Philippians 2,5-11. Palmarum

✠ One Message: Christ crucified and risen for you ✠

The Word of the Lord Endures Forever 

se cwide þæs béaggiefan ábireþ ferhþ

Philippians 2,5-11   1916

Palmarum (Palms)  029  

Archippus, relative of St. Paul. Colossians 4,17 

20. März 2016 

1. O Almighty and Everlasting God, who has caused Your Beloved Son to take our nature upon Himself, so that He might give all mankind the example of humility and suffer death upon the cross for our sins: Mercifully grant us a believing knowledge of this, and that, following the example of His patience, we may be made partakers of the benefits of His sacred passion and death, through the same, Your  Beloved Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, One True God, world without end.  Amen. (Veit Dietrich for the Palmarum Sunday) 

2. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though He was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made Himself nothing, taking the form of a slave, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the Name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

  3. On Palm Sunday, the crowd welcomed Jesus into Jerusalem by shouting: „Hosanna! Blessed is He who arrives in the Name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!“ (John 12,13). They were the first of many tongues to confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Today we confess Jesus Christ is Lord with the Nicene Creed, our hymns and our worship. 

4. Palm Sunday begins Holy Week, and the Gospels record for us many events that occurred in that seven-day span. The crowd was excited, and the disciples were elated, but the Pharisees were distraught: „We are gaining nothing. Behold, the world has gone after him.“ (John 12,19). Many voters feel the same way today as they watch two candidates draw closer to their elevation as the Republican and Democratic presidential nominees. 

5. The crowd, however, misunderstood Jesus’ triumphant entry, but the end of Holy Week would proclaim the somber truth of Jesus’ messiahship. The Apostle Paul gives us the pure gospel in his Epistle to the Philippians: »Christ Jesus did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made Himself nothing, taking the form of a slave, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted Him.« The Jewish Messiah is more a poor slave and less a Royal King. The Victorious Christ is a Crucified Christ and not a sword-bearing conquering Christ. The Son of David did not enter Jerusalem on a majestic warhorse but rather on a beast of burden. Such is the Christ that the crowd adored but the Pharisees despised. 

6. All this was as God the Father planned it. His Heilsgeschichte (salvation history) was far too great for our mere mortal minds to grasp in all its majesty and glory.  The Son of God must be betrayed, suffer, die and rise again. This was God’s plan, and Jesus fulfilled it as only the Son of God could. 

7. God has highly exalted Jesus. His earthly throne was a cross of wood; this was a throne of humiliation, suffering and punishment for sin under the law with Divine wrath poured out upon Him. His Heavenly throne is at the right hand of His Father; this is a throne of exaltation, salvation and redemption for the sinner under grace with Divine love poured out upon all the world. »For God so loved the world that He sent His only-begotten Son so that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but will have everlasting life« (John 3,16).  

8. Today the crowd hails Jesus with exaltation and call Him the Son of David, their Messiah and King. On Friday a different crowd will hurl insults at Jesus and call for Him to take the place of the wicked murder Barabbas on the cross. It only takes a few loud protestors to turn a peaceful crowd into a rioting mob. Today the world has gone after Jesus, but on Friday the world will have abandoned Him. 

9. Jesus made Himself nothing in His abandonment. He took on human flesh, was born of the Virgin Mary and lived on this earth just as we live. He did this for you. He rode up to Jerusalem in exaltation and left Jerusalem in humiliation. John tells us that Jesus said: »Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends« (John 15,13). Jesus has the greatest love of all for He laid down His life for all the world, redeemed the world back to His Father and this forgiveness is received by faith in Him. Would that the world would go after Jesus! He desires that everyone behold Him as their Savior from sin, death and hell, but He will not force and compel anyone to believe in Him. Instead the Holy Spirit works patiently through the proclamation of the gospel to create faith in men and women. This faith is grounded upon the crucified and risen Christ. From this faith is formed the belief that Jesus is both the humbled Christ and the venerated King. 

11. Of this Christ St. Patrick reminds us: 

We bind this day to us forever, 

By power of faith, Christ’s incarnation, 

His Baptism in the Jordan River, 

His cross of death for our salvation, 

His bursting from the spiced tomb, 

His riding up the heavenly way, 

His advent at the day of doom, 

We bind unto ourselves today (LSB 604,2).  Amen. 

10. Let us pray. O Christ Jesus, Thou Son of Man, You must be lifted up, so that whoever believes in Him will have eternal life.  Amen. 

To God alone be the Glory 

Gode ealdore sy se cyneþrymm

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

ELKB. Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche in Bayern. www.bayern-evangelisch.de/www/index.php. Copyright © 2013 Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche in Bayern. 

   Patrick. I Bind unto Myself Today. Lutheran Service Book. Copyright © 2006 Concordia Publishing House. 

VELKD. Vereinigte Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche Deutschlands. www.velkd.de. Copyright © 2013 Vereinigte Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche Deutschlands.