The Advent of our King

As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples, saying to them, "Go to the village ahead of you, and just as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, `Why are you doing this?' tell him, `The Lord needs it and will send it back here shortly.' "

They went and found a colt outside in the street, tied at a doorway. As they untied it, some people standing there asked, "What are you doing, untying that colt?" They answered as Jesus had told them to, and the people let them go. When they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks over it, he sat on it. Many people spread their cloaks on the road, while others spread branches they had cut in the fields. Those who went ahead and those who followed shouted, "Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!" (Mark 11:1-10)

When we consider the beauties of the world around us, it often happens that we find comfort not in the great things but in the little. A snow-capped mountain peak can take our breath away, but it is the soft green curve of a small hill that tempts us to build a house there. We admire the huge, fragrant blossoms of the magnolia and the gorgeous sunflower, but it is the humble violet that we pick to stick in a little girl’s hair or put in a vase on the kitchen table. We are dazzled by the deeds of heroic men and women, astronauts and firefighters and scientists, but it is the warm glow of a faithful mother tenderly holding her children in her arms that makes us feel at peace.

In today’s Gospel lesson, we read of Jesus’ arrival at Jerusalem a week before His death. He came as a king in glory, yet He also came in humility. Jesus did not ride a war-horse or a chariot; He rode a young colt. Jesus did not ride on a fine saddle, but on the dusty cloaks of those who had followed Him in His travels. And even though He entered the capitol city of God’s people being hailed as the one who would restore God’s kingdom, He came knowing that He was to suffer and die.

What a complete picture of what Jesus came to do.

Advent is the season where we prepare for Christmas, the arrival of our Lord Jesus to live in flesh among us. Advent is the season when we look at the prophecies of the Old Testament and see how Jesus fulfilled everything that God had promised He would do. Jesus is the living fulfillment of the Old Testament, and this week we have read how He fulfilled Zechariah chapter nine: Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

There are many parallels between today’s Gospel reading and Jesus’ birth among us. When Jesus made ready to enter Jerusalem, He stipulated that He enter riding a colt which no one had ever ridden. The colt was of a donkey, a common animal used for everyday work. This was not an animal fit for a king; a king would ride a war-horse. But Jesus was not coming to wage war against mankind; because of our inherent sin, mankind was already at war with God, fighting against His rule in our hearts. Jesus came as a peacemaker between man and God. This was a sacred duty, the most important religious work of all. And so it was fitting that Jesus enter Jerusalem on an animal set aside for religious work. Throughout the Old Testament, religious duties were reserved for animals that had reached proper strength but had never been used for ordinary work; such was the colt that Jesus rode into Jerusalem. God had set aside that animal to bring the Messiah to the place where He would save His people from their sins by dying upon the cross.

How does this parallel Jesus’ birth? Let us consider Mary. Mary was no mere animal; she was a human being, a person whom God loved. This young woman, a woman with sincere faith in her God, had just arrived at the point in her life where she could assume the duties of motherhood. But God had reserved her from ordinary motherhood; He had set her aside for the religious duty of bearing the Son of God into the world that He was going to die to save. Mary was no queen; she was a common woman who was called upon to bear a most uncommon burden. And just as Jesus did not arrive in Jerusalem riding on a fancy saddle but on ordinary human clothing, our Lord was not born in a palace but at a traveler’s inn, where He was wrapped in common cloth and laid in a place where the animals were usually fed.

The second parallel between Palm Sunday and Advent is found in the name of Jesus. As He neared Jerusalem, the people began to quote Psalm 118 verse 26: Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD. They sang this psalm because they were convinced that Jesus was the One who was promised to come. Over the previous three years, Jesus had been fulfilling the prophecy of Isaiah chapter 29: In that day the deaf will hear the words of the scroll, and out of gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind will see. Once more the humble will rejoice in the LORD; the needy will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel. By His words and deeds, Jesus had demonstrated that He was the One Who Is to Come, and the people shouted "Hosanna", which means "God save us!"

