The Relentless, intentional compassion of Jesus
Notes
Transcript
Prayer
Prayer
Merciful God,
You will not always chide. You do not lose your temper. You are not controlled by passions.
And therefore we can place our trust in you. You are the one who sits on high, between the cherubim. You are the one who rules over all things. You are the one who reigns over all nations.
To you, the kings of the earth are as grasshoppers. The nations are a drop in a bucket.
And so we will not fear
Though the earth tremble and shake,
Though the forces of darkness unleash all of their powers,
Though the pestilence that walks in darkness strike
Though the fig and the olive tree fail
For you are our God and we are your people.
Lift up our eyes to where you are and cause us to rest in you, even when the earth is raging all around us. May we be an oasis of peace to those around us and so imitate Jesus.
Give freedom to the oppressed, health to the sick, healing to the injured and brokenhearted. Give deliverance to the captive , and give justice to those for whom it has been denied. We think of the thousands of untested rape kits, and those whose pleas have fallen on deaf ears. Forgive us for our hard hearts and closed ears, and cause us to be a voice for the voiceless and a comfort for the weary. Forgive our racism and our indifference to pain and suffering.
Fill us with your Spirit that we might reflect the compassion and mercy of our savior.
Lord, we know that your judgment is perfect. Raise up therefore wise and just rulers, who also hear the cries of the oppressed and voiceless.
Father we thank you that you love us in spite of our sins. We thank you that before the foundation of the earth, you have chosen us to be holy in Christ. And we thank you for our Lord Jesus Christ.
This morning, Lord Jesus we come to you.
You have promised to heal. Heal us, we pray,.
You have promised that if we are thirsty, to come to you. We are thirsty. Give us that living water, that we might never thirst again.
And we are so, so weary of our incessant need to always be right. And we lay that desire down on the foot of the cross.
We are so often wrong.
We are so often sinful. So often weary. So often foolish and shameful and broken.
Blessed rock of Ages, hide us in your bosom. Give us rest. Cause us to lay down our weapons at the foot of the cross and submit ourselves more and more to your will, which alone is good.
Lead us and give us the strength to follow and we will follow.
For we know that you alone lead us to quiet waters and green pastures.
Give us to drink, dear Lord, and we will drink.
Give us rest, and we will lie down.
And together
14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
Be acceptable in Your sight,
O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer.
Scripture
Scripture
31 On that very day some Pharisees came, saying to Him, “Get out and depart from here, for Herod wants to kill You.”
32 And He said to them, “Go, tell that fox, ‘Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I shall be perfected.’ 33 Nevertheless I must journey today, tomorrow, and the day following; for it cannot be that a prophet should perish outside of Jerusalem.
34 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you were not willing! 35 See! Your house is left to you desolate; and assuredly, I say to you, you shall not see Me until the time comes when you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’ ”
Sermon
Sermon
Beginning in chapter 9, Luke is giving a step by step account of Jesus’ journey towards Jerusalem. He was purposeful and driven -
51 As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem.
He knew that the time decreed by the father was coming. He knew that he would be offered as the passover lamb when the next passover came around, and so he makes his way towards Jerusalem.
As he is going, he is continuing to heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons, open the eyes of the blind and the ears of the deaf.
But his purpose is to be “perfected” in Jerusalem. That is, his work will be finished.
It is the same word that he uses on the cross, when he finishes his work, and cries with a loud voice - “It is finished!”
Jesus death on the cross was not an accident. It was not a situation that got out of hand. Not even for one moment was Jesus out of control of the situation. Every step he took was deliberate and intentional. He was, step by step, obeying His father and fulfilling everything that was written of him.
He was the only man who ever walked the earth who knew what perfect beauty was. He knew what pure righteousness and joy felt like. He experienced the full glory of the father.
And then he came to earth. Not only the earth, but the earth under the curse of death. Mankind twisted and cancerous in comparison to the glory of heaven.
How far from the purity of their creation, and Jesus alone could see it. The rest of us are told, but we have no experience to put it into.
We are born decaying into death, and our sins have defiled the whole of creation - and Jesus walked among us.
Our of every human that ever walked the earth, he alone had the right to hold his nose at the stench the rest of us put out - but instead he touched us. He healed our diseases, opened our eyes, opened our ears, gave strength back to the legs and the feet and the arms -
But he knew that even though he cast out demons and healed the sick, the stench of sin and the curse of deaths still held until someone stronger took it away.
And he knew what it would take to take the curse of death away.
And nothing would stop him from that purpose. His compassion wasn’t momentary or accidental. It was continuous, relentless pursuit.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days of my life;
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord
Forever.
The word translated “follow” means to pursue. It is often translated “persecute”, then the one pursuing is an enemy. It is relentless pursuit.
In the 16th century, a small group of Reformed Christians from France escaped the relentless persecution and fled to the New World.
King Philip II, who vowed to stamp out reformation theology, sent Pedro Menendez de Aviles with soldiers and weapons to find them and kill them. They succeeded, and founded St Augustine in Florida, the first European settlement in America.
This is relentless pursuit.
And it is how David describes the mercy and goodness of Jesus. They relentlessly follow him and will not let him go.
Jesus is heading to Jerusalem thinking like this - he is single minded. He is healing the sick on schedule. Casting out demons on schedule. Teaching on schedule. And he will be in Jerusalem for Passover, because he is the passover lamb whose blood will be shed for the sins of his people.
He is now in Herod’s territory. The Romans were very organized, and the world was organized into provinces. Pilate was the governor of Judea, the important and powerful province. But the Romans allowed the Herod gang to continue to rule under Rome east of the Jordan.
We don’t know the motivation of the Pharisees for reporting this to Jesus. Perhaps they are trying to get him to Jerusalem where they have more power. The Pharisees had decided that Jesus needed to be killed and were looking for an opportunity. Perhaps this was the motive.
Or perhaps, they were simply the messengers for Herod - in which case, they pretended to be concerned, when their motive was simply to get him out of Herod’s territory so Herod didn’t have to bother with him.
We know that Herod was wracked with guilt over the beheading of John, and in true Edgar Allen Poe style, he believed that Jesus was John raised from the dead and he had come back to haunt him.
Extreme wickedness and superstition have robbed more than one man of their courage and reason.
14 Now King Herod heard of Him, for His name had become well known. And he said, “John the Baptist is risen from the dead, and therefore these powers are at work in him.”
So it is entirely believable that he would send Pharisees to pretend to be concerned for his welfare in order to get him to move on...
And this would fit Jesus calling him a “fox”. Foxes are sneaky and deceptive. Philip Ryken puts it like this:
“the term fox “typifies low cunning as opposed to straightforward dealing, and it is used in contrast to ‘lion’ to describe an insignificant third-rate person as opposed to a person of real power and greatness.””
But Jesus doesn’t take his orders from earthly rulers, and especially not second-rate, weak puppets pretending to be something they are not.
In his answer, he lets us all know that he sees right through Herod.
He is moving out of Herod’s territory - but it will be in his own timetable. Herod won’t be able to lay a finger on him, for his death is already foreordained from before the foundation of the world.
He contrasts his activities with the activities of Herod, the predator. Herod’s life has been the relentless pursuit of power and position. He has manipulated and schemed to be a “king” in air-quotes under the Roman Empire and has done whatever it took to stay there.
And (like everyone who pursues money and power) death, violence, hatred, lust, fear and envy followed hard behind.
Jesus was pursuing a kingdom. His would be a kingdom that filled the earth. He would have dominion from sea to sea and cast out the prince of the power of the air into everlasting darkness.
He would destroy the greatest enemy of all - death.
Every time he referred to himself as the Son of Man he reminded the Jews of this kingdom.
13 “I was watching in the night visions,
And behold, One like the Son of Man,
Coming with the clouds of heaven!
He came to the Ancient of Days,
And they brought Him near before Him.
14 Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom,
That all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him.
His dominion is an everlasting dominion,
Which shall not pass away,
And His kingdom the one
Which shall not be destroyed.
But this kingdom would not be won Herod’s way - through manipulation, deceit and preying upon the weak as a fox would.
He is the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, who comes as a Lamb to take away the sins of the world.
Jesus’ kingdom is the relentless pursuit of compassion - he casts out demons, heals the sick - and when the final day comes - in Jerusalem, just as the prophets said - he would finish his work on the cross - And Satan would be cast out of heaven once and for all, for the sting of death would finally be taken away.
This is the curse of the law, which is far greater than any enemy.
There is no point in explaining this to Herod. This is all that Herod needs to know:
He isn’t going to flee. And he isn’t going to fear. Herod is a rat, a fox with only self-serving interests. And he isn’t going to bump Jesus’ mission up or down. It will continue exactly as it was decreed, and Herod will have nothing to do with that.
But Herod won’t kill him either. He will die in Jerusalem, just as the prophets said.
Jesus now rebukes the Pharisees speaking to him.
“It just wouldn’t do to have a prophet killed outside of Jerusalem, would it?”
A recurring theme is how the Pharisees were exactly like Cain and every other religious expert in the history of the world. What did all the prophets have in common from Cain on down? They were all killed by the experts on religion. And the Pharisees, in spite of all of their talk, were just like the rest.
47 Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets, and your fathers killed them. 48 In fact, you bear witness that you approve the deeds of your fathers; for they indeed killed them, and you build their tombs. 49 Therefore the wisdom of God also said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they will kill and persecute,’ 50 that the blood of all the prophets which was shed from the foundation of the world may be required of this generation, 51 from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah who perished between the altar and the temple. Yes, I say to you, it shall be required of this generation.
And now, a reminder to them of what he said earlier - Jerusalem, the seat of the religion of the Jews, the den of the experts in religion - is full of the same rage and hatred that it has always been filled with.
Sarcastically, Jesus said, “we all know if won’t do to have a prophet die outside of Jerusalem. Jerusalem is where the prophets die, and it is where I am going.”
And then he stops and weeps for Jerusalem.
And here again we have his unrelenting compassion.
34 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you were not willing!
His enemies are plotting to kill him in the worst possible way - with as much shame, pain and degradation possible - and he still weeps for them and the hardness of their hearts. He doesn’t weep for himself. He weeps for his enemies.
This is the relentless compassion of Jesus.
He knew that Jerusalem’s time was about done. He knew the suffering and slaughter that would take place in less than 40 years. He knew what the Roman army was capable of.
And even more, he knows the terrors and pains of hell - destruction that never ends, where death would be a mercy but God wrath is never over. The worm doesn’t die and the fire doesn’t go out and there is no rest day or night. He knows what hell is and he knows that everyone born of Adam deserves it.
Which is why he is going to the cross. The same relentless compassion that saves you and me is poured out as tears for all who reject him and refuse to come under his protection.
The hen with the chicks is the mother protecting her brood. But a mother hen only allows her own chicks to come under her protection. She doesn’t have infinite stretch.
But Jesus does. If even those who were plotting his death would be welcome and invited to hide under his wings, then who are we to shut the doors? If he invited the rulers who would crucify him to rest under his wings, does he not have room for YOU?
Is there not room for everyone? Will anyone who comes to him be cast away?
It is precisely this compassion and pity that saves us all. If Jesus is not merciful, taking murderers, adulterers, drunkards, the LGBTQ community, the traumatized, the outcast, the rich and the poor - if he did not invite all of them to rest under his wings, we would all be cast away into hell forever. There is nothing that any of us can do to deserve a place under his wings - and this is good news. Because if my safety depended upon what I deserve, i would be lost forever. But my safety is based upon his strength - and his compassion. Jesus, strong and kind.
In fact - even after they crucified Jesus and he rose from the dead, Jesus still preached to them in the mouth of Peter - but that time, 3000 of them were saved.
The question that comes up here is this one: If Jesus wants all to be saved and none to enter hell, how is there still a hell? Cannot God do everything he pleases?
How are we, who are finite, sinful and have the information of a gnat supposed to know the workings of the infinite God.
Classical theology has a term for this. It is called the incomprehensibility of God. We will never pry into the infinite wisdom of his decrees or even fathom them.
All we know is what he has revealed to us, and the point of this text is this:
Jesus is willing to gather every sinner who will come under his protective wings. Every one of them.
Don’t pry into the election of God. Come to Jesus.
God’s election is in Christ. His revelation is in Christ. You don’t have to sort it out. But you do have to come.
He is gathering his church by his word preached and by his Holy Spirit - calling. Come. Rest under his wings.
Notice how Jesus is also claiming to be Jehovah God.
4 He shall cover you with His feathers,
And under His wings you shall take refuge;
His truth shall be your shield and buckler.
It is Jehovah who is the protective Mother of his church. He is the one who gathers.
And Jesus claims that for himself.
But he doesn’t just claim it. He also does it.
He is heading to Jerusalem to take the wrath of God upon himself. His people are safely under his wings and HE is the one who takes the sword that guards the tree of life. And then he rises from the dead and pours out the spirit on the world. He preaches peace to every creature under heaven. And for all who will, his wings are open. They are the only place to hide from God’s wrath.
Jesus takes the wrath of God alone. We hide under his wings.
He is the protector and refuge of Israel.
When he rises from the dead and pours out his spirit, the call goes to the world. Take refuge under his wings. Wrath is coming.
Some will. Many will not. Many figure that is for other people. the Jews didn’t, because wrath was for sinners. They weren’t sinners. They knew the law. And they resisted and persecuted every single preacher that proclaimed the good news, until finally the Romans brought a final end to the city.
But even that was a picture of the wrath to come. Judgment is coming. God will cleanse his earth.
And the reason that he hasn’t done it yet is because of the relentless, pursuing compassion of Jesus.
9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.
Don’t let the goodness of God harden your hearts.
Don’t be driven away by your own sins or by your own righteousness.
What everyone in heaven has in common is this - no one thinks that they deserve to be there.
They sing “Glory to the Lamb” - not, “I made the right choice”. The Lord has not yet come, not because he forgot, or fell asleep - but because he is still gathering his outcasts under his wings. Not all of his sheep are under his wings - to mix the metaphors.
This is why he is leaving Herod’s territory. Not because he is afraid of Herod, but because of his relentless compassion. He is heading to the cross to complete the work and nothing will stop him.
Even now, he is gathering his chicks under his wings, and nothing will stop him.
Come to him today and rest. It is the only refuge there is.
For those who have already tasted his compassion and have seen that it is good, there is another reason to learn again about his relentless compassion: We are called to imitate Christ by imitating his love and his compassion towards sinners.
A current problem arises when we call our life in this world a “culture war”. If it is a culture war, then sinners are enemies to be destroyed. they are dangerous to us and ought to be treated as traitors to be despised and mocked and defeated.
If it is a culture war, then any tactic to win is acceptable - harshness, contempt, ridicule - one famous pastor recently wrote an article that kindness and compassion were for former ages, when the war wasn’t as pronounced as it is today…It might have been the call 20 years ago, but now things have changed. He called for harshness, “take no prisoners” approach.
It has nothing to do with Christ. The culture has never been more hostile to the gospel than it was when Jesus wept over Jerusalem.
And he still invited all who would come to rest under his wings.
And this is what he tells us to imitate.
Instead of anger with sin, compassion.
Instead of fear of sin, love
Instead of revulsion, touch and friendship. Remember Jesus is a friend of sinners.
Instead of relentless persecution, mercy.
The sinners - harlots, tax collectors, friends of Rome - all knew what it was to be contemptuously despised by the religious elite.
But they came to Jesus. If sinners were in trouble, would they come to the church for help today?
Who would put themselves through that?
This shows how far we have fallen from the one we call our Lord.
We must repent and learn again to imitate Christ, as he has commanded us to.
Jesus never compromised his holiness or his righteousness - but he welcomed all without contempt, ridicule or reproach. He simply called them to himself - but it was his character that they were drawn to.
Here is someone who is healing, welcoming, life-giving.
THIS is who we represent and who we imitate.
I pray that the church will again be a refuge for sinners instead of club for the elite. That is what we strive for.
And to do that, we must as John said, decrease, so that he might increase. The church must be about Jesus, not about ourselves and our programs, but about Jesus who is still reigning over all and still calling sinners to gather under his wings.
This is the one we serve. If we call him Lord - and we do - we also are to pick up the apron and serve as he served, wherever he places us. That relentless compassion should mark the church, wherever we are.
This is what it means to follow him.
Amen.