Today we’re 2 weeks away from Good Friday, the day we remember Jesus’ Death. All through Lent we’ve been preparing to hear about His Death. We’ve been hearing about all He did for us. He didn’t die because people hated Him. He died because He wanted to die. . . .

Lent is divided into 3 segments of 2 weeks each. Today we enter the most solemn 2-week period of Lent: Passiontide. During this time the hymn we just sang is sung every night at Vespers, and the hymn opposite it in LSB is sung every day at Matins. Images are veiled today in some places because the Gospel ends with Jesus hiding from the Jews. The Church in this most solemn time restores to her liturgy older forms of worship. Gloria Patri is not sung with the Introit to remind us of the time before it was composed – in the same way, not singing Gloria in excelsis in Lent takes us back to the time when that great hymn was only sung in most parishes on Easter! . . .

Theme: Calvary

“The hour has come for The Son of Man to be glorified.” Wait a second. I thought He was about to be crucified? Jesus, that sure sounds like You’re saying crucifixion = glory! That’s impossible! Crucifixion is the worst death imaginable! Philippians 2 even admits that! Crucifixion = glory? Never! . . .

It’s that time of year again. People are coming up with all sorts of ideas of who Jesus was. Sometimes it’s a new claim out of left field. Sometimes it’s an old one. Here’s the right answer: Jesus is 100% true God and 100% true man. . . .

This is the second time we’ve heard this Gospel this church year. We first heard it on the First Sunday of the Church Year. Then, as we were entering Advent, it introduced to us Advent’s theme: Christ is coming: coming as Bethlehem’s Babe, coming in His Word and Sacrament to forgive us, coming on the last day to judge the quick and the dead. Whenever He comes, He comes in The Name of The Lord to save! Hosanna in the highest!

Tonight is a most holy night. Now begin our Lord’s Sufferings, His Passion and Death for our salvation. Now The Lamb of God feels the sins of the world bearing down on Him so He will suffer hell for us. Now Death will kill itself and the serpent’s head will get crushed. Now salvation is won for us and forgiveness earned for us. Now the Divine Service, God’s Service, is instituted. . . .

A few weeks ago we had Preschool Sunday. During the devotion for the kids, I showed them a little stuffed lamb that belongs to one of my kids. We think of lambs as being real cute and cuddly. Our school has some on display since we’re the Redeemer Rams. LWML even has a lavender lamb – in both color and scent – that I got when they came to talk to soon-to-be seminary graduates during my last year at Fort Wayne. Lambs are cute and cuddly. . . .

The women wasted no time. They watched Joseph and Nicodemus bury Jesus. They knew exactly where the tomb was and exactly how He was lying. They saw the spices and the linen cloths. Then they went home for Sabbath’s rest, and the second shops opened at the end of Sabbath, on Saturday night, they went on an Easter shopping spree to buy what they needed to complete the burial. They went to bed and were up before bright and early to take off for the grave as soon as they could see the way. They knew where they were going. They didn’t make a mistake. Well, one – they forgot about the stone. . . .

“What does this mean? What did this mean for our future, that Jesus is risen? After all, none of us believed Him when He told us He would rise again. What’s He going to do to us? What’s He going to have us do? Do we really have to go to Galilee right now? What’s going on? Did we really just see that? Was it all just a big day-dream? Have we been getting enough sleep? Are we awake or asleep and dreaming? Did we really just see an angel? Christ is risen?” . . .