First Sunday in Advent – November 30, 2025

Grace to you and peace from God our Father, from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

Some of you might think it's odd that the Gospel for the first Sunday in Advent is a Palm Sunday text.

Some of you might ask, why is a Palm Sunday text on the first Sunday of Advent?

Shouldn't we be hearing about Joseph and Mary and the baby Jesus?

But Advent and Lent have a lot in common.

They are both penitential seasons, time of the year.

During Advent, we repent because it was our sin which caused Jesus to be born.

And then during Lent, we repent because it was our sin which caused him to die upon the cross.

During Advent and Lent, we have midweek services. in order to focus more on

God's word, devotion, and prayer.

Advent prepares us for Christmas, whereas Lent prepares us for Easter,

but they all go together.

The word Advent means to come.

It is fitting then that the word come appears twice in our Holy Gospel for today.

Verse 5 reads, Behold, your king is coming to you.

And then in verse 9, it says, Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.

So the Palm Sunday reading is appointed to the first Sunday in Advent to emphasize Christ's coming.

Today we will answer three questions.

Who comes? How does he come? And why does he come?

First, who comes? The prophet Zechariah says, Behold, your king is coming to

you. Who is coming? A king is coming.

And according to Zechariah, this king is the promised Savior.

Jeremiah, in our Old Testament reading for today, says that God will,

quote, Raise up for David a righteous branch, and he shall reign as king.

Again, who is coming? a king is coming.

And according to Jeremiah, again, this king is the promised savior.

The good news is that Jesus fulfills the prophecy of both Zechariah and Jeremiah.

Jesus is the promised Savior.

Jesus is a king, but he's unlike the kings of this world.

Earthly kings come and go and their kingdom ends.

But Jesus is both God and man, and his kingdom will have no end.

As God, Jesus knew where the donkey and the colt were, and he knew that the

owner would give the donkey and the colt to the disciples.

The Palm Sunday crowd treated Jesus as a king.

They did not roll out the red carpet for him, But they put down in the road

their cloaks and the palm branches.

And they shouted, Hosanna to the son of David. David is a king.

Jesus is David's son. And so Jesus is a king.

Jesus is like King David, but greater.

David was a warrior. He fought a lot of battles with a sword, but not Jesus. He was.

Had a kingdom that was, he provided a kingdom through his blood.

Because of his crucifixion and resurrection, his kingdom now will never end.

Jesus is also like King Solomon, but greater.

When King Solomon rode into Jerusalem on a mule, the people shouted, long live the king.

And Jesus, Solomon died,

his kingdom ended, Jesus died, but unlike Solomon, Jesus rose from the dead

and Jesus' kingdom is everlasting.

Jesus is not like Caesar or Pilate. Jesus' kingdom is not of this world.

It is a kingdom of grace and mercy.

Our ascended Lord now rules by means of the gospel and sacrament, not by sword or power.

Because Jesus is king, we must not treat him as a bread king,

merely getting what we want.

We must not use him for our own personal gain.

We must not tell him what to do.

We must not reduce him to a political figure.

We must not make the church into an earthly kingdom.

We must not bring the things of the world into the church.

Advent is a time of repentance. It calls us to repentance. And so we are to

wake up. We are to look at our sin.

Do not live, as St. Paul says in our epistle lesson, in orgies and drunkenness,

sexual immorality, while living, quarreling, or jealousy.

These are sins of the flesh. And these are sins of the world.

Do not walk in the night of unbelief, but walk in the light of Christ.

Cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.

Confess your sin and trust in the forgiveness of sins.

Again, Advent is a time of repentance because it was our sin which caused him

not only to be born, but also to die upon the cross.

Paul asked Jesus, are you a king? And Jesus basically said, yes, but not like this world.

Paul had even placed an inscription on the cross identifying Jesus as the king of the Jews.

The thief on the cross knew who Jesus was, knew that he was a king.

He said, remember me when you come into your kingdom.

The thief knew that Jesus was a king with a heavenly kingdom.

Jesus' crown was not made of gold, but of thorns.

And his throne was not made of gold, but it was the cross.

Jesus died, yet he rose, and he now reigns in grace and mercy, not by sword or power.

Jesus is your king, and he rules by means of the precious gospel and the sacraments.

There is an Advent hymn that goes like this, The King Shall Come When Morning Dawns.

And our last hymn for today, stanza four, reads, Hail Hosanna,

David's Son, Jesus, hear our supplication.

Let thy kingdom, scepter, crown, bring us blessing and salvation,

that forever we may sing, Hail Hosanna to our King.

