Luke 13:31-35 * March 4, 2007 * Lent 2 * Pastor Leyrer

Dear Friend in Christ,

There are various ways to deal with an unpleasant task. See if these sound familiar.

Utilizing the “procrastination” model, we can put it off for as long as possible. Or we may employ the “rationalization” (closely related to the “avoidance”) model and talk ourselves out of doing it at all. And in certain but not all cases, there may also be open to us the “financial model,” that is, hiring someone else so we don’t have to do it ourselves.

Chances are somewhere along the line we’ve tried them all; maybe even created some variations of our own.

However, there is one more way to deal with an unpleasant task. And that is to unflinchingly embrace it. This is approach we see in Jesus in our text for today.

To say the task ahead of Him was unpleasant is to severely understate. Far more than unpleasant, it was fatal. The work Jesus was about to embrace involved ridicule, suffering, and finally the ultimate cruelty of crucifixion – all so sinful man would be put right with God.

But forward He goes. To Jerusalem. He knows what lies ahead and what awaits Him there. So do we. Yet without delay and with utter determination, in words just sung:

A LAMB GOES UNCOMPLAINING FORTH

1. In a show of love

2. And as a model of love

Here is the situation. Jesus is in the final lap of His earthly ministry. He’s on His way to Jerusalem but was currently in a portion of the greater Holy Land area known as Perea, which was ruled by King Herod. At that time some Pharisees came to Jesus and said to him, “Leave this place and go somewhere else. Herod wants to kill you.”

Knowing the Pharisees (the religious elite and leaders of the Jews) usually opposed Jesus at every opportunity, their sudden concern raises some questions. There’s no doubt that Herod was not a nice guy and posed some danger. In fact, Jesus reference to him as a “fox” would indicate as much. But were the Pharisees really interested in Jesus’ welfare? Or was it to their advantage to guide Him to Jerusalem, where it would be easier for them to control the situation and get rid of Him? Probably the latter.

He replied, “Go tell that fox, ‘I will drive out demons and heal people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will reach my goal.’ In any case, I must keep going today and tomorrow and the next day – for surely no prophet can die outside Jerusalem!”

With this answer Jesus wanted Herod to know that He would continue His work “today and tomorrow,” that is, for a certain definite time. Then on the “third day” – at an appointed time – He would bring His entire work to completion. His “goal,” which culminated in His death and resurrection, would not be reached while Jesus is in Herod’s territory. Therefore Jesus said He must continue His journey to Jerusalem, which had the deserved reputation of killing the prophets sent by God.

In the final words of our text Jesus says something about Jerusalem very similar to what He would later repeat while in the city itself (Mt 23:37-39) during the week before His death: “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often have I longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! Look, your house is left to you desolate. I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’”

This is as heartfelt and painful a lament as we will ever find in the Gospels. The word Jerusalem literally means “city of peace,” but its history did not match its name. Our Old Testament lesson for today revolving around Jeremiah is just one example among many of how the people of Jerusalem reacted to God’s message and messenger. When it came to God’s prophets and spokesmen throughout the ages, Jerusalem was not kind. In fact, it could better be described as a serial killer.

Nevertheless, Jesus urgently desired Jerusalem’s salvation. He compared His efforts to that of a mother hen protecting her brood from harm. He was there for them, but they wanted nothing to do with Him. “You were not willing.” So the words of the opening chapter of John were fulfilled: “He came to that which was His own, but His own did not receive Him.”

Jesus also prophesies the sad results of wholesale rejection. “Your house will be left to you desolate” became a reality less than forty years later when Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans. As for those who dismissed Him as a threat to their way of life or a lunatic or a rebel, Jesus promises they will meet up with Him again on the Last Day, when “every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:10,11).

Here ends the historical account. As I see it, this text tells us one great thing about Jesus; one great thing which gives our lives both meaning and direction.

That one great thing is the depth of His love for us.

With what terms can we describe the love of Christ? It’s always at this point that we have a descriptive breakdown and become painfully aware of our grammatical limitations, because words simply fail. Nonetheless, words are all that we have at our disposal. So here are three words that come to mind…

Selfless. There was an interesting article that came out this past week. I read it online, so I don’t know if it actually appeared in a newspaper, but it was a study made on the habits and self-image of today’s college student, backed by data and quotes from experts in the field of personal analysis or some such thing.

