"Mighty God" (Isaiah 9:6)

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Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen! Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder and his name shall be called … Mighty God …” (Isaiah 9:6).

 

Last week, we learned about the first title given to Jesus in Isaiah 9:6: “Wonderful Counselor.”Jesus was given that title because He spoke with authority. He spoke with authority because He was speaking as God Himself! Jesus’ counsel is wonderful because His teaching is the very teaching of God. Again, this is why it is so important for us Christians to hear, read, study, believe, and trust Holy Scripture. As Jesus says in John 8, “If you abide in My Word, you are truly My disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:31-32).

 

Tonight, we will focus on the second title given to Jesus: “Mighty God.”

 

Back when Jesus physically walked on this earth – as He performed healings and miracles – there were many people who refused to believe that Jesus was God in human flesh. Well, in 2024, not much has changed. Today, we find people celebrating Christmas with the gifting of presents, but they refuse to believe that Jesus is God. However, if we take Scripture seriously, we cannot avoid the fact that the Child born of Mary is Mighty God!

 

Some today, who get their theology from 15-second social-media “theologians”, try to say that the original Hebrew for “Mighty God” should be translated as “great hero,” which implies that this Child born of Mary would only be a famous man – but only a man. If this is the case, we have some serious problems.

 

First, we already know that the Child born of the virgin would be called “Immanuel,” which means “God with us” (Isaiah 7:14).

 

Secondly, the original Hebrew of “Mighty God” can’t be translated as “great hero.” Why is that? Well, Scripture interprets Scripture. And this original Hebrew אֵ֣ל גִּבֹּ֔ור (El Gibbor) just so happens to be found in other places in the Old Testament. And each of those other cases אֵ֣ל גִּבֹּ֔ור (El Gibbor) refers to God Himself and not some human who happens to be a “great hero.”

§  In Deuteronomy 10:17, אֵ֣ל גִּבֹּ֔ור (El Gibbor) shows up, which reads: “For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who is not partial and takes no bribe.”

 

§  In Jeremiah 32:18, אֵ֣ל גִּבֹּ֔ור (El Gibbor) again shows up, which reads: “O Great and mighty God, whose name is the LORD of hosts…”

 

§  In Isaiah 10:21, אֵ֣ל גִּבֹּ֔ור (El Gibbor) pops up a third time, which reads: “A remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob, to the mighty God.”

 

So, based on Scriptural evidence, אֵ֣ל גִּבֹּ֔ור (El Gibbor) can only mean “Mighty God.” This Child born of the virgin will be called “Mighty God” because He is the very Son of God in human flesh.

 

In fact, John 1 stresses this point: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made” (John 1:1-3).

 

What John, inspired by the Holy Spirit, is teaching here is the divine mystery known as the Trinity as God exists as three distinct Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

 

So, Jesus, the Son of God, was with the Father and the Holy Spirit “in the beginning” – before creation.

 

A few verses later, John writes: “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). Here, John is alluding to the fact that the Son of God took on human flesh in the womb of the virgin Mary. The eternal Mighty God became what He wasn’t through the Incarnation.

 

In John 5, as we heard tonight, Jesus was performing miracles on the Sabbath, a day when God’s people were supposed to rest from their work so they could focus on God’s work for them in worship. But Jesus says that He must work on the Sabbath. Why would He say that? He said it because He must work on the Sabbath because as God He upholds all creation.

 

Then there were others who refused to believe in Jesus because they were not children of God. To that, Jesus said that all Old Testament believers – including the father of Israel, Abraham – believed in Jesus and looked forward to His coming.

 

When the unbelieving Jews heard this, they said, “How could Abraham have known You? Abraham lived and died hundreds of years before you were born!” To that, Jesus said, “Before Abraham was, I am” (John 8:58). By these words, Jesus is teaching that He is the eternal Son of God in human flesh.

 

So, why am I stressing the point that Jesus is “Mighty God”? It’s because He was and still is God in the flesh. But Satan does not want you to believe this fact that Jesus is “Mighty God.”

 

You see, if Jesus was only a man, then He could not be the Savior. Scripture teaches that only God Himself can save us from sin, death, and the devil.

 

In Genesis 3, God said that the woman would give birth to a Son who would crush the power of the devil (Genesis 3:15). But only God can crush the power of the devil. So, the Child born of the woman would have to be God Himself in human flesh.

