Sermon -- Advent Vespers, Week 3 (December 17, 2025)

PROPHECIES PINPOINT THE MESSIAH:

He Is The Child Of Bethlehem.

MICAH 5:2-5a

In the name + of Jesus.

    As we make our way through the Old Testament, the prophecies continue to pinpoint the Messiah.  The focus gets narrowed down from the Seed of the Woman to the Seed of Abraham to the Son of David.  A significant amount of the world’s population no longer can qualify to be the promised Messiah.  Our options are limited more when we consider what God promises he will do or what will be done to him.  In Psalm 22, David wrote, “They divide my garments among them.  For my clothing they cast lots” (Psalm 22:18).  Isaiah had prophesied, “They would have assigned him a grave with the wicked, but he was given a grave with the rich in his death” (Isaiah 53:9).  Again, David declared in Psalm 16, “You will not abandon my life to the grave.  You will not let your favored one see decay” (Psalm 16:10). 

     Therefore, just from these few prophecies, the Messiah has to be one whose garments were divided up and loot which was gambled for.  If he was assigned a grave, that means he died.  His grave had to be given to him, and it had to be done by a rich man.  But the grave did not remain his abode.  If his life was not abandoned to the grave, then it was restored to him.  In fact, to fulfill prophecy, his body could not even see corruption.  For anyone to be the Messiah, all of these prophecies and more had to be fulfilled.  Every word which was foretold of the Messiah finds its fulfillment in Jesus of Nazareth. 

     The prophecies pinpoint the Messiah.  They enable us to identify without a doubt who it is who comes to save us.  Someone who studies probabilities crunched the numbers to tell us the likelihood of one man fulfilling a list of 31 specific prophecies.  Here are the results: “Imagine that someone takes the earth and hollows it out and starts filling it with dimes.  He would need to fill 10 earths full of dimes to represent all of the chances associated with these prophecies.  Next let us paint one of the dimes red. Now, the probability that one person fulfilled all of these prophecies by chance would be the same as one blindfolded person picking that one red dime the first time” (Source: https://www.neverthirsty.org/about-christ/prophecies-about-christ/probability-of-fulfillment/).  God does not foretell all of these things to impress us with the odds.  Prophecies are given so that we rightly identify the promised Messiah.  Every word which was foretold of the Messiah finds its fulfillment in Jesus of Nazareth.  Prophecies pinpoint the Messiah.

     You have been raised in the Christian faith, so none of this comes as a shock to you, although it should.  Words that were written hundreds of years before the events took place describe those events perfectly.  And they are not vague promises, either.  The Lord did not say, “There will be a man, and he will do amazing things.”  That could have been Alexander the Great, George Washington, or Neil Armstrong.  Our Lord is specific in his promises.  They could not have been fulfilled by accident.  Prophecies pinpoint the Messiah.

     This gives us some idea about St. Paul’s preaching when he entered synagogues.  The Bible records this, “As was his custom, Paul went to the Jews, and on three Sabbath days he led them in a discussion from the Scriptures, explaining and proving that the Christ had to suffer and rise from the dead.  He also said, ‘This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Christ’” (Acts 17:2-3).  To prove that Jesus is the Christ Paul demonstrated that everything which was foretold about the Messiah was fulfilled by Jesus.  First Paul presented the promises; then Paul proclaimed the words and works of Jesus.  He used prophecies to pinpoint the Messiah. 

     We have the benefit of hindsight.  We consider the prophecies, and we can see that they have all been fulfilled.  But what if we went back in time?  How easy would it have been, as the events were unfolding, to recognize: “This is the Messiah”?  The prophet Micah helps by narrowing our focus even more.  This is what Micah had foretold.  “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, from you, will go out the one who will be the ruler for me in Israel.  His goings forth are from the beginning, from the days of eternity” (Micah 5:2). 

     Everyone has a birthplace.  You can go to the Sheboygan County Courthouse and find a record of my birth in Sheboygan, Wisconsin.  Although Bethlehem would not have had a courthouse with birth records, they did have a special promise recorded.  The Messiah would be born there.  And to be more specific, Micah identified Bethlehem Ephrathah as the birthplace.  That is because there was also a Bethlehem in the tribe of Zebulun in the north.  Again, the Lord was not vague in his prophecy.  The Lord could have said he would be born in Israel or in southern Israel or near Jerusalem.  Instead, the Lord pinpointed the very place the Messiah would come. 

     Micah acknowledged, “Bethlehem, …you are small among the clans of Judah,” (Micah 5:2).  In some instances such as in the King James Version, the word “clans” has been translated “thousands.”  This refers to a military grouping.  A platoon of one thousand would be under the command of one leader.  Bethlehem was too small to produce a thousand.  Since Bethlehem was a little, po-dunk town, that limits even more the number of people who could qualify as the Messiah.  Prophecies pinpoint the Messiah.  He is the child of Bethlehem.

     We might be impressed that the birthplace of the Messiah was announced about seven centuries in advance.  And it is, indeed, impressive.  But Micah also proclaims a mystery which is much more astounding.  This Messiah would have a birthday in Bethlehem, but “His goings forth are from the beginning, from the days of eternity” (Micah 5:2).  If his origins are from eternity, then he who was born in time is also begotten from eternity.  This is a great mystery. 

     If you were to go to the Sheboygan County Courthouse and look up my birth record, you would see that I did not exist in 1965.  I had a beginning date to mark my life.  The Messiah also had a birthdate, being born in Bethlehem at a specific time.  Before that time, the Messiah existed only in regard to a promise.  And yet, Micah also says that he has existed forever.  Since there is no one who is eternal besides God, the child of Bethlehem is God.  Prophecies pinpoint the Messiah.  He is the child of Bethlehem, and he is eternal God. 

     Micah assures us that the Messiah is the Savior we need.  He is the child of Bethlehem.  He is one of us.  He entered the world through a birth canal.  He lived in our flesh.  He grew in wisdom and stature.  He learned to work with his hands as a carpenter’s apprentice.  He knew a world of callouses, sore muscles, and splinters.  He lived under the watchful eyes of Roman soldiers and experienced tear-filled eyes as one who had to bury his father.  He was subject to the commandments of God.  He is like us in every way, a perfect man who serves as our perfect substitute—a man who comes on behalf of mankind.

