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Daniel English
December 3, 2025
Sermon - Advent 1 Midweek
Deuteronomy‬ ‭18‬:‭15‬-‭18; Hebrews‬ ‭3‬:‭1‬-‭14‬; Psalm 95

Jesus Christ - Our Prophet

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

Do you remember the “war on Christmas?” In the first decade and a half of the 2000’s, not that long ago, the media was buzzing about the “war on Christmas.” Is it a “Christmas Tree” or a “Holiday Tree?” When greeting strangers in public during this time of year, is it “Merry Christmas,” or “Happy Holidays”? Do you remember when this is what we were concerned about? In 2015, the apparent controversy was that the coffee chain, Starbucks, had released a seasonal holiday cup that didn’t have a snowman or a Christmas ornament on it as in years past. Instead, it was just plain red. Some people were upset by the red cups, others were upset that some people would be upset by the red cups, and a good number of Christians were upset that they had been misrepresented as being upset at all. But the real issue was not the red cups, it was something deeper hiding beneath the surface. You and I know that it was never about the red cups… the issue was never what you should call an evergreen tree decorated with lights and ornaments… or even the kind of greeting you give to a passerby in Winter. The issue is what it has always been: there are those who don’t know, or don’t care, or don’t believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, who was incarnate by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. Even worse, there are those who don’t know, or don’t care, or don’t believe… and they “celebrate Christmas,” at least they pretend to… In some homes, and even in some churches, Christmas has become something altogether different. Hot chocolate, outdoor lights, snow covered hills, gift giving, a vague spirit of generosity… maybe some pictures with Santa… and if you can even believe it, pictures with a demon named Krampus… but nothing at all about Jesus. Think of the most popular Christmas movies, the classics — maybe even your favorite Christmas movies (by the way, for the sake of unity, I will not weigh in on whether Die Hard is properly a Christmas movie). Have you thought of any? Which of these movies utters even one syllable about the incarnation of our Lord Christ? And if I say you can’t use A Charlie Brown Christmas from 1965, can you even think of one?

A survey conducted by the Barna Group in 2015 — the same year as the plain, red, Starbucks cups — found that 92% of participants believed that Jesus Christ was a real person who actually lived. However, only 56% of participants believed that Jesus was God, and only 31% strongly disagreed with the statement that Jesus Christ committed sins. Jesus Christ did not commit sin! I know that and you know that, but nearly 70% of the participants of this survey did NOT have a strong, negative reaction to the statement that Jesus Christ committed sin just like any other human. In the ten years since that survey, do you think the numbers have gotten better? Our culture may know the name, “Jesus Christ,” and maybe even that He walked the earth… but our culture does not know who Jesus truly is. Our culture has forgotten. Maybe the “war on Christmas” is real… It begs the question, are we winning the war? Are we even fighting?

There is another war… the “war on Advent.” This war is a bit harder to notice because it doesn’t slither down the chimney like the Grinch and seek to steal away all the trappings of Christmas. In fact, it wants more of Christmas. It shines bright like a Christmas tree set up the week before Thanksgiving! The “war on Advent” wants Christmas to come early… so early that we should forget about Advent and lose it altogether. … Don’t miss my point here, because it isn’t about when the lights and tree go up, or when you start listening to Christmas carols, or how early you make your Christmas cookies, or your fruitcake, or your baklava. Rather, Advent is about a solemn time of waiting, contemplation, and preparation — waiting on the LORD to bring His own redemption and vengeance; contemplating who Jesus is and what He does for us; and preparing to walk in good works… and preparing to have your faith tested by trials and temptations, even in the face of death and hell. Advent is a time of repentance — repenting of the innumerable ways in which you have failed in your calling. You need the forgiveness offered by Jesus (maybe especially during this time of the year when schedules are full and stresses are high), and your only hope is to be comforted by the faith that God has given you in and through the Gospel. Advent is a time to exercise ourselves in the greatest and most important war of all: the “virtuous war of faith” that Paul encourages Timothy to in his first letter; the “good fight of faith” that struggles against unbelief, despair, and sin. Our best and first weapon in this fight is the “good [and virtuous] confession” of the Word of Christ. The Word that declares us forgiven and righteous by faith. The Word that became flesh and won salvation for us. From ancient times the church, in great wisdom and out of great reverence, established Advent and Christmas to teach us about Jesus and to structure our lives of faith in the image of His earthly life. So I am asking you to join with me in the fight for Christmas, the fight for Advent, and fight for the Faith.

