Glory Hidden in the Humble and Lowly
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| "Palm Sunday" by Octavio Ocampo |
“Rejoice greatly, O
daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is
coming to you; righteous and having salvation is He, humble and mounted on a
donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey” (Zechariah 9:9).
Grace to you and peace
from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!
“Behold, your king is
coming to you!” Were you to hear such a glorious announcement, what would you
look for?
Or to make it a little easier
to imagine: Let’s suppose the president of the United States is coming to town.
You pack up your family and drive to the route on which you suppose that he
would travel to his speaking engagement. Your family sets up their chairs at
the side of the road and you wait. Others gather, many holding welcome signs
and American flags.
Time slowly passes and
the excitement builds. Your son notices that the traffic has begun to thin out
on the road. Police officers have started to direct traffic at intersections. A
helicopter flies overhead, and you wonder if that is a sign that the president
is on his way.
Ten minutes later, the
road is eerily empty. Occasionally a police car zooms by with its lights
flashing. The president must be on his way. He will be here soon, but not yet.
The highway is empty again for a while.
Suddenly, you see two
police cars in the distance coming toward you. They drive by and a swoosh of air
hits you in the face. Then, far off, you make out some vehicles. The excitement
builds and you think you can see…
Well, what do you think
you would see? After all, this the president of the United States, and he is
coming to town. You know what to expect. You have seen motorcades on
television. The power, the honor, and the glory of such a prestigious office is
manifested in the limousines, SUVs, law enforcement vehicles.
On this glorious day of
the majestic entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem, God Himself enters into His glory.
The very Creator of all that is, the omnipotent power of the universe, the One
who was, is, and always will be, begins His triumphal trek to His most glorious
and honorable day on earth. How does He enter? Like the president of the United
States? Like the conquering king of a Middle Eastern dynasty? Like an A-list
celebrity on the night of the Academy Awards? No.
In our scenario with
your family at the side of the road, would you expect to see the president and
his motorcade drive by in a rusted-out mini-van? An old Ford Tempo? Perhaps a
wood-paneled station wagon? Of course not! But how did God enter into the glory
that you and I see and believe? He entered on a donkey! The prophet Zechariah announces:
“Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is He,
humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey” (9:9).
This is our Savior? Why would God ride in on a
donkey? Why would He do such a thing? Because this is exactly how He said He
would come. God would do such a thing for the very purpose of His coming—salvation.
The salvation of His people, the salvation of the world. The Righteous One
would become the Unrighteous One. The Blessed One would be cursed. The Sinless One
would bear our sin. The holy must become unholy to save us from our sins. The
glory of God comes in Christ’s humility and servitude. He humbles Himself to
take our sin and suffer the consequences of the eternal wrath of God as His own
punishment.
But unbelievers and the
world in which we live look for a triumphal
entry. They look for limousines and well-armed motorcades. Or given the day
and age of that first Palm Sunday—war horses and iron chariots, escorted by
soldiers and accompanied by personal attendants. The world wrongly assumes a
majestic and glorious entrance that reflects the honor and power befitting the
Creator of the universe like any other powerful ruler.
The unbeliever, though,
sees with his eyes and not through faith. The sinner looks and lusts for the
excitement and honor found in the power of an earthly king. That is true of our
Old Adam as well. We sinners want to win! We seek a popular Jesus that attracts
more and more people or an eye-candy Jesus who makes us feel happy and
important. But alas, this thinking is an entry not into Christ’s glory, but
rather an entrance into hell. It is a road to the tomb with no chance of a
resurrection into the presence of the Christ. Our sin—and our sinful nature!—is
ever before us.
Yes, even we believers,
who confess the suffering and death of our Lord for our sins, we, too, yearn
for a Jesus of glory who would be popular and successful. We sinfully seek a
kingdom builder of wealth and power and numbers so that we might have bigger
churches for the sake of recognition or influence or just the simple hope of
survival for a few more years. A Jesus who will make our church great again. A
Jesus who will make our own lives great again. A Jesus who will return us to
the glory days.
However, Jesus, the
Lowly One, calls us not to glory, but to lowliness and repentance, to have the
same humble mind as Jesus, who emptied Himself of His glory, taking the form of
a servant, being born in the likeness of men, who humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death
on a cross. Following in our Savior’s footsteps, we carry our own
crosses and bear one another’s burdens. Our new man rejoices in the glory of
the lowly and humble. The believer rejoices in the poor, the sick, and the
needy. The believer rejoices where only faith can see the glory of God: in
suffering and death.
We poor sinners need
the glory of the God who died. We need a God who suffered. We need the glory of
the cross. That is the irony of the Gospel. It is a scandal to sinful thinkers.
That is the hidden truth that eyes cannot see, but only faith can believe and
confess. The glory of God that saves us is, ultimately, the death of God!