     This man is also the eternal God, which enables him to serve as the substitute for all mankind.  He did not live for himself alone, but he is the righteousness of all mankind.  He did not die for himself.  In fact, he was not deserving of death because he was without sin.  Neither the Jews nor the Romans had a valid reason to execute him.  And God the Father had no reason to damn him.  But he took up our sins, the righteous one suffering and dying on behalf of the unrighteous.  The innocent one was convicted and condemned so that the guilty could go free.  And he knew what he was getting into.  He had the words of the prophets which had foretold all that he would suffer.  Sabbath after Sabbath, Jesus read about the cup of God’s wrath which he would drink down to its dregs—all for evils he did not do and we did.  The prophets had foretold it, and Jesus fulfilled it.  He is the mediator between God and man, for he lives in both camps.  He has secured terms of peace.  He has reconciled us to God.

     Prophecies pinpoint the Messiah.  He is the child of Bethlehem, but he did not come just for Bethlehem.  He is the Son of David, but he did not come just for the house and lineage of David.  He is a true Israelite, but he does not limit his salvation to Israel.  The prophet Micah said, “He will stand and shepherd with the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God.  They will dwell securely, for at that time he will be great to the ends of the earth” (Micah 5:4).  If his reign extends to the end of the earth, then his salvation and his grace extend to all mankind.  Therefore, you dwell securely in his care.  For he is a faithful shepherd who preserves his flock in the face of every enemy.

     Shortly before our Lord Jesus endured his passion, he prepared his apostles for the sufferings they would endure for his sake.  He was not vague.  He specifically warned them that they would face threats, trials, beatings and even death.  These would come from family and friends, from religious leaders, and from kings.  He told them, “I have told you now before it happens so that, when it does happen, you may believe” (John 14:29).  The apostles should not have been surprised when they faced what Jesus had said.  The prophets of old foretold the work of the Messiah for the same reason—so that when it happened people would believe.  Many regard the Old Testament as ancient history which serves us no purpose anymore.  But these were written so that you would believe all that God promised, and so that you would be confident about all that Jesus has fulfilled. 

     Prophecies pinpoint the Messiah.  As surely as God’s promises were fulfilled, just as surely God’s love is on display through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.  You get to live under God’s peace, confident that your eternity will be spent with the Lord.  The eternal God entered our time so that when our time on earth ends, we will dwell eternally with him.  This is a specific promise, and Jesus will fulfill it, too.

In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Sermon -- Advent Vespers, Week 2 (December 10, 2025)

PROPHECIES PINPOINT THE MESSIAH:

He Is The Son Of David.

2 SAMUEL 7:11b-16.

In the name + of Jesus.

     When the Lord first promised the Savior to Adam and Eve, there was not much information given to identify who he would be.  That first promise said much about his actions, but it said precious little about his identity.  All that was indicated is that he would be a “he” (Genesis 3:15).  The promise was passed on from Adam to future generations.  For a long time, no further information was given—at least, nothing that is recorded in Scripture.  Although the Bible traces the line leading to the Savior from Adam to Noah, I don’t know if each patriarch in that line knew that the line went through him.  Enoch believed the promise.  Did he know that the Savior’s ancestry went through him?  I don’t know.

     Because he was delivered in the Flood, Noah knew that the promise was upheld through him and his family.  When Noah blessed his sons, we infer that Noah declared the line of the Savior would continue through Shem.  Later, the Lord himself narrowed our focus when he told Abraham, “All of the families of the earth will be blessed in you” (Genesis 12:3).  Prophecies pinpoint the Messiah.  A promise which could have been fulfilled through anyone suddenly is zeroed in on one man.  The promise was then passed on to Isaac, then Jacob, and then Judah.  And once again, if the men from Judah’s line knew that the promise flowed through them, the Bible does not say it.  Isaiah had prophesied, “A shoot will spring up from the stump of Jesse, and a Branch from his roots will bear fruit” (Isaiah 11:1).  But Isaiah's prophecy was some three hundred years after Jesse.  Did Jesse know the Messiah would come through him and his line?  Again, we don’t know.

     The Lord continued to sharpen our focus with more prophecies.  Did David know that the line of the Savior passed through him?  If he hadn’t known it before, he certainly became aware of it after the prophet Nathan spoke to him.  Prophecies pinpoint the Messiah.

     Once David had established himself as king of all of Israel, he arranged to have a palace built for himself in Jerusalem.  He was a king, and he wanted his residence to look like it.  After that, David recognized that the center of Israel’s government was a palace but that the center of Israel’s worship was a tabernacle.  “Tabernacle” may sound fancy, but it was a wood-frame structure covered with leather and goats’ hair. 

     “It happened that when the king was living in his palace, and when the Lord had given him rest from his enemies all around, the king said to Nathan the prophet, ‘Look, I live in a house of cedar, but the Ark of God sits under tent curtains’” (2 Samuel 7:1-2).  Having this realization, David was committed to building a magnificent structure for housing the Ark of the Covenant and for the worship of the Lord.  It was a noble idea, but God had other plans.  The Lord informed David that he was a man of war and of blood.  Therefore, the Lord deemed it inappropriate for David to build a house of worship for him.  The Lord’s temple should not be akin to a war memorial.  It was to be a place that proclaimed and delivered peace.  God did not condemn the idea, but he deferred David’s plan to David’s son.

     The prophet Nathan came to David and announced God’s will.  He said, “The LORD … declares to you that the LORD himself will make a house for you.  When your days are complete and you rest with your fathers, I will raise up after you your seed, who will come from your own body.  I will establish his kingdom.  He will build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. … Your house will stand firm, and your kingdom will endure forever before you.  Your throne will be established forever” (2 Samuel 7:11-13,16). 

     Prophecies pinpoint the Messiah.  This prophecy had a partial fulfillment in David’s son, Solomon.  David had made extensive plans for the temple and its furnishings.  He had stockpiled the materials that would be used for its construction.  But it was Solomon who oversaw the actual building of the Lord’s temple.  After six years of construction, the temple was dedicated to the glory of the Lord.  So was fulfilled God’s promise: “(Your seed) will build a house for my name” (2 Samuel 7:13). 

     The Lord’s promise was also partially fulfilled in Solomon as the Lord had said, “I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever” (2 Samuel 7:13).  The Hebrew word “forever” has some flexibility to it.  It can mean eternally.  Sometimes it can refer to an extended period of time which does not have a foreseeable end.  It is similar to our expression, “This cold spell is lasting forever!”  True to his word, the throne of David did endure for an extended period of time.  However, it came to an end in 586 BC when Nebuchadnezzar destroyed Jerusalem, burned the temple, and deported the royal family.

     When the Lord speaks, he does not lie.  When he makes a promise, it does not fail.  If we pick apart the promise that God had made to David through the prophet Nathan, some may conclude that God’s promise had failed.  God said that David’s throne would endure forever.  It certainly does not exist today.  Therefore, God’s promise must find its fulfillment in another son of David.  Prophecies pinpoint the Messiah.  He is the Son of David.