On the Last Sunday of the Church Year, I echoed the Psalms and asked you to be still and wait on the LORD, to trust in His deliverance and His timing. I also asked you to repent and keep the faith. Last week, Pastor asked you to cast off works of darkness and put on the Armor of Light, to live as a Child of the Light. You might ask, “Vicar, how do I do these things? What does it look like to repent, to keep the faith, and to live as a child of the Light?” Well… I’m so glad you asked. This Advent, God willing, we will ask the Lord to stir up these things in us by the power of His Spirit working through His Word. We will seek to better understand who Christ is and what He does for us by looking at the book of Hebrews and what has been called the “threefold office of Christ:” Prophet, Priest, and King. And by the grace of God, as we consider Christ Our Prophet, we will heed His Word and repent. As we are ministered to by Christ Our Priest, we will increase in faith and trust in Him alone for salvation. And as we submit to Christ Our King, we will serve Him—humbly and faithfully—for the good of His kingdom here-and-now on earth and also in eternity with Him.

Maybe you have heard of the “threefold office.” It is first referenced outside the Scriptures by a man known as the Father of Church History, Eusebius. In the early 4th century A.D. he writes, “And we have been told also that certain of the prophets themselves became, by the act of anointing, Christs in type, so that all these have reference to the true Christ, the divinely inspired and heavenly Word, who is the only high priest of all, and the only King of every creature, and the Father's only supreme prophet of prophets” (Ecclesiastical History, 1.3.8). Notice the language of “type” and “reference.” What is a type? A type in the Bible is a reference to something else. It is like a shadow cast on the wall. When you are looking at the shadow, it is a reference to the thing that casts the shadow. When you finally see the actual thing, it is a fulfillment of the shadow. This pattern of types and their reference, or their fulfillment, is used a lot in the book of Hebrews. The type or shadow of something references or points to the fulfillment, and in many cases, that fulfillment is the person of Jesus Christ.

The first office of Christ’s threefold office we will examine is the office of Prophet. And so, the first type from Hebrews I want to draw your attention to is a specific prophet, the prophet Moses. Moses is the type, and Christ is the fulfillment. Christ, who is the best, truest, and most faithful prophet of them all. As Hebrews chapter 1 establishes the supremacy of Christ, it compares Him to the angels and acknowledges Him to be greater, “For to which of the angels did God ever say, ‘You are my son, today I have begotten you’? Or again, ‘I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son’” (Hebrews 1:5)? Jesus is greater than the angels. In Hebrews, Christ is always greater than His types. This is something that would strike a first century Jew a little bit more scandalously than you or me, but Jesus, the Scriptures say, is even greater than Moses. Moses and Jesus were both appointed by God. Moses is glorious, but Jesus is more glorious. Moses is created, but Jesus is the uncreated creator. Moses is faithful as a servant, but Jesus is faithful as a Son (Hebrews 3:2-6). Moses is a type of Christ. As the people of God prepare to cross the Jordan into the Promised Land, Moses knows that he will remain behind and die. He prophesied to the people, “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen” (Deuteronomy 18:15). Moses did not bring the people to the promised land, he remained on the other side of the Jordan and was buried. The Law was given through Moses, and it does not bring life and salvation, but an increase of sin (Romans 5:20). “[T]he law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ” (John 1:17). It is Jesus who fulfills the law, brings forgiveness, and has the words of eternal life (John 6:68).

The Explanation of the Small Catechism from Concordia Publishing House in 1991 explains it like this: “Christ was anointed to be our Prophet, Priest, and King. As Prophet, Christ preached personally during His life on earth, validating His word with miracles, especially His own resurrection” (p 124). Christ comes as a prophet speaking God’s Word, He is the very Word of God. He preaches repentance and faith (Mark 1:15). In the gospel according to John, “after the people saw the sign Jesus performed [in feeding the 5,000], they began to say, ‘Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world’” (John 6:14)! The Catechism continues, “[As Prophet, Christ] through the preached Gospel today still proclaims Himself to be the Son of God and redeemer of the world” (Explanation of the Small Catechism, 1991, p 125). For thousands of years the prophets foretold what would happen in Jesus Christ, and Jesus is the fulfillment of all that the prophets promised. And now, the things that Jesus taught and did come to us through the preaching of the Gospel. Those in the preaching office are sent by Christ to preach Christ’s Word. So now, you, hearing Christ’s Words, do not harden your hearts, but believe. Do not resist the idea that you are a sinner, don’t think you measure up. Believe that you are a sinner in need of redemption. And do not resist the idea that you are forgiven. Believe that the forgiveness you so desperately need has been given to you through Jesus Christ. Paul says in 2 Corinthians, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God” (2 Corinthians 17-20). Jesus is our prophet, do not neglect hearing His Word. This is the first step in the fight! Don’t be confused about who you are or what you deserve without Christ. Know that the whole reason Jesus came to earth was to die because of your sins and to give you salvation and forgiveness. This Advent, hear the Word of Christ, repent, and believe the Gospel… His Kingdom is at hand.

In the Name of Jesus, Our Prophet. Amen