LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 2023, Page 78

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Though he was God…
He emptied himself
And took the form of a servant, being born as a man.
And being found in human form,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to the point of death,
even death on a cross.

Before that list of “standing rules,” Paul begins by saying,
“If there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort
from love, any participation in the Spirit… complete my
joy by being of the same mind …” (Phil 2:1–2)
“Any participation [κοινωνία] in the Spirit.”

That death on a cross, which resulted from the mind of
Christ, and is also yours in Christ Jesus, by virtue of faith
in Him—that death on a cross forgives your breaking of
these standing rules and your failure to exemplify the
mind of Christ, because Jesus’ blood was shed unto death
on that cross, as payment for your sin. That death on a
cross saves you from eternal destruction and makes you a
partaker of Christ’s eternal exaltation to the courts of
heaven!
WE PREACH CHRIST CRUCIFIED! And He is still the
Crucified One, even now that “… God has highly exalted
Him and bestowed on Him the name that is above every
name” (Phil. 2:9). As we sang in the hymn: “Rich wounds,
yet visible above” (LSB 525:3).
So how should we then live? How should we who have
been blessed with this incredible redemptive work that
resulted from the mind of Christ … how should we
conduct ourselves in the coming days and throughout our
lives? The answer is simple. We do what the Lord tells us
to do in His Word to us today through His servant Paul.

In 1 Corinthians 6, Paul says that “… he who is joined to
the Lord becomes one spirit with Him” (1 Cor. 6:17). And
later in that same epistle he says, “In one Spirit we were
all baptized into one body… and all were made to drink of
one Spirit” (1 Cor. 12:13).
In Holy Baptism, you and I have been given κοινωνία in
the Spirit.
And in one Spirit, we have been “joined to the Lord” who
emptied Himself and took the form of a servant.

Thus, [today and every day], to God the Holy Spirit let us
pray that the new man in each of us, created in that same
Baptism, would daily emerge and arise to live before God
in righteousness and purity forever, empowering us…
…to be of the same mind with one another,
…in full accord and of one mind,
…doing nothing from rivalry or conceit,
…but in humility, counting others
more significant than ourselves.
In the name of Christ crucified. Amen!

Bound to Us by Him
MATTHEW 27:32–44

LCMS Third Vice-President Rev. Dr. Scott R. Murray
68th Regular Convention of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod • July 30, 2023 • Midday Prayer
As they went out, they found a man of Cyrene,
Simon by name. They compelled this man to carry
his cross. And when they came to a place called
Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull), they
offered him wine to drink, mixed with gall, but
when he tasted it, he would not drink it. And
when they had crucified him, they divided his
garments among them by casting lots. Then they
sat down and kept watch over him there. And over
his head they put the charge against him, which
read, “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.” Then
two robbers were crucified with him, one on the
right and one on the left. And those who passed by
derided him, wagging their heads and saying,
“You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it
in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of
78 | PROCEEDINGS OF THE 2023 (68TH) LCMS CONVENTION

God, come down from the cross.” So also the chief
priests, with the scribes and elders, mocked him,
saying, “He saved others; he cannot save himself.
He is the King of Israel; let him come down now
from the cross, and we will believe in him. He
trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he
desires him. For he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’”
And the robbers who were crucified with him also
reviled him in the same way. (Matt. 27:32–44)
The One who need not have been bound by chains and
cords was bound by men who sought His death. The One
who was the power of God refused to let that power bring
Him rescue. The One who refused to save Himself did so
to save those who mocked Him. The One who had no fear
of death became subject to death. The One who had no
vices wrapped Himself in ours that He might free us from
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