 

But how would God’s Son crush the devil? God’s Son would crush the devil by allowing Himself to be crushed by our sin so that we might be saved from the death and eternal hell that we each deserve. No mere human could pay for the sin of all. Only God Himself could do that!

 

So, if God Himself was not hanging on that cross, then you are still under the curse of your sins and you are still a slave of the devil. No wonder the devil does not want you to believe that Jesus is “Mighty God.”

 

Just think about it! All who deny that Jesus is God either have to deny the reality of sin or they have to try to deal with their sin themselves. But both options are based on a lie to keep us from receiving salvation from the “Mighty God”!

 

Sometimes we are tempted to deny that our sin is a big deal. We are all guilty of this. But if we really believe that Jesus is God and that He is always with us, then we would not be so comfortable with our sin.

 

But sometimes we do get comfortable with our sin! Why do we do this? Maybe it’s because we think Jesus was just a man who lived in the past. Why should we worry about what some dead guy thinks about our sin? But the reality is that Jesus lives and He is with us! So, we better take our sins seriously because Jesus is Mighty God and He sees all.

 

On the other hand, maybe we do take our sins seriously, but we foolishly think we can deal with our sins ourselves. Maybe we think that we can make up for our sins if we only do a good works to impress God.

When we do think like this, we don’t realize that our sins in fact deserve God’s present and eternal punishment. We don’t realize that only God Himself can save us from our sins and that He did this by dying on the cross for us.

 

So, when we try to deal with sin ourselves rather than repenting, trusting, and clinging to Jesus, we show that we actually deny that Jesus is Mighty God who came to die on the cross for our sins.

 

But the Good News for us tonight is that God has used His Word to rescue us from Satan’s lies! Tonight, God has taught you that the Child born of the virgin Mary is Mighty God, the One who hung on the cross, crucified for your sins – including your sin of forgetting that Jesus is Mighty God in the flesh and that He is with you always to the end of the age. Jesus is Mighty God and He forgives you – and if the Mighty God forgives you, Satan has no claim on you.

 

Jesus is Mighty God, and He claimed you as His own at your Baptism where He put His name on you and washed you from the guilt of your sin by the power of His divine blood.

 

Jesus is Mighty God, and He nurtures your faith in Him as He teaches you with His Word.

 

Jesus is Mighty God, and He gives you His own body and blood in the Lord’s Supper to assure you that your sins are forgiven and that your Mighty God is with you!

 

Jesus is Mighty God, and He will help you to live as His child in this world.

 

Jesus is Mighty God, and He will give you eternal life in His love when He returns in power and glory. Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!

 

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, 
keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.
+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +

"Who Can Stand When He Appears?" (Malachi 3:1-7b)

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Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen! Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

“Who can endure the day of His coming, and who can stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner’s fire and like fuller’s soap” (Malachi 3:2).

 

Judgement is coming and it is coming quickly. And this judgement always takes its victims by surprise.

 

Is Jesus really coming? For many of us, maybe even you, we act as if He isn’t coming. We get lost in the daily grind of life. Or we may think that God has forsaken us.

 

For the postexilic Jews, it’s been some 90 years since their return from Babylon to Jerusalem. The re-built Temple is now 65 years old. But Jerusalem is not a very impressive place. It looks very much God forsaken to them.

 

Before the Babylonian exile, Judah was great and powerful. It had mighty kings and an awesome Temple. The glory of the Lord shined. Yahweh’s reign could be seen and touched.

 

But on this side of the Babylonian exile, God has appeared to have slipped away. Now, Persia appears to be the ruler of their world. If the Jews want anything done, they have to ask permission from the Persian ruler. If they wanted supplies, they had to rely on the good graces of the Persians. They had to practice religion under Persian government. They were beholden to the Persians!

 

The mighty deeds of God were of yesteryear. The rebuilt Temple was a mere shadow of what it once was. The walls of Jerusalem were still a wreck.

 

The Jews were troubled. Upon their arrival back to Jerusalem, they had hoped and expected, the glorious and prosperous reign of the Davidic line of kings, but all they see is a wicked Persia prospering. 

 

To many Jews, they began to believe that their God had abandoned them, or He refused to care about them.

 

Jesus says in Matthew 24: “For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man” (Matthew 24:27).

 

There is something true about lightning. It always takes us by surprise.

