Behold the Lamb of God, Who Takes Away the Sin of the World

Jesus, the Lamb of God, is led to the slaughter of His cross as the sacrifice of atonement for the sins of the world. Despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief (Is. 53:3), He is the righteous Servant who justifies many by His innocent suffering and death. He bears our griefs and carries our sorrows; He is wounded for our transgressions; He is crushed for our iniquities; He suffers our chastisement, so that with His stripes we are healed (Is. 53:4-5). As the Son of God, He fulfills the Law for us in human flesh, and so fulfills the Scriptures (John 19:7, 24). In perfect faith and faithfulness, He shares all our weaknesses and temptations, yet without sin (Heb. 4:15), and as our merciful High Priest He brings us to the Father in peace.

Source: LCMS Lectionary Summaries

Let Us Love One Another, as Christ Jesus Has Loved Us

By Holy Baptism, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water (Heb. 10:22), we enter the holy place with Jesus. For Jesus is our Passover Lamb, who has been sacrificed for us. He reclines at table with us and feeds us with His own flesh and blood: the new and living way that He opened for us through the curtain (Heb. 10:20). In Christ, the Lord remembers us in mercy and remembers our sin no more; He forgives us all our iniquity (Jer. 31:34; Heb. 10:17). With such love, he loved His own who were in the world, and even loves us to the end (John 13:1). As He washes us and feeds us in love, let us love one another, just as He has loved us (John 13:34)

Source: LCMS Lectionary Summaries

The Cross and Passion of Our Lord Are the Hour of His Glory

The King of Israel comes into His royal glory by way of humble obedience to the point of death, even death on a cross (Phil. 2:8). He goes as it has been determined (Luke 22:22), according to the Scriptures, voluntarily submitting to His Father's will for the salvation of sinners. Therefore God has highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name that is above every name (Phil. 2:9). His suffering and death open the way of repentance for the forgiveness of sins because He goes to the cross bearing the sins of the world; and in His resurrection, God the Father vindicates His people and has compassion on His servants (Deut. 32:36). He kills and makes alive; He wounds in order to heal. In remembrance of Him, we praise God, confessing that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Phil. 2:11).

Source: LCMS Lectionary Summaries

God's Beloved Son Has Redeemed Us
Our life and works apart from Christ, no matter how impressive they may be to the eyes of the world, are ultimately garbage and no righteousness. Rather, it is in the scandalous cross of Jesus that we find our righteousness alone through faith in Christ (Phil. 3:9). By such faith, we know Him and the power of His resurrection (Phil. 3:10). For the same God who brought Israel out of Egypt, has done a new thing for us in Christ Jesus. He has sent his beloved Son into his vineyard—to be killed by sinful men and to become the stone the builders rejected. Yet, the One rejected by men has become the cornerstone of His Church (Luke 20:17). Through the waters of Holy Baptism, he provides us daily refreshment in our earthly pilgrimage--a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert (Is. 43:19).

Source: LCMS Lectionary Summaries

Jesus Christ Has Reconciled Us to the Father

God the Father has opened His heart to us in love. While we were still a long way off, He saw us and felt compassion (Luke 15:20). Therefore, He gave His only-begotten Son for us, making Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God (2 Cor. 5:21). By the ministry of reconciliation, He runs to us, embraces us in mercy, and clothes us with His glory as beloved sons in Christ Jesus. And so we give thanks unto the Lord our God, who has taken away our sins and turned His anger from us (Is. 12:1). As He has become our salvation, our strength and our song, so we will trust, and will not be afraid (Is. 12:2).

Source: LCMS Lectionary Summaries