Category: “The King Shall Come” series

He Is Bringing Perfect Joy

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(Isaiah 61:1-3, 10-11)

What would you say has been the single most joy-filled event or experience in your lifetime? Things like wedding days and the birth of children often top the list. A life-changing travel experience or mission trip might also rank at or near the top. A championship victory after a perfect or nearly-flawless season could be a source of joy. Is there one joy-filled occasion that stands out for you more than all others?

As you think about whatever it is at the top of your list, does it still fill you with the same level of joy as it did when you originally experienced it? Probably not. Remembering such an occasion does not fill us the way experiencing it does. The worldly joys we experience tend to fade over time.

Christians experience an entirely different kind of joy. The Third Sunday in Advent has historically been referred to as Guadete Sunday, which is Latin for “rejoice.” It is the Sunday in Advent on which the pink candle, the joy candle, is lit. As the Church shifts her attention in this season of Advent from the anticipation of Christ’s Second Coming to its celebration of Christ’s First Coming, the theme of joy is certainly an appropriate one. Joy is ours because Jesus became ours at Christmas. Perfect joy is ours only when perfect Jesus is its source.

I recently came across a definition of joy from another pastor/author that continues to grow on me: “a happiness that isn’t based on happenings.” This understanding of joy allows us to experience it independent of circumstances or situations. It isn’t a conditional feeling or emotion that depends entirely on a specific outcome.

That sets joy and happiness apart. As Christians who know joy, we can be happy even when things don’t go our way. We can be happy even in disappointment, even in sorrow, yes, even in loss. Why? That’s what Isaiah 61 explains for us.

When it comes worldly joys, somewhere in the discussion we have to include experiences of being captivated by nature. Anyone who has ever endured a strenuous hike to view a waterfall knows how rewarding it can be to arrive at the majestic waterfall – it leaves us captivated. An evening with minimal light pollution will leave us captivated by the vast array of stars littered across the night sky. A sunrise or sunset may also leave us captivated by the colors it paints as it reflects on the clouds.

It isn’t just nature that captivates us with that kind of joy. When we have the opportunity to watch people at the top of their craft performing at the highest level, it is captivating. To witness a dancer of the highest caliber glide gracefully and effortlessly, a magician shocking onlookers with an inexplicable trick, a comedian crush a gut-busting set, a band put on a once-in-a-lifetime concert – these types of performances are glimpses of greatness that are so captivating that there is nothing that could distract us in that moment. 

Captivated by Christ

When we have the opportunity to reflect on these words of Isaiah, realizing they are essentially the words of Jesus himself, how can it be anything but captivating? Talk about someone at the top of their craft performing at the highest level! There is no one greater at saving than the Savior, and Isaiah captivates us with rich images of how he would carry out his saving work.   

“The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion” (v1-3a).

There’s something for everyone. “Good news” for “the poor,” “bind[ing] up the brokenhearted,” “freedom for the captives,” “release from darkness,” and “comfort for all who mourn.” 

To be poor is to be without something, to lack something, and the good news of the gospel is that Jesus Christ richly provides everything that is needed! Paul reflected this when he wrote about Jesus, “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9).

To live in a world covered in sin’s fingerprints is to know heartbreak firsthand. Every one of us has been on the receiving end of sin’s crushing blow, victims of sexual abuse and assault, slanderous gossip, betrayal, and infidelity, to name a few. We have experienced trauma and great loss. We are brokenhearted, but it is for the brokenhearted that Jesus came, that he might bind up our wounded hearts!

To live in a world covered in sin’s fingerprints also acknowledges that far too many of those fingerprints are mine. We aren’t only on the receiving end of the heartbreak we just described; too often we are also the cause of it. By nature we can do nothing but sin. When outside of faith, people are helplessly enslaved to sin and have no choice but to sin – it’s all they can do. Apart from Jesus, we are captive, prisoners to sin and sin’s source, Satan. And for those captives, for those prisoners, Jesus Christ came to provide freedom and release!

To live in a world covered in sin’s fingerprints is to know mourning and grieving, for even when the cause of that mourning and grieving may not directly affect us at all, it still affects us. The internet and smart phones have partnered together to saturate our heads and hearts with more stories of sadness and tragedy from all over the world than any culture has ever before been exposed to. We see citizens of other countries harmed by their own government instead of protected by it, a flood of innocent lives cut short by senseless wars, the trafficking of women and children, those in our own community bending over another garbage can hoping to salvage something for their next meal, cancer diagnoses, tragic accidents – all of it is more than our heads and hearts were ever intended to process. But even as we sit in a pool of tears, Jesus Christ came to comfort and provide for us!