     The Gospels of Matthew and Luke both include genealogies of Jesus.  Both document that Jesus is of the house and lineage of David.  So, Jesus fulfills that criterion.  But now, let’s consider the rest of Nathan’s words to David, because they do not seem to find a fulfillment in Solomon, at least not one that is recorded in the Bible.

     This is how the Lord spoke of the Messiah through the prophet Nathan: “I will be his father, and he will be my son.  When he sins, I will discipline him with a rod used by men and with blows of the sons of men.  My faithful mercy will not depart from him as I removed it from Saul, whom I removed to make room for you.” (2 Samuel 7:14-15).  Again, this prophecy pinpoints the Messiah more by what he will do than by who he is and where he comes from.  He is the Son of David, but David had lots of sons and daughters.  I don’t know how many people could have traced their ancestry to David’s line as the generations progressed.  So, according to this prophecy, the Messiah would be known by what he would do—or, rather, by what would be done to him.

     Prophecies pinpoint the Messiah.  But what about the phrase, “When he sins” (1 Samuel 7:14)?  We know of Solomon’s sins.  He took many foreign wives.  He not only accommodated them by building pagan temples for their hometown gods, but he also joined them in their worship.  Perhaps he was trying to appease them, as if to say, “Well, if I expect them to worship my God, then I should be polite and worship theirs.”  Whatever Solomon’s motivation was, he had strayed from the Lord.  If he had been beaten with blows of the sons of men, the Bible does not record that.  Some have reasoned that Solomon’s book of Ecclesiastes was written as an act of repentance before he died.  I hope that is an accurate deduction.

     Jesus, on the other hand, had no sins on his record.  Many spoke against him, accusing him of gluttony and drunkenness, of guilt by associating with reprobates, and of being in league with demons.  When he stood trial before people eager to find reasons to convict and condemn him, no one could.  Nevertheless, God the Father found him guilty of sin.  Isaiah foretold it: “He was crushed for the guilt our sins deserved.  The punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.  We all have gone astray like sheep.  Each of us has turned to his own way, but the Lord has charged all our guilt to him” (Isaiah 53:5-6).  Jesus became sin for us in order to deliver us from its curse and penalty.  He was spit upon and scourged.  He was punched in the face and pierced in his hands and feet.  He was despised by priests and damned by his Father.  All this for our sins.  All this to save us from what our sins deserve.  He was punished so that we would be pardoned.

     Yet, the Father’s love was not withdrawn from his Son.  For, the Son faithfully completed all that the Father had given him to do.  The Lord had promised through Isaiah, “I will give him an allotment among the great, and with the strong he will share plunder, because he poured out his life to death, and he let himself be counted with rebellious sinners” (Isaiah 53:12).  The Son was faithful to the Father, being counted as a rebellious sinner.  The Father was faithful to the Son, doing for him what he had promised.  He raised up Jesus from the dead as the conqueror over death.  The risen Savior has taken plunder from the devil—which is you.  Jesus snatched you from the dominion of death and the devil.  Now the dominion of the Messiah, the place where salvation is found, is the Holy Christian Church.  So, as promised through Nathan, “Your house will stand firm, and your kingdom will endure forever before you.” (2 Samuel 7:16). 

     Prophecies pinpoint the Messiah.  Jesus, the Son of David, lives and reigns forever.  He has made you subjects in his kingdom—not to threaten and to tyrannize, but to love and to bless.  You are not peasants he takes advantage of.  He has made you princes and princesses who enjoy the benefits of his reign—forgiveness of sins, peace of conscience, and the promise of future glory in an eternal kingdom.

     Prophecies pinpoint the Messiah.  The prophet Nathan had foretold it, and the apostle Paul declared that it has been fulfilled in Jesus the Nazarene.  St. Paul wrote to the Romans, “This gospel is about his Son—who in the flesh was born a descendant of David, who in the spirit of holiness was declared to be God’s powerful Son by his resurrection from the dead—Jesus Christ, our Lord” (Romans 1:3-4).  The Messiah is the Son of David and the Son of God who lives and reigns over all and forever more.

     Prophecies pinpoint the Messiah to show that your faith does not rest on mindless acceptance.  Your faith, your comfort, and your hope rest on promises that are historical record and have been fulfilled with verifiable facts.  Therefore, your forgiveness is not wishful thinking.  Your hope of the resurrection to eternal life is not fantasy.  Prophecies pinpoint the Messiah.  The Messiah promises everlasting life.  These are trustworthy sayings deserving of acceptance and assuring salvation.

In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Sermon -- Advent Vespers, Week 1 (December 3, 2025)

PROPHECIES PINPOINT THE MESSIAH.

He Is The Seed Of The Woman.

GENESIS 3:14-15.

In the name + of Jesus.

    Immediately after Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden of Eden, Moses recorded this event: “The man was intimate with Eve, his wife.  She conceived and gave birth to Cain.  She said, ‘I have gotten a man with the LORD’” (Genesis 4:1).  Some have translated that a little differently and, I believe, more accurately.  Eve declared, “I have gotten a man, the LORD.”  It seems that Eve took God’s first promise of a Savior to heart.  And it seems that Eve was so eager for the Lord to fulfill his promise that she concluded the first son to be born to her was the Savior that God had promised. 

     Who could fault Eve for her enthusiasm?  She had been deceived by the serpent and was the first one to chomp down on the fruit that God had expressly forbidden, the fruit that brought death with it.  Who knows how long she beat herself up for that?  Adam had been no help, either.  Not only did Adam fail to protect his wife, not only did Adam fail to refute the words of the serpent, not only did Adam stand by silently and join his wife in their foolish rebellion, Adam also blamed Eve for everything that went wrong.  So, Eve was a victim of deception and of betrayal.  Who could blame her for hoping that the son born to her would be the one to reconcile them to the Lord, to reconcile her and her husband again, and to restore a fallen world back to a perfect Paradise?

     Of course, you know the rest of the story.  Cain did not end up being the one to save mankind.  Cain ended up being the first one to murder one of mankind.  The devil is a murderer (John 8:44), and Cain proved to be one of his pawns.  Still, at the moment Cain was born, Adam and Eve had high hopes for him. 

      When a child is born, it is a moment of unlimited potential.  What will this child become?  How much will this child accomplish in life?  Could he be another Mozart?  Another da Vinci?  Another Tiger Woods?  Could Cain be the Savior God had promised?  Eve seemed to think so.  And even if Cain had been the Messiah, how could Adam and Eve know?  He was just a baby boy.

     Once again, you know the rest of the story.  You know the promised Messiah is Jesus of Nazareth, born of a woman centuries after Eve.  You have better and more complete information than Adam and Eve had.  Still, with all this information, many still reject Jesus as the promised Savior.  So, why are we so convinced?  This is why we will consider the prophecies God had made.  These prophecies pinpoint the Messiah so that we can have full confidence that Jesus is the one God has promised.  This evening, we will consider carefully that very first promise God had made.  This prophecy will not pinpoint the Messiah just yet, but it will point us in the right direction. 

     The first promise came right after the first sin.  God came to see Adam and Eve, but they ran for cover.  They were consumed with guilt and fear.  They wanted nothing to do with God, convinced that facing God would mean facing their damnation.  Even though God called out to them as one friend looking for another, Adam and Eve were afraid.  God had not changed, but they had.  When Adam and Eve would not come clean about their sin, God asked them point-blank what they had done.  Both finally admitted wrong-doing, but both said it was someone else’s fault.  There was no true confession, no heartfelt repentance, and no appeal for mercy.  Their fear of being damned was valid, and they did not help themselves.

     St. Paul described the depth of the sinful condition in a few of his letters.  To the Ephesians Paul wrote, “You were dead in your trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1).  The dead cannot do anything to improve their situation; so also, sinners cannot change what they are.  To the Romans Paul wrote, “The mind-set of the sinful flesh is hostile to God, since it does not submit to God’s law, and in fact, it cannot” (Romans 8:7).  Sinners are not neutral toward God.  There is hostility.  There is a stubborn refusal to obey God’s commands and to admit our sins against them—and not only to admit them, but to stop them.  The sinner cannot suddenly flip, going from dead to alive, going from hostility toward God to loving God, going from wickedness to holiness.  If the sinful condition is to change, God must be the one to change it.

     That is what happened in the Garden of Eden.  Adam and Eve did not ask for mercy; God extended it.  Adam and Eve did not plead for a deliverer; God promised one.  God acted to rectify, to redeem, and to reconcile.  So, to the serpent, that is, to Satan, who seduced the man and the woman into rebellion, “The LORD God said…: Because you have done this, you are cursed more than all the livestock, and more than every wild animal.  You shall crawl on your belly, and you shall eat dust all the days of your life.  I will put hostility between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed.  He will crush your head, and you will crush his heel” (Genesis 3:14-15). 

     Prophecies pinpoint the Messiah.  The first prophecy proclaimed that God would send a Messiah.  And while we do not have a lot of detail, we do have some information to focus our attention.  At first, it seems that God was simply drawing a divide between unbelievers and believers, as St. John noted, “The dragon was angry about what had happened to the woman (that is, the Church), and he went away to make war against the rest of her children—those who keep the commandments of God and who hold on to the testimony about Jesus” (Revelation 12:17).  So, there is animosity between Satan and the children of God.

     But God’s first prophecy focuses on one particular child.  After speaking of the seed of the woman, the Lord says, “He will crush your head” (Genesis 3:15).  In other words, there is a specific Seed who will come from the woman, and this Seed is a “He.”  If we are looking for the Messiah to come, he will be a male child.  While this allows for only half of the world’s population to qualify as potentially being the Messiah, it does limit our focus.  And the Bible tells us why.  St. Paul wrote, “Just as through the disobedience of one man the many became sinners, so also through the obedience of one man the many will become righteous” (Romans 5:19).  And again: “Since death came by a man, the resurrection of the dead also is going to come by a man.  For as in Adam they all die, so also in Christ they all will be made alive” (1 Corinthians 15:21-22).  Just as a man brought sin and death to all mankind, so righteousness and life for all mankind must also come through a man.  He who is the Seed of the Woman will accomplish this by destroying the serpent.  For, when you crush a serpent’s head, you have rendered it powerless, and it no longer presents a threat to anyone.

     Of course, there would be a cost.  All sin bears a cost.  Just ask Adam and Eve who ran for cover.  They didn’t do anything that we would consider a felony.  They ate food.  But what they did was violate God’s command.  That is always the problem with sin.  Many today will argue that they do not sin because their deeds don’t hurt anyone.  The couple that shares a bed outside of marriage can do so in secret.  If no one knows, no one can get hurt.  People who gossip can keep their stories to their inner circle.  No one is the wiser.  But God sees and knows.  He sees that his word is being ignored.  He knows that the person’s heart is devoted to itself.  He judges accordingly.

     All sin comes at a cost.  But the Messiah was sent to bear the cost for all people.  To the serpent, the Lord said, “He will crush your head, and you will crush his heel” (Genesis 3:15).  Oh yes, there is a cost to sin.  It will cost the Messiah his life.  For, when a viper strikes, the blow is lethal.  To deliver mankind from sin, the Messiah must die.  That is what the Lord had told Adam is the consequence for sin: “You will certainly die” (Genesis 2:17).  So, the Messiah had to suffer that judgment and pay the price.  Prophecies pinpoint the Messiah.  Although Adam and Eve could not have named him, they did know what he would do.  And they knew that this would set them free from sin and death.  Who could fault Eve for being so eager to see it fulfilled?

     There is one more part of this first prophecy that deserves our attention.  Whether it was obvious to Adam and Eve I don’t know.  Perhaps it was obvious only after Isaiah foretold it.  Already at the first promise, the Lord prophesied the virgin birth.  The Lord had promised the Messiah would be the Seed of the Woman.  Women do not have seeds; men have seeds which fertilize the egg in a woman.  This is what impregnates her.  But God prophesied that the Messiah would be born of a woman, but not from a man.  And you know the rest of the story: “He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary” (Apostles’ Creed).  Jesus is exactly whom the Lord said he would be.  Prophecies pinpoint the Messiah.

     Eve could not detect who the Messiah was from the first promise.  Her hope that it was Cain was wrong.  She was not alone in her ignorance.  By his first prophecy of the Savior, the Lord vexed Satan.  For, Satan had just as much information about who the Messiah would be.  He would be a male child born of a woman.  But who?  Where would he come from?  When would he be born?  Satan may have raged and plotted and hoped to destroy him.  But that’s hard to do if you don’t know who he is.  To be sure, Satan tried to thwart God’s promise throughout the Old Testament.  Think of Satan coaxing Pharaoh into killing all the Hebrew baby boys.  Or think of Satan coaxing Herod to kill all the baby boys in Bethlehem.  The devil surely hates babies.  But just as the Lord was moved by his own compassion to promise a Savior, so the Lord also acted to preserve his promise and thwart Satan’s efforts.

