2022-11-20 The Last Sunday Before Advent - The Last Words and the Cross

 2022-11-20 The Last Sunday before Advent - Last Words

Malachi 3:7-18      Colossians 1:13-20      St. Luke 23:27-43

In the name of the Father, +Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

As we conclude the church year today, we return to some of the last actions and words of our Lord Jesus Christ.  We see the actions of Jesus being misunderstood by those around Him.  We hear in the words of Jesus both judgment and grace.  Both action and words need faith to fully comprehend their meaning.  

Oddly, the only person in our text today who has any faith in Jesus is one of the criminals.  He recognizes his own sin and guilt.  He admits he is a criminal. This punishment is a logical consequence of his behavior and of getting caught.  And, he knows innocence when he sees it.  He confesses Jesus’ innocence. He may not understand fully why Jesus is on the cross, but he trusts Him for eternity’s sake.  Remember me when you come into your kingdom. 

Jesus’ actions are misunderstood. Many see this as a miscarriage of justice. Isn’t this why the crowd follows and the women mourn and lament? They think that it is a pity that such a good and decent man should be condemned to die.  He healed people.  He spoke powerful words.  He spoke truth to power. He was like a prophet of old. But, more than that, he was a kind man.  He took everyone seriously.  He paid attention to the least of the citizens.  He listened.  He was an engaging and interesting dinner guest. He told good stories and argued well. Sometimes he ate with people of questionable life style choices so he did liven things up a bit.  T’s a shame to lose such an interesting person in such a sham. 

Jesus was tagged by his enemies as an insurrectionist, someone who wanted to be king of his people. The Romans do not take a potential threat to civil order and their rule quietly.  They were only too happy to snuff out trouble before it began.  So, the attempted king is really a criminal who is now led to his fitting demise. 

Yet, as Jesus makes clear, God’s judgment is coming.  The religious leadership, by and large, refuse to receive their Messiah.  The people, by and large, refuse to receive Jesus as the Son of God. They see a wonder-worker, an eloquent speaker, a brilliant religious teacher, but they do not see their Messiah.  They see the cross as the end, not the fulfillment of the Law. 

For their rejection of God’s Son and their rejection of Jesus as Messiah, judgment is coming.  In the cross, the sinless one offers himself as the final sacrifice. With His life, He is paying our debt. All the other sacrificial offerings at the temple had to be repeated. But, Jesus bears the sin of the world upon Himself as he dies on the cross.  He dies for the sake of all people: Jew and Gentile alike. He called people to have faith in him.  But, they did not. So, judgment comes.  In AD 70 the Romans destroy the temple.  The people no longer have the luxury of looking to the Temple as the place where they can find God.  They must turn to the cross to find God. 

Those that crucify Jesus do not know their part.  So, instead of offering invectives as the one criminal does, Jesus offers forgiveness.  “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” 

Those immediately around Jesus may not have understood what was truly going on, but we do.  We see that in the sacrifice of the cross, Jesus is paying our debt. And, Jesus is in the process of defeating the true enemies of men and God.  Through his sacrifice, Jesus defeats sin, death, and the devil.  Jesus is born for us. Jesus dies on the cross for us.  So that we may be free from the bondage that the unholy trinity wishes to impose upon us.  In Christ, we have freedom and we have a future. 

We are blessed to see the big picture of what Jesus is doing here.  When we reflect upon the cross, our imagination is shaped by a christological reading of the Old Testament and by Apostolic teaching.  Amongst other things, when we think of the cross, we have Isaiah 53 in  mind.  Jesus is wounded for our transgressions; crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and by his stripes we are healed. Jesus, the righteous one, dies an unrighteous death so that we may be counted as righteous on his account. 

Our reading of the cross is also shaped by Apostolic teaching such as the reading from Colossians 1.  In the cross, Jesus is delivering us from a spiritual condition that has no eternal hope.  Without Christ, there is only darkness.  But, with Christ, we have a new spiritual condition. It is not one of our own devising and making. On account of the cross, through faith, we are placed in the Son’s kingdom.  The criminal had to ask for admittance. We are placed there through faith by our Lord.

So, who is this that is upon the cross? Is this really a misunderstood figure caught in the cross hairs of history?  No.  Jesus is right where he is supposed to be doing exactly what he is supposed to do. Jesus is the son of Mary, fully man.  And, Jesus is God Incarnate, fully God. Under the influence of the Holy Spirit, the Apostle Paul broadens our perspective of who Jesus truly is.  Jesus is the image of the invisible God.  He is instrumental in the creation of all that is: visible and invisible. Jesus, along with the Father and the Holy Spirit, has always been. Jesus is eternal. And, he is the only one who can possibly reconcile the world to God and make peace through his sacrifice. Jesus can do this because he is God. Only God grants us the forgiveness that we need. Only God can place us in his kingdom.  

As we prepare for Our Lord’s Advent, we hold his cross firmly within our ken and faith.  I recall two of the verses from Sing, My Tongue, The Glorious Battle.

Thus with thirty years accomplished, He went forth from Nazareth, destined, dedicated, willing, did his work, and met his death; like a lamb He humbly yielded on the cross his dying breath.   

Faithful cross, true sign of triumph, Be for all the noblest tree; None in foliage, none in blossom, None in fruit thine equal be; Symbol of the world’s redemption, For the weight that hung on thee! (Verses 3 & 4; LSB 454 Sing, My Tongue, the Glorious Battle)

In the name of the Father, +Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.