First Sunday in Advent

Notes

Isaiah 2:1-5

Judah and Jerusalem

Mountain of the house of the LORD

lifted up above the hills

nations shall flow to it

Teach us his ways

walk in his paths

swords to plowshares, etc

God of Jacob, house of Jacob

Psalm 122

house of the Lord

tribes go up

Peace in your walls

Romans 3:(8-10), 11-14

[Owe nothing, rather love

Love fulfills the law]

Wake from sleep

Salvation is near

Out of darkness, armor of light

Put on Christ]

Matt 21: 1-11

Bethphage, Mount of Olives

Donkey and colt

the Lord needs them

Cloaks down

Branches

Hosanna (save now)

Son of David

He who comes in the name of the Lord

Who is this? Prophet Jesus from Nazareth of Galilee

Jesus is THE prophet

Where does the crowd come from?

English Standard Version Chapter 21

Behold, your king is coming to you,

humble, and mounted on a donkey,

on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden

Zech 9:9

Jesus is the promised Messiah

Matthew omits “righteous and having salvation is he”

Grace, mercy, and peace be yours from God, our Father, and from our Lord, Jesus, the Christ.

English Standard Version Chapter 21

Say to the daughter of Zion,

‘Behold, your king is coming to you,

humble, and mounted on a donkey,

on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’

Happy New Year! Some of you might be thinking “Oh man, Pr. DiLiberto let the vicar preach and he’s not off to a good start. It’s not even Christmas yet, let alone New Years.” But today is the beginning of a new year, a new church year. Today is the beginning of the season of Advent, the first season of the church year. During this season we focus on the coming of Jesus, for you. Your King is coming! There are three advents or comings of Jesus that the church focuses on each year during this time. First, the coming of Jesus as a baby born in Bethlehem about 2000 years ago. He was born ultimately to die for our justification, and to rise to assure us that we really are reconciled to the Father. This is probably the most obvious coming since it is directly connected to the next season of the church year, Christmas. But Jesus also comes to us now, here, today, in His Word and Sacraments given to us for our instruction, for our building up, and for our forgiveness. Lastly we also look forward to Jesus coming again in glory at the end of days to judge the living and the dead, to free the world from sin and death and to usher in His eternal kingdom.

I spent some time this week researching donkeys. Probably not what you might expect me to do the week of my first sermon. It certainly wasn’t what I was planning on spending my time on this week.

Donkeys are a strange sort of animal. They are generally used to carry things, whether some sort of goods or people. They aren’t particularly fast. They don’t have great pulling power. They can be pretty stubborn. I once took part in a fundraiser that was called Donkey Basketball. It’s exactly what it sounds like. People trying to play basketball while riding donkeys. The rules involved having to hold your donkey’s leash at all times, and not being allowed to shoot the ball unless you were actually on your donkey. It turned into unpredictable hilarity as many of the donkeys ended up either trotting at full speed wherever they wanted to go or not moving at all, while their rider tried to motivate them, usually unsuccessfully, to follow their commands. Despite the donkeys’ owners careful planning, sometimes one of the animals would “relieve” themselves on the actual basketball court. When that happened the game would be paused and the rider would have to clean up after his assigned beast of burden. I’m not sure if this sort of thing happens anymore. The 90s were a crazy time.

Our Gospel reading tells us that Jesus instructed His disciples to fetch a donkey with her colt and bring them to Him. But why a donkey? Wouldn’t a horse be better? Taller? More majestic? A bigger spectacle? Probably. But then again our Lord wasn’t trying to impress people with a majestic spectacle. Luther says “Here there is no violence, no armor, no power, no anger, no wrath.… Here there are only kindness, justice, salvation, mercy, and every good thing” TLSB study note Zech 9:9. Unlike me, in the 90s, Jesus has no issue with the donkey, or it’s owner, following His directions.

In the Old Testament, donkeys were ridden by Abraham, by the sons of Jacob, by Moses’ wife and sons, and most notably, by David and his household. David’s son Absalom tries to take his throne from his father and even takes over Jerusalem. David and his remaining family must flee the city. David departs, all but defeated, with a broken kingdom and a broken family.

Jesus rides into Jerusalem on a donkey, not defeated but intentionally humble. The Gospel according to Matthew includes the prophesy from Zechariah 9 that I read a few minutes ago, but he omits part of the passage. Zechariah says “Behold your king is coming to you, RIGHTEOUS AND HAVING SALVATION IS HE, humble and mounted on a donkey.” Many of the Jews in Jesus’ day were longing for a king, someone to set them free from the bondage of Rome, to reestablish David’s kingdom. He is called the Son of David easily enough, even in our text. But what kind of a king? Is He self-serving? Will He oppress the people like so many of Israel’s kings before? Or is He righteous? Does He bring salvation?