     Prophecies pinpoint the Messiah.  Our Lord promised to deliver all mankind from the venom of sin and horrors of death.  That promise was fulfilled by a man, and only one man has fulfilled all that God has promised.  Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah.  He is the Seed of the Woman.  He is the virgin-born baby who crushes the serpent’s head.  He is the man who dies for the sins of the world.  He is the one who reconciles God and mankind.  And Eve rejoices because of him.

In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Advent Vespers 2025

Advent Vespers

We prepare with repentance as we prayerfully, quietly, and eagerly await our Savior.

 Prophecies 

Pinpoint 

the Messiah

 

 

December 3            He is the Seed of the Woman. (Genesis 3:15)

December 10          He is the Son of David. (2 Samuel 7:11b-16)

December 17           He is the Child of Bethlehem. (Micah 5:2-5a)

Join us on Wednesdays for Advent.

Supper 6:00 PM

Vespers 7:00 PM

Sermon -- Advent Vespers (December 2024)

This sermon was preached at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Novi on December 4, at St. John's Lutheran Church in Westland on December 11, and at Our Saviour Lutheran Church in Westland on December 18.

LUKE 1:26-38

THE SAVIOR IS ANNOUNCED:

An Announcement Met With Faith.

In the name + of Jesus.

     Faith is a gift from God.  It is God’s work, both created and sustained by God.  It has to be.  If the teachings of the Bible were so obvious and full of common sense, then everyone would believe it.  No one would fight against it.  But that is not the case.  Sin has blinded people.  Many argue that the Bible is full of contradictions, errors, and lies.  St. Paul noted that “the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18).  What unbelievers deem to be foolish, we boldly confess and cherish.  This is to God’s credit, not ours.  Faith is God’s power, God’s working, and God’s gift.

     Our Lord was at work in the heart and mind of the Virgin Mary when the angel Gabriel came to her.  He announced, “Listen, you will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to name him Jesus.  He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High.  The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David.   He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and his kingdom will never end” (Luke 1:31-33).  You and I are familiar with the fulfillment of this announcement.  If you’ve been a Christian all your life, there is nothing either shocking or surprising about it.  “He was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary.”  We confess it every week probably without a measure of doubt, and probably without a measure of wonder.  God has granted you the faith to believe it, but it deserves to be pondered because it is so marvelous and miraculous.

     The Savior was announced, and it was an announcement met with faith.  Mary did not reject Gabriel’s words, but she was certainly confused by them.  For centuries, God’s people had waited for the Messiah to come.  Suddenly, Mary had an angel appear to her to tell her that the time is now, and that the way the Messiah would come into the world is through her.  I wonder how many questions went racing through Mary’s mind as she was trying to absorb this announcement.  “Why now?  Why me?  Why Nazareth?  Why to a young maiden who is betrothed but not yet married?”  Of all the questions that Mary could have asked, St. Luke records only one.  “Mary said to the angel, ‘How will this be’” (Luke 1:34)? 

     It was an announcement met with faith.  Besides all the questions Mary could have thought, she must have also thought about the ramifications of Gabriel’s announcement.  She would be pregnant outside of marriage.  People do not even bat an eye at such things anymore.  God’s order of marriage and then cohabitation and intimacy has been cast off.  Many, even Christians, find it antiquated and see no reason to follow it.  But for Mary and Joseph and the Jewish population in 1^st century Galilee, this pregnancy would have been scandalous.  What would Mary’s parents think?  Or the townsfolk?  Or Joseph, her betrothed?  The rumors and the gossip would follow her for the rest of her life.  If Mary had thought, “I don’t need this!”, she did not say it.  Mary had just one question: “How will this be” (Luke 1:34)?  She accepted the angel’s word, and she accepted God’s plan for her in bringing the Messiah into the world. 

     But Mary also knew how biology works.  She was betrothed to a man, but she had not been intimate with a man.  Now, in the past, the Lord had produced some births that were miraculous.  The most prominent example is with Abraham and Sarah.  Both were old, and Sarah had been barren her whole life.  Yet, God caused an 89-year-old woman to conceive from her 99-year-old husband.  God also duplicated that miracle with Mary’s elderly relatives, Zechariah and Elizabeth.  In both cases—Abraham and Sarah, Zechariah and Elizabeth—God had not acted apart from the marital union.  But for Mary, this was unprecedented.  How does a woman get pregnant without any union with a man?  Mary was confused.  Mary did not ask in defiance, “How can this be?”  Rather, she asked in faith “How will this be” (Luke 1:34)? 

     People have often wondered why the Virgin Mary was chosen to be the one through whom the Messiah would come into the world.  Ultimately, the answer is: By God’s grace.  This was not a reward for holiness.  The Lord had worked in Mary’s life so that she would be the appropriate choice for this honor.  Mary believed in God’s promises.  God had worked that in her.  Mary lived a chaste life, remaining virgin pure as she awaited marriage.  God worked that faithfulness in her, too.  Mary was betrothed to a man of faith.  So, when the angel appeared to Joseph in a dream and informed him what was going on with Mary, Joseph, too, met that announcement with faith.  He took Mary as his wife but was not intimate with her so that there was no doubt the child was from God and not from Joseph.  That was all God’s work.  Despite the scandal of her pregnancy, despite the townspeople whispering and gossiping, despite her reputation taking a hit, Mary humbly accepted the role that the angel announced to her.  “Mary said, ‘See, I am the Lord’s servant.  May it happen to me as you have said’” (Luke 1:38).  From beginning to end, God was at work through Mary and Joseph to bring his Son into the world. 

     Mary had asked the angel, “How will this be…” (Luke 1:34)?  The angel answered her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.  So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God’” (Luke 1:35).  Once again, this was met with faith.  We don’t hear Mary respond to the angel’s words with, “Well, that sounds reasonable.”  Who would?  This is a miracle.  That means that God was acting outside the natural order.  Miracles are surprising; they are not normal.  Normal is that a man and a woman become intimate and that produces a baby.  If you heard that a young lady was pregnant, you would not wonder if the Holy Spirit was at work again.  And no one assumed that about Mary, either.  This was a miracle that had to be revealed.  Mary and Joseph amazingly met the announcement with faith.  They took God at his word even when it defied reason and experience.

     Faith is a gift of God; it takes God at his word.  It has to be God’s work in us because we do not naturally believe what God says.  In some cases, God’s word reveals what we could not know—such as Mary’s child being conceived by the Holy Spirit and so entering this world without sin.  Faith accepts this not because it is reasonable, but because the Holy Spirit works in our hearts to assent to God’s word.  Faith accepts the mysteries that have been revealed by God.  In other cases, God’s will does not need special revelation.  It is evident to all people because God has written it in our hearts.  Our consciences testify what is good and what is evil.  And even though such things are evident, only by faith do we agree with them.  Only by faith do we confess them.  Only by faith do we acknowledge that they are good and strive to live according to them.