 

Jesus’ coming at the first Christmas took everyone by surprise. Mary, Joseph, Herod, the shepherds, friends and enemies were all surprised when He came. God had promised His Son’s coming from the dawn of the world. Many people had carried that thought and hope with them through all those long years, but what they hoped for, they really did not expect. It caught them by surprise. Will it catch you by surprise at His coming on the Last Day?

 

St. Paul writes in 1 Thessalonians 5: “For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, ‘There is peace and security,’ then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape” (1 Thessalonians 5:2-3).

 

Where is God? Is He coming? For the Ten Virgins in Matthew 25, five of them appeared to give up on the Bridegroom coming, so they refused to refill their oil lamps through Christ’s Means of Grace and went to sleep. But then by surprise, at midnight, there was a cry: “Here is the Bridegroom! Come out to meet Him!” (Matthew 25:6). The foolish five were refused entry to the marriage feast. To them, the Bridegroom says: “‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour” (Matthew 25:12).

 

We all desire the Second Coming of Christ, but that day will also surprise us, even though we hope for it and profess to long for that day.

 

The day of judgement is coming all right, but how often do we act like that day is far off? Do you act like Jesus is coming?

 

“Just as in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man,” Jesus says. “They were eating and drinking and marrying and being given in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all” (Luke 17:26-27).

 

When we least expect it, Jesus will come.

 

“Who can endure the day of His coming, and who can stand when He appears?” (Malachi 3:2a)

 

If we truly examine ourselves, no one can endure; no one can stand. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). This is you and me. We are all poor, miserable sinners. We sometimes act as if sin has no consequences, but sin has eternal consequences, because God cannot partake in sin. Since none of us are as pure as the wind driven snow, what do we do? What can we do? Sadly nothing. 

 

So, God will do everything! “Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before Me” (Malachi 3:1).

 

God sends John the Baptist to prepare the way for His Son by “proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins” (Mark 1:4). We are all called to confess our sins as we recognize our inability to stand before God because of our sin. And where there is confession, there is forgiveness. 

 

After that preparation, God sends the Messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, our Lord Jesus Christ, who brought the new covenant through His blood.

 

You and I cannot be 99 percent clean. We must be 100 percent clean. We must be pure. To be clean and pure, Jesus enters in.

 

Through His suffering and shed blood on the cross, Jesus is “like a refiner’s fire and like a fuller’s soap” (Malachi 3:2b). Upon that cross, as He suffered and died for you and your sins, Jesus is making you and I clean and pure. Jesus is not only the Purifier but also the Purifying agent. He is not only the Blacksmith but also the Fire. He is not only the Cleaner but also the Soap. 

 

Jesus refines us through His heat. He cleans us like a launderer by rubbing, kneading, and beating to make us soft, clean, and pliable.

 

God the Father sent His only begotten Son Jesus Christ because He desires a pure product. On our own and by our own merits, we could never be made holy, but it is only God who has the power to make us holy. Our purity is only made possible through the blood of Jesus – the very Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world.

 

Christ scrubbed us clean through His death and resurrection. Today, He comes to keep us clean through the preaching of His Word and in His giving of forgiveness through His Sacraments. 

 

As forgiven sinners, by grace through faith in Christ alone, we have nothing to fear, because through Christ’s work, we are seen as holy and blameless before God the Father.

 

So, “Who can endure the day of His coming, and who can stand when He appears?” (Malachi 3:2a). We can! God’s people can! We endure as we receive through faith the forgiveness of sins won for us at the cross and offered to us freely in the Means of Grace. God is faithful and Christ will return. But now His return is not fearful for us, since Christ has atoned for all of your sins. Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!

 

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding,

 keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.  

+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +

"Wonderful Counselor" (Isaiah 9:6)

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Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen! Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor …” (Isaiah 9:6).

 

There are many prominent people who are known by their attributes. What I mean is that so many people are known by names that aren’t their actual name, but a name that describes their attributes.

 

When you hear “The Man in Black,” who do you think of? What about “The Piano Man”? What about “The Rock”? Each of these names describe attributes of singers Johny Cash and Billy Joel, and wrestler-turned-actor Dwayne Johnson.

 

These titles were given to these men in addition to their actual names because those titles describe something about themselves or their work.

 

About 2,000 years ago, a man named Joseph was about to cancel his wedding plans with his fiancée named Mary. He was distraught, because he found out that his future wife was already pregnant – and he knew that he was not the father.

