The First Sunday in Advent

Jesse Jacobsen

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Time-stamp: <Sat Nov 26 22:47:06 2005>

Luke 4:16–22



So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written:

“The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD.”

Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” So all bore witness to Him, and marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth. And they said, “Is this not Joseph's son?”

See How the Lord of Glory Comes Among Us

It seems that usually, Abraham and Sarah led a slow life. They did not live in the hustle and bustle of a city. They raised sheep, and had no children of their own to run around their tents, screaming at the top of their lungs. They had no soccer or ballet or pioneers to attend. So one day Abraham was sitting just out of the hot sun in front of their tent near the Oaks of Mamre when he heard the sound of feet crunching the dry earth. This is what it says in Genesis 18: “When he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them, and bowed himself to the ground, and said, `My Lord, if I have now found favor in Your sight, do not pass on by Your servant.' ” Abraham recognized these three men — or perhaps one of them — as God himself.

It's always amazed me that Abraham recognized God that way. Who else would have? Not many. But Abraham was a man of faith, maybe more so than anyone who has ever lived. He did not believe what his eyes told him: that it was just three men. He believed that it was God. Therefore everyone who in faith recognizes the true God where He appears should be considered a child of Abraham. That's part of what it means in Galatians 3:7, where it says, “Therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham.”

However, God makes a habit of appearing in disguise, as He did to Abraham. Can you imagine what it was like? No wonder he bowed all the way to the ground. This was the Lord of Glory, the Creator and Provider of all good things, with the power of life, death, and great blessing. It was the Holy One, the Uncreated and ever-living. He came to visit Abraham at his tent. Wouldn't it be nice if He came to see us too?

Ah, but He does, on a weekly basis and even more often in time of need. Our text was about just such a visit. Jesus was gathered with his kinsmen and neighbors in the synagogue of Nazareth for Sabbath worship. What He revealed was amazing to the people of Nazareth, but many did not have the faith of Abraham. You see, they saw only His disguise. But as we begin a new Church Year and prepare to celebrate our Lord's coming in the flesh, it's vitally important that we See how the Lord of Glory comes among us. He comes masked, to save. He comes with power, to deliver.

He comes masked, to save.

He comes masked, to save. Our text simply says, “So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up.” It sounds like any other homecoming. Not long ago, I returned to my old stomping grounds near New Bedford, Massachusetts. You may have experienced the same thing some time in your life. Jesus was coming home too, to the place where he had been raised by his mother Mary and his step-father Joseph.

Nazareth was not a big town. The people there knew Jesus, and many had known him for years. But recently, Jesus had been making a name for himself since He came north to Galilee, and news had traveled fast. The people of Nazareth who knew Him wanted to see Him, thinking that their knowledge would be an advantage for them. But the opposite was true: their knowledge of Jesus put them at a disadvantage.

Jesus truly had a childhood like other men, and He was even called a carpenter according to His step-father's trade. But as real as that was, it was a mask hiding something greater. Fact is, Jesus was divine from birth: true God, only-begotten of the Father. His human nature was the same as ours, but with added gifts that came as a result of who He was. So the Jesus that his neighbors and relatives knew as a young man in Nazareth was not the whole picture. He came to earth masked, to save.

If Jesus had come in His full glory, unmasked, then no sinner could have looked Him in the eye. He was the same God who said to Moses, “You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me, and live.” But many did look upon Jesus, and did not perish because of it. Jesus said, “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up.” That bronze serpent of Moses was lifted so that people could look upon it, and in that way be cured of their mortal wounds. So it's not only possible for sinners to look at Jesus, but it's necessary, if they will be saved from death.

Jesus is truly God in the flesh, but in such a way that sinners may find and approach Him. The prophet Elijah knew this, because when God passed by him, Elijah did not go looking for him in the tempest or the fire. That would have destroyed him. He let these things pass by, and finally Elijah heard the still, small voice, and he knew that this was where he would find God. Jesus is that still, small voice, though the power of the great storm lies hidden within him. He comes masked, to save.

Jesus was telling the people of Nazareth that He is the Messiah, the Christ. The passage He read from Isaiah was something that only the Messiah could say about himself. But the people of that town thought they already knew him. They thought, “He can't be what He says: it must be his own crazy opinions!” They wanted to find the Messiah in a great tempest and fire, and not in a still, small voice. So even though He could not have told them any plainer who He is, and even though they understood Him well, “they said, `Is this not Joseph's son?' ” But let's not make the same mistake today. Let's see how the Lord of Glory comes among us. He comes masked, to save.

He comes with power, to deliver.

See how the Lord of Glory comes among us. He comes with power, to deliver. It really bothers some people today when we talk about how God hides Himself like this and works through the appearance of weakness. It's the same problem that the men of Nazareth had when Jesus told them that He is the Messiah. How could that be true? We know that God is almighty! Doesn't it limit Him to say that He appears to be a normal man? Doesn't it put Him in a box to say that He works through earthly means?

You see, we want to see His power and experience His glory. That's what we're looking for. But He points instead to a splintery, wooden, blood-stained cross, where a man hangs crucified and crowned with thorns. Frustrated, we say, “No, God, show me your glory as it exists today, in my lifetime.” He points us instead to the font of Baptism, where His spoken word mingles with the water to save us. He shows us His supper, where the same body that was hanging on the cross and the same blood that stained it are given for Christians to eat and drink. He calls us to His Word, which enters the heart of man to create faith and bestow righteousness.

Are we satisfied in these things that we have seen God's power? We should be, but sometimes we're not. The problem is not the way that God comes among us. It's not that we're putting limitations upon Him. The problem is the same problem that Jesus saw in the Nazareth synagogue: unbelief and doubt. They did not see how the Lord of Glory had come among them.

Jesus said, “Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it, and was glad.” What did Abraham see? He saw what can only be seen with eyes of faith. He saw the truth that Isaiah prophesied concerning the Messiah: “The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor.” Abraham saw that God's power works through the Gospel message. So it says “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.”

But what about us? Is there any medicine that can cure our doubts and take away the guilt of our nagging unbelief? Are we doomed to miss the gracious coming of the Lord of Glory? Will we spend all our time looking for the face of God in a mighty wind and fire, but overlook the still, small voice where God may truly be found? See how the Lord of Glory comes among us. He comes with power, to deliver.

I tell you that just as Jesus was sent, so have I. I am here to preach His gospel, to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives of this world, and recovery of sight to the spiritually blind. If you are oppressed by sin, I am here to set you free, because this is still the acceptable year of the LORD. This is what I have to say to all of you, in the name and by the command of the almighty Lord of Glory, Jesus Christ: your sins are forgiven.

Open your eyes of faith to see the power of our Lord. Your sins are forgiven. Jesus died to break the bonds of sin and death that have held you captive. Your sins are forgiven. Receive these simple, small words, spoken from a sinful mouth, and receive the Lord of Glory. He is here for you. He is in the Sacrament of the Altar for you. He is still powerful in your Baptism, for you.

See how the Lord of Glory comes among us. He comes masked, to save. He comes with power, to deliver.

Amen. Soli Deo Gloria!

This document was translated from LATEX by HEVEA.