On the Way to Glory

If you didn’t know better, you might think we’ve gone on fast-forward today and jumped ahead to Palm Sunday. Here it’s just the First Sunday in Advent; we haven’t even trimmed our Christmas trees yet or baked any cookies. Yet we seem to have skipped right over baby Jesus and the manger and the Wise Men and gone directly to the streets of Jerusalem, thirty-three years later, to lay palm branches on the road and watch Jesus ride past on his way to die. Did we miss something here?

No, there’s no mistake. The Church this First Sunday in Advent directs its attention to the final chapter in the saga of salvation. And that’s as it should be, for crib and cross go together. You can’t have one without the other. Don’t take my word for it; the angel said it first to the shepherds: “Good news. . . . Unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord” (Lk 2:10–11, emphasis added). This astounding little bundle of joy was born to save, in other words, to die, to lay down his life in payment for the sins of all the world.

Likewise, there is no salvation apart from God in the flesh. It was no heavenly principle or abstract love that was put to death for our offenses and raised again for our justification, but a real man, with flesh and blood like ours. In order to remove the penalty for our sin, he first took on a human body, born of a woman, born under the Law, to redeem those who were under the Law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. Crib and cross, cross and crib: like bookends, they enclose the whole story of God’s salvation in his incarnate Son. Today, before we rehearse that magnificent story all over again in this new Church Year, we peek ahead to the final scene.

Jesus knew where he was going. He told his disciples they were going to Jerusalem, where he would be delivered to the Gentiles to endure a shameful death (Lk 18:31–32). In Jericho, he healed the blind and brought salvation to Zacchaeus, the notorious sinner (Lk 18:35–43; 19:1–10). He staged a dramatic entrance into Jerusalem. He directed his disciples to an unridden colt (vv 29–31). Thus Jesus fit the prophetic model of the promised Messiah (Gen 49:11; Zech 9:9). He was both messianic King (riding a colt) and God (“Lord,” v 31).

Jesus knew what he was doing. The disciples could not grasp why he would be mocked and killed and raised (Lk 18:34). But Jesus insisted on fulfilling his Father’s will. He knew he must suffer, die, and be raised (9:22). He knew he was to be the sacrifice for sin (24:46–47). From Jesus’ crib, he knew that the cross was his destiny. And he knew that by his death, he would free the whole world from bondage to sin (2 Cor 5:21). Jesus was bound for glory from the crib all the way to the cross, and we are blessed to follow in his steps.

Our challenge in following Jesus is the same challenge his disciples had. The disciples thought that Jesus’ kingdom was going to appear immediately. With the crowds, the disciples welcomed Jesus into Jerusalem as a triumphant king. They thought that everything would be set right by the glory of God once Jesus took His throne, but Jesus’ kingdom is eternal, not just for a generation. The road to glory passes through the cross for Jesus and for us in a way that makes Jesus’ victory and kingdom last forever. And Jesus’ life and teaching made it clear that God’s enemy wasn’t the Romans—after all, their empire has been over for a long time. Jesus’ enemy was sin and death, and from crib to cross, he set about breaking the bonds of sin and bringing peace to earth and heaven. These enemies of sin and death are defeated, but still with us. And despite the fact that sin and death remain, Jesus brought eternal peace on earth and in heaven by the blood of his cross, and his victory over them is still enjoyed by the faithful all over the world today.

Jesus’ victory is still working and winning today through God’s Word and sacraments are releasing sinners from their sin (Jn 8:34–36). God’s glory and Jesus’ victory are found where his Gospel is preached and baptism and the Lord’s Supper are administered. In these means of grace, Jesus unties us from the burden of our sins. He brings God’s peace down to you on earth. We may not have the immediate experience of God’s reign and glory that we’d like—as the disciples and the crowds were expecting when Jesus entered on the donkey—but we know that Christ is victorious from crib to cross. Because Jesus has accomplished this victory, we too are bound for glory. So let us rejoice and shout: “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” Amen.