Jesus is the Savior who Saves by Himself Being Saved.
Lent 2012.
"Save Me, O God ...." (Psalm 69:1) Now, what kind of Savior cries out to be saved? A Savior who saves by suffering what indeed we needed to be saved from: God's wrath because of our sin.
Jesus is a Savior who delivers us from the travesties that should have visited us because of our sins by Himself suffering the travesties of sorrow, pains, rejection by God, the torments of hell,
and death. But because these travails visited Christ instead of us and He suffered these travails for all men, these disasters will never visit men because Christ has already suffered them for us.
For this reason the prophet Zechariah also writes of Jesus as the Savior who saves men by Himself suffering their destitution and, thereby, eliminating their destitution and replacing it with life. The Rev. Dr. John Gerhard writes:
The question arises: In Zech. 9:9, why is the Messiah not called [Savior] in the active sense, but ... saved, in the passive sense? We respond: ... Christ is not only Savior but is also Himself saved. That is, because He wished to redeem us with His suffering and death, and descended into the depths of our wretchedness, therefore it was necessary that he be saved first, so that, having been saved, he might be able to save us too. I looked around, but there was no helper13; I was in anxiety, and there was no one to help (namely, among men). My own arm (the power of My divinity) has saved Me, and My anger (or zeal) has helped Me (Isa. 63:5).14
And, as Dr. Gerhard has noted from Isaiah, Christ, while suffering to be saved, also saved Himself. This Remarkable Works is possible only in Christ because Christ, while True Man, is also the True Almighty God (Isaiah 9:6), fully able to save in any and all circumstances. Hence, Christ told the Jews who disputed with Him, "Destroy this Temple and in three days I will raise it up." St. John 2:19.
During the season of Lent, we will mediate on Psalm 69, wherein we learn from Christ's Own Words and Thoughts that He suffered and conquered our eternal destitution for us in order to give us life eternal and the resurrection of the body.
LENT VESPERS SERVICES
Lent Vespers 1
4 March 2012
Christ Suffered to be Saved on the Cross in order to Save Men from their Sins through the Cross.
Lent Vespers 2
18 March 2012
Through the Cross, Christ Restored what Man Forfeited: His Life.
Lent Vespers 3
25 March 2012
Through the Gospel, Christ Builds Zion, His Church.
The Festival of Ash Wednesday (Observed)
26 February 2012
The Gospel Converted the Metropolis of Nineveh in One Sermon.
The Festival of Maundy Thursday
5 April 2012
The Sacrament of Holy Communion is God's Last Will and Testament wherein He Bequeaths to Men
Absolution and Life Eternal.
The Festival of Good Friday
6 April 2012
Christ Suffered for the Sins of Men on Good Friday to Preach and Save through the Good News, the Gospel. |
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