The Coming King

Good morning. My name is Matthew Capone, and I'm the pastor here at Shine Mountain Presbyterian

Church, and it's my joy to bring God's word to you today. Special welcome if you are new or

visiting with us. We're glad that you're here, and we're glad that you're here not because you're

filling a seat, but because we are following after Jesus together as one community, and as we follow

Jesus together, we're convinced that there's no one so good that they don't need God's grace,

and no one so bad that they can't have it, which means that God has something to say to everyone

in his word. He has something to say to people who've been Christians their entire lives,

and he also has something to say to people who might have doubts and questions and objections

to Christianity, and so it's with that that we turn to God's word as we do every week. We are in

the season of Advent, and as I've been telling you, Advent is an English word that comes from a Latin

word, which means to arrive or to come, and Advent's the time of year when we celebrate that

Jesus came to earth. We celebrate his first coming, and then we also look forward to his second coming.

Of course, that's what we always do as Christians, but it's something that we focus on in a special way

at Christmas, and we focus on the fact that Jesus became a man and was born in a manger in a stable.

As we're going through Advent, we're in the book of Micah. Remember that Micah is a book filled with

prophecies by a man named Micah, who is a prophet in the 8th century BC, and he prophesied to Judah,

which was the kingdom of Israel that was in the south. He was coming after the time of the great

king, so this is after David and Solomon, but it's also before the exile. It's before God's people

went in exile to Babylon. It's that in-between phase, and we've seen that Micah is a book about both

judgment and salvation. We looked at judgment with chapter one, and then last week we were in

salvation with chapter four, looking at the coming kingdom that Jesus is going to bring about.

Now, some of you have asked me, and even folks outside of our church have asked me, why in the

world are we looking at Micah for Advent? Maybe you've been wondering that question. The answer is

going to come out a little bit today. The reason that we're looking at Micah for Advent is that Micah

is the only Old Testament book where it's predicted that Jesus is going to be born in Bethlehem.

This is the book of the Bethlehem prophecy, and that's what we're going to look at today. We have

been working our way up to this point. This is part of the reason we've been singing all these songs

about Bethlehem this morning, and we're going to ask just a simple question. Why does it matter

that Jesus was born in Bethlehem? You might ask it a different way. Jesus was born in Bethlehem.

Who cares? Why do we make such a big deal out of it? Why do we have songs about it?

What is it? Why is there such a huge emphasis at Christmas on the birthplace of Jesus? You notice,

by the way, when I introduced myself to you, I didn't say, I'm Matthew Capone, and I was born in

Waco, Texas. My birthplace is insignificant, but the Bible seems to make a big deal out of Jesus'

birthplace. It's with that we're going to turn. We're in Micah chapter 5, starting at verse 1.

Micah 5 · chapter mention

As we come to this, remember that this is God's word. God tells us that his word is more precious

than gold, even the finest gold. It is sweeter than honey, even honey that comes straight from the

honeycomb. That's why we're going to read together now, starting at verse 1.

Verse 3.

Verse 5.

I invite you to pray with me as we come to this portion of God's word.

Our Father in heaven, we thank you that you speak to us, and even more than that, we thank you that

you sent your Son to be not just a king and a ruler, but also to be a shepherd.

We ask that you would shepherd us this morning by your word, that you would help us to understand more

and more what it is about Jesus Christ that is glorious and wonderful, that should bring us both fear and joy.

And we ask that you would do that by your spirit now.

We ask these things boldly, not because we have earned them, but because Jesus has earned them for us.

And so we ask them in his name. Amen.

As you may remember from chapters 1 through 3, there was predictions of great judgment that was coming to Israel because of their sin.

And that continues here in chapter 5, even though we're hearing about the salvation that God's going to bring.

It's salvation that's going to come in the future because judgment's coming in the present.

And that's what's here in verse 1.

Muster your troops, O daughter of troops, is talking about the city of Jerusalem, which is going to be sieged.

And most likely what's being talked about here is the siege that's going to happen in 701 B.C.

by Sennacherib, who's an Assyrian.

And this is going to be part of the beginning of the downfall of Judah.

This attack is going to be, we find out, embarrassing for Israel.

Their ruler, who Micah can't even call a king, bring himself to call a king,

and said he calls him simply a judge, is going to be struck on the cheek.

The enemies are going to get so close that they're going to be able to shame God's king.

Most likely this king here is Hezekiah.

And you can read more about this in the historical books and also in portions of Isaiah.

But it's not going to be well for Israel as this judgment is coming.

And so as they're living in the present, looking at what's coming down the pike,

which is going to be incredibly painful and destructive,

it's with that that this word of hope comes in about Bethlehem.

They, like us, we may not be experiencing judgment in the same way,

but they, like us, live in a world that's filled with sin and brokenness.

And they, like us, need a word of hope in the midst of that.

And so as Micah likes to do, putting judgment and hope together,

he starts with judgment and gives them that hope.

Why is it that they should have hope in the midst of a coming judgment?

Why should they have hope as destruction is on its way?

What is it about this king that's going to give them hope?

Why and how should they have confidence?

Last week we saw in Micah chapter 4 they could have hope in the kingdom that's coming.

Micah 4 · chapter mention

And this week in Micah chapter 5 it's going to be hope not in the kingdom, but in the king.

Micah 5 · chapter mention

The first thing we find out about this king, verse 2, is that he's born in Bethlehem.

In early 2008, Katie Couric, the news anchor, host, asked all the political candidates at the time,

and the primaries hadn't completed, so it was many candidates on both sides, Democrats and Republicans.

She asked them, if you end up in the Oval Office, which book are you going to take with you?

If you could take any one book besides the Bible, what would it be?

There was a variety of responses, most of them seeming pretty calculated.

There was one that was a little bit surprising, and it came from Barack Obama.

Obama said, I would bring one book, and it would be Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin,

which was a Pulitzer Prize-winning biography of Abraham Lincoln.

And then he went on to talk about the ways in which he liked Lincoln's leadership style

and the ways that he wanted to follow after it.

Now, this wasn't a coincidence.

A year earlier, when he had announced his candidacy in 2007,

he had decided he was going to announce it at the old state capitol in Springfield, Illinois.

And he was doing this very intentionally.

He had chosen this location to make a point,

because it was the old state capitol where Abraham Lincoln had worked as a legislator,

and then Obama had worked as a legislator.

It was the old state capitol where Abraham Lincoln had given his house-divided speech.

It was the old state capitol where Barack Obama was going to announce that he was running for president.

And so he was trying to draw this parallel between himself and a previous ruler based on location.

Now, whether you like President Obama, whether you don't like him,

whether you agree with him, whether you disagree with him, that's not the point.

The point is this.

Place matters.

Geography matters when it comes to rulers.

It mattered back then, and it matters now.

Obama was trying to make a point about the kind of president that he wanted to be.

God, in Micah, is making a point about the kind of ruler that his king not wants to be, but will be.

God understands location and the power of political symbolism even more than we do,

and so he wants to make a powerful statement about his political leader.

His leader is going to be a Bethlehem kind of leader.

The original readers would have known instantly,

just like news articles immediately picked up on the parallelism that was being drawn by Springfield, Illinois,

between Abraham Lincoln and Barack Obama,

so the readers of this would have understood this king that's coming,

he is going to be born in the exact same birthplace as the great king of Israel, King David.

This king is going to be a David-like king.

He's going to follow in the lineage of David.

He's coming from the hometown and the birthplace of David.

Imagine for a second, remember, these folks are living in a time after the great kings.

They're living when the kingdom has been divided.

Rehoboam oversaw the division of the kingdom because of Solomon's sin,

and so they're living in a time when the glory days are over.

God gives them hope by telling them this new king that's coming,

he is coming from the same place as the king of the glory days.

He is going to be that kind of king.

David was the king that Israel looked back to over and over as the model of the best king.

