Audio: iTunes | Spotify | Download
᛭ INI ᛭
(5. Ugh!: There’s only one true God: the God who comes, Jesus.)
There’s a problem when we think or talk about God. The problem is we’re affected either (1) by what the world says about what “a god” is or should be, or (2) by pop-Christian ideas. These are ideas that permeate Christian thinking, but are a bit askew from the Bible. There’s always a kernel of truth, though.
There’s the idea of transcendence, that God’s far away in the heavenly dimension. He’s the intelligent Designer who now upholds everything He made in some distant, impersonal way. Or He’s absent, but the Spirit moves and works, more like some force… God’s like a distant power plant powering lights.
There’s also omnipresence: that God’s everywhere. We say He’s there, but don’t act like it. So, we do what we do when “no one’s around.” We break His Commandments as if He’s not around! But He is—right there! He doesn’t just know your sins from far away. It’s His first-hand account that condemns on the Last Day! “Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him? declares the LORD. Don’t I fill heaven and earth? declares the LORD.” (Jer 23)
Now, the true God who spoke those words to Jeremiah is none other than Jesus, the eternal Son. He’s One God with His Father and also the Holy Spirit. He’s radically different from worldly ideas about “gods” and from how we often think about Him, too. Now, it’s true that God’s “far above all the heavens” (Eph 4) (transcendent) and yet “fills heaven and earth” (Jer 23) (omnipresent). But that’s not all!
The LORD not only creates, but He comes to His creation. He’s not just everywhere but somewhere! He’s Immanuel, “God with us.” Like He promised through Zechariah: “Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion, for behold, I come and I will dwell in your midst, declares the LORD.” (Zech 2:10) … “Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’” (Mt 21; Zech 9:9) Jesus is the God who comes … somewhere! We scarcely believe that!
(4. Ugh!: We don’t really (fully) believe in such a God.)
We behave like Jesus is gone now, and since He’s not around, our behavior’s just fine. “Sure,” some think, “when He was, He gave us some instructions to follow during His absence,” and people like that think that as long as they’re generally nice people, then the far away Jesus aproves! They’re doing their best, after all. Why wouldn’t Jesus reward that? “We’re not perfect people, a work in progress. God understands that.”
Because of thinking like that, our measure of “niceness” doesn’t match Jesus’ own standards. Complete holiness is Jesus’ standard. That’s how Jesus gave the Law at Sinai. Sometimes our “niceness” outwardly matches the letter of Commandments 4–10, but not the intent. Jesus says, just about Commandment 5, “You’ve heard that it was said … ‘Do not murder,’ and ‘anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who’s angry with his brother will be subject to judgment…” (Mt 5) (It just goes farther downhill from there.) “Be perfect like your heavenly Father.” (Mt 5)
We also live like Jesus doesn’t care about Commandments 1–3. They’re first for a reason! There’s often no, as Isaiah says, “seeking the LORD while He is found,” no “calling on Him while He is near.” He’s near and found through His Word, as Isaiah continues. He’s where He’s promised. When He says that He’ll be somewhere, then He’s there. Yes, “the heavens, and even the highest heaven cannot contain Him,” (1 Ki 8), but this is equally true: “where two are three are gathered in My name there I am in the midst of them.” (Mt 18)
It’s sin to pit God’s transcendence or omnipresence against His promises another. (We play least common denominator with His promises rather than adding or multiplying them together.)
We generally live like God’s far off, where He can’t bother us, so we’re not bothered with Him. “I can pray and read my Bible anywhere” (which we don’t…) sinfully trumps Jesus’ promise, “I’m there.” The flesh says, “Going to church or taking communion doesn’t make me a Christian,” yet Jesus commands all his disciples: “Eat and drink. Do this.” Besides His other warning: “If you don’t eat My flesh and drink My blood, you don’t have life in you.” (Jn 6) Saying “He’s everywhere,” we behave like He’s not really anywhere, or when He promises He’s somewhere, we go elsewhere, self-justifying ourselves with His own Words!
