Jesu Juva

“Once He Came in Blessing: Joy Beyond Comparing”

Text: Isaiah 35:8-10; Matthew 24:36-44

In the Name of the Father and of the (+) Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Once He came in blessing, All our sins redressing.

Now He gently leads us; With Himself He feeds us (LSB #333 vs. 1-2).

Those words from the first two verses of our hymn give great comfort. Our Lord came. He fulfilled the promise made to Adam and Eve and countless others after them to redress our sins - not by punishing us (as we deserve), but by taking our punishment for us, and replacing despair and bondage with hope and freedom. The babe of Bethlehem who grew up to the man from Nazareth did that for us.

But that wasn’t enough. He knew we needed more than that. That if Adam and Eve, sinless and in a sinless Paradise, fell to the crafty deceit of the evil one and were caught in the snare of sin, what chance do we who are not sinless and not living in a sinless Paradise have? What chance do we, with natures corrupted by sin and inclined to sin, have to remain strong in the faith?

So our Lord still comes. Now He gently leads us. Not as a tyrant, but as a Good Shepherd. Caring for us and feeding us not just physically, but spiritually. Feeding us not just with the bread of the earth, but the bread of heaven, the bread of life - Himself. And with His Body and Blood, nourishing us with His forgiveness for our sins, life for our dying and decaying bodies, and salvation for the times we still fall into sin and continue to deserve condemnation. So that we can have peace, not fear, and that our souls may flourish.

Tonight, with the third verse of our hymn, we look to the future. Our Lord came, He is still coming to us, and

Soon will come that hour

When with mighty power

Christ will come in splendor . . .

No more lowliness, no more hiddenness. Our Lord’s next coming, next adventing, will be in splendor. In the splendor of His full glory. He and all His angels with Him. And all will know. It will not be like in Bethlehem, a birth overlooked and ignored by most. It will not be like on the altar, a coming neglected or denied by many. All will know.

And it will not be slow in coming. It will come in an instant. One moment everything going on as usual . . . as we heard tonight, people eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage. Or to put that in today’s context, people TikToking and Amazoning, people mowing their lawns and talking politics. Just another day in the life . . . until it’s not. Until there is a great sweeping away. And no one knows when that day will come. Soon is all we’re told. Soon. So be ready. Pay attention. Stay awake.

For when Christ comes in splendor, He will judgment render . . .

The words of Jesus we heard tonight, recorded by Matthew, spoke of Noah, and the quick and sudden judgment that happened in his day. For 120 years, people watched Noah building the ark and ridiculed him for it. For 120 years, they probably asked him why he was doing this and being so foolish, and in reply heard the Word of the Lord. And then the judgment of God came. His judgment (in a verse worth quoting), when the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually (Genesis 6:5). Is our world today that wicked? That evil? That lost? I’ll leave that judgment to God. But in a world where churches are emptying, the value and respect for life declining, and mammon is firmly entrenched on the thrones of many hearts, we must be close. Satan surely hasn’t taken a break to rest. And he surely isn’t satisfied while there are any believers left on earth.

So in Noah’s day the judgment came, a great sweeping away. Or, perhaps we could say, a great cleansing flood.

Interestingly, we are never told what Noah thought about all this. Not once. We are told that the earth was corrupt, filled with violence, and all flesh had corrupted their way on earth (Genesis 6:11-12). Imagine what that must have looked like. The hatred, the bloodshed, the nastiness, the selfishness, the perversion. Was Noah grieved at God’s judgment? Was he joyful that God was doing something about it? Maybe it was both. We’re not told. All we’re told is that he did what the Lord said, and was ready when the judgment came.

Well, in the same way,

Soon will come that hour When with mighty power

Christ will come in splendor And will judgment render . . .

And then we went on to sing, that when that day comes, when Christ returns in splendor, there will be

With the faithful sharing Joy beyond comparing.

We do not know how Noah felt, but we know how we will be on that day. Joyful! And not just a little joy, but joy beyond comparing. Think of days that make you joyful . . . the joy of Christmas, or the joy of your wedding day, or last day of school joy. But this joy will not just be greater than those joys, but greater than all of those joys put together. It is joy for which we have no comparison. Joy beyond anything we can even imagine.

We heard Isaiah today write of joy - the joy of the exiles of Israel returning home after 70 years in Babylon. They would return with laughter and singing, he said.

But Isaiah is also looking beyond that day and that joy. He is looking forward to an even greater return with greater joy. When there is no one unclean, no one foolish, no one going astray. No beasts - either animal or man - to threaten us and tear at us. But those ransomed by the Lord - by the death and resurrection of Jesus - those on the Way of Holiness, shall return. With everlasting joy, and all sorrow and sighing never to return. That is a return greater than the exodus, and greater than from Babylon. It is the return from the exile of sin and death, to life everlasting. It is our return!

And there will be joy beyond comparing.

And the way to this joy, the way of holiness, is Jesus, who said I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6). Johann Horn’s hymn roots us in that truth. Living during the time of the Reformation wasn’t easy, but neither is living in our day and age. But the way to hope and freedom, the way to souls that flourish, the way to joy beyond comparing, is Jesus. The Jesus who once came in blessing, in likeness lowly (v. 1). The Jesus who now gently leads us and with Himself feeds us (v. 2). And the Jesus who soon will come with mighty power to save His own; those who take refuge in Him, the Holy One.

Which is what Christmas is all about. Taking refuge in the One who came and was incarnated in our human nature to be with us, as one of us, to save us.

So as we approach the end of this Advent season - only a few days left now - we continue to pray:

Come, then, O Lord Jesus, From our sins release us,

Keep our hearts believing, That we grace receiving,

Ever may confess You Till in heaven we bless You (LSB #333 v. 4).

Which is not only an Advent prayer, but a pretty good prayer for everyday. Come, Lord Jesus! Come now. Come soon. Come save.

In the Name of the Father, and of the (+) Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.