A Mighty Arrival

Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed! Today we rejoice in a living Savior, a mighty Lord who was born into this world to save all who would, by the Spirit’s power, be turned to Him in faith. May we, by that same Spirit’s guidance, rejoice in the Babe of Bethlehem as well as the Christ of the cross and the empty tomb.

Things and people aren’t always what they seem to be, are they? Almost 1,000 years ago, a Danish King by the name of Canute came to the throne of England. As happens to all people of prestige, Canute was sweet-talked and foolishly flattered by everybody around him. They said things like, “O powerful and invincible ruler, you are so magnificent that even wind and wave obey you.” Now that kind of talk can turn the head of just about anybody; but not Canute. Even though Canute had become a king, he had not forgotten he was still a sinful man, with human limitations. One day, Canute, fed up with being buttered up, had his throne, along with the rest of his court, taken down to the edge of the sea.

Standing near the water, Canute invited his followers to join him. He didn’t have to ask twice. Everyone, recognizing the singular distinction of standing by a king, felt themselves most honored. The entire court was laughing and smiling at their good fortune until they realized the tide was coming in. That’s when Canute, wearing his crown, his robe, and all the paraphernalia of political power sat down upon his throne. As the waves lapped at his ankles he shouted the command, “Sea, go back!” Not surprisingly, the sea kept coming. No matter how loudly Canute shouted, the sea kept rolling in. Finally Canute turned to his people and said, “I don’t think my decree is being followed, do you?” Nobody responded. Canute asked his question a second time. Still everybody held their tongues. Frustrated, Canute asked the question one final time; but this time he added the thought, “Until you admit I have limitations, I’m going to keep you standing right here; and the tide is going to soon put ‘right here’ under eight feet of water.” Most of the people in Canute’s court were poor swimmers so they finally acknowledged that their king did have some limitations. Canute was satisfied, and as a reminder that he was not all powerful, he refused ever after to wear his crown. Instead, he hung it on a statue of Jesus, the true King of kings.

Things and people aren’t always what they seem to be, are they? It was only a few years ago that my heroes were the super-athletes who rushed for touchdowns; who threw no-hitters; or who could hit a homer or a hole-in-one. Today my heroes have changed. Today, I respect the person who wears the helmet of a fireman, not a football player. I honor the humble policeman who rushes to help a trapped motorist rather than the prima donna who rushes for a touchdown and does a dance in the end zone. In my opinion, the rock star at his concert has been pushed aside by the teacher in her classroom; the actor who has an opinion on everything has been supplanted by the faithful fathers and committed mothers who know only one thing: they want their children to love and be loved by Jesus. Yes, people aren’t always what they seem to be. A few years ago I looked upon the person who sat next to me on the plane as nobody more than a total stranger. Today, because of men like Jeremy Glick and Todd Beamer who, with the rallying cry “Let’s roll!” refused to be pushed around by terrorists, I see my fellow passengers as courageous champions of what is right.

People aren’t always what they seem to be. That is certainly the case when it comes to Jesus. He is hardly ever what people expect. In the Gospel of Mark, the first chapter, we see John the Baptist giving a mighty, powerful introduction to the Christ who is soon to arrive. The Baptizer says, “Get ready, one mightier than me is coming.” Coming from the lips of John, those words were quite an endorsement. I mean, after all, John the Baptist was a pretty impressive fellow himself. From the time of his birth John had been a Nazirite. Now if you don’t know what a Nazirite is, don’t be surprised. Most people don’t. A life-long Nazirite like John never drank alcohol. Ever. A Nazirite never cut his hair. Ever. A Nazirite never had contact with the dead. Ever. Because of their vows, a Nazirite, as you can plainly see, stood out from the crowd. But John… well, he really stood out. As the son of a priest, John could have worn some pretty fancy clothes. He didn’t. John did his work clothed in a camel’s hair robe, with a leather belt tied around his waist. John was entitled to have, for his supper, a portion of the meat which was daily sacrificed in the temple. He didn’t take that, either. John’s diet was made up of great grasshoppers and wild honey. Now we’re not talking about your freeze-dried, flash-frozen locusts here. John gathered his own bugs for breakfast. We’re not talking about going to the local supermarket to pick up some government inspected grade-A honey which comes prepackaged in sterilized glass bottles. John harvested his own honey, and to get the honey he first had to get past the bees.

