GOOD FRIDAY
April 3, 2026
Pastor Tom Steers
Christ the Saviour Lutheran Church, Toronto
“Behold, the Lamb of God, ... View MoreGOOD FRIDAY
April 3, 2026
Pastor Tom Steers
Christ the Saviour Lutheran Church, Toronto
“Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.”
John 1:29
The Good Friday service is marked by reflection on the cross of Jesus Christ and His sacrificial death that earned us salvation.
The altar has been stripped to symbolize the stripping of Christ before His crucifixion. Our worship focuses on the adoration of our crucified Saviour who now reigns together with God the Father and the Holy Spirit.
The opening portion of the liturgy includes no praise.
It proceeds directly to the Prayer of the Day.
Although somber, our service does not end on a note of despair. The closing litany, prayer, and hymn emphasize the triumph and redemption we have through the cross.
Jesus has made complete payment for our sins through His death for us, and through faith in Him alone we are reconciled with our loving God and offered eternal life.
At the end of the service, we depart in silence without the benediction. However, Christ's death is not God's final word. We keep vigil as we prepare to celebrate Christ's resurrection on Sunday morning.
Silence is kept as the people gather.
As the Pastor enters all stand for prayer.
Pastor: “For God so loved the world that he gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.”(John 3:16)
Congregation: Amen.
PRAYER OF THE DAY
C: Almighty God, have mercy upon us, your children, for whom our Lord Jesus Christ was willing to be betrayed, and given over to the hands of sinners to suffer death on the cross. He took the penalty for our sins, so that through faith in Him we are forgiven and offered eternal life.
We pray for Your grace and mercy in the name of our crucified and risen Saviour, Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
Hymn 440 “Jesus, I Will Ponder Now”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DQvrT7OBDo
CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION
(Page 184, Lutheran Service Book)
Our Bible Readings:
Old Testament – Isaiah 52:13-53:12
Psalm Reading – Psalm 22, verses 1-18
Epistle Reading – Hebrews 4:14-16, 5:7-9
Gospel Reading – John 19: 1-35
Hymn 449 “O Sacred Head, Now Wounded”
Text: Bernard of Clairvaux 1091 – 1153 Musical arrangement: Johann Sebastian Bach 1685 – 1750
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8IwD-gIKU-c
THE SERMON –
Today we remember a death.
The liturgical colour is black.
The mood is somber, and yet we call this Friday – ‘Good.’
That may leave us with the question, ‘Why is it called Good?’
What’s the meaning of this day, and even more to the point, what is the meaning of the crucifixion?
It's Biblical that all human beings who have ever lived are guilty when tested against the Commandments of God’s Law.
When seen by our Holy, perfect Lord, we’re all guilty.
And we’ve been so since our first parents, Adam and Eve, disobeyed God and fell into sin.
It’s an inherited condition. And left untreated, it’s fatal – 100 per cent of the time.
Spiritually, eternally fatal.
Because God in His perfection, although all-loving, can’t overlook sin.
God can’t lie and say sin is OK; lying is a human trait.
But the Bible also tells us, repeatedly, that God loves us, and in fact, the Apostle John
who authored today’s Gospel text, wrote in 1st John, that “Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.”
It’s been said that the entire story of the Bible can be traced in the shape of the cross.
Because it is the story of the reconciliation of God, with man, through + Jesus Christ.
The cross becomes a bridge that closes that huge divide, the gulf, between a loving, perfect Father, and His fallen children.
And it is mind boggling for us that it was God, Himself, who provided the solution – who brings about the reconciliation.
It was God who reached out to us by coming down to earth and taking on human flesh in the person of Jesus Christ.
In the first Passover, God freed the people of Israel from physical bondage – slavery in Egypt.
God told the people to make a sacrifice, to take a lamb without blemish, slaughter it, and put the blood over their doorways so the spirit of death would pass over them.
Many years later, at the time of Passover, Jesus entered the city of Jerusalem triumphantly on Palm Sunday.
The temple priests would have taken young lambs, without blemish, placed their hands on them, and while praying transferred the sins of people to the animal.
Then it would be sacrificed.
The death of the lamb was a symbolic payment for sin.
What the temple priests didn’t realize, was that God’s ultimate sacrifice had just entered the Holy City.
This could never be accomplished by the death of a lamb or goat, but only by a human being, yet one who was without sin.
However, as the Apostle Paul wrote, “all have sinned.”
So, God sent His only Son, to become the sacrifice to end all sacrifices, because He was the one person who kept God’s law perfectly – God’s lamb without blemish – Jesus Christ.
Through the words of the Apostle John today, we find ourselves at the place where that sacrifice for sin happened.
We have an account by the only Apostle we know who was an eyewitness to the crucifixion.
The Roman authors Seneca and Cicero wrote that those who were crucified cursed and screamed loudly, as long as they could.
But with Jesus, we hear none of this.
Christ didn’t curse His tormentors, the Roman soldiers, the temple authorities, or those who mocked Him.
Although truly innocent, in agony, and about to die, He says, "Father forgive them for they know not what they do.”
The suffering Jesus endured that first Good Friday began even before the cross.
There were dozens of deep lashes across Jesus’ back from a flogging.
There was a crown of thorns piercing deep into the skin of his head.
Then spikes were driven through His hands and feet.
And he hung this way on the cross for hours.
But because Jesus experienced this incredible pain, He understands our pain, both physical and emotional.
Neither in times of suffering or sadness, does Christ desert us.
We can take comfort that we have a Saviour who understands sorrow, who can empathize because of what He endured – for us.
