Look! Your King comes for you.

Sermon for Advent 1, December 1, 2019

Grace to you and peace from Him who is, who was, and who is coming.  Amen.

Matthew 21:1-9  As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, ²telling them, “Go to the village ahead of you.  Immediately you will find a donkey tied there along with her colt.  Untie them and bring them to me.  ³If anyone says anything to you, you are to say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.”  ⁴This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet: ⁵Tell the daughter of Zion: Look, your King comes to you, humble, and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.  ⁶The disciples went and did just as Jesus commanded them.  ⁷They brought the donkey and the colt, laid their outer clothing on them, and he sat on it.  ⁸A very large crowd spread their outer clothing on the road.  Others were cutting branches from the trees and spreading them out on the road.  ⁹The crowds who went in front of him and those who followed kept shouting, Hosanna to the Son of David!  Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!  Hosanna in the highest! (EHV)

Look!  Your King comes for you.

Dear friends in Christ,

            For some reason, being ruled by a king seems to be an ongoing fear of the American people.  If you doubt that statement, please note that conspiracy theorists have busily warned about just such a danger during the terms of at least the last four presidents.  Some people have a knack for misidentifying policy decisions as devious plots to set up a monarchy.  But, why do you suppose we fear a king’s reign so much?  Is it because of our national history of escaping the rule of a monarchy?  Or is it because we fear the power a king commands?

When the nation of Israel demanded a king instead of being ruled by the Lord, Samuel warned the people that from them a king would take and take and take.  Whatever king would rule over them would take their sons as soldiers; their servants, sons, and daughters would be forced to serve the king and his officials, and the king would take property and force taxes upon them to the point that the oppression would become unbearable. (1 Samuel 8:9-18)

This morning, we kick off a new church year.  The first half of the church year is set up to show us the life of our King, and the second half is intended to show how we should live in His kingdom.  Accordingly, the message of our text this morning is, Look!  Your King comes for you.

Now, as I said, we often fear the control of a monarch.  At the same time, people very often want what they think a king can do.  Those ancient Israelites of Samuel’s time hoped their new king would govern justly, give protection from their enemies, and generally make their lives easier.  Later, the Judeans of Jesus’ day hoped to make Him king so that he could provide for their needs miraculously without labor or cost to themselves.  It is a serious fault in our times that so many people expect the government, whether a monarchy or not, to do and to act almost god-like in providing services, but each competing faction expects the government to be answerable solely to their own ideology.  In other words, we each want control.  Likewise, people, sometimes even Christians, fall into the trap of thinking that God should obey our desires as if we are king over Him.

That long-ago day outside Jerusalem, our King was heralded in a great parade as He approached Jerusalem for the Passover festival that would change the history of the world.  Matthew reported, “This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet: ‘Tell the daughter of Zion: Look, your King comes to you, humble, and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’” 

So, what do you suppose we should expect if ruled by a king?  If Jesus is our King, shouldn’t we be expecting that He would demand our allegiance?  Shouldn’t we obey His every command and wish?  Shouldn’t we expect Him to demand revenue from us?  Shouldn’t He be leading us in battle against our enemies?  And if He is truly a benevolent King, couldn’t we expect Him to be giving us all good things, keeping us from every harm and danger, and basically making sure we have good lives?

There is, however, something quite unusual about this King that comes to us outside of Jerusalem that day.  Jesus didn’t come at the head of a conquering army.  A few decades later, the Judeans would see Roman armies make that assault.  But, not Jesus.  Jesus entered just as prophesied—humble and riding on the colt of a donkey.

Our text says, “Look, your King comes to you.”  That is a correct translation, but it could just as correctly be translated, “Look, your King comes for you.”  Yes, Jesus comes to us to be our King to whom we owe unwavering allegiance, but Jesus didn’t ride into town demanding our service, our money, our submission.  Instead, Jesus came to serve on our behalf. 

