Jesus Rescues Us from Death and Brings Us into Heaven

The prophet Jeremiah faithfully preached all that the Lord had commanded him to speak to all the people (Jer. 26:8). He called the people to repentance, lest the Lord's judgment come upon them. The violence that Jeremiah suffered for this preaching foreshadowed the cross and Passion of Christ Jesus, who suffered the judgment of God for the redemption of all people. For Jesus comes in the name of the Lord (Luke 13:35) in order to lay down His life for the sins of the world. Earthly Jerusalem was blind to His gracious visitation, and so put Him to death like the prophets before Him. Yet, His sacrifice upon the cross was the cornerstone of the new Jerusalem, His Church. He visits us today in mercy with His preaching of forgiveness, to gather us to Himself within that holy city, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings (Luke 13:34). For our citizenship is in heaven (Phil. 3:20).

Source: LCMS Lectionary Summaries

Jesus Christ Is Our Champion against the Devil

Jesus Christ, our Champion against the devil, endures and overcomes every temptation (Luke 4:13) on our behalf. He worships the Lord His God, and serves Him only by trusting the Word of His Father: You are My beloved Son; with You I am well pleased (Luke 3:22). Jesus' victory is now ours through His gracious Word, which is not far away but near us-in our mouth and in our heart, in the proclamation of repentance and faith. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved (Rom. 10:10). Our confession of Christ includes the prayer of faith, which is not disappointed; for everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved (Rom. 10:13). The Lord is not oblivious to our affliction, our toil, and our oppression (Deut. 26:7), but has mercy upon us. He has brought us out of bondage through the signs and wonders of Holy Baptism, with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm (Deut. 26:8), and now He leads us by His Spirit even in the wilderness.

Source: LCMS Lectionary Summaries

Return to the Lord Your God with All Your Heart

On Ash Wednesday, we come down from the mountain with Jesus and set our face with His toward the cross in Jerusalem. We make our pilgrimage with Him by the way of repentance, and thus return to the dying and rising of Holy Baptism. For Christ Jesus, who knew no sin, became our sin, so that by His death we are released from sin, and in His resurrection we become the righteousness of God (2 Cor. 5:21). Since God has thereby reconciled the world to Himself in Christ, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation (2 Cor. 6:2). He summons you to return to Him with all your heart because He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love (Joel 2:13). Do so in faith and confidence before Him, and pray to Him as your Father. Give to the needy from a heart of love, and fast for the sake of repentance (Matt. 6:3-4, 6, 17-18).

Source: LCMS Lectionary Summaries

The Glory of God Is Manifested in the Body of Christ

"Moses was faithful in all God's house as a servant," but Christ Jesus "has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses" (Heb. 3:3, 5). A beloved and well-pleasing Son, faithful even to the point of death, Jesus' own body was raised up on the third day as the house of God, and He has brought us into that house through the waters of Holy Baptism (Heb. 3:6). Thus, it was not Moses the lawgiver, but his successor, Joshua (the Hebrew name for Jesus), who led the people into the promised land (Deut. 34:1-4, 9). Now, on the Mount of Transfiguration, the New Testament Joshua appears in the glory that He is about to manifest by His "departure" (exodus) in Jerusalem (Luke 9:31). Having entered the waters of the Jordan in His Baptism, He passed through those waters and entered into glory by His Cross and Passion. What He thereby accomplished in His own flesh and blood, crucified and risen, He reveals and gives to His Body, the Church, by the means of His Word. Therefore, the Father declares from heaven, "Listen to Him!" (Luke 9:35).

Source: LCMS Lectionary Summaries

Jesus Manifests His Divine Glory by Forgiving Sins

When Isaiah beheld the glory of the Holy Triune God in the Temple, he confessed that he was lost because he was sinful and unclean. If even the holy angels cover their faces in the presence of "the King, the Lord of hosts," then how could Isaiah stand before Him? (Is. 6:1-5). The glory of the Lord, however, was manifested precisely in His forgiving of Isaiah's sins. He touched Isaiah's mouth with a burning coal from the altar of incense, and sanctified his lips for the proclamation of His Word (Is. 6:6-9). Similarly, when Simon Peter witnessed the glory of God in the miraculous catch of fish, he was brought to his knees and confessed, "I am a sinful man" (Luke 5:8). Yet, the Lord Jesus did not depart from him, but calmed his fear and raised him up with His gracious forgiveness (Luke 5:10). With this same forgiveness and love, Christ gathers people from every nations into His Church and pours out His Spirit upon them. The gifts of that same Spirit are manifested in the speaking and hearing of the Gospel for the building up of the Church (1 Cor. 14:12).

Source: LCMS Lectionary Summaries