Jeremiah 23:5-8; Romans 13:8-14; St Matthew 21:1-9
In the Name + of JESUS. Amen.
Zechariah’s line is the essence of Christianity: Behold, your king is coming to you.
Advent, of course is derived from the Latin word for coming. Though this short preparatory season culminates in the celebration of our Lord’s first coming in Bethlehem, during Advent we often speak of a threefold coming of Christ. He came in flesh, in a body, born of the Virgin to be a sacrifice for sins. He will come again in flesh, in His body, on the Last Day to judge the living and the dead. And He comes now, in flesh, in His body, in to the Holy Communion.
The Lord who comes in His crucified and risen body in the Holy Communion also comes in His Word. He is present in the preaching of His Church and in the Holy Scriptures. He comes with His Holy Spirit in the name of the Father in Holy Baptism where He makes sinners into His temple. He comes in the Holy Absolution. He is present in holy marriage, in the bond of family and the fellowship of His saints; He abides in the hearts of His people.
This is nothing new. Zechariah said, Your king is coming to you. But our Lord was present with His people long before His incarnation. He was the Rock that gave them drink. He was the Pillar that led them through the wilderness. He was in the Holy of Holies, residing atop the mercy seat, shielding His people from the accusations of the Law and covering over their sins, accepting their prayers and praise through the shedding of blood. He is the Lord who walked in the garden in the cool of the day and spoke from the burning bush.
Notice the power, the strength displayed in all these theophanies. But once the Lord came in the flesh, once He took up our cause in the Virgin’s womb, He became meek; almost embarrassingly so. When resistance to His ministry mounted, He withdrew. Five times in Matthew’s Gospel our Lord withdrew. Five times the Lord runs away. When Joseph heard what Herod planned, the Lord fled, out of Bethlehem to Egypt. When He heard that John had been arrested, He fled to Galilee. When He heard that the Pharisees were conspiring to kill Him, He fled. When He heard that John had been killed, He fled into the desert. And after the Pharisees challenged Him in Gennesaret, He fled to the region of Tyre and Sidon. Finally, when they come to get Him in the garden, He submits like a sheep to the slaughter.
And then on Palm Sunday, He comes. Humble, mounted on a donkey. And yet, at the same time, forceful. He will not be stopped. He tells them what will happen and the disciples go to retrieve the donkey and her colt just as Jesus told them. And then, without anyone telling them what to do, the people spontaneously pave the road with their cloaks and branches. They reenact the coronation of David’s son, King Solomon, only this time its fulfillment in David’s Lord, He who was born King of the Jews. They shout, Hosanna to the Son of David! They confess Him to be the king even though they don’t really know what that means.
But they know something is up and something isn’t right. Even as they offer Him praise and tribute they shake in fear. He is humble, but there is a power in Him, they sensed it in His Sermon on the Mount. It is a power that is being stirred up against the devil, against sin and death, in order to rescue us. He is coming.
But we, like they, aren’t sure we want to be rescued. How can we stand in His presence and not be destroyed? How can we stand in His presence and keep our selfish ways? Every time He came on the scene in the Old Testament His wrath and anger burned against sin. The Flood. Babel. The Plagues. The Passover. You know the commandments, but you enjoy or at least derive short lived pleasure from the works of darkness.
We are right to be afraid. Your king is coming to you, but how shall you meet Him and welcome Him aright?
The Lord withdrew during His earthly ministry not because He was weak or cowardly but because He is the high priest and king. No one takes His life from Him. He lays it down of His own accord at the proper time and in the proper way. He rides toward His kingdom and His power and His glory. He rides to His Cross. It is terrible to behold, yet it is great and it is good. He does not take His kingdom by force or by violence, though it certainly comes by violence. He suffers for it. For this reason He comes. For this reason He was born. He endures violence to win His kingdom back. He pays for it with His own blood. Behold your king is coming to you and there is no going back.
