Theme: Prepare the Royal Highway
Luke 17:20-25 Now when He was asked
by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said,
"The kingdom of God does not come with observation; 21 "nor will they
say,`See here!' or`See there!' For indeed, the kingdom of God is within
you." 22 Then He said to the disciples, "The days will come when you
will desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it.
23 "And they will say to you,`Look here!' or`Look there!' Do not go after
them or follow them. 24 "For as the lightning that flashes out of one part
under heaven shines to the other part under heaven, so also the Son of Man will
be in His day. 25 "But first He must suffer many things and be rejected by
this generation.
701:1 Prepare
the royal highway; The King of kings is near!
Let ev'ry
hill and valley, A level road appear!
Then greet
the King of glory, Foretold in sacred story:
Hosanna to
the Lord, For He fulfills God's Word!
Whether we’re talking about the first
advent of Christ, or the second, both share a very important feature: they are
about His kingdom. This morning our sermon text will be framed by verses of
hymn 701. The task for believers today is to prepare for God’s kingdom. This is
an advent hymn, meaning it is usually sung in connection with Christmas. As we
begin that season we remember the people who prepared for Jesus’ birth. We
think of who they were and how they worshiped their Lord. We don’t do this just
to think fondly of the past, but we do so because it keeps us focused on our
own preparation. We’re not waiting around for a child to be born, we’re waiting
for a King to return. And yet, the connection between to the two is clearly
present. As we remember the first advent it helps us be ready for the second.
God’s kingdom is important to both. When
Jesus was born and as He grew on earth and became well-known, people began to
think about what this Man was here to do. Clearly, His power and greatness was
evident. The question was, to what end and for what purpose? For some, the
focus of the kingdom was on the domain, or the location. These believed in what
we might call an earthly kingdom. They desired Jesus to rescue Israel from the
bonds of servitude under Rome and once again restore them to an autonomous
nation. The idea of Jesus’ kingdom was that it would be here on earth. People
would see it and experience membership in it in time and space.
We know that this first vision of
Christ’s kingdom was a man-made illusion. Jesus clearly stated that His kingdom
was not of this world and He constantly implored people to seek spiritual
riches, not physical things. We get another saying to that effect in our text
when Jesus tells the Pharisees that the “kingdom of God is within you.”
Jesus was telling them what was in their heart was most important, for that is
where God would establish His presence by faith. Focusing on external things
would only serve to get in the way. This is the proper understanding of God’s
kingdom. It is not about location per se, but rather about His ruling presence.
In this sense it is very much like church. When we think of church we think of
a building, a location. But, that is not what makes a church. A church is where
Jesus is present and that can be any place where His Word is used. He said, “For
where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of
them (Matthew 18:20).”
The first step for our preparation is to
avoid the same mistake that so many made when Jesus first came. Location was
not important, but rather what was going on in the individual’s heart. We can
learn and teach all we want about the domains of heaven and hell, but that
knowledge means nothing without God’s ruling activity in our hearts by faith.
Our preparation continues with the next two verses of hymn 701.
701:2 God's people, see Him coming: Your own
eternal king!
Palm
branches strew before Him! Spread garments!
Shout and sing!
God's
promise will not fail you! No more shall
doubt assail you!:
Hosanna to
the Lord, For He fulfills God's Word!
701:3 Then fling the gates wide open, To greet your
promised king!
Your king,
yet ev'ry nation, Its tribute too may bring.
All lands
will bow before Him; Their voices join your singing:
Hosanna to
the Lord, For He fulfills God's Word!
We’ve mentioned the first advent when
Jesus was born and the second advent when He will return. In these verses, we
are pointed to a third advent – His preparation to ascend the cross. Scenes of
Palm Sunday are scattered throughout the verses of this hymn. The refrain is
the same phrase of praise that the children sang. Verse 2 makes mention of
laying down palm branches before the King. And the verse of Psalm 24 is quoted
in verse 3: Fling, or lift up the gates, and the King will come in.
This is a reminder to us that although
we are removed somewhat from Palm Sunday and the crucifixion as we prepare for
Christmas, we undoubtedly must keep the two close in our thoughts. Palm Sunday
was a day of triumph for Jesus, but just days after the doubters and mockers
came forward. Jesus knew what ridicule was, first-hand. His willingness to
suffer on account of our sins and to receive the slaps to the face, the
spitting, the thorns, the scourge, and the nails showed that He trusted His
Father’s plan. Imagine going through all of that while being innocent; we have
a hard enough time suffering even when we are the cause of that suffering! If
Jesus could endure under that weight, while being innocent, we can certainly
trust Him to help us get through the jeers and the taunts.
