Third Wednesday in Advent

Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus
St. John's Lutheran Church and Atonement Lutheran Church
Third Wednesday in Advent
Sermon on “Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus” (LSB 338)

In the Name of the Father and of the ☩ Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

When I was a kid, I could not wait for my parents to wake up on Christmas morning. All I wanted to do was look for my presents and rip off the wrapping paper. I longed to see what present I got, especially from Santa. The anticipation of opening my gifts was hard to bear.

Christians, in a similar way, look forward with eager expectation to Christ. Charles Wesly Hymn beautifully expresses our longing for Christ and for His return. It poetically describes our need for Christ. Whether we realize it or not, Christ is the only one that can satisfy our hungry souls and fulfill our deepest desire to be with God.

Tonight, we are looking at the last Hymn, “Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus”, in this Midweek Advent series, “Hymns of Hope through the Ages”. This Hymn was written in 1744 by the prolific hymn writer Charles Wesly. Wely wrote over 6,000 hymns, and a few of them can be found in our hymnal. Some of them are well-known and loved Christmas and Easter Hymns, namely “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” and “Christ the Lord Is Risen Today”.

In 1744 Charles Wesly, seeing the class division in Britain, wrote a prayer based on Haggai 2:7 which read, from the KV, “And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: And I will fill this house with glory, saith the LORD of hosts.”. Later in that same year, Charles expanded his prayer and turned it into the Hymn we know today. Though the Hymn only contains two stanzas, each with eight lines, it is full of scriptural references that show Wesly's passion for the Advent season.

The Hymn begins with the expectation and desire for the Messiah.

Come, Thou long-expected Jesus,
Born to set Thy people free;
From our fears and sins release us;
“Let us find our rest in Thee.

This first half of stanza 1 captures the essence of the Israelites’ longing for the messiah, a savior to free them from their sins. We can see this theme throughout the Old Testament. We hear it in the cries of the Israelites, enslaved in Egypt. We can see it in the sacrificial system for repentance and forgiveness, that God establish for His people through Moses. We see it in God's appointing of Judges to deliver His people from their oppressors. We can also see it in the Prophets, who helped guide the people and revealed God’s will.  

Most notably we read it in Isaiah 9:6-7, “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace, there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.” (ESV)

Although Christ has come to use and did His saving work on the cross for us, to redeem us back to God. Yet we are still waiting. We are not waiting on the hope of a Savior who has already come and has done His work to free us from our sins. No, we wait for His second coming, His second Advent, in which He will gather us up to Himself to be with Him in His Heavenly Kingdom.

The second half of the first stanza describes the long-expected Savior

Israel’s strength and consolation,
Hope of all the earth Thou art,
Dear desire of ev’ry nation,
Joy of ev’ry longing heart.

The Israelite's view of the Messiah changed over time. In the Old Testament, the Israelites trusted in the promises of God, but the view of the Messiah, as we know it, was not fully revealed. The word messiah was not even used to refer to God's appointed person to redeem Israel. The word messiah means anointed one and was used in reference to the oil that was used when appointing a person to a specific office or duty. For example, Priests were anointed with oil when they were consecrated for sacred duties. Kings were anointed with oil when they were crowned. And Prophets were anointed, though not with oil but with the spirit of God which the oil symbolized.

We can see how God was laying down the elements for the idea of the Messiah, as we know it, but the Israelites did not put it together yet. It was not until after the Israelites returned from their exile in Babylon that the idea of the Messiah, God chosen to redeem Israel, began. The full revelation of the Messiah being a Prophet, Priest, and King was revealed in Jesus Christ, the Messiah.

Charles Wesly took the Old Testament Israelite's hope and desire for the fulfillment of God's promise. And summed it into the last half of the first stanza. These lines express the deep desire for what the Messiah would be and what He is. For Christ is our strength and consolation. Christ is our Hope and He is the Hope for all people and the desire of every nation (Revelation 7:9-10). Christ is the Joy of our longing heart as declared in John 15:11, “These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.” (ESV).

The second stanza turns from the hope and desire for the Messiah to Christ's coming and our reliance on Him.

Born Thy people to deliver;
Born a child and yet a king!
Born to reign in us forever,
Now Thy gracious kingdom bring.

This first half of the second stanza, Charles describes Christ coming to us, emphasizing the birth of our Lord. With the use of the word “Born” in the first three lines, Charles highlights the necessity of Christ's birth, 1) to deliver us from our sins, 2) to reign in our hearts, and 3) to bring us to His kingdom.

Christ's Advent into our world, allowed Jesus to take our sins to the cross. Christ's work on the cross delivered us from the pain of death, caused by our sins. On the cross, Christ took our sins and our punishment for those sins. Christ did not have to go to the cross. No, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16, ESV) Christ willing went to the cross for you and for me. He also rose from the grave for you and for me, to show us that our sins are forgiven and that we can trust in the promises of God.

Christ still comes to us today in another type of Advent. Today, Christ comes to us through the preaching of His word and through His Holy Sacraments. Through the preaching of His Word, we hear the words of our Lord, and our hearts are open and receptive to His Holy Spirit. Through Baptism, Christ comes to us and wipes away the stain of original sin, the sin of Adam and Eve. In the Lord's Support, we partake in the Body and Blood of our Lord, and through this Christ comes to us and cleans us of our sins,

Right now, we are eagerly waiting for Christ's return, His second Advent. Christ's return will be for the judgment of the world. But for all who believe in the name of Jesus, this will be a joyous occasion, not a condemnation but a vindication. Christ will gather us up and we will be taken to be with Him in the New Heaven, to His everlasting Kingdom.

This last half of the second stanza describes the total dependency we have on Christ.

By Thine own eternal Spirit
Rule in all our hearts alone;
By Thine all-sufficient merit
Raise us to Thy glorious throne.

On our own, we are unable to atone for our sins. Our sins are too great and too many. No matter what good works we do, or how many good works we can do, it will never fix our broken relationship we have with God. It is Christ alone that can repair our broken relationship with God.

When we allow Christ into our hearts, we allow Christ to repair our broken relationship with God. With Christ in our hearts, the Holy Spirit works in us to give us new thoughts and desires for the Kingdom of God. With Christ in our hearts and minds, we believe in the saving works of Christ Jesus. And through His saving work on the cross, we are made heirs to the Kingdom of God. Christ alone will raise us up to God’s glorious throne in heaven, in Christ's second Advent.

May this Hymn of longing for Christ, bless you in this Advent season. Amen.