Martin Luther, Neenah
Luke 3:1-6
9 December 2012
Advent 2, ILCW C
Prepare the royal highway
“Prepare the Royal Highway” is one hymn in the supplement that seemed to catch on right away.
It’s an Advent hymn, and we will be singing it in a few moments. It tells the story of the welcoming the
king as he draws near the city. Going back to ancient times, the custom was to make sure the roads were
in good repair for the king’s visit. On the day he arrived, the people would line the highways and streets
as the parade passed by. They would decorate and celebrate. They would sing and bow. It was the most
festive of occasions as he entered the gates of the city.
Of course, the King whose coming we prepare for during Advent is Jesus. We want to prepare,
and we want to talk a bit about that. But in many ways, the one who made the most preparation was God
himself. How did that happen? How did he prepare the royal highway?
The apostle Paul reminds of the Lord’s own preparations when he says, “When the time had
fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law.” What
that mean though: “when the time had fully come”? We start to get the idea at the beginning of Luke 3.
Luke begins with this long list of names and places: “In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius
Caesar—when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip
tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene—during the high priesthood of
Annas and Caiaphas.” As you heard those words, did you find yourself wondering, “What does this
really have to do with Jesus or even John the Baptist? Why does Luke seem to waste his breath?”
But think back a few weeks. During the season of End Time, we considered a number of lessons
from the book of Daniel. Daniel prophesied how the Lord would bring about a progression of monarchies
one after another across the land of Judah. For a while, it must have seemed like the people should start
preparing the royal highway for the next king as soon as they finished preparing for the last one. But
these events in world history were all according to God’s plan and timetable. Eventually, the Roman
Empire would rise to power. During the reign of this monarchy, the King of kings, God’s promised
Messiah, would come to his people.
Notice how significant these events are! Notice how each piece of preparation falls into place! At
the time Luke writes, language barriers are at a minimum. There is a common language throughout the
Mediterranean world. Almost everyone can speak Greek, thanks to Alexander the Great. Because of the
Roman military, travel is efficient and relatively safe. Roads are as good as they have ever been. The
activity of bandits, robbers, and pirates wither under the heat of Roman military presence. The Empire
provides a perfect place for a world-changing event to take place and news of it to spread.
Luke reminds us of these things with his list of emperor, governor, and tetrarchs. By offering
these exact details, Luke also proclaims to us the accuracy of his careful reporting of history. Such detail
tells us this account is real. It is truth. It is fact. It is not a story or fable or fairytale. It is not a pious
myth to keep you warm at night and keep you from being afraid of the dark. These are real people and
real events. It is real history, the account of your salvation. There can be doubt: it really happened!
Did you notice also the one preparing this royal highway? The Lord himself makes the
preparations. Behind the scenes of history, he moves the pieces into position, and his preparations do not
stop there. We heard in Malachi, “See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before
me.” He also prepares the hearts of his people to welcome his Messiah King. To do this, he sends a
messenger. Luke tells also how the messenger appears at exactly the proper time, “The word of God
came to John son of Zechariah in the desert.” John the Baptist, the improbable son of Zechariah and
Elizabeth, is that messenger. He will “prepare the way for the Lord.” He will play a major role in
preparing the royal highway for the King of kings.
Should this come as a big surprise? No, not at all! The Lord had promised all these things. He
promised how the history of nations would run in Palestine. He promised how he would send a special
messenger. He promised how he would prepare the people’s hearts. He promised how his long-awaited
Savior would enter the world. He promised how he would accomplish salvation. Isn’t that the real point
of Luke’s account here: the Lord has fulfilled his prophecies and promises and that is the signal your
salvation is now close at hand. Prepare to welcome it, to welcome him! Prepare the royal highway!
How do we do that? Should we put in a few more roundabouts? Do we need to extend the
Highway 41 project a few more years? Neenah seems to have their roads in good repair with plenty of
roundabouts, and I don’t want the highway project to go on any longer than you do. But that is not really
the point. Isaiah’s prophecy was not about a massive public works project. John didn’t come to fill in
every valley by driving the bulldozer or be the contractor’s voice calling out over the construction site.
We are talking about a different kind of reconstruction: a spiritual one.
The Savior-King does not come to rule from city hall or the state capitol. He comes to rule a
kingdom “not of this world,” but rather in the hearts of his people. The King does not travel on a literal
highway through the desert to your city. No the valleys and mountains, the hills and rough places are the
obstacles and obstructions that bar his way into your heart.
That was the case for the people in Israel. Much of Israel’s spiritual vitality had dried up. The
water of spiritual life was all but gone when John began his ministry. It was a spiritual wilderness.
Valleys of hypocrisy bordered mountains of pride and arrogance at being “children of Abraham.” They
emptied their worship of any meaning and so they emptied their spiritual wells. The law’s dead formality
littered the landscape like dry bones across the desert. How could repentance hope to sprout and grow?
What chance did it have of producing any fruit?
But the real question we must ask ourselves is this: do we have the same problem? Have we
prepared the royal highway into our heart so the King may enter? Has our faith become about looking
good and respectable to others, rather than about preparing to stand before the King? Do we have our
own mountains of pride? “I am go to church; I give offerings; I volunteer,” or as a church, “We are doing
good things; we are serious about God’s Word; we have the true teaching.” Has worship become just
empty ritual for you, just going through the motions? Do you grow weary of hearing about Jesus when
we should be telling people how to get their act together? Do we talk the talk of sorrow over sin and
trusting in Jesus, but we have no time or desire for that matter in walking the walk of true repentance?
Will the King find fruits of repentance in us or does he walk through a wasteland?
Prepare the royal highway! That is the encouragement of Isaiah; that is the message of John!
That is a problem for us on our own. But remember who made all the other preparations! He works to
prepare your heart too! He does it in the same way he did for his people so many years ago. Luke records
the answer for us, “The word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the desert. He went into all
the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.”
John came preaching, and he continues to preach to us. The message of the Gospel makes the
difference for us in our preparation because “it is the power of God” and he is at work in it. John
confronts the sin he sees. We have to confront the sin we see in our lives too. We must recognize it for
what it is: an obstruction and obstacle in welcoming the King. But John’s message wasn’t just one of
sorrow over sin; he also pointed people to the Savior who takes that sin away! You know his most
famous words, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” Luke assures us in his
careful account, “Yes, this really happened! Jesus did exactly what John said he would do! Jesus took
you sins away from you. He carried them himself, all the way to the cross. There is ‘God’s salvation’!”
Notice also how John’s preaching included “a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of
sins.” Your baptism should also play a big part in preparing your heart for the King. Here the Holy Spirit
acted directly for you. In your Baptism, you have a personal promise from your God to you as an
individual: “I made you my child. I wrote your name in the Book of Life. Jesus’ work was for you too!
Your sins are gone, and you have the power to live for me. The way to your heart is open to me, so now
go and produce the fruit a child of God wants to produce. Your Baptism should be a constant reminder to
you of who you really are, what I have done for you, and the power you have to live for me!”
What a blessing the Lord continues to work to prepare the royal highway to your hearts! He
does this through his Gospel in Word and Sacrament! Make the most of these opportunities to receive
that Gospel during this Advent Season and you will “Prepare the way for the Lord!” Amen.
Martin Luther, Neenah
Luke 3:1-6
9 December 2012
Advent 2, ILCW C
Prepare the royal highway
“Prepare the Royal Highway” is one hymn in the supplement that seemed to catch on right away.
It’s an Advent hymn, and we will be singing it in a few moments. It tells the story of the welcoming the
king as he draws near the city. Going back to ancient times, the custom was to make sure the roads were
in good repair for the king’s visit. On the day he arrived, the people would line the highways and streets
as the parade passed by. They would decorate and celebrate. They would sing and bow. It was the most
festive of occasions as he entered the gates of the city.
Of course, the King whose coming we prepare for during Advent is Jesus. We want to prepare,
and we want to talk a bit about that. But in many ways, the one who made the most preparation was God
himself. How did that happen? How did he prepare the royal highway?
The apostle Paul reminds of the Lord’s own preparations when he says, “When the time had
fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law.” What
that mean though: “when the time had fully come”? We start to get the idea at the beginning of Luke 3.
Luke begins with this long list of names and places: “In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius
Caesar—when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip
tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene—during the high priesthood of
Annas and Caiaphas.” As you heard those words, did you find yourself wondering, “What does this
really have to do with Jesus or even John the Baptist? Why does Luke seem to waste his breath?”
But think back a few weeks. During the season of End Time, we considered a number of lessons
from the book of Daniel. Daniel prophesied how the Lord would bring about a progression of monarchies
one after another across the land of Judah. For a while, it must have seemed like the people should start
preparing the royal highway for the next king as soon as they finished preparing for the last one. But
these events in world history were all according to God’s plan and timetable. Eventually, the Roman
Empire would rise to power. During the reign of this monarchy, the King of kings, God’s promised
Messiah, would come to his people.
Notice how significant these events are! Notice how each piece of preparation falls into place! At
the time Luke writes, language barriers are at a minimum. There is a common language throughout the
Mediterranean world. Almost everyone can speak Greek, thanks to Alexander the Great. Because of the
Roman military, travel is efficient and relatively safe. Roads are as good as they have ever been. The
activity of bandits, robbers, and pirates wither under the heat of Roman military presence. The Empire
provides a perfect place for a world-changing event to take place and news of it to spread.
Luke reminds us of these things with his list of emperor, governor, and tetrarchs. By offering
these exact details, Luke also proclaims to us the accuracy of his careful reporting of history. Such detail
tells us this account is real. It is truth. It is fact. It is not a story or fable or fairytale. It is not a pious
myth to keep you warm at night and keep you from being afraid of the dark. These are real people and
real events. It is real history, the account of your salvation. There can be doubt: it really happened!
Did you notice also the one preparing this royal highway? The Lord himself makes the
preparations. Behind the scenes of history, he moves the pieces into position, and his preparations do not
stop there. We heard in Malachi, “See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before
me.” He also prepares the hearts of his people to welcome his Messiah King. To do this, he sends a
messenger. Luke tells also how the messenger appears at exactly the proper time, “The word of God
came to John son of Zechariah in the desert.” John the Baptist, the improbable son of Zechariah and
Elizabeth, is that messenger. He will “prepare the way for the Lord.” He will play a major role in
preparing the royal highway for the King of kings.
Should this come as a big surprise? No, not at all! The Lord had promised all these things. He
promised how the history of nations would run in Palestine. He promised how he would send a special
messenger. He promised how he would prepare the people’s hearts. He promised how his long-awaited
Savior would enter the world. He promised how he would accomplish salvation. Isn’t that the real point
of Luke’s account here: the Lord has fulfilled his prophecies and promises and that is the signal your
salvation is now close at hand. Prepare to welcome it, to welcome him! Prepare the royal highway!
How do we do that? Should we put in a few more roundabouts? Do we need to extend the
Highway 41 project a few more years? Neenah seems to have their roads in good repair with plenty of
roundabouts, and I don’t want the highway project to go on any longer than you do. But that is not really
the point. Isaiah’s prophecy was not about a massive public works project. John didn’t come to fill in
every valley by driving the bulldozer or be the contractor’s voice calling out over the construction site.
We are talking about a different kind of reconstruction: a spiritual one.
The Savior-King does not come to rule from city hall or the state capitol. He comes to rule a
kingdom “not of this world,” but rather in the hearts of his people. The King does not travel on a literal
highway through the desert to your city. No the valleys and mountains, the hills and rough places are the
obstacles and obstructions that bar his way into your heart.
That was the case for the people in Israel. Much of Israel’s spiritual vitality had dried up. The
water of spiritual life was all but gone when John began his ministry. It was a spiritual wilderness.
Valleys of hypocrisy bordered mountains of pride and arrogance at being “children of Abraham.” They
emptied their worship of any meaning and so they emptied their spiritual wells. The law’s dead formality
littered the landscape like dry bones across the desert. How could repentance hope to sprout and grow?
What chance did it have of producing any fruit?
But the real question we must ask ourselves is this: do we have the same problem? Have we
prepared the royal highway into our heart so the King may enter? Has our faith become about looking
good and respectable to others, rather than about preparing to stand before the King? Do we have our
own mountains of pride? “I am go to church; I give offerings; I volunteer,” or as a church, “We are doing
good things; we are serious about God’s Word; we have the true teaching.” Has worship become just
empty ritual for you, just going through the motions? Do you grow weary of hearing about Jesus when
we should be telling people how to get their act together? Do we talk the talk of sorrow over sin and
trusting in Jesus, but we have no time or desire for that matter in walking the walk of true repentance?
Will the King find fruits of repentance in us or does he walk through a wasteland?
Prepare the royal highway! That is the encouragement of Isaiah; that is the message of John!
That is a problem for us on our own. But remember who made all the other preparations! He works to
prepare your heart too! He does it in the same way he did for his people so many years ago. Luke records
the answer for us, “The word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the desert. He went into all
the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.”
John came preaching, and he continues to preach to us. The message of the Gospel makes the
difference for us in our preparation because “it is the power of God” and he is at work in it. John
confronts the sin he sees. We have to confront the sin we see in our lives too. We must recognize it for
what it is: an obstruction and obstacle in welcoming the King. But John’s message wasn’t just one of
sorrow over sin; he also pointed people to the Savior who takes that sin away! You know his most
famous words, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” Luke assures us in his
careful account, “Yes, this really happened! Jesus did exactly what John said he would do! Jesus took
you sins away from you. He carried them himself, all the way to the cross. There is ‘God’s salvation’!”
Notice also how John’s preaching included “a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of
sins.” Your baptism should also play a big part in preparing your heart for the King. Here the Holy Spirit
acted directly for you. In your Baptism, you have a personal promise from your God to you as an
individual: “I made you my child. I wrote your name in the Book of Life. Jesus’ work was for you too!
Your sins are gone, and you have the power to live for me. The way to your heart is open to me, so now
go and produce the fruit a child of God wants to produce. Your Baptism should be a constant reminder to
you of who you really are, what I have done for you, and the power you have to live for me!”
What a blessing the Lord continues to work to prepare the royal highway to your hearts! He
does this through his Gospel in Word and Sacrament! Make the most of these opportunities to receive
that Gospel during this Advent Season and you will “Prepare the way for the Lord!” Amen.
Martin Luther, Neenah
Luke 3:1-6
9 December 2012
Advent 2, ILCW C
Prepare the royal highway
“Prepare the Royal Highway” is one hymn in the supplement that seemed to catch on right away.
It’s an Advent hymn, and we will be singing it in a few moments. It tells the story of the welcoming the
king as he draws near the city. Going back to ancient times, the custom was to make sure the roads were
in good repair for the king’s visit. On the day he arrived, the people would line the highways and streets
as the parade passed by. They would decorate and celebrate. They would sing and bow. It was the most
festive of occasions as he entered the gates of the city.
Of course, the King whose coming we prepare for during Advent is Jesus. We want to prepare,
and we want to talk a bit about that. But in many ways, the one who made the most preparation was God
himself. How did that happen? How did he prepare the royal highway?
The apostle Paul reminds of the Lord’s own preparations when he says, “When the time had
fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law.” What
that mean though: “when the time had fully come”? We start to get the idea at the beginning of Luke 3.
Luke begins with this long list of names and places: “In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius
Caesar—when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip
tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene—during the high priesthood of
Annas and Caiaphas.” As you heard those words, did you find yourself wondering, “What does this
really have to do with Jesus or even John the Baptist? Why does Luke seem to waste his breath?”
But think back a few weeks. During the season of End Time, we considered a number of lessons
from the book of Daniel. Daniel prophesied how the Lord would bring about a progression of monarchies
one after another across the land of Judah. For a while, it must have seemed like the people should start
preparing the royal highway for the next king as soon as they finished preparing for the last one. But
these events in world history were all according to God’s plan and timetable. Eventually, the Roman
Empire would rise to power. During the reign of this monarchy, the King of kings, God’s promised
Messiah, would come to his people.
Notice how significant these events are! Notice how each piece of preparation falls into place! At
the time Luke writes, language barriers are at a minimum. There is a common language throughout the
Mediterranean world. Almost everyone can speak Greek, thanks to Alexander the Great. Because of the
Roman military, travel is efficient and relatively safe. Roads are as good as they have ever been. The
activity of bandits, robbers, and pirates wither under the heat of Roman military presence. The Empire
provides a perfect place for a world-changing event to take place and news of it to spread.
Luke reminds us of these things with his list of emperor, governor, and tetrarchs. By offering
these exact details, Luke also proclaims to us the accuracy of his careful reporting of history. Such detail
tells us this account is real. It is truth. It is fact. It is not a story or fable or fairytale. It is not a pious
myth to keep you warm at night and keep you from being afraid of the dark. These are real people and
real events. It is real history, the account of your salvation. There can be doubt: it really happened!
Did you notice also the one preparing this royal highway? The Lord himself makes the
preparations. Behind the scenes of history, he moves the pieces into position, and his preparations do not
stop there. We heard in Malachi, “See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before
me.” He also prepares the hearts of his people to welcome his Messiah King. To do this, he sends a
messenger. Luke tells also how the messenger appears at exactly the proper time, “The word of God
came to John son of Zechariah in the desert.” John the Baptist, the improbable son of Zechariah and
Elizabeth, is that messenger. He will “prepare the way for the Lord.” He will play a major role in
preparing the royal highway for the King of kings.
Should this come as a big surprise? No, not at all! The Lord had promised all these things. He
promised how the history of nations would run in Palestine. He promised how he would send a special
messenger. He promised how he would prepare the people’s hearts. He promised how his long-awaited
Savior would enter the world. He promised how he would accomplish salvation. Isn’t that the real point
of Luke’s account here: the Lord has fulfilled his prophecies and promises and that is the signal your
salvation is now close at hand. Prepare to welcome it, to welcome him! Prepare the royal highway!
How do we do that? Should we put in a few more roundabouts? Do we need to extend the
Highway 41 project a few more years? Neenah seems to have their roads in good repair with plenty of
roundabouts, and I don’t want the highway project to go on any longer than you do. But that is not really
the point. Isaiah’s prophecy was not about a massive public works project. John didn’t come to fill in
every valley by driving the bulldozer or be the contractor’s voice calling out over the construction site.
We are talking about a different kind of reconstruction: a spiritual one.
The Savior-King does not come to rule from city hall or the state capitol. He comes to rule a
kingdom “not of this world,” but rather in the hearts of his people. The King does not travel on a literal
highway through the desert to your city. No the valleys and mountains, the hills and rough places are the
obstacles and obstructions that bar his way into your heart.
That was the case for the people in Israel. Much of Israel’s spiritual vitality had dried up. The
water of spiritual life was all but gone when John began his ministry. It was a spiritual wilderness.
Valleys of hypocrisy bordered mountains of pride and arrogance at being “children of Abraham.” They
emptied their worship of any meaning and so they emptied their spiritual wells. The law’s dead formality
littered the landscape like dry bones across the desert. How could repentance hope to sprout and grow?
What chance did it have of producing any fruit?
But the real question we must ask ourselves is this: do we have the same problem? Have we
prepared the royal highway into our heart so the King may enter? Has our faith become about looking
good and respectable to others, rather than about preparing to stand before the King? Do we have our
own mountains of pride? “I am go to church; I give offerings; I volunteer,” or as a church, “We are doing
good things; we are serious about God’s Word; we have the true teaching.” Has worship become just
empty ritual for you, just going through the motions? Do you grow weary of hearing about Jesus when
we should be telling people how to get their act together? Do we talk the talk of sorrow over sin and
trusting in Jesus, but we have no time or desire for that matter in walking the walk of true repentance?
Will the King find fruits of repentance in us or does he walk through a wasteland?
Prepare the royal highway! That is the encouragement of Isaiah; that is the message of John!
That is a problem for us on our own. But remember who made all the other preparations! He works to
prepare your heart too! He does it in the same way he did for his people so many years ago. Luke records
the answer for us, “The word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the desert. He went into all
the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.”
John came preaching, and he continues to preach to us. The message of the Gospel makes the
difference for us in our preparation because “it is the power of God” and he is at work in it. John
confronts the sin he sees. We have to confront the sin we see in our lives too. We must recognize it for
what it is: an obstruction and obstacle in welcoming the King. But John’s message wasn’t just one of
sorrow over sin; he also pointed people to the Savior who takes that sin away! You know his most
famous words, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” Luke assures us in his
careful account, “Yes, this really happened! Jesus did exactly what John said he would do! Jesus took
you sins away from you. He carried them himself, all the way to the cross. There is ‘God’s salvation’!”
Notice also how John’s preaching included “a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of
sins.” Your baptism should also play a big part in preparing your heart for the King. Here the Holy Spirit
acted directly for you. In your Baptism, you have a personal promise from your God to you as an
individual: “I made you my child. I wrote your name in the Book of Life. Jesus’ work was for you too!
Your sins are gone, and you have the power to live for me. The way to your heart is open to me, so now
go and produce the fruit a child of God wants to produce. Your Baptism should be a constant reminder to
you of who you really are, what I have done for you, and the power you have to live for me!”
What a blessing the Lord continues to work to prepare the royal highway to your hearts! He
does this through his Gospel in Word and Sacrament! Make the most of these opportunities to receive
that Gospel during this Advent Season and you will “Prepare the way for the Lord!” Amen.
Martin Luther, Neenah
Luke 3:1-6
9 December 2012
Advent 2, ILCW C
Prepare the royal highway
“Prepare the Royal Highway” is one hymn in the supplement that seemed to catch on right away.
It’s an Advent hymn, and we will be singing it in a few moments. It tells the story of the welcoming the
king as he draws near the city. Going back to ancient times, the custom was to make sure the roads were
in good repair for the king’s visit. On the day he arrived, the people would line the highways and streets
as the parade passed by. They would decorate and celebrate. They would sing and bow. It was the most
festive of occasions as he entered the gates of the city.
Of course, the King whose coming we prepare for during Advent is Jesus. We want to prepare,
and we want to talk a bit about that. But in many ways, the one who made the most preparation was God
himself. How did that happen? How did he prepare the royal highway?
The apostle Paul reminds of the Lord’s own preparations when he says, “When the time had
fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law.” What
that mean though: “when the time had fully come”? We start to get the idea at the beginning of Luke 3.
Luke begins with this long list of names and places: “In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius
Caesar—when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip
tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene—during the high priesthood of
Annas and Caiaphas.” As you heard those words, did you find yourself wondering, “What does this
really have to do with Jesus or even John the Baptist? Why does Luke seem to waste his breath?”
But think back a few weeks. During the season of End Time, we considered a number of lessons
from the book of Daniel. Daniel prophesied how the Lord would bring about a progression of monarchies
one after another across the land of Judah. For a while, it must have seemed like the people should start
preparing the royal highway for the next king as soon as they finished preparing for the last one. But
these events in world history were all according to God’s plan and timetable. Eventually, the Roman
Empire would rise to power. During the reign of this monarchy, the King of kings, God’s promised
Messiah, would come to his people.
Notice how significant these events are! Notice how each piece of preparation falls into place! At
the time Luke writes, language barriers are at a minimum. There is a common language throughout the
Mediterranean world. Almost everyone can speak Greek, thanks to Alexander the Great. Because of the
Roman military, travel is efficient and relatively safe. Roads are as good as they have ever been. The
activity of bandits, robbers, and pirates wither under the heat of Roman military presence. The Empire
provides a perfect place for a world-changing event to take place and news of it to spread.
Luke reminds us of these things with his list of emperor, governor, and tetrarchs. By offering
these exact details, Luke also proclaims to us the accuracy of his careful reporting of history. Such detail
tells us this account is real. It is truth. It is fact. It is not a story or fable or fairytale. It is not a pious
myth to keep you warm at night and keep you from being afraid of the dark. These are real people and
real events. It is real history, the account of your salvation. There can be doubt: it really happened!
Did you notice also the one preparing this royal highway? The Lord himself makes the
preparations. Behind the scenes of history, he moves the pieces into position, and his preparations do not
stop there. We heard in Malachi, “See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before
me.” He also prepares the hearts of his people to welcome his Messiah King. To do this, he sends a
messenger. Luke tells also how the messenger appears at exactly the proper time, “The word of God
came to John son of Zechariah in the desert.” John the Baptist, the improbable son of Zechariah and
Elizabeth, is that messenger. He will “prepare the way for the Lord.” He will play a major role in
preparing the royal highway for the King of kings.
Should this come as a big surprise? No, not at all! The Lord had promised all these things. He
promised how the history of nations would run in Palestine. He promised how he would send a special
messenger. He promised how he would prepare the people’s hearts. He promised how his long-awaited
Savior would enter the world. He promised how he would accomplish salvation. Isn’t that the real point
of Luke’s account here: the Lord has fulfilled his prophecies and promises and that is the signal your
salvation is now close at hand. Prepare to welcome it, to welcome him! Prepare the royal highway!
How do we do that? Should we put in a few more roundabouts? Do we need to extend the
Highway 41 project a few more years? Neenah seems to have their roads in good repair with plenty of
roundabouts, and I don’t want the highway project to go on any longer than you do. But that is not really
the point. Isaiah’s prophecy was not about a massive public works project. John didn’t come to fill in
every valley by driving the bulldozer or be the contractor’s voice calling out over the construction site.
We are talking about a different kind of reconstruction: a spiritual one.
The Savior-King does not come to rule from city hall or the state capitol. He comes to rule a
kingdom “not of this world,” but rather in the hearts of his people. The King does not travel on a literal
highway through the desert to your city. No the valleys and mountains, the hills and rough places are the
obstacles and obstructions that bar his way into your heart.
That was the case for the people in Israel. Much of Israel’s spiritual vitality had dried up. The
water of spiritual life was all but gone when John began his ministry. It was a spiritual wilderness.
Valleys of hypocrisy bordered mountains of pride and arrogance at being “children of Abraham.” They
emptied their worship of any meaning and so they emptied their spiritual wells. The law’s dead formality
littered the landscape like dry bones across the desert. How could repentance hope to sprout and grow?
What chance did it have of producing any fruit?
But the real question we must ask ourselves is this: do we have the same problem? Have we
prepared the royal highway into our heart so the King may enter? Has our faith become about looking
good and respectable to others, rather than about preparing to stand before the King? Do we have our
own mountains of pride? “I am go to church; I give offerings; I volunteer,” or as a church, “We are doing
good things; we are serious about God’s Word; we have the true teaching.” Has worship become just
empty ritual for you, just going through the motions? Do you grow weary of hearing about Jesus when
we should be telling people how to get their act together? Do we talk the talk of sorrow over sin and
trusting in Jesus, but we have no time or desire for that matter in walking the walk of true repentance?
Will the King find fruits of repentance in us or does he walk through a wasteland?
Prepare the royal highway! That is the encouragement of Isaiah; that is the message of John!
That is a problem for us on our own. But remember who made all the other preparations! He works to
prepare your heart too! He does it in the same way he did for his people so many years ago. Luke records
the answer for us, “The word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the desert. He went into all
the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.”
John came preaching, and he continues to preach to us. The message of the Gospel makes the
difference for us in our preparation because “it is the power of God” and he is at work in it. John
confronts the sin he sees. We have to confront the sin we see in our lives too. We must recognize it for
what it is: an obstruction and obstacle in welcoming the King. But John’s message wasn’t just one of
sorrow over sin; he also pointed people to the Savior who takes that sin away! You know his most
famous words, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” Luke assures us in his
careful account, “Yes, this really happened! Jesus did exactly what John said he would do! Jesus took
you sins away from you. He carried them himself, all the way to the cross. There is ‘God’s salvation’!”
Notice also how John’s preaching included “a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of
sins.” Your baptism should also play a big part in preparing your heart for the King. Here the Holy Spirit
acted directly for you. In your Baptism, you have a personal promise from your God to you as an
individual: “I made you my child. I wrote your name in the Book of Life. Jesus’ work was for you too!
Your sins are gone, and you have the power to live for me. The way to your heart is open to me, so now
go and produce the fruit a child of God wants to produce. Your Baptism should be a constant reminder to
you of who you really are, what I have done for you, and the power you have to live for me!”
What a blessing the Lord continues to work to prepare the royal highway to your hearts! He
does this through his Gospel in Word and Sacrament! Make the most of these opportunities to receive
that Gospel during this Advent Season and you will “Prepare the way for the Lord!” Amen.
Martin Luther, Neenah
Luke 3:1-6
9 December 2012
Advent 2, ILCW C
Prepare the royal highway
“Prepare the Royal Highway” is one hymn in the supplement that seemed to catch on right away.
It’s an Advent hymn, and we will be singing it in a few moments. It tells the story of the welcoming the
king as he draws near the city. Going back to ancient times, the custom was to make sure the roads were
in good repair for the king’s visit. On the day he arrived, the people would line the highways and streets
as the parade passed by. They would decorate and celebrate. They would sing and bow. It was the most
festive of occasions as he entered the gates of the city.
Of course, the King whose coming we prepare for during Advent is Jesus. We want to prepare,
and we want to talk a bit about that. But in many ways, the one who made the most preparation was God
himself. How did that happen? How did he prepare the royal highway?
The apostle Paul reminds of the Lord’s own preparations when he says, “When the time had
fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law.” What
that mean though: “when the time had fully come”? We start to get the idea at the beginning of Luke 3.
Luke begins with this long list of names and places: “In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius
Caesar—when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip
tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene—during the high priesthood of
Annas and Caiaphas.” As you heard those words, did you find yourself wondering, “What does this
really have to do with Jesus or even John the Baptist? Why does Luke seem to waste his breath?”
But think back a few weeks. During the season of End Time, we considered a number of lessons
from the book of Daniel. Daniel prophesied how the Lord would bring about a progression of monarchies
one after another across the land of Judah. For a while, it must have seemed like the people should start
preparing the royal highway for the next king as soon as they finished preparing for the last one. But
these events in world history were all according to God’s plan and timetable. Eventually, the Roman
Empire would rise to power. During the reign of this monarchy, the King of kings, God’s promised
Messiah, would come to his people.
Notice how significant these events are! Notice how each piece of preparation falls into place! At
the time Luke writes, language barriers are at a minimum. There is a common language throughout the
Mediterranean world. Almost everyone can speak Greek, thanks to Alexander the Great. Because of the
Roman military, travel is efficient and relatively safe. Roads are as good as they have ever been. The
activity of bandits, robbers, and pirates wither under the heat of Roman military presence. The Empire
provides a perfect place for a world-changing event to take place and news of it to spread.
Luke reminds us of these things with his list of emperor, governor, and tetrarchs. By offering
these exact details, Luke also proclaims to us the accuracy of his careful reporting of history. Such detail
tells us this account is real. It is truth. It is fact. It is not a story or fable or fairytale. It is not a pious
myth to keep you warm at night and keep you from being afraid of the dark. These are real people and
real events. It is real history, the account of your salvation. There can be doubt: it really happened!
Did you notice also the one preparing this royal highway? The Lord himself makes the
preparations. Behind the scenes of history, he moves the pieces into position, and his preparations do not
stop there. We heard in Malachi, “See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before
me.” He also prepares the hearts of his people to welcome his Messiah King. To do this, he sends a
messenger. Luke tells also how the messenger appears at exactly the proper time, “The word of God
came to John son of Zechariah in the desert.” John the Baptist, the improbable son of Zechariah and
Elizabeth, is that messenger. He will “prepare the way for the Lord.” He will play a major role in
preparing the royal highway for the King of kings.
Should this come as a big surprise? No, not at all! The Lord had promised all these things. He
promised how the history of nations would run in Palestine. He promised how he would send a special
messenger. He promised how he would prepare the people’s hearts. He promised how his long-awaited
Savior would enter the world. He promised how he would accomplish salvation. Isn’t that the real point
of Luke’s account here: the Lord has fulfilled his prophecies and promises and that is the signal your
salvation is now close at hand. Prepare to welcome it, to welcome him! Prepare the royal highway!
How do we do that? Should we put in a few more roundabouts? Do we need to extend the
Highway 41 project a few more years? Neenah seems to have their roads in good repair with plenty of
roundabouts, and I don’t want the highway project to go on any longer than you do. But that is not really
the point. Isaiah’s prophecy was not about a massive public works project. John didn’t come to fill in
every valley by driving the bulldozer or be the contractor’s voice calling out over the construction site.
We are talking about a different kind of reconstruction: a spiritual one.
The Savior-King does not come to rule from city hall or the state capitol. He comes to rule a
kingdom “not of this world,” but rather in the hearts of his people. The King does not travel on a literal
highway through the desert to your city. No the valleys and mountains, the hills and rough places are the
obstacles and obstructions that bar his way into your heart.
That was the case for the people in Israel. Much of Israel’s spiritual vitality had dried up. The
water of spiritual life was all but gone when John began his ministry. It was a spiritual wilderness.
Valleys of hypocrisy bordered mountains of pride and arrogance at being “children of Abraham.” They
emptied their worship of any meaning and so they emptied their spiritual wells. The law’s dead formality
littered the landscape like dry bones across the desert. How could repentance hope to sprout and grow?
What chance did it have of producing any fruit?
But the real question we must ask ourselves is this: do we have the same problem? Have we
prepared the royal highway into our heart so the King may enter? Has our faith become about looking
good and respectable to others, rather than about preparing to stand before the King? Do we have our
own mountains of pride? “I am go to church; I give offerings; I volunteer,” or as a church, “We are doing
good things; we are serious about God’s Word; we have the true teaching.” Has worship become just
empty ritual for you, just going through the motions? Do you grow weary of hearing about Jesus when
we should be telling people how to get their act together? Do we talk the talk of sorrow over sin and
trusting in Jesus, but we have no time or desire for that matter in walking the walk of true repentance?
Will the King find fruits of repentance in us or does he walk through a wasteland?
Prepare the royal highway! That is the encouragement of Isaiah; that is the message of John!
That is a problem for us on our own. But remember who made all the other preparations! He works to
prepare your heart too! He does it in the same way he did for his people so many years ago. Luke records
the answer for us, “The word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the desert. He went into all
the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.”
John came preaching, and he continues to preach to us. The message of the Gospel makes the
difference for us in our preparation because “it is the power of God” and he is at work in it. John
confronts the sin he sees. We have to confront the sin we see in our lives too. We must recognize it for
what it is: an obstruction and obstacle in welcoming the King. But John’s message wasn’t just one of
sorrow over sin; he also pointed people to the Savior who takes that sin away! You know his most
famous words, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” Luke assures us in his
careful account, “Yes, this really happened! Jesus did exactly what John said he would do! Jesus took
you sins away from you. He carried them himself, all the way to the cross. There is ‘God’s salvation’!”
Notice also how John’s preaching included “a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of
sins.” Your baptism should also play a big part in preparing your heart for the King. Here the Holy Spirit
acted directly for you. In your Baptism, you have a personal promise from your God to you as an
individual: “I made you my child. I wrote your name in the Book of Life. Jesus’ work was for you too!
Your sins are gone, and you have the power to live for me. The way to your heart is open to me, so now
go and produce the fruit a child of God wants to produce. Your Baptism should be a constant reminder to
you of who you really are, what I have done for you, and the power you have to live for me!”
What a blessing the Lord continues to work to prepare the royal highway to your hearts! He
does this through his Gospel in Word and Sacrament! Make the most of these opportunities to receive
that Gospel during this Advent Season and you will “Prepare the way for the Lord!” Amen.
Martin Luther, Neenah
Luke 3:1-6
9 December 2012
Advent 2, ILCW C
Prepare the royal highway
“Prepare the Royal Highway” is one hymn in the supplement that seemed to catch on right away.
It’s an Advent hymn, and we will be singing it in a few moments. It tells the story of the welcoming the
king as he draws near the city. Going back to ancient times, the custom was to make sure the roads were
in good repair for the king’s visit. On the day he arrived, the people would line the highways and streets
as the parade passed by. They would decorate and celebrate. They would sing and bow. It was the most
festive of occasions as he entered the gates of the city.
Of course, the King whose coming we prepare for during Advent is Jesus. We want to prepare,
and we want to talk a bit about that. But in many ways, the one who made the most preparation was God
himself. How did that happen? How did he prepare the royal highway?
The apostle Paul reminds of the Lord’s own preparations when he says, “When the time had
fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law.” What
that mean though: “when the time had fully come”? We start to get the idea at the beginning of Luke 3.
Luke begins with this long list of names and places: “In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius
Caesar—when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip
tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene—during the high priesthood of
Annas and Caiaphas.” As you heard those words, did you find yourself wondering, “What does this
really have to do with Jesus or even John the Baptist? Why does Luke seem to waste his breath?”
But think back a few weeks. During the season of End Time, we considered a number of lessons
from the book of Daniel. Daniel prophesied how the Lord would bring about a progression of monarchies
one after another across the land of Judah. For a while, it must have seemed like the people should start
preparing the royal highway for the next king as soon as they finished preparing for the last one. But
these events in world history were all according to God’s plan and timetable. Eventually, the Roman
Empire would rise to power. During the reign of this monarchy, the King of kings, God’s promised
Messiah, would come to his people.
Notice how significant these events are! Notice how each piece of preparation falls into place! At
the time Luke writes, language barriers are at a minimum. There is a common language throughout the
Mediterranean world. Almost everyone can speak Greek, thanks to Alexander the Great. Because of the
Roman military, travel is efficient and relatively safe. Roads are as good as they have ever been. The
activity of bandits, robbers, and pirates wither under the heat of Roman military presence. The Empire
provides a perfect place for a world-changing event to take place and news of it to spread.
Luke reminds us of these things with his list of emperor, governor, and tetrarchs. By offering
these exact details, Luke also proclaims to us the accuracy of his careful reporting of history. Such detail
tells us this account is real. It is truth. It is fact. It is not a story or fable or fairytale. It is not a pious
myth to keep you warm at night and keep you from being afraid of the dark. These are real people and
real events. It is real history, the account of your salvation. There can be doubt: it really happened!
Did you notice also the one preparing this royal highway? The Lord himself makes the
preparations. Behind the scenes of history, he moves the pieces into position, and his preparations do not
stop there. We heard in Malachi, “See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before
me.” He also prepares the hearts of his people to welcome his Messiah King. To do this, he sends a
messenger. Luke tells also how the messenger appears at exactly the proper time, “The word of God
came to John son of Zechariah in the desert.” John the Baptist, the improbable son of Zechariah and
Elizabeth, is that messenger. He will “prepare the way for the Lord.” He will play a major role in
preparing the royal highway for the King of kings.
Should this come as a big surprise? No, not at all! The Lord had promised all these things. He
promised how the history of nations would run in Palestine. He promised how he would send a special
messenger. He promised how he would prepare the people’s hearts. He promised how his long-awaited
Savior would enter the world. He promised how he would accomplish salvation. Isn’t that the real point
of Luke’s account here: the Lord has fulfilled his prophecies and promises and that is the signal your
salvation is now close at hand. Prepare to welcome it, to welcome him! Prepare the royal highway!
