1. Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our
Heavenly Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. Ash
Wednesday, the first day of Lent, reminds us of the ancient custom of applying
ashes to the brows of worshipers, calling to mind the word of God to our first
parents after they had sinned, “You are dust, and to dust you shall return”
(Gen 3:19). “The wages of sin is death” (Rom 6:23). The ashes of Lent
remind us that the wages of our sin is death. But this isn’t the last word.
This is a Lenten journey with Jesus.
2. Let’s walk with
Jesus, in Peter’s shoes, during these six weeks of Lent. We’ll see in Peter’s
words and deeds a picture of ourselves, of our sin, of our need for the ashes
of repentance. Tonight each of us must say, “It’s Jesus, Peter, and me; and
it’s all about pride.” The footsteps of Peter take us into the bitter
consequences of sinful pride. But we’re not going to stop there. We’re going to
move on to the cross. At the cross,
sinful pride, Peter’s and ours, is forgiven and overcome in the mercy of Christ.
3. It’s Thursday
evening. Our Lord has just eaten the Passover meal with his disciples in the
Upper Room. After singing a hymn, they set out for the Mount of Olives. Along
the way, Jesus speaks of things to come, with this warning: “You will all
fall away because of me this night. For it is written, ‘I will strike the
shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered’ ” (v 31). But
Peter, not yet realizing the full significance of what Jesus had said,
confidently replies, “Though they all fall away because of you, I will never
fall away” (v 33).
4. You have to be
amazed at such confidence. But a second look reveals it’s not confidence born
of faith. It’s overconfidence, spiritual pride, and conceit. To Peter, it seems
very possible that the rest of the disciples might fall away, but he would
never fall away. Maybe his prestige has gone to his head. He’s one of three
disciples closest to Jesus. He, together with James and John, was with Jesus at
his transfiguration. He’d made the wonderful confession, “You are the
Christ, the Son of the living God.” He’d been given the name Peter, the “rock”
(Mt l6:16, l8). How could he fall away? Maybe others would, but certainly not
Peter. Jesus’ warning to Peter becomes even more explicit. “Truly, I tell
you, this very night, before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times”
(v 34). But the proud heart is hard and calloused. “Peter said to him, ‘Even
if I must die with you, I will not deny you!’ ” (v 35).
5. Is Peter’s
attitude reflected in your life and mine? Take a brief inventory. Does it sound
like this? There’s no deep and shameful sin in my life. There’s no blemish on
my reputation. There’s no skeleton in my closet. Others may be guilty of
certain sins. Others may be negligent in spiritual matters. Others may be
lacking faith and Christian character, but not me. I would never fall away.
That’s my line too. In all or one of these ways, Peter comes to life in us.
6. Again and
again, the Scriptures condemn sinful pride. Listen: “Pride goes before
destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall” (Prov 16:18). Hear the
proud Pharisee in the temple: “God, I thank you that I am not like other
men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast
twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get” (Lk l8:11–12). He goes home,
not with God’s favor, but with his judgment: “Everyone who exalts himself
will be humbled,” Jesus says (Lk l8:14). St. Paul warns us, “Let anyone
who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall” (1 Cor 10:12). Our fall
is just beyond our next step if we rely on our own strength, if we imagine
there’s no danger for us, if we think we’re untouchable to Satan. The wages of
sinful pride is death. We need the ashes of repentance.
7. Jesus gives us
the answer to sinful pride and to every sin right here in our text. “For it
is written, ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be
scattered.’ But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee” (vv
31–32). But Jesus is the Shepherd who seeks the lost. He’s the Shepherd who
searches for even one lost sheep. He’s the Good Shepherd who gives his life for
the sheep. He’s on the way to the cross, where God will smite the Shepherd with
wrath and judgment over our sinful pride, over every shameful or respectable
sin that has ever marred our thoughts, words, or deeds. There, at the cross,
the Shepherd becomes sin for us. The flock was scattered when Jesus was
arrested and condemned. All the disciples forsook him and fled. But the flock
will be gathered again, because the cross and death aren’t the last word. “After
I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee,” he said. The loving,
caring, redeeming Shepherd returned from death to gather his disciples, and
they are the redeemed and forgiven sheep of his flock.
8. We’re very much
in this. The Lenten ashes of repentance humble us. We come here to God’s house
and confess: “I, a poor, miserable sinner, confess unto You all my sins and
iniquities with which I have ever offended You” (LSB, p. 184). “We have sinned against You in thought, word,
and deed, by what we have done and by what we have left undone” (LSB, p. 167).
9. But repentance
is not just knowing our sin; it’s knowing Christ. With glad and believing
hearts we hear and believe the Absolution: “In the stead and by the command
of my Lord Jesus Christ I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father
and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (LSB, p. 185). We come to the Lord’s Table and hear the Savior’s
words, spoken the very night the events of our text took place: “This is my
body which is [broken] for you” (1 Cor 11:24). “Drink of it, all of you, for
this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the
forgiveness of sins” (Mt 26:27–28).
10. The Shepherd,
who gave his life for the sheep, now gives his life to the sheep. Our sinful
pride is forgiven. Our hearts are free to cultivate the mind of Christ and his
humility. Now we’re servants as much as masters; others have value, not just we
ourselves; we’re ready to give, not just to get. We’re free to live by the mind
of Christ. This is the story of Jesus,
Peter, and each of us. Amen.
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