Lent Devotion – In the Savior’s Steps – Week 7

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In the Savior’s Steps

The Empty Tomb


When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body. Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb and they asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?”
But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed.
“Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.’”
Mark 16:1-7


Here we are again, at a tomb. And again, this isn’t just any tomb. For the women and the disciples, this tomb is personal—even more personal than Lazarus’ tomb would have been. This is the tomb of their companion, their teacher, their friend, and their hoped-for Savior.

There’s more than physical death at this tomb. There’s also the death of their hopes and dreams, of their expectations for the One who promised that although he would be killed, he would also rise again (Mark 8:31).

For Peter, this tomb holds even more sorrow and anguish. For Peter, this tomb holds his well-intentioned but often-misplaced brashness. It holds his promise to remain firm even if all the other disciples fell away and his subsequent denial of Jesus—three times!—only a few hours later. It holds the tears he wept bitterly when Jesus looked at him, and it holds his guilt and shame for not coming to the cross to see his friend and Lord just one more time.

Or, rather, that’s what this tomb held. When the women arrived at the tomb, they found it empty of a dead body, and the words of the angel assured them that this emptiness had also swallowed up all the other death and sorrow and anguish in this tomb. “He has risen! He is not here!” Their companion, teacher, and friend was truly the promised Messiah. Their hopes and dreams were alive again!

But what about Peter? Was the tomb empty, even for him? After all, this tomb held more for Peter. Could Jesus’ resurrection from the dead truly erase all that Peter had said and done? Could things ever be the same between him and Jesus? Could Peter still follow his friend and Lord in the same way as before?

Yes, the tomb was empty—even for Peter.

How do we know? We can look to Jesus’ reinstatement of Peter (John 21:15-19), to Peter’s later ministry, to his faithfulness even to the point of death.

But for Peter, all that was still in the future. Peter needed something now to assure him the tomb was empty, even for him. And Jesus loved him enough to give him this assurance on Easter morning through two beautiful words from an angel: “and Peter.”

These two words become even more meaningful when you know the history of the gospel of Mark. It’s likely that Mark wrote this gospel based on Peter’s preaching, and the words “and Peter” appear only in Mark’s resurrection account. Imagine how much these words must have meant to Peter if he included them in his preaching often enough for Mark to record. Imagine how tightly Peter must have clung to these words in times of hardship and suffering.

“And Peter.” “And Kristi.” “And (your name).” These two beautiful words assure us that the tomb is empty for us, too. No matter the sorrow and anguish you carry, no matter the sins that trouble you—these are no match for the empty tomb.

This Easter season, come back to the empty tomb again and again, and be assured it is empty for you.


Prayer:

Risen Savior, thank you for your assurance that the empty tomb is truly for me. Lead me to live each day in this resurrection joy, and give me the opportunity and the words to share this resurrection joy with others. Amen.


Thank you to Rev. Dr. Wade Johnston for introducing me to the concept of “and Peter” in his book A Path Strewn with Sinners.

Written by Kristi Meyer
Provided by WELS Women’s Ministry



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Lent Devotion – In the Savior’s Steps – Week 6

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In the Savior’s Steps

The Mount of Olives


Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him. On reaching the place, he said to them, “Pray that you will not fall into temptation.” He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.
Luke 22:39-44


Jesus often went to the Mount of Olives to pray. This beloved place was just beyond Jerusalem along the road heading east toward Bethany. Jesus would have passed the Mount of Olives many times, perhaps even as a young boy entering Jerusalem for the Passover.

Jesus would have known the heart-wrenching story of King David, who escaped up the Mount of Olives a thousand years earlier. King David was overthrown by his son Absalom, who turned the people of Jerusalem against God’s anointed king. As David fled the city, he “continued up the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went; his head was covered and he was barefoot.” (2 Samuel 15:30). God’s chosen ruler, rejected by his people, fled up the Mount of Olives. Is it possible this shepherd-king knelt in prayer as he foreshadowed the perfect, promised Messiah?

