Unless stated otherwise, my source for hymn texts and tunes is The Lutheran Service Book.

Wednesday, September 12, 2018

LSB #428 "Cross of Jesus, Cross of Sorrow"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  John 19:17-30, Colossians 1:19-20, Philippians 2:5-11, Isaiah 53:10-11

John 19:17-30:  "So they took Jesus, 17 and he went out, bearing his own cross, to the place called The Place of a Skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgotha.  18 There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, and Jesus between them.  19 Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross.  It read, 'Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.'  20 Many of the Jews read this inscription, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and it was written in Aramaic, in Latin, and in Greek.  21 So the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, 'Do not write, "The King of the Jews," but rather, "This man said, I am King of the Jews."'  22 Pilate answered, 'What I have written I have written.'

"23 When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his garments and divided them into four parts, one part for each soldier; also his tunic.  But the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom, 24 so they said to one another, 'Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it shall be.'  This was to fulfill the Scripture which says, 'They divided my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.'  So the soldiers did these things, 25 but standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.  26 When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, 'Woman, behold, your son!'  27 Then he said to the disciple, 'Behold, your mother!'  And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home.

"28 After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), 'I thirst.'  29 A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth.  30 When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, 'It is finished,' and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit."

Colossians 1:19-20:  "19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross."

Philippians 2:5-11:  "5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.  8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.  9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

Isaiah 53:10-11:  "10 Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.  11 Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities."

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The text is public domain:
Cross of Jesus, cross of sorrow,
Where the blood of Christ was shed,
Perfect man on thee did suffer,
Perfect God on thee has bled!
Here the King of all the ages,
Throned in light ere worlds could be,
Robed in mortal flesh is dying,
Crucified by sin for me.
O mysterious condescending!
O abandonment sublime!
Very God Himself is bearing
All the sufferings of time!
Cross of Jesus, cross of sorrow,
Where the blood of Christ was shed,
Perfect man on thee did suffer,
Perfect God on thee has bled!
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While the hymn is about Jesus' crucifixion and all of the Biblical texts cited also mention this, there aren't many textual similarities between the Biblical texts and the hymn.  "Being born in the likeness of men" from Philippians 2:7 seems to appear as "Robed in mortal flesh" in the second verse, and "taking the form of a servant" from the same verse is called "mysterious condescending" at the beginning of the hymn's third verse.

"Very God Himself is bearing / All the sufferings of time" in the third verse resembles "he shall bear their iniquities" from Isaiah 53:11, and the entirety of "All the sufferings of time" seems to be connected to "reconcil[ing] to himself all things" from Colossians 1:20.