"At Goettingen, Veit Pflugmacher vowed, in 1541, that he would preach the Gospel in its truth and purity according to the Augsburg Confession and the contents of the postils of Anton Corvinus." (Tschackert, p. 377) —
Epistle for Palm Sunday.
Phil. 2:5-11 [KJV]
Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. <99>
.jpg "Antonius Corvinus (Wikidata Commons)")
In this lesson, St. Paul exhorts the Philippians to love, humility, and service, so that each Christian is obligated to serve and help others. Such a lesson also rhymes very well with today's Gospel. For as here the Apostle says of Christ that He emptied himself and took on the form of a servant, so also in today's Gospel He is described as a poor king on a little donkey, who with His humble entry into Jerusalem despised all the pomp and splendor and pride of this world and gave us an example of meekness and humility. But we want to look at Paul's text and interpret it in the most simple way, just as we strive at all times to create more benefit than to prove art. But what is the text? “Let every man be of the same mind as Jesus Christ was.”
With heartfelt love, gentleness and humility Christ always let Himself be heard towards His own; and as He came into this world for the sake of our salvation, so He also stretched out all His words, preaching, signs and wonders to snatch us out of the devil's jaws and bring us into His kingdom through the spirit and faith, as He Himself says: “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” John 10:10. Just as we must recognize and grasp the gracious will of God in Christ with faith if we want to have forgiveness of sin, righteousness and life, we must also model such love, gentleness and humility for our discipleship. For He Himself demands this of us in the Gospel when He says: “Learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart.” Matt. 11:29. St. Paul also demands it in this lesson, when he says that we should be of the same mind as Jesus Christ was. <100> But notice from the following words how Christ was minded toward us. For he interprets himself, saying thus: “Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men.”
Christ was not only in divine form before He came into this world, but He also powerfully demonstrated and displayed His divine nature and power in the flesh He had taken from Mary through the action of the Holy Spirit, when He raised the dead, commanded the wind and the sea to be still, looked into the hearts of the Pharisees and made their thoughts known, struck the Jews in the garden to the ground with a word, and the like. Were these not glorious and divine works? The Evangelists also say that He taught with great power and prestige. It also belongs to this that He himself says of His divine power: “I and the Father are one.” Joh. 10:30. Even though He proved His divine form powerfully and sufficiently with doctrine, miracles and signs, He nevertheless emptied Himself, took on the form of a servant and was found to be like a man. And what He has done in this way, He has done for our sake. But if you consider this humility of Christ, you will find that it was unspeakable. Christ was truly God and also knew that He would not rob God of His glory if He considered Himself equal to God. But since He could have been served as God, he turned the page and served others, as He also says in the Gospel: “Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.” Matt. 20:28. Is this not great humility? Moreover, He became <101> another man and was found to be a man in all his ways, except for sin, as the epistle to the Hebrews also says: “Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted..” Heb. 2:17-18. Is not this exceedingly comforting to us? But hear what more He did for our sakes: “He humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.” [Phil. 2:8]
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What more could the dear Lord Christ have done for our sake? He comes from heaven into this pitiful valley, becomes a servant out of a master, takes upon Himself human weakness and sickness and, what is even more, so humbles Himself that He willingly gives Himself to death for our sake, and to the most painful and shameful death that could be imagined. Here we should be thankful, recognize such a great good deed, improve our lives and adopt a new way of life, as he calls through the prophet: “Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.” Isa. 55:6-7. But what do we do? Truly our thankfulness and improvement is not very great, and we should be diligent in this time of grace, so that we do not receive the grace of God in vain. After Christ has done and suffered so much for our sake, we should take hold of his merit in faith and rely on it alone. Such faith is self-indulgent, gives glory to Christ, and makes us righteous, pious, and saved.
Secondly, we must model for ourselves the love, humility, and <102> servanthood of Christ, so that our faith may be known and revealed as righteous through such discipleship. If we do this, we will not only share in Christ's suffering and death in this world, but also in his exaltation in the world to come. But if you want to know about this exaltation, St. Paul will tell you: “Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” [Phil. 2:9-11]
Christ says in the Gospel: “He that shall humble himself shall be exalted.” [Matt. 23:12] But that such a saying is true, God our Father has so gloriously proved in His beloved Son Jesus Christ, that such a passage does not need much interpretation. So far, the apostle has described the humiliation of Christ in a very fine way, namely that Christ took the form of a servant, experienced human weakness and finally surrendered to the most shameful death for our sake. Now he also describes the exaltation of Christ in this lesson in such a way that no master could have described it more masterfully, saying that God had exalted Him, set Him again at His right hand and given Him all authority in heaven and on earth. Matt. 28:18. Moreover, He gave Him a name that is above all names. For in the name of Jesus Christ we must all be saved; so that apart from this name there is neither salvation nor blessedness. Yes, this name of Christ is so glorious that even the gates of hell must be astonished at it, and that at such a name every knee should bow and “every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is the Lord, to the glory of God.” Note well that the Father is honored in the Son, especially when one despairs of his own works and ascribes righteousness and salvation to his Son. For where this happens, the Father is also honored, who gave us His Son for our justification and sanctification. If then thou wilt do according to the Apostle's exhortation, take heed what Christ hath done for your sake, and avail yourself of His love, meekness, and humility, which moved Him to serve you. Then set such things before your eyes as an example that you may follow. For not only does Christ want this from you, but also necessity demands that you prove and demonstrate your faith with such works. May the merciful God show us grace through his dear Son Jesus Christ, so that we may continue in righteous faith, uncontaminated love and Christian conduct throughout our lives. Amen.
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