He "was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried." The Creed moves from the Lord's birth to His suffering and death with nary a mention of the life that He lived. Some have faulted the Creed for failing to note at least something of the life that Jesus lived: His works of compassion and His words of truth. But in moving directly from Jesus' birth to His Passion, the Creed is making a point. The Creed is pointing to the fact that the Son of God who was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary came to suffer and to die.

The events that we are observing this week are not the sad conclusion to an otherwise triumphant and well-lived life. Rather they are at the very heart of who Jesus is and what He came to do in order to reconcile the world to God. "It is no small matter," wrote Dietrich Bonhoeffer, "that God allowed Himself to be pushed out of the world on a cross." It is no small matter that the Son of God came into the world that He had made and that world rejected Him. It is no small matter that Jesus comes into the holy city of Jerusalem to suffer and die as the Passover Lamb whose blood brings redemption for this sinful world. Ponder well all that takes place this week, for the Son of God did it all for you and for your salvation.

Jesus comes to Jerusalem at the head of a parade. "Everybody loves a parade," goes the old saying. The Romans did not love this parade. In fact, this parade looked more like the genesis of a riot. With nervousness the Roman troops look on as the crowds chant something another about a King of Israel coming on a donkey's colt. What could this mean? Was this man Jesus a political revolutionary who would stir Jerusalem, swollen with pilgrims in town to celebrate the annual Passover, to revolution? Would His presence ignite with the ancient memories of Egypt's oppression of Israel that were remembered at Passover time to inflame rebellion? Roman soldiers watched in vain for their would-be insurrection. Jesus is not that kind of king.

The Jewish religious leaders did not love this parade. They had already learned that Jesus was not their kind of Messiah. He was not a teacher of Israel who could be controlled. They were threatened by His rising popularity and they concluded that if He were allowed to go on doing the things He did and saying the things that He said, their religion would be ruined. No wonder that they stand by as the parade passes and say to themselves: "You see that you are accomplishing nothing. Look, the whole world has gone out after Him!"

Neither did Satan love this parade. In fact, this is a parade that Satan had tried to prevent. He had offered Jesus another way some three years earlier as he tempted Jesus to embrace the kingdoms of this world by simply bowing down and worshiping him. The cross would mean suffering and shame for Jesus, but for Satan it would spell his own eternal defeat. The cross would, as the hymn puts it, "spoil the spoiler of his prey." The cross would judge Satan defeated. No wonder that Satan, speaking through Simon Peter, had rebuked Jesus as Jesus spoke of how He must go to Jerusalem to suffer, die, and, on the third day, rise again. Satan hated the sight of this parade as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords makes His way in humility to the place of sacrifice.

Jesus loves this parade. He isn't fooled by the shouts of "Hosanna!" He knows that they will be short-lived. He knows that before the week is over another cry will come from the fickle lips of the people: "Crucify Him! Crucify Him! Let His blood be upon us and our children." He knows that even His own disciples will forsake and deny Him and that one of them will even betray Him. Jesus loves this parade not because of the momentary popularity that it gives Him, but because this parade will culminate in the cross. That is why He came into the world. That is why He, in fulfillment of Zechariah's prophetic word, mounted that donkey and rode into Jerusalem as the King going to His throne, as a bridegroom going to his bride. For the joy that was set before Him, He endured the cross, scorning its shame.

We spend so much our lives trying to avoid suffering. Our culture even tells us that it is a good thing to destroy the life of one who suffers if the suffering cannot be controlled or ended in any other way. To those who think that the supreme good in life is to avoid pain, the Suffering Servant - our Lord Jesus Christ - is an embarassment.

Buddhism teaches that suffering is part of life, so we best train ourselves to be detached and distant from the pains of this life. According to Buddha, pain is unavoidable but one may come to a point where one no longer feels, weeps, or grieves. The Stoics of the ancient world took the death of Socrates as their model, and attempted to live lives heroically and serenely detached from both the fortunes and misfortunes of this life. That is an understandable response to life in this world. Don't become attached to anything whose loss would cause you grief. But that is not the way of Jesus.

Jesus does not detach Himself from the suffering. He does not avoid Jerusalem. He was not a Stoic. He took a path very different from Buddha. Jesus took the path to Calvary. He walked the way of the cross. Even when He was abandoned and deserted, betrayed and denied, He held to the work that was His alone to do. He drained the cup of suffering. When the parade was over and cheering crowds were silent and the palm branches wilted in dust, the Lamb of God kept walking. You will see Him as He goes this week from the upper room to Gethsemane's garden, from the judgment hall to the cross. He goes there not in detachment but driven by the passion to have you with Him for all eternity. The pain that He endures is real and raw. The death He dies is dark and cold. He does it all for you. It is no small thing that God allows Himself to be pushed out of the world on a cross.

It is no small thing that the same God who went the way of the cross still comes to you today. He does not come to show you the way out of suffering or a way around suffering, but the way through it. It is the way of His cross and resurrection. It is the way of His Gospel. It is the way of His body and blood given you to eat and drink from this altar. "Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!" Amen.

The peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus to life everlasting. Amen.