LENT
2
February
20-22, 2016
Pastor
Timothy J. Spaude
Text:
Luke 13:31-35
“JESUS WON’T GO AWAY!”
1.
Even
when His presence is not wanted.
2.
Even
when His love is rejected.
3.
Especially
when His love is returned!
Luke
13:31-35 (NIV 1984) “At that time some Pharisees came
to Jesus and said to him, “Leave this place and go somewhere else. Herod wants
to kill you.” 32He 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.’ 33In any case, I must keep going today and
tomorrow and the next day—for surely no prophet can die outside Jerusalem! 34“O
Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you,
how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her
chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! 35Look,
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.’”
Go away! Think of different situations
in your life when you have said that. It may have been when someone was
pestering you. Just last week I was yelling that at a squirrel. I had filled
the bird feeders outside of Chis’ classroom to attract birds for her and the
kids to watch but who was there robbing the feeder? A squirrel. “Go away!” I
yelled and pounded on the window. It just sat there stuffing its cheeks and
mocking me. Sometimes we do that with people we shouldn’t, though don’t we?
Maybe you had a hard day and your mom or dad or spouse wants to comfort you or
talk you through and you say, “Just go away. I want to be alone.” Today in God’s
word we have a situation where some people wanted Jesus to go away. But He didn’t.
Let’s see why.
It was during Jesus last year of
ministry. He was taking the long way to Jerusalem going through Galilee and
Perea. This is the area that the Herod known as Herod Antipas was ruling. He’s
the guy who had delivered the head of John the Baptist on a platter to his step
daughter Salome. Not a nice guy. Luke tells us “At that time some Pharisees came to Jesus and said to him, “Leave this
place and go somewhere else. Herod wants to kill you.” “Go away!” the
Pharisees said to Jesus. What’s not clear is why the Pharisees told this to
Jesus. Is it possible this threat to Jesus was true and they were looking out
for Him? Or maybe did they just want Jesus off their turf out of jealousy and
thought the threat of Herod would work?
We don’t know. It doesn’t matter. What matters is how Jesus responded. “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.’ 33In
any case, I must keep going today and tomorrow and the next day—for surely no
prophet can die outside Jerusalem!” Jesus wouldn’t go away. Even when His
presence was not wanted. Why not? He had work to do. He was going through
Galilee doing the works that proved He was the Messiah, driving out demons and
healing people. Then He would go to Jerusalem and do the work of the Messiah,
lay down His life for the sheep, be killed so that through His blood we receive
the forgiveness of sins.
Jesus won’t go away even when His
presence is not wanted because He has the salvation of souls in mind. That’s
good for us to remember. Jesus won’t go away even when He’s not wanted. Maybe we
think of how things are going with more and more of our fellow Americans not
wanting Jesus in their lives. We worry for our kids, their future. Jesus won’t
go away. He can’t be bullied or intimidated. He doesn’t respond to empty
threats. He is the Son of God. Maybe we should remember that in another way.
Sometimes we are the ones who don’t want Jesus around. Kids in school fooling
around in the bathroom or looking at things on a cell phone that they should
not don’t want Jesus around. But He is. He doesn’t go away. Adults at a party
where the character assassination is taking place or drunkenness don’t want
Jesus around but He is. He doesn’t go away. Just because we want to indulge our
sinful desires Jesus doesn’t say OK, let me know when you are done. He watches.
He sees. He won’t go away even when His presence is not wanted.
Jesus won’t go away even when His love
is rejected. Thinking of His work in
Jerusalem made Jesus think of the people of Jerusalem. “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent
to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen
gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! 35Look,
your house is left to you desolate.” Jerusalem had the Temple, the
religious leaders. By all rights the people of Jerusalem should have known God’s
words and ways the best. Yet the history of the people of Jerusalem and their religious
leaders is a history of killing God’s prophets, slaying the messengers because
they didn’t like the message God sent calling them to repentance. Yet through
it all the only thing God wanted to do was save the people. He uses the picture
of a mother hen protecting her young chicks under her wings. That’s what Jesus
wanted to do with the people of Jerusalem. Gather them together and save them
from their sins. It didn’t happen. Why not? “But you were not willing!” Those
are chilling words. Jesus’ love was rejected.
He still didn’t go away. He didn’t
call off the trip to Jerusalem. He would give His life for all even those who
rejected His love. Remember that when you are dealing with a family member or
friend who at this time is rejecting Jesus’ love. Most often you will see it
happen when someone’s heart is hurting. They are mad at God, mad at Jesus that
He didn’t save someone they loved from death. Mad that God allowed some other
problem in their life or the life of a loved one. They don’t want anything to
do with God. Hang with them if you can. In your words and actions let them see
why you cling to Jesus. It’s because of His love.
That’s why Jesus won’t go away. His love
for people. He wants souls with Him for eternity. He’s got bigger plans then
the temporary problems of this life that so often consume our time and energy.
In His love He wants people to enjoy the life that is real life, the joy and
glories of heaven. That’s why He didn’t go way here. He was on the mission of
salvation.
That’s why Jesus won’t go away from
you either. You know as you are reading your Bibles and studying God’s word one
technique is to try to see yourself in the story. Where do we fit here? We aren’t
like the Pharisees who really want Jesus out of our lives. We aren’t the people
of Jerusalem who aren’t willing to have Jesus taking care of us. So where are
we then? The unmentioned people who do love Jesus. And friends, Jesus won’t go
away especially when He’s loved in return. And we do love Him. We love Him
because He first loved us. We love Him because He laid down His life for us. We
love Him because of the eternal life He’s given to our loved ones who have died
believing in Him. We love Him because of the sure hope we have that not even
death can separate us from Him.
Jesus won’t go way from those how love
Him. Hold on to that truth, brothers and sisters, the next time you have a
trial, a hardship, a heartache in life. While God will keep His promise to work
it out for good, the Devil will try to use that hardship to drive a wedge
between you and God, to get you to tell Jesus to “Go away!” Remember that when
in weakness you fall into sin and something happens in your life that makes you
think God has given up on you. He hasn’t. Jesus won’t go away. Instead He will
keep His promise to never leave you nor forsake you, to be with you always even
to the end of the age. You can always return to Jesus in repentance. It is
never too. Jesus won’t go away.
“Go away!” is something we can find
ourselves saying to pesky squirrels raiding bird feeders. You might even say it
to another person who just won’t leave you alone. Perhaps when you are upset or
hurt you might say it to someone who really loves and wants to help. But don’t
bother trying that with Jesus. His love for you is that great. His resolve to
have you in heaven that firm. Jesus won’t go away, not when His presence isn’t
wanted, not when His love is rejected and especially not when He’s loved in
return by people like you. Amen!
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