The Lord Feeds His People
Where do you go when you are weighed down? To the Lord’s house! That is where you are made glad (Introit & Gradual). That is where the Lord is found to be your refreshment and nourishment (First Lesson). That is where the children of promise are nurtured and cared for by their mother (Second Lesson). And that is where the bread of Life is given to you (Gospel). Here in the Lord’s House is where your prayer is heard and answered—where the Lord Himself gives you the comfort of His Grace to mercifully relieve you (Collect).
Historically, the Fourth Sunday in Lent has been called Laetare. “Laetare” is Latin for, “rejoice,” and is the first word in the Historic Introit. This Sunday has been viewed as a sort of respite from the sorrowful season of Lent. This Sunday also marks the halfway point to Good Friday, and is the first time Jerusalem is mentioned in the Divine Service during Lent. We can see the end of Jesus’ time on earth approaching as we near Jerusalem.
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Jesus: God's Son and Your Servant
From the beginning, God’s Son is your servant. Jesus was born under the law to redeem those under the law says the Apostle (see Galatians 4:4-5). The previous stanzas of our hymn have confessed our human plight: fast bound in Satan’s chains, brooded over by death, tormented by sin with life itself becoming a living hell. Good works are no help. The freedom of the will is worst than powerless for it fights against God’s judgment. If we are to be saved, it will not come from ourselves. It will take a Savior who does for us what we cannot do for ourselves.
Jesus came not to be served but to serve and give His life as a ransom (see Mark 10:45). The old Adam is ever the activist, always devising some scheme for serving God. Jesus puts an end to it all as He comes to give what we could never achieve. Righteousness is received not achieved. Behold God’s and your Servant; He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
Jesus Overcomes the Strong Man
Eyes that are fixed on the Lord are confident that He will have mercy and pull ensnared feet out of the trap (Psalm 25:15,16, Historic Introit). So we look to the Lord, pleading with Him to look on us and “stretch forth the right hand of His majesty to be our defense against all our enemies” (Collect). And in fixing our eyes on Jesus , we also then follow God as dear children, walking in the same love Christ has for us (Epistle). For our confidence is that the Stronger One (Christ) prevails for us against the strong man (Satan), takes away his armor, and saves us from death and hell (Gospel).
The Third Sunday in Lent is also known as Oculi, which, in Latin, means “the eyes,” specifically as in the eyes of faith that we have been given by God for seeing the things that are hidden from the world—the things of God that pertain to our life and salvation, and the things concerning the devil and all his evil ways.
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