How can we be anything but captivated by Christ and the saving work he came to do? Talk about someone at the top of their craft performing at the highest level! There is no one greater at saving than the Savior! 

Clothed with Christ

Not only are we captivated by Christ; Isaiah reminds us that we’re also clothed with Christ. “he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels” (v.10). Dressed in Christ, you’ve never looked better! Christ alone has your salvation and your righteousness covered, and by faith he now covers you with them. 

Salvation is a term that is used to frequently that we can easily lose sight of the weight of its significance. Think of the police officer wearing his bulletproof vest. In a non-theological sense, that vest may very well be responsible for his salvation. It could stop a bullet that would otherwise end his life!

If I am wearing Christ’s salvation, then I have protection even greater than a bullet-proof vest. I have something that will protect and save me for eternity. Dressed with salvation, forgiveness is assured and my name is written in the Book of Life. I have his salvation, so nothing more is needed. I am saved. I am safe.

And his robe of righteousness that also covers me means that I measure up. I am good enough. I am right with God. We have a tendency to look back and wonder if we said the right thing, did the right thing, or acted in the right way. But if I am wearing Christ’s robe of righteousness, his “right-ness” means that every right thing that has ever been required for my salvation has already been carried out in Christ.

It’s difficult to imagine Isaiah’s imagery here without considering the place of baptism in the life of the Christian, “for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ” (Galatians 3:27). Paul explains that these clothes are draped upon the child of God in baptism. In baptism you were dressed with the garments of salvation and Christ’s robe of righteousness. Not only are you the best dressed, but you are also dressed completely with everything you need. I don’t need to keep shopping for another outfit to try to impress God. I don’t need to keep running back to my own closet to pretend I can find there an outfit that has fewer stains or might fool the Father with an appearance of minimal stain or blemish. I am clothed with Christ in baptism!

Now then, being captivated by Christ and clothed with Christ, what is our response? We rejoice, of course! Verse 10 is the believer’s joyful response at all of this joyful news. “I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God.”  The word translated “delight” is actually the same word for “joy” repeated in the original, so as to amplify the joy. The believer is saying “I rejoiced with great joy” or “I joyfully rejoiced.” Then a different “joy” word is used in the second part, which could also be “exalt” or “celebrate.” The point is clear no matter how we translate it – so long as we have Jesus Christ, we have joy, and reason to rejoice! 

Today, this week, next weekend, and throughout the season of Christmas and beyond, rejoice. Delight in the Lord.

How does one do that? I don’t just mean singing favorite Christmas hymns like Joy to the World (while that certainly can be included as a part of it!).

Delighting in and rejoicing in Jesus is not accidental. It is deliberate. It is intentional. It is planned. It is a priority. It is something we can and ought to do every day as we hit the pause button, whether in the morning or at any time of the day. Reflect and be captivated by Christ. Marvel that you are clothed with Christ (you could certainly use Isaiah 61:1-3 for reflection!). Let no other worries or anxieties rob you of rejoicing, for your joy is not a happiness based on happenings, but a joy in Jesus. A perfect joy from a perfect Savior. 

Prepare to Meet Him

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(2 Peter 3:8-14)

The story of Goldilocks and the three bears finds Goldilocks stumbling upon the residence of three bears while they are out on a walk. As she makes herself at home, she first sits down on a chair, only to find it is too hard. The next chair is too delicate. Finally, the third chair is just right. She makes her way over to the table to find one bowl of porridge is too hot and another too cold, but the third is just right. As nap time beckons, she tries out the beds. The first bed is too hard and the second is too soft, but the third is – you guessed it – just right.  

When it comes to our perception of God’s timing, we find Goldilocks’ struggle very relatable. God’s timing in life can often feel like one of two extremes – either too slow or too quick. We pray and pray and pray, and find our patience tested as we wait on God’s answers to that prayer. Or, we are caught completely off guard by an event that happened so unexpectedly, finding us unready and unprepared.

Peter described the apparent discrepancy between our perception of time and God’s when he wrote, “With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day” (v.8). While Peter isn’t writing in literal terms, he is reminding us that our view of time is vastly different than God’s, who remember, created time in the first place. When it comes to God’s timing, however, it is not too slow or too quick. No, God’s Goldilock timing is just right.

Not too slow. Not too fast. Just right. 

What that means for us as we prepare to meet Christ our King when he returns again on the Last Day is that he isn’t behind schedule. He hasn’t forgotten. He hasn’t gotten caught up in his other responsibilities so that it just slipped his mind that he does in fact need to return again on the Last Day!