It is right that the people said that Jesus came in the name of the Lord. God Himself named Jesus; He sent an angel to Joseph to tell him, Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins (Matthew 1:20-21). The angel Gabriel told Mary, Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end" (Luke 1:30-33). Jesus came into this world as God’s designated representative.

But Jesus is more than God’s representative; Jesus said, "I and the Father are One" (John 10:30). In the Old Testament, God gave His personal name to Moses: Moses said to God, "Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, `The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, `What is his name?' Then what shall I tell them?" God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: `I AM has sent me to you' " (Exodus 3:13-14). In the New Testament, Jesus claimed this same name for Himself when He spoke to the Jews: "Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad." "You are not yet fifty years old," the Jews said to him, "and you have seen Abraham!" "I tell you the truth," Jesus answered, "before Abraham was born, I AM!" (John 8:56-58). Jesus did not only come in the name of the Lord, He bore the name of the Lord!

The third parallel between Palm Sunday and Advent is the coming of the kingdom promised to David’s royal lineage. As Jesus drew near to Jerusalem, the people cried out, "Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!" Jesus was born of the house and lineage of King David; Jesus was the heir to the throne of God’s nation. The three wise men told Herod that they sought the King of the Jews, and they gave Jesus gifts fit for a king. And just as the crowds on the road to Jerusalem sang out praises to God for sending His salvation to them, God’s own angels sang similar praises in the presence of the shepherds of Bethlehem.

These praises were given to God for sending His Son to bring the kingdom of God to mankind. Mankind had sold itself into slavery to the kingdom of sin and death. Life in that kingdom had no meaning, because all that one could look forward to was suffering in life followed by suffering in hell. But the kingdom of God brought hope to the hopeless. The kingdom of God promised God’s strength and protection in life, and it promised eternal happiness in the Savior’s arms in heaven. Jesus came to make entry into this kingdom possible. Jesus is able to offer us heaven because He died to earn that right. Jesus suffered on the cross for our every wicked thought, word, and deed; all of God’s holy anger was laid on Jesus’ strong back so that we could be spared. Jesus was born in order to die, die the death that would have consigned us to hell. Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem to die for us is what gives Advent it’s meaning, its value, its comfort.

It is just incredible, everything that God has done for us. He created a world for us to live on. In spite of all the terrible ways that we abuse this world, He keeps it alive, able to feed us and to serve our needs. Our God gave each of us life. He saw to it that we live and think and are healthy enough to be here to read His promises. Our God did not let us stumble through life blindly getting into trouble; He gave us adults who cared for us and taught us about right behavior and wrong behavior. Most importantly, our God sent His Son to teach us about His love and to die to rescue us from the eternal consequences of our wicked ways. And our risen Lord lives eternally at His Father’s side, offering forgiveness, love, and hope for the future through His words preserved in the Bible, through Baptism in His name, and through His body and blood in the Lord’s Supper.

What monumental gifts! How could we ever dare approach God to accept these gifts, or to stutter our inadequate thanks for them? We feel like Isaiah; when God gave him a vision of the heavenly throne room, he cried, "Woe to me! I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty" (Isaiah 6:5). How could we poor, miserable sinners ever dare approach our God for His gifts of pardon and peace?

This is why Jesus did not come in the glory befitting a king, but in humility. We would feel uncomfortable entering a royal palace, but not a stable. We would be hesitant to touch a king, but not a baby in a manger. We would be terrified of standing in the presence of the Creator of the world, but we would welcome the friendly touch of the Son who rides upon an ordinary colt. Jesus brings us God’s tender mercy, not God’s terrible wrath. Jesus brings us God’s reassuring love, not His frightening glory. Jesus is God come to us, reaching out His hand to forgive, to strengthen, to lead.

This is the Advent of our King. Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD!