Holy Wednesday, 2024
Rev. Thomas Van Hemert
Isaiah 62:11b; 63:1-5, 7a
Holy Wednesday
March 27, 2024
In the name of the Father and of the +Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Having been lifted up from the earth and shed His blood on the cross, Jesus tells the penitent thief who is crucified with Him, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.” A few hours later, Jesus would hand over His spirit to His Father and breathe His last.
This is the beginning of the end of the Great Exchange—Jesus taking our place; Jesus becoming sin, though He knew no sin; Jesus dying for sinners and for sins He did not commit, so that we would take His place as heirs in the Kingdom of Heaven; so that we would go and sin no more; and so that we would not taste eternal death. He gives up His life and sheds His blood so that He might bestow it upon us in the Holy Communion in order that we might drink of it and be strengthened; so that we would receive His life. Life is in the blood. Wine is made of grapes. And yet His Blood is in the wine.
Isaiah, hundreds of years before this event, sees a vision of Yahweh. Isaiah sees the Lord, far off, as a great and mighty Warrior and so he asks the question, “Who is this who comes from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah, this One who is glorious in His apparel, traveling with the greatness of His strength?” And it is Yahweh in the flesh who answers him, “I who speak in righteousness, mighty to save.”
Then the Lord draws nearer to Isaiah so that Isaiah can see that His apparel is red. But Isaiah is confused. He doesn’t understand. He asks, “Why is Your apparel red, and Your garments like one who treads in the winepress?” The Lord gives a lengthy answer. He says, “I have trodden the winepress alone, and from the peoples no one was with Me. For I have trodden them in My anger, and trampled them in My fury; their blood is sprinkled on my garments, and I have stained all My robes. For the day of vengeance is in My heart, and the year of My redeemed has come. I looked, but there was no one to help, and I wondered that there was no one to uphold; therefore, My own arm brought salvation for Me; and My own fury, it sustained Me.”
This great and mighty Warrior is not going in to battle. Isaiah sees Him marching from the battle. He carries no weapons and has mustered no army to follow him. He is all alone, robed in splendor and wearing clothing colored in red. The red that is splattered all over His apparel is not the juice from grapes, but the blood of His enemies. For He trod them in His anger, and trampled them in His fury. Their blood is sprinkled on all His garments. We may tend to think about this too quickly and say, “How can blood of men be on His clothing? Surely this is a depiction of our Lord after He was scourged and as He is being led to the cross.” But it’s not. The text is clear. The blood that Isaiah sees splattered all on the Lord’s clothing is the blood of His enemies, the blood of pagans, the blood of unbelievers. He is righteous and Holy God and He will bring swift and utter destruction upon those who hate him.
The day of vengeance is coming. And for those of us who have received the sign of the cross, this will be a joyful day. Because we hope for the end of sin. We look forward to the end of all evil, all hatred, racism, corruption, political machinations, and contempt for God’s Word. We desire the day of vengeance and the year of God’s redeemed. And in so doing, we must always remember that not everyone will attain eternal life. Those who do not receive it by faith, will be trodden down and tramped in God’s fury. He will place all enemies under His feet. Some will be made to be His footstool.
Why are His garments red, like those of one treading the winepress? This is not a vision of grace at all, but the realization of the threat of judgment for the impenitent. And at the same time, this is the final vindication for all of the suffering saints: those who do evil against them will be punished.
Isaiah sees this not as a day of mercy, but an hour of vengeance. No stone in front of the tomb could hold back the resurrection and nothing is going to hold back Christ’s second coming. For all shall look upon Him Whom they pierced.
But before Jesus announces judgment, He receives judgment from His Father. Before He stains His garments with the blood of His enemies, He pours out His blood for the sins of the world. Before Jesus returns in anger and wrath at those who spurn His grace, He lovingly announces full pardon for all our sins. And before He uses His feet to trample His enemies in His fury, He allows soldiers to spike those feet to wood, where they writhe in pain until they go lifeless and limp.
His blood is poured out on the cross. So that a thief is welcomed into His Kingdom. That is the extent of His mercy and grace. He pours out His blood on the cross so that we—sinners and tax collectors alike—may also be welcomed into His Kingdom. We are clothed with His blood.
After all of that, there is only one more enemy our Lord must face. Edom. Edom stands for all the enemies of God. That is, those who have rejected Him, who hate Him, who do not believe in Him. This also includes the leader of Edom: Satan. For Yahweh in the flesh, Jesus Christ will trod them in His anger, trample them in His fury and all of their blood will be sprinkled upon His garments. His own arm brought salvation for Himself; and His own fury sustained Him. This is the final vindication, the final comfort that we will need—to know that all the enemies of God are and will be defeated.
In +Jesus’ name.
