Category: Advent 1

How Does Jesus Come to Us?

11/28/2022

Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem by Alexander Gibbs (1832–1886), Creative Commons

Advent 1
Matthew 21:1-9
Pastor James Preus
Trinity Lutheran Church
November 27, 2022

O Lord, How Shall I Meet You by Paul Gerhardt is the perfect Advent hymn. Advent means coming or arrival. We Christians anticipate Jesus’ return. So, the hymnist asks the important question, “O Lord, how shall I meet You, how [shall I] welcome You aright?” Yet, in order to answer that question, we must first answer the question, “How does the Lord come to us?”

He comes humble and lowly on a donkey bringing salvation. It is the week of the Passover as our Lord enters Jerusalem on a donkey. And the crowds following Him and going before Him are singing the Passover Hymn, Psalm 118, “Hosanna, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna!” They sing this psalm to Jesus, recognizing Him as the Christ. Yet, what they likely miss is what Jesus has come to do. If you continue to read Psalm 118, you hear the words, “Bind the festal sacrifice with cords, up to the horns of the altar!” (vs 27) And who is this victim, which will be bound and brought to the altar to be sacrificed? It is Christ Jesus, the Son of David, He who comes riding on a donkey. The first thing you need to know about Christ’s coming is that He first came to suffer and die for the sins of the world.

“A Lamb goes uncomplaining forth,
The guilt of sinners bearing
And, Laden with the sins of earth,
None else the burden sharing;
Goes patient on, grows weak and faint,
To slaughter led without complaint,
That spotless life to offer,
He bears the stripes, the wounds, the lies,
The mockery, and yet replies,
‘All this I gladly suffer.’” (LSB 438)

Paul Gerhardt wrote this hymn for Palm Sunday, the Sunday which takes us into Holy Week, when we focus on the suffering and death of Christ for our sins. Yet, this text was written for the same Gospel lesson. Jesus goes into Jerusalem as a lamb going to the slaughter. We cannot receive Jesus except as Him who died for our sins. We cannot welcome Him without gazing on those scars, which healed us from our sins.

God prepared the words the crowd shouted to Jesus during His triumphal entry. Hosanna, while it has become a word of praise means something different than Alleluia! Alleluia means, Praise the LORD. Hosanna means, please, save us now! When Jesus comes to us as the crucified one, who died to take away our sins, the appropriate response is, “Save us now, please!” Jesus comes to take away our sins, so we should repent of our sins and ask God for forgiveness and mercy. This is why we sing these same words before we receive the Lord’s Supper. We sing, “Hosanna, hosanna, hosanna in the highest” before we eat and drink the body and blood of the Lord, because this body and blood were given and shed to save us from our sins. Jesus comes to save us from our sins. So, we sinners receive Him by asking Him to take our sins away. If you feel no sorrow for your sins, if you do not desire Christ to take your sins away, then you are not welcoming Him rightly.

Yet, we do not welcome Jesus rightly simply by having sorrow for our sins. We welcome Jesus with confidence that His sacrifice on the cross truly made atonement for all our sins. Jesus’ blood washes us clean of all our sins. It is with that confession that we welcome our Lord.

First, Jesus comes humbly, bringing salvation with His bitters suffering and death for our sins. Second, Jesus comes to us the way he dictates. Jesus ordered His disciples to go to a certain village to find a particular donkey and her colt and to bring them to Him. He gave them particular words to say to the owner of these beasts when asked why they were taking them. And Jesus’ disciples did exactly as Jesus directed them to do. They didn’t ask why Jesus wanted to ride into Jerusalem on a donkey, when He had spent His entire ministry walking on foot, and had gone into Jerusalem many times without riding on a donkey. They didn’t refuse to carry out this seemingly superfluous task. They did as Jesus directed them. Jesus comes to us the way He directs.

This is an important point. Many people want to have a relationship with Jesus, but they want to have that relationship on their own terms. But it doesn’t work that way. Nowhere in Scripture does it say that Jesus will come to you on your terms or in a way that fits with you. Rather, Scripture tells us how Jesus comes to us. Jesus comes as He directs. Jesus sent His disciples out to every nation commanding them to make disciples by baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19). He promises that this Baptism saves sinners (Mark 16:16). Jesus gave His disciples bread and wine and told them that they were His body and blood given and shed for them for the forgiveness of sins. Moreover, He commanded that we do this as often as we eat and drink it in remembrance of Him (Matthew 26; Mark 14: Luke 23; 1 Corinthians 11). Jesus gave His Church the authority to forgive sins (Matthew 16; 18; John 20), promising that whosoever sins His disciples forgive, they are forgiven before God in heaven. Jesus commanded that His Gospel be preached to all nations (Mark 16:15), and He promised that wherever two or three are gathered in His name, there He is in their midst.

It is no secret how Jesus comes to us in our day and age. Just as He gave clear instructions to His disciples to fetch a donkey and her colt, so that He could ride into Jerusalem, so Jesus gives us clear instructions on Baptism, Absolution, the Lord’s Supper, and the proclamation of the Gospel, what we call the means of grace. It is by these means of grace that Jesus directs that He will come to us and we will receive Him. Yet, those who claim to want to welcome Jesus despise Baptism and the Sacrament of the Altar and refuse to hear Jesus’ Gospel preached.