Almost 500 years later, God gave a prophecy—which mentions the Mount of Olives. “Then the LORD will go out and fight against those nations, as he fights on a day of battle. On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley… You will flee by my mountain valley… Then… the Lord will be king over the whole earth” (Zechariah 14:3-5, 9). The Lord promised he would victoriously provide the way to save his people, and Jesus is the way—the final fulfillment of Zechariah’s prophecy. Even Jesus’ name means “God saves!” No battle on the Mount of Olives will ever compare to Christ’s victory when he defeated death and the devil and saved us from our sins. He will return, gather believers to himself, and be exalted as the Lord of all.

It was on this same Mount of Olives that our Savior knelt again and again to talk to his Father. The Garden of Gethsemane was a familiar and welcome refuge for Jesus. Here, Jesus was overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death and pleaded, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will” (Matthew 26:39). Jesus knelt on the Mount of Olives and prayed for strength to complete God’s plan of salvation. Jesus prayed this petition just as he had taught his disciples in the Lord’s Prayer. Yet Jesus’ prayer was not just a perfect example; it is the perfect completion of God’s command to pray, “Your will be done” (Matthew 6:10).

You may not have prayed on a holy hill, but perhaps you’ve whispered a prayer in a quiet place. With faith in Christ Jesus as your Savior from sin, your prayers are like those offered on the Mount of Olives; they are heard by the triumphant Lord who answers prayers. Your prayers are heard by the God who saves his people.


Prayer:

Dear Jesus, you found refuge on the Mount of Olives and prayed there for strength to finish your work as my Savior. Thank you for being willing to suffer in my place. Thank you for dying to pay for my sins. Thank you for rising from the dead to live and rule through all eternity as God and Lord of all. Amen.


Written by Naomi Schmidt
Provided by WELS Women’s Ministry



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Lent Devotion – In the Savior’s Steps – Week 5

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In the Savior’s Steps

Lazarus’ Tomb


Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.”
So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days, and then he said to his disciples, “Let us go back to Judea.”
So then he told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead, and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.”
Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. “Take away the stone,” he said.
“But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.”
Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?”
So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.”
When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.
Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”
John 11:1,4,6-7,14-15,38-44


Death wasn’t anything new for Jesus. At this point in his ministry, he had already raised two people from the dead. But a tomb… that was different. Death’s hold hadn’t been so strong before. Lazarus had been in the grave for four days, past the time when some Jews believed the soul still lingered near the body in hopes of returning to it.

Nor was this just any tomb. No, this one was personal. Jesus had almost certainly never met Jairus’ daughter before, nor the widow of Nain’s son. But Lazarus? This was Jesus’ friend, the brother of Mary and Martha, the family whom Jesus loved. The disciples must have been shocked that Jesus waited two days before going to the tomb. Why would he wait? They had seen his power over sickness and death—why not go immediately to heal the one that he loved?

But Jesus did wait, and Lazarus did die, and so here they were: at a tomb. Although we aren’t told what Jesus was thinking when he approached the tomb, there certainly could have been a sense of anticipation as the cross—and the tomb—loomed large. Even the prophet Isaiah linked the Messiah with a tomb: “He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death” (Isaiah 53:9).

Like the disciples, we’ll have to wait until Easter morning to see victory over that tomb. But we don’t have to wait that long to see Jesus’ power over death. As we hear him call Lazarus to come out, we also see Lazarus emerge—resurrected, alive, back with his family and loved ones.

Death is also often personal for us. Whether the grief is still fresh and raw or the pain has faded to a dull ache, death always leaves a hole. We might pray for the same outcome as Lazarus: that our loved one would emerge from the tomb and live among us once again. And while nothing is impossible with God, he doesn’t seem to work through those types of miracles anymore.

Where does that leave us in our sorrow and grief? At a tomb with Jesus. Jesus wept at the grave of Lazarus, and he knows the heartbreak we are experiencing. Death was personal for Jesus, just like it’s personal for us. We can turn to him in our moments of anguish, knowing that he, too, lost someone he loved.

And more importantly, we know the tomb is not the end of the story. Mary and Martha saw the glory of God on full display when Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. We’ll likely have to wait a bit longer for this glory and probably won’t experience it on this side of heaven. But we do have heaven as our sure and certain hope.

Yes, we all stand at tombs, and there’s a tomb in our own future (unless Jesus returns first). But Jesus’ story didn’t end at the tomb, and neither will ours. As we approach Holy Week, may we see it all: the cross, but also the empty tomb, and the sure hope that our graves—and the graves of all those we love—will be empty one day as well.


