by Tina Miranda
Deacon

When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him;
Matthew 2:3

Advent, defined literally, simply means the arrival of a notable person, thing, or event. For us as Christians, Advent is a season of hope, peace, joy, and love. We celebrate Jesus’ arrival with all the pomp and circumstance due his incarnation; the Word made flesh.

But for Herod and “all Jerusalem” the arrival of the king the Magi sought was “troubling.” Herod’s disturbance is understandable. Whoever this one-who-has-been-born-king-of-the-Jews was, he was certain to cause problems for Herod and the existing Roman order. Jerusalem’s reticence, however, is a bit puzzling. Isn’t this what (or more to the point, whom) the Jews had been waiting for … with anticipation? The Messiah! Isn’t this king the one the prophet Isaiah spoke of when he prophesied about “the chosen one” whom the Lord promised “will bring justice to the nations?” One would think that in the face of Roman tyranny and oppression “all Jerusalem” would respond to the wisemen’s inquiry with hope or perhaps even joy. Instead, they were troubled.

Unraveling this puzzle would require more words than there is space for here, but there is one truth that is heartbreakingly apparent—Jerusalem wasn’t ready to receive their King. This observation is not a judgment. First, because the privilege of hindsight affords us clarity and perspective on the purpose of Christ’s coming that those in “all Jerusalem” did not yet have—that of a slain Savior, who so loved the World that he laid down His life for it. And second, because even with this clarity and perspective we can still struggle—as all Jerusalem no doubt did—with the notion of submitting our will to another’s authority.

A Savior is one thing, but a King is quite another.

Yet, as Christians we are called to recognize and accept Christ as both. Submission and surrender do not come naturally. But the amazingly good news of the Advent season is that our King ceded His authority first. He submitted His will to the Father and surrendered His life for our sake (Philippians 2:6-7); He seeks our surrender only to bring us freedom (John 8:36, Galatians 5:1).

Jesus, prepare our hearts this Advent season, to receive our King, not just to acknowledging Him as our Savior, but submitting to Him as our Lord.

Amen.