But, if you want to receive Jesus, you must receive Him as He dictates that He will come. When emphasizing grace, we preachers will often emphasize that Jesus welcomes sinners just as they are. And that is true. While we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8). We cannot make ourselves perfect before we meet Christ. Christ makes us perfect. Christ receives you as you are. Yet, it is equally important to emphasize that you in faith must receive Christ as He is. Jesus clearly teaches that he comes to us through His Word and Sacraments, so that is how we should receive Him. When you accept the forgiveness and grace that Jesus offers you in the Sacraments and the preached Gospel, then you are accepting Christ Jesus Himself. Saving faith clings to how Jesus directs that He will come to us.

Finally, when Jesus comes to us, He always fulfills Scripture. Jesus road into Jerusalem on a donkey before He was crucified for the sins of the world, because that is what the prophet Zechariah said would happen (Matthew 21:4-5; Zech. 9:9). Jesus died and rose for our sins in order to fulfill the Scriptures (1 Corinthians 15). Jesus will return to judge the living and the dead in order to fulfill the Scriptures (Daniel 10; Matthew 24-25; etc). The Bible is the Word of God. Jesus did not come to abolish the holy Scriptures, but to fulfill them (Matthew 5:17). So, if you want to recognize how Jesus comes to you and how He will come to you, you must look to Scripture alone.

We cannot determine what we will believe or how we will worship Jesus or how we will prepare for His coming by our own emotions, thoughts, and imaginations. How we feel does not determine what is faithful. Holy Scripture determines what is faithful. And what we imagine does not determine what will happen. What Scripture prophesies determines how the end times will unfold. Scripture declares that Christ will come to judge the living and the dead (Matthew 24-25; 2 Timothy 4:1; 1 Peter 4:5). So Scripture warns us how we should behave. We heard St. Paul write to the Romans:

Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires. (Romans 13:11-14)

So, we welcome Christ by paying attention to His Word in holy Scripture and by daily repenting of our sins, so that we are not caught unprepared. Continuing in sin without repenting destroys faith. And if you have faith in Jesus Christ, you will repent of your sins and fight against your fleshly desires.

The city of Jerusalem was disturbed by Jesus’ arrival, and many citizens asked the crowd, “Who is this.” They gave an unsatisfactory answer, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.” However, we can give a much better answer. This is Jesus, true God and true man, who has died for all our sins. He comes to us in Baptism, washes away our sins and makes us God’s children. He forgives our sins through the mouth of His ministers. He feeds us His very own body and blood, which forgive our sins and strengthen our faith. He always stays near us through His preaching, and my heart receives Him through faith in His promise. He will again come to judge the living and the dead. For this reason, I should daily repent of my sins and seek Christ’s mercy in His means of grace by which He comes to me. Yet, I am not afraid of His second coming. He comes to set me free from sin, death, and hell. I welcome Him today in faith as He comes to me in His Word and Sacrament. And I will welcome Him when He comes to me in His power.

So can we answer the question, “Who is this?” and “How is He coming to us?” and “How shall we meet Him?” These answers have been given to us by Christ Jesus Himself in Holy Scripture. Confident in Christ’s Word, we know how to meet our Lord as He comes to us. Amen.

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Hosanna on Earth and in Heaven

11/29/2021

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Giotto, "Entry into Jerusalem," 1266-1337. Public Domain.

Advent 1 (Ad Te Levavi)
Matthew 21:1-9
Pastor James Preus
Trinity Lutheran Church
November 28, 2021

“Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the Highest!”

These words shouted by the crowds in Jerusalem are a paraphrase from Psalm 118. Psalm 118, along with all the Psalms and the entire Old Testament were inspired by God the Holy Spirit. They are words prepared in heaven for us creatures here on earth. And these words, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” who is on earth, and “Hosanna in the Highest,” sound similar to another familiar hymn of praise, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” (Luke 2:14) These words, of course, were proclaimed by the angels to the shepherds at the announcement of Jesus’ birth. In fact, St. Luke even records people in this same crowd welcoming Jesus as he comes into Jerusalem on a donkey saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” (Luke 19:38) So, the crowd not only paraphrases God’s Word from Psalm 118, but they paraphrase the words of the angels at Jesus’ birth! Perhaps, they heard them from the Bethlehemite Shepherds, who were watching their sheep just a few miles away from Jerusalem some thirty-three years earlier. Perhaps the elderly shepherds were even in the crowd!

Regardless, what we have here in Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem is a crowd of faithful people proclaiming words prepared for them by God in heaven, spoken to a man, who himself has come to them from God’s heavenly throne!

Yet, let’s examine these words. “Hosanna to the Son of David! Hosanna in the Highest!” The word “hosanna” is Hebrew for “save us now.” Son of David is a title given to the Christ, the anointed Savior sent by God, as prophesied by numerous prophets (2 Samuel 7:12-16) including Isaiah (11:1) and Jeremiah (23:5). So, the crowd is crying to Jesus to save them. And they are calling Jesus the Christ, the Son of David. The Son of David is on earth, born to a woman, born under the Law. They can see him riding on a donkey. They are also crying, “Hosanna in the Highest!” “In the Highest” refers to God’s holy throne in heaven. How is it that they are crying, hosanna, both to him who is on earth, riding on a donkey, descended from King David; and they are crying, hosanna, to him who is in the highest, enthroned above, surrounded by cherubim and seraphim?  Are they crying hosanna to two different persons? No. They are crying hosanna to the one and only Christ, who has become man, and dwelt with people here on earth, even as he remains in heaven.