Hosanna means save us in Hebrew. It comes from a Psalm of ascent, Psalm 118, when the people of Israel climbed the Temple Mount for the feasts. That is what the people are shouting as He rides. They are asking Him to save them. Whether they know it or not they are asking Him to go and die. The next verse of the Psalm makes it plain: Bind the festal sacrifice with cords, up to the horns of the altar! (Ps 118:27).
They may not want to be rescued, they may be terrified of the costs, but it doesn’t matter. He is not riding because they want it or even ask to be rescued. His Father wants them rescued and He fulfills the Father’s will. He is the Lord who comes. And He will not be stopped simply because they, and we, are not worthy or to fearful. He will not leave things along. He comes to seek and to save.
Repent, therefore, the king draws near. Salvation is nearer now than when you first believed! The night is far gone; the day is at hand. Cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.
Rejoice, your king is coming to you. He will not pretend everything is okay or that you don’t desperately need Him. He is the king who comes; in love in order to fulfill the Law.
So He comes to earth, not in a burning bush or a pillar of fire, but through a virgin - a weak and crying baby in need of His mother’s love. He comes in weakness and humility to be nailed to a Cross and left there to die. He comes, though weak as He mighty be, with power unlike any other. He is purposeful and certain. He comes to run His course with joy. Winning the victory in His flesh. He knows what He is doing. And so it is that He comes alive out of death.
And then the really great surprise: He comes out of death to the fearful, failing disciples, and He is not mad. He holds no grudge. The violence is over. All has been done to Him in their stead. So He comes gentle and kind, reconciling and peaceful, with a compassionate power to make whole all your ills of flesh and soul.
Zechariah was right: Your king is coming to you. And what a king He is! You do not go to Him. You do not know the way or have the strength. He comes to you. He seeks. He saves. He does what you could never do. He makes you His own. In moments He will come, gentle and tender, binding up your wounds and feeding you on His Body and Blood, out of the grave, given for life and love.
And soon He will come again, not humble, not riding on a donkey, not hidden in bread and wine or wrapped in swaddling clothes, not fleeing to the mountains, but in glory and power and might. Hosanna, Son of David! Hosanna! Come, Lord Jesus! Come quickly!
In the Name of the Father and + of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
In the Name + of JESUS. Amen.
Zechariah’s line is the essence of Christianity: Behold, your king is coming to you.
Advent, of course is derived from the Latin word for coming. Though this short preparatory season culminates in the celebration of our Lord’s first coming in Bethlehem, during Advent we often speak of a threefold coming of Christ. He came in flesh, in a body, born of the Virgin to be a sacrifice for sins. He will come again in flesh, in His body, on the Last Day to judge the living and the dead. And He comes now, in flesh, in His body, in to the Holy Communion.
The Lord who comes in His crucified and risen body in the Holy Communion also comes in His Word. He is present in the preaching of His Church and in the Holy Scriptures. He comes with His Holy Spirit in the name of the Father in Holy Baptism where He makes sinners into His temple. He comes in the Holy Absolution. He is present in holy marriage, in the bond of family and the fellowship of His saints; He abides in the hearts of His people.
This is nothing new. Zechariah said, Your king is coming to you. But our Lord was present with His people long before His incarnation. He was the Rock that gave them drink. He was the Pillar that led them through the wilderness. He was in the Holy of Holies, residing atop the mercy seat, shielding His people from the accusations of the Law and covering over their sins, accepting their prayers and praise through the shedding of blood. He is the Lord who walked in the garden in the cool of the day and spoke from the burning bush.
Notice the power, the strength displayed in all these theophanies. But once the Lord came in the flesh, once He took up our cause in the Virgin’s womb, He became meek; almost embarrassingly so. When resistance to His ministry mounted, He withdrew. Five times in Matthew’s Gospel our Lord withdrew. Five times the Lord runs away. When Joseph heard what Herod planned, the Lord fled, out of Bethlehem to Egypt. When He heard that John had been arrested, He fled to Galilee. When He heard that the Pharisees were conspiring to kill Him, He fled. When He heard that John had been killed, He fled into the desert. And after the Pharisees challenged Him in Gennesaret, He fled to the region of Tyre and Sidon. Finally, when they come to get Him in the garden, He submits like a sheep to the slaughter.