Some will blame the Romans, Pontius Pilate, the Jewish authorities, even Judas himself, for Christ’s crucifixion.
But as Martin Luther explained in a sermon some 500 years ago, “never forget that it was your sins that placed the nails there.”
It was our sins that Jesus was atoning for – not His own.
As the prophet Isaiah wrote: “He was pierced for our transgressions, He was wounded for our iniquities, and by His wounds we are healed. (Isaiah 53: 6)
And yet if Jesus hadn’t suffered, if the crucifixion had not taken place, every one of us would have been destined to hell forever, eternally separated from God.
The door between us and Heaven would have been shut.
But God didn’t want that, so He created this glorious exchange – our sins, for Christ’s righteousness.
A once, and for all, exchange.
Jesus had no sooner said "I thirst," and sipped the vinegar offered to Him on the cross, when He said, "It is finished.”
This was not a cry of defeat.
It was a shout of triumph.
The battle was over, the victory won – forever.
Sin, death, and the devil were defeated because the final payment for sin had been made.
According to some modern thinkers, man is a very fine and noble creature, striving to become better.
He’s to be commended and admired.
Sin is said to be only a sociological condition.
But in the Bible, that’s not the way God sees it.
There, man is a fallen being, with a carnal nature that cannot be reconciled to God by our own efforts.
In Holy Scripture, man behaves in the same way we see in our daily news: terrorism, murder, theft, greed, idolatry.
And these are all a result of the original fall into sin.
It’s behind every broken home, every troubled life, every sorrow and grief.
But Christ loves us, and came to save you, and me, from the penalty of all this.
It is God, who still reaches out to us through the Holy Spirit, with the gift of faith that saves.
Christ continues to come to us in His Word, and the Sacraments of Baptism, Absolution, and the Lord’s Supper, which are found in His true Church.
And here is the great power of the Gospel, of Christ's Good News.
That we are saved through faith in Him, alone, despite our natures.
We can learn from Jesus that while we’re mighty sinners – He’s an even mightier Saviour.
The Apostle John wrote his Gospel in Greek.
The Greek word for finished in the Bible, "tetelestai,” doesn’t simply mean, “it’s over.”
It was the term used for a business contract successfully completed, and it meant: paid in full.
That’s what Jesus was saying to us about salvation from the cross.
No co-payment is necessary, or possible.
When it comes to redemption, He’s done it all.
The Apostle Paul explained in Ephesians, Chapter 2, verses 8 to 9:
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this is not from yourselves – it is the gift of God so that no one can boast.”
The gift of faith, alone, in Jesus as Redeemer saves us.
And that is the best news we could ever hear, because we could never do it on our own.
Today, when you look at the cross, I’d ask that you not only see the pain and agony of the crucifixion, but also see God’s love in Christ.
Because God the Father didn’t send Jesus, and Jesus didn’t willing go to the cross out of anger or hatred.
Many people wish that someone in their life would love them unconditionally, would love them so much they would die for them.
The truth is, someone did.
His name is Jesus Christ, Son of God, Saviour.
And so, may the knowledge of God’s love and forgiveness for you, keep your hearts and minds in Jesus Christ, now and forever.
Amen.
A LITANY FOR GOOD FRIDAY
P: Is it nothing to you, all you that pass by?
C: Look and see if there is any sorrow like my sorrow. (Lamentations l:12)
P: The Lord says:
My people, what have I done to you?
How have I offended you?
I led you from slavery to freedom,
but you led your Saviour to the cross.
I brought you out of Egypt,
but you handed me over to the high priests.
C: Holy God,
holy and immortal One,
have mercy on us.
P: My people, what have I done to you?
How have I offended you?
I led you on your way in a pillar of cloud,
but you led me to Pilate's court.
I bore you up with manna in the desert,
but you struck me down and scourged me.
C: Holy God,
holy and immortal One,
have mercy on us.
P: My people, what have I done to you?
How have I offended you?
I gave you a royal sceptre,
but you gave me a crown of thorns.
I raised you to the height of majesty,
but you have raised me high on a cross.
C: Holy God,
holy and immortal One,
have mercy on us.
P: My people, what have I done to you?
How have I offended you?
I gave you saving water from the rock,
but you gave me gall and vinegar to drink.
For you I struck down the kings of Canaan,
but you pierced your Saviour with a lance.
C: Holy God,
holy and immortal One,
have mercy on us.
P: We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you.
C: By Your holy cross you have redeemed the world.
P: If we have died with Him, we shall also live with Him.
C: And through faith we shall also reign with Him.
P: We adore you, O Christ, and we bless You.
C: By Your holy cross You have redeemed the world.
+ SERVICE OF THE SACRAMENT +
P: Blessed are You O Lord, our God, king of the universe, for you have had mercy on us and given Your only-begotten Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.
C: We give You thanks Father for the redemption You have prepared for us through Jesus Christ. Grant us Your Holy Spirit that we may faithfully take communion and receive the blessings of forgiveness, life, and salvation that come from the body and blood of Christ.
P: Father, hear us as we pray as Jesus taught us.
LORDS PRAYER
C: Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven; give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the Kingdom, and the power and the glory, forever and ever. Amen.
Preface
P: The Lord be with you.
C: And also with you.
P: Lift up your hearts.
C: We lift them to the Lord.
P: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
C: It is right to give Him thanks and praise.
P: It is truly meet, right, and salutary, that we should at all times, and in all places, give thanks to you, O Lord, Holy Father, Almighty and Everlasting God.