What’s more, as much as we dwell on the time we spend waiting for his return, we’re not the only ones waiting – so is the Lord! For what? “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance” (v.9). The King Shall Come… when all those he is waiting for come to repentance and turn to him in faith. When that happens, he will return.

With that assurance, our minds are settled not having to worry about whether God’s timing is late or early. When we keep that in mind, we can redirect our thoughts to the here and now – to how we live. As we wait for everything to be just right for Jesus to return, how do we make sure we’re “just right” in our living? How do we make sure we’re prepared to meet him?

Before we explore that more, let’s make sure we grasp a pretty remarkable detail about these verses. We can’t possibly miss the language Peter uses to describe what the end of the world will be like when Jesus returns. “The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare… everything will be destroyed in this way” (v.10-11). “That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat” (v.12).

Sounds like a modern-day Sodom & Gomorrah – but at least that destruction was limited to one relatively small area! The devastation Peter describes will involve the whole earth. It will take place everywhere. How terrifying!

Yet that’s what is noticeably missing from Peter. There’s no terror. No fear. This description isn’t fear-mongering on Peter’s part; rather, he is just providing us with the details of how different the world’s destruction will be at that time compared to how God poured out his devastation the first time through the world-wide flood. But nowhere does Peter pen words of fear or trepidation or terror regarding that last day. 

Nor should he, because that will not be a day of dread for the child of God. Jesus has assured us of that through Paul’s letter to the Thessalonian Christians. “For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage one another with these words” (1 Thessalonians 4:16-18). Paul didn’t direct his hearers to terrify one another with this news, but rather to encourage each other. 

That same encouragement is what Peter is providing here so that we pay attention to and to prioritize how we are living in the meantime. Now believers already know that we don’t have to be afraid of that Last Day since we’re saved through faith in Jesus by God’s grace alone. So, one might naturally ask why it matters how we live up until that point. If Jesus has already accomplished forgiveness and salvation on our behalf, then why does it matter how we live right now?

Good question. Peter thought so, too, which is why he addressed it. “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance” (v.9). There you have it. God, whose desire is to not be separated from anyone for eternity, is patiently waiting for repentance. And how you live plays a very significant part in that.

This happens in two ways. We live good lives and we live godly lives.

To better understand the first way your good lives affect others coming to repentance, consider when it is that you are most comfortable doing what you know is wrong (excluding the times you’re by yourself or you imagine no one else will find out). Isn’t easiest to engage in wrong, sinful behavior when you are in the presence of others who are doing the same thing or at least permissive of it?

One rather extreme example of this might be when we hear of mobs or very large groups of people bursting into a store to grab and steal as much as they can before hurrying out. A good number of those participating would never do that on their own, but when surrounded by a group of people doing the same thing, they become emboldened. Their conscience is quieted by a crowd of criminals. When what is wrong or sinful becomes normal and accepted in the world, it’s not only much easier to follow suit, it becomes natural.

How do we change that? Christians wake up from our sleepy, sloppy sanctified living and start being much more intentional about doing good, about doing the right thing so that the world doesn’t feel so comfortable with what is wrong.

“But it’s too late,” you reason. “It won’t make a difference,” you think. “I’m just one person.” Understand that your excuses are directed against the very words of God in these verses when he reveals that he is patiently wanting everyone to come to repentance and calling you to live a holy life that can help that happen!

So if you disagree that how you live will make a difference, you need to take that up with God and explain that you have a better solution in mind than his! Otherwise, if not, then by God’s grace and the Holy Spirit’s power, let’s “Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us” (1 Peter 2:12)! To “glorify God on the day he visits us” is to carry out the very repentance God is waiting on, which results in turning to Jesus and trusting in him for salvation. That is the best way we can glorify God!

But it isn’t just our good lives that ought to grab the attention of others; it’s also our godly lives. What’s the difference? There is another way your life can affect others’ coming to repentance. Through your own repentance. A godly life is one that shows the place of God in it. That means repentance. Not only are we striving to do right to lead others to repentance, but we also lead others to repentance by… modeling it ourselves.

Paul recognized God’s patience in leading him to repentance served that very purpose. “But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life” (1 Timothy 1:16). Paul didn’t try to hide his past or keep his skeletons in the closet. Instead, he willingly confessed his sin, realizing that God’s patience in his own life could serve as an attractive example to others. Paul wasn’t afraid to draw attention to his sin, because he knew that through it, what would really end up in the spotlight was God’s patient grace. 

