Meet Your Burden Bearer :: Matthew 21:1-11

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In some cultures, before the advent of print ... long before television ... people gathered together in their communities and told stories. These stories were the entertainment of the day. More than that, they were education for the people. The stories we told shaped the way we thought. They shaped our communities.

The Israelites were such a community. They were an oral culture. For centuries, the highest ideal of all Jewish men was the study of Oral Torah, a study that led to an eagerness and thirst for knowledge, a desire to hear the story again, see the story, and to know the story. To help the people remember, to help them learn, to help them know the Word of the Lord ... the Levites led the people in song. 

In response, the people rejoiced in Yahweh. 


Our text for tonight from Psalm 118 is a great example. A small snippet of this psalm was used as our Introit on Sunday. It led us through the gates of righteousness, into the Lord’s sanctuary, into the presence of Yahweh. Save us, we pray, Yahweh. Yahweh, we pray, give us success. It led us in describing a story that you’ve heard repeatedly throughout your lives, a story you know so well, the triumphant entry of Christ into the city of peace. Blessed is he who comes in the name of Yahweh. We sand. We bless you from the house of Yahweh.


So tonight on these Wednesdays in Advent, we will be seeing, hearing, and telling the story of salvation through the voice of the Psalter, specifically from the Introits which lead the faithful back to Christ, who came to us first, and promises to come again. 

Luther wrote that the Psalter ought to be a dear and beloved book, if only because it promises Christ’s death and resurrection so clearly, and so typifies His kingdom and the condition and nature of all Christendom. 

Psalm 118 in particular was Luther’s favorite. He made it his own. I pray that you will make it your own too because 

IT’S IMPORTANT THAT WE CONTINUALLY HEAR THE STORY, SEE THE STORY, AND TELL THE STORY OF OUR SALVATION IN CHRIST

Normally, I am very hesitant to use the word story in describing the history of scripture. The word story is easily misunderstood. We tend to think stories have the potential for error. We also tend to think of the Psalms as not much more than poetry. Make no mistake: Scripture has no error. And the Psalms aren’t just poetry. They are deeply Christological ... that is they are about Christ, through and through. Psalm 118 is a microcosm of the Psalter: It helps us see and hear the story of our salvation so we can tell it too. We need to hear it, to see it, to tell it continually. 


The first four verses of our text read almost like a cheer among groups in a crowd along the streets of Jerusalem. Let Israel say ... כִּי לְעוֹלָם חַסְדּֽוֹ ... (Key LaOam HaSDo) ... because forever is his steadfast love. ... Let the House of Aaron say (Key LaOam HaSDo). Let those who fear Yahweh say (Key LaOam HaSDo). 

Suddenly, behind you, someone cries out Out of my distress I called on Yahweh; Yahweh answered me and set me free. Someone next you joins in and declares Yahweh is on my side; I will not fear. And yet another person sharpens that wisdom declaring It is better to take refuge in Yahweh than to trust in man. 

You can see and hear how this text educates you, changes you?


Psalm 118 was undoubtedly sung in thanksgiving while celebrating the Passover. Psalm 118 became a continual source of joy as the Israelites heard their story of salvation over and over, reminding them how the Lord flung open the gates of bondage so that a million people could stream through ... first the sea of reeds and then ... across the Jordan River, out of captivity, out of the wilderness, into the promised land. 

But one of the beauties of Psalm 118 is ... we can’t fit it so neatly in this one box. 

We suspect it was written nearly 3,000 years ago. The Israelites undoubtedly saw and heard the melodies and harmonies of this great song of victory as King David flung open the gates of Jerusalem in triumph after the Lord delivered them from the Arameans ... from Moabites ... from Ammonites. 

All the nations surrounded me, they sang

but in the name of Yahweh I cut them off. 

They surrounded me,
surrounded me on every side; 

in the name of Yahweh I cut them off.

They surrounded me like bees; they went out like a fire among thorns; 

in the name of Yahweh I cut them off.

Yes, Yahweh is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation. 

I shall not die, but I shall live.


So here you are in the middle of this gathering, in the middle of this excitement, wondering what is all the fuss about. Is it hard to see how this all applies to you? The people around you are growing increasingly silent. I see nothing but sin all around me. Debauchery and idolatry abounds. It too easily consumes our lives like fire, stinging, burning, consuming, killing. Why were these people so excited about Yahweh? 

In our text, they throw around words like victory, and salvation, and life from death. You’d think they had actually experienced the things they are singing about. You’d think they were some CEO who just received his golden parachute, some $150 million bonus. 


Brothers and sisters in Christ, this leaves many of us wondering: Am I really part of them? Can I really identify with them? Can I really sing with them, The Lord God is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation? Can you sing it and mean it?

I want to impress upon you that the answer is yes. 

Yahweh gives us this certainty right here in our text. I want to call your attention to one voice that stands out. You’ve heard it before. Some suggest it is a proverbial saying referring to the king and that Yahweh has delivered the king from all his enemies. Others suggest it refers to Israel, who has broken the backs of many nations far stronger. Even more say it is just metaphoric, that is a figure of speech that is not literal.

It reads, The stone that the builders rejected has become the head of the corner. 


But we have seen them, and heard them, and now we know the truth that sets us free. In these words we recognize Jesus himself. In these words, we hear Jesus fulfilling the prophecy they are. He is the cornerstone of our faith. He has been rejected by men. First in Jerusalem, and still today. In applying it to himself, he asks Have you not seen this scripture? Have you not heard it? It speaks of Messiah, of Christ, who was rejected by men but has become the cornerstone of our faith. This is the Lord’s doing. And it is marvelous in our eyes. He has answered our prayers. He has saved us now.


You can see it now, can’t you? We were lost in darkness. So instead he came to us and made his light to shine upon us. We couldn’t see the gates of righteousness, let alone open them on our own; So instead He who knew no sin has has done it for us. Now Jesus is leading you out of the bondage of sin, and you are responding to the blessing with a confession of faith knowing he has reconciled you with the Father through his perfect life, his bloody death, and his glorious resurrection. 

You are my God, we cry now, and I will give you thanks. You are my God and I will exalt you. 

Brothers and sisters in Christ, we have heard and seen the Day of Salvation. Now I know that I will not die, but I shall live and recount the deeds of the Lord forever.

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