Text: Matthew 21:1-9
In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Jesus enters Jerusalem and a crowd gathers. The crowd is right to gather. There should never not be a time that Jesus has a crowd around him. For he is the righteous branch of David who reigns wisely and executes justice and righteousness in the land. The crowd in Jerusalem gathers to laud him as the King of the Jews, the Messiah. They sing “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” At last, their wait is over. The promise made first to Eve in the Garden of Eden and repeated to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, and to all of the Old Testament Christians is finally being fulfilled. Jesus comes to answer that very call for Hosanna means “save us now.” It is clear, though, from the verses that follow our Gospel reading, that the people in Jerusalem don’t really know who, exactly, Jesus is, or what kind of salvation he comes to bring. For when the rest in the city asks who Jesus is, they respond by saying that he is the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee. It’s not a wrong answer, but it is an incomplete answer. Of course, this is not to place some sort of fault with the crowd gathered there in Jerusalem, but it is simply the reality that a full understanding of Jesus’ identity is something that was lacking just as it was with pretty much all of Jesus’ contemporaries.
You do know who Jesus is, though, don’t you. You know that Jesus is more than a prophet, as St. John the Baptist told his disciples. You know that he is true God, begotten of the Father from eternity. You know that he is true man, born of the virgin Mary. You know that he comes into Jerusalem because he’s on his way to the cross. He doesn’t have his eyes on the throne of King Herod. He doesn’t have his eyes on priest’s position in the temple. He has his eyes squarely fixed on the cross. He comes to Jerusalem to die. He comes to die because in his death and subsequent resurrection he will defeat death and win salvation as he brings life and immorality to light. Jesus does not, in his death, just save those in Jerusalem who waved palm branches and laid their cloaks on the road before him, but his death wins forgiveness for all men for all time. Even for you. So while those in Jerusalem cry out to Jesus for salvation that they don’t truly understand, we cry out “Hosanna!” knowing exactly what Jesus comes to bring.
Notice the manner in which Jesus comes into Jerusalem. He comes on a donkey. This was, as Matthew writes, to fulfill the promise made through the prophet Zechariah. The crowd knows this. That is, they know what Zechariah wrote and they know that Zechariah was writing about the Messiah when he wrote those words. Therefore, when they see Jesus coming into town on the back of a donkey, they know he’s the promised Messiah. They may have misconceived notions about what the work of the Messiah will be, but they at least know and recognize that Jesus is the Messiah. More than that, though, the manner in which Jesus enters Jerusalem shows the humility of Jesus.
Jesus always seems to come onto the scene—whatever scene he comes upon—in humility. He was not born in the king’s palace to the queen, but to the virgin peasant who laid him in an animal feeding trough. Even after his resurrection, he doesn’t immediately reveal himself to Mary Magdalene outside the tomb or to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. Here, too, Jesus shows what kind of king he comes to be. He is not the leader of a revolution bent on staking his claim to an earthly throne; he is the Savior of the world who comes to lay down his life for all. He may not be the type of king that the people expected or even wanted, but he is the exact king that they truly needed.
Advent is an often misunderstood season in the Church year. There is little doubt that the secular world contributes to this misunderstanding. Adven is viewed as a countdown to Christmas rather than the penitential season that anticipates the return of Jesus on the Last Day. Christmas decorations and music have been all around you for weeks already. The Hallmark Channel has certainly been airing Christmas movies daily for quite some time already as well. Those things are fine for entertainment’s sake, but in the Church, Advent is a season of preparation that prepares your hearts and minds for the return of Christ.
How will you prepare for Jesus to come? A good starting place is to see how those in Jerusalem reacted to Jesus coming into town. They reacted with joy knowing that Jesus was the fulfillment of all prophecy even though they didn’t have a fully proper understanding of who he was. They sang “Hosanna!” They waved palm branches. They laid their cloaks on the road. Why did they do these things? It was their king that was entering. That’s why. They were showing reverence for the chosen One of Israel.
How should you greet the Lord Jesus Christ who comes to save you? Consider who he is. He is not just a king. He is not just a prophet or great teacher. He is the Son of God. He is your Savior. That’s why we hand out palm branches on Palm Sunday and process into the sanctuary singing “All Glory, Laud, and Honor.” We’re not doing that today, but it is still fitting to show reverence fit for a king. Even moreso now since you know even better than the people of Jerusalem did who Jesus is.
This also explains some of why our services look the way they do each week. I am sometimes asked why it is that I bow during certain points of time of the Divine Service each Sunday and why I genuflect, that is, take a knee before the altar during the Creed and during the Words of Institution and why I elevate the body and blood of Jesus during the Words of Institution and during the Agnus Dei. There are specific reasons for doing these things during the service, but the answer for why these things are done can be covered with one simple word: reverence. You’re not just here today in the Lord’s House to just hear about Jesus and think about Jesus and eat some bread and drink some wine while you do it. You’re here to be in the real, bodily presence of Jesus Christ who comes to forgive your sins. You’re here to hear him speak his Word to you through my mouth and to eat his actual body and drink his actual blood for the forgiveness of your sins. What I’m saying is that all that you see here is not symbolic; it’s real. Just as Jesus came into Jerusalem in humility, he comes through the humble means of water, word, bread, and wine here in the Lord’s house. Right here and now, you are in the presence of the King of the Universe, the very Son of God, your Savior. So it is more than appropriate to act like we’re actually in the presence of our Savior and king, for he truly is the one who comes in the name of the Lord to save us right here and right now.
During Advent, though, again, we specifically prepare for the second coming of Jesus. How do you do that? St. Paul give us a pretty helpful guidance in Romans 13: “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.” As I said last week, the nice thing about living in the dark is that no one sees what you’re doing, or at least you think no one can see what you’re doing. What are the works of darkness? They are the things that gratify the desires of the flesh. Instead of gratifying these desires, put on the armor of light Put on the Lord Jesus Christ. Jeremiah referred to the coming Messiah as “Yahweh Zedekenu.” That is, “The Lord is our righteousness.” Jesus says in Matthew 5 that unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and the Pharisees you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. This is a high standard, to say the least. Whose righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and the Pharisees? Christ’s righteousness alone does. You, the redeemed are credited with the righteousness of Christ. Wear the robes of his righteousness proudly and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. In this way, you will be ready for the Lord’s appearing and you can with confidence cry out to him: “Hosanna! Save us now, O Lord!” knowing that your will not be disappointed.
In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The Preaching Dutchman 