Matthew 21:1–11

Advent 1

The King Comes

¹Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, ²saying to them, "Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. ³If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, 'The Lord needs them,' and he will send them at once." ⁴This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying, ⁵"Say to the daughter of Zion, 'Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted of a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.'" ⁶The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. ⁷They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them. ⁸Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. ⁹And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, "Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!" ¹⁰And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, "Who is this?" ¹¹And the crowds said, "This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee."

About 2000 years ago there lived a king. He was wealthy and wise. He was a man after God’s own heart and beloved by the Lord. He was a kind and generous king. He played the harp and made beautiful music. He wrote and sang songs of praise to God. He was a powerful king. Skilled in warfare. He won battles and conquered his enemies. He had everything you could want and more.

The king had several sons and daughters. But there was one son in particular who was the favorite of the people. He was one of the handsomest young men of the kingdom. From the sole of his feet to the top of his head there was not one defect. He had a thick head of hear which he cut only once each year.

However, that head was filled with evil thoughts and desires. He murdered one of his brothers and fled into exile. After 3 years the king allowed him to return home, but would not see him for another two years.

His thoughts now were even more evil. He camped out by the gates of the capital and made vain promises to everyone who came and went that he would do things for them; grant them political favors. By this deceit he won the hearts of the people and then, when he thought the time had come, he revealed his true plan. He said to his servants, “As soon as you hear the sound of the trumpet, say, “I, Absalom, am king.” In this way he declared himself the king and the people followed him and set him on throne.

When his father, King David, heard the news he said, “The hearts of the men of Israel have gone after Absalom. Arise and let us flee or else there will be no escape for us from Absalom.” So King David left the capitol and fled to the Mount of Olives across the valley from Jerusalem.

This story is a familiar one. Not just because we have read it in the Bible, but because it is our story. The brokenness of sin is the experience of our life. Like David, we are constantly on the run from evil and the curse of death.

Where do we find evil? We are confronted with evil in the world. The evil of wars, terrorism, violence, poverty, hunger, racism and abortion. Every day we hear about disasters of fire, storms, floods and earthquakes ravaging towns and villages.

Moreover, we see evil in our own families. There is nothing quite like the holiday season to uncover hurts and anger that lie beneath the surface in family relationships. With so many extra activities on our schedule and the additional stress we put on ourselves at this time of the year, strained relationships and buried hostilities come to the surface, especially at family gatherings.

We are confronted with evil in our sufferings, sickness, pains and sorrows. We see the curse of death in our bodies that decay and fall apart with age. We see the result of a fallen world in emotional problems, in learning disabilities, in physical and mental handicaps.

But most of all we find evil on a personal level, the loneliness and hurts many people feel inside become more painful seen in contrast to all the gaiety and festivity of the season. Amid the dreams of the “perfect Christmas” we become aware of our own deep imperfections and sin. While on the outside we try to project an image of joy to the world, there is deep inside a sorrow and regret for our past failures and disappointments. While we sing of peace on earth and good will to men, inside are fear and insecurity, thoughts of violence and hatred, greed and selfishness.

At the deepest level of our souls we find the evil of our corrupt, sinful hearts.

Like David, we have wept and tasted the bitterness of our tears. Like David who fled from his evil son, we too flee in terror from sin and its consequences. As Luther says, “Sin makes us curved in upon ourselves.” The just punishment of our sin is to be driven out from the presence of God as David was driven out of Jerusalem. This is just what we deserve. The curse of death is our just punishment.

At this time of year more than any other, in order to compensate for the empty feelings inside, for the loneliness, for the sin in our soul, the world dangles before our eyes all its toys promising to make us better or happier or more fulfilled. But no matter how much they attract us, they never satisfy. They don’t make us better people. The happiness they give lasts but a few hours. We continue to experience the brokenness of sin. We continue to be driven from our “comfort and joy” by our failures and sins, and we cry out to God for deliverance.

Then, like a flash of lightning, Advent and Christmas break in on us with its true message of good news: The King Comes!

Absalom was not David’s only son. Jesus is also the Son of David. He is the Son of David who comes to be our King. Jesus is the Royal King whose Word is faithful and true. On that day as Jesus entered into Jerusalem as King of Israel, he came from the Mount of Olives, the very place where David had fled and wept tears of shame. Now the Son of David returns to Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives to restore the kingdom to its rightful King. Jesus comes to be the king that none of David’s other sons could have ever been.