     Sin causes us to reject God’s word and God’s will.  Sin regards what is spiritual or miraculous as absurdity.  Even believers struggle to honor God’s will.  That is why not even Christians bat an eye when a man and woman live together before they are married.  That is why Christians will seek a divorce instead of sacrificing to make their marriage work.  Finding happiness trumps God’s commands.  It is why Christians defend their sins rather than confess them and repent of them.  It’s not that we don’t know God’s will; it is that we don’t like God’s will.  We want to do what is easy, what gratifies our desires, and what makes sense to us.  Because of our sinfulness, we consider the right thing to be repulsive.  But beware; for this is what the Lord says: “That servant who knew his master’s will and did not … act according to what his master wanted, will be punished severely” (Luke 12:47).  Repent.

     The Savior was announced to Mary, and it was met with faith.  Faith willingly did the hard thing because it was God’s will.  Do you think it was easy for Mary to carry this child?  Do you think it was convenient to have her plans altered like this?  It did not matter.  In faith, Mary accepted God’s plans for her.  Faith recognizes that everything God says and does is good, whether it is miraculous or mundane, whether it is a promise or a command, whether it means a bounty or a burden.  Faith always responds to God’s word with, “I am the Lord’s servant.  May it happen to me as you have said” (Luke 1:38).  Faith takes God at his word, even when it means having to do the hard thing because it is the right thing.

     The Lord Jesus Christ came into this world to bear the cross for us.  He did the hard thing because it was God’s will.  It was God’s will that Jesus bear a curse he did not deserve.  It was God’s will that Jesus endure a hellish torment he had not earned.  And yet, Jesus did it because God sent him to do it.  It was a payment he was pleased to make in order to redeem us.  He is the Lord’s servant who has come to do the work to save you.

     Faith responds to God’s word as Mary did: “I am the Lord’s servant.  May it happen to me as you have said” (Luke 1:38).  Faith clings to God’s word even when that word challenges us to trust God or offends our senses.  We might still feel the weight of our sins.  We see the reality of the grave, but we know that Jesus has redeemed us and has overcome the grave.  He lives and reigns to assure us of a resurrection to life everlasting.  And when you hear the absolution announced to you, it is an announcement met with faith.  Although the words come from the mouth of the minister, you know that it is the voice of Jesus who announces, “I forgive you.”

     Faith clings to all of God’s word.  His promises announce divine peace and proclaim eternal salvation.  His commands announce what a godly life is.  His Holy Spirit works in us not only a love for the promises, but also a love for the commands.  We are eager to honor our Lord with loving obedience even if it is strange to the world.  Sin may argue, “Why bother refraining from sin?  Everyone is doing it, and they aren’t hurting for it.”  Faith retorts, “I am a child of God, and I am going to live like it, even if I have to do the hard thing, even if I have to suffer for it.”  Sin may be repulsed by God’s word, but faith delights in it even if it is a cross to bear.  Faith never despises a cross.

     The Lord Jesus Christ continues to guide us to a godly life and to preserve us unto eternal life.  In faith, each of us responds to God’s word as Mary did: “I am the Lord’s servant.  May it happen to me as you have said” (Luke 1:38). 

In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Advent Vespers -- Wednesdays in December

Advent Vespers 2024

THE SAVIOR IS ANNOUNCED.

December 4
An Annunciation Met with Faith.
(Luke 1:26-38)
Rev. Thomas Schroeder
from Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Novi

December 11
An Annunciation in Prophecy.
(Isaiah 9:2-7)
Rev. Craig Birsching
from St. John's Lutheran Church, Westland

December 18
An Annunciation Met with Unbelief. 

(Luke 1:5-25)
Rev. Guy Purdue

from Our Saviour Lutheran Church, Westland

Advent Vespers are Wednesdays at 7:00 PM.

A supper will be served at 6:00 PM.

Sermon -- Mid-week Advent, Week 3 (December 20, 2023)

MALACHI 3:1

OLD TESTAMENT PROMISES OF THE MESSIAH:

ADVENT AT HAND.

In the name + of Jesus.

     St. Peter wrote, “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness” (2 Peter 3:9).  Peter’s comment is regarding Jesus’ second coming.  It has been almost 2,000 years since Jesus promised, “Surely I am coming soon” (Revelation 22:20).  Jesus has long passed our definition of “soon.”  But time is a relative matter.

     We experience the relativity of time, too.  For children who are anticipating Christmas, the days are dragging.  The school days last forever.  Adults may feel that there is not enough time between now and the weekend to finish up everything you want to.  The days go fast.  As you get older, the years go faster.  Christmas will be here soon.  Parents are haunted by the word “soon” because it is coming so fast.  Children would argue, “Not soon enough.”

     The prophet Malachi foretold the first Advent of the Lord.  “Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me.  And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts” (Malachi 3:1).  It would be soon.  It would come suddenly.  But then the people waited some more, as if they had not already been waiting long enough.  Advent had been announced.  Advent had been awaited.  Malachi said that Advent was at hand.  “Soon” proved to be a relative term.

     If our focus is on the timing, we may begin to question the Lord’s faithfulness.  The comfort comes from the content of the promise rather than the timing of its fulfillment.  The promise was extended as soon as it was needed.  God did not let Adam and Eve twist in their fear and guilt for a good long time so that they really felt the consequences of their actions.  God’s presence in the Garden produced intense fear and guilt.  God also did not wait for Adam and Eve to muster up the courage to ask for mercy or hope.  They had become blind to God’s goodness as soon as they had rejected God’s command.  They had become hostile to God’s word, harboring anger against God for upholding the very judgment he said he would.  Why would they expect a better word from him?  But God, who is rich in mercy, issued a promise—a promise unforced, unasked, and unearned.  God promised a Savior to deliver all people out of sin, its curse, its penalty, and its consequences.  Advent was announced.  The Savior would come.

     And then time went by.  God repeated his promise, but the fulfillment remained a future event.  Advent was awaited—by Abraham, by Moses, by David, by Isaiah, by Zerubbabel.  The Lord seemed slow in keeping this promise, but “the Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness” (2 Peter 3:9).  The Lord reinforced his promise through the prophets.  Far from drawing back, he continued to add more details to his promise so that people could recognize its fulfillment. 