These words, “Hosanna to the Son of David” and “Hosanna in the Highest,” teach us about the personal union of Christ. Christ is both God and man, yet he remains one Christ. We Christians confess this. He is God from eternity, begotten of the Father before all worlds. He is man in time and place, born of the Virgin Mary in Bethlehem over two thousand years ago. Yet, it is important for us to understand that when Christ became incarnate, that is, when Christ became a man, he remained God. We might use the phrase, “He left his throne on high,” and many of our hymns will use such language. But such language is only used to emphasize Christ’s humility to save us. Yet, in fact, when Christ Jesus was wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger by his virgin mother, he remained enthroned in heaven, because he never ceases to rule the universe. The Christmas Hymn, A Great and Mighty Wonder, written by St. Germanus in the seventh century articulates this well, “The Word becomes incarnate And yet remains on high.”

This seems impossible, and for our human minds it is. How can Christ remain one, yet be in more than one place? How can he be held in his mother’s arms, yet hold in his hands the sun, moon, and stars? How can he be dependent at his mother’s breast while feeding all living creatures on earth? How can he hang dying on a cross and be laid dead in a tomb, even while keeping alive every creature he created? I do not know. Yet Scripture clearly teaches this. And God made sure that his faithful proclaimed it on this Sunday in Jerusalem, before Christ was crucified for all sins.

Yet, this teaching is necessary for our salvation. “Hosanna to the Son of David.” Save us, Son of David, you who are on earth! Our salvation must be on this earth, because we are on this earth. Our sins are on this earth. Our flesh and blood and stained souls have incurred the judgment for our sins on this earth. Christ must bring his salvation to this earth and die for us, if we are to be saved! The Law of God, which was laid down on earth, must be fulfilled. The sins of the world, which were committed here on earth, must be atoned for. We poor sinners, who dwell on this land need a Savior to come to us. “Hosanna to the Son of David!”

Yet, an earthly savior will not suffice. “Hosanna in the highest!” Our salvation must also be in heaven. Not any man born of woman can save us. No man born of woman can save us, except he who was first born from above from eternity. For, while our sin indeed is committed here on earth, our judgment is not determined here on earth. Your father and mother are not your final judge. Neither are your friends or co-workers or neighbors or classmates. No one on this earth can declare you innocent of all sins. No, your judge is in heaven. He sits on the throne of God in the highest. God alone can declare you innocent of all sins. God alone can accept atonement for your guilt. God alone can forgive you. God alone can save you. Our Savior and salvation must be in heaven!

So, the crowd rightly shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Hosanna in the highest!”, because they rightly needed saving here on earth, and they rightly needed saving in the highest heaven. And they rightly confessed Jesus Christ to be the Savior on earth and in heaven.

Christ Jesus is the promised Son of David, who fulfilled God’s Law for us and died in our stead. The wrath of God against all your sins were laid on Jesus as he suffered for you on the cross. Yet, that man on the cross is also the Lord of heaven. We see him anguish on the cross, yet we cannot see or fathom the great price he pays with his spiritual sacrifice, which reaches up to heaven. Yet, we know that he who sits in the highest heavens is satisfied. The stench of our sins no longer reaches him. Rather, the pleasing aroma of Christ, his beloved Son fills the heaven of heavens (Ephesians 5:2). He who sits in the highest throne in the highest heavens has paid for your sins. He who declares you innocent of all sins is enthroned in heaven. And he sits on a donkey riding through Jerusalem.

Today we begin our observance of Advent. Advent is the season of preparation before Christmas, that wonderful festival, where we celebrate the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ in human flesh. This was his first advent, his first arrival. Yet, after Christ fulfilled his course on this earth, having won for us salvation, he departed this earth and ascended to his throne in heaven, where he sits in glory waiting to judge the living and the dead. Advent is not so much a season preparing us simply to celebrate Jesus’ first advent at Christmas, but rather to prepare our hearts for Jesus’ second advent, when he will come to judge the living and the dead. He will pronounce judgment on every human. Some will be damned to hell. Those who are faithful to Christ Jesus will be welcomed into eternal life with him.

Yet, while we wait for Christ’s second advent, we must remember the words, “Hosanna to the Son of David; Hosanna in the Highest!” Our salvation is indeed in heaven. Christ intercedes for us today before God the Father, pleading for our innocence and salvation. Yet, although Christ departed physically from this world, he still remains with us today, as surely as he said, “Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

When Jesus was on this earth, walking around Israel with his disciples, riding on a donkey into Jerusalem, standing before Pontius Pilate, rising from the dead; he was present also in heaven, but under a different mode. By mode, we simply mean that he was present in a different way, although we cannot explain it. For example, Jesus is locally in heaven. That is where his body has ascended. Yet, we confess according to Jesus’ words, that his body and blood are present in the Lord’s Supper under the forms of bread and wine. We call this presence his sacramental presence. Sacramental simply means mysterious. That is, we confess Jesus’ body and blood to be there, but we do not know how it can be there. We simply confess that God is able to do far more than we can either ask or think. All things are possible with God.