So who comes? Jesus comes as your King of kings and Lord of lords.

He reigns forever, and he rules for your good and for your salvation.

Second, how does he come? Zechariah 9, verse 9 says, Behold,

Zechariah 9:9

your king is coming to you, righteous and having salvation is he,

humble and mounted on a donkey. How does Jesus come?

He comes in righteousness.

He comes bringing you salvation. He comes humble and mounted on a donkey.

He comes in the name of the Lord. He comes as your promised Savior.

Jesus came to his own, but his own did not receive him.

They wanted a warrior king on a horse, not a humble savior on a donkey.

They wanted Jesus to have a large army, not a small band of disciples.

They wanted Jesus to enter Jerusalem with splendor and greatness, not in humility.

And by the end of the week, they cried out, crucify him. Again,

Jesus came to his own, but his own did not receive him.

Having a sinful nature, we want a Jesus to be strong and powerful.

We want him to come with splendor and greatness.

We want the church to rule the world.

We want Jesus to punish the bad people.

But God's ways are not our ways, and our ways are not God's ways.

How did Jesus come? He came in all humility when he was born of a poor mother and laid in a manger.

He came into Jerusalem by humble means of a donkey and not a war horse.

He died in humility being nailed to a cross.

How does Jesus come to us today? He comes to us in humble means,

water, word, bread, and wine.

Nothing spectacular to the world.

The eye sees only water, but faith hears God's promise that we are born again

by means of water and the word through the Holy Spirit.

The eye only sees a man dressed in a chalzable, but faith believes that the

word of absolution is effective.

Whoever sins you forgive, they are forgiven. The eye only sees bread and wine,

but faith believes in God and the promise of Jesus' promise that this is my body.

This is my blood for the forgiveness of sins. So walk by faith in God's promises

and not by sight or power or splendor.

As a forgiven sinner, you do not sleep in unbelief, but you are awake with faith in Christ.

You do not walk in the night of sin, but you walk properly in the day.

You do not live in the darkness of this world, but you live in the light of

Christ that shines to others.

You do not gratify the desires of the flesh, but it's the fruits of the Spirit

that flow through you toward other people.

You do not live in the slavery of sin, but you live in the freedom in Christ to love one another.

You freely one another within your family, friends, and community.

How does Jesus come? He comes in righteousness.

He comes as your Savior. He comes with forgiveness.

He comes by humble means of gospel and sacrament. He comes as your Savior and Redeemer.

Finally, why does he come?

Jeremiah says that he comes to deal wisely and to execute justice and righteousness.

After all, Jeremiah says, the Lord is our righteousness.

Jesus once said, quote, for God did not send his son into the world to condemn

the world, but that the world might be saved through him. John 3, 17.

Jesus did not come to condemn the world and then ascend back to heaven with

no good Friday or Easter.

Jesus did not come to merely preach the law and return to his Father in heaven

with no cross or open tomb.

Jesus did not come to criticize us and then leave us alone with no gospel.

Rather, Jesus came to save us from sin, death, and the devil.

The law still applies to us, to be sure, but Jesus' mission was not to be a

new lawgiver. Rather, his mission was to fulfill the law and to die upon the cross.

When Jesus entered Jerusalem, he did not defend his innocence before the Sanhedrin.

When Jesus was before Pilate, Jesus did not persuade Pilate to set him free.

Jesus did not fight back when the guards struck him.

Rather, Jesus entered Jerusalem to give his life as a ransom for you and me,

and he entered Jerusalem to make the atoning sacrifice for our sins.

The cross was the only way to save us who are lost in sin.

Dearly beloved, do not fear your

Savior's coming He comes to

you with thoughts of peace You confess

your sin and then he takes them away The law

shows you your sin but then the gospel shows you your Savior You are sorry for

your sin and then God gives you faith to trust in the forgiveness of sins but

woe to the one who rejects God's word woe to the one who resists the Holy Spirit

they then will see Jesus as their judge,

why does Jesus come today?

He doesn't come to judge you but to save you he is your good shepherd and you

are his baptized lamb he is your king and you belong to him and you are in his

kingdom He is your Savior,

and you are his redeemed child. So who comes?

Jesus comes as your King of kings and Lord of lords. How does he come?

He comes by humble means of gospel and sacrament.

And why does he come? He comes to save you from your sin and to open heaven

for you and for all who believe.

Hosanna to the Son of David. Hosanna to our risenness and ascended Lord.

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Blessed is Jesus who comes to us in bread and wine.

To him be our glory now and forevermore. Amen.