 

Joseph could only assume that Mary had cheated on him. However, God sent an angel to Joseph to explain to him that she was still a virgin. The only reason Mary was pregnant was that the Holy Spirit had worked a miracle and conceived a child in her womb. This angel then said to Joseph: “She will bear a son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins”(Matthew 1:21).

 

The name “Jesus” is a Hebrew name that means “God saves” – an appropriate name for the Son of God who took on human flesh so that He could save us from our sin by dying on the cross in our place of punishment.

 

After Matthew recorded those words of the angel, we learned: “All this took place to fulfill what the Lord has spoken by the prophet: ‘Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call His name ‘Immanuel’ (which means, God with us)’” (Matthew 1:22-23).

 

These words that Matthew quoted were from the prophet Isaiah. By the Holy Spirit, Isaiah was able to prophesy that one day in the future a virgin would give birth to a son who would be called “Immanuel” – God with us.

 

Even though this Child’s actual name would be Jesus, He would be known by other titles that would describe something about His person or His work.

 

In our first reading from Isaiah 9, Isaiah gives us details about the Messiah who would be born of a virgin. “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given … and His name shall be called …” (Isaiah 9:6). Isaiah says that this future child – the One born of the virgin who would be called “Immanuel” – this same Child would also be called by other titles!

 

“His Name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6). This Child would not only be known as Jesus and Immanuel, but also four additional titles. Tonight, we will focus on that first title: “Wonderful Counselor.”

 

So, why “Wonderful Counselor”? Even before people understood Jesus was the Son of God, Jesus would amaze people with His wonderful teaching.

 

When Jesus was 12 years old, He was in Jerusalem teaching the teachers. We are told in Luke 2 that “all who heard Him were amazed at His understanding and His answers” (Luke 2:47). 

 

Years later, after Jesus began His public ministry, more and more people were amazed at His counsel. Following Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, we learned that “the crowds were astonished at His teaching, for He was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes”(Matthew 7:28-29).

 

Simply put, the people were amazed because Jesus taught them as though He was God Himself giving wonderful counsel to His own people.

 

In tonight’s Gospel reading, Jesus said: “Everyone then who hears these words of Mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock” (Matthew 7:24-27). 

 

After hearing Jesus say those words, some in the crowd may have recalled those words from Isaiah 26: “Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock” (Isaiah 26:4).

 

We all need the wonderful counsel of Jesus. As sinners, we are often misled by the cunning counsel of the evil one who works through unbelievers who despise the counsel of God. And as sinners, we are all tempted to listen to the foolish wisdom of the fallen world and ignore the wonderful counsel of Jesus.

 

Just such a tragedy happened in the days of Isaiah! God’s own people were listening to the counsel of unbelievers. Even many of the teachers of Israel were twisting God’s own Word and thereby giving evil counsel.

 

However, God preserved a few faithful men, such as Isaiah, and they preached and taught God’s Word in its truth and purity. Sadly though, many people in Isaiah’s day despised God’s wonderful counsel.

 

In fact, Scripture teaches us that unless the Holy Spirit gives us new hearts of faith that rejoice in God’s Word, we will see God’s Word as foolishness. Inspired by the Holy Spirit, St. Paul writes: “The word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing” (1 Corinthians 1:18) And: “The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Corinthians 2:14).

 

Like the Israelites of Isaiah’s day, all of us here tonight are guilty of turning away from God’s wonderful counsel. We are guilty when we choose to skip the Divine Service. We are guilty when we choose to not be taught His Word through Bible study. In fact, we also sin even when we do hear and study God’s Word, but then doubt or question what God teaches us. We sin when our human reason trumps what God has spoken in His Word. We are all guilty of giving our attention to the foolish counsel of this fallen world while remaining ignorant or even defiant of God’s counsel of Law and Gospel.

 

But there is good news! “The people who walked in darkness – you and me – have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone” (Isaiah 9:2).

 

You see, God comes to us and speaks to us His wonderful counsel by which the Holy Spirit turns us away from the lies of the devil and gives us faith in the Gospel of Jesus! “For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us – you and me – who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18).

 

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, it is so important for us to hear, read, and study God’s Word. The Holy Spirit uses the Scriptures to convict us of sin, so that we might repent and put our faith in Jesus, who was born to save us from our sins. This same Holy Spirit uses God’s Word to cleanse our minds from the foolish counsel of this fallen world and replace it with the wonderful counsel of the Lord Jesus.