John was a special fellow. He looked special. He ate special. He dressed special. And, most importantly, John talked special. When he preached, his proclamation was passionate and powerful. There was no pussyfooting around when John opened his mouth. Like a broken record, John kept saying words like, “Repent, turn back, be penitent and be sorrowful for all you’ve done wrong.” If you were a sinner, John would come right up to you, nose-to-nose, look you straight in the eye and say, “You, yes, you. You’re a sinner.” If you had made mistakes, he pointed them out in vibrant, living color. Amazingly, rather than avoiding John’s call to repentance, people couldn’t seem to get enough of it. They lined up to be told they were sinners. Seasoned soldiers were there; proud Pharisees were there; everybody who was anybody came to have John tell them to repent. People made pilgrimages to hear this wild-haired, camel-clothed, desert-dweller tell them that they needed God to wash them clean of their sins in baptism. Because of the power that God had given him; because of the Spirit that rested upon him, John was a most impressive, a most mighty spokesman for God’s gifts of repentance and forgiveness.

That’s why, when John said, “A man mightier than I am is coming,” the people sat up and paid attention. They were impressed and filled with anticipation. They could hardly wait to see who was going to come. If John was mighty, and he said this man was going to be mightier, they were going to be in for a treat. Maybe this new mighty man might take care of them. Maybe He might feed them or heal them. Maybe He might kick the Romans, with their bags and baggage, right out of the country. Nobody knew what this mightier man might do, but that didn’t stop each of them from having hopes and dreaming dreams about the mightier man who was right around the corner.

And then, just as John had promised, Jesus came. The man who was mightier than John the Baptist showed up. Was His a mighty arrival? Was His coming everything that everybody had expected? You would never, not in a hundred years, guess what really happened. Since this is a half-hour program, I can’t wait for that, so I’m going to tell you what happened. (Silence.) Yup, that’s what happened. For many of the people Jesus’ arrival went totally unnoticed. Jesus came and most people didn’t know He had arrived. Most of those folks were expecting this impressive, powerful, wise, great leader, this conquering general, but all they saw was: Jesus. They saw Jesus, the adopted Son of a Galilean carpenter; Jesus, a fellow who hailed from an inconsequential, no account neighborhood. Jesus, a man who had neither property or much in the way of prospects. Jesus came, and His arrival… well, He wasn’t what they expected.

Many of them were disappointed. In the next three years, many more would become disappointed. The Pharisees, influential pillars of the community, they thought that Jesus would come and pat them on the back and tell them how “absolutely wonderful they were.” That didn’t happen. On the contrary, Jesus insulted them by calling them “snakes” and “hypocrites.” He condemned them for their legalistic attitudes and their false pride. In one conversation after another, Jesus spoke in such a way that people ended up laughing at, rather than respecting, these self-appointed sentinels of society. Rather than seeking out the company of these community leaders, Jesus said, “I’ve come to seek and save the lost,” “I’ve come to be a Light to those in darkness,” “I’ve come to be the Spiritual Physician bringing forgiveness to those who are sick in their souls.” Then, having said those things, Jesus hung around with the outcasts and outsiders. He associated with the rejects, the lost and the lonely. He touched those who were considered to be untouchable; became a faithful friend to the despised and rejected. In short, Jesus disappointed the Pharisees.

Now the Pharisees were not alone in the way they felt about Jesus. The list of the people Jesus disappointed could fill a book. When the Savior saw His Father’s house being turned into a den of thieves, He grabbed a whip and chased out the moneychangers and sacrifice sellers. That disappointed the leading priests. The crowds that followed Jesus were disappointed when they found He was unwilling to be their free meal ticket. Those who tried to look down on other nations were disappointed when Jesus showed sympathy to those who hailed from a rejected race. The political Zealots who hoped Jesus would toss off Roman tyranny, they were disappointed because Jesus kept talking about throwing off the slavery of sin and Satan. King Herod was disappointed that Jesus wouldn’t entertain him. The Roman Procurator, Pontius Pilate, was disappointed when Jesus didn’t defend Himself against unjust charges. Even Jesus’ own disciples were disappointed when He told them that if they wanted to be first in the kingdom of God, they would have to be first in having humility of heart.

Jesus disappointed just about everybody. Including one person I’ve neglected to mention. Of all the persons that Jesus disappointed, none was more let down than the devil himself. Jesus had disappointed the devil when He hadn’t waited in Bethlehem to be murdered by Herod the great. Jesus disappointed the devil when the Savior rejected His enticements to sin at the time of Jesus’ formal temptation. Jesus disappointed the devil by living His entire life without stumbling or straying into sin. Jesus disappointed the devil when He didn’t turn tail and run from the suffering and death He would endure to redeem this sad and sinful world. Jesus disappointed the devil when He refused to speak in His own defense; when He refused to retaliate for the unfair and unjust blows that rained down upon Him. Jesus disappointed the devil and all the forces of darkness when He didn’t use His power to come down from the cross. The only time Jesus didn’t disappoint the devil is when He died. When Jesus gave up the ghost, when He breathed His last on the cross of Calvary, the devil was delirious with delight. God’s Son, the Redeemer of the world had died in seeming defeat.