How do we do that? Should we put in a few more roundabouts? Do we need to extend the
Highway 41 project a few more years? Neenah seems to have their roads in good repair with plenty of
roundabouts, and I don’t want the highway project to go on any longer than you do. But that is not really
the point. Isaiah’s prophecy was not about a massive public works project. John didn’t come to fill in
every valley by driving the bulldozer or be the contractor’s voice calling out over the construction site.
We are talking about a different kind of reconstruction: a spiritual one.
The Savior-King does not come to rule from city hall or the state capitol. He comes to rule a
kingdom “not of this world,” but rather in the hearts of his people. The King does not travel on a literal
highway through the desert to your city. No the valleys and mountains, the hills and rough places are the
obstacles and obstructions that bar his way into your heart.
That was the case for the people in Israel. Much of Israel’s spiritual vitality had dried up. The
water of spiritual life was all but gone when John began his ministry. It was a spiritual wilderness.
Valleys of hypocrisy bordered mountains of pride and arrogance at being “children of Abraham.” They
emptied their worship of any meaning and so they emptied their spiritual wells. The law’s dead formality
littered the landscape like dry bones across the desert. How could repentance hope to sprout and grow?
What chance did it have of producing any fruit?
But the real question we must ask ourselves is this: do we have the same problem? Have we
prepared the royal highway into our heart so the King may enter? Has our faith become about looking
good and respectable to others, rather than about preparing to stand before the King? Do we have our
own mountains of pride? “I am go to church; I give offerings; I volunteer,” or as a church, “We are doing
good things; we are serious about God’s Word; we have the true teaching.” Has worship become just
empty ritual for you, just going through the motions? Do you grow weary of hearing about Jesus when
we should be telling people how to get their act together? Do we talk the talk of sorrow over sin and
trusting in Jesus, but we have no time or desire for that matter in walking the walk of true repentance?
Will the King find fruits of repentance in us or does he walk through a wasteland?
Prepare the royal highway! That is the encouragement of Isaiah; that is the message of John!
That is a problem for us on our own. But remember who made all the other preparations! He works to
prepare your heart too! He does it in the same way he did for his people so many years ago. Luke records
the answer for us, “The word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the desert. He went into all
the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.”
John came preaching, and he continues to preach to us. The message of the Gospel makes the
difference for us in our preparation because “it is the power of God” and he is at work in it. John
confronts the sin he sees. We have to confront the sin we see in our lives too. We must recognize it for
what it is: an obstruction and obstacle in welcoming the King. But John’s message wasn’t just one of
sorrow over sin; he also pointed people to the Savior who takes that sin away! You know his most
famous words, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” Luke assures us in his
careful account, “Yes, this really happened! Jesus did exactly what John said he would do! Jesus took
you sins away from you. He carried them himself, all the way to the cross. There is ‘God’s salvation’!”
Notice also how John’s preaching included “a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of
sins.” Your baptism should also play a big part in preparing your heart for the King. Here the Holy Spirit
acted directly for you. In your Baptism, you have a personal promise from your God to you as an
individual: “I made you my child. I wrote your name in the Book of Life. Jesus’ work was for you too!
Your sins are gone, and you have the power to live for me. The way to your heart is open to me, so now
go and produce the fruit a child of God wants to produce. Your Baptism should be a constant reminder to
you of who you really are, what I have done for you, and the power you have to live for me!”
What a blessing the Lord continues to work to prepare the royal highway to your hearts! He
does this through his Gospel in Word and Sacrament! Make the most of these opportunities to receive
that Gospel during this Advent Season and you will “Prepare the way for the Lord!” Amen.
Martin Luther, Neenah
Luke 3:1-6
9 December 2012
Advent 2, ILCW C
Prepare the royal highway
“Prepare the Royal Highway” is one hymn in the supplement that seemed to catch on right away.
It’s an Advent hymn, and we will be singing it in a few moments. It tells the story of the welcoming the
king as he draws near the city. Going back to ancient times, the custom was to make sure the roads were
in good repair for the king’s visit. On the day he arrived, the people would line the highways and streets
as the parade passed by. They would decorate and celebrate. They would sing and bow. It was the most
festive of occasions as he entered the gates of the city.
Of course, the King whose coming we prepare for during Advent is Jesus. We want to prepare,
and we want to talk a bit about that. But in many ways, the one who made the most preparation was God
himself. How did that happen? How did he prepare the royal highway?
The apostle Paul reminds of the Lord’s own preparations when he says, “When the time had
fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law.” What
that mean though: “when the time had fully come”? We start to get the idea at the beginning of Luke 3.
Luke begins with this long list of names and places: “In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius
Caesar—when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip
tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene—during the high priesthood of
Annas and Caiaphas.” As you heard those words, did you find yourself wondering, “What does this
really have to do with Jesus or even John the Baptist? Why does Luke seem to waste his breath?”
But think back a few weeks. During the season of End Time, we considered a number of lessons
from the book of Daniel. Daniel prophesied how the Lord would bring about a progression of monarchies
one after another across the land of Judah. For a while, it must have seemed like the people should start
preparing the royal highway for the next king as soon as they finished preparing for the last one. But
these events in world history were all according to God’s plan and timetable. Eventually, the Roman
Empire would rise to power. During the reign of this monarchy, the King of kings, God’s promised
Messiah, would come to his people.
Notice how significant these events are! Notice how each piece of preparation falls into place! At
the time Luke writes, language barriers are at a minimum. There is a common language throughout the
Mediterranean world. Almost everyone can speak Greek, thanks to Alexander the Great. Because of the
Roman military, travel is efficient and relatively safe. Roads are as good as they have ever been. The
activity of bandits, robbers, and pirates wither under the heat of Roman military presence. The Empire
provides a perfect place for a world-changing event to take place and news of it to spread.
Luke reminds us of these things with his list of emperor, governor, and tetrarchs. By offering
these exact details, Luke also proclaims to us the accuracy of his careful reporting of history. Such detail
tells us this account is real. It is truth. It is fact. It is not a story or fable or fairytale. It is not a pious
myth to keep you warm at night and keep you from being afraid of the dark. These are real people and
real events. It is real history, the account of your salvation. There can be doubt: it really happened!
Did you notice also the one preparing this royal highway? The Lord himself makes the
preparations. Behind the scenes of history, he moves the pieces into position, and his preparations do not
stop there. We heard in Malachi, “See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before
me.” He also prepares the hearts of his people to welcome his Messiah King. To do this, he sends a
messenger. Luke tells also how the messenger appears at exactly the proper time, “The word of God
came to John son of Zechariah in the desert.” John the Baptist, the improbable son of Zechariah and
Elizabeth, is that messenger. He will “prepare the way for the Lord.” He will play a major role in
preparing the royal highway for the King of kings.
Should this come as a big surprise? No, not at all! The Lord had promised all these things. He
promised how the history of nations would run in Palestine. He promised how he would send a special
messenger. He promised how he would prepare the people’s hearts. He promised how his long-awaited
Savior would enter the world. He promised how he would accomplish salvation. Isn’t that the real point
of Luke’s account here: the Lord has fulfilled his prophecies and promises and that is the signal your
salvation is now close at hand. Prepare to welcome it, to welcome him! Prepare the royal highway!
How do we do that? Should we put in a few more roundabouts? Do we need to extend the
Highway 41 project a few more years? Neenah seems to have their roads in good repair with plenty of
roundabouts, and I don’t want the highway project to go on any longer than you do. But that is not really
the point. Isaiah’s prophecy was not about a massive public works project. John didn’t come to fill in
every valley by driving the bulldozer or be the contractor’s voice calling out over the construction site.
We are talking about a different kind of reconstruction: a spiritual one.
The Savior-King does not come to rule from city hall or the state capitol. He comes to rule a
kingdom “not of this world,” but rather in the hearts of his people. The King does not travel on a literal
highway through the desert to your city. No the valleys and mountains, the hills and rough places are the
obstacles and obstructions that bar his way into your heart.
That was the case for the people in Israel. Much of Israel’s spiritual vitality had dried up. The
water of spiritual life was all but gone when John began his ministry. It was a spiritual wilderness.
Valleys of hypocrisy bordered mountains of pride and arrogance at being “children of Abraham.” They
emptied their worship of any meaning and so they emptied their spiritual wells. The law’s dead formality
littered the landscape like dry bones across the desert. How could repentance hope to sprout and grow?
What chance did it have of producing any fruit?
But the real question we must ask ourselves is this: do we have the same problem? Have we
prepared the royal highway into our heart so the King may enter? Has our faith become about looking
good and respectable to others, rather than about preparing to stand before the King? Do we have our
own mountains of pride? “I am go to church; I give offerings; I volunteer,” or as a church, “We are doing
good things; we are serious about God’s Word; we have the true teaching.” Has worship become just
empty ritual for you, just going through the motions? Do you grow weary of hearing about Jesus when
we should be telling people how to get their act together? Do we talk the talk of sorrow over sin and
trusting in Jesus, but we have no time or desire for that matter in walking the walk of true repentance?
Will the King find fruits of repentance in us or does he walk through a wasteland?
Prepare the royal highway! That is the encouragement of Isaiah; that is the message of John!
That is a problem for us on our own. But remember who made all the other preparations! He works to
prepare your heart too! He does it in the same way he did for his people so many years ago. Luke records
the answer for us, “The word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the desert. He went into all
the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.”
John came preaching, and he continues to preach to us. The message of the Gospel makes the
difference for us in our preparation because “it is the power of God” and he is at work in it. John
confronts the sin he sees. We have to confront the sin we see in our lives too. We must recognize it for
what it is: an obstruction and obstacle in welcoming the King. But John’s message wasn’t just one of
sorrow over sin; he also pointed people to the Savior who takes that sin away! You know his most
famous words, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” Luke assures us in his
careful account, “Yes, this really happened! Jesus did exactly what John said he would do! Jesus took
you sins away from you. He carried them himself, all the way to the cross. There is ‘God’s salvation’!”
Notice also how John’s preaching included “a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of
sins.” Your baptism should also play a big part in preparing your heart for the King. Here the Holy Spirit
acted directly for you. In your Baptism, you have a personal promise from your God to you as an
individual: “I made you my child. I wrote your name in the Book of Life. Jesus’ work was for you too!
Your sins are gone, and you have the power to live for me. The way to your heart is open to me, so now
go and produce the fruit a child of God wants to produce. Your Baptism should be a constant reminder to
you of who you really are, what I have done for you, and the power you have to live for me!”
What a blessing the Lord continues to work to prepare the royal highway to your hearts! He
does this through his Gospel in Word and Sacrament! Make the most of these opportunities to receive
that Gospel during this Advent Season and you will “Prepare the way for the Lord!” Amen.
Martin Luther, Neenah
Luke 3:1-6
9 December 2012
Advent 2, ILCW C
Prepare the royal highway
“Prepare the Royal Highway” is one hymn in the supplement that seemed to catch on right away.
It’s an Advent hymn, and we will be singing it in a few moments. It tells the story of the welcoming the
king as he draws near the city. Going back to ancient times, the custom was to make sure the roads were
in good repair for the king’s visit. On the day he arrived, the people would line the highways and streets
as the parade passed by. They would decorate and celebrate. They would sing and bow. It was the most
festive of occasions as he entered the gates of the city.
Of course, the King whose coming we prepare for during Advent is Jesus. We want to prepare,
and we want to talk a bit about that. But in many ways, the one who made the most preparation was God
himself. How did that happen? How did he prepare the royal highway?
The apostle Paul reminds of the Lord’s own preparations when he says, “When the time had
fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law.” What
that mean though: “when the time had fully come”? We start to get the idea at the beginning of Luke 3.
Luke begins with this long list of names and places: “In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius
Caesar—when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip
tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene—during the high priesthood of
Annas and Caiaphas.” As you heard those words, did you find yourself wondering, “What does this
really have to do with Jesus or even John the Baptist? Why does Luke seem to waste his breath?”
But think back a few weeks. During the season of End Time, we considered a number of lessons
from the book of Daniel. Daniel prophesied how the Lord would bring about a progression of monarchies
one after another across the land of Judah. For a while, it must have seemed like the people should start
preparing the royal highway for the next king as soon as they finished preparing for the last one. But
these events in world history were all according to God’s plan and timetable. Eventually, the Roman
Empire would rise to power. During the reign of this monarchy, the King of kings, God’s promised
Messiah, would come to his people.
Notice how significant these events are! Notice how each piece of preparation falls into place! At
the time Luke writes, language barriers are at a minimum. There is a common language throughout the
Mediterranean world. Almost everyone can speak Greek, thanks to Alexander the Great. Because of the
Roman military, travel is efficient and relatively safe. Roads are as good as they have ever been. The
activity of bandits, robbers, and pirates wither under the heat of Roman military presence. The Empire
provides a perfect place for a world-changing event to take place and news of it to spread.
Luke reminds us of these things with his list of emperor, governor, and tetrarchs. By offering
these exact details, Luke also proclaims to us the accuracy of his careful reporting of history. Such detail
tells us this account is real. It is truth. It is fact. It is not a story or fable or fairytale. It is not a pious
myth to keep you warm at night and keep you from being afraid of the dark. These are real people and
real events. It is real history, the account of your salvation. There can be doubt: it really happened!
Did you notice also the one preparing this royal highway? The Lord himself makes the
preparations. Behind the scenes of history, he moves the pieces into position, and his preparations do not
stop there. We heard in Malachi, “See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before
me.” He also prepares the hearts of his people to welcome his Messiah King. To do this, he sends a
messenger. Luke tells also how the messenger appears at exactly the proper time, “The word of God
came to John son of Zechariah in the desert.” John the Baptist, the improbable son of Zechariah and
Elizabeth, is that messenger. He will “prepare the way for the Lord.” He will play a major role in
preparing the royal highway for the King of kings.
Should this come as a big surprise? No, not at all! The Lord had promised all these things. He
promised how the history of nations would run in Palestine. He promised how he would send a special
messenger. He promised how he would prepare the people’s hearts. He promised how his long-awaited
Savior would enter the world. He promised how he would accomplish salvation. Isn’t that the real point
of Luke’s account here: the Lord has fulfilled his prophecies and promises and that is the signal your
salvation is now close at hand. Prepare to welcome it, to welcome him! Prepare the royal highway!
How do we do that? Should we put in a few more roundabouts? Do we need to extend the
Highway 41 project a few more years? Neenah seems to have their roads in good repair with plenty of
roundabouts, and I don’t want the highway project to go on any longer than you do. But that is not really
the point. Isaiah’s prophecy was not about a massive public works project. John didn’t come to fill in
every valley by driving the bulldozer or be the contractor’s voice calling out over the construction site.
We are talking about a different kind of reconstruction: a spiritual one.
The Savior-King does not come to rule from city hall or the state capitol. He comes to rule a
kingdom “not of this world,” but rather in the hearts of his people. The King does not travel on a literal
highway through the desert to your city. No the valleys and mountains, the hills and rough places are the
obstacles and obstructions that bar his way into your heart.
That was the case for the people in Israel. Much of Israel’s spiritual vitality had dried up. The
water of spiritual life was all but gone when John began his ministry. It was a spiritual wilderness.
Valleys of hypocrisy bordered mountains of pride and arrogance at being “children of Abraham.” They
emptied their worship of any meaning and so they emptied their spiritual wells. The law’s dead formality
littered the landscape like dry bones across the desert. How could repentance hope to sprout and grow?
What chance did it have of producing any fruit?
But the real question we must ask ourselves is this: do we have the same problem? Have we
prepared the royal highway into our heart so the King may enter? Has our faith become about looking
good and respectable to others, rather than about preparing to stand before the King? Do we have our
own mountains of pride? “I am go to church; I give offerings; I volunteer,” or as a church, “We are doing
good things; we are serious about God’s Word; we have the true teaching.” Has worship become just
empty ritual for you, just going through the motions? Do you grow weary of hearing about Jesus when
we should be telling people how to get their act together? Do we talk the talk of sorrow over sin and
trusting in Jesus, but we have no time or desire for that matter in walking the walk of true repentance?
Will the King find fruits of repentance in us or does he walk through a wasteland?
Prepare the royal highway! That is the encouragement of Isaiah; that is the message of John!
That is a problem for us on our own. But remember who made all the other preparations! He works to
prepare your heart too! He does it in the same way he did for his people so many years ago. Luke records
the answer for us, “The word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the desert. He went into all
the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.”
John came preaching, and he continues to preach to us. The message of the Gospel makes the
difference for us in our preparation because “it is the power of God” and he is at work in it. John
confronts the sin he sees. We have to confront the sin we see in our lives too. We must recognize it for
what it is: an obstruction and obstacle in welcoming the King. But John’s message wasn’t just one of
sorrow over sin; he also pointed people to the Savior who takes that sin away! You know his most
famous words, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” Luke assures us in his
careful account, “Yes, this really happened! Jesus did exactly what John said he would do! Jesus took
you sins away from you. He carried them himself, all the way to the cross. There is ‘God’s salvation’!”
Notice also how John’s preaching included “a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of
sins.” Your baptism should also play a big part in preparing your heart for the King. Here the Holy Spirit
acted directly for you. In your Baptism, you have a personal promise from your God to you as an
individual: “I made you my child. I wrote your name in the Book of Life. Jesus’ work was for you too!
Your sins are gone, and you have the power to live for me. The way to your heart is open to me, so now
go and produce the fruit a child of God wants to produce. Your Baptism should be a constant reminder to
you of who you really are, what I have done for you, and the power you have to live for me!”
What a blessing the Lord continues to work to prepare the royal highway to your hearts! He
does this through his Gospel in Word and Sacrament! Make the most of these opportunities to receive
that Gospel during this Advent Season and you will “Prepare the way for the Lord!” Amen.
Martin Luther, Neenah
Luke 3:1-6
9 December 2012
Advent 2, ILCW C
Prepare the royal highway
“Prepare the Royal Highway” is one hymn in the supplement that seemed to catch on right away.
It’s an Advent hymn, and we will be singing it in a few moments. It tells the story of the welcoming the
king as he draws near the city. Going back to ancient times, the custom was to make sure the roads were
in good repair for the king’s visit. On the day he arrived, the people would line the highways and streets
as the parade passed by. They would decorate and celebrate. They would sing and bow. It was the most
festive of occasions as he entered the gates of the city.
Of course, the King whose coming we prepare for during Advent is Jesus. We want to prepare,
and we want to talk a bit about that. But in many ways, the one who made the most preparation was God
himself. How did that happen? How did he prepare the royal highway?
The apostle Paul reminds of the Lord’s own preparations when he says, “When the time had
fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law.” What
that mean though: “when the time had fully come”? We start to get the idea at the beginning of Luke 3.
Luke begins with this long list of names and places: “In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius
Caesar—when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip
tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene—during the high priesthood of
Annas and Caiaphas.” As you heard those words, did you find yourself wondering, “What does this
really have to do with Jesus or even John the Baptist? Why does Luke seem to waste his breath?”
But think back a few weeks. During the season of End Time, we considered a number of lessons
from the book of Daniel. Daniel prophesied how the Lord would bring about a progression of monarchies
one after another across the land of Judah. For a while, it must have seemed like the people should start
preparing the royal highway for the next king as soon as they finished preparing for the last one. But
these events in world history were all according to God’s plan and timetable. Eventually, the Roman
Empire would rise to power. During the reign of this monarchy, the King of kings, God’s promised
Messiah, would come to his people.
Notice how significant these events are! Notice how each piece of preparation falls into place! At
the time Luke writes, language barriers are at a minimum. There is a common language throughout the
Mediterranean world. Almost everyone can speak Greek, thanks to Alexander the Great. Because of the
Roman military, travel is efficient and relatively safe. Roads are as good as they have ever been. The
activity of bandits, robbers, and pirates wither under the heat of Roman military presence. The Empire
provides a perfect place for a world-changing event to take place and news of it to spread.
Luke reminds us of these things with his list of emperor, governor, and tetrarchs. By offering
these exact details, Luke also proclaims to us the accuracy of his careful reporting of history. Such detail
tells us this account is real. It is truth. It is fact. It is not a story or fable or fairytale. It is not a pious
myth to keep you warm at night and keep you from being afraid of the dark. These are real people and
real events. It is real history, the account of your salvation. There can be doubt: it really happened!
Did you notice also the one preparing this royal highway? The Lord himself makes the
preparations. Behind the scenes of history, he moves the pieces into position, and his preparations do not
stop there. We heard in Malachi, “See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before
me.” He also prepares the hearts of his people to welcome his Messiah King. To do this, he sends a
messenger. Luke tells also how the messenger appears at exactly the proper time, “The word of God
came to John son of Zechariah in the desert.” John the Baptist, the improbable son of Zechariah and
Elizabeth, is that messenger. He will “prepare the way for the Lord.” He will play a major role in
preparing the royal highway for the King of kings.
Should this come as a big surprise? No, not at all! The Lord had promised all these things. He
promised how the history of nations would run in Palestine. He promised how he would send a special
messenger. He promised how he would prepare the people’s hearts. He promised how his long-awaited
Savior would enter the world. He promised how he would accomplish salvation. Isn’t that the real point
of Luke’s account here: the Lord has fulfilled his prophecies and promises and that is the signal your
salvation is now close at hand. Prepare to welcome it, to welcome him! Prepare the royal highway!
How do we do that? Should we put in a few more roundabouts? Do we need to extend the
Highway 41 project a few more years? Neenah seems to have their roads in good repair with plenty of
roundabouts, and I don’t want the highway project to go on any longer than you do. But that is not really
the point. Isaiah’s prophecy was not about a massive public works project. John didn’t come to fill in
every valley by driving the bulldozer or be the contractor’s voice calling out over the construction site.
We are talking about a different kind of reconstruction: a spiritual one.
The Savior-King does not come to rule from city hall or the state capitol. He comes to rule a
kingdom “not of this world,” but rather in the hearts of his people. The King does not travel on a literal
highway through the desert to your city. No the valleys and mountains, the hills and rough places are the
obstacles and obstructions that bar his way into your heart.
That was the case for the people in Israel. Much of Israel’s spiritual vitality had dried up. The
water of spiritual life was all but gone when John began his ministry. It was a spiritual wilderness.
Valleys of hypocrisy bordered mountains of pride and arrogance at being “children of Abraham.” They
emptied their worship of any meaning and so they emptied their spiritual wells. The law’s dead formality
littered the landscape like dry bones across the desert. How could repentance hope to sprout and grow?
What chance did it have of producing any fruit?
But the real question we must ask ourselves is this: do we have the same problem? Have we
prepared the royal highway into our heart so the King may enter? Has our faith become about looking
good and respectable to others, rather than about preparing to stand before the King? Do we have our
own mountains of pride? “I am go to church; I give offerings; I volunteer,” or as a church, “We are doing
good things; we are serious about God’s Word; we have the true teaching.” Has worship become just
empty ritual for you, just going through the motions? Do you grow weary of hearing about Jesus when
we should be telling people how to get their act together? Do we talk the talk of sorrow over sin and
trusting in Jesus, but we have no time or desire for that matter in walking the walk of true repentance?
Will the King find fruits of repentance in us or does he walk through a wasteland?
Prepare the royal highway! That is the encouragement of Isaiah; that is the message of John!
That is a problem for us on our own. But remember who made all the other preparations! He works to
prepare your heart too! He does it in the same way he did for his people so many years ago. Luke records
the answer for us, “The word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the desert. He went into all
the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.”
John came preaching, and he continues to preach to us. The message of the Gospel makes the
difference for us in our preparation because “it is the power of God” and he is at work in it. John
confronts the sin he sees. We have to confront the sin we see in our lives too. We must recognize it for
what it is: an obstruction and obstacle in welcoming the King. But John’s message wasn’t just one of
sorrow over sin; he also pointed people to the Savior who takes that sin away! You know his most
famous words, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” Luke assures us in his
careful account, “Yes, this really happened! Jesus did exactly what John said he would do! Jesus took
you sins away from you. He carried them himself, all the way to the cross. There is ‘God’s salvation’!”
Notice also how John’s preaching included “a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of
sins.” Your baptism should also play a big part in preparing your heart for the King. Here the Holy Spirit
acted directly for you. In your Baptism, you have a personal promise from your God to you as an
individual: “I made you my child. I wrote your name in the Book of Life. Jesus’ work was for you too!
Your sins are gone, and you have the power to live for me. The way to your heart is open to me, so now
go and produce the fruit a child of God wants to produce. Your Baptism should be a constant reminder to
you of who you really are, what I have done for you, and the power you have to live for me!”
What a blessing the Lord continues to work to prepare the royal highway to your hearts! He
does this through his Gospel in Word and Sacrament! Make the most of these opportunities to receive
that Gospel during this Advent Season and you will “Prepare the way for the Lord!” Amen.
Martin Luther, Neenah
Luke 3:1-6
9 December 2012
Advent 2, ILCW C
Prepare the royal highway
“Prepare the Royal Highway” is one hymn in the supplement that seemed to catch on right away.
It’s an Advent hymn, and we will be singing it in a few moments. It tells the story of the welcoming the
king as he draws near the city. Going back to ancient times, the custom was to make sure the roads were
in good repair for the king’s visit. On the day he arrived, the people would line the highways and streets
as the parade passed by. They would decorate and celebrate. They would sing and bow. It was the most
festive of occasions as he entered the gates of the city.
Of course, the King whose coming we prepare for during Advent is Jesus. We want to prepare,
and we want to talk a bit about that. But in many ways, the one who made the most preparation was God
himself. How did that happen? How did he prepare the royal highway?
The apostle Paul reminds of the Lord’s own preparations when he says, “When the time had
fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law.” What
that mean though: “when the time had fully come”? We start to get the idea at the beginning of Luke 3.
Luke begins with this long list of names and places: “In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius
Caesar—when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip
tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene—during the high priesthood of
Annas and Caiaphas.” As you heard those words, did you find yourself wondering, “What does this
really have to do with Jesus or even John the Baptist? Why does Luke seem to waste his breath?”
But think back a few weeks. During the season of End Time, we considered a number of lessons
from the book of Daniel. Daniel prophesied how the Lord would bring about a progression of monarchies
one after another across the land of Judah. For a while, it must have seemed like the people should start
preparing the royal highway for the next king as soon as they finished preparing for the last one. But
these events in world history were all according to God’s plan and timetable. Eventually, the Roman
Empire would rise to power. During the reign of this monarchy, the King of kings, God’s promised
Messiah, would come to his people.
Notice how significant these events are! Notice how each piece of preparation falls into place! At
the time Luke writes, language barriers are at a minimum. There is a common language throughout the
Mediterranean world. Almost everyone can speak Greek, thanks to Alexander the Great. Because of the
Roman military, travel is efficient and relatively safe. Roads are as good as they have ever been. The
activity of bandits, robbers, and pirates wither under the heat of Roman military presence. The Empire
provides a perfect place for a world-changing event to take place and news of it to spread.
Luke reminds us of these things with his list of emperor, governor, and tetrarchs. By offering
these exact details, Luke also proclaims to us the accuracy of his careful reporting of history. Such detail
tells us this account is real. It is truth. It is fact. It is not a story or fable or fairytale. It is not a pious
myth to keep you warm at night and keep you from being afraid of the dark. These are real people and
real events. It is real history, the account of your salvation. There can be doubt: it really happened!
Did you notice also the one preparing this royal highway? The Lord himself makes the
preparations. Behind the scenes of history, he moves the pieces into position, and his preparations do not
stop there. We heard in Malachi, “See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before
me.” He also prepares the hearts of his people to welcome his Messiah King. To do this, he sends a
messenger. Luke tells also how the messenger appears at exactly the proper time, “The word of God
came to John son of Zechariah in the desert.” John the Baptist, the improbable son of Zechariah and
Elizabeth, is that messenger. He will “prepare the way for the Lord.” He will play a major role in
preparing the royal highway for the King of kings.
Should this come as a big surprise? No, not at all! The Lord had promised all these things. He
promised how the history of nations would run in Palestine. He promised how he would send a special
messenger. He promised how he would prepare the people’s hearts. He promised how his long-awaited
Savior would enter the world. He promised how he would accomplish salvation. Isn’t that the real point
of Luke’s account here: the Lord has fulfilled his prophecies and promises and that is the signal your
salvation is now close at hand. Prepare to welcome it, to welcome him! Prepare the royal highway!
How do we do that? Should we put in a few more roundabouts? Do we need to extend the
Highway 41 project a few more years? Neenah seems to have their roads in good repair with plenty of
roundabouts, and I don’t want the highway project to go on any longer than you do. But that is not really
the point. Isaiah’s prophecy was not about a massive public works project. John didn’t come to fill in
every valley by driving the bulldozer or be the contractor’s voice calling out over the construction site.
We are talking about a different kind of reconstruction: a spiritual one.
The Savior-King does not come to rule from city hall or the state capitol. He comes to rule a
kingdom “not of this world,” but rather in the hearts of his people. The King does not travel on a literal
highway through the desert to your city. No the valleys and mountains, the hills and rough places are the
obstacles and obstructions that bar his way into your heart.
That was the case for the people in Israel. Much of Israel’s spiritual vitality had dried up. The
water of spiritual life was all but gone when John began his ministry. It was a spiritual wilderness.
Valleys of hypocrisy bordered mountains of pride and arrogance at being “children of Abraham.” They
emptied their worship of any meaning and so they emptied their spiritual wells. The law’s dead formality
littered the landscape like dry bones across the desert. How could repentance hope to sprout and grow?
What chance did it have of producing any fruit?
But the real question we must ask ourselves is this: do we have the same problem? Have we
prepared the royal highway into our heart so the King may enter? Has our faith become about looking
good and respectable to others, rather than about preparing to stand before the King? Do we have our
own mountains of pride? “I am go to church; I give offerings; I volunteer,” or as a church, “We are doing
good things; we are serious about God’s Word; we have the true teaching.” Has worship become just
empty ritual for you, just going through the motions? Do you grow weary of hearing about Jesus when
we should be telling people how to get their act together? Do we talk the talk of sorrow over sin and
trusting in Jesus, but we have no time or desire for that matter in walking the walk of true repentance?
Will the King find fruits of repentance in us or does he walk through a wasteland?
Prepare the royal highway! That is the encouragement of Isaiah; that is the message of John!
That is a problem for us on our own. But remember who made all the other preparations! He works to
prepare your heart too! He does it in the same way he did for his people so many years ago. Luke records
the answer for us, “The word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the desert. He went into all
the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.”
John came preaching, and he continues to preach to us. The message of the Gospel makes the
difference for us in our preparation because “it is the power of God” and he is at work in it. John
confronts the sin he sees. We have to confront the sin we see in our lives too. We must recognize it for
what it is: an obstruction and obstacle in welcoming the King. But John’s message wasn’t just one of
sorrow over sin; he also pointed people to the Savior who takes that sin away! You know his most
famous words, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” Luke assures us in his
careful account, “Yes, this really happened! Jesus did exactly what John said he would do! Jesus took
you sins away from you. He carried them himself, all the way to the cross. There is ‘God’s salvation’!”
Notice also how John’s preaching included “a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of
sins.” Your baptism should also play a big part in preparing your heart for the King. Here the Holy Spirit
acted directly for you. In your Baptism, you have a personal promise from your God to you as an
individual: “I made you my child. I wrote your name in the Book of Life. Jesus’ work was for you too!
Your sins are gone, and you have the power to live for me. The way to your heart is open to me, so now
go and produce the fruit a child of God wants to produce. Your Baptism should be a constant reminder to
you of who you really are, what I have done for you, and the power you have to live for me!”
What a blessing the Lord continues to work to prepare the royal highway to your hearts! He
does this through his Gospel in Word and Sacrament! Make the most of these opportunities to receive
that Gospel during this Advent Season and you will “Prepare the way for the Lord!” Amen.
Martin Luther, Neenah
Luke 3:1-6
9 December 2012
Advent 2, ILCW C
Prepare the royal highway
“Prepare the Royal Highway” is one hymn in the supplement that seemed to catch on right away.
It’s an Advent hymn, and we will be singing it in a few moments. It tells the story of the welcoming the
king as he draws near the city. Going back to ancient times, the custom was to make sure the roads were
in good repair for the king’s visit. On the day he arrived, the people would line the highways and streets
as the parade passed by. They would decorate and celebrate. They would sing and bow. It was the most
festive of occasions as he entered the gates of the city.
Of course, the King whose coming we prepare for during Advent is Jesus. We want to prepare,
and we want to talk a bit about that. But in many ways, the one who made the most preparation was God
himself. How did that happen? How did he prepare the royal highway?
The apostle Paul reminds of the Lord’s own preparations when he says, “When the time had
fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law.” What
that mean though: “when the time had fully come”? We start to get the idea at the beginning of Luke 3.
Luke begins with this long list of names and places: “In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius
Caesar—when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip
tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene—during the high priesthood of
Annas and Caiaphas.” As you heard those words, did you find yourself wondering, “What does this
really have to do with Jesus or even John the Baptist? Why does Luke seem to waste his breath?”
But think back a few weeks. During the season of End Time, we considered a number of lessons
from the book of Daniel. Daniel prophesied how the Lord would bring about a progression of monarchies
one after another across the land of Judah. For a while, it must have seemed like the people should start
preparing the royal highway for the next king as soon as they finished preparing for the last one. But
these events in world history were all according to God’s plan and timetable. Eventually, the Roman
Empire would rise to power. During the reign of this monarchy, the King of kings, God’s promised
Messiah, would come to his people.
Notice how significant these events are! Notice how each piece of preparation falls into place! At
the time Luke writes, language barriers are at a minimum. There is a common language throughout the
Mediterranean world. Almost everyone can speak Greek, thanks to Alexander the Great. Because of the
Roman military, travel is efficient and relatively safe. Roads are as good as they have ever been. The
activity of bandits, robbers, and pirates wither under the heat of Roman military presence. The Empire
provides a perfect place for a world-changing event to take place and news of it to spread.
Luke reminds us of these things with his list of emperor, governor, and tetrarchs. By offering
these exact details, Luke also proclaims to us the accuracy of his careful reporting of history. Such detail
tells us this account is real. It is truth. It is fact. It is not a story or fable or fairytale. It is not a pious
myth to keep you warm at night and keep you from being afraid of the dark. These are real people and
real events. It is real history, the account of your salvation. There can be doubt: it really happened!
Did you notice also the one preparing this royal highway? The Lord himself makes the
preparations. Behind the scenes of history, he moves the pieces into position, and his preparations do not
stop there. We heard in Malachi, “See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before
me.” He also prepares the hearts of his people to welcome his Messiah King. To do this, he sends a
messenger. Luke tells also how the messenger appears at exactly the proper time, “The word of God
came to John son of Zechariah in the desert.” John the Baptist, the improbable son of Zechariah and
Elizabeth, is that messenger. He will “prepare the way for the Lord.” He will play a major role in
preparing the royal highway for the King of kings.
Should this come as a big surprise? No, not at all! The Lord had promised all these things. He
promised how the history of nations would run in Palestine. He promised how he would send a special
messenger. He promised how he would prepare the people’s hearts. He promised how his long-awaited
Savior would enter the world. He promised how he would accomplish salvation. Isn’t that the real point
of Luke’s account here: the Lord has fulfilled his prophecies and promises and that is the signal your
salvation is now close at hand. Prepare to welcome it, to welcome him! Prepare the royal highway!
How do we do that? Should we put in a few more roundabouts? Do we need to extend the
Highway 41 project a few more years? Neenah seems to have their roads in good repair with plenty of
roundabouts, and I don’t want the highway project to go on any longer than you do. But that is not really
the point. Isaiah’s prophecy was not about a massive public works project. John didn’t come to fill in
every valley by driving the bulldozer or be the contractor’s voice calling out over the construction site.
We are talking about a different kind of reconstruction: a spiritual one.
The Savior-King does not come to rule from city hall or the state capitol. He comes to rule a
kingdom “not of this world,” but rather in the hearts of his people. The King does not travel on a literal
highway through the desert to your city. No the valleys and mountains, the hills and rough places are the
obstacles and obstructions that bar his way into your heart.
That was the case for the people in Israel. Much of Israel’s spiritual vitality had dried up. The
water of spiritual life was all but gone when John began his ministry. It was a spiritual wilderness.
Valleys of hypocrisy bordered mountains of pride and arrogance at being “children of Abraham.” They
emptied their worship of any meaning and so they emptied their spiritual wells. The law’s dead formality
littered the landscape like dry bones across the desert. How could repentance hope to sprout and grow?
What chance did it have of producing any fruit?
But the real question we must ask ourselves is this: do we have the same problem? Have we
prepared the royal highway into our heart so the King may enter? Has our faith become about looking
good and respectable to others, rather than about preparing to stand before the King? Do we have our
own mountains of pride? “I am go to church; I give offerings; I volunteer,” or as a church, “We are doing
good things; we are serious about God’s Word; we have the true teaching.” Has worship become just
empty ritual for you, just going through the motions? Do you grow weary of hearing about Jesus when
we should be telling people how to get their act together? Do we talk the talk of sorrow over sin and
trusting in Jesus, but we have no time or desire for that matter in walking the walk of true repentance?
Will the King find fruits of repentance in us or does he walk through a wasteland?
Prepare the royal highway! That is the encouragement of Isaiah; that is the message of John!
That is a problem for us on our own. But remember who made all the other preparations! He works to
prepare your heart too! He does it in the same way he did for his people so many years ago. Luke records
the answer for us, “The word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the desert. He went into all
the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.”
John came preaching, and he continues to preach to us. The message of the Gospel makes the
difference for us in our preparation because “it is the power of God” and he is at work in it. John
confronts the sin he sees. We have to confront the sin we see in our lives too. We must recognize it for
what it is: an obstruction and obstacle in welcoming the King. But John’s message wasn’t just one of
sorrow over sin; he also pointed people to the Savior who takes that sin away! You know his most
famous words, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” Luke assures us in his
careful account, “Yes, this really happened! Jesus did exactly what John said he would do! Jesus took
you sins away from you. He carried them himself, all the way to the cross. There is ‘God’s salvation’!”
Notice also how John’s preaching included “a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of
sins.” Your baptism should also play a big part in preparing your heart for the King. Here the Holy Spirit
acted directly for you. In your Baptism, you have a personal promise from your God to you as an
individual: “I made you my child. I wrote your name in the Book of Life. Jesus’ work was for you too!
Your sins are gone, and you have the power to live for me. The way to your heart is open to me, so now
go and produce the fruit a child of God wants to produce. Your Baptism should be a constant reminder to
you of who you really are, what I have done for you, and the power you have to live for me!”
What a blessing the Lord continues to work to prepare the royal highway to your hearts! He
does this through his Gospel in Word and Sacrament! Make the most of these opportunities to receive
that Gospel during this Advent Season and you will “Prepare the way for the Lord!” Amen.
Martin Luther, Neenah
Luke 3:1-6
9 December 2012
Advent 2, ILCW C
Prepare the royal highway
“Prepare the Royal Highway” is one hymn in the supplement that seemed to catch on right away.
It’s an Advent hymn, and we will be singing it in a few moments. It tells the story of the welcoming the
king as he draws near the city. Going back to ancient times, the custom was to make sure the roads were
in good repair for the king’s visit. On the day he arrived, the people would line the highways and streets
as the parade passed by. They would decorate and celebrate. They would sing and bow. It was the most
festive of occasions as he entered the gates of the city.
Of course, the King whose coming we prepare for during Advent is Jesus. We want to prepare,
and we want to talk a bit about that. But in many ways, the one who made the most preparation was God
himself. How did that happen? How did he prepare the royal highway?
The apostle Paul reminds of the Lord’s own preparations when he says, “When the time had
fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law.” What
that mean though: “when the time had fully come”? We start to get the idea at the beginning of Luke 3.
Luke begins with this long list of names and places: “In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius
Caesar—when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip
tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene—during the high priesthood of
Annas and Caiaphas.” As you heard those words, did you find yourself wondering, “What does this
really have to do with Jesus or even John the Baptist? Why does Luke seem to waste his breath?”
But think back a few weeks. During the season of End Time, we considered a number of lessons
from the book of Daniel. Daniel prophesied how the Lord would bring about a progression of monarchies
one after another across the land of Judah. For a while, it must have seemed like the people should start
preparing the royal highway for the next king as soon as they finished preparing for the last one. But
these events in world history were all according to God’s plan and timetable. Eventually, the Roman
Empire would rise to power. During the reign of this monarchy, the King of kings, God’s promised
Messiah, would come to his people.
Notice how significant these events are! Notice how each piece of preparation falls into place! At
the time Luke writes, language barriers are at a minimum. There is a common language throughout the
Mediterranean world. Almost everyone can speak Greek, thanks to Alexander the Great. Because of the
Roman military, travel is efficient and relatively safe. Roads are as good as they have ever been. The
activity of bandits, robbers, and pirates wither under the heat of Roman military presence. The Empire
provides a perfect place for a world-changing event to take place and news of it to spread.
Luke reminds us of these things with his list of emperor, governor, and tetrarchs. By offering
these exact details, Luke also proclaims to us the accuracy of his careful reporting of history. Such detail
tells us this account is real. It is truth. It is fact. It is not a story or fable or fairytale. It is not a pious
myth to keep you warm at night and keep you from being afraid of the dark. These are real people and
real events. It is real history, the account of your salvation. There can be doubt: it really happened!
Did you notice also the one preparing this royal highway? The Lord himself makes the
preparations. Behind the scenes of history, he moves the pieces into position, and his preparations do not
stop there. We heard in Malachi, “See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before
me.” He also prepares the hearts of his people to welcome his Messiah King. To do this, he sends a
messenger. Luke tells also how the messenger appears at exactly the proper time, “The word of God
came to John son of Zechariah in the desert.” John the Baptist, the improbable son of Zechariah and
Elizabeth, is that messenger. He will “prepare the way for the Lord.” He will play a major role in
preparing the royal highway for the King of kings.
Should this come as a big surprise? No, not at all! The Lord had promised all these things. He
promised how the history of nations would run in Palestine. He promised how he would send a special
messenger. He promised how he would prepare the people’s hearts. He promised how his long-awaited
Savior would enter the world. He promised how he would accomplish salvation. Isn’t that the real point
of Luke’s account here: the Lord has fulfilled his prophecies and promises and that is the signal your
salvation is now close at hand. Prepare to welcome it, to welcome him! Prepare the royal highway!
How do we do that? Should we put in a few more roundabouts? Do we need to extend the
Highway 41 project a few more years? Neenah seems to have their roads in good repair with plenty of
roundabouts, and I don’t want the highway project to go on any longer than you do. But that is not really
the point. Isaiah’s prophecy was not about a massive public works project. John didn’t come to fill in
every valley by driving the bulldozer or be the contractor’s voice calling out over the construction site.
We are talking about a different kind of reconstruction: a spiritual one.
The Savior-King does not come to rule from city hall or the state capitol. He comes to rule a
kingdom “not of this world,” but rather in the hearts of his people. The King does not travel on a literal
highway through the desert to your city. No the valleys and mountains, the hills and rough places are the
obstacles and obstructions that bar his way into your heart.
That was the case for the people in Israel. Much of Israel’s spiritual vitality had dried up. The
water of spiritual life was all but gone when John began his ministry. It was a spiritual wilderness.
Valleys of hypocrisy bordered mountains of pride and arrogance at being “children of Abraham.” They
emptied their worship of any meaning and so they emptied their spiritual wells. The law’s dead formality
littered the landscape like dry bones across the desert. How could repentance hope to sprout and grow?
What chance did it have of producing any fruit?
But the real question we must ask ourselves is this: do we have the same problem? Have we
prepared the royal highway into our heart so the King may enter? Has our faith become about looking
good and respectable to others, rather than about preparing to stand before the King? Do we have our
own mountains of pride? “I am go to church; I give offerings; I volunteer,” or as a church, “We are doing
good things; we are serious about God’s Word; we have the true teaching.” Has worship become just
empty ritual for you, just going through the motions? Do you grow weary of hearing about Jesus when
we should be telling people how to get their act together? Do we talk the talk of sorrow over sin and
trusting in Jesus, but we have no time or desire for that matter in walking the walk of true repentance?
Will the King find fruits of repentance in us or does he walk through a wasteland?
Prepare the royal highway! That is the encouragement of Isaiah; that is the message of John!
That is a problem for us on our own. But remember who made all the other preparations! He works to
prepare your heart too! He does it in the same way he did for his people so many years ago. Luke records
the answer for us, “The word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the desert. He went into all
the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.”
John came preaching, and he continues to preach to us. The message of the Gospel makes the
difference for us in our preparation because “it is the power of God” and he is at work in it. John
confronts the sin he sees. We have to confront the sin we see in our lives too. We must recognize it for
what it is: an obstruction and obstacle in welcoming the King. But John’s message wasn’t just one of
sorrow over sin; he also pointed people to the Savior who takes that sin away! You know his most
famous words, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” Luke assures us in his
careful account, “Yes, this really happened! Jesus did exactly what John said he would do! Jesus took
you sins away from you. He carried them himself, all the way to the cross. There is ‘God’s salvation’!”
Notice also how John’s preaching included “a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of
sins.” Your baptism should also play a big part in preparing your heart for the King. Here the Holy Spirit
acted directly for you. In your Baptism, you have a personal promise from your God to you as an
individual: “I made you my child. I wrote your name in the Book of Life. Jesus’ work was for you too!
Your sins are gone, and you have the power to live for me. The way to your heart is open to me, so now
go and produce the fruit a child of God wants to produce. Your Baptism should be a constant reminder to
you of who you really are, what I have done for you, and the power you have to live for me!”
What a blessing the Lord continues to work to prepare the royal highway to your hearts! He
does this through his Gospel in Word and Sacrament! Make the most of these opportunities to receive
that Gospel during this Advent Season and you will “Prepare the way for the Lord!” Amen.
Martin Luther, Neenah
Luke 3:1-6
9 December 2012
Advent 2, ILCW C
Prepare the royal highway
“Prepare the Royal Highway” is one hymn in the supplement that seemed to catch on right away.
It’s an Advent hymn, and we will be singing it in a few moments. It tells the story of the welcoming the
king as he draws near the city. Going back to ancient times, the custom was to make sure the roads were
in good repair for the king’s visit. On the day he arrived, the people would line the highways and streets
as the parade passed by. They would decorate and celebrate. They would sing and bow. It was the most
festive of occasions as he entered the gates of the city.
Of course, the King whose coming we prepare for during Advent is Jesus. We want to prepare,
and we want to talk a bit about that. But in many ways, the one who made the most preparation was God
himself. How did that happen? How did he prepare the royal highway?
The apostle Paul reminds of the Lord’s own preparations when he says, “When the time had
fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law.” What
that mean though: “when the time had fully come”? We start to get the idea at the beginning of Luke 3.
Luke begins with this long list of names and places: “In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius
Caesar—when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip
tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene—during the high priesthood of
Annas and Caiaphas.” As you heard those words, did you find yourself wondering, “What does this
really have to do with Jesus or even John the Baptist? Why does Luke seem to waste his breath?”
But think back a few weeks. During the season of End Time, we considered a number of lessons
from the book of Daniel. Daniel prophesied how the Lord would bring about a progression of monarchies
one after another across the land of Judah. For a while, it must have seemed like the people should start
preparing the royal highway for the next king as soon as they finished preparing for the last one. But
these events in world history were all according to God’s plan and timetable. Eventually, the Roman
Empire would rise to power. During the reign of this monarchy, the King of kings, God’s promised
Messiah, would come to his people.
Notice how significant these events are! Notice how each piece of preparation falls into place! At
the time Luke writes, language barriers are at a minimum. There is a common language throughout the
Mediterranean world. Almost everyone can speak Greek, thanks to Alexander the Great. Because of the
Roman military, travel is efficient and relatively safe. Roads are as good as they have ever been. The
activity of bandits, robbers, and pirates wither under the heat of Roman military presence. The Empire
provides a perfect place for a world-changing event to take place and news of it to spread.
Luke reminds us of these things with his list of emperor, governor, and tetrarchs. By offering
these exact details, Luke also proclaims to us the accuracy of his careful reporting of history. Such detail
tells us this account is real. It is truth. It is fact. It is not a story or fable or fairytale. It is not a pious
myth to keep you warm at night and keep you from being afraid of the dark. These are real people and
real events. It is real history, the account of your salvation. There can be doubt: it really happened!
Did you notice also the one preparing this royal highway? The Lord himself makes the
preparations. Behind the scenes of history, he moves the pieces into position, and his preparations do not
stop there. We heard in Malachi, “See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before
me.” He also prepares the hearts of his people to welcome his Messiah King. To do this, he sends a
messenger. Luke tells also how the messenger appears at exactly the proper time, “The word of God
came to John son of Zechariah in the desert.” John the Baptist, the improbable son of Zechariah and
Elizabeth, is that messenger. He will “prepare the way for the Lord.” He will play a major role in
preparing the royal highway for the King of kings.
Should this come as a big surprise? No, not at all! The Lord had promised all these things. He
promised how the history of nations would run in Palestine. He promised how he would send a special
messenger. He promised how he would prepare the people’s hearts. He promised how his long-awaited
Savior would enter the world. He promised how he would accomplish salvation. Isn’t that the real point
of Luke’s account here: the Lord has fulfilled his prophecies and promises and that is the signal your
salvation is now close at hand. Prepare to welcome it, to welcome him! Prepare the royal highway!
How do we do that? Should we put in a few more roundabouts? Do we need to extend the
Highway 41 project a few more years? Neenah seems to have their roads in good repair with plenty of
roundabouts, and I don’t want the highway project to go on any longer than you do. But that is not really
the point. Isaiah’s prophecy was not about a massive public works project. John didn’t come to fill in
every valley by driving the bulldozer or be the contractor’s voice calling out over the construction site.
We are talking about a different kind of reconstruction: a spiritual one.
The Savior-King does not come to rule from city hall or the state capitol. He comes to rule a
kingdom “not of this world,” but rather in the hearts of his people. The King does not travel on a literal
highway through the desert to your city. No the valleys and mountains, the hills and rough places are the
obstacles and obstructions that bar his way into your heart.
That was the case for the people in Israel. Much of Israel’s spiritual vitality had dried up. The
water of spiritual life was all but gone when John began his ministry. It was a spiritual wilderness.
Valleys of hypocrisy bordered mountains of pride and arrogance at being “children of Abraham.” They
emptied their worship of any meaning and so they emptied their spiritual wells. The law’s dead formality
littered the landscape like dry bones across the desert. How could repentance hope to sprout and grow?
What chance did it have of producing any fruit?
But the real question we must ask ourselves is this: do we have the same problem? Have we
prepared the royal highway into our heart so the King may enter? Has our faith become about looking
good and respectable to others, rather than about preparing to stand before the King? Do we have our
own mountains of pride? “I am go to church; I give offerings; I volunteer,” or as a church, “We are doing
good things; we are serious about God’s Word; we have the true teaching.” Has worship become just
empty ritual for you, just going through the motions? Do you grow weary of hearing about Jesus when
we should be telling people how to get their act together? Do we talk the talk of sorrow over sin and
trusting in Jesus, but we have no time or desire for that matter in walking the walk of true repentance?
Will the King find fruits of repentance in us or does he walk through a wasteland?
Prepare the royal highway! That is the encouragement of Isaiah; that is the message of John!
That is a problem for us on our own. But remember who made all the other preparations! He works to
prepare your heart too! He does it in the same way he did for his people so many years ago. Luke records
the answer for us, “The word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the desert. He went into all
the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.”
John came preaching, and he continues to preach to us. The message of the Gospel makes the
difference for us in our preparation because “it is the power of God” and he is at work in it. John
confronts the sin he sees. We have to confront the sin we see in our lives too. We must recognize it for
what it is: an obstruction and obstacle in welcoming the King. But John’s message wasn’t just one of
sorrow over sin; he also pointed people to the Savior who takes that sin away! You know his most
famous words, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” Luke assures us in his
careful account, “Yes, this really happened! Jesus did exactly what John said he would do! Jesus took
you sins away from you. He carried them himself, all the way to the cross. There is ‘God’s salvation’!”
Notice also how John’s preaching included “a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of
sins.” Your baptism should also play a big part in preparing your heart for the King. Here the Holy Spirit
acted directly for you. In your Baptism, you have a personal promise from your God to you as an
individual: “I made you my child. I wrote your name in the Book of Life. Jesus’ work was for you too!
Your sins are gone, and you have the power to live for me. The way to your heart is open to me, so now
go and produce the fruit a child of God wants to produce. Your Baptism should be a constant reminder to
you of who you really are, what I have done for you, and the power you have to live for me!”
What a blessing the Lord continues to work to prepare the royal highway to your hearts! He
does this through his Gospel in Word and Sacrament! Make the most of these opportunities to receive
that Gospel during this Advent Season and you will “Prepare the way for the Lord!” Amen.
Martin Luther, Neenah
Luke 3:1-6
9 December 2012
Advent 2, ILCW C
Prepare the royal highway
“Prepare the Royal Highway” is one hymn in the supplement that seemed to catch on right away.
It’s an Advent hymn, and we will be singing it in a few moments. It tells the story of the welcoming the
king as he draws near the city. Going back to ancient times, the custom was to make sure the roads were
in good repair for the king’s visit. On the day he arrived, the people would line the highways and streets
as the parade passed by. They would decorate and celebrate. They would sing and bow. It was the most
festive of occasions as he entered the gates of the city.
Of course, the King whose coming we prepare for during Advent is Jesus. We want to prepare,
and we want to talk a bit about that. But in many ways, the one who made the most preparation was God
himself. How did that happen? How did he prepare the royal highway?
The apostle Paul reminds of the Lord’s own preparations when he says, “When the time had
fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law.” What
that mean though: “when the time had fully come”? We start to get the idea at the beginning of Luke 3.
Luke begins with this long list of names and places: “In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius
Caesar—when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip
tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene—during the high priesthood of
Annas and Caiaphas.” As you heard those words, did you find yourself wondering, “What does this
really have to do with Jesus or even John the Baptist? Why does Luke seem to waste his breath?”
But think back a few weeks. During the season of End Time, we considered a number of lessons
from the book of Daniel. Daniel prophesied how the Lord would bring about a progression of monarchies
one after another across the land of Judah. For a while, it must have seemed like the people should start
preparing the royal highway for the next king as soon as they finished preparing for the last one. But
these events in world history were all according to God’s plan and timetable. Eventually, the Roman
Empire would rise to power. During the reign of this monarchy, the King of kings, God’s promised
Messiah, would come to his people.
Notice how significant these events are! Notice how each piece of preparation falls into place! At
the time Luke writes, language barriers are at a minimum. There is a common language throughout the
Mediterranean world. Almost everyone can speak Greek, thanks to Alexander the Great. Because of the
Roman military, travel is efficient and relatively safe. Roads are as good as they have ever been. The
activity of bandits, robbers, and pirates wither under the heat of Roman military presence. The Empire
provides a perfect place for a world-changing event to take place and news of it to spread.
Luke reminds us of these things with his list of emperor, governor, and tetrarchs. By offering
these exact details, Luke also proclaims to us the accuracy of his careful reporting of history. Such detail
tells us this account is real. It is truth. It is fact. It is not a story or fable or fairytale. It is not a pious
myth to keep you warm at night and keep you from being afraid of the dark. These are real people and
real events. It is real history, the account of your salvation. There can be doubt: it really happened!
Did you notice also the one preparing this royal highway? The Lord himself makes the
preparations. Behind the scenes of history, he moves the pieces into position, and his preparations do not
stop there. We heard in Malachi, “See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before
me.” He also prepares the hearts of his people to welcome his Messiah King. To do this, he sends a
messenger. Luke tells also how the messenger appears at exactly the proper time, “The word of God
came to John son of Zechariah in the desert.” John the Baptist, the improbable son of Zechariah and
Elizabeth, is that messenger. He will “prepare the way for the Lord.” He will play a major role in
preparing the royal highway for the King of kings.
Should this come as a big surprise? No, not at all! The Lord had promised all these things. He
promised how the history of nations would run in Palestine. He promised how he would send a special
messenger. He promised how he would prepare the people’s hearts. He promised how his long-awaited
Savior would enter the world. He promised how he would accomplish salvation. Isn’t that the real point
of Luke’s account here: the Lord has fulfilled his prophecies and promises and that is the signal your
salvation is now close at hand. Prepare to welcome it, to welcome him! Prepare the royal highway!
How do we do that? Should we put in a few more roundabouts? Do we need to extend the
Highway 41 project a few more years? Neenah seems to have their roads in good repair with plenty of
roundabouts, and I don’t want the highway project to go on any longer than you do. But that is not really
the point. Isaiah’s prophecy was not about a massive public works project. John didn’t come to fill in
every valley by driving the bulldozer or be the contractor’s voice calling out over the construction site.
We are talking about a different kind of reconstruction: a spiritual one.
The Savior-King does not come to rule from city hall or the state capitol. He comes to rule a
kingdom “not of this world,” but rather in the hearts of his people. The King does not travel on a literal
highway through the desert to your city. No the valleys and mountains, the hills and rough places are the
obstacles and obstructions that bar his way into your heart.
That was the case for the people in Israel. Much of Israel’s spiritual vitality had dried up. The
water of spiritual life was all but gone when John began his ministry. It was a spiritual wilderness.
Valleys of hypocrisy bordered mountains of pride and arrogance at being “children of Abraham.” They
emptied their worship of any meaning and so they emptied their spiritual wells. The law’s dead formality
littered the landscape like dry bones across the desert. How could repentance hope to sprout and grow?
What chance did it have of producing any fruit?
But the real question we must ask ourselves is this: do we have the same problem? Have we
prepared the royal highway into our heart so the King may enter? Has our faith become about looking
good and respectable to others, rather than about preparing to stand before the King? Do we have our
own mountains of pride? “I am go to church; I give offerings; I volunteer,” or as a church, “We are doing
good things; we are serious about God’s Word; we have the true teaching.” Has worship become just
empty ritual for you, just going through the motions? Do you grow weary of hearing about Jesus when
we should be telling people how to get their act together? Do we talk the talk of sorrow over sin and
trusting in Jesus, but we have no time or desire for that matter in walking the walk of true repentance?
Will the King find fruits of repentance in us or does he walk through a wasteland?
Prepare the royal highway! That is the encouragement of Isaiah; that is the message of John!
That is a problem for us on our own. But remember who made all the other preparations! He works to
prepare your heart too! He does it in the same way he did for his people so many years ago. Luke records
the answer for us, “The word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the desert. He went into all
the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.”
John came preaching, and he continues to preach to us. The message of the Gospel makes the
difference for us in our preparation because “it is the power of God” and he is at work in it. John
confronts the sin he sees. We have to confront the sin we see in our lives too. We must recognize it for
what it is: an obstruction and obstacle in welcoming the King. But John’s message wasn’t just one of
sorrow over sin; he also pointed people to the Savior who takes that sin away! You know his most
famous words, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” Luke assures us in his
careful account, “Yes, this really happened! Jesus did exactly what John said he would do! Jesus took
you sins away from you. He carried them himself, all the way to the cross. There is ‘God’s salvation’!”
Notice also how John’s preaching included “a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of
sins.” Your baptism should also play a big part in preparing your heart for the King. Here the Holy Spirit
acted directly for you. In your Baptism, you have a personal promise from your God to you as an
individual: “I made you my child. I wrote your name in the Book of Life. Jesus’ work was for you too!
Your sins are gone, and you have the power to live for me. The way to your heart is open to me, so now
go and produce the fruit a child of God wants to produce. Your Baptism should be a constant reminder to
you of who you really are, what I have done for you, and the power you have to live for me!”
What a blessing the Lord continues to work to prepare the royal highway to your hearts! He
does this through his Gospel in Word and Sacrament! Make the most of these opportunities to receive
that Gospel during this Advent Season and you will “Prepare the way for the Lord!” Amen.
Martin Luther, Neenah
Luke 3:1-6
9 December 2012
Advent 2, ILCW C
Prepare the royal highway
“Prepare the Royal Highway” is one hymn in the supplement that seemed to catch on right away.
It’s an Advent hymn, and we will be singing it in a few moments. It tells the story of the welcoming the
king as he draws near the city. Going back to ancient times, the custom was to make sure the roads were
in good repair for the king’s visit. On the day he arrived, the people would line the highways and streets
as the parade passed by. They would decorate and celebrate. They would sing and bow. It was the most
festive of occasions as he entered the gates of the city.
Of course, the King whose coming we prepare for during Advent is Jesus. We want to prepare,
and we want to talk a bit about that. But in many ways, the one who made the most preparation was God
himself. How did that happen? How did he prepare the royal highway?
The apostle Paul reminds of the Lord’s own preparations when he says, “When the time had
fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law.” What
that mean though: “when the time had fully come”? We start to get the idea at the beginning of Luke 3.
Luke begins with this long list of names and places: “In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius
Caesar—when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip
tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene—during the high priesthood of
Annas and Caiaphas.” As you heard those words, did you find yourself wondering, “What does this
really have to do with Jesus or even John the Baptist? Why does Luke seem to waste his breath?”
But think back a few weeks. During the season of End Time, we considered a number of lessons
from the book of Daniel. Daniel prophesied how the Lord would bring about a progression of monarchies
one after another across the land of Judah. For a while, it must have seemed like the people should start
preparing the royal highway for the next king as soon as they finished preparing for the last one. But
these events in world history were all according to God’s plan and timetable. Eventually, the Roman
Empire would rise to power. During the reign of this monarchy, the King of kings, God’s promised
Messiah, would come to his people.
Notice how significant these events are! Notice how each piece of preparation falls into place! At
the time Luke writes, language barriers are at a minimum. There is a common language throughout the
Mediterranean world. Almost everyone can speak Greek, thanks to Alexander the Great. Because of the
Roman military, travel is efficient and relatively safe. Roads are as good as they have ever been. The
activity of bandits, robbers, and pirates wither under the heat of Roman military presence. The Empire
provides a perfect place for a world-changing event to take place and news of it to spread.
Luke reminds us of these things with his list of emperor, governor, and tetrarchs. By offering
these exact details, Luke also proclaims to us the accuracy of his careful reporting of history. Such detail
tells us this account is real. It is truth. It is fact. It is not a story or fable or fairytale. It is not a pious
myth to keep you warm at night and keep you from being afraid of the dark. These are real people and
real events. It is real history, the account of your salvation. There can be doubt: it really happened!
Did you notice also the one preparing this royal highway? The Lord himself makes the
preparations. Behind the scenes of history, he moves the pieces into position, and his preparations do not
stop there. We heard in Malachi, “See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before
me.” He also prepares the hearts of his people to welcome his Messiah King. To do this, he sends a
messenger. Luke tells also how the messenger appears at exactly the proper time, “The word of God
came to John son of Zechariah in the desert.” John the Baptist, the improbable son of Zechariah and
Elizabeth, is that messenger. He will “prepare the way for the Lord.” He will play a major role in
preparing the royal highway for the King of kings.
Should this come as a big surprise? No, not at all! The Lord had promised all these things. He
promised how the history of nations would run in Palestine. He promised how he would send a special
messenger. He promised how he would prepare the people’s hearts. He promised how his long-awaited
Savior would enter the world. He promised how he would accomplish salvation. Isn’t that the real point
of Luke’s account here: the Lord has fulfilled his prophecies and promises and that is the signal your
salvation is now close at hand. Prepare to welcome it, to welcome him! Prepare the royal highway!
How do we do that? Should we put in a few more roundabouts? Do we need to extend the
Highway 41 project a few more years? Neenah seems to have their roads in good repair with plenty of
roundabouts, and I don’t want the highway project to go on any longer than you do. But that is not really
the point. Isaiah’s prophecy was not about a massive public works project. John didn’t come to fill in
every valley by driving the bulldozer or be the contractor’s voice calling out over the construction site.
We are talking about a different kind of reconstruction: a spiritual one.
The Savior-King does not come to rule from city hall or the state capitol. He comes to rule a
kingdom “not of this world,” but rather in the hearts of his people. The King does not travel on a literal
highway through the desert to your city. No the valleys and mountains, the hills and rough places are the
obstacles and obstructions that bar his way into your heart.
That was the case for the people in Israel. Much of Israel’s spiritual vitality had dried up. The
water of spiritual life was all but gone when John began his ministry. It was a spiritual wilderness.
Valleys of hypocrisy bordered mountains of pride and arrogance at being “children of Abraham.” They
emptied their worship of any meaning and so they emptied their spiritual wells. The law’s dead formality
littered the landscape like dry bones across the desert. How could repentance hope to sprout and grow?
What chance did it have of producing any fruit?
But the real question we must ask ourselves is this: do we have the same problem? Have we
prepared the royal highway into our heart so the King may enter? Has our faith become about looking
good and respectable to others, rather than about preparing to stand before the King? Do we have our
own mountains of pride? “I am go to church; I give offerings; I volunteer,” or as a church, “We are doing
good things; we are serious about God’s Word; we have the true teaching.” Has worship become just
empty ritual for you, just going through the motions? Do you grow weary of hearing about Jesus when
we should be telling people how to get their act together? Do we talk the talk of sorrow over sin and
trusting in Jesus, but we have no time or desire for that matter in walking the walk of true repentance?
Will the King find fruits of repentance in us or does he walk through a wasteland?
Prepare the royal highway! That is the encouragement of Isaiah; that is the message of John!
That is a problem for us on our own. But remember who made all the other preparations! He works to
prepare your heart too! He does it in the same way he did for his people so many years ago. Luke records
the answer for us, “The word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the desert. He went into all
the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.”
John came preaching, and he continues to preach to us. The message of the Gospel makes the
difference for us in our preparation because “it is the power of God” and he is at work in it. John
confronts the sin he sees. We have to confront the sin we see in our lives too. We must recognize it for
what it is: an obstruction and obstacle in welcoming the King. But John’s message wasn’t just one of
sorrow over sin; he also pointed people to the Savior who takes that sin away! You know his most
famous words, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” Luke assures us in his
careful account, “Yes, this really happened! Jesus did exactly what John said he would do! Jesus took
you sins away from you. He carried them himself, all the way to the cross. There is ‘God’s salvation’!”
Notice also how John’s preaching included “a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of
sins.” Your baptism should also play a big part in preparing your heart for the King. Here the Holy Spirit
acted directly for you. In your Baptism, you have a personal promise from your God to you as an
individual: “I made you my child. I wrote your name in the Book of Life. Jesus’ work was for you too!
Your sins are gone, and you have the power to live for me. The way to your heart is open to me, so now
go and produce the fruit a child of God wants to produce. Your Baptism should be a constant reminder to
you of who you really are, what I have done for you, and the power you have to live for me!”
What a blessing the Lord continues to work to prepare the royal highway to your hearts! He
does this through his Gospel in Word and Sacrament! Make the most of these opportunities to receive
that Gospel during this Advent Season and you will “Prepare the way for the Lord!” Amen.
Martin Luther, Neenah
Luke 3:1-6
9 December 2012
Advent 2, ILCW C
Prepare the royal highway
“Prepare the Royal Highway” is one hymn in the supplement that seemed to catch on right away.
It’s an Advent hymn, and we will be singing it in a few moments. It tells the story of the welcoming the
king as he draws near the city. Going back to ancient times, the custom was to make sure the roads were
in good repair for the king’s visit. On the day he arrived, the people would line the highways and streets
as the parade passed by. They would decorate and celebrate. They would sing and bow. It was the most
festive of occasions as he entered the gates of the city.
Of course, the King whose coming we prepare for during Advent is Jesus. We want to prepare,
and we want to talk a bit about that. But in many ways, the one who made the most preparation was God
himself. How did that happen? How did he prepare the royal highway?
The apostle Paul reminds of the Lord’s own preparations when he says, “When the time had
fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law.” What
that mean though: “when the time had fully come”? We start to get the idea at the beginning of Luke 3.
Luke begins with this long list of names and places: “In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius
Caesar—when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip
tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene—during the high priesthood of
Annas and Caiaphas.” As you heard those words, did you find yourself wondering, “What does this
really have to do with Jesus or even John the Baptist? Why does Luke seem to waste his breath?”
But think back a few weeks. During the season of End Time, we considered a number of lessons
from the book of Daniel. Daniel prophesied how the Lord would bring about a progression of monarchies
one after another across the land of Judah. For a while, it must have seemed like the people should start
preparing the royal highway for the next king as soon as they finished preparing for the last one. But
these events in world history were all according to God’s plan and timetable. Eventually, the Roman
Empire would rise to power. During the reign of this monarchy, the King of kings, God’s promised
Messiah, would come to his people.
Notice how significant these events are! Notice how each piece of preparation falls into place! At
the time Luke writes, language barriers are at a minimum. There is a common language throughout the
Mediterranean world. Almost everyone can speak Greek, thanks to Alexander the Great. Because of the
Roman military, travel is efficient and relatively safe. Roads are as good as they have ever been. The
activity of bandits, robbers, and pirates wither under the heat of Roman military presence. The Empire
provides a perfect place for a world-changing event to take place and news of it to spread.
Luke reminds us of these things with his list of emperor, governor, and tetrarchs. By offering
these exact details, Luke also proclaims to us the accuracy of his careful reporting of history. Such detail
tells us this account is real. It is truth. It is fact. It is not a story or fable or fairytale. It is not a pious
myth to keep you warm at night and keep you from being afraid of the dark. These are real people and
real events. It is real history, the account of your salvation. There can be doubt: it really happened!
Did you notice also the one preparing this royal highway? The Lord himself makes the
preparations. Behind the scenes of history, he moves the pieces into position, and his preparations do not
stop there. We heard in Malachi, “See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before
me.” He also prepares the hearts of his people to welcome his Messiah King. To do this, he sends a
messenger. Luke tells also how the messenger appears at exactly the proper time, “The word of God
came to John son of Zechariah in the desert.” John the Baptist, the improbable son of Zechariah and
Elizabeth, is that messenger. He will “prepare the way for the Lord.” He will play a major role in
preparing the royal highway for the King of kings.
Should this come as a big surprise? No, not at all! The Lord had promised all these things. He
promised how the history of nations would run in Palestine. He promised how he would send a special
messenger. He promised how he would prepare the people’s hearts. He promised how his long-awaited
Savior would enter the world. He promised how he would accomplish salvation. Isn’t that the real point
of Luke’s account here: the Lord has fulfilled his prophecies and promises and that is the signal your
salvation is now close at hand. Prepare to welcome it, to welcome him! Prepare the royal highway!
How do we do that? Should we put in a few more roundabouts? Do we need to extend the
Highway 41 project a few more years? Neenah seems to have their roads in good repair with plenty of
roundabouts, and I don’t want the highway project to go on any longer than you do. But that is not really
the point. Isaiah’s prophecy was not about a massive public works project. John didn’t come to fill in
every valley by driving the bulldozer or be the contractor’s voice calling out over the construction site.
We are talking about a different kind of reconstruction: a spiritual one.
The Savior-King does not come to rule from city hall or the state capitol. He comes to rule a
kingdom “not of this world,” but rather in the hearts of his people. The King does not travel on a literal
highway through the desert to your city. No the valleys and mountains, the hills and rough places are the
obstacles and obstructions that bar his way into your heart.
That was the case for the people in Israel. Much of Israel’s spiritual vitality had dried up. The
water of spiritual life was all but gone when John began his ministry. It was a spiritual wilderness.
Valleys of hypocrisy bordered mountains of pride and arrogance at being “children of Abraham.” They
emptied their worship of any meaning and so they emptied their spiritual wells. The law’s dead formality
littered the landscape like dry bones across the desert. How could repentance hope to sprout and grow?
What chance did it have of producing any fruit?
But the real question we must ask ourselves is this: do we have the same problem? Have we
prepared the royal highway into our heart so the King may enter? Has our faith become about looking
good and respectable to others, rather than about preparing to stand before the King? Do we have our
own mountains of pride? “I am go to church; I give offerings; I volunteer,” or as a church, “We are doing
good things; we are serious about God’s Word; we have the true teaching.” Has worship become just
empty ritual for you, just going through the motions? Do you grow weary of hearing about Jesus when
we should be telling people how to get their act together? Do we talk the talk of sorrow over sin and
trusting in Jesus, but we have no time or desire for that matter in walking the walk of true repentance?
Will the King find fruits of repentance in us or does he walk through a wasteland?
Prepare the royal highway! That is the encouragement of Isaiah; that is the message of John!
That is a problem for us on our own. But remember who made all the other preparations! He works to
prepare your heart too! He does it in the same way he did for his people so many years ago. Luke records
the answer for us, “The word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the desert. He went into all
the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.”
John came preaching, and he continues to preach to us. The message of the Gospel makes the
difference for us in our preparation because “it is the power of God” and he is at work in it. John
confronts the sin he sees. We have to confront the sin we see in our lives too. We must recognize it for
what it is: an obstruction and obstacle in welcoming the King. But John’s message wasn’t just one of
sorrow over sin; he also pointed people to the Savior who takes that sin away! You know his most
famous words, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” Luke assures us in his
careful account, “Yes, this really happened! Jesus did exactly what John said he would do! Jesus took
you sins away from you. He carried them himself, all the way to the cross. There is ‘God’s salvation’!”
Notice also how John’s preaching included “a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of
sins.” Your baptism should also play a big part in preparing your heart for the King. Here the Holy Spirit
acted directly for you. In your Baptism, you have a personal promise from your God to you as an
individual: “I made you my child. I wrote your name in the Book of Life. Jesus’ work was for you too!
Your sins are gone, and you have the power to live for me. The way to your heart is open to me, so now
go and produce the fruit a child of God wants to produce. Your Baptism should be a constant reminder to
you of who you really are, what I have done for you, and the power you have to live for me!”
What a blessing the Lord continues to work to prepare the royal highway to your hearts! He
does this through his Gospel in Word and Sacrament! Make the most of these opportunities to receive
that Gospel during this Advent Season and you will “Prepare the way for the Lord!” Amen.
Martin Luther, Neenah
Luke 3:1-6
9 December 2012
Advent 2, ILCW C
Prepare the royal highway
“Prepare the Royal Highway” is one hymn in the supplement that seemed to catch on right away.
It’s an Advent hymn, and we will be singing it in a few moments. It tells the story of the welcoming the
king as he draws near the city. Going back to ancient times, the custom was to make sure the roads were
in good repair for the king’s visit. On the day he arrived, the people would line the highways and streets
as the parade passed by. They would decorate and celebrate. They would sing and bow. It was the most
festive of occasions as he entered the gates of the city.
Of course, the King whose coming we prepare for during Advent is Jesus. We want to prepare,
and we want to talk a bit about that. But in many ways, the one who made the most preparation was God
himself. How did that happen? How did he prepare the royal highway?
The apostle Paul reminds of the Lord’s own preparations when he says, “When the time had
fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law.” What
that mean though: “when the time had fully come”? We start to get the idea at the beginning of Luke 3.
Luke begins with this long list of names and places: “In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius
Caesar—when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip
tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene—during the high priesthood of
Annas and Caiaphas.” As you heard those words, did you find yourself wondering, “What does this
really have to do with Jesus or even John the Baptist? Why does Luke seem to waste his breath?”
But think back a few weeks. During the season of End Time, we considered a number of lessons
from the book of Daniel. Daniel prophesied how the Lord would bring about a progression of monarchies
one after another across the land of Judah. For a while, it must have seemed like the people should start
preparing the royal highway for the next king as soon as they finished preparing for the last one. But
these events in world history were all according to God’s plan and timetable. Eventually, the Roman
Empire would rise to power. During the reign of this monarchy, the King of kings, God’s promised
Messiah, would come to his people.
Notice how significant these events are! Notice how each piece of preparation falls into place! At
the time Luke writes, language barriers are at a minimum. There is a common language throughout the
Mediterranean world. Almost everyone can speak Greek, thanks to Alexander the Great. Because of the
Roman military, travel is efficient and relatively safe. Roads are as good as they have ever been. The
activity of bandits, robbers, and pirates wither under the heat of Roman military presence. The Empire
provides a perfect place for a world-changing event to take place and news of it to spread.
Luke reminds us of these things with his list of emperor, governor, and tetrarchs. By offering
these exact details, Luke also proclaims to us the accuracy of his careful reporting of history. Such detail
tells us this account is real. It is truth. It is fact. It is not a story or fable or fairytale. It is not a pious
myth to keep you warm at night and keep you from being afraid of the dark. These are real people and
real events. It is real history, the account of your salvation. There can be doubt: it really happened!
Did you notice also the one preparing this royal highway? The Lord himself makes the
preparations. Behind the scenes of history, he moves the pieces into position, and his preparations do not
stop there. We heard in Malachi, “See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before
me.” He also prepares the hearts of his people to welcome his Messiah King. To do this, he sends a
messenger. Luke tells also how the messenger appears at exactly the proper time, “The word of God
came to John son of Zechariah in the desert.” John the Baptist, the improbable son of Zechariah and
Elizabeth, is that messenger. He will “prepare the way for the Lord.” He will play a major role in
preparing the royal highway for the King of kings.
Should this come as a big surprise? No, not at all! The Lord had promised all these things. He
promised how the history of nations would run in Palestine. He promised how he would send a special
messenger. He promised how he would prepare the people’s hearts. He promised how his long-awaited
Savior would enter the world. He promised how he would accomplish salvation. Isn’t that the real point
of Luke’s account here: the Lord has fulfilled his prophecies and promises and that is the signal your
salvation is now close at hand. Prepare to welcome it, to welcome him! Prepare the royal highway!
