|18 But they all cried out together, “Away with this man, and release to us Barabbas”— 19 a man who had been thrown into prison for an insurrection started in the city and for murder. 20 Pilate addressed them once more, desiring to release Jesus, 21 but they kept shouting, “Crucify, crucify him!” 22 A third time he said to them, “Why? What evil has he done? I have found in him no guilt deserving death. I will therefore punish and release him.” 23 But they were urgent, demanding with loud cries that he should be crucified. And their voices prevailed. 24 So Pilate decided that their demand should be granted. 25 He released the man who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, for whom they asked, but he delivered Jesus over to their will. – Luke 23:18-25
What is the Sunday of the Passion? On the Sunday of the Passion, we remember Jesus’ passion, His suffering and death. On this day, Jesus makes the ultimate sacrifice for our salvation. Like Good Friday, we celebrate Jesus’ passion, His suffering and death. And, perhaps more importantly, we celebrate His sacrifice for us that saves us from eternal condemnation because of our sinfulness. Certainly, like Good Friday, we are saddened because Jesus has to die because of our sinfulness, but aren’t we also glad that He does? Because Jesus dies for us, we are saved from the eternal condemnation that we deserve. Because He makes the ultimate sacrifice for us, we are redeemed from “all sins, from death and from the power of the devil,” according to Martin Luther. In his explanation to the Second Article of the Apostles’ Creed, Luther says that Jesus “has redeemed me, a lost and condemned creature, purchased and won me from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil; not with gold or silver, but with His holy, precious blood and with His innocent suffering and death, That I may be His own, and live under Him in His kingdom, and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness.” According to Martin Luther, Jesus makes the sacrifice and we have the eternal benefits of it: “everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness.”
The traditional reading for the Sunday of the Passion doesn’t just tell us about Jesus’ passion, His suffering and death. It also tells us about our relationship with Him. If the image is important in spiritual matters, then the traditional reading describes not just Jesus’ passion in painful clarity, but also our sinfulness in the same painful clarity. For example, the story of Barabbas [see above]. The name Barabbas means “son of the father.” Jesus is also a son of the father. But, in Jesus’ case, He is the Son of our heavenly Father. In the story of Barabbas, the people reject Jesus and choose Barabbas: the people choose the wrong “son of the father.” Are we any better than they are? How often have we rejected Jesus in order to choose someone or something else? In the story of Barabbas, he is depicted as a murderer. Barabbas is a bad character. And, yet, the people choose him and reject Jesus. We are no better than they are. Doesn’t the First Commandment, “thou shalt have no other gods before me,” teach us that anything that comes between us and Jesus is bad? In the traditional reading we can see our sinfulness in painful clarity.
The traditional reading for the Sunday of the Passion doesn’t just show us to be the sinners that we are, like the people who reject Jesus and choose Barabbas. It also shows us to be forgiven sinners, like the good thief on the cross. The traditional reading tells us the story of Jesus being crucified with the two thieves. On the one hand, the bad thief says to Jesus: “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us [Luke 23:39]!” Couldn’t these words flow easily from our mouths, too? On the other hand, the good thief says to Jesus: “do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong [Luke 23:40-41].” We make ourselves the bad thief because of our sinfulness. But, Jesus makes us the good thief. The words that Jesus speaks to the good thief, He also speaks to us. The good thief says to Jesus: “remember me when you come into your kingdom [Luke 23:42].” And Jesus responds: “Truly I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise [Luke 23:43].” We too, like the good thief, have Jesus’ promise of a future life in heaven. Or, as Martin Luther says in his explanation to the Second Article of the Apostles’ Creed: “everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness.”
The traditional reading for the Sunday of the Passion doesn’t just show us to be the sinners that we are, like the people who reject Jesus and choose Barabbas. And it doesn’t just show us to be forgiven sinners, like the good thief on the cross. And it doesn’t just tell us about Jesus’ sacrifice. It also shows us the results of Jesus’ sacrifice. Our sins are not only forgiven, they no longer separate us from Him. Towards the end of the traditional reading, “the curtain of the temple is torn in two [Luke 23:45; see below].” Don’t forget: the image is important. The curtain that separated a sinless God from His sinful people is torn in two. Because Jesus makes the ultimate sacrifice for our salvation, nothing can separate us from Him. The Apostle Paul, in his letter to the Romans, tells us “that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord [Romans 8:38-39].” This applies to us because of Jesus’ passion, His suffering and death.
The traditional reading for the Sunday of the Passion describes not just Jesus’ passion in painful clarity, but also our sinfulness in the same painful clarity. And it doesn’t just show us to be the sinners that we are, like the people who reject Jesus and choose Barabbas. It also shows us to be forgiven sinners, like the good thief on the cross. Although we are the bad thief because of our sinfulness, we are also the good thief because of Jesus’ passion, His suffering and death. And, we too, like the good thief, have Jesus’ promise of a future life in heaven. Certainly, like Good Friday, we are saddened because Jesus has to die because of our sinfulness, but we are glad that He does. In this way, the Sunday of the Passion is a celebration. We celebrate His sacrifice for us that saves us from eternal condemnation because of our sinfulness.
44 It was now about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour, 45 while the sun’s light failed. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. 46 Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” And having said this he breathed his last. 47 Now when the centurion saw what had taken place, he praised God, saying, “Certainly this man was innocent!” 48 And all the crowds that had assembled for this spectacle, when they saw what had taken place, returned home beating their breasts. 49 And all his acquaintances and the women who had followed him from Galilee stood at a distance watching these things. – Luke 23:44-49
