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Third Sunday in Advent
December 13, 2020

“The Year of the Lord’s Favor” (Isaiah 61:1-4, 10-11)

We’re coming to the end of this year, and what a year it has been! 2020–a year that will live in infamy! Our country has had a very tough year: Covid-19, economic shutdowns and lockdowns, people losing their jobs, people losing their businesses, people losing their lives. We had rioting in the streets, looting and burning, and governors and mayors letting it happen. We had a tense election season, with the results very much in dispute. What a year it has been! Those “year in review” retrospectives you’ll see at the end of the month–they will not be a happy trip down memory lane.

And for churches, too, this year has not been a happy experience. Back in March, we chose to shut down services for some weeks out of concern for public safety. Then when it was safe to come back together, we took some reasonable precautions. But we had some members who thought we were not doing enough, and other members who thought we were doing too much, and still other members, more at high risk, decided to just stay home to be safe. All this, in turn, has affected our offerings, which puts further strain on our already-tight budget. We have all been trying to do the best we can for all concerned, but it has not been easy. And people of good will have had different views on how to handle things.

And for you personally, having to live through all of this–the stress and strain of this year no doubt has affected you. Maybe you know someone who has been sick or even died. Maybe you know someone who lost their job or their business. Maybe physical sickness or mental strain or financial setbacks have hit close to home, in your home, touching you or one of your loved ones.

So when you listen to people talk about this year of 2020, whether on social media or at a social distance of six feet and through a mask, the talk has largely been negative. And to some degree, understandably so. Nobody likes the “new normal” of isolation and restrictions and diminished expectations.

But in spite of all this, I’m here to tell you today that there is something good–something very good–about this year of 2020. In fact, I want to tell you that this is–hard to believe–this is “The Year of the Lord’s Favor.”

“‘The Year of the Lord’s Favor’?? Are you kidding me, Pastor? If this is the Lord’s favor, I’d hate to see what his displeasure would be like!” Well, in a way, I have to agree with you. You would hate to see what the Lord’s displeasure would be like! Fortunately, you’re not experiencing that, and I hope you never will. And I’m here today, bringing you God’s Word, precisely so you won’t.

“The year of the Lord’s favor”: That phrase comes to us today from the Old Testament reading, from Isaiah 61. There our text begins: “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor. . . .”

This was the word of the Lord that came to the prophet Isaiah about 700 years before Christ. But, make no mistake, this is a prophecy about Christ himself. This is a passage about Jesus. Jesus said as much at the start of his ministry. He was reading this passage in the synagogue at Nazareth, and when he finished, he rolled up the scroll and said, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” In other words, Jesus was saying, “This prophecy is about me.”

And indeed it is! Think of it. The prophecy says, “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me.” That happened when Jesus was baptized in the Jordan River, and the Holy Spirit descended on Jesus in the form of a dove. Jesus was being anointed for his ministry as the Messiah. Jesus is the Messiah, the Christ, the Anointed One.

And Jesus then went about doing those things prophesied of the Messiah in our text from Isaiah. “The Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor.” That’s what Jesus did. He did not hang around with the rich and famous. He went to people who were down and out, and he ministered to them. He preached good news to them: “Blessed are the poor, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

How do you come before God? As though you’re rich and have everything you need? Or do you realize your spiritual poverty and your reliance on God to supply your every need? Jesus reveals to us the heavenly Father who cares for his children and clothes them and feeds them.

“The Lord has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted.” And that’s what Jesus did. Think of Jairus, whose daughter Jesus raised from the dead. Or the widow of Nain, whose son he raised. Or Martha and Mary, whose brother Lazarus he raised. All those folks were brokenhearted at the loss of a close family member. But Jesus bound up their broken hearts.

If you are brokenhearted, at the loss of loved ones, at great disappointments in life (and we all have them), at loneliness and emptiness–if that’s you, Jesus is here for you today, to bind up your wounds with the healing balm of the gospel. Jesus has overcome the sting of death with his resurrection, and he shares that resurrection victory with all who trust in him.

“The Lord has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound.” Jesus did that also. Those who were under the control of demons–Jesus set them free. Christ is the world’s Redeemer, the one who sets us free from our bondage to sin, Satan, and death. You are no longer a slave to those things. The word of Christ is the truth that sets you free. And if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

“The Lord has sent me to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” Jesus did that back then, and he’s still doing that today. “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth.” The favor of the Lord came upon Mary, when she was told that she would bear the Christ child. And the favor of the Lord rests upon you, his undeserved grace and favor, on you who are God’s baptized children.

