Hopeful Expectation
Returning to the Roots of Faith
It is good to be with you here this morning. If we have not met, my name is Brad; I’m one of the elders and the lead pastor here. I’m just delighted to be with you in this time of year. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but it’s here whether you wanted it or not. The red cups are here. The traffic is here. The holiday crowds are here. We are so thankful you chose to join us to worship this week.
In October 1517, a fiery German monk named Martin Luther wrote a paper that changed the world. The paper was called the Disputation on the Power of Indulgences, a name nobody remembers. But they do remember the 95 Theses that Martin Luther penned and nailed to the church door at Wittenberg. That act was less of a dramatic statement and more like sending an email to the church community; that’s just how you communicated back then. But that paper became the spark that grew into the inferno of the Protestant Reformation.
Luther was pushing back against the practice of indulgences, where people gave money to priests to pray their deceased relatives out of purgatory and into heaven. It was a great fundraising campaign, but, I say this respectfully, it was not a biblical concept. The Reformers tried to bring the church back to the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ—back to the power of the gospel, back to the church being a Spirit-empowered group of people rather than just a building or a papal authority. Their cry was the five solas: Sola Scriptura (Scripture alone), Sola Gratia (grace alone), Sola Fide (faith alone), Solus Christus (Christ alone), and Soli Deo Gloria (for the glory of God alone).
I am a huge fan of the Reformation theologically. However, for all the good it brought, there was some collateral damage. The problem for us as Protestants today is that we can sometimes distance ourselves from ancient practices that provide anchoring. Our version of the faith can become untethered from church history; it becomes ahistorical, floating without context. We lose the classic spiritual formation practices, the writings of the desert fathers and mothers, and even the beauty of liturgy. In doing so, we lose our connection to those of the faith who have gone before us.
Not everything that happened after the Reformation was good—we’ve been boogering up God’s church for a long time. Conversely, not everything pre-Reformation was bad. I believe there is an opportunity for us to hang on with fidelity to the solas while rekindling a connection to ancient practices. I think we can do both, and it starts with how we think about Advent.
Understanding Advent
The word “Advent” comes from a Latin term meaning “the coming.” It’s translated from the Greek word Parousia, which is used in the New Testament to speak of both the first coming of Jesus—the incarnation—and the second coming of Jesus. Advent carries that double meaning. It’s about remembering the first coming while living in the blessed hope of the second.
Historically, Advent was a time of preparation. It was to Christmas what Lent is to Easter. It created a cyclical calendar reminder where everything began to slow down. It forced reflection and kept the church from just “booking it” toward Christmas Day. These traditions were solidified in the early fourth century. Before the Edict of Milan, the church was decentralized and persecuted. Once the persecution stopped, the church had to ask, “Who are we? What is our book? What are our traditions?”
Depending on your tradition, Advent looks different. Eastern Orthodox celebrate for six weeks; Anglicans, Lutherans, and Catholics typically do four. They use an Advent wreath with four candles: hope, love, joy, and peace (or purity). I don’t think the color of the candle matters—that’s getting lost in the weeds. What matters is the purpose: reflection, repentance, confession, and even fasting. I know it’s a terrible time to talk about fasting when we’re all fat-shaming ourselves after Thanksgiving, but it’s a time for introspection. It’s about asking, “Who are we before God? Where have we fallen short?”
I’d encourage you to try a home project with your kids. Google an Advent wreath, light a candle on Sunday night, and just stop for a minute. You don’t have to act like a monk or sing a Gregorian chant. Just say, “We are anticipating the coming of Jesus.” It creates a sense of hopeful expectation.
Joseph: The Unsung Hero
As we look at the text in Matthew, we see the beginning of this narrative. One of the unsung heroes of the story is Joseph. We don’t give him enough credit. He was a young man engaged to a teenage girl who tells him she is pregnant by the Holy Spirit. He has to process that. As a righteous man, he doesn’t initially believe the story until God appears to him in a dream to confirm the plan.
Matthew 1:18-21 (NASB)
Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit. And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly. But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, ’Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. ‘She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.’
Joseph’s obedience is remarkable. He does exactly what the Lord commands. Matthew notes that all of this happened to fulfill what the prophets had spoken centuries prior. Matthew uses the word “fulfill” twenty-five times in his Gospel because he is connecting the dots between the life of Jesus and the Hebrew Scriptures. He wants us to see that Jesus fits the messianic profile perfectly.
Matthew 1:22-25 (NASB)
Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: ‘BEHOLD, THE VIRGIN SHALL BE WITH CHILD AND SHALL BEAR A SON, AND THEY SHALL CALL HIS NAME IMMANUEL,’ which translated means, ‘GOD WITH US.’ And Joseph awoke from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took [Mary] as his wife, but kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son; and he called His name Jesus.
The Magi and the Search for the King
In chapter two, we are introduced to the Magi. We often call them “three kings” because it looks good in a nativity scene, but the Bible never calls them kings, and it doesn’t say there were three—only that there were three gifts. They were a priestly line from the East. Some suggest they were Parthians, but many scholars connect them back to ancient Mesopotamia—Babylon.
Think back to the book of Daniel. Daniel was the chief prefect over all the wise men—the Magi—of Babylon. When the Jewish people were in exile for seventy years, not all of them returned to Jerusalem. Some stayed behind. It’s highly likely that these Magi were descendants of those discipled by Daniel. They were students of the Hebrew text who knew exactly what to look for. For generations, they had been watching the stars with anticipation. When they finally saw the sign, they knew it was worth a road trip.