And so, it is possible for Christ to be at the Father’s right hand in heaven, and for him to be with his Church here on earth, not only in his sacramental presence in the Supper, but he is present with us at all times, especially where his Gospel is proclaimed and where his faithful Christians gather to hear his Word. We prepare our hearts to receive Christ at his second advent of glory, by receiving him now in faith as he comes to us with his grace through his Word and Sacraments. The Savior, who came to his people lowly on a donkey, and who will come again in glory on the clouds of heaven, comes to us to day through his promise of forgiveness and salvation.

This is why we continue to use those words here on earth, which were prepared for us in heaven: The words of the angels, “Glory be to God on high, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men,” which we sing most Sundays of the Church Year; and the words God gave to all believers on earth, “Hosanna, hosanna, hosanna in the highest! Blessed is he, blessed is he, blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord! Hosanna, hosanna, hosanna in the highest!”  We proclaim these words with the utmost sincerity. Christ our Savior comes to save us today. He who sits in the highest comes to us here on earth, the Son of David who died for us. When the pastor proclaims the Gospel, Jesus comes to us. When we eat the Sacrament, we commune with him who is in heaven. Showered by the means of grace, this church becomes heaven on earth as with angels and archangels, and with all the company of heaven, we laud and magnify the glorious name of our God. Our Savior is with us today, even as he is in heaven. And through faith in his name, we too will join him in celestial peace. Let us pray,
Come, then, O Lord Jesus,
From our sins release us.
Keep our hearts believing,
That we, grace receiving,
Ever may confess You
Till in heaven we bless You. Amen.

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O Lord, How Shall I Meet You?

12/1/2020

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Entry into Jerusalem, Pietron Lorenzetti, 1320, Public Domain

Advent 1
Matthew 21:1-11
November 29, 2020

“O Lord, how shall I meet You, How welcome You aright?” What a good question! How can we welcome the Lord Almighty? The crowds in Jerusalem from our Gospel lesson give us a wonderful example. They took off their cloaks and cut down branches from trees and laid them on the road for his donkey to walk on. They shouted out, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” There were shouts of joy and singing, a happier event than you’ve seen at any street parade.
Yet, how does this teach us how to meet our Lord? Should we cut branches off trees and stand out in the street waiting for Jesus to come in? No. The example these saints in Jerusalem give us is the example of faith. They received Jesus as their King and Savior through faith. And their laying down cloaks and palm branches, their shouts of joy and praise, these all revealed the faith within their hearts.
The crowds wouldn’t let the donkey Jesus road on touch the ground, so greatly they revered their Lord. They called him, “The Son of David,” which means that they believed him to be the Christ, the Righteous Branch, which God promised to raise up from David (Jeremiah 23:5-8). These crowds confessed with their words and actions that they believed Jesus to be the fulfillment of the prophecies of Scripture. They heard from his teaching and saw from his mighty deeds that he was indeed the promised Christ. Jesus taught God’s Word with authority and was faithful to the Scriptures. He made the blind see and the deaf hear; he made the lame man leap like a deer, as Scripture foretold. (Isaiah 35:5-6) They believed that Jesus was the Christ who was coming into the world. (John 11:27)
And these saints crowding the streets of Jerusalem used the words of Scripture to sing praises to their Lord and King. They shouted, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” These are the words of Psalm 118:25-26. Hosanna means, “Save us.” They are treating Jesus as their Savior and as saints are wont to do, they use the very words of Scripture to praise him.
And, so we should follow in the train of these saints who welcomed Jesus’ advent into Jerusalem that week of his crucifixion. We should have faith in Jesus. We should call him the Christ, the King in the highest, David’s Son and Lord. We should call him our Savior and cry to him for salvation with great anticipation. We should listen to the prophecies of Scripture and their promises and believe them. And we should borrow the words of Scripture as we worship our King, who comes to us, just as these saints did. And that is indeed what we do! Every Divine Service before Christ Jesus comes to us in his body and blood at the Sacrament of the Altar, we sing these same words, “Hosanna, Hosanna, Hosanna in the highest! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna, Hosanna, Hosanna in the Highest!” These are words of faith, which have been used by the saints for thousands of years.
And we should be joyful. We have a Savior who loves us. We should gladly come to worship him. This should be our fervent desire, not an obligation that takes up time we don’t have. Worshiping Christ, welcoming him into our midst is the greatest thing we do in life, the most important, and the most rewarding.
St. Paul also gives us instruction on how to meet our Lord, not only on Sunday mornings, but every day, especially as the day draws near for his return. He writes, “Salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.” (Romans 13:12-14)
And so, we too should recognize that our Lord Jesus came to die for our sins. He came to rescue us from their destruction and filth. If we are to welcome our Lord in faith, we must also repent of our filth, cast off the works of darkness which seek to enslave us and cling to Christ Jesus, walking according to his teachings of love, purity, honesty, and self-control. Scripture warns that the sexually immoral, the drunkards, the sensual, and those who are jealous, will not inherit the kingdom of God. (1 Corinthians 6:9-10; Galatians 5:19-21) In Revelation 21, after describing the wonderful vision of the new heaven and the new earth, and Jesus, the Alpha and the Omega wiping the last tear from our eyes and destroying death, St. John writes, “But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.” (vs. 8)
And so, it is clear that Christians cannot go on sinning as if it does not matter without repenting. You cannot rightly welcome your Lord Jesus if you refuse to turn from your sin. This means that if you have a habit of getting drunk, stop it. If you are fornicating, stop it. If you pick fights with people, gossip, lust after impure things, stop it. And every time these sins arise in you again, cast them off again. Drown your old Adam every day, so that the new man may rise up to welcome Christ at his coming.
It is sin which makes us fearful of Jesus’ return. If Christ comes to judge the nations, a terror to his foes, then it is a terror to those with a guilty conscience! Well, how can you greet Jesus with joy, when you’re a sinner? Jesus hates sin. Scripture clearly states that the wicked will be destroyed and sinners will not stand in the judgment (Psalms 1:5-6; 37:38)!
You can greet Jesus with joy, because Jesus does not come to deal with you according to your sins, but to rescue those who wait for him (Hebrews 9:28), that is, those who have faith in Christ’s forgiveness and salvation. Yes, Christians must repent of their sins. If you refuse to repent and continue to live as if sin is not a problem, then you are not a Christian. Your faith is fake. Yet, even Christians with a sincere faith still sin. We can’t help it. We’re still trapped in these sinful bodies. And although we desire to do what is right, our sinful flesh still lures us into sin each day. Although we daily drown the old Adam in us, he rises again to agitate our conscience. This is why St. Paul laments, “For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.” (Romans 7:29) This is the condition of all Christians. Yet, there is a big difference between falling into sins of weakness but repenting of them, and continuing in sin with no remorse without turning to Christ for forgiveness. Jesus promises to forgive you as often as you repent. But if you refuse to repent, then you refuse Christ’s forgiveness.
This is what the Apostle John says in 1 John 1, “If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.” Christians are still sinners on earth. And Christians are saved. Jesus saves sinners. That is what he came to earth to do. The crowd in Jerusalem, which welcomed Jesus with such faithful songs and praise, were welcoming him who would die for their sins. That is why Jesus came to Jerusalem. He came to die for the sins of the whole world.
This means that your sins should not make you doubt your salvation. Jesus died for your sins. God knew your sins and the sin of the whole world, and he still sent Jesus to pay for it all with his suffering and death. In Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, we see how willing Christ is to die for us. We see how set he is on winning for us salvation. Jesus commanded that his Church baptize all nations. Scripture promises that Baptism forgives sins and grants salvation to all who believe. Jesus told his ministers to forgive the sins of others and promised that he also would forgive their sins in heaven. Jesus sent out his Apostles to preach the Gospel in every land and promised that whoever believes and is baptized will be saved. The bread and wine, which we share in the Sacrament, Jesus tells us is his very body, which he gave for us on the cross, and his very blood which is poured out for the forgiveness of our sins. Jesus came to earth to save sinners. And he comes to us today in his Word and Sacraments in order to save us.
As Christians, our sins do not cause us to fear Christ’s arrival, because Jesus died to take away our sins. And he comes to us frequently through his Word and Sacrament in order to heal us and forgive our sins, so we do not fear his coming on the Last Day, because we know how he will deal with us. As we just sang,
Sin’s debt, that fearful burden,
Cannot His love erase;
Your guilt the Lord will pardon
And cover by His grace.
He comes, for you procuring
The peace of sin forgiv’n.
His children thus securing
Eternal life in heav’n. (Paul Gerhardt, O Lord, How Shall I Meet You, LSB 334:6).