Jesus came to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. He came to comfort you who mourn. You mourn the people in your life who are no longer with you. You mourn the damage that sin has inflicted on your life and on the world around us. You mourn your own sinfulness. This life is a vale of tears. But Jesus comes and gives you “a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit.”

Jesus has clothed you with the garments of salvation; he has covered you with the robe of his perfect righteousness. Jesus took all your sin-stained garments and cleansed them white in his holy precious blood. Now you have the righteousness you need to stand before God on Judgment Day and be welcomed into his eternal kingdom.

What does this do? It gives you hope. No matter how crazy and chaotic this world has become, you have a hope to hold on to. And nothing can disturb this hope you have. Not Covid, not lockdowns, not the dark winter that may be coming upon us. Your hope is as strong and secure as our risen Lord Jesus himself.

What else does this give you? It gives you joy. As our text says: “I will greatly rejoice in the Lord; my soul shall exult in my God.” Did you notice that today we lit the rose-colored candle? That candle symbolizes joy. The Third Sunday in Advent is known as Gaudete Sunday, “Gaudete” being the Latin word for “Rejoice.” Even in the darkening days of December, even in a lousy year like 2020, you and I have reasons to rejoice. Jesus gives us joy! The knowledge that we are right with God because of our Savior. The anticipation, the looking forward to, all that will be ours when Christ comes again–it’s like a kid seeing the Christmas presents under the tree, even though it’s not time yet to open them. This gives us a joy that is deeper and more profound than the ups and downs of mere happiness. “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion. Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem. Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation.”

This year of 2020, as bad as it has been in many respects–and it has been, we’re not sugar-coating that–even so, this year 2020 is the year of the Lord’s favor. Because he has not stopped being among us. Through Word and Sacrament, Jesus has been here all year long. And he will continue to be, for the rest of this year and on into 2021. You have Jesus’ promise on this: “On this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” “And lo, I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Brothers and sisters in Christ, this year, 2020, believe it or not–no, wait, believe it!–this is the year of the Lord’s favor!

“Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.”

Midweek Advent Matins
Wednesday, December 9, 2020

“The Genealogy of Jesus Christ: From David to the Deportation” (Matthew 1:1, 6b-11)

Last week we began looking at how Matthew begins his gospel. He begins with a genealogy, a genealogy that takes in much of Old Testament history. It is the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world. But Jesus was, first of all, the Savior of Israel. He is the promised Messiah, who fulfilled the promises given to Israel’s forefathers. Jesus came into the world as the culmination, the climax, of Israel’s history. And so Matthew writes: “The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. . . .”

Last week we looked at how Jesus was the son of Abraham. Jesus fulfilled the covenant the Lord had made with Abraham: “I will bless you and make your name great. I will bless those who bless you, and all those who curse you I will curse. I will make of you a great nation. And in you–and in your seed–all the nations of the earth will be blessed.” That line of blessing would run through Abraham’s seed, his offspring. From Abraham came Isaac, and from Isaac came Jacob, and so on. The covenant was renewed and extended with each generation.

But the Lord also added something else into the mix with those promises. To Abraham at one point he said, “I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you.” Likewise, to Jacob, the Lord said, “A nation and a community of nations will come from you, and kings will come from your body.” And out of Jacob’s twelve sons, it was Judah to whom this promise came, “The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs and the obedience of the nations is his.”

So then, a king would come from the line of Judah! A royal ruler with a scepter. Indeed, a whole line of kings, until finally there would come one great king for whom it was all meant. The promise of a royal line and of one great king–that was what was added to the covenant the Lord made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And specifically, that these kings would come from the tribe of Judah.

Well, the centuries went along, and guess what? No king. But now the Israelites wanted a king. Not because the Lord had promised them one. No, it was because they wanted to be like all the nations around them. “The other nations have kings. How come we don’t?” All they had was the Lord and his prophets–as though that were not enough. They kept pressing God’s prophet Samuel to let them have a king, until the Lord finally let them have what they wanted. The king they got was King Saul–only he was not from the tribe of Judah, and he did not do what the Lord wanted. So Saul was rejected by God. The Lord then told Samuel to go to the house of Jesse, and out of Jesse’s sons, the Lord instructed Samuel to anoint David as the future king to replace Saul. Now David was from the tribe of Judah. And this was the king who would do the job. Through David would come the promise of the even greater king.

