Dying Jesus’ Way

Fifth Sunday of Easter

May 14, 2017

John 14

Dying Jesus’ Way

In the name of the Father and of the ☩ Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen!

Jesus is the way. But where He leads us isn’t always where we want to go.

You want Him to lead you to fortune and glory. Jesus said:

“Believe Me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves.”

JOHN 14:11 NIV 1984

And you say, “Yes, Jesus, miracles! Show me more miracles, Jesus!” But then He doesn’t give you the miracles you really want. He goes a different way.

His way is Baptism and it is a miracle. But we don’t treat it like a miracle. This is my guess, but if Jesus would take away your depression or pain or blindness or cancer, you would remember and celebrate that day for the rest of your life, as you should! Why not with Baptism, the day Jesus ended your slavery to the Devil and created you to be new person. This is the beginning of your eternal life.

Jesus’ way is His body and blood going into our mouths for the forgiveness of our sins. This, too, is a miracle, but we don’t want too much of this kind of miracle. We want miracles that we can count and measure and feel good about—that’s our way.

Jesus’ way doesn’t always feel good. His way is His body nailed to a cross. His suffering and death is His great miracle for us, but we often don’t treat it that way. We’ve been told that Jesus’ dying is the sad part, and that we should focus on the glorious happy miracle of the Easter’s empty tomb. Indeed we see this in our art at church and at home. It’s accepted by many that Jesus hanging from the cross should not be the primary image for Lutherans, but instead the empty cross is the one we should display.

But Jesus’ way was to die on an empty cross; His way was to die on His cross and then to rise from an empty tomb. Jesus’ way is one of suffering and loss throughout His life: the Bethlehem manger and Calvary’s cross are both full of the very body and blood of God in the flesh.

Jesus’ way is His Father’s gift to us: His sent Son giving up His glory for a time by being born of a virgin and born under His holy law of love. Jesus’ way is being punished for our total failure to love Him and others perfectly, a failure that we can never make up for. So Jesus’ way is to do it for us: rising to life to tell us that His full cross was the payment for all our lack of love.

Jesus’ way is dying and rising. And therefore this is our way, dying and rising. We have died and been raised to life in Baptism. As we remember this day, our eternal birthday, we die and rise in Christ. As we receive the body and blood of our risen from the dead Savior, we go His way into life with His Father.

He tells all His disciples that we know the way to the place where He is going. And this way is death and resurrection for us!

For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His Life as a ransom for many. Alleluia! Amen!