For in the mystery of the Word made flesh, You have given us a new revelation of Your glory; that seeing You in the Person of Your Son, we may be drawn to the love of those things which are not seen.
THE WORDS OF OUR SAVIOUR
INSTITUTING THE LORD’S SUPPER PAGE 197
P: The peace of the Lord be with you always.
C: Amen.
Lamb of God (Agnus Dei)
P: Lamb of God You take away the sin of the world,
C: Have mercy on us.
P: Lamb of God You take away the sin of the world,
C: Have mercy on us.
P: Lamb of God You take away the sin of the world,
C: Grant us peace.
The Distribution
(Our hymn during distribution is 627 “Jesus Christ, Our Blessed Saviour”)
POST-COMMUNION PRAYER
C: Lord Jesus, you carried our sins in Your own body on the cross. You came so that we might have life. May we and all who remember this day find new life in You, now and in the world to come, where You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
OUR CLOSING HYMN
436 “Go to Dark Gethsemane”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=alPJNxQStRY
A SERMON FOR HOLY THURSDAY
April 2, 2026
Pastor Tom Steers
Christ the Saviour Lutheran Church, Toronto
Our Bible Readings:
... View MoreA SERMON FOR HOLY THURSDAY
April 2, 2026
Pastor Tom Steers
Christ the Saviour Lutheran Church, Toronto
Our Bible Readings:
Old Testament – Exodus 24:3-11
Psalm 116:12-19
Epistle – Hebrews 9:11-22
Gospel – Matthew 26:17-30
Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.
Tonight the Church gathers at the threshold of the Triduum—the holy three days in which Christ hands Himself over for the life of the world.
Holy Thursday draws us into the Upper Room, where Jesus gives His disciples—and the whole Church—a gift so profound that Christians should never cease to marvel at it: the Sacrament of His body and blood.
Matthew tells us that on the first day of Unleavened Bread, the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Where will You have us prepare for You to eat the Passover?”
It is a simple question, but reveals something important: Jesus is the one directing this night.
Events do not sweep him along.
He is not a victim of circumstance.
He is the Lord who prepares His own Passover, the true Passover, in which the Lamb of God will give Himself to make complete payment for the sins of the world.
THE COVENANT IN BLOOD
The Old Testament reading from Exodus Chapter 24 gives us the background.
Moses sprinkles the blood of sacrificed animals on the people and says, “Behold the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you.”
That covenant bound God to His people, but it was a covenant that required repeated sacrifices—blood that was shed again and again, year after year.
Hebrews Chapter 9 reminds us that these sacrifices were shadows pointing forward to something infinitely greater.
Christ, our great High Priest, enters not an earthly tent, but the heavenly sanctuary, offering not the blood of goats and calves but His own blood.
His sacrifice is once for all, perfect and complete.
And now, on this night before the crucifixion, Jesus takes the Passover meal and transforms it.
He takes bread, gives thanks, breaks it, and gives it to His disciples, saying, “Take, eat; this is My body.”
Then He takes the cup and says, “Drink of it, all of you; for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.”
The echoes of Exodus are unmistakable.
The covenant is renewed—but now with Christ’s own blood.
The forgiveness once symbolized is now delivered.
The Lamb once foreshadowed is now present.
THE REAL PRESENCE OF CHRIST
Confessional Lutheran theology has always insisted on taking Jesus at His Word.
When He says, “This is My body… this is My blood,” we do not reinterpret, spiritualize, or reduce His words.
We confess them.
Martin Luther, in the Large Catechism, puts it with his usual clarity: “It is the Word, I say, which makes and distinguishes this Sacrament, so that it is not mere bread and wine but is, and is called, the body and blood of Christ.”
Luther’s point is simple: the power of the Sacrament does not come from our faith, our feelings, or our understanding.
It comes from Christ’s own testimony.
Because He says it is His body and blood, it is.
Because He commands us to eat and drink, we do.
Because He promises forgiveness, life, and salvation, we receive them.
This is not a symbolic meal.
It is not a mere memorial.
It is not a reenactment.
It is Christ giving Himself—His true body and true blood—to His people.
THE GIFT OF FORGIVENESS
Psalm 116 asks, “What shall I render to the Lord for all His benefits to me?” The psalmist answers, “I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord.”
Tonight Christ places that cup of salvation into your hands.
The forgiveness He won on the cross is not left in the abstract.
It is not a distant promise.
It is placed on your tongue.
It is poured into your body.
The very body that hung on the cross, the very blood that was shed for you, is given to you for the forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation.
.
This is why the Sacrament is not optional for the Christian life.
It is not an add-on or a bonus.
It is a means of grace from our Saviour.
Here Christ provides what He died to give.
THE MEAL OF UNITY
Matthew tells us that after the Supper, “when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.”
The disciples go out together.
They will soon scatter, but for this moment, they are united around Christ’s table.
The Lord’s Supper is a meal of unity—not a unity we create, but a unity Christ gives.
Paul says, “Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.”
In receiving Christ’s body, we are joined to Him and one another.
This unity is not sentimental.
It is sacramental.
It is grounded in Christ’s real presence and His true forgiveness.
Christians who receive Christ’s grace and mercy love are called to reflect that love to others.
THE MEAL THAT SUSTAINS US
Holy Thursday also looks forward.
Jesus says, “I tell you I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom.”
The Supper is a foretaste of the feast to come.
It sustains us on our journey through this world.
It strengthens us in our trials, nourishes us as we walk through the sorrows of this life, until the day we are raised to new life in Christ.