Well, the Lord blessed King David mightily. David was a man after the Lord’s own heart. He was a good and righteous king. He wrote many psalms. He was concerned for the worship life of Israel. King David unified and solidified the nation. He established Jerusalem as the capital. He brought the ark of the covenant to Jerusalem, and he began preliminary work on building the temple. David was a great and glorious king.

Then one night the word of the Lord came to David’s pastor, Pastor Nathan, and Nathan gave David the message we heard a few minutes ago: “I will establish a house for you. I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, who will come from your own body, and I will establish his kingdom. I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.” So an even greater king will come from the house of David. This son of David will bring in God’s everlasting kingdom. What a promise! What a hope!

For as great as David was, there were still problems in his kingdom. There were still problems in the king himself, in David. We can see that reflected in the genealogy in our text. In fact, Matthew seems to make a special point of it. He mentions something he didn’t need to mention, namely this: “And David was the father of Solomon . . . by the wife of Uriah.” Like we heard last week, whenever Matthew brings in extra information into this genealogy, he’s doing it for a purpose. And here, we have extra information. Matthew did not have to mention Solomon’s mother. That wasn’t normally done in this type of father-son genealogy. But here, the mention of “the wife of Uriah” reminds us of the whole story that goes with it. Even the way this is phrased casts it in a certain way. What I mean is, Matthew could have just said, “Bathsheba,” but instead he says, “the wife of Uriah.”

So here is the fatal flaw with all of these kings: It is their sinfulness, no matter how good as kings they may have been otherwise. Take Solomon, for example. Would he be the one to fulfill the promise? After all, he was THE son, literally, the son of David. And he started out with so much promise. The Lord gave Solomon an incredible amount of wisdom. He was the wisest man in the world. The glory and grandeur of Solomon’s kingdom reached new heights, even greater than that of his father David. Solomon built the temple that his father David could only dream about. So was Solomon “it”? Was he the one? Sadly, no. Solomon, although wise, became a fool of sorts. His greed and his lust led him to compromise his faith and the faith of Israel. He married foreign wives, and that meant introducing their foreign gods. Solomon, as promising as he started out, would not be the one to fulfill the promise to David.

Nor would it be Solomon’s son, Rehoboam. In fact, under Rehoboam, the kingdom split in two, into north and south–Israel in the north, Judah in the south. But the promise to David was still alive. The royal line of Judah, the line of David, was still going. King after king came, and with each birth of a royal son, you had to wonder, “Is this the one?” Is this little boy from the line of David going to grow up to be the promised Messiah?

Well, some of the kings were good and some were bad. Manasseh, for example, was a very wicked king. Hezekiah and Josiah, on the other hand, were good kings. They led the nation in renewed devotion to the Lord. They walked in his ways. But even the best of these kings died without fulfilling the promise given to David. When would that one son of David come?

Meanwhile, the nation kept going downhill spiritually. Oh, there would be brief revivals, but generally, it was a downward spiral spiritually. God’s prophets kept warning them of the coming judgment. Finally, it came. In 597 B.C. King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon took a group of captives in exile, out of Judah and into captivity in Babylon. He took Jechoniah, the heir to the throne. Now there was no son of David ruling on the throne in Jerusalem! This was shocking! What would happen to the promise made to David? A few years later, in 587 B.C., more captives were taken and Jerusalem was destroyed–even the temple was destroyed.

From the heights of David and Solomon to now, defeat and exile. No king, no son of David, ruling on the throne. However, the royal line was still alive. A royal heir was still living, albeit off in exile for the time being.

You see, the Lord does not forget his promises. He did not forget his promise to David, that one great king from his royal line would usher in the everlasting kingdom. And as dark as Israel’s fortunes had turned, that hope was still alive. The royal line had not been snuffed out. A son of David–the son of David–would come one day.

The prophet Isaiah told of this promise to be fulfilled: “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, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore.”

And the angel Gabriel was thinking of that same promise to David when he told a young lady named Mary: “And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

Jesus is that king. Jesus is the son of David. When he came to Israel, he announced, “The kingdom of heaven is at hand.” He went about preaching and teaching and healing, bringing the blessings of the kingdom to men. Where those other kings failed, flawed and sinful as they were, this king did not. Jesus is the one great king, the son of David, promised from of old.