In contrast to the other sons of David, Jesus is humble and gentle. He comes riding on a donkey. He does not come to win the favor of the people, like Absalom did. He does not come in treachery and deceit to rob the kingdom from his Father. He comes to serve his people and to give his life for them.

Yes, he was at first received by the people and was popular with them. He rode into town with great pomp and circumstance as the crowds praised God and cheered him. But all that would change. In the end He was, in fact, rejected and driven out of the city and hung on a cross. He was not slain for his sin, but for ours. He was driven out for the sin of all humanity. Like David before him, he was chased out of Jerusalem and put on a different sort of throne; a wooden cross.

He suffered the evils and torments that we suffer. He suffered the sicknesses, the rejection, the loneliness, the sorrows, the pains that we suffer.

He was rejected and in the end he suffered death. He was rejected not only by the people, but by his own heavenly Father. He would share the curse of Absalom for it was Absalom’s fate to die by being hanged in a tree. And the scripture says, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree.”

“Behold your King!” the Son of David, “is coming to you.” He is the humble King who rode into Jerusalem in humility and who comes to us in Word and Sacrament. We meet him in repentance and confession of our sin. We meet him in the words of absolution spoken by an ordinary human being. We meet him in the humble forms of Word, water, bread and wine. We meet him the liturgies and hymns of our worship. We meet him in the vocation of others serving to meet our needs and caring for us. We meet him in the poor, the weak, the downtrodden to whom we reach out in love and service.

Here we find forgiveness. In the foolishness of a cross; in the humility of confession and absolution; in the mundaness of water and bread and wine we receive the forgiveness of sins and eternal life in the kingdom of the King of kings.

“Behold your King!” the Son of David, “is coming to you.” He is here and he rules in the hearts of his children through His word. He lives in us and rules in our lives. He transforms our sinful and corrupt hearts into hearts of love for one another. He makes us his instruments of righteousness. He releases us from the bondage of sin and makes us free to live in obedience. Free to worship him. Free to offer him the sacrifices of thanksgiving in the praise and offerings we bring to his altar. He releases us from the bondage of addictions, of jealousies, or hatred and bitterness. He makes us free to love others and forgive those who sin against us. He frees us from the bondage of sickness, sorrow, and death. He makes us free to live, to rejoice, to sing of the blessings of eternity. He is our eternal King who rules in our hearts and lives in us today by his word and sacrament.

“Behold your King!” the Son of David, “is coming to you.” Here, and here alone, we find our comfort and peace for the Christmas season and for all eternity. “Behold your King is coming to you, gentle, and mounted on a donkey,” says the prophet Zechariah. Our King comes. The King who suffered our griefs and carried our sorrows. The King who was wounded and afflicted for our iniquities. He is coming again, this time in glory to gather his church unto himself and bring us peace and good will. He comes to gather us unto himself and bring joy to his people. He comes to fulfill all the dreams and visions we have each year at Christmas of love, joy, peace and hope.

Jesus was different from the other sons of David. Unlike Absalom, Jesus is humble and gentle. He does not come to deceive with false promises, just to win the hearts of the people. He comes to heal our hearts with truth and grace. He comes not to lead us to false hope and vain greed. He comes to lead us to the verdant pastures of eternal life and the sweet waters of eternal joy and rest.

“Behold your King!” the Son of David, “is coming to you.” We join with the people long ago and shout our hosannas to the King. In our praises and worship we join those who have before us been gathered into the kingdom of God and who today stand around the throne praising the King who was slain and who lives, and reigns and who comes again.

They Day of the Lord is closer than we think. He is coming soon, this time not on a donkey, not in humility, but in glory and power surrounded by armies of angels. He is coming to gather his church into his kingdom to be with him in eternity. When he comes, that perfect Christmas that we dream about each year will finally take place. He will wipe away all our tears. Our sorrows will cease. Our joy will be complete. Death will vanish and life will be forever.

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.” Our swords will be turned into plowshares and we will walk in the light of the Lord forever more.

This time of year, between Thanksgiving and New Years is a time of parades. From the Thanksgiving Parade to the Rose Bowl parade, are all kinds of processions. Santa will come to the mall and be escorted to his throne, carolers will parade the streets, and harried shoppers will process from store to store.

But 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 and today he still comes also to us in humility and forgiveness to give us comfort that the world can never give. “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.” Come, Lord Jesus.

Amen.