Jesu Juva

“The Wings of Jesus”

Text: Isaiah 50:5-10; Psalm 36:5-10

In the psalm we sang tonight, we heard one of the most endearing images of God and what He does for us, when David wrote: The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings.

Jesus spoke this way, too - maybe because of this psalm! - when He said: O Jerusalem, Jerusalem . . . How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing (Luke 13:34)!

The picture is of a mother hen protecting her chicks from a predator by spreading her wings under which her chicks could hide and be safe. If the predator wanted them, it would have to go through her first.

That is such a precious picture of God and His steadfast love because there is a predator after you. Satan. He wants to swoop down upon you like a hawk upon baby chicks, grab you with his talons, and consume you. And as helpless as baby chicks are to a hungry hawk, so are we to satan. Easy prey. Were it not for the protection of God. The protection that we are remembering all this Holy Week.

This week when we remember that God so loved the world that He sent His Son to stand between us and satan. That if satan wants us, he has to go through Jesus first. And he tried! Satan entered into Judas to betray Jesus (Luke 22:3), and when Jesus was in Roman custody, those things mentioned in the reading from Isaiah happened to Him: they flogged His back, they pulled out His beard, they disgraced Him, mocked Him, and spit on Him. But most of all, they crucified Him. Get rid of Jesus and the chicks will be his!

But God turned the tables! For the very tool used to kill Jesus became the source of our protection and life.

For I don’t know who first said it, but it has been said that when Jesus spread out His arms on the cross, He was spreading His wings, and that it is under those outstretched arms, at the foot of the cross, where we are protected from satan. Satan swooped down on Jesus there and did his worst, and Jesus took it so we would not.

And this is where Jesus is better than a mother hen! For once a mother hen dies, she cannot protect her brood anymore. But Jesus rose from the dead and so lives to protect us - always. So we have a refuge we can count on - always.

But where is that protection, that refuge, to be found for us today? We cannot go to the foot of the cross Jesus hung on some 2,000 years ago - it’s not there anymore! So where can we take refuge in the shadow of his wings today?

Well, there’s another place wings are prominent in the Bible, and that is the wings of the angels of gold on the top of the Ark of the Covenant. The Ark which was God’s throne, or His mercy seat. It was the place God came to dwell with His people and give them mercy, forgiveness, and life. And the Ark resided in the Old Testament Church - first, the Tabernacle, then later the Temple. That’s where God’s people went for His mercy, forgiveness, and life, to protect them from sin and satan.

But we don’t have that around anymore either! No cross, no Ark - so where do we go? Well, we go where God has promised to be for us today with His mercy, life, and forgiveness, and that is His Word, His Font, and His Altar. Those are the places where Jesus is for us today; that is where His arms are outstretched for us today, to protect us from sin, death, and satan with His forgiveness, life, and salvation. So when sin threatens and accuses you, we find refuge in Jesus’ words, I forgive you. When death raises its dreaded and frightening specter, we find refuge in Jesus’ victory over death and the grave in His resurrection, and that He has given us that victory in Baptism. And when satan wants you as a tasty morsel, we find refuge at the Altar, where Jesus gives us His Body to eat and His Blood to drink, that we devour Him instead of being devoured ourselves! And in His Body and Blood find the life and strength we need. For in all these ways, Jesus says you are mine. Satan cannot have you. If he wants you, He has to go through my dead body! And since I already died and rose and cannot die again, you are safe and secure in Me!

What wonderful comfort that is for us in our daily lives, in a world so full of sin and evil and death. You have a protector. You have a Saviour. That doesn’t mean bad things won’t happen - they will! We still live in a sinful and dying world. But it does mean they will not win. You have the victory in Jesus.

We’ll remember that victory, the victory of His death and resurrection this weekend, and rejoice in His steadfast love. Love that would cause Him to come and spread His wings, His arms, over you. And not just once on the cross, but always. And forever. And so you are safe - no matter what happens. Safe in His love. Safe in His care. Safe under the wings of Jesus.