Prayer:

Lord Jesus, we marvel at your power over death. In our moments of grief, give us the hope to cling tightly to that power. Remind us that death cannot separate us from your love, nor does it separate us from those we love who die in you. Amen.


Written by Kristi Meyer
Provided by WELS Women’s Ministry



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Lent Devotion – In the Savior’s Steps – Week 4

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In the Savior’s Steps

The Synagogue


Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside. He was teaching in their synagogues, and everyone praised him.
He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:
“The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” they asked.
Jesus said to them, “Surely you will quote this proverb to me: ‘Physician, heal yourself!’ And you will tell me, ‘Do here in your hometown what we have heard that you did in Capernaum.’”
“Truly I tell you,” he continued, “no prophet is accepted in his hometown. I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land. Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon. And there were many in Israel with leprosy in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed—only Naaman the Syrian.”
All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this. They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built. Then he went down to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, and on the Sabbath he taught the people. They were amazed at his teaching, because his words had authority.
Luke 4:14-32


Do you find yourself questioning authority? How about God’s authority as he speaks to you? Have you ever felt how your heart wants to push back when God’s Word confronts you with something you may not be eager to hear?

After spending some time teaching in synagogues around Galilee, Jesus stepped into the synagogue in Nazareth, his hometown, to proclaim a profound truth: he was the fulfillment of God’s Old Testament promises. He continued to expound, noting that his redemptive work was for everyone, not just the Jewish people. Reading from the scroll of Isaiah, he declared that he was the Messiah, sent to bring good news to the poor, release for the captives, and sight to the blind. At first, the locals marveled, amazed that someone from among them had such authority. But when Jesus expanded on his message, explaining that God’s grace was for Gentiles as well as Jews, the awe of the attendees turned to anger.

The synagogue represented the heart of Jewish tradition, a place where God’s people studied his Word and worshiped together. It was normal for Jesus to be there; this was his custom. But on this day, Jesus used this setting to redefine their expectations and display his authority. Instead of affirming their exclusivity, he challenged their assumptions about who could belong to God’s kingdom. By claiming authority and extending his message beyond cultural boundaries, Jesus was revealing something that their hearts didn’t want to hear: the reach of his mission included everyone, regardless of background.

The synagogue in Nazareth not only marked a pivotal moment in Jesus’ ministry; it also foreshadowed the cross. Just as he was rejected by the people of Nazareth, Jesus would ultimately face rejection on an epic scale, suffering and dying for a world that didn’t recognize his authority over all things. Yet, through that rejection, he would fulfill his mission to save all people, Jew and Gentile alike. In the synagogue, Jesus declared God’s truth, no matter how it was received, and his authority to bring salvation beyond the expectations of his audience.

Reflecting on this scene during Lent challenges us to look at our own hearts. Are there ways we resist God’s truth, especially when it pushes us out of our comfort zones or calls us to love those we might consider enemies? Like the people in Nazareth, we can be tempted to limit God’s grace, holding onto ideas about who “deserves” it. Jesus’ words invite us to embrace his sacrificial love, a love that reaches across every culture and nation and invites us to extend that message of salvation to others as he does.

This Lent, let us remember the synagogue as a place where Jesus defined what it means to belong to God’s kingdom. His authority calls us to set aside our limited views and embrace his grace, which reaches across every boundary we might set. The same Savior who spoke with authority in Nazareth calls us to recognize his mission for all people and to share his salvation for us with open hearts, humbled and transformed by his truth.


Prayer:

Lord Jesus, thank you for declaring that your saving grace knows no boundaries. Move us to acknowledge your authority in our lives and extend your love to others, even when this challenges us. May we follow you wholeheartedly, embracing your salvation for the world. In your name. Amen.


Written by Alycia Cameron
Provided by WELS Women’s Ministry



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Lent Devotion – In the Savior’s Steps – Week 3

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In the Savior’s Steps

The Wilderness


Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry.
The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.”
Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.’”
The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And he said to him, “I will give you all their authority and splendor; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. If you worship me, it will all be yours.”
Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’”
The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down from here. For it is written:
“‘He will command his angels concerning you to guard you carefully;
they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”
Jesus answered, “It is said: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time.
Luke 4:1-13


Israel’s wilderness region is a stark and barren place but also one rich with significance and meaning. The wilderness played a prominent role in Israel’s history: it was their home for 40 years. Instead of conquering the Promised Land as God commanded, they grumbled and complained and doubted—and so God commanded that they wander for 40 years before they were finally permitted to enter the Promised Land.

