Eyes on Jesus
O come, let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
(Gradual for Lent, based on Hebrews 12:2)
When the characters in the Passion narrative look at Jesus, what do they see? In most cases, people misunderstood who He is and what He was doing. In some cases, by faith, people recognized Him aright. Our Lenten series this year, Eyes on Jesus is based on Passion according to St. Mark. We will examine how the various people around Jesus viewed Himâand how we should view Him. We will âfix our eyesâ on what Jesus has done to save us from our sins by His holy, precious blood and innocent sufferings and death, and celebrate what God sees on account of His work: our justification for His sake.
On Ash Wednesday, we will see how, in spite of Jesusâ repeated predictions about His upcoming Passion, the disciples with âMisjudging Eyesâ fail to recognize that soon He will not be with them, and they cannot see the anonymous womanâs anointing of Jesus as preparation for His burial. But Jesus sees her actions as a beautiful deed that will be proclaimed throughout the world wherever the Gospel is heard.
At our midweek service after the First Sunday of Lent, we will look through Judasâs âBetraying Eyesâ and learn why he did this awful deed. Yet the behind-the-scenes-reality is that Jesus was âhanded overâ by God the Father Himself, so that Jesus could die for the sin of the world.
âSleepy Eyesâ is the theme for the second week of Lent. In Gethsemane, Jesusâ inner circle of Peter, James, and John cannot keep their eyes open to watch and pray with Jesus for even an hour, while Jesus comes to see that His Fatherâs will is that He drink the cup of Godâs wrath when He comes to the âhourâ of His suffering.
In the third week of Lent, we stare into the âDenying Eyesâ of Peter and the other apostles. They could not see how they could ever fall away from Jesus, but after Jesus is betrayed by Judas, ten of them flee, and Peterâwhen he is spotted by a servant girl and sees that his own neck is on the lineâsees fit to deny Jesus, which leads to his own eyes weeping in remorse. We sinners likewise deny our Lord in many ways, but Jesus denied Himself to take up the cross for our salvation.
âMurderous Eyesâ is the theme of week 4 in Lent. The chief priests and scribes saw Jesus as an obstacle to be rid of by murdering Him through the Roman judicial system. Yet during the Passover festival, they would unwittingly bring about the Fatherâs sacrifice of the ultimate Passover Lamb.
In the fifth week of Lent, we look through the âWorldly Eyesâ of Pilate, the Jewish leaders, and the Roman soldiers. Pilate can only view matters in a worldly, pragmatic way, wishing to placate the worldly Jewish leaders and crowd, so he consents to handing Jesus over for crucifixion. The soldiers see the opposite of a worldly king, but their ironic hailing of Him as âKing of the Jewsâ proclaims who He really is. The world looks for power and glory; Godâs way is suffering and the cross.
On Maundy Thursday, there is âMore Than Meets the Eyeâ to the Lordâs Supper. We will look into the Old Testament background of the Last Supper and rejoice in the mystery that Jesus, in and with, bread and wine, gives us His body and blood in order to deliver to us the benefits of His Passion.
On Good Friday, we look through âGodâs Eyesâ to see what is happening during the Passion: the once-for-all atonement for the sin of the whole world and the justification of all sinners on Easter.
âResting Eyesâ is the theme for Holy Saturday. Various disciples rested their eyes upon the dead Jesus, cared for His body, and buried it. As Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Jesus rest their eyes upon the sealed tomb and contemplate further anointing of His body the next day, they cannot see that Jesusâ own eyes are merely resting temporarily, and Easter morning will bring a dramatic reversal.
Finally, Easter Sunday gazes upon âAngel Eyes.â The angel in the tomb knows the whole story of Jesusâ resurrection. When he sees the women, he proclaims the Gospel to them, shows them where Jesusâ body had formerly lain, and tells them that they can see Jesus themselves in Galilee. Likewise, the âangelsâ or messengers of the Church in the apostolic ministry tell Godâs people where they can find Jesus and His salvation in the Means of Grace.
With Eyes on Jesus as our theme this Lent, we will continuously focus on Jesus Christ and Him crucified, buried, and risen for our justification. This is a vision that will never disappoint, for by trusting in Jesus, He promises that we will gaze upon His beautiful face now by faith and forever in heaven!
Ash Wednesday Feb 26
Sermon: âMisjudging EyesââMark 14:1â9
Childrenâs Message: âCovered in Goodnessâ
Midweek of Lent 1: March 4
Sermon: âBetraying EyesââMark 14:10â21, 32, 41â46
Childrenâs Message: âNot a Secretâ
Midweek of Lent 2: March 11
Sermon: âSleepy EyesââMark 14:32â42
Childrenâs Message: âSleepy Eyesâ
Midweek of Lent 3: March 18
Sermon: âDenying EyesââMark 14:26â31, 66â72
Childrenâs Message: âIâd Never Do That!â
Midweek of Lent 4: March 25
Sermon: âMurderous EyesââMark 14:1â2, 53â65
Childrenâs Message: âKiller Looksâ
Midweek of Lent 5: April 1
Sermon: âWorldly EyesââMark 15:1â20
Childrenâs Message: âQuestioning Questionsâ
Holy Thursday: April 9
Sermon: âMore Than Meets the EyeââMark 14:22â25
Good Friday: April 10
Sermon: âGodâs EyesââMark 15:21â39
Easter: Sunday April 12
Sermon: âAngel EyesââMark 16:1â8
Childrenâs Message: âAngel Visionâ