Monday of Holy Week

Lamb of God, Pure and Holy – Lutheran Service Book #434

John 1:29, 35-26; Isaiah 53:6-7; 1 Peter 1:18-19; John 14:27

Lamb of God, pure and holy,

Who on the cross didst suffer.

Ever patient and lowly,

Thy-self to scorn didst offer.

All sins Thou bor-est for us,

Else had despair reigned o’er us.

Have mercy on us,

O Jesus! O Jesus!

Jesus, the Lamb of God, takes away the sin of the world. In pointing to Jesus John the Baptizer reminds us that Jesus would be the sacrifice that would atone for the sin of the world. By sacrifice, by His willing bearing the sin of the world, our misery becomes His. Our burden He carries. When it came time for God to redeem us, to deal with our sin once and for all, He didn't ask us to offer something that cost us greatly. No, He furnished the sacrifice at great cost to Himself. That Lamb of God, that sacrifice for our sins, is Jesus. John's words remind us that from the beginning Jesus was God’s lamb.

Monday of Holy Week – Isaiah 50:5-10 - My sin and the Savior’s obedience

The Antiphon: Continue Your love to those who know you, Your righteousness to the upright in heart. – Psalm 36:10

Grant, we beseech Thee, Almighty God, that we, who amid so many adversities do fail through our own infirmities, may be restored through the Passion and intercession of Thine only-begotten Son.[1] 

Almighty God, whose Son Jesus Christ chose to suffer pain before going up to joy, and crucifixion before entering into glory, mercifully grant that we, walking in the way of the cross, may find this path to be the way of life and peace; through Jesus Christ Your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, One God, now and forever. [2]

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[1] The Lutheran Hymnal, Collect for Monday of Holy Week; © 1941 Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis

[2] Lutheran Service Book, Collect for Monday of Holy Week; © 2006 Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis