Pastor Timothy Patoka 1 Sunday In Lent: March 17, 2019 Jesus Resolutely Goes To Jerusalem Luke 13:31-35 st
1) Resolute Though Rejected 2) Resolute To Gather When you make a decision, how long does it stay in effect? Most decisions we make generally don’t go on for a long time. Where you decide to go out to eat or buy your groceries is quickly forgotten by other decisions you need to make. The decision to repair your car or renovate your house is put on hold until either it needs it or you have a stack of money burning a hole in your pocket. Yet there are some decisions we resolutely make which we do not easily change or forget about. Maybe it’s your continued resolution to make Tucson your seasonal or permanent home in light of our recent wintry weather. Although I, like many, complained about how cold it got, people in most parts of our country would have considered it quite desirable for March. Or perhaps it’s a resolute decision that will determine the rest of your future – which college will be your alma mater, which job field will bear your mark, or which person will be your spouse until one of you passes away. The thing about these resolute decisions is that once we make them, we do not intend on changing them easily, if ever. Jesus too made a number of decisions. Many were minor decisions that have been lost to history. But a good number were resolute ones that he was not going to ever change. As we’ll see from our handful of verses from Luke chapter 13, Jesus had resolutely decided that he was going to Jerusalem one last time no matter what because that is where he would carry out his goal to be our Savior. As he journeyed to Jerusalem to accomplish that wonderful goal, he would face rejection from all sides. Yet we give thanks for Jesus’ resolute decision to be our Savior because he would also resolutely decide to gather us under his wings. 1) Resolute Though Rejected It’s while Jesus is on his way south from Galilee to Jerusalem one last time that some Pharisees come to him with a surprising request. They tell him, “Leave, and go away from here, because Herod wants to kill you.” (Luke 13:31b) Even though Jesus was already on his way out of Herod’s kingdom by going to Jerusalem, it wasn’t fast enough. King Herod and the Pharisees had had enough of Jesus and wanted him gone. But even in Jerusalem, where Jesus was going, he was going to face more rejection! Why might all these people reject Jesus? We know that King Herod was not a good role model. When John the Baptist called him out for adultery, King Herod arrested and later beheaded him (Matthew 14:1-12). King Herod did not want to be subject to anyone or anything. So he rejected Jesus by rejecting God’s law. The Pharisees refused to listen to Jesus and correct their religious teaching. They would rather continue teaching what man has to say about God 1
Pastor Timothy Patoka 1 Sunday In Lent: March 17, 2019 than correct themselves and be in line with what God says about himself. So they too rejected Jesus by urging him to leave their region with an “out of sight, out of mind” mentality. The people of Jerusalem likewise did not want to listen to Jesus. But then again, they didn’t have a good track record with listening to God. Simply remember our 1st Lesson (Jeremiah 26:8-15) where they rejected the prophet Jeremiah who spoke God’s strong word of correction to them. Just as they rejected Jeremiah and other prophets, so they would also reject Jesus and demand his crucifixion (Luke 23:18-25) by refusing to listen to what God had to say to them. st
It’s not just in Luke’s Gospel that we find Jesus being rejected in these ways. We too reject Jesus in the same way. Like King Herod, we don’t like having God’s law applied to ourselves. We would rather wield it and chase down that speck of sin in someone’s eye than to apply it to ourselves and cleanse our eyes and their planks of sin (Luke 6:41-42). Like the Pharisees, we don’t always present God to the public according to the Bible. This applies not only to your current religious teachers like myself and your other pastor, but also to yourselves. To how many people are you that light to teach what Christianity is all about? With every action we take, with every word we say, we are showing the unbelieving and confused world around us what it means to be a Christian. And oftentimes it’s with our actions which speak louder than words. Like the people of Jerusalem, we don’t listen to what our God tells us in his Word. Too often we hear it and then promptly forget as it slips out the other ear. We find ourselves justifying why it’s okay to skip regular time in God’s Word whether it be in a worship service or in a quiet moment. In each case, we are as guilty as King Herod, the Pharisees, and the people of Jerusalem are for rejecting Jesus. In each case, we choose ourselves over our Savior. And yet, despite the rejections Jesus faced and faces, he is resolute in his decision to go to Jerusalem and accomplish his goal of our salvation. Listen to what Jesus instructed the Pharisees the report back to the crafty King Herod. “Look, I am going to drive out demons and heal people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will reach my goal. Nevertheless, I must go on my way today and tomorrow and the next day, because it cannot be that a prophet would be killed outside Jerusalem!” (Luke 13:32-33) Jesus wasn’t going to be scared out of his resolute decision to go to Jerusalem. Not only was he still going there, but he would continue to do miracles like driving out demons and healing the sick, the very actions which likely brought King Herod’s murderous threat in the first place. Jesus knew where his journey would lead. To his death on a cross by Jerusalem at the hands of the people he came to save, the very people who rejected him. It is on that cross where he willingly bore the sins of everyone who has rejected him for any reason and any length of time. It is on that cross where he made all things right with God on our behalf.
