Christian Reflection and Prayer

Read Matthew 21:1-11.

TEXT: You who fear the Lord, praise Him! All you offspring of
Jacob, glorify Him, and stand in awe of Him, all you offspring
of Israel! (Psalm 22:23).

On this first day of Holy Week we recall the multitude of Jews
welcoming Jesus into Jerusalem. This week it is fitting to
consider Jesus Christ the mighty Victor, coming to battle and
soundly defeat sin, Satan, death and hell through His horrific
suffering described so vividly in the first part of Psalm 22.
Today's verse describes four things we are to do as we gather
to receive our conquering King: "fear the Lord," "praise Him,"
"glorify Him," and "stand in awe of Him."

"Fear God." Through Jesus' sufferings on the cross, we learn
the severity of God's wrath at our sins. True fear of God includes
taking that wrath seriously and confessing that we rightly
deserve to fall under His wrath.

"Praise Him." We praise our Lord Jesus for His willingness to
go to the cross, to drink the full cup of God's wrath in our place,
and to win our salvation by His suffering and death.

"Glorify Him." We glorify Him by telling others what He has
done, and by letting Him transform our thinking, our attitudes,
and our goals for this life, so we walk in His holy ways.

"Stand in Awe of Him." Jesus deserves our awe and wonder
because He took on our enemies all by Himself, and won
complete forgiveness and salvation for each of us.

In the context of this part of Psalm 22, Jesus takes all our
praise and directs it to His Father, who delivered Him from the
power of Satan on the cross, and from the grip of the tomb on
Easter morning.

THE PRAYER:

Lord Jesus Christ, thank You for coming as our great Victor to
conquer sin and death for us and to open wide our heavenly
home. Amen.

(Lenten Devotions from Lutheran Hour Ministries)