The Rev. Paul J Cain, Jr.
The Passion of
Our Lord Jesus Christ Drawn from the Four Gospels (LSB/ESV)
V. CALVARY
Wednesday of Lent V, 20 March 2013
Immanuel Lutheran Church, Sheridan, Wyoming
In the Name of Jesus. Amen.
The Passion of
Our Lord Jesus Christ Drawn from the Four Gospels
V. CALVARY
The soldiers now had
charge of Jesus. Carrying his own cross, he went out of the city to a place
called Skull Hill, in Hebrew, Golgotha. As they led him away, they laid hold of
Simon of Cyrene, the father of Alexander and Rufus, who was coming in from the
country. On him they laid the cross that he might bear it after Jesus.
Following him was a great company of people and of women who bewailed and
lamented him. Jesus turned to them and said,
“Daughters of
Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children.
The days are surely coming when they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren and the
wombs that never bore, and the breasts that never gave suck.’ Then they will
begin to say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us,’ and to the hills, ‘Cover us.’ For
if they do these things with a green tree, what will happen with a dry one?”
There were also two
others, criminals whom they led along to be put to death with him. When they
came to the place called Golgotha, they gave him wine mingled with gall to
drink, but when he tasted it, he would not drink it.
It was the third
hour, and there they crucified him. Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they
know not what they do.” The two criminals they also crucified with him—one on
his right, the other on his left, with Jesus in the middle. The Scripture was
then fulfilled which says, “And he was numbered with the transgressors.”
When the soldiers had
crucified Jesus, they cast lots to divide his clothes and decide what each
should take. They made four parts, one for each soldier. There remained his
tunic, which was without seam, woven in one piece from the top to the bottom.
They said to one another, “Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to decide
who shall have it.” The Scripture was thus fulfilled which says, “They divided
my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing.” These things the
soldiers did and, sitting down, they kept watch over him there.
Over his head was put
the charge against him. Pilate wrote the notice to be put on the cross. It
read, JESUS OF NAZARETH, KING OF THE JEWS. This title was read by many of the
Jews, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near to the city, and it was
written in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin. The chief priests of the Jews then said to
Pilate, “You should not write ‘The King of the Jews,’ but ‘This man said, I am
the King of the Jews.’” Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.”
People stood by,
watching. Those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads, and saying,
“Aha! You who would destroy the temple and build it in three days, save
yourself. If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross.”
So also the chief
priests, with the scribes and elders, mocked him to one another saying, “He
saved others; he cannot save himself. Let the Christ, the King of Israel, now
come down from the cross that we may see and believe. He trusts in God; let God
deliver him now, if he wants him, for he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’ “
The soldiers also
mocked him, coming to him and offering him wine, and saying, “If you are the
King of the Jews, save yourself.” The thieves who were crucified with him also
reviled him. And one of the criminals who hung there with him railed at him:
“Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us.”
But the other rebuked
him, saying, “Do you not fear God since you are under the same condemnation?
And we indeed justly, for we are getting what we deserve for what we have done;
but this man has done nothing wrong.” Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when
you come into your kingdom.” Jesus said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you
will be with me in paradise.”
Near to the cross of
Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary
Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing
near, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold your son!” Then he said to the
disciple, “Behold your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her into
his own home.
About the ninth hour
Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” which means,
“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” When some of them that were
standing there heard it, they said, “He is calling for Elijah.”
After this, Jesus
knew that all things were accomplished. Fulfilling the Scripture he said, “I
thirst.” There was a jar of wine standing there. One of them ran immediately to
get a sponge. He filled it with wine, put it on a reed, held it up to his
mouth, and gave it to him to drink. Others said, “Wait and see if Elijah will
come and save him.”
When Jesus had
received the wine, he cried with a loud voice, “It is finished!” Then he said,
“Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.” Having said this, he bowed his
head and gave up his spirit.
At that moment the
curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and
the rocks split. The tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who
had died were raised to life. They came out of the tombs, and after Jesus’
resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many people. When the
centurion who stood facing him saw how he died, he said, “Truly, this man was
the Son of God.”