As the crowds and children received Jesus in faith and joyful praise, Jesus’ enemies in hatred plotted his destruction. Less than a week later, while this crowd of Christians slept after celebrating the Passover, Jesus’ enemies arrested Jesus, put him on trial, hurling fists and false accusations against him, and brought him before the pagan governor. By the time the faithful woke up, Jesus was already headed to the cross. In confusion many of them ran and hid, many lost heart. Jesus’ own disciples hid in fear behind locked doors. Only when Jesus returned victorious from the grave and sent the Holy Spirit to them, did these faithful gain courage again to sing his praises in public.
And so, it is with us today. As the chief priests and scribes looked with hatred upon the celebrating faithful in Jerusalem, so the powerful in this world hate and plot against the Church. Satan and his real human minions look at our celebration of Christ as foolish childhood play. They seek to discourage us and to erase Jesus from our hearts and from this land. But just as Jesus overcame the evil plots of Satan and the chief priests, so Christ has arranged for his Christians to overcome the plots of the enemies of his Church. Though we face evil in this world, we will prevail. While the enemies of Christ look at Christ’s return with terror and the more foolish among them look at it with scorn, we look to Christ’s return with joy and great anticipation, for we know that when he comes, he will give an imperishable crown of righteousness to all who love his appearing.
He comes to judge the nations,
A terror to His foes,
A light of consolation
And blessed hope to those
Who love the Lord’s appearing.
O glorious Sun, now come,
Send forth Your beams so cheering,
And guide us safely home. Amen. (LSB 334:7).

