Bible Passage: Luke 19:28-40
Pastor: Michael Willitz
Sermon Date: November 28, 2021

Bulletin November 28, 2021

Luke 19:28–40

²⁸After Jesus had said these things, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. ²⁹As he came near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the place called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples ahead, ³⁰saying, “Go to the village ahead of you. When you enter it, you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it here. ³¹And if anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ you will say this: ‘The Lord needs it.’”

³²Those who were sent ahead went and found things just as he had told them. ³³As they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, “Why are you untying the colt?”

³⁴They said, “The Lord needs it.”

³⁵Then they brought the colt to Jesus. They threw their robes on the colt and set Jesus on it. ³⁶As he went along, people spread their robes on the road. ³⁷As he was approaching the slope of the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began to praise God joyfully, with a loud voice, for all the miracles they had seen, ³⁸saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”

³⁹Some of the Pharisees from the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!”

⁴⁰He replied, “I tell you, if these people would be silent, the stones would cry out.”

Interrupted by Christ’s Advent

1. He comes, intent on your attention.
2. He comes, intent on your salvation.

It was a busy day in Jerusalem. It was the first day of Passover week. And since Jewish law required all Jewish men to present themselves in Jerusalem for the feast, the whole city and all of its suburbs overflowed with pilgrims who had travelled from all over the world. It was Sunday, so the Sabbath was ended, and all of these throngs of people would have been bustling about, as busy as worker ants in an ant colony. So many arrangements needed to be made, the same kind of arrangements that you need to make whenever you travel to a different city: Where am I going to stay while I am here? What am I going to find for lunch today? When am I supposed to meet Uncle Bob and Aunt Selma? And did they say Pool of Siloam or Pool of Bethesda? On top of these typical travel arrangements, this Sunday was the day for choosing the Passover lamb. Every family had to select their lamb, a lamb without blemish who fit all the requirements, a lamb to be slaughtered on Thursday that week. I think it’s safe to say it was a busy day in Jerusalem. Yet whatever the business was that the people needed to attend to, whatever the arrangements were that the people needed to make, it all took a back seat for a little while that day when the busy city of Jerusalem was Interrupted by Christ’s Advent.

Like the pilgrims in Jerusalem, we also find ourselves in a busy time, don’t we? We’re still recovering from the feast last week, from the food, from the family, from all the frenzy that goes with it. And we’ve got a month of busy-ness ahead of us now with holiday shopping and decorating and baking, with Christmas get-togethers to attend and Christmas letters and cards to send. It’s a busy time, and we are busy people. God grant that for a little while all that business and all those arrangements can take a back seat. God grant that in this year and in this season we, too, may be Interrupted by Christ’s Advent. Jesus comes, intent on your attention. Jesus comes, intent on your salvation.

See how Jesus comes to Jerusalem in our text, and see how Jesus commands the attention of all as he approaches. This is not a silent and secretive operation to be carried out in disguise and under the cover of darkness. No, Jesus is very conspicuous. He makes sure that everyone can see and notice him. See how he sends two disciples ahead of him to secure the colt that will serve as his royal steed. See how he permits them to lay their robes on its back and on the road ahead of him as he rides. Listen as they call out, and Jesus does not stop them. He lets his identity be broadcast for every ear to hear: “This is the Christ! This is our King, David’s Son! He is coming in the name of the Lord! He is coming to bring salvation!” Even when his enemies demand that Jesus muzzle his disciples, he responds to them, “If they would be silent, then the stones would cry aloud.” On this Sunday, Jesus is pleased to interrupt all that is happening in Jerusalem. He is pleased for all to notice his arrival, and there was simply no ignoring it. You could not ignore the bright green palm fronds; you could not ignore the joyful shouts; you could not ignore the festive procession as it draped down the slope of the Mount of Olives. You could either join in the joyful welcome or you could turn away and grumble about all the commotion, but Jesus commanded the attention of all that day.

