Sixth Sunday in Lent (Palm Sunday) – Zechariah 9:9

Holy Week is not for the faint of heart. As a child I was not a fan of Holy Week. The altar stripping. The book slamming. The darkness. The passion reading. It’s enough to put the fear of God into someone, no matter their age. As I grew in years, however, I discovered the thread of joy in the midst of the ceremony. The thread of joy is in Saint John’s quote from the prophet Zechariah: Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your king is coming, sitting on a donkey’s colt!

Hold on to Zechariah’s words as you hear Jesus mount that colt. He is about to enter Jerusalem to accomplish what Adam, Eve, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Aaron, Gideon, Samson, Samuel, Jesse, David, Solomon, and countless others never saw with their eyes but believed in their heart and soul would happen. Messiah would come to accomplish redemption. Messiah would come to stomp the head of the serpent. Messiah would shed His blood, the blood that speaks more than Abel’s blood; the blood that speaks more than the blood of beasts on Jewish altars slain.

Hold on to Zechariah’s words when you consider your own sins. It was your sins, and mine, that sent Jesus to Golgotha. His birth, His life, and even this moment before our ears today is the reason the Son of God takes on flesh. His passion, suffering, death, and resurrection were not a plan B option hastily taken to interrupt a life of perfect righteousness that serves as your example. All that Jesus does from His birth in Bethlehem to Calvary, the empty tomb, and ultimately to Bethany is for you, for your sake.

He knows you are not able to redeem yourself from sin. He does it for you. He knows the shedding of your blood has no cleansing power from sin. His blood does. He knows you are not perfect. He knows you are by nature sinful and unclean. His death on your behalf is like a bear hug just for you. He hugs you, taking your imperfection, your profane way of life, and your unrighteousness upon Himself, exchanging all these things for His perfection, His holiness, and His spotless righteousness. No sin now clings to you, for Jesus Christ answers for all your sin. Jesus suffers all that you deserve because of sin. Jesus reckons you righteousness, and our heavenly Father sees you in Jesus as innocent.

Fear not, daughter of Zion. The events that unfold in Holy Scripture for us this week are not meant to scare you. They are meant to show not only the depth of sin, but also the depth of God’s righteousness for you in Jesus. This is not a week to be a part-time Christian. This is a week for paying attention. This is a week for being here with your fellow members of the body of Christ. This is a week for contemplation. Think about sin, yes. Think about rescue from sin, absolutely yes! Are the events we hear in Saint Matthew’s passion awful? Indeed they are. Now think about them without fear. Consider these words inspired by the Holy Spirit as if the ink on Matthew’s scroll is not yet dry. When you hear them with fresh ears, you’ll come to the conclusion that theologians discover anew every year: What an amazing Savior we have!

We call Jesus our friend, and that He is. What is more, Jesus is our Savior. It is rare that anyone is willing to die for someone who isn’t a spouse or a child. You are a child of God. Jesus, God’s only-begotten Son, is willing to die for you. If the shoe was on the other foot, you would have reservations about going through with it. Jesus has no reservations. As Paul Gerhardt wrote in the hymn, “A Lamb Goes Uncomplaining Forth”: “Goes patient on, grows weak and faint, To slaughter led without complaint, That spotless life to offer; He bears the stripes, the wounds, the lies, The mockery, and yet replies, ‘All this I gladly suffer.’”

“All this I gladly suffer.” That’s another way of saying what Zechariah says: Fear not, daughter of Zion. Jesus is going through all this for you. What great cost, but what great benefit! Instead of the burning lake of fire, you receive a place at the everlasting banquet table in Paradise. Fear not, daughter of Zion. All this Jesus gladly suffers.

Fourth Sunday in Lent – John 6:1-15

(Homiletical surgery performed from 2016)

The little boy with five barley loaves and two fish in the wilderness harkens back to Elisha in Second Kings chapter four purifying a poisonous stew. After Elisha purified the stew, a man came from Baal-shalishah, bringing the man of God bread of the firstfruits, twenty loaves of barley and fresh ears of grain in his sack. And Elisha said, “Give to the men, that they may eat.”But his servant said, “How can I set this before a hundred men?” So he repeated, “Give them to the men, that they may eat, for thus says the Lord, ‘They shall eat and have some left.’”So he set it before them. And they ate and had some left, according to the word of the Lord.

In John chapter six there is a παιδάριον. The word means “little child” and it is a derivative from the word that describes how someone is being reared and educated to be an ideal member of the city. In Greek culture, one who is trained in παιδεία would possess intellectual, moral, and physical refinement. The child received a liberal arts education, not to mention training in wrestling and gymnastics. You might say a παιδάριον is a physically, morally, and spiritually well-rounded individual. The young child, perhaps with his parents, is prepared for the inevitable.

The disciples are caught unprepared. Two hundred denarii worth of bread would not be enough for each of them to get a little.Sounds like the excuse in Second Kings chapter four: How can I set this before a hundred men?

Woe to you when you are unprepared! My friend, the late Rich Laue, liked to quote the movie “Heist”, “I wouldn’t even tie my shoe laces without a backup plan.” Yet you tie your shoes every day and are still unprepared for what could happen. You love to sing and talk about God’s providential care, yet when that care is late you change your tune and tone. There’s not enough money. There are not enough resources. It’s too far to buy what you need. It’s too late in the day to go buy what you need. You are not prepared, even though you think you have everything figured out.

King David sings in Psalm 122, I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord!” Here you are, and you’re still not as prepared as you could be. You can read the Psalms all you want before the start of the service, you can make a spiritual inventory to prepare for the forgiveness of sins, and you can even fast, pray, and give alms all you want. Yet when those words fall from David’s pen about being glad to enter God’s house, you’re still not prepared. Your thoughts are elsewhere. Your concentration lags. You’re be thinking about lunch. You’re counting the minutes until I’m done preaching. The silent inner monologue playing in your head never stops, especially when you’re sitting in a pew.

What is the big deal about words, water, bread, wine, and a man dressed in fancy vestments in a church building? Jesus uses these things from His Father’s creation to do wonderful things. He catches you unprepared for His providence and His spiritual care, but in being caught He still provides, forgives, and strengthens you. Elisha says concerning the bread of the firstfruits, Give them to the men, that they may eat, for thus says the Lord, “They shall eat and have some left.” The Lord is never slack in His promises. He keeps His perfect record intact as twenty loaves of barley and fresh ears of grain are enough to satisfy a hundred men with some left.

The little child, the παιδάριον, teaches the adults something about being prepared. Andrew’s bringing the boy to Jesus seems like a million to one shot, but Jesus himself knew what he would do. The boy is in the right place at the right time with the right amount of what is needed. Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated. So also the fish, as much as they wanted.And when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples, “Gather up the leftover fragments, that nothing may be lost.”So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves left by those who had eaten.

If Jesus can do that for five thousand men, what more can He do for you, O you of little faith! The refreshment Jesus provides for you here pales in comparison to what we will hear Him do. Jesus provides everlasting refreshment as He gives you His perfect righteousness, innocence, and blessedness, while taking on your sin, death, and hell. Jesus bears all this willingly for you. Jesus is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world. He comes to make that peace for you. Only He is able to climb the mountain to make the ultimate Passover sacrifice for your salvation. Only He provides you with forgiveness and eternal life.

Hence all fear and sadness! For the Lord of gladness, Jesus, enters in. No backup plan necessary.