The most natural place to begin getting better at repentance would seem to be in our own homes, in our marriages, and in our families. After all, those are the people who are most frequently going to witness our words and actions that call for repentance (and sadly, are the same ones who are too often on the receiving end of our sinful words and actions).

How would managing conflict within your marriage look different if each spouse started out with repentance, apologizing for what they did wrong or could have done better (and there is almost always something!)? How could we better show our children what godly living looks like by not only making Sunday morning worship a priority and giving them Jesus every day in our Lutheran elementary schools, but also – and most importantly, I would contend – showing them repentance at home by apologizing to them and in front of them when we have done wrong? We tell children they ought to do this, but we aren’t always so great at it ourselves. 

And what we’re really modeling through regular repentance is not just contrition, a sorrow over sin, acknowledging that sin IS a big deal. No, it also models complete confidence in the gospel, that God’s grace shown to us through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus means absolute confidence that our sins are forgiven. To live in the joy and freedom the gospel affords us is to have no need of hiding our sin or clinging to it. Instead, we can bring it out into the open, expose it, and kill it through confession, since our Savior has already nailed it to his cross and paid for it in full. It’s already forgiven – but we only enjoy the bliss of that forgiveness when we confess our sin in repentance. 

What do others see when they witness that repentance in us? A total reliance on a God of mercy and grace. A dependence on a God they can’t find anywhere else but where he has revealed himself to us in Scripture. A God who wants to be just as gracious and merciful to them when they are brought to repentance. And then, when that happens, when all those the Lord is waiting for are brought to him in faith, then that day will come, and the new heaven and earth, the new home of righteousness, will not only be ours, but it will be theirs, too! 

He Is Coming to Save Us

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(Mark 11:1-10)

“What’s he doing here?” Depending on the circumstances, that question could be asked for a number of different reasons. It could be an expression of delight if someone showed up unexpectedly and made a surprise appearance. It could also be asked out of disdain or disbelief, implying that for one reason or another, it is out of line or inappropriate for that person to be attending. Or, the question could be because the inquirer is unaware of any connection between that specific person and this unique event. Regardless of the motivation or intent behind asking the question, the one asking it is looking for an explanation as to why that person is present. 

As we begin The King Shall Come series, before we feverishly race to get to the end of the month and rush to the base of the tree to tear open presents, we want to pause during this season of Advent to ponder. We do so by starting out reflecting on that very question: “What’s he doing here?” “Why does it matter that Jesus came in the first place?” 

I am aware that if you look at the title of this post, you might be able to provide a pretty quick answer to that question and conclude that this post could be much shorter. But would you agree with me that having certain information or knowledge in your head is not always the same as having it in your heart?

We can learn facts. We can receive information about certain topics. We can be taught to regurgitate answers. But knowing something (head) isn’t the same as knowing something (heart). Through this series, we want to make sure that, regarding the coming of our King, this knowing (head) connects with this knowing (heart). 

It’s one thing to know a headline in the news about a tragedy (head). It’s sad anytime we hear reports of accidents that result in injury or death. Nevertheless, the news cycle continues, right on to the next story and to another one after that.

But when the news report of injury or death involves your family member or friend, the world seems to stop. While the news may continue right on to the next story, you’re stuck; your heavy heart is weighed down more deeply. Suddenly it isn’t just news; it’s your life. A part of your life has been directly impacted and now the head knowledge and the heart are connected.

As we look at Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem on that first Palm Sunday, it’s more than just information that is being passed onto us; what happened there impacted our whole life, even our eternal life.

The event recorded in Mark 11 is a little bit like the movie that starts out right in the beginning by showing a flash forward. As we start out the new church year and are still looking forward to celebrating Jesus’ birth, Mark takes us on a flash forward to the week of Jesus’ death. So why are we focusing on the days before Jesus’ Good Friday death while just weeks away from the celebration of his Christmas birth? We’re here because it provides a crystal clear answer to our question, “What’s he doing here?” Kind of. 

I say “kind of” because while we have the right answer from the crowds, but the answers are not given for the right reason. You know how that can happen sometimes. A student in the classroom who has not been paying attention at all suddenly gets called out by the teacher with a curveball question. Out of nowhere, the student’s long-shot answer to that question is… shockingly, totally correct! But if you press further and ask the student why that’s the answer, he wouldn’t have a clue.

So the onlookers crowding Jesus as he entered Jerusalem gave the right answer to the question we’re asking, but they didn’t really know why it was the right answer. 