He was the king that God had called a man after his own heart.

And so their hope is that God is going to bring the glory days back again

because it is going to be another Bethlehem king.

This is going to be another king just like David.

We find out, though, that it's going to be not just like David.

This king is going to be greater than David.

Verse 2, at the very end, we're told,

this king's coming forth is from old, from ancient days.

We could take this several ways.

Some people take this phrase to mean that this is an eternal king.

This is a king who had existed, had preexisted the time of this prophecy.

It could mean that.

We don't know for sure.

There's other ways this phrase is used in the Old Testament.

We know this at least.

There has been a prophecy of a king from Judah

all the way back from the book of Genesis.

In Genesis chapter 49, there's a prophecy that says that Judah

Genesis 49 · chapter mention

is going to have a king and the nations are going to be under him.

And so even David had not fulfilled the prophecies

about the great king coming from Judah.

From of old, from the time before Israel was even a nation,

it was just the patriarchs,

there was an expectation that they were going to have a king

who would be a ruler over him,

and he would be so great and so powerful

that he would rule over what we saw last week in Micah chapter 4,

Micah 4 · chapter mention

a reign that would include all peoples coming to him.

What kind of king is going to give them hope?

It is going to be a David kind of king, but even better.

We see that also in verse 4.

He is going to be great to the ends of the earth.

The great king that Israel has been waiting for,

the king that is even better and more glorious than King David,

is on his way.

And we know that he's going to be greater and more glorious.

We know that he's on his way in part because he is a king from Bethlehem.

David's origins and his origins are the same.

The point is this.

Jesus is a political figure.

He is a real king coming with real power

to set real world peace on this earth.

He is not just some sentimental figure at Christmas

that reminds us of a nice story,

but he is a powerful political ruler

who is going to bring full and final peace to this earth.

Remember that the folks reading this, receiving this,

are people facing a real political threat.

They have a ruler who's coming up against them,

who's going to destroy them.

And so, of course, they're looking for someone just as,

in fact, not just as, but even more powerful

to be able to defend them

from the threats that are coming up against them.

This king is going to be that kind of king.

And we see that in the story of Jesus' birth.

Jesus comes as a political threat.

He shows up in Luke 2.

And those of you who are in Sunday school

have been warmed up for this.

He showed up in Luke 2, and the angels show up.

What do the shepherds do in response to the angels?

Do they say, oh, bless their hearts?

No, they're very afraid.

Why?

Because it's a host of angels.

And the word host is a word for an army.

There is a military force that shows up

when Jesus is born,

because the king, of course,

would not show up without his army.

I grew up in a church where there was,

just like here, some military folks.

And there was a man who was in the military,

and he was present at one time

when President Bush was on a ship out in the sea.

I don't remember the exact incidents.

I think there were multiple times

when President Bush was on a ship.

But he said, as soon as the president disappeared

and was off the ship,

all these divers just started popping up in the water.

They'd been underwater the whole time,

just waiting, just in case something went wrong.

They could come in.

They weren't just gonna have protection from the air.

They weren't just gonna have protection on the ship.

They were gonna have protection in the water,

all around them.

From an earthly perspective, we might say,

man, that's so powerful.

Only a great man and a great leader

would have people not just on the boat,

but surrounding and in the water,

ready to take action in case a threat appeared.

From a heavenly perspective,

oh, isn't that cute?

I bet he felt really safe.

God's king shows up,

not with men in the water,

but with angels in the air,

because he is a king coming to his people.

Herod is a real king who is threatened.

He's so threatened that Jesus has to go

into political exile in Egypt.

Herod wants to kill him,

and because he can't,

he goes on to kill every child who's a man

who's under the age of two in Bethlehem.

That's how threatened he is by Jesus.

When we started this worship service this morning,

we sang a political anthem.

We sang Jesus shall reign.

We were declaring that he is the king who is coming,

the king that is greater than David

to bring peace and justice to this world.

Bethlehem reminds us

that Jesus is a real king

who comes to shake the powers of evil to their core.

And not only does he come to do that,

he's powerful enough to accomplish it.

Jesus is the true and real and greatest king.

He is a Bethlehem kind of king.

Jesus is just as real

and infinitely more powerful

than John F. Kennedy and Jimmy Carter

and Barack Obama and Donald Trump

and Bill Clinton and George W. Bush

and George H. W. Bush and Ronald Reagan.

He is no less of a leader.

In fact, he is so much more.

Yes, he comes to bring peace in our hearts.

He also comes to bring peace to this world.

These are people who feel a real threat,

a physical threat.

And the promise is that Jesus is coming.

We proclaim when we sing about our Bethlehem king

that God's power is in this world

to destroy evil and to rule us.

That's what we confess this morning

in our confession of faith.

And so why does Bethlehem matter?

Christmas is a political holiday

because we celebrate the birth

and coming and reign of our king.

And he is a greater and more powerful king

than any other on this earth.

He is a Bethlehem king.

For the folks receiving this word

in the eighth century,

they don't just have to look back

to the glory days of David,

but they also have to wait.

Something more powerful and greater

than David is coming.

And verse three,

they're going to have to wait

seven centuries to get it.

Something more powerful and greater

than David is coming.

And they're going to have to wait

seven centuries for it to actually happen.

Verse three,

he shall give them up until the time

when she who is in labor has given birth.

Now this could be metaphorical here.

It could be referring to the pains of Israel

as they work through exile.

It could be referring to Mary.

Either way,

there's going to be a long wait.

And this long wait

is going to be like childbirth.

It's going to be incredibly painful.

And once the wait is over,

who cares how painful it was?

Because something so glorious

and wonderful is there,

that it eclipses everything

that came before.

Just like the people receiving this word,

we also wait.

Remember I said earlier

that prophecy is often

not an on and off switch,

but a dimmer switch.

The king has come.

And we still wait.

The people receiving this word

waited seven centuries.

We have been waiting 2,000 years

for Jesus to come again.

And we, like them,

continue to wait in hope.

Because we trust and know

and believe

that the Bethlehem king is coming.

And he is coming

to be an even greater king.

And so Jesus

is a king worth waiting for.

This current age will pass.

This too shall pass.

And until it does,

we continue every Sunday

together as a church

to pray the Lord's prayer

and say,

your kingdom come

and your will be done

on earth

as it is in heaven.

Because we are waiting with hope

for our great

and mighty king.

Now it makes sense

that they were looking

for a political liberator.

It makes sense

that people were confused

by Jesus when he did come.

He's presented here

as a solution

to a war that's happening.

But he's not just

a great and mighty king.

That's not the only thing

that Bethlehem tells us.

Go back to verse 2.

But you, O Bethlehem,

Ethraphah,

who are too little

to be among

the clans of Judah.

Bethlehem is a nothing city

that no one cares about.

Micah chapter 1,

Micah 1 · chapter mention

if you remember

two weeks ago,

we read a list of cities

that were going to be destroyed

by God's judgment.

Guess which city

wasn't on the list?

Bethlehem.

Because no one cares

about Bethlehem.

In Joshua chapter 15,

Joshua 15 · chapter mention

and this is probably

what's being referenced here,

there's a list

of all the cities

that belong

to the tribe of Judah.

Guess which city

doesn't make the cut?

Bethlehem.

Bethlehem is not

where we would expect

a ruler to come from.

It is silly

to think of Bethlehem

as a place of power

and strength.

We would expect

that this would be

a ruler who maybe

came from Jerusalem.

Maybe he's a ruler

from Dan

up in the north.

But no,

it's a ruler

from a city

that no one's heard of

outside of the fact

that David

happened to be born here.

This king

will be strong

and he will shame

the strong things

of this world

because he will also

be a king of weakness.

He is the great

and mighty king.

He's also the weak

and humble king.

Bethlehem tells us

both things.

