Confessing Jesus
Confessing Jesus
Philippians 2:5-11
Palm Sunday
That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father. [1]
Confessing Jesus – it is what we do as Christians. It is what we do as Lutherans. In fact Lutherans sometimes refer to themselves as Confessional Lutherans. One of our earliest documents that created unity for early Lutherans is called the Augsburg Confession. It is a document stating what, “We believe, teach, and confess” about our Christian faith. We as Lutherans strive to confess who Jesus is and what our faith is all about to the world.
When we think of the word confession two things come to mind, confessing a crime and confession our sin on Sunday morning. But confession at its root means to publicly acknowledge what one believes. And confession of our sins on Sunday morning is part of that public proclamation. We acknowledge that we are sinful and in need of a Savior.
What are we confessing?
So what do we confess? What are we saying when we proclaim that we are a Christian? Well first we have to get straight where our confession of faith comes from – God. And more specifically His Word revealed to us in the Scriptures. God comes to us through His Spirit and His Word to enlighten our minds and enable us to confess Jesus to the world. One of the pillars of Lutheran understanding is “Sola Scriptura” – Scripture Alone. We base all of our teachings on God’s Word. Our faith, our understanding of God doesn’t come from man’s wisdom but from God. So it is God’s Words first and foremost in our confession.
So, what does God’s Word say? First, we are sinful human beings. We were born into sin and cannot escape it on our own. We are in need of a Savior, a Messiah who will take our place for us to fulfill the Law and to atone for our sins. The Bible is clear that we do not measure up to God’s standards; we do not follow His commands, and we are incapable of doing what is pleasing in God’s sight. We are sinners.
But the Bible also teaches that we have a Triune God who loves and cares for us and doesn’t not want us to perish in our sin but to live. We believe in God the Father, who created us and sustains us through out our life. As a Father he cares for us but is also just and almighty. It is the Father who sent His Son to be our Savior.
We believe in Jesus Christ as our Redeemer. Christ humbled himself to become a man, to live like a human, to fulfill God’s Law for us and to suffer and die on the cross for us. And not only die in our place, Jesus as the Son of God, rose again so that we could have new life in Him. This is what our Philippians text is all about. Some have speculated that Paul is using an ancient hymn our early creed that Christians used to proclaim who Jesus Christ is here in Philippians. Whatever this text may have been at first it her now serves as a confession of Jesus. The Bible is clear; Jesus is our Savior, out only Savior from our sinful condition.
We also believe in the Holy Spirit who comes to us as a Comforter and a Guide. It is through the Spirit that we have God’s Word revealed to us. It is through the Spirit at work in God’s Word that we have faith in Jesus and in God’s saving plan. It is the Spirit that enlightens our hearts and minds and allows us to proclaim, to confess Jesus to the world.
Part of confession is publicly proclaiming what we believe. We don’t learn from God’s Word just to keep it to ourselves but the Spirit motivates and guides us to ways that we can “confess Jesus as Lord to the glory of the Father,” to all the world. That is what is happening in the Palm Sunday Lesson read to us from Matthew 21:1-9. The people recognized Jesus as a unique person and so they wanted to publicly proclaim or celebrate His arrival in Jerusalem. But this text also point to how God’s Word works. You see these people probably didn’t really recognize that Jesus had to die on the cross for our sins. They only saw him as a leader or Jews. But in their celebration they proclaim, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” a term used for the Messiah. They may not have fully known who Jesus was but they could still proclaim Him as the Messiah.
Another interesting lesson was the one we read last week about Caiaphas the High Priest (John 11:47-53). Caiaphas hated Jesus, thought he was a rebel-rouser, and felt Jesus should die. He says in the text, “it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish.”[2] Words that fit his anger, but the text goes on to say that these words are actually from God and fulfill God’s prophecy. An enemy of God being used to proclaim what Jesus was about to do – one man dying to redeem the world from ultimate destruction. If God can use Caiaphas to proclaim Jesus he can surely use you! We are to proclaim Christ, through the power of the Holy Spirit, to the world.
How are we confessing?
But how are we to share our faith – confess Jesus to the world? Is it a duty or a response to God? How we confess Jesus is as important as what we proclaim. Another word for it is Attitude.
Do you think the people that gathered around Jesus as he came into Jerusalem were only there out of duty? Do you think they had grime faces and spoke in low, monotone voices? No, they were celebrating. And when you celebrate your actions show it.
Do you think that when we proclaim Jesus that we have something to celebrate? Most definitely – Yes! We have everything to celebrate. Like the father who celebrated his prodigal son’s homecoming we too can celebrate. And that is what Sundays are all about. We come here once a week to hear, reflect, and praise God for who He is and what He has done for us. You can celebrate for once you were lost but now are found again.
I see many of you with your palm branches at your side. Is that a good place for them? Get them out and hold them up high. Repeat after me, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” Celebrate who Jesus is, confess Him to the world, and proclaim His salvation.
Debbie Carter our Child & Family Director taught a class based on a book called “Parenting in the Pew” which is about how to allow children to fully experience worship and be active participants. The first thing that is crucial, in fact even before teaching specific behaviors and ideas about worship, a parent is to model the joy of worship first. In that rejoicing, in seeing worship as special, the child(ren) will understand that this is a great place to be and that worship of Jesus is important and enjoyable.
It is like a cake. Plain cake is enjoyable and we like it when we get it. But there is a cake that is even more special – birthday cake! This cake (while still the same in substance) is special. It is usually the favorite flavor of the one who receives it. It is decorated nice and has the name of the person on it. And even if it is a plain cake underneath, it still tastes better than other cakes eaten. Sunday is like a birthday cake; it is a special time of celebration and proclamation of Jesus. Yes we are to celebrate Jesus everyday, like cake, but Sunday is a unique day of worship and celebration for us, like a birthday.
Again, God is the initiator of both our words of confession and our proclamation of celebration in Jesus. Without the Spirit we would not be able to confess Christ on our own. But those who are in Christ have every reason to celebrate and rejoice in Jesus. “Hosanna to the Son of David.” May we celebrate Jesus and confess Him as our Lord and Savior. Amen
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[1]The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (electronic ed.) (Php 2:10-11). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.
[2]The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (electronic ed.) (Jn 11:50). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.