 

The book of Isaiah is full of God’s wonderful counsel. The prophet Isaiah tells us that God would give us a son – a child – to save us. He would be “pierced for our transgressions,” “crushed for our iniquities,” “upon Him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with His wounds we are healed,” and “the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:5, 6).

 

The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us – you and me – who are being saved, it is the power of God! By the power of the Holy Spirit, we call Jesus our “Wonderful Counselor” because His Words are the Rock and Solid Foundation of our lives – now and for eternity!

 

Jesus – our Wonderful Counselor – loved you so much to be conceived in the womb of the virgin where His little hands and feet developed and grew so that they could one day be nailed to the cross where He would suffer and die for yours and my sins. Jesus – our Wonderful Counselor – conquered death for you by His bodily resurrection so that you can face death knowing that you have the hope of the resurrection of the body and eternal life in God’s love!

 

Now, we don’t rejoice in God’s wonderful counsel because it makes sense to our fallen human reason. We rejoice in God’s wonderful counsel because the Holy Spirit has given us faith to trust God’s Word even though His ways are not our ways.

 

The baby boy conceived in Mary’s womb was given the name Jesus because He is the eternal Son of God who would save us from our sins. But we don’t only call Him “Jesus.” We also call Him “Wonderful Counselor” – and we continue to be blessed by His wonderful counsel as we hear, read, study, believe, and trust His Word! Amen.

 

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, 
keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.
+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +

"The King is Coming" (Luke 19:28-40)

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Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen! Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

“Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” (Luke 19:38).

 

Click, clop. Click, clop. Click, clop.

 

Our Lord Jesus was a walker. Practically everywhere He went during His earthly ministry, He went by foot. I’m sure it would have been before noon each day that He would have achieved His 10,000 daily step count.

 

But this time, this day, for this trip, for this short journey, Jesus does something different. He rides. This is the only time we know of that He rode instead of walking, or by traveling by boat.

 

Now, Jesus isn’t riding because of the distance. Afterall, He had already walked thousands of miles on His way to Jerusalem. And this wasn’t even the the hardest part of His journey. If it was, Jesus could have, just as well, rented a donkey at Jericho to make the 14-mile steep uphill climb to Jerusalem easier. But He didn’t. He walked that steep climb. 

 

No, riding a donkey for this one time was not for comfort, or convenience, or even transportation. So, why did Jesus ride a donkey? Why did Jesus arrange to be mounted and ride these last couple miles when His feet had served Him well enough to get Him to Jerusalem?

 

Jesus rides – because He is King. Here He comes entering Jerusalem to the click, clop, click, clop. Jesus enters Jerusalem upon a donkey to announce His rule to all who have eyes to see. Jesus rides into Jerusalem because this is His city. Jesus rides into Jerusalem because these are His people. Jesus arrives as the saving and liberating King of Israel. Jesus is coming to accomplish what His Kingly rule is all about. Jesus is coming to die. Jesus is coming to save us from our sins. We know what will happen just days later. But not many people knew that on that Sunday in Jerusalem.

 

Yes, they knew – or at least heard of – the miracles of Jesus. And most recently, the word of Lazarus’ resurrection had certainly spread. They even know enough to call Jesus “King” without really understanding what kind of a King He would be.

 

Today, we begin the season of Advent, which means “coming.” Your King is coming. Today, we will look at how Christ the King comes.

 

Firstly, Jesus the King came. He came to earth for us and for our salvation down from heaven. The Second Person of the Trinity became Man by the Holy Spirit and was born of the virgin Mary. He lowered Himself by becoming man to live our life. He, who knew no sin, came to take upon Himself our sins as He lowered Himself to be baptized with a sinner’s baptism by John. He came to preach repentance and the forgiveness of sins. He came to lead all people to Himself. He came for thismoment, this time, as He rode into Jerusalem upon a donkey to die. He came as the sinless Lamb of God to be slaughtered, as the single sacrifice for sins (Hebrews 10:12).

 

We begin the Advent season as Christ enters Jerusalem. He enters Jerusalem to fulfill why He came in the first place: to suffer and die as the propitiation for yours and my sins. He came to regain yours and my favor with God the Father. For there was no other way. He came to save.

