosanna would probably be killed in that revolt. No, it’s why there’d be a revolt in the first place. By week’s end Jesus would be crucified and Jerusalem would go back to looking for a new and better Messiah, one that would lead the glorious revolution and kick out Rome. Jerusalem didn’t want a Son of David that was a Prince of Peace, they wanted a man of war.

Jesus comes to make peace. That’s His goal. Jesus isn’t out to smack people around. His goal isn’t creating the perfect earthly kingdom or society. He wasn’t marching into Jerusalem to go to war with Rome; He was marching to go to the Cross, because there upon the Cross He made and established true and everlasting peace with His death and resurrection.

The world doesn’t want peace. It thrives on violence and anger, threats and intimidation. We’re supposed to be outraged all the time over everything and hating all the bad people out there. Christ Jesus came to put an end to this, to bring the peace that only love and forgiveness and mercy can bring – and He continually gives you this peace whenever He Himself comes to you in His Word and in His Supper. 

Now, may the peace that surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus!

Rev. Eric Brown is pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Herscher, Illinois and the co-host of the HT Gospeled Boldly Podcast.