The Davidic King who Executes Justice
A blessed Advent. As
we begin another church year and the readings emphasize the Christ who comes to
his people, today we find ourselves again on Palm Sunday, with Christ’s
Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem.
Paired with our reading from Jeremiah, we can gather,
especially, some of the deep meaning of this event. Let’s spend some time with the prophet first,
and then connect the dots with Palm Sunday and Christ’s coming to Jerusalem.
Jeremiah is sometimes called the “weeping prophet”. He lived to see some sad days. Born around 650 B.C. and serving as a prophet
for some 50 years, he did not have an easy time of it. He was often opposed, persecuted and even
imprisoned. Jewish tradition says he was
killed by stoning to death in Egypt. But
his weeping was mostly prompted by the people’s failure to heed the word of
God, and the ultimate consequences of that were that Jerusalem and the southern
kingdom of Judah were conquered by the Babylonians and the temple itself was
destroyed in 587 B.C.
It's hard to over-estimate the scar this left on the
Jews. It was the beginning of the
exile. It was the destruction of the
house of God – the temple – and the implication was that God had abandoned them
(though in reality, this was all a judgment for their abandoning of God and
embracing pagan gods). The people were
carried off to exile in Babylon. And
after preaching repentance for 50 years, and the people refusing, and seeing it
all come crashing down, of course Jeremiah wept.
And maybe most poignantly, God had made them a promise. A descendant of David was to reign on his
throne forever. Now that promise got a
little shaky, it seemed, when the kingdom split in two after Solomon died. But David’s line continued for some 19
generations, until Zedekiah still sat on the throne, David’s final heir. But
when the Babylonians besieged Jerusalem, Zedekiah was taken captive, blinded,
and died in prison. David’s line of
kings came to an end.
Had God forgotten his promise to David? Was God unable to keep a son of David on the
throne? When would he restore the
kingdom? You can see how hopeless it all
must have seemed.
And we are not entirely unable to sympathize. There are times when we, all of us, begin to
lose hope. When we begin to wonder about
God’s intentions for us, and if he’s perhaps angry with us, or forgotten
us. There are times when it certainly
seems so.
When your life is zooming along and all is well, and then
some unforeseen trouble upsets the whole applecart. A job loss, a health scare, the death of a
loved one, a broken relationship.
Jeremiah isn’t the only one with cause to weep in this
sin-filled, sin-scarred, sin-ruined world where enemies abound, where
uncertainty and fear lurk around every corner, and where death and destruction
hang over our heads. We know the sorrow
of sin, too, in little ways, and sometimes big ways. We know we deserve temporal and eternal
punishment. We don’t deserve God’s
gracious presence among us – let alone all the manifold blessings of life and
salvation.
But Jeremiah wasn’t just a weeping prophet. He was also a prophet of hope. He speaks God’s word, reiterating his
promise:
“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will
fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah…” and “I will cause a righteous Branch to
spring up for David, and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the
land.”
That Righteous Branch, of course, is Jesus. That hope for Judah and Israel and for us, is
Jesus. The one who executes the justice
and righteousness of God can only be Jesus, the Son of David.
Now, to be sure, the great tree that was the house of David
had been cut down. Isaiah, years
earlier, had also prophesied: “A shoot
shall come out from the stump of Jesse (David’s father)” New growth following the downfall of David’s
house. New hope following the
destruction of his lineage. A king with
a claim to David’s throne, but far more than that – he comes to execute justice
and righteousness for all.
Our king comes to wear a crown of thorns. Our king comes to be enthroned on the
cross. He executes justice by bearing
the punishment in our place – bearing the wrath of God for sin. He executes righteousness by making us
righteous with his own perfect righteousness.
The crowds of Jerusalem welcomed him with adulation, and
shouts of “Hosanna”, which means, “save us”.
Little did they know that he came to do just that – as Jeremiah had
foretold:
In those days Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will
dwell securely. And this is the name by which it will be called: ‘The Lord is
our righteousness.’
“The Lord is our Righteousness” Yahweh Zedekiah in the Hebrew. It’s a play on words and on the name of the
last Davidic king.
Yes, the savior, the true and ultimate Son of David, will
not be like that other Zedekiah – the one dethroned, blinded and who died a
prisoner. This Zedekiah is Yahweh
Zedekiah, the Lord is Our Righteousness.
And a far better hope for his people.
A far greater fulfillment of God’s promise to David – your heir will sit
on your throne forever.
And in the coming of our king of righteousness, we have
hope. Our weeping is turned to joy. Our scarlet sins are turned to white robes of
righteousness. Even our death is but the
gate to eternal life.
Our king comes, righteous and having salvation. He comes to his Jerusalem, to his people, to
fulfill all promises. He comes on Palm
Sunday, a triumphal entry before his bitter suffering and death. But he comes back, conquering death and
paving a path to resurrection for us all.
He comes even now, today, through his word and in his Sacrament, a
servant-king who feeds his people.
And our Yahweh Zedekiah will come again in glory, with the
trumpet call of God, the shout of the archangel, and the final cries of hosanna
from his people who will welcome him with joy.
Then, he comes, not in humility but glory. Then, he will come not to die, but to bring
history to its close, to judge the peoples, and execute final justice in
righteousness forever.
Weep not, dear Christian, in this fallen world of
sadness. Or at least do not grieve
without hope. For the Son of David comes,
the righteous branch of David, and in him there is hope for you and for all his
people.
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