The glory of God that
saves us is in the scandal of His conception, the humility of His birth and His
life, and His suffering and endurance of the wrath of God—all of this in our
place. Our sin did this to Him. Your sins, your hidden sins, your silly sins,
your big sins, in fact, your entire sinful life was given to Christ. He endured
what we could not. It is really insulting—shameful, even!—that God Himself gave
up the holiness, power, and glory in exchange for our sinful, lowly, and
suffering existence. However, there is where we see the glory of God. There is where we see the extent of His love
and grace.
Well, then, how do we
see the glory of God in our lives? We do not—that is, we do not see His glory. Rather faith confesses
and sees the glory of God where He has told us He hides it. Our eyes do not see
the glory; our faith does.
“How does that work?”
you ask.
God’s Word teaches us
where to see His glory. In the lowliness of this sinful world, God hides His glory.
Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem was humble and lowly—swaddling clothes and a manger
for a bed. His entry into Jerusalem was humble and lowly—riding on a donkey. His
death was humble and lowly—crucifixion, the cursed death reserved for slaves
and the most dangerous criminals. That is how Jesus accomplished the work of
salvation—His glory hidden in humility and lowliness. In the same way, Christ’s
glorious and triumphant entry into your life hides in the reality of your humble,
everyday life.
God has called you
according to your vocation to do what you do. He calls you to be a mother or
father, a son or daughter. God calls you to be a teacher or a student, an
employer or employee or retiree, a neighbor or friend. He calls you in so many
ways, and you do what He has given you to do—love and care for your neighbor,
that person who is in need of your love—for there
is the glory of God.
“But, Pastor, it doesn’t
look like the glory of God. It looks like, well, normal daily life. At best, it
is mundane and routine, but it is often more draining—emotionally, mentally,
and physically—sometimes, it’s more overwhelming, or just plain scary than it
is glorious.”
That’s it! Now, you’re
getting it! The glory of God is generally found in the in trials and troubles,
in humility and servitude through your daily call. It’s not flashy or popular.
It’s not big and powerful. It rarely makes the nightly news or social media. It
is most often found in the normal grind of daily life. However, it is still the
glory of God.
Getting the children up
and ready for school reveals the glory of God. Loving your wife and caring for
her needs is the glory of God. Washing clothes and changing diapers is the
glory of God. Going to work and bringing home money to support your family is
the glory of God. Giving your neighbor a ride to church or the grocery store is
the glory of God. Praying with your neighbor who has just gotten a bad report
from the doctor is the glory of God. Reading a book to your grandchildren or
great-grandchildren is the glory of God. Picking up your room without making a
fuss when your mother tells you is the glory of God.
How can this be?
Because our Lord makes your work holy by His grace and His call for you to be
His own in your Baptism. He gives you the faith that receives the holiness Jesus
earned on the cross. Therefore, you are holy through faith in Christ. All the works
done for your neighbor are holy and done to God’s glory.
The glory of God is
seen through the eyes of faith trusting in God’s Word. As Christians, we confess
our Lord and His glory in our normal, sometimes painful and hurtful life.
Christians also understand that God and His glory come into our lives in the least
of these Christ’s brothers—in the poor and the sick, in the lonely and in the
hurting, even—and especially—in death.
Our Lord’s death on the
cross is His greatest glory. There in all humility He served our most desperate
need, the payment of our sins. On the triumphant day of entrance into
Jerusalem, our Lord Jesus sat on a donkey in humility. In that triumphant
entry, He entered the way of the cross. That entrance took Him to His most
glorious moment: His death on the cross.
Through the glory of
the cross, our Lord gives to us and teaches us to see His glory in the hidden
reality of our faith. When we turn to our lives and see them in faith, we see
the glory of God in our suffering, in our humility, and in our servitude. He
calls us to love Him and others. But once again, our love for God is hidden in
our love of our neighbor. When we love our neighbor, we love God.
So the love of God and
His mercy come to you hidden in the waters of your Baptism and in the eating and
drinking of bread and wine, Christ’s body and blood. These bring the glory of
the kingdom of God to you for your salvation. Like the donkey Jesus rode into
Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, they are lowly, humble, and simple means. But there is
exactly where He brings us to the triumphal entry into His kingdom, in
everlasting joy and blessed righteousness. Through these humble means the Lord
strengthens you in faith toward Him and fervent love toward one another. By
them you have forgiveness, salvation and eternal life. Indeed, through these
means and for the sake of the glorious death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, you
are forgiven for all your sins.
In the name of the
Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Unless
otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, English
Standard Version, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of
Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
This
sermon is an adaptation of a sermon by Ronald R. Feurhahn, published in Concordia
Pulpit Resources, Volume 16, Part 2, Series B, Concordia Publishing House,
2005.
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