All the people who
had gathered to see the sight, when they saw what had happened, turned away
beating their breasts. Those who had known him stood at a distance, as also the
women who had followed him from Galilee. Among them was Mary Magdalene, Mary
the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome the mother of the sons
of Zebedee.
It was the day of
Preparation before the Sabbath, and this was Passover Sabbath. Therefore, so
that the bodies should not remain on the crosses during the Sabbath, the Jews
asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies removed. So the soldiers
came and broke the legs of the first and of the other who was crucified with
him. But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not
break his legs, but one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at
once there came out blood and water. One who saw it is our witness, and his
testimony is true. He knows that he tells the truth that you also may believe.
These things were done that the Scripture should be fulfilled, “Not one of his
bones shall be broken.” And again, another Scripture says, “They shall look on
him whom they pierced.”
By this time evening
had come. A respected member of the council, Joseph of Arimathea, was one who
was looking for the kingdom of God, a good and righteous man who had not
consented to their purpose and deed. He was a disciple of Jesus secretly, for
he feared the Jews. Now he took courage and went to Pilate and asked for the
body of Jesus.
Pilate was astonished
that he could be dead already. He called for the centurion and asked him
whether Jesus was already dead. When he was assured by the centurion that it
was so, Pilate granted Joseph the corpse and commanded that it be given over to
him.
Joseph bought fine
linen and came and took the body of Jesus. Nicodemus came also, bringing a
mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pound weight. It was he who had
first come to Jesus by night. They then took the body of Jesus and wrapped it
in linen cloths with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews.
Now in the place
where he was crucified there was a garden; and in the garden a new tomb, where
no one had ever been buried. Joseph laid the body in his own new tomb, which he
had hewn out in the rock, and rolled a great stone to the door of the tomb, and
departed. Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses were sitting there
opposite the sepulcher and saw where he was laid. Then they returned and
prepared spices and ointments. On the Sabbath day they rested according to the
commandment.
On the next day, the
day after the Preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees went together to
Pilate and said, “Sir, we remember what that imposter said, while he was still
alive, ‘After three days I will rise again.’ Therefore command that the
sepulcher be made secure until the third day to stop his disciples from coming
and stealing him and saying to the people, ‘He has risen from the dead,’ making
the final deception worse than the first.”
Here ends the
Reading.
Compline, or Prayer
at the Close of the Day, has much in common with this text. Both deal with
death. Both are concerned with the creed: I believe in Jesus Christ, who was
crucified, died and was buried. The text is the source of this statement of
faith. The service is how a Christian lives it out.
For five weeks now we
have sung the Nunc Dimittis at the end of Compline. This is where Luther
learned it. Lutherans then added it to the end of the Divine Service. The music
sounds medieval because it is—Gregorian chant to be more precise.
The psalm-like
sentence at the beginning and end is called an antiphon—another contribution
from the Middle Ages. “Guide us waking, O Lord, and guard us sleeping that
awake we may watch with Christ and asleep we may rest in peace.” We have seen
the Lord’s salvation in Christ and we are comforted. We echo the words of
Simeon holding the infant Christ in His arms.
Where does death fit
into all of this? Compline helps us see going to sleep as a little death, so
that when our death comes, we will see it as no more frightening than a good
night’s sleep. This is the lullaby of the Church.
As human beings, we
are often reminded of the 100% mortality rate of being human. We are not alone.
Jesus was crucified, died, and was buried. We are wrong to think of death as
the end. We will die, yes, but Jesus died, too. And what happened to Him after
that? He rose again. And because He rose, you will rise. Death’s power has been
put to death by Jesus’ death. Now it is merely a portal to life eternal. And
then comes the resurrection, judgment, and for you, the new heaven and new
earth. That is the eternal significance of Jesus’ cross.
Next week, join me
for chapel at 8:05 on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. We will observe the Holy
Three Days with Maundy Thursday and Good Friday services at 7 on those
evenings. And then, the golden Resurrection of Our Lord. Amen.
In the Name of Jesus. Amen.
