Marching to Death So We Can Live
Saturday’s Verse:
From Isaiah 50:5 ESV
“The Lord God has opened my ear, and I was not rebellious; I turned not backward.”
Tomorrow is Palm Sunday. To the casual observer, this big Sunday in the church calendar is a victory parade. Voices are lifted. People are excited. Kings come riding into town. But if you turn to Isaiah, you see Palm Sunday through a different lens.
“The Lord God has opened my ear.”
Here is Christ in the person of the Servant. The Servant hears. God’s will is imparted to Him, and He receives it. He hears everything God says about what is going to happen to Him. And He hears it clearly.
“And I was not rebellious; I turned not backward.”
That is what gets Palm Sunday into focus. Jesus comes riding into Jerusalem with His eyes wide open. He knows what’s going to happen. He knows that He will be betrayed by friends and followers. He knows that He will suffer and die on a cross. And He does not turn back.
He doesn’t turn back because He loves you.
That is Gospel, Lutheran style. Christ does for us what we are unable to do for ourselves. When we turn away from God’s will, Christ leans into it. When we resist, He obeys. And because His obedience is perfect and because it’s done in your place, it’s applied to your account.
So tomorrow is not just a parade. It’s a King who marches straight into the heart of death so that you can live.
✝️ A Prayer for Today:
Lord Jesus, thank You that You never turned back, not even when Your path led to Calvary. Help me not to hesitate or resist Your will for my life. Use my eyes as wide open as Yours were on Palm Sunday. And thank You that my freedom comes from Your obedience on my behalf. Amen.
Apostles’ Creed:
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer:
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven; give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.
Luther’s Morning Prayer:
I thank You, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have kept me this night from all harm and danger; and I pray that You would keep me this day also from sin and every evil, that all my doings and life may please You. For into Your hands, I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let Your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me. Amen.
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