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Jesus Comes for You

12/3/2019

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Benjamin Haydon, Christ's Entry into Jerusalem, 1814-1820, Athenaeum of Ohio, Public Domain

Advent 1, 2019
Matthew 21:1-9
December 1, 2019

For December’s newsletter, I shared a poem by Richard Wilbur by the title, “A Christmas Hymn,” which has the refrain, “And every stone shall cry. And every stone shall cry.” This refrain refers to an episode recorded in the 19th chapter of Luke’s Gospel, when Jesus is entering into Jerusalem and the crowds are shouting praises to Jesus, calling him their king. The Pharisees in the crowd commanded Jesus to rebuke his disciples for what they perceived to be blasphemy. However, Jesus responds, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.”
If Jesus’ disciples do not praise him, the stones themselves will praise him. This is true, because Jesus Christ is God in the flesh. He utters his voice and the earth melts. He created the heavens and the earth. All things visible and invisible exist in order to serve him. And yet, as I point out in the newsletter, Jesus didn’t come to be praised by rocks, or sheep, or donkeys, or even angels. Jesus came to be praised by you. This is why he took on human flesh and was laid as a baby in a manger. This is why he was obedient to his parents, why he was baptized in the Jordan, why he rode on a donkey into Jerusalem, why he was nailed to the cross and laid in the tomb. He didn’t do this to save rocks, or beasts, or angels. Jesus took on human flesh, lived under the law to save us humans under the law, and he died to take away our sin. And he has done this so that we, whom he saves, will sing his praises both now and forever.
     Yet, there are many who will not praise him, as we see with the disgruntled Pharisees. They do not welcome his coming. Rather, there are many plotting his execution even as the crowds are singing his praises. They reject Jesus, because he does not come the way they want him to come. He comes lowly on a donkey. He’s too humble and weak-looking to be their king and the promised Christ. They reject him, because he is an outsider. He didn’t learn from them or go to their school. They reject him, because he doesn’t praise them or stoke their ego. They reject him, because he rejects their manmade rules; because he teaches with the authority of God; because he receives sinners and eats with them.
Jesus didn’t come the way they wanted him to come, so they rejected him. Instead of praising him, they demanded his crucifixion. Instead of calling him their king, they said they had no king but Caesar. Instead of taking off their cloaks to lay before his donkey, they watched as soldiers stripped Jesus of his clothes and cast lots for them. Instead of cutting branches from trees to wave in praise, they wagged their heads in disdain as Jesus was nailed to a tree. Perhaps if Jesus would have presented himself in a different way, they would have accepted him and sung his praises.
And this is how many think today. They want Jesus to come to them in a way they are comfortable with. They want Jesus to meet them on their terms, and present himself in a manner to their liking. Some want Jesus to entertain them, while others want Jesus to tell them how smart they are. They think his words in Scripture are outdated and out of touch. They think Baptism is superstitious and reject the idea that it can forgive sins. They are offended that Jesus gives authority to men to forgive sins and promises to come to people through their words. That Jesus tells us to repent and believe in the Gospel does not bode well for most. If Jesus were really “Jesus-like,” he would just accept people for who they are and affirm them in their sins. For these and a host of other reasons, people today reject Jesus and refuse to sing his praises.
Maybe if Jesus would come in a different way, more people would accept him and sing his praises. If Jesus would be a bit more entertaining, a bit more flattering; if he would let us choose in what mode we will receive him; if he would not talk so much about sin, death, and judgment; if he would be less divisive, and be more like the Jesus in the imagination of men’s hearts, then Jesus would be accepted. Right?
Wrong. Jesus does not need to change the way he comes to us. Rather, we need to accept Jesus the way he comes to us. We need to accept the baby born on straw in the stable. We need to accept the man who calls sinners to repentance. We need to accept the man, who rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, was arrested in the dead of night and crucified on the cross, yet rose from the dead on the third day. We need to accept the man, who comes to us through words, not just any words, but words he has given us, words that have created faith, forgiven sins, and built up the hosts of saints in heaven for many generations and will continue to do so. Words, that the Holy Spirit caused prophets and apostles to write down; words that call us to repentance and declare forgiveness of sins freely for Christ’s sake; words that demand that we conform our minds to God’s will and love one another.
We must accept Jesus in the way he comes to us, because Jesus does not come to us any other way. He doesn’t come to us through the breeze blowing through the leaves as we sit in the deer stand. He doesn’t bubble up in our heart as we meditate on our own feelings concerning the world. He doesn’t come to us through Muhammad, or Buddha, or Hare Krishna. And he doesn’t preach to us any other Gospel. He doesn’t come to tell you how to get rich or live your best life now. He doesn’t encourage you in your selfish desires and sins. He doesn’t tell you that if you try your best, you’ll go to heaven based on your own works. Rather, Jesus comes to you as the God-man, the one who was crucified for your sins, rose from the dead, and ascended into heaven, from thence he will come to judge the living and the dead. And Jesus tells us to repent of our sins and to trust in him for forgiveness and salvation and in him alone. If you are going to receive Jesus, you must receive him on his terms, not on your own.
Yet, this does not mean that Jesus does not meet us where we are. Quite the contrary. Jesus does not demand that we ascend to him, rather he comes down to us! In fact, Jesus comes down to us in the only way we can receive him!
If Jesus were to come to us in his divine glory without joining himself to our human nature, we would be consumed by his glory. We wouldn’t be able to stand before him, let alone receive him into our hearts! And if Jesus were to tell us to do our best and try to enter heaven by our own works, none of us would make it. Every one of us would fail. We’re sinners. We will never be good enough by our own works to enter heaven! And if Jesus were to simply ignore sin, to tell us that we do not need to repent, he would deny himself, for he is righteous and no wickedness can dwell with him. Jesus can't share his glory with any other god, because he is the only God and we must have no other gods before him. If Jesus did not die for our sins, then our sins would still oppress us today and bind us to hell.
Yet, Jesus didn’t come in any way invented by sinful people. Rather, Jesus came in the only way we could receive him as our Savior. He took on our human flesh, was tempted in every way as we were, except without sin; he fulfilled God’s Law in our place! Jesus entered Jerusalem humble mounted on a donkey to show that he does not come in the power of violence, but in the power of his mercy, which he showed by bearing our sins on the cross. Jesus came in the only way that shepherds could come and bow down to him, that a sinful woman could wash his feet with her tears and hair, that crowds of sinners looking for a savior could greet with palm branches and shouts of hosannas, that could bring him to the cross. He came in the only way where his disciples could take hold of his nail pierced, yet living feet in worship.
And Jesus comes to us today in the only way we can truly receive him. He comes to us in Baptism to wash our sins away. We cannot choose him nor cleanse ourselves from our sinful condition, so Jesus does it for us. He empowers simple water with his almighty word. Jesus calls sinners, not to save themselves, but to come to him for salvation. He doesn’t demand that you make reparation in order to receive forgiveness, rather he declares forgiveness by grace as a gift. Jesus comes to you in bread and wine, which cannot be eaten by angels, but you can eat and drink. A meal simple enough for anyone to eat, yet holy enough to contain the body and blood of Christ Jesus, which must be eaten with faith in order to receive its eternal benefits.
If Jesus were to come the way we wanted him to come, we would be lost. Thank God, Jesus comes the way he planned with the Father and the Holy Spirit. Thank God he came to take away our sins through his passion, so that when he returns, he will not deal with us according to our sins, but with healing in his wings. Thank God that he comes to us in words of peace and mercy and that he opens our ears and softens our hearts to understand and believe these words, so that Christ Jesus might dwell in our hearts through faith. It is only through repentance and faith in the Gospel of Christ that we can receive Jesus. This is how God has prepared praise for Jesus wherever he makes his entrance. And this praise will continue to grow. God grant that we would receive Jesus in faith as he comes to us, so that we might praise him today, tomorrow, and in eternity. Amen.