Matthew 2:1-2 (NASB)
Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, ‘Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.’
Daniel 2:48 (NASB)
Then the king promoted Daniel and gave him many great gifts, and he made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon and chief prefect over all the wise men of Babylon.
The Contrast of Two Kings
When the Magi arrive in Jerusalem, they encounter Herod the Great, one of the most despicable men in the Bible. To understand the New Testament, you have to understand Herod. He was a complex man: racially Arab, religiously Jewish (likely for political convenience), culturally Greek, and politically Roman. He was a puppet king, brilliant but ruthless and paranoid.
When Herod hears about a new “King of the Jews,” he is troubled, and all of Jerusalem is troubled with him. Herod sees a threat to his throne; the people know that when the king is upset, everyone suffers. Herod calls a Bible study with the scribes to find out where the Messiah is supposed to be born. They point him to the prophet Micah.
Matthew 2:5-6 (NASB)
They said to him, ’In Bethlehem of Judea; for this is what has been written by the prophet: ‘AND YOU, BETHLEHEM, LAND OF JUDAH, ARE BY NO MEANS LEAST AMONG THE LEADERS OF JUDAH; FOR OUT OF YOU SHALL COME FORTH A RULER WHO WILL SHEPHERD MY PEOPLE ISRAEL.’’
Herod knew the Bible put a pin on the map: Bethlehem. Interestingly, Herod had built a ginormous mountain fortress right in Bethlehem. Jesus, the true King, was born in the shadow of the tyrant’s palace. Herod tries to trick the Magi into reporting back the child’s location so he can “worship” Him, but his true intent is murder. When he realizes he’s been duped, he orders the massacre of every male child under two. Herod was so wicked that, on his deathbed, he ordered the arrest of Jewish elders to be killed when he died, just to ensure someone would be mourning in the city.
Gifts for the King
Despite Herod’s schemes, the Magi follow the star to the house where Jesus was. There is much debate about what the star was—an astronomical event or perhaps the Shekinah glory of God. Whatever it was, it led them to the child. When they saw it, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.
Matthew 2:9-10 (NASB)
After hearing the king, they went their way; and the star, which they had seen in the east, went on before them until it came and stood over [the place] where the Child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.
Their focus was entirely on the child. They fell on the ground and worshiped Him. While Mary is a vital part of the story, the Magi—and the Bible—make it clear that Jesus is the focal point. He is the Savior who needs no help in the redemption process. Even Jesus clarified this later in His ministry when a woman tried to exalt His mother.
Luke 11:27-28 (NASB)
While Jesus was saying these things, one of the women in the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, ‘Blessed is the womb that bore You and the breasts at which You nursed.’ But He said, ‘On the contrary, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.’
The Magi presented three gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Gold represented His royalty. Frankincense, often used in royal processions and associated with deity, affirmed His divine nature. Myrrh, a burial perfume, pointed toward His humanity and His eventual death.
It’s also no coincidence that the “Bread of Life” was born in Bethlehem. In Hebrew, Bet means house and Lechem means bread. The Bread of Life was born in the House of Bread. You just can’t make this stuff up.
Matthew 2:11 (NASB)
After coming into the house they saw the Child with Mary His mother; and they fell to the ground and worshiped Him. Then, opening their treasures, they presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
Living in Hopeful Expectation
All of this is meant to show us something. Like the Magi, we are called to watch for the signs and respond. Ken Gire wrote a book called Windows of the Soul, suggesting that God gives us little windows through which we can see the divine. One scholar said, “All happenings, great and small, are parables by which God speaks. The art of life is to get the message.”
Do you see it? Do you get the message in this Advent season? There are so many other messages competing for our attention—25% off sales, holiday drinks, and pumpkin everything. I don’t think those things are evil, but they are distracting. They aren’t what our hopeful expectation is built on. Some of you have tried to fill the hole in your soul with money, houses, or success, and yet something is still missing. Only the window of the manger can fulfill that longing.
Advent invites us to celebrate God in the waiting. We aren’t good at waiting. We get upset if Prime shipping takes more than a day. But there is something beautiful about deferred rejoicing. Think of how many nights those Magi looked at the sky and saw nothing. “Today? No. Today? No.” Until finally, there it was.
This season is an invitation back to confession, repentance, and prayerful reflection. The holidays often bring out the best and worst in us. Just yesterday, my wife and I were doing great, and then suddenly we got sideways—like driving on ice. It was a reminder that I need God today. I don’t want to get lost in the noise and marketing. I want to focus on the simplicity of devotion to Christ.
Can we do that? Can we hold to our sound theology while also creating a sense of anticipation? As Charles Wesley wrote: “Veiled in flesh the Godhead see; Hail the incarnate Deity, Pleased as man with men to dwell, Jesus our Emmanuel.”
Prayer
Father, I thank You that You are so patient with us, even when we have so little patience ourselves. Allow us, in our waiting, to have a hopeful expectation. May we find You in the quiet moments—those moments without the noise, the devices, or the distractions.
In our times of reflection and repentance, remind us that we do not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from Your mouth. Draw us together as a faith community to look for You with longing. We thank You for the gift of Your Son, God incarnate, our Emmanuel. We pray this in His name. Amen.