Only a little while before He rode into town on that young donkey, Jesus told His followers, “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:28)  How completely different our King is compared to any earthly king, even King David on whose throne Jesus reigns forever. 

Our King didn’t take up the reigns of power by military conquest.  Our King doesn’t satisfy His own needs.  Rather, our King lived to set us free.  He lived to take away the sin that enslaved us and the curse of sin which is death.  Jesus lived and died to set us free from the devil’s control.  Jesus entered our world by setting aside His royal rights as the One true Son of God Almighty in order to humble Himself to live among us as an ordinary man.  Then, as a Man, Jesus lived the perfect submission to God’s will that so eludes us.  Jesus didn’t question His role.  He didn’t challenge His Father’s authority.  He humbly lived a holy life for you and me. 

As Jesus lived on earth, He also continued to maintain His role as true God.  The world didn’t stop spinning when the Son of God stepped down among us.  Seed time and harvest continued just as before.  But, for a time, the Man, Jesus, laid aside His power and His divine right, so that He could undo the damage done by the first Adam.  Then, having lived a life so holy the Father declared from heaven, “This is my Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased.  Listen to Him.” (Matthew 17:5), Jesus went resolutely forward knowing that He, our King, would be offered up as the Lamb of God who takes away all the sins of the world.

As Jesus rode on that little colt into Jerusalem that day, the people were excited.  They honored Jesus much like we would roll out the red carpet, today, for some grand dignitary.  They strewed the ground ahead of Jesus with their coats and tree branches.  The disciples themselves has covered the donkeys with their outer garments.  The vast throng of people shouted out with eager anticipation, “Hosanna to the Son of David!  Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!  Hosanna in the highest!”

The people had believed the prophecies.  Many believed Jesus was the rightful Son of David who would reign on David’s throne.  Those with some power in the locality, however, considered Jesus an imposter, but it didn’t really matter, because Jesus entered that city to lay down His life for them all.  The people got it right in this point: we should praise Jesus and welcome Him always.  We owe Jesus our obedience and our faithfulness no matter what He might ask us to give, or to do.  But, just like that day outside of Jerusalem, Jesus doesn’t demand those things.  Rather, He offers us His blood and His body to remind us again and again of the life He gave so that we can live free.

Only a few days later, many of the people who shouted that great welcome for Jesus were the same ones who turned on Him shouting, “Crucify Him, crucify!” (Luke 23:21)  Most of the people had turned against Jesus because He didn’t measure up to their sinful expectations.  Yet, to win our rescue, Jesus did exactly as He and His Father in heaven had planned.

Dear friends, there is much for us to look forward to as we draw near to the celebration and remembrance of the birth of the Christ Child.  We can look forward to welcoming the King who has all the power in the universe at His command.  We can look forward to meeting our King face to face someday soon, for He will return to judge the world, both good and bad.  We can look forward to welcoming Jesus’ appearance and to singing His praises forever, not because our humble King demands it, but because He has earned our obedience, our faithfulness, our offerings of thanks and praise by laying down His life for His friends, for you and me.

Jesus told His disciples, “This is my command: Love one another as I have loved you.  No one has greater love than this: that someone lays down his life for his friends.  You are my friends if you continue to do the things I instruct you.” (John 15:12-14)  The commands our King gives us, come to us not to earn His appreciation, but to honor what He has done for us and for all.  This is why we serve Him.  This is why we trust His leadership and His care for us, because He has proven Himself true and trustworthy in all things.  He gave His life to make us right with God above and to give us a home, there, in His eternal kingdom.

The prophet, Isaiah, wrote, “Come now, and let us reason together, says the Lord.  Though your sins are like scarlet, they will be as white as snow.  Though they are as red as crimson, they will be like wool.” (Isaiah 1:18)  This is the work accomplished by our King, our Lord Jesus, “The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” (John 1:29)  Look!  Your King comes for you.  Amen.

The peace of God which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus unto life everlasting.  Amen.