How do we do that? Should we put in a few more roundabouts? Do we need to extend the
Highway 41 project a few more years? Neenah seems to have their roads in good repair with plenty of
roundabouts, and I don’t want the highway project to go on any longer than you do. But that is not really
the point. Isaiah’s prophecy was not about a massive public works project. John didn’t come to fill in
every valley by driving the bulldozer or be the contractor’s voice calling out over the construction site.
We are talking about a different kind of reconstruction: a spiritual one.
The Savior-King does not come to rule from city hall or the state capitol. He comes to rule a
kingdom “not of this world,” but rather in the hearts of his people. The King does not travel on a literal
highway through the desert to your city. No the valleys and mountains, the hills and rough places are the
obstacles and obstructions that bar his way into your heart.
That was the case for the people in Israel. Much of Israel’s spiritual vitality had dried up. The
water of spiritual life was all but gone when John began his ministry. It was a spiritual wilderness.
Valleys of hypocrisy bordered mountains of pride and arrogance at being “children of Abraham.” They
emptied their worship of any meaning and so they emptied their spiritual wells. The law’s dead formality
littered the landscape like dry bones across the desert. How could repentance hope to sprout and grow?
What chance did it have of producing any fruit?
But the real question we must ask ourselves is this: do we have the same problem? Have we
prepared the royal highway into our heart so the King may enter? Has our faith become about looking
good and respectable to others, rather than about preparing to stand before the King? Do we have our
own mountains of pride? “I am go to church; I give offerings; I volunteer,” or as a church, “We are doing
good things; we are serious about God’s Word; we have the true teaching.” Has worship become just
empty ritual for you, just going through the motions? Do you grow weary of hearing about Jesus when
we should be telling people how to get their act together? Do we talk the talk of sorrow over sin and
trusting in Jesus, but we have no time or desire for that matter in walking the walk of true repentance?
Will the King find fruits of repentance in us or does he walk through a wasteland?
Prepare the royal highway! That is the encouragement of Isaiah; that is the message of John!
That is a problem for us on our own. But remember who made all the other preparations! He works to
prepare your heart too! He does it in the same way he did for his people so many years ago. Luke records
the answer for us, “The word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the desert. He went into all
the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.”
John came preaching, and he continues to preach to us. The message of the Gospel makes the
difference for us in our preparation because “it is the power of God” and he is at work in it. John
confronts the sin he sees. We have to confront the sin we see in our lives too. We must recognize it for
what it is: an obstruction and obstacle in welcoming the King. But John’s message wasn’t just one of
sorrow over sin; he also pointed people to the Savior who takes that sin away! You know his most
famous words, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” Luke assures us in his
careful account, “Yes, this really happened! Jesus did exactly what John said he would do! Jesus took
you sins away from you. He carried them himself, all the way to the cross. There is ‘God’s salvation’!”
Notice also how John’s preaching included “a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of
sins.” Your baptism should also play a big part in preparing your heart for the King. Here the Holy Spirit
acted directly for you. In your Baptism, you have a personal promise from your God to you as an
individual: “I made you my child. I wrote your name in the Book of Life. Jesus’ work was for you too!
Your sins are gone, and you have the power to live for me. The way to your heart is open to me, so now
go and produce the fruit a child of God wants to produce. Your Baptism should be a constant reminder to
you of who you really are, what I have done for you, and the power you have to live for me!”
What a blessing the Lord continues to work to prepare the royal highway to your hearts! He
does this through his Gospel in Word and Sacrament! Make the most of these opportunities to receive
that Gospel during this Advent Season and you will “Prepare the way for the Lord!” Amen.
Martin Luther, Neenah
Luke 3:1-6
9 December 2012
Advent 2, ILCW C
Prepare the royal highway
“Prepare the Royal Highway” is one hymn in the supplement that seemed to catch on right away.
It’s an Advent hymn, and we will be singing it in a few moments. It tells the story of the welcoming the
king as he draws near the city. Going back to ancient times, the custom was to make sure the roads were
in good repair for the king’s visit. On the day he arrived, the people would line the highways and streets
as the parade passed by. They would decorate and celebrate. They would sing and bow. It was the most
festive of occasions as he entered the gates of the city.
Of course, the King whose coming we prepare for during Advent is Jesus. We want to prepare,
and we want to talk a bit about that. But in many ways, the one who made the most preparation was God
himself. How did that happen? How did he prepare the royal highway?
The apostle Paul reminds of the Lord’s own preparations when he says, “When the time had
fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law.” What
that mean though: “when the time had fully come”? We start to get the idea at the beginning of Luke 3.
Luke begins with this long list of names and places: “In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius
Caesar—when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip
tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene—during the high priesthood of
Annas and Caiaphas.” As you heard those words, did you find yourself wondering, “What does this
really have to do with Jesus or even John the Baptist? Why does Luke seem to waste his breath?”
But think back a few weeks. During the season of End Time, we considered a number of lessons
from the book of Daniel. Daniel prophesied how the Lord would bring about a progression of monarchies
one after another across the land of Judah. For a while, it must have seemed like the people should start
preparing the royal highway for the next king as soon as they finished preparing for the last one. But
these events in world history were all according to God’s plan and timetable. Eventually, the Roman
Empire would rise to power. During the reign of this monarchy, the King of kings, God’s promised
Messiah, would come to his people.
Notice how significant these events are! Notice how each piece of preparation falls into place! At
the time Luke writes, language barriers are at a minimum. There is a common language throughout the
Mediterranean world. Almost everyone can speak Greek, thanks to Alexander the Great. Because of the
Roman military, travel is efficient and relatively safe. Roads are as good as they have ever been. The
activity of bandits, robbers, and pirates wither under the heat of Roman military presence. The Empire
provides a perfect place for a world-changing event to take place and news of it to spread.
Luke reminds us of these things with his list of emperor, governor, and tetrarchs. By offering
these exact details, Luke also proclaims to us the accuracy of his careful reporting of history. Such detail
tells us this account is real. It is truth. It is fact. It is not a story or fable or fairytale. It is not a pious
myth to keep you warm at night and keep you from being afraid of the dark. These are real people and
real events. It is real history, the account of your salvation. There can be doubt: it really happened!
Did you notice also the one preparing this royal highway? The Lord himself makes the
preparations. Behind the scenes of history, he moves the pieces into position, and his preparations do not
stop there. We heard in Malachi, “See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before
me.” He also prepares the hearts of his people to welcome his Messiah King. To do this, he sends a
messenger. Luke tells also how the messenger appears at exactly the proper time, “The word of God
came to John son of Zechariah in the desert.” John the Baptist, the improbable son of Zechariah and
Elizabeth, is that messenger. He will “prepare the way for the Lord.” He will play a major role in
preparing the royal highway for the King of kings.
Should this come as a big surprise? No, not at all! The Lord had promised all these things. He
promised how the history of nations would run in Palestine. He promised how he would send a special
messenger. He promised how he would prepare the people’s hearts. He promised how his long-awaited
Savior would enter the world. He promised how he would accomplish salvation. Isn’t that the real point
of Luke’s account here: the Lord has fulfilled his prophecies and promises and that is the signal your
salvation is now close at hand. Prepare to welcome it, to welcome him! Prepare the royal highway!
How do we do that? Should we put in a few more roundabouts? Do we need to extend the
Highway 41 project a few more years? Neenah seems to have their roads in good repair with plenty of
roundabouts, and I don’t want the highway project to go on any longer than you do. But that is not really
the point. Isaiah’s prophecy was not about a massive public works project. John didn’t come to fill in
every valley by driving the bulldozer or be the contractor’s voice calling out over the construction site.
We are talking about a different kind of reconstruction: a spiritual one.
The Savior-King does not come to rule from city hall or the state capitol. He comes to rule a
kingdom “not of this world,” but rather in the hearts of his people. The King does not travel on a literal
highway through the desert to your city. No the valleys and mountains, the hills and rough places are the
obstacles and obstructions that bar his way into your heart.
That was the case for the people in Israel. Much of Israel’s spiritual vitality had dried up. The
water of spiritual life was all but gone when John began his ministry. It was a spiritual wilderness.
Valleys of hypocrisy bordered mountains of pride and arrogance at being “children of Abraham.” They
emptied their worship of any meaning and so they emptied their spiritual wells. The law’s dead formality
littered the landscape like dry bones across the desert. How could repentance hope to sprout and grow?
What chance did it have of producing any fruit?
But the real question we must ask ourselves is this: do we have the same problem? Have we
prepared the royal highway into our heart so the King may enter? Has our faith become about looking
good and respectable to others, rather than about preparing to stand before the King? Do we have our
own mountains of pride? “I am go to church; I give offerings; I volunteer,” or as a church, “We are doing
good things; we are serious about God’s Word; we have the true teaching.” Has worship become just
empty ritual for you, just going through the motions? Do you grow weary of hearing about Jesus when
we should be telling people how to get their act together? Do we talk the talk of sorrow over sin and
trusting in Jesus, but we have no time or desire for that matter in walking the walk of true repentance?
Will the King find fruits of repentance in us or does he walk through a wasteland?
Prepare the royal highway! That is the encouragement of Isaiah; that is the message of John!
That is a problem for us on our own. But remember who made all the other preparations! He works to
prepare your heart too! He does it in the same way he did for his people so many years ago. Luke records
the answer for us, “The word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the desert. He went into all
the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.”
John came preaching, and he continues to preach to us. The message of the Gospel makes the
difference for us in our preparation because “it is the power of God” and he is at work in it. John
confronts the sin he sees. We have to confront the sin we see in our lives too. We must recognize it for
what it is: an obstruction and obstacle in welcoming the King. But John’s message wasn’t just one of
sorrow over sin; he also pointed people to the Savior who takes that sin away! You know his most
famous words, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” Luke assures us in his
careful account, “Yes, this really happened! Jesus did exactly what John said he would do! Jesus took
you sins away from you. He carried them himself, all the way to the cross. There is ‘God’s salvation’!”
Notice also how John’s preaching included “a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of
sins.” Your baptism should also play a big part in preparing your heart for the King. Here the Holy Spirit
acted directly for you. In your Baptism, you have a personal promise from your God to you as an
individual: “I made you my child. I wrote your name in the Book of Life. Jesus’ work was for you too!
Your sins are gone, and you have the power to live for me. The way to your heart is open to me, so now
go and produce the fruit a child of God wants to produce. Your Baptism should be a constant reminder to
you of who you really are, what I have done for you, and the power you have to live for me!”
What a blessing the Lord continues to work to prepare the royal highway to your hearts! He
does this through his Gospel in Word and Sacrament! Make the most of these opportunities to receive
that Gospel during this Advent Season and you will “Prepare the way for the Lord!” Amen.
Martin Luther, Neenah
Luke 3:1-6
9 December 2012
Advent 2, ILCW C
Prepare the royal highway
“Prepare the Royal Highway” is one hymn in the supplement that seemed to catch on right away.
It’s an Advent hymn, and we will be singing it in a few moments. It tells the story of the welcoming the
king as he draws near the city. Going back to ancient times, the custom was to make sure the roads were
in good repair for the king’s visit. On the day he arrived, the people would line the highways and streets
as the parade passed by. They would decorate and celebrate. They would sing and bow. It was the most
festive of occasions as he entered the gates of the city.
Of course, the King whose coming we prepare for during Advent is Jesus. We want to prepare,
and we want to talk a bit about that. But in many ways, the one who made the most preparation was God
himself. How did that happen? How did he prepare the royal highway?
The apostle Paul reminds of the Lord’s own preparations when he says, “When the time had
fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law.” What
that mean though: “when the time had fully come”? We start to get the idea at the beginning of Luke 3.
Luke begins with this long list of names and places: “In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius
Caesar—when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip
tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene—during the high priesthood of
Annas and Caiaphas.” As you heard those words, did you find yourself wondering, “What does this
really have to do with Jesus or even John the Baptist? Why does Luke seem to waste his breath?”
But think back a few weeks. During the season of End Time, we considered a number of lessons
from the book of Daniel. Daniel prophesied how the Lord would bring about a progression of monarchies
one after another across the land of Judah. For a while, it must have seemed like the people should start
preparing the royal highway for the next king as soon as they finished preparing for the last one. But
these events in world history were all according to God’s plan and timetable. Eventually, the Roman
Empire would rise to power. During the reign of this monarchy, the King of kings, God’s promised
Messiah, would come to his people.
Notice how significant these events are! Notice how each piece of preparation falls into place! At
the time Luke writes, language barriers are at a minimum. There is a common language throughout the
Mediterranean world. Almost everyone can speak Greek, thanks to Alexander the Great. Because of the
Roman military, travel is efficient and relatively safe. Roads are as good as they have ever been. The
activity of bandits, robbers, and pirates wither under the heat of Roman military presence. The Empire
provides a perfect place for a world-changing event to take place and news of it to spread.
Luke reminds us of these things with his list of emperor, governor, and tetrarchs. By offering
these exact details, Luke also proclaims to us the accuracy of his careful reporting of history. Such detail
tells us this account is real. It is truth. It is fact. It is not a story or fable or fairytale. It is not a pious
myth to keep you warm at night and keep you from being afraid of the dark. These are real people and
real events. It is real history, the account of your salvation. There can be doubt: it really happened!
Did you notice also the one preparing this royal highway? The Lord himself makes the
preparations. Behind the scenes of history, he moves the pieces into position, and his preparations do not
stop there. We heard in Malachi, “See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before
me.” He also prepares the hearts of his people to welcome his Messiah King. To do this, he sends a
messenger. Luke tells also how the messenger appears at exactly the proper time, “The word of God
came to John son of Zechariah in the desert.” John the Baptist, the improbable son of Zechariah and
Elizabeth, is that messenger. He will “prepare the way for the Lord.” He will play a major role in
preparing the royal highway for the King of kings.
Should this come as a big surprise? No, not at all! The Lord had promised all these things. He
promised how the history of nations would run in Palestine. He promised how he would send a special
messenger. He promised how he would prepare the people’s hearts. He promised how his long-awaited
Savior would enter the world. He promised how he would accomplish salvation. Isn’t that the real point
of Luke’s account here: the Lord has fulfilled his prophecies and promises and that is the signal your
salvation is now close at hand. Prepare to welcome it, to welcome him! Prepare the royal highway!
How do we do that? Should we put in a few more roundabouts? Do we need to extend the
Highway 41 project a few more years? Neenah seems to have their roads in good repair with plenty of
roundabouts, and I don’t want the highway project to go on any longer than you do. But that is not really
the point. Isaiah’s prophecy was not about a massive public works project. John didn’t come to fill in
every valley by driving the bulldozer or be the contractor’s voice calling out over the construction site.
We are talking about a different kind of reconstruction: a spiritual one.
The Savior-King does not come to rule from city hall or the state capitol. He comes to rule a
kingdom “not of this world,” but rather in the hearts of his people. The King does not travel on a literal
highway through the desert to your city. No the valleys and mountains, the hills and rough places are the
obstacles and obstructions that bar his way into your heart.
That was the case for the people in Israel. Much of Israel’s spiritual vitality had dried up. The
water of spiritual life was all but gone when John began his ministry. It was a spiritual wilderness.
Valleys of hypocrisy bordered mountains of pride and arrogance at being “children of Abraham.” They
emptied their worship of any meaning and so they emptied their spiritual wells. The law’s dead formality
littered the landscape like dry bones across the desert. How could repentance hope to sprout and grow?
What chance did it have of producing any fruit?
But the real question we must ask ourselves is this: do we have the same problem? Have we
prepared the royal highway into our heart so the King may enter? Has our faith become about looking
good and respectable to others, rather than about preparing to stand before the King? Do we have our
own mountains of pride? “I am go to church; I give offerings; I volunteer,” or as a church, “We are doing
good things; we are serious about God’s Word; we have the true teaching.” Has worship become just
empty ritual for you, just going through the motions? Do you grow weary of hearing about Jesus when
we should be telling people how to get their act together? Do we talk the talk of sorrow over sin and
trusting in Jesus, but we have no time or desire for that matter in walking the walk of true repentance?
Will the King find fruits of repentance in us or does he walk through a wasteland?
Prepare the royal highway! That is the encouragement of Isaiah; that is the message of John!
That is a problem for us on our own. But remember who made all the other preparations! He works to
prepare your heart too! He does it in the same way he did for his people so many years ago. Luke records
the answer for us, “The word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the desert. He went into all
the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.”
John came preaching, and he continues to preach to us. The message of the Gospel makes the
difference for us in our preparation because “it is the power of God” and he is at work in it. John
confronts the sin he sees. We have to confront the sin we see in our lives too. We must recognize it for
what it is: an obstruction and obstacle in welcoming the King. But John’s message wasn’t just one of
sorrow over sin; he also pointed people to the Savior who takes that sin away! You know his most
famous words, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” Luke assures us in his
careful account, “Yes, this really happened! Jesus did exactly what John said he would do! Jesus took
you sins away from you. He carried them himself, all the way to the cross. There is ‘God’s salvation’!”
Notice also how John’s preaching included “a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of
sins.” Your baptism should also play a big part in preparing your heart for the King. Here the Holy Spirit
acted directly for you. In your Baptism, you have a personal promise from your God to you as an
individual: “I made you my child. I wrote your name in the Book of Life. Jesus’ work was for you too!
Your sins are gone, and you have the power to live for me. The way to your heart is open to me, so now
go and produce the fruit a child of God wants to produce. Your Baptism should be a constant reminder to
you of who you really are, what I have done for you, and the power you have to live for me!”
What a blessing the Lord continues to work to prepare the royal highway to your hearts! He
does this through his Gospel in Word and Sacrament! Make the most of these opportunities to receive
that Gospel during this Advent Season and you will “Prepare the way for the Lord!” Amen.
Martin Luther, Neenah
Luke 3:1-6
9 December 2012
Advent 2, ILCW C
Prepare the royal highway
“Prepare the Royal Highway” is one hymn in the supplement that seemed to catch on right away.
It’s an Advent hymn, and we will be singing it in a few moments. It tells the story of the welcoming the
king as he draws near the city. Going back to ancient times, the custom was to make sure the roads were
in good repair for the king’s visit. On the day he arrived, the people would line the highways and streets
as the parade passed by. They would decorate and celebrate. They would sing and bow. It was the most
festive of occasions as he entered the gates of the city.
Of course, the King whose coming we prepare for during Advent is Jesus. We want to prepare,
and we want to talk a bit about that. But in many ways, the one who made the most preparation was God
himself. How did that happen? How did he prepare the royal highway?
The apostle Paul reminds of the Lord’s own preparations when he says, “When the time had
fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law.” What
that mean though: “when the time had fully come”? We start to get the idea at the beginning of Luke 3.
Luke begins with this long list of names and places: “In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius
Caesar—when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip
tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene—during the high priesthood of
Annas and Caiaphas.” As you heard those words, did you find yourself wondering, “What does this
really have to do with Jesus or even John the Baptist? Why does Luke seem to waste his breath?”
But think back a few weeks. During the season of End Time, we considered a number of lessons
from the book of Daniel. Daniel prophesied how the Lord would bring about a progression of monarchies
one after another across the land of Judah. For a while, it must have seemed like the people should start
preparing the royal highway for the next king as soon as they finished preparing for the last one. But
these events in world history were all according to God’s plan and timetable. Eventually, the Roman
Empire would rise to power. During the reign of this monarchy, the King of kings, God’s promised
Messiah, would come to his people.
Notice how significant these events are! Notice how each piece of preparation falls into place! At
the time Luke writes, language barriers are at a minimum. There is a common language throughout the
Mediterranean world. Almost everyone can speak Greek, thanks to Alexander the Great. Because of the
Roman military, travel is efficient and relatively safe. Roads are as good as they have ever been. The
activity of bandits, robbers, and pirates wither under the heat of Roman military presence. The Empire
provides a perfect place for a world-changing event to take place and news of it to spread.
Luke reminds us of these things with his list of emperor, governor, and tetrarchs. By offering
these exact details, Luke also proclaims to us the accuracy of his careful reporting of history. Such detail
tells us this account is real. It is truth. It is fact. It is not a story or fable or fairytale. It is not a pious
myth to keep you warm at night and keep you from being afraid of the dark. These are real people and
real events. It is real history, the account of your salvation. There can be doubt: it really happened!
Did you notice also the one preparing this royal highway? The Lord himself makes the
preparations. Behind the scenes of history, he moves the pieces into position, and his preparations do not
stop there. We heard in Malachi, “See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before
me.” He also prepares the hearts of his people to welcome his Messiah King. To do this, he sends a
messenger. Luke tells also how the messenger appears at exactly the proper time, “The word of God
came to John son of Zechariah in the desert.” John the Baptist, the improbable son of Zechariah and
Elizabeth, is that messenger. He will “prepare the way for the Lord.” He will play a major role in
preparing the royal highway for the King of kings.
Should this come as a big surprise? No, not at all! The Lord had promised all these things. He
promised how the history of nations would run in Palestine. He promised how he would send a special
messenger. He promised how he would prepare the people’s hearts. He promised how his long-awaited
Savior would enter the world. He promised how he would accomplish salvation. Isn’t that the real point
of Luke’s account here: the Lord has fulfilled his prophecies and promises and that is the signal your
salvation is now close at hand. Prepare to welcome it, to welcome him! Prepare the royal highway!
How do we do that? Should we put in a few more roundabouts? Do we need to extend the
Highway 41 project a few more years? Neenah seems to have their roads in good repair with plenty of
roundabouts, and I don’t want the highway project to go on any longer than you do. But that is not really
the point. Isaiah’s prophecy was not about a massive public works project. John didn’t come to fill in
every valley by driving the bulldozer or be the contractor’s voice calling out over the construction site.
We are talking about a different kind of reconstruction: a spiritual one.
The Savior-King does not come to rule from city hall or the state capitol. He comes to rule a
kingdom “not of this world,” but rather in the hearts of his people. The King does not travel on a literal
highway through the desert to your city. No the valleys and mountains, the hills and rough places are the
obstacles and obstructions that bar his way into your heart.
That was the case for the people in Israel. Much of Israel’s spiritual vitality had dried up. The
water of spiritual life was all but gone when John began his ministry. It was a spiritual wilderness.
Valleys of hypocrisy bordered mountains of pride and arrogance at being “children of Abraham.” They
emptied their worship of any meaning and so they emptied their spiritual wells. The law’s dead formality
littered the landscape like dry bones across the desert. How could repentance hope to sprout and grow?
What chance did it have of producing any fruit?
But the real question we must ask ourselves is this: do we have the same problem? Have we
prepared the royal highway into our heart so the King may enter? Has our faith become about looking
good and respectable to others, rather than about preparing to stand before the King? Do we have our
own mountains of pride? “I am go to church; I give offerings; I volunteer,” or as a church, “We are doing
good things; we are serious about God’s Word; we have the true teaching.” Has worship become just
empty ritual for you, just going through the motions? Do you grow weary of hearing about Jesus when
we should be telling people how to get their act together? Do we talk the talk of sorrow over sin and
trusting in Jesus, but we have no time or desire for that matter in walking the walk of true repentance?
Will the King find fruits of repentance in us or does he walk through a wasteland?
Prepare the royal highway! That is the encouragement of Isaiah; that is the message of John!
That is a problem for us on our own. But remember who made all the other preparations! He works to
prepare your heart too! He does it in the same way he did for his people so many years ago. Luke records
the answer for us, “The word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the desert. He went into all
the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.”
John came preaching, and he continues to preach to us. The message of the Gospel makes the
difference for us in our preparation because “it is the power of God” and he is at work in it. John
confronts the sin he sees. We have to confront the sin we see in our lives too. We must recognize it for
what it is: an obstruction and obstacle in welcoming the King. But John’s message wasn’t just one of
sorrow over sin; he also pointed people to the Savior who takes that sin away! You know his most
famous words, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” Luke assures us in his
careful account, “Yes, this really happened! Jesus did exactly what John said he would do! Jesus took
you sins away from you. He carried them himself, all the way to the cross. There is ‘God’s salvation’!”
Notice also how John’s preaching included “a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of
sins.” Your baptism should also play a big part in preparing your heart for the King. Here the Holy Spirit
acted directly for you. In your Baptism, you have a personal promise from your God to you as an
individual: “I made you my child. I wrote your name in the Book of Life. Jesus’ work was for you too!
Your sins are gone, and you have the power to live for me. The way to your heart is open to me, so now
go and produce the fruit a child of God wants to produce. Your Baptism should be a constant reminder to
you of who you really are, what I have done for you, and the power you have to live for me!”
What a blessing the Lord continues to work to prepare the royal highway to your hearts! He
does this through his Gospel in Word and Sacrament! Make the most of these opportunities to receive
that Gospel during this Advent Season and you will “Prepare the way for the Lord!” Amen.
Martin Luther, Neenah
Luke 3:1-6
9 December 2012
Advent 2, ILCW C
Prepare the royal highway
“Prepare the Royal Highway” is one hymn in the supplement that seemed to catch on right away.
It’s an Advent hymn, and we will be singing it in a few moments. It tells the story of the welcoming the
king as he draws near the city. Going back to ancient times, the custom was to make sure the roads were
in good repair for the king’s visit. On the day he arrived, the people would line the highways and streets
as the parade passed by. They would decorate and celebrate. They would sing and bow. It was the most
festive of occasions as he entered the gates of the city.
Of course, the King whose coming we prepare for during Advent is Jesus. We want to prepare,
and we want to talk a bit about that. But in many ways, the one who made the most preparation was God
himself. How did that happen? How did he prepare the royal highway?
The apostle Paul reminds of the Lord’s own preparations when he says, “When the time had
fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law.” What
that mean though: “when the time had fully come”? We start to get the idea at the beginning of Luke 3.
Luke begins with this long list of names and places: “In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius
Caesar—when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip
tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene—during the high priesthood of
Annas and Caiaphas.” As you heard those words, did you find yourself wondering, “What does this
really have to do with Jesus or even John the Baptist? Why does Luke seem to waste his breath?”
But think back a few weeks. During the season of End Time, we considered a number of lessons
from the book of Daniel. Daniel prophesied how the Lord would bring about a progression of monarchies
one after another across the land of Judah. For a while, it must have seemed like the people should start
preparing the royal highway for the next king as soon as they finished preparing for the last one. But
these events in world history were all according to God’s plan and timetable. Eventually, the Roman
Empire would rise to power. During the reign of this monarchy, the King of kings, God’s promised
Messiah, would come to his people.
Notice how significant these events are! Notice how each piece of preparation falls into place! At
the time Luke writes, language barriers are at a minimum. There is a common language throughout the
Mediterranean world. Almost everyone can speak Greek, thanks to Alexander the Great. Because of the
Roman military, travel is efficient and relatively safe. Roads are as good as they have ever been. The
activity of bandits, robbers, and pirates wither under the heat of Roman military presence. The Empire
provides a perfect place for a world-changing event to take place and news of it to spread.
Luke reminds us of these things with his list of emperor, governor, and tetrarchs. By offering
these exact details, Luke also proclaims to us the accuracy of his careful reporting of history. Such detail
tells us this account is real. It is truth. It is fact. It is not a story or fable or fairytale. It is not a pious
myth to keep you warm at night and keep you from being afraid of the dark. These are real people and
real events. It is real history, the account of your salvation. There can be doubt: it really happened!
Did you notice also the one preparing this royal highway? The Lord himself makes the
preparations. Behind the scenes of history, he moves the pieces into position, and his preparations do not
stop there. We heard in Malachi, “See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before
me.” He also prepares the hearts of his people to welcome his Messiah King. To do this, he sends a
messenger. Luke tells also how the messenger appears at exactly the proper time, “The word of God
came to John son of Zechariah in the desert.” John the Baptist, the improbable son of Zechariah and
Elizabeth, is that messenger. He will “prepare the way for the Lord.” He will play a major role in
preparing the royal highway for the King of kings.
Should this come as a big surprise? No, not at all! The Lord had promised all these things. He
promised how the history of nations would run in Palestine. He promised how he would send a special
messenger. He promised how he would prepare the people’s hearts. He promised how his long-awaited
Savior would enter the world. He promised how he would accomplish salvation. Isn’t that the real point
of Luke’s account here: the Lord has fulfilled his prophecies and promises and that is the signal your
salvation is now close at hand. Prepare to welcome it, to welcome him! Prepare the royal highway!
How do we do that? Should we put in a few more roundabouts? Do we need to extend the
Highway 41 project a few more years? Neenah seems to have their roads in good repair with plenty of
roundabouts, and I don’t want the highway project to go on any longer than you do. But that is not really
the point. Isaiah’s prophecy was not about a massive public works project. John didn’t come to fill in
every valley by driving the bulldozer or be the contractor’s voice calling out over the construction site.
We are talking about a different kind of reconstruction: a spiritual one.
The Savior-King does not come to rule from city hall or the state capitol. He comes to rule a
kingdom “not of this world,” but rather in the hearts of his people. The King does not travel on a literal
highway through the desert to your city. No the valleys and mountains, the hills and rough places are the
obstacles and obstructions that bar his way into your heart.
That was the case for the people in Israel. Much of Israel’s spiritual vitality had dried up. The
water of spiritual life was all but gone when John began his ministry. It was a spiritual wilderness.
Valleys of hypocrisy bordered mountains of pride and arrogance at being “children of Abraham.” They
emptied their worship of any meaning and so they emptied their spiritual wells. The law’s dead formality
littered the landscape like dry bones across the desert. How could repentance hope to sprout and grow?
What chance did it have of producing any fruit?
But the real question we must ask ourselves is this: do we have the same problem? Have we
prepared the royal highway into our heart so the King may enter? Has our faith become about looking
good and respectable to others, rather than about preparing to stand before the King? Do we have our
own mountains of pride? “I am go to church; I give offerings; I volunteer,” or as a church, “We are doing
good things; we are serious about God’s Word; we have the true teaching.” Has worship become just
empty ritual for you, just going through the motions? Do you grow weary of hearing about Jesus when
we should be telling people how to get their act together? Do we talk the talk of sorrow over sin and
trusting in Jesus, but we have no time or desire for that matter in walking the walk of true repentance?
Will the King find fruits of repentance in us or does he walk through a wasteland?
Prepare the royal highway! That is the encouragement of Isaiah; that is the message of John!
That is a problem for us on our own. But remember who made all the other preparations! He works to
prepare your heart too! He does it in the same way he did for his people so many years ago. Luke records
the answer for us, “The word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the desert. He went into all
the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.”
John came preaching, and he continues to preach to us. The message of the Gospel makes the
difference for us in our preparation because “it is the power of God” and he is at work in it. John
confronts the sin he sees. We have to confront the sin we see in our lives too. We must recognize it for
what it is: an obstruction and obstacle in welcoming the King. But John’s message wasn’t just one of
sorrow over sin; he also pointed people to the Savior who takes that sin away! You know his most
famous words, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” Luke assures us in his
careful account, “Yes, this really happened! Jesus did exactly what John said he would do! Jesus took
you sins away from you. He carried them himself, all the way to the cross. There is ‘God’s salvation’!”
Notice also how John’s preaching included “a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of
sins.” Your baptism should also play a big part in preparing your heart for the King. Here the Holy Spirit
acted directly for you. In your Baptism, you have a personal promise from your God to you as an
individual: “I made you my child. I wrote your name in the Book of Life. Jesus’ work was for you too!
Your sins are gone, and you have the power to live for me. The way to your heart is open to me, so now
go and produce the fruit a child of God wants to produce. Your Baptism should be a constant reminder to
you of who you really are, what I have done for you, and the power you have to live for me!”
What a blessing the Lord continues to work to prepare the royal highway to your hearts! He
does this through his Gospel in Word and Sacrament! Make the most of these opportunities to receive
that Gospel during this Advent Season and you will “Prepare the way for the Lord!” Amen.
Martin Luther, Neenah
Luke 3:1-6
9 December 2012
Advent 2, ILCW C
Prepare the royal highway
“Prepare the Royal Highway” is one hymn in the supplement that seemed to catch on right away.
It’s an Advent hymn, and we will be singing it in a few moments. It tells the story of the welcoming the
king as he draws near the city. Going back to ancient times, the custom was to make sure the roads were
in good repair for the king’s visit. On the day he arrived, the people would line the highways and streets
as the parade passed by. They would decorate and celebrate. They would sing and bow. It was the most
festive of occasions as he entered the gates of the city.
Of course, the King whose coming we prepare for during Advent is Jesus. We want to prepare,
and we want to talk a bit about that. But in many ways, the one who made the most preparation was God
himself. How did that happen? How did he prepare the royal highway?
The apostle Paul reminds of the Lord’s own preparations when he says, “When the time had
fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law.” What
that mean though: “when the time had fully come”? We start to get the idea at the beginning of Luke 3.
Luke begins with this long list of names and places: “In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius
Caesar—when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip
tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene—during the high priesthood of
Annas and Caiaphas.” As you heard those words, did you find yourself wondering, “What does this
really have to do with Jesus or even John the Baptist? Why does Luke seem to waste his breath?”
But think back a few weeks. During the season of End Time, we considered a number of lessons
from the book of Daniel. Daniel prophesied how the Lord would bring about a progression of monarchies
one after another across the land of Judah. For a while, it must have seemed like the people should start
preparing the royal highway for the next king as soon as they finished preparing for the last one. But
these events in world history were all according to God’s plan and timetable. Eventually, the Roman
Empire would rise to power. During the reign of this monarchy, the King of kings, God’s promised
Messiah, would come to his people.
Notice how significant these events are! Notice how each piece of preparation falls into place! At
the time Luke writes, language barriers are at a minimum. There is a common language throughout the
Mediterranean world. Almost everyone can speak Greek, thanks to Alexander the Great. Because of the
Roman military, travel is efficient and relatively safe. Roads are as good as they have ever been. The
activity of bandits, robbers, and pirates wither under the heat of Roman military presence. The Empire
provides a perfect place for a world-changing event to take place and news of it to spread.
Luke reminds us of these things with his list of emperor, governor, and tetrarchs. By offering
these exact details, Luke also proclaims to us the accuracy of his careful reporting of history. Such detail
tells us this account is real. It is truth. It is fact. It is not a story or fable or fairytale. It is not a pious
myth to keep you warm at night and keep you from being afraid of the dark. These are real people and
real events. It is real history, the account of your salvation. There can be doubt: it really happened!
Did you notice also the one preparing this royal highway? The Lord himself makes the
preparations. Behind the scenes of history, he moves the pieces into position, and his preparations do not
stop there. We heard in Malachi, “See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before
me.” He also prepares the hearts of his people to welcome his Messiah King. To do this, he sends a
messenger. Luke tells also how the messenger appears at exactly the proper time, “The word of God
came to John son of Zechariah in the desert.” John the Baptist, the improbable son of Zechariah and
Elizabeth, is that messenger. He will “prepare the way for the Lord.” He will play a major role in
preparing the royal highway for the King of kings.
Should this come as a big surprise? No, not at all! The Lord had promised all these things. He
promised how the history of nations would run in Palestine. He promised how he would send a special
messenger. He promised how he would prepare the people’s hearts. He promised how his long-awaited
Savior would enter the world. He promised how he would accomplish salvation. Isn’t that the real point
of Luke’s account here: the Lord has fulfilled his prophecies and promises and that is the signal your
salvation is now close at hand. Prepare to welcome it, to welcome him! Prepare the royal highway!
How do we do that? Should we put in a few more roundabouts? Do we need to extend the
Highway 41 project a few more years? Neenah seems to have their roads in good repair with plenty of
roundabouts, and I don’t want the highway project to go on any longer than you do. But that is not really
the point. Isaiah’s prophecy was not about a massive public works project. John didn’t come to fill in
every valley by driving the bulldozer or be the contractor’s voice calling out over the construction site.
We are talking about a different kind of reconstruction: a spiritual one.
The Savior-King does not come to rule from city hall or the state capitol. He comes to rule a
kingdom “not of this world,” but rather in the hearts of his people. The King does not travel on a literal
highway through the desert to your city. No the valleys and mountains, the hills and rough places are the
obstacles and obstructions that bar his way into your heart.
That was the case for the people in Israel. Much of Israel’s spiritual vitality had dried up. The
water of spiritual life was all but gone when John began his ministry. It was a spiritual wilderness.
Valleys of hypocrisy bordered mountains of pride and arrogance at being “children of Abraham.” They
emptied their worship of any meaning and so they emptied their spiritual wells. The law’s dead formality
littered the landscape like dry bones across the desert. How could repentance hope to sprout and grow?
What chance did it have of producing any fruit?
But the real question we must ask ourselves is this: do we have the same problem? Have we
prepared the royal highway into our heart so the King may enter? Has our faith become about looking
good and respectable to others, rather than about preparing to stand before the King? Do we have our
own mountains of pride? “I am go to church; I give offerings; I volunteer,” or as a church, “We are doing
good things; we are serious about God’s Word; we have the true teaching.” Has worship become just
empty ritual for you, just going through the motions? Do you grow weary of hearing about Jesus when
we should be telling people how to get their act together? Do we talk the talk of sorrow over sin and
trusting in Jesus, but we have no time or desire for that matter in walking the walk of true repentance?
Will the King find fruits of repentance in us or does he walk through a wasteland?
Prepare the royal highway! That is the encouragement of Isaiah; that is the message of John!
That is a problem for us on our own. But remember who made all the other preparations! He works to
prepare your heart too! He does it in the same way he did for his people so many years ago. Luke records
the answer for us, “The word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the desert. He went into all
the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.”
John came preaching, and he continues to preach to us. The message of the Gospel makes the
difference for us in our preparation because “it is the power of God” and he is at work in it. John
confronts the sin he sees. We have to confront the sin we see in our lives too. We must recognize it for
what it is: an obstruction and obstacle in welcoming the King. But John’s message wasn’t just one of
sorrow over sin; he also pointed people to the Savior who takes that sin away! You know his most
famous words, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” Luke assures us in his
careful account, “Yes, this really happened! Jesus did exactly what John said he would do! Jesus took
you sins away from you. He carried them himself, all the way to the cross. There is ‘God’s salvation’!”
Notice also how John’s preaching included “a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of
sins.” Your baptism should also play a big part in preparing your heart for the King. Here the Holy Spirit
acted directly for you. In your Baptism, you have a personal promise from your God to you as an
individual: “I made you my child. I wrote your name in the Book of Life. Jesus’ work was for you too!
Your sins are gone, and you have the power to live for me. The way to your heart is open to me, so now
go and produce the fruit a child of God wants to produce. Your Baptism should be a constant reminder to
you of who you really are, what I have done for you, and the power you have to live for me!”
What a blessing the Lord continues to work to prepare the royal highway to your hearts! He
does this through his Gospel in Word and Sacrament! Make the most of these opportunities to receive
that Gospel during this Advent Season and you will “Prepare the way for the Lord!” Amen.