As an observant Jew, Jesus would have understood the significance of the wilderness: a place of sin and failure and punishment. And yet notice a key detail at the beginning of this account from Luke: Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness. Yes, Jesus spent time in the very same wilderness as the Israelites so many centuries ago. But his method of entry was quite different—and so were the results.

It’s no coincidence that God allowed Jesus to be tempted in the wilderness, and it’s certainly no coincidence that this temptation lasted for 40 days. We only hear of three temptations from the devil, but there must have been more. Despite hunger, isolation, loneliness, and vulnerability, Jesus endured. He perfectly resisted the devil’s attacks and remained faithful to his Father’s word. In 40 days, he did what Israel could not do in 40 years. He proved himself as the full and complete fulfillment of the law—in these temptations and in all the others that would come on his journey to the cross.

The book of Hebrews is rich with connections between the Old Testament and Jesus as the promised Messiah, and there’s a passage I particularly love: “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin” (Hebrews 4:15). During the season of Lent, we rightly focus on Jesus’ human nature, a human nature that allowed him to suffer and die in our place. But the writer to the Hebrews also highlights another aspect of Jesus’ human nature: he has been tempted just as we are.

No matter what you are experiencing in your life—good or bad, highlights or hardships—Jesus knows. No matter how you are being tempted or how weak your faith might feel, Jesus understands. In the times of struggle, of testing, of turmoil, you can turn to your Savior: the One who underwent his own struggles and testing and turmoil, yet did not sin. Jesus’ perfect obedience in the wilderness is your perfect obedience in the stark and barren times of your life—a perfect obedience that brings the certainty of a release from all struggle one day in heaven.

In a sense, our lives are also a journey through the wilderness. This world is not our home, and we eagerly anticipate the rich and green pastures that await us. In the meantime, take comfort in your Savior’s triumph over the devil in the wilderness, and know that an even greater triumph is coming at the end of the Lenten season—a triumph that we cling tightly to throughout the wilderness of life.


Prayer:

Lord Jesus, you did what we cannot do in perfectly resisting the devil and emerging triumphant from the wilderness. Thank you for making your victory our victory, and lead us to follow your example in all the storms and temptations of life. Amen.


Written by Kristi Meyer
Provided by WELS Women’s Ministry



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Lent Devotion – In the Savior’s Steps – Week 2

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In the Savior’s Steps

The Temple


When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple courts he found people selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. To those who sold doves he said, “Get these out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a market!” His disciples remembered that it is written: “Zeal for your house will consume me.”
The Jews then responded to him, “What sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?”
Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.”
They replied, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?” But the temple he had spoken of was his body. After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said. Then they believed the scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken.

John 2:13-22


Do you have a favorite “church” memory? Maybe you remember your confirmation vows, a baptism, or a special Christmas service. You might think of a brass quartet at Easter, an amazing choir anthem, or a funeral sermon. You might have a place you like to sit that makes you feel right at home or a hymn that brings tears to your eyes.

Jesus’ connection to the temple in Jerusalem was much deeper than tender moments or fond memories. Do you remember some of the events that happened there?

This is the temple where an angel brought news to Zechariah about John the Baptist, the forerunner who would prepare the way of the Lord.

Mary and Joseph consecrated Jesus at this temple to fulfill Old Testament laws. Do you think they told Jesus the stories about Simeon and Anna? Did they teach him Simeon’s song of praise or Anna’s proclamation about God’s Messiah? Jesus would have been delighted to hear and learn it all!

Jesus talked to the teachers at this temple, answering deep questions when he was twelve years old. Have you ever wondered if any rabbis remembered the young boy who amazed them? Sadly, they were less eager to hear Jesus’ wisdom and truth when his public ministry began.

Jesus loved to attend worship at the temple and obeyed every God-given law about Jewish festivals, sacrifices, and ceremonies. He sang King David’s psalms and treasured readings from Israel’s ancient prophetic scrolls. With Scripture, prayers, and songs of praise, Jesus felt right at home. The sinless Son of God worshiped in the temple just beyond the ominous veil to the Holy of Holies.

