Matthew 21 1-11 2007
Advent 1, December 2, 2007
Text: Matthew 21:1–11
Your King Is Coming!
Liturgical Setting
In Advent, the Collect of the Day sets the theme for the Divine Service. The opening words of the ancient Collect for Advent 1, “Stir up Your power, O Lord, and come,” join us to the hope of God’s Old Testament people as we also await the coming of our Savior as Judge and King forever. We pray that by his mighty power he will save us and deliver us from the peril of our sins and bring us to the victory of life eternal. The timelessness of this prayer will be echoed in the Hymn of the Day. We join to sing the words attributed to Ambrose, a fourth-century Church Father: “Savior of the nations, come” (LSB 332:1).
Sermon Outline
Introduction: Once upon a time, a long time ago, there lived a king who was gifted, wealthy, and wise. The king made music on his harp and sang songs of praise to God. He won battles and conquered his enemies; he had everything you could want and more. This king had several sons, but one son stood out from all the rest. This son was handsome beyond all the young men of the land. From the soles of his feet to the crown of his head there was not as much as a blemish upon him. The hair on his head was full and thick, but the thoughts inside his head were wicked and devious. He murdered his brother. He fled, and his father the king wept over the pain in his family. Yet the king loved his son and in time called for his son to return again to the royal city. The son came home, but his thoughts were more evil than ever. He camped for four years at the gates of the capital and acted like a politician. He heard the complaints of the people and promised solutions. In time, he won the hearts of the population, and at the end of the four years he revealed his secret plan. “As soon as you hear the sound of the trumpet, then say, ‘Absalom is king at Hebron!’ ” (2 Sam 15:10).
The message came to his father, David, the king: “The hearts of the men of Israel have gone after Absalom” (15:13). Then David said to his servants, “Arise, and let us flee, or else there will be no escape for us from Absalom” (15:14). So King David left Jerusalem along with his servants and all the people that followed him. In time they came to the Mount of Olives across the valley from the city, and “David went up to the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went, barefoot and with his head covered” (15:30).
What has occurred to David is another result of his adulterous relationship with Bathsheba. His kingdom would be stripped from his hands and there would be bloodshed and murder within his own house with his own children plotting to kill him. Sin sometimes has terrible consequences in this life and for eternity.
Does the story sound familiar? Do you remember this story of King David? Even if you’d forgotten the exact details of Absalom’s rebellion against his father, David, the story has a familiar ring to it. Why? It is our story.
We, like David, are sinful and experience the brokenness of sin. We see sins consequences. We see it in the world around us. We see it in our families. There’s nothing quite like the Christmas season to make us more acutely aware of the hurts in our own homes! We see it in our lives. Amid the dreams of the “perfect Christmas” is the awareness of our own deep imperfections and sin.
Like David, we have wept and tasted the bitterness of our tears. We flee in terror from our sin and its consequences. The just punishment for our sin is to be driven out from the presence of God.
In the weeks leading up to Christmas, the world will offer us, with a energy that is unique to this season, its answers to our sin. New toys, new things, new reasons to forget our dreadful circumstances of sin will be dangled before our eyes, each one promising to make us better or happier.
However, for all who have experienced the brokenness of sin, who have been driven from comfort by their failures and have cried out to God for deliverance, there is good news: Your King comes to you! In Him and in Him alone do we find our comfort and peace!
“Behold, your king,” the Son of David, “is coming to you” (Zech 9:9). Absalom was not David’s only son. Jesus is the Son of David who comes to be the King that none of David’s other sons could be. Jesus is the royal Son of David, whose Word is to be faithfully obeyed. Jesus comes to Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives; from the place where David experienced shame, he comes to the holy city to renew the kingdom of God. In contrast to some other sons of David, Jesus is humble and gentle. Though popular with the crowds, he does not come to gain their favor, rather in fact, He will be rejected. He will be driven out of the city, not for his own sin, but for the sin of all humanity. He will die, rejected even by the heavenly Father. He will even share the curse of Absalom: “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree” (Gal 3:13; cf. 2 Sam 18:9, 14–18).
“Behold, your king,” the Son of David, “is coming to you.” The humble King who rode into Jerusalem in humility comes to us. In repentance we meet our Savior. In the humble forms of Word, water, bread, and wine, he comes to us, personally and individually, to forgive our sins and renew our relationship in the family of God.
So “behold, your king,” the Son of David, “coming to you.” We join with the people long ago and shout our hosannas to the King. The Day of the Lord is nearer than we think (Epistle, Rom 13:11–14).
We are joined by faith to the hope of God’s people long ago. Like them, we await the King to return and establish the house of the Lord “as the highest of the mountains” (Old Testament Reading, Is 2:2), turn our swords into ploughshares (Is 2:4), and lead us to “walk in the light of the Lord” (Is 2:5).
Conclusion: The time between our American Thanksgiving and New Year’s is a time of parades. Between the Thanksgiving Day parade and the Rose Bowl parade are all kinds of other processions. Santa will come to the mall and be escorted to his “throne,” carolers will patrol the streets, agitated shoppers will process from store to store looking for the right gift. However, the parade that captures our attention is one that happened on a Sunday in Jerusalem long ago. The Son of David returns to the city of David, Jerusalem and He comes to us also in humility and forgiveness to give us comfort. He gives us comfort that the world can never give. We receive Him and believe in the forgiveness that comes from His death on the cross “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” Come, Lord Jesus.[i]
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[i] Rev. Nolan D. Astley, pastor, First Lutheran Church, Lloydminster, and Zion Lutheran Church, McLaughlin, Alberta, Canada