Martin Luther, Neenah
Luke 3:1-6
9 December 2012
Advent 2, ILCW C
Prepare the royal highway
“Prepare the Royal Highway” is one hymn in the supplement that seemed to catch on right away.
It’s an Advent hymn, and we will be singing it in a few moments. It tells the story of the welcoming the
king as he draws near the city. Going back to ancient times, the custom was to make sure the roads were
in good repair for the king’s visit. On the day he arrived, the people would line the highways and streets
as the parade passed by. They would decorate and celebrate. They would sing and bow. It was the most
festive of occasions as he entered the gates of the city.
Of course, the King whose coming we prepare for during Advent is Jesus. We want to prepare,
and we want to talk a bit about that. But in many ways, the one who made the most preparation was God
himself. How did that happen? How did he prepare the royal highway?
The apostle Paul reminds of the Lord’s own preparations when he says, “When the time had
fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law.” What
that mean though: “when the time had fully come”? We start to get the idea at the beginning of Luke 3.
Luke begins with this long list of names and places: “In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius
Caesar—when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip
tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene—during the high priesthood of
Annas and Caiaphas.” As you heard those words, did you find yourself wondering, “What does this
really have to do with Jesus or even John the Baptist? Why does Luke seem to waste his breath?”
But think back a few weeks. During the season of End Time, we considered a number of lessons
from the book of Daniel. Daniel prophesied how the Lord would bring about a progression of monarchies
one after another across the land of Judah. For a while, it must have seemed like the people should start
preparing the royal highway for the next king as soon as they finished preparing for the last one. But
these events in world history were all according to God’s plan and timetable. Eventually, the Roman
Empire would rise to power. During the reign of this monarchy, the King of kings, God’s promised
Messiah, would come to his people.
Notice how significant these events are! Notice how each piece of preparation falls into place! At
the time Luke writes, language barriers are at a minimum. There is a common language throughout the
Mediterranean world. Almost everyone can speak Greek, thanks to Alexander the Great. Because of the
Roman military, travel is efficient and relatively safe. Roads are as good as they have ever been. The
activity of bandits, robbers, and pirates wither under the heat of Roman military presence. The Empire
provides a perfect place for a world-changing event to take place and news of it to spread.
Luke reminds us of these things with his list of emperor, governor, and tetrarchs. By offering
these exact details, Luke also proclaims to us the accuracy of his careful reporting of history. Such detail
tells us this account is real. It is truth. It is fact. It is not a story or fable or fairytale. It is not a pious
myth to keep you warm at night and keep you from being afraid of the dark. These are real people and
real events. It is real history, the account of your salvation. There can be doubt: it really happened!
Did you notice also the one preparing this royal highway? The Lord himself makes the
preparations. Behind the scenes of history, he moves the pieces into position, and his preparations do not
stop there. We heard in Malachi, “See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before
me.” He also prepares the hearts of his people to welcome his Messiah King. To do this, he sends a
messenger. Luke tells also how the messenger appears at exactly the proper time, “The word of God
came to John son of Zechariah in the desert.” John the Baptist, the improbable son of Zechariah and
Elizabeth, is that messenger. He will “prepare the way for the Lord.” He will play a major role in
preparing the royal highway for the King of kings.
Should this come as a big surprise? No, not at all! The Lord had promised all these things. He
promised how the history of nations would run in Palestine. He promised how he would send a special
messenger. He promised how he would prepare the people’s hearts. He promised how his long-awaited
Savior would enter the world. He promised how he would accomplish salvation. Isn’t that the real point
of Luke’s account here: the Lord has fulfilled his prophecies and promises and that is the signal your
salvation is now close at hand. Prepare to welcome it, to welcome him! Prepare the royal highway!
How do we do that? Should we put in a few more roundabouts? Do we need to extend the
Highway 41 project a few more years? Neenah seems to have their roads in good repair with plenty of
roundabouts, and I don’t want the highway project to go on any longer than you do. But that is not really
the point. Isaiah’s prophecy was not about a massive public works project. John didn’t come to fill in
every valley by driving the bulldozer or be the contractor’s voice calling out over the construction site.
We are talking about a different kind of reconstruction: a spiritual one.
The Savior-King does not come to rule from city hall or the state capitol. He comes to rule a
kingdom “not of this world,” but rather in the hearts of his people. The King does not travel on a literal
highway through the desert to your city. No the valleys and mountains, the hills and rough places are the
obstacles and obstructions that bar his way into your heart.
That was the case for the people in Israel. Much of Israel’s spiritual vitality had dried up. The
water of spiritual life was all but gone when John began his ministry. It was a spiritual wilderness.
Valleys of hypocrisy bordered mountains of pride and arrogance at being “children of Abraham.” They
emptied their worship of any meaning and so they emptied their spiritual wells. The law’s dead formality
littered the landscape like dry bones across the desert. How could repentance hope to sprout and grow?
What chance did it have of producing any fruit?
But the real question we must ask ourselves is this: do we have the same problem? Have we
prepared the royal highway into our heart so the King may enter? Has our faith become about looking
good and respectable to others, rather than about preparing to stand before the King? Do we have our
own mountains of pride? “I am go to church; I give offerings; I volunteer,” or as a church, “We are doing
good things; we are serious about God’s Word; we have the true teaching.” Has worship become just
empty ritual for you, just going through the motions? Do you grow weary of hearing about Jesus when
we should be telling people how to get their act together? Do we talk the talk of sorrow over sin and
trusting in Jesus, but we have no time or desire for that matter in walking the walk of true repentance?
Will the King find fruits of repentance in us or does he walk through a wasteland?
Prepare the royal highway! That is the encouragement of Isaiah; that is the message of John!
That is a problem for us on our own. But remember who made all the other preparations! He works to
prepare your heart too! He does it in the same way he did for his people so many years ago. Luke records
the answer for us, “The word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the desert. He went into all
the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.”
John came preaching, and he continues to preach to us. The message of the Gospel makes the
difference for us in our preparation because “it is the power of God” and he is at work in it. John
confronts the sin he sees. We have to confront the sin we see in our lives too. We must recognize it for
what it is: an obstruction and obstacle in welcoming the King. But John’s message wasn’t just one of
sorrow over sin; he also pointed people to the Savior who takes that sin away! You know his most
famous words, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” Luke assures us in his
careful account, “Yes, this really happened! Jesus did exactly what John said he would do! Jesus took
you sins away from you. He carried them himself, all the way to the cross. There is ‘God’s salvation’!”
Notice also how John’s preaching included “a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of
sins.” Your baptism should also play a big part in preparing your heart for the King. Here the Holy Spirit
acted directly for you. In your Baptism, you have a personal promise from your God to you as an
individual: “I made you my child. I wrote your name in the Book of Life. Jesus’ work was for you too!
Your sins are gone, and you have the power to live for me. The way to your heart is open to me, so now
go and produce the fruit a child of God wants to produce. Your Baptism should be a constant reminder to
you of who you really are, what I have done for you, and the power you have to live for me!”
What a blessing the Lord continues to work to prepare the royal highway to your hearts! He
does this through his Gospel in Word and Sacrament! Make the most of these opportunities to receive
that Gospel during this Advent Season and you will “Prepare the way for the Lord!” Amen.
Martin Luther, Neenah
Luke 3:1-6
9 December 2012
Advent 2, ILCW C
Prepare the royal highway
“Prepare the Royal Highway” is one hymn in the supplement that seemed to catch on right away.
It’s an Advent hymn, and we will be singing it in a few moments. It tells the story of the welcoming the
king as he draws near the city. Going back to ancient times, the custom was to make sure the roads were
in good repair for the king’s visit. On the day he arrived, the people would line the highways and streets
as the parade passed by. They would decorate and celebrate. They would sing and bow. It was the most
festive of occasions as he entered the gates of the city.
Of course, the King whose coming we prepare for during Advent is Jesus. We want to prepare,
and we want to talk a bit about that. But in many ways, the one who made the most preparation was God
himself. How did that happen? How did he prepare the royal highway?
The apostle Paul reminds of the Lord’s own preparations when he says, “When the time had
fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law.” What
that mean though: “when the time had fully come”? We start to get the idea at the beginning of Luke 3.
Luke begins with this long list of names and places: “In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius
Caesar—when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip
tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene—during the high priesthood of
Annas and Caiaphas.” As you heard those words, did you find yourself wondering, “What does this
really have to do with Jesus or even John the Baptist? Why does Luke seem to waste his breath?”
But think back a few weeks. During the season of End Time, we considered a number of lessons
from the book of Daniel. Daniel prophesied how the Lord would bring about a progression of monarchies
one after another across the land of Judah. For a while, it must have seemed like the people should start
preparing the royal highway for the next king as soon as they finished preparing for the last one. But
these events in world history were all according to God’s plan and timetable. Eventually, the Roman
Empire would rise to power. During the reign of this monarchy, the King of kings, God’s promised
Messiah, would come to his people.
Notice how significant these events are! Notice how each piece of preparation falls into place! At
the time Luke writes, language barriers are at a minimum. There is a common language throughout the
Mediterranean world. Almost everyone can speak Greek, thanks to Alexander the Great. Because of the
Roman military, travel is efficient and relatively safe. Roads are as good as they have ever been. The
activity of bandits, robbers, and pirates wither under the heat of Roman military presence. The Empire
provides a perfect place for a world-changing event to take place and news of it to spread.
Luke reminds us of these things with his list of emperor, governor, and tetrarchs. By offering
these exact details, Luke also proclaims to us the accuracy of his careful reporting of history. Such detail
tells us this account is real. It is truth. It is fact. It is not a story or fable or fairytale. It is not a pious
myth to keep you warm at night and keep you from being afraid of the dark. These are real people and
real events. It is real history, the account of your salvation. There can be doubt: it really happened!
Did you notice also the one preparing this royal highway? The Lord himself makes the
preparations. Behind the scenes of history, he moves the pieces into position, and his preparations do not
stop there. We heard in Malachi, “See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before
me.” He also prepares the hearts of his people to welcome his Messiah King. To do this, he sends a
messenger. Luke tells also how the messenger appears at exactly the proper time, “The word of God
came to John son of Zechariah in the desert.” John the Baptist, the improbable son of Zechariah and
Elizabeth, is that messenger. He will “prepare the way for the Lord.” He will play a major role in
preparing the royal highway for the King of kings.
Should this come as a big surprise? No, not at all! The Lord had promised all these things. He
promised how the history of nations would run in Palestine. He promised how he would send a special
messenger. He promised how he would prepare the people’s hearts. He promised how his long-awaited
Savior would enter the world. He promised how he would accomplish salvation. Isn’t that the real point
of Luke’s account here: the Lord has fulfilled his prophecies and promises and that is the signal your
salvation is now close at hand. Prepare to welcome it, to welcome him! Prepare the royal highway!
How do we do that? Should we put in a few more roundabouts? Do we need to extend the
Highway 41 project a few more years? Neenah seems to have their roads in good repair with plenty of
roundabouts, and I don’t want the highway project to go on any longer than you do. But that is not really
the point. Isaiah’s prophecy was not about a massive public works project. John didn’t come to fill in
every valley by driving the bulldozer or be the contractor’s voice calling out over the construction site.
We are talking about a different kind of reconstruction: a spiritual one.
The Savior-King does not come to rule from city hall or the state capitol. He comes to rule a
kingdom “not of this world,” but rather in the hearts of his people. The King does not travel on a literal
highway through the desert to your city. No the valleys and mountains, the hills and rough places are the
obstacles and obstructions that bar his way into your heart.
That was the case for the people in Israel. Much of Israel’s spiritual vitality had dried up. The
water of spiritual life was all but gone when John began his ministry. It was a spiritual wilderness.
Valleys of hypocrisy bordered mountains of pride and arrogance at being “children of Abraham.” They
emptied their worship of any meaning and so they emptied their spiritual wells. The law’s dead formality
littered the landscape like dry bones across the desert. How could repentance hope to sprout and grow?
What chance did it have of producing any fruit?
But the real question we must ask ourselves is this: do we have the same problem? Have we
prepared the royal highway into our heart so the King may enter? Has our faith become about looking
good and respectable to others, rather than about preparing to stand before the King? Do we have our
own mountains of pride? “I am go to church; I give offerings; I volunteer,” or as a church, “We are doing
good things; we are serious about God’s Word; we have the true teaching.” Has worship become just
empty ritual for you, just going through the motions? Do you grow weary of hearing about Jesus when
we should be telling people how to get their act together? Do we talk the talk of sorrow over sin and
trusting in Jesus, but we have no time or desire for that matter in walking the walk of true repentance?
Will the King find fruits of repentance in us or does he walk through a wasteland?
Prepare the royal highway! That is the encouragement of Isaiah; that is the message of John!
That is a problem for us on our own. But remember who made all the other preparations! He works to
prepare your heart too! He does it in the same way he did for his people so many years ago. Luke records
the answer for us, “The word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the desert. He went into all
the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.”
John came preaching, and he continues to preach to us. The message of the Gospel makes the
difference for us in our preparation because “it is the power of God” and he is at work in it. John
confronts the sin he sees. We have to confront the sin we see in our lives too. We must recognize it for
what it is: an obstruction and obstacle in welcoming the King. But John’s message wasn’t just one of
sorrow over sin; he also pointed people to the Savior who takes that sin away! You know his most
famous words, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” Luke assures us in his
careful account, “Yes, this really happened! Jesus did exactly what John said he would do! Jesus took
you sins away from you. He carried them himself, all the way to the cross. There is ‘God’s salvation’!”
Notice also how John’s preaching included “a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of
sins.” Your baptism should also play a big part in preparing your heart for the King. Here the Holy Spirit
acted directly for you. In your Baptism, you have a personal promise from your God to you as an
individual: “I made you my child. I wrote your name in the Book of Life. Jesus’ work was for you too!
Your sins are gone, and you have the power to live for me. The way to your heart is open to me, so now
go and produce the fruit a child of God wants to produce. Your Baptism should be a constant reminder to
you of who you really are, what I have done for you, and the power you have to live for me!”
What a blessing the Lord continues to work to prepare the royal highway to your hearts! He
does this through his Gospel in Word and Sacrament! Make the most of these opportunities to receive
that Gospel during this Advent Season and you will “Prepare the way for the Lord!” Amen.
Martin Luther, Neenah
Luke 3:1-6
9 December 2012
Advent 2, ILCW C
Prepare the royal highway
“Prepare the Royal Highway” is one hymn in the supplement that seemed to catch on right away.
It’s an Advent hymn, and we will be singing it in a few moments. It tells the story of the welcoming the
king as he draws near the city. Going back to ancient times, the custom was to make sure the roads were
in good repair for the king’s visit. On the day he arrived, the people would line the highways and streets
as the parade passed by. They would decorate and celebrate. They would sing and bow. It was the most
festive of occasions as he entered the gates of the city.
Of course, the King whose coming we prepare for during Advent is Jesus. We want to prepare,
and we want to talk a bit about that. But in many ways, the one who made the most preparation was God
himself. How did that happen? How did he prepare the royal highway?
The apostle Paul reminds of the Lord’s own preparations when he says, “When the time had
fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law.” What
that mean though: “when the time had fully come”? We start to get the idea at the beginning of Luke 3.
Luke begins with this long list of names and places: “In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius
Caesar—when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip
tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene—during the high priesthood of
Annas and Caiaphas.” As you heard those words, did you find yourself wondering, “What does this
really have to do with Jesus or even John the Baptist? Why does Luke seem to waste his breath?”
But think back a few weeks. During the season of End Time, we considered a number of lessons
from the book of Daniel. Daniel prophesied how the Lord would bring about a progression of monarchies
one after another across the land of Judah. For a while, it must have seemed like the people should start
preparing the royal highway for the next king as soon as they finished preparing for the last one. But
these events in world history were all according to God’s plan and timetable. Eventually, the Roman
Empire would rise to power. During the reign of this monarchy, the King of kings, God’s promised
Messiah, would come to his people.
Notice how significant these events are! Notice how each piece of preparation falls into place! At
the time Luke writes, language barriers are at a minimum. There is a common language throughout the
Mediterranean world. Almost everyone can speak Greek, thanks to Alexander the Great. Because of the
Roman military, travel is efficient and relatively safe. Roads are as good as they have ever been. The
activity of bandits, robbers, and pirates wither under the heat of Roman military presence. The Empire
provides a perfect place for a world-changing event to take place and news of it to spread.
Luke reminds us of these things with his list of emperor, governor, and tetrarchs. By offering
these exact details, Luke also proclaims to us the accuracy of his careful reporting of history. Such detail
tells us this account is real. It is truth. It is fact. It is not a story or fable or fairytale. It is not a pious
myth to keep you warm at night and keep you from being afraid of the dark. These are real people and
real events. It is real history, the account of your salvation. There can be doubt: it really happened!
Did you notice also the one preparing this royal highway? The Lord himself makes the
preparations. Behind the scenes of history, he moves the pieces into position, and his preparations do not
stop there. We heard in Malachi, “See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before
me.” He also prepares the hearts of his people to welcome his Messiah King. To do this, he sends a
messenger. Luke tells also how the messenger appears at exactly the proper time, “The word of God
came to John son of Zechariah in the desert.” John the Baptist, the improbable son of Zechariah and
Elizabeth, is that messenger. He will “prepare the way for the Lord.” He will play a major role in
preparing the royal highway for the King of kings.
Should this come as a big surprise? No, not at all! The Lord had promised all these things. He
promised how the history of nations would run in Palestine. He promised how he would send a special
messenger. He promised how he would prepare the people’s hearts. He promised how his long-awaited
Savior would enter the world. He promised how he would accomplish salvation. Isn’t that the real point
of Luke’s account here: the Lord has fulfilled his prophecies and promises and that is the signal your
salvation is now close at hand. Prepare to welcome it, to welcome him! Prepare the royal highway!
How do we do that? Should we put in a few more roundabouts? Do we need to extend the
Highway 41 project a few more years? Neenah seems to have their roads in good repair with plenty of
roundabouts, and I don’t want the highway project to go on any longer than you do. But that is not really
the point. Isaiah’s prophecy was not about a massive public works project. John didn’t come to fill in
every valley by driving the bulldozer or be the contractor’s voice calling out over the construction site.
We are talking about a different kind of reconstruction: a spiritual one.
The Savior-King does not come to rule from city hall or the state capitol. He comes to rule a
kingdom “not of this world,” but rather in the hearts of his people. The King does not travel on a literal
highway through the desert to your city. No the valleys and mountains, the hills and rough places are the
obstacles and obstructions that bar his way into your heart.
That was the case for the people in Israel. Much of Israel’s spiritual vitality had dried up. The
water of spiritual life was all but gone when John began his ministry. It was a spiritual wilderness.
Valleys of hypocrisy bordered mountains of pride and arrogance at being “children of Abraham.” They
emptied their worship of any meaning and so they emptied their spiritual wells. The law’s dead formality
littered the landscape like dry bones across the desert. How could repentance hope to sprout and grow?
What chance did it have of producing any fruit?
But the real question we must ask ourselves is this: do we have the same problem? Have we
prepared the royal highway into our heart so the King may enter? Has our faith become about looking
good and respectable to others, rather than about preparing to stand before the King? Do we have our
own mountains of pride? “I am go to church; I give offerings; I volunteer,” or as a church, “We are doing
good things; we are serious about God’s Word; we have the true teaching.” Has worship become just
empty ritual for you, just going through the motions? Do you grow weary of hearing about Jesus when
we should be telling people how to get their act together? Do we talk the talk of sorrow over sin and
trusting in Jesus, but we have no time or desire for that matter in walking the walk of true repentance?
Will the King find fruits of repentance in us or does he walk through a wasteland?
Prepare the royal highway! That is the encouragement of Isaiah; that is the message of John!
That is a problem for us on our own. But remember who made all the other preparations! He works to
prepare your heart too! He does it in the same way he did for his people so many years ago. Luke records
the answer for us, “The word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the desert. He went into all
the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.”
John came preaching, and he continues to preach to us. The message of the Gospel makes the
difference for us in our preparation because “it is the power of God” and he is at work in it. John
confronts the sin he sees. We have to confront the sin we see in our lives too. We must recognize it for
what it is: an obstruction and obstacle in welcoming the King. But John’s message wasn’t just one of
sorrow over sin; he also pointed people to the Savior who takes that sin away! You know his most
famous words, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” Luke assures us in his
careful account, “Yes, this really happened! Jesus did exactly what John said he would do! Jesus took
you sins away from you. He carried them himself, all the way to the cross. There is ‘God’s salvation’!”
Notice also how John’s preaching included “a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of
sins.” Your baptism should also play a big part in preparing your heart for the King. Here the Holy Spirit
acted directly for you. In your Baptism, you have a personal promise from your God to you as an
individual: “I made you my child. I wrote your name in the Book of Life. Jesus’ work was for you too!
Your sins are gone, and you have the power to live for me. The way to your heart is open to me, so now
go and produce the fruit a child of God wants to produce. Your Baptism should be a constant reminder to
you of who you really are, what I have done for you, and the power you have to live for me!”
What a blessing the Lord continues to work to prepare the royal highway to your hearts! He
does this through his Gospel in Word and Sacrament! Make the most of these opportunities to receive
that Gospel during this Advent Season and you will “Prepare the way for the Lord!” Amen.
Martin Luther, Neenah
Luke 3:1-6
9 December 2012
Advent 2, ILCW C
Prepare the royal highway
“Prepare the Royal Highway” is one hymn in the supplement that seemed to catch on right away.
It’s an Advent hymn, and we will be singing it in a few moments. It tells the story of the welcoming the
king as he draws near the city. Going back to ancient times, the custom was to make sure the roads were
in good repair for the king’s visit. On the day he arrived, the people would line the highways and streets
as the parade passed by. They would decorate and celebrate. They would sing and bow. It was the most
festive of occasions as he entered the gates of the city.
Of course, the King whose coming we prepare for during Advent is Jesus. We want to prepare,
and we want to talk a bit about that. But in many ways, the one who made the most preparation was God
himself. How did that happen? How did he prepare the royal highway?
The apostle Paul reminds of the Lord’s own preparations when he says, “When the time had
fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law.” What
that mean though: “when the time had fully come”? We start to get the idea at the beginning of Luke 3.
Luke begins with this long list of names and places: “In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius
Caesar—when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip
tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene—during the high priesthood of
Annas and Caiaphas.” As you heard those words, did you find yourself wondering, “What does this
really have to do with Jesus or even John the Baptist? Why does Luke seem to waste his breath?”
But think back a few weeks. During the season of End Time, we considered a number of lessons
from the book of Daniel. Daniel prophesied how the Lord would bring about a progression of monarchies
one after another across the land of Judah. For a while, it must have seemed like the people should start
preparing the royal highway for the next king as soon as they finished preparing for the last one. But
these events in world history were all according to God’s plan and timetable. Eventually, the Roman
Empire would rise to power. During the reign of this monarchy, the King of kings, God’s promised
Messiah, would come to his people.
Notice how significant these events are! Notice how each piece of preparation falls into place! At
the time Luke writes, language barriers are at a minimum. There is a common language throughout the
Mediterranean world. Almost everyone can speak Greek, thanks to Alexander the Great. Because of the
Roman military, travel is efficient and relatively safe. Roads are as good as they have ever been. The
activity of bandits, robbers, and pirates wither under the heat of Roman military presence. The Empire
provides a perfect place for a world-changing event to take place and news of it to spread.
Luke reminds us of these things with his list of emperor, governor, and tetrarchs. By offering
these exact details, Luke also proclaims to us the accuracy of his careful reporting of history. Such detail
tells us this account is real. It is truth. It is fact. It is not a story or fable or fairytale. It is not a pious
myth to keep you warm at night and keep you from being afraid of the dark. These are real people and
real events. It is real history, the account of your salvation. There can be doubt: it really happened!
Did you notice also the one preparing this royal highway? The Lord himself makes the
preparations. Behind the scenes of history, he moves the pieces into position, and his preparations do not
stop there. We heard in Malachi, “See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before
me.” He also prepares the hearts of his people to welcome his Messiah King. To do this, he sends a
messenger. Luke tells also how the messenger appears at exactly the proper time, “The word of God
came to John son of Zechariah in the desert.” John the Baptist, the improbable son of Zechariah and
Elizabeth, is that messenger. He will “prepare the way for the Lord.” He will play a major role in
preparing the royal highway for the King of kings.
Should this come as a big surprise? No, not at all! The Lord had promised all these things. He
promised how the history of nations would run in Palestine. He promised how he would send a special
messenger. He promised how he would prepare the people’s hearts. He promised how his long-awaited
Savior would enter the world. He promised how he would accomplish salvation. Isn’t that the real point
of Luke’s account here: the Lord has fulfilled his prophecies and promises and that is the signal your
salvation is now close at hand. Prepare to welcome it, to welcome him! Prepare the royal highway!
How do we do that? Should we put in a few more roundabouts? Do we need to extend the
Highway 41 project a few more years? Neenah seems to have their roads in good repair with plenty of
roundabouts, and I don’t want the highway project to go on any longer than you do. But that is not really
the point. Isaiah’s prophecy was not about a massive public works project. John didn’t come to fill in
every valley by driving the bulldozer or be the contractor’s voice calling out over the construction site.
We are talking about a different kind of reconstruction: a spiritual one.
The Savior-King does not come to rule from city hall or the state capitol. He comes to rule a
kingdom “not of this world,” but rather in the hearts of his people. The King does not travel on a literal
highway through the desert to your city. No the valleys and mountains, the hills and rough places are the
obstacles and obstructions that bar his way into your heart.
That was the case for the people in Israel. Much of Israel’s spiritual vitality had dried up. The
water of spiritual life was all but gone when John began his ministry. It was a spiritual wilderness.
Valleys of hypocrisy bordered mountains of pride and arrogance at being “children of Abraham.” They
emptied their worship of any meaning and so they emptied their spiritual wells. The law’s dead formality
littered the landscape like dry bones across the desert. How could repentance hope to sprout and grow?
What chance did it have of producing any fruit?
But the real question we must ask ourselves is this: do we have the same problem? Have we
prepared the royal highway into our heart so the King may enter? Has our faith become about looking
good and respectable to others, rather than about preparing to stand before the King? Do we have our
own mountains of pride? “I am go to church; I give offerings; I volunteer,” or as a church, “We are doing
good things; we are serious about God’s Word; we have the true teaching.” Has worship become just
empty ritual for you, just going through the motions? Do you grow weary of hearing about Jesus when
we should be telling people how to get their act together? Do we talk the talk of sorrow over sin and
trusting in Jesus, but we have no time or desire for that matter in walking the walk of true repentance?
Will the King find fruits of repentance in us or does he walk through a wasteland?
Prepare the royal highway! That is the encouragement of Isaiah; that is the message of John!
That is a problem for us on our own. But remember who made all the other preparations! He works to
prepare your heart too! He does it in the same way he did for his people so many years ago. Luke records
the answer for us, “The word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the desert. He went into all
the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.”
John came preaching, and he continues to preach to us. The message of the Gospel makes the
difference for us in our preparation because “it is the power of God” and he is at work in it. John
confronts the sin he sees. We have to confront the sin we see in our lives too. We must recognize it for
what it is: an obstruction and obstacle in welcoming the King. But John’s message wasn’t just one of
sorrow over sin; he also pointed people to the Savior who takes that sin away! You know his most
famous words, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” Luke assures us in his
careful account, “Yes, this really happened! Jesus did exactly what John said he would do! Jesus took
you sins away from you. He carried them himself, all the way to the cross. There is ‘God’s salvation’!”
Notice also how John’s preaching included “a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of
sins.” Your baptism should also play a big part in preparing your heart for the King. Here the Holy Spirit
acted directly for you. In your Baptism, you have a personal promise from your God to you as an
individual: “I made you my child. I wrote your name in the Book of Life. Jesus’ work was for you too!
Your sins are gone, and you have the power to live for me. The way to your heart is open to me, so now
go and produce the fruit a child of God wants to produce. Your Baptism should be a constant reminder to
you of who you really are, what I have done for you, and the power you have to live for me!”
What a blessing the Lord continues to work to prepare the royal highway to your hearts! He
does this through his Gospel in Word and Sacrament! Make the most of these opportunities to receive
that Gospel during this Advent Season and you will “Prepare the way for the Lord!” Amen.
Martin Luther, Neenah
Luke 3:1-6
9 December 2012
Advent 2, ILCW C
Prepare the royal highway
“Prepare the Royal Highway” is one hymn in the supplement that seemed to catch on right away.
It’s an Advent hymn, and we will be singing it in a few moments. It tells the story of the welcoming the
king as he draws near the city. Going back to ancient times, the custom was to make sure the roads were
in good repair for the king’s visit. On the day he arrived, the people would line the highways and streets
as the parade passed by. They would decorate and celebrate. They would sing and bow. It was the most
festive of occasions as he entered the gates of the city.
Of course, the King whose coming we prepare for during Advent is Jesus. We want to prepare,
and we want to talk a bit about that. But in many ways, the one who made the most preparation was God
himself. How did that happen? How did he prepare the royal highway?
The apostle Paul reminds of the Lord’s own preparations when he says, “When the time had
fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law.” What
that mean though: “when the time had fully come”? We start to get the idea at the beginning of Luke 3.
Luke begins with this long list of names and places: “In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius
Caesar—when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip
tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene—during the high priesthood of
Annas and Caiaphas.” As you heard those words, did you find yourself wondering, “What does this
really have to do with Jesus or even John the Baptist? Why does Luke seem to waste his breath?”
But think back a few weeks. During the season of End Time, we considered a number of lessons
from the book of Daniel. Daniel prophesied how the Lord would bring about a progression of monarchies
one after another across the land of Judah. For a while, it must have seemed like the people should start
preparing the royal highway for the next king as soon as they finished preparing for the last one. But
these events in world history were all according to God’s plan and timetable. Eventually, the Roman
Empire would rise to power. During the reign of this monarchy, the King of kings, God’s promised
Messiah, would come to his people.
Notice how significant these events are! Notice how each piece of preparation falls into place! At
the time Luke writes, language barriers are at a minimum. There is a common language throughout the
Mediterranean world. Almost everyone can speak Greek, thanks to Alexander the Great. Because of the
Roman military, travel is efficient and relatively safe. Roads are as good as they have ever been. The
activity of bandits, robbers, and pirates wither under the heat of Roman military presence. The Empire
provides a perfect place for a world-changing event to take place and news of it to spread.
Luke reminds us of these things with his list of emperor, governor, and tetrarchs. By offering
these exact details, Luke also proclaims to us the accuracy of his careful reporting of history. Such detail
tells us this account is real. It is truth. It is fact. It is not a story or fable or fairytale. It is not a pious
myth to keep you warm at night and keep you from being afraid of the dark. These are real people and
real events. It is real history, the account of your salvation. There can be doubt: it really happened!
Did you notice also the one preparing this royal highway? The Lord himself makes the
preparations. Behind the scenes of history, he moves the pieces into position, and his preparations do not
stop there. We heard in Malachi, “See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before
me.” He also prepares the hearts of his people to welcome his Messiah King. To do this, he sends a
messenger. Luke tells also how the messenger appears at exactly the proper time, “The word of God
came to John son of Zechariah in the desert.” John the Baptist, the improbable son of Zechariah and
Elizabeth, is that messenger. He will “prepare the way for the Lord.” He will play a major role in
preparing the royal highway for the King of kings.
Should this come as a big surprise? No, not at all! The Lord had promised all these things. He
promised how the history of nations would run in Palestine. He promised how he would send a special
messenger. He promised how he would prepare the people’s hearts. He promised how his long-awaited
Savior would enter the world. He promised how he would accomplish salvation. Isn’t that the real point
of Luke’s account here: the Lord has fulfilled his prophecies and promises and that is the signal your
salvation is now close at hand. Prepare to welcome it, to welcome him! Prepare the royal highway!
How do we do that? Should we put in a few more roundabouts? Do we need to extend the
Highway 41 project a few more years? Neenah seems to have their roads in good repair with plenty of
roundabouts, and I don’t want the highway project to go on any longer than you do. But that is not really
the point. Isaiah’s prophecy was not about a massive public works project. John didn’t come to fill in
every valley by driving the bulldozer or be the contractor’s voice calling out over the construction site.
We are talking about a different kind of reconstruction: a spiritual one.
The Savior-King does not come to rule from city hall or the state capitol. He comes to rule a
kingdom “not of this world,” but rather in the hearts of his people. The King does not travel on a literal
highway through the desert to your city. No the valleys and mountains, the hills and rough places are the
obstacles and obstructions that bar his way into your heart.
That was the case for the people in Israel. Much of Israel’s spiritual vitality had dried up. The
water of spiritual life was all but gone when John began his ministry. It was a spiritual wilderness.
Valleys of hypocrisy bordered mountains of pride and arrogance at being “children of Abraham.” They
emptied their worship of any meaning and so they emptied their spiritual wells. The law’s dead formality
littered the landscape like dry bones across the desert. How could repentance hope to sprout and grow?
What chance did it have of producing any fruit?
But the real question we must ask ourselves is this: do we have the same problem? Have we
prepared the royal highway into our heart so the King may enter? Has our faith become about looking
good and respectable to others, rather than about preparing to stand before the King? Do we have our
own mountains of pride? “I am go to church; I give offerings; I volunteer,” or as a church, “We are doing
good things; we are serious about God’s Word; we have the true teaching.” Has worship become just
empty ritual for you, just going through the motions? Do you grow weary of hearing about Jesus when
we should be telling people how to get their act together? Do we talk the talk of sorrow over sin and
trusting in Jesus, but we have no time or desire for that matter in walking the walk of true repentance?
Will the King find fruits of repentance in us or does he walk through a wasteland?
Prepare the royal highway! That is the encouragement of Isaiah; that is the message of John!
That is a problem for us on our own. But remember who made all the other preparations! He works to
prepare your heart too! He does it in the same way he did for his people so many years ago. Luke records
the answer for us, “The word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the desert. He went into all
the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.”
John came preaching, and he continues to preach to us. The message of the Gospel makes the
difference for us in our preparation because “it is the power of God” and he is at work in it. John
confronts the sin he sees. We have to confront the sin we see in our lives too. We must recognize it for
what it is: an obstruction and obstacle in welcoming the King. But John’s message wasn’t just one of
sorrow over sin; he also pointed people to the Savior who takes that sin away! You know his most
famous words, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” Luke assures us in his
careful account, “Yes, this really happened! Jesus did exactly what John said he would do! Jesus took
you sins away from you. He carried them himself, all the way to the cross. There is ‘God’s salvation’!”
Notice also how John’s preaching included “a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of
sins.” Your baptism should also play a big part in preparing your heart for the King. Here the Holy Spirit
acted directly for you. In your Baptism, you have a personal promise from your God to you as an
individual: “I made you my child. I wrote your name in the Book of Life. Jesus’ work was for you too!
Your sins are gone, and you have the power to live for me. The way to your heart is open to me, so now
go and produce the fruit a child of God wants to produce. Your Baptism should be a constant reminder to
you of who you really are, what I have done for you, and the power you have to live for me!”
What a blessing the Lord continues to work to prepare the royal highway to your hearts! He
does this through his Gospel in Word and Sacrament! Make the most of these opportunities to receive
that Gospel during this Advent Season and you will “Prepare the way for the Lord!” Amen.
Martin Luther, Neenah
Luke 3:1-6
9 December 2012
Advent 2, ILCW C
Prepare the royal highway
“Prepare the Royal Highway” is one hymn in the supplement that seemed to catch on right away.
It’s an Advent hymn, and we will be singing it in a few moments. It tells the story of the welcoming the
king as he draws near the city. Going back to ancient times, the custom was to make sure the roads were
in good repair for the king’s visit. On the day he arrived, the people would line the highways and streets
as the parade passed by. They would decorate and celebrate. They would sing and bow. It was the most
festive of occasions as he entered the gates of the city.
Of course, the King whose coming we prepare for during Advent is Jesus. We want to prepare,
and we want to talk a bit about that. But in many ways, the one who made the most preparation was God
himself. How did that happen? How did he prepare the royal highway?
The apostle Paul reminds of the Lord’s own preparations when he says, “When the time had
fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law.” What
that mean though: “when the time had fully come”? We start to get the idea at the beginning of Luke 3.
Luke begins with this long list of names and places: “In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius
Caesar—when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip
tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene—during the high priesthood of
Annas and Caiaphas.” As you heard those words, did you find yourself wondering, “What does this
really have to do with Jesus or even John the Baptist? Why does Luke seem to waste his breath?”
But think back a few weeks. During the season of End Time, we considered a number of lessons
from the book of Daniel. Daniel prophesied how the Lord would bring about a progression of monarchies
one after another across the land of Judah. For a while, it must have seemed like the people should start
preparing the royal highway for the next king as soon as they finished preparing for the last one. But
these events in world history were all according to God’s plan and timetable. Eventually, the Roman
Empire would rise to power. During the reign of this monarchy, the King of kings, God’s promised
Messiah, would come to his people.
Notice how significant these events are! Notice how each piece of preparation falls into place! At
the time Luke writes, language barriers are at a minimum. There is a common language throughout the
Mediterranean world. Almost everyone can speak Greek, thanks to Alexander the Great. Because of the
Roman military, travel is efficient and relatively safe. Roads are as good as they have ever been. The
activity of bandits, robbers, and pirates wither under the heat of Roman military presence. The Empire
provides a perfect place for a world-changing event to take place and news of it to spread.
Luke reminds us of these things with his list of emperor, governor, and tetrarchs. By offering
these exact details, Luke also proclaims to us the accuracy of his careful reporting of history. Such detail
tells us this account is real. It is truth. It is fact. It is not a story or fable or fairytale. It is not a pious
myth to keep you warm at night and keep you from being afraid of the dark. These are real people and
real events. It is real history, the account of your salvation. There can be doubt: it really happened!
Did you notice also the one preparing this royal highway? The Lord himself makes the
preparations. Behind the scenes of history, he moves the pieces into position, and his preparations do not
stop there. We heard in Malachi, “See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before
me.” He also prepares the hearts of his people to welcome his Messiah King. To do this, he sends a
messenger. Luke tells also how the messenger appears at exactly the proper time, “The word of God
came to John son of Zechariah in the desert.” John the Baptist, the improbable son of Zechariah and
Elizabeth, is that messenger. He will “prepare the way for the Lord.” He will play a major role in
preparing the royal highway for the King of kings.
Should this come as a big surprise? No, not at all! The Lord had promised all these things. He
promised how the history of nations would run in Palestine. He promised how he would send a special
messenger. He promised how he would prepare the people’s hearts. He promised how his long-awaited
Savior would enter the world. He promised how he would accomplish salvation. Isn’t that the real point
of Luke’s account here: the Lord has fulfilled his prophecies and promises and that is the signal your
salvation is now close at hand. Prepare to welcome it, to welcome him! Prepare the royal highway!
