John 17,1-8. Palmarum

✠ One Message: Christ crucified and risen for you ✠

John 17,1.[2-5]6-8   1913

Palmarum (6. Sonntag der Passionszeit)  029

Gabriel, Archangel 

24. March 2013

1. Almighty and Everlasting God, who, in Your tender love towards mankind, has sent Your Son, our Savior Jesus Christ, to take upon Him our flesh, and to suffer death upon the cross, so that all mankind should hear and believe this gospel unto salvation. Just as You sent the Archangel Gabriel to herald this gospel to Your people of old, so mercifully create faith in those who hear the preaching of the gospel of Christ crucified for their redemption.  Amen. 

2. When Jesus had spoken these words, He lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: „Father, the hour has arrived; glorify Your Son so that the Son may glorify You, since You have given Him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom You have given Him. And this is eternal life, that they know You the Only True God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. I glorified You on earth, having accomplished the work that You gave Me to do. And now, Father, glorify Me in Your own presence with the glory that I had with You before the world existed. I have manifested Your Name to the people whom You gave Me out of the world. Yours they were, and You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your Word. Now they know that everything that You have given Me is from You. For I have given them the words that You gave Me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from You; and they have believed that You sent Me.“  

3. On Palm Sunday, we read the historic pericope of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem upon a donkey. Four days later, on Maundy Thursday, Jesus uttered the words from our sermon text: „Father, the hour has arrived; glorify Your Son so that the Son may glorify You.“ This glorification began at His triumphant entry. The crowds proclaimed: „Hosanna! Blessed is He who arrives in the Name of Yahweh, yes the King of Israel!“ (12,13). Indeed, a large crowd proclaimed Jesus as the Christ and Messiah, yes, Yahweh’s Chosen One. This is the crowd that had witnessed Jesus raise Lazarus, dead already four days, from the grave. This miracle was perhaps the most spectacular and powerful miracle of Jesus, for it proved that He has the power give new life to those who were dead and that He has authority over death and the grave. What greater miracles could Jesus do?

4. The raising of Lazarus was the beginning of greater things yet to come. John notes that this is a reciprocal glorification. God the Father glorifies His Only Son, and God the Son glorifies His Heavenly Father. In the old testament, Yahweh revealed His glory to the people as a pillar of cloud by day and as a pillar of fire by night. This glory dwelt in the Holiest Place of first the tabernacle and then the temple. In the new testament, this glory took on human flesh and dwelt among us (John 1,14). In the Church, this Divine presence and glory is represented by an eternal candle; ours hangs on the wall to the right of our altar. 

5. God the Father and God the Son are united in will and purpose. The hour of the Triune God’s glory had arrived by Maundy Thursday. In a few hours Jesus would be arrested, condemned and executed. The hour of God’s glory is Jesus’ crucifixion. This hour of glory goes contrary to the world’s thinking. There are many religions and philosophies in the world. They all have values and teachings that aim at making men and women better human beings who are virtuous and moral. In fact, there are many similarities among the world’s religions in terms of charity, alms giving and commandments to govern one’s life. Religions have their schools of renowned teachers. Christianity shares in these religious similarities: we are charitable to our neighbors, liberally give alms and offering and have our commandments for living by God’s will. What makes Christianity unique among the world’s religions is that Jesus claims to be God who subsequently dies and rises up in new life for mankind’s salvation [1].

6. The world does not consider God dying to be an act of glory. In human sinfulness, mankind cannot comprehend why the Immortal and Eternal God would die on behalf of mortal and temporal men and women. The Apostle Paul rightly labels this opinion as foolishness by the world (1. Corinthians 1,23). Jews expected a mighty warrior king to save them from their political overlords. Greeks knew nothing of gods dying to redeem human beings, and a resurrection was contrary to their view that the pure soul is released from its imprisonment in a flawed body at death. Worse yet, a God who is condemned as a criminal, beaten to a pulp and crucified in great suffering is certainly not the worldly standard for saving mankind. 

7. And yet, both God the Father and Jesus, His Son, uphold the crucifixion of Jesus as a glorious act on behalf of God. In all His bloody suffering and death on the cross, Jesus is glorifying His Heavenly Father, and in His sending Jesus to die for His fallen creation, God the Father is glorifying Jesus as our Savior. Jesus came from His Heavenly Father and was sent by His Heavenly Father to suffer and die upon the cross. The crucifixion was the end goal of Jesus’ ministry and mission. Palm Sunday heralds in the events of Holy Week that culminate in the death and resurrection of Jesus as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. 

8. After Jesus’ triumphant entry, »the Pharisees said to one another: „Behold, the world has gone after him“« (17,19). O that the whole world would go after Jesus! The sad truth, however, is that the world marginalizes and ignores Jesus and His gospel of salvation by His death and resurrection. Many churches and Christians have exchanged the Biblical, historic Jesus with a fabricated Jesus they think the average 21. century person wants. Some churches have thousands packed into their pews each Sunday where they hear about a Jesus who affirms them in their prideful opinion of themselves. Other churches have empty pews because the Christians there have more important things to do on Sunday than hear about a dying and resurrected Jesus who forgives their many sins. 

9. You are the faithful remnant who attend each week to hear the precious gospel of Jesus. You are not alone; there are countless churches in our surrounding communities who count a bare few individuals who hunger and thirst for the Jesus who died and rose for them. 

10. Let us not, however, remain content to be the faithful few, for the gospel is for all people. Jesus intends for everyone to hear and believe upon Him for everlasting life. »How are they to believe in Jesus of whom they have never heard? How are they to hear without someone preaching?« (Romans 10,14). Let me challenge each one of you here this morning to bring at least one person with you on Easter Sunday. Resolve to get at least one other person to hear the wonderful gospel of Jesus who has redeemed us as it is culminated on Easter Sunday as we celebrate His resurrection. Let me challenge you further: resolve to keep seeking, keep asking, keep bringing someone with you each Sunday when you come to worship. If you are persistent, perhaps one Sunday soon we will have our pews full to capacity once again where people can hear and receive Jesus who is their Savior unto everlasting salvation. 

11. The crowds who followed Jesus swelled in number after He raised Lazarus from the grave. Let us trust in God the Holy Spirit to swell our numbers as we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus from death and the grave. Let this be our desire, our prayer and our good work for more and more people to be here to hear of the love and forgiveness in our Lord Jesus.  Amen. 

18. Let us pray. O Son of Man, who must be lifted up, draw all people under the shadow of Your cross, so that whoever believes in You will have eternal life in heaven.  Amen.

To God alone be the Glory 

✠

All Scriptural quotations are translations done by The Rev. Peter A. Bauernfeind using the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, 4th Edition © 1990 by the Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart, and the Novum Testamentum Graece, Nestle-Aland 27th Edition © 1993 by Deutsch Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart. 

ELKB. Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche in Bayern. www.bayern-evangelisch.de/www/index.php. Copyright © Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche in Bayern. 

     ¹ There are myths in some religions where a god dies. Tammuz, Osiris and Adonis are vegetation gods who annually die and resurrect in sync with the agricultural cycle. Baldr dies to begin the events leading to Ragnarök (the destruction of the gods) and is resurrected in the new world. Islam teaches that Judas Iscariot died in Jesus’ place, and since the two looked so alike no one realized the switch.