     The last prophet of the Old Testament to pen words for God’s people was Malachi.  Malachi preached to the Israelites who had returned from captivity in Babylon.  The Babylonian Captivity was God’s chastisement upon Israel for years of apostasy and rebellion.  After seventy years, the Persian king, Cyrus, issued a decree that the Jews could return to their homeland.  The returning remnant had been refined as God’s people and were refocused on God’s covenant.  They came back to rebuild Jerusalem and the temple.  The temple they rebuilt paled in comparison to the magnificence of Solomon’s temple.  The old people who remembered that glory wept when they saw the new temple.  But this temple would be greater than Solomon’s.  Solomon’s temple is where the Lord dwelt with his people in a cloud above the ark of the covenant.  Zerubbabel’s temple would receive God in the flesh. 

     Malachi was sent to these people to issue one final promise from God.  Malachi said, “Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me.  And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts” (Malachi 3:1).  The Lord was not slow in fulfilling his word as some understand slowness.  The Lord was faithful to his word.  Advent had been announced.  Advent had been awaited.  Now, Advent was at hand.  The Lord was coming soon, suddenly.

     I suppose Malachi’s words stirred up anticipation.  The coming of the forerunner was announced with, “Behold!”  Surely, he would come soon.  Then the Messiah would come suddenly.  For faithful Israel, “soon” could not come soon enough.  It is like the children who still have two days of school left and for the first time all year cannot wait for a Monday to get here (Christmas Day).

     But Malachi’s words would hang in the air for 400 years.  “Soon” proved to be a relative term.  The Lord seemed slow to act.  But he did act.  John the Baptist came just as the Lord foretold.  On the heels of John came the Messiah.  Malachi pointed to the Messiah, and his words begged for their fulfillment.  John the Baptist pointed to the Messiah—literally.  Malachi’s words stretched out into the future.  John’s finger stretched out to a man.  John pointed to Jesus and declared, “There is your Christ.  There is the Lamb of God.”  When the time had fully come, God sent forth his Son.  “Soon” found its time.  Advent was at hand.  Suddenly, the Messiah had come.

     We are at the forefront of another presidential campaign season, as if they ever really go away.  The parties will have a convention when they will formally adopt and introduce their candidate for president.  People will go into a frenzy at the candidate’s introduction, even though that candidate has not yet done anything.  They will make promises.  They will find reasons to blame the opposing party for every unfulfilled promise.  “They made such a mess of things that it will take way too long to fix.  They are opposing all our good ideas so we cannot get anything done.”  You know the rhetoric.

     Malachi foretold the coming of the Messiah.  Of course, the Lord’s promises were not merely for the Messiah’s arrival.  The promises included his work.  No one would be saved by Jesus’ birth.  It would be Jesus’ death and resurrection that would secure our salvation.  But his birth marked the beginning of every fulfillment.  Advent was at hand.

     The birth of the Christ is reason to rejoice.  But after Jesus’ birth, there was more waiting—thirty years until Jesus began his work as the Messiah.  Then, for three years, Jesus taught and preached about the kingdom of God.  He summoned people to himself, claiming that he would fulfill all the promises and that he would win salvation for all people.  All the sacrifices—centuries upon centuries of bloody sacrifices—would culminate in one pure, innocent, bloody death on a cross.  And then Jesus claimed that he would rise from the dead, that he is the refuge for all the dying, and that he is the source of everlasting life for all who take refuge in him.

     Those are magnificent claims for anyone to make.  But Jesus proved that his claims are not like campaign promises which sound great but then go unfulfilled.  Jesus was true to his word.  The promises found their fulfillment.  And this time, “soon” came quickly.  Jesus submitted to the sinister plots of his enemies who unwittingly brought to fulfillment the atoning sacrifice which had been promised.  Again, “soon” came quickly.  In three days, so many promises found their fulfillment.  On a Friday, Jesus paid the price for all your sins by his death on the cross.  Salvation was purchased and won.  On the third day, Jesus rose from the dead to verify that the payment for sins has been made in full and that the grave can, therefore, no longer keep its dead.  Everything was fulfilled, just as God had promised and just as Jesus foretold it. 

     Just as God has proven faithful in sending the Messiah, so he proves faithful with every promise.  When God makes a promise, it is not merely announcing his intentions.  He is firmly putting his plans in place and setting future events.  So, when Advent was announced, it was a certainty.  As Advent was awaited, people were confident that God would bring it about.  The Lord was not slow as some understand slowness.  God is always faithful to his word. 

     We have not learned the lesson.  We grow impatient with the Lord.  We are not good at waiting on God to fulfill his promises.  When God’s timing is not according to our liking, we doubt the content of his promises.  We challenge God’s love and wisdom when sufferings linger or when things go badly.  We call out in pain, in anger, or in helplessness, “God, why don’t you fix my life and heal everything that’s broken?”  Isn’t that the promise?  Jesus has, indeed, promised to make all things new and to restore all things to purity and perfection.  But when?  How long, O Lord?  The answer: Soon.  When Jesus comes again, he will put an end to all evil.  As it was with Jesus, so it will be with us—the glory comes after the resurrection.  Meanwhile, Jesus forgives us for our impatience and our outbursts against him.  He speaks tenderly to us, extends his mercy, and repeats his promises.  For he is not slow to comfort.

     The prophet Malachi had the final word in the Old Testament.  His promise hung in the air: “Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me.  And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts” (Malachi 3:1).  And, of course, the Lord fulfilled his word.  The New Testament has a similar ending.  This is the final word: “He who testifies to these things says, ‘Surely I am coming soon’” (Revelation 22:20).  As it was with Malachi, so also this promise just hangs out there, waiting for its fulfillment.  And as the final word of the Old Testament saw its fulfillment, so with the final word in the New Testament. 

     The Advent of Jesus’ second coming has been announced.  The Advent of Jesus’ second coming is awaited.  And it is at hand.  The Lord will come soon, and those who wait for him will not be put to shame.

In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Sermon -- Mid-week Advent, Week 2 (December 13, 2023)

PSALM 14:7

OLD TESTAMENT PROMISES OF THE MESSIAH:

ADVENT AWAITED.

In the name + of Jesus.

     King David wrote a number of Psalms which corresponded to events in his life.  Psalms 32 and 51 were both written after he was absolved of his sin of the adulterous affair with Bathsheba and the murderous plot against her husband, Uriah.  David praised God for the comfort that came from divine mercy and forgiveness.  Other Psalms include the event in the heading.  For example, the heading of Psalm 18 states that David “addressed the words of this song to the LORD on the day when the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul.”  Although Psalm 14 was written by King David, he did not indicate what events led up to him writing it. 