But then, when Jesus descended into hell appearing to the devil and all the demons of damnation, Satan’s delight turned to despair. Three days later, the whole world knew: Jesus was the victor, not the vanquished. His sacrifice to save humanity had been accepted; His mission to reconcile sinners had been successful. On Resurrection Sunday, in glorious victory, the mighty Savior came out of His borrowed tomb. A living Lord, a loving Lord, a conquering Christ stepped out of His grave and held out His nail-pierced hands to invite a sinful world to become a saved world.

On that day, a mighty Savior extended an invitation which said that all who believe on Him will be cleansed of their transgressions and moved from sin to salvation, from hell to heaven. On Resurrection Sunday, Jesus gave proof that John had been right: the mighty one had come. John was right: God’s Son, our victorious Savior had defeated death, had slapped aside sin and dethroned the devil. Today, all who, with repentant hearts are called to acknowledge Jesus as Savior and Lord, rejoice because they know, even if God is opposed, attacked, and resisted, their eternal salvation can never again be in doubt.

Thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ! That should be the triumphant shout of every forgiven heart. It should be, but it isn’t. This year, as the world prepares its annual remembrance of Christmas, the day of our dear Savior’s birth, there are many homes and hearts darkened by clouds of sadness and sorrow, despair and depression. What should be the celebration of God’s good news of great joy is darkened and dimmed by fear and frustration, lostness and loneliness. In this brief broadcast, it is impossible for me to list many tragedies which are taking place in the lives of you who are listening. There are those of you who are battling illness; those who are worried about tomorrow; those who are afraid for a loved one; those who face financial failure; those who feel they have nowhere to turn and no one who cares. We ask, “If the Mighty Lord has won the final victory, and has promised to be with us, why this Christmastide do we feel that things are not as they should be?”

Would you, my friends, allow me to put before you a small explanation for contemplation or consideration? In this message we’ve been talking about how things and people are not always what they seem to be. Might the same not be true when we think about Jesus? Might we not be limiting the Lord; trying to confine the Christ to the cradle and keep Him from His cross? If at this time of year we see Jesus only as a baby; He cannot, in our hearts, become a Savior. Remember how John the Baptist described Jesus: “One who is mightier than I am is coming.” Mighty, is not the word most people would use to describe a baby.

Think about it. What words do you use to describe Jesus? I can tell you mighty is not a word that shows up in many Christmas hymns. There’s a hymn which talks about Jesus this way: “Gentle Jesus, meek and mild, look upon a little child.” There is another hymn which says, “Away in a manger, no crib for a bed, the little Lord Jesus lays down His sweet head.” Yet another hymn speaks about a “Holy Infant, so tender and mild.” Meek, mild, tender, sweet. Those are words which describe a cute, cuddly child. Those are words that define an infant’s helplessness, nakedness, defenselessness. Those are words that describe the infant Jesus in His Bethlehem bed, but they hardly depict the Savior who had to be mighty enough to conquer humankind’s archenemies. Maybe that’s why John didn’t say, “One who is gentler than I am is coming.” It may be why John didn’t promise: “One who is sweeter, or meeker, or milder than I am is coming.” John rightly predicted: “One who is mighty is coming.”

All too often at Christmas, people see Jesus’ humanity, but not His divinity. They see His cuteness, but not His cross. They see a heaven-sent child who is dependent upon His mother; and not the Savior upon whom the world depends for salvation. I know it gives us the warm fuzzies to look at those little baby hands, clenching and unclenching in the air above Him; but those baby hands were the Redeemer’s hands, and they were pierced with nails so you might be saved.

I don’t know a single person who can gaze upon the changing facial expressions of a newborn without thinking: “Ahhh, this child is without pains or problems, troubles or tribulations.” True, Jesus’ brow may be baby smooth in the cradle, but before He was crucified His head was pierced by a crown of thorns. This baby grew into a man of might, a man who was willing to be spit upon so you might be saved. The wood of Christ’s cradle and His cross cannot be separated. They were made for the same reason and the same purpose: to hold Him, so that you might be saved, so that you might be given eternal life. If Christmas is to be complete, you must see both cradle and cross; you must behold both beautiful baby and mighty Savior. See the newborn baby, but remember He has been born to live and die, so you might be saved. God grant you may accurately see God’s great gift of grace, His mighty Son of sacrifice; and, if you need some help in seeing Him… call us at The Lutheran Hour. Amen.