Isaiah gives us an amazing depiction. He foretells that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be the highest of any mountain. It shall be lifted up above any of the hills. Well, the highest mountain on earth right now is Mt Everest at about 29,000 ft. How does Jerusalem compare? The city is built on a mountain, or at least a hill, at an elevation of about 2,500 ft. What, then does Isaiah mean? This is exactly what God does all the time. He takes relatively ordinary things and ordinary people, and He makes them extraordinary by His action, by His Word, by His declaration. Isaiah is telling us that he house of the LORD shall be preeminent. It shall be exalted. It is lifted up because the LORD is there, not because of the physical location where it is found.

We know all too well here in the Las Vegas valley that water runs down from the mountains, sometimes causing flooding and unsafe conditions in the valley below, but Isaiah says that the nations shall flow up TO the mountain, up TO the house of the LORD. The temple is like a people magnet, attracting sinners to its’ peak. The people declare their desire to go up the mountain, so they might walk in the LORD’s paths and learn His ways. They are brought in by the preaching of the Gospel. They are drawn by the Father, to the Son, by the power of the Holy Spirit.

What flows down from God’s house in Isaiah’s picture? His law and His Word. God Himself will resolve disputes. In our justice system, we have judges whose job it is to hear evidence and to pronounce justice. To declare someone as guilty or to let them go free. Those judges are held to a strict code of conduct and decorum. While we know that they are not perfect, we hold them to a high standard. If they break that standard they are removed from the bench, no longer trusted to weigh these important matters. The heavenly judge, however, is perfect. Not only does He not break the high standard of conduct, the standard itself is based on Him. His nature is goodness itself. In other words, He is righteous.

But does He save? Unlike many Americans today who may use firearms for sport or for hunting, Israelites really only kept weapons around for one reason, because they anticipated needing them for war. Metal was scarce and most people didn’t live in abundance back then. But Isaiah says the people will convert their swords to plowshares, their spears to pruning hooks. They are done with war. They need not be concerned about another nation invading them ever again. They have been saved, not only from physical violence but also from the sin that causes it. The crowd there with Jesus as He rides into the city know the promises of the Messiah well. Well, at least some of the promises. They cry out “Hosanna! Save us!” Likely, few, if any of them, understand how deep that request truly is. How much they, and us, need the salvation that only Jesus can bring. We are called to love each other, and so fulfill the commandments. Yet we use the bodies that God has given us for love, to harm, the mouths He has given us to speak tenderly to our neighbors, to proclaim our own superiority and frustration when those around us deviate from our desires. We use the eyes that God has given us to observe and marvel at His creation, to lust after our neighbors’ bodies and possessions.

Repent, for the King is coming! God has not authorized us to use our bodies for selfishness, for lust, for quarreling, or for jealousy. We are commanded to put on Christ and resist our sinful tendency to gratify our own desires, to love our neighbors as ourselves and to do them no wrong but to support, help, and protect them. Just as the 1st century Jews needed be saved from Roman oppression, we need Jesus to save us from earthly threats like disease, physical danger, bad rulers, etc. But we also need Jesus, our King, to save us from our desire to be king, to remind us that we are not in control, but also to reassure that He is, and that is better for us. He rules in forgiveness, mercy, and love.

This mountain of God, this temple and house of the LORD. Where is it to be found today? In Jerusalem? The temple there was destroyed in AD 70 and it had ceased to be the place where God lived with His people well before that. The temple of the LORD is Jesus. He is the One who has been raised up, who is exalted above all others. He has been God from all eternity. He speaks and the atoms in the universe obey. He draws sinners to Himself with His Word and He rules the nations. But how does He ride into Jerusalem? Humble and riding on a lowly donkey. What kind of a king does that? If you have power, why not show it clearly at all times? Why not dominate? Behold! Your King is coming!

John Wycliffe, the early reformer said, “Christ mounted these animals to condemn the riding of pope and cardinals, and of the inferior bishops too, who are wont to ride in superfluous pomp on war-horses decked out with gold and silk” TLSB study note Zech 9:9. He, like Luther, had some issues with the church of his day.

When Jesus comes in glory, He will dominate. He will show His glory, which is greater than any gold or silk, and every knee will bow. But in this first advent, He comes in humility. He comes in service. He comes in suffering. And He comes to serve us now, in this simple yet special meal of His true body and His true blood.

Our Gospel text concludes with those in the crowd at Jerusalem, taking in this sight, asking each other, “Who is this?” Sometimes we get the idea that everyone at that time would’ve known who Jesus was, but how would they have known? Information was passed around orally and there were no images of Jesus being circulated in newspapers or social media. Jesus would’ve appeared to be just another Jewish man walking through the city. But now, towards the end of His earthly ministry, word about Him has spread. So when he rides into Jerusalem, some people have heard the stories of the works He has performed, of words that He has preached, of the wonders He has promised. The answer is given, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.” How true that is! But not just another prophet, THE Prophet. The One who came from heaven to be conceived in human flesh and to be raised in the lowly town of Nazareth. The only One who saves us now and eternally.

Wake up from your sleep! Salvation is nearer now that when we first believed. Why? Because Your King is coming.

In the name of Jesus. Amen.