In the coming hours of the Passion narrative, Jesus will be betrayed, arrested, mocked, beaten, and crucified.
But before He goes to the cross, He gives His Church one of the means by which the benefits of that cross will be delivered to every generation.
He gives His body and blood as food and drink for sinners.
RECEIVING THE GIFT
So how do we approach this Sacrament?
With reverence, yes—but also with joy.
With repentance, yes—but also with confidence.
With humility, yes—but also with expectation.
We come as people who know our need.
We come as people aware of our sin.
But we also come as sinners who know our Saviour.
We come trusting His Word, His promise, believing that what He gives is exactly what He says: His body and blood, given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.
That is what Christ places into your hands this night, and each Sunday.
Forgiveness. Life. Salvation.
Not as ideas, but as gifts.
Not as abstractions, but as His very body and blood.
This Holy Thursday, we stand with believers throughout the world and across the ages.
We hear Christ’s words and receive His gifts.
And we are drawn into the mystery of His love—a sacrificial love that goes to the cross willingly for us. A Saviour that rises from the dead, and feeds us until the day we feast with Him in His eternal kingdom.
Amen.
PALM SUNDAY
March 29, 2026
Pastor Tom Steers
Christ the Saviour Lutheran Church, Toronto
OPENING HYMN: 442 “All Glory, Laud, and Honour
... View MorePALM SUNDAY
March 29, 2026
Pastor Tom Steers
Christ the Saviour Lutheran Church, Toronto
OPENING HYMN: 442 “All Glory, Laud, and Honour
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zha0euqzKX0&list=RDzha0euqzKX0&start_radio=1
Lutheran Service Book
CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION Page 184-185
THE INTROIT
Psalm 24, verses 7-10; antiphon Ps. 118:26
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!
We bless you from the house of the Lord. 7 Lift up your heads, O gates!
And be lifted up, O ancient doors,
that the King of glory may come in.
8 Who is this King of glory?
The LORD, strong and mighty,
the LORD, mighty in battle!
9 Lift up your heads, O gates!
And lift them up, O ancient doors,
that the King of glory may come in.
10 Who is this King of glory?
The LORD of hosts,
he is the King of glory! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!
We bless you from the house of the Lord.
THE KYRIE (Lord Have Mercy) Lord have mercy upon us. Christ have mercy upon us. Lord have mercy upon us.
Pastor: The Lord be with you.
Congregation: And with thy Spirit.
COLLECT PRAYER:
Almighty and everlasting God, You sent Your Son, our Savior Jesus Christ, to take upon Himself our flesh and to suffer death upon the cross. Mercifully grant that we may follow the example of His great humility and patience and be made partakers of His resurrection; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
OUR BIBLE READINGS:
First Reading Isaiah 50:4-9a Psalm 118, verses 19-29 Epistle Reading Philippians 2:5-11 Gospel Reading John 12:12-19
THE APOSTLES’ CREED Page 192
HYMN OF THE DAY 443 “Hosanna, Loud Hosanna”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPSKbXxpudU&list=RDHPSKbXxpudU&start_radio=1
THE SERMON –
Thousands of people in Jerusalem come out to welcome and shout praises to a man they’ve heard about.
Rumours are spreading throughout the Holy City.
A prophet has raised a man from the dead in Bethany, a town only three kilometres away.
A number of people from Jerusalem knew Lazarus; some had even gone to his funeral and seen Jesus raise him from the tomb.
Many ask, who was this prophet, this miracle worker?
Could He be the Messiah, the expected King of Israel, who they thought would free them from the Romans?
The streets are lined with people waving palm branches, shouting: Hosanna to the Son of David!
Hosanna is a Hebrew word that comes from Aramaic, the ancient language Jesus and His disciples spoke.
Hosanna means: ‘Save, Rescue, Saviour.’
But there were a number of responses to this figure riding into Jerusalem on a donkey.
Some came from friends.
Some from enemies.
There were those in Jerusalem who had actually heard Jesus and seen the miracles He performed.
There were those in the crowd who may have been healed by Christ Himself.
The Gospel according to Mark tells of a blind man named Bartimaeus.
Jesus met him as He traveled to Jerusalem, and gave him sight.
Bartimaeus responded by following Jesus on the way (Mark 10:46–52).
So Bartimaeus would have been in the gathering.
Bethany, where Lazarus lived with his sisters Mary and Martha, was just on the other side of the Mount of Olives.
It was the starting point for Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday.
People from Bethany would have been telling everyone they met that Jesus had raised their neighbour.
Christ had performed all the signs of the Messiah:
-- the blind received sight,
-- the lame walked,
-- the deaf could hear,
-- the dead were raised up,
and the poor had good news preached to them. (Matthew 11:5)
It’s not surprising people were looking for more of the same.
Some in the crowd were big fans of Jesus, because they were looking for someone to use divine power to make their lives easier on earth.
No small part of that would have been getting rid of the Romans.
They wanted an earthly King who could access divine strength.
They wanted the ‘bread king’ who could miraculously feed the masses, and Christ had.
They wanted the state of Israel to be re-established, political change.
Then there were the enemies of Christ.
These enemies came from the full spectrum of political life in that day.
There were the Pharisees, scribes, Sadducees, Chief Priests, Herodians loyal to King Herod.
Many of these groups were sworn enemies of one another during normal times.
It says something about their hatred of Jesus that they were able to overlook their intense dislike for one another to come together against Christ.
They simply wanted Jesus dead.
Because if Jesus were successful, their comfortable lifestyles would end.
These enemies had a vested interest in the religious establishment of the day.
