In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

It’s all over but the shouting, and for those of you visiting with us today who might not know what that is in reference to, we invite you to come back and be with us again tomorrow morning, and you will understand then. There is a certain verse taken from this long discourse that Jesus gave at the Last Supper to his disciples that was read on Thursday evening that has penetrated my heart.

“I will no longer talk much with you,” Jesus said, “for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no power over me, but I do as the Father has commanded me, and so the world may know that I love the Father. Rise, let us go hence.”

When the devil came to Jesus during his 40 days in the wilderness, he tempted him. He tempted him in his mind, he tempted him in his heart, he tempted him in his will, and he had been tripping up mankind in one or all three of those ways since man was created, but he could not trip up Jesus Christ. So it says in St. Luke’s Gospel that he left him for a time. He tried to trip him up in soul, but when he returned after a time, he was determined to kill him in body.

“The ruler of this world is coming,” he said, “but he has no power over me.” When they went out into the garden after they had eaten the supper, Judas had brought the soldiers. “Who are you looking for?” “Jesus of Nazareth.” “I am he.” And they all fell back on the ground. They had no power over him, and Judas had no power over him! Why? Because he was doing as the Father had commanded him. That is why they had no power over him.

And they took him to Ananias, and Ananias examined him, and they slapped him and spit on him and cursed him, but they had no power over him. They took him to Caiaphas, and Caiaphas asked him about the false accusations, and he didn’t say a word, but when he asked him if he was the Son of God, the Christ: “From here forth you will see the Son of man coming up on the clouds of heaven.” And he tore his robe and condemned him, but he had no power over him. And they took him to Pontius Pilate, and Pontius Pilate said, “Don’t you know that I have the power for you to live or to die?” And he said, “You would have no power over me unless it were given to you by the Father.” No power!

And when the soldiers took him and beat him to a pulp, they had no power over him. And when the soldiers nailed him to the cross, they had no power over him. And when one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear and there came forth blood and water, he had no power over the Lord Jesus Christ, because the Lord God was doing as the Father had commanded him.

We celebrate in our Church three great condescensions of God, the first being when he condescended to become a man, a baby in the manger. What humility! That our Lord God would come down, would take on human flesh, and become a man for our salvation. And he was hunted from day one, wasn’t he? In the second great condescension, the Lord descends into the waters to renew the waters, to renew not only man whom he had created in his own image but to renew all of the creation and to sanctify the waters. Now in this third and great condescension, the Lord our God in whom all of these things mentioned, all of these people, no one had power over him.

But the angels couldn’t even figure out what was going on. How many hymns have we heard over the past few days? The angels were amazed and they were frightened and they were fearful to see what was happening to their God, but all they could say was—because all the angels ever say is—glory—even when they were afraid—this should teach us a lesson, shouldn’t it? When we’re afraid, when we can’t figure anything out, and when we’re amazed and dumbfounded: Glory to thy holy condescension, O Lord!

One final test of power: the Lord our God descends into the depths of hell, having taken on death. Does death have power over him? Death had no power over him, not even death! And he conquered death, because death had no power over him. We might ask the question: Well, that’s all great for him, he’s God. What does that have to do with me? This is what it has to do with me, right here, this baptismal font. We can be united to the Lord Jesus Christ. We can be united to the power which the devil has no power over. We can be united to the children of Israel who were crossing the Red Sea.

This is the water of the Red Sea, and Moses and the children of Israel crossed through the Red Sea unharmed, and the enemies of God were crushed beneath the waters. You heard the prayer: we pray that all adverse powers be crushed beneath the sign of the Cross. So when the person who was baptized descends into these waters that hostile demons and the hostile powers of this world are not able to follow this person through the waters so that when that person who is baptized is lifted up, he or she is lifted up with the Lord Jesus Christ who conquered death that had no power over him.

And we are united to this power. We participate in this power. We are nourished in this power by our participation in the body and the blood of the Lord. This is the greatest day! This is the greatest day ever! Nothing compares, and we give thanks to Almighty God that he kept the commandment of the Father. May we also be protected from all hostile powers in this world and share the victory of Christ over the fallenness of this world by keeping the commandments of the Father. Amen.