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Pastor Timothy Patoka 1 Sunday In Lent: March 17, 2019 Yet Jesus’ resolute journey would not end on the cross. As he alluded to with the Pharisees, Jesus reached his goal on the 3rd day when he rose from the dead. He came to be the Savior we need so much. He was willingly to endure everything and anything to make that happen. And he did, just as he resolutely decided. And as Jesus was resolute to be our Savior though rejected, so he is also resolute in gathering his children under his wings. st
2) Resolute To Gather Jesus shows us his resolute will to save all those who reject him with a simple object lesson. He says, “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those sent to her! How often I have wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!” (Luke 13:34) A mother hen desires to take care for her baby chicks. One of the simplest ways she can do that is by gathering them under her wings for protection and comfort. Applying this to ourselves, the only way we can be a baby chick in God’s family is if we have faith in his Son for that is what makes us a child of God. And as a mother hen desires to take care of her baby chicks by gathering them under her wings, so also God wants to take care of us by gathering us close to him. It is under our Savior’s wings we find protection from the threats that attack us. These spiritual bombshells most obviously come at us with the temptations that Satan throws at us – to do, think, or say those things which we know we shouldn’t do as told by God’s Word. These bombshells can also be those around us who look at us in a disapproving way or say something that does not build us up because of who our faith is placed in. The only one who can protect us from such threats is the one whose wings we are under – Jesus Christ. For not only did he resolutely go to Jerusalem though rejected, he continues to shelter from all attacks with his almighty power. While we are under Jesus’ wings, we also find comfort in his close presence. The bombshells that attack our faith are not only found outside of us. They can also come from within ourselves when we focus on the guilt of our sin and how often we still reject our Savior’s words. It is in those doubtful moments that we ought to remember for whom Jesus came to Jerusalem. It was for those who rejected him, people like you and me. As surely as he died on that cross and rose from the grave, so surely he has forgiven our sins and no longer remembers them. We are no longer cursed with a desolate house in our future (Luke 13:35) nor are we separated from God’s love and his eternal blessings. We are not alone in this walk of life. As a mother hen is resolute to gather her chicks under her wings, so our Savior is resolute to gather us under his wings for protection and comfort. And we would be wise to remain under his wings while on this earth. And thankfully, we’re shown how we can do that by taking the opposite way of how each people rejected Jesus on his way down to Jerusalem. Unlike King Herod, we are to daily view ourselves under God’s 3
Pastor Timothy Patoka 1 Sunday In Lent: March 17, 2019 law. Yes, this will rightly bring us sadness, but it will also remind us of why we need a Savior so that we don’t think too highly of ourselves and lead ourselves astray. Unlike the Pharisees, we are to conform our lives to what our Lord tells us in his Word. Not only to accurately present to the world what the Christian faith is truly about, but to remind ourselves of all the different ways we can show our thanks to God by living for him. Unlike the people of Jerusalem, we are to listen to what our God tells us in his Word. Whether it be in public worship, a small group setting, or a private devotional, our Lord has so much to share with us in his Word. And as we carry out each of those actions, we will continually review the blessings of forgiveness, protection, and comfort that our Savior has promised to us. st
When Jesus decided to go to Jerusalem, it was a resolute decision that he was not going to change. It was only because of his resolution that such a journey happened. Jesus was rejected by all and had no personal incentive to finish her journey to Jerusalem. And yet, despite the widespread rejection, he still went to Jerusalem to complete his goal of our salvation by dying on the cross and rising from the grave on the third day. Just as Jesus was resolute though rejected, he is also resolute to gather all those who have rejected him under his wings for protection and comfort. It is only by God’s grace that we no longer reject Jesus. And it is only with God’s help that we can learn from King Herod, the Pharisees, and the people of Jerusalem how to remain under his wings for all time. Amen.
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