Their answer to the question was, “Hosanna!” Yes – that was why Jesus had come. The meaning of that exclamation is essentially, “Save us, Lord!” That was what God said he would do through the Messiah promised by the prophets. He promised to do just that – save his people.

Their answer was also “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.” Yes – the crowds knew Jesus was not just your garden variety prophet or preacher, but was representing the Lord himself. As such, blessing would most assuredly accompany him, as is always the case for the Lord’s representatives in one way or another. 

Their answer to the question, “What’s he doing here?” was “Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!” Recall the prophecy from Ezekiel, the promise of the Shepherd King, David. Remember that Ezekiel wasn’t speaking about King David of the Old Testament, who had died generations ago, but rather David’s greater Son, Jesus. The crowds were acknowledging that the One riding into Jerusalem had come as the fulfillment of God’s promise through Ezekiel to send another “David” whose kingdom would never end.

Yes, the shouts of the crowds were all correct answers to the question, “What’s he doing here?” But they were correct in the wrong way. They were the classmate who got the answer correct, but couldn’t begin to explain why it was correct.  Yes, Jesus had come to save them… but not in the way they had assumed he would save them.

To better make sense of their understanding, we don’t really have to look all that much further than the present day conflict over Israel. The expectation of a promised temporal kingdom or state, a reality tied to real estate and boundaries and nationality and earthly government – these same expectations still exist today. 

And still today they miss the point, as they did when Jesus rode into Jerusalem. The peoples’ refusal to pay attention to Jesus’ own words, their failure to understand the Old Testament prophets, has resulted in people that are still today looking for the wrong thing. The kingdom Jesus came to usher in has no border or geographical location. The deliverance Jesus came to bring wasn’t a deliverance from physical slavery, oppression, or racism. None of those misunderstandings grasp why Jesus came to save.

But it is hardly just those with Jewish roots or ties to Israel who miss why Jesus came. Like those Jerusalem crowds, people – even those professing to be Christians – can provide the right answer to the question of why Jesus came without being able to explain why their answer is correct. He came to save. Yes, that is the correct answer. 

Some, however, degrade his saving work by redefining it. They believe and teach that Jesus merely made it possible for people to be saved. They contend that Jesus made salvation possible for everyone who does their best and tries their hardest. So long as we give it our best shot trying to be like Jesus, then Jesus will generously fill in the gaps and pick up any slack for us. By that token, what Jesus did hinges on the assumption that you’ve done your best. Only then is Jesus of any benefit.

But he is no Savior who requires or depends on anything at all from us. If we are a part of the equation when it comes to our salvation, then the only thing we can be sure of is our disqualification. For all we can bring to the table even on our finest days are works that are nothing more than the filthy rags described by Isaiah.

Others wrongly conclude that Jesus coming to save means that everyone is guaranteed heaven, regardless of what is believed (or not believed!). All people everywhere, regardless of religious affiliation or any faith at all, will ultimately end up in “a better place.” Call it heaven or paradise or whatever else you like.

While that might seem a nice thought, to hold on to such a thought is to turn a blind eye to the clear teachings of the Bible that warn repeatedly of hell and souls condemned to it specifically as a result of their unbelief and rejection of Jesus. So neither of those misunderstandings of Jesus saving can be correct, no matter how much one’s heart might tell him otherwise.

What then is the correct meaning to attach to this answer that Jesus came to save? The apostle Paul seemed to have a pretty good handle on it. He wrote, “Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst” (1 Timothy 1:15).

There you have it: Jesus came to save sinners. What exactly is a sinner? It’s the person who acknowledges that his sin slams shut the door to heaven, leaving only the one-way path to hell and eternal suffering. Such a person confesses her wrongs and inability to do right 100% of the time as God demands. Jesus came to save sinners.   

And know that Jesus’ joy and delight is not to judge and condemn, but to save. Jesus explained, “If anyone hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge that person. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world” (John 12:47). Jesus came to save!

What’s he doing here? Jesus came to save! He came to save us from our sins. “But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins” (1 John 3:5).

What’s he doing here? Jesus came to save! He came to save us from the devil’s work. “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work” (1 John 3:8).

Are you a sinner? Good news – the best news of all: Jesus came to save you! Believe it!

“What’s he doing here?” Depending on the circumstances, the question could be asked for a number of different reasons. When it’s asked of Jesus, make sure we have not only the right reason for asking it, but more importantly, the right answer to the question. The King came on that first Christmas to save, to pay with his life the price necessary to save us. The King will come again on the Last Day to complete the final act of saving and whisk us away from all sin and accompanying sorrow. And who did he come to save?

He came to save sinners. He came to save you.