How do we do that? Should we put in a few more roundabouts? Do we need to extend the
Highway 41 project a few more years? Neenah seems to have their roads in good repair with plenty of
roundabouts, and I don’t want the highway project to go on any longer than you do. But that is not really
the point. Isaiah’s prophecy was not about a massive public works project. John didn’t come to fill in
every valley by driving the bulldozer or be the contractor’s voice calling out over the construction site.
We are talking about a different kind of reconstruction: a spiritual one.
The Savior-King does not come to rule from city hall or the state capitol. He comes to rule a
kingdom “not of this world,” but rather in the hearts of his people. The King does not travel on a literal
highway through the desert to your city. No the valleys and mountains, the hills and rough places are the
obstacles and obstructions that bar his way into your heart.
That was the case for the people in Israel. Much of Israel’s spiritual vitality had dried up. The
water of spiritual life was all but gone when John began his ministry. It was a spiritual wilderness.
Valleys of hypocrisy bordered mountains of pride and arrogance at being “children of Abraham.” They
emptied their worship of any meaning and so they emptied their spiritual wells. The law’s dead formality
littered the landscape like dry bones across the desert. How could repentance hope to sprout and grow?
What chance did it have of producing any fruit?
But the real question we must ask ourselves is this: do we have the same problem? Have we
prepared the royal highway into our heart so the King may enter? Has our faith become about looking
good and respectable to others, rather than about preparing to stand before the King? Do we have our
own mountains of pride? “I am go to church; I give offerings; I volunteer,” or as a church, “We are doing
good things; we are serious about God’s Word; we have the true teaching.” Has worship become just
empty ritual for you, just going through the motions? Do you grow weary of hearing about Jesus when
we should be telling people how to get their act together? Do we talk the talk of sorrow over sin and
trusting in Jesus, but we have no time or desire for that matter in walking the walk of true repentance?
Will the King find fruits of repentance in us or does he walk through a wasteland?
Prepare the royal highway! That is the encouragement of Isaiah; that is the message of John!
That is a problem for us on our own. But remember who made all the other preparations! He works to
prepare your heart too! He does it in the same way he did for his people so many years ago. Luke records
the answer for us, “The word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the desert. He went into all
the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.”
John came preaching, and he continues to preach to us. The message of the Gospel makes the
difference for us in our preparation because “it is the power of God” and he is at work in it. John
confronts the sin he sees. We have to confront the sin we see in our lives too. We must recognize it for
what it is: an obstruction and obstacle in welcoming the King. But John’s message wasn’t just one of
sorrow over sin; he also pointed people to the Savior who takes that sin away! You know his most
famous words, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” Luke assures us in his
careful account, “Yes, this really happened! Jesus did exactly what John said he would do! Jesus took
you sins away from you. He carried them himself, all the way to the cross. There is ‘God’s salvation’!”
Notice also how John’s preaching included “a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of
sins.” Your baptism should also play a big part in preparing your heart for the King. Here the Holy Spirit
acted directly for you. In your Baptism, you have a personal promise from your God to you as an
individual: “I made you my child. I wrote your name in the Book of Life. Jesus’ work was for you too!
Your sins are gone, and you have the power to live for me. The way to your heart is open to me, so now
go and produce the fruit a child of God wants to produce. Your Baptism should be a constant reminder to
you of who you really are, what I have done for you, and the power you have to live for me!”
What a blessing the Lord continues to work to prepare the royal highway to your hearts! He
does this through his Gospel in Word and Sacrament! Make the most of these opportunities to receive
that Gospel during this Advent Season and you will “Prepare the way for the Lord!” Amen.
Martin Luther, Neenah
Luke 3:1-6
9 December 2012
Advent 2, ILCW C
Prepare the royal highway
“Prepare the Royal Highway” is one hymn in the supplement that seemed to catch on right away.
It’s an Advent hymn, and we will be singing it in a few moments. It tells the story of the welcoming the
king as he draws near the city. Going back to ancient times, the custom was to make sure the roads were
in good repair for the king’s visit. On the day he arrived, the people would line the highways and streets
as the parade passed by. They would decorate and celebrate. They would sing and bow. It was the most
festive of occasions as he entered the gates of the city.
Of course, the King whose coming we prepare for during Advent is Jesus. We want to prepare,
and we want to talk a bit about that. But in many ways, the one who made the most preparation was God
himself. How did that happen? How did he prepare the royal highway?
The apostle Paul reminds of the Lord’s own preparations when he says, “When the time had
fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law.” What
that mean though: “when the time had fully come”? We start to get the idea at the beginning of Luke 3.
Luke begins with this long list of names and places: “In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius
Caesar—when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip
tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene—during the high priesthood of
Annas and Caiaphas.” As you heard those words, did you find yourself wondering, “What does this
really have to do with Jesus or even John the Baptist? Why does Luke seem to waste his breath?”
But think back a few weeks. During the season of End Time, we considered a number of lessons
from the book of Daniel. Daniel prophesied how the Lord would bring about a progression of monarchies
one after another across the land of Judah. For a while, it must have seemed like the people should start
preparing the royal highway for the next king as soon as they finished preparing for the last one. But
these events in world history were all according to God’s plan and timetable. Eventually, the Roman
Empire would rise to power. During the reign of this monarchy, the King of kings, God’s promised
Messiah, would come to his people.
Notice how significant these events are! Notice how each piece of preparation falls into place! At
the time Luke writes, language barriers are at a minimum. There is a common language throughout the
Mediterranean world. Almost everyone can speak Greek, thanks to Alexander the Great. Because of the
Roman military, travel is efficient and relatively safe. Roads are as good as they have ever been. The
activity of bandits, robbers, and pirates wither under the heat of Roman military presence. The Empire
provides a perfect place for a world-changing event to take place and news of it to spread.
Luke reminds us of these things with his list of emperor, governor, and tetrarchs. By offering
these exact details, Luke also proclaims to us the accuracy of his careful reporting of history. Such detail
tells us this account is real. It is truth. It is fact. It is not a story or fable or fairytale. It is not a pious
myth to keep you warm at night and keep you from being afraid of the dark. These are real people and
real events. It is real history, the account of your salvation. There can be doubt: it really happened!
Did you notice also the one preparing this royal highway? The Lord himself makes the
preparations. Behind the scenes of history, he moves the pieces into position, and his preparations do not
stop there. We heard in Malachi, “See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before
me.” He also prepares the hearts of his people to welcome his Messiah King. To do this, he sends a
messenger. Luke tells also how the messenger appears at exactly the proper time, “The word of God
came to John son of Zechariah in the desert.” John the Baptist, the improbable son of Zechariah and
Elizabeth, is that messenger. He will “prepare the way for the Lord.” He will play a major role in
preparing the royal highway for the King of kings.
Should this come as a big surprise? No, not at all! The Lord had promised all these things. He
promised how the history of nations would run in Palestine. He promised how he would send a special
messenger. He promised how he would prepare the people’s hearts. He promised how his long-awaited
Savior would enter the world. He promised how he would accomplish salvation. Isn’t that the real point
of Luke’s account here: the Lord has fulfilled his prophecies and promises and that is the signal your
salvation is now close at hand. Prepare to welcome it, to welcome him! Prepare the royal highway!
How do we do that? Should we put in a few more roundabouts? Do we need to extend the
Highway 41 project a few more years? Neenah seems to have their roads in good repair with plenty of
roundabouts, and I don’t want the highway project to go on any longer than you do. But that is not really
the point. Isaiah’s prophecy was not about a massive public works project. John didn’t come to fill in
every valley by driving the bulldozer or be the contractor’s voice calling out over the construction site.
We are talking about a different kind of reconstruction: a spiritual one.
The Savior-King does not come to rule from city hall or the state capitol. He comes to rule a
kingdom “not of this world,” but rather in the hearts of his people. The King does not travel on a literal
highway through the desert to your city. No the valleys and mountains, the hills and rough places are the
obstacles and obstructions that bar his way into your heart.
That was the case for the people in Israel. Much of Israel’s spiritual vitality had dried up. The
water of spiritual life was all but gone when John began his ministry. It was a spiritual wilderness.
Valleys of hypocrisy bordered mountains of pride and arrogance at being “children of Abraham.” They
emptied their worship of any meaning and so they emptied their spiritual wells. The law’s dead formality
littered the landscape like dry bones across the desert. How could repentance hope to sprout and grow?
What chance did it have of producing any fruit?
But the real question we must ask ourselves is this: do we have the same problem? Have we
prepared the royal highway into our heart so the King may enter? Has our faith become about looking
good and respectable to others, rather than about preparing to stand before the King? Do we have our
own mountains of pride? “I am go to church; I give offerings; I volunteer,” or as a church, “We are doing
good things; we are serious about God’s Word; we have the true teaching.” Has worship become just
empty ritual for you, just going through the motions? Do you grow weary of hearing about Jesus when
we should be telling people how to get their act together? Do we talk the talk of sorrow over sin and
trusting in Jesus, but we have no time or desire for that matter in walking the walk of true repentance?
Will the King find fruits of repentance in us or does he walk through a wasteland?
Prepare the royal highway! That is the encouragement of Isaiah; that is the message of John!
That is a problem for us on our own. But remember who made all the other preparations! He works to
prepare your heart too! He does it in the same way he did for his people so many years ago. Luke records
the answer for us, “The word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the desert. He went into all
the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.”
John came preaching, and he continues to preach to us. The message of the Gospel makes the
difference for us in our preparation because “it is the power of God” and he is at work in it. John
confronts the sin he sees. We have to confront the sin we see in our lives too. We must recognize it for
what it is: an obstruction and obstacle in welcoming the King. But John’s message wasn’t just one of
sorrow over sin; he also pointed people to the Savior who takes that sin away! You know his most
famous words, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” Luke assures us in his
careful account, “Yes, this really happened! Jesus did exactly what John said he would do! Jesus took
you sins away from you. He carried them himself, all the way to the cross. There is ‘God’s salvation’!”
Notice also how John’s preaching included “a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of
sins.” Your baptism should also play a big part in preparing your heart for the King. Here the Holy Spirit
acted directly for you. In your Baptism, you have a personal promise from your God to you as an
individual: “I made you my child. I wrote your name in the Book of Life. Jesus’ work was for you too!
Your sins are gone, and you have the power to live for me. The way to your heart is open to me, so now
go and produce the fruit a child of God wants to produce. Your Baptism should be a constant reminder to
you of who you really are, what I have done for you, and the power you have to live for me!”
What a blessing the Lord continues to work to prepare the royal highway to your hearts! He
does this through his Gospel in Word and Sacrament! Make the most of these opportunities to receive
that Gospel during this Advent Season and you will “Prepare the way for the Lord!” Amen.
Martin Luther, Neenah
Luke 3:1-6
9 December 2012
Advent 2, ILCW C
Prepare the royal highway
“Prepare the Royal Highway” is one hymn in the supplement that seemed to catch on right away.
It’s an Advent hymn, and we will be singing it in a few moments. It tells the story of the welcoming the
king as he draws near the city. Going back to ancient times, the custom was to make sure the roads were
in good repair for the king’s visit. On the day he arrived, the people would line the highways and streets
as the parade passed by. They would decorate and celebrate. They would sing and bow. It was the most
festive of occasions as he entered the gates of the city.
Of course, the King whose coming we prepare for during Advent is Jesus. We want to prepare,
and we want to talk a bit about that. But in many ways, the one who made the most preparation was God
himself. How did that happen? How did he prepare the royal highway?
The apostle Paul reminds of the Lord’s own preparations when he says, “When the time had
fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law.” What
that mean though: “when the time had fully come”? We start to get the idea at the beginning of Luke 3.
Luke begins with this long list of names and places: “In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius
Caesar—when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip
tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene—during the high priesthood of
Annas and Caiaphas.” As you heard those words, did you find yourself wondering, “What does this
really have to do with Jesus or even John the Baptist? Why does Luke seem to waste his breath?”
But think back a few weeks. During the season of End Time, we considered a number of lessons
from the book of Daniel. Daniel prophesied how the Lord would bring about a progression of monarchies
one after another across the land of Judah. For a while, it must have seemed like the people should start
preparing the royal highway for the next king as soon as they finished preparing for the last one. But
these events in world history were all according to God’s plan and timetable. Eventually, the Roman
Empire would rise to power. During the reign of this monarchy, the King of kings, God’s promised
Messiah, would come to his people.
Notice how significant these events are! Notice how each piece of preparation falls into place! At
the time Luke writes, language barriers are at a minimum. There is a common language throughout the
Mediterranean world. Almost everyone can speak Greek, thanks to Alexander the Great. Because of the
Roman military, travel is efficient and relatively safe. Roads are as good as they have ever been. The
activity of bandits, robbers, and pirates wither under the heat of Roman military presence. The Empire
provides a perfect place for a world-changing event to take place and news of it to spread.
Luke reminds us of these things with his list of emperor, governor, and tetrarchs. By offering
these exact details, Luke also proclaims to us the accuracy of his careful reporting of history. Such detail
tells us this account is real. It is truth. It is fact. It is not a story or fable or fairytale. It is not a pious
myth to keep you warm at night and keep you from being afraid of the dark. These are real people and
real events. It is real history, the account of your salvation. There can be doubt: it really happened!
Did you notice also the one preparing this royal highway? The Lord himself makes the
preparations. Behind the scenes of history, he moves the pieces into position, and his preparations do not
stop there. We heard in Malachi, “See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before
me.” He also prepares the hearts of his people to welcome his Messiah King. To do this, he sends a
messenger. Luke tells also how the messenger appears at exactly the proper time, “The word of God
came to John son of Zechariah in the desert.” John the Baptist, the improbable son of Zechariah and
Elizabeth, is that messenger. He will “prepare the way for the Lord.” He will play a major role in
preparing the royal highway for the King of kings.
Should this come as a big surprise? No, not at all! The Lord had promised all these things. He
promised how the history of nations would run in Palestine. He promised how he would send a special
messenger. He promised how he would prepare the people’s hearts. He promised how his long-awaited
Savior would enter the world. He promised how he would accomplish salvation. Isn’t that the real point
of Luke’s account here: the Lord has fulfilled his prophecies and promises and that is the signal your
salvation is now close at hand. Prepare to welcome it, to welcome him! Prepare the royal highway!
How do we do that? Should we put in a few more roundabouts? Do we need to extend the
Highway 41 project a few more years? Neenah seems to have their roads in good repair with plenty of
roundabouts, and I don’t want the highway project to go on any longer than you do. But that is not really
the point. Isaiah’s prophecy was not about a massive public works project. John didn’t come to fill in
every valley by driving the bulldozer or be the contractor’s voice calling out over the construction site.
We are talking about a different kind of reconstruction: a spiritual one.
The Savior-King does not come to rule from city hall or the state capitol. He comes to rule a
kingdom “not of this world,” but rather in the hearts of his people. The King does not travel on a literal
highway through the desert to your city. No the valleys and mountains, the hills and rough places are the
obstacles and obstructions that bar his way into your heart.
That was the case for the people in Israel. Much of Israel’s spiritual vitality had dried up. The
water of spiritual life was all but gone when John began his ministry. It was a spiritual wilderness.
Valleys of hypocrisy bordered mountains of pride and arrogance at being “children of Abraham.” They
emptied their worship of any meaning and so they emptied their spiritual wells. The law’s dead formality
littered the landscape like dry bones across the desert. How could repentance hope to sprout and grow?
What chance did it have of producing any fruit?
But the real question we must ask ourselves is this: do we have the same problem? Have we
prepared the royal highway into our heart so the King may enter? Has our faith become about looking
good and respectable to others, rather than about preparing to stand before the King? Do we have our
own mountains of pride? “I am go to church; I give offerings; I volunteer,” or as a church, “We are doing
good things; we are serious about God’s Word; we have the true teaching.” Has worship become just
empty ritual for you, just going through the motions? Do you grow weary of hearing about Jesus when
we should be telling people how to get their act together? Do we talk the talk of sorrow over sin and
trusting in Jesus, but we have no time or desire for that matter in walking the walk of true repentance?
Will the King find fruits of repentance in us or does he walk through a wasteland?
Prepare the royal highway! That is the encouragement of Isaiah; that is the message of John!
That is a problem for us on our own. But remember who made all the other preparations! He works to
prepare your heart too! He does it in the same way he did for his people so many years ago. Luke records
the answer for us, “The word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the desert. He went into all
the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.”
John came preaching, and he continues to preach to us. The message of the Gospel makes the
difference for us in our preparation because “it is the power of God” and he is at work in it. John
confronts the sin he sees. We have to confront the sin we see in our lives too. We must recognize it for
what it is: an obstruction and obstacle in welcoming the King. But John’s message wasn’t just one of
sorrow over sin; he also pointed people to the Savior who takes that sin away! You know his most
famous words, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” Luke assures us in his
careful account, “Yes, this really happened! Jesus did exactly what John said he would do! Jesus took
you sins away from you. He carried them himself, all the way to the cross. There is ‘God’s salvation’!”
Notice also how John’s preaching included “a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of
sins.” Your baptism should also play a big part in preparing your heart for the King. Here the Holy Spirit
acted directly for you. In your Baptism, you have a personal promise from your God to you as an
individual: “I made you my child. I wrote your name in the Book of Life. Jesus’ work was for you too!
Your sins are gone, and you have the power to live for me. The way to your heart is open to me, so now
go and produce the fruit a child of God wants to produce. Your Baptism should be a constant reminder to
you of who you really are, what I have done for you, and the power you have to live for me!”
What a blessing the Lord continues to work to prepare the royal highway to your hearts! He
does this through his Gospel in Word and Sacrament! Make the most of these opportunities to receive
that Gospel during this Advent Season and you will “Prepare the way for the Lord!” Amen.
Martin Luther, Neenah
Luke 3:1-6
9 December 2012
Advent 2, ILCW C
Prepare the royal highway
“Prepare the Royal Highway” is one hymn in the supplement that seemed to catch on right away.
It’s an Advent hymn, and we will be singing it in a few moments. It tells the story of the welcoming the
king as he draws near the city. Going back to ancient times, the custom was to make sure the roads were
in good repair for the king’s visit. On the day he arrived, the people would line the highways and streets
as the parade passed by. They would decorate and celebrate. They would sing and bow. It was the most
festive of occasions as he entered the gates of the city.
Of course, the King whose coming we prepare for during Advent is Jesus. We want to prepare,
and we want to talk a bit about that. But in many ways, the one who made the most preparation was God
himself. How did that happen? How did he prepare the royal highway?
The apostle Paul reminds of the Lord’s own preparations when he says, “When the time had
fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law.” What
that mean though: “when the time had fully come”? We start to get the idea at the beginning of Luke 3.
Luke begins with this long list of names and places: “In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius
Caesar—when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip
tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene—during the high priesthood of
Annas and Caiaphas.” As you heard those words, did you find yourself wondering, “What does this
really have to do with Jesus or even John the Baptist? Why does Luke seem to waste his breath?”
But think back a few weeks. During the season of End Time, we considered a number of lessons
from the book of Daniel. Daniel prophesied how the Lord would bring about a progression of monarchies
one after another across the land of Judah. For a while, it must have seemed like the people should start
preparing the royal highway for the next king as soon as they finished preparing for the last one. But
these events in world history were all according to God’s plan and timetable. Eventually, the Roman
Empire would rise to power. During the reign of this monarchy, the King of kings, God’s promised
Messiah, would come to his people.
Notice how significant these events are! Notice how each piece of preparation falls into place! At
the time Luke writes, language barriers are at a minimum. There is a common language throughout the
Mediterranean world. Almost everyone can speak Greek, thanks to Alexander the Great. Because of the
Roman military, travel is efficient and relatively safe. Roads are as good as they have ever been. The
activity of bandits, robbers, and pirates wither under the heat of Roman military presence. The Empire
provides a perfect place for a world-changing event to take place and news of it to spread.
Luke reminds us of these things with his list of emperor, governor, and tetrarchs. By offering
these exact details, Luke also proclaims to us the accuracy of his careful reporting of history. Such detail
tells us this account is real. It is truth. It is fact. It is not a story or fable or fairytale. It is not a pious
myth to keep you warm at night and keep you from being afraid of the dark. These are real people and
real events. It is real history, the account of your salvation. There can be doubt: it really happened!
Did you notice also the one preparing this royal highway? The Lord himself makes the
preparations. Behind the scenes of history, he moves the pieces into position, and his preparations do not
stop there. We heard in Malachi, “See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before
me.” He also prepares the hearts of his people to welcome his Messiah King. To do this, he sends a
messenger. Luke tells also how the messenger appears at exactly the proper time, “The word of God
came to John son of Zechariah in the desert.” John the Baptist, the improbable son of Zechariah and
Elizabeth, is that messenger. He will “prepare the way for the Lord.” He will play a major role in
preparing the royal highway for the King of kings.
Should this come as a big surprise? No, not at all! The Lord had promised all these things. He
promised how the history of nations would run in Palestine. He promised how he would send a special
messenger. He promised how he would prepare the people’s hearts. He promised how his long-awaited
Savior would enter the world. He promised how he would accomplish salvation. Isn’t that the real point
of Luke’s account here: the Lord has fulfilled his prophecies and promises and that is the signal your
salvation is now close at hand. Prepare to welcome it, to welcome him! Prepare the royal highway!
How do we do that? Should we put in a few more roundabouts? Do we need to extend the
Highway 41 project a few more years? Neenah seems to have their roads in good repair with plenty of
roundabouts, and I don’t want the highway project to go on any longer than you do. But that is not really
the point. Isaiah’s prophecy was not about a massive public works project. John didn’t come to fill in
every valley by driving the bulldozer or be the contractor’s voice calling out over the construction site.
We are talking about a different kind of reconstruction: a spiritual one.
The Savior-King does not come to rule from city hall or the state capitol. He comes to rule a
kingdom “not of this world,” but rather in the hearts of his people. The King does not travel on a literal
highway through the desert to your city. No the valleys and mountains, the hills and rough places are the
obstacles and obstructions that bar his way into your heart.
That was the case for the people in Israel. Much of Israel’s spiritual vitality had dried up. The
water of spiritual life was all but gone when John began his ministry. It was a spiritual wilderness.
Valleys of hypocrisy bordered mountains of pride and arrogance at being “children of Abraham.” They
emptied their worship of any meaning and so they emptied their spiritual wells. The law’s dead formality
littered the landscape like dry bones across the desert. How could repentance hope to sprout and grow?
What chance did it have of producing any fruit?
But the real question we must ask ourselves is this: do we have the same problem? Have we
prepared the royal highway into our heart so the King may enter? Has our faith become about looking
good and respectable to others, rather than about preparing to stand before the King? Do we have our
own mountains of pride? “I am go to church; I give offerings; I volunteer,” or as a church, “We are doing
good things; we are serious about God’s Word; we have the true teaching.” Has worship become just
empty ritual for you, just going through the motions? Do you grow weary of hearing about Jesus when
we should be telling people how to get their act together? Do we talk the talk of sorrow over sin and
trusting in Jesus, but we have no time or desire for that matter in walking the walk of true repentance?
Will the King find fruits of repentance in us or does he walk through a wasteland?
Prepare the royal highway! That is the encouragement of Isaiah; that is the message of John!
That is a problem for us on our own. But remember who made all the other preparations! He works to
prepare your heart too! He does it in the same way he did for his people so many years ago. Luke records
the answer for us, “The word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the desert. He went into all
the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.”
John came preaching, and he continues to preach to us. The message of the Gospel makes the
difference for us in our preparation because “it is the power of God” and he is at work in it. John
confronts the sin he sees. We have to confront the sin we see in our lives too. We must recognize it for
what it is: an obstruction and obstacle in welcoming the King. But John’s message wasn’t just one of
sorrow over sin; he also pointed people to the Savior who takes that sin away! You know his most
famous words, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” Luke assures us in his
careful account, “Yes, this really happened! Jesus did exactly what John said he would do! Jesus took
you sins away from you. He carried them himself, all the way to the cross. There is ‘God’s salvation’!”
Notice also how John’s preaching included “a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of
sins.” Your baptism should also play a big part in preparing your heart for the King. Here the Holy Spirit
acted directly for you. In your Baptism, you have a personal promise from your God to you as an
individual: “I made you my child. I wrote your name in the Book of Life. Jesus’ work was for you too!
Your sins are gone, and you have the power to live for me. The way to your heart is open to me, so now
go and produce the fruit a child of God wants to produce. Your Baptism should be a constant reminder to
you of who you really are, what I have done for you, and the power you have to live for me!”
What a blessing the Lord continues to work to prepare the royal highway to your hearts! He
does this through his Gospel in Word and Sacrament! Make the most of these opportunities to receive
that Gospel during this Advent Season and you will “Prepare the way for the Lord!” Amen.
Martin Luther, Neenah
Luke 3:1-6
9 December 2012
Advent 2, ILCW C
Prepare the royal highway
“Prepare the Royal Highway” is one hymn in the supplement that seemed to catch on right away.
It’s an Advent hymn, and we will be singing it in a few moments. It tells the story of the welcoming the
king as he draws near the city. Going back to ancient times, the custom was to make sure the roads were
in good repair for the king’s visit. On the day he arrived, the people would line the highways and streets
as the parade passed by. They would decorate and celebrate. They would sing and bow. It was the most
festive of occasions as he entered the gates of the city.
Of course, the King whose coming we prepare for during Advent is Jesus. We want to prepare,
and we want to talk a bit about that. But in many ways, the one who made the most preparation was God
himself. How did that happen? How did he prepare the royal highway?
The apostle Paul reminds of the Lord’s own preparations when he says, “When the time had
fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law.” What
that mean though: “when the time had fully come”? We start to get the idea at the beginning of Luke 3.
Luke begins with this long list of names and places: “In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius
Caesar—when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip
tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene—during the high priesthood of
Annas and Caiaphas.” As you heard those words, did you find yourself wondering, “What does this
really have to do with Jesus or even John the Baptist? Why does Luke seem to waste his breath?”
But think back a few weeks. During the season of End Time, we considered a number of lessons
from the book of Daniel. Daniel prophesied how the Lord would bring about a progression of monarchies
one after another across the land of Judah. For a while, it must have seemed like the people should start
preparing the royal highway for the next king as soon as they finished preparing for the last one. But
these events in world history were all according to God’s plan and timetable. Eventually, the Roman
Empire would rise to power. During the reign of this monarchy, the King of kings, God’s promised
Messiah, would come to his people.
Notice how significant these events are! Notice how each piece of preparation falls into place! At
the time Luke writes, language barriers are at a minimum. There is a common language throughout the
Mediterranean world. Almost everyone can speak Greek, thanks to Alexander the Great. Because of the
Roman military, travel is efficient and relatively safe. Roads are as good as they have ever been. The
activity of bandits, robbers, and pirates wither under the heat of Roman military presence. The Empire
provides a perfect place for a world-changing event to take place and news of it to spread.
Luke reminds us of these things with his list of emperor, governor, and tetrarchs. By offering
these exact details, Luke also proclaims to us the accuracy of his careful reporting of history. Such detail
tells us this account is real. It is truth. It is fact. It is not a story or fable or fairytale. It is not a pious
myth to keep you warm at night and keep you from being afraid of the dark. These are real people and
real events. It is real history, the account of your salvation. There can be doubt: it really happened!
Did you notice also the one preparing this royal highway? The Lord himself makes the
preparations. Behind the scenes of history, he moves the pieces into position, and his preparations do not
stop there. We heard in Malachi, “See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before
me.” He also prepares the hearts of his people to welcome his Messiah King. To do this, he sends a
messenger. Luke tells also how the messenger appears at exactly the proper time, “The word of God
came to John son of Zechariah in the desert.” John the Baptist, the improbable son of Zechariah and
Elizabeth, is that messenger. He will “prepare the way for the Lord.” He will play a major role in
preparing the royal highway for the King of kings.
Should this come as a big surprise? No, not at all! The Lord had promised all these things. He
promised how the history of nations would run in Palestine. He promised how he would send a special
messenger. He promised how he would prepare the people’s hearts. He promised how his long-awaited
Savior would enter the world. He promised how he would accomplish salvation. Isn’t that the real point
of Luke’s account here: the Lord has fulfilled his prophecies and promises and that is the signal your
salvation is now close at hand. Prepare to welcome it, to welcome him! Prepare the royal highway!
How do we do that? Should we put in a few more roundabouts? Do we need to extend the
Highway 41 project a few more years? Neenah seems to have their roads in good repair with plenty of
roundabouts, and I don’t want the highway project to go on any longer than you do. But that is not really
the point. Isaiah’s prophecy was not about a massive public works project. John didn’t come to fill in
every valley by driving the bulldozer or be the contractor’s voice calling out over the construction site.
We are talking about a different kind of reconstruction: a spiritual one.
The Savior-King does not come to rule from city hall or the state capitol. He comes to rule a
kingdom “not of this world,” but rather in the hearts of his people. The King does not travel on a literal
highway through the desert to your city. No the valleys and mountains, the hills and rough places are the
obstacles and obstructions that bar his way into your heart.
That was the case for the people in Israel. Much of Israel’s spiritual vitality had dried up. The
water of spiritual life was all but gone when John began his ministry. It was a spiritual wilderness.
Valleys of hypocrisy bordered mountains of pride and arrogance at being “children of Abraham.” They
emptied their worship of any meaning and so they emptied their spiritual wells. The law’s dead formality
littered the landscape like dry bones across the desert. How could repentance hope to sprout and grow?
What chance did it have of producing any fruit?
But the real question we must ask ourselves is this: do we have the same problem? Have we
prepared the royal highway into our heart so the King may enter? Has our faith become about looking
good and respectable to others, rather than about preparing to stand before the King? Do we have our
own mountains of pride? “I am go to church; I give offerings; I volunteer,” or as a church, “We are doing
good things; we are serious about God’s Word; we have the true teaching.” Has worship become just
empty ritual for you, just going through the motions? Do you grow weary of hearing about Jesus when
we should be telling people how to get their act together? Do we talk the talk of sorrow over sin and
trusting in Jesus, but we have no time or desire for that matter in walking the walk of true repentance?
Will the King find fruits of repentance in us or does he walk through a wasteland?
Prepare the royal highway! That is the encouragement of Isaiah; that is the message of John!
That is a problem for us on our own. But remember who made all the other preparations! He works to
prepare your heart too! He does it in the same way he did for his people so many years ago. Luke records
the answer for us, “The word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the desert. He went into all
the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.”
John came preaching, and he continues to preach to us. The message of the Gospel makes the
difference for us in our preparation because “it is the power of God” and he is at work in it. John
confronts the sin he sees. We have to confront the sin we see in our lives too. We must recognize it for
what it is: an obstruction and obstacle in welcoming the King. But John’s message wasn’t just one of
sorrow over sin; he also pointed people to the Savior who takes that sin away! You know his most
famous words, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” Luke assures us in his
careful account, “Yes, this really happened! Jesus did exactly what John said he would do! Jesus took
you sins away from you. He carried them himself, all the way to the cross. There is ‘God’s salvation’!”
Notice also how John’s preaching included “a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of
sins.” Your baptism should also play a big part in preparing your heart for the King. Here the Holy Spirit
acted directly for you. In your Baptism, you have a personal promise from your God to you as an
individual: “I made you my child. I wrote your name in the Book of Life. Jesus’ work was for you too!
Your sins are gone, and you have the power to live for me. The way to your heart is open to me, so now
go and produce the fruit a child of God wants to produce. Your Baptism should be a constant reminder to
you of who you really are, what I have done for you, and the power you have to live for me!”
What a blessing the Lord continues to work to prepare the royal highway to your hearts! He
does this through his Gospel in Word and Sacrament! Make the most of these opportunities to receive
that Gospel during this Advent Season and you will “Prepare the way for the Lord!” Amen.
Martin Luther, Neenah
Luke 3:1-6
9 December 2012
Advent 2, ILCW C
Prepare the royal highway
“Prepare the Royal Highway” is one hymn in the supplement that seemed to catch on right away.
It’s an Advent hymn, and we will be singing it in a few moments. It tells the story of the welcoming the
king as he draws near the city. Going back to ancient times, the custom was to make sure the roads were
in good repair for the king’s visit. On the day he arrived, the people would line the highways and streets
as the parade passed by. They would decorate and celebrate. They would sing and bow. It was the most
festive of occasions as he entered the gates of the city.
Of course, the King whose coming we prepare for during Advent is Jesus. We want to prepare,
and we want to talk a bit about that. But in many ways, the one who made the most preparation was God
himself. How did that happen? How did he prepare the royal highway?
The apostle Paul reminds of the Lord’s own preparations when he says, “When the time had
fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law.” What
that mean though: “when the time had fully come”? We start to get the idea at the beginning of Luke 3.
Luke begins with this long list of names and places: “In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius
Caesar—when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip
tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene—during the high priesthood of
Annas and Caiaphas.” As you heard those words, did you find yourself wondering, “What does this
really have to do with Jesus or even John the Baptist? Why does Luke seem to waste his breath?”
But think back a few weeks. During the season of End Time, we considered a number of lessons
from the book of Daniel. Daniel prophesied how the Lord would bring about a progression of monarchies
one after another across the land of Judah. For a while, it must have seemed like the people should start
preparing the royal highway for the next king as soon as they finished preparing for the last one. But
these events in world history were all according to God’s plan and timetable. Eventually, the Roman
Empire would rise to power. During the reign of this monarchy, the King of kings, God’s promised
Messiah, would come to his people.
Notice how significant these events are! Notice how each piece of preparation falls into place! At
the time Luke writes, language barriers are at a minimum. There is a common language throughout the
Mediterranean world. Almost everyone can speak Greek, thanks to Alexander the Great. Because of the
Roman military, travel is efficient and relatively safe. Roads are as good as they have ever been. The
activity of bandits, robbers, and pirates wither under the heat of Roman military presence. The Empire
provides a perfect place for a world-changing event to take place and news of it to spread.
Luke reminds us of these things with his list of emperor, governor, and tetrarchs. By offering
these exact details, Luke also proclaims to us the accuracy of his careful reporting of history. Such detail
tells us this account is real. It is truth. It is fact. It is not a story or fable or fairytale. It is not a pious
myth to keep you warm at night and keep you from being afraid of the dark. These are real people and
real events. It is real history, the account of your salvation. There can be doubt: it really happened!
Did you notice also the one preparing this royal highway? The Lord himself makes the
preparations. Behind the scenes of history, he moves the pieces into position, and his preparations do not
stop there. We heard in Malachi, “See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before
me.” He also prepares the hearts of his people to welcome his Messiah King. To do this, he sends a
messenger. Luke tells also how the messenger appears at exactly the proper time, “The word of God
came to John son of Zechariah in the desert.” John the Baptist, the improbable son of Zechariah and
Elizabeth, is that messenger. He will “prepare the way for the Lord.” He will play a major role in
preparing the royal highway for the King of kings.
Should this come as a big surprise? No, not at all! The Lord had promised all these things. He
promised how the history of nations would run in Palestine. He promised how he would send a special
messenger. He promised how he would prepare the people’s hearts. He promised how his long-awaited
Savior would enter the world. He promised how he would accomplish salvation. Isn’t that the real point
of Luke’s account here: the Lord has fulfilled his prophecies and promises and that is the signal your
salvation is now close at hand. Prepare to welcome it, to welcome him! Prepare the royal highway!
How do we do that? Should we put in a few more roundabouts? Do we need to extend the
Highway 41 project a few more years? Neenah seems to have their roads in good repair with plenty of
roundabouts, and I don’t want the highway project to go on any longer than you do. But that is not really
the point. Isaiah’s prophecy was not about a massive public works project. John didn’t come to fill in
every valley by driving the bulldozer or be the contractor’s voice calling out over the construction site.
We are talking about a different kind of reconstruction: a spiritual one.
The Savior-King does not come to rule from city hall or the state capitol. He comes to rule a
kingdom “not of this world,” but rather in the hearts of his people. The King does not travel on a literal
highway through the desert to your city. No the valleys and mountains, the hills and rough places are the
obstacles and obstructions that bar his way into your heart.
That was the case for the people in Israel. Much of Israel’s spiritual vitality had dried up. The
water of spiritual life was all but gone when John began his ministry. It was a spiritual wilderness.
Valleys of hypocrisy bordered mountains of pride and arrogance at being “children of Abraham.” They
emptied their worship of any meaning and so they emptied their spiritual wells. The law’s dead formality
littered the landscape like dry bones across the desert. How could repentance hope to sprout and grow?
What chance did it have of producing any fruit?
But the real question we must ask ourselves is this: do we have the same problem? Have we
prepared the royal highway into our heart so the King may enter? Has our faith become about looking
good and respectable to others, rather than about preparing to stand before the King? Do we have our
own mountains of pride? “I am go to church; I give offerings; I volunteer,” or as a church, “We are doing
good things; we are serious about God’s Word; we have the true teaching.” Has worship become just
empty ritual for you, just going through the motions? Do you grow weary of hearing about Jesus when
we should be telling people how to get their act together? Do we talk the talk of sorrow over sin and
trusting in Jesus, but we have no time or desire for that matter in walking the walk of true repentance?
Will the King find fruits of repentance in us or does he walk through a wasteland?
Prepare the royal highway! That is the encouragement of Isaiah; that is the message of John!
That is a problem for us on our own. But remember who made all the other preparations! He works to
prepare your heart too! He does it in the same way he did for his people so many years ago. Luke records
the answer for us, “The word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the desert. He went into all
the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.”
John came preaching, and he continues to preach to us. The message of the Gospel makes the
difference for us in our preparation because “it is the power of God” and he is at work in it. John
confronts the sin he sees. We have to confront the sin we see in our lives too. We must recognize it for
what it is: an obstruction and obstacle in welcoming the King. But John’s message wasn’t just one of
sorrow over sin; he also pointed people to the Savior who takes that sin away! You know his most
famous words, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” Luke assures us in his
careful account, “Yes, this really happened! Jesus did exactly what John said he would do! Jesus took
you sins away from you. He carried them himself, all the way to the cross. There is ‘God’s salvation’!”
Notice also how John’s preaching included “a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of
sins.” Your baptism should also play a big part in preparing your heart for the King. Here the Holy Spirit
acted directly for you. In your Baptism, you have a personal promise from your God to you as an
individual: “I made you my child. I wrote your name in the Book of Life. Jesus’ work was for you too!
Your sins are gone, and you have the power to live for me. The way to your heart is open to me, so now
go and produce the fruit a child of God wants to produce. Your Baptism should be a constant reminder to
you of who you really are, what I have done for you, and the power you have to live for me!”
What a blessing the Lord continues to work to prepare the royal highway to your hearts! He
does this through his Gospel in Word and Sacrament! Make the most of these opportunities to receive
that Gospel during this Advent Season and you will “Prepare the way for the Lord!” Amen.
Martin Luther, Neenah
Luke 3:1-6
9 December 2012
Advent 2, ILCW C
Prepare the royal highway
“Prepare the Royal Highway” is one hymn in the supplement that seemed to catch on right away.
It’s an Advent hymn, and we will be singing it in a few moments. It tells the story of the welcoming the
king as he draws near the city. Going back to ancient times, the custom was to make sure the roads were
in good repair for the king’s visit. On the day he arrived, the people would line the highways and streets
as the parade passed by. They would decorate and celebrate. They would sing and bow. It was the most
festive of occasions as he entered the gates of the city.
Of course, the King whose coming we prepare for during Advent is Jesus. We want to prepare,
and we want to talk a bit about that. But in many ways, the one who made the most preparation was God
himself. How did that happen? How did he prepare the royal highway?
The apostle Paul reminds of the Lord’s own preparations when he says, “When the time had
fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law.” What
that mean though: “when the time had fully come”? We start to get the idea at the beginning of Luke 3.
Luke begins with this long list of names and places: “In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius
Caesar—when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip
tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene—during the high priesthood of
Annas and Caiaphas.” As you heard those words, did you find yourself wondering, “What does this
really have to do with Jesus or even John the Baptist? Why does Luke seem to waste his breath?”
But think back a few weeks. During the season of End Time, we considered a number of lessons
from the book of Daniel. Daniel prophesied how the Lord would bring about a progression of monarchies
one after another across the land of Judah. For a while, it must have seemed like the people should start
preparing the royal highway for the next king as soon as they finished preparing for the last one. But
these events in world history were all according to God’s plan and timetable. Eventually, the Roman
Empire would rise to power. During the reign of this monarchy, the King of kings, God’s promised
Messiah, would come to his people.
Notice how significant these events are! Notice how each piece of preparation falls into place! At
the time Luke writes, language barriers are at a minimum. There is a common language throughout the
Mediterranean world. Almost everyone can speak Greek, thanks to Alexander the Great. Because of the
Roman military, travel is efficient and relatively safe. Roads are as good as they have ever been. The
activity of bandits, robbers, and pirates wither under the heat of Roman military presence. The Empire
provides a perfect place for a world-changing event to take place and news of it to spread.
Luke reminds us of these things with his list of emperor, governor, and tetrarchs. By offering
these exact details, Luke also proclaims to us the accuracy of his careful reporting of history. Such detail
tells us this account is real. It is truth. It is fact. It is not a story or fable or fairytale. It is not a pious
myth to keep you warm at night and keep you from being afraid of the dark. These are real people and
real events. It is real history, the account of your salvation. There can be doubt: it really happened!
Did you notice also the one preparing this royal highway? The Lord himself makes the
preparations. Behind the scenes of history, he moves the pieces into position, and his preparations do not
stop there. We heard in Malachi, “See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before
me.” He also prepares the hearts of his people to welcome his Messiah King. To do this, he sends a
messenger. Luke tells also how the messenger appears at exactly the proper time, “The word of God
came to John son of Zechariah in the desert.” John the Baptist, the improbable son of Zechariah and
Elizabeth, is that messenger. He will “prepare the way for the Lord.” He will play a major role in
preparing the royal highway for the King of kings.
Should this come as a big surprise? No, not at all! The Lord had promised all these things. He
promised how the history of nations would run in Palestine. He promised how he would send a special
messenger. He promised how he would prepare the people’s hearts. He promised how his long-awaited
Savior would enter the world. He promised how he would accomplish salvation. Isn’t that the real point
of Luke’s account here: the Lord has fulfilled his prophecies and promises and that is the signal your
salvation is now close at hand. Prepare to welcome it, to welcome him! Prepare the royal highway!
How do we do that? Should we put in a few more roundabouts? Do we need to extend the
Highway 41 project a few more years? Neenah seems to have their roads in good repair with plenty of
roundabouts, and I don’t want the highway project to go on any longer than you do. But that is not really
the point. Isaiah’s prophecy was not about a massive public works project. John didn’t come to fill in
every valley by driving the bulldozer or be the contractor’s voice calling out over the construction site.
We are talking about a different kind of reconstruction: a spiritual one.
The Savior-King does not come to rule from city hall or the state capitol. He comes to rule a
kingdom “not of this world,” but rather in the hearts of his people. The King does not travel on a literal
highway through the desert to your city. No the valleys and mountains, the hills and rough places are the
obstacles and obstructions that bar his way into your heart.
That was the case for the people in Israel. Much of Israel’s spiritual vitality had dried up. The
water of spiritual life was all but gone when John began his ministry. It was a spiritual wilderness.
Valleys of hypocrisy bordered mountains of pride and arrogance at being “children of Abraham.” They
emptied their worship of any meaning and so they emptied their spiritual wells. The law’s dead formality
littered the landscape like dry bones across the desert. How could repentance hope to sprout and grow?
What chance did it have of producing any fruit?
But the real question we must ask ourselves is this: do we have the same problem? Have we
prepared the royal highway into our heart so the King may enter? Has our faith become about looking
good and respectable to others, rather than about preparing to stand before the King? Do we have our
own mountains of pride? “I am go to church; I give offerings; I volunteer,” or as a church, “We are doing
good things; we are serious about God’s Word; we have the true teaching.” Has worship become just
empty ritual for you, just going through the motions? Do you grow weary of hearing about Jesus when
we should be telling people how to get their act together? Do we talk the talk of sorrow over sin and
trusting in Jesus, but we have no time or desire for that matter in walking the walk of true repentance?
Will the King find fruits of repentance in us or does he walk through a wasteland?
Prepare the royal highway! That is the encouragement of Isaiah; that is the message of John!
That is a problem for us on our own. But remember who made all the other preparations! He works to
prepare your heart too! He does it in the same way he did for his people so many years ago. Luke records
the answer for us, “The word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the desert. He went into all
the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.”
John came preaching, and he continues to preach to us. The message of the Gospel makes the
difference for us in our preparation because “it is the power of God” and he is at work in it. John
confronts the sin he sees. We have to confront the sin we see in our lives too. We must recognize it for
what it is: an obstruction and obstacle in welcoming the King. But John’s message wasn’t just one of
sorrow over sin; he also pointed people to the Savior who takes that sin away! You know his most
famous words, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” Luke assures us in his
careful account, “Yes, this really happened! Jesus did exactly what John said he would do! Jesus took
you sins away from you. He carried them himself, all the way to the cross. There is ‘God’s salvation’!”
Notice also how John’s preaching included “a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of
sins.” Your baptism should also play a big part in preparing your heart for the King. Here the Holy Spirit
acted directly for you. In your Baptism, you have a personal promise from your God to you as an
individual: “I made you my child. I wrote your name in the Book of Life. Jesus’ work was for you too!
Your sins are gone, and you have the power to live for me. The way to your heart is open to me, so now
go and produce the fruit a child of God wants to produce. Your Baptism should be a constant reminder to
you of who you really are, what I have done for you, and the power you have to live for me!”
What a blessing the Lord continues to work to prepare the royal highway to your hearts! He
does this through his Gospel in Word and Sacrament! Make the most of these opportunities to receive
that Gospel during this Advent Season and you will “Prepare the way for the Lord!” Amen.
Martin Luther, Neenah
Luke 3:1-6
9 December 2012
Advent 2, ILCW C
Prepare the royal highway
“Prepare the Royal Highway” is one hymn in the supplement that seemed to catch on right away.
It’s an Advent hymn, and we will be singing it in a few moments. It tells the story of the welcoming the
king as he draws near the city. Going back to ancient times, the custom was to make sure the roads were
in good repair for the king’s visit. On the day he arrived, the people would line the highways and streets
as the parade passed by. They would decorate and celebrate. They would sing and bow. It was the most
festive of occasions as he entered the gates of the city.
Of course, the King whose coming we prepare for during Advent is Jesus. We want to prepare,
and we want to talk a bit about that. But in many ways, the one who made the most preparation was God
himself. How did that happen? How did he prepare the royal highway?
The apostle Paul reminds of the Lord’s own preparations when he says, “When the time had
fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law.” What
that mean though: “when the time had fully come”? We start to get the idea at the beginning of Luke 3.
Luke begins with this long list of names and places: “In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius
Caesar—when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip
tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene—during the high priesthood of
Annas and Caiaphas.” As you heard those words, did you find yourself wondering, “What does this
really have to do with Jesus or even John the Baptist? Why does Luke seem to waste his breath?”
But think back a few weeks. During the season of End Time, we considered a number of lessons
from the book of Daniel. Daniel prophesied how the Lord would bring about a progression of monarchies
one after another across the land of Judah. For a while, it must have seemed like the people should start
preparing the royal highway for the next king as soon as they finished preparing for the last one. But
these events in world history were all according to God’s plan and timetable. Eventually, the Roman
Empire would rise to power. During the reign of this monarchy, the King of kings, God’s promised
Messiah, would come to his people.
Notice how significant these events are! Notice how each piece of preparation falls into place! At
the time Luke writes, language barriers are at a minimum. There is a common language throughout the
Mediterranean world. Almost everyone can speak Greek, thanks to Alexander the Great. Because of the
Roman military, travel is efficient and relatively safe. Roads are as good as they have ever been. The
activity of bandits, robbers, and pirates wither under the heat of Roman military presence. The Empire
provides a perfect place for a world-changing event to take place and news of it to spread.
Luke reminds us of these things with his list of emperor, governor, and tetrarchs. By offering
these exact details, Luke also proclaims to us the accuracy of his careful reporting of history. Such detail
tells us this account is real. It is truth. It is fact. It is not a story or fable or fairytale. It is not a pious
myth to keep you warm at night and keep you from being afraid of the dark. These are real people and
real events. It is real history, the account of your salvation. There can be doubt: it really happened!
Did you notice also the one preparing this royal highway? The Lord himself makes the
preparations. Behind the scenes of history, he moves the pieces into position, and his preparations do not
stop there. We heard in Malachi, “See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before
me.” He also prepares the hearts of his people to welcome his Messiah King. To do this, he sends a
messenger. Luke tells also how the messenger appears at exactly the proper time, “The word of God
came to John son of Zechariah in the desert.” John the Baptist, the improbable son of Zechariah and
Elizabeth, is that messenger. He will “prepare the way for the Lord.” He will play a major role in
preparing the royal highway for the King of kings.
Should this come as a big surprise? No, not at all! The Lord had promised all these things. He
promised how the history of nations would run in Palestine. He promised how he would send a special
messenger. He promised how he would prepare the people’s hearts. He promised how his long-awaited
Savior would enter the world. He promised how he would accomplish salvation. Isn’t that the real point
of Luke’s account here: the Lord has fulfilled his prophecies and promises and that is the signal your
salvation is now close at hand. Prepare to welcome it, to welcome him! Prepare the royal highway!
How do we do that? Should we put in a few more roundabouts? Do we need to extend the
Highway 41 project a few more years? Neenah seems to have their roads in good repair with plenty of
roundabouts, and I don’t want the highway project to go on any longer than you do. But that is not really
the point. Isaiah’s prophecy was not about a massive public works project. John didn’t come to fill in
every valley by driving the bulldozer or be the contractor’s voice calling out over the construction site.
We are talking about a different kind of reconstruction: a spiritual one.
The Savior-King does not come to rule from city hall or the state capitol. He comes to rule a
kingdom “not of this world,” but rather in the hearts of his people. The King does not travel on a literal
highway through the desert to your city. No the valleys and mountains, the hills and rough places are the
obstacles and obstructions that bar his way into your heart.
That was the case for the people in Israel. Much of Israel’s spiritual vitality had dried up. The
water of spiritual life was all but gone when John began his ministry. It was a spiritual wilderness.
Valleys of hypocrisy bordered mountains of pride and arrogance at being “children of Abraham.” They
emptied their worship of any meaning and so they emptied their spiritual wells. The law’s dead formality
littered the landscape like dry bones across the desert. How could repentance hope to sprout and grow?
What chance did it have of producing any fruit?
But the real question we must ask ourselves is this: do we have the same problem? Have we
prepared the royal highway into our heart so the King may enter? Has our faith become about looking
good and respectable to others, rather than about preparing to stand before the King? Do we have our
own mountains of pride? “I am go to church; I give offerings; I volunteer,” or as a church, “We are doing
good things; we are serious about God’s Word; we have the true teaching.” Has worship become just
empty ritual for you, just going through the motions? Do you grow weary of hearing about Jesus when
we should be telling people how to get their act together? Do we talk the talk of sorrow over sin and
trusting in Jesus, but we have no time or desire for that matter in walking the walk of true repentance?
Will the King find fruits of repentance in us or does he walk through a wasteland?
Prepare the royal highway! That is the encouragement of Isaiah; that is the message of John!
That is a problem for us on our own. But remember who made all the other preparations! He works to
prepare your heart too! He does it in the same way he did for his people so many years ago. Luke records
the answer for us, “The word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the desert. He went into all
the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.”
John came preaching, and he continues to preach to us. The message of the Gospel makes the
difference for us in our preparation because “it is the power of God” and he is at work in it. John
confronts the sin he sees. We have to confront the sin we see in our lives too. We must recognize it for
what it is: an obstruction and obstacle in welcoming the King. But John’s message wasn’t just one of
sorrow over sin; he also pointed people to the Savior who takes that sin away! You know his most
famous words, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” Luke assures us in his
careful account, “Yes, this really happened! Jesus did exactly what John said he would do! Jesus took
you sins away from you. He carried them himself, all the way to the cross. There is ‘God’s salvation’!”
Notice also how John’s preaching included “a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of
sins.” Your baptism should also play a big part in preparing your heart for the King. Here the Holy Spirit
acted directly for you. In your Baptism, you have a personal promise from your God to you as an
individual: “I made you my child. I wrote your name in the Book of Life. Jesus’ work was for you too!
Your sins are gone, and you have the power to live for me. The way to your heart is open to me, so now
go and produce the fruit a child of God wants to produce. Your Baptism should be a constant reminder to
you of who you really are, what I have done for you, and the power you have to live for me!”
What a blessing the Lord continues to work to prepare the royal highway to your hearts! He
does this through his Gospel in Word and Sacrament! Make the most of these opportunities to receive
that Gospel during this Advent Season and you will “Prepare the way for the Lord!” Amen.
Martin Luther, Neenah
Luke 3:1-6
9 December 2012
Advent 2, ILCW C
Prepare the royal highway
“Prepare the Royal Highway” is one hymn in the supplement that seemed to catch on right away.
It’s an Advent hymn, and we will be singing it in a few moments. It tells the story of the welcoming the
king as he draws near the city. Going back to ancient times, the custom was to make sure the roads were
in good repair for the king’s visit. On the day he arrived, the people would line the highways and streets
as the parade passed by. They would decorate and celebrate. They would sing and bow. It was the most
festive of occasions as he entered the gates of the city.
Of course, the King whose coming we prepare for during Advent is Jesus. We want to prepare,
and we want to talk a bit about that. But in many ways, the one who made the most preparation was God
himself. How did that happen? How did he prepare the royal highway?
The apostle Paul reminds of the Lord’s own preparations when he says, “When the time had
fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law.” What
that mean though: “when the time had fully come”? We start to get the idea at the beginning of Luke 3.
Luke begins with this long list of names and places: “In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius
Caesar—when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip
tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene—during the high priesthood of
Annas and Caiaphas.” As you heard those words, did you find yourself wondering, “What does this
really have to do with Jesus or even John the Baptist? Why does Luke seem to waste his breath?”
But think back a few weeks. During the season of End Time, we considered a number of lessons
from the book of Daniel. Daniel prophesied how the Lord would bring about a progression of monarchies
one after another across the land of Judah. For a while, it must have seemed like the people should start
preparing the royal highway for the next king as soon as they finished preparing for the last one. But
these events in world history were all according to God’s plan and timetable. Eventually, the Roman
Empire would rise to power. During the reign of this monarchy, the King of kings, God’s promised
Messiah, would come to his people.
Notice how significant these events are! Notice how each piece of preparation falls into place! At
the time Luke writes, language barriers are at a minimum. There is a common language throughout the
Mediterranean world. Almost everyone can speak Greek, thanks to Alexander the Great. Because of the
Roman military, travel is efficient and relatively safe. Roads are as good as they have ever been. The
activity of bandits, robbers, and pirates wither under the heat of Roman military presence. The Empire
provides a perfect place for a world-changing event to take place and news of it to spread.
Luke reminds us of these things with his list of emperor, governor, and tetrarchs. By offering
these exact details, Luke also proclaims to us the accuracy of his careful reporting of history. Such detail
tells us this account is real. It is truth. It is fact. It is not a story or fable or fairytale. It is not a pious
myth to keep you warm at night and keep you from being afraid of the dark. These are real people and
real events. It is real history, the account of your salvation. There can be doubt: it really happened!
Did you notice also the one preparing this royal highway? The Lord himself makes the
preparations. Behind the scenes of history, he moves the pieces into position, and his preparations do not
stop there. We heard in Malachi, “See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before
me.” He also prepares the hearts of his people to welcome his Messiah King. To do this, he sends a
messenger. Luke tells also how the messenger appears at exactly the proper time, “The word of God
came to John son of Zechariah in the desert.” John the Baptist, the improbable son of Zechariah and
Elizabeth, is that messenger. He will “prepare the way for the Lord.” He will play a major role in
preparing the royal highway for the King of kings.
Should this come as a big surprise? No, not at all! The Lord had promised all these things. He
promised how the history of nations would run in Palestine. He promised how he would send a special
messenger. He promised how he would prepare the people’s hearts. He promised how his long-awaited
Savior would enter the world. He promised how he would accomplish salvation. Isn’t that the real point
of Luke’s account here: the Lord has fulfilled his prophecies and promises and that is the signal your
salvation is now close at hand. Prepare to welcome it, to welcome him! Prepare the royal highway!
How do we do that? Should we put in a few more roundabouts? Do we need to extend the
Highway 41 project a few more years? Neenah seems to have their roads in good repair with plenty of
roundabouts, and I don’t want the highway project to go on any longer than you do. But that is not really
the point. Isaiah’s prophecy was not about a massive public works project. John didn’t come to fill in
every valley by driving the bulldozer or be the contractor’s voice calling out over the construction site.
We are talking about a different kind of reconstruction: a spiritual one.
The Savior-King does not come to rule from city hall or the state capitol. He comes to rule a
kingdom “not of this world,” but rather in the hearts of his people. The King does not travel on a literal
highway through the desert to your city. No the valleys and mountains, the hills and rough places are the
obstacles and obstructions that bar his way into your heart.
That was the case for the people in Israel. Much of Israel’s spiritual vitality had dried up. The
water of spiritual life was all but gone when John began his ministry. It was a spiritual wilderness.
Valleys of hypocrisy bordered mountains of pride and arrogance at being “children of Abraham.” They
emptied their worship of any meaning and so they emptied their spiritual wells. The law’s dead formality
littered the landscape like dry bones across the desert. How could repentance hope to sprout and grow?
What chance did it have of producing any fruit?
But the real question we must ask ourselves is this: do we have the same problem? Have we
prepared the royal highway into our heart so the King may enter? Has our faith become about looking
good and respectable to others, rather than about preparing to stand before the King? Do we have our
own mountains of pride? “I am go to church; I give offerings; I volunteer,” or as a church, “We are doing
good things; we are serious about God’s Word; we have the true teaching.” Has worship become just
empty ritual for you, just going through the motions? Do you grow weary of hearing about Jesus when
we should be telling people how to get their act together? Do we talk the talk of sorrow over sin and
trusting in Jesus, but we have no time or desire for that matter in walking the walk of true repentance?
Will the King find fruits of repentance in us or does he walk through a wasteland?
Prepare the royal highway! That is the encouragement of Isaiah; that is the message of John!
That is a problem for us on our own. But remember who made all the other preparations! He works to
prepare your heart too! He does it in the same way he did for his people so many years ago. Luke records
the answer for us, “The word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the desert. He went into all
the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.”
John came preaching, and he continues to preach to us. The message of the Gospel makes the
difference for us in our preparation because “it is the power of God” and he is at work in it. John
confronts the sin he sees. We have to confront the sin we see in our lives too. We must recognize it for
what it is: an obstruction and obstacle in welcoming the King. But John’s message wasn’t just one of
sorrow over sin; he also pointed people to the Savior who takes that sin away! You know his most
famous words, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” Luke assures us in his
careful account, “Yes, this really happened! Jesus did exactly what John said he would do! Jesus took
you sins away from you. He carried them himself, all the way to the cross. There is ‘God’s salvation’!”
Notice also how John’s preaching included “a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of
sins.” Your baptism should also play a big part in preparing your heart for the King. Here the Holy Spirit
acted directly for you. In your Baptism, you have a personal promise from your God to you as an
individual: “I made you my child. I wrote your name in the Book of Life. Jesus’ work was for you too!
Your sins are gone, and you have the power to live for me. The way to your heart is open to me, so now
go and produce the fruit a child of God wants to produce. Your Baptism should be a constant reminder to
you of who you really are, what I have done for you, and the power you have to live for me!”
What a blessing the Lord continues to work to prepare the royal highway to your hearts! He
does this through his Gospel in Word and Sacrament! Make the most of these opportunities to receive
that Gospel during this Advent Season and you will “Prepare the way for the Lord!” Amen.
Martin Luther, Neenah
Luke 3:1-6
9 December 2012
Advent 2, ILCW C
Prepare the royal highway
“Prepare the Royal Highway” is one hymn in the supplement that seemed to catch on right away.
It’s an Advent hymn, and we will be singing it in a few moments. It tells the story of the welcoming the
king as he draws near the city. Going back to ancient times, the custom was to make sure the roads were
in good repair for the king’s visit. On the day he arrived, the people would line the highways and streets
as the parade passed by. They would decorate and celebrate. They would sing and bow. It was the most
festive of occasions as he entered the gates of the city.
Of course, the King whose coming we prepare for during Advent is Jesus. We want to prepare,
and we want to talk a bit about that. But in many ways, the one who made the most preparation was God
himself. How did that happen? How did he prepare the royal highway?
The apostle Paul reminds of the Lord’s own preparations when he says, “When the time had
fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law.” What
that mean though: “when the time had fully come”? We start to get the idea at the beginning of Luke 3.
Luke begins with this long list of names and places: “In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius
Caesar—when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip
tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene—during the high priesthood of
Annas and Caiaphas.” As you heard those words, did you find yourself wondering, “What does this
really have to do with Jesus or even John the Baptist? Why does Luke seem to waste his breath?”
But think back a few weeks. During the season of End Time, we considered a number of lessons
from the book of Daniel. Daniel prophesied how the Lord would bring about a progression of monarchies
one after another across the land of Judah. For a while, it must have seemed like the people should start
preparing the royal highway for the next king as soon as they finished preparing for the last one. But
these events in world history were all according to God’s plan and timetable. Eventually, the Roman
Empire would rise to power. During the reign of this monarchy, the King of kings, God’s promised
Messiah, would come to his people.
Notice how significant these events are! Notice how each piece of preparation falls into place! At
the time Luke writes, language barriers are at a minimum. There is a common language throughout the
Mediterranean world. Almost everyone can speak Greek, thanks to Alexander the Great. Because of the
Roman military, travel is efficient and relatively safe. Roads are as good as they have ever been. The
activity of bandits, robbers, and pirates wither under the heat of Roman military presence. The Empire
provides a perfect place for a world-changing event to take place and news of it to spread.
Luke reminds us of these things with his list of emperor, governor, and tetrarchs. By offering
these exact details, Luke also proclaims to us the accuracy of his careful reporting of history. Such detail
tells us this account is real. It is truth. It is fact. It is not a story or fable or fairytale. It is not a pious
myth to keep you warm at night and keep you from being afraid of the dark. These are real people and
real events. It is real history, the account of your salvation. There can be doubt: it really happened!
Did you notice also the one preparing this royal highway? The Lord himself makes the
preparations. Behind the scenes of history, he moves the pieces into position, and his preparations do not
stop there. We heard in Malachi, “See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before
me.” He also prepares the hearts of his people to welcome his Messiah King. To do this, he sends a
messenger. Luke tells also how the messenger appears at exactly the proper time, “The word of God
came to John son of Zechariah in the desert.” John the Baptist, the improbable son of Zechariah and
Elizabeth, is that messenger. He will “prepare the way for the Lord.” He will play a major role in
preparing the royal highway for the King of kings.
Should this come as a big surprise? No, not at all! The Lord had promised all these things. He
promised how the history of nations would run in Palestine. He promised how he would send a special
messenger. He promised how he would prepare the people’s hearts. He promised how his long-awaited
Savior would enter the world. He promised how he would accomplish salvation. Isn’t that the real point
of Luke’s account here: the Lord has fulfilled his prophecies and promises and that is the signal your
salvation is now close at hand. Prepare to welcome it, to welcome him! Prepare the royal highway!
How do we do that? Should we put in a few more roundabouts? Do we need to extend the
Highway 41 project a few more years? Neenah seems to have their roads in good repair with plenty of
roundabouts, and I don’t want the highway project to go on any longer than you do. But that is not really
the point. Isaiah’s prophecy was not about a massive public works project. John didn’t come to fill in
every valley by driving the bulldozer or be the contractor’s voice calling out over the construction site.
We are talking about a different kind of reconstruction: a spiritual one.
The Savior-King does not come to rule from city hall or the state capitol. He comes to rule a
kingdom “not of this world,” but rather in the hearts of his people. The King does not travel on a literal
highway through the desert to your city. No the valleys and mountains, the hills and rough places are the
obstacles and obstructions that bar his way into your heart.
That was the case for the people in Israel. Much of Israel’s spiritual vitality had dried up. The
water of spiritual life was all but gone when John began his ministry. It was a spiritual wilderness.
Valleys of hypocrisy bordered mountains of pride and arrogance at being “children of Abraham.” They
emptied their worship of any meaning and so they emptied their spiritual wells. The law’s dead formality
littered the landscape like dry bones across the desert. How could repentance hope to sprout and grow?
What chance did it have of producing any fruit?
But the real question we must ask ourselves is this: do we have the same problem? Have we
prepared the royal highway into our heart so the King may enter? Has our faith become about looking
good and respectable to others, rather than about preparing to stand before the King? Do we have our
own mountains of pride? “I am go to church; I give offerings; I volunteer,” or as a church, “We are doing
good things; we are serious about God’s Word; we have the true teaching.” Has worship become just
empty ritual for you, just going through the motions? Do you grow weary of hearing about Jesus when
we should be telling people how to get their act together? Do we talk the talk of sorrow over sin and
trusting in Jesus, but we have no time or desire for that matter in walking the walk of true repentance?
Will the King find fruits of repentance in us or does he walk through a wasteland?
Prepare the royal highway! That is the encouragement of Isaiah; that is the message of John!
That is a problem for us on our own. But remember who made all the other preparations! He works to
prepare your heart too! He does it in the same way he did for his people so many years ago. Luke records
the answer for us, “The word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the desert. He went into all
the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.”
John came preaching, and he continues to preach to us. The message of the Gospel makes the
difference for us in our preparation because “it is the power of God” and he is at work in it. John
confronts the sin he sees. We have to confront the sin we see in our lives too. We must recognize it for
what it is: an obstruction and obstacle in welcoming the King. But John’s message wasn’t just one of
sorrow over sin; he also pointed people to the Savior who takes that sin away! You know his most
famous words, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” Luke assures us in his
careful account, “Yes, this really happened! Jesus did exactly what John said he would do! Jesus took
you sins away from you. He carried them himself, all the way to the cross. There is ‘God’s salvation’!”
Notice also how John’s preaching included “a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of
sins.” Your baptism should also play a big part in preparing your heart for the King. Here the Holy Spirit
acted directly for you. In your Baptism, you have a personal promise from your God to you as an
individual: “I made you my child. I wrote your name in the Book of Life. Jesus’ work was for you too!
Your sins are gone, and you have the power to live for me. The way to your heart is open to me, so now
go and produce the fruit a child of God wants to produce. Your Baptism should be a constant reminder to
you of who you really are, what I have done for you, and the power you have to live for me!”
What a blessing the Lord continues to work to prepare the royal highway to your hearts! He
does this through his Gospel in Word and Sacrament! Make the most of these opportunities to receive
that Gospel during this Advent Season and you will “Prepare the way for the Lord!” Amen.
Martin Luther, Neenah
Luke 3:1-6
9 December 2012
Advent 2, ILCW C
Prepare the royal highway
“Prepare the Royal Highway” is one hymn in the supplement that seemed to catch on right away.
It’s an Advent hymn, and we will be singing it in a few moments. It tells the story of the welcoming the
king as he draws near the city. Going back to ancient times, the custom was to make sure the roads were
in good repair for the king’s visit. On the day he arrived, the people would line the highways and streets
as the parade passed by. They would decorate and celebrate. They would sing and bow. It was the most
festive of occasions as he entered the gates of the city.
Of course, the King whose coming we prepare for during Advent is Jesus. We want to prepare,
and we want to talk a bit about that. But in many ways, the one who made the most preparation was God
himself. How did that happen? How did he prepare the royal highway?
The apostle Paul reminds of the Lord’s own preparations when he says, “When the time had
fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law.” What
that mean though: “when the time had fully come”? We start to get the idea at the beginning of Luke 3.
Luke begins with this long list of names and places: “In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius
Caesar—when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip
tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene—during the high priesthood of
Annas and Caiaphas.” As you heard those words, did you find yourself wondering, “What does this
really have to do with Jesus or even John the Baptist? Why does Luke seem to waste his breath?”
But think back a few weeks. During the season of End Time, we considered a number of lessons
from the book of Daniel. Daniel prophesied how the Lord would bring about a progression of monarchies
one after another across the land of Judah. For a while, it must have seemed like the people should start
preparing the royal highway for the next king as soon as they finished preparing for the last one. But
these events in world history were all according to God’s plan and timetable. Eventually, the Roman
Empire would rise to power. During the reign of this monarchy, the King of kings, God’s promised
Messiah, would come to his people.
Notice how significant these events are! Notice how each piece of preparation falls into place! At
the time Luke writes, language barriers are at a minimum. There is a common language throughout the
Mediterranean world. Almost everyone can speak Greek, thanks to Alexander the Great. Because of the
Roman military, travel is efficient and relatively safe. Roads are as good as they have ever been. The
activity of bandits, robbers, and pirates wither under the heat of Roman military presence. The Empire
provides a perfect place for a world-changing event to take place and news of it to spread.
Luke reminds us of these things with his list of emperor, governor, and tetrarchs. By offering
these exact details, Luke also proclaims to us the accuracy of his careful reporting of history. Such detail
tells us this account is real. It is truth. It is fact. It is not a story or fable or fairytale. It is not a pious
myth to keep you warm at night and keep you from being afraid of the dark. These are real people and
real events. It is real history, the account of your salvation. There can be doubt: it really happened!
Did you notice also the one preparing this royal highway? The Lord himself makes the
preparations. Behind the scenes of history, he moves the pieces into position, and his preparations do not
stop there. We heard in Malachi, “See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before
me.” He also prepares the hearts of his people to welcome his Messiah King. To do this, he sends a
messenger. Luke tells also how the messenger appears at exactly the proper time, “The word of God
came to John son of Zechariah in the desert.” John the Baptist, the improbable son of Zechariah and
Elizabeth, is that messenger. He will “prepare the way for the Lord.” He will play a major role in
preparing the royal highway for the King of kings.
Should this come as a big surprise? No, not at all! The Lord had promised all these things. He
promised how the history of nations would run in Palestine. He promised how he would send a special
messenger. He promised how he would prepare the people’s hearts. He promised how his long-awaited
Savior would enter the world. He promised how he would accomplish salvation. Isn’t that the real point
of Luke’s account here: the Lord has fulfilled his prophecies and promises and that is the signal your
salvation is now close at hand. Prepare to welcome it, to welcome him! Prepare the royal highway!
How do we do that? Should we put in a few more roundabouts? Do we need to extend the
Highway 41 project a few more years? Neenah seems to have their roads in good repair with plenty of
roundabouts, and I don’t want the highway project to go on any longer than you do. But that is not really
the point. Isaiah’s prophecy was not about a massive public works project. John didn’t come to fill in
every valley by driving the bulldozer or be the contractor’s voice calling out over the construction site.
We are talking about a different kind of reconstruction: a spiritual one.
The Savior-King does not come to rule from city hall or the state capitol. He comes to rule a
kingdom “not of this world,” but rather in the hearts of his people. The King does not travel on a literal
highway through the desert to your city. No the valleys and mountains, the hills and rough places are the
obstacles and obstructions that bar his way into your heart.
That was the case for the people in Israel. Much of Israel’s spiritual vitality had dried up. The
water of spiritual life was all but gone when John began his ministry. It was a spiritual wilderness.
Valleys of hypocrisy bordered mountains of pride and arrogance at being “children of Abraham.” They
emptied their worship of any meaning and so they emptied their spiritual wells. The law’s dead formality
littered the landscape like dry bones across the desert. How could repentance hope to sprout and grow?
What chance did it have of producing any fruit?
But the real question we must ask ourselves is this: do we have the same problem? Have we
prepared the royal highway into our heart so the King may enter? Has our faith become about looking
good and respectable to others, rather than about preparing to stand before the King? Do we have our
own mountains of pride? “I am go to church; I give offerings; I volunteer,” or as a church, “We are doing
good things; we are serious about God’s Word; we have the true teaching.” Has worship become just
empty ritual for you, just going through the motions? Do you grow weary of hearing about Jesus when
we should be telling people how to get their act together? Do we talk the talk of sorrow over sin and
trusting in Jesus, but we have no time or desire for that matter in walking the walk of true repentance?
Will the King find fruits of repentance in us or does he walk through a wasteland?
Prepare the royal highway! That is the encouragement of Isaiah; that is the message of John!
That is a problem for us on our own. But remember who made all the other preparations! He works to
prepare your heart too! He does it in the same way he did for his people so many years ago. Luke records
the answer for us, “The word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the desert. He went into all
the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.”
John came preaching, and he continues to preach to us. The message of the Gospel makes the
difference for us in our preparation because “it is the power of God” and he is at work in it. John
confronts the sin he sees. We have to confront the sin we see in our lives too. We must recognize it for
what it is: an obstruction and obstacle in welcoming the King. But John’s message wasn’t just one of
sorrow over sin; he also pointed people to the Savior who takes that sin away! You know his most
famous words, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” Luke assures us in his
careful account, “Yes, this really happened! Jesus did exactly what John said he would do! Jesus took
you sins away from you. He carried them himself, all the way to the cross. There is ‘God’s salvation’!”
Notice also how John’s preaching included “a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of
sins.” Your baptism should also play a big part in preparing your heart for the King. Here the Holy Spirit
acted directly for you. In your Baptism, you have a personal promise from your God to you as an
individual: “I made you my child. I wrote your name in the Book of Life. Jesus’ work was for you too!
Your sins are gone, and you have the power to live for me. The way to your heart is open to me, so now
go and produce the fruit a child of God wants to produce. Your Baptism should be a constant reminder to
you of who you really are, what I have done for you, and the power you have to live for me!”
What a blessing the Lord continues to work to prepare the royal highway to your hearts! He
does this through his Gospel in Word and Sacrament! Make the most of these opportunities to receive
that Gospel during this Advent Season and you will “Prepare the way for the Lord!” Amen.
Martin Luther, Neenah
Luke 3:1-6
9 December 2012
Advent 2, ILCW C
Prepare the royal highway
“Prepare the Royal Highway” is one hymn in the supplement that seemed to catch on right away.
It’s an Advent hymn, and we will be singing it in a few moments. It tells the story of the welcoming the
king as he draws near the city. Going back to ancient times, the custom was to make sure the roads were
in good repair for the king’s visit. On the day he arrived, the people would line the highways and streets
as the parade passed by. They would decorate and celebrate. They would sing and bow. It was the most
festive of occasions as he entered the gates of the city.
Of course, the King whose coming we prepare for during Advent is Jesus. We want to prepare,
and we want to talk a bit about that. But in many ways, the one who made the most preparation was God
himself. How did that happen? How did he prepare the royal highway?
The apostle Paul reminds of the Lord’s own preparations when he says, “When the time had
fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law.” What
that mean though: “when the time had fully come”? We start to get the idea at the beginning of Luke 3.
Luke begins with this long list of names and places: “In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius
Caesar—when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip
tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene—during the high priesthood of
Annas and Caiaphas.” As you heard those words, did you find yourself wondering, “What does this
really have to do with Jesus or even John the Baptist? Why does Luke seem to waste his breath?”
But think back a few weeks. During the season of End Time, we considered a number of lessons
from the book of Daniel. Daniel prophesied how the Lord would bring about a progression of monarchies
one after another across the land of Judah. For a while, it must have seemed like the people should start
preparing the royal highway for the next king as soon as they finished preparing for the last one. But
these events in world history were all according to God’s plan and timetable. Eventually, the Roman
Empire would rise to power. During the reign of this monarchy, the King of kings, God’s promised
Messiah, would come to his people.
Notice how significant these events are! Notice how each piece of preparation falls into place! At
the time Luke writes, language barriers are at a minimum. There is a common language throughout the
Mediterranean world. Almost everyone can speak Greek, thanks to Alexander the Great. Because of the
Roman military, travel is efficient and relatively safe. Roads are as good as they have ever been. The
activity of bandits, robbers, and pirates wither under the heat of Roman military presence. The Empire
provides a perfect place for a world-changing event to take place and news of it to spread.
Luke reminds us of these things with his list of emperor, governor, and tetrarchs. By offering
these exact details, Luke also proclaims to us the accuracy of his careful reporting of history. Such detail
tells us this account is real. It is truth. It is fact. It is not a story or fable or fairytale. It is not a pious
myth to keep you warm at night and keep you from being afraid of the dark. These are real people and
real events. It is real history, the account of your salvation. There can be doubt: it really happened!
Did you notice also the one preparing this royal highway? The Lord himself makes the
preparations. Behind the scenes of history, he moves the pieces into position, and his preparations do not
stop there. We heard in Malachi, “See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before
me.” He also prepares the hearts of his people to welcome his Messiah King. To do this, he sends a
messenger. Luke tells also how the messenger appears at exactly the proper time, “The word of God
came to John son of Zechariah in the desert.” John the Baptist, the improbable son of Zechariah and
Elizabeth, is that messenger. He will “prepare the way for the Lord.” He will play a major role in
preparing the royal highway for the King of kings.
Should this come as a big surprise? No, not at all! The Lord had promised all these things. He
promised how the history of nations would run in Palestine. He promised how he would send a special
messenger. He promised how he would prepare the people’s hearts. He promised how his long-awaited
Savior would enter the world. He promised how he would accomplish salvation. Isn’t that the real point
of Luke’s account here: the Lord has fulfilled his prophecies and promises and that is the signal your
salvation is now close at hand. Prepare to welcome it, to welcome him! Prepare the royal highway!