 

Everything led to this moment. Jesus “sent two of the disciples, saying, ‘Go into the village in front of you, where on entering you will find a colt tied, on which no one else ever sat. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ you shall say this: ‘The Lord has need of it.’” (Luke 19:29b-31). 

 

They brought the donkey colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it and mounted Jesus upon it. As Jesus rode along, they spread their cloaks on the road. Picture it this way. As Jesus enters Jerusalem, onlookers spontaneously join in. They spread their cloaks onto the road for Jesus to ride over. And as Jesus walks over the cloaks, the cloaks are picked up in the rear and laid down again in front of Jesus. It’s like that classic cross country run known as an “Indian run” when the runner sprints from the rear to the front of the pack continuously, but this time it is cloaks – and palms!

 

And the crowd roars! “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” (Luke 19:38).

 

Now, did the crowd understand what they were chanting? Maybe. But most likely not. Most expected the Messiah to liberate Israel from the Romans. Most expected some sort of a temporary earthly king to restore the nation of Israel to its former glory – the glory of King David, when nobody dared mess with them.

 

However, Jesus did give them a big clue on who He truly is. You see, the whole manner of His coming was to eliminate all political and nationalistic ideas. You see, Jesus didn’t come mounted as a military hero upon a warhorse. A way they would expect. Jesus came mounted upon a humble donkey. A way they would not expect. He came as the long-expected Messiah-King, who would suffer and die for their sins, so they would be reconciled to God the Father.

 

From the shouts of “Hosanna!” to the shouts of “Crucify Him!” Jesus came to reconcile us back to God the Father! On that Friday, the King would be crowned with thorns. He would be mocked. He would be crucified and die. He would be buried. But three days later, the crucified King bodily rose from the dead. He would appear to hundreds. He would bodily ascend into heaven and sit at the right hand of God the Father with all power and glory and dominion.

 

Now that the King is risen and ascended, He comes to us in a different way. Afterall, He says, “Behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20b).

 

Secondly, today, Christ the King comes to us in a way we would not expect – through His Means of Grace. Click, clop. Click, clop. Step by step, Jesus draws nearer. The King is coming as He strides on and on over the earth wherever two or three are gathered in His name and His Word is rightly preached and His Sacraments are rightly administered. Step by step, He reveals greater majesty, grace, and glory.

 

Jesus once came in lowliness mounted upon a donkey. Today, He comes in lowliness and meekness as He wraps Himself and His grace up now in the Word, which we hear, and in the visible elements of the Sacraments.

 

Through His Means of Grace – His Word and Sacraments – He now puts and sows His grace into our hearts. In His Means of Grace, Jesus, the King, is present as true God and true man. As often as we hear His Word and His Sacraments are rightly administered, Jesus makes His appearance. Through these Means, the King comes into the souls of His believers. Even though He enters our hearts concealed through lowly signs: the Bible, His preaching, water, bread and wine, our Holy Spirit-given faith still recognizes Him!

Jesus, our King, comes to hear our pleas for mercy as He graciously forgives yours and my sins. Jesus, our King, comes in the name of the Lord as the One who creates, nourishes, and sustains our faith in Him, so that we may abound in His love.

 

As much as we appreciate our King’s coming through His Means of Grace – His Word and Sacraments – Jesus is only coming to us concealed under those Means. For we long for more! We wish to see Jesus in all His splendor and glory! We wish to see His scars and hear His loving voice.

 

Behold, the King is coming! Click, clop. Click, clop.

 

Lastly, Jesus tells us: “And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves, people fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world. For the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory” … “But watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a trap” (Luke 21:25-27, 34).

 

On the day of His final coming, Christ the King, the One who created the world, who redeemed and restored the world, who forgives our sins and strengthens our faith in His Means of Grace, will return no longer lowly upon a donkey or concealed through Means, but He will come with all power and glory to judge the world as He descends from the clouds.

 

On that great and glorious day, Jesus will come as our King to set all things right. And we will endure to see that day as we are spiritually fed through His Means of Grace. 

 

As we begin this Advent season, always remember that the King has come as He has defeated the powers of sin, death, and hell for us upon the cross, the King is here concealed in His Means of Grace and the King is coming again in all His glory!

 

May Christ the King always comfort you, strengthen you, and sanctify you with His grace! Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!

 

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, 
keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.
+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +