Fifth Sunday
in Lent
March 17, 2013
Dear friends in Christ.
It was back in 1881 when Mark
Twain’s first attempt at historical fiction was published. Published first in Canada in 1881 and then in
the US in 1882, The Prince and the Pauper,
was a story that Twain set wrote about two young boys who are identical in appearance. One is a pauper, a very poor boy, who lives
with and abusive father. The other is
Prince Edward, Son of King Henry VIII and heir to the throne of England. In the course of the story the two boys meet
and wind up trading clothes and changing places. Thus the young pauper finds himself elevated
to the status of prince, while the prince finds himself humiliated to the
position of a peasant.
In many ways this is a picture of
what Jesus, our Savior did for us. It
wasn’t that he traded places with someone who looked exactly like him. Instead, he humbled himself and made himself
just like we are so that he could free us from our sins. He humbled himself to free us from our sins,
and then when his work on earth was complete, he was once again exalted to the
highest place in heaven by his heavenly Father.
But what does all of this mean?
What does the Bible tell us about Jesus humiliation and his
exaltation?
To answer that question, we need
to start at the beginning. We need to
start with what the Bible has to tell us about Jesus humbling himself, which is
what the Apostle Paul explains in his letter to the Philippians, where Paul
writes, “Christ Jesus: who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality
with God something to be used to his own advantage; (grasped, NIV84) 7 rather,
he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in
human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by
becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross!" (Philippians 2:6–8,
NIV)
Essentially what Paul is telling
us is that even though Jesus’ very nature is true God, he did not consider that
he had to hang onto his equality with God the Father at all costs. Instead, he willingly humbled himself; he
took on human flesh and blood, and made himself just like one of us. In doing this, Jesus set aside his divine
authority and power and did not make full use of it while he was here on the
earth. Take for example Jesus in the
Garden of Gethsemane. He was there with
his disciples and he knew everything that was going to happen that night so he
went out and met the mob at the entrance.
When Jesus told them that he was the one they were looking for, they all
fell over, backward. But that was all he
did. Had he wanted to he could have had
more than six legions of angels at his disposal, but all he did was knock the
soldiers backward to show them that he was allowing them to arrest him. Once they got back to their feet, he allowed
them to take him as a prisoner to the High Priest, and in this way Jesus set in
motion the events that would lead to our salvation, just as Paul tells us again
in 2 Corinthians, “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though
he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty
might become rich." (2 Corinthians 8:9, NIV84)
During the past weeks of this
season of Lent, we have been reminding ourselves of how Jesus did, indeed,
become poor for us so that we might become rich by his poverty. We have been reminding ourselves of how Jesus
did, indeed, humble himself so that he might save us from our sins. But when it comes right down to it, Jesus’ humiliation
is not something we save only for the season of Lent. Rather it is something that we remember each
time we confess our faith. In fact, in
just a few minutes, as we take time to confess our faith together according to
the Apostle’s Creed, we will confess the very steps of Jesus humiliation here
on earth. We will confess how Jesus
humbled himself by being conceived by the Holy Spirit in the womb of the virgin
Mary. He humbled himself by being born
in the same way that babies have been born since the beginning of time. There was nothing special or miraculous about
his birth Though it was miraculous that
this baby was true God, born as the Savior of the world, he was also born true
man—a helpless baby born in a very lowly way—born in a stable and laid in a
manger. Though we don’t confess it in
the creed, we also know about Jesus humble life, how he was tempted in every
way that we are, but was without sin. We
know how he suffered under Pontius Pilate where he was mocked and whipped and
ridiculed and beaten. He was crucified
like a criminal. He died! Our true God, who cannot die, humbled himself
and became obedient even to death on the cross so that he could free us from
our sins. Then, when he had died, he was
buried in the ground. Just as we bury
those who have died, so also Jesus was buried, just like we will all be buried,
one day.
It was in this way that Jesus
humbled himself for us. He came to earth
lived as a human being. He proclaimed
the Word of God, taking the message of salvation wherever he went. He moved purposefully, moving always forward,
moving ever closer to the moment of giving his life on the cross. Yet, while on earth he never made full use of
his divine glory, power, or authority.
It was not until after his death that he was exalted once again, and
began making full use of his heavenly power and glory. As the writer to the Hebrews tells us, “But
we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with
glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might
taste death for everyone." (Hebrews 2:9, NIV84) Or as Paul tells us,
“Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is
above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven
and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ
is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." (Philippians 2:9–11, NIV84) Or as Peter tells us, “But [David] was a
prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of
his descendants on his throne. 31 Seeing what was ahead, he spoke of the
resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to the grave, nor did his
body see decay. 32 God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses
of the fact. 33 Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the
Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear…
36 “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom
you crucified, both Lord and Christ.”" (Acts 2:30–36, NIV84) And again Peter tells us, “God exalted him to
his own right hand as Prince and Savior that he might give repentance and
forgiveness of sins to Israel." (Acts 5:31, NIV84)
In Twain’s story of The Prince and the Pauper, the prince
became a pauper only for a time. After
that he went back to being a prince again.
Now, if you’ve ever read the story it took a bit of doing for the prince
to finally return to his rightful position of leadership as the heir to the
throne of England. However, for Jesus it
didn’t take all that to do. Rather, when
the time came Jesus began making full use of his divine power and authority,
just as we confess in the Apostle’s Creed, “He descended into hell The third day he rose again from the
dead. He ascended into heaven and is
seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty. From there he will come to judge the living
and the dead.”
Now, I don’t know about you, but
when I was younger I thought Jesus descended into hell to suffer there for our sins. But that is not the case because as we learn
from Colossians, “When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of
your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins,
14 having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us
and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. 15 And
having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them,
triumphing over them by the cross. (Colossians 2:13–15, NIV84)
In other words, it was on the
cross where Jesus removed our sins and destroyed the power of the devil. When he cried out, “It is Finished,” we knew
his work of salvation had been completed.
Though Jesus died and his body was placed in the grave, the Lord did not
allow his body to see decay. Then, on
the third day, Jesus was raised to life by the power of God the Father, and, as
Peter tells us, “Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the
unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made
alive by the Spirit, 19 through whom also he went and preached to the spirits
in prison 20 who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of
Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were
saved through water, 21 and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you
also—not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience
toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22 who has gone
into heaven and is at God’s right hand—with angels, authorities and powers in
submission to him." (1 Peter 3:15–22, NIV84)
This was Jesus victory
parade! In the same way that we throw
victory parades for Super Bowl champions, World Series winners, and so many
others, so also the Bible pictures Jesus’ descent into hell as his victory
parade. He had won the victory over the
devil and his evil angels, and now he marched right down the “main street” of
hell, so to speak, proclaiming his victory over the devil and all who refused
to believe in him. This, together with
the fact that Jesus was raised to life by the power of the Holy Spirit, was the
beginning of his exaltation. This was
the beginning of Jesus once again making full use of his divine power and
authority. This is our assurance that our Jesus has freed us from our sins.
This is our assurance that our salvation is complete in him. This is our assurance that just as Jesus was
raised from the dead, so also will Jesus raise us from the dead, as Paul
reminds us, “For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. 23
But each in his own turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those
who belong to him." (1 Corinthians 15:22–23, NIV84)
What a comfort it is to know that
Jesus our Savior who willingly humbled himself to free us from our sins, has
now been exalted to the highest place that heaven offers and has been given the
name that is above every name. What a
comfort it is for us to know that Jesus, the God-man is exalted forever in his
heavenly kingdom where he once again is making full use of his divine authority
and power so that he might work in our lives as he leads us on our journey home
to heaven. What a comfort it is to know
that in the same way the prince in The
Prince and the Pauper did regain his rightful place as King of England, so
also our Savior has returned to his throne of Glory. Though he willingly humbled himself, he did
it to redeem us. When his work of redemption
was completed, he was once again exalted to his former glory, demonstrating
that he fulfilled his work and that we have salvation through faith in
him. This is what Jesus humiliation and
exaltation are all about. Amen.
Pastor David M. Shilling
Grace
Evangelical Lutheran Church--Le Sueur, MN
