Jeremiah 23:5-8/St Matthew 21:1-9
“What the Bible Says About Christ”
In the Name + of JESUS. Amen.
Lift up your heads, O gates! And be lifted up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is this King of glory?, the psalmist asks. Yahweh Sabaoth. Meshiach. Jesu Cristi. Christ is simply the Greek translation of the Hebrew word for Messiah. Both words mean “the Anointed One,” or we could say, “the Crowned One,” “the King.” This is the Jewish name for the Lord whom God had promised through the prophets. It was upon His shoulders that the government would rest. And His kingdom would be established and upheld “with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore.”
When the crowds that went before Him and followed after Him on the Mount of Olives shouted, Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord, even the King of Israel, they were paying tribute to the Messiah; they were praying to Yahweh Sabaoth, the Lord of Hosts, for salvation and deliverance.
The Church offers this same tribute to her Lord on the first Sunday in Advent; she prays this prayer daily and in great earnest. The lessons for this week - Ad Te Levavi, that is, to you I lift, from the Psalm: To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul. O my God, in you I trust; let me not be put to shame. Indeed none who wait for You shall be put to shame - this is the same as our Hosanna, today and everyday, the cry, the shout, that Jesus is the Christ, He is God’s Messiah, the Promised One who would come, our Emmanuel, our King.
Pilate inquired of our Lord, So, You are a king? And Jesus answered: You say that I am a King. For this purpose I was born and for this reason I have come into the world (Jn 18:37). It was no accident that Jesus was born of the house and line of David, of royal blood, as the prophet Jeremiah proclaims.
And yet He was not just a descendant of royalty. He Himself says to the Pharisees that even King David called Lord. Again the prophet proclaims, This is the name by which He will be called: The Lord is our Righteousness. This King existed in the time of David, yes even before Abraham was, I Am. He is the Lord over all. For the earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof (Ps 24:1). All of previous history had its goal and fulfillment in Him. Since man has risen in defiance of God, God planned this way - the only way of salvation for His children. Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? And who shall stand in His Holy Place? (Ps 24:3). In the fullness of time God sent forth His Son. All of the long preparation of Israel, all their waiting, has its meaning only because it pointed forward and prepared the way for Christ, the Messiah, the King of glory.
Indeed He is the Way! For through the entrance of Christ into the world something decisive took place in history. And it is at this place that everyone is forced to reckon with history; this is the crux of the universe: Who is this King of glory?
To spurn the great invitation of God is to turn away from Him. The enemies of Jesus felt that this was a place where commitment was called for. Even He Himself said, Whoever is not with Me is against Me, and whoever does not gather with Me scatters (Mt 12:30). Their chief accusation against Him was: He claims to be the Messiah, a king.
For a long time they sought to evade the question. After the triumphal entry, however, they asked Him, By what authority are You doing these things, and who gave You with authority? But Jesus put to them the question concerning John’s baptism - was it from heaven or from man? They refused to answer. They sat the fence.
But when they were finally forced to face with the power of His works they declared that He was in league with evil spirits and practiced necromancy.
At last the high priest asked a direction question, Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed? (Mk 14:61). When Jesus answered affirmatively they condemned Him to death. They had two options: either they must acclaim Him as King, or they must declare that He spoke blasphemy. The high priest made the decision for them, speaking for them all. They would not submit to the power of Jesus.
We too try to avoid the question in our day. At the last we will have to make the answer. As it is written, He was in the form of God, but did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, by taking on the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus the Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Phil 2:6-10).
What God has done here in Christ the King, the Lord Messiah, is for your own sake. Thus does Christ as you as He asked the twelve: Who do you say that I am? (Mt 16:15). May God grant unto you the good confession of Jesus Christ, His Son, our Lord, who together with the Father and the Holy Spirit, be glory now and unto the ages. Amen.
“What the Bible Says About Christ”
In the Name + of JESUS. Amen.
Lift up your heads, O gates! And be lifted up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is this King of glory?, the psalmist asks. Yahweh Sabaoth. Meshiach. Jesu Cristi. Christ is simply the Greek translation of the Hebrew word for Messiah. Both words mean “the Anointed One,” or we could say, “the Crowned One,” “the King.” This is the Jewish name for the Lord whom God had promised through the prophets. It was upon His shoulders that the government would rest. And His kingdom would be established and upheld “with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore.”
When the crowds that went before Him and followed after Him on the Mount of Olives shouted, Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord, even the King of Israel, they were paying tribute to the Messiah; they were praying to Yahweh Sabaoth, the Lord of Hosts, for salvation and deliverance.
The Church offers this same tribute to her Lord on the first Sunday in Advent; she prays this prayer daily and in great earnest. The lessons for this week - Ad Te Levavi, that is, to you I lift, from the Psalm: To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul. O my God, in you I trust; let me not be put to shame. Indeed none who wait for You shall be put to shame - this is the same as our Hosanna, today and everyday, the cry, the shout, that Jesus is the Christ, He is God’s Messiah, the Promised One who would come, our Emmanuel, our King.
Pilate inquired of our Lord, So, You are a king? And Jesus answered: You say that I am a King. For this purpose I was born and for this reason I have come into the world (Jn 18:37). It was no accident that Jesus was born of the house and line of David, of royal blood, as the prophet Jeremiah proclaims.
And yet He was not just a descendant of royalty. He Himself says to the Pharisees that even King David called Lord. Again the prophet proclaims, This is the name by which He will be called: The Lord is our Righteousness. This King existed in the time of David, yes even before Abraham was, I Am. He is the Lord over all. For the earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof (Ps 24:1). All of previous history had its goal and fulfillment in Him. Since man has risen in defiance of God, God planned this way - the only way of salvation for His children. Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? And who shall stand in His Holy Place? (Ps 24:3). In the fullness of time God sent forth His Son. All of the long preparation of Israel, all their waiting, has its meaning only because it pointed forward and prepared the way for Christ, the Messiah, the King of glory.
Indeed He is the Way! For through the entrance of Christ into the world something decisive took place in history. And it is at this place that everyone is forced to reckon with history; this is the crux of the universe: Who is this King of glory?
To spurn the great invitation of God is to turn away from Him. The enemies of Jesus felt that this was a place where commitment was called for. Even He Himself said, Whoever is not with Me is against Me, and whoever does not gather with Me scatters (Mt 12:30). Their chief accusation against Him was: He claims to be the Messiah, a king.
For a long time they sought to evade the question. After the triumphal entry, however, they asked Him, By what authority are You doing these things, and who gave You with authority? But Jesus put to them the question concerning John’s baptism - was it from heaven or from man? They refused to answer. They sat the fence.
But when they were finally forced to face with the power of His works they declared that He was in league with evil spirits and practiced necromancy.
At last the high priest asked a direction question, Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed? (Mk 14:61). When Jesus answered affirmatively they condemned Him to death. They had two options: either they must acclaim Him as King, or they must declare that He spoke blasphemy. The high priest made the decision for them, speaking for them all. They would not submit to the power of Jesus.
We too try to avoid the question in our day. At the last we will have to make the answer. As it is written, He was in the form of God, but did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, by taking on the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus the Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Phil 2:6-10).
What God has done here in Christ the King, the Lord Messiah, is for your own sake. Thus does Christ as you as He asked the twelve: Who do you say that I am? (Mt 16:15). May God grant unto you the good confession of Jesus Christ, His Son, our Lord, who together with the Father and the Holy Spirit, be glory now and unto the ages. Amen.
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