+ 3rd Lenten Midweek Service – March 6th, 2024 +
Luke 22:54-23:12
3rd Petition of the Lord’s Prayer
Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church
Milton, WA
Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior + Jesus Christ. Amen.
There are certain moments in life, in stories, and in Scripture when a warrior lets loose a war cry on the field of battle. William Wallace outnumbered by the English: “Freedom”! The U.S. Marines: “Oorah.” The Crusaders against the Turk: “Deus Vult” (God wills it). Aragorn before the Black Gate: “For Frodo!” Gideon and his 300 Israelites armed with torches and clay pots: “A sword for the Lord and for Gideon.”
A war cry steels your resolve. Strengthens your brothers in arms. Strikes terror into the hearts of your enemies. And holds you steadfast in a confession.
You may not have realized it, but every time you pray the Lord’s Prayer, there is a war cry that comes forth from your lips as well. You may say it with tears…with a whisper…with agony…when you are anxious or in a panic…or simply with joy. But whenever you pray the Lord’s prayer, you have stepped onto the battlefield, where Christ goes before us with his cross and passion and resurrection. Jesus, the Lord of hosts and the commander in chief of the heavenly armies, gives us this battle cry, this prayer. The 3rd petition of the Lord’s Prayer is the battle cry of the baptized against God’s enemies: the devil, the world, and our sinful flesh.
Thy Will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
How is God’s will done? God’s will is done when he breaks and hinders every evil plan and purpose of the devil, the world, and our sinful flesh, which do not want to hallow God’s name or let his kingdom come; and when He strengthens and keeps us firm in His word and faith until we die. This is His good and gracious will.
To say it again a different way…God’s gracious will is done for you in Jesus’ crucifixion, where defeats sin, death, and the devil for you. God’s gracious will is done in Jesus’ resurrection, where he strengthens and keeps you and holds you steadfast.
A lot of ink has been spilled writing about the will of God. But in truth, it’s rather simple. What is God’s will? God’s will is what he wants to do for you. It’s what God freely chooses to do for you because he loves you. And what he wants to do for you is to save you and set you free. To deliver us from our rebellious sinful flesh. To fight death to the death for you. To crush the dragon under his feet on the cross for you.
That’s why the 3rd petition of the Lord’s Prayer is a battle cry; its an all-out assault against the hordes of hell, the world, and our sinful flesh. When we pray “Thy will be done” we are reminded that from the moment we are baptized we are at war. When Christ marked you with his cross, the devil marked you as his enemy. Since that day when Christ claimed you as his own with water, his Word, and his Spirit, the devil has been fighting like hell to get you to commit treason, rebel against God like Adam and Eve, turncoat, despair of victory, and rub the salt of your guilt and shame in your wounds.
The devil fights this way: fights dirty. Fights with lies and deceit and despair because he knows he’s defeated by Christ. He knows that since the day of your baptism you have been conscripted as soldiers of Christ crucified. It’s true, no strength of ours could match the devil’s might. But for you fights the valiant one, the crucified one, the suffering, dying, bleeding, laying down his life for you One. What we pray for in the 3rd petition, Jesus has done for you. Thy will be done, we pray. And Jesus says from his cross: It is finished.
So we take up the sword of God’s word in the 3rd petition, and we are hurl it into the hearts of our enemies: death, and the dragon. And for good reason. There’s a war going on. The Christian life is not about winning and success and living your best life now or thinking that now that you are a Christian all your troubles will be over. No. we live life under the cross. In the battle. At war. We don’t hear that often enough, but it’s true.
To pray “Thy will be done” is to enter the fray. It is to meet the enemy without and within. You know this enemy well, so do I. It is our sinful flesh. Who’s very religious. Who loves to pray: “my will be done. I did it my way! It’s my life!” To pray “Thy will be done” is to pray against the very thing we love the most: ourselves, our selfish, self-centered, sinful will.
Thankfully, the answer to our prayer in this petition isn’t found within us. The answer to this petition is Jesus.
If you want to know what God’s will is, don’t look to your feelings, or your strength, or your wisdom, or your anything. Look to Christ. Listen to his words. See him on the cross destroying death, defeating the devil, for you. See his empty tomb and battle scars of victory in his hands and his side for you. When you look at Scripture, God tells you exactly what his will is and how it is done. God’s will is Jesus. And God’s will is done in Jesus for you.
As with all the other parts of the Lord’s Prayer, what we pray for in this petition Jesus does for you. In the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus armed himself with the word of God and prayer. When you pray “Thy will be done” you never
pray alone. Jesus prays with you and for you:
“Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.”
As I live, declares the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked
And so it was… the will of the Lord to crush him; he has put him to grief. upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.
In the garden. Before Pilate. Among the jeering crowds. With every agonizing footstep and stumble towards the cross. With his body on the tree. With his pierced hands stretched out. There is God’s good and gracious will being done for you.
That is why our Lord Jesus, the Captain of our salvation, gives us these words to pray, to cry out in the daily struggle and warfare of this fallen world: “Thy will be done.” He gives us these words to steel our resolve in his redemption. To strengthen us in his good and gracious will in Jesus’ cross and resurrection for you. to strike terror into the hearts of the enemy. To hold you steadfast in the confession and faith of Christ crucified.
When you pray this petition, you are part of the resistance. The Lord’s Prayer is a campaign in this conflict against sin, death, and the devil. The church is not just a place to meet friends. It’s not just a place to gather around food and fellowship. It’s not just a place to drink coffee and catch up. Don’t get me wrong. These are all good things when they flow from and lead back to Christ’s cross. And yet, when we pray the third petition, we see that Christ’s church is not a build-a-bear workshop where we make cute cuddly things. No, Christ’s church is a holy barracks where he arms you for the fight with the battle cry of the baptized against God’s enemies. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Here in this place God’s name is hallowed and so are you. Here God’s kingdom comes to you and for you in water and word, in Jesus’ body and blood. Here God’s good and gracious will is done for you. Here He strengthens and keeps us firm in His Word and faith until we die.
While the battle rages on, we know the outcome, we know Christ has died. Christ has risen. Christ will come again. And until that day, we wait. We watch. We pray. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
The peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus to life everlasting. Amen.
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