And, likewise, he comes to us to command our attention today. He comes to us not on the back of an adolescent donkey. He comes to us, instead, in his Holy Word. He comes in his Word, he interrupts us where he finds us. Sometimes he interrupts us in sin, and he calls us to repentance, like the time when he interrupted the life of the woman at the well, a woman who had lived a life of adultery, or like the time he interrupted the life of Zacchaeus, a tax collector who had profited greatly at the expense of others. Sometimes he interrupts us when we are distraught over our sins. Think of Peter, who denied Jesus three times, but then was interrupted in his guilt and his shame when Jesus appeared to him on Easter. However the Savior finds us when he comes to us in his Word, may we not turn away from him or grumble at the interruption. He desires our attention when he comes in his Word, because he comes to us with our salvation in mind. He came to Zacchaeus, and he came to that woman at the well to turn their hearts from embracing sin to embrace instead the Savior of sinners. He came to Peter to remove his fear and to fill him instead with the peace of forgiveness.

Jesus comes to you, likewise, to give you salvation. So do not cling to your sin, but send it away, just as the owners of the colt dismissed their animal when Jesus commanded. And do not stagger in despair over the guilt of your sins, but throw that guilt from your shoulders just as the disciples threw down their cloaks. The Savior comes to you in the Word, and he comes intent on your salvation. It is an interruption that every single one of us needs, because without his intervention we would all be headed for destruction.

As Jesus rode on that colt to the city of Jerusalem, the days of the city were numbered. God’s judgment would finally descend on the city at the hands of the Roman Legions. In the year 70, roughly 40 years after Jesus’ Palm Sunday entrance, the stones of the city and the temple cried aloud as Roman soldiers hurled them down to the ground. The days of the Savior’s visitation were past, and the Day of Judgment had arrived.

Dear friends, another Day of Judgment is coming, a Judgment Day for not just one city, but for the entire world. On that Day, Jesus will not come in humility, but he will come in glory with all of his saints. He will sit on his throne, and he will divide all mankind, and he will declare the final verdict of eternal life or eternal fire. The days of the earth are numbered, and God alone knows what the number is. We do not whether the final day will be today or tomorrow or a thousand years in the future. What we do know is that until that final day arrives, we are still in the time of our Lord’s visitation, and every single time he comes to us it is not an inconvenient interruption. It is a blessed interruption. It is a merciful visit from the only Savior there will ever be, and he is intent on your salvation.

And if you have doubts about that last part, if you are unsure that the Savior’s will is salvation for you, then take a look once more at his entrance into Jerusalem. Jesus knows full well what is going to happen there. He who knows exactly where his disciples will find an unbroken colt also knows what suffering, what shame, and what damnation await him in five short days to come. Yet he still approaches. He still rides on. He still draws near to the city, coming ever closer to his death. And he who knows all these things also knows who it is that he is dying for. He knows you, and he knows me. He knows your sins and he knows mine, just as much as he knew the denial of Peter, just as much as he knew the greed of Zacchaeus and the adultery of the woman at the well. He knows all your sins, and he is intent on forgiving every single one of them. If the forgiveness of your sins was not his most earnest desire, do you think he would keep going? Do you think he would ride to Jerusalem? Do you think that this King of Glory would accept a crown of thorns for his head? Do you think he would allow himself to be placed on a cross for his throne? But he did. He willingly accepted the judgment that you deserved for all your sins, and in return, he gives you forgiveness and he credits his righteousness as yours.

He comes to you now so that you may believe it, so that you may receive forgiveness and his righteousness through faith. This is why we have Baptism. It is not just plain water, but it is water combined with God’s Word. Jesus interrupts our life in Baptism, he washes away all sin and guilt, he gives us the pledge of a clean, spotless conscience before God. And Jesus comes in the Absolution, which is not empty talk. It is Jesus’ Word of forgiveness spoken from the mouth of our pastor. Every time we hear the Absolution, it is a gracious interruption from Jesus, letting us know the Judgment Day verdict ahead of time: that he finds us not guilty for our sins. And Jesus comes and interrupts us in the Sacrament of the Altar, which is not just bread and wine. His Word is joined to this bread and wine, and with it, he gives us his body and blood and another promise of forgiveness.

Yes, as the city of Jerusalem was Interrupted by Christ’s Advent, we are continually interrupted by his advent to us today. God be praised for such interruptions! Our Savior is never an inconvenience, but is always a welcome guest. He comes intent on our attention, and he comes intent on our salvation. To him be the glory, both now and forevermore.

Amen.

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