Jesus took the Twelve aside and told them, "We are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled." Luke 18:31
As presented on *The Lutheran Hour® by Dr. Oswald Hoffmann February 2, 1956.
“We are going up to Jerusalem.” People throughout the world will be thinking these coming weeks about the journey our Lord undertook with these words. Today is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the season of Lent—the time when millions turn their hearts and minds toward the city of Jerusalem and events that took place there a long time ago. Because it's so easy to go on living as though these events never took place, observance of the season of Lent is a very good thing. If it doesn't do anything else, it brings the passion journey to our attention again, very forcefully.
The Lenten journey is the passion journey of our Lord to His suffering and death. As we take this journey with Him, we follow our Savior's footsteps through the most significant events of His life. As we relive these events, we shall discover that we belong in the company that follows our Savior to the cross.
When you make the passion journey with our Lord, don't think for a minute that His suffering and death were an accident, or that Christ was helpless in the hands of His enemies. God planned all of this, and Christ Himself knew what was coming. The prophets had foretold it. “Surely,” said Isaiah 800 years before the passion journey, “He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows. He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities” (see Isaiah 53:4-5). The passion journey is the final chapter in this great story.
Lord Jesus, help us to believe and trust You more as we hear the story of Your suffering and death. Amen.
Taken from A Message of Hope: Proclaiming the Cross (selections from messages broadcast on *The Lutheran Hour, celebrating 75 years of proclaiming the promise).
Copyright © 2006 by Lutheran Hour Ministries
*The Lutheran Hour is the longest-running Christian radio broadcast in the world. It is a production of Lutheran Hour Ministries. For more information, visit www.lutheranhour.org.
Today's Bible Readings: Leviticus 13 Mark 7:14-37
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