This is going to be

a great leader

but he's not going

to come from Harvard.

He's going to have

a two-year degree

from a community college.

He's not going to come

from Colorado Springs.

He's going to come

from Lyman.

He's not going to come

from the east coast

or the west coast.

He's going to come

from some little town

in the Midwest

that you've never heard of.

Jesus is not just

a great king.

He's not just great

and strong

but he's humble

and weak.

He is a powerful leader

coming with a heavenly army

and he's also

a little baby

born in a manger.

If he was only

great and strong

Jesus would not

save us.

And if he were only

unexpected and weak

he could not save us.

If Jesus were only

great and strong

he would not save us.

And if he were only

humble and weak

he could not save us.

And yet the Bethlehem king

is both.

The Bethlehem king

is both great

and strong

and humble

and weak.

He is both

a king showing up

with his army

and a baby

born in a manger.

That's the kind

of king that Micah

is promising

for these people.

And so what we need

is a great

and strong

and humble

and weak king

savior shepherd.

One man says this

he is the lion

of Judah

but he's also

the lamb of God.

He is a lion

hearted lamb

but a lamb

like lion.

He's the lion

of Judah

but he's also

the lamb of God.

He's a lion

hearted lamb

but a lamb

like lion.

And so it's not

just good news

that Jesus

is a great king.

It is good news

that he is

our king.

It's not just

good news

that Jesus

is a great king.

It's good news

that he is

our king.

And he's only

able to be

our king

because he

is both.

He's king

of the world

and he also

chose to make

himself a small

child.

The reason he

chose to make

himself a small

child is because

that's the only

way that he

could save us.

He needed

not just to come

and rule

and reign.

That would be

only bad news.

We saw what that

was like in chapter

one.

But also to

suffer and save.

Bethlehem says

both.

Excuse me.

And so he's

great because

he's God.

He's unexpected

because he's

human.

He's great

because he's

the most powerful

king.

And he's

unexpected because

he came for

something much

greater than

political liberation.

The reason

they are experiencing

oppression is

because of

their sin.

Remember

chapters one

through three.

And so this

great king is

going to come

for both.

He is going

to free

them from

the national

and political

forces that

are up against

them.

And he's also

going to free

them from

their own sin.

We find out

verse four,

he is going

to stand and

shepherd his

flock in the

strength of

the Lord.

And of course

we see this

fulfilled in

Jesus.

We don't just

see this

fulfilled in

Jesus in the

sense that Jesus

is born in

Bethlehem.

We also see it

fulfilled in

Jesus because

Jesus tells us

in John chapter

John 10 · chapter mention

10 that he

is the good

shepherd.

Shepherds are

like kings.

David, by the

way, was a

shepherd.

He protected

his flock.

He also

nurtured them.

We're told

that it's the

good shepherd

that lays down

his life for

the sheep.

That is the

kind of shepherd

that Jesus is

as our Bethlehem

king.

He is great

and powerful.

And he also

dies for us.

He uses that

to shame the

smart things of

this world.

Dying on a

cross as God

for the sins of

your people is a

Bethlehem move.

That's a

Bethlehem kind of

thing to do.

That's not the

way the Assyrians

would have done

it.

And so it's the

weak things of

this world that

God uses to shame

the strong.

There's a whole

section of the

New Testament

about this.

I'm going to

read a little

bit for you from

1 Corinthians

1 Corinthians 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1.

Because God

talks about this

dynamic that he

is going to use

weak things to

shame strong

things.

He's going to

use Bethlehem

kind of things to

shame great

rulers.

1 Corinthians

1 Corinthians 1:18

chapter 1

verse 18.

For the word of

the cross is

folly to those

who are perishing,

but to us who

are being saved

it is the power

of God.

In other words,

as one man has

put it, God

takes an

instrument of

torture, the

cross, and he

uses it as an

instrument of

salvation.

He uses

something foolish

and weak, a

cross, to bring

about something

great and

powerful.

Then in verse

20, where is the

one who is wise?