(3. Aha!: Jesus draws near and enters.)
Thankfully, Jesus shows up today! He draws near to the gates of Jerusalem. That’s where He was! You couldn’t actually find Jesus anywhere else that day except drawing near to Jerusalem. No wonder the crowds were surrounding Him!
Not only that, He wasn’t just close by. He enters! He enters the gates. He comes into Jerusalem. He comes into our world. The Creator enters His creation, becomes Creature. He was born in Bethlehem, and is now entering Jerusalem. He eventually goes into the temple.
Like I said, there’s no other God than Jesus who comes. He shows up at all sorts of places: in Mary’s womb, Bethlehem, Jerusalem, Calvary, a grave, and now even the right hand of God. But when He comes, He does something peculiar. It’s odd. It’s what I’m drawing our attention to today. As we’ll see it’s a theme that pops up again and again in the Bible. Yes, Jesus draws near. He enters. He comes, but
WHEN JESUS COMES, HE SITS AND HIS PEOPLE GATHER ROUND.
(2. Whee!: WHEN JESUS COMES, HE SITS AND HIS PEOPLE GATHER ROUND.)
He sits on all sorts things, dwells in all sorts of places. Today, He sits on a donkey—mobile throne! He sat on a mountain to teach His disciples. (Mt 5) He sat in a boat and taught the crowds. (Mt 13) He sat in the synagogue and preached. (Lk 4) He lay in royal state on the manger. (Lk 1) He rides into Jerusalem, to be enthroned on His cross, as Isaiah prophesied, “I saw the Lord High and Lifted up.” (Is 6; Is 52; Jn 8:28) Rising from the dead, He now “sits at the right of God.”
WHEN JESUS COMES, HE SITS.
The Lord has always promised this for His people: to sit with them, dwell with them, to be where they are, to bring them to where He is. He was “enthroned between the cherubim” (Ps 80) first in the tabernacle and then in the Temple. That’s why Isaiah saw the Lord’s throne room while standing in the Temple! (Is 6) At the tabernacle and temple He “dwelt among people of Israel.” (Ex 29:45) He was so close that He’d even get up and walk around their camp! (Dt 23:14) But the other thing is this: He doesn’t just come and sit, when He does, HIS PEOPLE GATHER ROUND.
Where He sits, there His people gather round. In there minds, there’s no other place to gather around! “Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving” and “let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker!” (Ps 95) The place to kneel before Him was the temple!
Gathering around also takes place in our Gospel reading. Jesus in the center, sitting on the donkey, with “crowds preceding Him and following”—a sea of people all around!
So also, when Christ takes up His seat, to have His heavenly throne room invade His earthly one. “Angels, archangels, all the company of heaven” are all surrounding the altar. Christ in the center doling out His body and blood. The saints that have gone before us, as it were, are the crowds that precede Him, and we, the saints on earth, are the crowds following after Him, chasing Him, clinging to Him that He would bless us. He’s so close, that you can almost touch Him. [BLC stained glass]
(1. Yeah!: When that happens, a lot of “Hosanna” goes on!)
And when the Lord Jesus comes, sits, and His people gather round: well, then lots of Hosanna goes on! That’s lots of “salvation” going on! “Hosanna” means save us! And He does. As He sits, as they’re gathered, so He saves.
That’s why the crowds cry out: “Hosanna! Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” So, we cry it out, too! For the LORD is coming to deliver the very salvation He won for us as He sat on His glorious throne, His cross. There He gave His body into death and shed His blood for our sins and the sins of the whole world. That very life-blood He pours out for us to drink, along with His body to eat, that we might eat and drink and live forever.
WHEN JESUS COMES, HE SITS AND HIS PEOPLE GATHER ROUND.
Where He comes, seating His body in the bread on the paten and His blood under the wine in the chalice, there is maximum Hosanna, salvation, for you.
Gracious Mercy Blog 