We see that come forward in our text
when Jesus tells His disciples not to follow those who would spread false
rumors about His coming. He tells them that they will say, “Look here or
Look there!” Those that detract from Christ surely want His followers to
focus on anything but the cross. We hear the same advertisements even
today.
·
“You’re such a horrible sinner, God couldn’t forgive that.”
·
“Don’t believe that old Bible story, you know better than that.”
·
“That person is just the worst, they don’t deserve to be forgiven.”
·
“You’re doing just fine, don’t dwell on your mistakes or sins.”
And the crowd goes on and on, drawing us
ever further from Jesus. But He says, don’t listen to them. There is only one
path. Don’t get caught up in what’s going on there or there. Stay focused.
Prepare your heart. Isaiah said this of staying on the path, A highway shall
be there, and a road, And it shall be called the Highway of Holiness. The
unclean shall not pass over it, But it shall be for others. Whoever walks the
road, although a fool, Shall not go astray. 9 No lion shall be there, Nor shall
any ravenous beast go up on it; It shall not be found there. But the redeemed
shall walk there, 10 And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, And come to
Zion with singing, With everlasting joy on their heads. They shall obtain joy
and gladness, And sorrow and sighing shall flee away (Isaiah 35:8-10).
There’s a reason he called it the
“Highway of Holiness.” There is only one path. It is only for the righteous by
faith. Jesus was the only One who could walk that path alone, and so now we can
walk that path with Him. It started, formally anyway, for Jesus on Palm Sunday.
That path of glory and praise was the path of the cross, and the establishment
of the Highway of Holiness for all believers. That’s our second preparation
reminder, we can only walk with God if we walk with Jesus, and where He has
gone before us. We continue with the final verse of hymn 701.
701:4 His is no earthly kingdom; It comes from
heav'n above.
His rule
is peace and freedom, And justice, truth, and love.
So let
your praise be sounding, For kindness so abounding:
Hosanna to
the Lord, For He fulfills God's Word!
To think of Jesus’ advent is to think
also of Palm Sunday. And to think about Palm Sunday is also to think of Good
Friday. That connection really comes through at the end of our text. Jesus
said, "For as the lightning that flashes out of one part under heaven
shines to the other part under heaven, so also the Son of Man will be in His
day. 25 "But first He must suffer many things and be rejected by this
generation.”
Jesus states that His second coming will
be like lighting that flashes in the sky. In other words, it won’t be missed.
His coming will be clear, no one will escape it. Paul phrased another way by
saying, “For it is written: "As I live, says the LORD, Every knee shall
bow to Me, And every tongue shall confess to God." 12 So then each of us
shall give account of himself to God (Romans 14:11-12).”
Having the night sky break forth with
light is unmistakable. That is how the second advent will be. But, it’s also
how the first advent was. We remember how the multitude of angels broke open
the night sky around Bethlehem, both with their chorus of praise and the
inescapable light of their presence. Interesting how each time the Son of God
comes to earth, light ushers in is His entrance.
But, here’s the contrast. In order for
the Light of the world to shine, darkness had to have its day too. On Good
Friday, the culmination of that triumphant Palm Sunday display, the sky became
dark at noon. Light was defeated; darkness reigned. God’s power seemed to
finally succumb to Satan’s desires. Righteousness had been snuffed out of the
world. The Son of God had died. What amazing scenes these must have been, in
both contexts. Good vs. evil, sin vs. salvation.
Enter here the final lesson in preparing
for God’s kingdom. It comes in ways we would not expect. No human person
expected victory to rise out of the ashes of defeat. No rational person would
predict that God’s mission would be accomplished by sacrifice. And, yet, that’s
exactly what happened. Jesus said as much here, “I must suffer many things
and be rejected by this generation before I have My day.” Jesus didn’t
suffer and die because He was actually being defeated. He suffered and died
because that’s what it took to win the victory over your sin. No one expected
it, least of all us, but God fashions His work out of the impossible.
What does this have to do with God’s
kingdom? Well, remember, it’s about His ruling activity in our lives. Perhaps
God rules in ways that are beyond our understanding. He creates faith in those
whom we wouldn’t expect. He forgives sins which mankind deems unforgiveable. He
loves people who show little to no love for others. God is continually doing
the unexpected, the unexplainable, and sometimes the exact opposite of what we
think would make sense. Advent shows us that each time we look at it. Not so
much because a Child was born in a unique, miraculous way; but because of what
that Child would go on to do. As with many other things concerning God, to
understand it the best we can we have to look at the entire picture. The
prepare the royal highway for God is to connect His kingdom work in His birth,
at His death, and when He returns. Amen.
The peace of God which surpasses all
understanding will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
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