Advent: The Paradox of Christ Coming

Introduction

     For the next few weeks, our sermon series is going to be called “Christ Foretold: Advent with the Prophets.” The Advent season is a time when the church comes together and intentionally focuses the heart on the coming of Jesus Christ. Advent is not new. The church has been celebrating Advent back to the 400s AD.

     The word “advent” in Latin means coming or visitation. The historic church celebrated Advent a little differently than how most churches celebrate today. Today, churches have given each week of Advent a different theme or word. The five weeks of Advent are about hope, faith, joy, love, and Christ. Each week corresponds with a different Advent candle on the wreath. We will follow the same pattern for the scripture readings and the candle lighting. One thing that is different is that the early church would focus on two things. First, they would look to Christ's second coming. The first two weeks of Advent were spent fasting, praying, and longing for our King Jesus to return and rescue his people. Second, they would look to Christ's first coming. The last two weeks would be spent as a remembrance and a reflection on Jesus’s first coming. For our short sermon series, we will be looking at what the prophets have to say about Jesus’s first and second coming.

     Disclaimer: Here at Redemption Church, we believe in preaching the whole counsel of God. That not only means that we preach verse by verse through books of the Bible, but we also preach the Bible cover to cover. With this Advent series, we are going to look at some passages of Scripture that you maybe have never heard in your whole life. The prophets are some of the most neglected books of the Bible, and we are going to go to them and learn about what they have to say about Jesus. With that being said, if you have your Bible, please turn to Zechariah 9:9-17

Scripture Reading

Zechariah 9:9-17

9 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.

10 I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim

and the war horse from Jerusalem;

and the battle bow shall be cut off,

and he shall speak peace to the nations;

his rule shall be from sea to sea,

and from the River to the ends of the earth.

11 As for you also, because of the blood of my covenant with you,

I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit.

12 Return to your stronghold, O prisoners of hope;

today I declare that I will restore to you double.

13 For I have bent Judah as my bow;

I have made Ephraim its arrow.

I will stir up your sons, O Zion,

against your sons, O Greece,

and wield you like a warrior’s sword.

14 Then the Lord will appear over them,

and his arrow will go forth like lightning;

the Lord God will sound the trumpet

and will march forth in the whirlwinds of the south.

15 The Lord of hosts will protect them,

and they shall devour, and tread down the sling stones,

and they shall drink and roar as if drunk with wine,

and be full like a bowl,

drenched like the corners of the altar.

16 On that day the Lord their God will save them,

as the flock of his people;

for like the jewels of a crown

they shall shine on his land.

17 For how great is his goodness, and how great his beauty!

Grain shall make the young men flourish,

and new wine the young women.

Context

     This is an incredible passage. Let me fill you in on the context. The book of Zechariah is a post-exilic book, meaning that it was written after Israel had returned from exile. We have some young Christians in the faith in the room, so let me fill you in. Israel had entered the promised land under Joshua, and over and over again, we have cycles of obedience and disobedience. Israel would obey and worship Yahweh, and things would go well in the land. Then they would disobey, and things would go poorly in the land. But God was always patient. When Israel disobeyed, God would send prophets, calling the people back to repentance and back to Yahweh. But like today, when evil people hear God's truth, they hate the messenger. So the prophets were persecuted, driven out, and sometimes even killed. Because Israel would not listen, God sent them into exile. The Babylonians came and carried off the people as slaves. However, God is always faithful; he never forgets his promises.

     After 70 years in exile, God brought the people back to the land. The books of Ezra and Nehemiah tell us about the return from exile. These books also mark Zechariah and Haggai as prophets. This time Israel has learned its lesson. Instead of persecuting the prophets, they placed their faith in Yahweh, repented, and started calling out to the Lord. If you remember, for Reformation Day, I preached  Nehemiah 8; this is an excellent example of their repentance and faith following the return to the land.   God was kind to Israel by bringing them back into the land, yet they still had no king. Israel is still subject to the ruling nations of the day. They had no army, they had no temple, and they had no king. Israel was in a period of longing and waiting, just as we are 2000 years later. Israel was back in the land, yet they were exiles in their own home. They were surrounded by enemies on all sides, and they were not united; they were looking for a Messiah King like David to come and reestablish their kingdom. You could say they were living in an already-not-yet paradigm. Meaning that they had the sign of God’s people, were in the land, had rebuilt the temple, and were gathering to worship Yahweh through the public reading and preaching of God’s word. Yet they did not have their promised king. The temple was empty; they were still oppressed on all sides. They were longing for the advent of the promised Messiah King.

     As the first week of Advent, our world is not that different. We live in this already-not-yet paradigm. If you are indeed a Christian, then you are in spiritual exile. Our home is no longer the place you were born or the house you keep. But we belong to a different kingdom. We hold the promise of God through the gospel of Jesus Christ, and we still await his return. While we wait, we worship, publicly and privately, we gather to hear the reading and preaching of God’s word, and we strive to proclaim the gospel and remain faithful, longing and looking for our Messiah King to return. This is what Advent is all about. We are longing, waiting, and even crying out “come quickly, Lord Jesus.”

Jesus Comes as a Humble King

"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."

     This verse is an amazing paradox. God is speaking through Zechariah and at the announcement of the coming king he says, “Rejoice greatly, Shout aloud.” In other words, the king is coming, and when he arrives, the appropriate response is to shout with joy. One thing that is fascinating about both of these words for shouting is that they are both associated with military victory. The first word has the meaning of the celebration of the spoils of battle. It is the same kind of joy one would have when the war is over. You have been victorious, and now it is time to feast on the spoils of victory. The second word is less common but has the meaning of a battle cry or even a trumpet blast. The picture of both these words is that the Messiah King is coming in military victory. He has defeated his enemies and is returning to his holy city of Jerusalem. “behold your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he.” Redemption Church, do you hear this? Do you see the beauty of this verse? Where do we, as God’s people, find our hope? Right here. The King is coming. He will not leave us nor forsake us. He will not forget the promises he has made to us. We can endure all things in King Jesus's name because we know he is coming. This Advent season, meditate on this. Jesus is coming; are you ready to receive your King?

     Israel had many kings, but they all failed. But this King, when he comes, comes righteous and having salvation. His rule is perfect; his ways are righteous. He has salvation. If you do not know who this is, this is our lord Jesus Christ. He has salvation that he gives freely to his people. There is no way apart from him. The paradox of this passage is that these are shouts of military victory; we are looking for a mighty warrior king to come marching in on a war steed. But instead, we find a humble Savior mounted on a donkey. I preached on this not that long ago. This passage is fulfilled in Mark 11 at the triumphal entry. Jesus comes into the city, and the people with him lay their robes at his feet and palm branches down and shout, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!  Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father, David! Hosanna in the highest!” Jesus fulfills this passage as he comes into Jerusalem not to receive a crown but to receive a cross. He came not to crush his enemies with the sword but to be crushed so that he might be mighty to save his people.

Jesus Rules Over the Whole Earth in Peace

I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the war horse from Jerusalem;

and the battle bow shall be cut off, and he shall speak peace to the nations;

his rule shall be from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth.