LUTHERAN HOUR MAILBOX (Questions & Answers) for December 4, 2005

ANNOUNCER: And now Pastor Ken Klaus responds to a listener’s question. I’m Mark Eischer. Pastor, in your sermon today you talked about how things aren’t always what they seem to be.

KLAUS: That’s right. Jesus was indeed the “mighty one,” the promised Savior, but people missed His coming then, and many still miss Him today.

ANNOUNCER: Well, it leads us to a question that came to us recently from a young mother. She said, “It’s almost like you have to teach children not to trust because nothing seems to be what it says.”

KLAUS: That’s a common complaint. Did she give any examples of what she was thinking about?

ANNOUNCER: Well, you know how kids sometimes see things advertised on TV and when you bring it home it’s a big disappointment because it doesn’t work the way the TV commercials said it would.

KLAUS: Yeah, I’ve seen that. I had the same situation with my kids when they were growing up.

ANNOUNCER: And it goes beyond that. Think of the politicians that don’t keep their promises; or the prescription drugs that have hidden side effects, or the divorces because spouses don’t keep their vows. Nothing is as it says it is.

KLAUS: Except for Jesus.

ANNOUNCER: And getting back to your sermon I wonder if those shepherds when they came to the manger looked down and said, “This is what those angels were talking about? This is the Savior? It looks like a baby to me.”

KLAUS: You know, I think that is exactly what the shepherds would have thought if they hadn’t heard the angels; if God hadn’t also given them faith to see Jesus for who He really is. It’s what a lot of people thought about Jesus during His earthly ministry. His family didn’t think He was special. His hometown didn’t think He was unique. The crowds of Palm Sunday turned against Him and called for His crucifixion. Jesus never, not from day one, seemed to be what He said He was. That’s why so many people missed His coming; why so many people misunderstood His ministry.

ANNOUNCER: But Jesus is exactly who He said He was: the Savior of the world.

KLAUS: He was that and He is. But He was not the Savior people expected. He wasn’t born in a palace like the Wise Men thought He should be. He wasn’t the political leader that the Zealots wanted. He was God’s Son who promised that all who believe on Him will never die.

Those words, foolish coming from anybody else, are very real when they’re said by Jesus. Throughout His life He showed He had the power, the wisdom, the grace, and love that only God’s Son could have. His resurrection showed that everything He said about Himself was true. His resurrection confirms the truth of Scripture. In short, Jesus can be trusted; the Bible can be believed.

ANNOUNCER: But many still see Him only as a teacher, a philosopher, a doer of good deeds.

KLAUS: That’s an easy thing to believe about Him, isn’t it?

ANNOUNCER: But it’s not right.

KLAUS: It’s certainly incomplete. Jesus was all of those things, but He was far, far more.

ANNOUNCER: Has it always been that way, that people have misunderstood and missed Jesus’ purpose?

KLAUS: It was true when He was alive, and it has been true since He ascended into heaven.

ANNOUNCER: And will it always be that way?

KLAUS: No. Not always.

ANNOUNCER: And when will it change?

KLAUS: I think we have an answer to that in one of the other Scripture lessons that is normally read on this particular Sunday of the church year. It comes from the third chapter of 2nd Peter. It says, “The day of the Lord will come like a thief. 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… That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat.”

ANNOUNCER: In other words, the second coming of Jesus is going to be kind of hard to miss.

KLAUS: Impossible to miss, I would say. Two thousand years ago Jesus came to earth as a mighty Savior. But His arrival was very quiet, very peaceful, and went almost unnoticed. Someday He is going to return as a judge. Everyone who has ignored Him up until that moment will find they can’t do so any longer.

ANNOUNCER: And they will find out that Jesus keeps His promises. You know, that Bible reading where it talked about everything being consumed in fire and the heavens disappearing with a roar. Won’t that be a frightening time for everybody?

KLAUS: No, not if you believe Jesus’ promises. He says that if you are one of His faithful, part of His Church, trusting in Him for the forgiveness of your sins, that day is going to be a blessed one.

ANNOUNCER: Why?

KLAUS: God’s people will be glad because Jesus is going to bring a new heaven and earth, refitted with righteousness as God originally intended them to be. Jesus’ return in judgment is something to which we can look forward; to bring us about full-circle. It’s something you can believe.

ANNOUNCER: Thank you, Pastor Kluas. With that we come to the end of our broadcast for another week. We thank you, the listener, for making this program part of your day. This has been a presentation of Lutheran Hour Ministries.

Music selections from this program:

“A Mighty Fortress” arranged by John Leavitt. Concordia Publishing House/SESAC