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Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not bear false witness,” “You shall not covet,” and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in licentiousness and lewdness, not in strife and envy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.(Romans 13:8–14)
The fruit on the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was pleasing to Eve's eye. She coveted it, and so she took it. She gratified the desires of the eye and she ate the forbidden fruit. Then she gave some to her husband, and he also ate.
You shall not murder. Because of what Adam and Eve did, death will now come to them and us. You shall not committed adultery. They committed adultery by allowing Satan — a third party — to come between them and their Creator. You shall not steal. They stole fruit that did not belong to them. You shall not covet. They coveted the forbidden fruit and ate it. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. Adam failed to protect and to love his closest neighbor, namely his wife.
When Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit, they cast off the armor of light, and they put on the works of darkness. They cast off the image of God, and they put on a sinful nature. They cast off a life of righteousness, and they put on a life of sin and death. They put on themselves fig leaves, and they hid from God. They did not walk in the day or in the light, but they walked among the shadows of the trees in the garden. The shadow of death will come to them. Death is nearer now than when they first sinned.
They did not pray, “Come, Lord and protect us from death and the devil.” They did not pray, “Come, Lord and rescue us from the threatening perils of our sins.” They did not pray, “Come, Lord and save us by Your mighty deliverance.” Instead, they were afraid of God and hid from Him.
We are living the life of Adam and Eve. You shall not murder. Evil thoughts and bad words from the mouth kill one another. You shall not commit adultery. When idols in our home and in the garage come between us and our Creator, then we've committed adultery against God Himself. You shall not steal. When we've stolen that which does not belong to us, then we've broken the seventh commandment. You shall not covet. When we want and desire what other people own, then we've broken the ninth and tenth commandments. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. When we've failed to help a family member, a friend, or a brother or a sister in the faith, then we've failed to love our neighbor.
Advent is a time of repentance. Advent sounds the alarm: Wake up. Don't hit the snooze button, but awake out of sleep. 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. Do not live a life of orgies, drunkenness, sexual immorality, sensuality, quarreling, and jealousy. Don't hide from God like Adam and Eve did, but confess your sin and walk in the light of God's forgiveness.
If there was to be any reconciliation between Adam and His Creator, then God must make the first move. God must take the initiative and go to Adam and Eve. If Advent means “to come” or “to come toward,” then this is exactly what God did. He came toward Adam and Eve calling them to repentance but also bringing news of forgiveness through a coming Savior.
This Savior will be born of a woman. This Savior will crush the head of Satan. This Savior will rescue Adam and Eve from the threatening perils of their sins. The woman's offspring will save Adam and Eve by a mighty deliverance.
This was good news to the ears of Adam and Eve. They were forgiven through faith in the coming Savior.
Adam and Eve's Advent cry must have gone something like this: “Savior of the nations, come” or “Come, Thou precious Ransom, come” or “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.”
The prophet Zechariah said, “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, lowly and riding on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey” (9:9).
But, when will He come? We celebrate Advent for four Sundays, and we can count down the days until Christmas, but the people in the Old Testament era waited a long time for the coming Savior.
Well, God finally fulfilled His promise. “When the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His son, born of a woman, born under the law, in order to redeem those under the law” (Galatians 4:4–5). The Savior came as a child born of the virgin Mary. The promise of the coming Savior was fulfilled in the birth of Jesus. This is what Christmas is all about.
Our sermon hymn, put it this way, “Not by human flesh and blood, [but] by the Spirit of our God, was the Word of God made flesh — woman's offspring, pure and fresh” (Lutheran Service Book #332 vs. 2). Yes, “Jesus came, the heav'ns adoring, came with peace from realms on high; Jesus came to win redemption, Lowly came on earth to die” (Lutheran Service Book #353 vs. 1).
Why was Jesus born? He came to rescue us from the threatening perils of our sins. He came to save us by means of the cross. He came to deliver us from sin, death, and the devil through His death and resurrection. Our opening hymn “O Lord, How Shall I Meet You” (Lutheran Service Book #334) was written by Paul Gerhardt. Listen to the fourth stanza:
Love caused Your incarnation; Love brought You down to me.