The activities at the temple provided them with money, power, and prestige.
They were very happy with the status quo.
Although they couldn’t deny the signs and miracles Jesus did, they insisted Christ performed His many wonders by the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons. (Matthew 12:24)
They were jealous of Christ, of His authentic power.
Then, some were just in Jerusalem because it was Passover.
The Law of Moses instructed devout Jewish men to spend the days of the Passover in the temple areas if they could.
There were also many extra Roman soldiers who were deployed to keep the peace during this Jewish festival that brought about 200,000 visitors to the city.
During the Passover, Jerusalem would swell to about five times its usual population.
However, few of the people who witnessed the Palm Sunday procession had a clear understanding, and faith, that this figure riding into Jerusalem on a donkey actually was the Messiah …God’s only Son, the anointed Saviour of the world who would sacrifice Himself on the cross as payment for our sin.
The crowds did not understand that Christ was on His way to do battle for the very souls of mankind.
Very few realized that where they would spend eternity hung in the balance, as this humble figure rode into Jerusalem and up to the temple.
In the Bible verses immediately following today’s Gospel reading, Jesus teaches about the battle awaiting Him.
Christ said, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” (John 12:23–24)
This is Jesus teaching us that He must die in order to win.
He, like the seed, must lie in the ground to bear fruit.
This is a totally different kind of glory.
The Passover pilgrims think glory would be Jesus ushering in a new age of prosperity for Israel.
Jesus’ enemies think they can destroy His glory by killing Him.
But Jesus says it’s His death that will glorify Him – that His death will bear much fruit.
How ironic that both Jesus and His enemies see death as the eventual outcome.
The enemies view Christ’s death as the way to put an end to Him.
But Jesus knows His death will be a victory over sin, death, and the devil.
This is where satan, the great deceiver, deceived himself.
Jesus regularly, and plainly said, He was to suffer, die, and rise on the third day.
The prophets were clear as well.
When Jesus encountered demons and cast them out, they knew He was the Son of God.
The devil didn’t see that his plans to put Jesus to death would backfire, so that Christ would use death itself to defeat him.
Jesus knew everything was in place for His sacrifice; He had put these things in place, intentionally.
Before He rode that donkey into Jerusalem, Christ had always said, “My hour has not yet come.”
Now He said, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.”
He explained, “Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out.”
The final events that would lead to His death, the climax of His mission, were just a few days away.
This plan of salvation seems strange to the sinful human mind.
The idea that redemption would come from one who suffered the shame of death on a cross doesn’t make sense to many.
Not then, not now.
The Jesus who dies for our sins is an uncomfortable Saviour.
We don’t like to admit we have sins for which someone must die.
We don’t want to look at the reality of the cross, and realize that it should be us up there.
Some don’t much care for the Jesus who willingly died for us who were born spiritually dead in our trespasses.
And that is because it’s humbling to admit we need God’s forgiveness to have life, and can only be saved by Christ.
Nevertheless, God loves us, and sent His only Son to offer Himself as the ultimate sacrifice.
The one who entered Jerusalem in majesty on Palm Sunday, would carry a cross out of Jerusalem on Friday.
Just as surely as He carried that cross, He also carried the sin of the world, yours and mine.
His sacrificial death, His substitutionary atonement, would earn us forgiveness, life, and salvation.
It was the only way; we couldn’t do it for ourselves.
From a worldly standpoint, the procession into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday seemed a lot more victorious than the procession out of Jerusalem to Calvary.
But the true victory took place on the Friday we call good.
There on a cross, the King who rode in majesty defeated the devil with His own body and blood.
And the victory Christ won with His death enabled a new procession, a procession that began three days later and has not yet ended.
This is the marching on of the Christian Church.
This will be the procession up out of the grave and into eternal life.
Jesus Christ died for our sins, and because of that you who believe in Him will follow our Saviour into Heaven.
Amen.
PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH
SERVICE OF THE SACRAMENT Page 194 Sanctus (Holy, Holy, Holy) Page 195 The Lord’s Prayer Page 196 Agnus Dei (Lamb of God) Page 198 Post-Communion Collect (Left-hand column) Page 201
CLOSING HYMN: 441 “Ride On, Ride On in Majesty”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LcxG2JasPds&list=RDLcxG2JasPds&start_radio=1
THE FIFTH SUNDAY IN LENT
March 22, 2026
Pastor Tom Steers
Christ the Saviour Lutheran Church, Toronto
... View MoreTHE FIFTH SUNDAY IN LENT
March 22, 2026
Pastor Tom Steers
Christ the Saviour Lutheran Church, Toronto
OPENING HYMN: 947 “All Glory Be to God on High”
Lutheran Service Book
CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION Page 184
THE INTROIT
Psalm 116, verses 1-4, 8; antiphon: Ps. 116:15
15Precious in the sight of the LORD
is the death of his saints. I love the LORD, because he has heard
my voice and my pleas for mercy.
2 Because he inclined his ear to me,
therefore I will call on him as long as I live.
3 The snares of death encompassed me;
the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me;
I suffered distress and anguish.
4 Then I called on the name of the LORD:
“O LORD, I pray, deliver my soul!”
8For you have delivered my soul from death,
my eyes from tears,
my feet from stumbling;
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.
15Precious in the sight of the LORD
is the death of his saints.
The Salutation – Pastor: The Lord be with you. Congregation: And with thy Spirit.
