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MIDWEEK OF LENT 5

Pontius Pilate

Pontius Pilate, a witness to Christ, consented to order Jesus’ execution. Pilate may wash his hands and proclaim his own innocence in the death of Jesus, but Pilate is guilty. Pilate is caught between a rock and a hard place. Instead of doing what is right, Pilate has Jesus’ flesh ripped, shredded, dressed in purple, and crowned with thorns. His hard heart is complicit in the death of Christ. While it may be an uncomfortable thought, Pilate’s failures make us examine our own complicity in the evil of others. How have we deceived ourselves in proclaiming innocence? How have we been pressured into allowing evil to occur? Thanks be to God that our journey to the cross shows us Jesus’ forgiveness.

                                                              + Psalmody +

PSALM                                                                Psalm 109:1–7, 20–31; antiphon: v. 26                       

Help me, O | Lord my God!*
Save me according to Your | steadfast love!
Be not silent, O God | of my praise!*
For wicked and deceitful mouths are opened against me,
speaking against me with | lying tongues.
They encircle me with | words of hate,*
and attack me | without cause.
In return for my love they ac- | cuse me,*
but I give my- | self to prayer.
So they reward me e- | vil for good,*
and hatred | for my love.
Appoint a wicked man a- | gainst him;*
let an accuser stand at his | right hand.
When he is tried, let him come forth | guilty;*
let his prayer be count- | ed as sin!
May this be the reward of my accusers | from the Lord,*
of those who speak evil a- | gainst my life!
But You, O God my Lord,
deal on my behalf for Your | name’s sake;*
because Your steadfast love is good, de- | liver me!
For I am poor and | needy,*
and my heart is stricken with- | in me.
I am gone like a shadow at | evening;*
I am shaken off like a | locust.
My knees are weak through | fasting;*
my body has become gaunt, | with no fat.
I am an object of scorn to my ac- | cusers;*
when they see me, they | wag their heads.
Help me, O | Lord my God!*
Save me according to Your | steadfast love!
Let them know that this | is Your hand;*
You, O Lord, have | done it!
Let them curse, but | You will bless!*
   They arise and are put to shame, but Your servant | will be glad!
May my accusers be clothed with dis- | honor;*
may they be wrapped in their own shame as | in a cloak!
With my mouth I will give great thanks | to the Lord;*
I will praise Him in the midst | of the throng.
For He stands at the right hand of the | needy,*
to save him from those who condemn his | soul to death.
Glory be to the Father and | to the Son*
and to the Holy | Spirit;
as it was in the be- | ginning,*
is now, and will be forever. | Amen.
Help me, O | Lord my God!*
Save me according to Your | steadfast love! 

                          ​   

Silence for reflection

PSALM PRAYER

​O God of steadfast love and mercy, on the cross Your Son forgave His enemies. Turn our hearts from hatred and evil that we may forgive the offenses of those who seek our harm and forgive as we have been forgiven. Rescue us in our time of peril and deliver us from bitterness and resentment; through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.   Amen.

                                                         + READINGS +

OLD TESTAMENT READING                                                             Ezekiel 11:17–21

“Therefore say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: I will gather you from the peoples and assemble you out of the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.’  And when they come there, they will remove from it all its detestable things and all its abominations.  And I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them. I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in My statutes and keep My rules and obey them. And they shall be My people, and I will be their God.  But as for those whose heart goes after their detestable things and their abominations, I will bring their deeds upon their own heads, declares the Lord God.”

EPISTLE                                                                              2 Corinthians 4:1–6

Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart.  But we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God’s word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God.  And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled only to those who are perishing.  In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.  For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake.  For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.                             ​​

​

​​HOLY GOSPEL                                                                          ​                John 19:1–16   

​Then Pilate took Jesus and flogged Him.  And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on His head and arrayed Him in a purple robe.  They came up to Him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” and struck Him with their hands.  Pilate went out again and said to them, “See, I am bringing Him out to you that you may know that I find no guilt in Him.”  So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, “Behold the man!”  When the chief priests and the officers saw Him, they cried out, “Crucify Him, crucify Him!” Pilate said to them, “Take Him yourselves and crucify Him, for I find no guilt in Him.”  The Jews answered him, “We have a law, and according to that law He ought to die because He has made Himself the Son of God.”  When Pilate heard this statement, he was even more afraid.  He entered his headquarters again and said to Jesus, “Where are You from?” But Jesus gave him no answer.  So Pilate said to Him, “You will not speak to me? Do You not know that I have authority to release You and authority to crucify You?”

Jesus answered him, “You would have no authority over Me at all unless it had been given you from above. Therefore, he who delivered Me over to you has the greater sin.”

From then on Pilate sought to release Him, but the Jews cried out, “If you release this man, you are not Caesar’s friend. Everyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar.”  So when Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judgment seat at a place called The Stone Pavement, and in Aramaic Gabbatha.  Now it was the day of Preparation of the Passover. It was about the sixth hour. He said to the Jews, “Behold your King!”  They cried out, “Away with Him, away with Him, crucify Him!” Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar.”  So he delivered Him over to them to be crucified.

 

LORD’S PRAYER

C     Our Father who art in heaven,
     hallowed be Thy name,
     Thy kingdom come,
     Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven;
     give us this day our daily bread;
     and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us;
     and lead us not into temptation,
     but deliver us from evil.
     For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.

​Collects

P     O Lord, hear my prayer.
C     And let my cry come to You.

P     O Lord God, by the example of Your blessed Son, grant us grace to accept patiently the suffering of this present time. Until we receive the full revelation of Your glory and full relief from all our afflictions, sustain us by Your healing grace through every trial. Hear us [especially for . . . and] for all in need; through Jesus
Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
C     Amen.

P     Lord Jesus, though ruthless Pontius Pilate declared Your innocence before the crowds, You who knew no sin became sin for us. Grant that the shame You bore for us on the cross give us the greatest honor so that we might always see that only in suffering can we behold who You truly are, our glorious King and Savior; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
C     Amen.

P     O God, from whom come all holy desires, all good counsels, and all just works, give to us, Your servants, that peace which the world cannot give, that our hearts may be set to obey Your commandments and also that we, being defended from the fear of our enemies, may live in peace and quietness; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
C     Amen.

​Sermon Text: John 18: 33-40

​Sermon: 

We urge each of you to remember your Baptism every day, and to go at every opportunity to a church where they teach that Jesus suffered, died, and rose in victory for all of your sins, we also encourage you to read your Bible daily, In this way God will feed your faith and keep you sure of going to heaven, 

Pastor Jonathan Bontke

April 6, 2022
Midweek Lent 5

Reading, Prayers

and 

Sermons

BEAUTIFUL SAVIOR LUTHERAN CHURCH
6830 S. Pleasant Valley Rd.
Austin, TX 78744
Office 512-443-4947
Pastor Jonathan Bontke
Cell 512-426-7040
Home 512 -520-5171

www.bslcaustin.com