     The Messiah King comes in humility, and he rules in peace. Verse nine was fulfilled in Jesus’s first coming. Now we are shifting, and Zechariah is talking about the messiah’s second coming. If you want a new word for the day, this is the “eschaton.” Meaning, last thing/day. The irony of this passage is that when military leaders take over, they are greatly concerned about the size of the military. Leaders do not give up their forces or their arms. Imagine if the United States military said we are having a liquidation sale today. Let’s get rid of our arms. Would this not make you nervous? This is precisely what Jesus is going to do. He is going to abolish violence, and he is going to speak peace to the nations. We do not understand how radical this is. Not only will Jesus take away our weapons, but he will also invite our enemies into peaceful fellowship. This is how we know this is in the future because we cannot imagine this. Jew and Gentile having peaceful fellowship. This is the mystery of the gospel. Paul writes in Ephesians 2:11-14, “Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called “the uncircumcision” by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands— 12 remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility.” Jesus can bring peace to the whole earth because he has taken all of the wrath of God upon his shoulders so that we might be reconciled to him and one another. Not only will Jesus rule in peace, but he will rule from sea to sea, meaning the whole earth. There will be nowhere that Jesus is not king. His authority is complete and decisive. No one is like Jesus ruling the whole earth in peace. He rules to the utter ends of the earth.

Jesus Saves His People with his Blood

As for you also, because of the blood of my covenant with you,

I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit. Return to your stronghold, O prisoners of hope; today I declare that I will restore to you double.

     In verse 10, we learn that Jesus is coming to bring peace to the whole world, but what is the basis for this peace? How does the Messiah save his people? Is it by military victory? Is it by political advertising? Is it through financial prosperity? No, it is through his own blood that we are saved. What makes the prophets hard to interpret is that they are so paradoxical. But I challenge you to look for the paradox and paint the picture. This mighty warrior offers himself as a sacrifice. This reminds me of what John sees in the book of Revelation. Revelation 5, “Then I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne a scroll written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals.  And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?”  And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it,  and I began to weep loudly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it.  And one of the elders said to me, “Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.” And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain.”

     In other words, John hears about this mighty lion of Judah, an image of power and kingship, and lions are violent, but when he turns around, he sees a lamb that has been slain and is standing up, symbolizing the resurrection. This is a powerful picture that conveys the same message. Jesus, who is the mighty warrior King, he conquered the world not through military might, violence, nor power but through presenting himself as a humble sacrifice. Jesus’s blood on the cross was not just blood; it was the payment for our freedom. It secured the covenant in his blood. We are like Joseph; we are stuck in a waterless pit. This is a confusing verse, but don’t overcomplicate it. Think of all the Bible characters who were thrown into pits. Joseph was thrown into a pit, and he could not get out. Daniel was thrown into a lion's den, and Jeremiah was thrown into a well. The image is that we are unable to help ourselves. We are prisoners and captives, and we need rescue. And when the King comes, we are set free. This is the Good News of the gospel. We have been freed. We no longer are prisoners, but we have hope. Everything that we have lost for the gospel, we will receive back double. What a stunning picture. Jesus delivers his people through his blood.

The Messiah Assembles His Army

For I have bent Judah as my bow; I have made Ephraim its arrow.

I will stir up your sons, O Zion, against your sons, O Greece,

and wield you like a warrior’s sword.

Here we see the calm before the battle. So far, the king has come in humility, and he has purchased his people with his blood. He has saved us and redeemed us from a pit. We have seen the Messiah King's humility and meekness, but now we are entering the calm before the storm. We are about to see the fury and the vengeance of the Messiah. We have seen the lamb; now we are about to see the Lion of Judah.

If this is your first time reading this passage, it will cause you to feel a holy fear, awe, and reverence for our Lord Jesus. Because this is the Messiah, we worship. In verse 13, we see Judah and Ephraim reunited. At the time of writing this, they had fallen into civil war and were no longer on speaking terms. But now that the Messiah has come, he has gathered them for a battle. And they are standing side by side. The Messiah is going to be the one who fights for his people. It is he who is wielding the sword against Greece. This is likely just a way of speaking of the prominent Gentile nations that were waging war against them at the time.

The Messiah Will Defend His People and Defeat His Enemies

Then the Lord will appear over them, and his arrow will go forth like lightning; the Lord God will sound the trumpet and will march forth in the whirlwinds of the south. The Lord of hosts will protect them, and they shall devour, and tread down the sling stones, and they shall drink and roar as if drunk with wine, and be full like a bowl,

drenched like the corners of the altar.