COLLECT PRAYER:
Almighty God, by Your great goodness mercifully look upon Your people that we may be governed and preserved evermore in body and soul; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
OUR BIBLE READINGS:
Old Testament – Ezekiel 37: 1-14
Psalm 130; antiphon v. 7
Epistle Reading – Romans 8: 1-11
Our Gospel Reading – John 11:1-45
THE APOSTLES’ CREED Page 192
HYMN OF THE DAY: 430 “My Song Is Love Unknown”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Re6yzS24FRw&list=RDRe6yzS24FRw&start_radio=1
THE SERMON –
There is an uncomfortable, yet undeniable truth about life—and that is, we die.
It’s inescapable.
Some are graced with what we consider a long life, perhaps reaching into their 80s or even 90s.
But ultimately, as a result of the sin of our first parents, and our own, we die.
This is a hard reality.
Hard for us to face for ourselves, and hard to face for those who see their loved ones pass away before them.
Imagine then that you’re attending a funeral for a loved one, and that you have been grieving for four days.
Then, someone comes and raises the deceased to life.
Now imagine you are the person who has passed away.
And someone comes and raises you to life.
This is exactly what happens for the Christian.
And the only thing our Saviour, our Redeemer, Jesus Christ, asks is that we believe it.
That was the case 2,000 years ago when Jesus raised Lazarus from death.
In today’s Gospel text we read that Jesus has friends, Martha, Mary, and Lazarus.
They care about Jesus, and He cared deeply about them.
The two sisters and brother lived in Bethany, which was about three kilometers east of Jerusalem.
Lazarus is sick.
Dying.
And his sisters send Jesus word that he is ill.
Then Christ says something striking: “This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”
And as if to reassure us, John writes next that Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus.
But then we have what might seem as another non-starter, because we read that when Christ heard Lazarus was ill, He stayed two days longer in the place where He was.
And the disciples might have asked, and you might in your own hearts wonder, why?
Why not just rush out and save Lazarus?
Jesus says His friend has fallen asleep.
And in the truest sense, this is the case.
Lazarus’s soul is asleep in the Lord.
But his body is dead.
And Jesus clarifies that.
Then Christ explains—and the explanation is as startling as it is enlightening.
Jesus says, “For your sake I am glad I wasn’t there when Lazarus died, so that you may believe. But let’s go to him.”
Christ is saying that for the disciples’ sake, and for Mary and Martha, and those in Bethany, and for every human being since then—including us here today—He is glad He wasn’t there so that when He raises Lazarus, you will believe.
Physical death is not something that Jesus, that God, can’t handle.
Unbelief, which causes eternal spiritual death, is what concerns Christ.
And so, it is faith in Him that Christ wants.
But the tug of this world, and the emotions of this life, are real and hard for us.
Illness and death bring real emotional pain and physical suffering, and Christ doesn’t deny that.
But sometimes we forget.
Sometimes we behave and act as though physical death is permanent.
And it’s at those times of suffering, when facing illness and death, that we need to hold on to our faith tighter than ever — when we need to remember, as Jesus is teaching here, that physical death is not the end, and that there is hope, true hope.
Christ returns to Bethany.
And Martha goes out to see Jesus.
Her sister Mary is grieving, and angry, and stays in the house.
Martha goes out to her Lord, and in a beautiful and timeless confession of faith says,
“Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever you ask God will give you.”
Christ assures her, “Your brother will rise again.”
Martha, still thinking as a grieving sister, replies, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.”
And so Jesus says the words that have echoed throughout the last 20 centuries—it is the pure Gospel, and powerful, and meant to be recorded and heard by you.
Christ says, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live.”
Many of us have heard those words spoken at funeral services.
And when we allow ourselves to really hear and take them in, they are life-changing.
Christ overcomes our greatest enemy.
He ultimately overcomes what we fear the most when He says everyone who lives and believes in Him shall never die.
Christ then asks Martha the simple question, and He asks it of us: “Do you believe this?”
Martha’s reply is heartfelt: “Yes, Lord; I believe you are the Christ, the Son of God.”
But day-to-day life and loss can lead us to be like Martha’s sister Mary.
Despondent and angry, she’s still in her house.
Despite this, Christ calls to her, as He calls to us through His Word and sacraments.
In the Gospel account, Martha says to Mary in private, “The Teacher is here and he’s asking for you.”
When Mary hears this, she rises quickly and goes to Him.
Mary runs to Him and falls at Jesus’ feet, and she’s crying.
She says in honest anger and grief, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”
What she’s saying through tears is: Christ, if you had come when we wanted, this wouldn’t have happened.
Why weren’t you here?
Sometimes, I’ve heard people say to those who are grieving that they shouldn’t cry.
In this situation, Christ Himself did.
Verse 35, the shortest verse in the Bible, says, “Jesus wept.”
This is not an unfeeling Saviour that we have.
Christ asks, “Where have you laid Lazarus?”
Some around Jesus are moved.
Others say, as we sometimes do in tragedy, why didn’t He do something?
The scene is powerful.
Mary, Martha, the grieving family, and friends approach the tomb.
They approach the reality of Lazarus’s death, so much so that Martha says to Jesus there will be a bad smell when they roll away the stone, for Lazarus has been dead four days.
Martha is thinking again as a human being.
She’s focused on the reality of death, so Jesus gently reminds her.
“Didn’t I tell you that if you believe you will see the glory of God?”
Then Christ prays to God the Father.
He asks for the Father to hear Him.
He says He knows God listens to Him, but asks for the sake of those there, so they will believe.
Then Jesus yells in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.”
There might have been some in the crowd, perhaps many, who doubted.
There are many today who believe, and many who doubt.
Even those who believe may sometimes wonder, “How will my body be resurrected after it’s dust?”
And that’s the reason why the Old Testament reading for today is Ezekiel, Chapter 37, verses 1–14, because it’s about the power of God’s Word.
God tells Ezekiel to prophesy to a valley of dry bones.
They hear his call, and obey him.
The word of the prophet is powerful because it is the Word of the Creator, of God.
Here, death itself is undone.
This is no resuscitation, but a re-creation of the very flesh and sinews necessary for human life.
God says something to each one of us here.
He says, “And you shall know that I am the Lord when I open your graves, and raise you from them, O my people. And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live… then you shall know that I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it…”
Christ raises Lazarus.
In the painting on the first page of your service bulletin, you see Lazarus in his grave clothing.
The clothes are bright, illuminated it would appear, by the Word and power of Jesus.
The face is still covered.
And that allows us to imagine anyone being in those grave clothes.
Our loved ones, even one day ourselves, when Christ calls out to us to arise, and raises us in the bodily resurrection.
When He raises believers who received faith in Him as the Saviour who paid for our sins.
Faith in Him who is the living resurrection.
Faith that Christ has the power to overcome death, and that He keeps His word.
As the Apostle Paul reassured us, “…the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 6:23)
May this reassurance and certainty of His resurrection, and your own, be with you this day, and throughout your life.
Amen.
PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH
SERVICE OF THE SACRAMENT Page 194 SANCTUS (Holy, Holy, Holy) Page 195 THE LORD'S PRAYER Page 196 THE WORDS OF OUR LORD Page 197 AGNUS DEI (The Lamb of God) Page 198
THE DISTRIBUTION
NUNC DIMITTIS (Song of Simeon) Page 199 THE THANKSGIVING Page 200 POST-COMMUNION COLLECT (Right-Hand-Column) Page 201 SALUTATION and BENEDICAMUS Page 201 THE BENEDICTION Page 202
CLOSING HYMN: 548 “Thanks to Thee, O Christ, Victorious”
Alberta bill will ban MAID for all non-terminal conditions and minors
OTTAWA — Alberta is proposing sweeping restrictions to medical assistance in dying (MAID) that would prohibit doctor-assisted suicide in cases where death isn’t reasonably foreseeable, as well for min
THE FOURTH SUNDAY IN LENT
March 15, 2026
Pastor Tom Steer
Christ the Saviour Lutheran Church, Toronto
Divine Service Setting III (Pages 184-202)
... View MoreTHE FOURTH SUNDAY IN LENT
March 15, 2026
Pastor Tom Steer
Christ the Saviour Lutheran Church, Toronto
Divine Service Setting III (Pages 184-202)
Lutheran Service Book
OUR OPENING HYMN: 398 “Hail to the Lord’s Anointed”
Confession and Absolution Page 184
THE INTROIT
Psalm 27, verses 4-6; antiphon Psalm 25:15
15My eyes are ever toward the Lord,
for he will pluck my feet out of the net. 4One thing have I asked of the LORD,
that will I seek after:
that I may dwell in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD
and to inquire in his temple. 5 For he will hide me in his shelter
in the day of trouble;
he will conceal me under the cover of his tent;
he will lift me high upon a rock.
6 And now my head shall be lifted up
above my enemies all around me,
and I will offer in his tent
sacrifices with shouts of joy;
I will sing and make melody to the LORD. 7 Hear, O LORD, when I cry aloud;
be gracious to me and answer me!
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.
15My eyes are ever toward the Lord,
for he will pluck my feet out of the net.
THE KYRIE – (Lord Have Mercy)
Lord, have mercy upon us.
Christ, have mercy upon us.
Lord, have mercy upon us.
THE SALUTATION:
Pastor: The Lord be with you.
Congregation: And with thy Spirit.
Pastor: Let us pray.
COLLECT PRAYER:
Almighty God, our heavenly Father, your mercies are new every morning; and though we deserve only punishment, You receive us as Your children and provide for all our needs of body and soul. Grant that we may heartily acknowledge Your merciful goodness, give thanks for all Your benefits, and serve you in willing obedience; through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
OUR BIBLE READINGS:
First Reading – Isaiah 42:14-21
Psalm 142; antiphon v. 5
Epistle Reading – Ephesians 5:8-14
Gospel Reading – John 9:1-41
THE APOSTLES’ CREED Page 192
HYMN OF THE DAY: 849 “Praise the One Who Breaks the Darkness”
THE SERMON –
Jesus Christ is the light that shines in the darkness.
His light reveals salvation, and a new life, both in this world, and for life eternal.
That’s the Gospel message for today, written by the Apostle John.
In the ancient world physical blindness was more common.
In the modern world, spiritual blindness, caused by unbelief, has largely taken its place.
Today, we live in a society where light is as close as the flip of a switch.
And so, we often don’t think about how marvelous light in the darkness is.
We only get a glimpse of it when we’re faced with a blackout, or we go camping, and our flashlight fails.
The ancient world was without street lights, electricity, or batteries.
The flame from a hand-held lamp like the one pictured in your service bulletin was often all that stood between you and total darkness.
The lamp pictured in your bulletin, by the way, was excavated from a First Century house in Israel.
A home might have 10 or more of them.
The occupants of a Christian home in the late First and Second centuries would go from room to room at dusk, and as they lit their lamps, they would often sing a hymn.
The hymn they’d most often sing is in the evening prayer setting of the Lutheran Service Book.
It’s in the ‘Service of Light’ on page 244.
We’re going to recite it together later in our service.
