Christ, our Hero, stood alone to fight all our enemies. There
was no one to help or stand beside Him. When the great battle began,
His closest disciples forsook Him and fled. We too have forsaken Him. We
were too busy enjoying the pleasures of sin to help. We were asleep in
indifference. Nor COULD we help, even in the slightest. Jesus was
fighting great enemies against which we were powerless. He was fighting
Satan and the host of demons. He was battling against a world of sin and
rebellion. He was fighting against death and the torments of hell. Such
are the enemies He slew for us single-handedly. Not only did we retreat
and leave Jesus to fight the battle alone, we gave up the fight and
joined the enemy! Yet Jesus stood up to fight and win the battle.
During
the season of Lent, we watch the replay of each battle. We watch blow
by blow and marvel at the mighty power of our Hero. We look on with
mournful repentance that still to this day we so often continue to go
over to the losing side, against our Hero. We watch in sorrow that we
had forsaken Him so. Such treachery is seldom displayed by a coward on
the battlefield, yet we have done it again and again. At the same time
we watch with tears of joy, because we have seen this battle many times
over and know that the victory has already been won. We marvel with
astonished reassurance that, despite our rebellion and treachery, Jesus
chose to fight this battle to rescue us. We watch with somber but
triumphant pleasure as we see our Hero deliver the death-blow to our
enemies, returning risen and victorious over all! And now, though He
fought the battle alone, He shares the spoils with us all--bliss and
glory forever. What a Hero we have!
-- From the Lutheran Spokesman