But his kingdom came in a surprising way. Not in glory and grandeur. But in meekness and lowliness. In rejection and suffering. Suffering for the sins of his people, for the sins of all people, for your sins and mine. His crown was a crown of thorns. His throne was a cross, just outside Jerusalem. The sign said, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.”

This king, Jesus Christ, is the great and promised son of David, great David’s greater Son. Jesus brings his people out of their lonely exile of sin and death, and he brings us into his kingdom of peace and life. Now he reigns forevermore. He comes to us now in his Word and sacraments, giving us the gifts of his kingdom of grace. And he will come again one day, when we will finally see and experience all that is in store for us in his kingdom of glory. “Jesus Christ, the son of David.” “Behold, your king is coming to you, righteous and having salvation.”

Second Sunday in Advent
December 6, 2020

“Messengers Marking Out the Messiah” (Mark 1:1-8)

In centuries past, in lands where there were kings, when the king was about to go visit various parts of his realm, messengers would be sent out, heralds, to go ahead to each town and announce the soon arrival of that mighty monarch. “The king is coming! Everybody get ready! The king is on his way!” And the people would know what to do. They would clean up any trash littering their town. If there were potholes in the roads, those would get filled in. Got to have everything in order for the arrival of the king! So those messengers, the heralds, had an important job to do in preparing the way, so the people would be ready for their coming king.

Well, in the Holy Gospel for today, from Mark chapter 1, we meet such a messenger preparing the way for the arrival of a king. In fact, there may be even more than one. And so our theme this morning: “Messengers Marking Out the Messiah.”

One of those messengers announcing the soon-coming king is, of course, John the Baptist. John always shows up around these parts on the Second Sunday in Advent. John’s role as the forerunner of Christ was prophesied in the Old Testament: “Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way, the voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight,’”

And John the Baptist fulfilled that prophecy most effectively. The Messiah was coming, and John was the herald sent ahead to get things ready. To get the people ready. He literally went out into the wilderness, and his voice called out with a message of repentance. There was some road repair to do, in advance of Messiah’s arrival. There was trash to be cleaned up. There were potholes to fill in. There were crooked paths that needed to be straightened out. The king is on his way! Time for Operation Clean-up!

And not just a temporary, surface clean-up, either–as though we’ve just got to put on a good show for a day or two, and once the king leaves town, we can go back to being the slobs we really are. No, this king’s presence–his taking up residence in our lives and hearts–this calls for a thorough, deep-down, continual cleansing.

That’s what repentance is like. What are ways appropriate for God’s people to live, since Christ is coming to reign among us? This is not just a surface show, as though we could deceive God. No, John the Baptist would call us to deeper Advent preparation than that.

“John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.”

You, dear Christian, you are baptized. Your baptism puts you into a life of daily repentance. Every day you know you have sins to confess and to repent of and to turn away from. Every day you die to sin and rise with Christ to newness of life, so that you would walk on those straight paths. What are the sins in your life that need repenting? What are the potholes? Where are the crooked places? What needs to happen for those places to be straightened out? What will that look like? John is here today to call you to repentance. The king is on his way.

And the good news is that it is a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. Calling you to repentance is not so you would have to wallow in misery all the time. No, recognizing your sins and repenting of them is so that you would receive forgiveness for those sins! And that is refreshing! That is renewing! That is joyful! John the Baptist is not just some spoilsport, a wilderness killjoy sent to ruin your Christmas. No way! John is a messenger of the gospel! He’s got good news to announce! “Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned.”

That pardon, that forgiveness, that comfort is coming with the king. And John is here to announce it. John’s whole mission in life was to be the messenger marking out the Messiah. “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” John was not the light, but he came to bear witness about the light–Jesus Christ, the light of the world. “He must increase; I must decrease,” John would say.

“After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie.” John freely confessed that Jesus, the coming one, is the mighty Messiah. Jesus is the long-promised deliverer sent from heaven to redeem mankind. Jesus comes to set us free from our slavery to sin and death. Jesus is the only one mighty enough to do the job. We cannot redeem ourselves. Only God can do that. And Jesus is God in the flesh, the very Son of God come down to rescue us.

