March 12-14, 2022 Pastor Timothy J. Spaude Text: Luke 13:31-35 “YOU CAN’T STOP JESUS!”

 

LENT 2

March 12-14, 2022

Pastor Timothy J. Spaude

Text: Luke 13:31-35

 

“YOU CAN’T STOP JESUS!”

1.     From loving you to death.

2.     From wanting to keep you close.

 

Luke 13:31-35 EHV ^“In that very hour, some Pharisees came to him and said, “Leave, and go away from here, because Herod wants to kill you.” ³² He said to them, “Go tell that fox, ‘Look, I am going to drive out demons and heal people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will reach my goal. ³³ 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!’ ³⁴ “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! ³⁵ Look, your house is left to you desolate. I tell you, you will not see me until the time comes when you will say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’”

 

          There are some things you just can’t stop. They are too big and too powerful for you. Some of you may, for instance, take a vacation to a warmer area for Spring or Easter break. If that area includes the ocean, go into it and just try to stop the waves from rolling in. When one knocks you over and pummels you in the surf you will understand how powerless you are. You can’t stop the waves. Or take the wind. Go ahead, just try to stop it from blowing. You can stand against it and build buildings to withstand it, hopefully. But anybody who has had personal property destroyed by a tornado will tell you there is nothing you can do to stop that wind. It is too powerful. As powerful as wind and waves are there is one who is more powerful, the most powerful, one whom wind and wave obey, one whose great love you just can’t stop. Jesus!

          We see that unstoppable love of Jesus on display in our Gospel lesson today. It’s the last year of Jesus’ public ministry. It’s known as the Year of Opposition because the Pharisees, chief priests and teachers of the law have had enough. They were losing their popularity and prominence with the people as Jesus showed them trusting God, not keeping outward laws, was the way to heaven. They want Jesus out of the way. But Jesus has a job to do. And you know what? You can’t stop Jesus!

          You can’t stop Jesus from loving you to death. ^“In that very hour, some Pharisees came to him and said, “Leave, and go away from here, because Herod wants to kill you.” Did you see that? You can’t stop Jesus. Oh yes, the Pharisees tried. Jesus was in an area called Perea, doing what Jesus did. Teaching the truth. The truth that all must repent and believe in Him as Savior. Herod was the ruler of that area. Now exactly why the Pharisees wanted Jesus out of there we don’t know. Could have been their own personal jealousy. Could have been they wanted to push him to where they thought they had more power. And it is in fact possible that Herod wanted to kill Jesus. He had John the Baptist beheaded. But let’s focus instead on the love of Jesus. You can’t stop it. You can’t stop Him from loving you to death.

          “He said to them, “Go tell that fox, ‘Look, I am going to drive out demons and heal people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will reach my goal. ³³ 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!” Jesus words make it clear who is in control and who is not. Herod was not. The Pharisees were not. Jesus is. He determined his course of action and that course of action was to go to Jerusalem. Why? So he could die.

          Many people rightly declare their love to others. Children tell their parents I love you and parents tell their children the same. Husbands proclaim love to wives and wives to husbands and who here hasn’t seen a romcom parody of starstruck lovers declaring, “I love you. I love you more. I love the most!” Gag. You want to prove you love me? Die for me when I need you to. The Bible declares, “Very rarely will someone die for a righteous person though for a good person someone might dare to die.” We know that. If a mother had to die to save her own child she will do it. Most will do it. But they won’t die for someone else’s child. Those who serve us in the military and law enforcement are prepared to die in carrying out their duty. That is noble. But it’s not something any wants to do or plans to do. Except Jesus. You can’t stop Him from loving you to death. That scripture I quoted before goes on to say, “But God demonstrated his own love for us in this, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

          We needed him to. Sin made that necessary. If Jesus does not die we all die eternally. We all get separated from God and His love forever. So Jesus loved us to death. You can’t stop Him. Pharisees couldn’t. Herod couldn’t. You can’t. To which of you did Jesus even give to the choice? Who here was asked by Jesus if you wanted his love, his sacrifice? No one. This was all Jesus. You can’t stop Him. While supposedly neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night can stop the US mail, plenty of things do. But nothing stops Jesus. Neither sin nor Satan nor scheme of man. He loves you to death. You can’t stop that.

          And you can’t stop Jesus from wanting to keep you close to Him. Jesus went on to say, “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those sent to her!”  Here we get a peek a Jesus’ Savior heart and it’s a big one. His heart breaks for the people of Jerusalem. He describes them as the ones that kill the prophets and other messengers God sent to them. And what did He want for such people? Justice? Punishment? Payback? No. To keep them close to Him. “How often I have wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!” Jesus knows He is their only hope for salvation so He wants those people close to Him. History records all the things God did to try to get His straying people to come back. He allowed enemies to harass. Plagues to decimate. Drought to cause famine, all so that the people would return to him. All because He wanted them close.

          Just like Jesus wants to keep you close and you can’t stop that. I know, I know, deep down we all really would like to have the easy life. We want everyone to like us. We want to get every job we apply for, every raise we think we deserve. We want to excel and win at everything we do and every prayer for everything we want answered with a Yes. We want only good health and only good things for ourselves and our kids. It’s not going to happen. Jesus loves you too much to do that to you. He wants to keep you close. And we all know it. It’s the hard things of life that keep us closest to our Lord. It’s guilt and shame over sin that get us running to Jesus. It’s disappointment that makes us exercise our faith. It’s the out of control that has us running to Him for help. Jesus allows those things that keep us close to him because you can’t stop Jesus from wanting you close. If we could do it perfectly we would learn to curse the good times and rejoice in the hard times because Jesus wants us close to him. You can’t stop him.

          Nor would you want to, but you can. You can’t stop Jesus, but you can stop yourself. You can stop yourself from loving Jesus in return. You can stop yourself from valuing His sacrifice. You can stop yourself from going close when Jesus pulls you closer. What did Jesus say to Jerusalem? These five chilling words, “But you were not willing.” The only worse words I can think of to hear from Jesus are the final words he will say to the unbelievers on Judgment Day, “Depart from you who are cursed into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” But you were not willing. Jerusalem. Jerusalem. That’s who Jesus said those word to. Not to you. Not to me. Yet.

          Brothers and sisters, let’s make that never. Jesus loves us to death. He works daily in our lives to keep us close. Let’s just stay close. Run to Him with your hurts and your problems. Run to him when you’ve fallen into sin. Look forward to dining with Him in the Lord’s Supper when appropriate. Devote yourselves to His words daily. Then look forward to that day when Jesus will say, “O Jacobi, Jacobi, I couldn’t stop loving you. How happy I was to have you clinging tightly to me. Come and join your Master’s happiness.” Amen.