Oh Love How Deep - For Us

 

Mid-week Lent Week 3
Oh Love How Deep “For Us”
Mark 1:9–13

    We continue looking at the ancient hymn “O Love, How Deep.”  What we will see; throughout Jesus’ earthly ministry, beginning with His Baptism, everything was all done for us. He is the selfless one. He always seeks out His beloved ones. Everything Jesus does in His earthly ministry is done for you. The essence of Christ’s character is self-giving. Jesus does nothing for Himself. His nature is not to serve His own end—or some purpose that is hidden in Him alone. To the contrary, Jesus Himself taught: “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45). 

   That is why stanza 3 includes the phrase “for us,” which is repeated throughout this hymn. We believe that Jesus came for us, and we know it best perhaps from the Nicene Creed which says: “Who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven.” When Jesus entered time and space everything Jesus did, He did for us. In Stanza 3, we hear about four things the Savior does for us. Let’s look at each one briefly in turn. The old song sings:

   “For us baptized.” Why was Jesus baptized? In Matthew’s Gospel, we hear that Jesus was baptized “to fulfill all righteousness” (3:15) which means, Jesus has completed all the demands of the Law. He has done everything that God’s Law requires.   

   Because Jesus is baptized and has fulfilled and completed all the Law’s demands, St Paul proclaims: All of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death/ We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. (Romans 6:3-5) When you were baptized into Jesus’ death you were united with Him. And for you Christ has fulfilled all righteousness. You are declared innocent and holy. You are pronounced perfect in the Father’s sight because of Jesus. Jesus did not need to be baptized. Rather, He was baptized for us so that we would receive everlasting life in His name.

   “For us Jesus bore his holy fast and hungered sore.”  In Mark’s Gospel, Jesus is not merely led into the wilderness. No, the Spirit drives Him into the wilderness. You get this sense in stanza 3. Jesus is on the move. He bears this hunger for us. He undergoes this trial for us. He doesn’t do it out of weakness or inability; He does it because He has chosen to take this burden from you and put it on Himself. Or, even better, the Lord, our heavenly Father, has laid it upon Him. By inspiration the prophet Isaiah predicts: “But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.” Isaiah 53:5-6

   “For us temptation sharp He knew.” Temptation sometimes is a hard thing for us to really understand. Jesus knows temptation, but He does not give in to temptation. Because Jesus was tempted, He knows what it is to be human. 

We can look at His example to resist temptation and turn to Him for comfort and strength. The Lord Jesus knows, sees, and understands. He knows temptation. He has walked our road. This all comes down to Jesus taking on our human flesh and blood. Being tempted like we are without sin means that He can sympathize with us in our weaknesses. But it also means that He suffers in temptation just like we do. Jesus knows the pain, the sorrow, the anguish, and everything that surrounds temptation to sin. He knows it as well as you do. This is not mere intellectual knowledge either. He knows it, body, and soul because He has lived it. And that leads us to the next line in our hymn.

   “For us the tempter He overthrew.”  Early in his ministry and throughout those three years of revealing Himself as the Son of God, the devil tempts Jesus. He pokes and prods the Son of God with questions about His Father's love and care. For three years, great crowds would demand miracles.  Disciples would bicker and fight, people would criticize Him and His claim to come give you eternal life. But with each trial of His patience, He is revealed to be to be flawless. With each argument, He brings about reconciliation. With each criticism, you see come forth from your Savior an ever-focused resolve to go forth to His final week. When Jesus, your Savior, is tested and tried, you see a far different response than what you might expect. When you poke or prod a sinner, sin comes out. But when Jesus is tested and tried, you get to see what He is made of: righteousness, mercy, and love.

   The difference is that you and I are fallen and corrupt. What we have at our core is a sinful rebellion against God. But Jesus is not like us, for He is not just true man but also true God. Jesus overcomes temptation by listening to the will of the Father. He knew the Law of God and meditates on it day and night. Jesus responds by refusing to establish His own worth and identity on His own terms. Instead, Jesus remains dependent on His Father. Jesus knew who He was by remembering whose He was. Faith doesn't always do away with the hardships that are part of this life. Rather, faith gives us the courage to stand amid these hardships. Not simply surviving, but actually flourishing in and through Jesus, the one who was tempted as we are and therefore, He knows our struggles firsthand. This same Jesus now invites you to find both hope and courage in the God who named not only Him, but also all of us, beloved children - so that we, also, might discover who we are be recalling whose we are.

   Today, turn to the Gospel and see what Jesus is made of. Tell Him your sins! He already knows them! Confess your doubts! He will feed your faith by showing you His cross and empty tomb. Tell Him your sorrows! He will heal them with the promise of eternal life.

   The Savior listened to and fulfilled the Father’s will. Christ Jesus is self-giving, which is the essence of His character and nature. In other words, Christ’s love— is pure, unadulterated love. His love for us knows no bounds. His love extends into the grave itself. He will raise us out of death and the grave to life everlasting. No matter what your circumstance, no matter what’s in your road. Whether you’re midway upon the journey of your life, at the beginning, or near the end, it matters not. Christ is for you, now and always. That is what “for us” really means. 

-Emmanuel Lutheran Church Ft. Wayne, IN