In essence it was an indictment of those parents who fully bought into the “self-esteem” movement of the 1980’s and ordered their lives around their children so they would always feel “special.” The article concluded that as a result of constantly being praised and catered to, many college age students exhibit a tendency toward self-absorption, are less accepting of others, and have grown up with an expectation of entitlement.

In other words, it’s all about me.

Hopefully the college students you know don’t fall into the categories described in the article. And it must be said that the study doesn’t speak at all about the impact of Christianity reversing the trend.

But you know what? Such an evaluation is not unique to those who were born in the 80’s. Selfishness is my greatest problem, and it is yours as well. I’m vitally concerned about someone trampling on my “rights,” and so are you. It’s our sinful nature.

In striking contrast, see Jesus making His way to Jerusalem. There’s not a selfish bone in that holy body. If there was, He’d be heading the opposite direction. First Corinthians chapter thirteen describes perfect love as “not self-seeking.” That is the picture of Christ’s love here. And in addition to being a selfless love, His love for us is also…

Sacrificial. You know, we may be willing to sacrifice for somebody we love or something we feel strongly about. Every once in a while amidst the bad news we read every day are stories of true heroism, people who place their lives on the line or even give them up for others. Not too long ago we heard about a soldier in Iraq who fell on a grenade to spare his comrades-in-arms. And of course, we still remember the fire and police personnel who died in the line of duty on 9-11.

We can understand that, but what about making the ultimate sacrifice for people who don’t want to be saved, or don’t even like you, or, in fact, make it clear they want nothing to do with you? What about those who would say to us, “I know exactly what you want, but I’m not going to give it to you.”? Would you give it all up for people like that?

Jesus did. Even though we are and were all those things to Jesus (by nature sinful and disobedient and rebellious), Jesus nevertheless showered us with His sacrificial love. How important and loved we are can be directly gauged by the extent of His love. Literally, He loved us to death.

Finally, we can perhaps best describe Jesus’ love as being complete. There was and there is nothing lacking. He loves us completely and fully, not because we are so lovable, but because to love in such an alien and unworldly way is part of His essence as God. First John 4:10 puts it this way: “This is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us and gave his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.”

And in return, do you know what Jesus asks of us? He simply asks that we reflect to others the love He has shown to us.

The journey Christ is making will eventually lead to an upper room on the day we now call Maundy Thursday. The evening will be spent in fellowship and instruction. In a show of humility, Jesus will wash His disciples’ feet. He will provide them with a meal we will celebrate today, the Lord’s Supper. Then they will sing a hymn, and Jesus will go out to the Mount of Olives. There a string of events will begin that will end on a cross outside Jerusalem, just as Jesus predicted.

But before He left the room and gave Himself fully into the selfless, sacrificial and complete love for which He is known, He instructed His disciples on the legacy for which they were to be known. “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

Can we model such a selfless, sacrificial, and complete love to others? Perhaps a better question is: are we modeling a selfless, sacrificial and complete love to others?

That question each of us must answer for him or herself. Where we have failed, let us confess and repent. Where we are lacking, let us ask God for strength so that the world may see Him in us.

One thing we can never say, however, is that we haven’t felt or seen or experienced God’s love personally, because we all have. It’s all been replayed for us today, as

A lamb goes uncomplaining forth, our guilt and evil bearing

And laden with the sins of earth, none else the burden sharing.

Goes patient on, grows weak and faint, to slaughter and without complaint

That spotless life to offer.

Bears shame and stripes and wounds and death, anguish and mockery and says

“Willing all this I suffer.”

The Christian’s response?

From morn till eve, in all I do, I’ll praise you, Christ, my treasure.

To sacrifice myself for you shall be my aim and pleasure.

My stream of life shall ever be a current flowing ceaselessly,

Your constant praise outpouring

I’ll treasure in my memory, O Lord, all you have done for me,

Your gracious love adoring. Amen.