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Advent 1: Behold, Your King is Coming to You

12/3/2018

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Matthew 21:1-9
December 2, 2018

According to recent studies between 6,000 and 10,000 churches will close this year in the United States; that’s between 100 and 200 per week. And this hits close to home for us this morning as Messiah Lutheran Church in Keokuk, IA, one of our sister congregations in Iowa District East, is having its final service before closing down permanently. Although the nation’s population continues to grow and we’re told the economy is growing even quicker and 70% of Americans still identify as Christian, more and more congregations simply can’t afford to support a building and a minister. This is likely due to the fact that, as recent studies also show, less than 20% of Americans attend a Christian church service in a given week.

Of course, such startling numbers didn’t happen overnight or without reason. One of the causes is a false theology, which Satan has spread in Christ’s Church. It goes like this: God is omnipresent, that is, he is present everywhere, therefore, I can be with God anytime and anywhere I want and therefore, I do not need to go to church to be with God. Like many heresies there is a little bit of truth in it. God certainly is omnipresent and you can certainly be with God anytime and anywhere, as Jesus himself instructs us that when we pray “go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father in secret.” (Matthew 6:6) And the Psalmist cries to God, “Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence?” (Psalm 139:7)

Yet, although God is present everywhere and at all times, he is not always present in the same way; specifically, he is not always and everywhere present with his grace. The presence of God is a serious thing, just listen to what Isaiah the prophet said when he beheld God in a vision, “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!” (Isaiah 6:5) And God spoke to Moses in Exodus 33, “Man shall not see my face and live.”

Those who are attending our Sunday morning Bible study on Leviticus know how difficult it is for God to be present with us humans. God is holy. We are sinners. God is a consuming fire. His holiness does not permit sin to be in his presence. So, God gave very specific instructions on how to build a tabernacle and what type of sacrifices to offer and when, so that God could be with his people without consuming them in fire. And while God’s presence can certainly be a terrifying thing, it is where we want to be! Especially when God comes to us with his grace, forgiving our sins and giving us eternal life.

The tabernacle of course points to Jesus Christ, who is God in the flesh. Because God has become man, we poor sinners can be in his presence to receive his forgiveness and salvation. In fact, that is all the church is, but Jesus’ little lambs gathered in the presence of God to hear the voice of their Good Shepherd. God is present with his people showering them with his grace where his Word is taught in its truth and purity and where his Sacraments are rightly administered.

And since we want everyone to come into God’s presence and to receive God’s grace and forgiveness, so that they can have eternal life, it is very troubling that so many opt not to come to church and that so many churches continue to close and some here may even be thinking, how long will it be for us? So, how can we bring people to God?

Well, in fact, this is the wrong question. We cannot bring ourselves to God let alone bring others to him. As the beautiful Christmas hymn puts it, “Come from on high to me I cannot rise to Thee.” We cannot ascend to heaven to be with God. Nor can we bring him down to us. It is God who comes to us. And this is what our Gospel lesson teaches us today.

What do we see? We see a man on a colt of a donkey riding into a city in great humility. And yet, this is just as the prophet foretold, “Behold, your King is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.” And this right here is the epitome of how our God comes to us. He comes to us lowly on a bed of straw wrapped in a diaper. He comes in human form calling himself the Son of Man even as he always remains the Son of God. He comes to us bloody and sweaty, struggling under a timber. He comes to us nailed to that same cross, crying out in dereliction. He comes to us dead in a tomb. He comes to us alive with holes in his hands, feet, and side. He comes to us speaking peace from God. He comes to us with cool water and profound words to make our conscience clean. He comes to us through the mouth of humble men and under the forms of bread and wine. This is how our God comes to us.