     This shows the power of poetry. Poetry is powerful. It always has been. It conveys meaning, not in logical ways that challenge the mind. But as one theologian said, poetry does not speak to your mind, it reaches out and grabs you by the jugular. This passage is visceral. It is a picture of when Jesus defends his people and defeats his enemies to bring peace. In other words, this is a picture of when Christ returns. What a fantastic picture, loaded with irony. Verse 14 starts with Yahweh coming over his people; Yahweh does not send his people out to battle; instead, he goes before them in a blaze of rage and fury. Yahweh is personified and goes into battle with lighting bolts in a whirlwind of wrath. The irony of this is that it is well known that Baal, the God of the enemies of Israel, was the storm god. So God is personified as the real God of the storms; this is irony. God will sound the trumpet and march the whirlwinds forward to protect his people. In this battle, the enemies of Yahweh will fight, but it will be in vain. Not one of the Lord’s people will fall in battle. They all will be protected because Yahweh is protecting them. The word protects in Hebrew is the word shield. Even in the end, God is shielding his people. 

     Verse 15, “The Lord of hosts will protect them, and they shall devour, and tread down the sling stones, and they shall drink and roar as if drunk with wine, and be full like a bowl, drenched like the corners of the altar.” This is the hardest verse to interpret, but I think with some work in the original languages, it becomes a little easier. The word devour, in our ESV, has been translated in many places as destroy. It could mean destruction, but I think the better picture is one of a victory feast after the battle. The battle has been so decisively won that the Lord’s armies gather to feast, and they are eating and drinking as if they are drunk on new wine. This is a picture of a celebration. WW2 was supposed to be the war to end all wars, With such a high cost, millions of people died in the wake, and on May 8th VE day came. The victory was accomplished in Europe. There were celebrations in the streets for weeks and months. The victors feasted on the spoils. In a greater way, this is the battle to end all battles, and it is God who fights on behalf of his people. How grand will the celebration be when our King comes and defeats the enemy once and for all? How great will it be when we take our swords and beat them into plowshares and start tilling the ground of the new creation? Oh, how wonderful this event will be for those in Christ. But oh, how great the loss is for those who do not love and worship Jesus. The battle has been won, and the Lord’s people are satisfied as peace has been ushered in. This last part is about the bowl drenched like the corners of the altar; all of God’s people will be an army of priests.

The Shepherd and His Sheep Prosper Forever

      On that day the Lord their God will save them, as the flock of his people; for like the jewels of a crown they shall shine on his land. For how great is his goodness, and how great his beauty! Grain shall make the young men flourish, and new wine the young women.

      Look at how the story ends. “On that day,” when you are reading the prophets, almost always refers to the eschaton. Or the last day. This is the fulfillment of all things; this is a picture of the end of the story. If you worship Jesus, this is a picture of your future forever. On that day, the Lord their God will save them. This is the final salvation. Those who have placed their faith in Jesus Christ, the Messiah, will be saved. This is a promise for you and me. The salvation we are longing for will be realized. Jesus will come and save his people. Do you find hope in this? He will wipe away every tear, and we will be with him at last.

     I love the picture of the flock. When the Shepherd comes, we will be his sheep. We are his flock, and he loves us. He leaves the 99 to go and find lost sheep like you and me. Oh, how Jesus loves his people. We will be like jewels in his crown, radiating like the sun. We will be made perfect; we will not be like we are now; we will be perfected through Jesus. We will have righteousness and we will be holy and we will be full of joy and hope and we will feast in his presence forever. All of the promises of God will be fulfilled. At the second advent of Christ, our hope on this life will come and he will make his goodness known, and he will be beautiful. Men and women will flourish in the land, grain and wine will abound always, no more famine. We will sit at the Lord’s table and feast in his fellowship. Oh, how glorious will it be? We will worship him forever.

“When we've been there ten thousand years

Bright, shining as the sun

We've no less days to sing God's praise

Than when we first begun”