Your thirst for my salvation; Procured my liberty.
Oh, love beyond all telling, That led You to embrace
In love, all love excelling, Our lost and fallen race.
Zechariah once said, “Behold, your King is coming to you, lowly and sitting on a donkey” and this is exactly what happened on a day we call “Palm Sunday.” As Jesus rode into Jerusalem, a great multitude spread their garments on the road; others cut down palm branches from the trees and spread them on the road. Then the multitudes cried out saying, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest.”
Good Friday is nearer and nearer. The day is at hand and just around the corner. We cast off the works of darkness, but Jesus put them on Himself. We are to put on the Lord Jesus, but He puts our sin upon Himself. He is the armor of light — the light of the world — but He is dressed in the darkness of our sin.
A famous Advent hymn goes like this:
Once He came in blessing, All our sins redressing;
Came in likeness lowly, Son of God most holy;
Bore the cross to save us; Hope and freedom gave us(Lutheran Service Book #333 vs. 1)
Adam and Eve coveted the forbidden fruit, but Jesus desires our salvation. Adam and Eve hid among the shadows of the trees. Jesus is next to a tree, but it is a cross and it is in full view of all. Even though it was 3:00 p.m. in the afternoon, darkness prevailed. Night overcame the day. There on the cross Jesus died an atoning sacrifice for our sins and not only for our sins but for the sins of the whole world.
During Advent the cry goes out: “awake from sleep” and this is exactly what happened on Easter morning. Jesus awoke from the sleep of death and darkness, and He came alive.
Jesus rescued us from the threatening perils of our sins. There is now the forgiveness of sins. Jesus saved us by a mighty deliverance.Jesus saved us from death and the devil. There is now life and salvation in His name.
Dearly beloved, your king came to you in the waters of Holy Baptism. There the works of darkness were cast off, and the Lord Jesus Christ was put on you. The fig leaves were cast off, and you are now clothed in the Lamb. You are now clothed in His righteousness.
He came to you in your Baptism, but He comes to you now. Paul Gerhardt, in the hymn we sang earlier, asked the question, “O Lord, how shall I meet You, How welcome You aright?” We meet Him with repentant hearts casting off the works of darkness. We meet Him awake in repentance and not in the sleep of death.
Behold, your Advent King comes to you now. Lift up your heads, Ye mighty gates, your King comes to you now. Hark the glad sound, your Savior comes. He comes to you in the word of Absolution, forgiving you all your sin. He comes to you in the Gospel preached, putting words of comfort and peace into your ear. He comes to you not in the lowly means of a donkey, but in the lowly means of bread and wine, giving you His body and blood. Therefore, hosanna to the Son of David. He comes, and you are blessed — blessed with His salvation and His light. We will even sing during the Santus the words of “Hosanna”, asking Him to come and save us.
I wish we would have sung the Advent hymn “Once He Came in Blessing.” The first stanza, which I quoted earlier, spoke of Christ's first coming in Bethlehem and at the cross. But listen to the second stanza:
Now He gently leads us; With Himself He feeds us
Precious food from heaven, Pledge of peace here given
Manna that will nourish; Souls that they may flourish.
Our Advent King is here washing us clean. He gives us His life giving Word. He feeds us at His table. He fills us with His light. He comes to us. He takes the initiative and gives us His precious Gospel of light and life.
But there will be a day when Christ will come again. He will judge the world, but the righteous He will receive unto Himself in eternal life. Listen to the third stanza of “Once He Came in Blessing”:
Soon will come that hour; When with mighty power
Christ will come in splendor; And will judgment render,
With the faithful sharing; Joy beyond comparing.
But while we remain here on earth, our Advent cry is “Come, Lord Jesus, come.”
Come, then, O Lord Jesus, From our sins release us.
Keep our hearts believing, That we, grace receiving,
Ever may confess You; Till in heav'n we bless you.(Lutheran Service Book #333 vs. 4)
Amen.
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