It was called the Phos Hilarion or “Joyous Light.”
Every night when the members of a Christian household lit their lamps, they would sing about Jesus, the Light of the World.
Can you imagine how much richer our lives would be if we remembered Christ every time we turned on a light?
The Apostle John began his Gospel, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
He was in the beginning with God.
All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made.
In him was life, and the life was the light of men.
The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
We can think of these opening words of John’s Gospel, that, by the way, reflect the opening words of Genesis when God creates light, as we turn now to the Gospel passage for today – John, Chapter 9.
The chapter is constructed in a series of scenes.
First, Jesus and His disciples encounter a blind man – a man truly without light.
The disciples ask a question, and they make a mistake that people still do today.
They see misfortune in their own lives, or someone else’s, and they ask what they did.
Whose fault is it?
Like the friends of the Biblical Job, they believe that someone who meets with tragedy or difficulty has brought it on themselves.
Jesus will hear none of this, and begins a spiritual teaching to dispel their own darkness.
Christ says He is the Light of the World.
And while the light shines, it is good to work.
Jesus spits on some mud and smears it on the blind man’s eyes, and sends him to wash in the pool of Siloam, which means “sent.”
By the way, this pool was found exactly where the Bible says it was during an excavation in Jerusalem in 2004.
So, the blind man follows Jesus’ instructions, and returns with his sight.
How do people react?
They ask, is this really the guy who was blind?
Some say, ‘yes.’
Others insist ‘no,’ he only looks like him.
But the blind man is adamant.
He says, “I am the fellow who was blind.”
The people pose a question – ‘how did you come to see?’
He replies, “The man, Jesus, made mud, and put it on my eyes … and now I see!”
Our next scene is the formerly blind man, and the spiritually blind Pharisees – and their response to this miracle.
Their reaction to this act of grace and compassion by Jesus is to criticize and condemn Him.
They say, “What’s going on here.
This man was cured of his blindness on a Sabbath, and that’s against the rules.”
So, the Pharisees call Christ a sinner.
Meanwhile, the blind man’s spiritual sight is getting clearer, and he says this man Jesus is a prophet.
He’s overjoyed.
But word is out.
The Pharisees are looking for someone to blame.
And if anyone goes along with this account of healing, they’re going to get thrown out of the synagogue, or worse.
They interrogate him again.
“How did he open your eyes?”
Finally, the man responds with a touch of irony.
“Why do you want to hear it again?
Do you also want to become his disciples?”
The question enrages them.
They falsely claim they’re disciples of Moses.
They insist they don’t know where Jesus comes from.
And at this point the formerly blind man says something astonishing.
“Why, this is an amazing thing.
You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes.”
Then he says something even more profound.
“If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.”
The man who was once blind now sees far more clearly than the Pharisees.
So, they respond the only way they know how.
They cast him out.
But that isn’t the end of the account.
Jesus hears about what’s happened.
He seeks the man out.
And when He finds him, He asks a question.
“Do you believe in the Son of Man?”
The answer.
“And who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?”
Jesus replies, “You have seen him, and it is he who is speaking to you.”
At that moment, the man’s sight becomes complete.
He says, “Lord, I believe.”
And he worships Jesus.
That is the true miracle of this story.
A blind man receives sight.
A sinner receives faith.
A man who once sat in darkness now worships the true Son of God.
Throughout the Old Testament, the prophets foretold that when the Messiah came, the blind would see.
Isaiah declared that the coming Servant of the Lord would open the eyes of the blind and bring prisoners out of darkness.
So, when Jesus restores sight to this man, He is revealing who He truly is.
He is the promised Messiah.
He is the Light of the World.
But this story is not only about one healed man.
It’s also about us.
Because the truth is, every one of us was born blind.
Not physically, but spiritually blind.
By nature, we cannot see our sin clearly.
We can’t see God rightly.
We cannot find our way to Him.
Scripture says we once walked in darkness.
But God has not left us in that darkness.
Through His Son, He has brought us into the light.
Through His Word and through Holy Baptism, He has opened our eyes.
The early church fathers saw a connection between this miracle and Baptism.
They noticed that Jesus used earthly elements.
He used mud, and then He sent the man to wash in water.
And through that washing, sight was given.
In the same way, Christ uses simple water joined with His Word in our Baptism.
And through this washing, He opens blind eyes.
He delivers us from the dominion of darkness.
He brings us into His marvelous light.
That is why the Apostle Paul says in Ephesians (5:8), “For at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord.”
Once we were blind.
But now we see our sin, and our need for mercy.
And most importantly, we see our Saviour.
We see the One who carried our sins to the cross.
The One who rose from the grave.
The One who calls us His own.
And like the man in today’s Gospel, we receive the miracle of faith, and say, “Lord, I believe.”
So today, give thanks.
Because Christ has come into our darkness.
He’s opened our eyes.
He continues to shine His light through His Word.
And one day that light will lead us into eternal life with Christ.
Thanks be to God.
Amen.
PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH
PHOS HILARON (Hymn of Light) Page 244
SERVICE OF THE SACRAMENT Page 194
SANCTUS (Holy, Holy, Holy) Page 195 THE LORD'S PRAYER Page 196 THE WORDS OF OUR LORD Page 197 AGNUS DAY (Lamb of God) Page 198 THE DISTRIBUTION NUNC DIMITTIS Page 199 POST COMMUNION COLLECT Page 201 SALUTATION AND BENEDICAMUS Page 201 THE BENEDICTION Page 202
OUR CLOSING HYMN: 919 “Abide, O Dearest Jesus”
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