Matthew 21:1-11 Advent Message
Text: Matthew 21:1-11
Grace and Peace to you from God our Father and the Lord
Jesus Christ. Amen.
Does it not seem odd that on the first day of Advent that
our Gospel lesson for today was on Jesus coming to Jerusalem on a Donkey? Is this not a text that we typically read on
Palm Sunday? So why on earth did we read
this Palm Sunday text today in the midst of our Christmas decoration and the
beginning of the Advent Season?
Shouldn’t we be reading Bible passages about the manger, the wise men,
the star, Mary and Joseph? Hmm, maybe
the pastor accidentally got the scriptures passages of Easter week and
Christmas mixed up? Right?
Actually, today is the first day of Advent, not Easter as
you all know. Furthermore, your pastor
did not get Christmas and Easter mixed up.
You see, the word Advent is Latin for ‘Coming.’ Thus, today is the first day of the Advent
season where we celebrate God ‘coming’ to us.
That is what Christmas is ultimately about. Indeed each Sunday of this Advent Season is a
celebration, a countdown if you well, to Christmas—the birth of Jesus; God with
us. Yes, each Sunday is the celebration
of the coming of Christ to us in a manger.
Therefore, when we consider the Gospel text for today it begins to make
sense.
In our Gospel lesson we see that Jesus is approaching the
city of Jerusalem on a Donkey. Keep in
mind that he wasn’t going to Jerusalem for a weekend get-away. He wasn’t going to Jerusalem for a week-long conference. Rather Jesus came to Jerusalem some
two-thousand years ago to die. He was on
a mission. He had his eyes fixed on the Cross. Over and over and over in the four Gospels we
see Jesus telling the disciples that He needed to go, that He must go to
Jerusalem to suffer and die. Therefore,
by reading the text of Jesus coming to Jerusalem on a donkey towards His death
on this first day of this Advent season of Zion Lutheran Church, it actually reminds
us right now that Jesus came into this world for the purpose of not being
served but serving us and giving up His life as a ransom for you and me.
This puts a whole different perspective on the Christmas
Season does it not? Mary became pregnant
and Jesus was born so that He might die.
He was born to die. Yes, the
Advent Season is a time of God coming to mankind and Christmas Day is when the God-man
Jesus meets man. Then from Christmas on
we see that the life of Jesus presses towards and funnels into the Cross.
It is rather amazing to take a step back and consider the
fact that Jesus was born for the purpose of the Cross. It is rather remarkable to think about Jesus’
focus and intent being that of the Cross where He would suffer and die. What I am getting at is that Christ approached
pain and suffering. In fact, He rode right into it.
How many of you enjoy going toward or approaching
conflict, pain, and struggles? When
someone gets a cold or the flu how many of you immediately flock to that person
to embrace them and love them? When you
think of a hospital, how many of you enjoy or like going into hospitals? When you have a marital conflict and you are
getting done with work for the day, how many of you are excited to approach an
upset spouse? When you are expecting a
large credit card bill and you approach the mail box, are you excited or
dreading to see that envelop? When you
go on trips, how many of you enjoy driving into a snow storm when you have an
option to go around things? When a
person is disappointed with you or you have had a past conflict, how many of
you want to go and hang out with that person?
The reality is that we try and avoid conflicts, pain, and
struggles at all costs. This is a part
of what some call our survival instinct.
We just don’t march into pain, struggles, and conflict. Now, just to be clear, much of this is
certainly healthy, for we are to be good stewards of our bodies, health, and so
forth. It is not wise nor Godly for us
to subject ourselves to things that would inflict harm or intentionally
jeopardize our ability to parent and serve others that depend on us. However, let me ask you this, how are you in
dealing with your sin?
You see, as people of the church we are very diligent to
identify and call sin-sin. In fact, both
church-goers and complete pagans are very good at pointing out the plank of sin
in other people’s lives. Indeed, we are
very good at identifying sin in other people’s lives and then we typically do
nothing about it except distance ourselves from it. Furthermore, when we are confronted with our
own sin we try and avoid it all costs. For
example: we deny our sin (i.e., I didn’t do anything wrong); we run from our
sins of the past (i.e., keep them locked thus they become our skeleton’s in our
closets); we blame others (i.e., the Devil made me do it); we minimize our sin
by saying it is not as bad as other major sins (i.e., at least I am not like
those people); we try and overcome our sin by doing an abundance of good works;
and we drown out our sin by numbing ourselves with illegal substances or
abusing over the counter drugs. Truly,
we are master escape artists when it comes to our own sin; always keeping it at
least an arm’s length away.
So, what do we learn from our texts today and what does
this Advent Season teach us in regard to our sin that we try and avoid? My friends, we believe, teach, and confess
each Advent Season that the sinless Lamb of God, Jesus the Christ, was born
into this World for sinners, for you and me.
“Had there been no sin on earth, there would have been no
Christmas. Had there been no sinners,
there would have been no need of a Savior.” (Fredrick Wisloff, Hvil eder litt) Two-thousand years ago Jesus Christ
approached your sin in His birth and He approached your sin on the donkey as He
rode into Jerusalem towards Calvary’s Cross. And get this, upon that Cross—a Cross that
should’ve been for you and for me, a Cross where you and I are not only unable
to pay for our sin but a Cross that we are totally and utterly afraid of—Jesus
encountered your sin and mine, bore it upon Himself, was forsaken by the
Father, endured hell, and then said, “It… Is... Finished!” My
friends, the very sin that causes us to step back from is the sin that Jesus
stepped towards and into when He was born in the manger. The very sin that we try not to own is the
sin that Jesus owned, as His own, on the Cross.
He did this because He loves you and is not willing to let you
perish. Like a boxer stepping into the
opponent’s punches to deliver a knock out uppercut, Christ stepped into our
sin, He stepped into our death; He stepped into hell on that Cross… and said
“It is Finished.” These word echo
throughout eternity and they are words especially for you and for me right here
and right now.
That is what Advent is about. It is about the God of the universe not being
content to leave us helpless and alone in our sins, but rather pursued us and
ultimately brought death to sin.
This changes everything!
Because of Christ and His mission of coming to you and me we can confess
with boldness that we are indeed great sinners but that we have a greater
Savior. No need to deny our sin, blame,
minimize, and so forth! Rather, when the
world and the devil throw your sins in your face and declare that you deserve
death and hell, we can confess with Martin Luther,
"I admit that I deserve death and hell, what of it? For I know One who suffered and made satisfaction on my behalf. His name is Jesus Christ, Son of God, and where He is there I shall be also!”
Indeed my friends, Christ
came for you. You are baptized into His
death and resurrected anew in Him.
May
the peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in
Christ Jesus. Amen.
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