And then on Palm Sunday, He comes. Humble, mounted on a donkey. And yet, at the same time, forceful. He will not be stopped. He tells them what will happen and the disciples go to retrieve the donkey and her colt just as Jesus told them. And then, without anyone telling them what to do, the people spontaneously pave the road with their cloaks and branches. They reenact the coronation of David’s son, King Solomon, only this time its fulfillment in David’s Lord, He who was born King of the Jews. They shout, Hosanna to the Son of David! They confess Him to be the king even though they don’t really know what that means.
But they know something is up and something isn’t right. Even as they offer Him praise and tribute they shake in fear. He is humble, but there is a power in Him, they sensed it in His Sermon on the Mount. It is a power that is being stirred up against the devil, against sin and death, in order to rescue us. He is coming.
But we, like they, aren’t sure we want to be rescued. How can we stand in His presence and not be destroyed? How can we stand in His presence and keep our selfish ways? Every time He came on the scene in the Old Testament His wrath and anger burned against sin. The Flood. Babel. The Plagues. The Passover. You know the commandments, but you enjoy or at least derive short lived pleasure from the works of darkness.
We are right to be afraid. Your king is coming to you, but how shall you meet Him and welcome Him aright?
The Lord withdrew during His earthly ministry not because He was weak or cowardly but because He is the high priest and king. No one takes His life from Him. He lays it down of His own accord at the proper time and in the proper way. He rides toward His kingdom and His power and His glory. He rides to His Cross. It is terrible to behold, yet it is great and it is good. He does not take His kingdom by force or by violence, though it certainly comes by violence. He suffers for it. For this reason He comes. For this reason He was born. He endures violence to win His kingdom back. He pays for it with His own blood. Behold your king is coming to you and there is no going back.
Hosanna means save us in Hebrew. It comes from a Psalm of ascent, Psalm 118, when the people of Israel climbed the Temple Mount for the feasts. That is what the people are shouting as He rides. They are asking Him to save them. Whether they know it or not they are asking Him to go and die. The next verse of the Psalm makes it plain: Bind the festal sacrifice with cords, up to the horns of the altar! (Ps 118:27).
They may not want to be rescued, they may be terrified of the costs, but it doesn’t matter. He is not riding because they want it or even ask to be rescued. His Father wants them rescued and He fulfills the Father’s will. He is the Lord who comes. And He will not be stopped simply because they, and we, are not worthy or to fearful. He will not leave things along. He comes to seek and to save.
Repent, therefore, the king draws near. Salvation is nearer now than when you first believed! The night is far gone; the day is at hand. Cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.
Rejoice, your king is coming to you. He will not pretend everything is okay or that you don’t desperately need Him. He is the king who comes; in love in order to fulfill the Law.
So He comes to earth, not in a burning bush or a pillar of fire, but through a virgin - a weak and crying baby in need of His mother’s love. He comes in weakness and humility to be nailed to a Cross and left there to die. He comes, though weak as He mighty be, with power unlike any other. He is purposeful and certain. He comes to run His course with joy. Winning the victory in His flesh. He knows what He is doing. And so it is that He comes alive out of death.
And then the really great surprise: He comes out of death to the fearful, failing disciples, and He is not mad. He holds no grudge. The violence is over. All has been done to Him in their stead. So He comes gentle and kind, reconciling and peaceful, with a compassionate power to make whole all your ills of flesh and soul.
Zechariah was right: Your king is coming to you. And what a king He is! You do not go to Him. You do not know the way or have the strength. He comes to you. He seeks. He saves. He does what you could never do. He makes you His own. In moments He will come, gentle and tender, binding up your wounds and feeding you on His Body and Blood, out of the grave, given for life and love.
And soon He will come again, not humble, not riding on a donkey, not hidden in bread and wine or wrapped in swaddling clothes, not fleeing to the mountains, but in glory and power and might. Hosanna, Son of David! Hosanna! Come, Lord Jesus! Come quickly!
In the Name of the Father and + of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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