The text this morning is from the Gospel according to Luke, the nineteenth chapter:
And when he had said these things, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. When he drew near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount that is called Olivet, he 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 has ever yet 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.’ ” So those who were sent went away and found it just as he had told them. And as they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, “Why are you untying the colt?” And they said, “The Lord has need of it.” And they brought it to Jesus, and throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it. And as he rode along, they spread their cloaks on the road. As he was drawing near—already on the way down the Mount of Olives—the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen, saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.”Thus far the text.
My dear friends in Christ,
Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace among those with whom He is pleased! This, the angels cried out on the night Jesus Christ was born. And, this, the people cried out as Jesus entered into Jerusalem to die. Angels cry out with praise and wonder as the Son of God became man. Men cry out with need of mercy as the Man comes in their midst.
We find ourselves now beginning the season of Advent. A happy new year to you. Advent is a word coming from the Latin, Adventus, meaning “arrived,” as in, Jesus has arrived in the flesh to redeem His people. It’s appropriate that we look to His first coming, spending these four weeks looking in wonder back at that stable in Bethlehem, where the infant Lord, the Bread of Life, lay in a manger where sheep and oxen would eat. But we must also look forward, look to the future, when our Lord comes again to judge the living and the dead.
The Triumphal Entry of Jesus, normally a Scripture read on Palm Sunday, finds us here today, because it reminds of that Jesus has come and He is coming. He came into Jerusalem, willingly, that He might lay down His life for His sheep. He came to be slaughtered. He came to give His life up that He might take it up again. He came to save His people from their sins. He came to die that you might live.
Jesus, entering into Jerusalem, rides in on a donkey. Now, kings were often portrayed as riding animals. It was a seat of power to control a raging beast with your own, smaller body. Hannibal had elephants, Pharaoh had his horses, but no one rode donkeys. Donkeys are slow, dumb, ugly creatures. Sorry to the donkey lovers. You just don’t ride a donkey into battle.
Imagine a king riding a donkey, only, like, three feet tall, and he comes up against another king, riding a war horse, over five feet tall. Who’s got the advantage? What king is going to put himself at a disadvantage? When it came to king, royalty, wars, donkeys were not it. Except in one particular situation.
When a king would come to visit, or he would come to get married to his bride in her city, which would not be his, he would come on a donkey. Imagine a king from Jordan, coming to Jerusalem to fetch his bride. He would come riding on a donkey because it was a symbol of peace. No king goes to war on a donkey. If he’s on it, he’s at a disadvantage. He comes in peace.
So, it is, that the King of Kings, the Lord Jesus Christ, enters into Jerusalem in peace to come for His bride. He comes to do no violence to her, to bring no war. “Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.” The Lord comes to bring no war, yet, before the week is over, violence shall be done to Him; He shall be murdered and crucified, nailed to a tree to die in agony. Twice now, if you’re counting, the Lord has come in peace. But not again.
The first time, the Lord came as an infant, crying, mewling, dependent completely on the love of His mother. None could take offense at the babe, He could do no wrong. Not only was this the Son of God in the flesh, perfect in His conception, but what can a baby to hurt others. Yet, King Herod’s rage at the threat that Jesus brought to his throne and his rule demanded violence, and ended with the murder of potentially dozens of young boys, two and under. The King comes in peace, but the world erupts in violence. Herod could not touch the boy Jesus, so he kills more.
The second time He came in this, the Triumphal Entry. Here He enters peaceably, the people calling Him the King of Jews, bringing Him into the city. He has declared peace in the land by coming on a donkey, and that He might not get Himself dirty, that He might be presentable at the wedding feast, the throw down their cloaks and palm branches, covering the mud and filth of their lives that it might not get on Him. Yet, even as the Bridegroom of the Church comes in peace to her, she erupts with violence against Him. They put hands on Jesus, guiding Him to the cross, yet this was His plan the whole time.
For though the world would do Him ill, the Lord means it for good. Though they would murder Him, in His resurrection, Jesus reveals for you the promise of all good things, your free forgiveness of sins, your resurrection from the dead, your life eternal with Him. Though the city ended that Holy Week in violence against Him, the Lord showed not His sword or His shield, but gave up His life. After all, He came in peace.
Yet, the time is coming when He rides no more on a donkey, but on a horse. Hear the Spirit’s inspiration of John’s revelation:
Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords. Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and with a loud voice he called to all the birds that fly directly overhead, “Come, gather for the great supper of God, to eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all men, both free and slave, both small and great.” And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies gathered to make war against him who was sitting on the horse and against his army. And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who in its presence had done the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur. And the rest were slain by the sword that came from the mouth of him who was sitting on the horse, and all the birds were gorged with their flesh.These are war images, images our Lord brings with Him at the end. When He comes again, comes for the last time, He comes not in peace, but to make war against the world. He desires no the death of the wicked, yet, for the sake of His beloved bride, whom He claimed by His bloody death, the marks of it still upon His robes, He will kill all those who stand against Him. Imagine His face set like steel, His sword unsheathed and held to strike down dead all who would come against her or Him. Imagine His nostrils flaring, His horse pounding its hooves into the ground. Imagine the death and destruction that await all those who have done ill to His bride, the Church. It will not be a good day for them.
Yet, on that day, you and all who will be gathered to Jesus will be safely protected by His mighty, outstretched arm. You will be guarded and kept safe until He is finished slaughtering the evil, and remaking that which is good. You shall be safe, for you belong to Him. He’s won you, He’s collected you through His death and resurrection. He came in peace, to bring you to Himself, and so He did. He arrived in Jerusalem to be for her the Bridegroom of her youth. And so He’s won her and the Church.
You see, this is Advent. Christ arrived, advented, in the manger. Christ arrived, advented, in Jerusalem. And Christ is arriving, adventing, soon to judge the living and the dead. And like the angels at His birth, like the people as He came into Jerusalem, so, too, shall we cry out, Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace among those with whom He is pleased! For those who hate Him, He shall be on His horse and there will be no peace, but He will have peace with you, for He has shown it in His Triumphal Entry, declared it through His death, and won you by His resurrection. You are at peace with God, and you shall never be put to shame in Him. He is coming soon, and you shall see it with your eyes, crying out, Hallelujah! Hosanna! Gloria! Glory to God in the highest!! In Jesus’ name, amen.
Now may the peace of God which passes all human understanding guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord! Amen.
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