WEDNESDAY, THIRD WEEK IN ADVENT December 15, 2021
2 SAMUEL 5:1-10
1 Then all the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and said,
“Behold, we are your bone and your flesh. 2 Previously, when Saul was king over us, you were the one who led Israel out and in. And the LORD said to you, ‘You will shepherd My people Israel, and you will be a ruler over Israel.'”
3 So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, and King David made a covenant with them before the LORD at Hebron; then they anointed David king over Israel. 4 David was thirty years old when he became king, and he reigned forty years. 5 At Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months, and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty-three years over all Israel and Judah. 6 Now the king and his men went to Jerusalem against the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land, and they said to David, “You shall not come in here, but the blind and lame shall turn you away”; thinking, “David cannot enter here.” 7 Nevertheless, David captured the stronghold of Zion, that is the city of David. 8 And David said on that day, “Whoever would strike the Jebusites, let him reach the lame and the blind, who are hated by David’s soul, through the water tunnel.” Therefore they say, “The blind or the lame shall not come into the house.” 9 So David lived in the stronghold, and called it the city of David. And David built all around from the Millo and inward. 10 And David became greater and greater, for the LORD God of hosts was with him.
2 TIMOTHY 2:1-9
You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. 2 And the things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, these entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also. 3 Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. 4 No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier. 5 And also if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not win the prize unless he competes according to the rules. 6 The hard-working farmer ought to be the first to receive his share of the crops. 7 Consider what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything. 8 Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, descendant of David, according to my gospel, 9 for which I suffer hardship even to imprisonment as a criminal; but the word of God is not imprisoned.
MATTHEW 12:14-23
14 But the Pharisees went out, and counseled together against Him, as to how they might destroy Him. 15 But Jesus, aware of this, withdrew from there. And many followed Him, and He healed them all, 16 and warned them not to make Him known, 17 in order that what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet, might be fulfilled, saying,
18 “Behold, My Servant whom I have chosen; My Beloved in whom My soul is well-pleased; I will put My Spirit upon Him, And He shall proclaim justice to the Gentiles. 19 He will not quarrel, nor cry out; Nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets. 20 A battered reed He will not break off, And a smoldering wick He will not put out, Until He leads justice to victory. And in His name the Gentiles will hope.”
22 Then there was brought to Him a demon-possessed man who was blind and dumb, and He healed him, so that the dumb man spoke and saw. 23 And all the multitudes were amazed, and began to say, “This man cannot be the Son of David, can he?”
IN THE NAME OF JESUS.
When the people see Jesus casting out demons and healing blindness, they ask a question. It’s a good question:
“This man cannot be the Son of David, can he?”
David was the one given the throne in Jerusalem—by his lineage the Christ was promised. If he is the Son of David, then that means that this Jesus is the promised one to fulfill the Davidic throne.
So we get to take a look at what this King is supposed to look like. Because, it’s easy to get it wrong about who this King is and what he does. Which is why, after Jesus healed many people, he doesn’t tell all the people who witnessed it to go out and tell the world. Rather, he tells them to not tell the world. Matthew 12:16:
… and [Jesus] healed them all, and [he] warned them not to make Him known, in order that what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet, might be fulfilled.
Jesus did not want the people to make him known. Why not? When we look at it, it’s because … they knew him for the wrong thing. They knew him as one who heals blindness, who cleanses leprosy, who goes around casting out demons; but he wanted them to know him as Son of David. The title Son of David will describe what the Messiah is sent to accomplish.
To get to that, to rightly discern what the Son of David is sent to accomplish, Jesus told them it had all already been revealed through the prophet Isaiah. Matt. 12:16:
And [Jesus] warned them not to make Him known, in order that what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet, might be fulfilled, saying,
“Behold, My Servant whom I have chosen; My Beloved in whom My soul is well-pleased; I will put My Spirit upon Him, And He shall proclaim justice to the Gentiles. 19 He will not quarrel, nor cry out; Nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets. A battered reed He will not break off, And a smoldering wick He will not put out, Until He leads justice to victory. And in His name the Gentiles will hope.”
So here is what the Son of David looks like. He looks like a Lord who does not quarrel or cry out in the public places to defend himself, but lets himself be insulted and debased by those who are less than he.
He looks like someone who, when he speaks his gentle Gospel, people turn away, not hearing his voice in the streets.
He looks like a man who proclaims salvation to the Gentiles, kindly speaking his Gospel not only to those who already belong to his Israel, to his church, that is, but also to those who are outside his church, speaking it in kindness even to those who are enemies of his church.
He looks like a man who does not crush a battered reed, but treats it with careful hands in order to bind up.
The Son of David looks like a man who, when he sees a smoldering wick, does not snuff it out in disgust, but tends it, bringing it to strong flame.
He looks like a man who, seeing those who have alienated themselves from him, treats them with such kindness that they hear his Name with joy.
The Son of David looks like no other King on Earth. For he is no earthly prince establishing a kingdom of power and might, crushing the weak, but he is the prince sent from Heaven to establish a kingdom which is eternal. He does it by ransoming sinners out of the kingdom of death and the demons, bringing them into his kingdom of grace and life.
He’s our King! When you’re a battered reed, a sinner broken by fears of this world, then he is your King—a battered reed he will not break. When you’re a smoldering wick, a sinner smothered by fear of shame, choked out of joy in life then he is your King—a smoldering wick he does not snuff out.
In short, if you are not a sinner, then he is not your King, for he came only for sinners. But if you are a sinner, he came for you. He is the Father’s servant to save the sinner, the chosen One who has given his Father pleasure by saving those whom the Father loves.
This is Advent. We look for the coming of the Son of David, the promised King. Be we look for this King as the sinners we are. And that’s the best news of all. For he came for no one but sinners.
And when we see him come in the flesh as Mary’s child, then we see him take his Throne on Calvary, then we see him bring that cross to us in his Body and Blood for the forgiveness of our sins, it is then that we rejoice in his promise that he will make his final Advent, when he comes again to judge the living and the dead, bringing all those who hear his Gospel into to everlasting kingdom.
IN THE NAME OF JESUS.