And the mighty Messiah will do this rescuing in weakness and humility. The King of kings will be born in a manger, not in a palace. A crib and a cross and a crown of thorns will mark his reign. In sacrifice and surrender our Savior will win the victory over Satan. This is how your sins are forgiven: by the blood of the king who gives himself up for us all. And this is how your life is restored and renewed: by the resurrection life of Jesus himself.

John the Baptist comes to announce his arrival. John’s baptism was preparatory for what Christ will do. “I have baptized you with water,” John says, “but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” Having completed his saving mission, the ascended Lord Jesus poured out the Holy Spirit on his church, showing that now we are in the last days and empowering the church to bear witness to Christ to the ends of the earth. And you, dear Christian–Jesus has baptized you with the Holy Spirit, to give you the gift of faith and to sustain you in that faith your whole life long. The Spirit works through Word and Sacrament to strengthen you in your faith.

Messengers marking out the Messiah: We have seen that John the Baptist is just such a messenger. But is there another in our text? Remember, I said “messengers,” plural, meaning more than one. And there is. I would submit that it is Mark himself, the author of this gospel. St. Mark, the Evangelist–he too is a messenger marking out the Messiah.

Mark does that right away, immediately at the start of his gospel. The very first verse says, “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.”

The Holy Spirit inspired St. Mark to write this gospel. And this book directs our attention to Jesus, to look at him in action: moving with a divine urgency to accomplish his messianic mission and his ministry of mercy. Straightaway, immediately, this plunges Jesus into conflict, as he casts out demons, and confronts and calls out his opponents. Preaching, teaching, healing, gathering disciples–Mark’s story moves right along, heading toward its conclusion in Holy Week and Easter. This is a Savior who identifies with his struggling and persecuted Christians, at the time Mark wrote this gospel and even to this day. Here is a Savior for you.

Mark would have us ponder the question that all four gospels cause us to consider: Who is this man Jesus of Nazareth? Mark tells us right at the outset, and he will lead us to see it over and over. This man is Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, promised from long ago to usher in the everlasting kingdom of God. Now here he is. He is, indeed, the Son of God. The Father’s voice will testify to Christ’s identity at his baptism: “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.” The Father will repeat this at Jesus’ transfiguration: “This is my beloved Son; listen to him.” And by the end of Mark’s gospel, we will be able to say with the centurion at the cross: “Truly this man was”–and is!–“the Son of God!”

Friends, the Gospel of Mark is the featured gospel for this church year that has just begun. You’ll be hearing a lot from Mark over the next twelve months. And to go along with that, we just started a Bible class on Mark’s gospel, and I encourage you to attend. Mark is the shortest of the four gospels. You may even want to read through it in one sitting. In church, in Bible class, and in your personal devotions, you will be blessed to dive into the Gospel of Mark.

Messengers marking out the Messiah: Today we’ve looked at two of them, John the Baptist and Mark the Evangelist. They have brought us “the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” But that’s only the beginning. The gospel continues among us today. God still is sending you messengers to bring you the good news. You’re hearing that message once again this morning: “The king is coming! Make his paths straight! Your mighty Messiah is coming to save you! Your sins are forgiven! You are baptized! And you will share in Jesus’ resurrection victory!”

Midweek Advent Matins
Wednesday, December 2, 2020

“The Genealogy of Jesus Christ: From Abraham to David” (Matthew 1:1-6a)

I am interested in family histories and genealogies. My own, for example. I am a direct descendant of Peter Gunnarsson Rambo, one of the first Swedish settlers in America back in 1640 and one of the founders of the colony New Sweden along the east coast. Peter Rambo’s name, by the way, was the inspiration for the movie character Rambo. My maternal grandmother was Grace Rambo Clark, and, through that Clark connection, I am related to William Clark of the Lewis and Clark Expedition and governor of Missouri. So some of my family heritage is pretty noble and famous.

On the other hand, some of it is shaded in scandal. My father was put up for adoption in an orphanage in Chicago, probably because he was born out of wedlock. So I joined up with Ancestry.com, and I’m trying to find out who I’m related to by way of my father’s birth name.

Fame and scandal, historical standouts and skeletons in the closet–this is what you find in any person’s family history. And Jesus is no different. The Bible tells us about Jesus’ ancestry. And this Advent we’re going to explore his family history, under the theme, “The Genealogy of Jesus Christ.” We begin today with the section that goes “From Abraham to David.”

Our text is the genealogy found in Matthew chapter 1. This is how St. Matthew begins his gospel, how we begins the story of Jesus. His opening words are carefully chosen: “The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.”

“The book of the genealogy.” The Greek words here are “Biblos geneseos,” “biblos” meaning “book” or “record,” and “geneseos” or “genesis” meaning “generation” or “genealogy” or “origin.” You could really translate it, “the book of the generation” or “the book of the genesis.” You see, Matthew is deliberately choosing words that recall the first book of the Bible, the Book of Genesis. In fact, that same exact phrase, “the book of the generation,” is used a number of times in the Book of Genesis–you know, those places where you have all those “begats.” What Matthew is saying here is that Jesus Christ sums up–he brings to fulfillment–all the salvation history that God began way back in the Book of Genesis.

“The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.” What else is Matthew saying? He’s saying that Jesus Christ is true man, truly human. Jesus has human ancestors, real people who led flesh-and-blood lives here in human history. Jesus is no strange visitor from another planet. He is no phantom from the spirit world who doesn’t know what life is all about. No, Jesus had human ancestors. Here are their names. You can look ’em up.

“The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ.” Jesus is his name. Christ is his title. His name, “Jesus,” means “Savior.” His title, “Christ,” tells us of his office. “Christ” means “Messiah,” the “Anointed One,” the God-sent deliverer promised from long ago.

“Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.” Now that’s interesting. Out of all the possible ancestors he could choose from, Matthew focuses on these two in particular: Abraham and David. Jesus is the son of David, who in turn was a descendant of Abraham. These two famous figures from the Old Testament get special attention. “The son of David” tells us that Jesus is indeed the Messiah. “Son of David” had that special meaning. Then it says, “the son of Abraham.” Notice that Matthew does not go all the way back to Adam in his genealogy, like Luke does. Instead, Matthew takes us back as far as Abraham, the patriarch, the father of the nation of Israel, God’s chosen people.

Jesus is “the son of Abraham.” Matthew here is recalling the promise made to Abraham back in Genesis 12. The Lord called Abram, as he was then known, out of paganism, and he promised to bless him. And the Lord promised to make him a blessing, that through him–that is, through Abraham and his seed, his offspring–all the nations of the earth would be blessed.

So Abraham became the father of a line of promise, a family line that would carry the Lord’s promise to bless all mankind. This line of promise would be very precise, very specific. And it would be clear that it is all by the Lord’s doing.

Our text says, “Abraham was the father of Isaac.” Which is true. But remember that Abraham first had another son, didn’t he? Ishmael was the son of Abraham’s own efforts, when he got tired of waiting, but Ishmael was not the son of promise. That son would come by the Lord’s miraculous doing, and that son was Isaac. Likewise, Isaac was the father of Jacob, who continued the line of promise, whereas Isaac’s other son, Esau, did not. You see, it all depends on the Lord’s doing, the Lord’s choosing, the Lord’s word of promise.

Then it says, “Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers.” Do you notice the extra information in there? Matthew could have just said, “Jacob the father of Judah” and gone on, but he adds, “and his brothers.” This means the whole nation, all twelve tribes of Israel. The point is that all of Israel’s history, Israel’s status as the chosen people of God, comes funneled down into this one descendant of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, namely, Jesus. Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s plan. He is the fulfillment of salvation history. Jesus is Israel reduced to one.

The genealogy continues: “Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar.” Again, there’s extra information included. Not just, “Judah the father of Perez,” but the father of Perez and Zerah by their mother Tamar. This extra information–the mention of Tamar–recalls a particularly sordid affair by which those children were born. The point here is that God is able to work through weak and sinful human beings to bring about something good. The Savior of sinners would come through a line of sinners, in order to rescue them. And that means that God is able to deal with your sins, as well. Even the great patriarch Judah, the father of a line of kings, was a sinner like you and I.

The line of promise continues: “Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram, and Ram the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab.” Now we’re fast-forwarding through the genealogy. But notice the mention of Rahab. Another woman, like Tamar. Keep in mind, women were not usually mentioned in this type of father-to-son genealogy. But Rahab, a second woman now, is mentioned. Rahab the Gentile. Rahab the prostitute. God is acting to bring into his people those Gentiles he promised to bless through Abraham’s seed. And again, this includes real-live sinners. If God can rescue a harlot and make her an ancestress of the Messiah, he can certainly deal with the likes of you and me. God is in the business of rescuing sinners and turning outsiders into insiders.

“Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth.” Another woman is mentioned, this time, Ruth. Ruth the Moabitess. Another foreigner brought into God’s people and into the line of the Messiah. “In your seed, Abraham, all the nations of the earth shall be blessed.”

“Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of David the king.” Now there appears a king coming out of this somewhat dysfunctional family. But even among Jesse’s sons, David was not the most prominent. He wasn’t the one you’d expect to become king. Yet God works through weak and lowly means to accomplish his purposes. His ways are not our ways. All the glory goes to God. It’s not by our might or strength that salvation is accomplished. No, it is God’s doing.

So this then is our first stopping point on our way through the genealogy. We have gone from Abraham to David. Next week we’ll hear more about Jesus as the son of David, as we move from David through the time of the kings. But the main message for today–the thing that Matthew is telling us up to this point–is that Jesus is the son of Abraham. That is to say, Jesus is the fulfillment of the great promise made to Abraham. God had promised to bless all the families of the earth through Abraham’s seed, and Jesus is it.

During this Advent season, Jesus, the son of Abraham, comes to bless you and your family. He blesses you by forgiving your sins, whatever they may be. He can deal with your sordid past, those family secrets, the skeletons in your closet. The things that you’re ashamed of, Jesus forgives. He renews your life. Jesus won your forgiveness by dying in your place, as your substitute. Remember how God provided a substitute–a ram caught in the thicket–when Abraham was about to sacrifice his son Isaac. And God has provided his only Son, Jesus Christ, to be the sacrifice for your sin and the substitute for all sinners everywhere.

The genealogy of Jesus Christ is a line of promise. It is a line of blessing. This line of promise comes down to you and your family, to your address, right here today. Jesus is the son of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all those saints and sinners named in the first part of this genealogy. God takes in outcasts and outsiders, people like you and me, and he makes us part of his family.

In Galatians 3, Paul writes: “In Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.” Listen, my fellow baptized brothers and sisters: In Jesus Christ, the son of Abraham, you–whatever your history, whatever your past–you are included in God’s forever family!

First Sunday in Advent
November 29, 2020

“Reserved for a King” (Mark 11:1-10)

Happy New Year! No, I’m not time-traveling ahead to January 1. But it is a new year today. A new church year, that is. Because today is the First Sunday in Advent, and thus the start of a new church year. And every year on the First Sunday in Advent, we have as the Gospel reading an account of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. Which seems a little odd, doesn’t it? Here we are in Advent, the season leading up to Christmas, and we get a reading for the start of Holy Week, which leads into Good Friday and Easter. But that’s the point. It’s a way of saying that the whole church year is focused on our Lord Jesus Christ going to the cross to die for our salvation and rising from the dead in victory over sin and death. So, this reading today to kick off the church year directs our attention to those central events of the Christian faith.

What’s more, the reading today is a good way to start the season of Advent. The word “Advent” means “coming,” and this is the season in which we anticipate the coming of our King. We are preparing for Christ’s coming at Christmas, and beyond that, we’re preparing for his coming again at the Last Day. Advent prepares us for both, as well as for how our Lord comes to us even now in Word and Sacrament.

Today’s reading serves that Advent purpose well. For in our text from Mark 11, we join with the crowds welcoming Jesus into Jerusalem with their joyous cry: “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!” Truly, this is a welcome fit for a king.

But that’s not the only thing in this story fit for a king. There’s something else, too, and it may seem a little surprising. What I’m talking about here is . . . the colt! Yes, the colt that Jesus rides into town on. What struck me this year as I read through the text from Mark is that, out of the ten verses in the text, the first seven verses have to do with the colt! Why so much attention on this colt? That was the question that intrigued me. Well, the donkey’s colt on which Jesus rides–believe it or not, this too is something appropriate for this king. It’s like when the disciples go to get the colt, it’s as though it should have a sign by it that says, “Reserved for a King.”

And now I’ll explain why. So, Jesus and the disciples are heading for Jerusalem, to celebrate the upcoming Passover. But before they get there, Jesus dispatches a couple of his disciples to go ahead into the next village, and he tells them that there they will find a particular colt, a donkey’s colt, tied up, right as they get into town. Now normally there would be no way for someone to know this, but Jesus is the Son of God, after all, so he can have that kind of knowledge. Jesus is picking out his special ride for when he gets to Jerusalem and enters the city. He has a purpose for doing this.

And there is something special about this particular colt. Note what Jesus says: “You will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat.” That is significant. This is a young colt, on which no one has ridden yet. It’s like it has been reserved just for this purpose, a sacred purpose, to carry the king of Israel–indeed, the King of kings and the Lord of lords–to carry the Messiah into his holy city.

I read an article this past week in which a pastor makes an interesting comparison on that point. He writes: “When the president of the United States flies, he takes Air Force One, the aircraft specifically reserved for his use. When Air Force One lands in an airport, it means only one thing: The president has arrived. The donkey which carries Jesus into the city of Jerusalem also brings with it a similar significance. It signals to the people that their Messiah has arrived. . . . Just as Air Force One is reserved for the president, the donkey on which the king rode could not be used by anyone else.”

So, this donkey’s colt in our story is sort of like Air Force One. Not just anybody can ride on that airplane, only the President of the United States can. It’s reserved for his use. Well, here is the King of the world, Jesus Christ, and so it is appropriate that he have a ride that has been set aside for his special use. This colt has been reserved for a king.

And the people welcoming Jesus into Jerusalem recognize this royal ride. They shout: “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!” But what is it about Jesus riding into Jerusalem on a donkey’s colt that would lead them to think that this was the Messiah? Well, in the Old Testament, when King David was about to hand over the throne to his son Solomon, he directed that Solomon ride on his own, that is, David’s, mule. That was a sign that Solomon, the son of David, was the designated successor as king. Now here comes Jesus, the ultimate Son of David, riding into Jerusalem on a donkey’s colt, a sign that he is the one to usher in the everlasting kingdom of blessing that had been promised to one of David’s sons.

On top of that, there was the messianic prophecy from the Book of Zechariah: “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” Again, Jesus riding on a colt, the foal of a donkey, is a signal that the promise of the coming Messiah now is being fulfilled. This is a ride reserved for a king!

Friends, this king riding into town is your king too! He is righteous and has salvation, and he gives his righteousness and salvation to you, freely. Yet at great cost. It is the cost of his holy precious blood and his innocent suffering and death that win your salvation. For this king will, strangely, take up his throne on a cross and wear a crown of thorns. There on the cross the King of the Jews will suffer and die for you, taking your sins upon him, suffering the judgment you and I deserve. Christ’s blood covers our sins and the sins of the whole world, seeing as he is the one and only Son of God come in the flesh. Nothing is more valuable than that.

So, this colt is carrying valuable cargo into town. Amazon Prime has got nothing on this foal of a donkey! This is a ride fit for a king. But a unique king with a unique mission. Jesus rides a humble beast of burden, befitting this king who will bear the burden of our sins.

Reserved for a king. That Jesus would ride in on a colt “on which no one has ever sat,” well, that’s appropriate for this one-of-a-kind king. But that’s nothing new for Jesus. After all, there was a special vessel set aside for Jesus to enter this world at Christmas, and that was the womb of the virgin Mary. And then when Jesus dies, there is a special tomb set aside for his use, the tomb belonging to Joseph of Arimathea. Except, Jesus is only going to use that tomb for a couple of days. Not going to stay there long. Jesus rises from the dead on Easter morning.

And now, dear brothers and sisters in Christ, Jesus shares his resurrection life with you. You are baptized into Jesus’ death and resurrection, assuring your forgiveness and everlasting life. You are a new person in Christ. He has purchased and won you with his precious blood, so that now you belong to him. To what end? That you “may be his own and live under him in his kingdom and serve him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness.”

In other words, you–yes, you–have been set aside for a sacred purpose! You, dear Christians, you are his holy people! You have been reserved for this king. In a way, you and I are like that donkey’s colt. It is a high honor to carry Christ with you. We bear his name. Our lives display Christ to the world. We belong to King Jesus. What’s better than that?

Of course, you and I are pretty humble donkeys to ride. But Jesus can still use us to display his glory and his grace. Jesus is quite able to use lowly means. Like in church today. Jesus uses a very imperfect pastor to deliver his message to you. Jesus uses humble means, bread and wine, as the vehicles to give you his body and blood. Humble means, priceless treasures. That’s how King Jesus rolls–and rules!

And as Jesus comes into our midst this morning–and every Sunday morning for this whole new church year–we welcome our king as he comes to us in Word and Sacrament. We praise him and worship him, singing those same words that the crowds in Jerusalem shouted: “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”