Advent means coming. To those who think that God is already here and there is nothing more to his presence than what we see out in the woods while hunting or in our living room while watching T.V. or wherever else we may be, this season of Advent must seem like a bunch of nonsense. But for those of us, who are trouble with our sins, who don’t hear God’s forgiveness spoken to us from the trees, we need God to come to us. We all need God to come to us. We need him to come and save us from our sins which lead to death and to give us eternal life. This season into which we enter today is all about God coming to us.

And so, since it is God who comes to us, we don’t ask the question how we come to him, but rather, how do we receive God as he comes to us. Or, better yet, how does God prepare us to receive him. When the chief priests and scribes became indignant at the children in the temple crying out to Jesus, “Hosanna to the Son of David!”, Jesus responded, “have you never read, ‘Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babies you have prepared praise’?” It is God, who prepares praise for his own coming and he does this by creating faith in our hearts.

The crowd, who shouted, “Hosanna, to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” believed that this man riding into Jerusalem on a donkey was their king. Did Jesus look like a king? Not really. But they didn’t determine that Jesus was their king through human logic. They received Jesus as their king through faith. St. Paul writes, “the righteousness based on faith says, ‘Do not say in your heart, “Who will ascend into heaven?”’ (that is, to bring Christ down) or ‘‘‘Who will descend into the abyss?’” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). But what does it say? ‘The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart’ (That is, the word of faith that we proclaim).” (Romans 10:6-8) The crowd celebrating Christ’s arrival as their king believed the word of God, which Zechariah proclaimed in chapter 9, “Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”

Faith comes from hearing and hearing through the word of Christ. (Romans 10:17) God creates faith in our hearts and prepares praise in our mouths through his word. And it is only through faith that one can receive God as he comes. King Herod did not have faith, so he tried to kill the baby Christ. Yet, the shepherds and wisemen, who had faith in the word of God bowed down to a baby as their king. The chief priests and scribes didn’t believe the word of God, so they rejected Jesus as he arrived as the Prophet described. But those, who did believe God’s word welcomed their God as he came to them.

God comes to us in ways that can only be received by faith. Because in order for God to save us from our sins, he must come to us with his grace. We are incapable of earning our way to heaven. Every work we do according to our natural abilities is tainted with sin. So, in order for us to obtain salvation, we must receive this as a gift. Faith is nothing else than receiving God’s free gift.

This is why God became a man. None of us could possibly claim to have helped God become man in any way. Yet, God did this, so that he could share in our misery, fulfill the law in our place, and be punished in our stead. Jesus’ death on the cross betrays all our human logic and pride, yet it was necessary if we were to receive eternal life. Justice must be paid. Jesus paid it by suffering the punishment we deserved. This involved the almighty God coming in humble human flesh and suffering despicable shame. And the only way you can possible receive this is through faith in God’s word “But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:5)

In order to receive God’s grace, you yourself must be humble. God exalts the humble, fills the empty, raises the dead. This is what it means to be saved by grace. This means that you must repent of your sins. It is your sin, which separate you from God and sentences you to death and hell. Christ has come to take your sin away and give you eternal life. Faith involves not only having knowledge that Jesus has come to save you, but to place your sins on Jesus and trust in his forgiveness. This is why St. Paul tells us to cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. God prepares you for his coming by giving you a repentant heart that constantly flees from your sinful condition and clings to Jesus for salvation.

Advent is about God coming to us with his grace now through his Word and Sacraments and us receiving God’s grace through faith in his word. This was demonstrated to us in Christ’s triumphal entry, as the crowds believing the words of the prophet recited the words of Psalm 118, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” Through holy Scripture written a thousand years before this event God placed these words of faith into the mouth of the crowd. And God has placed those same words into our mouths. We join with the saints of the Bible by reciting these same words as our Lord and King comes to us in bread and wine. By using these words, we receive God as he himself taught us to.

Advent is also about God coming in judgment when Christ will return to judge the living and the dead. At this coming, everyone will recognize Christ as the King, even those who do not have faith. But we who have received God’s grace through faith have no fear of that day. There is now no condemnation for those, who are in Christ Jesus.

It is God, who will grow his Church. He will prepare praise from the mouths of those you would least expect. And he does this through his word, which creates faith in our hearts. Yes, God will use us to grow his church. As we teach the faith to our children and bring them to church to hear the Gospel and as we confess the faith to others out in the world. God works through these words to gather his sheep, just as he gathered the crowds to welcome Jesus into Jerusalem. But it is God who does this. And he does this through his word. And we will not improve on the work of God by abandoning the message of Jesus or trying to make it sound more appealing to another generation. Through the words of the Gospel God will call sinners to himself where and when it pleases him. And as those crowds in Jerusalem welcomed Jesus with shouts of Hosanna nearly two thousand years ago, so do we welcome our Lord today as he comes to us to save us from our sins, so will generations after us, and so will we when we welcome our Lord when he comes on the Last Day. Come, Lord Jesus. Amen.

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"For faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ." ~ Romans 10:17

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Jesus Comes for You

Advent 1: Behold, Your King is Coming to You

Rev. James Preus

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