Jesus is soon to come. In fact, it’s 22 days until Christmas for those keeping track. But we are expecting to receive a newborn baby lying in a manger. Instead, we see an adult Jesus making His way to Jerusalem. That doesn’t sound Christmassy, does it? Of course it doesn’t because that’s what we hear during Holy Week. But this isn’t Christmas, it’s Advent. Advent means “coming into” and that’s what we are doing. The story of Jesus in Advent is the story of hope coming into the world. When the time was just right, God sent His Son, Jesus into the world. We learn how to prepare to receive Jesus, the hope of the world.
And that’s where we find ourselves. We find the people preparing to receive Jesus when He goes to Jerusalem. This isn’t going to be a social visit for Jesus; He has an appointment to keep. His appointment is with the cross.
Jesus sends two of His disciples ahead as the advance preparation team. They are to go into the village ahead. They will find a colt tied, they are to untie it and bring it back with them to Jesus.
This seems to be out of character for Jesus. For three years, Jesus has been teaching and preaching, healing and performing miracles. On more than one occasion, He has been called a King. But this doesn’t seem kingly by any means. When we see royalty of Jesus’ day, they are riding on horseback or chariot, not a donkey. There is great fanfare and pomp and circumstance. Here, there is no fanfare. There is no pomp and circumstance. Rather, there is Jesus riding on a donkey.
When Jesus arrived in Jerusalem, Jerusalem was poised for the celebration of the Passover. This annual remembrance of God’s act of deliverance of His children from Egypt would have swelled the streets of Jerusalem with holiday crowds. The day of the slaughter of the Passover lambs was fast approaching. People were anticipating the delight of being with family for the Passover feast. But when King Jesus comes into Jerusalem, it interrupts the sort of celebration people are expecting. He comes into Jerusalem, the city of the temple – the place of sacrifice – to suffer and to die as God’s ultimate Passover Lamb. His sacrifice interrupts the monotonous routines of sin and death. Here is a King like no other, for this King comes not in royal splendor or with military might, but in the humility of the Servant who embraces the cross for you.
Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem was at best a local news piece. His handlers could have done a much more impressive job of staging the event. The colt takes Jesus along the road at a casual pace. People have gathered along the way. They’re excited to see Jesus, but these aren’t a celebrity audience. Instead, these are mostly plain folks. People from Bethany and the surrounding area were anxious to see Jesus, who raised Lazarus from the dead. He was coming to the Holy City, Jerusalem, where they expected Him to be enthroned and overthrow the despised Romans. The crowd eagerly put their cloaks on the road along with palm branches. Something special was going to take place and they wanted to be a part of it.
We see much the same with Christ at this time of year. We begin celebrating the “real” reason for Christmas: gift giving, parties, but most importantly, gift receiving. We are doing our own thing, enjoying what Christmas is all about, then Christ comes to ruin everything. For all who think like that, just remember one thing: you can’t have Christmas without Christ, no matter how hard you try.
Today, we begin preparing ourselves for Christ’s entry into this world, coming into this world by being born in a stable in the small town of Bethlehem. We prepare our hearts for what Christmas brings: it brings the Savior of the Nations, the Virgin Son who makes His home amongst the chosen people of God, as sinful as we are. God came to His people and lived among them as one of them. As God came to us in flesh and blood, He experienced all the things we experience – gestation and birth, childhood, weeping and laughter, pleasure and pain, and all the other things that make up the human experience. He even experienced temptation, but He never gave in to it.
We wait for Jesus’ coming by observing another season of Advent. We look back at Jesus’ first coming in Bethlehem and give thanks. We see the climax of that first coming with His enthronement upon the cross. We celebrate, yet ponder this awe-filled mystery. Jesus came to live and Jesus came to die. He came to give His life as a ransom for all. Gentleness, humility, and meekness marked His first coming, even as He journeyed to Jerusalem to the cross. A crucifixion is the last place one would look for an enthronement, but here is Jesus, crucified for you. All your sins were laid upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed. He fulfilled God’s Law completely. His death and resurrection ushered in His coming Kingdom.
All of this, He did for you. He is the Blessed One, for in His saving death, He brings all the blessings of heaven – forgiveness of sins and peace with God – down to earth, down to you. It is no wonder that during the season of Advent, we especially hear that Jesus is indeed Immanuel, God with us. Even as God lives with us, He still comes to us. He comes to us as we read and hear His Word. He also continues to come to us in His flesh and blood as we eat and drink the bread and the wine of His Table.
As He comes to us in His flesh and blood, we eat the very flesh that He sacrificed for us on the cross and the very blood that He shed for us on the cross. However, this flesh and blood are not dead things. For the Son of God did not remain dead and buried in the tomb, but He came to life. He rose from the dead. The flesh and blood He gives to us are not just the flesh and blood of crucifixion, but they are also the flesh and blood of resurrection. In this sacrament, He comes to us with the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting.
Consider God and His coming during this Advent. Consider His coming at Christmas, but don’t limit your consideration just to Christmas. Consider the love that God shows in His coming in that even while sin causes terror and hatred, He continues to come with His love. Consider how He came to save us with His suffering, death, and resurrection. Consider how He now comes in Word and Sacrament. Consider how He will come to take His people home with Him. Consider the blessings that He once gave, that He now gives, and that He will give when He comes again. In Jesus’ name, amen. Now the peace of God which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds through faith in Christ Jesus, amen.