"The Lamb Who Died"

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

There is something to be said about the fact that the preparers of our lectionary, whoever they be, appointed this scene from the crucifixion of our Lord to be the Gospel lesson for the last Sunday in the Church year. In Year A, the year ends with a vision of the final judgment, where we see the sheep and the goats separated and sent into their respective homes for eternity. In Year B, we are left with the promise that the Word of the Lord remains forever, and with the charge from our Lord: “Stay awake.”

But this year, you have heard from the pen of St. Luke the first words of Jesus from the Cross. And how fitting it is that, at the end of time (so to speak), we hearken back to the beginning of the End.

John Calvin once called the shouts and jeers and mocking of the crowds, the insults of the Jews, and the scoffing of the impenitent thief a “premature triumph” on the part of the devil. The devil and his minions looked around and saw that they had Jesus under their thumb. He was beated, scourged, bloody, and broken. The Son of God was about to die. And would God save Him? “He saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One!”

As our Lord was marched through the streets of Jerusalem, as He was nailed to the cross, as He was mocked and ridiculed, and as He struggled for His last breaths, the old evil foe shouted in triumph: Look there! Your God is dead! What now, o you faithful? You are finished!

But our Lord suffers nothing against His will. Even as He is hung on the accursed tree, He continues to execute His high-priestly office. As He is pouring out the drink-offering, as He is spilling the sacrificial blood, as the sins of the multitude settle upon the head of the blameless Lamb, our Great High Priest is interceding for His people.

He prays, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Upon the cross, hanging under the weight of the sins of the world, our Lord Christ even there prays for His people, for all people.

He prays that you may be forgiven of your sins. He prays that the murderers may find the same reward as the peacemakers. He prays that the debauched find the same comfort as the celibate. He prays that the wicked find the same peace as the godly. He prays that you, who were blinded by sin and lost in the darkness of death, may find the light of the world and see the dawning of the everlasting day.

Our Lord Christ prays for you upon the cross, even though you will not come about for another two thousand years, because He knows the sins of the whole world. He bears the sins of all who have come before Him, and all who will be born after Him. He prays for you, that you may not be left in the blindness and ignorance of your sins, but that your Father in heaven would forgive you your sins and cleanse you from all unrighteousness, not because of your own deeds, but because of this very Man who hangs upon the cross for you.

There is something paradoxical, perhaps even ironic, about the fact that on this day you hear this Gospel lesson read, and then you sing “Lord, Enthroned in Heav'nly Splendor”. Just think for a moment on this. The Lord of Glory is hung upon the accursed tree, and yet we sing of Him as enthroned in heavenly splendor, surrounded by the worshiping angels and saints. Indeed, one might, for a moment, be tempted to think of this as of the mockery from the Jews.

But indeed, the Lord is enthroned in heavenly splendor, precisely because He is hung to die upon the cross. This is the great paradox, the great and blessed exchange. The glory of God is revealed in His suffering and death. His great glory, for which we give thanks, is chiefly in that He shows mercy. And He shows mercy in forgiving the sins of those who believe and in dying for the life of the world.

He is enthroned in heavenly splendor, even in the midst of the blood and the dirt and the gore of the cross. For there is nowhere that God would rather be. This is His mercy-seat. This is where His majesty and glory and power are displayed for all the world to see. “The foe in triumph shouted … but lo, he now is routed!” (LSB 467.2)

Our Lord Jesus Christ saved others precisely by not saving Himself. He did not count equality with God something to be grasped. He did not count it robbery to be emptied of His glory. He did not refuse to get His hands dirty. He did not prevent Himself from dying, because you could not prevent your own death. He died, so that you might not die.

The King of the Jews did not save Himself from the cross. But He did save you from your own death. He saved you from the wrath to be revealed when He will come again in glory. He saved you from everlasting punishment and condemnation. He saved you from yourself, from the consequences of your own ignorance, foolishness, and selfishness.

Therefore, “do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation?” Your sins earn you the same wrath and condemnation as those thieves who hung upon the crosses beside our Lord. Your selfishness and stubbornness are as much acts of unbelief and idolatry as the mocking of the Jews at Golgotha. Do you not fear God and tremble at His great and terrible wrath to come on the last day? “For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble.” (Mal. 4:1)

You justly deserve nothing but wrath and punishment for your sins. But look not to your own deeds and actions. Instead, look to the only source of healing and life. Look with the grieving women. Look with the penitent thief. Look at the Holy One of Israel, the Lamb of God slaughtered upon the cross.

Look to Christ, and cry out with that thief: “Jesus, remember me when You come into Your kingdom!” Lord, remember us when you are risen from the dead, ascended to the right hand of the Father, and judging the living and the dead. Lord, remember us not as poor, miserable sinners, but as those for whom You died. Lord, remember us not as lost and condemned wretches, but as the blessed saints You have created and re-created us to be. Lord, remember us in Your kingdom, so that when we pray “deliver us from evil,” Your holy angels may at last come to us and carry us from this vale of sorrow to You in heaven.

And what does our blessed Lord say? “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.” Amen, amen, so shall it be. And so it is. Today you are with Him in Paradise. Because you are here.

Contrary to the world's expectations, the kingdom of the heavens is not in “heaven” up there someplace. The kingdom of the heavens is the reign of God, which is wherever Christ is. And today, now, in your presence, the Scriptures are fulfilled. The kingdom of the heavens is here upon earth. Paradise is in this very place, in this humble brick-and-mortar edifice. Today you are with the Lord in Paradise, because today you are in the place He has promised to be. Today you are in Paradise because today, in this place, He comes to you.

"For on the Cross Christ was sacrificed , and where the sacrifice is, in that place is abolition of sins, in that place reconciliation with the Lord, in that place feasting and joy,” said St. John Chrysostom. This is the place where the sacrifice is, upon the Altar of the Lord, for you.

The end of the world is coming. We live in the dark and latter days that the prophets foretold. All around you, the world is dying and decaying. People are killing each other in ever-increasing ways and means. Idolatry of every form abounds. The self is glorified and the Lord of Hosts is demonized or denied. Creation is trending toward chaos.

And yet, in the midst of this, you are with God in paradise. Paradise is here, in your midst. Christ is no longer on the cross, but is enthroned in heavenly splendor. And He is enthroned in all His splendor upon His Altar, from which He will pour out into your mouths the blessed fruit of His sacrifice, so that as you eat and drink His Body and Blood you receive the forgiveness of sins. As you eat the Bread of Life here at this table, you are ushered into the Paradise of heaven. You take your seat at the feast with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob the blest.

Take heart. In the midst of the chaos, at the end of the world, “It is finished.” Death is finished. Hell is finished. Condemnation is finished. Salvation is completed. You are complete. In Christ, you are in paradise, and you are complete. Your sins are forgiven. Your judgment is secure. Fear God and give Him glory, because the hour of His mercy has come!

In the Name of Jesus. Amen.