     David’s plea was spoken in the final verse: “Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion!  When the Lord restores the fortunes of his people, let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad” (Psalm 14:7).  This plea suggests that something was wrong among God’s people.  Someone or something was oppressing them and making life miserable.

     Zion is synonymous with Jerusalem and, particularly, with God’s temple.  This is where David wanted to see someone come forward to restore the fortunes of Israel.  However, David was the King.  If someone out of Zion were going to rescue Israel from oppression, it was to be him.  He was the Lord’s anointed.  He was the leader of God’s people.  As King, David was entrusted with the oversight and protection of the people.

     But if you know David’s story, you also know that the city of David was the source of trouble as much as it was a source of hope.  There was trouble in David’s household.  Having multiple wives resulted in having sons act as heated rivals.  They plotted against each other as they vied for the throne.  Most notably, there was David’s son, Absalom.  Absalom not only sought the throne, he staged a coup against his own father.  There was no salvation out of Zion as David and his royal house fled for their lives.  At another time, David took a census of the people so he could know what kind of army was at his disposal.  The Lord had forbidden this census.  Israel was to trust in God’s promise and protection, not in military might.  David’s pride resulted in the angel of the Lord striking Israel with a plague which killed tens of thousands.  King David did not restore the fortunes of his people; rather, he was the cause of their troubles.

     Although David had established Jerusalem as the city of David, and although David had purchased Mt. Zion for the future site of the temple, David did not bring salvation for God’s people.  The fortunes of Israel may have improved under David, but they did not endure.  David’s prayer confessed as much: “Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion!  When the Lord restores the fortunes of his people, let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad” (Psalm 14:7). 

     Neither a tumultuous life nor daily problems are unique to King David.  Everyone suffers from troubles.  Your problems don’t rise to the level of national security issues.  Your problems are not that big, but they are plenty big when they are yours and you are forced to struggle with them.  Maybe your prayer mirrors King David’s—that the Lord would restore your fortunes, that he would recalibrate your circumstances so that you do not have to contend with failing health, aching joints, endless debt, a fractured family, or anxiety and the pressures of deadlines and quotas.  When all our problems mount up—whether struggles in our heads, in our homes, or in the world around us—we long for God to step in and do something about it.  The lament arises from Christians, agnostics, and is said in derision by atheists: “Why doesn’t God put a stop to tragedies?  Why won’t God strike down those who cause trouble for others?”  Atheists don’t believe there is a God who saves; we often wonder if he will.  Either way, everyone longs for deliverance from problems. 

     All the problems we know happen because we are sinners living in a sinful world.  We long for rescue from both conditions—both our sinfulness and from this broken world.  But neither we nor the world can produce the rescue we want.  This is why David cries out, “Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion” (Psalm 14:7)! 

     Advent was awaited by the Old Testament people.  The prayers were answered when Jesus came.  He comes from Zion, the presence of God.  Zion is the Lord’s temple.  It is where God dwells with his people.  Jesus is the true temple of God.  He is God who dwells with his people—not in a building, but in the flesh.  Jesus has come to deliver us out of our wretched condition.  There is salvation from Zion.  There is peace from God.  The fortunes of God’s people will be restored.

     Jesus left the glories of heaven to come to this broken world.  The Bible says, “You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9).  Jesus came into our world to seek his fortune.  The fortune that Jesus sought and found is you.  You are the prize that Jesus came to win.  He did not despise you in your sinful condition, but embraced you and spent everything to obtain you.  To restore your fortune, Jesus exchanged his righteousness for your wickedness, his innocence for your guilt.  In doing so, he also exchanged his life for your death.  He exchanged God’s favor for your curse—dying the sinner’s death for you.  Jesus has rescued you from the squalor of your sinful condition.  He has enriched you with divine favor and enduring peace. 

     David uttered his plea: “Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion!  When the Lord restores the fortunes of his people, let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad” (Psalm 14:7).  Not those exact words, but that sentiment was expressed by God’s people throughout the Old Testament.  Advent was announced in the Garden of Eden.  And then Advent was awaited for centuries.  The people trusted that the Messiah would come because God had promised it, and God does not lie.  But the waiting went on, and on, and on.   Who could have guessed that from David’s prayer in Psalm 14 there would be another 1,000 years before salvation would come?  God’s people would remember the promises, and God’s people would repeat David’s prayer while they waited. 

     Advent was awaited for so long, but God proved true to his word.  Advent arrived with Jesus, and the promises were fulfilled by Jesus’ sufferings, death, and resurrection.  “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1).  So the fortunes of God’s people have been restored.  The sinful condition has been rectified.  We are pardoned of all guilt and free from all the charges.

     Yet, we still live in that broken world.  The troubles still mount up.  The sorrows continue.  Health still fails.  Joints still ache.  Debts mount.  Families are fractured.  Wickedness still abounds.  Therefore, David’s prayer is still prayed, “Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion!  When the Lord restores the fortunes of his people, let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad” (Psalm 14:7).  Or, that prayer may come out as we had suggested earlier:  Why doesn’t God put a stop to tragedies?  Why won’t God strike down those who cause trouble for others? 

     We are still awaiting an Advent.  Jesus is coming again, and he will rescue us from every evil there is.  Rather than leave us to dwell in a broke-down world, Jesus will deliver us to heavenly mansions.  Jesus promises to restore all things and to return the world to its perfect condition.  As St. John described it in Revelation: “(The Lord) will wipe away every tear from (our) eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away” (Revelation 21:4).  There will be nothing to go to ruin, nothing to cause frustration, nothing to inflict pain.  All the wickedness that we pray God would stop will cease to exist.  So, the Lord will indeed answer our prayer, even better than we can imagine it. 

     David prayed for salvation out of Zion and for the fortunes of the people to be restored.  The plea was earnest because the wait had been so long.  And yet, he did not know how much longer he or his people would have to wait.  So also, we have been waiting for about 2,000 years for our Lord to return.  The Church still yearns for his coming so that we will be forever free from sorrow, grief, and sadness.  Who knows how much longer we will have to wait for our Lord’s return?

     Just as God’s people in the Old Testament patiently waited for the Advent of the Messiah, so also we will wait patiently.  And just as God was faithful in sending the Messiah as he had promised, so we can be sure that God will faithfully his promise to return, to gather up his people, and to bestow upon us the fortunes of Paradise.

     Jacob rejoiced at Jesus’ first coming.  Israel was glad to receive her Savior.  We do, too.  And we look forward to singing endless praises when he comes again in glory to deliver us to glory.  The Lord is faithful, and he will do it.

In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.