Yet the memory from this temple encounter was very different.

This memory was filled with selfish, greedy men who made Jesus angry. The holy place of God was filled with cheating merchants who swindled worshipers as they purchased animals for sacrificial offerings. Knowing God’s holy purpose for the temple, Jesus would not condone the stench of the profit-driven marketplace. He drove the merchants out.

This wasn’t the last memory Jesus would have at the temple.

Jesus would return to teach in the temple courts days before his crucifixion. People would gather to hear him one last time. Then, the temple would be destroyed. Not the physical temple where Jesus worshiped—but Jesus, the God who came to dwell with his people. Jesus was destroyed. His prophecy resonated, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.” And, praise God, he did.

The temple was built to proclaim the truth of God’s faithful mercy to sinners and represent God’s earthly presence among his people. Though God established the Jewish temple for his people, Jesus is the greatest temple—the true temple that fulfilled God’s plan of salvation and opened heaven’s gates to all believers. In Jesus, God came to dwell with his people. Jesus lived in perfect righteousness, died to pay for sin, and was raised to life in victory over death.

Marvel at the magnificent temple in Jerusalem, but praise God for Jesus. He is the greatest temple.


Prayer:

Lord Jesus, you are the glorious temple of God—and we praise you as our risen Savior! Thank you for dwelling with us and in us. Continue to fill us with your Spirit, strengthen our faith, and deepen our zeal for your kingdom. Amen.


Written by Naomi Schmidt
Provided by WELS Women’s Ministry



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Lent Devotion – In the Savior’s Steps – Week 1

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In the Savior’s Steps

The Jordan River


Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?”
Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented.
As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him.
Matthew 3:13-16


What comes to mind when you picture the Jordan River? The northern area around the Jordan River is actually lush, fertile, and green, quite different from the barren wilderness further south. But the Jordan is far more than just a geographic feature. It is a place deeply rooted in God’s story of redemption. Throughout the Old Testament, the Jordan served as a symbolic border, crossing into new promises. For the nation of Israel, it marked the passage into the Promised Land. For Jesus, the Jordan was the gateway into his public ministry. At this river, Jesus was not called to repent or be baptized for the forgiveness of his own sins but to stand in our place under the perfect law of God.

Imagine the scene: crowds had gathered, listening to and acting on John’s call to repentance. As John preached, he pointed people’s hearts toward God and prepared them to meet the Savior. When Jesus approached, even John was caught off guard. Here was the perfect, sinless Lamb of God, asking for a baptism of repentance. But Jesus insisted, saying it was necessary “to fulfill all righteousness.” By his baptism, Jesus publicly declared his dedication to carrying out God’s plan for our salvation. As the official beginning of his public ministry, identifying with us in our position under the law was his first step on the road to the cross.

In that moment, as Jesus rose from the waters, the heavens opened, and God’s voice declared, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17). The Holy Spirit descended on him like a dove, anointing him for the work ahead. This moment was a visible sign that Jesus was the chosen Messiah, fully empowered by the Father and ready to begin his mission. Just as the Jordan had once represented the Israelites’ entry into the land of promise, here it marked the entry of God’s Son into his public ministry to fulfill every promise.

As we stand at the banks of the Jordan with Jesus, what can we learn? His humility challenges us. Jesus had no sin, yet he chose to place himself in our position, under the law of the holy and righteous God. Baptism, which cleanses us, became an indication of his absolute willingness to bear the burden of the law for us. This is the heart of Lent: Christ taking on our sin and guilt, walking the path we could never walk ourselves.

The Jordan River reminds us that Jesus willingly took on his role as Savior, humbling himself to become one of us. As we prepare our hearts for the solemn journey to the cross, let us remember the depth of Christ’s love that began at the Jordan and led him all the way to Calvary. Here, in the waters of the Jordan, we see a Savior who took every necessary step to redeem us.


Prayer:

Heavenly Father, thank you for sending your Son to stand in our place. As we remember Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan, continue to show us the depth of his humility and his love for us. Strengthen us in this season of Lent to follow in his footsteps, trusting in your promises and rejoicing in the salvation he offers. In Jesus’ name. Amen.


Written by Alycia Cameron
Provided by WELS Women’s Ministry



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