Where is the

scribe?

Where is the

debater of this

age?

Has not God

made foolish?

For since in

the wisdom of

God the world

did not know

God through

wisdom, it

pleased God

through the

folly of what

we preach to

save those who

believe.

For Jews demand

signs and Greeks

seek wisdom, but

we preach Christ

crucified, a

stumbling block to

Jews and folly to

Gentiles.

But to those who

are called both

Jews and Greeks,

Christ the power

of God and the

wisdom of God.

For verse 25,

the foolishness

of God is

wiser than men

and the weakness

of God is

stronger than

men.

We might say

the foolishness

of God becoming

man in a manger

is wiser than

men and the

weakness of that

little baby is

stronger than

men.

The gospel, the

news that Jesus

has come and

died for us as

God made man,

strength is

Bethlehem logic.

It is the

weakness of this

world used for

strength.

Finally, we find

out what happens

when we have a

Bethlehem king, a

king who is both

great and mighty

and powerful, the

David-like king, and

also unexpected and

humble and weak.

What does that king

lead to?

Verse 5, he shall

be their peace.

The people in

this passage who

have Assyria coming

up against them are

not secure, but

they will be one

day.

We who live in

this world now at

the end of 2019

are not fully and

finally secure, but

we will be one

day.

We see it in part

with Jesus at his

birth in Bethlehem,

and we will see

it in full at his

second coming when

he comes to bring

in his kingdom and

answer our prayers

that he will make

his kingdom on

earth as it is in

heaven.

And so he shall be

our peace.

He will be our

peace with God,

saving us from

sin.

And he will be our

peace from God,

the political peace

that the folks in

this passage long for

and wait for in

hope.

And so he's

going to bring us

true and full and

final peace.

Sometimes it's hard

to wrap our minds

around what peace

looks like.

There's a phrase that

people will throw

around at Christmas

saying, you know,

Jesus brings peace

in our hearts, and

he certainly does.

But he also brings

peace in this world.

And as I think about

peace, and I'll close

with this, I'm

reminded of a

Peanuts cartoon.

I was still alive,

by the way, when

Charles Schultz died.

I'm probably the last

of a generation

that remembers him.

I remember one of

the things my

brothers and I love

to do is grab the

cartoons from the

weekend, the

weekend Washington

Post.

When we subscribed,

that was what we

tried to secure and

compete over.

And there's one where

Charlie Brown talks

about security.

He's talking with

Peppermint Patty.

And she says this,

Lately, everything

seems to bother me.

Charlie Brown, how

do you mean?

Peppermint Patty, what

do you think security

is, Chuck?

This is what Charlie

Brown says.

Security.

Security is sleeping

in the back seat of

the car.

When you're a little

kid, and you've been

somewhere with your

mom and dad, and it's

night, and you're

riding home in the

car, you can sleep in

the back seat.

You don't have to worry

about anything.

Your mom and dad are in

the front seat, and

they do all the

worrying.

They take care of

everything.

Peppermint Patty says

this, that's real

neat.

Charlie Brown replies,

but it doesn't last.

Suddenly, you're grown

up, and it can never be

that way again.

Suddenly, it's over,

and you'll never get to

sleep in the back seat

again.

Never.

Peppermint Patty,

Never?

Charlie Brown,

absolutely never.

Peppermint Patty,

hold my hand, Chuck.

Why does it matter that

Jesus was born in

Bethlehem?

It matters because he

is the king that brings

us true peace and

security.

We know that when it's

dark, he's the one who

has everything under

control.

We know that we don't

have to worry about

anything because he is

in the front seat, and

he will take care of the

worrying.

He will take care of

everything.

He will be our peace,

and it will last forever.

Why does it matter that

Jesus was born in

Bethlehem?

It matters because he is

a great and mighty king,

and it matters because he's

a humble and a weak king,

and because he's both and

not just one.

He will be our peace.

Please pray with me.

I will be our peace.

I run for you.

You see you soon.

From yours...