How do we do that? Should we put in a few more roundabouts? Do we need to extend the
Highway 41 project a few more years? Neenah seems to have their roads in good repair with plenty of
roundabouts, and I don’t want the highway project to go on any longer than you do. But that is not really
the point. Isaiah’s prophecy was not about a massive public works project. John didn’t come to fill in
every valley by driving the bulldozer or be the contractor’s voice calling out over the construction site.
We are talking about a different kind of reconstruction: a spiritual one.
The Savior-King does not come to rule from city hall or the state capitol. He comes to rule a
kingdom “not of this world,” but rather in the hearts of his people. The King does not travel on a literal
highway through the desert to your city. No the valleys and mountains, the hills and rough places are the
obstacles and obstructions that bar his way into your heart.
That was the case for the people in Israel. Much of Israel’s spiritual vitality had dried up. The
water of spiritual life was all but gone when John began his ministry. It was a spiritual wilderness.
Valleys of hypocrisy bordered mountains of pride and arrogance at being “children of Abraham.” They
emptied their worship of any meaning and so they emptied their spiritual wells. The law’s dead formality
littered the landscape like dry bones across the desert. How could repentance hope to sprout and grow?
What chance did it have of producing any fruit?
But the real question we must ask ourselves is this: do we have the same problem? Have we
prepared the royal highway into our heart so the King may enter? Has our faith become about looking
good and respectable to others, rather than about preparing to stand before the King? Do we have our
own mountains of pride? “I am go to church; I give offerings; I volunteer,” or as a church, “We are doing
good things; we are serious about God’s Word; we have the true teaching.” Has worship become just
empty ritual for you, just going through the motions? Do you grow weary of hearing about Jesus when
we should be telling people how to get their act together? Do we talk the talk of sorrow over sin and
trusting in Jesus, but we have no time or desire for that matter in walking the walk of true repentance?
Will the King find fruits of repentance in us or does he walk through a wasteland?
Prepare the royal highway! That is the encouragement of Isaiah; that is the message of John!
That is a problem for us on our own. But remember who made all the other preparations! He works to
prepare your heart too! He does it in the same way he did for his people so many years ago. Luke records
the answer for us, “The word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the desert. He went into all
the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.”
John came preaching, and he continues to preach to us. The message of the Gospel makes the
difference for us in our preparation because “it is the power of God” and he is at work in it. John
confronts the sin he sees. We have to confront the sin we see in our lives too. We must recognize it for
what it is: an obstruction and obstacle in welcoming the King. But John’s message wasn’t just one of
sorrow over sin; he also pointed people to the Savior who takes that sin away! You know his most
famous words, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” Luke assures us in his
careful account, “Yes, this really happened! Jesus did exactly what John said he would do! Jesus took
you sins away from you. He carried them himself, all the way to the cross. There is ‘God’s salvation’!”
Notice also how John’s preaching included “a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of
sins.” Your baptism should also play a big part in preparing your heart for the King. Here the Holy Spirit
acted directly for you. In your Baptism, you have a personal promise from your God to you as an
individual: “I made you my child. I wrote your name in the Book of Life. Jesus’ work was for you too!
Your sins are gone, and you have the power to live for me. The way to your heart is open to me, so now
go and produce the fruit a child of God wants to produce. Your Baptism should be a constant reminder to
you of who you really are, what I have done for you, and the power you have to live for me!”
What a blessing the Lord continues to work to prepare the royal highway to your hearts! He
does this through his Gospel in Word and Sacrament! Make the most of these opportunities to receive
that Gospel during this Advent Season and you will “Prepare the way for the Lord!” Amen.
Martin Luther, Neenah
Luke 3:1-6
9 December 2012
Advent 2, ILCW C
Prepare the royal highway
“Prepare the Royal Highway” is one hymn in the supplement that seemed to catch on right away.
It’s an Advent hymn, and we will be singing it in a few moments. It tells the story of the welcoming the
king as he draws near the city. Going back to ancient times, the custom was to make sure the roads were
in good repair for the king’s visit. On the day he arrived, the people would line the highways and streets
as the parade passed by. They would decorate and celebrate. They would sing and bow. It was the most
festive of occasions as he entered the gates of the city.
Of course, the King whose coming we prepare for during Advent is Jesus. We want to prepare,
and we want to talk a bit about that. But in many ways, the one who made the most preparation was God
himself. How did that happen? How did he prepare the royal highway?
The apostle Paul reminds of the Lord’s own preparations when he says, “When the time had
fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law.” What
that mean though: “when the time had fully come”? We start to get the idea at the beginning of Luke 3.
Luke begins with this long list of names and places: “In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius
Caesar—when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip
tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene—during the high priesthood of
Annas and Caiaphas.” As you heard those words, did you find yourself wondering, “What does this
really have to do with Jesus or even John the Baptist? Why does Luke seem to waste his breath?”
But think back a few weeks. During the season of End Time, we considered a number of lessons
from the book of Daniel. Daniel prophesied how the Lord would bring about a progression of monarchies
one after another across the land of Judah. For a while, it must have seemed like the people should start
preparing the royal highway for the next king as soon as they finished preparing for the last one. But
these events in world history were all according to God’s plan and timetable. Eventually, the Roman
Empire would rise to power. During the reign of this monarchy, the King of kings, God’s promised
Messiah, would come to his people.
Notice how significant these events are! Notice how each piece of preparation falls into place! At
the time Luke writes, language barriers are at a minimum. There is a common language throughout the
Mediterranean world. Almost everyone can speak Greek, thanks to Alexander the Great. Because of the
Roman military, travel is efficient and relatively safe. Roads are as good as they have ever been. The
activity of bandits, robbers, and pirates wither under the heat of Roman military presence. The Empire
provides a perfect place for a world-changing event to take place and news of it to spread.
Luke reminds us of these things with his list of emperor, governor, and tetrarchs. By offering
these exact details, Luke also proclaims to us the accuracy of his careful reporting of history. Such detail
tells us this account is real. It is truth. It is fact. It is not a story or fable or fairytale. It is not a pious
myth to keep you warm at night and keep you from being afraid of the dark. These are real people and
real events. It is real history, the account of your salvation. There can be doubt: it really happened!
Did you notice also the one preparing this royal highway? The Lord himself makes the
preparations. Behind the scenes of history, he moves the pieces into position, and his preparations do not
stop there. We heard in Malachi, “See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before
me.” He also prepares the hearts of his people to welcome his Messiah King. To do this, he sends a
messenger. Luke tells also how the messenger appears at exactly the proper time, “The word of God
came to John son of Zechariah in the desert.” John the Baptist, the improbable son of Zechariah and
Elizabeth, is that messenger. He will “prepare the way for the Lord.” He will play a major role in
preparing the royal highway for the King of kings.
Should this come as a big surprise? No, not at all! The Lord had promised all these things. He
promised how the history of nations would run in Palestine. He promised how he would send a special
messenger. He promised how he would prepare the people’s hearts. He promised how his long-awaited
Savior would enter the world. He promised how he would accomplish salvation. Isn’t that the real point
of Luke’s account here: the Lord has fulfilled his prophecies and promises and that is the signal your
salvation is now close at hand. Prepare to welcome it, to welcome him! Prepare the royal highway!
How do we do that? Should we put in a few more roundabouts? Do we need to extend the
Highway 41 project a few more years? Neenah seems to have their roads in good repair with plenty of
roundabouts, and I don’t want the highway project to go on any longer than you do. But that is not really
the point. Isaiah’s prophecy was not about a massive public works project. John didn’t come to fill in
every valley by driving the bulldozer or be the contractor’s voice calling out over the construction site.
We are talking about a different kind of reconstruction: a spiritual one.
The Savior-King does not come to rule from city hall or the state capitol. He comes to rule a
kingdom “not of this world,” but rather in the hearts of his people. The King does not travel on a literal
highway through the desert to your city. No the valleys and mountains, the hills and rough places are the
obstacles and obstructions that bar his way into your heart.
That was the case for the people in Israel. Much of Israel’s spiritual vitality had dried up. The
water of spiritual life was all but gone when John began his ministry. It was a spiritual wilderness.
Valleys of hypocrisy bordered mountains of pride and arrogance at being “children of Abraham.” They
emptied their worship of any meaning and so they emptied their spiritual wells. The law’s dead formality
littered the landscape like dry bones across the desert. How could repentance hope to sprout and grow?
What chance did it have of producing any fruit?
But the real question we must ask ourselves is this: do we have the same problem? Have we
prepared the royal highway into our heart so the King may enter? Has our faith become about looking
good and respectable to others, rather than about preparing to stand before the King? Do we have our
own mountains of pride? “I am go to church; I give offerings; I volunteer,” or as a church, “We are doing
good things; we are serious about God’s Word; we have the true teaching.” Has worship become just
empty ritual for you, just going through the motions? Do you grow weary of hearing about Jesus when
we should be telling people how to get their act together? Do we talk the talk of sorrow over sin and
trusting in Jesus, but we have no time or desire for that matter in walking the walk of true repentance?
Will the King find fruits of repentance in us or does he walk through a wasteland?
Prepare the royal highway! That is the encouragement of Isaiah; that is the message of John!
That is a problem for us on our own. But remember who made all the other preparations! He works to
prepare your heart too! He does it in the same way he did for his people so many years ago. Luke records
the answer for us, “The word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the desert. He went into all
the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.”
John came preaching, and he continues to preach to us. The message of the Gospel makes the
difference for us in our preparation because “it is the power of God” and he is at work in it. John
confronts the sin he sees. We have to confront the sin we see in our lives too. We must recognize it for
what it is: an obstruction and obstacle in welcoming the King. But John’s message wasn’t just one of
sorrow over sin; he also pointed people to the Savior who takes that sin away! You know his most
famous words, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” Luke assures us in his
careful account, “Yes, this really happened! Jesus did exactly what John said he would do! Jesus took
you sins away from you. He carried them himself, all the way to the cross. There is ‘God’s salvation’!”
Notice also how John’s preaching included “a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of
sins.” Your baptism should also play a big part in preparing your heart for the King. Here the Holy Spirit
acted directly for you. In your Baptism, you have a personal promise from your God to you as an
individual: “I made you my child. I wrote your name in the Book of Life. Jesus’ work was for you too!
Your sins are gone, and you have the power to live for me. The way to your heart is open to me, so now
go and produce the fruit a child of God wants to produce. Your Baptism should be a constant reminder to
you of who you really are, what I have done for you, and the power you have to live for me!”
What a blessing the Lord continues to work to prepare the royal highway to your hearts! He
does this through his Gospel in Word and Sacrament! Make the most of these opportunities to receive
that Gospel during this Advent Season and you will “Prepare the way for the Lord!” Amen.
Martin Luther, Neenah
Luke 3:1-6
9 December 2012
Advent 2, ILCW C
Prepare the royal highway
“Prepare the Royal Highway” is one hymn in the supplement that seemed to catch on right away.
It’s an Advent hymn, and we will be singing it in a few moments. It tells the story of the welcoming the
king as he draws near the city. Going back to ancient times, the custom was to make sure the roads were
in good repair for the king’s visit. On the day he arrived, the people would line the highways and streets
as the parade passed by. They would decorate and celebrate. They would sing and bow. It was the most
festive of occasions as he entered the gates of the city.
Of course, the King whose coming we prepare for during Advent is Jesus. We want to prepare,
and we want to talk a bit about that. But in many ways, the one who made the most preparation was God
himself. How did that happen? How did he prepare the royal highway?
The apostle Paul reminds of the Lord’s own preparations when he says, “When the time had
fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law.” What
that mean though: “when the time had fully come”? We start to get the idea at the beginning of Luke 3.
Luke begins with this long list of names and places: “In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius
Caesar—when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip
tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene—during the high priesthood of
Annas and Caiaphas.” As you heard those words, did you find yourself wondering, “What does this
really have to do with Jesus or even John the Baptist? Why does Luke seem to waste his breath?”
But think back a few weeks. During the season of End Time, we considered a number of lessons
from the book of Daniel. Daniel prophesied how the Lord would bring about a progression of monarchies
one after another across the land of Judah. For a while, it must have seemed like the people should start
preparing the royal highway for the next king as soon as they finished preparing for the last one. But
these events in world history were all according to God’s plan and timetable. Eventually, the Roman
Empire would rise to power. During the reign of this monarchy, the King of kings, God’s promised
Messiah, would come to his people.
Notice how significant these events are! Notice how each piece of preparation falls into place! At
the time Luke writes, language barriers are at a minimum. There is a common language throughout the
Mediterranean world. Almost everyone can speak Greek, thanks to Alexander the Great. Because of the
Roman military, travel is efficient and relatively safe. Roads are as good as they have ever been. The
activity of bandits, robbers, and pirates wither under the heat of Roman military presence. The Empire
provides a perfect place for a world-changing event to take place and news of it to spread.
Luke reminds us of these things with his list of emperor, governor, and tetrarchs. By offering
these exact details, Luke also proclaims to us the accuracy of his careful reporting of history. Such detail
tells us this account is real. It is truth. It is fact. It is not a story or fable or fairytale. It is not a pious
myth to keep you warm at night and keep you from being afraid of the dark. These are real people and
real events. It is real history, the account of your salvation. There can be doubt: it really happened!
Did you notice also the one preparing this royal highway? The Lord himself makes the
preparations. Behind the scenes of history, he moves the pieces into position, and his preparations do not
stop there. We heard in Malachi, “See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before
me.” He also prepares the hearts of his people to welcome his Messiah King. To do this, he sends a
messenger. Luke tells also how the messenger appears at exactly the proper time, “The word of God
came to John son of Zechariah in the desert.” John the Baptist, the improbable son of Zechariah and
Elizabeth, is that messenger. He will “prepare the way for the Lord.” He will play a major role in
preparing the royal highway for the King of kings.
Should this come as a big surprise? No, not at all! The Lord had promised all these things. He
promised how the history of nations would run in Palestine. He promised how he would send a special
messenger. He promised how he would prepare the people’s hearts. He promised how his long-awaited
Savior would enter the world. He promised how he would accomplish salvation. Isn’t that the real point
of Luke’s account here: the Lord has fulfilled his prophecies and promises and that is the signal your
salvation is now close at hand. Prepare to welcome it, to welcome him! Prepare the royal highway!
How do we do that? Should we put in a few more roundabouts? Do we need to extend the
Highway 41 project a few more years? Neenah seems to have their roads in good repair with plenty of
roundabouts, and I don’t want the highway project to go on any longer than you do. But that is not really
the point. Isaiah’s prophecy was not about a massive public works project. John didn’t come to fill in
every valley by driving the bulldozer or be the contractor’s voice calling out over the construction site.
We are talking about a different kind of reconstruction: a spiritual one.
The Savior-King does not come to rule from city hall or the state capitol. He comes to rule a
kingdom “not of this world,” but rather in the hearts of his people. The King does not travel on a literal
highway through the desert to your city. No the valleys and mountains, the hills and rough places are the
obstacles and obstructions that bar his way into your heart.
That was the case for the people in Israel. Much of Israel’s spiritual vitality had dried up. The
water of spiritual life was all but gone when John began his ministry. It was a spiritual wilderness.
Valleys of hypocrisy bordered mountains of pride and arrogance at being “children of Abraham.” They
emptied their worship of any meaning and so they emptied their spiritual wells. The law’s dead formality
littered the landscape like dry bones across the desert. How could repentance hope to sprout and grow?
What chance did it have of producing any fruit?
But the real question we must ask ourselves is this: do we have the same problem? Have we
prepared the royal highway into our heart so the King may enter? Has our faith become about looking
good and respectable to others, rather than about preparing to stand before the King? Do we have our
own mountains of pride? “I am go to church; I give offerings; I volunteer,” or as a church, “We are doing
good things; we are serious about God’s Word; we have the true teaching.” Has worship become just
empty ritual for you, just going through the motions? Do you grow weary of hearing about Jesus when
we should be telling people how to get their act together? Do we talk the talk of sorrow over sin and
trusting in Jesus, but we have no time or desire for that matter in walking the walk of true repentance?
Will the King find fruits of repentance in us or does he walk through a wasteland?
Prepare the royal highway! That is the encouragement of Isaiah; that is the message of John!
That is a problem for us on our own. But remember who made all the other preparations! He works to
prepare your heart too! He does it in the same way he did for his people so many years ago. Luke records
the answer for us, “The word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the desert. He went into all
the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.”
John came preaching, and he continues to preach to us. The message of the Gospel makes the
difference for us in our preparation because “it is the power of God” and he is at work in it. John
confronts the sin he sees. We have to confront the sin we see in our lives too. We must recognize it for
what it is: an obstruction and obstacle in welcoming the King. But John’s message wasn’t just one of
sorrow over sin; he also pointed people to the Savior who takes that sin away! You know his most
famous words, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” Luke assures us in his
careful account, “Yes, this really happened! Jesus did exactly what John said he would do! Jesus took
you sins away from you. He carried them himself, all the way to the cross. There is ‘God’s salvation’!”
Notice also how John’s preaching included “a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of
sins.” Your baptism should also play a big part in preparing your heart for the King. Here the Holy Spirit
acted directly for you. In your Baptism, you have a personal promise from your God to you as an
individual: “I made you my child. I wrote your name in the Book of Life. Jesus’ work was for you too!
Your sins are gone, and you have the power to live for me. The way to your heart is open to me, so now
go and produce the fruit a child of God wants to produce. Your Baptism should be a constant reminder to
you of who you really are, what I have done for you, and the power you have to live for me!”
What a blessing the Lord continues to work to prepare the royal highway to your hearts! He
does this through his Gospel in Word and Sacrament! Make the most of these opportunities to receive
that Gospel during this Advent Season and you will “Prepare the way for the Lord!” Amen.
Martin Luther, Neenah
Luke 3:1-6
9 December 2012
Advent 2, ILCW C
Prepare the royal highway
“Prepare the Royal Highway” is one hymn in the supplement that seemed to catch on right away.
It’s an Advent hymn, and we will be singing it in a few moments. It tells the story of the welcoming the
king as he draws near the city. Going back to ancient times, the custom was to make sure the roads were
in good repair for the king’s visit. On the day he arrived, the people would line the highways and streets
as the parade passed by. They would decorate and celebrate. They would sing and bow. It was the most
festive of occasions as he entered the gates of the city.
Of course, the King whose coming we prepare for during Advent is Jesus. We want to prepare,
and we want to talk a bit about that. But in many ways, the one who made the most preparation was God
himself. How did that happen? How did he prepare the royal highway?
The apostle Paul reminds of the Lord’s own preparations when he says, “When the time had
fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law.” What
that mean though: “when the time had fully come”? We start to get the idea at the beginning of Luke 3.
Luke begins with this long list of names and places: “In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius
Caesar—when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip
tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene—during the high priesthood of
Annas and Caiaphas.” As you heard those words, did you find yourself wondering, “What does this
really have to do with Jesus or even John the Baptist? Why does Luke seem to waste his breath?”
But think back a few weeks. During the season of End Time, we considered a number of lessons
from the book of Daniel. Daniel prophesied how the Lord would bring about a progression of monarchies
one after another across the land of Judah. For a while, it must have seemed like the people should start
preparing the royal highway for the next king as soon as they finished preparing for the last one. But
these events in world history were all according to God’s plan and timetable. Eventually, the Roman
Empire would rise to power. During the reign of this monarchy, the King of kings, God’s promised
Messiah, would come to his people.
Notice how significant these events are! Notice how each piece of preparation falls into place! At
the time Luke writes, language barriers are at a minimum. There is a common language throughout the
Mediterranean world. Almost everyone can speak Greek, thanks to Alexander the Great. Because of the
Roman military, travel is efficient and relatively safe. Roads are as good as they have ever been. The
activity of bandits, robbers, and pirates wither under the heat of Roman military presence. The Empire
provides a perfect place for a world-changing event to take place and news of it to spread.
Luke reminds us of these things with his list of emperor, governor, and tetrarchs. By offering
these exact details, Luke also proclaims to us the accuracy of his careful reporting of history. Such detail
tells us this account is real. It is truth. It is fact. It is not a story or fable or fairytale. It is not a pious
myth to keep you warm at night and keep you from being afraid of the dark. These are real people and
real events. It is real history, the account of your salvation. There can be doubt: it really happened!
Did you notice also the one preparing this royal highway? The Lord himself makes the
preparations. Behind the scenes of history, he moves the pieces into position, and his preparations do not
stop there. We heard in Malachi, “See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before
me.” He also prepares the hearts of his people to welcome his Messiah King. To do this, he sends a
messenger. Luke tells also how the messenger appears at exactly the proper time, “The word of God
came to John son of Zechariah in the desert.” John the Baptist, the improbable son of Zechariah and
Elizabeth, is that messenger. He will “prepare the way for the Lord.” He will play a major role in
preparing the royal highway for the King of kings.
Should this come as a big surprise? No, not at all! The Lord had promised all these things. He
promised how the history of nations would run in Palestine. He promised how he would send a special
messenger. He promised how he would prepare the people’s hearts. He promised how his long-awaited
Savior would enter the world. He promised how he would accomplish salvation. Isn’t that the real point
of Luke’s account here: the Lord has fulfilled his prophecies and promises and that is the signal your
salvation is now close at hand. Prepare to welcome it, to welcome him! Prepare the royal highway!
How do we do that? Should we put in a few more roundabouts? Do we need to extend the
Highway 41 project a few more years? Neenah seems to have their roads in good repair with plenty of
roundabouts, and I don’t want the highway project to go on any longer than you do. But that is not really
the point. Isaiah’s prophecy was not about a massive public works project. John didn’t come to fill in
every valley by driving the bulldozer or be the contractor’s voice calling out over the construction site.
We are talking about a different kind of reconstruction: a spiritual one.
The Savior-King does not come to rule from city hall or the state capitol. He comes to rule a
kingdom “not of this world,” but rather in the hearts of his people. The King does not travel on a literal
highway through the desert to your city. No the valleys and mountains, the hills and rough places are the
obstacles and obstructions that bar his way into your heart.
That was the case for the people in Israel. Much of Israel’s spiritual vitality had dried up. The
water of spiritual life was all but gone when John began his ministry. It was a spiritual wilderness.
Valleys of hypocrisy bordered mountains of pride and arrogance at being “children of Abraham.” They
emptied their worship of any meaning and so they emptied their spiritual wells. The law’s dead formality
littered the landscape like dry bones across the desert. How could repentance hope to sprout and grow?
What chance did it have of producing any fruit?
But the real question we must ask ourselves is this: do we have the same problem? Have we
prepared the royal highway into our heart so the King may enter? Has our faith become about looking
good and respectable to others, rather than about preparing to stand before the King? Do we have our
own mountains of pride? “I am go to church; I give offerings; I volunteer,” or as a church, “We are doing
good things; we are serious about God’s Word; we have the true teaching.” Has worship become just
empty ritual for you, just going through the motions? Do you grow weary of hearing about Jesus when
we should be telling people how to get their act together? Do we talk the talk of sorrow over sin and
trusting in Jesus, but we have no time or desire for that matter in walking the walk of true repentance?
Will the King find fruits of repentance in us or does he walk through a wasteland?
Prepare the royal highway! That is the encouragement of Isaiah; that is the message of John!
That is a problem for us on our own. But remember who made all the other preparations! He works to
prepare your heart too! He does it in the same way he did for his people so many years ago. Luke records
the answer for us, “The word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the desert. He went into all
the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.”
John came preaching, and he continues to preach to us. The message of the Gospel makes the
difference for us in our preparation because “it is the power of God” and he is at work in it. John
confronts the sin he sees. We have to confront the sin we see in our lives too. We must recognize it for
what it is: an obstruction and obstacle in welcoming the King. But John’s message wasn’t just one of
sorrow over sin; he also pointed people to the Savior who takes that sin away! You know his most
famous words, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” Luke assures us in his
careful account, “Yes, this really happened! Jesus did exactly what John said he would do! Jesus took
you sins away from you. He carried them himself, all the way to the cross. There is ‘God’s salvation’!”
Notice also how John’s preaching included “a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of
sins.” Your baptism should also play a big part in preparing your heart for the King. Here the Holy Spirit
acted directly for you. In your Baptism, you have a personal promise from your God to you as an
individual: “I made you my child. I wrote your name in the Book of Life. Jesus’ work was for you too!
Your sins are gone, and you have the power to live for me. The way to your heart is open to me, so now
go and produce the fruit a child of God wants to produce. Your Baptism should be a constant reminder to
you of who you really are, what I have done for you, and the power you have to live for me!”
What a blessing the Lord continues to work to prepare the royal highway to your hearts! He
does this through his Gospel in Word and Sacrament! Make the most of these opportunities to receive
that Gospel during this Advent Season and you will “Prepare the way for the Lord!” Amen.
Martin Luther, Neenah
Luke 3:1-6
9 December 2012
Advent 2, ILCW C
Prepare the royal highway
“Prepare the Royal Highway” is one hymn in the supplement that seemed to catch on right away.
It’s an Advent hymn, and we will be singing it in a few moments. It tells the story of the welcoming the
king as he draws near the city. Going back to ancient times, the custom was to make sure the roads were
in good repair for the king’s visit. On the day he arrived, the people would line the highways and streets
as the parade passed by. They would decorate and celebrate. They would sing and bow. It was the most
festive of occasions as he entered the gates of the city.
Of course, the King whose coming we prepare for during Advent is Jesus. We want to prepare,
and we want to talk a bit about that. But in many ways, the one who made the most preparation was God
himself. How did that happen? How did he prepare the royal highway?
The apostle Paul reminds of the Lord’s own preparations when he says, “When the time had
fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law.” What
that mean though: “when the time had fully come”? We start to get the idea at the beginning of Luke 3.
Luke begins with this long list of names and places: “In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius
Caesar—when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip
tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene—during the high priesthood of
Annas and Caiaphas.” As you heard those words, did you find yourself wondering, “What does this
really have to do with Jesus or even John the Baptist? Why does Luke seem to waste his breath?”
But think back a few weeks. During the season of End Time, we considered a number of lessons
from the book of Daniel. Daniel prophesied how the Lord would bring about a progression of monarchies
one after another across the land of Judah. For a while, it must have seemed like the people should start
preparing the royal highway for the next king as soon as they finished preparing for the last one. But
these events in world history were all according to God’s plan and timetable. Eventually, the Roman
Empire would rise to power. During the reign of this monarchy, the King of kings, God’s promised
Messiah, would come to his people.
Notice how significant these events are! Notice how each piece of preparation falls into place! At
the time Luke writes, language barriers are at a minimum. There is a common language throughout the
Mediterranean world. Almost everyone can speak Greek, thanks to Alexander the Great. Because of the
Roman military, travel is efficient and relatively safe. Roads are as good as they have ever been. The
activity of bandits, robbers, and pirates wither under the heat of Roman military presence. The Empire
provides a perfect place for a world-changing event to take place and news of it to spread.
Luke reminds us of these things with his list of emperor, governor, and tetrarchs. By offering
these exact details, Luke also proclaims to us the accuracy of his careful reporting of history. Such detail
tells us this account is real. It is truth. It is fact. It is not a story or fable or fairytale. It is not a pious
myth to keep you warm at night and keep you from being afraid of the dark. These are real people and
real events. It is real history, the account of your salvation. There can be doubt: it really happened!
Did you notice also the one preparing this royal highway? The Lord himself makes the
preparations. Behind the scenes of history, he moves the pieces into position, and his preparations do not
stop there. We heard in Malachi, “See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before
me.” He also prepares the hearts of his people to welcome his Messiah King. To do this, he sends a
messenger. Luke tells also how the messenger appears at exactly the proper time, “The word of God
came to John son of Zechariah in the desert.” John the Baptist, the improbable son of Zechariah and
Elizabeth, is that messenger. He will “prepare the way for the Lord.” He will play a major role in
preparing the royal highway for the King of kings.
Should this come as a big surprise? No, not at all! The Lord had promised all these things. He
promised how the history of nations would run in Palestine. He promised how he would send a special
messenger. He promised how he would prepare the people’s hearts. He promised how his long-awaited
Savior would enter the world. He promised how he would accomplish salvation. Isn’t that the real point
of Luke’s account here: the Lord has fulfilled his prophecies and promises and that is the signal your
salvation is now close at hand. Prepare to welcome it, to welcome him! Prepare the royal highway!
How do we do that? Should we put in a few more roundabouts? Do we need to extend the
Highway 41 project a few more years? Neenah seems to have their roads in good repair with plenty of
roundabouts, and I don’t want the highway project to go on any longer than you do. But that is not really
the point. Isaiah’s prophecy was not about a massive public works project. John didn’t come to fill in
every valley by driving the bulldozer or be the contractor’s voice calling out over the construction site.
We are talking about a different kind of reconstruction: a spiritual one.
The Savior-King does not come to rule from city hall or the state capitol. He comes to rule a
kingdom “not of this world,” but rather in the hearts of his people. The King does not travel on a literal
highway through the desert to your city. No the valleys and mountains, the hills and rough places are the
obstacles and obstructions that bar his way into your heart.
That was the case for the people in Israel. Much of Israel’s spiritual vitality had dried up. The
water of spiritual life was all but gone when John began his ministry. It was a spiritual wilderness.
Valleys of hypocrisy bordered mountains of pride and arrogance at being “children of Abraham.” They
emptied their worship of any meaning and so they emptied their spiritual wells. The law’s dead formality
littered the landscape like dry bones across the desert. How could repentance hope to sprout and grow?
What chance did it have of producing any fruit?
But the real question we must ask ourselves is this: do we have the same problem? Have we
prepared the royal highway into our heart so the King may enter? Has our faith become about looking
good and respectable to others, rather than about preparing to stand before the King? Do we have our
own mountains of pride? “I am go to church; I give offerings; I volunteer,” or as a church, “We are doing
good things; we are serious about God’s Word; we have the true teaching.” Has worship become just
empty ritual for you, just going through the motions? Do you grow weary of hearing about Jesus when
we should be telling people how to get their act together? Do we talk the talk of sorrow over sin and
trusting in Jesus, but we have no time or desire for that matter in walking the walk of true repentance?
Will the King find fruits of repentance in us or does he walk through a wasteland?
Prepare the royal highway! That is the encouragement of Isaiah; that is the message of John!
That is a problem for us on our own. But remember who made all the other preparations! He works to
prepare your heart too! He does it in the same way he did for his people so many years ago. Luke records
the answer for us, “The word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the desert. He went into all
the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.”
John came preaching, and he continues to preach to us. The message of the Gospel makes the
difference for us in our preparation because “it is the power of God” and he is at work in it. John
confronts the sin he sees. We have to confront the sin we see in our lives too. We must recognize it for
what it is: an obstruction and obstacle in welcoming the King. But John’s message wasn’t just one of
sorrow over sin; he also pointed people to the Savior who takes that sin away! You know his most
famous words, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” Luke assures us in his
careful account, “Yes, this really happened! Jesus did exactly what John said he would do! Jesus took
you sins away from you. He carried them himself, all the way to the cross. There is ‘God’s salvation’!”
Notice also how John’s preaching included “a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of
sins.” Your baptism should also play a big part in preparing your heart for the King. Here the Holy Spirit
acted directly for you. In your Baptism, you have a personal promise from your God to you as an
individual: “I made you my child. I wrote your name in the Book of Life. Jesus’ work was for you too!
Your sins are gone, and you have the power to live for me. The way to your heart is open to me, so now
go and produce the fruit a child of God wants to produce. Your Baptism should be a constant reminder to
you of who you really are, what I have done for you, and the power you have to live for me!”
What a blessing the Lord continues to work to prepare the royal highway to your hearts! He
does this through his Gospel in Word and Sacrament! Make the most of these opportunities to receive
that Gospel during this Advent Season and you will “Prepare the way for the Lord!” Amen.
Martin Luther, Neenah
Luke 3:1-6
9 December 2012
Advent 2, ILCW C
Prepare the royal highway
“Prepare the Royal Highway” is one hymn in the supplement that seemed to catch on right away.
It’s an Advent hymn, and we will be singing it in a few moments. It tells the story of the welcoming the
king as he draws near the city. Going back to ancient times, the custom was to make sure the roads were
in good repair for the king’s visit. On the day he arrived, the people would line the highways and streets
as the parade passed by. They would decorate and celebrate. They would sing and bow. It was the most
festive of occasions as he entered the gates of the city.
Of course, the King whose coming we prepare for during Advent is Jesus. We want to prepare,
and we want to talk a bit about that. But in many ways, the one who made the most preparation was God
himself. How did that happen? How did he prepare the royal highway?
The apostle Paul reminds of the Lord’s own preparations when he says, “When the time had
fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law.” What
that mean though: “when the time had fully come”? We start to get the idea at the beginning of Luke 3.
Luke begins with this long list of names and places: “In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius
Caesar—when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip
tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene—during the high priesthood of
Annas and Caiaphas.” As you heard those words, did you find yourself wondering, “What does this
really have to do with Jesus or even John the Baptist? Why does Luke seem to waste his breath?”
But think back a few weeks. During the season of End Time, we considered a number of lessons
from the book of Daniel. Daniel prophesied how the Lord would bring about a progression of monarchies
one after another across the land of Judah. For a while, it must have seemed like the people should start
preparing the royal highway for the next king as soon as they finished preparing for the last one. But
these events in world history were all according to God’s plan and timetable. Eventually, the Roman
Empire would rise to power. During the reign of this monarchy, the King of kings, God’s promised
Messiah, would come to his people.
Notice how significant these events are! Notice how each piece of preparation falls into place! At
the time Luke writes, language barriers are at a minimum. There is a common language throughout the
Mediterranean world. Almost everyone can speak Greek, thanks to Alexander the Great. Because of the
Roman military, travel is efficient and relatively safe. Roads are as good as they have ever been. The
activity of bandits, robbers, and pirates wither under the heat of Roman military presence. The Empire
provides a perfect place for a world-changing event to take place and news of it to spread.
Luke reminds us of these things with his list of emperor, governor, and tetrarchs. By offering
these exact details, Luke also proclaims to us the accuracy of his careful reporting of history. Such detail
tells us this account is real. It is truth. It is fact. It is not a story or fable or fairytale. It is not a pious
myth to keep you warm at night and keep you from being afraid of the dark. These are real people and
real events. It is real history, the account of your salvation. There can be doubt: it really happened!
Did you notice also the one preparing this royal highway? The Lord himself makes the
preparations. Behind the scenes of history, he moves the pieces into position, and his preparations do not
stop there. We heard in Malachi, “See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before
me.” He also prepares the hearts of his people to welcome his Messiah King. To do this, he sends a
messenger. Luke tells also how the messenger appears at exactly the proper time, “The word of God
came to John son of Zechariah in the desert.” John the Baptist, the improbable son of Zechariah and
Elizabeth, is that messenger. He will “prepare the way for the Lord.” He will play a major role in
preparing the royal highway for the King of kings.
Should this come as a big surprise? No, not at all! The Lord had promised all these things. He
promised how the history of nations would run in Palestine. He promised how he would send a special
messenger. He promised how he would prepare the people’s hearts. He promised how his long-awaited
Savior would enter the world. He promised how he would accomplish salvation. Isn’t that the real point
of Luke’s account here: the Lord has fulfilled his prophecies and promises and that is the signal your
salvation is now close at hand. Prepare to welcome it, to welcome him! Prepare the royal highway!
How do we do that? Should we put in a few more roundabouts? Do we need to extend the
Highway 41 project a few more years? Neenah seems to have their roads in good repair with plenty of
roundabouts, and I don’t want the highway project to go on any longer than you do. But that is not really
the point. Isaiah’s prophecy was not about a massive public works project. John didn’t come to fill in
every valley by driving the bulldozer or be the contractor’s voice calling out over the construction site.
We are talking about a different kind of reconstruction: a spiritual one.
The Savior-King does not come to rule from city hall or the state capitol. He comes to rule a
kingdom “not of this world,” but rather in the hearts of his people. The King does not travel on a literal
highway through the desert to your city. No the valleys and mountains, the hills and rough places are the
obstacles and obstructions that bar his way into your heart.
That was the case for the people in Israel. Much of Israel’s spiritual vitality had dried up. The
water of spiritual life was all but gone when John began his ministry. It was a spiritual wilderness.
Valleys of hypocrisy bordered mountains of pride and arrogance at being “children of Abraham.” They
emptied their worship of any meaning and so they emptied their spiritual wells. The law’s dead formality
littered the landscape like dry bones across the desert. How could repentance hope to sprout and grow?
What chance did it have of producing any fruit?
But the real question we must ask ourselves is this: do we have the same problem? Have we
prepared the royal highway into our heart so the King may enter? Has our faith become about looking
good and respectable to others, rather than about preparing to stand before the King? Do we have our
own mountains of pride? “I am go to church; I give offerings; I volunteer,” or as a church, “We are doing
good things; we are serious about God’s Word; we have the true teaching.” Has worship become just
empty ritual for you, just going through the motions? Do you grow weary of hearing about Jesus when
we should be telling people how to get their act together? Do we talk the talk of sorrow over sin and
trusting in Jesus, but we have no time or desire for that matter in walking the walk of true repentance?
Will the King find fruits of repentance in us or does he walk through a wasteland?
Prepare the royal highway! That is the encouragement of Isaiah; that is the message of John!
That is a problem for us on our own. But remember who made all the other preparations! He works to
prepare your heart too! He does it in the same way he did for his people so many years ago. Luke records
the answer for us, “The word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the desert. He went into all
the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.”
John came preaching, and he continues to preach to us. The message of the Gospel makes the
difference for us in our preparation because “it is the power of God” and he is at work in it. John
confronts the sin he sees. We have to confront the sin we see in our lives too. We must recognize it for
what it is: an obstruction and obstacle in welcoming the King. But John’s message wasn’t just one of
sorrow over sin; he also pointed people to the Savior who takes that sin away! You know his most
famous words, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” Luke assures us in his
careful account, “Yes, this really happened! Jesus did exactly what John said he would do! Jesus took
you sins away from you. He carried them himself, all the way to the cross. There is ‘God’s salvation’!”
Notice also how John’s preaching included “a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of
sins.” Your baptism should also play a big part in preparing your heart for the King. Here the Holy Spirit
acted directly for you. In your Baptism, you have a personal promise from your God to you as an
individual: “I made you my child. I wrote your name in the Book of Life. Jesus’ work was for you too!
Your sins are gone, and you have the power to live for me. The way to your heart is open to me, so now
go and produce the fruit a child of God wants to produce. Your Baptism should be a constant reminder to
you of who you really are, what I have done for you, and the power you have to live for me!”
What a blessing the Lord continues to work to prepare the royal highway to your hearts! He
does this through his Gospel in Word and Sacrament! Make the most of these opportunities to receive
that Gospel during this Advent Season and you will “Prepare the way for the Lord!” Amen.